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REPORTERS PUNISHED
An Al Gore opinion piece from 2004:
Bush and Cheney are spreading purposeful confusion while punishing reporters who stand in the way. It is understandably difficult for reporters and journalistic institutions to resist this pressure, which, in the case of individual journalists, threatens their livelihoods, and in the case of the broadcasters can lead to other forms of economic retribution. But resist they must, because without a press able to report “without fear or favor” our democracy will disappear.
Recently Gore stood in the way of journalists in Sioux Falls, San Jose, Saskatchewan, Sydney and San Antonio. Broadening his repetoire to locations beginning with letters other than S, Gore has lately blocked reporters in Austin:
First off, as this sharp Daily Texan editorial points out, for all of Gore’s efforts to get the news media to devote more attention to climate change, he (and his promotional agency) denied press passes for our reporters and photographers. (The kind folks at the Erwin Center ended up giving us a few tickets — not such a big sacrifice, as it turned out, since many of the high-dollar seats went empty. The Erwin Center said about 3,000 tickets were sold.)
As for “without fear or favor”, Asher Price reports:
The Al Gore presentation wrapped up with the softest Q & A I’ve ever witnessed. (Questions were submitted beforehand by audience members.) Questions ran from ‘Who is the most amazing person you ever met?’ (“Nelson Mandela. He’s a hoss,” Gore drawled) to ‘Do you really think we can beat this thing?’
Someone should sneak 15-year-old Erik Speight into one of these Gorefests:
Personally, I think global warming is a bunch of bull and that Al Gore should shut his face.
CNN Meteorologist Rob Marciano clapped his hands and exclaimed, “Finally,” in response to a report that a British judge might ban the movie “An Inconvenient Truth” from UK schools because, according to “American Morning,” “it is politically biased and contains scientific inaccuracies.”
”There are definitely some inaccuracies,” Marciano added. “The biggest thing I have a problem with is this implication that Katrina was caused by global warming.”
The debate’s over.
Now it’s time for stultifying monologues.
(If and only if “stultifying” is a word.)
((Wow. I guess it really fits:))
stultify |ˈstəltəˌfī| verb ( -fies, -fied) [ trans. ]
1 [usu. as adj. ] ( stultifying) cause to lose enthusiasm and initiative, esp. as a result of a tedious or restrictive routine
2 cause (someone) to appear foolish or absurdSpeaking of reporters and the Bush administration (okay, so it’s only tenuously on-topic), John Lyons has an absolutely hilarious interview with Naomi “earth tones” Wolf in The Australian: Of freedom and fascism in America
Posted by Kyda Sylvester on 2007 10 04 at 12:46 PM • permalinkAh yes, the digital Brown Shirts. I had almost forgotten. At-tica! At-tica!
Please explain the nearly universal swoon over Nelson Mandela. It eludes me.
Posted by Kyda Sylvester on 2007 10 04 at 12:51 PM • permalinkIt’s the kind of hokey folksy thing some big wonk says to make it seem like he knows how to open a beer bottle without an opener (or a waiter).
Posted by rick mcginnis on 2007 10 04 at 12:58 PM • permalinkKyda, take your choice. Me, I go for #2. ;-P
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2007 10 04 at 01:08 PM • permalinkAs for GOREZILLA™, I think he’s a self-centered, egotistical clown who is scamming the weak minded of the world out of their hard earned shekels, and making them love it, and praise be to all of the gods that he lost the 2000 Presidential election. GOREZILLA™ is not simply a bullet that we dodged, he is a multi-megaton nuclear warhead that failed to launch. Whew!
I just wish I had a piece of his enviro-scam; that is some profitable action he has going.
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2007 10 04 at 01:12 PM • permalinkI read through most of the comments in the Charlotte Observer, and was particularly struck by the intelligence of this remark (by the fabulously-named Vivvy Gipe): “I think that Global Warming is a big problem right now and it would be important to have as many ideas to stop it as possible. What I think should be done is that gas companies should make gas at a cool temperature. That way less ice could be melted and instead help producing what has melted already. The gas just can’t be too cold, just help get more ice and not cause Frosty to come back to life in America, or there will be a lot of kids screaming in the morning.”
I’m hoping that this is some sly facetiousness, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
Where’s the Pied Piper when you need him?
Kyda,
I forgot, what’s a “hoss”?
“Hoss” is a slang term favored by the San Francisco homosexual community to describe a dominant gay male. Usually devilishly handsome, they favor a simple codpiece and black leather chaps, a porn star mustache and rippling muscles accentuated by flavored body oils. They are reknown for being hung like a horse (“hoss” is a regional corruption of the term) and rarely need to buy their own drinks.
