Friday, May 15, 2009
Politics / Silverman Why Do So Many Nashvillians Hate Al Gore?
Posted by Jack Silverman on Fri, May 15, 2009 at 1:47 PM
- Is it that you think his climate-change pitch is a cynical attempt to cash in? (Frankly, that seems like an absurd hypothesis. He's on Apple's board of directors and is a senior adviser to Google, among other things. His income would probably exceed the GNP of several third-world countries even if he sat in a beach chair the rest of his life.)
- Is it his considerable ego? (If that's your complaint, I assume you hate every major world leader since the beginning of time?)
- Is it his off-putting professorial tone, which can come off as condescending?
- Do his politics raise your hackles?
- Do you find him arrogant?
- Does it rankle you that such an unrepentant liberal is a poster boy for your hometown?
- Are you a bitter Democrat who's still pissed he lacked cojones in the 2000 election debacle?
- Do you think climate change is a bunch of hogwash?
- Or is it just an inexplicable gut reaction?
Comments (60)
Showing 1-50 of 60
Maybe its the fact he waxes poetic about his childhood in Tennessee, but his philanthropic activities rarely involve local non profits. He's a publicity whore.
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A generation ago, folks felt the same way about his father but they elected him to the House four times and the Senate three times. You could never find anybody outside of Carthage to say a good word about him, but they must have considered him to be pretty able.
a better question, if anyone with a loud enough voice had the balls to ask it is 'why does everybody seems to love him so damn much?'
i haven't seen him do anything worthy of the credit people give him, and that's why i don't like him. i don't like anyone who takes credit for things they had no hand in, and gore is one of the world's worst offenders. as far as i can tell he's just stuffed suit running around being the face of all things green and happy. he's got it made, because anytime a non-sycophant pipes up and presents a remotely intelligent challenge to his line, they either get trashed by gore-lickers or gore himself deigns to acknowledge the question long enough to roll his eyes and point to the great and powerful consensus of oz.
You pose nine bullet points.
Yes to one through six, eight and nine.
No to seven.
1) His political metamorphosis from a pro-life and pro-gun Tennessee congressman to a pro-choice and anti-gun darling of the salon Left led me to believe that deep down (admittedly a short trip), he is totally wrapped up in his best interest and has no deeper beliefs.
Like Mitt Romney, his convictions seem as deeply rooted as the trees of Birnham Wood.
2) The whole 'growing up in Tennessee' meme is just annoying. I prefer elitists to be honest about the advantages they have being from the elite.
3) His arrogance on global warming is actually going to do real damage to the world economy but he doesn't care since he has never had to worry about anything except his career.
4) He inspires people to make stupid parenthetical comments like "(The election he won, you may remember.)" It is an effective rallying cry but it is manifestly not true. And it is really tiresome.
Americans, particularly Southerners, don't like smart people. Al Gore is smart and decided to actually do something rather than stand around and wring his hands about Global Warming. He's sort of an academic nerd and that's why he pulled all this together. Get over it.
SheWhoShallNotBeNamed is so, so, so right.
And, why is it Frist gets a free pass? Now he is worthy of knee jerk hate.
I hear Emmetts Flatulence has a framed pitcher of Frist in his gun safe....
i don't like anyone who takes credit for things they had no hand in
Isn't the essence of what politicians do?
SheWhoetc,
Nothing like a broad bigoted observation to make your point. I suspect that your views are similar to the former Vice President's.
Most of the Southerners I know like smart people, value Education and participate in making things better in their communities. They just don't see people who disagree with them as intellectually inferior or morally deficient.
But hey, who are we to dare to disagree with you? Let's junk Democracy and have government by the Enlightened. You have moy vote, assuming that you will allow those who disagree with your bigotry to vote.
again, what has he done to convince you that he is so smart? because him say big words in big movie show? seriously, point me to something that could account for even a fraction of the elevation he has over other doublespeak pols.
and saying "southerners don't like smart people" is about as worthless as saying "liberals hate america".. get over yourself
I'm more interested in how much room a framed pitcher of Frist takes up in a gun safe than getting into a "being arrogant with the best of you" contest.
Well, to start with, he lost the 2000 election, but had the temerity to start changing the rules after the game to try for the win anyway. If you want to revise your version of reality to say he "won" on some level, go for it, but you lose credibility.
