Gore: New TV Channel Won't Be Partisan

[IChing]

By LYNN ELBER
AP Television Writer

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) -- Former Vice President Al Gore, co-founder of a new television channel launching next month, said he's shunning politics - and so is his media venture.

"I consider myself a recovering politician. I'm on step nine," Gore told a meeting Monday of the Television Critics Association.

The 2004 Democratic candidate for president was asked if he was concerned the 24-hour news and information channel, called Current, would be perceived as having a political slant. It's scheduled to launch Aug. 1.

"I think the reality of the network will speak for itself. It's not intended to be partisan in any way," said Gore, Current's co-founder (with businessman Joel Hyatt) and chairman of the board.


Aimed at an 18-34-year-old audience, Current has loftier goals in mind than party politics: Gore said it will engage young people in the "dialogue of democracy" by providing stories that interest them, and will involve them in the channel's content.>>>>snip

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GORE_TV_CHANNEL?SITE=MNMAN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2005-07-19-01-13-26

[Cha]

1. Good Luck, Gore.

Sounds interesting to say the least..I'm not of that demographic but I find myself interested in things they are anyway.

[IChing]

2. this is an important launch of a tv channel but

who is gonna carry it?

[mattclearing]

53. Apparently Direct TV

I think there's a deal going on with the cable nets as well.

[jmatthan]

3. The recipe for failure and chaos

as his decision not to contest his loss in his Presidential election!!

I pleaded with him from here in Finland not to give up the fight in 2000.

He never listened - and see the mess you have around the world.

Some people will never learn.

Jacob Matthan
http://jmpolitics.bogspot.com
Oulu, Finland

[Dogmudgeon]

11. All that blame on just one man?

I mean, don't you think that Mr. Bush has anything to do with the mess? And maybe a few million Bush voters, too?

We have a very bad habit of expecting our leaders to be more saviors than administrators. It gets us into trouble, as we have seen with the psychos of the right wing believing that Bush has been annointed by God.

However Gore thinks he can be most helpful, I wish him well.

--p!

[jmatthan]

13. Whom else should I blame?

eom

[blondeatlast]

27. Fox News, crooked Sectretaries of State (particularly of Florida),

Young republican poo-stirrers, the US Senators who wouldn't stand with their House colleagues to contest the election (big poo sticking to those chickens).

That's just for the election. It goes way on from there.

Farenheit 911--pretty well known movie. Highly recommended. :eyes:

[MadisonProgressive]

111. The US Supreme Court??? Just a guess...

[ElectroPrincess]

16. He didn't fight for it after many of us poured our heart and soul into

his campaign (not to mention Kerry's Presidential bid four years later).

Kerry was a brave man in combat and proved he had "the right stuff". But like John McCain, political office turned him into a *frightened little boy* ... a chameleon ... gutless wonder ... <insert any chicken-shit description here>.

These men are more concerned with THEIR public image and NOT their supporters.

IMO God hates QUITTERS like both Gore and Kerry.

We *must* make our Democratic Representatives "fear us" more than their republican contenders.

That's partially reflected in the truism that neither man will be able to run for President in 2008. However, the lion's share of my disgust was clearly aimed at both Gore and Kerry for NOT FIGHTING, TOOTH AND NAIL, for the Presidency. Anything less than giving "your all" will result in bitter defeat, both personally and politically. But THEY still maintain their wealth while WE THE PEOPLE pay the price.

It may be unpopular but if truth be told, I resent Kerry and Gore for QUITTING almost as much as I despise Bush for letting "his boys" STEAL the election. ;)

[ocean girl]

19. Princess, I agree totally with you

I've given up on Democratic politicians - they have no guts!

[jmatthan]

25. Do not give up on John Conyers Jr. or Dennis Kucinich

eom

[AlGore-08.com]

36. FYI Neither Conyers nor Kucinich challenged the Florida electors in 2000

The fourteen Congressmen who challenged the 2000 Florida electors were Alcee Hastings, Corinne Brown, Carrie Meek, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Maxine Waters, Eva Clayton, Elijah Cummings, Jesse Jackson Jr., Barbara Lee, Cynthia McKinney, Patsy Mink, Bob Filner and Peter Deutsch.

Conyers and Kucinich were both in Congress at the time, but neither one of them protested the Florida 2000 electors, despite there being a lot of evidence of vote suppression and fraud, including a mob a GOP Congressional aides and former GOP Congressional aides who assaulted Democratic county officials in Miami Dade live on TV - - an action which terrorized the Miami Dade folks into shutting down the recount.

Just in case facts have any place in this conversation...

[orleans]

77. (each time i see maxine waters in that clip from farenheit 9/11

i start to cry)
:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

[Samantha]

94. and regarding your remark

"Conyers and Kucinich were both in Congress at the time, but neither one of them protested the Florida 2000 electors, despite there being a lot of evidence of vote suppression and fraud, including a mob a GOP Congressional aides and former GOP Congressional aides who assaulted Democratic county officials in Miami Dade live on TV - - an action which terrorized the Miami Dade folks into shutting down the recount"

not the least of those GOP aides was that of Fred Thompson of Tennessee, now starring on Law and Order, and the strategic choice of Bush* to shepherd in the next Supreme Court justice.