Why Mr. Gore is so interested in this aspect of the man’s life is open to interpretation.
Of course, I might be completely wrong about this.
#2: Aside from the piles of money, al-Bore really likes the adoration.
You said it, Rebecca. Most ex-politicoes just can’t do without the attention, the crowds, the perks. It’s like a drug to them, and no amount of rehab is going to work. I think a strong case can be made for giving ex-politicians at the national level a villa in Tuscany and a lavish pension, with the strict proviso that they don’t call, they don’t write, and, under no circumstances, are they ever to return. Either that, or treat them like gods while they’re in office, and then sacrifice them acording to the Aztec rite when their term is up.
So, what’ll it be, Al? Wine-bibbing silence in golden Tuscany, or a steep climb to the top of the temple in your serpent mask and parrot-feather cape?
#15 (Sharpening knife on whetstone) I sure hope he picks your second option, Paco. I would be glad to help.
Although I’m quite fond of a third option, pointing, laughing and making fun of them until they finally go away. I know it can take years, but look at the opportunities we have to ridicule, mock and throw rotting fruit!
Elizabeth
Imperial KeeperPosted by Elizabeth Imperial Keeper on 2007 10 04 at 02:03 PM • permalinkI just fininshed Noemie Emery’s very good book about the Kennedys, Bushes, Gores, et al. She gives Al credit where due—his reputation as a great researcher, for example—but talks about his exaggerations and whoppers on the campaign trail, and his psychotic bitterness after losing the ‘00 election.
After she wrote the book St. Albertus’s movie came out, and I think the exaggerations, the whoppers, and the bitterness have consumed Gore entirely. He has become a revolting presence on the landscape. Sorry way to end a once-promising career, but as Peggy Noonan says, “But most people don’t change as they grow older, they just grow more so.”
Kyda S….. That Wolfe piece was satire , right?
I think she left out the German and Italian version of the 2nd amendment. Oh wait, they didn’t have that , did they? My mistake.
If, and it’s a big if, fascism comes to my beloved United States . It will come from the left side of the political spectrum not the right .To be fair these kids proabaly aren’t any dumber than their parents, and they have the excuse of being young and unexperienced. Sadly, with the state of our educational system, they’re not likely to be getting any better at critcal thinking.
Posted by Marin Republican on 2007 10 04 at 03:54 PM • permalinkGore’s whole being consists of the image he sees in the eyes of others. When he did not attain his birthright—the presidency—he almost disappeared completely. He’s found a way to punish us and force his leadership upon us by “leading” us in something that is “more important than the war.”
I quit reading the article on Wolf when I got to the part where she found Stalin learning from Hitler.
More from Erik Speight:
In my opinion he is just trying to make money and if he really cared about the world’s atmosphere he wouldn’t drive a car or have one of the highest gas bills. So do you really think he cares about the earth so much?How long before this lad is of legal age to run for President?
Posted by SwinishCapitalist on 2007 10 04 at 05:29 PM • permalinkPrediction…
Gore will announce a run for Presidency of the U.S. after his winning his Nobel.
The explosion of this dynamite announcement will lead to the fuse being lit to A ‘to the death struggle’ within the Jihadist Party in this nation, between the Clintonistas and the Goreites.
It should be fun to watch, for our enemies at any rate.
Excuse any errors…for I’m on my second snifter of (excuse my French) Courvoisier.
#27 Swinish
How long before this lad is of legal age to run for President?
I think he needs to be at least 35. In the meantime, I’d like to see him grow up to be my lawyer first.
;^)
Posted by Spiny Norman on 2007 10 04 at 05:55 PM • permalinkHey, don’t forget this guy too;
“Cameron Pruette, 18, Lee University, Tenn.: Global Warming, if it is happening, is overhwhelmingly a natural occurence. The Warm Optimum(1300-1500) of the Middle Ages saw an even greater increase in temperature, according to a Harvard-Smithsonian study completed in 2003. For the most part, we’ve determined that even if we implemented all of the Kyoto Protocol now, we would only have about a half-degree reduction per century. The trade off is the complete undermining of all the world’s economies, developing and developed alike. Are there environmental problems we face? Yes, but Global Warming is definitely not one of them. The amount of evidence that Global Warming is a natural phenomenon continues to grow, but the media and more liberal activists paint anyone who opposes Global Warming as an idiot who is an extremist. With such an intolerant culture, how are we to find the truth?”
