Al Gore: Another guy who’s not ‘patriotic’ by Obama’s standard
Ira Stoll notices a timely little nugget in the New York Times’ story about the sale of Current TV, co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore, to Al Jazeera:
Al Jazeera did not disclose the purchase price, but people with direct knowledge of the deal pegged it at around $500 million, indicating a $100 million payout for Mr. Gore, who owned 20 percent of Current. Mr. Gore and his partners were eager to complete the deal by Dec. 31, lest it be subject to higher tax rates that took effect on Jan. 1, according to several people who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. But the deal was not signed until Wednesday. (emphasis added)
Hmmm. Does this mean Gore is not one of the “well-to-do Americans, patriotic Americans, who,” according to President Obama in a campaign speech back in August, “… are willing to do the right thing, willing to do their part to make this country strong” by paying higher taxes? One of those people who has “made enough money”?
In fact, amid all the stories about companies paying dividends early to help investors avoid higher taxes (such as Costco, which like Current TV was co-founded by a confirmed Democrat) or doing the same with bonuses (such as Goldman Sachs, whose executives famously supported Obama heavily in 2008 before largely abandoning him last year), can anyone find a story about companies or individuals actively taking steps to ensure they do pay higher taxes?
Who are these well-to-do, patriotic people trying to do as Obama wishes? And don’t give me a link to op-eds Warren Buffett has written about the need for wealthy people to pay more taxes. Not when his company has been fighting the IRS about its tax bills — presumably not in an attempt to pay more than the feds are seeking — and recently bought back $1.2 billion worth of its shares to keep a single unnamed investor from having to pay higher tax rates.
Who are these patriotic Americans? If their cause is so good, why haven’t we heard about any of them acting on it rather than just grandstanding about it?
– By Kyle Wingfield
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247 comments Add your comment
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
January 3rd, 2013
1:16 pm
Yeah, I suppose tens of millions of people voted for obama solely on the talk that Romney was a murderer and a felon.
That Black Guy
January 3rd, 2013
1:16 pm
Filter
January 3rd, 2013
12:45 pm
_________________
Are you saying that if *YOU* don’t see something, it didn’t happen?
Thulsa Doom
January 3rd, 2013
1:16 pm
I think Kyle forgot the Democrat mantra- Do as I say not as I do. Gore exemplifies it perfectly.
Kyle Wingfield
January 3rd, 2013
1:16 pm
What was it someone was saying about corporate masters? Check out this account by Tim Carney about how $76B in special-interest tax breaks made it into the fiscal cliff bill.
Rafe Hollister preparing for an Obamanist America
January 3rd, 2013
1:17 pm
Finn, still ignoring his hypocrisy on Tax Cuts for the Wealthy being put on the nations credit card.
Kyle Wingfield
January 3rd, 2013
1:18 pm
Hint: It wasn’t the GOP — or even Congress — that insisted on those tax breaks.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
January 3rd, 2013
1:19 pm
Tiberius, I have no problem with guns or gun ownership or the 2nd amendment. I do have a problem with high capacity magazines and assault weapons which are meant not to defend but to put down as many bodies (deer??) as possible in the shortest amount of time.
Why don’t you gun nuts back making bazookas legal? Is there a line somewhere that you just won’t cross? How about anti-personnel land mines? Hand grenades?
Don't Tread
January 3rd, 2013
1:19 pm
Liberals have a habit of wanting to make things mandatory for everyone, when they won’t do those things voluntarily themselves. Then they hang labels on it to sell it, such as “patriotic” or “taxpayer relief”, which are actually the antonyms to whatever it is they’re doing.
Aesop's Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
January 3rd, 2013
1:20 pm
The statements of “I didn’t inhale,” “that’s not sex” and “I didn’t pay attention to the sermons” were spoken with a certain type of person in mind and wow, we’ve got one right here on this blog.
Whatever the cult tells you, eh?
Steve
January 3rd, 2013
1:21 pm
The former vice president confirmed the sale Wednesday, saying in a statement that Al-Jazeera shared Current TV’s mission “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.”
Al-Jazeera, owned by the government of Qatar, plans to gradually transform Current into a new channel called Al-Jazeera America by adding five to 10 new U.S. bureaus beyond the five it has now and hiring more journalists.
So, Kyle, do we consider Qatar’s government run by Islamic terrorists or are you just being bigotted here?
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
January 3rd, 2013
1:21 pm
Rafe, I still don’t know what tax cuts for the wealthy you are talking about. Can someone else explain what Rafe is talking about?
JDW
January 3rd, 2013
1:21 pm
@Tiberius…”Corporations are people, my friend . . . .Just as they were when you were complaining about them doing the same thing just last year.
