Just a statement on how bad the opposing candidate is.

Since giving up WoW sometime ago, I have more time for reading. I enjoy reading but found I stopped nearly altogther while I was playing WoW.
Now I'm re-reading the Master/Commander series, and alot of Black Library books. I've probably read 14 books in the last few months.

Glad to ditch the mmo's (not just WoW).

real life is more fun, so is alot of fictional life :-)

I just don't think he can effectively get his message across to Corporate/IT decision makers/leaders. Nor is the average computer user able to really recieve it. What do they "benefit" from his ideals.

For example, this quote in reference to 'Software as a Service'

"You absolutely can't study it, and you absolutely can't change it, and you're even further away from having control over your computing."

Corporations, don't particularly care about studying, and the idea of not having control over their computing will sound like a good idea.

Average User, doesn't want to study, change, and how much 'control' do they really want to have.

While I tend to "mostly" agree with him, I just don't think 99% of audience particularly understands or cares. Maybe if he had a better way of explaining benefits to his ideals that would appeal to a larger audience. Unfortunately, he tends to be at the other end of the spectrum (GNU-Linux).

"When you reap rewards from a community you are obliged to help support that community"

What rewards did they reap from the state? Do they use more roads, public transportation, schools, public works than any other citizen?

They reaped the rewards of a Company, not a state. From an idea, work, and decisions that turned into a multi-billion dollar company. So unless the state was offering advice at board meetings, or volunteering development time.. not sure what they are "obliged" to do.

Take myself for example, I was a dud in high school, summer grad with 1.52gpa. Joined the Army.. while in the Army I volunteered for a year, unpaid at a Local ISP just to get experience. 12-14 hour days for a year (no pay). I got a job when I got out making $17 an hour as a Jr. Unix Admin.. dropped it all went to NYC to work for startups for 2 years during the bubble. more 12-16 hour days.. In the end I made the decision to work hard and learn whatever I could, and made many personal sacrifices to make it where I am today, financially.

While I do give FREELY to charities and tithe, what obligation do I have to the state I live in, over and above the guy who lives next door and makes half as much as I do?

Agreed that most real social activity occurs in "real life".

I do miss the days of BBS', where most social networks were local, and peeps would meetup locally. (Social network + Real Life)

Meant a bit more when the guy you wasted in LORD would be at next months gathering and you could rub it in.

Or maybe I'm just jaded at all the time I wasted creating my own RIP graphics menu's and such.

p.s.
fidonet FTW!

Major Fail? When I was a youngster we would refer to this as "thinning the herd".

"but why don't you go over there and ask them if they'd be happier to not have the assembly plant."

Based on a documentary I saw (yea can be biased), but they're are workers who are content, but there were plenty who were not. Forced to work ridicously long hours, then there is the suicide issue that has cropped up. If they are choosing suicide and insurance payouts over working at the factory.. hmm..

"Americans can do the work, but stop demanding to get paid a ridiculous amount because they think they deserve to get rich because they woke up this morning."

As a generalization, I would have to agree with the above statement.

"If the report's findings are correct, it suggests that the government of China has been engaged for months in a massive campaign of industrial espionage against US companies."

Thank you Captain Obvious, isn't this common knowledge.

How are they not taxed like everybody else? As with catalog ordering, they aren't responsible for state sales tax.

They pay corporate taxes, no free ride there.

Am I missing something?

Your respect for the US Military died because they showed Saddam Hussein a cartoon over and over? I really would like to explain how the thousands of victim's families who experienced so much worse from Saddam and his sons would think differently.. but won't do any good.

Good luck with your perceptions of reality.

R.Owens
U.S. Army (Retired)