[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Originally Posted by Stranger

We'll said. Gore should be able to set up a webcast of his speeches and broadcast them from home. After all he invented the internet.

I second that, Lanny:--not to mention the whole "invented the internet" claim being trotted out YET AGAIN.

For the last time. Al Gore never said he invented the internet. He said he "took the initiative in creating the internet" when he was a senator. This is actually true. Here's what internet pioneers Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn have to say about his contribution:

[A]s 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. As far back as the 1970s Congressman Gore promoted the idea of high speed telecommunications as an engine for both economic growth and the improvement of our educational system. He was the first elected official to grasp the potential of computer communications to have a broader impact than just improving the conduct of science and scholarship. Though easily forgotten, now, at the time this was an unproven and controversial concept.

The idea that he claimed to have "invented" the internet is itself an invention of his enemies on the American right. I've never claimed Gore was perfect, but it's high time people started doing a little research rather than accepting whatever talking point FoxNews is spouting as the gospel truth. Democracy only works when there is a citizenry that takes the time to stay informed.