Like most messianic leaders of a movement, I have always wondered if Al Gore was “certifiable” …
What happens to a man who has been groomed his entire life to assume the Presidency of the United States and loses the prize by the narrowest of margins due to a confluence of events beyond his immediate control? Can a man who has scaled the pinnacle of presidential politics simply retire or retreat into the background while life moves on?
In Gore’s case, it seems that he was privileged to be at the right point in time and space to capitalize on the “climate” issue. An issue which provides him with continuing ego-stroking accolades and the power and money to be the acknowledged leader of a worldwide movement. Free of the political constraints of having to respond to his critics or account for his funds, it seems Al Gore has done well for himself by finding his own personal nirvana.
Generating a different kind of power …
In a sense, Al Gore is his own self-interest. Free of the constraints which require the disclosure of his business dealings, especially those which are constituted as offshore entities. Al Gore can profit from his pronouncements and earn money from his speeches, writings and by hooking into the hedge fund capital scene to raise money for investments in things that he promotes. Not that there is anything wrong with this other than the possibility that it is based on “junk science” or that government subsidies for certain investments may not be forthcoming in the future.
From Wikipedia …
Gore is currently the cofounder and chairman of Generation Investment Management, cofounder and chairman of the Emmy Award - winning American television channel Current TV … He is also a partner in the venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, heading that firm's climate change solutions group.”
“Generation Investment Management LLP is a London-based investment management firm with an investment style that blends traditional equity research with a focus on sustainability factors, including social and environmental responsibility and corporate governance.”
“Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is chairman of Generation, and David Blood — previously chief executive of Goldman Sachs Asset Management — is CEO. The pair has given the company its nickname, ‘Blood and Gore.’”
“In November 2007, Generation and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers announced a global collaboration to "find, fund and accelerate green business, technology and policy solutions with the greatest potential to help solve the current climate crisis." As part of the collaboration, prominent KPCB Partner John Doerr joined Generation's Advisory Board.”
“Generation Investment Management LLP is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the UK.”
You would think that any organization headed by an American and run by Americans would be headquartered in the United States and subject to control by the Securities Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and other such consumer protection agencies?
The “rain making” publicity machine …
Gore’s primary task is to keep the climate story on the front page and opening the door to new business contacts for his partners to exploit. So we often see outrageous headlines that are crafted more for their ability to attract media attention than the truth they assert.
From Politico.com …
Gore compares offshore drilling to invasion of Iraq
“In a surprise appearance at Netroots Nation — which apparently was the worst-kept secret in Austin, Texas — former Vice President Al Gore followed up a speech by Nancy Pelosi by laying out a narrative on climate change and the energy crisis that seems ready-made for the Obama campaign to download.”
“If you look at the seriousness of the climate crisis, you see how it ties to the economic crisis and the national security threat that we face,” he said. “200 billion dollars are being sent overseas just from oil.”
It is amazing that the far-left ties a phony climate crisis where time frames are measured in hundreds and thousands of years to present day military and economic threat issues. Especially since this far-left crowd is historically about weakening the United States militarily and economically.
“’The idea that we can drill our way out of this is just so absurd,’ he said, comparing the push for offshore oil drilling — which has gained popularity and put environmentalists on the defense — to dealing with a hangover by having another drink.”
A cute word-picture which is entirely inaccurate. Perhaps a more accurate picture would be dealing with the thirst of a nation by further closing the water tap and charging more for the drink. And, of course, all the while demanding that people drink costly “alternative” water bottled at a huge profit by the legislator’s friends.
“The defenders of the status quo are the ones who have dug us into this hole,” he said, commenting that Americans have been “so often fooled into finding a remedy for a problem" that has nothing to do with the problem at hand — pointing to the invasion of Iraq when America was attacked by terrorists in Afghanistan as an example.
Notice the subtle switch of subject: from environmental concerns to military commentary.
Does Gore really believe that the American people are so stupid as not to realize that it was his democrat party, himself included, that have been the traditional the defenders of the status quo?
That the democrat who supported NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) and BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Nor Anytime) policies that created this crisis are are uniquely complicit in today’s war on terror?
Democrats who refused to expand the exploitation of our own energy reserves and which pushed us into supporting Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries on their terms. Enriching them with our money so they could support IslamoFascism. Making it virtually impossible to attack the real source of terror in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Iran and Syria?
Does Gore believe that, given the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, the anti-nuclear stance of the democrats which precluded the use of relatively clean and economically viable energy generation in favor of heavily subsidized unreliable energy sources, was in the best interests of America?
On this subject, Gore is like most politicians: full of crap and in full denial of historical records.
“’The engines of distraction and the great concentrated power of communication that you’ve seen turned on this issue or that issue is already hard at work,’ he says. "’They will say we can’t switch away from oil.’"
Again, with the misdirection. Most of today’s media is biased towards the liberal left and spends much of its time bashing the Bush Administration and ignoring any good news that would enlighten and embolden ordinary American citizens. And if they say anything about energy, it is mostly about the perils of drilling and pumping oil and the problem with nuclear waste. And anything else that would keep American from becoming energy independent.
