Al Gore pisses me off.

I just finished reading The Assault on Reason, by Al Gore. It was a really good book that made a number of good points about the state of our country. Over the last few years, I have looked forward to Gore’s run for office and how it would probably be a walk-off homerun. As candidates announced their bid, Gore insisted that he was not planning on running. I was hoped that Gore was just waiting for the outcome of the Nobel Peace Prize before he announced he would run for president. The announcement never came.

 
I wish I hadn’t read the book. I hate George Bush. I think that congress is full of a bunch of worthless politicians that care more about having a job than making a difference. The book gave me plenty of reinforcement for the opinion I already had. One thing that Gore probably didn’t anticipate was how reading his book has made me lose most of the respect that I have for him.

 
In 320 pages, Gore (I like Al better, so I’m gonna switch to that) precisely points out a number of the Bush Administration’s actions that have gone contrary to the Constitution and the Magna Carta. Any of these individual actions stand as grounds for impeachment but collectively merit exile. You can feel Al’s honesty and that he indeed is the best man to restore America’s brand. However, Al says he won’t run for president because he is involved in “a different kind of campaign” (referring to climate change).

 
I certainly think that climate change should be a top issue for Al and I am very satisfied with the success he has had in getting the message out. But as he points out in the book, the U.S. needs to lead the world in alternative energy and other nature-fixing movements.

 
But does Al really think that he can’t give adequate focus to climate change if he has to worry about Iraq, Social Security, and all the other messes that need cleaning-up? I can’t imagine that a former VP is going to surround himself with such incompetent people that he won’t be able to delegate responsibilities.

      

Maybe he is truly confident that a President McCain, Obama, or Clinton will get us back on track as a nation. If so, why write the book? Was it just to make money? Just for self-indulgence? Just to wipe out more trees?

 
Hopefully it’s not something superficial like his loyalty to Bill Clinton. Although I understand that Billy would feel betrayed, we’re talking about a much more important relationship: America’s relationship to its citizens and the rest of the world.

 
Or, it could be as simple as a pure lack of interest in politics. In which case, I’d consider Al as selfish as every other politician that says what sounds good and then sits around pointing fingers instead of trying to fix it. As James Allen wrote in As a Man Thinketh:

         “He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much         

         must sacrifice much; he who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly.”

  
So far, I have neither heard nor thought of a legitimate reason for Al not to run for the presidency. And it pisses me off that he won’t.

Get a friggin’ life.

As I passed through Cary Town (in Richmond) on my way to school yesterday, I saw a group of 15 or so people holding a protest against Scientology. I have a really hard time understanding religious intolerance.

First, I can’t even fathom how one person’s religious beliefs have anything to do with me. I think the idea of Big Foot is pretty ridiculous, but I don’t see how someone else believing in giant monkeys threatens me in anyway.

I understand protesting war or civil rights violations, but I can’t even begin to imagine hating a religion so much that I’m going to spend a beautiful Saturday morning standing on a corner screaming at cars.