Attacks on Gore backfire

[CatWoman]

Yesterday, conservatives across the blogosphere, citing a People magazine article and a poorly-researched Austrailian Daily Telegraph article, smeared Al Gore by claiming that he ate Chilean Sea Bass — a threatened species – at a rehearsal dinner for his daughter’s wedding. Attempting to paint Gore as an environmental hypocrite, BlogsForBush, NewsBusters, and others expressed outrage over the hypocrisy. But, as the Telegraph reports today, “Al Gore’s fish dinner turns out green“:

The fish enjoyed by the Gores were not endangered or illegally caught.

Rather, the restaurant later confirmed, they had come from one of the world’s few well-managed, sustainable populations of toothfish, and caught and documented in compliance with Marine Stewardship Council regulations.

More information about how to live an environmentally sustainable lifestyle is available HERE.

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/07/19/attacks-on-gore-backfire/

I remember that article bashing Gore being posted here, and it was soundly ridiculed. Good job, DUers :)

[Lone_Star_Dem]

1. Nice find CatWoman!

Thanks for posting it. :)

[EFerrari]

2. I KNEW it.

Good catch, Catwoman.

[mzmolly]

29. Great pun sfexpat.

Good "catch" ;)

[blm]

3. I don't expect MSNBC or CNN to correct their insults directed at Gore yesterday

and if they do it will be given 2% of the airtime they used to promote the RW smears.

[Nightjock]

14. I don't watch the "news" anymore

did they actually give this alot of air time?!

[blm]

28. Enough for me to catch it 3X yesterday and I only had the tv on last night.

Saw some threads on it though earlier in the day here yesterday, so the coverage must have been all day.

[Uncle Joe]

27. Leno ripped Gore's integrity last night using this as a joke,

I don't imagine he will correct him self tonight. I've missed the news the last day or so and that was the first I've heard of this.

[blm]

34. It was the typical ignorant bashing based on RW talking points.

Gore and Kerry should have had affairs, dodged Vietnam and been drunken coke-addicts - the media would've feted them and backslapped them with their towel-snapping comedy bits making them endearing to Joe Sixpack.

How dare they choose to serve their nation, mankind and this earth. Who can relate to that crap? Let's mock them.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

58. Leno's a rightwing hack

who used the Tonight Show as a vehicle for the gropinator's campaign-and feels it necessary to have Dennis Miller on spewing unchallenged b.s. every week

[MADem]

72. "The RETIRED comedian" Dennis Miller? (Heard that on Daily Show last night!!)

Leno never used to be that way--it's only when he got rich that he went over to the dark side.

Money really does reveal character, I guess.

[Cetacea]

33. Didn't they apologize about the internet smear?

Oh. That's right. They didn't.

[blm]

35. Nope - they still use that lie, too.

Documents and transcripts don't matter anymore. Not to the corporate 'news' organizations.

[MADem]

71. Well, we can all email them and INSIST that they do

Just one sentence--Will you spend the same amount of time CORRECTING the lie you told about Al Gore and the sea bass as you did spreading it?

It's hard to shame the shameless, but we can try.

[e-mail]

I dunno the feedback address for CNN.

[RebelOne]

4. Sean Hannity was having a field day with this yesterday.

Can't wait to hear what he has to say today or whether he will admit he is wrong.

[depakid]

11. None of them will admit to lying

deception is their stock and trade.

[wryter2000]

12. Here's what he'll say about it

"Hey, there's a missing blonde girl!"

[progressoid]

15. I'll eat my shorts if he corrects himself.

[SayWhatYo]

18. Oh, he wont do that....

I'm not sure how he'll spin it, but he won't admit he was wrong.

[BOSSHOG]

21. This is how sean will spin and admit

just like a lying coward would do. He'll tell his lemmings that it is a liberal plot to say that right leaning "news" sources are so often wrong. Its just a vicious attack on patriotic americans. Ignoring the fact that there is not such thing as right leaning "news" sources and conservatives with a microphone or access to a newspaper lie as if they were born that way.

[Beartracks]

60. Broadcasting the rumor serves his purpose.

He won't bother to correct it, as that does NOT serve his purposes. Anyway, he'll already have some new rumor or opinion to run with.

Same thing with MSM in general. Accusations and rumors mean Drama, CONTROVERSY, and SALES! On the other hand, retractions, corrections, clarifications.... soooooo boring: "That's YESTERDAY's news, can't we just move on??"

