Another response to the Gore speech

I also got this response yesterday from a guy named Sean about my post on Al Gore's speech, and it's at least a little more reasonable than the response than the one I posted below. It reads:

It seems that Mr. Gore has changed his marketing message. While he still makes multiple claims that are a little hard to substantiate, he doesn't seem to be making the wild claims he did in An Inconvenient Truth (see http://globalwarming-factorfiction.com/2007/10/26/35-inconvenient-truths-the-errors-in-al-gores-movie-part-1-of-5/)

Now, Mr. Gore is taking the energy independence tactic. This is much more realistic and more people are likely to make "sacrifices" for the sake of energy independence if we state that we have to break away from the Mideast and destroy their power over us. He seems to put a lot of his reliance on solar energy though and we should probably include nuclear and hydrogen in that discussion.

Sean makes a good point here about alternative energy sources, and I totally agree - perhaps Al Gore is tacking differently now and trying another strategy. If so, good on him. I don't buy into all of the anti-Inconvenient Truth stuff, but it's certainly possible that Gore didn't get everything right in the movie. However, I firmly believe (as do many scientists) that the basic premise of the movie is sound. Sure, you can find scientists who disagree with Gore, and some of them might not even be sponsored by or work for Big Oil. But, those scientists are few and far in between. And as the North Pole continues melting as we speak, time really is running out for us.

I think Gore is moving to the next stage now. His movie and many of his speeches have sufficiently raised the alarm about the problem (I certainly hope). Now he's moving on to the Solutions stage. I can only hope our politicians are listening to reason. But, it's our job to make sure that they are.

More to follow on this, including some e-mails I've written to my legislators.

Picture above by Brendan Smialowski for The New York Times 

Matt Drudge: still a GOP stooge

[Click for a larger view]

Every once in a while, I enjoy pointing out just how absurdly moronic Matt Drudge is. I know, it's not particularly newsworthy, and really, it's a demonstration that I have a firm grasp of the obvious. But, every once in a while it bears repeating. Why? Because his Website is one of the most visited on the Web.

For some reason, the GOP and its shills like Drudge still seem to have a fetish for Al Gore. Perhaps its because of Gore's success and the inroads he's making in raising the warning flag about global warming. Who knows? But, the misinformation and attacks are like the Energizer bunny - They keep coming... well, you know the rest.

The above image is a screen capture from the Drudge Report a few days ago, featuring a prominent story about Gore's energy consumption. What a joke. The link goes to a story Here, by the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, a blatantly right-wing funded organization. (I wrote about it Here when these morons tried to embarrass Gore just hours after his ground-breaking movie, An Inconvenient Truth, won several Oscars.)

Gore's energy consumption habits aren't really of interest to me or anyone else other than the most rabid GOPers. And, of course, his energy consumption only tells part of the story. Here's a guy criss-crossing the globe trying to make a difference with global warming, in addition to the fact that he buys green energy, and he has solar panels installed on his very large home, yet he's getting his balls busted by partisan hacks who don't have anything better to do.

Meh - enough of it - I guess I'm no better than they are, but it's worth pointing out that Drudge will do whatever he can to smear prominent Democrats, and this is just another example.

I'll never tire of pointing out that the idea of a "librul media" is unadulterated bullshit. Drudge is one of the most visited sites on the Web (and many news networks report what his Website says, like it's news! And not just Fox News, either), Fox News is the most watched cable news channel during most time slots, Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is the largest media conglomerate in the U.S., and the top three radio personalities are all GOP shills. Oh yea, we have a "librul media" alright.

No wonder the right is panicked about the possibility of a Democratic Congress re-instituting the Fairness Doctrine.

I'm pleased that Obama has talked publicly about enforcing the Sherman Antitrust Act if he becomes president. It's about time - no president has enforced it since Reagan effectively gutted it when he became president. It's still a law that's on the books, it's in the public interest, and it's about time that some of these huge corporations be broken up, specifically our mass media conglomerates.

Thoughts on Gore's Nobel Prize

One of the saddest things about the political discourse in this country, specifically from the right, is its inability to even acknowledge the accomplishments of its opponents in any meaningful, respectful way.

For instance, my first thought when I heard that Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize was, "I wonder what the scum on the right will do to try and smear Gore with this time." You may recall that after Gore's movie on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, won Oscars and received international accolades, the radical right, the very next day, came after Gore for his electric bill. (And I'm sure it was a total coincidence that the attacks occurred less than 24 hours after the Academy Awards, right?) Also, never mind the fact that the organization that went after Gore is completely funded by right-wing blowhards. (Amazing how little press that received.) Anyway, more on Gore's electric bill Here.

Anyway, it didn't take me long to find out if the right would come after Gore once more following his Peace Prize win.

The most notable feckless rhetoric came from OxyContin spokesman Rush Limbaugh, who whined on his radio show Friday after Gore won it (from The Politico:

"So now 'Algore' will join Yasir Arafat among the list of noble Nobel peace laureates," Rush Limbaugh said with much sarcasm at the top of his broadcast today. The Norwegian committee, Limbaugh said, has "rendered themselves a pure, 100 percent joke."