And let’s be clear here. NOTHING gets approved at Berkshire without the approval of Buffett. Nothing. And Al Gore owned 20% of CurrentTV – not an insignificant sum.”
Do you have a coherent point or just blather as usual?
Corporations are legal entities and you will not find a single statement from me suggesting that they shirk their Fiduciary Responsibilities. As for Buffett and Gore…they are part of the Boards that are required to fulfill those responsibilities.
Redcoat
January 3rd, 2013
1:22 pm
Finn……..then why does Obama keep killing people who HAPPEN to be from predominantly Muslim countries? We never hear the significance of each kill, only they are “bad” guys.
That Black Guy
January 3rd, 2013
1:24 pm
Finn McCool (The System isn’t Broken; It’s Fixed)
January 3rd, 2013
1:08 pm
Folks, PEOPLE flew the planes into the WTC, not Islam. They weren’t mad at the US for being primarily Christian or because their religion TOLD them to fly those planes into those buildings.
They were people just mad at the US who HAPPENED to be from predominantly Muslim countries.
Ya’ll want to fight the enemy but you don’t even know who the enemy is! LOL
__________________________________________________
Someone PLEASE remember this post next time the gun debate comes up.
Guns don’t kill people, PEOPLE do.
Aesop's Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
January 3rd, 2013
1:24 pm
Finn – What ever it takes to protect one’s property and life against criminals who don’t pay much attention to the silly laws you liberals come up with.
I’m sure that most of them won’t be turning in their 30 round clips, either.
Filter
January 3rd, 2013
1:25 pm
Actually, yes, that is exactly what I am saying. Exactly. On Point. Right on. Nice extrapolation.
I was sharing my experience TBG and my observations. I know what happened to me. I know some on the right criticized GWB just as there were actually 500,000 at Woodstock. But there was not widespread dissent from the right. Most on the right were willing to give the guy a blank check and it blew up later. Only AFTER the explosion and the realization that they would look foolish if shown to have supported the policies that led to the explosion did the tune change. That’s how I recall it.
How about this. I can’t prove a negative, no one can. But you can prove a positive point so if there was this widespread criticism of GWB then show me. Show me the groundswell (which means more than a couple of op-eds that represent the 500,000)
That Black Guy
January 3rd, 2013
1:26 pm
Finn McCool (The System isn’t Broken; It’s Fixed)
January 3rd, 2013
1:10 pm
I guess we could say Adam in Sandy Hook was a christian terrorist/ mass murderer because he is from the US which is primarily christian and, in fact, Adam was known to be a christian himself. – Do you have a link with Adam identifying himself as a Christian?
We should’t ban guns, we should hate/ban/go to war with Christians! – Go ahead and start the campaign.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
January 3rd, 2013
1:27 pm
Nice dance, JDW.
You’re like a prima ballerina when caught in your hypocrisy.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
January 3rd, 2013
1:27 pm
gradually transform Current into a new channel called Al-Jazeera America
They are just upset there will be another channel like Univision that they have to surf over. I wonder if people are aware most new tv’s have the ability to program the remotes to “skip” certain channels?
Kyle Wingfield
January 3rd, 2013
1:29 pm
Steve @ 1:21: When did I say anything about terrorism or even Islam? My point is about taxes.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
January 3rd, 2013
1:30 pm
then why does Obama keep killing people who HAPPEN to be from predominantly Muslim countries
If Canada had a bunch of terrorists running about, I’m sure he would send a few drones northward.
Thulsa Doom
January 3rd, 2013
1:31 pm
“Folks, PEOPLE flew the planes into the WTC, not Islam. They weren’t mad at the US for being primarily Christian or because their religion TOLD them to fly those planes into those buildings.
They were people just mad at the US who HAPPENED to be from predominantly Muslim countries.”- Finn McCool
Sounds like more chatter from the blame America first crowd.
Steve
January 3rd, 2013
1:31 pm
I thought this was a free country and we could express different opinions. Al Jazeera has the same right to exist as some right wingbat Christian network. And if they buy one of our companies, wouldn’t we be bigotted if we said no? I don’t blame Gore at all for this, and I see no hypocisy, as liberals promote free speech and free enterprise too.
JamVet
January 3rd, 2013
1:32 pm
Kyle, corporate masters? You RINO!
How dare you even imply that Uncle Sam (you and me) giving away billions of dollars every year to the richest organizations on the planet is NOT a great thing!!
As Mitt the Messiah noted, they are people!! And they desperately NEED those handouts!
Keep this up and they’re gonna kick you out of their “big” tent. LOL!
Steve
January 3rd, 2013
1:33 pm
So, wouldn’t it be a stupid business move to wait and pay higher taxes, Kyle? Seriously – use your brain here. Business is business and the shareholders are on both sides of the political aisle.
