Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” Wins Best Documentary!
I’m not really an awards show kind of guy, but I’m totally ecstatic this morning, and I’m not alone. The blogosphere is literally alive with congratulatory posts: “An Inconvenient Truth” won best documentary and “I Need to Wake Up” from the movie won best song at last night’s Academy Awards. Watch highlights of Al Gore at the Oscars, courtesy of Think Progress by clicking here. Watch Melissa Etheridge perform the
Oscar-winning song by scrolling down two posts or clicking here.
The best-documentary Oscar itself actually went to director Davis Guggenheim and producers Lawrence Bender, Laurie David and Scott Burns. However, it was obvious that Gore, who joined the others on stage to accept the award, was being honored for bringing worldwide attention to the issue of global warming.
“I made this movie for my children,” Guggenheim said. “We all did. And we did so because we were moved to act by this man (Gore). All of us were inspired by his fight for 30 years to tell his truth to all of us.”
Guggenheim then handed the Oscar to Gore. “My fellow Americans, people all over the world,” said Gore, “we need to solve the climate crisis. It’s not a political issue. It’s a moral issue. We have everything we need to get started with the possible exception of the will to act. That’s a renewable resource. Let’s renew it.”
After accepting her Oscar, Etheridge proclaimed, “mostly, I have to thank Al Gore–for inspiring us, inspiring me, showing us that caring about the earth is not Republican or Democrat, it’s not red or blue. We are all green. This is our job now. We can become the greatest generation, the generation that changed, the generation that woke up, and did something, and changed.”
Earlier Gore provided some light moments, according to AlertNet:
Earlier in the show, Gore and the hybrid-driving actor Leonardo DiCaprio took the stage to announce the Academy Awards had “gone green” with environmentally sensitive methods incorporated into every aspect of putting on the show.
The greening of the Oscars included using recycled paper, doing an energy audit for the Kodak Theatre and serving organic food at the Governors Ball, said the Natural Resources Defense Council, the advocacy group that worked with organizers.
Many in Hollywood, impressed by Gore’s persuasive message on the climate crisis, have wanted him to run for president again in 2008.
But Gore ruled that out once again on Sunday and even played with the pressure to run with a well-timed joke that won raucous laughter from the audience.
“Even though I honestly had not planned on doing this, I guess with a billion people watching, it’s as good a time as any. So, my fellow Americans, I’m going to take this opportunity right here and now to formally announce..,” Gore said.
And then loud music from the pit orchestra — the kind used to cut short run-on acceptance speeches — drowned out Gore and he and DiCaprio walked off stage arm-in-arm.
Until I hear the Shermanesque statement, I’m going to continue to visualize a Gore administration in 2009. One win in hand. Next the Nobel Peace Prize, then the presidency!
Monday, February 26th, 2007Times like these call for a president like Al Gore.
OK, let me handle this up front. After having supported Al Gore, Jr. for Vice President twice as well as in his campaigns for the House and Senate in Tennessee, I voted for Ralph Nader in the presidential election of 2000. Like a number of my friends, I was fed up with business as usual in Washington and, frankly, didn’t see a lot of difference between Gore and Bush. In my mind they were both privileged sons of politicians who believed it was their divine right to ascend to the presidency.
Bush’s weaknesses exposed, Gore’s leadership demonstrated
After six years, my views regarding Al Gore and George W. Bush have changed dramatically. I see Bush as a prime example of the Peter Principle, a man who has risen several levels beyond his competency from his ideal job as glad hander for the Texas Rangers
baseball team. I see someone who absolutely refuses to respond to the wake up calls that life sends his way, someone, in fact, who hunkers down and digs his heels in even deeper when reality smacks him in the face. I see an immature man with limited intellectual and emotional capacity who seeks to hide his insecurities by donning a mask of exaggerated masculinity and machismo. I see a weak leader who tries to frighten politicians and the populace into submission. I see someone who doesn’t understand the basic precepts of democracy and what this nation, at its best, stands for. I see a president who, given the opportunity, would move our nation toward authoritarianism. I see a man who is a great danger not only to himself but to all the rest of us as well.
On the other hand, I see Al Gore as a man who has gone through his dark night of the soul. He was on the path his father Al Gore, Sr., a Tennessee senator and presidential aspirant in the 1950s, had envisioned for his son early on. And things progressed in an orderly fashion for Al, Jr.—Representative from Tennessee’s Fourth District, Senator, Vice President. And he actually won the popular vote (and many contend the electoral as well) in 2000 but was denied the presidency by the U.S. Supreme Court.
