Rudy lies -- and the press takes it lying down

[donsu]

http://pmcarpenter.blogs.com/p_m_carpenters_commentary/2007/10/rudy-lies----an.html


Rudy Giuliani lies. He doesn't merely stretch the truth, as any ambitious pol is wont to do. He just makes stuff up. And when done with abandon, making stuff up is called lying. There is simply no better, no more accurate way to put it -- and in this presidential election cycle, with all that's at stake, we had better start calling a spade a spade, lest we get stuck with another liar of unchecked width and depth.

-snip-

The advanced condition of both Rudy's pathology and journalism's indifference to it was brought home to me early this morning upon reading this entry in the Washington Post: "Giuliani's Bid to Woo New Hampshire Independents Centers on Health Care," written by no less than two Post reporters, the camera-hugging Chris Cillizza and Shailagh Murray.

-snip-

"In the radio spot, Giuliani mentions his battle with prostate cancer and notes that his chances of surviving the disease in America were 82 percent, while in England his chances would have been 44 percent."


This just as naturally caught and then raised my eye. It seemed an astounding "fact," one either uplifting or thoroughly depressing, depending on one's gender and country of residence. It also seemed quite literally unbelievable. Yet there it sat, in print, with no journalistic probing of it.


So, deploying my vast research skills, I Googled "England prostate cancer survival rate," and up popped the Web site of "Cancer Research UK," the "leading funder of cancer research" in the Queen's realm. Want to know what I found?


I shall quote: "The relative five-year survival rate for men diagnosed in England in 2000–01 was 71%," which indicates that Rudy's flat figure of 44 was creatively arrived at, statistically speaking. Not only that, for mates in Rudy's current age group, 60-69, the survival rate is 83 percent -- one uptick higher than his vaunted statistic for us ruggedly male, American individualists. Yet those socialist bastards are doing it on the government plan.
-snip-
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we all know Rudy lies, so Chris and Shailagh have some explaining to do

[DaveJ]

1. The U.S. survival rate is based on treated cancer

I don't think it includes everyone who is not treated for it in the U.S. with surgery. Of course they don't make that distinction in the UK since everyone gets the treatment they need.

Here's the U.S.'s glowing statistics:

The patients' ten year survival rates were as follows:

-- Prostatectomy (surgery) 83%
-- Radiotherapy 75%
-- Watchful waiting 72%
-- Hormone therapy 41%
-- Other treatment 71%

[wildbilln864]

2. kick! n/t

[AndyTiedye]

3. The Repiglickin Media Wants Rudy to be President, So Rudy can Do No Wrong

If Rudy says the Earth is flat, all the pundits will hold forth about how we were wrong all these years about it being round.

[Gabi Hayes]

4. lots of important lies here, yet the M$M completely ignores them

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2145839#top

[fenriswolf]

5. what are those figurines in your sig?

sorry to be off topic but i see them and i am facinated with them.