Next, well, he really isn't all that smart, and his pretentious attitude is a cover for that, which means he knows he's no towering intellect either. Nor does he actually have any understanding of science or scientific method - he reminds me of various popes that had "heretics" executed for parroting the church line on how the universe actually operates. However, he does know how to make a buck by fleecing people.
He's pretty much a dismissive ass to all those that disagree with him, and he's been caught lying several times.
That gut reaction thing - just like with John Edwards, you know when you've encountered a complete douchebag before they even manage to open their mouth to prove it. Gore is an easy person to despise, and he never gives you a reason not to.
Finally, there is the whole steaming load of non-science crap that is global warming. It's a load of BS, and has been from the start. That he has taken up the position of high priest for this particular religion while exempting himself from actually embracing any of the changes he demands of everyone else, he exposes himself as the complete hypocrite that we've always known he was.
Al Gore is a complete and utter hyprocrit. Given his rantings, one would think he would be living like Gandhi, not burning through fuel and electrons like a drunken sailor. Oh, he's also a sanctimonious jerk.
Shewho...
I concede the Arrogance title to you.
You can have the Bigoted Leftist of the Month title too.
Seattle Libertarian's got it right. Gore is this generation's Elmer Gantry. I'm sure those Vandy divinity classes have been useful.
Mark Roger's got it right. When has Gore really embraced Carthage OR Nashville?
He's smart? Only if smart is defined by knowing where those 'sucker born every minute' folks are and how to fleece them.
Seattle Libertarian, we do agree on one thing:
"That gut reaction thing...you know when you've encountered a complete douchebag...."
"(The election he won, you may remember.)"
Perhaps if he had won his own state. (Didn't. I remember.)
Most people I know – college-educated, professional types all - agree with 99% of what has already been said on this page. I won't name the poster responsible for the other 1% (at her request, of course).
As you can tell from many of the comments, the most virulent anti-Gore obsession rests firmly in the bosom of the right-wing. In that regard, Nashville-based right-wingers are no more obsessed than wing nuts in other locations. Fairly typical, actually, and there is no real point in arguing with them. Logic, science, tolerance, perspective, rationality, fairness and good faith have no footing in these halls. Pretty clear why GOP is increasingly limited to a regional party. But it's thier funeral. GOP RIP.
So I guess I disagree with some of your premises.
If I recall correctly, Mr. Gore took 2 'science' courses as an undergraduate and didn't do all that well - a C and a D, or something similar.
Following that sterling performance, didn't he drop out of, or flunk out of, divinity school?
To ascribe 'smart' or 'intelligent' to Mr. Gore might be arguable - but to lend him any credence regarding scientific matters in general, or climate concerns in particular, is WAY beyond the pale.
I'd sooner discuss it with my cat.
Most of the locals who hate Gore do so because they've been practically ordered to by Phil Valentine and his ilk. And the level of hate rises with the amount of adulation Gore receives elsewhere. He makes a widely-praised movie and there's a big hate spike. That movie wins an Oscar, another hate spike. He wins a Nobel Prize, hate spike through the roof. Pretty soon people are even calling him a lousy tipper. (tipper, not Tipper.) It's kind of fun to watch.
Give him a break, he is trying desperately hard to be somebody. Show some some of that Obama empathy and tolerance for the mentally challenged. Most people would try to make a difference in a local city or state. Ole Al is going to "save the world" from the "biggest crisis that ever faced mankind." For that you have got to have some "huge ones"! Oh, and that second 100 million will be a lot easier when the "energy police" start giving out tickets for excess CO2. Breathing will become taxable and strenous exercise will be on a sliding scale of CO2 production. Breathing slower will get you a couple carbon credits. And to think they could NEVER figure out a way to tax AIR, but Al did...now that's brilliant! Plus cattle flatulence. Smelly air gets taxed even more.
Here's a project for someone...TRY to get any of Al's group to give you a list of the scientists who make up that so-called consensus! It seems to be a secret for some reason.
Want to see Al go into a meltdown...mention the fact the temps have been cooling for the past ten years.
"The future so bright, I gotta wear shades."
Arrogant child of priviledge who hated living in the shadow of Clinton and losing the election sent him over the edge, so he decided he'd "save the world." He preaches self-sacrifice in energy and lifestyle for the great "unwashed", but lives like a king. Going "green" has made him a cool 100 million or so in the past 9 years. But buying "carbon offsets" from himself (he's chairman of the company that provides them) gives him a right to use umpteen times more energy than an average person. When he moves to a 3 Bdroom ranch and starts living what he preaches, maybe I'll believe that HE believes there's a crisis.
