Did You Thank Al Gore Today?
Listen to this clip of Al Gore, who joined Congress in the late 1970's. Nevertheless, during his "service in the United States congress [he] took the initiative in creating the internet." This is something which really amazes me.
Here is a little bit about the history of the internet. The ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency), a project of the United States Department of Defense, wanted to create a network for scientists who are in different locations to be able to communicate and share information. In addition, they wished to create a network which would be able to survive a nuclear attack (remember the cold war?). The network they came up with was called ARPANET, which at first consisted of four computers, and started working in the summer of 1969. Nearly a decade before Al Gore joined the United States congress. Yet he still "took the initiative in creating the internet." Amazing!
I think we should all be very thankful to him for this. It is only because of him that we have this post (and all other posts, too); indeed it is only because of him that we have the internet. So if you feel thankful to Al Gore, please be kind and tell him so. Contact him and tell him how appreciative you are of his efforts in creating the internet. It'll put a smile on his face, I'm sure of it.
Al Gore
2100 West End Avenue
Nashville, TN 37203
Phone: (615) 327-2227
Fax: (615) 327-1323
Here is a little bit about the history of the internet. The ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency), a project of the United States Department of Defense, wanted to create a network for scientists who are in different locations to be able to communicate and share information. In addition, they wished to create a network which would be able to survive a nuclear attack (remember the cold war?). The network they came up with was called ARPANET, which at first consisted of four computers, and started working in the summer of 1969. Nearly a decade before Al Gore joined the United States congress. Yet he still "took the initiative in creating the internet." Amazing!
I think we should all be very thankful to him for this. It is only because of him that we have this post (and all other posts, too); indeed it is only because of him that we have the internet. So if you feel thankful to Al Gore, please be kind and tell him so. Contact him and tell him how appreciative you are of his efforts in creating the internet. It'll put a smile on his face, I'm sure of it.
Al Gore
2100 West End Avenue
Nashville, TN 37203
Phone: (615) 327-2227
Fax: (615) 327-1323
posted by 3pillars @ 5:00 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Here's a debunking on this sarcastic riff on good ole Gore from the Daily Howler. I'll just put up its quote directly..
"How well-known was Gore’s leadership role? The press corps was full of experienced scribes who knew all about his work in this area. We’ll let the Nexis archives guide us as we review this familiar old tale. According to Nexis, the Washington Post’s first reference to the Internet occurred in November 1988; a “virus” had attacked the little-known network, which connected some 50,000 computers, the Post said. But as journalists began to report on the Net, Gore’s key role in its development was clear. One month later, for example, Martin Walker wrote this in The Guardian:
WALKER (12/30/88): American computing scientists are campaigning for the creation of a “superhighway” which would revolutionise data transmission.
Legislation has already been laid before Congress by Senator Albert Gore of Tennessee, calling for government funds to help establish the new network, which scientists say they can have working within five years, at a cost of Dollars 400 million.
Nine months later, the Post reported that the Bush administration “plans to unveil tomorrow an ambitious plan to spend nearly $2 billion enhancing the nation’s technological know-how, including the creation of a high-speed data ‘superhighway’ that would link more than 1,000 research sites around the country.” This network was “comparable to an interstate highway system for electronic data,” the paper said—and it noted that “a similar plan has been proposed by Sen. Albert Gore (D-Tenn.), whose legislation also proposes creating a vast electronic library that could be accessed by users seeking federally gathered information.”"
Now dont get me wrong here, im no huge fan of da Gore. But call it like it is mate.
There is a (small) difference between "creating" something and "calling for government funds to help establish" something. We don't say that Congress actually built roads although they "established" funding for its construction. When Gore proposed to create a "vast electronic library that could be accessed by users seeking federally gathered information," the concept of computers sharing information through a network already existed.
Nevertheless, we should appreciate all the effort Al Gore has put in to establishing (i.e. creating) the internet.
do you ever listen to savage on the radio?
I might have listened to him once or twice, definitely not on a regular basis.
That is one of my favorite quotes of all time!
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