GORE VIDAL'S WARNING

[mrbrandon71]

Where is the rest of the video?

[Dionysos37]

The very end begins to point us toward The U.S. Constitution as the most important guide we can have through these dark times: it is what all the freedom lovers before us honored most, and I would trust my elders' generations on anything. Vidal was a voice in a commercialized wilderness that day....

[lithiumjimmy]

God Bless America.

[zev1963]

Sir I agree to this Constitution with all its faults if they are such; because I think a general Government necessary and there is no form of government but what may be a blessing to the people, if well administered and I believe farther that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years and can only end in despotism as other forms have done before it when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government being incapable of any other... Benjamin Franklin (1787)

[cityoflies]

@zev1963

thanks, person. How nice of you. I always wondered about the speech.

[ashutoshmikku]

Damn it. please write what he said afterwards about Benjamin Franklin.

[falltwoep]

"How did we get into this mess?" RELIGION, AS ALWAYS!

[Hedigermj]

Booooo bad place for the battery to go out =(

Thanks for posting though!

[ramblnrose]

Gore Vidal is the best. ;) I just discovered that I'm related to him. And I'm happy about that. ;)

[Easydollars]

Yeah! Evil Facist Helicopters have to put their

noses where it dont belong. Are we FREE ?????

[nbm34]

look at the evil Facist helicopter circling the crowd

[idasputem]

A true American elder statesman

[clarencecmcgee]

I love this man. Proud of him. Long Live Gore Vidal!

[tubetrekker30]

Guess we still have a shred of freedom if I can have the pleasure of hearing this. How I fear for what this administration has done to this country.

[pvelectric]

@tubetrekker30 I fear for what these administrations have done to this country.

[johnathan343]

I just founf out about this man an hour ago he's great are the only words I can think of oh ya very smart man.

[avatar723]

ATTENTION, RIGHT WINGERS:

For a Good Time, see my video," Bob Dylan's MASTERS of WAR "

( watch?v=g0ELgFGd2fs )

and my extensive MASTERS of WAR website (address at the end of the vid).

FEATURING:

- Kurt Vonnegut Speaks

- Bill Moyers Rallies

- Gore Vidal Rants

- Mark Twain Sings

You'll LOVE IT!

[ericsweetboy]

one last one...W never claimed to have gone to viet nam. never claimed to be a veteran of fighting in a war. if you listen carefully, TGGG claims this and more. LISTEN TO THE MAN, and and listen to him deeply...he would love that!

[avatar723]

"He DID NOT say he was FIGHTING. He ONLY SAID HE WAS A VETERAN." ????????

"I've been to war. I've raised twins. If I had a choice, I'd rather go to war."

THIS IS A DIRECT QUOTE!!!! These are HIS OWN WORDS!!!!!!

Jesus H. Christ!!! Do you UNDERSTAND the English language???

ARRRRGGGHHHH!!!

Somebody else deal with this yo-yo!!

I can't take it anymore!!!!!

GOODBYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jaman76]

sounds like a joke taken out of context...

[ericsweetboy]

A good deed never goes unpunished.

Gore Vidal

Andy Warhol is the only genius I've ever known with an I.Q. of 60.

Gore Vidal

Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little.

Gore Vidal

He will lie even when it is inconvenient: the sign of the true artist.

Gore Vidal

long live the ego of THE GREAT GOD GORE

[avatar723]

What the FUCK is your POINT???

This is nothing that Oscar Wilde or Mark Twain might not have said, you anti-intellectual TWIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!

You probably DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT HE'S SAYING!!!!!!!!!

[ericsweetboy]

At the heart of the essay are questions about the events of 9/11 itself and the two hours after the planes were hijacked. Vidal writes that 'astonished military experts cannot fathom why the government's "automatic standard order of procedure in the event of a hijacking" was not followed'.

gore vidal

let's all read the NATIONAL ENQUIRER

[avatar723]

Of COURSE the corporations were 'conspiring' with (Arthur Anderson) to get away with what they could ---- this is a PROVEN FACT. Ever hear of ENRON? WORLDCOM ? Reagan & Gingrich's deregulations had NO CONNECTION, right? YOU need to do some "basic research" on RECENT HISTORY, kid...