I don't believe in global warming, he din't DO anything about global warming and he gets Nobel for talking about it and number one what kind of loser could blow the advantage he had going into the 2000 election and let it get to the point where Florida was an issue
Hey John,
It won't be very long before we won't have to worry 'bout Floriduh much longer.
Or New Orluhns
Or New Yawk citee.
You will all be clinging to the Cumberland Plateau.
I'm no "global-warming denier". My politics are more in tune with those of Lamar Alexander. But Gore's climate-change pitch IS a cynical attempt to cash in. The man does not practice what he preaches.
His professorial tone is obnoxious considering his lackluster academic credentials. Republicans will grudgingly admit that Barrack Obama's can speak to an audience without coming off as condescending. Gore wasn't "too smart" to be President. He's a terrible communicator. That matters.
PS-Gore isn't an unrepentant liberal. He's a DLC tool. Just like Hillary. Moderates are more polarizing than ideologues.
"Global Warming" is a theory, and a poor one at that. There is no statistically significant evidence that temperature change is anything other than natural variation. And that doesn't even take into consideration that the Measurement System itself is flawed.
Jack, you said: "As a lifelong Democrat, I will confess I was none too happy with Gore's 2000 presidential run. (The election he won, you may remember.)"
To which election are you referring to that he won? I don't recall him winning an election in 2000, but my memory is bad. So, I checked the history books, still nothing. Please help.
Sincerely,
A Truth Seeker
Definitely a hypocrite.
Another example: He preached the danger of coastal storms, and sea level rise, yet one of the first things he bought with his global warming money was a million and a half dollar coastal home in San Fransisco.
In fact, I'll go farther than that. He's a liar. He says things that are not true, and he has to know they aren't true. He's been shown they aren't true, yet he repeats them.
Also he's a manipulative pussy. He'll only talk to media people who have been pre-screened to lob soft ball questions to him. It's written into his speaking engagement contracts, that random reporters can't talk ask him questions.
He runs from debate challenges on a topic he says is settled, but obviously isn't. I'll change my mind about that one, when he accepts Monckton's challenge to debate. He won't though. He's afraid he'll lose, and best guess is he's finally found something he's right about there.
I don't like Al Gore, because he's a gutless liar.
Why do I hate Al Gore? Let me count the ways.
1. He is a self-important windbag. He's not as smart as he thinks he is, which makes his superior demeanor contemptible.
2. He's a hypocrite. He has a carbon footprint bigger than perhaps 99% of the people on this planet, yet he urges US to shiver in the winter and swelter in the summer. When he moves into his tent made of 100% recycled materials, I may take him seriously.
3. His company is poised to profit from cap and trade legislation, which makes me think he is greedy. I fail to see how yet another layer of bureaucracy will improve the environment. It's just another tax on the productive sector of the economy.
Gore is promoting some good technologies, but we can only build so many windmills. Here are my suggestions:
1. Phase out dirty diesel.
2. Approve massive drilling for new sources of natural gas, and reduce our dependency on oil from the evil Saudis.
3. Put more money toward nuclear fusion. We will have a working reactor within ten years. This alone could end the debate.
4. Develop the hydrogen infrastructure. All you need is a new tank at the gas station.
5. Breed a grass seed that grows a maximum of five inches. We could then decimate the wasteful endeavor of mowing grass and send millions of Mexicans packing!
My primary objection to Al Gore is that his dubious "green" cheerleading romanticizes the lifestyles of millions of people living short, miserable lives of abject poverty and squalor in mud huts while he and his minions jet all over the world eating caviar and champagne. Because of his "green" evangelism, millions and millions of poor brown people will continue to live in poverty and billions will continue to be without electricity and clean water.
I challenge Al Gore and his followers to live without electricity - without refrigeration, cell phones, television, computers, airplanes, and automobiles for the rest of their lives just the way 2-3 billion other people of the world do and will because of Al Gore's influence.
