Al Gore, and the Internet and the media?

[Mr. Robin Parsons]

Al Gore, and the Internet....and the media??

OK, so even I made a joke about Al Gore and the Internet, something like; "If the internet was truly invented by typists, did Al Gore invent the Typist? in the "Ask a Stupid Quetion get a Stupid Answer" thread.

But the reality, I have now heard, goes like this; in a televised interview that I watched, in the last weeks, a Gentleman named Mr. Vinton Cerf (Pronounced like "Surf") appeared, and told of his knowledge of Mr. Al Gore.

Mr. Cerf's 'references' http://www.icann.org/biog/cerf.htm"

In the telling, he explained that he had heard the original quotation, of Mr. Gore, with respect to Mr. Gore's telling of his involvment with the internet, and how it had been a sad misconception that attributes, to Mr. Gore, the verabl Line of "I initiated the internet" when apparently Mr. Gore Had stated that he had "Taken the initiative" with the internet.

The differentiation is enourmous, inasmuch as, further in his explanation Mr. Cerf mentioned that Mr. Gore had clearly taken the initiative in passing the legislation (the nuts and bolts of politico's) that proceeded to take, then ARPANET, out of the Hands of Government, and placing into the hands of 'private citizens' (AKA "The public") as to allow for the commercialization that would permit the general public full access to what then, became the internet.

As it is simple enough to tell, *taking the "initiative"*, and *taking to "initiate"* sound close enough that it could very feasably have been simply a "mal'entendre" (mis-heard)from one of the reporters, that then, simply escaped all attempts to get the truth of it back out, especially towards a "known to be sarcastic and cynical" media.

So he told of his opinion that Mr. Gore had performed like a "Real Trooper" in his withstanding of ALL of the humor that has been directed his way, in light of the very simple fact that the man did do what he said he did, took the initiative in getting the legislation to make it commercial, as to move it from ownership by the government, (whom could not afford to supply these services to everyone) to ownership by the general public.

Mr. Cerf, I would respectfully suggest, is a very credible individual, hence no reason to lie about it.

So now, it begs the question of, "how does this knowledge, make you feel, about what has transpired in Mr. Al Gores life?"

 

[Zero]

Remember, though, calling Gore a liar was 'fun' and 'sport' for the media...and whether or not he ever actually lied was moot. Plus, you don't get ratings by disecting the policy lies of Bush, especially about taxes because that involves numbers and facts and stuff. The modern media thinks they are on Saturday Night Live, doing the Weekend Update.

 

[Mr. Robin Parsons]

So 'fun' and 'sport' are simply another way of equating/acting "cynical and sarcastic", no matter what the effective consequences may be? Huh?

 

[russ_watters]

Pbs's two documentaries, Triumph of the Nerds and Nerds 2.0.1 provide about the best history of the computer I've ever seen.

Have a look at the timeline in Nerds 2.0.1. Note the entry about Gore... oh wait - there isn't one. But take a look at some of the other milestones:

1982 - TCP/IP established - word "internet" coined.
1990 - Arpanet shut down.
1991 - WWW released (by CERN - not in the US).
1993 - Mosaic (pre-Netscape) released.

Aside from the shutdown of the Arpanet itself, the 3 technological milestones here are what really got the Internet going in the form we see it today. And these things happened with no government intervention whatsoever. In fact, even when it was the ARPANET, it was still mostly a civilian operation. It was run by DARPA, but it mostly was researched by and connecting COLLEGES.

Gore did help get a couple of bills passed that related to infrastructure and funding for internet in schools. Both of which were nice, neither of which were all that important to the success of the internet itself.

 

[Zero]

The point is, it was a minor point Gore made in a much longer statement, and it was technically true, in its context. It was taken out of context, then misquoted, then passed around as though it were true. Lying about Gore was the media's favorite game for years. The 2000 election was covered like a wresting match, with the 'pathological liar' facing off against the 'dumb but nice Texan'. The facts are that Gore was telling the truth, and that Bush is actually a fairly crafty person with a lousy personality...and none of that matters 1/100th as much as policy issues, checking the math on tax plans, or any other of a 100 things the media SHOULD have been covering.