[avatar723]

BTW, guess who did HALLIBURTON's books in the 90's?

"Cheney, in a 1996 promotional video, praised Halliburton's accountants, Arthur Andersen, for their advice "OVER AND ABOVE THE, JUST SORT OF THE NORMAL BY-THE-BOOKS AUDIT ARRANGEMENT."

[ericsweetboy]

'It is an article of faith that there are no conspiracies in American life. Yet, a year or so ago, who would have thought that most of corporate America had been conspiring with accountants to cook their books since - well, at least the bright dawn of the era of Reagan and deregulation.'

gore vidal

ELVIS LIVES!!!

[avatar723]

Huh?

Of COURSE the corporations were 'conspiring' with (Arthur Anderson) to get away with what they could -- It's a PROVEN FACT. Ever hear of ENRON? WORLDCOM ? Reagan & Gingrich's deregulations had NO CONNECTION, right? YOU need to do some "basic research" on RECENT HISTORY, kid...

[avatar723]

BTW, guess who did HALLIBURTON's books in the 90's?

"...Cheney, in a 1996 promotional video, praised Halliburton's accountants, Arthur Andersen, for their advice "over and above the, just sort of the normal by-the-books audit arrangement."

[avatar723]

RIGHT---you're saying that there were NO "astonished military experts (who) cannot fathom why the government's automatic standard order of procedure was not followed".

That's what you're saying. You're saying that there is no truth in this statement. You're saying that. You are saying that this is a false statement, and not, in fact, true. That is, in fact, what you, personally, are saying. You are. Seriously. YOU ar

[avatar723]

RIGHT---you're saying that there were NO "astonished military experts (who) cannot fathom why the government's automatic standard order of procedure was not followed".

That's what you're saying. You're saying that there is no truth in this statement. You're saying that. You are saying that this is a false statement, and not, in fact, true. That is, in fact, what you, personally, are saying. You are. Seriously. YOU a

[avatar723]

RIGHT---you're saying that there were NO "astonished military experts (who) cannot fathom why the government's automatic standard order of procedure was not followed".

You're saying that there is no truth in this statement. That's what you're saying. You're saying that. You are saying that this is a false statement, and not, in fact, true. Seriously.

[avatar723]

RIGHT---you're saying that there were NO "astonished military experts (who) cannot fathom why the government's automatic standard order of procedure was not followed".

That's what you're saying. You're saying that there is no truth in this statement. You're saying that.

[ericsweetboy]

he served on an army supply ship in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Much of his time in the Enlisted Reserve Corps he devoted to writing. His first novel, Williwaw, was based on his wartime experiences as a first mate on Freight Ship 35 in the Alaskan Harbour Craft Detachment. The conventional seafaring story was written in the spirit Ernest Hemingway.

[avatar723]

Does NOT say NAVY. He was in the ARMY RESERVES, aboard a SHIP.

[ericsweetboy]

from theGore Vidal published his first novel, Williwaw, in 1946 at the age of 21. A precocious talent, he began writing poems and stories as a young teen-ager and took his first stab at novels before he was out of high school. He finally finished one when, as a 19-year-old aboard a World War II ship in the Aleutians, he began a story of men at sea and continued it while recovering in a hospital, the victim of rheumatoid arthritis.

university of pittsburg..

[avatar723]

Says he was ABOARD A SHIP. Does NOT say he was in the NAVY.

[avatar723]

Where did you GET your 'research'?

From a PBS bio: "In 1943, after graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, he entered the Reserve Corps of the U.S. Army. After a brief training period at the Virginia Military Institute, he joined the Army Transportation Corps as an officer and was sent to the Aleutian Islands. He ENLISTED in THE ARMY Reserves and was SENT to Alaska. No navy mentioned (I googled other sources as well). And your POINT is?

[avatar723]

Here's a good one, since you're such a stickler for veracity and Goodness: What courageous Defender of Freedom said THIS in 2002?

"I've been to war. I've raised twins. If I had a choice, I'd rather go to war."