[zanne]

20. To make them "care" more about us...

All we can do is stop contributing, and let them KNOW WHY. The past couple of times I've had a phone call asking me for a donation, I just tell them that when they get a spine and start representing Democrats, I'll start donating again. I hate to use that as a weapon, but I'm afraid it's the only thing they truly understand.

[AlGore-08.com]

30. After the Supreme Court ruled, Gore personally had no legal options left

The only legal things that could have been done after the Supreme Court ruled to stop the vote count were things that other people, not Gore, had to do.

The next phase required a single Congressman and a single Senator to contest the Florida electors. 14 Congressmen did, but not a single Senator did. That's where the fight ended, with the Senate. It was John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, Barbara Boxer, John Edwards (technically even HRC) and the rest of the Democrats in the Senate who refused to fight, after letting Gore battle on his own for over a month.

Now, granted, such a move was destined to fail. If the electors had been challenged, then the Republican dominated Congress would get to vote on whether the electors were valid or not. There is no way that they would have voted them invalid. But for the sake of argument, if the Congress had voted that the Florida electors were invalid and either changed their votes to Gore or struck them down (giving Gore the most electoral votes), the Florida State Legislature had already threatened to send a second set of electors to DC, pledged to Bush.

The Constitution is unclear about who would then get to choose which electors were legitimate, but it would have been decided by one of the following: the Governor of Florida, the Congress or the Supreme Court. None of those three would have ruled that the electors should vote for Gore or have their votes invalidated (which would have given Gore the election).

The only thing Gore could have done after the Supreme Court ruled to stop the vote count was to start another civil war. And as bad as things are now, we're better off than if we had a civil war going. And if anybody seriously thinks we'd be better off having a civil war, I respectfully suggest they take a trip to Iraq and spend a little time in the middle of a civil war and discover what one is really like.

[rfkrfk]

55. Gore had several options left, what he didn't have was time

on 12-12-00 {if I remember correctly},
the USSC reversed the the Florida SC.

One option that Gore had at that point would be
to ask the Florida courts for clear, same for every county,
instruction as to how to handle undervotes.

The big problem, IMO, was that there was some type
of deadline on 12-18-00.
Gore folds.

I am not sure as to whether the Florida SC would rule
that the 12-18 deadline does not apply...

comments?

[AlGore-08.com]

75. The Florida Supreme Court ruling that the SCOTUS overturned

Gave guidelines for how to count the ballots and when the ballots had to be counted by - - and they were not ideal. But once the SCOTUS ruled that the vote count certified by Katherine Harris was the official vote count, and that any further recount could not take place, the question of standards was answered.

I don't think Gore had legal grounds to sue on voting standards after that, but for the sake of argument, if he did... what makes you think that a.) he would have won a different set of standards than the FL Supreme Court had given in the previous ruling and b.) that Bush would not have appealed up to the Supreme Court and c.) that the Supreme Court would have overturned it's own ruling?

The solution you suggest is at a minimum, unlikely to have changed the outcome at all.

If you care, Gore has always said that he disagrees with the ruling, and also said that he thinks he won Florida.

[rfkrfk]

98. could you be more specific?

are you referring to the Fla SC ruling, 12-8-00 ?
Is there more than just what is on page two ?, which isn't much.

both of the US SC orders were only to reverse-nulify-cancel
the orders of the Fla SC, that is why I believe that things
might have played out differntly, if there was more time.

a} I don't know what would have happen 'IF', but my comment is...
there were no standards to start with

b} the loser would appeal, whatever

c} these were court orders, no precedent is set, nothing
needs to be 'overturned'.


thanks for responding, btw .

[nicknameless]

116. Barbara Boxer has said that she had wanted to contest the electoral vote

count in 2000, but Gore had asked her not to.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4067350#4067364
See response #23

[krkaufman]

35. Though I think neither Gore or Kerry put up enough of a fight...

... I'd stop short of placing all the blame for their failures at their four feet, and would have to disagree w/ the extremity of the following two statements...

"IMO God hates QUITTERS like both Gore and Kerry."

"We *must* make our Democratic Representatives "fear us"..."

I'm tired of God hating everyone one might disagree with or disapprove of, and I'm tired of politicians -- or their minions -- stoking fear.

Let's get back to FDR... "We have nothing to fear but fear, itself." Remember that one? The underlying meaning should be easily seen nowadays, given what we're going through.

[confludemocrat]

50. Did they quit because their stake in the outcome was not "close to home"?

I think so. Win or lose, their lives will not fundamentally change. Their privileges will remain unaffected. These two, despite doing some good, were not trench fighters as we need for these times, but basically detached from real people all their lives. That is a fundamental problem. Their time has passed, they couldn't get their act together. Now with Tipper having input as she surely will, this channel for young people will likely not be as gritty, streetwise and real as we need, but cleaned up, tidy and safe in every way, I bet.

[Dogmudgeon]

62. This just doesn't sound right

Let me get this straight:

1. You compare Gore to a child
   
   
2. You use the phrase "chicken-shit" to describe him
   
   
3. You tell us about God's political opinions
   
   
4. You want to control politics using fear
   
   
5. You are grievously offended that your recent candidates lack machismo (guts, teeth and nails, "the right stuff")
   

Now, who does that sound like?

Al Gore didn't make all your dreams come true, so now he's the worst man who was ever born, and John Kerry comes close. In addition, they're French ... oops, I mean rich.

