In your otherwise entertaining article on school laptops in the 1980s, [“Back To The Future,” May/June] your author made an offhand remark connecting Al Gore to the invention of the Internet. I think it is very important to avoid spreading lies, and you have helped spread a lie by allowing this content in your magazine.
During his campaign for president in 2000, Al Gore said, “During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.” This means that, as a senator, he supported the Department of Defense’s computer network, the precursor to today’s Internet. This political support has been acknowledged by actual computer people as vital to the development of the Internet.
The scurrilous hacks working for Mr. Bush twisted this into Mr. Gore claiming to have invented the Internet. He made no such claim.
Perhaps if editors had spent more time looking into—and correcting—lies created on behalf of the current administration, we would not be in as dire straits as we are in this country. This is particularly shameful in a publication that purports to be serving educators.
Richard Weis
Conway, Massachusetts