Citing Arafat, the former Palestinian leader, and former President Jimmy Carter's award in 2002, Limbaugh added that "The Nobel committee has lost all credibility since long before they awarded this award to 'Algore.'"

I love it - yet another institution responsible for recognizing a prominent Democrat who really wants to drive positive change in the world that gets vilified by right-wing blowhards. People like Limbaugh can't handle the truth - that Gore has done more to promote goodwill and positive change around the world in the past year than Bush has done since he was appointed president.

However, Limbaugh isn't the only one who can't handle success and recognition of a liberal. Laura Ingraham had this to say about Gore's win (again, from the Politico):

"I confess, I have been in a bit of a funk after learning of the Gore/Nobel news," conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham said in an e-mail. "I really thought Cindy Sheehan should have been recognized."

Yea, considering Sheehan might not have been a bad idea. I know this - Gore and Sheehan both deserve a great deal more recognition for promoting peace and progress in humanity than anyone, anyone, in the Bush administration.

Of course, Limbaugh had a few suggestions of people who should be considered for the award. His suggestion? "I call on Albert Arnold 'Algore' to redirect his Nobel Peace Prize to genuine agents of peace."

Rush had an idea of who that could be - Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. troops in Iraq. "If there has ever been an engine of peace, it’s the United States military," Limbaugh said.

Limbaugh must be bucking for a comedy act with that comment. Surely a career in comedy would last longer than his career at ESPN, which lasted about as long as a Twinkie on his breakfast table. Our military during the Bush presidency has wrought more death and destruction than arguably any other military on Earth. I don't fault the military specifically, because they are doing what they are told, but to even suggest that our military and its leaders should be awarded the Peace Prize makes Limbaugh fit for a straight jacket. Limbaugh may have been saying that quote tongue in cheek, but with him, is it out of the question that he wasn't?

And by the way - that Nobel Peace Prize? If war criminal Dr. Henry Kissinger could win it, just about anyone is fair game. I'd rate his winning it a few levels above Gore winning it on the outrage scale.

Fox Attacks: Global Warming

I don't remember if I've posted this in the past, but even if I did, it's worth a repost. This is a pretty good montage of what Fox does to pollute the global warming debate.

As Al Gore states in An Inconvenient Truth, the Right merely tries to create a reasonable doubt in the debate, and Fox merely serves as the cudgel for anti-global warming crowd to bludgeon voters with. In our government, this crowd is headed by Senator James Inhofe.

It's proof positive why I despise anti-environmental, big-business conservatives. The polluter stopped paying a long time ago in this country.

Al's back - Attack! Attack!

Well, that didn't take long. Less than 24 hours after An Inconvenient Truth took home two Oscars, including Best Documentary, the Swiftboating of Gore (Above, with Truth's Director, Davis Guggenheim) has begun, led by GOP shill Matt Drudge.

Now Gore's utility bills are being discussed all over the Internet. I'm not even going to get into specifics, because frankly it's a waste of my time, but at first glance, his energy bills are higher than the national average, and Drudge's Website goes on to list the dollar amounts of his bills. What's lost in the right-wing rhetoric is that Gore also owns a house much larger than the national average. In less than 10 minutes this morning, I read with glee on a few Websites, including the right-wing blog Wizbang, conservatives who are busting Gore's balls for owning a large home (and also John Edwards).

Can you imagine? Conservatives, the party of the rich and shameless, decrying the estates of Gore and Edwards? Both men have earned large sums of money; Gore as a politician and activist, and Edwards first as a trial lawyer. They weren't born with silver spoons in their mouths, like some presidents we know. But, I digress.

Predictably, right-wing hate mongers immediately went on the attack. Cue footage of Sean Insanity, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, etc. People, if Ann Coulter said that 9-11 widows are enjoying their husbands' deaths, what do you think she'll say about Al Gore's energy habits?

Some conservatives are blubbering about how environmentally friendly President Bush's Crawford "Ranch" is, and how it gets no press. It doesn't, and that's not fair. But honestly, how can conservatives expect Bush to get good press about what he's done on his ranch, when he's done virtually nothing beneficial for the environment as president? Someone, anyone, tell me five meaningful things he's done to help curb greenhouse gases since taking office. He did do one meaningful thing, right after taking office - he broke a 2000 election campaign promise for mandatory caps on carbon dioxide emissions. Oops. But hey, Mr. President, nice job on making sure your "ranch" is environmentally friendly. Now, how about doing something environmentally friendly for the rest of the country, since you haven't for over six years as president?

These attacks come as no surprise, though. Much of the effort to combat the science and reasoning behind global warming has come from Big Oil, which has billions of dollars at its disposal to distort and deceive. Who among us expected Big Oil and its paid-for politicians (and the pundits who support them) to just go away and give Al his due?

Gore has responded by saying that he purchases carbon offsets to make up the difference for his energy consumption. Call me incredibly presumptuous, but I believe him. Why wouldn't I? If Gore cared that little about the environment, why would he go around the globe trying to combat it? Why not just retire? Or give the occasional speech for a nice speaking fee and continue teaching, thereby leading a low-profile life?