It's a wonder anyone runs for office as a Democrat. At least the Republicans/Conservatives forgive their runners-up of breaking their hearts and absolve them of personal responsibility for their hurt feelings.

If truth be told -- you wouldn't like it. Politics and social change isn't about personal satisfaction. It's usually a gut-wrenching, heart-breaking affair, even when you do get what you want.

It's a god-damned shame that our feelings have been hurt, but it happens. We -- as Democrats, Liberals, Progressives, et al. -- have to stop basing our political action on sentimentality. If this really is a cultural war we're involved in, we need to deal with it that way. In this case, not with guns and bombs, but with gimlet-eyed perception, big-picture planning, and steely resolve.

My heart, too, has been broken, and many times. Big effin' deal. It will certainly be broken again, and again, and again. I'm in this for the duration, and I can forgive Mr. Gore for taking a full-frontal blast of ordnance from the Neo-Con Personal Assassination Machine and losing blood. I give him a lot of credit for not just going away.

And as for my sentiments, in my book, Al Gore gets a permanent pass to piss me off any time he wants to. He's done more for this country, our civilization, and our "cause" in any given hour of the 2000 campaign than just about any of us have done in our lifetimes.

My personal "advice", to no one in particular? Get back up. Clear the debris from the misfire out of the barrel. Re-load. Aim. Fire!

And, yes, I'm quite aware of my own use of "manly" metaphors. Call them "alpha" metaphors if you wish. And I do not advocate actual gunfire. But contemplation of the virtues of a military approach should first tell us to fire at the enemy -- not at ourselves.

--p!

[AlGore-08.com]

76. Thank you pigwidgeon!

Al Gore has more than a permenant pass to piss me off! ;)

[Occulus]

89. The last one to do any of that, even in part, was Bill Clinton.

I say: dissolve the DLC, in whole and in part. Atomize it. We need ONE leader, not one and then one.

The DLC does not have the interests of the People at heart. We have seen this demonstrated to us, time and again. Get rid of it. End the era of the Joementums. Kick him, specifically, out.

We cannot clean house while our broom is dirty. The DLC represents a large part of the 'dirt'.

We need to end this, get rid of the DLC, and either forget about it or replace the entire hierarchy of the thing, from top to bottom.

We deserve better than what the DLC has to offer. We deserve strength and unity, and so long as the DLC exists in its current form, we can have neither.

[blondeatlast]

24. So, it's all his fault then? Give me a effing break. nt

[jmatthan]

26. Sure. When?

eom

[krkaufman]

29. Yeah, too bad Gore's thrown in the towel. n/t

[Bridget Burke]

54. He had no legal way to contest the stolen election.

Thanks for your pleas from Finland, but Democratic party leadership was not there for him. And the bought corporate media wanted the "delay" to end--even if it meant the wrong man was sworn in.

[SoCalDem]

4. Probably won't watch it..

unless it offers a flipside to what's available now.. A quasi verison of what's available now will be as welcome as watered-down milk..

Too bad Gore did not channel that "fire" he exhibited for a while, and scoop up all the disenchanted newspeople..He could have started his own little truth network..People flocked to AAR when "experts" said they would not..By trying to appeal to all, it will appeal to none..

[Judi Lynn]

5. Just tell them the truth,Al. The right-wing will insist it's partisan! n/t

[wallwriter]

23. Exactly. Meanwhile, Faux News says

Fair and Balanced with a straight face.

[LiberalVoice]

6. I've never heard of it til right now...

It probably wont last long...but who knows.

[IChing]

7. DirecTV , time warner cable and comcast...........

Preparing to launch Current in 20 million homes on DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Comcast in limited markets "has been a blast," Gore said. The five-year plan calls for it to reach 50 million homes.

He declined to talk about a current hot topic in Washington, the speculation about Bush administration figures Karl Rove and Lewis "Scooter" Libby and the federal investigation into the leak of a CIA officer's name.

"I'd rather not," he said. "I'd rather keep the focus on Current."

[bookman]

8. Great...

..I get TW cable.

[IChing]

9. Deepak Chopra son is a host

The young staff of reporters, producers and hosts includes Gotham Chopra, son of self-help guru Deepak Chopra and Laura Ling (Channel One News, MTV).

[cascadiance]

33. It really needs to be on Dish Network too!

Why let Rupert Murdoch's company (DirectTV) be the sole carrier of this channel on satellite TV? Us satellite subscribers that have been trying to buy blue have been screwed a lot lately (Air America for Sirius subscribers, and now us Dish Network subscribers too). Al, make Dish Network happen and we'll start watching! We're NOT switching to Murdoch's DirectTV just to receive this channel. There's hell of a lot less chance of that than us switching to XM to get Air America!

[AndreaCG]

85. I just emaled RCN to add it

[SoCalDem]

10. Current sounds like what MSNBC was when it started..

Remember all the attempts to be "hip"..They were not hip..they were "flop"..

read this statement from their website..see if you agree.. Older guys with money, tryinmg tp be cool, always ends up being seen through.

http://www.current.tv/about/index.php


The staff: (and where they came from)

Six Cable Execs Caught in Current

6/20/2005 4:46:00 PM

Current said Monday that it has added six staff members to its programming department.

Jason Meil has joined the network -- created by former Vice President Al Gore and entrepreneur Joel Hyatt and scheduled to launch Aug. 1 -- as senior vice president, original programming and acquisitions. He had been VP of program development and sales at National Geographic Television & Film.

