This is from Al Gore's new book "Assault on Reason." I can't wait to read it. It sounds like someone is finally connecting the dots. The excerpt, along with a profile on Al and how he is not running for President, can be found at: www.time.com...Byrd invited a specific version of the same general question millions of
us have been asking: "Why do reason, logic and truth seem to play a sharply
diminished role in the way America now makes important decisions?" The
persistent and sustained reliance on falsehoods as the basis of policy, even
in the face of massive and well-understood evidence to the contrary, seems
to many Americans to have reached levels that were previously unimaginable.A large and growing number of Americans are asking out loud: "What has
happened to our country?" People are trying to figure out what has gone
wrong in our democracy, and how we can fix it.To take another example, for the first time in American history, the Executive Branch of our government has not only condoned but actively promoted the treatment of captives in wartime that clearly involves torture, thus overturning a
prohibition established by General George Washington during the Revolutionary War.It is too easy—and too partisan—to simply place the blame on the policies of President George W. Bush. We are all responsible for the decisions our country makes. We have a Congress. We have an independent judiciary. We have checks and balances. We are a nation of laws. We have free speech. We have a free press. Have they all failed us? Why has America's public discourse become less focused and clear, less reasoned? Faith in the power of reason—the belief that free citizens can govern
themselves wisely and fairly by resorting to logical debate on the basis of the best
evidence available, instead of raw power—remains the central premise of American
democracy. This premise is now under assault.
17 May 2007
Al Gore May be the Most Dangerous Man in America
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9 comments:
That sounds pretty interesting. Not like the usual politician from the US. I wonder if they are evolving.
He's not currently in politics. I'm seeing a trend in former politicians having a lot more freedom to say what they believe than those that are currently in office. Look at Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton as well. I think it says something about how broken the system is when politicians are more effective once they leave office.
Quite good points he is making. Still it would be nice to see it from someone actually inside, and not in the retrospect.
I still think the ideas are the same, and it should be considered what the objective is.
Oh, and I think it was today there were news about Gore considering to run for president. It could be nice to see if he can live up to the ideals and ideas he is presenting at the moment.
I think that he would need to backtrack if he decided to run for president. At least if he should have a chance to win. Pretty stupid that we reward politicians for saying what we want them to say instead of what they stand for.
The Al Gore may run "stories" are all based on the interview that ran in Time, which pretty much says the opposite, but speculation springs eternal.
An interesting side-bar to this is the latest polling of Americans on the job the newly elected Congress is doing, which is, lousy.
After running on a platform of change and reform, then moving in and getting down to business as usual, the American public is giving this Congress the same 35% endorsement the last Congress was getting. I guess the only good news for this Congress is that Bush is down to a 28% approval rating.
My question is when-oh-when will this dissatisfaction finally result in action. Sadly, I think the people are waiting for a leader who just doesn't exist.
Your leader is right here figuring shit out on my abacus.
As the shit gets deeper the dissemblance becomes harder to spot.
Come on. Gore didn't think this way in office? Bullshit, he didn't have an epiphany between then and now, he's still a fucktard.
Oh come now, me. He was never a fucktard, but he was a politician. Whether he still is remains to be seen (probably by October from what I'm reading). I, personally, would respect him more if he a) stays out of the 08 race or b) throws his support to a 3rd party candidates and tells the Dems to go fuck themselves.
He's a fucktard because he wasn't to stay in the public eye. Ok, in my book, being a politician, you automatically become a fucktard.
He's not in the public eye the way Paris Hilton is in the public eye. He is trying to use his name recognition to do some good, whether you agree with what he thinks is doing good or not. People didn't use to think all politicians are fucktards. It's a relatively recent phenomenon.
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