It's assumed by many that any critics of Al Gore must certainly be from the GOP or rightwing. I'm as liberal as they come and I resent the fact that he and wealthy political activists like him have co-opted and compromised the liberal message so much that I can't, in good conscience, refer to myself as a Liberal anymore if being a Liberal means that we trample all over the world's poorest people while we enjoy the good life, insulating ourselves from every possible threat to our wellbeing with one regulation after another. This, to me, is the ultimate shame of modern-day liberalism. Either fight to bring those poor people up to your standard of living, join them by throwing away all your worldly possessions and 30 years of additional lifespan, or shut the hell up.
How is it that ultra-wealthy celebrities like Al Gore, Oprah Winfrey, Robert Redford, and Leonardo Di Caprio with multiple mansions and private jets are considered the greenest of the green? Where are all the real environmental heroes living in one-room huts without electricity, no indoor plumbing, and organic gardens? How is this not the ultimate shame of Al Gore's green evangelism? I couldn't sleep thinking of myself associated with him. How do you?
"I believe it is appropriate to have an OVER-representation of factual presentations on how dangerous global warming is, as a predicate for opening up the audience to listen to what the solutions are, and how hopeful it is that we are going to solve this crisis." - Al Gore-2006...
So in other words, lie.
First, Gore sets up a company that will invest in other alternative energy companies that will benefit from his global warming hysteria.
Second, Gore gets some Hollywood types to fund and produce a factless movie designed to scare the carbon out of people.
Third, Gore travels the world (in his private jet no less) promoting this movie, while pushing the view that a catastrophe is imminent if the world doesn't immediately act.
Fourth, an adoring media falls for the con hook, line, and sinker. Rather than debunking all the flaws in his ridiculous theories, the media promotes every word of it while advancing the concept that Gore's views represent those of an overwhelming majority of scientists, which it doesn`t, and it`s just the opposite.
Fifth, scared governments and citizens across the globe invest in alternative energy programs driving up the shares of companies Gore's group has already invested in.
Sixth, Gore and his cronies make millions as they laugh all the way to the bank at the stupidity of gullible people.
Drudge has this link to Politico:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2009/05/15/flashback_gore_calls_bush_policies_un-american_in_2002_speech.html
The former VP is critcizing President Bush in 2002, well before the two year time limit he claimed.
Now almost all politicians end up contradicting themselves at some point, and this is hardly a major gaffe, but it is the insane unwillingness of Gore-lovers to admit that he is capable of doing wrong that I find so scary.
I remember in 2000 when Gore loyalists tried to demonize anyone who raised the issue of Gore's propensity for exaggerating his record. Turns out that in 1988 when he ran for President the issue was first raised by a member of his own staff. And a Nashvillian at that.
I also think that the word 'hate' is unfair. I don't hate Gore and I don't think many Tennesseans hate Gore. I find him hypocritical and elitist in the bad sense of the word. The South Park people have him nailed.
"'Global Warming' is a theory, and a poor one at that. There is no statistically significant evidence that temperature change is anything other than natural variation. And that doesn't even take into consideration that the Measurement System itself is flawed."
Truth Seeker, most scientists disagree with you. Forget about Al Gore. I'll take scientists words over yours. Calling oneself a skeptic about anything means you get to virtually ignore all data that points in the opposite direction. It's pretty clever actually.
Anyways, while I like Al Gore, I can understand the hate he gets. He comes across as condescending. He is immensely smart (don't try to argue) and when he comes across people who aren't as smart, which is often, people resent it. Witness Marsha Blackburn with her ridiculous questions ("my constituents asked me to ask it") and he practically mocked her. He is clearly her intellectual superior but to some people he came across as smarmy. And combine that with partisan politics, and it isn't hard to see where the hate is coming from.
And I'll bet almost anything that most of the negative comments on this story towards Gore are from Republicans.
And as one poster put it, I wonder how many of these same people criticizing Gore were Frist & W supporters. I bet most although they might not admit it.
I also would loooooove to see Gore debate Phil Valentine on global warming. The ensuing embarrassment might actually shut Phil up.
He's a scam artist. The people who dislike him are the ones who can see through him.
If global warming is so proven, why be afraid to debate? Because if you can't beat George Bush in a debate, you have no business debating anyone.
Chris1974 opines re AlGore, " He is immensely smart (don't try to argue) and when he comes across people who aren't as smart, which is often, people resent it."
To which I respond, "I have some beachfront property in Phoenix which I'm sure will interest you."
