Al Gore may have to sue this guy

[Saxywoo]

I saw today on CNN.com this:

Scientist credited with inventing Web wins $1.2 million

Considering that a few years ago, Al Gore claimed that he invented the Internet, there may be a lawsuit coming down the pike....

Disclaimer: Around this time (every 4 years or so) when American are spammed senseless by political ads on TV, Radio, and (probably soon the Internet), I tend to get very polically cynical. I hate election years....

SaxyCorp

[NiteFox]

Yeah, well, I invented Al Gore.

I revel in human suffering. Al's been doing well on that count.

[Count Duckula]

Yeah, well, I invented Al Gore.

I invented NiteFox. After all, NiteFox is a valued member of society, and the way society works now, the universe wouldn't be the same without NiteFox. So can someone pay for my college education, please?

[--Pete]

Hi,

Al Gore was one of the people who pushed for funding of the Internet -- and that's all he ever claimed. Remember The Right Stuff? Loosely paraphrased: "Funding is what makes these things fly. No bucks, no Buck Rogers."

And, no, the Web is not the Internet, just a cancer that allows morons access. It has increased the quantity of available data by about a million without materially increasing the actual information.

--Pete

[Jester]

"Al Gore was one of the people who pushed for funding of the Internet -- and that's all he ever claimed."

I keep waiting for that point to surface whenever this gets discussed...

Jester

[Selby]

Oh come on Pete, it's more fun to make fun of him over things that have been blown out of proportion by the media ;-)

[Vandiablo]

I know that's what he always meant to claim, but I thought he actually uttered the words on Larry King, using the word invent. Larry didn't catch it, probably because he probably didn't know about that kind of stuff. AG said later he was tired and misspoke, and as you say, he's never seriously claimed blah blah blah...

[gekko]

I invented NiteFox.

You beat me to it. I'll invent you, jerk.

gekko

edit: ps: when I say "beat me to IT," I meant to saying "I invented NiteFox," not to actually inventing NiteFox. But I beat you to that, too.

[Nystul]

The actual Al Gore quote (out of context) was "I took the initiative in creating the internet." The word 'creating' is what got him into the most trouble. It would be about the same as a senator pushing increased NASA funding through in 2004 and then saying "I took the initiative in creating the space program." If Gore had said precisely what he meant, he still would have been ridiculed for it to a lesser extent. His contribution to the development of the internet was not nearly as significant as he apparently thought it was. Did Gore sponsor any internet legislation prior to ~1990?

[kandrathe]

I think most people think of the "Internet" as a thing, rather than a "Program", or "Initiative". "I took the initiative in creating the phone system." is closer to what he was saying and meaning. He didn't claim to be the Alexander Graham Bell of the internet. I forgive him this very slight gaffe, and other politico's have gaffed as much or more.

Kerry’s biggest foe is his mouth

I was struck by the reporter at the last Bush news conference who point blank asked Bush to describe his biggest mistake since "9/11". It's not that people don't make mistakes, just that national leaders shouldn't be asked to divulge and discuss their weaknesses on national TV. I don't need a softer gentler sensitive leader of the free world. We might like our nation to be kinder and gentler, but I believe our leaders need to be strong and commanding. Bush has shown me that he is willing to reverse a decision or change his mind on things, e.g. Rice testifying or not. He's not the great communicator, that is also very clear. Public speaking is not his gift, and every time he talks in public he fills more internet pages with presidential gaffes. Politics seems to be a thankless job when being put under such scrutiny that any human foible, however slight or private, is examined and discussed by mass media.

[--Pete]

Hi,

But, as you so well point out, it is taken out of context.

If anyone is interested in almost too much context, then this article is interesting. Especially the link in that article to Vint Cerf's opinion:

"VP Gore was the first or surely among the first of the members of Congress to become a strong supporter of advanced networking while he served as Senator. As far back as 1986, he was holding hearings on this subject"

Also, from the original article, "If I may paraphrase, Gore built the Internet in the same way as a mayor builds a bridge: neither by drawing up blueprints nor by welding steel; rather by facilitating its construction.' But no one would make fun of that hypothetical mayor.

--Pete

[--Pete]

Hi,

it's more fun to make fun of him over things that have been blown out of proportion by the media

Yes, if you can be reasonably sure that your audience understand that it is a joke. No, if your audience is a bunch of ignorant fools (say the average American voter) who think that it is a statement of fact and arrogance.

In a world where the political future of a person can be unmade by one good satire, jokes are not to be taken lightly. Like the Irish bardic druids who reputedly could kill a man with a song, the modern media wields great power through ridicule. And they seldom wield it well, causing people to fail or to succeed for the wrong reasons.

This "joke" contributed to the fact that we've ended up with a president who's IQ isn't enough to even understand what the Internet is, much less to support it. Frankly, I don't find Shrub in office, and the cost that will have for this nation for years to come to be too damned humorous.

--Pete

[Kharohz]

NT (Accidental Unintended Troll on my part, deleted message)

[Count Duckula]

You beat me to it.  I'll invent you, jerk.

gekko

edit: ps: when I say "beat me to IT," I meant to saying "I invented NiteFox," not to actually inventing NiteFox.  But I beat you to that, too.

Meh. I didn't invent NiteFox. I lied. I FUNDED Nitefox. Now Selby can protect me and Pete can make fun of me.

[This post brought to you by an overdose of Manischewitz.]

[Vandiablo]

Frankly, I don't find Shrub in office, and the cost that will have for this nation for years to come to be too damned humorous.

Yep, I agree.