Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Al Gore, Our Christmas Fruitcake
Tech Central Station ^ | 12/24/2003 | Henry I. Miller, MD

Posted on 12/24/2003 5:00:35 AM PST by livesbygrace

The New York Times editorialized that more medical information about Vice-President Dick Cheney should be made public because where the president and vice-president of the United States are concerned, "privacy concerns are less important than the public's confidence that its leaders are fit." [22 December]

Fit? Fit? Where were the Times' concerns about the fitness of politicians in the face of Al Gore's obvious personality disorder and poor reality testing while for eight years he was a heartbeat -- and later, a few electoral votes -- away from the presidency?

While a Senator, Gore was notorious for his rudeness and insolence during hearings. A favorite trick was to pose a question and as the witness began to answer, Gore would begin a whispered conversation with another committee member or a staffer. If the witness paused in order that the senator not miss the response, Gore would instruct him to continue, then resume his private conversation, leaving no ambiguity: Not only is your testimony unimportant, I won't even pay you the courtesy of pretending to listen to it.

As vice-president, Gore and his staff purged the federal government of any dissension or challenge to his view of policy, in a way reminiscent of the worst paranoid excesses of the Nixon administration. Gore himself dismissed Will Happer, a senior scientist at the Department of Energy, because he refused to ignore scientific evidence at hand that conflicted with the vice president's pet theories on ozone depletion and global warming. Similar incidents occurred at the departments of State and Energy as civil servants were hounded out of government, moved to less visible positions, or replaced by other officials during interactions with the White House for their own "protection."

On personal as well as public issues, Gore demonstrated repeatedly that he had difficulty in discriminating reality from fantasy. He claimed, for example, that he and wife Tipper were the model for the novel, "Love Story," an assertion that author Erich Segal denied. Then, there was the (in)famous instance when Gore implied that he had been responsible for creating the Internet. He also accused his political enemies of possessing "an extra chromosome," a remark that infuriated the families of persons with Down syndrome, which is caused by the presence of an extra chromosome.

Gore's delusions also ran riot on issues of technology and environmentalism, such as his repeated endorsement of anti-technology tracts and criticism of technological advances, while a congressman, senator and vice president. His writings generally placed science and technology at odds with "the natural world" and by inference, with the well-being and progress of mankind. Gore's patronizing, apocalyptic and overwrought "Earth in the Balance" offers disturbing insights into its disturbed author. In it, Gore trashed the empirical nature of science for disconnecting man from nature. "But for the separation of science and religion," he lamented, "we might not be pumping so much gaseous chemical waste into the atmosphere and threatening the destruction of the earth's climate balance." He ignored that but for the separation of science and religion, we would still be burdened with the notion that the sun and the planets revolve around the Earth. (Recall that historians call the last epoch when religion dominated science the Dark Ages.)

It gets worse. Throughout the book, Gore employed the metaphor that those who believe in technological advances are as sinister, and polluters are as evil, as the perpetrators of the World War II Holocaust. He accused Americans of being dysfunctional because we've developed "an apparent obsession with inauthentic substitutes for direct experience with real life," such as "Astroturf, air conditioning and fluorescent lights . . . Walkman and Watchman, entertainment cocoons, frozen food for the microwave oven," and so on. Makes you wonder why he bothered to create the Internet.

The New York Times' neglect of mental aberrations in the man who for so long was so close to the presidency is yet more evidence of their highly selective sense of propriety.

Perhaps the Times is not concerned about psychiatric disease in politicians. Or perhaps it just specializes in the "illnesses" of Republicans.

Henry Miller is a physician and a fellow at the Hoover Institution. He was an official at the National Institutes of Health and Food & Drug Administration from 1977 to 1994.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: algore; dickcheney; medicalrecords; vicepresident
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-26 next last
Just a little humorous reality to lighten things up on this VERY serious Christmas Eve...
1 posted on 12/24/2003 5:00:37 AM PST by livesbygrace
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: livesbygrace
I'll worry about Cheney's medical records after I find out what was in Clinton's.
2 posted on 12/24/2003 5:04:07 AM PST by Samwise (There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Samwise
I'll worry about Cheney's medical records after I find out what was in Clinton's.

BINGO!!

3 posted on 12/24/2003 5:07:34 AM PST by Elkiejg (Clintons have ruined America)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: livesbygrace
Wonderful post! Thanks.
4 posted on 12/24/2003 5:09:15 AM PST by TheGeezer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: livesbygrace
This is great! We're still laughing. Thank you and Merry Christmas!

5 posted on 12/24/2003 5:12:18 AM PST by PistolPaknMama
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Elkiejg
Gore ran a campaign for president in 2000. How come this stuff did not come out then?
6 posted on 12/24/2003 5:33:08 AM PST by ontos-on
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: livesbygrace
In [his book], Gore trashed the empirical nature of science for disconnecting man from nature.

Sometimes, I think that the only book he ever read was "The Art of Zen and Motorcycle Maintenance", and he read that when stoned.