Gayle Allen joined Current as senior VP, productionandscheduling. She had been director of integrated programming and development at Twentieth Television.

LauraLing will come aboard as producer and manager of the Vanguard Journalism division. Ling had been a producer for Channel One News.

Herndon Graddick has joined the network as producer and news-division manager for Google Current. He had been with Cable News Network, where he helped to launch Paula Zahn Now and Live from the Headlines.

Mike Bunnell joins Current as director of production and scheduling. Bunnell had been senior producer and program manager at TV Guide Channel.

And Rawley Valverde has been named lead producer, Los Angeles. He had been a reporter/producer with Fox's affiliate in Las Vegas.

[IChing]

12. It can't possibly be worse than MSNBC

But I only watch LinK TV, bbc and my local news now, since I can't stand the rest

I wish them luck and vision.

[papau]

18. If it "Won't Be Partisan" it will be a huge move left compared to NBC

:-)

[joeunderdog]

78. It WILL be partisan. That's how it works.

They will initially get both sides to watch moderate programming and they will slowly gravitate more and more left. That will grab a bigger market share and more diverse advertisers than shouting "Come watch Liberal TV!" You can't risk alienating people. Get them in, educate them and then shift the agenda. The Right has been doing this for decades.

[AlGore-08.com]

43. Why compare it to MSNBC? It's not a news channel.

It's going to have news as part of it's programming, but it's not a 24 hour news channel.

There isn't anything like Current at the moment, but comparing Current to MSNBC is sort of like comparing the History Channel to ABC and deciding that the History Channel is a failure because it doesn't have any sitcoms. Or complaining that the Internet is a failure as a serious source for news because it has Alf fan sites and places to download the Hot Coffee mod for Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.

[Uncle Joe]

67. Exactly, apples and oranges

I have faith that the mind that could conceive of the legislation that would open the internet to all of us will undoubtedly revolutionize television. Too many people, thanks to our corporate owned media are ignorant of this man's contributions to our nation and the world. It is amazing to me that people on the internet could trash the man that democratized information and allowed them to voice their opinions in the first place. Had it not been for the internet, I have no doubt 70+% of the American people would still think Saddam was behind 9/11. The stories that we could only get the media to report on kicking and screaming would never have been printed or telecast without the internet.And seriously anyone that thinks Al Gore could have done anything after the 2000 elections to overturn what was inevitable with the Supreme Court's ruling that the will of the people should not be determined, have not been paying attention.

[cornermouse]

14. And in a few years, the rightwing repubs will steal it too.

[ElectroPrincess]

15. Sadly, the combination of Gore's person and intellect has NOT ...

served him well. Albeit he's highly intelligent and compassionate, he's also incredibly "out of touch" with core issues that stir the passion of the masses.

Al, if any of your advisers are monitoring - copy this = "Dialogue of Democracy" my ass! :wtf:

The American people are crying out for a LEADER who will get down in the political trenches with ... a ceaselessly striving PARTISAN leader to help us win the battles to re-establish our TRUE democratic republic.

Yes, re-establish The America that the Neo-Cons have stolen from us in both 2000 and 2004 ... make our Democratic leaders re-establish the USA that we have grown to know and love.

That Democratic LEADER is NOT Al Gore nor is it John Kerry.

God bless Howard Dean! May he stay strong and figuratively "take NO prisoners." :patriot:

You had so much capability Mr. Al Gore, but unfortunately you are cursed to behave like the quintessential GEEK. BTW perhaps Al Franken can "throw in" with you - both financially and artistically? Why? Franken is ALSO hopelessly out of touch with the Democratic base. A Gore-type Geek TV Company - WE just can't deny it. :dunce:

[AlGore-08.com]

46. Yup, and that "failed" combination gave us the internet & beat Smirk

God bless Howard Dean, but he hasn't contributed 1/100th of what Al Gore has contributed over the course of his career. For a trivial example, Gore was one of the original co-sponsors of the MLK day holiday. He even gave you a paid vacation day, something Howard Dean has yet to do. ;)

Speaking of taking no prisoners, you might want to read some of Gore's MoveOn Speeches:

http://www.algore-08.com/?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=6&id=71&Itemid=123

[ElectroPrincess]

60. beat smirk? The Supremes Ruled otherwise ...

With regard to speeches, they don't mean squat when you can't dig down deep and face the low-life conniving opponents and BEAT them at their own game. It sucks but - winning is everything NOW! If you wish to settle on speeches and platitudes, well, that's probably why I'm turning Green ... If they don't serve the base, The Democratic Party is IMO lost and soon to be extinct.

[AlGore-08.com]

92. Again, Gore's only option after the Court ruled was start a civil war

Is that really what you're advocating?

And I hate to point this out, but the Greens got less than 3% in the last election. Ross Perot got over 8% in the 1996 election, and he wasn't even running.

What exactly is it that the Greens do then that makes their speeches and platitudes "winning"?

[Uncle Joe]

68. We should be like the Republicans?

I think Al gives the American People more credit than you do. Our nation needs a sincerely balanced dialogue now more than ever. If we think that we should become just like the Republicans, all style full of partisan bullshit and no substance, the American People will see through us quickly, they are just becoming aware of what has been done to them from the neocons and their corporate owned propagnda machine (aka: mainstream media). The last thing that our nation needs is another propaganda outlet. I think that Al will educate and elighten our youth, something that mainstream media has given up on. If they are educated and elightened as to the truth, we will win far more than we lose.