[ericsweetboy]

okie dokie, let's test the veracity of THE GREAT GOD GORE'S speech. did TGGG actually fight in WWII? no... Was TGGG actually in the Army...no, he was in the Navy. who was in the reserves in alaska during WWII...yes, the answer again is TGGG. he would have you believe everything that he spews is truth. if you must idolize TGGG, you should really do some basic research about the man. he has not changed since he was discharged from the navy and his 1948 novel (about himself?) Willawaw.

[avatar723]

A GREAT speech. Anyone know of a transcript?

[illuminate4u]

who does vidal seem to like? he spews so much crap out in this speach that even the mic protests. roosevelt, truman, kennedy, nixon, reagan, bush, clinton, and bush again are all on the "same page". they are all dissed by the GREAT GOD GORE. GGG seems to see the world as all gloom from b. franklin to the present.

[avatar723]

"ETERNAL VIGILANCE is the Price of Liberty" The world (and it's leaders) has to be seen for what it is --if it's gloomy, it's gloomy -- that's the only way to make it 'sunny' again.

Denial helps nothing.

[avatar723]

"For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost,

I am willing to know the whole truth;

to know the worst and provide for it. "

- Patrick Henry

[ericsweetboy]

"It depends on your what your definition of "is" is".

William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd president of the United States of America.

the only president ever to be convicted and committing perjury by a jury of his peers. it's a shame that he was only disbarred. regular people would have spent time in the pen for such things.

[ericsweetboy]

so what you are saying to me is that if i wake up in the morning, glad to be alive and loving my life, then i am in denial. hmmmm, that sounds a bit surreal and hypacritical. i make no apologies for how i live my life...being a teacher it gives me great pleasure, at least most of the time. the one thing i pride myself is that i try to help others see the wonder of our world. life is a miracle and fleeting at best. don't take the GGG too seriously. life is meant to be lived.

[avatar723]

"so what you are saying to me is that if i wake up in the morning, glad to be alive and loving my life, then i am in denial. hmmmm, that sounds a bit surreal and hypacritical."

How in the hell do you read THAT into what I said??

Read the Patrick Henry quote again.

[avatar723]

No, what I'm saying is that the world needs iconoclasts-- Jonathan Swifts, mark Twains, Ben Franklins, Kurt Vonneguts, Michael Moores, Gore Vidals etc.-- to tell truths, expose lies and keep the world (or, in this case our nation() from sinking into a level of corruption that could DESTROY all the Good Things.

Sorry, but loving your wife and won't do that.

[avatar723]

And the fact that Clinton's lie about sex is the worst presidential crime you can mention says a lot about you ( Nixon? LBJ/Gulf of Tonkin?). And just because one president was "the only one prosecuted and convicted" (in a partisan/puritan witchhunt), doesn't mean far worse crimes haven't been committed.

In a just world, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Bush would be prosecuted and convicted not only of high crimes and misdemeanors, but treason.

Jefferson and Madison would have had them hanged.

[Maithun]

Communism"? "Muslim extremism"? It is refreshing to see how at times idiocy boils itself down to flashy concepts one joggles with and throws around without really getting it.I grew up in a communist country and it's true we all naively hoped America will free us. However I've now come to see the hypocrisy of our own dreams: we just wanted to be able to buy stuff....

[RickJamesBitch16]

Horrible video. Horrible speech.

Imperial vanity?

Fighting communism. Fighting Muslim Extremism.

Imperial vanity? I think not.

[Maithun]

"Communism"? "Muslim extremism"? It is refreshing to see how at times idiocy boils itself down to flashy concepts one joggles with and throws around without really getting it.I grew up in a communist country and it's true we all naively hoped America will free us. However I've now come to see the hypocrisy of our own dreams: we just wanted to be able to buy stuff.

[ndogg11]

just wanted to buy stuff? ussr didnt collapse simply cause people wanted to buy stuff! capitalism isnt perfect, but it works best with democracy. if thats the only difference you see, maybe do research on the paranoia attached with communism. the slaughtering of innocent people who dont agree with your ideals, the cuban missile crisis, Castro! whos being naive?

[czarpeppers]

Works best with democracy? Capitalism will inevitably corrupt democracy, because at the end of the day, who do you think has the dominate voice? The congressman, or the CEO? The power of the world's governments are insignificant compared to those of the various corporations and companies around the world.