Maybe Mr. Gore just suffers from that common truism that no one is a either an expert or a hero at home. They used to say Jessie Jackson became more and more popular the further he got from Chicago! As an outsider, and a professor of international politics I personally think that Nashville's reputation is deeply enhanced by Mr. Gore's activities and at some future point the entire world will deeply appreciate how much Mr. Gore's Climate Project, and the many locals who help him in his work have accomplished in building a better future for all our children.
"Chris1974 opines re AlGore, " He is immensely smart (don't try to argue) and when he comes across people who aren't as smart, which is often, people resent it."
To which I respond, "I have some beachfront property in Phoenix which I'm sure will interest you."
Well, it is immensely obvious that no one is as smart as Mr. Emmett Flatus. And that beachfront property in Phoenix bit is extremely original, Mr. Flatus. I think I will try to work that into a conversation as soon as possible. People will think I'm hilarious.
Great question.
Answer -- because he's a demonstrable liar for one -- with blatant mistatements of facts and ignoring those that disagree with his position. Check the status of Antarctic ice, and you'll discover it's been expanding (yes, expanding) not contracting even during the Southern summmer. Hmmm...
Okay, and then here's a guy that lives in a 10K sq ft mansion, uses 10x more electricity than most Americans and wants to tell us what kind of light bulb to use.
It's kind of like the brothel-visiting priest.
Finally, I don't like or believe in Al Gore, because even Al Gore does not believe Al Gore. Within 2 years this guy is going down in flames and will have no credibility whatsoever. The GW backlash is "warming up" and you will see it soon. Get off the Al Gore bus now, or stick at your own peril.
But Gore IS an opportunist,...
http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2007/03/inconvenient-offset-quick-recap-records.html
...and yes, he is also totally wrong about global warming.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOLkze-9GcI
The cap and trade legislation that Al Gore supports guarantees to raise energy prices. That's its purpose. It's an energy tax. Obama's own economic advisory board explained that it will cost every household in America upwards from $1,600 - likely as much as $3,100 extra - per year.
By raising energy prices, Gore and the Democrats hope to cut greenhouse emissions by over 80% by 2050, which would put us all back to a lifestyle similar to that of Americans in the late 1800s.
Do Gore supporters ever ask tough questions of Mr. Gore or do they just assume he knows what he's talking about? If global warming is truly the most important issue of our time, then I think tough questions are more than warranted. How much warming would the 2 trillion dollars in energy taxes assuage? The accepted scientific answer is .09 degrees. That's 9 one-hundredths of one degree - less than one tenth of a degree less than what the temperature would be without cap and trade.
So, due to Al Gore's cap and trade, we leave our children with much higher energy costs, less employment, and less quality of life than we have now. Guaranteed. All for a tenth of a degree less global warming.
Even Greenpeace and NASA's own global warming alarmist James Hansen opposes the cap and trade legislation Al Gore espouses.
Gore appeared in a hearing before the House Committe on Energy and Commerce as an expert witness to answer questions, yet people like chris1974 think he was right to obfuscate and give smart alec answers as a means to prove his superior intellect. I saw all the youtube videos of Gore and I see a man refusing to give straight answers, wasting the taxpayers' time and money. If he wasn't in a serious House hearing to give straight answers, why was he there? He wouldn't have behaved that way in a court of law on the stand. A judge would have forced him to answer the questions.
Marsha Blackburn was doing her job, a job the American taxpayers are paying her to do, asking the very questions I, as an American citizen, wanted to ask Mr. Gore. The fact that he wouldn't take a serious hearing seriously tells me a lot. Chris1974 sees a superior performance by a superior intellect. I see a man who is so nervous about being honest that he has to put up a facade of smugness. Gore's handlers have said over and over that debating is not Gore's strong suit, which is why they don't allow him to debate and why they don't allow the press to ask him questions that haven't been pre-approved.
I'm definitely not a Republican. Whether or not his detractors here are Republicans or otherwise is beside the point and an ad hom fallacy. Every criticism I've read here is a valid one, made by thinking, caring humans, not nameless, faceless, inferior enemies of yours, chris1974. You've learned from Gore how not to address the actual issues, but instead, denigrate the people raising them. That's not the feather in your cap you think it is. Or his.
From across the pond Al Gore looks like a scam merchant. "Do as I say, not as I do", seems to be his mantra.
Why won't he debate his 'settled science' about Man made Climate change/shift/warming?
And he lies and lies and lies and was found out in the British Courts over what we now call 'A convenient un-truth'
So glad he is not your President.
