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Algore Decries Rush as "Hate-Monger" and says Rather "forced from anchor job by White House"
HT Hugh Hewitt & John ZieglerNEW YORK (AP) - Here is the text of former Vice President Al Gore's remarks at the We Media conference on Wednesday in New York: I came here today because I believe that American democracy is in grave danger. It is no longer possible to ignore the strangeness of our public discourse . I know that I am not the only one who feels that something has gone basically and badly wrong in the way America's fabled "marketplace of ideas" now functions. How many of you, I wonder, have heard a friend or a family member in the last few years remark that it's almost as if America has entered "an alternate universe"? I thought maybe it was an aberration when three-quarters of Americans said they believed that Saddam Hussein was responsible for attacking us on September 11, 2001. But more than four years later, between a third and a half still believe Saddam was personally responsible for planning and supporting the attack. At first I thought the exhaustive, non-stop coverage of the O.J. trial was just an unfortunate excess that marked an unwelcome departure from the normal good sense and judgment of our television news media. But now we know that it was merely an early example of a new pattern of serial obsessions that periodically take over the airwaves for weeks at a time. {BLAAH BLAAH BLAAH} - excerpted as not to waste Fred's Bandwidth Electrons - But Here is juicy #1.... As a result of these fears, safeguards were enacted in the U.S. - including the Public Interest Standard, the Equal Time Provision, and the Fairness Doctrine - though a half century later, in 1987, they were effectively repealed. And then immediately afterwards, Rush Limbaugh and other hate-mongers began to fill the airwaves. Hugh H. was excerpting this on his show, and when he heard this (about Rush), he became most pissed! Did a nice job of defending Rush, which is pretty good for Hugh who seems to be a tad understated at times... {BLAAH BLAAH BLAAH} - more skipped as not to waste Fred's Bandwidth Electrons - But Here is juicy #2.... Among the other factors damaging our public discourse in the media, the imposition by management of entertainment values on the journalism profession has resulted in scandals, fabricated sources, fictional events and the tabloidization of mainstream news. As recently stated by Dan Rather - who was, of course, forced out of his anchor job after angering the White House - television news has been "dumbed down and tarted up." All I can say is : ALGORE - NOT FAKE BUT VERY INACCURATE - And when Ziegler played this he made it his "Quote of the week". Sort of like the Ignobel award to the inventor of the dog "family jewels" on yesterdays RB. Another excerpt. Moveon.org tried to buy ads last year to express opposition to Bush's Medicare proposal which was then being debated by Congress. They were told "issue advocacy" was not permissible. Then, one of the networks that had refused the Moveon ad began running advertisements by the White House in favor of the President's Medicare proposal. So Moveon complained and the White House ad was temporarily removed. By temporary, I mean it was removed until the White House complained and the network immediately put the ad back on, yet still refused to present the Moveon ad. He is saying that he'd be doing a pretty good job with his tongue to ensure George Soros had a clean "backside" but for 537 votes in Florida. It is true that video streaming is becoming more common over the Internet, and true as well that cheap storage of streamed video is making it possible for many young television viewers to engage in what the industry calls "time shifting" and personalize their television watching habits. Moreover, as higher bandwidth connections continue to replace smaller information pipelines, the Internet's capacity for carrying television will continue to dramatically improve. But in spite of these developments, it is television delivered over cable and satellite that will continue for the remainder of this decade and probably the next to be the dominant medium of communication in America's democracy. And so long as that is the case, I truly believe that America's democracy is at grave risk. In his mind democracy is "at grave risk" because of Fox News is there to call him and his minions what they are. Lying B.S.'ers. Posted by: BigEd 2005-10-08 |
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