Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 22:05:38 -0700 From: Robert Clark <res03db2@gte.net> To: Don Wilde <Don@Silver-Lynx.com> Cc: Gilbert Gong <ggong@cal.alumni.berkeley.edu>, Ted Mittelstaedt <tedm@toybox.placo.com>, j mckitrick <jcm@FreeBSD-uk.eu.org>, freebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: BSD, .Net comments - any reponse to this reasoning? Message-ID: <20010710220538.D24198@darkstar.gte.net> In-Reply-To: <3B41D337.964D3C1A@Silver-Lynx.com>; from Don@Silver-Lynx.com on Tue, Jul 03, 2001 at 08:14:15AM -0600 References: <001401c1039e$b0327f20$1401a8c0@tedm.placo.com> <001301c103ab$928400e0$2a5fa640@ggongw2k> <3B41D337.964D3C1A@Silver-Lynx.com>
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Would people have an easier time fitting their minds around the concepts inherent in FreeBSD, if Berkely/UC/California wasn't such a big part of the name. Maybe having lived in CA during the Regan era has something to do with it for me, but BSD makes a mental image as solid as a cinder block, and just about as sexy. Whether that is a good thing, in the face of something as hard to pin down as the meaning of GNU & GPL, is a question no one person could never answer. (?) "Can I use FreeBSD? I thought it was only for the UC schools." "FreeBSD, is that like UCSD Pascal?" [RC] On Tue, Jul 03, 2001 at 08:14:15AM -0600, Don Wilde wrote: > > > > >A few other points.. > > > >1) I hesitate to defend Bill Gates, but the man has given a lot of money > > to > > > >charity (and I mean a lot, even considering how much he has). As much as > >[snip] > > > lives, it's only when an individual devotes their entire being to the > > > gift that it truly indicates a striving to touch God in the individual. > > > Well said, Ted. Regardless of whether one believes the Christian story, > you are talking about the essence of humanity as a common species. > > [snip] > > [stuff cut] > > > technology or education into technology. There's a seeding of future > > > Microsoft sales here that should be obvious. > > > > Hm, didn't notice that ;) > > > Most of Bill Gates' contributions are not cash, they are copies of Doze > and Word. > > There's an earlier example that's applicable. Andrew Carnegie was a > ruthless bastard in his youth, but many people said he had a change of > heart when he started being philanthropic. In actuality, his endowments > of Jesuit teachers' colleges and other educational institutions -- > before there was ANY other alternative -- have done more to create the > modern dependency training factories (aka 'public schools') that we > (Americans) all pay for. He (and J.P.Morgan, Henry Ford, and > Rockefeller, Sr.) realized that they could not build their industrial > empires if they could not guarantee that people would be gullible enough > to buy their products and scared and dependent enough to accept the jobs > and working conditions that they offered. We see now the results of 6 > generations of public schooling, and it's very telling that modern > schools spend more time concerned with nail files, pictures of army men, > and masturbation training than they do with anthropology and economics > and our Constitution. > > Relating this back to advocacy [:-)], there's another educational > example that applies. In 1970, Ed Nagel founded the Santa Fe Community > School here in New Mexico. It's one of what are called 'free schools', > whose philosophy is that kids learn best when they follow their > interests. He has been villified and hounded by the Board of Education > and the NM State establishment for 30 years, including trumped-up > lawsuits, smears, and invasions by jackbooted thugs. > > Here's a comment from him in a recent letter: > > <<I'll bet you're getting awfully tired of fighting this fight over and > over again.>> > Not really: "The price of liberty is eternal vigilance." The War is > never over; only the battlefields change (and the troops). > > My point is that here again the right of parents to educate their > children as they see fit is again under fire, this time on a national > level. The Party (As Ted says, there is only one two-headed monster) has > given us an 'education reform' bill that's the worst of both sides' > proposals, and the only thing it will accomplish is to solidify even > further the centralized control of power. > > As believers in the Cause that we the people can create and maintain a > common base of software that is beyond the control of government or > economic power, we must realize that we will constantly be under > assault. "The War is never over..." and the weapons constantly change as > well as the battlefields and troops. Each of us holds the torch of > FreeBSD in our hearts (sorry, getting mushy!), and each has the right to > speak his/her convictions. More than that, we _each_ have the moral > obligation to speak and live our convictions. I'm glad we don't have a > Linus or a Stallman. I'm glad (as well as saddened) that Jordan is > moving on, because he was the one the media were looking to to speak for > us. > > The reality is that FreeBSD is worthy precisely because it is a > collection of many individuals who cooperate to make it happen. The > media can't stand that, because we're not entertaining and that's all > they live for any more. That doesn't make us unworthy. I'm glad > Microsoft is noticing us; they even spelled our name right. FreeBSD is a > lot like the Libertarian Party. Nader and Buchanan got a lot of press, > but Libertarians have more and more people on the ballot every year, and > we're the ones who scare the GOP the most because we are building from a > solid base of committed activists... just like FreeBSD. > > FreeBSD is surviving and growing because it works and because the > project model works. I'm not a core team coder, but I buy CDs and > DaemonNews and I'm using FreeBSD and Apache to build my business to the > point where I can support someone who _is_ a core team coder someday. We > all play our little part, and all of our enlightened self-interests > together move the project forward in the ways that we all benefit the > most. > > That's how life SHOULD be. > -- > Don Wilde http://www.Silver-Lynx.com > Silver Lynx Embedded Microsystems Architects > 2218 Southern Bl. Ste. 12 Rio Rancho, NM 87124 > 505-891-4175 FAX 891-4185 > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > with "unsubscribe freebsd-advocacy" in the body of the message To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-advocacy" in the body of the message
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