[TheFarseer]

64. he'll admit he's wrong

when Chilean Seabass fly.

[Gold Metal Flake]

5. K&R. One more R needed.

[countingbluecars]

6. Thanks. n/t

[tridim]

7. Gore is squeaky clean

Keep digging that hole Republics. Keep his name in the news even though he's "not running". :)

[La Lioness Priyanka]

8. gore rocks!

[Squatch]

9. I buy my sea bass (when it's not $20 a pound) from Whole Foods

Link

[CatWoman]

10. I buy mine at the Farmer's Market

http://www.dekalbfarmersmarket.com/

:)

[Atman]

13. My local fish monger has whole bulletin board devoted to "Chilean Sea Bass."

Apparently, ironically, much of what is sold as endangered "Chilean Sea Bass" is no such thing. It's just a close cousin, non-endangered. But consumers don't want "Cousin Fishy." They want Chilean Sea Bass, so a lot of places are actually selling other species as "Chilean Sea Bass" that are actually just tooth fish.

It figures the ignorant haters would find something as stupid as this to jump on Gore about.

.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

19. Unfortunately a few DUers bit, too.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1361021

[CatWoman]

25. that thread was a fucking hoot

:rofl:

:hi:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

32. One of the best ever.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

41. It was epic.

I's in your chily boll, endanjering your see bass.

[MADem]

73. I bit back--the old toothfish ain't the only one with some sharp teeth! NT

[SayWhatYo]

16. lol...

I find this amusing. You'd think people would check their facts before they run with shit.

[Gregorian]

17. We're all hypocrites! But some of us are trying to make change.

There isn't one of us who isn't a hypocrite in the sense that we aren't doing what we are preaching.

However, what Gore is struggling to do is to make a better world. I'd tell these people to grow up and get over themselves.

Gore has four kids. That translates to a world of 12 billion people, if everyone followed that example. I'm not happy about that at all. Say what you will.

However, I hold him on a pedestal for his achievement in waking the world up to the dangers ahead.

[Apollo11]

65. Strongly agree!

Most of us in the western world are consuming the earth's resources to an unsustainable extent.

If you drive a car - even a hybrid - then you are using oil and pumping out carbon dioxide (in my case - about 2 tons per year).

Families with 3 or more kids are also contributing to the growth of human activity for decades to come.

We all have to think about how we can reduce our negative impacts on the environment.

Al Gore is saying that we can all start by making changes in our own lives.

Awareness is only the first step. We also need action.

Let's all find ways to show our support for Al Gore! :patriot:

Sign the Live Earth Pledge: www.liveearthpledge.org

Then ask all your friends and family to sign it too! :-)

Visit Al's site www.algore.com and read his blog http://blog.algore.com

Sign the petitions at www.algore.org and www.draftgore.com

:kick:

[fazoolius_2006]

70. "Al Gore is saying that we can all start by making changes in our own lives."

Just not his. How inconvenient...err...convenient.

[Apollo11]

74. Gore is walking the walk

His house uses solar power. B-)

[stubtoe]

20. What Al had for dinner?? Is this the best they can do?

And not even do the background research? Oh wait ...
:eyes:

[malaise]

22. Ah well

They are all afraid of Gore. I never even responded to that rubbish.

Plese send this to KO.

Add.

[CatWoman]

26. you have his email addy?

:hi:

[malaise]

31. Nope n/t

[Clark2008]

37. [e-mail]

[liberalpress]

77. Interesting story:

Working in talk radio, I hear everything and notice everything. What I have noticed is talk radio has been piling on AL Gore lately. If they believe he is not running it seems to me they would be better off spending the time trying to smear Hillary or Edwards or Obama. WHile those targets suffer occasianl hits, the bullseye on Gore's back is big, bigger, biggest.

And the smell of fear is strong.

[ourbluenation]

23. Gore/Clark 08

:kick:

[Scriptor Ignotus]

24. Chilean Sea Bass is served at almost every nice restaraunt

here in NYC. I had no idea it was endangered to begin with! (Although I did know they changed its name from the toothfish to a more appealing name)

[Virginia Dare]

30. So much for operation swift bass, NEXT!...n/t

[MasonJar]

36. I am glad that that is cleared up, but it is just one more example of why

Gore will probably decide to forego a presidential run. Usually the groom's parents are in charge of the rehearsal dinner. I am not sure if this was the case in this instance, but it is pretty traditional in my neck of the woods. The bride's family provides the wedding reception.

