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Gore Puts Internet For Auction On eBay (Updated)

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the no-reserve! dept.

The folks over at SatireWire have got a pretty amusing article regarding Al Gore's newest fund raising effort. The fund raising in politics these days - sheesh. Updated 6:00 GMT by timothy: AntiNorm writes: "As of 9/17 0538 GMT, the auction is no longer valid." Seems like all the good auctions get pulled.

15 of 150 comments (clear)

  1. Re:you're no better by Fizgig · · Score: 4

    One of my professors said she has a colleague with a big picture of Gore on his office wall. The colleague said that Al Gore stopped by his office (he does distributed computer) in 1994 and spent an hour in there asking questions. I had never heard of the Internet and didn't know the slightest thing about distributed computing at that point, so Gore's at least got some genuine interest in computers and networks.

  2. Re:Just wait... by norton_I · · Score: 4

    Right. Just go on beliving in your fanciful little world. In three months, the most powerful man in the world with be the same person it is today. Alan Greenspan.

  3. Re:you're no better by edhall · · Score: 5
    In 1990, I had been using the internet for about 10 years.
    You're being just as misleading as you accuse Gore of being. The "Internet" didn't exist in 1980. Its ancestor at that time was called the "ARPANET," and it differed in many ways (aside from size and speed) from today's Internet. It was run for the Department of Defense, with an (often ignored) "official use only" policy and a (strictly enforced) non-commercialization policy. Nodes were either military bases, military research labs and contractors, or universities such as MIT and Berkeley which were performing military research. Yes, there was an "underground" that used it for socializing and hacking, made up of people at these institutions (and a few of their friends). But such "unofficial" use was quite low-key, and at least among ARPAnauts was defended as being a matter of academic freedom (while the DoD generally looked the other way). But as traffic increased and budgets were cut, the DoD's benign oversight changed.

    In the late '80s the military insisted on cracking down on "unofficial use." Many schools and contractors wound up having to justify their access, and came up short. Efforts to start member-supported networks, such as CSNET, got a lukewarm reception since they (1) cost too much (no more 100% government subsidy) and (2) did too little (email and limited file transfer only). It took an act of congress to get these folks hooked up again: the ARPANET was split into the MILNET and NSFNET (NSF == National Science Foundation), with the latter offering subsidized access to any academic institution that wanted it and paid its share. And it was after this split that users starting refering to it as just "The Internet" (though from time to time I heard ARPANET referred to as "The ARPA Internet" back in the '80s).

    Guess who wrote the bill that funded NSFNET? Or the National Supercomputing Initiative which built its backbone? Or the one somehwat later that lifted restrictions on commercial use? Yup, Smilin' Al (or, rather, one of his staffers wrote the bill and he sponsored it).

    When you look at it from a technical perspective, saying that he "created" the Internet is a clear absurdity. But from a legislative and public policy perspective, it's hardly an exaggeration. I'm not convinced that Al "gets" the Internet any more than W does. But he did manage to listen to someone on his staff who "got" it. (And I've been racking my brain to remember the guy's name--I met him briefly while I was working at The RAND Corporation.) It's too bad that so few technophiles go to work as congressional staffers; it leaves me with some doubts as to whether Gore wasn't just "lucky" to be involved with the Internet.

    -Ed
  4. Sorry, but someone beat you to it. by KingJawa · · Score: 3

    http://www.whattheheck.com/ebay/algore. html

  5. eBay URL by AntiNorm · · Score: 3

    In case you want to bid, the eBay URL is here:
    http://cgi.ebay.co m/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=439118853

    =================================

    --

    I pledge allegiance to the flag...
    of the Corporate States of America...
  6. Does this mean Trent Lott will be auctioning... by weston · · Score: 3

    the IP rights to the paper clip soon? :)

    --
    Tweet, tweet.
  7. Silly Fools. The Internet Is On My Hard Drive. by weston · · Score: 5

    They can't auction off the internet. It's on my hard drive. There's a little icon on my desktop that says so.

