On Aug 9, 2011, at 10:23 PM, John F. Sowa wrote:
> Rich,
>
> I don't want to get into more debates, but I have to correct the following
>point:
>
>> You know, the man who claimed to have invented the internet?
>
> He never said that.
>
> The original technology that became the foundation for the Internet was
>started in 1969.
>
> But Al Gore became one of the primary leaders in promoting legislation on
>computer telecommunications as congressman in the 1970s and as a senator in
>the 1980s. He was one of the very few people in Congress who not only knew
>something about the subject, but was actively promoting it. (01)
Thanks correcting that egregious falsehood so clearly John. I had thought the
"Al Gore said he invented the internet" hoax had been laid to rest years ago,
so it was rather shocking to see it still being propounded in this venue.
Gore's *actual* quote, from a CNN interview reported by Wired, was this: (02)
"During my service in the United States Congress, I took the
initiative in creating the Internet." (03)
An excellent overview of the hoax's origins, and Wired's role in it, written in
2000, is found on the Wayback Machine: http://goo.gl/igNqN. Of the quote
itself, the author writes: (04)
Gore's meaning, obvious to anyone who knew the record, was
that he did the political work and articulated the public
vision that made the Internet possible. No reasonable person
could conclude that Gore was claiming to have invented the
Internet in any technical sense. The first half of his
sentence makes this clear: he is talking about work he did in
the context of his service in the Congress. The creation of
the Internet was a process that had several phases and took
several years, and Gore is claiming the principal credit for
the political side of that effort. It is a substantial
claim, but an accurate one. (05)
And of the Wired article: (06)
Wired News' articles about Al Gore and the Internet did not
simply contribute an urban myth to American culture. They
were part and parcel of a hysterical campaign of character
assassination against an innocent man based on lies and
distortions. This campaign should bring disgrace to Wired
News and all of the other media organizations that were part
of it. It should also cause sober reflection on the corrupt
state of public discourse in this country. (07)
And the author thought things were bad in 2000... (08)
-chris (09)
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