 

[Mr. Robin Parsons]

Originally posted by Zero
The point is, it was a minor point Gore made in a much longer statement, and it was technically true, in its context. It was taken out of context, then misquoted, then passed around as though it were true. Lying about Gore was the media's favorite game for years. The 2000 election was covered like a wresting match, with the 'pathological liar' facing off against the 'dumb but nice Texan'. The facts are that Gore was telling the truth, and that Bush is actually a fairly crafty person with a lousy personality...and none of that matters 1/100th as much as policy issues, checking the math on tax plans, or any other of a 100 things the media SHOULD have been covering.

While I agree with this point, I still wonder of the meaning of the word "Vindicated", and particularily the medias postion towards their responcibilities towards that notion. (the Guy has a Family, and by extension, they too felt that one...)

 

[Zero]

The media doesn't care about truth anymore. They had headlines that said that Bush actually would have won on a recount, while the article actually stated that by almost every standard, Gore won the election.

 

[Mr. Robin Parsons]

Originally posted by russ_watters
(SNIP) Gore did help get a couple of bills passed that related to infrastructure and funding for internet in schools. Both of which were nice, neither of which were all that important to the success of the internet itself. (SNoP)

Not according to the Words of Mr. Cerf, the "father" of TCP who told of the importance of what Mr. Gore did, in relation to moving it from Government control, to the availablity of it made to the public.
Clearly Governemnt could/can NOT afford to be running the internet, providing the services "for free, to all" (sorta) as is the current situation (I know!...so...sorta)

P.S. What wasn't generally known, might just have not made it on to the lists, doesn't mean it wasn't important!

 

[russ_watters]

Ehh, I agree its pretty minor, but there wasn't a lot in the way of context and there are only really two ways to interpret it - either Gore was "embellishing" his role in the creation of the internet or he simply doesn't know its history. My bet would be on the latter.

The media doesn't care about truth anymore. They had headlines that said that Bush actually would have won on a recount, while the article actually stated that by almost every standard, Gore won the election.

Thats not what the article said. IIRC, Bush won under 11 of 12 standards and under all standards that were considered possible scenarios for recounts (unfortunately for Gore, he had to speculate on what standard would yield him the best results). But that's a different discussion.

As a matter of fact, we've had both of these discussions before.

Not according to the Words of Mr. Cerf, the "father" of TCP...

MRP, if you have the words I'll read them, but the link you provided was simply a biography of him.

Clearly Governemnt could/can NOT afford to be running the internet, providing the services "for free, to all" (sorta) as is the current situation

That isn't now nor was it ever the case. The vast majority of the infrastructure is and always has been owned by corporations and universities.

Read some of the history. Its interesting stuff.

 

[Mr. Robin Parsons]

Originally posted by russ_watters
(SNIP) MRP, if you have the words I'll read them, but the link you provided was simply a biography of him. (SNoP)

As I had stated, it was a 'television interview', kinda difficult to print out for you...He, Mr. Cerf, was awarded recognition for his participation re; The Internet (TCP TCPIP) By, Then President, Mr. Bill Clinton, and, apparently, that award is something analogous to the/an American "Nobel" Prize.

Do you really think that this is the kind of person who goes out, and intentionally lies, on television?

 

[kat]

Originally posted by Mr. Robin Parsons
As I had stated, it was a 'television interview', kinda difficult to print out for you...He, Mr. Cerf, was awarded recognition for his participation re; The Internet (TCP TCPIP) By, Then President, Mr. Bill Clinton, and, apparently, that award is something analogous to the/an American "Nobel" Prize.

Do you really think that this is the kind of person who goes out, and intentionally lies, on television?

validating even the lesser claim Gore intended to make is problematic. Any statement about the "creation" or "beginning" of the Internet is difficult to evaluate, because the Internet is not a homogenous entity (it's a collection of computers, networks, protocols, standards, and application programs), nor did it all spring into being at once (the components that comprise the Internet were developed in various places at different times and are continuously being modified, improved, and expanded). Despite a spirited defense of Gore's claim by Vint Cerf (often referred to as the "father of the Internet") in which he stated "that as a Senator and now as Vice President, Gore has made it a point to be as well-informed as possible on technology and issues that surround it," many of the components of today's Internet came into being well before Gore's first term in Congress began in 1977, and it's hard to find any specific action of Gore's (such as his sponsoring a Congressional bill or championing a particular piece of legislation) that one could claim helped bring the Internet into being, much less validate Gore's statement of having taken the "initiative in creating the Internet."