Instead, Gore chooses to lead, to try to make a difference. Yes, he is indeed a horrible man.

Part of his response to right-wing snooping into his utility bills is this:

He buys 100 percent of his electricity from renewal power sources (Tennessee Valley Green Power Switch). What is Green Power Switch? The revolutionary idea is simple - harness the natural power of the wind, the sun, and the earth to create an energy source that's usable in our homes and everyday lives. TVA and local public power companies, working in cooperation with the environmental community, developed Green Power Switch as a way to bring "green" power - electricity generated by renewable resources (for example, solar, wind, & methane gas) - to Valley consumers, where Gore lives.

Seems pretty reasonable to me, but of course, what are the chances that his answer and explanation will mollify conservatives? About as much of a chance as our leaving Iraq anytime soon. Hmm, I can see how that would annoy conservatives. Maybe that's what I'll do from now on - whenever conservatives have a point, I'll just bring up the War in Iraq, then deny that I was making any kind of connection. Kind of like President Bush brings up 9-11 whenever he wants to make a point about anything, including Iraq.

One final thought - people wonder why good candidates never want to run for public office. This would be an example. The politics of personal destruction has so denigrated our political process, it's to the point where you would almost have to be crazy to seek higher office these days. Gore is probably laughing to himself this morning and shaking his head. Could anyone honestly blame him for saying to his wife, Tipper, over scones and fresh crepes (because that's what snobby, polluting liberals eat every morning for breakfast) "You wonder why I don't want to run for president again? This is why."

Pathetic and sad.

I still hope he runs. And if he does, I hope he has a lot more fight in him than he did in 2000. I have no doubt that he would, but all along he's been a long shot to run. This morning, the odds of a Gore candidacy are probably got a little longer.

Well, I spent about twice the amount of time on that as I thought I would. Vandra tells me I spend too much time blogging, and she's absolutely right, but sometimes I can't help myself - I have this incessant need to ridicule right-wing stupidity when I see it.

Snowjob takes a swipe at Gore

I just caught this one over the wire.

Earlier today in a press briefing White House Press Secretary Tony Snowjob was asked what he thought about Al Gore's documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth, winning an Oscar. Snow blurted out, "I'm happy for him," and jibed, "It's good to have a second career."

Snow was formally a "journalist" for Fox Noise Channel and a radio talk-show host before being named White House press secretary last year.

Okay, so this isn't a big deal or anything, but really? Was that necessary? It's an compliment wrapped in an insult. I've worked for bosses who were masters at that sort of thing.

What an uncouth rube. I hope Gore reads statements like that and seriously considers getting into this race.

Run Al, Run.

Urge him to jump in the race Here.

A great Oscar night

The sixth time was the charm for America's greatest director. Marty Scorsese was finally awarded by the Academy tonight with an Oscar. It's about time. It was great to see him bask in the glory, to hollers and shouts from the audience. Once he reached the stage, he was smiling from ear to ear. He only had a moment to soak it all in backstage, though - The Departed won Best Picture moments later.

I haven't seen The Departed yet, but as I watched Scorsese on stage, I kept thinking of Goodfellas, and how he deserved an Oscar for that movie.

It was also wonderful to see Melissa Etheridge win for her song "I Need to Wake Up" from Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. I noticed a few things when Etheridge won. First, she kissed her partner, Tammy Lynn Michaels. Then, when she reached the stage, she referred to Michaels as "her wife." That was a cool moment, and undoubtedly an important one to many gay people. It's a signal that progress is being made, but we've still got a long way to go before gays are treated like any other American in the courts and in society.

YES! Gore's film wins, but no announcement

10:48: "Yes!" I shout it out loud and proud - Al Gore's film, An Inconvenient Truth, has won best documentary. Director Davis Guggenheim (above, at mic) invited Al Gore on stage, and he went up. No big announcement, though. As I've written before, I'm still holding out hope. It is relatively early, but if he doesn't get on board soon, he will be much to far behind in raising money, which would damage his candidacy.

Still a sweet night, though. Now, I'm just hoping for Etheridge and Scorsese.

Congratulations, Davis and Al - you've both done a valuable, important public service.

Academy Awards have begun

A few quick thoughts on the Academy Awards so far, at 9:15 p.m.

Up until a year or two ago, I wasn't too crazy about Ellen DeGeneres. I don't have any specific reason; her humor just didn't hit my funny bone. But, there's more to Ellen than her humor, and I realize that now. But, she's funny! Ten minutes into the show, she makes a funny joke about Al Gore and his being elected by America, but being at the Academy Awards. I don't really remember the whole joke, but it was funny.

Speaking of Al Gore (Above, with wife Tipper, arriving at the show), I'm really, really pulling for his film, An Inconvenient Truth, to take the two awards its up for tonight. And of course, I'm really hoping for an announcement by Al tonight along the lines of "I'm running for president." That would be great. I realize that it almost certainly won't happen, but it would be awesome, and historic, too.

I'm looking forward to hearing Melissa Etheridge (Above, Right, with partner Tammy Lynn Michaels) perform "I Need to Wake Up" tonight. I hope the theme song for An Inconvenient Truth wins, but either way, it will be cool to see it sung live. I flat out love Etheridge, but even moreso for contributing such a great song to a great movie.

