Interviews: Ask John McAfee About His Presidential Run

samzenpus writes: He's run a multi-billion dollar company and hidden in the jungles of Central America while being chased by Belizean authorities, but John McAfee's presidential bid may be his most interesting adventure yet. Last week John said: "Our government is in a dysfunctional state. It is also illiterate when it comes to technology. Technology is not a tool that should be used for a government to invade our privacy. Technology should not be the scapegoat when we fail to protect our digital assets and tools of commerce. These are matters of priorities," when announcing his run. According to his Cyber Party website: "Donkeys and elephants just don't make sense in the modern world. If the federal bureaucracy adopts technology in a meaningful way, it will become much easier to adapt to changes in policy or procedure. 10 hour long congressional hearings will no longer be needed for a simple change in workflow. By adapting a lean approach to government, the amount of savings that can be realized by improved efficiency will eliminate the need for wholesale changes to foundational policies. Other parties consistently lag behind trends in technology – Cyber Party members are committed to staying ahead of the curve and remaining proactive in policymaking." John has agreed to answer any questions you have about his step into politics or any other questions you may have. As usual, ask as many as you'd like, but please, one question per post.

Comments

What will you do when you become president?

[Kohath]

What is your agenda for the first 100 days of the McAfee administration?

Re:What will you do when you become president?

[halivar]

And will be be able to uninstall after that date?

Re:What will you do when you become president?

[DigiShaman]

Or will it be come corrupted, leaving the installer to pull it out piece by piece?

Re:What will you do when you become president?

[DigiShaman]

I just tend to nuke-and-pave. Yes, it's excessive, but results are guaranteed :)

Nuclear Power using LFTR

[Anonymous Coward]

John, what is your position on Nuclear Power?

Would you support the re-opening of research into liquid fluoride thorium reactors. These reactor designs, and the thorium fuel cycle were researched back in the 70's and can solve both our energy crisis, be far more environmentally friendly than uranium based fuel cycles, and can even used 'spent' uranium reactor fuel as fuel sources, allowing us to reprocess our vast quantity of spent fuel into less harmful waste, while also capturing the energy from them (instead of having it wasted heating water in spent fuel ponds).

Re:Nuclear Power using LFTR

[dotancohen]

Would you support the re-opening of research into liquid fluoride thorium reactors.

As much as this question is flamebait, the truth is that many people smarter than me see these types of reactors as the only really feasible way out of the environmental mess that we're in. They reduce the need to release carbon, and at the same time clean up the mess that light water reactors leave behind.

I would support a presidential candidate on this basis alone.

Re:Nuclear Power using LFTR

[AmiMoJo]

This is really a more generic question about energy subsidies. Thorium needs many billions from goverment to be commercially viable (why else do you think it isn't happening?), but there is also great demand from other technologies. Is Thorium the best way to spend that money, or would some other renewable system be better? Storage tech perhaps. Or just no subsidies for anyone, let them stand on their own merits.

Serious questions for a serious candidate.

[Anonymous Psychopath]

In your opinion, what are the societal implications of electing an alleged murdering drug addict to the office of President? As a followup, if elected will you install a stripper pole in the oval office?

Re:Serious questions for a serious candidate.

[quantaman]

In your opinion, what are the societal implications of electing an alleged murdering drug addict to the office of President? As a followup, if elected will you install a stripper pole in the oval office?

Odd he's starting his own party.

It sounds like he's the one who could finally challenge Trump in the Republican primary!

Re:Serious questions for a serious candidate.

[sls1j]

Wasn't that the situation with the last 3 presidents? It's just more of the same.

Re:Serious questions for a serious candidate.

[ThatsDrDangerToYou]

In your opinion, what are the societal implications of electing an alleged murdering drug addict to the office of President? As a followup, if elected will you please install a stripper pole in the oval office?

ftfy

technology?

[rubycodez]

that's the least of a president's worries. Trade, strategic alliances, military actions, departments of education, transportation, etc.......

never vote for someone just because they "understand technology", and the fundamental problems of the USA even regarding privacy are not in the realm of technology, but rather of who really wields power. Someone who doesn't understand corporate fascism will only become part of the problem

Re:technology?

[micahraleigh]

Herbert Hoover understood technology. He was our only engineer president.

To make a long story short ... voters became less interested in engineers after his administration.

