Media Matters Daily Summary

Here are today's news items from Media Matters for America, click on the title or 'read more' to read the entirety of each story. Purporting to correct misconceptions, Luntz misrepresents AZ immigration law On Fox & Friends, Frank Luntz falsely suggested that under Arizona's new immigration law, police can only ask about the immigration status of someone "if they believe that they're in the process of committing a crime." In fact, the law directs police to check the immigration status of those stopped for non-crimes including violations of city and county ordinances and civil traffic violations if the officer suspects those individuals are undocumented. Read More Fox falsely suggests NYC will receive less money this year for transit and port security Fox & Friends repeatedly criticized the Obama administration for what they characterized as "slashing" New York City's transit and port security funding, calling it "shocking" and the "moral equivalent of Katrina." However, New York City is reportedly set to receive $47 million more for transit and port security than last year as a result of stimulus funds, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Read More Scalia agrees with Kagan that Second Amendment rights are "not unlimited" Matt Drudge highlighted a post by the website KaganWatch.com that stated that Elena Kagan wrote "the Second Amendment ... enjoys 'strong, but not unlimited protection' " -- apparently to suggest that Kagan was hostile to gun rights. In fact, in a decision written by Justice Antonin Scalia striking down Washington D.C.'s handgun ban, the Supreme Court said that gun rights "are not unlimited." Read More Byron York forwards GOP's "politically motivated," "highly speculative" decade-old smear against Kagan Byron York promoted claims made against Elena Kagan in a 1999 report issued by a House Resources Committee task force composed of two discredited Republican members. However, the task force was criticized by Democrats for "failing to meet even minimum standards of objectivity," and even Ed Whelan has said the allegations are "highly speculative." Read More Drudge "not sympathetic" to the facts on Kagan's gun-rights record Matt Drudge posted a headline stating that Elena Kagan is " 'Not Sympathetic' to Gun Rights Argument," referencing comments Kagan reportedly made in a 1987 memo about an appeal to the Supreme Court. In fact, the view that the Second Amendment does not protect civilian gun rights was generally accepted at the time Kagan wrote those words. Read More You can help support our work; become a volunteer media monitor, or donate to Media Matters for America.