Democrats Seek to Outlaw Linux
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., whose biggest political contributor is Microsoft, is seeking an end to GPL.


http://www.theage.com.au/articles/20...416921766.html

My thoughts on this in one sentence:

It won't happen and if it does, the GPL could easily be changed to get around it.

Oh no... the poor little companys will be unable to make profit with all *nux stuff because of GPL/GNU.... Poor poor litlle companys, they will probably be forced to close their business because the big bad (free?) linux offer better products for free.

Hey what's that? I'm sorry, but this is bullsh*t! If they want to "innovate, improve, adopt", they can. But they should give people the source.
GPL was created especially to prevent a single person (M$ as example) to own the knowledge and to sell it at big cost.
GPL is the real way to increase knowledge and freedom : I work on something, then I give the entire world the core of my work for free. If some people want to BUY it, they can (and I can offer them special thing if they do, like support or service) but I have to give the source for free at any time.
Sorry for Adam Smith, Ron Kind and Jim Davis, but the goal of GPL is to increase global knowledge, not to make money. And they will have to live with the fact there are something else in the world that money.

(Sorry if this is really near "flame war" but these type of "commercial aimed" msg coming from some big-pocket corrupted politician make me running VERY angry. )

this means that they want to be able to not distribute the code with their software?

The politicians talk pure crap, especially when elections are round
the corner. GPL is a movement with certain force.

They say GPL is : "restrictive, preclude innovation, improvement,
adoption and establishment of commercial IP rights."
4 points here. Does any of those politicians have enough gray
matter in their brain to support any of these four
points?

_______________
Microsoft is one company because of because of politics.
Enron executives are alive because of because of politics.
Worldcm execs are alive because of because of politics.

First off, Can anyone verify that this article is from a trustworthy source? I am not saying it is not trustworthy, I just don't believe everything I read on the Internet.

Second, Lets not get into a Democrat vs. Republican debate. Cause I guarantee there are both Dem's and Rep's getting fat off corporate greed such as Micro$oft. That's what they do. Lets leave it at that. This is not the place for it.

Third, Can 3 senators really make anything happen? or are they just doing a dance to make a little money and stir up some feelings?

Can we get back to questions and answers now?

my 2/100ths USD
Jeremiah

Concoran,
Microsoft is one company because it has the right to be.
Enron failed because the free market economy works, and would not sustain their shenanigans any longer.
Worldcom failed for the same reasons.
Open capitalist economy and the stock market are inherently self-regulating because if/when investors lose trust in the leaders of business, they remove the capital investments. That's what happened at those companies you mentioned.
Big brother government is not needed to meddle in business affairs. That is why this news of Democrats meddling in GPL is so typical of their big government paternalistic mindset, and history's road is strewn with corpses of countries failed attempts at controlling their economies. The open capitalistic free market economy is what spirrs innovation and is what makes America great. Other nations that are overly regulated, stifle innovation and suppress entrepeneurism. Bush is a great man, a great president, and stands by his convictions. Clinton is, was, and always will be a completely self-interested sleeze with no backbone who's most clever achievement was to say, "it all depends on what the meaning of 'is' is".

Short and sweet: The bible says that "where 3 or more are gathered in my name, so shall i be there also"

unless they are praying, 3 senators cant do much. Long live Linux and the GNU.

Uhhh... shortsightedness, to closed licensing, leads?

I think this won't happen, I hope it doesn't. There is a lot of people who will fight it I think. What a bunch of BS that article is, restrictive license, what ever. People can change/add to the code to meet their needs. With MS product you can't. They are just pissed cause they want money.

DEMOCRATS=REPUBLICANS=DEMOCRATS=REPUBLICANS......

that's why wellstone was assasinated.... he didn't play ball.

Adam,
Right you are.

Jaques the philosopher says:

"If ze 'pros' are ze oppusite of ze 'cons', what is ze oppusite of 'congress', eh?"

Bert