Latest Fact-Checks By W. Gardner Selby

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Austin Water Utility
Austin Water Utility
stated on May 27, 2014 in as quoted in a StateImpact Texas news story:
Says Central Texas river water sent to downstream rice farmers in 2011 equaled about three years’ worth of Austin’s water use.
True
By W. Gardner Selby • June 24, 2014
Texas Future
Texas Future
stated on May 8, 2014 in a web video:
"One thousand people a day are moving to Texas, which means there will be 15 million more people over the next 25 years."
Half-True
By W. Gardner Selby • June 22, 2014
Rick Perry
Rick Perry
stated on June 17, 2014 in an interview on Fox & Friends:
Says of flood of non-Mexicans being apprehended at the border: "These are people that are coming from states like Syria that have substantial connections back to terrorist regimes and terrorist operations."
Pants on Fire!
By W. Gardner Selby • June 22, 2014
Battleground Texas
Battleground Texas
stated on June 10, 2014 in an interview on Bloomberg TV:
Says Dan Patrick has "called immigration into Texas an invasion" and "said immigrants coming into Texas bring ‘third-world diseases.’"
True
By W. Gardner Selby • June 20, 2014
Rick Perry
Rick Perry
stated on June 17, 2014 in an interview on Fox & Friends:
A record number of immigrants not from Mexico are "being apprehended at the border."
True
By W. Gardner Selby • June 18, 2014
Ken Paxton
Ken Paxton
stated on June 6, 2014 in a speech at the Republican Party of Texas convention:
"At the beginning of World War II, we had a relatively small army, smaller than Portugal’s."
True
By W. Gardner Selby • June 13, 2014
Leticia Van de Putte
Leticia Van de Putte
stated on June 1, 2014 in an interview:
Our "trade with Mexico is $720 million a day; that’s our No. 1 trading partner."
Mostly True
By W. Gardner Selby • June 13, 2014
Lamar Smith
Lamar Smith
stated on May 31, 2014 in a letter to the editor of the San Antonio Express-News:
"Last year," Obama "administration officials released into our neighborhoods more than 36,000 criminal immigrants who had nearly 88,000 convictions. The crimes included hundreds of convictions for murder, rape and kidnapping and thousands of drug-related crimes."
Half-True
By W. Gardner Selby • June 10, 2014
Pete Gallego
Pete Gallego
stated on May 14, 2014 in an email blast:
"The average student loan debt in Texas is over $22,000...the cost of an average size pickup truck." But unlike car owners, "students are not allowed to refinance their loans at lower rates."
Mostly True
By W. Gardner Selby • June 9, 2014
Mike Martinez
Mike Martinez
stated on May 28, 2014 in remarks at a gathering:
Four (maybe five) Latinos have served on the Austin City Council.  
True
By W. Gardner Selby • June 6, 2014
Mike Hashimoto
Mike Hashimoto
stated on June 2, 2014 in a commentary:
"Public display of a long rifle is perfectly legal in Texas."
True
By W. Gardner Selby • June 5, 2014
Texas Right to Life
Texas Right to Life
stated on May 14, 2014 in a video ad:
In Texas, "a faceless hospital panel can deny life-sustaining care, giving you only 10 days to find another facility for your mother, dad, or young child, even if the patient is conscious."
Half-True
By W. Gardner Selby • May 30, 2014
Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
stated on May 29, 2014 in an email blast:
Rick Perry doesn’t think there should be a federal minimum wage.
True
By W. Gardner Selby • May 30, 2014
Michael Sullivan
Michael Sullivan
stated on May 23, 2014 in a tweet:
"From the ‘Do As I Say Not As I Do’ department: federal employees owe $3.3 billion in back taxes."
Mostly True
By W. Gardner Selby • May 30, 2014
Rick Perry
Rick Perry
stated on May 19, 2014 in a letter to President Barack Obama:
Since 2000, Texas has reduced "harmful pollutants in the air like nitrogen oxide by 62.5 percent, and ozone by 23 percent--a reduction that is 12 percent greater than the national average."  
Half-True
By W. Gardner Selby • May 26, 2014
Ted Cruz
Ted Cruz
stated on May 6, 2014 in a report:
The Obama administration spent "$205,075 in ‘stimulus’ funds to relocate a shrub that sells for $16."
Mostly False
By W. Gardner Selby • May 23, 2014
Dan Patrick
Dan Patrick
stated on April 28, 2014 in a TV ad:
Under David Dewhurst’s leadership, the Texas "Senate passed an expansion of in-state tuition and free health care to illegal immigrants."
False
By W. Gardner Selby • May 15, 2014
Ken Paxton
Ken Paxton
stated on May 11, 2014 in a news story:
Dan Branch "once lobbied for the AFL-CIO."
False
By W. Gardner Selby • May 15, 2014
Julián Castro
Julián Castro
stated on April 15, 2014 in Univision debate on immigration:
Says Dan Patrick "proposed Arizona-style show-me-your-papers legislation."
True
By W. Gardner Selby • May 14, 2014
David Dewhurst
David Dewhurst
stated on May 7, 2014 in a roundtable debate with state Sen. Dan Patrick:
Wendy Davis "was just doing a fund-raiser in Chicago with the international socialists organization."
Pants on Fire!
By W. Gardner Selby • May 9, 2014
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