I'm having a real hard time reading this book. I'll read a couple of pages and get thoroughly disgusted at what the Bush Gang, with the complicity of the Democrats, have pulled off in this country. What hurts most is that Al can see everything so clearly and put it all on paper. Most of the current crop of Dems can't seem to grasp much. Al seems to be the only one who really "gets it," and just the thought that this very wise man might not run, when he sees things so clearly, really bums me out. Who else out there approaches his insights?

I don't know if I'll be able to finish it.

If I'm still reading it and Al announces that he WON'T run, I may just rip it to shreds. Much like Bush has done to this country.

It is hard to read with more outrage with each turn of the page :mad:

But, Al wants us to read this and know it. And, I had a dream that I'm supposed to finish it before writing a letter this month to Gore's Nashville office asking him again to run for president because ... you know why! :ph43r: :turtle:

It is hard to read... without wanting to light a torch, grab a pitchfork, and head to Penn Ave. Fight your way through - it's worth every second!!

I agree though that it is mandatory information that must get out to the public. It is the wake-up call of all wake-up calls, and we all have to heed that call. It certainly put the fire back in my step! My conviction has become rabid!

Finally finished the book, and I'm a little miffed....

After all the decimating detail that Al demonstrates about what has been going wrong over the years of George W. Bush,

After all the charges of misinformation, disinformation, secrecy and outright lying on the part of George W. Bush,

After all the wonderful quotes from the Founding Fathers,

After all the citations from the United States Constitution, from Articles 1, 2, 3, etc., etc.,

Even after outright charging that "President Bush has repeatedly violated the law for six years," (page 221) in regards to the warrantless surveillance program,

Al Gore cannot bring himself to even discuss the impeachment of George W. Bush. Indeed, the word "impeachment" does not even appear in the Index to the book. Yes, Al does write the word "impeachment" a few times in the book, but only in reference to impeaching judges for one cause or another. Never does Al deign to even mention the word impeachment in relation to George W. Bush, even after Al has detailed with precision the violations by Bush.

This rather pisses me off.

At least he could have approached the topic. He could have said something like, "Yes, many believe that impeachment would be a proper remedy for Bush's actions. Indeed, some think that impeachment is even REQUIRED by the Constitution, in light of Bush's actions. But I disagree with that for these reasons...." Or he could have approached it in a hundred different ways.

But no. Nothing. Nada. I feel insulted. Al leaves those of us out here in the real world who think impeaching Bush would be a good corrective action to twist in the wind. Considering that the Republicans impeached President Bill Clinton for far, far less than Bush is guilty of (and how "unreasonable" that whole charade was), I'm somewhat surprised at - what can only be, to my mind - the calculated omission of any discussion of impeaching Bush. And that leaves a pretty bitter taste in my mouth. In a word, it is unreasonable. I hesitate to use the word cowardly, but there it is.

I think I've lost some respect for Al Gore. Sorry if this post offends any of you, but I was offended by Gore's glaring avoidance of the impeachment topic.

Impeachment would be a waste of taxpayers money. The GOP would stop it dead in its tracks. If the democrats had more of a majority, they could impeach both Bush and Chaney, but as it stands the democrats are limited in what they can do. Gore sees the situation as it is. When I read the book, I was impressed with his wisdom and vision.

My guess is that it was a calculated omission - aside from the obvious lack of solid support in Congress, Gore would have the GOP accusing him of pushing impeachment strictly out of spite. We know that's not the case, but think of the spin they'd put on that one!

And sorry, Patsy, I don't agree that it would be a waste of tax dollars - on the contrary, it would likely be the first well-spent money in the last 7 years! That's one fund I'd gladly contribute to. Had the Clinton fiasco not taken place, they would have been impeached long ago! After Clinton, everyone is running scared from the word 'impeach', and now that we really need that option, it has been jaded to the point that it isn't 'on the table'.

What worries me the most is wondering how bad a crime will now have to be before impeachment is back on the table! What crimes will now be tolerated and dismissed after this? If what is happening now is not impeachable, then what on earth will it take?!

I have been bothered by this too. I am also bothered that no democrat says anything about the biggest attacks on the US citizen; The IRS and The Federal Reserve.

At this point I find very little love in my heart for my country where people are so blind they cannot see the truth even if it hits them in the head.

Unless Gore is the president I don't think he is the one to go after impeachment because they are already chanting sore loser to him and with the congress and nancy p. saying its off the table he wouldn't be backed up and that would make him look weak.

One thing he talks about in the book over and over is that we the people have to take our country back, we have to rise up and do something. I think he is trying to say that if we all sit back nothing will change.

Every one seems to be watching and waiting for other people to do something. We all get mad on blogs but how many are out doing things?

There are a few of us writing letters, going to protests, calling our congress, etc but the overwhelming majority just sits and yells at the tv about how bad its getting but doesn't do a damn thing.

Gore wants all the people, not just us activists to arise and say NO MORE!

TKDVEG - I would not worry too much about how bad the next President will have to act to get impeached. We see that the Democrats won't do it, even with all the crap that Bush has pulled over the last six years.

If the Republicans take back control of Congress and we have a Democratic President again (a big if in my book, but anything is possible with the voting machines), I don't think that the Republicans would hesitate AT ALL to impeach. We saw what they did with Clinton, which was stupid and ill-advised. Did that stop them? No. If Gore became President with a Republican Congress, they would look for ANY REASON to impeach him. And they would not hesitate.