JDW
January 3rd, 2013
1:33 pm
@Kyle…”Costco had a FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY to borrow billions of dollars against future earnings to pay the dividends from those future earnings in the present? BH had a FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY to go against its long-standing practice of not doing share buybacks to buy back $1.2B worth from one guy? Al Gore — note the story says he was pushing for it as an individual — had a … well, you get the idea.”
The Costco Board and EVERY OTHER BOARD has the FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY to act in the best interests of their shareholders. Had they done something that was not commonplace maybe you could make a point…they did not.
As for the BH shareholder…you have no idea who it was or what they were doing with the money. For all you know it all went to pay a debt or feed the poor. You are just thrashing about trying to find some sort of reasonable excuse to opposed tax rates that could actually reduce deficits.
Kyle Wingfield
January 3rd, 2013
1:33 pm
Steve @ 1:31: Respectfully, you have completely missed the point of the “patriotic” remark. Try reading the post.
Aesop's Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
January 3rd, 2013
1:34 pm
Pardon me for getting off track for a moment -
Money saving, compact fluorescent light bulbs emit high levels of ultra violet radiation, according to a new study. Research at Long Island’s Stony Brook found that the bulbs emit rays so strong that they can actually burn skin and skin cells.
Exposure to the bulbs could lead to premature aging and skin cancer, according to doctors.
Another great idea brought to you by liberalism.
That Black Guy
January 3rd, 2013
1:35 pm
Steve
January 3rd, 2013
1:31 pm
I thought this was a free country and we could express different opinions. Al Jazeera has the same right to exist as some right wingbat Christian network. And if they buy one of our companies, wouldn’t we be bigotted if we said no? I don’t blame Gore at all for this, and I see no hypocisy, as liberals promote free speech and free enterprise too.
___________________________
Kyle’s piece was about TAXES.
TAXES
TAXES
JDW
January 3rd, 2013
1:36 pm
@Tiberius…”Nice dance, JDW…You’re like a prima ballerina when caught in your hypocrisy.”
I see…blather as usual…if you have something to back up the blather out with it…if not…HUSH.
joe
January 3rd, 2013
1:37 pm
As a Tennessean, I can say that Algore is the epitomy of a hypocrite. Anyone who loses their own home state in a presidential election has gotta suck…and boy does he. Remember that pathetic “kiss” with his wife on stage at the Dem convention? Looked like my grandparents getting busy…hilarious!
That Black Guy
January 3rd, 2013
1:37 pm
The Costco Board and EVERY OTHER BOARD has the FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY to act in the best interests of their shareholders
Of course you felt the same way about Bain and Romney.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
January 3rd, 2013
1:39 pm
Money-saving ideas and products are a liberal idea?
Ok, makes sense coming from the party that wanted to wage two wars simultaneously but didn’t want to collect taxes to pay for them.
Kyle Wingfield
January 3rd, 2013
1:41 pm
JDW @ 1:33: Are you seriously saying a company has a fiduciary responsibility — excuse me, FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY — to borrow money to pay dividends on profits that haven’t been made yet? In that case, investors and the SEC should get to suing any company that hasn’t yet paid out 2013’s earnings! Or 2014’s! Or 2050’s! After all, taxes could go up in those years, too! It’s their RESPONSIBILITY!!!!!!!
Does Goldman Sachs also have a FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY to pay bonuses early? If so, why did it stop at 10 executives? Who will sue GS for not paying out everyone’s bonus early? Who will sue the companies that didn’t pay early bonuses? How about pensions — should they go ahead and pay those out, too? After all, by your standard, something doesn’t have to be earned or realized yet for a company to have a FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY to pay it out.
My point actually has nothing to do with whether the fiscal cliff deal was good or will reduce deficits. It has to do with the infuriating hypocrisy of those who lecture the rest of us about needing to pay more taxes while going far, far, far out of their way to keep from paying higher taxes themselves. That, and the absolute, willful ignorance of those who cheer them on without acknowledging what’s really happening.
joe
January 3rd, 2013
1:42 pm
“We should’t ban guns, we should hate/ban/go to war with Christians!”
Tell me, that black guy, how does someone go about “banning” Christians?
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
January 3rd, 2013
1:43 pm
That’s a false analogy, That Black Guy. Bain and other equity firms don’t destroy companies to benefit the shareholders. I doubt the term “fiduciary” has ever been uttered by a corporate raider unless it is part of the takeover sales pitch.
Rafe Hollister preparing for an Obamanist America
January 3rd, 2013
1:44 pm
Filter, check out Dubyah’s approval ratings. To a logical conservative mind, poor approval ratings indicate that folks (not just the liberals who are about 22% of the country) did not like him or his policies. If they didn’t like him it follows that they criticized him.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
January 3rd, 2013
1:45 pm
“Al Jazeera has the same right to exist as some right wingbat Christian network.”