[NastyDiaper]

38. I'm still waiting for Dredge, Newsmax and company to

correct their error. Probably for some time, I expect.

[underpants]

39. Did they have frikkin lasers?

:bounce:

[dancingme]

40. Here's Hannity's email form

Hold your nose while you are on his site and e-mail Hannity asking for him to admit he was wrong.

http://www.hannity.com/index/contact-form

[Wednesdays]

42. You ain't seen nuthin' yet

They'll make up lies out of whole cloth between now and next November--you can take that to the bank.

This coming election will be the most vile ever. If you don't think the Swiftboat affair was effective, just take my mother as one example--80 years old, sharp as a tack, and dyed-in-the-wool Democrat. Still, while she did vote for Kerry, she says she has trouble trusting him. Why is that? She can't put her finger on it...I attribute it to the success of the Swiftboat campaign--it put doubt about Kerry into the subconscious of even some of his supporters.

That will be the neocons' goal again this campaign: against Gore, against Edwards, and/or whoever else gets the Dem nomination. :puke:

[Cetacea]

43. Good work, Catwoman. (nt)

[helderheid]

44. Here's the RW talking point to this

The man still ate and endangered species. I don't care if it did come from a group of them that were of a safe number. The whole species is still endangered.
"few well-managed, sustainable populations of toothfish" Right. How the hell does this work? Because this one group that we got the fish from was sustained then it was alright? Just ignore the other schools of fish that are struggling with continued existence on this planet.

Edited to add - how would one respond to the above?

[helderheid]

47. HELP ME - I honestly don't know how to respond. It IS an endangered species.

[Uncle Joe]

48. With this

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/07/19/eagore119.xml


<snip>

And in the meantime, she acidly suggested, "Al Gore could choose something else to eat". Her attack on the former vice-president, and his implied hypocrisy, were rapidly picked up by bloggers around the world.

But the fish enjoyed by the Gores were not endangered or illegally caught.

Rather, the restaurant later confirmed, they had come from one of the world's few well-managed, sustainable populations of toothfish, and caught and documented in compliance with Marine Stewardship Council regulations. The Gores' spokesman, Kalee Kreider, admitted that the fish has been on the menu, but said: "The Gores absolutely agree with this humane society and the rest of the environmental community about illegally caught Chilean sea bass.

"The problem is huge. This is unfortunate, we have been in touch with the society today. The really important thing is that people become more aware of this issue."

[helderheid]

49. Yes, that was what THEY were responding to. See post 44

[Uncle Joe]

50. These two posts over there seem to answer their question,

however, I believe some people don't really want their questions answered, so much as to hurl aspersions because of an alternative agenda.


"Dude, they create the stock farms for the express purpose of providing an alternate source for consumers while letting the species rebound naturally - scientists won’t artificially try to regenerate a species unless the situation is past dire and/or the species is important to an ecosystem.

Don’t you know what happens when farmed animals are released into the wild? They die and/or introduce variables that can have unintended consequ– ah, Jesus Christ, I can’t believe we have to deal with these idiots!

Comment by coda — July 19, 2007 @ 12:59 pm

Wild Patagonian toothfish (Chilean Sea Bass) is endangered. It is illegal to hunt or fish this species. They are grown in fisheries, but the fisheries themselves are criticized for drowning endangered bid species.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagonian_toothfish

Comment by Alejandro

Alejandro, that article doesn’t sustain the notion that toothfish are endangered. It does say that illegal fishing threatens the population, but that legal sustainable fishing is possible.

Although overfishing and illegal ‘pirate fishing’ are still problems in places, the Marine Stewardship Council has certified the fishery in South Georgia for sustainable management. South Georgia has the largest Toothfish fishery, with a TAC (Total Allowable Catch) of around 3000 tonnes per year, taken by approximately ten vessels."

[helderheid]

51. Big thanks!

[Uncle Joe]

52. Your welcome helderheid, and here is another couple of posts from over there

for which I agree with.

"Oh good lord….

This is a pure and simple attempt at character assassination, and the Mainstream Media just eat it up.

For heaven’s sake, the Gores didn’t even have a hand in the dinner. Their daughter’s IN-LAWS arranged it.

You know– wedding rehearsal dinner tradition?!

And the restaurant’s statement says all that needed to be said as far as any rational person is concerned.

