Tennessee Center for Policy Research nonpartisan? Perhaps for tax filing purposes, but they are anything but. On their staff is an advocate of Creationism, a guy who writes tax papers for the tobacco industry, a guy who runs a web site advocating school choice, a Bush I appointee, a Jeb Bush appointee, a guy who supports a "biblical worldview," and a gal who teaches college classes on Harry Potter. (Not sure about that last one, just found it interesting.) The Director of the group, one Drew Johnson, came up through the ranks of the Conservative machine as a Koch Fellow (to explore "market-based" policy alternatives) and was then employed by the American Enterprise Institute before moving over to work on education issues and starting the TCPR. All the links on their "non-partisan" site go to other right-wing sites. They are a front group, plain and simple. Besides, there's nothing non-partisan about this press release... it was a hit job filled with misleading rhetoric. I think the point about Gore being a former VP deserves further mention. As much as we want our politicians to be like us, they are nothing like us... their lives are just different. Apparently, Gore has a full-time staff at his home that does stuff like set up his appointments and answer mail. My guess is that he also has security concerns that go beyond "average." He has a manager that takes care of the property... (I guess next he'll be called a hypocrite for not mowing his own lawn with a push mower). There are no "average" homes that have an ex-VP living in them, no "average" homes that have a guy who would be known on any street in the world, no "average" home shelters a man who is a spokesman for a global cause, no guy who has a good portion of the American public clamoring for him to run for President is going to live in an "average" house.
I agree. It's just as ironic as an administration that tells the American people it is fighting a "war on terror" that results in over 3,000 US servicemen killed when it is really just stealing oil from Iraq and reaping huge profits for US-based multinational corporations like Halliburton. Hypocracy is a two way street.
It's a smear campaign and it's always fun watching as people start following the paper trail and figuring out how this attack on Gore started. People aren't even questioning this source, the TCPR that didn't even seemingly exist until Monday, or how exactly they are allowed to get their hands on Al Gore's utility bill. But it doesn't take much to show that all this "hypocrite" talk is BS. Gore only buys is power from Green Power Switch which means all of his energy is produced by renewable sources like wind and solar. That means that even though his house uses 20x the power in one year, it doesn't impact the environment the way that an average household that gets it's power from burning coal. Hannity is blasting Gore for taking a private jet to fly to a State of the Union Adress in 2000. Uh, he was the Vice President and he has to follow Secret Service protocol. http://thinkprogress.org/2007/02/18/hannity-pathetic/ http://www.seeingtheforest.com/archives/2007/02/a_far_too_conve.htm
Rims points are well taken regarding Gore and his position as VP. I'm not a big fan of 'carbon offsets' and would prefer he did more vid conferencing or at least cut down on air travel, as he could certainly be one to lead by example. Moreso than he does. 10,000 sqft? I just don't know. I don't expect 2,000 sq ft, but smaller home would set a much better example. And house size is huge when considering impact to the environment Bigger house means more energy to run, more land and urban sprawl, longer comutes, etc. etc. etc. He should be held to a higher standard. And he should have to justify what appear to be excesses. I'm surprised people are defending Edward's 28,000 sq ft home. Again...doesn't mean he should be in a studio appartment...but I'm thinking somewhere between 500 sq ft and 28,000 sq ft there's a more reasonable sized dwelling for a family of 4. And it's not the opulance. He can make it as luxurious as he likes -- but if global warming -- and by extention -- environmental impact is his thing....he's doing a lousy job himself. I think Hypocrite is valid. Obviously this doesn't negate the message. But these guys shouldn't be above it simply because they spearheading the issue. It's about the choices we make in our everyday life. The little things that add up. Train to work. Walk to the store. Smaller house. Buy local. Drive less. When we all do it, it can make a huge impact.
According to this article it states he "signed up for it". I can't figure out if that means last week, or he's been using it for a long time. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,254908,00.html Gore Responds to Charges His House Uses Too Much Electricity Tuesday, February 27, 2007 Al Gore has responded to charges that his house consumes more electricity every month than many American households use in an entire year, with the new Oscar winner saying he has taken many steps to reduce the carbon footprint in his home. The office of the former vice president and former presidential candidate told Thinkprogress.org that he has signed up for 100 percent "green" power through Green Power Switch — a renewable energy program through the massive local electric distribution network, the Tennessee Valley Authority. Gore's representatives said he also has installed solar panels and uses compact fluorescent bulbs and other energy-saving technology and he buys carbon offsets: a service that indirectly tries to reduce the total carbon emissions of individuals or organizations.
Got you beat. Since I work mostly out of my house my commute is 0 miles. I've switched over to flourescents, keep my thermostat at 68 in the winter and don't use AC in the summer unless its over 90, drive a Civic, walk or bike as much as I can, use a push mower in the summer and shovel instead of using a snow blower in the winter. These things are good for the environment but more importantly they are good for my wallet.
Since we're gloating We chose not to move to a bigger house in the burbs, and instead stayed in a much smaller house withing walking distance of most things. (at greater cost too -- reno's aren't cheap ). I cancelled my parking pass, and now bike or train it to work We're taking more driving and biking holidays (took me a long time to get my head around driving being more 'environmental' than flying). I'm determined to drive less than 4,000 miles this year (excluding holidays) Switched to those new energy bulbs. Bigger better veggie garden. Less consumption Lobbying our local zoning and permit department for 'friendlier' standards to convert old homes rather than have them end up in landfills. (Y'all in the no-zoning mecca have no idea what fun building restrictions can be).
More than 'average.' Possibly not as much as he should. Shouldn't he do all he can to reduce -- or does buying 'offsets' give him a free reign?
Oh man do I know how fun those building restrictions can be. I'm really impressed with you driving less than 4K miles a year. Even though I work at home a lot I still often have to drive out to project sites and offices and often the weather just doesn't make it conducive to walking and biking.
I'm doing absolutely nothing. You're right. Gore is a hypocrite. I think we can safely assume that every politician on either side of the aisle is probably a big fat hypocrite. I'm not going to say "my guys" are not hypocrites but "your guys" are. In truth, they are probably all hypocrites. Most of the "green" politicians probably do little to nothing in their private lives to actually improve the environment. Most of the war-hawks out there probably pull strings to make sure their kids don't have to go to war. One of the most annoying things we all do is pretend that the political party we support has some sort of moral superiority over the opposing one.
so i guess it would be better had he never advocated conservation. at least then he would be free of hypocrisy on the matter.
Nope. It would be better if we didn't examine his lifestyle at all and accepted him as the deity he is. Happy?