Re:technology?

[Qzukk]

Or, to put it differently: If we're going to become issues voters and only vote on the technology issue, why should we vote for you instead of Lawrence Lessig?

Re:technology?

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought Carter's B.S. from Annapolis was in engineering.

Re:technology?

[Mitreya]

never vote for someone just because they "understand technology",

Also keep in mind that if someone makes decisions about technology that you don't like, they probably know exactly what they are doing.
They have someone on staff who can explain. You want someone who supports your position, not necessarily someone who "understands technology"

Re:technology?

[rubycodez]

But he understood other things too, He was Secretary of Commerce under Harding and worked on relationships between banks, government, business, labor

Re:technology?

[micahraleigh]

Ah, you are a student of history. Yes, he was also involved with a number of charities. Roosevelt asked him to run as a Democrat. I think he almost might have, but he replied saying the only Democrat he knew in the Iowa town he grew up in was a drunkard. They started making whiskey cheaper in those days.

Re:technology?

[rubycodez]

Or I'm old; I wasn't around when he was president but was alive when he was writer

Re:technology?

[rubycodez]

No it was an uspecified Bachelor of Science degree. He took six month reactor operator training after that. People might be confused as to the term "engineering officer" aboard a nuclear sub, but that is not a designer type of "engineer". A train engine operator type of engineer is closer to truth

Re:technology?

[micahraleigh]

Wow. I'm going to tell me wife about that. That's my way of saying I find that remarkable.

Cyber Policies

[Anonymous Coward]

Will your cabinet be allowed to WFH?

Nuclear Fusion

[Anonymous Coward]

John, what is your position on Nuclear Fusion?

Would you support increased funding for US participation in ITER? I believe increased funding would allow ITER to achieve it's goals faster. Would you also support alternative programs for researching fusion, including the re-opening of the NIF (National Ignition Facility) which was exploring inertial confinement fusion?

Clearly, the US can afford such massive undertakings, just be switching its priorities from war (military spending) to peace (energy research)

If we had near unlimited free energy, there is a lot we could do to help the planet, including completely phasing out coal, natural gas, and oil for electrical production.

1 issue candidate?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't want to be overly critical with this question as many other candidates can be cast under this umbrella as well (Donald with immigration, Bernie with ridiculous spending policy, Hillary with illegal email is ok... etc).

  Aside from the obviously important issues of information security what are you other positions and although you may not have been able to articulate a complete platform by now who might you share positions with on other issues (between say Ron Paul, and John McCain). I'd also accept more general theories like economic theory of Keynes vs Smith.

Will You Legalize ALL drugs??

[zenlessyank]

Please say 'YES'. I will forgive your shitty software escapades if you do.

Not a question, but a suggestion:

[bistromath007]

Make sure you have a big presence on chan boards. Get memes made about you, and generally continue being your awesome-ridiculous self. Don't act professional for the sake of your campaign. That isn't what millenials want, and they are the ones you can get to vote for you if you do your marketing right. Think about that. Millenials might actually vote. All you have to do is entertain them. Get yourself made fun of on John Oliver repeatedly. Be a bigger cartoon character than Donald Trump. You can do this. I believe in you. You're the closest we could ever get to President Zaphod Beeblebrox. Please make it happen.

Re:Not a question, but a suggestion:

[bistromath007]

No, those are just the actual Trump supporters. He has far more ironic supporters. People my age are thoroughly addicted to sarcasm. Hell, before I heard about McAfee running, I was thinking about voting for Trump. He'd be such a terrible president that he might actually destabilize the federal government, which is a huge net gain despite whatever ridiculous bullshit he'd do to get us there.

If my vote would be mostly a joke anyway, I'd like it to be a joke that's actually funny, and one that I can pretend might actually solve problems I care about. McAfee is my candidate.

Margin of victory

[Kohath]

What do you think will be your margin of victory? Do you think it'll be a landslide?

Re:Margin of victory

[bobbied]

What do you think will be your margin of victory?

About (-100)%. I'll get exactly two votes, mine and some dead guy from Detroit.

Do you think it'll be a landslide?

On top of me? Yes...

Re:Margin of victory

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

>> some dead guy from Detroit

Not true. The dead are a reliable Democrat bloc.

Fine.