[ima_sinnic]

17. somewhere I heard this was going to be just another pablum

entertainment venue.

Please prove me wrong, Al.

[AlGore-08.com]

31. 25% of the content will be submitted by the viewers

Submissions are voted on at the current website, and the winners get aired.

If you want something other than "pablum entertainment" - - make it and submit it.

If you want something other than "pablum entertainment" - - vote for it.

If you don't chose to participate in the programming process, don't complain if the programming ends up being "pablum entertainment".

[krkaufman]

37. Hey, that just might work...!!

I've been wondering for months why Air America isn't doing something similar with some time slot.

Allow listeners to submit audio via MP3 upload or via phone voice recording, review the audio and then broadcast the best stuff. Sort of a Vox Populi.

[ima_sinnic]

72. I won't be complaining because I don't have a TV (n/t)

[orleans]

80. gasp!!!!! no tv??? not even for nick at nite reruns????? or dvds???

[ima_sinnic]

84. don't tell anybody, but . . .

sometimes I actually miss it, for just that -- not the nick at nite! but for movies.

[orleans]

95. (smile).....(i promise i won't tell) n/t

[dhinojosa]

21. Why watch then? nt

[Lydia Leftcoast]

22. And why oh why do you have to destroy News World International to

launch this misguided vanity project? :cry:

[confludemocrat]

47. Yes, that's the worst part of this and it rarely gets mentioned

and vanity is the word here. If it fails will NWI come back? No, it's gone.

[ElectroPrincess]

61. I loved NWI, but Adelphia canceled it in Feb with no explanation ...

Damn! We are so very screwed re: valid news to the USA people. More shark bites and missing wealthy blond women to come, ad nausea.

[AlGore-08.com]

86. NWI was doomed way before Current bought it

In 2000, the CBC sold it to USA Network along with Trio. Once the CBC gave up ownership to an American company, it was doomed IMSNHO.

In 2003, Vivendi (the parent company of USA) put NewsWorld on the block with a bunch of other assets. Rumored bidders at that time included MGM, Comcast, General Electric and NBC.

None of which would have given over 25% of their air time to viewer created content...

[SOS]

51. Furious

that NWI is being replaced with this pablum.
NWI is the only source of serious news coverage available on my TV. Soon it'll be gone, replaced by college student home movies.
Damn it!

:mad:

[goforit]

28. Hats off to you Gore!!!......

If the GOP ban Sesame Street and Big Bird,
can you bring him on your channel????

[bluestateguy]

32. I wish them luck

but I hate to lose Newsworld International.

[Lioness]

34. The truth is non-partisan

and having observed Gore's integrity from his congressional days forward, I am hopeful of a good outcome.

[Lorien]

39. Amen Lioness-and Welcome to DU!

:hi:

Personally, I don't want biased reporting. I want old fashioned Walter Cronkite style journalism-which the right has called "liberal" for years because ANYTHING that reflects poorly upon them or contradicts their claims ("global warming doesn't exist", "evolution is just a theory"etc.) throws them into a rage. The only way to form a reality based conclusion about any topic is to be given all the facts in as objective a way as possible, and no television news outlet is doing that right now.

[southernlad]

38. Current

Okay does Current have a web site yet? Does anybody know?

[AlGore-08.com]

40. Sure does, it's been up for months, here's the link

http://www.current.tv/

[southernlad]

41. Thank you very much.

I had no idea. :)

[earth mom]

42. I'll admit it. I'm disappointed.

Thought Gores channel was going to come out swinging against Faux News and kick rethug ass! Sounds like they are playing it safe. Ho Hum. Yawn.

Wish Michael Moore could or would start his own channel. He would kick ass for sure!

[AlGore-08.com]

44. Since he announced it, Gore has said it wouldn't be a partisan news source

He has gone out of his way to say it will not be a TV version of Air America or a liberal version of Faux. If you're disappointed that it's not a TV version of Air America or a liberal version of Faux, it's because you didn't have the facts, and you assumed it would be something that it was never intended to be.

[earth mom]

82. What a wasted opportunity...

no doubt Gore well knows the corruption that is rampant -and that's putting it MILDLY-since he was a victim of it himself. Why NOT have a channel that serves the good and attempts to expose and bring the bastards in Washington down?

Perhaps you don't want something like that, and perhaps I'm idealistic, but I would hope that someone in his position would try if given the chance. Again, what a wasted opportunity.

Sounds like Gore's just another corporate jerk looking for that pot of gold to line his own pockets. :sarcasm:

[QC]

45. Once again, we fight by the Queensberry Rules while the GOP

goes for the guns and knives.

It's an old, familiar story.

[AlGore-08.com]

48. Once again, we form a circular firing squad for no reason at all

For the billionth time, this network has never been planned as a 24 hour news network, it's never been planned as a political network.

By the way, what's your day job?

[QC]

63. I'm a teacher, not that that has anything to do with the discussion.

What's your day job? Getting paid by the post by Al Gore?