Lastly, I'm reeeeallllly pulling for Martin Scorsese. The greatest living American director is more than overdue to win an Oscar. I hope tonight's the night. And I still haven't seen The Departed, so I need to get my act together.

###

Melissa's performing now - she's awesome. And they are displaying the words from the end of the movie with her performance. 'Way cool!

Okay, Gore was just on stage with Leo DiCaprio, and no announcement, but they did make a joke out of it. I'm not giving up hope on Gore running in '08, though. You can urge him to run by clicking Here.

Back to blogging - more after the show.

Photos from AP

The cold truth about Drudge's global warming gibe

I've got so much to write about global warming, I don't even know where to start. I guess that's part of the problem - I have so much stuff I want to talk about, and I keep waiting to have time to write one obscenely long article, so I guess I need to write shorter ones to get a lot of this stuff off my Blogger draft list.

Anyway, I had to quickly comment on one of my favorite right-wing propagandists, Matt Drudge, who is up to his old trite tricks again. Seems the cold weather somehow brings anti-global warming ideologues out of hibernation. Drudge is using the recent cold weather to take swipes not only at global warming, but also at Al Gore and his movie, An Inconvenient Truth.

What's more, Drudge is merely recycling old material - he's run this play already. (Maybe Drudge does care about the environment after all - at least he's recycling!)

In January 2004, Drudge ran a piece about a Gore speech on global warming during a cold snap in New England (See above, and Here). He babbled that Gore's speech was being called "the biggest gaffe in years" by "political watchers." That's merely an old journalistic trick of interjecting your own opinion into a story or piece - putting "some are saying" or "some would say" instead of just overtly stating your own opinion. (Faux News has turned this trick into an art form, by the way.)

Fast forward to earlier this month - with the weather wicked in much of the country, Drudge wasn't going to miss another opportunity to take a swipe at global warming proponents, science be damned (Above).

But, the facts don't lie - the Earth is getting warmer, and at a dramatic rate. The weather is what's happening now or in the immediate past or future. Climate is historic - a trend of what's happening over many years. And the numbers are clear about where our climate is headed. (See above.)

Since Drudge first ran his stupid joke in 2004, we've had the two of the hottest years in the last half century: '06 and '05, respectively, and 2007 could be the hottest year ever. Even more worrisome is the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere - currently at their highest levels in 650,000 years, and rising. These findings are from ice cores drilled in the ice in Antarctica, which offer a historic snapshot of the atmosphere, including temperatures and carbon dioxide levels.

Scared yet? You should be.

Above is a global map released by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, showing temperature anomalies during 2006, blue being the coolest and red being the warmest. Chilling.

Despite the sludge that Drudge is peddling, global warming is a reality. If the current wave of winter weather makes Drudge feel warmer inside, I guess that's a start, because it sure is getting warmer outside.

What a week for Al Gore

Al Gore had quite a week.

First, the former Vice President presented Charles, the Prince of Wales (above, left), with the Environmental Citizen Award at the Harvard Club in Central New York, last Sunday.

Charles, the future King of England, along with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, have all done a whole lot more to combat global warming than our president has. I'm hopeful that will change, but Bush is running out of time if he hopes to accomplish something during his presidency.

Charles, the Prince of Wales, and his wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, Duchess of Cornwall, were very well received here in the states. At right, the royals visited the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. I thought the photo mildly ironic, so I thought I'd share it here. It's not really related to this post, but I like it. I wish I could have had a chance to meet them, but duty called. Work, work, work!

Also last week, Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth, was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Documentary and Best Original Song.

While Gore wasn't directly nominated, it's not a stretch at all to say that the film is his baby, and any recognition the film receives is a direct reflection on him.

There's more -- Gore received the Santa Barbara International Film Festival's Excellence in Nature Film Making Award, along with Truth's Director Davis Guggenheim (above, right).

And finally, Gore was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his hard work in raising awareness about global warming. Gore's already accomplished a great deal with is tireless efforts, but if he wins the Nobel and his film cops an Oscar (or two), it will merely be icing on the cake.

However, Gore's smart enough to realize that his work on global warming is a journey, not a destination, and he has a whole lot more work to do.

I'd like to see him accomplish that work as president.

We're waiting, Al.

Will Gore's "Truth" get an Oscar Nod? Will Dubya give Al props?

Academy Award nominees are announced this Tuesday, and I've heard and read rumors that An Inconvenient Truth might be up for an award(s). I sure hope so.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, what are you waiting for? The polar ice caps to melt? Get going and see it - I can just about guarantee that you will be a changed person after watching it.

It would be quite cool if Al Gore (above, presenting his global warming slide show in Japan) walked away with an Oscar. I hope he does. He deserves it for his dedication and perseverance in warding off critics, many of whom know about .10% as much as he does about the drastic changes that are happening all over the planet.

I'm still holding out hope that Gore enters the '08 race, but I also wonder if he could best serve our country by not running for president. Or, if a Democrat wins, maybe Director of the EPA? THAT would be incredible.

