Fact Checking Worksheet

1. Copy and Paste your Opening Statement for your ISSUE. Highlight the
FACTS, STATISTICS, EVIDENCE that are mentioned in your speech.
Jill Stein will establish a foreign policy based on diplomacy, international
law, human rights, and nonviolent support for democratic movements around the
world. That means being a multilateralist. She says that, we cannot afford to be
the unilateral policemen of the world enforcing our own interest. She will c ut
military spending by 50%. Stein will also close our 700 plus foreign bases and
end the United States role as the worlds arm supplier. She will restore the
National Guard as our primary means of defense. She has repeated over and over
that the U.S. should focus our foreign policy on human rights. She will make us
the leader in world peace.
In terms of North Korea and their nuclear capability, she wants us to lead by
example. Jill Stein has said, We should lead by virtue of global agreements that
also include us. We could get rid of MANY nukes as a first step because w
e're so
far ahead [in possessing more nuclear weapons than the rest of the world]. She
will agree to Russias proposal to reduce each country's arsenal of nuclear
weapons to one thousand each and remove our nukes from other countries. Jill
Stein will end all nuclear weapons design and research. And in the Middle East,
she will create a nuclear free zone and require all nations to join. The US must
take the lead in nuclear disarmament by itself starting to disarm.
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament states that nuclear weapons have
no legitimate purpose; nor would their use be legal due to civilian casualties
being unavoidable. Nuclear weapons have no real beneficial purpose. The
campaign points out that nuclear weapons dont solve any of the pressing issues
today such as: climate change, poverty, hunger, access to clean water,
overpopulation, cyber-attacks, etc. The campaign says that genocidal and utterly
immoral.
An article on Newsweek argues that nuclear weapons are in fact, beneficial.
They state that the disastrous consequences of using nukes is so obvious that
Even the craziest tin-pot dictator is forced to accept that war with a nuclear state
is unwinnable and thus not worth the effort. They point out that there hasnt
been a war between two states that possess nuclear weapons and that The logic
of nuclear peace rests on a scary bargain: you accept a small chance that
something extremely bad will happen in exchange for a much bigger chance that
something very badconventional warwon't happen. This is a scary notion.
But, Jill Stein will lead us to a peaceful world without nuclear weapons.

2. Check out what other fact-checkers have said about EACH specific
statement. USE THE FOLLOWING WEBSITES: Politifact ; F
actcheck.org,
theWashington Posts Fact Checker; SNOPES-- credit them appropriately!!
*I couldnt really find anything on Jill Stein on these websites that related to this
Unilateral policemen of the world enforcing our own interest.
Unilateral definition - relating to, occurring on, or involving one side only |
undertaken or done by or on behalf of one side, party, or faction only;not
mutual
Truman doctrine(1947): States that the USAs foreign policy was to
support democratic nations and free peoples with their fights against
totalitarianism and subjugation when it is in our best interests. *This
strayed away from our past policy of isolation. After WW2 and we emerged
as a superpower and the Truman Doctrine was originally to fight against
the spread of communism and the Soviet Union
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/truman-doctrine
https://www.quora.com/Why-does-America-act-as-the-worlds-policeman
After the cold war, Soviet Union dissolved and the US was left as worlds
only current superpower. The United States still is today.
http://time.com/3899972/us-superpower-status-military/
We entered the Middle East, armed, and militarized them because we
wanted oil, which helped tear them up - short version.
http://jah.oxfordjournals.org/content/99/1/208.full
So yes, this statement is true although policemen may not be the right

word.
Cut military spending by 50%
Says this on website as well as to Ensure a just transition that replaces
reductions in military jobs with jobs in renewable energy, transportation and
green infrastructure development. She wants to put a stop to all nuclear testing
and research. Also, close our bases abroad.
http://www.jill2016.com/platform
Invest in our home. She says to bring that money back here and invest in
public higher education thats free.
http://www.ontheissues.org/Archive/2012-3_Jill_Stein.htm
We spent over 53% of our discretionary budget on the military in 2015. The
total discretionary budget was 1.1 trillion which accounted for less than a third of
our entire budget. The US spends more on its military than the next seven
combined.
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/
http://www.pgpf.org/chart-archive/0053_defense-comparison
700 plus foreign bases
We do in fact have over 700 foreign bases. While some of them are for
dubious reasons, most are for to support that country that its in. Some of
the countries want us to be there.
Majority are there because of treaties and alliances. But, there has also
been people protesting these bases.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/06/us-military-bases-around-th

