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Topic: Al Gore: The Assault on Reason
| Author | Message |
| UGoGirl | Posted – 5/21/2007 10:27:13 PM | show profile Nice review of Gore's new book in the NYT. We could do a lot worse than elect Gore as our next Prez. Run Al, Run! *** In ?The Assault on Reason? Al Gore excoriates George W. Bush, asserting that the president is ?out of touch with reality,? that his administration is so incompetent that it ?can?t manage its own way out of a horse show,? that it ignored ?clear warnings? about the terrorist threat before 9/11 and that it has made Americans less safe by ?stirring up a hornets? nest in Iraq,? while using ?the language and politics of fear? to try to ?drive the public agenda without regard to the evidence, the facts or the public interest.? The administration?s pursuit of unilateralism abroad, Mr. Gore says, has isolated the United States in an ever more dangerous world, even as its efforts to expand executive power at home and ?relegate the Congress and the courts to the sidelines? have undermined the constitutional system of checks and balances. ...And yet for all its sharply voiced opinions, ?The Assault on Reason? turns out to be less a partisan, election-cycle harangue than a fiercely argued brief about the current Bush White House that is grounded in copiously footnoted citations from newspaper articles, Congressional testimony and commission reports ? a brief that is as powerful in making its points about the implications of this administration?s policies as the author?s 2006 book, ?An Inconvenient Truth,? was in making its points about the fallout of global warming. ...Moreover, Mr. Gore contends, the administration?s penchant for secrecy (keeping everything from the details of its coercive interrogation policy to its National Security Agency surveillance program under wraps) has dismantled the principle of accountability, even as what he calls its ?unprecedented and sustained campaign of mass deception? on matters like Iraq has made ?true deliberation and meaningful debate by the people virtually impossible.? ...And he contends that ?it has become common for President Bush to rely on special interests? ? like those represented by the Iraqi exile Ahmad Chalabi before the war, and ExxonMobil on the climate crisis ? for ?basic information about the policies important to these interests.? ...Much the way that the movie ?An Inconvenient Truth? showed a more accessible Al Gore ... this book shows a fiery, throw-caution-to-the winds Al Gore, who, whether or not he runs for the White House again, has decided to lay it all on the line with a blistering assessment of the Bush administration and the state of public discourse in America at this ?fateful juncture? in history. |
| Iron Eagle | Posted – 5/21/2007 11:20:22 PM | show profile Good for Gore. The guy was robbed by a criminal gang. |
| Iron Eagle | Posted – 5/22/2007 8:45:50 AM | show profile Caught Gore on Nightline last night. This looks like an interesting read. |
| UGoGirl | Posted – 5/22/2007 10:38:45 AM | show profile Can you imagine... an intelligent, compassionate (truly), respected person as president? If only... had we known then what we know now, I like to think we would've gotten off our butts and marched on the street. |
| harryfred | Posted – 5/22/2007 11:43:49 AM | show profile I look forward to reading that book, as I glimpsed some of the NYT story. I think Gore is a better and more effective intelligent observer and doer. He could do more for global warming by making another movie, than by running and maybe screwing up 2008. We have John Edwards and Bill Richardson. All apologies (little experience) Obama and (too much experience) H. Clinton. |
| Iron Eagle | Posted – 5/22/2007 11:55:05 AM | show profile Harry - I'm thinking Edwards gets the nod - but I do respect Chris Dodd - he's no slouch. Ricardson comes off clean - can't stand Hillary. |
| UGoGirl | Posted – 5/22/2007 2:30:34 PM | show profile Much as I love Gore and think he'd be a great president, I do think that perhaps if all he has to focus on is climate change he can do more good. Edwards, Obama, Clinton, I'd support any of them. I do worry that Clinton has too many enemies to be effective, though. Obama may be the right man at the right time, but so might Edwards. |
| UGoGirl | Posted – 5/22/2007 2:31:51 PM | show profile Much as I love Gore and think he'd be a great president, I do think that perhaps if all he has to focus on is climate change he can do more good. Edwards, Obama, Clinton, I'd support any of them. I do worry that Clinton has too many enemies to be effective, though. Obama may be the right man at the right time, but so might Edwards. |
| Iron Eagle | Posted – 5/22/2007 4:33:36 PM | show profile Clinton with all of her money can't buy this presidency. Her time passed the last time she plugged a gingerbread man on the White House Xmas tree. |
| IslandConcierge | Posted – 5/28/2007 1:51:30 AM | show profile What a scarey day for America~if Gore should become President. However; I don't think he would stand a chance. Even the majority of Tennesseans didn't vote for him. They know him too well. Truly~I hope there are more candidates that will run for President. Right now I wouldn't vote for anyone on either side. |
| UGoGirl | Posted – 5/28/2007 9:10:20 AM | show profile Oh yes, how very scary if Gore became president. Thank God he didn't, and instead we got the peace-loving, civil rights protecting, global concensus building, fiscally responsible environmentalist who is really for the "little guy" out there. |
| Iron Eagle | Posted – 5/28/2007 9:31:27 AM | show profile Gore would be a fine president. He even looks the part. It would be a far cry from the ill-fitted moneky in a suit pretending to be the man. |
| IslandConcierge | Posted – 5/29/2007 5:20:47 AM | show profile Gore cares about the little guy?!...smiles. Have you ever flew with him in his gas guzzeling jet or visited him @ his miniture Wht. House he built in Nashville? He "loves" people who believe everything they read! |
