History will show that Al Gore DID invent the internet!

[ochazuke]

Well, in a way. Darwin didn't come up with the idea of evolution and Edison didn't invent the light bulb, but they get the credit because they made it work. Now...

I just heard Sam Sedar on Air America talking about the so-called "Al Gore Network" and their approach to news, which -- as he said -- is youth-oriented and do-it-yourself. (I don't know what the Al Gore Network's real name is, and I know Al Gore isn't the only force behind it, but I call it AL GORE TEE VEE anyway. They are getting ready to launch at this time.)

Now, imagine that DIY approach leveraged by the power of the blogosphere.

This is gonna be HUGE. Al Gore is the Steve Jobs of politics: a true visionary. It's like Open Source TRUTH vs. the Corporate Media.

[swag]

1. I'm off your topic

But Vint Cerf and Robert Kahn freely acknowledge that Al Gore had a lot to do with the development of the Internet (if you don't know who Cerf and Kahn are, you're damn near dumb enough to be a Freeper):

http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200009/msg00052.html

Al Gore was the first political leader to recognize the importance of the Internet and to promote and support its development.

No one person or even small group of persons exclusively "invented" the Internet. It is the result of many years of ongoing collaboration among people in government and the university community. But as the two people who designed the basic architecture and the core protocols that make the Internet work, we would like to acknowledge VP Gore's contributions as a Congressman, Senator and as Vice President. No other elected official, to our knowledge, has made a greater contribution over a longer period of time.

Last year the Vice President made a straightforward statement on his
role. He said: "During my service in the United States Congress I took the initiative in creating the Internet." We don't think, as some people have argued, that Gore intended to claim he "invented" the Internet. Moreover, there is no question in our minds that while serving as Senator, Gore's initiatives had a significant and beneficial effect on the still-evolving Internet. The fact of the matter is that Gore was talking about and promoting the Internet long before most people were listening. We feel it is timely to offer our perspective. . .

[ochazuke]

2. "I took the initiative in the creation of the internet"

And the right wing and the media jump all over him saying that he claimed to have 'invented' the internet (a word he never used). To take the initiative in the creation of something is way different to inventing, and only the brain-dead American media can't tell the difference.

No, I'll never get over it. But if Al Gore re-invents the news media, I'll settle.

[meow2u3]

3. Gore introduced the legislation

that made the Internet available to the public, largely through commercial means. Before then, the so-called internet was ARPAnet, only available to the Defense Department.