Al Gore deserves all the credit he's receiving for this important film. Whether you agree with the film or not (and I most definitely do), Gore has provided the US and the world with a pretty handsome benefit, and that's a greater amount of discourse on global warming.

##

In other news, I heard on Chris Matthews on Sunday morning that President Bush is prepared to make some major announcements about energy dependence during his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night. I'll believe those when I hear them.

But, what really caught my ear was Matthews' assertion that Bush might acknowledge Gore's important work on global warming (but I'm sure the president, in the off chance that he would address it, would refer to it as climate change). Matthews didn't sound like he was kidding, but there's no way Bush would give Gore any praise.

Is there?

If Bush does have kind words for Gore and indicates any change on his administration's position on global warming, I will be one of the first bloggers to praise him on the Internet.

That's a guarantee.

Ahhh, I finally have my own copy!

Another favorite gift I received this Christmas is An Inconvenient Truth on DVD from Chris and Davis, Vandra's aunt and uncle. I love it! We wasted no time watching it - last night I watched it with Kathy, my mother in law. It's still as powerful now was it was the first time I saw it.

Since I've already reviewed the movie, I won't elaborate on my thoughts now, but if you'd like to read my original review, click here.

One quick footnote to the movie though. The oil and gas lobby isn't taking this stinging indictment of their black gold sitting down. Check out this parody of Al Gore and the movie...



The Wall Street Journal, after investigating this piece that appears on YouTube, discovered some interesting stuff about this humorless piece. The video was claimed to have been the work of an amateur production by a 29-year old in Beverly Hills, California. But, the WSJ, which determined that "computer routing information" showed that those replies came from "a computer registered to DCI Group", a public relations and lobbying firm in Washington, D.C., led exclusively by Republican party officials. DCI has counted corporations such as General Motors and ExxonMobil amongst its clients.

Surprised?

Yea, me neither.

An insightful Al Gore interview

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I hate to cut/paste stuff onto this blog, but this one's pretty topical, since I just got done writing how I hope Gore runs in '08. He's hedging his bets right now, but I do hope he throws his hat in. A few things from this interview: 1. Interesting how he won't say it's 100% he won't run, 2. I found his comments about 9-11 particularly poignant. I can't even tell you how many absolute morons I heard say, "Thank GOD Bush is president" in the immediate aftermath of 9-11 (as in, THE NEXT DAY). I wonder how many of these geniuses would say that now? Not anyone who's been following current events in the last five years.

Anyway, take a read - it's not too long. GQ's Questions are in orange, and Gore's comments are (obviously) below them.

*****

AL GORE: MOVIE STAR

A former vice president tells the Truth, ignites a global debate, and suddenly looks like a dark-horse candidate. GQ.com presents the complete Al Gore Q&A, including what he really thinks about George W. Bush.

GQ Magazine

By Lisa DePaulo

You look great.
Uh, thanks.

I like the, you know, broader look.
[laughs] That’s soooo nice of you to say. (to staff) I’d like a Heineken, if you have one.

Can I ask you something? What’s with the Regency Hotel and you guys?
John Kerry and Teresa stay here, Evan Bayh, all the big Dems. You know, I started this years ago…

Do they keep a set of clothes here for you?
No! I wish I could.

They keep Larry King’s clothes here for him.
They do? Where? Now, that is something I did not know.

There’s something you did not know? Incredible. Is there a burden to being so smart?
That’s the exact converse of, “When did you stop beating your wife?” There’s no way to answer a question like that without seeming pompous and conceited. I have a battery-powered hubris alarm on my belt. And it’s set on vibrate, and it’s going crazy.

So, did you ever think your movie would be this successful?
Noooooo. You know, I hoped it would be. But I had questions about whether it would really be possible to turn a slide show into a movie.

And a slide show by Al Gore! Isn’t it interesting how, throughout the 2000 campaign, the media beat you up, calling you wooden and robotic and all that, but somehow you had the charisma to carry a movie?
[laughs] Well, I have always had close friends say, during those political years, “Why don’t they see you the way we see you?”

Yeah, why is that?
I think one part of it is, in a campaign, there is an adversarial context. Your opposition is constantly painting negative caricatures. And also, the audience—or, the voters—are naturally looking at you through a more skeptical lens. And that’s not all bad. But that’s a different lens than the one used by people watching this movie.

It’s funny. You constantly hear people say, “If only he were the way he was in the movie, he’d have been president.” Does that drive you crazy?
No! No, I appreciate that.

Do you agree?
Well, I certainly take my share of whatever blame is to be apportioned for not having more skill as a communicator. Maybe there are some things in politics I’m just not good at.

So if you decide to run, do you think we would see the Al Gore from the movie? Or the Al Gore from 2000?
Well, I don’t plan to run. I don’t plan to run. And I don’t expect to run.

How many times a day does somebody ask you this?
Well, I’m doing a lot of interviews and it’s on the list of questions. For every one of them. And I appreciate that. I appreciate that people think enough of me still in that world to ask that question. It’s true that I haven’t, uh, gotten to the point where I am willing to completely rule it out for all time. But, that is really more a matter of the internal shifting of gears. I’m not making plans to run again.

