McCain's desktop

I've got plenty to get to tonight, but before I do, I have a few funny things to share. I found this one on the Internet a few days ago, and I got a kick out of it. I find it nothing short of remarkable that a presidential candidate in the 21st century would publicly say that he doesn't "do the Internet." And John McCain is a guy that people are seriously considering voting for? For the life of me, I'll never understand why. Okay, for 20 percent of people who vote, I get it, but for anyone who's even remotely open-minded, I don't understand it. (There are 20 percent of close-minded people on both sides who will vote either Republican or Democrat, all the time and every time, but those aren't the people who win elections for candidates anyway.)

Our next president needn't be a genius who grasps every minute detail about the most complex of issues, but after eight years of a president who at times has taken pride in his lack of intellectual curiosity, we need a president who both has a handle on technology, and is willing to unleash its potential to solve some of our problems. (For those of you who feel I'm being too harsh on Bush, look up his commencement address to what I believe was Harvard some years back, when he joked about being a self-described "C" student. Way to blaze a path to mediocrity, Mr. President.)

Gore's Repube opponents bring lots of bark, very little bite

Could these morons be any more trite? This past week, Al Gore testified on Capitol Hill about global warming. I've already posted video of global warming denier-in-chief Jim Inhofe getting a beat down from Barbara Boxer, and that was good to see, but that didn't stop Repubes from bashing Gore on the talk show circuit.

I'm not going to repeat myself over and over in defending Gore on his home consumption habits - the "story" has been thoroughly debunked, especially when you consider the source; and that would be The Tennessee Center for Policy Research, and it's CEO, Drew Johnson. (Read more about that Here.)

From some of the less partisan stories I've read, maybe he could do a little better with energy consumption, but he's probably doing a helluva lot better than most Repubes, who think nothing of global warming. Many Repubes don't even acknowledge that global warming exists at all, so I'm quite certain that Gore is doing more to combat global warming than they are.

Terry Holt has a lot of balls being outraged at the supposed "hypocrisy" of Gore, stemming from his energy use at his home. I wonder if Holt is every bit as outraged at Newt Gingrich, who saw fit to go over President Clinton for adultery when Gingrich was getting some "Speaker of the House booty" on the side, while married?

What annoys me more than anything is the right's continued assertion that Gore said, "I invented the Internet."

It's one of the biggest bullshit lies of all time, yet Republicans, to dramatic effect, have repeated it over and over and over again. Repetition of this lie has been so great that the mainstream media has dutifully reported it as fact since before the 2000 election.

What Gore really said was this, during an Interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer in 1999:

During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have been important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.

Funny, I don't see anywhere in that statement where Gore was saying that he invented the Internet. Read the entire CNN interview transcript Here.

To read of a thorough dissection of this staple from the GOP lie book, click Here.

Best of all, read about Gore's role in Internet legislation from one of the Internet's true innovators, Vint Cerf, click Here.

Actually, it's boring to fight arguments that are eight years old, but to be honest, as long as Repubes keep spewing them forth, they are worth rebutting, because some people hear this stuff, and believe it.