Our most crying need is for the kind of media infrastructure that the Right has been building for over thirty years. So, once a leader of our party gets the chance to build a network, he ignores that need and goes for the same genteel, above-it-all, don't-offend-anybody approach that made his campaign such an unmitigated disaster. You don't see a problem with that?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

66. And it's not "circular firing squad" to make legitimate criticisms

Neither Gore nor any other Democrat is or should be a sacred cow.

He COULD HAVE taken News World International, already a fine source of news from Canada, with news reports from other countries and in-depth reporting on selected topics, and added Democracy Now or some other distinctly left-leaning news program.

By the way, did you know that one complication of the Darfur genocide situation is that China is sticking up for the Sudanese government because it is trying to cozy up to all the actual and potential African suppliers of oil?

I learned that on one of NWI's special reports.

[AlGore-08.com]

91. Sorry if that came off as way too harsh, but my point is threefold

1.) You're not holding yourself to the same standard that you demand of Al Gore. If you really believe that this is the most critical problem that needs to be resolved before anything else, and that it needs to be resolved in the way that you envision (and only the way you envision), quit teaching. Raise a couple million dollars and start up a liberal TV network. I work in the entertainment industry, I can tell you some of the non-political problems you'll encounter trying to set up a cable TV network. I'm happy to help out with free advice. And there are tons of people on DU with business and fund raising experience who will be happy to help you as well.

2.) You have decided that this is the most critical issue, and the only way to solve it is to create a liberal news network. That may be a solution, and then again, it might not be the best solution. Faux News and the Republican infrastructure seem to be a successful idea, but they haven't kept us from finding out about the bogus intel that lead up to the Iraq war and Tom Delay and Karl Rove and global warming and vote fraud and all kinds of stuff that the Republican spin machine doesn't want us to know. (Maybe some looser brainiac who invented the Internet gave us all a hand there.)

It's too early to tell, but the Republican spin machine may turn out to be a bigger liability than than an asset for the GOP. What the Republican spin machine does, in the long run, is make its viewers uniformed voters. Is that what we want for ourselves? Do we really want to be part of party full of zombies who believe anything that "Liberal Faux News" tells us, no matter how self-serving and illogical? Who vote for any empty suit who gets enough double plus good write ups on "Liberal Faux News", no matter what their actual voting records or accomplishments are? Do we really want to set up a system that lands us with the "liberal" equivalent of Smirk or Aahnold - - somebody who the spin machine is able to dupe us into thinking that we've got a liberal champion, but who is really just looting the treasury for his or buddies?

IMNSHO what we need is a non-partisan, accurate media, not a liberal media machine. And given the realities of distribution, it's going to be a lot easier to get the existing structure to become more accurate than it's going to be to set up a totally new news channel, and then get that channel accepted as a reliable enough news source for others to reprint it's articles. (For example, look at how the MSM finally picked up the Downing Street Memo - - and PlameGate.) IMNSHO this change is also tied in with the grassroots activism in the Dem party - - but that's a different conversation.

What current is trying to do is to give everybody with video equipment access to TV distribution - - like the Internet, it's potentially not limited. The content can be profound or banal, depending on who contributes to it.

Finally 3.) The idea that Gore's campaign was a disaster is one that I take exception to.

1.) He began his campaign one month after the attempted impeachment ended, and began it 20 points behind "any Republican".
2.) He was outspent by over 2 to 1 (because he accepted spending limits and refused PAC money)
3.) He had the worst press in history (all of it bs) while the press drooled over his opponent
4.) He was attacked from the left and the right.
5.) He had absolutely no help from the party, who were too busy squabbling over who was going to get to run the party after Gore's projected landslide loss.

If his campaign had really been a disaster, he would have ended the campaign that same 20 points behind Smirk - - or more! -- and lost in a landslide. Instead, he battled back without help to win both the popular and electoral college.

[QC]

99. Hmmm...who has a better chance at starting up a tv network...

a former vice president with money and name recognition and all sorts of connections, or a small-town English teacher?

Honestly, your response is so inane that I am embarrassed for you. It's just a dolled-up version of that old schoolyard cry, "Well, can you do better?"

As for your second point, Fox and the rest have done an awfully good job, not only of getting their agenda out but also pushing the "mainstream" news outlets to the right. Most people do not spend their days scouring the Internet for the news items the networks are ignoring like we do here--they get their news from tv. And right now, that means that the perspectives they are getting range from the right to the far right. Just about the only liberals they ever see are the doormats brought in to be shouted down by reactionaries.

As for Gore's campaign--you're right about one very important thing. He successfully overcame all kinds of adversity. And then, in the crunch, with the future of this country in the balance, he folded.

[Uncle Joe]

103. As has been mentioned on previous posts on this thread,

what would you have had Al do, start a civil war? What part of the Supreme Court decision of 2000 did you not understand? (not that I agree with it). Did you think the Republican controlled Florida legislature would approve of a Democrat set of electors? Did you think the Republican controlled House of Representatives would approve a Deomcrat set or Republican set of electors? If there had been two sets of electors, which set do you think the Republican controlled Supreme Court would have approved? Al did what he thought was best for the nation as usual and conceded. The losers were the Anerican People, as far as I am concerned if Al never serves another day in public office, he is still head and shoulders above anyone else and no one alive in public office has matched his contributions to our nation and the world.

[Dr Fate]

49. I'd like to support this channel. Will it be on air in CA?

???