But you’re not ruling it out?
Uh… no. [smiles]

Do you know if President Bush has seen the movie yet?
Well, he claimed that would not see it. That’s why I wrote the book. He’s a reader.

What page do you think he’s on?
I would encourage him to see the movie and read the book. I wish that he would.

Don’t you find it appalling that he won’t?
Well, you know, he’s probably no more objective about me than I am about him.

So have you been offered any other movie parts?
Yes! I actually just performed a voice-over role in a movie last week. I am reprising my role as a disembodied head in Futurama, which is being made into a movie. There are a significant number of people who appear not to know or care that I was Vice President of the United States, but who are very tuned into the fact that I uttered the immortal line, “I have ridden the mighty moonworm.”

And that’s so much more important. So do you think you’ll get an Oscar nomination?
For the disembodied head?

For An Inconvenient Truth.
Well, I think the movie deserves one. I’m not eligible; the movie is. But I don’t want to jinx it by talking about it.

Do you think you have ever been more popular?
Ahhhh. I think non-candidates are inherently more popular than candidates.

What is your relationship with the Clintons like now?
Good. Fine. Uh, I saw him today. We see them every once in a while.

Do you like her?
Sure. We worked together for 8 years, and uh, I think she’s, uh… very capable.

Could she win?
I’m not gonna get drawn into speculation about the potential candidates in 2008.

Okay, then let me ask you this. If you had to have a drink with someone tonight, and it was Bill or Hillary, you couldn’t pick both but you had to pick one, whom would you pick?
Well, Bill doesn’t drink.

Are you sure?
I’m pretty sure, yeah. So, if that were the criterion, to have a drink with them and she’s the only one that does, then it would be her. You know, it’s not the same now as it was, of course. A lot of water under the bridge. But we have been through a lot together and I wish them both well.

Do you want your daughter Karenna to go into politics?
I want her to do what she wants to do. I think her judgment is so good, and if she were to decide to go into politics, she would be soooo good. If I had half of the skills that she has, I would definitely be in my second term as president right now.

What does she have that you don’t have?
Perfect pitch.

Okay, on to 9-11. What were you really feeling? Was there a part of you that felt a sense of relief that you weren’t in charge that day?
You mean a sense of relief that I didn’t have to deal with it? Oh no. Not at all. Not for one second. Not for one second. Why would I? I mean, well first of all, it just didn’t occur to me to feel anything like that. What did occur to me was to feel what every American felt, the outrage and anger and righteous anger, and support for the President at a time of danger… And, honestly, I was focused on the reality of the situation. And I wasn’t president, so, you know, it wasn’t about me. Now, I do wish, now that we have some distance from the events, and we have all this knowledge about what this administration did do, I certainly feel that I wish that it had been handled differently, and I do wish that I had somehow been able to prevent some of the catastrophic mistakes that were made.

Do you feel that we would be safer today if you had been president on that day?
Well, no one can say that the 9-11 attack wouldn’t have occurred whoever was president.

Really? How about all the warnings?
That’s a separate question. And it’s almost too easy to say, “I would have heeded the warnings.” In fact, I think I would have, I know I would have. We had several instances when the CIA’s alarm bells went off, and what we did when that happened was, we had emergency meetings and called everybody together and made sure that all systems were go and every agency was hitting on all cylinders, and we made them bring more information, and go into the second and third and fourth level of detail. And made suggestions on how we could respond in a more coordinated, more effective way. It is inconceivable to me that Bush would read a warning as stark and as clear [voice angry now] as the one he received on August 6th of 2001, and, according to some of the new histories, he turned to the briefer and said, “Well, you’ve covered your ass.” And never called a follow up meeting. Never made an inquiry. Never asked a single question. To this day, I don’t understand it. And, I think it’s fair to say that he personally does in fact bear a measure of blame for not doing his job at a time when we really needed him to do his job. And now the Woodward book has this episode that has been confirmed by the record that George Tenet, who was much abused by this administration, went over to the White House for the purpose of calling an emergency meeting and warning as clearly as possible about the extremely dangerous situation with Osama bin Laden, and was brushed off! And I don’t know why—honestly—I mean, I understand how horrible this Congressman Foley situation with the instant messaging is, okay? I understand that. But, why didn’t these kinds of things produce a similar outrage? And you know, I’m even reluctant to talk about it in these terms because it’s so easy for people to hear this or read this as sort of cheap political game-playing. I understand how it could sound that way. [Practically screaming now] But dammit, whatever happened to the concept of accountability for catastrophic failure? This administration has been by far the most incompetent, inept, and with more moral cowardice, and obsequiousness to their wealthy contributors, and obliviousness to the public interest of any administration in modern history, and probably in the entire history of the country!

But how do you really feel?
(cracks up)

What’s the nicest thing you can say about George Bush?
He made a terrific appointment of Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Ok, Is there a second best thing?
I can’t think of another one, actually.

