Pat Oliphant for January 07, 2013

After having the presidency stolen from him I guess Gore feels he deserves it.

“Whats wrong with an All American Businessman doing the best he can do for himself.”

Absolutely nothing. If I was involved in a sale like that (and have been during my accounting career) I would tell him to sell it to the highest bidder and when it is most advantageous for tax purposes. I’m a libertarian, and I don’t really care what his political positions are in regard to energy or business. So goes current law and capitalism, both of which I diligently adhere to.

Now the public perception judges on a whole different level. They see hypocrisy in his actions and will almost always judge accordingly. The court of public opinion can be pretty brutal. Al appears to be in the “do as I say, not as I do” mode…

Looking at this from another angle:.One of our local PBS stations has programs from several foreign news outlets, including al Jazeera and RT, as well as the French and Japanese feeds. What a strange thing to see, and I bet some people think it’s not right. There are also programs from Korea and India. How do the English-speaking anchors feel about their jobs, especially at RT?.But I like the differences between those news shows and the way our own established news programs are now presented. It’s the way our news used to be long ago. And except for inevitable TV graphics the foreign programs aren’t as fancy; the anchors are more serious and less of superstars. They dress modestly, and there is much less flirtation with each other. Or maybe it’s because there are no commercials?.How strange, too, to see the U.S. from outside as others see us. For example, one of the foreign feeds examined the sad economic situation in Gary, Indiana. Many of the public buildings looked like bombed-out shells from a war. The major expenditure was for a fleet of police cars, not to help rebuild the infrastructure. Businesses do not want to stay or come into town. It was quite an in-depth program, and it was very depressing and embarrassing. I wonder if a U.S. station would pull some punches when showing those things..I don’t watch too many U.S. network news shows, anymore. The celebrity news presenters are a turn-off to me. Do any of you agree that Sunday’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” has gone downhill, especially with the roundtable freaks it has lately engaged? It might as well be “The McLaughlin Group,” and I’ve stopped watching it. “Meet the Press” is much better lately..And many the weather people are mostly women these days. Accuse me of male chauvinist piggism if you will, but they seem more distracting than informative. I certainly don’t tend to notice Tom Skilling’s curves as much as I do theirs — nor do I want to!

Would it be more acceptable if he had sold it to someone else – maybe Bain – for $400M and for THEM to sell to Al Jazeera for $500M?

Personally I find the cartoon funny. Gore has always been “special” like every other person who wants others to live by their rules. Sure we should dump all our old cars into the ocean and buy electric cars. He flew around the world in his personal jet to tell us so.

Conservatives screaming “profit is good”, “free markets”, “freedom of speech”, and touting the screeds of Limbaugh etc. are suddenly condemning Gore for making a buck, and screaming that Al Jazeera should be banned from broadcasting in America!

If “Al Jazeera America” turns out to be as accurate and relatively unbiased in their reporting as the print version, Americans might actually have access to journalism again instead of constant propaganda (left OR right).

Good post Mickey1339,Very good.Enjoyed it.C.

epmtc12: My feelings as well. Americans need to see ourselves from other perspectives, not just the regurgitated pablum shown on most sites. Too bad Time Warner doesn’t agree with free speech! Still disappointed in Al Gore for not trying to stick it out a little longer.

if al gore were a republican the CONS here would be praising him for making such a great business deal and promoting freedom of speech and of the press.

But let’s not forget the second largest owner of Fox News Is a member of the Saudi Royal Family, And out spoken supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Smeckle. Ha! Last time I heard that word was years ago when a good Yiddishe friend of mine, who was both deep into her Jewishness and quite ribald, named her purebred Siamese cat Smeckle Ben (son of) Schmuck, referring of course to a tomcat’s seemly diminutive anatomy.

Al Jazeera is an independent alternative to the state-run media that dominates many Mideastern countries. I appreciate the perspective they offer, just as I appreciate the independent media in the US.

and Romney lost Mass and Mich what’s your point?