e-world-119321
http://www.newsweek.com/quora-question-why-do-other-countries-allow-us-ha
ve-so-many-military-bases-343601
U.S. role as worlds arm supplier
The U.S. is number one in weapon exporters with 33% of exports in
2011-15. Saudi Arabia was our biggest buyer.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/arms-trade-exporters-imp
orters-weapons-transfers-sipri-a6891491.html
Restore national guard as primary means of defense.
The national guard is a reserve force of citizen soldiers. They are
supervised by their state or territory. They are usually called out for active
duty for emergency-relief when a natural disaster occurs such as now
during Hurricane Matthew. However, since 9/11 theyve had more
involvement in foreign affairs.
The National Guard was originally the militia of American citizens that
fought against the British during the Revolutionary War.
Defense is not their primary purpose.
http://www.nationalguard.mil/About-the-Guard/Army-National-Guard/\
http://www.ngaus.org/advocating-national-guard/evolving-role-citizen-soldier
Virtue of global agreements that also include us
She didnt specify which specific agreements she was talking about so I
assumed she was talking about nuclear disarmament deals since thats what she
talked about immediately after.

Partial Test Ban Treaty - banning nuclear testing in atmosphere, space, and
underwater
Treaty of Tlatelolco - nuclear weapons ban in Latin America
Non-Proliferation Treaty - non-nuclear states agree to never get nukes
South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty - no manufacturing, testing, or
stationing allowed in that area
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty - USSR and US agreed to get
rid of land-based missiles with ranges from 300-3400 miles
Treaty of Pelindaba - Africa becomes nuclear free

http://www.icanw.org/the-facts/the-nuclear-age/
We possess more nukes than the rest of the world
Estimations:
Russia and US have over 7,000, then France is next with 300, China with
260, UK with 215, Pakistan with 120, India with 110, Israel with 80, and North
Korea with 8
https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/Nuclearweaponswhohaswhat
Russias proposal to reduce each countrys arsenal of nukes to 1,000 each.
Russia has been increasing their arsenal of nuclear weapons. Obama was
the one who called for nuclear weapons reduction.
http://time.com/4280169/russia-nuclear-security-summit/
http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/19/politics/obama-nuclear-cuts/
Remove our nukes from other countries.
The US currently stores some nuclear weapons in Germany, Netherlands,
Italy, Belgium, and Turkey

http://www.globalresearch.ca/europe-s-five-undeclared-nuclear-weapons-states
/17550
End all nuclear research and testing
Currently still do this at: Los Alamos National Laboratories, Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratories, Sandia National Laboratory, Nevada National
Security Site, Pantex Plant, Kansas City Plant, Savannah River Site, Y-12 National
Security Complex
http://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear-weapons/us-nuclear-weapons-policy/us-nuclear
-weapons-facilities.html
Create a nuclear free zone in Middle East and require all nations to join.
She wants to end to the discriminatory apartheid policies within the state
of Israel, the removal of the Separation Wall, a ban on assassination, movement
toward denuclearization, the release of all political prisoners and journalists from
Israeli and Palestinian prisons, disarmament of non-state militias, and
recognition of the right of self-determination for both Israelis and Palestinians.
Shed force them by threatening removal of American aid and then pressure then
diplomatically.
https://thepeaceresource.wordpress.com/2015/08/29/dr-jill-stein-on-israel-pal
estine-and-the-middle-east/
However, she doesnt state how shed require all nations in the Middle East
to join the nuclear free zone.
https://ballotpedia.org/Jill_Stein_presidential_campaign,_2016/National_secu
rity
https://ballotpedia.org/Jill_Stein_presidential_campaign,_2016/Iran
Nuclear weapons dont solve any pressing issues.

Does it solve climate change? No. Poverty, hunger, or access to clean

water? No. Overpopulation? Maybe but at the cost of the environment.
Most of the radioactive particles die out. However there may be radioactive
contamination that will affect people for years.
http://www.atomicarchive.com/Effects/effects17.shtml
There hasnt been a war between two states that possess nuclear weapons.
The Cold War didnt involve directly fighting between US and Russia but
they did fight proxy wars such as the Vietnam War, Korean War, and Cuba.
http://dresnerworld.edublogs.org/resources/handouts/cold-war-proxy-wars/
The Kargil War involved India and Pakistan in 1999 who were both nuclear
states at the time.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-ten-highlights-of-the-kargil-war-223824
4
3) Find an EXPERT OR WITNESS OPINION. What does the expert have to
say about this quote?
Hugh Gusterson is a Professor of Anthropology at George Washington
University who has researched nuclear culture and published a book called
Nuclear Rites A Weapons Laboratory at the End of the Cold War in 1996.
He was a anti-nuclear activist but then his views started to change the
more time he spent with nuclear weapons scientists. I DID NOT read his entire
book just parts of the last chapter and the Postscript at the end on Google Books.
If I started my fieldwork puzzled that weapons scientists could believe that
the more rigorous the plans we make to use nuclear weapons, the less likely they
will be used...why had activists seized on a ban on nuclear warhead tests as the
single most important arms control measure when it was breakthroughs in