[American AC in Paris]

Mr. McAfee,

As President of the United States, would you make any significant changes to what drugs you take and how often you take them? If so, could you give us a general sense of what those changes might be?

Re:Fine.

[lambsonic]

Mr. McAfee,

As President of the United States, would you make any significant changes to what drugs you take and how often you take them? If so, could you give us a general sense of what those changes might be?

He will be using the JFK cocktail.

What will be your foreign policy intentions?

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess I don't really need to elaborate. It's a huge subject to go into any nuance, but surely you can generalize for me.

Copyright

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you feel that copyright protections on art and entertainment are too weak or too strong, and do you intend to do anything about it?

Re:Ahen,,

[bobbied]

Are you insane?

Yes, he is.

Why not run under the Democrats/Republican party?

[gQuigs]

Third party runs in the US aren't really given a remotely fair shot.

Specifically the republican party primary seems like you would have the best shot there... I would be shocked if you can't make it to the top 10...

How do I uninstall McAfee antivirus?

[sims 2]

How do I uninstall McAfee antivirus?
It really bogs down the 10 year old electronic voting machines and the trial expired years ago.

Re:How do I uninstall McAfee antivirus?

[Fire_Wraith]

Pretty sure he already answered that one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Re:How do I uninstall McAfee antivirus?

[sims 2]

That is really him in the video isn't it? OMG.

Cybersecurity Knowledge?

[jmac_the_man]

Mr. McAfee, obviously your field of expertise is Information Security. What are the one or two biggest problems facing the Federal government from an IT perspective? How would you solve these problems?

Trump

[justcauseisjustthat]

What are your thoughts on Donald Trump (another businessman)? And why are you more qualified to be president?

Re:Trump

[CaptainLard]

Sorry to grammar police you but your punctuation was way off. Reformatted:

What are your thoughts on Donald Trump, another businessman (???), and why are you more qualified to be president?

Your stance on offshoring/outsourcing

[Anonymous Coward]

See subject: Your thoughts on what needs to be done on the account of outsourcing/offshoring jobs in the United States, most specifically on the software industry related front?

* I think you'd be a great candidate on privacy issues, and from what I've read from you on that note plus your industry experience, there I have little doubts in your knowledge & experience... the above question is what I am interested in, as it affects the USA as a whole.

(I'm semi-retired from the field myself, only doing contracts here & there/now & then, instead focusing on a real estate related business I run now, but software & tech allowed me to get to this point now for the most part. It changed my life for the better. I hate to see other younger folks being deprived of the same opportunities I had...)

I don't understand our government and the corporate America that REALLY runs the show behind it (lobbying & what-not) - don't they understand that when you pull jobs you remove taxable income AND a spending/buying public? I think they do - but instead, live for short-term gains only nowadays.

APK

P.S.=> Thanks for your time Mr. McAfee... apk

Re:Your stance on offshoring/outsourcing

[Coren22]

Did you offshore your hosts file creation yet?

funding

[DoctorBonzo]

What are the sources of funds for your campaign?

Snowden

[gQuigs]

Would you pardon Edward Snowden?

Re:Snowden

[dotancohen]

Would you pardon Edward Snowden?

I came to ask this. Alas, no mod points.

Re:Snowden

[Coren22]

As an inverse to this, would you order the CIA to execute the traitorous bastard?

Re:Snowden

[nvm_my_comment]

meh that's already the stand of the current gouvernement...

purpose of government

[DoctorBonzo]

What is the purpose of government?

What is your best time?

[WillAffleckUW]

Can you run in under 2 hours 30 minutes?

Or are you slower?

life

[DoctorBonzo]

What is a good life?

Where's the rest of the platform?

[mr_mischief]

We understand where you stand on surveillance. Where do you stand on these issues?:

firearms
abortion
gay marriage
investing in prisons and drug stings vs. investing in job training and job creation
legalizing marijuana
keeping the FCC from preventing flashing of consumer electronics with new firmware
net neutrality
the Keystone XL pipeline
amnesty for illegal immigrants
streamlining guest worker visas for legal immigrants
HB-1 visa quotas
lowering the skyrocketing levels of student debt
making healthcare affordable or subsidizing paying for it
investing in our roads and bridges
making Internet a common utility like water and electricity

Re:Where's the rest of the platform?