No one has said otherwise, Steve.
“And if they buy one of our companies, wouldn’t we be bigotted if we said no?”
Yes, yet no one is making that case, Steve. Try to stay on point here, will ya?
“I don’t blame Gore at all for this, and I see no hypocisy, as liberals promote free speech and free enterprise too.”
They also attack Republicans for doing what Gore just did, Steve. Your selective amnesia is noted.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
January 3rd, 2013
1:47 pm
I guess if you can’t bash the libs for doing something illegal, bash them for doing something perfectly legal while questioning their morals is the next best thing.
Just Saying..
January 3rd, 2013
1:48 pm
Gee, this is a weighty post…
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
January 3rd, 2013
1:48 pm
“Money saving, compact fluorescent light bulbs emit high levels of ultra violet radiation, according to a new study. Research at Long Island’s Stony Brook found that the bulbs emit rays so strong that they can actually burn skin and skin cells.”
No we can start taxing them under Obamacare like tanning beds, Aesop!
Think the Dems had this in their sights all along?
Towncrier
January 3rd, 2013
1:49 pm
“Hmmm. Does this mean Gore is not one of the “well-to-do Americans, patriotic Americans, who,” according to President Obama in a campaign speech back in August, “… are willing to do the right thing, willing to do their part to make this country strong” by paying higher taxes? One of those people who has “made enough money”?
I don’t view Obama as any different from almost any politician, in that I believe he 1) lies 2) is hypocritical and 3) is mainly self-interested.
What I don’t get is many of us defending people like him or GWB or whoever as if they were truly great people. It is much better to advocate for positions and beliefs than defend politicians or use them as a reason to finger-point, in my opinion.
Rafe Hollister preparing for an Obamanist America
January 3rd, 2013
1:49 pm
Finn, you know what I am talking about with the hypocrisy over the tax cuts being put on the backs of the next generation. You just can’t explain how it is ok for your mentor, but not ok for Dubyah. Surrender, you can’t explain it, so admit, you are a lapdog hypocrite Obama minion.
That Black Guy
January 3rd, 2013
1:49 pm
Filter – “But you can prove a positive point so if there was this widespread criticism of GWB then show me. Show me the groundswell (which means more than a couple of op-eds that represent the 500,000)”
That was not what you said in your first post – “I have never been a liberal. Never. I have always been center left and have never made any attempt to disguise that fact. That being said, I stand constantly amazed these days at how many people on the right claim to have been critical of GWB for his economic policy. I know I was critical of it at the time and I was called everything but a child of God by every person remotely to the right of me for about 5-6 years. I never EVER heard anyone I know, and almost everyone I know is rank and file right wing, criticize GWB at the time. It seemed everything he did was right on, rational and for the good of the country etc. and by my dissent I was a pariah.” – nothing in there about “widespread” or Groundswell”.
Now keeping in line with your first post, the only way to prove you wrong would be for me to link quotes from people *YOU* know. Not possible.
Just showing you that there WERE in fact people on the right who were critical of Bush’s spending.
http://www.google.com/search?q=conservative+criticize+bush+spending&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1&safe=active
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
January 3rd, 2013
1:50 pm
I guess if you can’t bash conservatives for doing something illegal, bash them for doing something perfectly legal while questioning their morals is the next best thing.
Fixed your typo, Finn. No thanks needed.
And thanks for summing up the 2012 Presidential campaign while you’re at it.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
January 3rd, 2013
1:52 pm
those who lecture the rest of us about needing to pay more taxes while going far, far, far out of their way to keep from paying higher taxes themselves.
far, far, far out of their way? Gore wanting to sell in 2012 is far, far, far out of his way?
Cheesy Grits is gone but not forgotten
January 3rd, 2013
1:53 pm
Ignoring the propagandist history of Al Jazeera
How does that make them different from Fox News ?
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
January 3rd, 2013
1:54 pm
And thanks for summing up the 2012 Presidential campaign while you’re at it.
I can do a better job than that, Tib:
A beat down. Utter beat down bordering on public flogging. That’s how I would describe election 2012.
Mwuahahahahahahahaha
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
January 3rd, 2013
1:54 pm
How does that make them different from Fox News ?
LOL, good point!
Cheesy Grits is gone but not forgotten
January 3rd, 2013
1:55 pm
And yet, when it comes to gun use, you don’t ever get around to blaming the people, do you, Finn?
Your inconsistency of beliefs is simply astounding.
If you dont know the difference between a handgun and an airplane.
Well there isn’t much hope.
One is a big metal thing that flies and is extremely hard to get your hands on.
The other can be bought extremely easily.
Big big difference.