“’We have to switch our electricity generation system,” he says, noting that changing transportation fuels will take longer, before reiterating his plan to ensure that “100 percent of our electricity [comes] from renewable sources and carbon-constrained fuels over the next 10 years.”
We need to build a better fault-tolerant electrical grid. We need to reduce pollution. We need to develop a scientific basis linking carbon dioxide to anything before we simply decide to chuck carbon-source energy in the dustbin and confer a great advantage on our enemies who are less suicidal than the democrats.
"It is not partisan, it is focused on this single objective," he says. "we are trying to mobilize ten million grassroots activists.”
With Gore, it is about being post-partisan and attracting the largest possible audience for his ideas. But has anybody noticed that the “Netroots Nation” is simply the new name of the annual YearlyKos convention. A rabid far-left political blogging organization which often spews hate and filth at those who disagree with its far-left anti-America agenda?
In response to a question about whether he'd join an Obama administration as climate czar, he says he'd rather "focus on trying to enlarge the political space in which political officials address this climate crisis ... I have seen how important it is to develop a base of support.
One of my greatest criticisms of Al Gore is that he is continually playing in the political space rather than putting together conferences of scientists who will hash out what we know, what we don’t know and what we need to do in order to continue to discover the truth about global climate change.
People for a perfect planet: a new secular religion?
The sad truth regarding Al Gore’s accomplishments is that they will be forever tainted with their association of the far-left of the political spectrum. Those who have co-opted the environmental movement in order to secure their political agenda. Some of which believe man is an unrepentant, filthy stain on the planet’s ecosystem and that his effects should be minimized at all costs. Many of these people belong to splinter sects which believe that animals have legal and civil rights and that we need to reverse the tide of civilization in order to live closer to the land.
A great cover for those who want to do physical harm to America by curtailing its ability to defend itself militarily and support itself economically. Scratch many ecologists and you will find some of the older “peace at any price” and “no nukes” crowd who objected to the rise of nuclear energy, not because it may have been ecologically unfriendly in the old days, but because it put their worshiped Soviet Union at a great military disadvantage.
This has morphed into a new secular religion which requires faith to believe all of its teachings. And, like most religions, fosters a sense of community in the social sense. Where people of like mind can meet and congratulate themselves on doing good works on behalf of the planet. Somewhat like cynical apolitical guys joining the Young Democrats, Young Republicans and various protest groups to get at the hot babes that frequented such events.
This new religion seems like an amazing parallel to the Church of Scientology that was founded by the science fiction writer L.Ron Hubbard. Both profess to want to help mankind overcome its burden. With Scientology, an internal burden and with Gore, the external burden on the planet. Both purport to make the world a better place. Both have an extremely high buy-in – in terms of commitment and cost. Both have shadowy leadership which minimizes media confrontation. Both use celebrities to attract additional supporters. Both have a following of vocal skeptics. And both feature end-results which are somewhat unbelievable to the person not a member of the religion.
While it seemed important at the time, history may evaluate both Gore’s Noble Peace Prize ,which is a non-scientific political accolade, and his Oscar for a deeply-flawed and misleading “documentary” film to be little more than a timely anti-Bush Administration “poke-in-the-eye" Granted for the purposes of pursuing a political agenda rather than for any solid accomplishment by an individual.
A warning beacon for the planet or simply a political shill for special interests?
While the science is still out on the subject of anthropogenic climate change, there is the possibility that the science will not support Gore’s assertions and that his efforts were simply as a shill for those who wanted to enlarge their bureaucratic constituencies, assume greater political power, raise taxes, engage in further social engineering which curtails personal liberty and freedom as well as making large amounts of money for themselves and their special interest supporters. What better way to plunder the public treasury with little or no threat of an uprising of those who are being forced to pay the price of making the rich much, much richer and the moving the powerful beyond the bounds of reproach.
Most disturbing …
The most disturbing facet of Al Gore’s work is that he tightly controls media access to his high-cost, well-attended events and refuses to engage in a debate about his work or his conclusions.
What can YOU do?
Demand that there be some rationality in our plan to achieve energy independence – which is at the root of most of our economic and statecraft problems.
Do not vote for those who have been traditional obstructions or who have corrupted the system beyond all recognition. By which I mean the democrats who have placed us in this pickle.
Recognize that the sometimes inept and uncommunicative Bush Administration has performed better than the democrats; regardless of what the left-leaning media may proclaim.
Vote your pocketbook. Do you want to pay more taxes, travel less, give up air travel altogether. Are you about economic growth or economic sacrifice?
Vote the bastards on both sides of the aisle out of office. And that includes local and state elected officials who tend to think of themselves as our new royalty and able to loot the public purse at will.
Be true to yourself, your family and friends. A political party is not a sports team where strategy can be hotly discussed, but the resulting score is not open to interpretation and is instantaneously available to all citizens regardless of their position or belief.
Do not vote for any candidate or current politician who is willing to subvert the safety, security, sovereignty and economic strength of the United States or limit an individual's right of self-defense for their personal philosophy, power, prestige or profits.
-- steve
Quote of the day: “Everything is vague to a degree you do not realize till you have tried to make it precise.” -- Bertrand Russell
A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…
The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius
Reference Links:
Ben Smith's Blog: Gore compares offshore drilling to invasion of Iraq - Politico.com