[dotancohen]

We understand where you stand on surveillance. Where do you stand on these issues?

Add to that:
Stance on Israel
Nuclear power
Renewable power
Carbon-based power
Fusion research
Edward Snowden
Manned space exploration
Robotic space exploration
Recent Russian expansionism
Syrian and African refugees

Re:Where's the rest of the platform?

[mr_mischief]

Thanks. That's quite helpful. There are still some things I'd like answered out of my original list.

Re:Where's the rest of the platform?

[Aryeh Goretsky]

Hello,

To add to the list:

campaign finance reform (wrt. Citizens United v. FEC)
copyright infringement (should it be a civil or a criminal matter)
education (vouchers for private schools)
intellectual property (in particular, patents on software)
prostitution (legalization of)

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

Why don't you proofread your website?

[damn_registrars]

I know this is almost certainly not McAfee's job personally, but the "cyberparty" website has a glaring typographical error on it. Did they hire former slashdot employees to work on it and not realize it?

Priorities

[meta-monkey]

Would you rather fight one horse-sized Hillary Clinton or 100 duck-sized Donald Trumps?

Also, "Cyber Party?" Is that like a group sex chat room? I do not want to have a cyber party with you.

Re:Priorities

[Kadagan AU]

Oblig. xkcd

One World

[shuz]

Hello Mr. McAfee,
The world largely views the USA as a bully and full of very wealthy people that don't care about those less privileged. As president of the USA, how would you advance world cooperation and work to change world views of the USA to just another location in the world full of mostly average non-privileged individuals living out their lives?

Unrelated, my best friend almost ran you over at Defcon. He wasn't looking where he is going and apologizes.

Re:One World

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

Follow-up: how DID you make it to DEFCON this year after getting picked up for DIU and weapons charges?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2...

>> how would you advance world cooperation and work to change world views of the USA to just another location in the world full of mostly average non-privileged individuals living out their lives?
And for the last poster: why should this be a priority? Is this a question about reducing the size of the terrorist bulls-eye on us or what?

Re:One World

[Kohath]

The world largely views the USA as a bully and full of very wealthy people that don't care about those less privileged.

We were promised that the world would love us if we elected Obama. Did the world break it's promise?

Re:Yeah, I'll get right on that

[LaurenCates]

Yeah, well, look, with Donald Trump running (and having momentum), running for president is now officially a free-for-all.

If I was rich and nobody's told me "no" in a decade or two, I'm sure I could be convinced that I could run for president while balancing random fruits on my head and calling my party the "Hell no to GMOs" party.

Why do you live in west Tennessee?

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

Why do you live in west Tennessee?

Re:Why do you live in west Tennessee?

[GungaDan]

Easy river access - this guy knows how to travel.

Wow

[93 Escort Wagon]

I don't know what's more exciting - this, or the Ellen Pao court case!

Re:Ahen,,

[Todd Palin]

Anyone that runs for President is insane. It's sort of a job requirement. Certainly, being insane wouldn't disqualify anyone. So, yes, he is qualified to run for President on that criteria.

What is your stance on prostitution in the USA?

[Anonymous Coward]

Would you clamp down on commercial sex, or move towards legitimizing it?

Comment on your last interview

[schneidafunk]

Care to comment on your last answer from your last interview here on slashdot?

McAfee: The attorney for the House Ways and Means Committee contacted me and asked if I would help. I said “no”. I would never run for office, neither would I want to be in office, of any kind. I would rather drive a nail through my foot.

Re:Comment on your last interview

[Coren22]

He has been working on driving the nail through his foot and decided that running for president actually was the better option.

Reality

[wstrucke]

How do you plan to overcome the virtual impossibility of breaking through the two-party system?

Anti-virus

[penguinoid]

Is there anything you can do about self-reproducing laws? Like how people repeatedly make it illegal to murder, to show they are "tough on crime"?

How can we take you seriously?

[Smelly Von Smellerto]

Trying not to be facetious here, but why should we believe you're genuinely interested in leading this country and not just trying to get some media coverage? What in your recent history would lead a voter to believe you'll take this process seriously enough to make and difference at all?

Clueless

[SpankiMonki]

If technology is the main plank of this guy's platform, then he doesn't have a clue about what's wrong with our government.

Re:Yeah, I'll get right on that

[Anonymous Coward]

(sigh) Just kill me now. Please.