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/internet.htm

 

[schwarzchildradius]

Gore's goofy statement and his many other minor gaffs might be a good example of what extensive marijuana use does to the human mind. I remember some footage on PBS of him saying how he loved to grow and cultivate tobbacco, while speaking in public to a bunch of tobbacco farmers. Oh well. Gore is irrelevant now, unless he decides to run for president.

 

[Mr. Robin Parsons]

Originally posted by kat
http://www.snopes.com/quotes/internet.htm

Nice quote, 'cept Mr. Cerf had stated that Mr. Gore's Congressional(? Senatorial? I don't know, and don't recall it exactly) record reflected his work at getting it out from government regulation into public domain, soo...

 

[Zero]

"In all fairness, it’s something Gore had worked on a long time. Gore is not the Father of the Internet, but in all fairness Gore is the person who, in the Congress, most systematically worked to make sure that we got to an Internet, and the truth is -- and I worked with him starting in 1978 when I got there, we were both part of a 'futures group' -- the fact is, in the Clinton administration the world we had talked about in the ’80s began to actually happen. You can see it in your own life, between the Internet, the computer, the cell phone." --Newt Gingrich


"If the Republicans will stop telling lies about us, we'll stop telling the truth about them."--Will Rogers

 

[Mr. Robin Parsons]

Originally posted by Zero
(SNIP) "In all fairness, it’s something Gore had worked on a long time. Gore is not the Father of the Internet, but in all fairness Gore is the person who, in the Congress, most systematically worked to make sure that we got to an Internet, and the truth is -- and I worked with him starting in 1978 when I got there, we were both part of a 'futures group' -- the fact is, in the Clinton administration the world we had talked about in the ’80s began to actually happen. You can see it in your own life, between the Internet, the computer, the cell phone." --Newt Gingrich (SNoP)

Thank you, now it sort of begs the question, is this repairable? if so how?

Also,

Originally posted by Zero
(SNIP) The media doesn't care about truth anymore (SNoP)

The day that the media stop caring about the truth is the day of their demise! from that lawsuits arising from libelous and scandelous (SP?) reporting.

 

[Zero]

Originally posted by Mr. Robin Parsons
Thank you, now it sort of begs the question, is this repairable? if so how?

Also,
The day that the media stop caring about the truth is the day of their demise! from that lawsuits arising from libelous and scandelous (SP?) reporting.

That's not true...because journalism has been replaced with opinion and personalities...people like Rush Limbaugh, every liar on the Fox Lies Network, and right-wing liars in print are only the tip of the iceberg. The REAL problem, besides the liars, are the rest of the media, which prefer a good story, true or not, over a less-interesting but factual story.

 

[Mr. Robin Parsons]

Originally posted by Zero
That's not true...because journalism has been replaced with opinion and personalities...people like Rush Limbaugh, every liar on the Fox Lies Network, and right-wing liars in print are only the tip of the iceberg. The REAL problem, besides the liars, are the rest of the media, which prefer a good story, true or not, over a less-interesting but factual story.

So we go like this; News/News Commentary, and we see to very different Bugs!

Aside from that, the Law affords, even you, Rights to the Truth of it, simply prove it, and you too can execrsize "The Authority", yourself.

EDIT SP!

 

[russ_watters]

Originally posted by Mr. Robin Parsons
So we go like this; News/News Commentary, and we see to very different Bugs!

Aside from taht, the Law affords, even you, Rights to the Truth of it, simply prove it, and you too can execrsize "The Authority", yourself.

Uh oh...

 

[Mr. Robin Parsons]

And Again!...someones busy, and cannot deal with what they (regularily) deal! (Not Bad, Ironic AND funny!)

 

[Zero]

Originally posted by Mr. Robin Parsons
And Again!...someones busy, and cannot deal with what they (regularily) deal! (Not Bad, Ironic AND funny!)

Would you mind not posting any more stupidity to this thread?

 

[Mr. Robin Parsons]

Not at all, would you mind leaving what I post in place please.

Clearly something was done, that wasn't a valid thing to have been done, (And By 2) sooooo...wheres the apology?

 

[Zero]

Wow, you got this thread locked...are you proud of yourself?