Reese writes:
> At 12:14 PM 06/04/00 -0400, Colin Rafferty wrote:
>> Reese writes:
>>> Al (I invented the internet, discovered love canal, was the male
>>> lead in love story, etc.) Gore displays even worse mannerisms and
>>> aberrations than Quayle ever did, but all of them receive only
>>> passing notice, if that - in the US mainstream press.
>> In case you didn't know, Al Gore never said he invented the Internet,
>> he never claimed he discovered Love Canal, and he actually was the
>> person on whom the author of Love Story based the lead male character.
>> http://www.dailyhowler.com/h120399_1.html
>> http://www.dailyhowler.com/h120699_1.html
> Bob Somerby, editor of THE DAILY HOWLER, former op-ed writer for the
> Baltimore Sun. The Baltimore Sun, now there's a fine publication. Bob
> wrote all sorts of stuff for them that reveals a leftward lean (steming
> from his first 12 years in the work force as a teacher, perhaps?), I'm not
> surprised he would defend Gore.
Just because someone has a bias doesn't make him wrong.
> I think this is properly classified as an apologist at work, whatever Bob's
> track record may be in other areas.
I agree that he is an apologist. I don't dispute you on that. I have
lots of problems with Gore, starting with Tipper's view on censorship,
and moving around to Gore the sinner suddenly finding religion and
talking finance reform.
And I wish that people would talk about those issues.
All this doesn't change the facts, though. Al Gore never claimed he
invented the internet. He says he took initiatives on funding various
projects, including the ones that helped create the internet.
As for Love Canal, a child in Toone, Tennessee wrote him about toxic
waste in her town, and he looked into it. He had a congressional
investigation and a hearing.
"I looked around the country for other sites like that. I found
a little place in upstate New York called Love Canal. Had the
first meeting on that issue and Toone, Tennessee-that was the
one that you didn't hear of. But that was the one that started
it all."
So you can see, he makes reference to Loev Canal, but Toone was the
one that started it all.
As for Love Story, he said that he and Tipper were the characters that
the author based Ryan O'Niell and Ali McGraw. Well, Gore is not quite
correct. The author says that Tipper was not the basis for the McGraw
chacter, but that Al and his roommate were both the basis for the
O'Niell chacter.
Of course, none of this will really make a difference. It's much too
much fun to talk about Al Gore inventing the internet, or discoving
Love Canal, or having the ego to believe that a chacter in a novel is
based on him. Well, the first two are wrong, and the thrid is true.
And anyone who knows these facts, but still spouts them is a liar.
--
Colin
