Highlights from Al Gore's presentation at the Aspen Institute's FOCAS conference on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011. These edited remarks were the most cogent and interesting of his remarks, at least to our ears. There is a 3 to 4 second gap between the sound bites.

:03 on the lack of online business models that can support investigative reporting

:56 On Tahir Square being more literal and metaphorical, including emergence of new consciousness

4:44 does not buy that the Internet is inherently polarizing

6:36 On assumptions regarding free markets

7:23 on the workings of the brain and distraction

8:39 our culture is based on distraction

9:00 on dominance of money in campaigns

9:37 fools errand to try and change campaign finance laws, but Internet can help

10:19 need for public square

11:14 has to be a neutral place to share common information

12:23 on effort to pin 9/11 on Saddam Hussein

14:18 recent debt debate also influenced by propaganda

15:19 on creating a shared reality online

16:18 problem-solving requires "a single reality"

17:11 reason can triumph over wealth and power, but in the TV age, wealth and power triumph

18:37 on the importance of New York and DC to PR efforts

19:39 how the debt ceiling debate was influenced by TV ads

20:19 share reality helped make the U.S. great, now we're making bad decisions without it

21:05 tobacco interests fighting back on TV in the '60s

21:47 On "The Merchants of Doubt" and tobacco regulation

22:46 On the use of propaganda in the climate debate. (The "bullshit" cut).

23:36 No longer acceptable to even use the word "climate."