When you see the state things are in now, don’t you feel an obligation to run?
Well, I don’t think I have to apologize for devoting my life to trying to solve the most serious challenge our civilization’s ever faced. But I do understand the nature of the question, and as I said, I haven’t completely ruled it out. It’s just that I don’t expect to—and I don’t really believe that that is necessarily the best use of my skills and experience. [sticks his tongue out and crosses his eyes]

Do you like yourself more now? Do you have more fun now?
Well, you know the old Kris Kristofferson song that Janis Joplin made famous, “Me and Bobby McGee”? It has a great line: Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose. There’s some aspects of that involved here.

What kind of freedom do you feel now that you didn’t feel when you were running?
You know my all time favorite Onion headline—you read The Onion?—sometime in the summer of 2001, the lead story on the front page had a picture of Tipper and me, and the headline was, “Gores Enjoying Best Sex of Their Lives.” And she said, “How did they know?”

Do you have any advice on keeping a marriage together?
I think basically Tipper is the key to it.

Really?
Yeah. Love is such a complicated force, I don’t have the words to speak intelligently about it. I don’t even want to try to universalize what feels true to me, because everybody’s different and—

Yeah, but you know what? A lot of people are real different. You’re devoted. People look at you two and you never wonder if there’s anything stupid going on. What is it about you two?
Well, I think that communicating clearly, and making intelligent decisions about the time that you set aside for one another, not time with you and your spouse and the entire family. That’s also very important, but it doesn’t count in that category of time you need for the relationship itself. Communicating clearly, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually. That’s just really important. And if you need help, get help.

Have you been to therapy?
We went in the aftermath of our son’s accident. We had family therapy. And you know, Tipper has a graduate degree in psychology, and she has had a fairly intensive psychiatric practice for 40 years—with one patient. I’m seriously not joking when I say the secret is mostly her. She’s just an amazing partner in life.

What’s the last really romantic thing you did for her?
I made her an iTunes list that communicated things that are important.

What was on it?
That’s too personal.

How often do you think about 2000?
Uhhhh… (feigned shock) The 2000 election?

Yes, that little tiny thing that happened in American history.
I’d almost forgotten! Oh, gosh.

You are so much more relaxed now. I think you’re having more fun this way.
Um, compared to what?

To being a candidate.
Gee, how could anything be more fun than that?

###

I love great interviews like that. Run Al, run! If you're interested, here's the Draft Gore 2008 Website.

A little more Gore, on global warming

Okay, okay, I'll lighten up on An Inconvenient Truth soon, but I dug up a little more Gore on his movie - these two clips are from Keith Olberman's show, and it's a pretty good interview. Part I is above, and Part II is below. I'll let Gore do the talking on these, but it's a very good interview. Enjoy.

More Inconvenient stuff to mull over

You may be asking yourself, "Will RJ ever shut up about that Al Gore movie?" The answer is no. I think it's one of the most important documentaries ever made, and I hope it has a lasting impact; it's already had a powerful one, but I'm optimistic this film "has legs" and will continue to generate much-needed debate on global warming.

The above interview aired on The Guardian/the British Channel 4, and it is pretty enlightening. In it, Gore mentions energy-saving light bulbs, which I have previously blogged about. Go to that story Here.

An Inconvenient Truth is already the fourth highest grossing documentary of all time, right behind Fahrenheit 9/11, March of the Penguins and Bowling for Columbine. Wow, Michael Moore is in the top three, twice. That's gotta piss off a lot of conservatives, so that's a bonus. Anyway, as of July 19, the film has grossed $17,398,935 - pretty impressive for a film that's not in major release.

Entertainment Weekly recently did a pretty good story on Gore. Get it Here or click on the picture.

People's minds seem to be changing, and from some unlikely sources, too. Check these:

Roger Friedman of Fox News has said, "It doesn't matter whether you're Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, your mind will be changed in a nanosecond."

Even Bill O'Lielly, a man I totally despise, had this to say: "You outta listen to Al Gore about this global warming. The world is getting warm." Wow, and he didn't even lie in that sentence!

My favorite quote about the movie comes from Roger Ebert, and this ought to move you - he's been reviewing movies for nearly four decades. In his review, he writes, "In 39 years, I have never written these words in a movie review, but here they are: You owe it to yourself to see this film. If you do not, and you have grandchildren, you should explain to them why you decided not to."

Roger, Roger.

Gore Smear II, by an oil guy!

This could be my favorite Gore smear (or should I say, attempted smear?!?), by an oil guy.

Sterling Burnett, a man who works for an organization which takes huge amounts of money from ExxonMobile, appeared on Fox News to try to smear Al Gore a little while back. (Sorry this is a bit of an old clip, but is still relevant to the global warming discussion, and I didn't hear about it right away, because I'd rather stare at a wall than watch Fox News.) Burnett is a shameful dick. He compared Gore and his film, An Inconvenient Truth, to the Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels.

Notice how the segment ends just as Jeremy Symons tells the audience that Sterling is a paid, Big Oil shill.

Burnett: That’s the problem. If I thought Al Gore’s movie was as you like to say, fair and balanced, I’d say, everyone should go see it, but why go see propaganda? You don’t go see Joseph Goebbels films to see the truth about Nazi Germany. You don’t go see Al Gore films to see the truth about global warming…

Symons: Sterling is an odd one to be casting aspersions on what Al Gore’s motives are, after all the oil industry has been giving him hundreds of thousands of dollars to his organization, just like tobacco companies used to do to try undercut…

Host: That’s a whole other subject guys and we’re up against a hard break.

