Pundits punk'd by satirical claims Ryan dissed Romney

Memo to the media: Clearly mark political satire, especially if it makes Republicans look bad. Otherwise, you might fool a Nobel prize-winning New York Times columnist.

Columnist Paul Krugman and other commentators were apparently duped Wednesday after Politico ran a satire piece that included what -- if true -- would have been an inflammatory comment by Republican running mate Paul Ryan. 

Politico took its inspiration from a quote, attributed to a GOP operative, that actually ran in The New York Times. The operative reportedly said that if Ryan ever runs for national office again, “he’ll probably have to wash the stench of Romney off of him.”

The Politico piece then blended that into satire – fantasy for some – with reporter Roger Simon writing that Ryan had taken to calling his running mate “Stench.” In fact, Ryan was so embarrassed to be part of Mitt Romney’s “floundering” campaign, Simon wrote, that he was openly sneering at the man on top of his ticket.

"Paul Ryan, I am sure, calls Mitt Romney something more dignified than 'Stench.'”

- Roger Simon, Politico

“If Stench calls, take a message,” Ryan supposedly had been telling aides. “Tell Stench I’m having finger sandwiches with Peggy Noonan and will text him later,” Simon quoted Ryan as saying. 

Krugman, a blogger for MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and a host of other liberal pundits fell for Simon's satire -- apparently finding the quote too good to not be true.

“Can I say that even though I’m not exactly a fan of Mitt Romney’s, this is just bad behavior?” wrote Krugman on his Times blog “The Conscience of a Liberal.” “You’re supposed to wait until it’s actually over before you do this kind of thing.”

Liberal talk radio host Taylor Marsh was giddy.

“Ryan is trying to save himself so he can live to run another day,” she wrote on her website. “Roger Simon’s piece has spread like wildfire and is causing a gigantic ripple.”

Hours later, word got around that Simon had made it all up. Even the part about how Romney had taken to calling Ryan “Gilligan.” Some of the folks who got fooled groused about it being too subtle or not particularly funny.

"OK, the word is that this was really clumsy satire," Krugman wrote in a late entry to his blog.

Simon did include a note at the end of the column that explained his point -- even as he put himself in a league with some slightly better satirists: 

[Author’s note: Jonathan Swift did not really want Irish people to sell their children for food in 1729; George Orwell did not really want the clocks to strike thirteen in 1984; Paul Ryan, I am sure, calls Mitt Romney something more dignified than “Stench” and Microsoft did not invent PowerPoint as a means to euthanize cattle. At least I am pretty sure Microsoft didn’t.]

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Fact Check: Is Romney's tax rate really lower than yours?

President Obama's campaign, with a good dose of help from the media, is pushing a claim that millionaire Mitt Romney is taxed at a "lower rate" than someone making $50,000 a year. 

The claim, though, is open to debate. It only holds up in a particular scenario in which both income and all payroll taxes are counted. 

The president's campaign presumably is referring to Romney's release last week of his 2011 tax returns, which showed he paid an effective tax rate of 14.1 percent. 

This revelation, as might be expected, fueled a wave of campaign stump speeches and videos. The latest was an Obama Web video blasting Romney's "strange take on tax fairness." It included clips of people accusing Romney of paying a lower rate than "average" Americans. An accompanying campaign email said: "Mitt Romney admitted he thinks it's fair that his $20 million income was taxed at a lower rate than someone making $50,000." 

IRS data, though, shows that Romney's effective income tax rate -- that's what he pays as a percentage of his income once deductions and other benefits are factored in -- is actually far higher than what most Americans pay. 

And it's certainly higher than what someone making $50,000 pays. 

IRS data from 2010 shows someone making between $50,000 and $75,000 on average pays an effective rate of 7.8 percent. Even someone making between $100,000 and $200,000 pays a 12.1 percent rate -- also lower than Romney's. 

So what is the Obama campaign referring to? There are a couple possibilities. 

The campaign likely is trying to make the point that Romney's income -- at least the huge chunk of it that is derived from investments -- is taxed at a 15 percent rate, while others who earn their money from a paycheck are taxed at marginal income rates going all the way up to 35 percent. 