This is probably the #1 thing not to say to John McAfee.

What Technologies?

[Bodhammer]

What technology research should be government funded and what should be private?

Broken Summary?

[morgauxo]

I thought he left McAffe (the company) before the whole Belize incident. Or did he run another big corporation at that time?

BS alert

[AdamThor]

"By adapting a lean approach to government, the amount of savings that can be realized by improved efficiency will eliminate the need for wholesale changes to foundational policies."

The line which amounts to "We will save so much under my administration that I will give you all this pork for NO COST!" has been used before, and it was bullshit back then.

If you are cynical, you should avoid this line because other cynics (cynical about government? this is a large population) will see your BS clearly. If you actually think you can pull this off then you should recognize that this is not low hanging fruit, it's not easy to do, you should structure your planning to not depend on your ability to do this.

If this is some sort of meta-joke at the expense of politics and campaigns then carry on.

you sir, are no Dwayne Comacho

[Thud457]

He's no Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho. But he's close.
Maybe a Trump / McAfee 2016 ticket would cover all bases.

single issue much?

[nazsco]

everyone knows that the american people vote on single issues, but your campaign site takes the prize.

besides cyber security and police state and using technology on goverment processes, what is your second most important issue? if there is any.

target campaign goal?

[nazsco]

Do you have a target goal for the amount of money you need to launder via your campaign? or are going to keep on even after that amount is met?

Federal security forces

[meeotch]

Would you disband the NSA and TSA, and replace them with a Federal Bureau of Tree-Cops?

Re:Yeah, I'll get right on that

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

Yeah, well, look, with Donald Trump running (and having momentum), running for president is now officially a free-for-all.

It used to be that people asked themselves if they should run for the office of president, now they ask themselves, "Why shouldn't I run for president?"

Rules of engagement for cyber espionage

[mothrafokker]

I understand that your platform suggests a massive investment in techno-literacy for Americans, which will take years beyond a presidential term to achieve. In the meantime, given the state of the modern internet with regards to cyber crimes and foreign government-sponsored hacking, what are your plans to protect U.S. technology interests and investments, and when those measures fails, what forms of sanctions can we expect the McAfee administration to seek redress the damages?

Well Rounded Governement

[mlheur]

The key issue I've read about relating to your campaign is that the government is "illiterate when it comes to technology". Governing, like managing and leading, requires being an expert in working with advisers, it's up to those advisers to be experts in their fields. Technology aside, what makes you more qualified than other candidates in the fields of National Defense; Foreign Affairs; Environmental Protection; Infrastructure Management; Resource Management; Financial Management; Employment Stability; and Resource Sustainability, etc?

runaway freight train

[Anonymous Coward]

Mr McAfee, your campaign seems to have the momentum of a runaway freight train. Why are you so popular?

Re:Coren22 = "Run, Forrest: RUN!!!"... apk

[Coren22]

Last I checked, you stopped replying, but I guess you didn't find that thread.

Can your hosts files block the host file advertisements I keep finding disguised as Slashdot posts?

Re:Answer the question here (again)... apk

[Coren22]

Can hosts file:

1. Stop APK Spam?
2. Make you not sound like an insane drooling moron?
3. Make your typing style not extremely painful to read?
4. Work without admin privileges?
5. Handle Dynamic host or geographic distribution of hosts?

Run FORREST Run!

Re:Thanks for failing (especially here)... apk

[Coren22]

Still can't answer a single question asked of you? Run FORREST Run!

I don't need to answer your questions, I use other programs to do what your "program" does, and none of them have the serious security problems your program has.

Re:What "security problem"'s that?

[Coren22]

Browser addons such as adblock plus does not require privilege escalation in order to install, your software requires privileges in order to even update.

Re:Coren22 = "Run, Forrest: RUN!!!"... apk

[Coren22]

Lol, lame sockpuppet again, grow up APK, no one thinks people actually talk exactly like you and worship the ground you walk on.

Re:Coren22 = "Run, Forrest: RUN!!!"... apk

[Coren22]

Another lame sockpuppet, nobody thinks this isn't you APK.

Likelihood

[Tablizer]

What do you feel the likelihood of getting elected is as a numerical percent?

Can't have a criminal in office!

[iq145]

Oh wait... been there, done that