[Zorra]

52. Engaging young people in a "dialogue of democracy" IS partisan.

Republicans are democracy hating fascists.

Educating young people about democracy is the last thing republicans want to see.

[Norquist Nemesis]

56. Hey, I'll take a non-partisan channel over what I now am offered!

It's tough to find things on TV that are all or heavily tilted in favor of anti-Democratic talking heads and pundits.

[anotherdrew]

57. A load of crap, why bother?

Who's watching TV anymore? Nothing on. I'll probably never even see this, anyway I can already watch all the independently created video I have time for with the internet. So this will be "Smart TV for Dumb People"? I just don't see the point... Why not make it as non-partisan as FOX news Gore? Why they hell has he wasted years on this pointless project, to hell with TV.

[ckramer]

58. If it's on cable, then I can't watch it.

I don't have cable and don't want to pay for that.

[anotherdrew]

59. cable? it's only on satellite as far as I can tell

[nine30]

64. Yeah right. And FOXNews is Fair & Balanced.

Liberals have been losing the media battle by claiming to be neutral but in reality pushing only mildly left of center issues.

How about a channel that's roaringly and aggresively liberal and promotes an openly liberal agenda ? Rush is never shy to say he promotes an openly conservative agenda?..and look at his audienceship..20+ million ! Not mention FoxNews..leading the pack in TV news. Liberals need to stop being shy about what they believe in, and start explaining why they believe what they believe. Until they do that they will continue to loose elections ( and tv viewership)

[orleans]

81. i would love that!! a liberal channel!!

we don't need another cnn for the "youth".

we need a great liberal network! for the young & old!

[nine30]

88. A channel that would be..

openly and blatantly and aggresively and in-your-face LIBERAL. It would advertise only liberal products ( Saabs, lattes) and bring in guests like Franken and Maher...

And just to piss off red staters prime time ads could feature those
for 'Women's Clinics' :

"..Bring along a friend this weekend, and get TWO for the price of ONE!! You can't beat that! "

[rosesaylavee]

65. Good for Gore

Step Nine is about making amends, folks. This is obviously his contribution.

As to who did or didn't stand up for election fraud in 2000. Where were all of us? We weren't organized like we are now. There was no hew and cry then as there would be now. The Supreme Court for gods sake sanctioned it - the highest court in teh land. Remember we were pre-9/11 and no one could imagine how bad it was going to get - though some of us had a few clues. Hindsight is 20/20 and doesn't help us move on.

He gave how many years to public service and this is what he gets in return? No wonder sane people are not clamoring to get into politics.

Move on and let Gore make his contribution.

[Uncle Joe]

70. Amen and well said

The misdirected anger here is amazing, Al gives the power to the people and the people trash him with it, no wonder they call us the mob.

[ElectroPrincess]

87. Unbelievable ...

No wonder the right calls us pansies? While Al is completing his twelve step program ... making amends :puke: , gee, who do you think will FIGHT and LEAD the Liberal Democrats?

Damn Gore! I am through with "touchy feel-ie" liberals - we need a *scrapper* and soon. :P

[rosesaylavee]

90. Anger is fine if you can

harness its strength and allow it to inspire you to action. But what's it doing for you here?

There are many ways to fight this. The Republicans have many scrappers - I don't care to emulate them.

[ElectroPrincess]

104. Naw, I'll choose anger over being egocentrically working through

MY 12 step program. I'm far from that pinnacle of being self-actualized and I like it that way. It keeps me humble, working to middle class, and far from being a forever intelligent but "out of touch" wealthy GEEK like Al Gore.

Yeah, I like him but he can't relate to the average American. What a waste of intellect. Right now I'll take a little bit of ANGER over self-righteous acts of MAKING AMENDS :puke: any day.

It's time for planning NOT GEEKY introspection. :P

[fshrink]

69. The perfect yogurt.

100% artificial. No taste of milk, nice texture, pleasant look and feel guaranteed by strong agreement (i.e. Kappa = .723) among 52 different panels and focus groups, including spiritual retreats. Why bother with real yogurt that will polarize consumers and hurt the feelings of lactose intolerants people or of fellow vegetarians? Available in 25 artificial flavors, including "Pure Water", no flavor whatsoever. A modern, healthy and friendly way of life! A way of bringing people together!

[mpmusicny]

71. you're all missing the point...

...you don't just come out and admit to being partisan, you have to pretend to be non-partisan, while at the same time saying exactly what you want. This is no different to Fox calling itself "Fair and Balanced".

Do you honestly think Al Gore is going to run a show that is non-partisan?

[IChing]

73. WELL, THIS NEW STATION IS GENERATING INTEREST

as we can see of the number of posters,
so I hope it does a good job.

[FlaGranny]

74. Oh my God!

Reading some of the replies on this thread, one would think that there are people here on DU who would not welcome a nonbiased news channel. Is that right? Do we really believe all news should be biased one way or another?

Personally, I would warmly welcome real in-depth, unbiased news. It is sorely lacking right now. If it is unbiased, though, I can see it is going to really piss off both extremes of right and left.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

79. Well, if it were going to be a news channel, then I wouldn't feel so bad,

but it seems that it's going to be pretty much a "hip and aware" lifestyle channel for those who are far too young to be grannies in Florida or elsewhere. :-(

[Uncle Joe]

83. I believe Al is looking to save

the next generation while they can be saved, it is too late for most of the older generation, they have already been brainwashed by the MSM. He is not going to give them a fish, he will teach them how to fish for themselves, I believe it has something to do with critical thinking.