    Once (as the story goes), and I'm not sure how, but I accidentally clicked on something and I got a message saying "Are you sure you want to delete The Internet?" Boy, was I scared. I know a lot of work went into that thing. But I guess if I deleted it, we could all go home. :)

    --
    Tweet, tweet.
  8. you're no better by macpeep · · Score: 5

    If you want to make fun of someone, at least stick with the facts. Gore never said "I invented the Internet". What he said as: "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.". Of course he didn't invent the Internet and nobody (I hope) is so stupid that they believe that Gore actually thinks he did. What he was talking about was how he, in 1990, before 99% of Slashdot readers even knew about the Internet, introduced bills that would bring "the information superhighway" to ordinary people, schools and businesses.

    It's sad that instead of giving the guy some credit, you have to mock him over and over again because of a little exaggeration that happened years ago.

    1. Re:you're no better by dboyles · · Score: 3

      ...at least stick with the facts.
      ...in 1990, before 99% of Slashdot readers even knew about the Internet...

      I think perhaps you should heed your own advice.

      I don't think any reasonable person believes that Al Gore believes he created the Internet. Calling Gore the inventor of the Internet is mocking the fact that he (as many politicians do) tried to give himself more credit than he is due. He screwed up. In all likelihood he simply mixed up his words and it didn't come out the way it should have. But he said what he said, and it has turned into a joke. Nobody is taking away Gore's achievements.

      --
      -- "Complacency is a far more dangerous attitude than outrage." -Naomi Littlebear
  9. What is the going price by www.sorehands.com · · Score: 5
    for a politician?

    Does E-bay auction entire politicians? Or do they just auction votes on individual bills?

    --
    Fight Spammers!
  10. Re:Why is Al Gore claiming Internet paternity ? by KingJawa · · Score: 5

    An article about the claim "I took the initiative in creating the Internet" can be read here. The author is a columnist for Wired.

  11. Plus confusion over the word "initiative" by jsm · · Score: 3
    Thank you. I don't mind the joking about it (hey, Gore himself does), but it gets old when people still hold it against him and forget his record. It shows they don't have the facts and the actual quote.

    In legislative context (e.g. Congress), an "initiative" is a formal step that's part of making something law, before it gets voted on by the entire body. When Gore said he "took the initiative in creating the Internet", it was a miswording and political exaggeration, not an outright lie. I'd say he "sponsored the initiative to extend the Internet to the general public." Whether or not those initiatives deserve any credit is another point of debate (but I certainly give no credit to the business world, as another poster does).

    And he popularized the term "information superhighway", which of course we all find annoying. But he did communicate the concept to a lot of unwired people.

    No, I'm not a Democrat, I'm just tired of misinformation. Criticize Gore (and Bush and others) for real problems, not made-up ones. Jokes I have no problem with; I liked the SatireWire article and the Letterman appearance (the first funny Letterman in a while, eh?).

  12. For Sale by rothwell · · Score: 3

    One republic, pop. 270 million. Populace subdued. Please place bids at:

    The Republicrats,
    c/o Corporatism, Inc.

    Stay tuned for sponsored debates between a rich white guy in his 50s with strong family political connections, and a rich white guy in his 50s with strong family political connections. Debate topics will include whether there should be a prescription drug benefit as part of medicare, or whether medicare should pay for prescription drugs. Also on the table are whether taxes hould be cut, or whether we should cut taxes.

    Act now to get your piece of this exciting product! Auction closes in November!

  13. ebay links by xjesus · · Score: 3

    It appears that the link does not contain the same description as the Satire wire article... is somebody trying to sell the internet out from under Al Gore? I can't read the ebay item number from the graphic on their website to tell for sure.

    If you're quick you can also get an Al Gore voodoo doll. Aparently you can also get Al Gore's driver's license.

  14. Campaign slogan by Kiro · · Score: 3

    I guess Gore's campaign slogan now is,

    "I gave you the Internet, and I can take it back"

    --
    Kiro