And this one…
“Matt Kon, 16, Providence High School, Charlotte: The idea that `Global Warming’ is a dangerous phenomenon on its way to dooming the planet because of human industry is an elaborate, politicized, economy-killing hoax. There is very little evidence to support global warming, and slews of evidence against its existence (as of now). The United States spends more money on researching climate changes than it does finding a cure for Cancer. Politicians and pseudo-scientists have taken brainwashing millions of people into pouring money into wasted research to an extreme. Why? For money, of course, for the climate studies, studiers, the politicians and their cohorts. Obviously preserving our Earth is important, but researching a fictitious craze about carbon emissions is not the way to do it.”
This one,
“Elizabeth Lyle, 16, homeschooled, Charlotte: I think global warming is not a big issue right now. A while ago we were worried that we were going into another ice age. The earth’s temperature is just fluctuating. We should be aware of air pollution and try to minimize the damage we do to the environment, but there is no cause to panic. Mass transit, and recycling would be good ways to help the environment. The earth is not going to last forever, but I’m not particularly worried that global warming is going to be its downfall.”
Good god, there’s hope for this generation;
“Stephanie Johnson, 15, North Stanly High School, New London: I personally don’t believe that humans are creating/making global warming to happen/get worse. The earth goes through changes in climate; there are peaks in heat and cold. Now, I’m not saying that there isn’t pollution in the air, but I don’t think that it is causing the earth to over heat and create disasters everywhere. I watched a video by a famous actor on global warming, and it said it took four degrees to get us out of the last ice age, where did those four degrees come from, a change in climate. Ever since temperature has been recorded there has been heat spells and ice ages, we could just be going through some kind of climate change.”
Thank you, Toosmoky. (Hey, try opening a window…)
Posted by SwinishCapitalist on 2007 10 04 at 06:17 PM • permalinkNaomi Wolf, girl genius:
“She heard that 250,000 Americans had been sent secret letters telling them they were under national security investigation and that they could not discuss the letters with anyone.”
She heard? Those little voices whispering in her head, again. And those national security investigations that were not to be discussed with anyone? Not so secret anymore, eh, Naomi?
“She says security officials are beginning to walk through airports yelling “Freeze!” when they spot someone they consider suspicious.”
Passengers walk through airports in order to clear security. TSA officials are unarmed. Police officers order suspects to “stop” or “halt”, terms more easily understood than “freeze”. Clearly, Wolf has been watching too many reruns of Crockett and Tubbs on Miami Vice.
“The America she sees is one where people are afraid to express an opinion.”
Maybe Wolf needs to spend more time listening to Americans, rather than looking for opinions.
“‘And silence is un-American,’ she writes.”
By that definition, nobody will accuse her of being un-American.
“The Democrats, she says, are no alternative: they’re going along with it all for fear of being called soft on terrorism.”
The Democrats are going along with all of it? Funny, listening to Harry Pelosi and Nancy Reid, I have a slightly different reaction.
And why is it, Naomi, that Democrats would want to be soft on terrorism? Perhaps you just haven’t learned the lessons of fascism, communism, and national socialism, that you’ve been spending all this time brushing up on.
OT…apologize BUT
FOX News Poll: World Will Be Better Off if U.S. Loses War Nearly 1 in 5 Democrats Say
I’d rather we get rid of those 1 in 5 collaboratorsSpeaking of parents and children, this is pretty interesting.
Leave that trash RIGHT where it is, buddy.
“Every where around the earth people are trying to stop pollution, they volunteer to pick up trash. If this continues it might be the end of human life on the Earth.”
——Mai Ying, 11, Grandview Middle School, HickoryPosted by arrowhead ripper on 2007 10 04 at 07:40 PM • permalinkWhy do we always get the comparison to Hitler, Mussolini Stalin etc from these people when comparing people who are not left of centre? You cannot compare today’s situation with the 30’s and 40’s. Would Wolff compare Chavez or Mugabe or Castro with Hitler or Stalin?
To her statement; “In East Germany only 10 per cent of people had a Stasi file, but everyone thought they had a Stasi file.” I would have to say ‘bollocks’ lady. I think the record/history speaks for itself.#37: Naomi Wolf? I thought that name sounded familiar. This, from Wikipedia: “During Al Gore’s unsuccessful bid for the 2000 US presidency, Wolf was hired as a consultant to target female voters, reprising her role in the Clinton campaign. Wolf’s ideas and participation in the Gore campaign generated considerable media coverage and criticism. According to a report by Michael Duffy in Time Magazine, ‘Wolf [was] paid a salary of $15,000 a month…in exchange for advice on everything from how to win the women’s vote to shirt-and-tie combinations.’”