7 posted on 12/24/2003 8:13:40 AM PST by expatpat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: livesbygrace
Top Ten reasons what to do if you are Al Gore's kid:
#10- Do drugs
#9- get the scotch
#8- get the golf club
#7-Leer out your window at passers by exposing yourself
#6- Sell seats to your buddies and let them pass out in the Lincoln bedroom.
#5-call "uncle Bill" for notes.
#4-Call uncle/aunt Hillary for a lawyer.
#3- Do not get on a plane.
#2-Talk to the new york times
#1-EXONERATED
8 posted on 12/25/2003 3:29:22 PM PST by mirkwood (If we stop voting, will they go away?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: livesbygrace
He used to walk around the Senate carrying graduate level Physics texts. But when questioned about them he was clueless.

Oh yeah .. he discovered Love Canal and introduced the legistation about it. Even though that happened before his tenure.

And his father was run out of Congress for supporting the Civil Rights amendment. Even though he was one of the prominent opponents to it.
9 posted on 12/25/2003 3:35:58 PM PST by gitmo (Who is John Galt?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: livesbygrace
The author left out plenty of other things. I'll remember Algore for hiring Naomi Wolf, a $15,000/month consultant (although I don't know if she actually charged him that much) to teach him how to act like an "Alpha Male". Here's a guy in his 50's running for President of the United States, and he has not one clue who the hell he is. And, the press fawning all over him as if this was a good thing.

How scary is it, that this CRACKPOT won the popular vote?

10 posted on 12/25/2003 3:46:08 PM PST by FlyVet
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ontos-on
I would like to know why no one in the media commented on the "Get to know AL" film that was shown at the democrat convention in 2000.

In that film, Al made a point of showing a painting Tipper Gore did. The painting was hanging on the wall of their home in Tennessee. It was a nude, self-portrait she painted when she was about 8 months pregnant.

Now, I don't know about anyone else, but I think therre are several levels of nuttiness in this, which are:

1. Tipper did a nude self-portrait of herself.
2. She painted herself nude while pregnant.
3. They have this painting hanging in the hall of their home, where children and grandchildren can see it.
4. Gore insisted on showing it to the entire nation (this was televised nationally) at the convention. He made a special point of making sure the camera showed it, over Tipper's protest.
5. NO ONE involved in the production of that film either thought this was inappropriate or had the nerve to overrule Gore.

Coupled with that obviously staged and fairly aggressive kiss photo-op, I think they have a very weird marriage. In fact, I would not be surprised to find out that he slaps Tipper around.

11 posted on 12/25/2003 3:48:17 PM PST by Miss Marple
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: livesbygrace
Then, there was the (in)famous instance when Gore implied that he had been responsible for creating the Internet

No, Gore never implied that he created the Internet. He flat out claimed it.

"I TOOK THE INITIATIVE IN CREATING THE INTERNET" said he.

12 posted on 12/25/2003 3:55:57 PM PST by Guillermo (Happy Ramahannakwaanzmas!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Miss Marple

It was a nude, self-portrait she painted when she was about 8 months pregnant.
 

It could've been worse y'know...

 


13 posted on 12/25/2003 3:56:31 PM PST by Fintan (Merry Christmas to all...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Miss Marple
Bump to the top Miss Marple o<[:o))) Merry Christmas!
14 posted on 12/25/2003 4:02:07 PM PST by Liberty Valance (Keep a simple manner for a happy life :o)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Liberty Valance
Merry Christmas!

You know, there is a reason Gore supports Dean. Like calls to like, they say.

15 posted on 12/25/2003 4:04:39 PM PST by Miss Marple
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Miss Marple
My favorite Al Gore quote:
Jackass

You will need to enter an email address to hear it... just make one up or use this: hillary@senate.gov
16 posted on 12/25/2003 4:05:40 PM PST by Bon mots
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]


17 posted on 12/25/2003 4:13:47 PM PST by Bon mots
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]



I feel his pain.
18 posted on 12/25/2003 4:19:15 PM PST by Bon mots
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: livesbygrace
Take-home message: Al Gore is an arrogant, condescending bunghole who's far more self-impressed than he should rightfully be...which I already knew.
19 posted on 12/25/2003 4:22:00 PM PST by RichInOC (...Merry Christmas, everybody...relax, enjoy and love your family.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Guillermo
Remember that constant drone about 7 years ago by the RATs about the "information superhighway" and how we could "educate" (read: "indoctrinate", in RATspeak) the masses with every classroom hooked up to the Internet.

The problem the RATs had with the Internet turned out to be manifold.

Most RATs are too stupid to read or to use the Internet, most RATs didn't give a RATs ass about politics as long as they were still feeding off the largesse, most Conservatives can use the Internet, and the clincher: the Internet gave Conservatives a broad and constant opportunity to shoot gaping holes in the lying RATspin for all to see and admire.
20 posted on 12/25/2003 4:27:03 PM PST by HighWheeler ("There is nothing worse than self-deception where the deceiver is always with you." - Randi)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-26 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson