54 Comments

1. Captain Hate:

It’s not too shocking that Weird Al’s a failure as a parent; inertia like his is difficult to arrest. The big question is how much coverage will this get in the MSM compared to the mega-headlines that either of the Bush twins would’ve been forced to confront in a similar or lesser situation.

Here’s hoping that Al learns something from this and prioritizes his life from searching for the Nobel Holy Grail into doing the mundane responsible acts of us unenlightened dolts and being there for his children when they need him.

Jul 4, 2007 - 4:18 pm 2. daveinboca:

Yes, even the nets and PBS mention the Gore III’s getting busted, though they neglect his rap sheet on drugs and other unreported stuff like his getting kicked out of St. Alban’s—like his father Al III was a snitch and a miscreant at the same time.

Al Gore II’s strange inability to get into law school has never been examined by an MSM avid for every sordid detail of your average Repub candidates CV. The urban legend is that he had what used to be called a massive “crack-up” during his college years—the lefty MSM has helped him cover up these factoids which would be fine by me had the MSM been even-handed in its cover-up mode.

Al II is actually a decent guy in person and went out of his way to greet my 6-year old daughter in the White House Mess when he was on crutches due to a basketball Achilles-heel incident.

But he has constantly played his hand as though he has a Full House even though every time he is unmasked, it’s been a busted flush!

The secret sins of the fathers are passed on to their kids, which is why I fear for my now 18-year old daughter!

Jul 4, 2007 - 4:23 pm 3. Bostonian:

Well, I’ve always believed that drugs should be legalized. I share this sentiment with my GOP-voting dad and my radical left grandpa.

Jul 4, 2007 - 4:40 pm 4. ricpic:

“The boy in the speeding Prius was calling for help.”

The “boy” (age 24) speeding down the road at 100 mph putting innocents at mortal risk is an utterly selfish piece of crap. Or is such an equation impossible in the world of the enlightened?

Jul 4, 2007 - 5:09 pm 5. Grumpy Old Man:

Al II’s barely sufferable at his best, and because he’s chosen to be a public figure, he’s fair game. The term “pompous ass” comes to mind, and in fact Al II’s another decay product of a political dynasty in what purports to be our Republic.

His son appears to have some kind of mood disorder and is self-medicating. Not necessarily the parent’s fault, as the song goes “it’s [or could be] a chemical reaction, that’s all.” Since Al III hasn’t chosen to be a public figure, he should be punished for endangering the public (even though I’m not for criminalizing personal drug possession), and we the public should leave it at that. In fact, as a sometimes wayward son and a flawed parent, I’m willing to offer Al II compassion.

Lord, have mercy.

Jul 4, 2007 - 5:26 pm 6. Tollhouse:

…some kind of mood disorder and is self-medicating…

That so clearly seems to encapsulate the times.

Jul 4, 2007 - 5:35 pm 7. Ray:

Gore Jr. learned from a master. Remember the Clinster “I smoked but didn’t inhale”? Gore Sr. didn’t inhale either. He has been holding his breath since 1969. That’s what makes him so puffy looking.

At least Gore Jr. is inhaling. Kid might be normal after all.

Jul 4, 2007 - 5:43 pm 8. Buddy Larsen:

LOL–good one, Ray

Jul 4, 2007 - 6:01 pm 9. Charlie (Colorado):

A Prius can do 100? Who knew?

Jul 4, 2007 - 7:51 pm 10. Luther McLeod:

The comment I want to make is…just another example of leftist child rearing. But that isn’t fair, right or cogent. I suspect many here may have lived the same ‘outer planet’ trajectory, depending on age, of course. The kid is 24, years away from any influence his dad may have. His misdeeds at this age are his own, completely and absolutely. Let’s just see how he and his family own up too his transgressions. There may be the tale.

Jul 4, 2007 - 8:53 pm 11. Buddy Larsen:

Well, if it’s hard on a kid to have a rich, famous, celebrity dad, I’ve done my kids a TREMENDOUS favor!

Jul 4, 2007 - 9:05 pm 12. Buddy Larsen:

Re addendum –I know it sounds nertz, but every time I open PJM it freezes IE7–and usually crashes it. Wonder why?

Jul 4, 2007 - 9:40 pm 13. clarkstooksbury:

You really are a bitter, hate-filled, desiccated, idealogue. I pity you.

Jul 5, 2007 - 4:24 am 14. Buddy Larsen:

jeez, okay, forget it, I’ll just live with the crashes

Jul 5, 2007 - 5:21 am 15. rverdi:

Al Gore’s son is an adult who made his own choices, driving 100 miles an hour down a freeway with a medicine cabinet of drugs. He is responsible for endangering his life and other people’s lives. Al Gore the dogmatic prophet has his own hypocrisy and phoniness. The fact that a facist sympathizer like cat stevens feels at home with the Global Warming crowd says a great deal about the amazing confluence of ant-americanism, islamic radicalism, anti-globalism and the world wide left in general.

Jul 5, 2007 - 5:25 am 16. Lem:

We can say all we want about what they found in that Prius. But one thing we cannot say is that unlike many of us that boy is not addicted to oil.
Take the test – Are you a gas addict? or do you know someone?

Jul 5, 2007 - 6:09 am 17. Richard Nieporent:

A Prius can do 100? Who knew?

Charlie, you beat me to it. Roger you are looking at this incident the wrong way. Rather than being an embarrassment for Al Gore, this incident is intended as a positive message to help encourage people to fight Global Warming.

Are you concerned about the environment? Well I have good news for you. You can live the hip (do people say hip nowadays?) life of fast cars and drugs while saving the environment. Just buy a Prius and the good live awaits you. Like Al Gore III, you too can travel at 100 miles an hour high on drugs. The Prius, the car for the environmentally responsible cool set.

Jul 5, 2007 - 6:18 am 18. Steven Mitchell:

Richard, you and Charlie are onto something, but you didn’t take it as far as it can go. See, driving a Prius 100 MPH while on drugs is actually environmentally friendly. If enough people do that, we’ll have more wrecks. A lot of the wrecks will kill people. Those people won’t be driving anywhere, anymore. No matter how good MPG a hybrid gets, it can’t compete with another 50 odd years of non-driving. Plus, there are all the other dead people in the crashes that won’t be driving either. Talk about reducing carbon footprint!

Then there are the harder things to measure, such as all the people who will now be afraid to drive. Even more reduction! Oh, sure. Some hard-nosed realist will talk about other people driving heavier cars to compensate, but hey, this is Inconvenient Truth logic, so that doesn’t count.

I think I feel sorry for all children of famous people. It’s a hard thing to overcome.

Jul 5, 2007 - 7:15 am 19. patrick neid:

can you imagine having Al “i’m not a moron” Gore for your father?

i mean, take a minute and give that some thought…..

Jul 5, 2007 - 7:25 am 20. Hiawatha Bray:

I’m a little disappointed to see you using a family problem to tee off on Mr. Gore. Disagree with him all you like, but what say we leave his kid out of it? Instead, let’s all pray that the family gets through this uncomfortable time.

Jul 5, 2007 - 7:42 am 21. Webutante:

You know, I couldn’t agree more with you on this one, Roger, on all counts. The Gores are impossible on many fronts. But as a mother of the 60’s who had her progeny in that wild decade, my heart does go out to them and certainly to Albert 3.

Being the third generation anything is hard, but being the 3rd Al Gore has got to carry with it untold pain. And another lesson is that no matter how one appears to have the world by the tail, there is always something that comes along to keep us humble. Whether such a humbling mechanism has the desired effect remains to be seen…but let us hope so.

Jul 5, 2007 - 8:01 am 22. Roger:

Normally I would agree with you, Hiawatha, but the pretentiousness here takes it to a different level. This is a man who is telling us all how to live without examining the truth on a very complex level. This has ramifications far beyond his own family. I have long had environmentalist leanings and Al Gore essentially stole them from me and from many others by making them a personal cause with highly insubstantial scientific knowledge. This is just the kind of approach to life that wounds your own children. He should stop on all counts.

Jul 5, 2007 - 8:17 am 23. Lem:

Maybe this kid discovered marijuana is an Albore offset.

Give the kid the Novel

Jul 5, 2007 - 8:50 am 24. David:

One of the early reports mispelled Prius as Pious. Made my day.

Jul 5, 2007 - 8:51 am 25. Jay Manifold:

The test Lem pointed to is an excellent example of the Manichean environmentalist cultism being pushed by II. As for III, he’s making his own, quite distinct, set of mistakes, and we should simply hope he makes a good recovery.

Jul 5, 2007 - 9:26 am 26. Lem:

You know it could be that Jr was worried about the old man’s concert not having the ‘necessary amenities’ backstage. It’s been said that concerts live and die backstage. (don’t ask who, I may have been strung out when I heard it

It’s a big deal for the old man your honor, the kid was just trying to help out.

We are trying to save the earth here. It’s a lot of gravitas

Jul 5, 2007 - 10:01 am 27. Buddy Larsen:

“Not only that, your Honor, but let him off or we’ll send Cat Stevens after you”

Jul 5, 2007 - 10:11 am 28. Buddy Larsen:

“Peace train sounding louder
Ride on the peace train
Hoo-ah-eeh-ah-hoo-ah
Come on the peace train

I’ve been crying lately
Thinking about the world as it is
Why must we go on hating?
Why can’t we live in bliss?”