missile guidance technology, not nuclear warhead design, that had made the new
weapons of the 1980s so threatening? pg 233 of Nuclear Rites
He sees both sides of the pictures but, believes that humans and nuclear
weapons cannot coexist forever and that the Cold War could have just as easily
ended in mass destruction. He also says that I would prefer to live in a society
that cared more about the daily well-being of its citizens and less about what we
call national security.
3. SUMMARY ANALYSIS: From your research and deeper understanding of
this issue, summarize your findings and analysis in a TRUTH
STATEMENT.
In a perfect world, there would be no war and no nuclear weapons. In a
perfect world, this wouldnt be a problem. This, I believe, is what Jill Stein is
aiming for. But, we dont live in a perfect world. We live in a world where greed is
a defining trait of nations, the United States included.
Before World War Two, the USA was a fairly isolated country by choice.
After World War Two, the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as the
worlds two superpowers and the Truman Doctrine was established. The
document stated that our foreign policy would be to support democratic nations
with their fight against totalitarianism when it is in our best interests. It enabled
us to fight the spread of communism. We also entered a nuclear arms race with
the USSR. Nuclear weapons had been deemed a necessary evil.
Today, we have over 700 foreign bases. The United States is the number
one weapons exporter. In 2015, we spent 53% of our discretionary budget on the
military which was more than what the next seven countries combined spent on
theirs. The USA stores nuclear warheads in five foreign countries. There are nine
official nuclear states. There have been treaties signed to halt the spread of nukes
in countries and continents that dont have them. The US and Russia are both
down to at least 7,000 nuclear weapons from tens of thousands of weapons.
France being the next with 300.
The threat of nuclear war exists. While the US and the Soviet Union never
directly fought during the Cold War, they did fight proxy wars. Pakistan and
India did fight in the Kargil War in 1999, both of them were nuclear states at the
time. The effects of a nuclear bomb would be catastrophic. Radioactive fallout,

earth flying, and the amount of deaths would be a lot. It wouldnt be soldiers who
paid the price, itd be normal average day citizens. Carl Sagan states, We make
mistakes. We kill our own.
Jill Steins foreign policy is built on human rights. Her plan is to take the
lead on nuclear disarmament, close our foreign bases, and end all nuclear
research and testing.
Barack Obama has called for both Russia and the US to cut back on nukes
and bring our arsenals down to 1,000. Jill Stein would start off by bringing our
arsenal down to lead by example. However, Russia, under Putin, is currently
building up their arsenal. Getting rid of our nukes, at home and abroad, would
definitely be an example but, that doesnt mean that others will follow.
We do not have an exact count of our foreign bases. Its estimated to be
over 700, over 800, some estimations even going up to 1,000. Many of these
bases have a historical purpose. Some are there because of the Cold War, treaties,
alliances, or maybe just to threaten someone. However, they cause problems and
take up money to maintain. They can cause resentment among the locals and can
drag us into undesirable war.
There is no denying that nuclear weapons have played a large part in how
our history has been shaped. And there is no denying that they still play a large
part in power struggles today. As Hugh Gusterson writes in his book N
uclear
Rites: A Weapons Laboratory at the End of the Cold War, And we cannot ask
about the future of nuclear weapons scientists without calling into question the
nature of humanity itselfwhether it is capable of finding another way to
organize its international affairs than around acts and symbols of mass
destruction.
Nuclear weapons give us a boost in our power struggles but, at the end of
the day they dont effectively solve climate change, poverty, police brutality,
hunger, lack of electricity, overpopulation, cyber-security, education, terrorism,
or any of the other pressing issues in peoples minds. People solve those issues,
not weapons of mass destruction. At the end of the day, it takes nations working
peacefully together to solve climate change, human rights, clean energy, etc. That
is Jill Steins policy, a foreign policy based on diplomacy, international law,
human rights, and nonviolent support for democratic movements around the
world.