I know that Al Gore’s detractors have fabricated fantasies about who he is—stiff, pretentious, 
detached, somber, geeky, etc. And many in the mainstream media have reported these fictions as the truth. Was he overhandled and overmanaged during the 2000 election? It certainly would appear so. But through the tribulation of coming so close to the presidency yet falling short, he has emerged a more powerful and compelling man. After failing to achieve what was likely his ultimate vision for himself, and taking some time for reflection, he stepped forward in a leadership role that might prove to be even more important than the presidency. For, as his Academy Award winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” has revealed, if we don’t deal with global warming without delay, nothing else is really going to matter. We’ll have traveled so far down the road toward creating our own extinction that who holds elective office may be the least of our concerns.
Al Gore and the Climate Project training
In early January, I had the opportunity to spend some time with Al Gore in Nashville at a Climate Project training where volunteers from around the nation and beyond learned to present the slide show on which “An Inconvenient Truth” was based. Gore spent one entire day with us going over each slide one at a time, then joined us for dinner that night. It was clear to me that I was in the presence of a man of genuine authenticity, impressive intellect and profound passion as well as a willingness to take himself lightly.
At the end of our three-day training, Gore was due to make the closing remarks. But before he entered, the video of his recent hilarious appearance on Saturday Night Live was played. A brief excerpt:
Announcer: And now, a message from the President of the United States.
President Al Gore: Good evening, my fellow Americans. In 2000 when you overwhelmingly made the decision to elect me as your 43rd president, I knew the road ahead would be difficult. We have accomplished so much yet challenges lie ahead.
In the last six years we have been able to stop global warming. No one could have predicted the negative results of this. Glaciers that once were melting are now on the attack. As you know, these renegade glaciers have already captured parts of upper Michigan and northern Maine, but I assure you: we will not let the glaciers win.
Right now, in the second week of May 2006, we are facing perhaps the worst gas crisis in history. We have way too much gasoline. Gas is down to $0.19 a gallon and the oil companies are hurting. I know that I am partly to blame by insisting that cars run on trash.
I am therefore proposing a federal bailout to our oil companies because–hey if it were the other way around, you know the oil companies would help us.
Through thunderous applause and hearty laughter Gore made his way to the front of the room and graciously acknowledged us for our willingness to be a part of the Climate Project Training. And he gave and inspiring and evocative speech, calling on us to go out into our communities and help awaken folks to the great challenge we are facing.
He continued, speaking of his son who, as a young boy, had wrenched free from his father’s grasp and dashed after a friend into traffic where he was hit by a car and subsequently hovered near death for days. He spoke of how, though his son ultimately fully recovered, this experience had changed his perspective on life, that it was this shift that led him to greater concern for our environment and the planet on which we live. He spoke of the earth as it hovers near a point from which we may not be able to reverse the damage we humans have done. “I know I can’t go back in time,” he almost whispered, “but sometimes I wish I’d held on to my son’s hand more tightly, that I hadn’t let him slip away.” He paused for a moment and continued. “Now our precious planet is slipping from our grasp,” Gore said softly, “and it’s up to all of us to hold on.”
Call on Al Gore to join the 2008 campaign for president
The George W. Bush presidency has been an essential wake up call, an administration so entangled in hubris, arrogance, incompetence and greed that most of us have gained a clear picture of what we absolutely do not want in a president. And now we can develop a clear vision of what we do want in a leader—someone who is authentic, someone who is courageous, someone we trust, someone with intellectual and emotional depth, someone who is responsive, someone who inspires us and, yes, someone with a sense of humor.
Al Gore is that leader. He was right on global warming, he was right on Iraq and he has more experience than any of the other presidential contenders. I urge you to help draft Gore to join the 2008 race for president by signing the petition at draftgore.com. He’s already won the Oscar for “An Inconvenient Truth.” Now visualize him winning the Nobel Peace Prize in December and the presidency next year. Spread the word, and help elect Al Gore again in 2008!
Note: Readers of this post are likely aware of the various statements by Gore in which he declares that he has no intention of running for president in 2008. While I acknowledge these statements, I believe that he would respond to a call from the citizens of this nation. My intention is to hold the vision of an Al Gore presidency from 2009 through 2016 and to do all I can do to help bring that vision into fruition.
“I Need to Wake Up” by Melissa Etheridge
Watch Melissa Etheridge perform the powerful song “I Need to Wake Up,” from Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.” Both the song and the documentary won Oscars at the 79th Academy Awards ceremony.
Click on the play button to watch Melissa perform her song.
Friday, February 23rd, 2007Collateral damage
From the New York Times via Tom Tomorrow at This Modern World, a story of “collateral damage” in Iraq.
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — A U.S. soldier broke down in tears in court as he described his role in the gang rape and slaying of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the killing of her family last year.