…because Salman Rushdie hasn’t been burned alive yet?

Jul 5, 2007 - 10:21 am 29. GringoTex:

@ Buddy Larson
If Internet Explorer crashes when you use IE, maybe it is time to download Firefox.Unlike MS products, it’s free!

Jul 5, 2007 - 11:04 am 30. Peregrine John:

Nobody dreamed that he would
Try to take it so far
He didn’t mean to hit the poor man
Who had to go and die
It made the judge cry

Only a lad
He really couldn’t help it
Only a lad
He didn’t want to do it
Only a lad…

Jul 5, 2007 - 11:25 am 31. Lem:

Peace train?

The kid was on a Prius. He’s weaning himself off slowly.

My God man!? He can’t go cold turkey like that, his system won’t take it.

Jul 5, 2007 - 11:30 am 32. Roger:

Buddy Larsen, if you are still experiencing technical difficulties with Pajamas Media and IE7, would you be kind enough to leave particulars of your system at this contact:

http://www.pajamasmedia.com/pages/2006/08/contact_us.php

Topic area = technical

Jul 5, 2007 - 11:43 am 33. Jamie Irons:

Forgive me for quoting myself quoting Firesign Theatre, but it seems too apt:

Oh, I’m high all right. But not on false drugs… I’m high on the real thing: Powerful gasoline, a clean windshield, and a shoe shine!

(Does a Prius doing 100 mph leave any carbon footprints?)

Jamie Irons

Jul 5, 2007 - 1:20 pm 34. Buddy Larsen:

Roger, willdo, soon’s I can get the site to open. Texasgringo–thx for tip–

Jul 5, 2007 - 1:22 pm 35. Buddy Larsen:

Jamie, yes, but like cholesterol, it’s not the “bad” one, it’s the “good” one.

Jul 5, 2007 - 1:31 pm 36. Jamie Irons:

Buddy,

Is it OK be high on false drugs if I leave “good” carbon footprints trailing behind? Does the one offset the other? (And if so, would it constitute a kind of carbon offset, which we know to be good, because Al buys them?)

Jamie Irons

Jul 5, 2007 - 1:41 pm 37. Buddy Larsen:

I think the answers are all ‘yes’ –but only if you’re mmm, hip to the nuance? Anyhoo, medical question now that there’s a doc in the house, wouldn’t mixing Vicodin and Adderal put BOTH pedals to the metal? The gas AND the brakes?

Jul 5, 2007 - 1:52 pm 38. Jamie Irons:

Buddy,

In most people, yes. But if our young friend had been prescribed the Adderall (basically amphetamine/ dextroamphetamine) for ADHD, the drug would not “wire” him, but would actually slow him down to something like “normal.” But I don’t know the young man’s history.

I must say I feel sorry for him, though.

Jamie Irons

Jul 5, 2007 - 1:57 pm 39. Buddy Larsen:

Yeh, me too. Probably shouldn’t be making lite. But maybe he’d get a chuckle–he needs one.

Jul 5, 2007 - 2:03 pm 40. Barry Dauphin:

Jamie

It sounded like none of the drugs were prescribed. Maybe take the upper to get going and the downer to mellow out– the new form of healthcare regulation.

Jul 5, 2007 - 2:58 pm 41. Boris:

“My personal reaction to Gore has always been to run the other way from his opinions. I was far more concerned about global warming before he started his crusade.”

Doesn’t this mean that your globval wamring beliefs are more ideological than scientific? After all, you never did respond to the thread from a few days ago wherein it is pointed out that your source fabricated quotes and misrepresented research.

But my real point in posting is to say how the right is falling into Gore’s trap. He knows he is a polarizing figure, and he knows that mainstream science has accepted anthroprogenic global warming. I speculate that he chose to up his campaign with a film in part becasue he knew the right would go against him at all costs. After all, Al Gore must be wrong. He’s a liberal and pompous, therefore global warming must be a crock. When you add in the think tanks who are ready to strecth the truth of the science, you have a right wing that denies even the existence of a consensus on the issue.

But in your rush to villify Gore you have also villified working scientists, which is fine for the right wing blogosphere, many of whom already ditch science for ideology when it comes to evolution or stem cells. But the middle ground is where the votes are, and if the right wing keeps denying the obvious, Gore’s strategy will have worked quite well indeed.

Jul 6, 2007 - 7:31 am 42. Buddy Larsen:

“…it is pointed out that your source fabricated quotes and misrepresented research”

I never did get a firm handle on that, Boris. The Heartland guy quoted himself, you say?

