Have you ever driven through a dense fog? Have you ever been uncertain where the road is leading? But then you hit a clear patch, and you can finally see ahead. It’s that way in other phases of life. Sometimes the fog lifts, and one event reveals clearly what has been happening – and where we are headed. I believe this is such a moment.
Current TV, the cable network that former Vice President Al Gore founded, was put up for sale. Gore owns about 20% of Current TV, so the $500 million sale will yield a cool $100 million for him. The sale was completed prior to Jan. 1, 2013 to avoid the capital-gains tax increase that just went into effect.
From this we learn that advocating higher taxes for others does not mean paying higher taxes oneself. Some might call this hypocrisy. Others might call it good business. But no one would call it being consistent or practicing what you preach.
One might assume that the network was sold to the highest bidder. But apparently this was not the case. Among the bidders were Al Jazeera and Glenn Beck. Al Jazeera is the Arab network that is consistently anti-Israel, arguably anti-Semitic, and frequently anti-American. All that, however, did not arouse antagonism in Al Gore and the other owners. So the network was sold to Al Jazeera.
Glenn Beck, on the other hand, is the well-known conservative commentator. He came to prominence on Fox News, then moved to his own network, and now expressed interest in buying Current TV. But unlike Al Jazeera, Beck did arouse antagonism. Gore and the others found him an unsuitable buyer. Why? Let me quote the report:
Other suitors who didn’t share Current’s ideology were rebuffed…Glenn Beck’s TheBlaze approached Current about buying the channel last year, but was told that “the legacy of who the network goes to is important to us and we are sensitive to networks not aligned with our point of view.”
Really? Glenn Beck isn’t aligned with their “point of view,” but Al Jazeera is? Glenn Beck wouldn’t carry on their “legacy,” but Al Jazeera will? Then what, exactly, is their “point of view”? What, precisely, is their “legacy”? Apparently progressives are repelled by an American conservative, but are congenial to foreigners advocating misogyny, religious bigotry, and contempt for American values.
But what do progressives and extremist Muslims have in common? Sadly, quite a lot:
● They share a totalitarian urge to control every aspect of life. Progressives want to control light bulbs, toilets, health care, talk radio, and what you can say in a university. Islamists want to control women’s garments, and just about everything else except light bulbs and toilets.
● They share a contempt for opposing opinions, and a compulsion to silence those who hold such opinions.
● They share an absolute certainty that they are good, and that those who hold different opinions are not just mistaken but evil – and must be opposed by any means available.
Stalin made a non-aggression pact with Hitler, and he was dismayed when Hitler broke it by invading the Soviet Union. Progressives are attempting to make a non-aggression pact with Islamists, and they will be dismayed when the Islamists become powerful enough to silence and suppress the progressives. As Norman Cousins taught us, history is a vast early-warning system. But who studies history anymore?
From this we learn that what turned off Gore and the other owners of Current TV was not an inferior financial offer from Beck, but their belief that Beck’s views are inferior to the views of Al Jazeera. To a liberal ideologue, conservatives are inferior to virtually anyone, even those who excuse terrorism and advocate genocide.
Lest you think that this is an exaggeration, read Gore’s explanation of his deal with Al Jazeera. He claimed that both it and his own Current TV network were founded for similar purposes:
…to give voice to those who are not typically heard; to speak truth to power; to provide independent and diverse points of view; and to tell the stories that no one else is telling.
What could be clearer? Big Al and Al Jazeera see the world from the same point of view. How sad. But how revealing.
Can you imagine what the stars of Current TV are thinking? Will former governor of New York Eliot Spitzer – aka Client Number Nine – be happy working for Al Jazeera? Or will they be happy with him, given the Islamists’ harsh views on sexual impropriety?
And what about former governor of Michigan Jennifer Granholm? Recall her over-the-top speech to the Democratic convention. How will she get along with misogynists? Rush Limbaugh joked that Joy Behar might have to wear a burka on TV. That, at least, would be one bright spot in an otherwise gloomy picture.
My only regret is that crazed Keith Olbermann has left Current TV, just as he left his prior employer, MSNBC. It would be fascinating to see how long he would last, working for totalitarians – about 10 minutes, I would guess. On the other hand, his anti-American rants might just be Al Jazeera’s cup of tea.
Will Al Jazeera rehire these personalities for their network? Or will it arrange new programming? Who knows? All I know is that thanks to the efforts of Al Gore and his associates, Al Jazeera will be reaching many thousands of new viewers. Now there’s a “legacy” Big Al can be really proud of.
But wait, it gets worse. Al Jazeera is owned by the government of Qatar. Yes, global-warming fanatic Al Gore sold out to the oil sheiks. An idealist might say that Gore is a hypocrite. He accepts the Nobel Peace Prize for calling attention to global warming. But at the same time profits from “green” businesses, which have made him 50 times wealthier than he was as vice president. And to top things off, he sells his network to the oil sheiks for another huge profit.
On the contrary, a cynic might say that, far from acting contrary to his beliefs, Gore is entirely consistent. He frightens people into believing that man-made global warming will cause a catastrophe – then profits from their fears. And he does his best to inhibit oil and gas drilling in America, leaving us dependent on Middle East oil – then does a lucrative deal with the oil sheiks of Qatar.
We can be profoundly grateful that Gore did not become president. Politicians tend to be hypocritical, devious, and greedy enough as it is. We did not need to elect a leader who could set an Olympic record in the triathlon of hypocrisy, deviousness, and greed.
Sometimes, when the fog lifts, we see a clear road ahead. But sometimes we see a sharp curve to the left leading over a cliff. I believe this is such a time. I believe we have just caught a glimpse of environmentalism and progressivism as they really are, stripped of all the pretense of “caring” and the rhetoric of being for the “little guy.”
Thanks, Big Al, for piercing the political fog and giving us a clear view of what lies ahead for us – unless we apply the brakes and turn the wheel to the right.
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