Subject: Re: Mitch McConnell falls for parody news report about Guantanamo Bay prisoners being eligible for GI Bill benefits - Daily News
From: "Eric Schwerin" <[email-masked]>
To: "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>
Cc: "A. Snyder-Mackler" <[email-masked]>, <[email-masked]>, <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2013 11:46:48 -0500

I love Breitbart's comments on printing the Friends of Hamas article which has now been proved to be false.  They said the story is "accurate" and they won't take it down or retract it because the story says "sources tell us...." and they don't claim the sources are right.  They are only reporting what someone tells them not reporting that it is correct!

Eric D. Schwerin
[email-masked]

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 21, 2013, at 11:19 AM, Hunter Biden <[email-masked]> wrote:

> Amazing how willing/ ready they are to believe crap like this. Similar to Cruz propagating the farcical piece about Hagel meeting with "jr league of Hamas" in a Senate confirmation hearing. 
> 
> RHB
> 202.333.1880
> 
> On Feb 21, 2013, at 6:41 AM, "A. Snyder-Mackler" <[email-masked]> wrote:
> 
>> Some poor caseworker...
>> 
>> Sent from my iPad
>> 
>> On Feb 20, 2013, at 8:25 PM, Eric Schwerin <[email-masked]> wrote:
>> 
>>> http://m.nydailynews.com/1.1268667
>>> 
>>> Mitch McConnell falls for parody news report about Guantanamo Bay prisoners being eligible for GI Bill benefits
>>> 
>>> 
>>> A fake news story claiming that Guantanamo Bay prisoners can apply for GI Bill benefits found a credulous victim in Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who posed a serious query to the Pentagon about the unbelievable report.
>>> 
>>> Wired reported that McConnell fell for a far-fetched story on The Duffel Blog, a parody news site with fake reports about the military.
>>> 
>>> One sample headline on the faux-news site: “Infantry battalions commanded by females more likely to stop for directions, arrive late.”
>>> 
>>> Another example: “Pope Benedict resignation tied to Paula Broadwell affair.”
>>> 
>>> The October story joked that the Defense Department had approved a “controversial move” letting prisoners apply for Post 9/11 GI bill benefit, in part to “completely crush their souls with bureaucracy.”
>>> 
>>> RELATED: PALIN MOCKS FALSE REPORT SHE’S JOINING AL JAZEERA
>>> 
>>> But when a constituent passed along the fake news report, McConnell’s office didn’t get the joke.
>>> 
>>> Wired obtained a Nov. 14 letter written by Mitch McConnell to Pentagon’s congressional liaison that appeared to take the joke story seriously.
>>> 
>>> “I am writing on behalf of a constituent who has contacted me regarding Guantanamo Bay prisoners receiving Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits,” McConnell’s letter read. “I would appreciate your review and response to my constituent’s concerns.”
>>> 
>>> “The very idea that the U.S. government would extend GI Bill benefits to enemy detainees is a patent absurdity,” says Army Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale, a Pentagon spokesman, told Wired.
>>> 
>>> McConnell spokesman Michael Brumas defended his office’s question about the fake news.
>>> 
>>> “The senator’s office had a request from a constituent asking us to inquire about an issue,” Brumas told the technology news site. “Our office forwarded the constituent’s question to the Defense Department.”
>>> 
>>> [email-masked]
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Eric D. Schwerin
>>> [email-masked]
>>> 
>>> Sent from my iPhon