23 June 2003

Al Gore's Support of the Internet

Al Gore never said he "invented the internet". The exact quote was "I took the initiative in creating the Internet." While that statement can be construed to mean invent, it also can be taken as the boasting of someone who used his power and influence to spearhead, as part of a collaborative team, the net's sustainment, nurturing and dissemination during its formative years as it transformed from a text only network of geeks to the commercial, graphical and open online haven it is today.

I know this is all old news but it seems like poor Al is still subject to smirking zingers on this verbal guffaw, especially from many who couldn't distinguish the escape key from the tilde key. From recent news headlines to every corner of the web. Last Friday, KFYI Barry "barely famous" Young repeatedly scoffed at the former vice president's "internet boast" in a diatribe that resembled an audition for a Bush administration Ministry of Disinformation post. While Mr. Young has never let facts get in the way of a entertaining monologue, I thought I'd share the thoughts of those immensely more qualified to comment on Al Gore's internet involvement. Just for the record.

Vinton Cerf and Bob Kahn, creators of TCP/IP, the networking magic behind the net, both came forth in September 2000 and presented a strong statement in support of Gore's remarks:

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

No one person or even small group of persons exclusively "invented" the Internet. It is the result of many years of ongoing collaboration among people in government and the university community. But 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.

Another quote from Cerf, from an article published by John Schwartz in the 3/21/99 Washington Post:

I think it is very fair to say that the Internet would not be where it is in the United States without the strong support given to it and related research areas by the vice president in his current role and in his earlier role as senator.

So, whose word do I trust? A partisan stooge like Barry Young doing his blowhard bit or the words of the brilliant men with unprecedented technical prowess? Instead, the mainstream media and Republican partisans took their cue from the well funded conservative foundations and cut and pasted their campaign spin as gospel.

Comments

----- Original Message -----
From: Elena Montes
To: politex@bushwatch.com
Sent: Friday, October 03, 2003 3:18 AM
Subject: Draft Gore: Meet Up and ABC Plan info
Should you know of anyone interested in the following "Draft Gore" movement, please forward the info....

--September 26, 2003 "(David) Gergen threw out a surprise prediction when he said that he still does not rule Al Gore out of the 2004 presidential election if no clear front-runner emerges."
from; War in Iraq race against time
by Christopher Lomax
article in full: http://www.thedmonline.com/...
-Gore 2004 Meetup: http://gore2004.meetup.com/

-Gore ABC: http://goreabc.com/

-Draft Gore: http://www.draftgore.com

September 19, 2003

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If you are willing to join up as an ABC Volunteer, please respond to this message in something like the following way: "Please put me on your list as an ABC Volunteer."

Send your response to Lori Learned Robinson at: llearned@sunflower.com

If you want to know more about ABC, please go to the following url address and view the entire thread, or as much of it as you desire:

http://earth.he.net/cgi-bin...

Please act now to help bring Gore into the race!

Steve Robinson, on behalf of ABC, 785-843-7163 http://goreabc.com/
---NEWS UPDATE: Sept 11th 2003
Draft Gore: Gore in Statistical Dead Heat with Bush, Leads All Democrats in Zogby/Draft Gore Poll http://releases.usnewswire....

-MAINE VOICES: RAYMOND J. BLAIR .. It's time: Democrats, turn to Gore http://www.pressherald.com/...

-Draft Gore’ efforts step up across state PORTSMOUTH - The field of potential Democratic nominees could increase by one shortly. http://www.seacoastonline.c...