“Genius”, indeed! I think she’s the one who tried to turn Al into an alpha male, but only succeeded in making him look more ridiculous than he already was.
A peek inside Paco Industries’ product development unit.
#49- I’d advise against ordering a mug of joe as well.
Anybody else think Naomi Wolf looks like Russell Crowe in drag?
47
From Blue Crab
The prestigious peace prize was given to a US Air Force laboratory for researching what the committee dubbed the “gay bomb” — a chemical weapon that would make enemy soldiers become sexually irresistible to each other.
So, ummmmm, the old “don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes”, isn’t applicable any longer?
Japanese researcher Mayu Yamamoto, who received the chemistry Ig, got an additional honor: a local ice cream shop created a new flavor, the “Yum-a-Moto Vanilla Twist,” to honor her work extracting vanilla flavor from cow dung.
Mayu? No, you may not.
#15—Most ex-politicoes just can’t do without the attention, the crowds, the perks. It’s like a drug to them, and no amount of rehab is going to work.
Yep. Bill Clinton started his charitable foundations for many reasons (among them an honest desire to do good works), but my money says continuing his habit of traveling and being received around the world as a potentate on somebody else’s dime is chief among them.
#38—FOX News Poll: World Will Be Better Off if U.S. Loses War Nearly 1 in 5 Democrats Say
These are the same people who thought the US was better off losing the Viet Nam war and the same people who thought we were better off with the Soviet Union as a counterweight. Plus ça change…
#28—Excuse any errors…for I’m on my second snifter of (excuse my French) Courvoisier.
That’s okay. We’re allowed to do French now.
Wonder what kind of “hoss” Agore thinks Mandela is. And, Merlin, how come you know so much about this???
Naomi Wolf never fails to crack me up. Her Jekyll/Hyde harangues about motherhood are priceless. A silly story: I’m a big X Files fan and several months after the whole Wolf/Gore earth tones fiasco blew up and Wolf left the campaign amid a deluge of derision, they aired an episode placed in Tennessee (about a snake-handling fundamentalist religious cult yet). In this episode, instead of his usual on-the-job wardrobe of Armani suits, Mulder was dressed in the same kind of outfits Gore started wearing after Wolf got a hold of him. I have no idea if the show was actually poking fun, but if it was, I got the joke and thought it was great. (heck, even if no joke was intended, I thought it was great)
Posted by Kyda Sylvester on 2007 10 04 at 10:42 PM • permalinkThoroughly Off Topic but funny:
I left our pal, Wayne Swan, a few “probing” questions today in his blog at the Tele. The spineless twat didn’t have the stones to answer even one. Check out his weak-kneed response. (Scroll down to the bottom, as the actress said to the Bishop!)
CNN Meteorologist Rob Marciano clapped his hands and exclaimed, “Finally,” in response to a report that a British judge might ban the movie “An Inconvenient Truth” from UK schools because, according to “American Morning,” “it is politically biased and contains scientific inaccuracies.”
”There are definitely some inaccuracies,” Marciano added. “The biggest thing I have a problem with is this implication that Katrina was caused by global warming.”
Uh, oh. Wait until the Al-colytes find out. They’ll probably stone him or something.
#60 - He dodged you like Michael Moore dodging brocolli! Lets hope the Wallabies show the same side step against The LImey’s tomorrow night.
Posted by Infidel Tiger on 2007 10 04 at 11:26 PM • permalinkUh, oh. Wait until the Al-colytes find out. They’ll probably stone him or something.
Good thing he’s at CNN and not The Weather Channel. Heidi Cullen would be on him like an angry police lieutenant:
CULLEN: I don’t like your methods, Marciano! You’re a loose cannon! I’ve got the Gore breathing down my neck because you have to rock the boat! Get on the team or I’ll take your shield!
MARCIANO: You’re saying we should work together to reduce CO2 emissions, Lieutenant?
CULLEN: You’re goddamn right!
MARCIANO: All right. Here’s the plan. You shut your mouth, and I’ll plant a tree up your ass.
OT - Walk to Work Day
Shit on a stick, we’re living in the age of the moron.
Posted by Infidel Tiger on 2007 10 04 at 11:56 PM • permalinkBlair’s column is going to be so well polished this week that he will be able to see his own reflection in it.