Glaciers growing, planet cooling, CO2 increasing?
CO2 is not a poison. Try looking out at all the greenery around. Without CO2 it would be brown and dead!
"Truth Seeker, most scientists disagree with you. Forget about Al Gore. I'll take scientists words over yours."
Probably true. About 60% of climate scientists believe in the threat of AGW, about 20% don't. That's according to the few surveys done (e.g. von Storch), which while admittedly flawed, are the only real evidence available.
However, most people who make this sort of statement about "most scientists" are not basing it on any actual evidence, but on the unexamined polemic assertions of non-scientist activists. Mr Gore amongst them.
By the way, I am a scientist. (Not that it ought to be relevant. Scientists always say 'take nobody's word for it'. Anyone who doesn't, isn't.) But you seem to be saying you'd take my word for it. So if you disagree with me, how is that consistent?
"I think I will try to work that into a conversation as soon as possible. People will think I'm hilarious."
Don't count on it, chris 1794. I suspect you are seldom identified as hilarious or intelligent.
The reason for the hatred for Al Gore is the same reason for the hatred of Hillary Clinton and the hatred for the UN. He has become the prinicple target of the conservative propaganda machine.
Chris1974 says: "Truth Seeker, most scientists disagree with you. Forget about Al Gore. I'll take scientists words over yours. Calling oneself a skeptic about anything means you get to virtually ignore all data that points in the opposite direction. It's pretty clever actually."
So what you are saying is that whoever is in the majority is correct? I guess that places you in the majority group of people that once believed (part of "conventional wisdom") that the earth was flat.
Ultimately what matters is WHAT a person says, not WHO says it. In the GW debate, there are intelligent people on both sides subscribing to polar opposite views. But what leads you, Chris1974, to believe the scientists who subscribe to GW versus the ones who do not? Perhaps preconceived notions?
Concensus only has meaning if there is no pressure to conform in either direction. How far could we reasonably expect a scientist to go with questions in an IPCC panel when that instantly collects a denialist label and probably guarantees a dead end to even the most able career?
While the media usually finds mavericks at least entertaining, in this case they often imagine that anyone who doubts the hypothesis of GW must be in the pay of the oil companies. As a result, some key discoveries in climate research go unreported.
What about that "mini ice age" that occurred about 300 years ago? If Al Gore was around then, his "inconvenient truth" would have predicted the earth was about to turn into one giant ice cube, and we all know now that it didn't.
What about the less than 200 years of collected temperature data? In order to show a statistically significant change, the smaller the change, the more data you need. And ice core data analysis reminds me of the 'carcinogen of the week'...science changing and trying to keep up with explanations when not all factors are known or understood.
Enthusiasm for the GW scare also ensures that heat waves make headlines, while contrary symptoms are vastly ignored and not reported.
Humility in face of nature's many marvels seems more appropriate than arrogant assertions that we can forecast and even control a climate ruled by the sun, the stars, and many other variables of which we likely don't yet understand.
Unfortunately the first liar to the podium wins. And that just sounds a lot like Chicken-Little running around screaming "The sky is falling...the sky is falling...".
Most people don't seek the truth, but the achievement of their own agenda.
When certain posters (Joe Carmen) use language like, "Breed a grass seed that grows a maximum of five inches. We could then decimate the wasteful endeavor of mowing grass and send millions of Mexicans packing," it becomes clear that all you Gore haters are recycling the same raw sewage piped out of the collective mouth of conservative radio, et al.
Who cares if global warming is a real threat or not? After centuries of rapid industrialization, the effects of business and commerce at any cost have trampled the concerns of the environment (ever heard of the Hudson River?). Who cares if Gore is an opportunist and/or a hypocrite? We ALL should be doing our part to be less wasteful, using renewable resources and more concerned with the rate at which we are harming the environment, at the expense of commerce.
Centuries of sweeping the crumbs under the rug, the planet is starting to smell funny, and you all hate Gore because he has the balls to say that something should be done? I guess you're just following the conservative mantra: Deny all common sense and find some person or group in which to divert the blame. I hear the Mexicans invented Swine Flu and American unemployment, while Gore invented the internet and global warming, etc., ad nauseum.
It is clear that Tennessee and the conservative mindset have no place for education, because if they did, people would rally behind this cause, regardless of the cheerleader.
BTW, Gore DID win the presidency in 2000. :P
