What do you say to the stupid statement that Al Gore is a hypocritcal asshole because he jets around the world spreading the word about global warming, and lives in a big energy-sucking house?
Um, he used to be Vice-President of the United States, yes? So, as such, he is presumably still protected by a Secret Service detail, right? So if he moves to a tar-paper shack, where's he going to put them all? Seriously, he's a public figure, and one who is starting to get a wee bit polarizing. I can think of one way to run a home security system without using electricity, but it involves digging booby traps with sharpened stakes in them all around your perimeter, and that would get people really mad, don't you think?
Ronald Reagan also traveled a lot when he was a hired spokesman for General Electric, after his acting career trailed off and before his political one really set sail. Admittedly, he did so by train, but that was because he was afraid of flying! But what he learned by doing this is that if you show up in person and tailor your message to each particular crowd, you have a much better chance of (a) selling GE, or (b) getting people to agree with you.
Think of it this way. Why do I show up in person to teach? Why do I bother learning students' names, or asking what a person's major is? Also, why do I prefer smaller classes? It's not just because there are fewer faces to memorize; it's because, knowing right now that one of my students is interested in the linguistics of ASL, I can talk to my class about a million ways you could dive into that paper: Gallaudet University; using sign as a communication tool with all infants, including hearing ones, to decrease the baby's frustration as it learns to communicate; gestural languages not ASL
( ... )
Al Gore flies commercial and buys carbon offsets[1] to account for the burning of the jet fuel. He might accept private flights if there are no commercial flights; he buys offsets for that travel, too
( ... )
First, I would research the validity of the statement. A google search for 'al gore house' turns up some interesting stuff. Since I trust snopes.com as a nonpartisan information source, I'll link to them first:
The Tennessee Center for Policy Research looks a bit more partisan, but they have hard numbers to go by, namely the exact amount paid by the estate and its actual energy usage:
I'm not going to jump into a political debate here, but the facts can't be ignored. This man is campaigning all over the world for energy conservation and green technology, but appears to practice none of what he preaches. To many, this would very much smack of hypocrisy.
Comments 9
;)
Shit, even his coke addled son drives a Prius!
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Think of it this way. Why do I show up in person to teach? Why do I bother learning students' names, or asking what a person's major is? Also, why do I prefer smaller classes? It's not just because there are fewer faces to memorize; it's because, knowing right now that one of my students is interested in the linguistics of ASL, I can talk to my class about a million ways you could dive into that paper: Gallaudet University; using sign as a communication tool with all infants, including hearing ones, to decrease the baby's frustration as it learns to communicate; gestural languages not ASL ( ... )
Reply
And that last line, well, I'll be thinking it! :)
Reply
Reply
Reply
http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/house.asp
The Tennessee Center for Policy Research looks a bit more partisan, but they have hard numbers to go by, namely the exact amount paid by the estate and its actual energy usage:
http://www.tennesseepolicy.org/main/article.php?article_id=367
I'm not going to jump into a political debate here, but the facts can't be ignored. This man is campaigning all over the world for energy conservation and green technology, but appears to practice none of what he preaches. To many, this would very much smack of hypocrisy.
I personally, couldn't care less.
Reply
Leave a comment