The Democrats are too weak-kneed to take the necessary steps to impeachment. IMHO, it doesn't even have to be successful. It's doubtful that it would be successful, even though we have far stronger grounds to impeach Bush than the Republicans had to impeach Clinton. We are in sore need of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission in this country, similar to what South Africa underwent after apartheid. I am in the camp of people that believe that impeachment of Bush is REQUIRED by our Constitution to restore the proper balance of powers. The fact that the Dems won't do it approaches treason in my book.

Also, it could very well be that impeachment of Bush may be the ONLY THING that will keep Bush from attacking Iran. Something needs to slow him down. However, there are far too many Democrats out there who seem to agree with the "need" to attack Iran, so even that might not stop him.

This country is on the brink of economic collapse. Our political structure is damaged, our government is unresponsive to the people (unless you're a millionaire), our people are grossly overweight and apathetic. It very much feels to me like we are approaching the end of "America." Considering all the nations we have invaded and overturned since WW2, it may be a good thing.

Oh yeah, one other thing. On the topic of Al insisting that the people need to get involved again, he didn't just go that far. After reading the book, I get the impression that he blames the American people for all this decay, due to our inactivity. He seems to suggest that this is all the peoples fault.

While the apathetic public is surely a problem in a democracy, he gives too much emphasis to this point and not enough on how our own Congress has betrayed the people. There is seriously only so much that the people can do.

I, for one, and probably everyone on this board, am pretty involved politically, or at least I have been. I've written countless letters, been in touch with my Congressperson multiple times, talked to neighbors and friends until blue in the face, and my head is bloodier than ever. It's a brick wall out there. I'm totally burned out.

Unless and until our own Congress stands up and fights for what is right, I don't see much progress. Oh, yeah, Congress needs to know that we are behind them. In what numbers, exactly? What is the tipping point to citizen involvement? Frankly, I see this as a cop-out. All they really want is more money. Do we have to start taking machine guns to DC to get our point across?

I'm rather surprised at how angry I am at Gore over his book. I'm really at the point of just giving up on politics and turning my back on this country. I'm so frustrated I just want to disappear and cry my eyes out.

Exactly

Yes ... If anyone was smart enough not to give their guns to the government

I am reconsidering a lot of my objectives and whether to stay involved in them.

Frankly, I think the people in the USA are too stupid to see the big dick being shoved up their butt.

RussBLib:
I agree on many of your points:
You're right - how silly of me to forget the great 'Double Standard'. They'd try to impeach Al if he wore a tie that didn't quite match his shirt! Heaven Forbid! :!:

And I'd certainly go along with the need for a very scrupulous, non-partisan committee to ensure overall accountability in all levels of the government.
Impeachment is long over-due, and those who fail to act certainly must now bear some responsibility themselves.

Our democracy is a fragile thing. Where is the tipping point for citizen involvement? Still too far off, I'm afraid. Americans have been bombarded with 'other things to worry about', or they've been failed by the pitiful educational system and really are simply 'too stupid' to understand what's going on in our government, our country, and in the world as a whole. I fear that, much like the global warming issue, people won't wake up until the proverbial train is running them down. Unless they can personally feel the results of poor governing, much like they whined when gas prices rose too high, they either won't believe it's happening or won't care. Americans on the whole have a general lack of foresight; they can see the sign that says "quicksand", but won't believe it till they're ass deep in it. If I knew how to fix that problem, I'd be a nominee for the Nobel... next time around, I wouldn't want to compete w/Al. ;)

However, I disagree regarding the book.
I don't think "blames the American people" is the right way to look at it. While he certainly reminds us that we have the power to change things, he isn't blaming us for being in the mess. Yes, Americans are often stubborn fools, but he is really just trying to let us know what our situation is and how we got here. He is showing us the quicksand, as well as the rope to use to free ourselves from it. He's not blaming us; he's trying to empower us, remind us of the things we've forgotten.

We have been lead astray, our priorities skewed beyond recognition, but like the frog, we've been placed in a pot of water that has been slowly heating up. Now, in the last 7 years especially, the heat has been turned up to high, and suddenly we're aware of just how hot its gotten. We've taken much for granted, as well as having been fed loads of manure, but now we're seeing our situation more clearly - hopefully that will inspire us to make changes before we truly reach the tipping point. Unfortunately, we're not there yet, but it's coming... soon I hope.

I haven't finished the book yet, but I agree completely. I believe the power he is talking about is our vote. We tend to vote the same people in over and over again because they are there. Not to mention the brainwashing. We need to think for ourselves, and vote for the person who is best suited for the job. He said the answer was in his book. I think he wants the Presidency, but only if we give it to him.

I know we did that before, but there can be no question this time. Instead of giving up, we need to have our own "surge".

To use a quote that most should know..."Let's Roll Out!"

:clap: :laugh: :clap:

:coolwink: I'm especially interested in Gore's discussion of the effects of TV on our brains in the introduction. Have you found any groups about the effects of mass media? There's a new MySpace group called Refuse Mass Media Poison, The Sleeping Pill of Independence. This is a key issue. No political activism will be effective without a change of this underlying sabotage to our minds and political discourse. If you're interested in the effects of mass media, the MySpace group is here

I received for the holidays the book "Assault on Reason"
This should be mandatory reading by all students college and high school.
This should be posted free for download to wake up the citizenery
All people regardless of class, race, financial situation should have access to this
and should be awakened to the manipulation of our country!