FACT DATA COLLECTION

VIDEOS:
Quick note about Video

Copy & Paste the LINK

Carl Sagan talks about nuclear war and

self-destruction.

http://www.military.com/video/operations
-and-strategy/nuclear-warfare/carl-sagan-d
iscusses-self-destruction/659673433001

QUOTES/WORDS
Quote/Words

LINK

Carl Sagan talks about nuclear war and

self-destruction.

http://www.humbleisd.net/cms/lib2/TX01
001414/Centricity/Domain/3492/Rhet%20
Analysis%20-%20Speeches%20-%20Sagan
%20-%20On%20Nuclear%20Disarmament.
pdf

And we cannot ask about the future of nuclear

weapons scientists without calling into question
the nature of humanity itselfwhether it is
capable of finding another way to organize its
international affairs than around acts and
symbols of mass destruction.

https://books.google.com/books?id=Pu4nz
rDTRAAC&pg=PA206&lpg=PA206&dq=exp
erts+on+nuclear+disarmament+carl+saga
n&source=bl&ots=KJMbp3KvPG&sig=7Cd
H_9QVoCmeRY8esILWz9-FITQ&hl=en&sa
=X&sqi=2&pjf=1&ved=0ahUKEwi82d_6wu
DPAhVrwVQKHRaOD8YQ6AEIOjAF#v=on
epage&q=experts%20on%20nuclear%20dis
armament%20carl%20sagan&f=false

If we brought our troops home, we wouldnt be

much more or less safe than we are now. Thats
mostly because we are already the strongest
nation economically and militarily by far and
probably the most secure great power in history,
isolated from other powerful states by two great
oceans and protected with an arsenal of
thousands of nuclear weapons.

http://time.com/4511744/american-militar
y-bases-overseas/

people believe that Israel, small and friendly with

the United States, lives in a bad neighborhood
and benefits from a robust American presence in
the region. The problem is that Israel in 2014 fits
differently into the region than it did in the
dangerous years after its founding. It enjoys an
enormous qualitative military edge over any
combination of potential regional rivals. It has

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2
014/10/why-the-middle-east-still-doesnt-m
atter-111747

roughly 200 nuclear weapons deployed on an

array of platforms, including submarines, that
give it a secure second-strike capability against
any state in the region that might dare to threaten
its survival.
Prior to the recent nuclear deal, Iran built up its
nuclear program in large part as a deterrent to
threatening nearby U.S. bases.

http://time.com/4511744/american-militar
y-bases-overseas/

Some argue that bases allow rapid military

response. Thats certainly true to some extent.
But modern military technology has significantly
reduced the problems of travel times over long
distances.

http://time.com/4511744/american-militar
y-bases-overseas/

in the global thermonuclear war, almost all the

casualties will be civilians, men, women, and
children, including vast numbers of citizens of
nations that had no part in the quarrel that led to
the war, nations far removed from the northern
mid-latitude target zone.

http://www.humbleisd.net/cms/lib2/TX01
001414/Centricity/Domain/3492/Rhet%20
Analysis%20-%20Speeches%20-%20Sagan
%20-%20On%20Nuclear%20Disarmament.
pdf

There are some who claim that since we have not

yet had an accidental nuclear war, the
precautions being taken to prevent one must be
adequate. But not three years ago we witnessed
the disasters of the Challenger5 space shuttle and
the Chernobyl6 nuclear power plant,
high-technology systems, one American, one
Soviet, into which enormous quantities of
national prestige had been invested. There were
compelling reasons to prevent these disasters. In
the preceding year, confident assertions were
made by officials of both nations that no
accidents of that sort could happen. We were not
to worry. The experts would not permit an
accident to happen. We have since learned that
such assurances do not amount to much.

http://www.humbleisd.net/cms/lib2/TX01
001414/Centricity/Domain/3492/Rhet%20
Analysis%20-%20Speeches%20-%20Sagan
%20-%20On%20Nuclear%20Disarmament.
pdf

We make mistakes. We kill our own.

http://www.humbleisd.net/cms/lib2/TX01
001414/Centricity/Domain/3492/Rhet%20
Analysis%20-%20Speeches%20-%20Sagan
%20-%20On%20Nuclear%20Disarmament.
pdf

Our challenge is to reconcile, not after the

carnage and the mass murder, but instead of the

http://www.humbleisd.net/cms/lib2/TX01
001414/Centricity/Domain/3492/Rhet%20
Analysis%20-%20Speeches%20-%20Sagan

carnage and the mass murder.

%20-%20On%20Nuclear%20Disarmament.
pdf