[FlaGranny]

100. The article says it will be a

24-hour news and information channel. If it tells the truth without spin, it will be liberal. I don't care and, in fact, I'm happy that it is directed at young people. I've already lived most of my life and I wish that when I was 20 or 30 years old I had had a reliable and accurate news and information source. Maybe then, I would not have had some of the misinformed beliefs I held when I was that age.

Accurate and truthful information - that's the benchmark.

[peacebuzzard]

93. Hope it works. TV currently directed at 8-10yr. olds. Anything is better

than the crap we have now.

[leesa]

96. OK. Gore is ALREADY framing according to GOP terms..."partisan"

That DLC-type appeasement approach is a failure from the get-go. I thought maybe he had learned something since 2000, but I guess not.

[upi402]

97. I want to thank Gore for the NAFTA "debate" on Larry King.

He is my hero for explaining how joblessness is healthy for us. Cuz us is dum.
Seriously, appeasement worked with previous fascists just fine.

[shawn703]

101. He ran in 2004? n/t

[shawn703]

102. What I think would be neat

Is if the general public could decide on the stories they want to see covered by the Current newscasters.

For example, if the story on the Current homepage on Karl Rove generates more interest than the Tour de France, then the newscasters give Karl Rove proportianally more attention. They could avoid the partisan label by being able to prove they are reporting what their viewers want to know about.

[redqueen]

105. But we need FOX News for the LEFT!

What about balance?

[confludemocrat]

106. Gore just wants to stay rich and comfortable,not fight in best way: media

Eric Alterman nails it :"Face it, while the country is evenly divided politically, and more liberal on the issues than most Democrats, right-wing extremists have figured out how to monopolize all of the wheels of government and to take the media along for the ride. Unless the other side figures out how to overcome its many handicaps, we will continue to be run by a runaway government, with little or no meaningful accountability.)"

So screw him. Another worthless, totally compromised Democrat.

[Uncle Joe]

108. Yea screw Gore, and while we are at it screw the internet

What a stupid idea he had, when he championed the internet to democratize information for the masses. Can you believe it, he thought that everybody should have access to the same information that the elites have had, that it might raise our democratic discourse and strengthen our democracy, what a moron. I am certain the MSM would have eventually reported on Gannon/Guckert, the Downing Street Memos, and the outing of a CIA agent by our own President's men on their own. And yes starting a televison internet hybrid that would empower the younger generation is another stupid idea, where does he come up with this shit? :sarcasm:

[confludemocrat]

109. OK I'm convinced. He can do no wrong, he's Al Gore. Give us more elite stu

ff, we are hungry for more of what the elite has. So much insight there. Wow. Got any more?

[Uncle Joe]

112. Do you mean access to information?

and news regardless of borders or spin, or the ability to do as we are doing now and give a megaphone that is increasing in scope and power to the people via the internet? As they say information is power, this is precisely why the MSM trashed and slandered him with the Al Gore claiming to have invented internet story. The MSM would have been estatic without the internet, no one to challenge their version of the truth. The ignorant are much easier to control by the powerful, Al helped to give us a window or door out of that box.
This tale has repeated itself in different form throughout history and myth. Prometheus, the son of a Titan comes to mind, feeling sorry for mankind huddling in the cold and dark, he stole fire from heaven and gave it to man. This of course enraged Zeus at this loss of power, so he had Prometheus chained to a rock where a vulture would devour his liver every morning, only to have it grown whole again at night. The MSM is the ultimate enabler allowing Bush to steal the election of 2000. Al could do no right and Bush could do no wrong in their coverage of that election. Even when their own focus groups and the journalists themselves declared Gore the winner in the debates, it was all changed by the next day. The Daily Howler has excellent archive material documenting the lies of the media in their war against Gore ever since 1998.

[confludemocrat]

113. Yes, Al Gore was treated wrongly but I hoped he would fight another way

And yet again, there is no apparent fight in him and it goes along with many other Democrats. When I first heard about this years ago now, I sent him letters and e-mails saying please do something about the media disability we have. Instead, something else has materialized, and yet again it is a big snooze. I had kinda hoped he would run in 2008, but that is asking too much of him. I have written off yet another Democrat.

[Uncle Joe]

115. The internet it self is slowly taking care of the media disability,

more needs to be done for sure and breaking up their monopoly would be a logical next step. The MSM's credibility has been sorely eroded over the last few years due in large part to the unrestricted flow of information through the internet. What the MSM has done to a large degree especially just before the runup to the Iraq War was not to report anything reflecting Al when he was fighting against going to war with Iraq. He has given several devastating and powerful speeches sponsored by Moveon that the MSM has ignored or put off as ranting, but they rarely covered the content of his speeches, so we went happily marching off to war. He has went so far as to call Bush a moral coward, bought and owned by his special interests oil,mining, timber etc. and giving them free hand in writing our nation's evironmental laws. Al has fought when I did not see any one else fighting.

[Doctor_J]

107. Figures

fortunately the 4th reich is self-dstructing, because none of our rich or high-profile folk seem willing to do anything about them.

[zara]

110. Fox news isn't partisan either????

[shantipriya]

114. New Channel

Hi! Al, WHY NOT?