Paul E. Cortez, 24, wept Wednesday as he became the second U.S. soldier to plead guilty to charges in a case considered among the worst atrocities by U.S. military personnel in Iraq.
By pleading guilty to rape and four counts of felony murder, Cortez was spared the possibility of a death sentence and must testify against the three other soldiers charged in the case.
Is it any wonder that 71 percent of Iraqis consider our forces to be occupiers, and 57 percent want all foreign troops out of their country?
To read the entire story of the trial of the U.S. soldiers involved in this atrocity in the New York Times, click here.
Thursday, February 22nd, 2007“The Secret” a secret no more!
By now most of you have likely seen The Secret, the movie that explains the Law of Attraction–how we each have attracted exactly what we have now and how we can attract more of whatever we want whenever we choose.
Well, The Secret is no longer merely a viral Internet phenomenon; it’s gone mainstream, with appearances of many of the principles of the film on “Larry King Live” on CNN and “Oprah.” And today Maureen Dowd unleashed a snarky column in the New York Times in
which she proposes using the principles of The Secret to “stop W. and Crazy Dick from blowing up any more stuff” and “creating peace on earth and parking spaces for everyone.”
New York and LA sophisticates can laugh and make fun of the Law of Attraction all they want, but I know from personal experience that it works.
When I was a sophomore in high school I was about six feet tall and weighed 155 pounds, far back on the depth chart of my Tullahoma (TN) High School team. But I had a vision of myself as a star football player who would obtain a college football scholarship. So I lifted weights year round and ran in the off season, actions unheard of back in the late ’50s. I abstained from alcohol and tobacco. I listened to the University of Tennessee games on my car radio and imagined myself on the playing field decked out in orange and white.
Once my senior season was complete, though my inexperienced team barely managed a winning record, I was named to several all-star teams including an invitation to play in a high school all-American game in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. And the University of Tennessee proffered a full athletic scholarship, which I gleefully accepted. I had manifested exactly what I had wanted.
This is not the only time that I have used the Law of Attraction to great benefit. Attracting Shonnie into my life, creating our wedding weekend, manifesting the sanctuary we call home, attracting Harville Hendrix to review and endorse our book. These are some of the most notable examples that come into my consciousness right now.
So read Maureen’s column if you like. It’s good for a laugh or two. But never doubt that you create your life, that what you focus on—consciously or unconsciously—is exactly what you attract into it. Acknowledging the authenticity of the Law of Attraction as expressed in The Secret means releasing yourself from victimhood and realizing that no one is responsible for your life and your present circumstances but you. Living from this reality means letting go of all of excuses, justifications and pretexts and taking radical responsibility for your life and your world. Taking complete control of your life in this manner finally requires far-reaching forgiveness, accepting that no one is to blame, not even you.
Sunday, February 18th, 2007I get blurb in YES! Magazine’s Winter 2007 issue
Yes! Click here and scroll all the way to the bottom to check out my words of wisdom in YES! Magazine’s Winter 2007 issue.
Sunday, February 18th, 2007Sex toys still banned in Alabama, guns okay
From Boing Boing:
A decision issued yesterday by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says Alabama doesn’t have to lift its silly, arcane 1998 law banning the sale of sex toys. The Constitution does not include a right to sexual privacy, the panel of three judges ruled. Many Americans would disagree, including this one. To paraphrase Andrew Orlowski’s brilliant quip about the INDUCE Act, under this law one could stroll down Alabama’s southern streets selling semiautomatic rifles and dildos, and be arrested for the dildos.
To read more click here: Boing Boing: Sex toys still banned in Alabama, guns okay
Friday, February 16th, 2007Publicity hounds Lavender and Mulkey are at it again!
In our ongoing promotional campaign for I Do! I Do! The Marriage Vow Workbook, Shonnie and I were featured in a recent AP column, “On the Money.” This story, along
with photos, has appeared in 20+ newspapers around the country including the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the Sacramento Bee and the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
The photo to the right shows us with the bowls we use to manage our money, a system we learned at a Peak Potentials workshop in Atlanta. We have set up six bowls to divide up our money for day-to-day expenses and other things we want to do, like giving to worthy organizations, investment, education and just having fun. (Chuck Burton—AP Photo)
Couples can find joint money strategies
By EILEEN ALT POWELL — AP Business Writer
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
NEW YORK (AP) Bruce Mulkey and Shonnie Lavender have a lot in common when it comes to love and marriage, but not when it comes to money.
Mulkey and Lavender met more than a decade ago while training for a marathon. They married in 1999 and shared their thinking about marital commitment in their book “I Do! I Do! The Marriage Vow Workbook.” But the Asheville, N.C., couple said it took them a long time to figure out how to handle their finances together. (more…)
Saturday, February 10th, 2007
