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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brian P. who wrote (37420)	2/4/2000 6:27:00 PM
From: abbigail	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74651

Dear Brian P. "... As an American citizen, I am not willing to live in the Brave New World according to Bill Gates and Microsoft. I hope Justice nails them:..." Nails them, like to the cross? Or nails them like destroys them? Or nails them like WHAT? As an American citizen, you vote once every four years for your government, but EVERY DAY with your pocket-book. And who wins and why? Maybe this "Brave New World" is too rough for you? Sorry you feel this way, but I'll take my chances on the free markets with free choices, rather than a centralized government controlling me. You're really afraid of Billy G? Abbigail PS I'm afraid of Janet R. and her doj henchmen, and so should you.

To: Brian P. who wrote (37420)	2/4/2000 6:33:00 PM
From: freeus	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

As a Constitutionalist, I would like to see the United States as a free market. The Dept of Injustice does not need a "pr" budget. Most the the press is anti-capitalist and anti-Bill Gates so the DOI_J gets plenty of good press anyway. Gates did not start out lobbying at all: in fact an article I posted here many moons ago when he was still writing regularly for the Price Club (now Costco) monthly magazine sadly relates how he thought he could just run his business without having to pay for attorneys and lobbyists in Wash D.C. as most other companies do. When he found out he was wrong, he changed direction with a vengeance. Who can blame him. I, of course, wish he'd give some of his money to the Libertarian Party instead so we could elect some free-market, non tax officials. Or at least to CATO or Reason Foundation to spread the truth. Oh well, I can dream. Freeus

To: Brian P. who wrote (37420)	2/5/2000 2:04:00 AM
From: Exacctnt	Respond to of 74651

Brian, <<<The only thing that we ever spoke out on in terms of funding is p.r. funding." The Justice Department, Mr. Gates said, shouldn't be leaking or promoting "negative activities against U.S. companies overseas.>>> Perhaps you were not aware of the allegations that the DOJ's Joel Klein and/or his minions were feeding their anti-trust sentiments to foreign governments, trying to coerce similar action by those governments against Microsoft. As a shareholder and more importantly a U.S. citizen, I find that attempt despicable and only demonstrates that the DOJ is on a crusade and will use any means to succeed in their goal to break Microsoft. Regards

To: Brian P. who wrote (37420)	2/5/2000 3:33:00 AM
From: Thunder	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

"As an American citizen, I am not willing to live in the Brave New World according to Bill Gates and Microsoft.. I hope Justice nails them:" But you are willing to live in a Global Village? <grin> I pray that Justice is served in truth, I can live with that either way. Can you? The obviously socialistic article leaves many vulnerable opportunities for a capitalist to aim at. The one that left me really gasping for air was: ..."Justice's request of $114 million (a modest increase so it could hire more lawyers) down to $105 million (so it would have to cut back activities..." Modest according to taxpayers? <laugh> More lawyers? <BIGlaugh> Cut back on activities? Good grief. Sounds to me that you are a victim of the very entity of which you defend.

To: Brian P. who wrote (37420)	2/5/2000 10:33:00 PM
From: John F. Dowd	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Brian: Do you frame articles such as these from Pravda's alter ego. You really got Softee and its shareholders with that post. Whoa I think I'll sell all my MSFT shares and give the proceeds to WWF. JFD

To: Brian P. who wrote (37420)	2/6/2000 3:18:00 AM
From: blankmind	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74651

Brian, by posting Thomas Friedman's anti-MSFT views, you're proving my point. - Friedman has been exposed over & over as a left-wing, Clinton loving, liar. Yet the NY Times keeps promoting him. Friedman hates America, hates success, hates Republicans, yet probably lives in a neighborhood like Chappaqua, NY - this once again proves that you can't expect any Clintonista or any Democrat for that matter to be honest

To: Brian P. who wrote (37420)	2/6/2000 11:34:00 AM
From: abbigail	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Dear Brian P.: Will you be attending? Please keep us informed, ok? Thank you. Friday, Feb. 11 10:30 a.m.: Conference on the economics of U.S. vs. Microsoft (MSFT: news, msgs), featuring expert witnesses Franklin Fisher and Richard Schmalensee, at the American Enterprise Institute. abbigail

To: Brian P. who wrote (37420)	2/6/2000 6:11:00 PM
From: Brian P.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

Well, well, well. Quite an indignant set of responses I've provoked. Hmmmm..... Sorry to intrude on your little club here. It astonishes me that none of you sees anything sinister in a tremendously wealthy corporation, with massive legal firepower--hired guns--at its disposal, while under investigation by the your Justice Department of your government, is lobbying to have the budget of that Justice Department cut as a tactic to avoid the legal consequences of its actions. If it's true it amounts to obstruction of justice. What planet are you guys on? Not a single one of you has engaged with Mr. Friedman's article and the unsettling things it suggests about Mr. Gates. No one willing to even look at the questionable activities of a corporation. Not one. Instead you attack the messenger with Pavlovian-reflex "free-market" cliches and in some cases fringe-libertarian--dare I say paranoid? claptrap. might you have things inside out? Microsoft engages in, at least, questionable anti-competitive practices. You may not like to hear that, but it's the truth, sorry, and you can't solve everything by making the federal government, despite all its flaws, the big bugaboo boogey-man come to destroy the American way. Legitimate anti-trust is the American way, fellahs. None other than rough-ridin' Teddy Roosevelt said so. I see that anybody who challenges your cranky militia-esque notions gets called a "socialist". . Not ONE of you has seriously engaged with Mr. Friedman's article. The best you can do is attack the messenger with circle-the-wagons, reflexive shibboleths about "free markets" and "socialists"as if Mr. Friedman or I were either socialist or against free markets. Friedman is the most unstinting champion of open free markets as a positive social force for democracy ...why don't you read his columns in the New York Times and see for yourself--or is the NYT too "socialist" for you? You prefer the Militia Free Press, right? (VBG) Anyway it occurs to me that the issue raised by the article is not so much an antitrust issue but a larger one: how and in what ways should huge, powerful multinational corporations relate to and be answerable to, national democratically-elected governments. It's an important question, not to be ignorantly dismissed as "socialist" "busybodying". By the way, you all seem to have me pegged as a pro-big-government lefty. But I'm voting for John McCain--love his moderate conservatism, independence and thoughtfulness and intelligence, his attack on the special interests and lawyers, campaign finance reform (yep, that's right--I think big money now distorts and corrupts our politics and is, under current arrangements, an anti-democratic force in our system--sorry B$ll G$tes), his integrity, his war record, his post-war record, his willingness to say what he thinks....great guy. Presidential timber. George W. on the other hand is a lightweight. And the only thing I like about Al Gore is his environmentalism. Now why can't we get a pro-environment conservative....? VBG Legal boilerplate: Now Mistah Gates,suh, if you'se is listenin' in here, puleeze don't you sick that fat-cat stable of lawyers of yourn on poor ol' me. Ahz jus' excercizin' mah raght to free speech here and ah didn' say nuthin' 'bout yo' muther. An ahm even writin' here on a legally purchased and registered copy of Windows 95, God bless yuh, suh.