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Beto O'Rourke's Secret Membership in America's Oldest Hacking Group (reuters.com)

Posted by msmash on from the how-about-that dept.

One thing you might not know about Beto O'Rourke, the former Texas congressman who just entered the race for president is that while a teenager, O'Rourke acknowledged in an exclusive interview to Reuters, he belonged to the oldest group of computer hackers in U.S. history. From the report: The hugely influential Cult of the Dead Cow, jokingly named after an abandoned Texas slaughterhouse, is notorious for releasing tools that allowed ordinary people to hack computers running Microsoft's Windows. It's also known for inventing the word "hacktivism" to describe human-rights-driven security work.

Members of the group have protected O'Rourke's secret for decades, reluctant to compromise his political viability. Now, in a series of interviews, CDC members have acknowledged O'Rourke as one of their own. Slashdot interviewed members of the Cult of the Cow in 1999 -- which gave bizarre answers.

9 of 343 comments (clear)

  1. He would get my vote (fist post?) by turp182 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    On this alone. The last Presidential race was a shit show of insane proportions (I voted, but not Dem/Repub).

    First post?

    --
    BlameBillCosby.com
    1. Re:He would get my vote (fist post?) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      which she never claimed

      She sure as fuck did.

      Warren's 1986 registration card for the State Bar of Texas could put an end to all that. The Washington Post obtained a copy of the signed document in which she wrote that her race was "American Indian." This supports the two critical charges against her: that she knowingly and personally claimed Native American heritage, and that she did so for the purpose of career advancement.

    2. Re:He would get my vote (fist post?) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What has Beto done in his life that makes him worthy of being president? He was a rich prep-school kid who started a failed rock band, did drugs, got arrested, married a rich wife, and failed at everything he tried .... until politics. And then he lost the vote.

      Who is this guy and remind me why I should care about him?

  2. Not a Republican by Kohath · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If he was a Republican, you'd be hearing:

    - He's the son of a judge
    - Went to boarding school
    - Dodged burglary and DUI charges
    - He married into a Billionaire family

    But he's a Democrat, so nothing matters. Different standards. It's so important that he be judged by different standards the media won't even give you the information you need to make any other judgement.

    1. Re:Not a Republican by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      1. This is literally an article about how he was a hacker - something that Slashdot may respect but most of America thinks equals criminal.
      2. What are you talking about, all of those things are not only well-reported, they're well-reported AND well-whined about by Republicans that they're not well-reported.
      3. Different standards, right, which is why Beto has had overwhelmingly negative press coverage.
      4. Seriously, try to think beyond your partisan prejudices. You've got a narrative, and you're letting it control the things you see and hear.

    2. Re:Not a Republican by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Actually, it is pretty well spread across Texas. That is why a number of of us are like wtf. The opinion here is he is corrupt:

      Abused eminent domain against the hispanic community for his father in law's profit
      Has a record of DWI and Burglary

  3. Windows Hacker!?!? by Temkin · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh great he's a Window's guy... No way I can vote for him now...

  4. Re:Cult of the Dead Cow... that takes me back by bobbied · · Score: 5, Informative

    Between this, skateboarding as an adult, and his thoughtful and nuanced policy positions I think this Beto guy is pretty good.

    Being a Texas voter who was paying attention to his policy positions as he lost to Cruz, I can tell you his positions may be nuanced, but they are NOT thoughtful. What they are is focus group tested, trite policy statements which when you press them are really just a mishmash of liberal talking points. Once he gets off his stump speech scripts, he totally breaks down on content, so if you press him on details, he doesn't have them to give... Or more to the point, won't actually be pinned down on the details, because the devil is in the details and there is no way it works when you start talking detail.

    However, Beto.. AkA Robert... Does have a stage presence that is hard to match. He comes across as a natural on stage, plays to the audience well, looks good and knows how to give a speech. Reminds me of Dan Quale. He will appeal to the young crowd with his hobbies and stuff, but where the trappings are good, the substance is kind of bland.

    However, the issue here is will he win the primary. I think the answer is no, not this time around. I see him finishing up at best #3, behind Sanders and Biden, but I'll not be surprised he's out long before the likes of Warren and Harris. So Beto is in this for 2024, everybody knows he's not got a prayer in 2020.

    --
    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
  5. Big plus from my viewpoint by zuki · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Finally someone who might get technology. On that alone, I'd give him a chance FFS... instead of being stuck with the pontificating tribe elders who only see a 'series-of-tubes'.