But as we know, the Reich Wing is NOT rational, and the truth is meaningless once they’ve accepted a narrative as Their Gospel.

We now have a country where the media aim their message to a constant 30% of delusional lemmings. No wonder we’re in such dire straits…."

<snip>

my my, what a surprise to discover that the daily telegraph is a part of rupert murdoch’s disinformation distribution network:

The Daily Telegraph is a tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation.

[dickbearton]

59. Set your priorities...

Don't worry about fish, your country is an endangered species.

[The Count]

45. But he's not vegetarian! Whaaa! (a thread I saw here) And W can pick his nose all by himself!

So there!
Glad to see they are in 2000 mode - with him not even in the race!

[JitterbugPerfume]

46. Thanks sweetie!

I thought I smelled rotton fish!

[sellitman]

53. Right Wing BASStards!

Sorry....I couldn't resist.

[Guaranteed]

54. One more thing about this- if they're publicizing what Gore had for DINNER,

they are REALLY going after the guy. They must be scared as hell that he is going to run.

[xchrom]

55. the republick party and conservatives in general aren't interested in truth

when it comes to gore.

they've always lied about -- and they will continue to lie about him.

fully expect this Fish Story to follow gore around for a while.

[Maddy McCall]

56. k/r

[RestoreGore]

57. And do people care because they only think he is running?

Or do people care because it is just petty to do this regardless of whether he runs or not? That's why I didn't comment on it because I already knew it was BS. But boy they sure know how to pull peoples' chains and get people talking about anything but the issue. These threads get way more attention than Live Earth threads or actually talking about this crisis. I guess some things never change.

[mconvente]

61. In the language of college students

CONSERVATIVES GOT PWNED!!

[lvx35]

62. I don't give a crap if the guy dines on panda! 2007: May be Hottest year on record

Al Gore: Right from the get go.
Jackass conservatives: Claiming it wasn't real for years.

nuff said.

[Apollo11]

66. Please don't start the panda rumor

Before you know it, they will all be saying that Al Gore eats panda burgers.

Let's all find ways to show our support for Al Gore! :patriot:

Sign the Live Earth Pledge: www.liveearthpledge.org

Then ask all your friends and family to sign it too! :-)

Visit Al's site www.algore.com and read his blog http://blog.algore.com

Sign the petitions at www.algore.org and www.draftgore.com

:kick:

[riqster]

78. Panda burgers...

...served on a mink-trimmed, ivory plate; with Snail Darter pate' and a side of Spotted Owl flambee'.

These yutzes can't stand it unless they're waaaaaaaaaaaay over the top.

[Blackbird_Highway]

63. Not Only That...

But there is also CREDIBLE EVIDENCE that Gore has attempted to purchase Yellow Cake Uranium ore from the West African country of Niger! Oh, and high strength aluminum tubes too!

Is there any point in listening to anything the right-wing bat-shit crazy wackos say anymore? When have they been right about anything? Ever?

It's just meaningless noise, really. Try to tune it out. They just want to distract everyone. There are actually imporatant things to think about, other than what Al Gore had for dinner.

Like maybe we should think about getting the hell out of Iraq, for one.

[CatWoman]

69. welcome to DU, Blackbird

:hi:

here's wishing that the GOP is well on their way to become what future observers will call "nature's retards" :)

[Liberal In Texas]

67. That's what they do. Lie and create a talking point. When the truth is found, only the lie is

remembered. Especially when, as the first lie is being debunked, they come up with something new. It makes us constantly busy stamping out fires.

I think this is how Rove runs his propaganda ministry by design.

Thanks for posting, CatWoman. At least I'll have the truth ready when I hear this from some RWer this weekend.

-Another rec.

[Buck Turgidson]

68. Montery Bay Aquarium is great resource for seafood status.

http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp

Here's their report on Sea Bass.
http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/content/media/MBA_SeafoodWatch_BlackSeaBassReport.pdf

[Peregrine Took]

75. DIdn't the Humane Society chime in on this, also, condemning Al?

What's with them??

[IronLionZion]

76. Gore scares the living shit out of them

They lie awake at night trembling with fear that Al Gore will run for president and win...again.

Gore ought to serve as an example for all of us. Al Gore doesn't fear the neocons, the neocons fear Al Gore.

[libodem]

79. Thanks Catwoman

The Gore bashing article was one of the few I ever had to put on hide-a-thread. I couldn't take seeing it here. So glad to see the truth.