Also, you accuse Roger (disapprovingly) of placing ideology over science, and in the very next sentence laud Gore’s use of the issue to ’set a trap for the right’.

So, basically, both sides are politicizing the issue at the expense of the science, but one side is wrong to do so, and the other side is right to do so?

I guess that would be defensible, so long as the “good” side is clearly right on the science.

Oops, here we are back on jump street!

Jul 6, 2007 - 8:17 am 43. Sandy P:

Now you know why Tipper was medicating.

It’s not just the son and it happened while he was VP.

I have a lot of sympathy for Joan Kennedy, too.

Jul 6, 2007 - 12:33 pm 44. Buddy Larsen:

Amen, amen.

Jul 6, 2007 - 2:48 pm 45. Captain Hate:

“But my real point in posting is to say how the right is falling into Gore’s trap.”

Oh yes, master strategist Al setting traps, just like in 2000; that worked well. You seem to be obsessed with carrying this argument between threads. Maybe you can mellow out with some Cat Litter Stevens tomorrow and that massive carbon footprint for the planet concert, or whatever tf it’s called. Flopstock?

Jul 6, 2007 - 3:00 pm 46. JenLArt:

Fatuous is right, I don’t know which is more banal; the �bersimplification and grandiosity of the whole “Man-Made Global Warming” trope, or the confluence of a bunch of has-been degenerate Hit-Makers of songs we heard ad nauseum, and ad absurdem. These are the N�rnberg Rallies of our times. Put on by the internatioal socialist totalitarian elite, who want the good life and the permission of us masses, to destroy our hard work and individualism, with our economies wrecked and “socialized”, all so they can have us begging for another bowl of their gruel. The last time, or should I say, the next to the last time these overpaid clowns invaded our capital, they desecrated our Capital Bldg.
The next time they tried, in March, they planned to desecrate the Vietnam memorial, but veterans showed up to protect both the police, and the memorial. And the filthy slime stayed at home, cuz it was so very, very cold anyway.
Rock and Roll has been comercialized to death and to watch these ghouls use it to suck more money out of fools who need a reason to deny their worthless existence is like any other hopless addict/drug dealer relationship. At least al Gore III.3 can admit he’s at bottom. Can the rest of them?

Jul 6, 2007 - 9:44 pm 47. Buddy Larsen:

“…the Nuremburg Rallies of out times” –wow–what a thought. More than a grain of truth, i think. probably a bull’s eye, truth be known.

Jul 7, 2007 - 6:17 am 48. Captain Hate:

Yeah I think Jen really nailed it; too bad she doesn’t update her blog with gems like that. Although it’s not like I need another place on the interweb to spend time……

Jul 7, 2007 - 6:46 am 49. Buddy Larsen:

LOL–s’trooth

Jul 7, 2007 - 6:57 am 50. Blogengeezer:

Mr gore is only a heavily armored ‘Crusader’ on his ‘Massive Steed’, with his Sword ‘Slashing and Hacking’ in every direction to draw attention to ‘Himself’ of all things. ‘The Crusaders’ also left their family at home, but did not view them as ‘Colateral Damage’ to be expended. Nay! to the contrary, the Crusaders were defending their families and all of the ‘Civilised’ world.
As far as Concert attendees are concerned, I view them as extremely fickle and will follow the latest fad before finding another venue that is more gratifying. Wait, that describes ‘Humanity’ in it’s entirety. http://daflikkers.blogspot.com/

Jul 7, 2007 - 7:14 am 51. Luther McLeod:

Glad I checked back. “Nuremberg Rallies” Greatest insight I’ve seen in a while. But who’s the fuhrer, Gore or Gaia? I guess Gaia, sentient as it is, Gore would be Goebbels, in following the analogy. Has JenL turned the tables on Bush=Hitler?

Jul 7, 2007 - 6:03 pm 52. Buddy Larsen:

Hey, if Fred & Wilma Flintstone’s daughter married Goebbels, she’d be Pebbles Goebbels.

Jul 7, 2007 - 6:11 pm 53. Buddy Larsen:

If she were to organize her own splinter group, it’d be the Pebbles Goebbels Rebels.

Jul 8, 2007 - 8:54 am 54. Boris:

Oh, we’re comparing Gore to Hitler now? No wonder you seem to be having trouble with the science.

And, Buddy, reading comprehension, dude. I never lauded Gore’s strategy. I’m indifferent on Gore and base my view of global warming on actual science. Roger bases his view on his dislike of Gore, as do a whole bunch of those on the right.

Jul 12, 2007 - 6:53 am

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