No, you're up against a hard, embarrassing fact, and it's disgraceful (but not surprising) that Fox would have on someone so clearly linked to Big Oil. What a transparent attempt to make a mockery out of the global warming debate. Instead, Fox simply makes a joke of its network by putting on such a circus. But, then again, we already knew Fox News was a joke. Any network that would sue Al Franken because it didn't like what the had to say about it doesn't understand free speech, America, freedom or democracy, but I digress.

Anyway, getting back to Burnett's not so sterling remarks. Nazi Germany is the most hackneyed, trite metaphor when you are out of facts (or don't have any) and you are so clearly losing any kind of debate or argument. People should stop comparing (insert topic here) to the Nazis and that horrific chapter in human history. Nothing compares - it stands alone, and using it as any kind of metaphor is childish and the mark of an amateur. Stick to what you know, Sterling, which is probably just about nothing, other than how big your paycheck is that you are getting from the oil industry to libel and slander anyone who dares stand up to it.

Gore Smear, Part I, by STOSSEL?!?

This one's pretty good - it's John Stossel trying to sound like a global warming authority on MSNBC's Scarborough Country.

Listen to Scarborough's words and hyperbole. It's a kick. He claims Gore has said, "If we don't turn things around, in 10 years the ice caps are going to melt, we are going to boil, Manhattan will be underwater," blah blah fucking blah. Gore never said that in the movie, or anywhere else, genius. It's exaggeration to try to discredit Gore, and it's hilarious. Another Al Gore "quote" along the lines of I invented the Internet.

In Scarborough's Country, this kind of shit may be acceptable when you are out to discredit someone, but in the rest of the country, bullshit detectors go off everywhere, unless you are a card carrying member of the radical religious right.

The best part about this clip is how Scarborough gets bitch slapped on his own show by Tyson Slocum. At least someone has something intelligent to say in Scarborough Country.

Stossel should go back to 20/20 and expose more defective child seats. He doesn't have a coherent, intelligent thing to say in this piece, not one shred of scientific proof, and notice we don't get one actual name of the scientists "who he spoke to."

Stossel goes on to call us "the cleanest country in the world." Hilarious. As we belch out more greenhouse gases than any other country on Earth? Where in the hell does he believe the smog comes from in LA, fog machines on movie sets? Bravo, John. And, as usual, the obligatory comment about people sounding the alarm bell on global warming "hating capitalism." Whatever. Why am I wasting my time on this?

And Scarborough? Keep miring in obscurity, douche bag. You're about as popular as cancer, and your stellar ratings prove it. I wonder how MSNBC, an up-and-coming network, could have a no-talent like Scarborough when it has coherent, likable guys like Tucker Carlson and Keith Olberman? Yes, you read that right - I like Carlson. I don't always agree with him, but I like the guy and respect his opinions. I've enjoyed Carlson since his Crossfire days on CNN.

Hannity's global warming lies & misrepresentations

If you've seen An Inconvenient Truth (I have, three times, so I know what's in the movie), you know that Hannity is taking loads of information and quotes out of context when you watch the above clip.

Gore was spot on in the movie - the right will come at the global warming people with accusations, insults, dies and distortions. Hannity is just the beginning. Oh, and in the clip, Hannity mentions Gore's assertion that the Bush/Cheney White House has lied and distorted about global warming. That's a fact, jackass. 60 Minutes did a report on Phil Cooney, who used to work for the American Petroleum Institute before going to work for the Bush White House. While working for this administration, as chief of staff for White House Council on Environmental Quality, Cooney edited reports on global warming, cutting out whole sections. He has no scientific background, and no education on the environment whatsoever. He's a lawyer. Not long after Cooney's editing was made public (Oh, that damn press, eh, Cheney?!?), he quit, and was hired by ExxonMobile the next fucking day. I've blogged about this extensively Here, and also in my An Inconvenient Truth movie review Here.

You read, you decide. Just don't let Sean Hannity's wind-blown political rhetoric from the Republican News Channel decide for you.

Bush solving global warming?

I found the above cartoon in Maxim and I had to share it.

So, it appears our president has a handle on climate change after all. In an interview with People Magazine about his 60th birthday, Bush had this to say about global warming:

People: Do you think Gore is right on global warming?

Bush: I think we have a problem on global warming. I think there is a debate about whether it's caused by mankind or whether it's caused naturally, but it's a worthy debate. It's a debate, actually, that I'm in the process of solving by advancing new technologies, burning coal cleanly in electric plants, or promoting hydrogen-powered automobiles, or advancing ethanol as an alternative to gasoline.

##

I laughed for about 20 minutes when I read the above 'graph.

Again, this is a typical Bush tactic - he believes merely proposing some ideas, without making hard choices (much less explaining how they will be funded), is solving a problem. I would expect that the president would realize by now that solving important problems involves just a little more than throwing out a few ideas in a speech.