| Iron Eagle | Posted – 5/29/2007 7:28:30 AM | show profile What does Donald Trump fly in - how about John Travolta - where does Rudy Guliiani live - how about Bill Kristol - in an efficiency apartment. Thanks for the stupid response. |
| UGoGirl | Posted – 5/29/2007 8:20:34 AM | show profile Island doesn't want to talk about the reality of the disaster Bush (and his GOP cronies) have brought on the US and the world, he'd rather talk about Gore's air travel. Real intelligent there. |
| Bleak Spouse | Posted – 5/29/2007 9:55:59 AM | show profile i think the issue of all presidential candidates being millionaires is important. it doesn't take a genius to realize that you can't relate to the financial problems of we the people when you're smugly set for life. |
| Iron Eagle | Posted – 5/29/2007 11:39:31 AM | show profile that is true bleak - but I'm around some pretty grounded millionaires who are senstive and compassionate. I know plenty have nots that are anal whack jobs. |
| Bleak Spouse | Posted – 5/29/2007 11:57:24 AM | show profile I'm interested in getting Gore's book to read the section about media (how news has turned into entertainment). Jazz: I think anyone who doesn't have to worry about money, no matter how sensitive they are, they'll never truly understand how it feels to have the weight of the culture's boot pressing down hard on their chest. Al Gore could never imagine what it's like to work at McDonald's for a living. I don't think that means we need impoverished leaders, I'm just saying we'll always have leaders who are out of touch with what is reality for so many Americans. The only solution is anarchy in UK. Or US I mean. |
| Iron Eagle | Posted – 5/29/2007 12:12:00 PM | show profile Maybe so ... but putting someone in charge just because they've lived without doesn't really work out as planned. People change quickly. I see it all of the time. Given the opportunity to whip ass on those a step below becomes sport. Where did Idi Amin come from? I played thousands of pick-up basketball games in LA in the early years and the shit that went on between the black players and Latinos was ridiculous. There was always this class battle going on. That's just a small example how things play out. |
| IslandConcierge | Posted – 5/30/2007 12:30:17 AM | show profile I think a good debate is awesome! However; if you don't know me~don't judge me. For the record~I have friends who are middle-class, rich, poor & some friends who are Republican & some who are Dems. I think "Bleak Spouse" has some great intellectual integrity. It is a beautiful gift of freedom to be able to have a nice debate. However; I will not dignify a response directly to "UGoGirl" and "jazzreport". ~PEACE! |
| Iron Eagle | Posted – 5/30/2007 12:38:02 AM | show profile Island - what you're saying is you lack dignity? |
| harryfred | Posted – 5/30/2007 8:17:00 AM | show profile Island: The argument that if someone is not 100 percent consistent they are blowhards is an argument often used by conservatives against value-based arguments. These people then just fall back on self-interest--Ayn Rand nonwithstanding (LOL). Gore is standing up for global warming, period; that is great, but it does not mean Gore is perfect. (Who is? I'm not.) From my point of view, the Republican Party stole the 2000 presidential election. Today they are attempting to institute permanent religious military fascism in the U.S.; hopefully it will fail. Gore also conceded the 2000 election; few know why. I have read the first chapter, and I think it will be an excellent book. So far he is making the argument that the advent of television is as significant as the advent of printing press. And that European and U.S. notions of democracy and reason are tied to print culture in a way that cannot withstand the onslaught of Oprah, TomKAT, MTV, VH1, and ESPN 1-10. To think about this is to answer that question about why over 50 percent of Americans believe Saddam Hussein was involved in 911, according to polls (if people really believe this). In this sense the medium is the message. We'll see what he says next. Peace. |
| Bleak Spouse | Posted – 5/30/2007 10:13:36 AM | show profile >>>And that European and U.S. notions of democracy and reason are tied to print culture in a way that cannot withstand the onslaught of Oprah, TomKAT, MTV, VH1, and ESPN 1-10. It's true that the majority of so-called news sources are now blending news and entertainment, but there are still very good news sources (NY Times, Washington Post, PBS, NPR) and I wonder why Americans can't recognize what's real news and what's fake bullshit news (like the majority of CNN.com and everything on Larry King). Anyone American who wants to stay informed can by visiting nytimes.com and some other news sources, but the fact is that most Americans don't want to be informed, don't want to read hard news stories, and so the big corporations that own these fake news sources feed them what they want (Lohan, Paris, Britney) to get the most ad dollars. CNN.com is going to post very few stories on Darfur because nobody will click on it. So by leaving out real, hard news stories they're giving America what it demands. |
| UGoGirl | Posted – 5/30/2007 10:40:02 AM | show profile How much is the media, and how much is the typical American. Who doesn't really want to talk about anything that's not cheerful or pleasant. It dismays me, the world is falling apart from under our feet and the majority of Americans are more interested in Brittney, Paris Hilton, or Anna Nicole Smith. |
| Bleak Spouse | Posted – 5/30/2007 11:29:27 AM | show profile I think most of us prefer the Hilton and Lohan stories to Darfur or Iraq because we're probably overworked and unhappy and prefer to get lost in an idiotic story than to read hard news stories that make you think. Actually, I don't really understand the obsession with celebrity, especially useless celebrities like Hilton and Spears. But I'm not sure people would tune into CNN.com if they were mainly hard news...they'd start looking for the Spears stories someplace else, like AOL or TMZ or whatever other crap site feeds it to them. But I think even true idiots still realize that they can get hard news any time they want for NY Times, but they simply don't want it. |
