Does anybody know if Bill Gates was a socialist prior to Microsoft being dragged into court for predatory antitrust violations in the 90's? It was my understanding that Microsoft had no presence in Washington prior to that, and did not spend ANY money on lobbyists until then. He was not a crony and did not play the "game" until he was forced. Then he began to spend big money in Washington.

I've often wondered if his actions since then haven't been his way of shrugging. A great big F U to everybody whose lives were improved by his products but were nowhere to be found when he was being dragged through the grinder. But instead of walking away, he bought into the system and began taking it for everything he could get. With an honest (to himself) belief that we all deserve what we get.

Just my speculation.

I read about this yesterday on wattsupwiththat. The quote headlined on that site is -

Bill Gates: “If you’re not bringing math skills to the problem,” he said with a sort of amused asperity, “then representative democracy is a problem.”

I have no problem with MS being used quasi-universally by the gov - they need a consistent platform and MS is the only real choice. The Gates Foundation has also been almost single-handedly underwriting HIV medicine in Africa - so I think that Bill Gates thinks he means what he says (albeit not to the extent that he would live in an efficiency apartment).

He has fallen big time for the 'If you're rich, they think you really know." meme. He does not have sufficient insight to understand why he was able to succeed: He introduced a powerful tool into a virtually unregulated technological niche.

It is a literal shame to see him coming down so pointedly on the side of socialism. This is terrible, but most of the tech-geniuses think that they should make the rules because the 'stupid little people' cannot be trusted to do so.

Jan

"I really wish I didn't have to use this guy's products, for so many reasons..."

This seems to be the sentiment of a substantial number of people, however as everyone knows; alternatives are few, which are within the budget of most people. And so; there's an obvious void in the market to be filled. Among candidates to fill that void are Linux OS and Amazon Fire OS.

Linux OS would have to be taken down off its arrogant developer pedestal and developed to be a true market OS with a complete office package, and Amazon Fire OS would have to be revamped to support a full host of office and internet applications. But both could be easily accomplished if those responsible for those decisions in each company would make a serious real time market evaluation of the void and invest accordingly.

Very interesting post j. The philosopher-king is a powerful archetype and, like The Prince, was possibly 'as good as you could hope for' in many societies in history. But we can do better than that, now and the philosopher-king is a big step backward into the illusion of a fictional heaven on Earth with a benign despot in control.

It was even more interesting when I kept reading "Pluto" for "Plato"...

Jan, needs more coffee

the old boy has full blown dementia

"Karl Popper blamed Plato for the rise of totalitarianism in the 20th century, seeing Plato's philosopher kings, with their dreams of 'social engineering' and 'idealism', as leading directly to Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler (via Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Karl Marx).[2] In addition, Ayatollah Khomeini is said to have been inspired by the Platonic vision of the philosopher king while in Qum in the 1920s when he became interested in Islamic mysticism and Plato's Republic. As such, it has been speculated that he was inspired by Plato's philosopher king, and subsequently based elements of his Islamic Republic on it, despite being a republic and deposing the former Pahlavi dynasty.[3]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philoso...

How many philosopher-kings does it take to destroy America?

gates has been spending to much time with 0

I guess he has forgotten how he made his riches. It really puzzles me how people don't see something that is right in front of them.

Gates may have a memory more vague than mine of a scene in Dr. Zhivago when rich man is looked upon with hostile scorn while being advised that his nice big home has been seized by "the people's party."
Ready to give up all the stuff you've earned, Mr. Gates?
Ah, a vision just swam into old dino's mind. Replace the image of Atlas with Bill Gates holding up the world.

I am a bit surprised he isnt in favor of oligarchy or dictatorship as the most efficient way to control the climate. Just order people stop doing things HE determines are detrimental to the planet (or his business)

I always thought Gates had no vision, and this goes to show this view is right. I dumped PC use several years ago, never to return. His products had no vision. People bought them because he somehow made it mandatory to get his windows software. Now the Mac's are better products and we switched our company to them. We also dont need the IT people that are required with pc's/

Climate Change was invented to force socialism upon us so this statement follows that progression. With socialism it will be a lot easier to not get confused by facts. Facts like the recent NASA study that Anartica is not really losing land mass. And it will be easier to eliminate people who don't perpetuate this belief, like the firing of French meteorologist recently.
Creative thinking on ways to solve problems will be stifled and there will be just a mindset of diving up an ever shrinking pie and subjugating the proletariat.

What is amazing is that these people forget that Hitler was a socialist (national socialist party), the USSR was socialist, North Korea is socialist and none of them have worked. But logic and evidence do not matter if you are a god.

Stinking thinking is an illness and that man is ill.

Perfectly OK. He has already achieved part of that goal. All US government office systems must use MS products exclusively. And by official colusion with the goverment, he provides those products. This is a socialist dream - to have the goverment establish a monopoly for them. There are good (well, maybe not good, but powerful) reasons for the very rich to embrace socialim - the government protects them and their riches. Contrary to the popular belief, most very rich people are socialists - it's a matter of self-preservation, morals be damned!

I think I'll take my chances.

and that is the truth. this is what they do about patents as well. use them to for success, then lobby to deny anyone else the same chance. also, there is that teensy weeny god complex thing going-Peter Thiel calls "sociopathy"

To paraphrase AR, communism will be achieved by the gun, socialism will be achieved by the vote.... or a scam justifying the control of all of humanity.

Bill, pull your head out of your arse but not so fast so that the sonic boom doesn't kill us all. Thanks. Oh, once you do that, breathe man, get some oxygen in that starved brain of yours. Thanks.

You first, Bill. You first.

$70 billion doesn't cure alzheimers

Hello SaltyDog,

Indubitably! :->
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOM13...

:)
O.A.