Adviser says McCain helped create the BlackBerry

[TrumanB]

I guess the fact that he never made the claim, and that you've been provided proof of that, really isn't that important to you, is it?

"I took the initiative in creating the Internet." - Al Gore - March 9, 1999

Do you have a problem reading?

[Baculus]

"I took the initiative in creating the Internet." - Al Gore - March 9, 1999

Do you have a problem reading?

I think we heard the quote. I am not sure if you understand what anyone else is saying.

And while you are railing against Gore - no opinion on the statement from the McCain camp?

[TrumanB]

I think we heard the quote. I am not sure if you understand what anyone else is saying.

And while you are railing against Gore - no opinion on the statement from the McCain camp?

What I understand is that you have a bunch of liberals on this board defending a liberal. It really is that simple. Each one of you knows damn well that Gore's statement was a full and complete embellishment of the record. In other words, a flat out lie.

[alexey]

We are at the point where people are so out there they do not even notice when they get pwnd.

[TrumanB]

We are at the point where people are so out there they do not even notice when they get pwnd.

We are at he point where the word "pwnd" has been a tad bit overused. What are you, 12 years old?

[Baculus]

What I understand is that you have a bunch of liberals on this board defending a liberal. It really is that simple. Each one of you knows damn well that Gore's statement was a full and complete embellishment of the record. In other words, a flat out lie.

As I said before, it was a clumsy statement. He further tried to explain what he meant, with his regards to supporting important legislation.

Could it be taken as a lie or an misappropriated claim of "invention"? Yes. Is it a lie? In context of the statement by itself, then yes. In context of how he meant to say it, with the appended statement on legislation, then no.

That being said, again, since you are railing against Gore, how come you do not seem bothered by the statement from the McCain camp? Gore is not in this race - McCain is, and his camp's statement was made recently.

I think that is more relevant, IMO, especially considering the McCain's camp's sudden habit of mangling the truth.

[TrumanB]

As I said before, it was a clumsy statement. He further tried to explain what he meant, with his regards to supporting important legislation.

Could it be taken as a lie or an misappropriated claim of "invention"? Yes. Is it a lie? In context of the statement by itself, then yes. In context of how he meant to say it, with the appended statement on legislation, then no.

That being said, again, since you are railing against Gore, how come you do not seem bothered by the statement from the McCain camp? Gore is not in this race - McCain is, and his camp's statement was made recently.

I think that is more relevant, IMO, especially considering the McCain's camp's sudden habit of mangling the truth.

Well at least you can admit that his statement was an exaggerated claim.

As far as McCain's adviser, this was my response earlier to someone that asked me if he lied:

"Yep. I see no difference in what McCain's adviser said versus what Gore said himself. Once again, McCain did not make this claim. Gore directly made his claim about the internet."

[Prosperity]

I think he meant OLD GEEZER JOHN needs to eat blacberries for there fiber content in order to keep regular

x3

[Baculus]

Well at least you can admit that his statement was an exaggerated claim.

As far as McCain's adviser, this was my response earlier to someone that asked me if he lied:

"Yep. I see no difference in what McCain's adviser said versus what Gore said himself. Once again, McCain did not make this claim. Gore directly made his claim about the internet."

Fair enough response. I still believe that context is still key in both the Gore and McCain situation. But it is what it is.

[Larry]

"I took the initiative in creating the Internet." - Al Gore - March 9, 1999

Do you have a problem reading?

Nope, but apparently you do. Maybe big type will help:

Claim: Vice-President Al Gore claimed that he "invented" the Internet.

Status: False.

Origins: Despite the derisive references that continue even today, Al Gore did not claim he "invented" the Internet, nor did he say anything that could reasonably be interpreted that way. The "Al Gore said he 'invented' the Internet" put-downs were misleading, out-of-context distortions of something he said during an interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN's "Late Edition" program on 9 March 1999.

Source.

[Larry]

We are at he point where the word "pwnd" has been a tad bit overused. What are you, 12 years old?

How old are the lies you keep repeating?

[Predicto]

I still think that "invented" is a lot different than "took the initiative in creating." And you said "invented."

And I recall an awful lot of cartoons like this:

they say "invented" too.

:whoknows:

[Zuck]

What's worse? An overzealous adviser claiming McCain did this or that idiot Gore claiming he invented the internet from his own mouth.

Al Gore's not running for president and at least Al Gore knew how to use the internet.

[TrumanB]

How old are the lies you keep repeating?

Not as old as your sorry ass.

[TrumanB]

While the liberals on this board ridiculously defend an idiotic remark by Al Gore, John McCain immediately dismissed an equally idiotic comment by a staffer.

"McCain senior aide Matt McDonald said that the senator "laughed" when he heard the comment. "He would not claim to be the inventor of anything, much less the BlackBerry. This was obviously a boneheaded joke by a staffer," McDonald said."

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/16/mccain.blackberry/?iref=mpstoryview

[Baculus]

While the liberals on this board ridiculously defend an idiotic remark by Al Gore, John McCain immediately dismissed an equally idiotic comment by a staffer.

"McCain senior aide Matt McDonald said that the senator "laughed" when he heard the comment. "He would not claim to be the inventor of anything, much less the BlackBerry. This was obviously a boneheaded joke by a staffer," McDonald said."

