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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.
What is your agenda for the first 100 days of the McAfee administration?
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).
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?
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
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
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.
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.
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...
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?
What are your thoughts on Donald Trump (another businessman)? And why are you more qualified to be president?
Would you pardon Edward Snowden?
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
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.
There is or can be built a machine that can simulate any physical object. -Church-Turing principle
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.
Some people don't believe in fairies. I don't believe in The Patriarchy.
How do you plan to overcome the virtual impossibility of breaking through the two-party system?
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?