#59 Nice work gibbo.
#64 Priuses do more for the environment anyways.
Posted by Margos Maid on 2007 10 05 at 12:14 AM • permalink#65 - After Nathan Buckley’s retirement, I doubt Blair will be able to summon up a column for months.
Posted by Infidel Tiger on 2007 10 05 at 12:20 AM • permalink#62 Dave S.
“Heidi Cullen”
There is a reason that I NEVER watch the Weather Channel anymore, and she’s it. Heidi single handedly turned the Weather Channel into The Climate Change Freakout Show.
Oh, and once I discovered accuweather.com, I stopped visiting their website as well. My crap has more brains than that moron, and I’ll NOT be hectored by her miserable little carcass.
“It was a beautiful morning, I saw things I’d never seen before,” Ms Desmarchelier, a health promotion’s officer at the council, said.
“I saw the sun rise over the dam on my street and walking down the road I saw just different houses and trees and the sun coming out on the trees.”
I don’t know what “health promotion’s officers” do but apparently they don’t get out much, at least not during daylight hours. Houses and trees and the sun! Oh my!
Posted by Kyda Sylvester on 2007 10 05 at 12:58 AM • permalinkMy crap has more brains than that moron, and I’ll NOT be hectored by her miserable little carcass.
You know how some people just make you want to punch them in the face? Heidi’s got that in spades. I think her bullshit only accounts for 50% of that. The other 50% is organic. I bet if she read a shopping list I’d still feel the same urge. What an irksome little creature.
“World Will Be Better Off if U.S. Loses War Nearly 1 in 5 Democrats Say”.
I’m surprised that only 20% of Democrats think that the head-chopping, misogynistic, anti-Semitic, murderous religious lunatics should win.
Growing up in the 1950s, I remember a couple of the neighborhood dads saying that “Hitler was right”. Then as now, some people are simply on the other side.
Posted by Urbs in Horto on 2007 10 05 at 04:14 AM • permalinkRegarding the Goracle keeping the press at bay: What cult leader wants the press in attendance when he brainwashes his next crop of recruits?
Posted by Tommy Shanks on 2007 10 05 at 05:37 AM • permalinkThanks for the kind words folks but the fun is not over yet! Apparently this “Swan on Friday” blog thing is a regular happening. I’m sure a few of the “cleverer” folks that lurk about here could come up with a question or two for old Wayney-poo next Friday, what say yee? The bloke seems to have a genuine glass jaw and he doesn’t think well on his feet just like his boss. If you ask a genuine question that requires a specific answer then he just goes to water. Anyways… ponder on it. Just for shits & giggles.
Once again the ALP is using one or more Premiers to play attack dog, keeping Kev above the fray (and wedgie-free) during the election prelude. Once again, a warning not to have all states plus the Fed run by the same gang.
There is a tough lesson here for the conservative side of politics: ignore the states at your peril. Rebuild the state organisations.#76 Dead right blostrop. Where are the useless bloody state Libs when you need them. They should be up that bloody Reba Meagher for the rent at the moment. I’ve met her on a few occasions and impressive is not a word I’d use.
Something has to be done at the state level to improve things. They are getting flogged by serial no-hopers like Iemma, Bracks and Beatie for God’s sake!
Helpful suggestions anyone?
>The biggest thing I have a problem with is this implication that Katrina was caused by global warming.”
He is obviously in the pay of the oil companies. It is a well known fact that there were no hurricanes in teh US before Bushitler and his Haliburton pals took over and started drilling for oil in the Everglades. The carbon released by all the dead alligators caused the planet to triple its temperatue in 4 years.The result—Marine helicopters machine gunning poor minorities as they were drowning.
The result—Marine helicopters machine gunning poor minorities as they were drowning.
Room 237—worry not, the next hurricane will see the Air Force dropping cluster munitions in an area denial role. That’s equal opprotunity!
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2007 10 05 at 02:51 PM • permalink#78, Room 237:
The result—Marine helicopters machine gunning poor minorities as they were drowning.
How dare you make such an accusation against my beloved Corps!!
The Marines did NOT send in helicopters to machine gun poor minorities! The USMC does NOT waste resources in that manner!
Infantry went in and did the work at bayonet point! Bayonets are reusable and infantry do not cost JP fuel to operate.
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I like:
Sebastian Villarrubia, 11, Grandview Middle School, Hickory: “I think that global warning is real because if we don’t stop it things would go wrong.”
I suspect my 3-week-old baby has already attained a higher rational capacity than this.