[czarpeppers]

Now pardon my broken up-id-ness and unorder-ness.

Now to touch on the old 'evil communism' thought. The Soviet Union and other faux-socialist states were under the rule of regimes who believed in a highly bastardized ideology, they hardly represented actual ideals preached by Marx and Engels. If one's going to argue that the lives extinguished by the various leaders of the CPSU were directly linked to the ideals of communism, or socialism for that matter-

[czarpeppers]

, then what about the countless lives extinguished in the name of Christianity? An ideal, or belief should not be held accountable for the things idiots have done to taint what it actually stands for. Because the Soviet Union become the opposite of everything communism looks to achieve.

[czarpeppers]

Lastly, the Cuban Missile Crisis was the Soviet's response to the United States' setting up of nuclear missiles in Turkey. What did the US think the Soviets would do? Sit back while the US installs IRBM's that could deliver a nuclear warhead to Moscow in a matter of minutes?-

[ndogg11]

misile crisis is more complicated. but castro would have used those missiles despite approval of soviet interests. hes been quoted as saying so. but you sound more interested in theory. just be happy this world isnt being dominated by your lovely marxist ideals. cause at the end of the day, you and i wouldnt be speaking so freely in a paranoid communistic society.

[czarpeppers]

Waait a minute, did I ever say I was Marxist? No, I didn't. You're putting words into my mouth. I'm also aware of Castro's wishes to use the Soviet's missiles, but the point is, the Soviets kept it under control. The comparison to Christianity is a perfectly sound argument, saying it's juvenile is a pathetic attempt to debunk it.

[ndogg11]

debunking is what i do best. and yes, debating about religion is futile. that is why it is juvenile. what ya gonna do? persuade christians to be athiests? its paradoxically a pathethic argument on yout behalf. and also, soviets had nothing under control from my knolledge. and i also dont lable people. i just replied to what you wrote. you should read it. IN CONTEXT!

[czarpeppers]

You're a waste of time, you took what I was trying to say completely out of context. I'm not anti-religion, I'm not anti-god, I'm not even atheist. The point was: a belief or ideology should not be held accountable for the things people have done in it's name. I am, in fact, defending Christianity here. And "My lovely Marxist ideals" is not labeling? Now I'm not going to deny the fact I'm a super-idealistic-socialist, but no Marxist. You are extremely uneducated on the subject.

[czarpeppers]

Also, if the Soviets didn't have control over their missiles in Cuba, and Castro wanted to use them. Why weren't Washington and New York reduced to rubble? Because they were under the control of 17,000 Soviet Soldiers.

[czarpeppers]

Please, please pardon the mess this post has become.

No, they're going to do likewise. Not to mention the United States' plans to invade Cuba. In the end, Kennedy agreed to Khrushchev's demands. The US would dismantle their missile sites in Turkey, as well as agreed to not invade Cuba.

[ndogg11]

you talk too much. but i must say that you are as well naive. communism is bound to fail because of the nature of humans. it has failed miserably. the thought, sure yeah, its a cute ideology. but its failed! the christian thing, is juevenile. thats 8th grade debate.

[Maithun]

Hey, you got me wrong! I didn't see that was the CAUSE why it collapsed. I just said that the way lots of people thought of the West was as some sort of shopping Paradise. They knew next to nothing about real democracy so they couldn't relate to it in those terms. Voila!

[ndogg11]

screw you! i didnt get you wrong, you pussy liar. you are a typical skeptic of our culture. taunting ,and stinking of lameness... you are an anti-americano! read what youve written, i dare anyone who reads this blog to read MAITHIUM's comments on here.

[Maithun]

Wow, you do have a way with insults...I am indeed skeptic of your culture, but far from me dismissing it as a whole. Now, what do YOU know about my culture? You see, there lies the crux of the dilemma. Communism did systemically fail, but it did not corrupt all. I grew up in a village where my granddad was the local Party secretary and he was a just man.

[Maithun]

Little note on the "ta!"...I know it's gay...You see, communism does indeed breed monsters :)Oh, did you watch "Caligula"? G.Vidal scripted it.Exquisitely devious! Ciao ciao!

