2013-03-20 Al Gore: I'm a Big Fan of Bitcoin

[BTC Books]

Assuming its true, I think its one of the sort of quotes that can mean anything!

If Bitcoin takes off, he can prove he was ahead of the curve.

If its sinks, he can say that while he liked the idea, he knew it wouldn't work!

Its vague enough to not get into trouble - sign of a great politician!

But he's not a great politician, you know...

If he were, he would have won the selection of 2000, instead of just winning the election.

Smart guy though.  I wouldn't be at all surprised if his bitcoin holdings were into five figures.  Not at all.

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[Severian]

Execute a pregnant woman? He has to think about it. 

MR. RUSSERT: Right now there's legislation which says that a woman on death row, if she's pregnant, she should not be executed. Do you support that? [Russert refers here to Title 18 U.S.C.A. Sec. 3596, enacted in 1994: "A (federal) sentence of death shall not be carried out upon a woman while she is pregnant."]

VICE PRES. GORE: I don't know what you're talking about.

MR. RUSSERT: It's a federal statute, on the books, that if a woman is pregnant and she's on death row, she should not be executed.

VICE PRES. GORE: Well... [chuckles]...I don't know what the circumstances would be in that situation. I would...you know, it's an interesting fact situation. I'd want to think about it.

Tim Russert's Interview With Vice President Gore July 2000

[Mike Christ]

Execute a pregnant woman? He has to think about it. 

MR. RUSSERT: Right now there's legislation which says that a woman on death row, if she's pregnant, she should not be executed. Do you support that? [Russert refers here to Title 18 U.S.C.A. Sec. 3596, enacted in 1994: "A (federal) sentence of death shall not be carried out upon a woman while she is pregnant."]

VICE PRES. GORE: I don't know what you're talking about.

MR. RUSSERT: It's a federal statute, on the books, that if a woman is pregnant and she's on death row, she should not be executed.

VICE PRES. GORE: Well... [chuckles]...I don't know what the circumstances would be in that situation. I would...you know, it's an interesting fact situation. I'd want to think about it.

Tim Russert's Interview With Vice President Gore July 2000

Wait--if the waiting list to die on death row is longer than the length of a pregnancy...

Ah, forget it.  This is like the deflowering law.

[kiba]

So for 9 months, she be allowed to live..but afterward, she will be executed and her baby adopted by a hopefully wonderful family?

[Mike Christ]

So for 9 months, she be allowed to live..but afterward, she will be executed and her baby adopted by a hopefully wonderful family?

Optimistic, I see

[WiW]

I understand that as one who sees global climate destabilization as a serious issue makes me part of a minority on these forums, but I don't understand what all the Al Gore hate is all about. When a "climategate whistleblower" (don't get me started) takes bitcoin donations everything's okay, but when a seemingly very clever and intelligent guy supports bitcoin everyone goes nuts because he worries that we're all shitting in our own and only bed?

Even if you disagree with his politics concerns, which shows you have a hard time grasping complex systems or worse simply believing scientists, what's the big deal?? He's with you on the internet thing, and he's with you on the bitcoin thing. Give it a rest. Say thank you. Retweet it.

And while we're on it, can someone point me to where Al Gore claims to have invented the internet already??

[BTC Books]

Execute a pregnant woman? He has to think about it. 

MR. RUSSERT: Right now there's legislation which says that a woman on death row, if she's pregnant, she should not be executed. Do you support that? [Russert refers here to Title 18 U.S.C.A. Sec. 3596, enacted in 1994: "A (federal) sentence of death shall not be carried out upon a woman while she is pregnant."]

VICE PRES. GORE: I don't know what you're talking about.

MR. RUSSERT: It's a federal statute, on the books, that if a woman is pregnant and she's on death row, she should not be executed.

VICE PRES. GORE: Well... [chuckles]...I don't know what the circumstances would be in that situation. I would...you know, it's an interesting fact situation. I'd want to think about it.

Tim Russert's Interview With Vice President Gore July 2000

I remember that; and I lost a lot of respect for Russert for trying to set that pathetic trap.  No reasonably astute politician would fall for it, and Russert deserved a serious upbraiding.

If Gore says he supports it, then he believes a fetus is a person and his pro-choice position is hypocritical.

If he says no, then he believes the state should kill the unborn at its discretion, without regard to the wishes of either society or the mother.

It was probably one of the lowest points in the career of an otherwise generally decent journalist.

[🏰 TradeFortress 🏰]

He didn't support Bitcoin at the time, though.  Maybe that would have made the difference 

If he had the ability to support bitcoin ~8 years before its creation he'd be a near god.

The inception of a cryptography backed currency has being around longer. As much as I like bitcoin, what is important isn't the name but what it is.

[BTC Books]

I understand that as one who sees global climate destabilization as a serious issue makes me part of a minority on these forums, but I don't understand what all the Al Gore hate is all about. When a "climategate whistleblower" (don't get me started) takes bitcoin donations everything's okay, but when a seemingly very clever and intelligent guy supports bitcoin everyone goes nuts because he worries that we're all shitting in our own and only bed?

Even if you disagree with his politics concerns, which shows you have a hard time grasping complex systems or worse simply believing scientists, what's the big deal?? He's with you on the internet thing, and he's with you on the bitcoin thing. Give it a rest. Say thank you. Retweet it.

And while we're on it, can someone point me to where Al Gore claims to have invented the internet already??