The latter percentage, though, comes down once deductions and exemptions are included. The Tax Foundation estimated in a report in January that Romney's rate in 2010 -- which was also about 14 percent -- was higher than what 97 percent of Americans pay. 

The math works out better for the Obama campaign's claims if all payroll taxes are included in the formula. 

Since Romney earns most his income from investments and not from a paycheck, he doesn't have to pay much toward Social Security and Medicare taxes. But if both the employee and employer share of those taxes are included, according to a Tax Policy Center chart, the middle tier of earners would be paying a 15.5 percent effective rate. (As pointed out in an earlier report by FactCheck.org.) 

That would be slightly higher than Romney's rate. 

The Obama campaign, asked about its latest Web video, told FoxNews.com "you can't ignore the payroll tax" considering how big of a hit that is for most middle-class families.  

The Obama campaign also referred FoxNews.com to Romney's comments to CBS' "60 Minutes. 

In the interview, Romney was asked by reporter Scott Pelley whether Romney's rate is "fair to the guy who makes $50,000 and paid a higher rate than you did?" 

Without disputing that claim, Romney said it was fair and explained: "It is a low rate. And one of the reasons why the capital gains tax rate is lower is because capital has already been taxed once at the corporate level, as high as 35 percent." 

The claim by Pelley, though, made certain assumptions without explaining them. 

Obama used Pelley's phrasing to repeat the claim Monday on ABC's "The View." 

"Yesterday Governor Romney on 60 Minutes said -- was asked does he think it is fair that he pays a lower tax rate than somebody that's making $50,000 a year, and he said yes," Obama said. 

As the Media Research Center pointed out, an ABC reporter also claimed that Romney's 14.1 percent rate was "lower" than that of an auto mechanic making $75,000. 

While Romney may or may not pay less than the average middle-class earner -- depending on how one defines middle class and how one defines tax rate -- one thing is clear: Romney does pay at a lower rate than the typical wealthy person. 

IRS data for 2010 showed those making between $1 million and $10 million typically paid at an effective tax rate of more than 25 percent. 

Fox News' Jim Angle contributed to this report. 

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Fact Check: Is Romney's tax rate really lower than yours?

President Obama's campaign, with a good dose of help from the media, is pushing a claim that millionaire Mitt Romney is taxed at a "lower rate" than someone making $50,000 a year. 

The claim, though, is open to debate. It only holds up in a particular scenario in which both income and all payroll taxes are counted. 

The president's campaign presumably is referring to Romney's release last week of his 2011 tax returns, which showed he paid an effective tax rate of 14.1 percent. 

This revelation, as might be expected, fueled a wave of campaign stump speeches and videos. The latest was an Obama Web video blasting Romney's "strange take on tax fairness." It included clips of people accusing Romney of paying a lower rate than "average" Americans. An accompanying campaign email said: "Mitt Romney admitted he thinks it's fair that his $20 million income was taxed at a lower rate than someone making $50,000." 

IRS data, though, shows that Romney's effective income tax rate -- that's what he pays as a percentage of his income once deductions and other benefits are factored in -- is actually far higher than what most Americans pay. 

And it's certainly higher than what someone making $50,000 pays. 

IRS data from 2010 shows someone making between $50,000 and $75,000 on average pays an effective rate of 7.8 percent. Even someone making between $100,000 and $200,000 pays a 12.1 percent rate -- also lower than Romney's. 

So what is the Obama campaign referring to? There are a couple possibilities. 

The campaign likely is trying to make the point that Romney's income -- at least the huge chunk of it that is derived from investments -- is taxed at a 15 percent rate, while others who earn their money from a paycheck are taxed at marginal income rates going all the way up to 35 percent. 

The latter percentage, though, comes down once deductions and exemptions are included. The Tax Foundation estimated in a report in January that Romney's rate in 2010 -- which was also about 14 percent -- was higher than what 97 percent of Americans pay. 

The math works out better for the Obama campaign's claims if all payroll taxes are included in the formula. 

Since Romney earns most his income from investments and not from a paycheck, he doesn't have to pay much toward Social Security and Medicare taxes. But if both the employee and employer share of those taxes are included, according to a Tax Policy Center chart, the middle tier of earners would be paying a 15.5 percent effective rate. (As pointed out in an earlier report by FactCheck.org.) 