[ndogg11]

gore vidal, what currage this man has to speak of war being bad! everyone loses in war! this man has already made up his mind before being given any sort of reasoning! he maybe book smart, but hes a perfect example of someone who is blinded by personal ideology. hes very much like bush!

[Maithun]

I think a great many Americans would better get hold of a world atlas, learn some languages, travel extensively and live among some of the peoples they so easily write down as undemocratic, barbaric and uncool.Oh, and read some books too while they're at it. Ta ta, comrades!

[Maithun]

And back to you, ndogg11. I was still a kid when our dictator was toppled, but ironically if I had any benefit from the communist heritage in my country it was that I didn't have to pay a penny for my entire education.And gosh, look at me now, I can even speak a few languages (Chinese included, of course). How many poor American kids can do that your public schools?. Oh, as for Gore Vidal, he's superb, that's why I posted here in the first place.E pluribus unum and stuff. Ta!

[ndogg11]

hardly any kid can do that in our public schools. linguistics is not a stonghold nor is it emelished is our culture. college is good for that.  by the way, we americans take pride in self education. well most do atleast. no one who agreas with vidal. by the way,"ta!" is really, really gay hear.

[Maithun]

Don't you think they should? In Romania it's compulsory to take up two foreign languages at middle-school level (plus Latin, compulsory as well). Self-education can work out quite well, I agree, provided one has enough will and dedication. What about the lazy dreamy disoriented kids then? That's where the public education should step in. Gore Vidal is cool though, there's a certain charming rhetorical coherence about his outspoken speeches. It sounds nice, at least :P

[olipilley]

he has vioce of silk what a man

[ch0colate]

did anyone find out the rest of what benjamin franklin said? i cant find it

[Peralon]

This is What Franklin said (you can also find the statement expressed by Vidal in the documentary 'XXI Century'):"Franklin understood the American people better than the other three. Washington and Jefferson were nobles -- slaveholders and plantation owners. Alexander Hamilton married into a rich and powerful family and joined the upper classes.

[Peralon]

Benjamin Franklin was pure middle class. In fact, he may have invented it for Americans. Franklin saw danger everywhere. They all did. Not one of them liked the Constitution. James Madison, known as the father of it, was full of complaints about the power of the presidency. But they were in a hurry to get the country going.

[Peralon]

Hence the great speech, which I quote at length in the book, that Franklin, old and dying, had someone read for him. He said, I am in favor of this Constitution, as flawed as it is, because we need good government and we need it fast. And this, properly enacted, will give us, for a space of years, such government.

[Peralon]

But then, Franklin said, it will fail, as all such constitutions have in the past, because of the essential corruption of the people. He pointed his finger at all the American people. And when the people become so corrupt, he said, we will find it is not a republic that they want but rather despotism -- the only form of government suitable for such a people."

[Peralon]

"Let me add that only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters", wrote B.Franklin in 1787. (p318, The Works of Benjamin Franklin, Published 1904 G.P. Putnam's sons, The Knickerbocker Press)

[KooKooRooWhore]

Clip stops before it really gets started.

[Bmants]

Next time hold the camera on the subject and the mike in that same direction.

[cityoflies]

100,000-people-I-think-that's-­significant-enough-to-lose-aud­io-and-pan-the-crowd.

oh,-and-f-u.

I'm-5'9"-and-I-got-some-good-v­ideo-by-wearing-out-my-arms.

[JamesR1969]

Pay no mind to this moron, city, it's a great and historical piece of video. Gore Vidal is living history and one of the few truly "great minds" still around. He called it right, four years ago, and here we are today. Dubya the moron cowboy has f'd this country up beyond belief. What a jackass.

[Aegialeus]

"cityoflies"

His words resonate greatness and truth. I agree with James, Bmants is a Moronic Jackass.

The image is not important but the message it's self is, and the recording of his voice is perfect. Great job. I think-you for sharing that piece of history. I did not know who Gore Vidal was until today. And was suprised to find out he is related to Al Gore, who I thought would of been the greatest President of the USA.

[notrombones]

Searingly, frighteningly, insightful.

GV rocks, as always.

[LeximusMaximus]

First Comment Rocks my socks!