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/16/mccain.blackberry/?iref=mpstoryview

Maybe he needs to laugh when he hears some of the other questionable "truths" coming from the McCain campaign.

"Hey, Mr. McCain - did Sarah REALLY go to Iraq?"

[Corcaigh]

While the liberals on this board ridiculously defend an idiotic remark by Al Gore,

How about the co-designers of TCP/IP who defend Al Gore. What's your rationale for that?

[TrumanB]

How about the co-designers of TCP/IP who defend Al Gore. What's your rationale for that?

Uh, I've covered this ground already. It's one thing for these guys to say he made some contributions, it's a leap for Gore to say that he created the internet. He overstated and embellished his contributions, plain and simple.

[Prosperity]

truman, how much credit do you think Gore rightfully deserves for his policy work in regards to the internet?

[Corcaigh]

Uh, I've covered this ground already. It's one thing for these guys to say he made some contributions, it's a leap for Gore to say that he created the internet. He overstated and embellished his contributions, plain and simple.

Al Gore and the Internet

By Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf

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

... 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.

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. Our work on the Internet started in 1973 and was based on even earlier work that took place in the mid-late 1960s. But the Internet, as we know it today, was not deployed until 1983. When the Internet was still in the early stages of its deployment, Congressman Gore provided intellectual leadership by helping create the vision of the potential benefits of high speed computing and communication. As an example, he sponsored hearings on how advanced technologies might be put to use in areas like coordinating the response of government agencies to natural disasters and other crises.

As a Senator in the 1980s Gore urged government agencies to consolidate what at the time were several dozen different and unconnected networks into an "Interagency Network." Working in a bi-partisan manner with officials in Ronald Reagan and George Bush's administrations, Gore secured the passage of the High Performance Computing and Communications Act in 1991. This "Gore Act" supported the National Research and Education Network (NREN) initiative that became one of the major vehicles for the spread of the Internet beyond the field of computer science.

As Vice President Gore promoted building the Internet both up and out, as well as releasing the Internet from the control of the government agencies that spawned it. He served as the major administration proponent for continued investment in advanced computing and networking and private sector initiatives such as Net Day. He was and is a strong proponent of extending access to the network to schools and libraries. Today, approximately 95% of our nation's schools are on the Internet. Gore provided much-needed political support for the speedy privatization of the Internet when the time arrived for it to become a commercially-driven operation.

There are many factors that have contributed to the Internet's rapid growth since the later 1980s, not the least of which has been political support for its privatization and continued support for research in advanced networking technology. No one in public life has been more intellectually engaged in helping to create the climate for a thriving Internet than the Vice President. Gore has been a clear champion of this effort, both in the councils of government and with the public at large.

The Vice President deserves credit for his early recognition of the value of high speed computing and communication and for his long-term and consistent articulation of the potential value of the Internet to American citizens and industry and, indeed, to the rest of the world."

But yeah, you know better than Kahn and Cerf.

[TrumanB]

truman, how much credit do you think Gore rightfully deserves for his policy work in regards to the internet?

Not enough to say with honesty that "I took the intiative of creating the internet". That's embellishment and arrogance at it's highest form. I'm sure there were hundreds, if not thousands of folks that could make that claim better than Gore.

[Vicious]

The blackberry was created by a canadian company called Research in Motion.

So what did John McCain have to do with it? NOTHING. AT ALL.

[TrumanB]

So what did John McCain have to do with it? NOTHING. AT ALL.

He never said he did

[dockeryfan]

McCain is a genius. He invented the Blackberry and I'm going to vote for him.

[skinfan133]

You can joke all you like, but there is a very compelling argument that the internet we use would not exist but for the policies Gore sponsored.

Two of the key technical pioneers are Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn. Here's what they say:

"As far back as the 70's Gore promoted the idea of high speed telecommunications as an engine for both economic growth and the improvement of the 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. Our work on the Internet started in 1973 and was based on even earlier work that took place in the mid-late 1960s. But the Internet, as we know it today, was not deployed until 1983. When the Internet was still in the early stages of its deployment, Congressman Gore provided intellectual leadership by helping create the vision of the potential benefits of high speed computing and communication. As an example, he sponsored hearings on how advanced technologies might be put to use in areas like coordinating the response of government agencies to natural disasters and other crises."

"As a Senator in the 1980s Gore urged government agencies to consolidate what at the time were several dozen different and unconnected networks into an "Interagency Network." Working in a bi-partisan manner with officials in Ronald Reagan and George Bush's administrations, Gore secured the passage of the High Performance Computing and Communications Act in 1991. This "Gore Act" supported the National Research and Education Network (NREN) initiative that became one of the major vehicles for the spread of the Internet beyond the field of computer science."

I'm going to hate myself for this because I'm not a very big fan of Al Gore, but here goes:

It's a real shame that people chide him and make fun of him for helping pursue something that is both constitutionally sound and brought great ebenfit to the American people. when we as a society are unable to recognize for just a second that someone did in fact have a hand in something like this and we pretend they didn't based on the fact that we don't like them, that's sad. I very much do not like the things Gore stood for, but I applaud him for pursuing the funding for these endeavors.