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Red Hat Opens Lobbying Office Near DC
wiredog writes "From Government Computer News comes this story about Red Hat's new lobbying office near Washington DC, and mentions that RHEL 4 will have Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level 4 certification."
a company is a company
no matter what they make
no matter what they sell
no matter who runs it
no matter who works for it
no matter how exceptional they may seem or may be
business is still business,
they always turn out the same way in the end, always.
Money brings power, and the American people always lose in the process.
Shouldn't the OSDL have an office so that IBM, Redhat and all the others can lobby together instead of separately?
Is there even an OSDL lobby?
This is my sig. There are many like it but this one is mine.
Sorry, I don't like Linux companies trying to get special favors from the government any more than I like Microsoft doing it. Now you might argue that Linux, being the underdog, deserves to try to balance things in Washington. Using that argument, it would be okay for a poor kid to shoplift because he needs it. Doesn't make it right.
on the one hand...i like the fact that there is a company there that can counter microsoft's lobby.
but on the otherside...i firmly believe that this is what is so horribly wrong with our government.
lobbying by corporations seems to have made lawmakers more responsible to the lobbyist rather than the constituent
Is it 5:30 yet?
If they hope to out-lobby MSFT, they'd have better luck putting their money into a toilet and pushing the flush handle. I hope they have a legitimate strategy to justify this move.
Yes but RedHat doesn't have the PR department that Microsoft has nor do they have the cash that Microsoft has.
Money makes the world go round, or in this case gets the government to buy from them.
Though one would think with all the bad PR that Microsoft get for their security problems, someone in the government would wake up and reconsider.
You can't? What about how it strengthens the ridiculous practice of corporations lobbying for corporate interests? Government is supposed to serve the people, not corporations. No matter what Red Hat's motives are.
And RedHat will reply:
"Look at IBM. They sold their PC division to the Chinese and you're worrried that they will have access to strategic information about government computers. If Microsoft's software division gets sold, you'll face the same problem. With RedHat, that wouldn't be a problem since everything is transparent. If you don't want us to know something, you can deal with it yourself or hire contractors with the appropriate security clearance since it's open source. Our patches are transparent, fully documented, and not tied together in service packs. This allows you to do a full audit on all our changes."
Sorry, I don't like Linux companies trying to get special favors from the government
Special favors? That's a whole other thing. Establishing a lobbying office is just one step towards getting seen and heard (as opposed to remaining unnoticed).
For a Linux company to obtain special favors would require more than an office.
It's only bribery if someone promises campaign donations in exchange for a decision. Otherwise it's just infomercials. And we can not get rid of it right away, because otherwise politicians have no way to get educated on every issue they vote on or know which ones are controversial enough to research deeper. Would you be able to make an informed decision on which brand of tractors government should buy? Then don't expect a farmer to understand the difference between Linux and Windows. He will just pick whatever his grandson runs if nobody gives him a good reason to choose otherwise.
I hate to point this out, but historically when a company reaches this level they are more likely to be assimiated into the status quo than to change it.
You meant to say:
*Congressman snickers* "Surely you jest? This doesn't even scratch what BG is forking out. Hell this doesn't even cover the lunch bill...maybe you should start charging for your software, and run a few patents to ensure others can't copy it."
I mod down so you can mod up. Your welcome.
Your naivete is cute, but dangerous.
Corporations -- and Government -- are both made up of people.
Who do you think has lobbied longer, stronger, and more effectively against Federal obscenity laws, "grass roots" groups like the EFF, or Playboy?
The addition of a money-making real-people corporation like Red Hat opening an office on K Street is the single best, smartest, most effective move the Linux Community could have made to combat closed and proprietary systems.
It's "Fist in The Air/Head Up The Ass" attitudes like yours that reinforce the "smelly hippie" stereotypes and retard the spread and acceptance of free software.
Congratulations, you've managed to discern why I think the system is completely fucked.
It's "Fist in The Air/Head Up The Ass" attitudes like yours that reinforce the "smelly hippie" stereotypes and retard the spread and acceptance of free software.
If only you knew how ridiculous your stupid assumptions are...
Best part is, Vienna is not really very close at all to the District, and is the last Metro train stop on the track heading west out from DC. A lot of contractors' headquarters do work in this area, but maybe it was just the only place that RedHat could handle the rent.