The posting begins, "Just when you thought nothing else stupid could be patented" . . . um, hello? Why the heck would ANY of us think that? Did I miss the story about the patent office coming to its senses?
My favorite quote: "We can build a better product than Linux." Seems to me that's an admission that they haven't done it yet! Keep trying, guys. Keep trying.
A key point has been raised here. The government is now controlled not by Americans, but by Corporate America. It's a bad situation, but we have the tools we need to turn the tide.
Vote for Ralph Nader. I can hear you screaming already, "But he can't possibly win!" You're absolutely right. He will not win. But that DOES NOT mean that your vote is wasted. Consider:
Ralph himself will tell you that his candidacy is not so much about entering the White House, but more about changing the political discourse in this country so that REAL issues are discussed.
This time around, maybe Ralph only gets a lousy 5% of the vote. That's enough to make people wonder what the hell is going on. Next time around, he (or another Green, or another Third Party With Principles) gets 8 or 9%. Next time, 15%. Sure, this takes time, but over a period of years, you can become a force to be reckoned with. Either the Dems and Repubs will revert to representing the PEOPLE (they'll be too scared to do otherwise), or a third party will actually come to power. A revolution within a stable democracy takes a lot of time. That doesn't mean it cannot happen. (Look at what happened in Mexico this summer--and its government is far more corrupt than ours.)
It's a vote for Bush or Gore that's actually a wasted vote. That's voting for continnued Governance By Corporations. Neither of these men is interested in serious campaign finance reform, ending corporate welfare, stopping the bargain-basement sale of the national commonwealth (our airwaves, etc.) to corporations, or . ..
. . . DIGITAL FREEDOM. We are losing our personal freedoms in the electronic sphere because large corporations fear for their existence in this new age. They've bought the government in order to stifle changes that they find threatening. The only way to fight them is to take the government back. You can't do that by voting for Bush or Gore.
Vote for Nader. You'll sleep better. And after a few more election cycles, you'll live better.
Slashdot Mirror
The posting begins, "Just when you thought nothing else stupid could be patented" . . . um, hello? Why the heck would ANY of us think that? Did I miss the story about the patent office coming to its senses?
My favorite quote: "We can build a better product than Linux." Seems to me that's an admission that they haven't done it yet! Keep trying, guys. Keep trying.
Vote for Ralph Nader. I can hear you screaming already, "But he can't possibly win!" You're absolutely right. He will not win. But that DOES NOT mean that your vote is wasted. Consider:
Vote for Nader. You'll sleep better. And after a few more election cycles, you'll live better.
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