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/internet.asp

[Explodicle]

I don't think Albert would be happy with Bitcoin if he realized how much the climate changed in my house with all the 5830s I've run.

Maybe Gore did this:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=bitcoin+environment&l=1

[nootropicsforbitcoins]

"I'm telling you it's even bigger than Manbearpig! Listen to me, I'm cereal!"
- Al Gore

Guys.  I'm totally being super duper cereal right now!

But really, Al Gore must be a pretty clever guy if he understands what Bitcoin is bringing to the world.  I'm surprised, as I've always envisioned politicians as dinosaurs with tiny, floppy arms, with vision so poor they can't see another few minutes ahead of them.

Are the two Paul's interested in Bitcoin as well?

Ron Paul had an interview about it just yesterday on The Stateless Man:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-9nOTLS6q-4

See 4:15 for mention and his thoughts.

[RodeoX]

It makes sense that he is Satoshi! After all, he invented the internet. 

[Severian]

I don't understand what all the Al Gore hate is all about.

Only speaking for myself, it's not just him. I have a severe prejudice against any narcissist in the public sphere sucking wealth from productive people. That would include pretty much every notable member of either party.

Gore in particular is a model specimen of the twisted aristocracy that is the American ruling class. He and his family have made fortune upon fortune in the oil biz yet he's seen as some kind of environmentalist by the less sophisticated.

[WiW]

Gore in particular is a model specimen of the twisted aristocracy that is the American ruling class. He and his family have made fortune upon fortune in the oil biz yet he's seen as some kind of environmentalist by the less sophisticated.

Let's face it, all politicians from all sides of the spectrum no matter how they do what they do, by nature of the system are sucking wealth from productive people. When politicians are 100X wealthier than your average joe, it's not because they're 100X more productive. And there are loads of republican politicians talking about letting American "capitalism" take the reins when we all know American capitalism is "funnel money from the poor to the rich" (not from the unproductive to the productive).

(Disclaimer: I'm not American)

I don't know anything about his personal life, but let's grant you this. Suppose he did make a fortune in the oil biz. What does this ad hominem attack have anything to do with what he's saying? Let's say he personally actually emits more greenhouses gasses than the entire country, why would that have anything to do with the fact that he's now working to stop it and solve the problem??

Unless there is anyone on this forum who actually genuinely believes that global climate destabilization is not an issue (really??), then this is purely personal against Al Gore and I don't get it. So why is there such a stark contrast in these forums per the attitude to Al Gore and any other politician?

[mccorvic]

Did we ever get video/more info on this Al Gore thing beyond the reddit/twitter reports?  Would love to see video.

[elux]

The early hours of PYMNTS.com’s The Innovation Project 2013 featured no shortage of star power. With Market Platform Dynamics CEO Karen Webster leading off the event with a unique take on innovation and the “Oracle of Omaha” Warren Buffett offering his wisdom to the crowd, the bar was set very high for the event’s first panel. Fortunately, former Vice President Al Gore was up to the task, calling in live from London to speak about payments, innovation and his take on a concept he says he’s been developing for years: the Global Mind.

...

“When Bitcoin currency is converted from currency into cash, that interface has to remain under some regulatory safeguards.
I think the fact that within the Bitcoin universe an algorithm replaces the functions of [the government] … is actually pretty cool,” Gore said.

...
http://www.pymnts.com/briefing-room/commerce-3-0/the-innovation-project-2013/al-gore-speaks-on-mobile-money-and-the-global-mind/

[Severian]

Unless there is anyone on this forum who actually genuinely believes that global climate destabilization is not an issue (really??), then this is purely personal against Al Gore and I don't get it. So why is there such a stark contrast in these forums per the attitude to Al Gore and any other politician?

I'm an American. Bring up another politician's name and I'll probably have the same reaction. They're all buzzards.

[DataPlumber]

The early hours of PYMNTS.com’s The Innovation Project 2013 featured no shortage of star power. With Market Platform Dynamics CEO Karen Webster leading off the event with a unique take on innovation and the “Oracle of Omaha” Warren Buffett offering his wisdom to the crowd, the bar was set very high for the event’s first panel. Fortunately, former Vice President Al Gore was up to the task, calling in live from London to speak about payments, innovation and his take on a concept he says he’s been developing for years: the Global Mind.

...

“When Bitcoin currency is converted from currency into cash, that interface has to remain under some regulatory safeguards.
I think the fact that within the Bitcoin universe an algorithm replaces the functions of [the government] … is actually pretty cool,” Gore said.

...
http://www.pymnts.com/briefing-room/commerce-3-0/the-innovation-project-2013/al-gore-speaks-on-mobile-money-and-the-global-mind/

So he's smart enough to see what happens as people start exchanging dollars for Bitcoin, but hasn't quite looked forward enough to ponder a bitcoin-bitcoin economy outside of gov't oversight/meddling.  Maybe it's too uncomfortable for them to ponder?

[RodeoX]

Did we ever get video/more info on this Al Gore thing beyond the reddit/twitter reports?  Would love to see video.

Yeah, this has not been confirmed...Right?

[elux]

Did we ever get video/more info on this Al Gore thing beyond the reddit/twitter reports?  Would love to see video.

Yeah, this has not been confirmed...Right?

It has been confirmed.

http://www.pymnts.com/briefing-room/commerce-3-0/the-innovation-project-2013/al-gore-speaks-on-mobile-money-and-the-global-mind/