That would be slightly higher than Romney's rate. 

The Obama campaign, asked about its latest Web video, told FoxNews.com "you can't ignore the payroll tax" considering how big of a hit that is for most middle-class families.  

The Obama campaign also referred FoxNews.com to Romney's comments to CBS' "60 Minutes. 

In the interview, Romney was asked by reporter Scott Pelley whether Romney's rate is "fair to the guy who makes $50,000 and paid a higher rate than you did?" 

Without disputing that claim, Romney said it was fair and explained: "It is a low rate. And one of the reasons why the capital gains tax rate is lower is because capital has already been taxed once at the corporate level, as high as 35 percent." 

The claim by Pelley, though, made certain assumptions without explaining them. 

Obama used Pelley's phrasing to repeat the claim Monday on ABC's "The View." 

"Yesterday Governor Romney on 60 Minutes said -- was asked does he think it is fair that he pays a lower tax rate than somebody that's making $50,000 a year, and he said yes," Obama said. 

As the Media Research Center pointed out, an ABC reporter also claimed that Romney's 14.1 percent rate was "lower" than that of an auto mechanic making $75,000. 

While Romney may or may not pay less than the average middle-class earner -- depending on how one defines middle class and how one defines tax rate -- one thing is clear: Romney does pay at a lower rate than the typical wealthy person. 

IRS data for 2010 showed those making between $1 million and $10 million typically paid at an effective tax rate of more than 25 percent. 

Fox News' Jim Angle contributed to this report. 

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Texas teen killed before she could testify, family friend says

CARROLLTON, Texas –  A Texas man accused of raping a 16-year-old girl used social media to lure her to a meeting, abduct her from her school and drive her to a river, where he killed her to keep her from testifying against him, an arrest warrant said.

The man insisted in a jailhouse interview Monday that he only wanted to talk to the teen and prove his innocence but said he was overcome by "demons" once they were face-to-face.

Franklin B. Davis, 30, of the Dallas suburb of Irving, was charged with capital murder Sunday in the death of Shania Gray. Gray was last seen alive Thursday afternoon at Hebron High School in nearby Carrollton. Her body was found Saturday in a secluded area near the Trinity River.

Carrollton police say Davis confessed to arranging a meeting with Gray under false pretenses, driving her to a trail near the river and shooting her twice with a .38-caliber pistol. According to an arrest affidavit, Gray fell into the river and called Davis by his nickname: "Why, Wish?"

Davis told police he then stepped on her neck until she stopped breathing, the affidavit said.

Carrollton police spokesman Jon Stovall said in an email that police believe Davis killed Gray because she was about to testify against him.

A spokeswoman for Gray's family, Sherry Ramsey, told The Dallas Morning News that Gray met Davis when she babysat his two children. Ramsey said that later, after the teen declined many requests to babysit, Gray told her grandmother that Davis had raped her.

The crime was reported to Mesquite police, and Davis was charged with four counts of sexual assault of a child. The trial was scheduled to start next month.

Ramsey said Davis had warned Gray he would kill her if she told anyone about the assault.

According to an arrest warrant, Davis contacted Gray through social media and pretended to be someone else in an attempt to get information about the sexual assault case. Davis then used a pre-paid cellphone to set up a meeting with Gray at her high school on Thursday.

Davis told WFAA-TV in a jailhouse interview that he tracked Gray down because he wanted to prove his innocence in the sexual assault case.

"I needed to get some kind of evidence, some kind of proof myself to show I did not have sex with her and that she's lying," Davis told the television station. He said he didn't intend to harm Gray but was overcome in the moment.

"I was fighting demons," Davis told the station. "It was like a different person was in me. It wasn't me."

Davis told authorities that Gray was surprised to see him but got into his car when he told her he wanted to talk to her about the sexual assault case. He said he then drove her to the remote area.

Stovall said police believe Gray was killed within an hour after she was picked up.

Davis was being held in the Dallas County jail on $2 million bond. Attorneys listed for him did not return messages left Monday by The Associated Press.

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