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Technology Stocks : Disk Drive Sector Discussion Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stitch who wrote (7912)	2/10/2000 6:55:00 PM
From: Kevin Linder	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9256

OT To all thread participants -- thought everyone would enjoy hearing what Al Shugart is up to now.... Thursday February 10 3:43 AM ET A Push for 'None of the Above' By DOUG WILLIS Associated Press Writer SOQUEL, Calif. (AP) - Buoyed by the success of his dog Ernest as a write-in candidate for Congress in 1996, Al Shugart is spending more than $1 million to encourage disenchanted Californians to vote for nobody. Shugart, 69, is the co-founder and former chief executive officer of Seagate Technology, the world's largest computer disk drive maker. He is also the author of Proposition 23, a measure on the March 7 ballot that would allow Californians to cast protest votes for "None of the Above" for all state and federal offices. It is similar to a groundbreaking state law in Nevada. Even if "None" drew the most votes, the leading candidate would win. "We want to give people the option of protesting,"' Shugart said. "Right now, the only option to protest is to not vote, and then you're just viewed as apathetic." The official name of the campaign is "Friends of Ernest," named for Shugart's 110-pound Bernese mountain dog, who died last year. Ernest never got on the ballot in the 17th Congressional District - local election officials refused to accept his nomination papers - but he still drew 2,001 write-in votes. Despite the tongue-in-cheek tone of the Proposition 23 campaign, Shugart said it has a serious purpose: increasing voter turnout. "With `None of the Above,' more people will go to the polls to register their protest," he said. "And at the same time, there are a lot of other things on the ballot they may vote for." The latest Field Poll shows the measure trailing, with 46 percent against it and 36 percent in favor. If his measure does win in California, Shugart vows to campaign to put it on the ballot in every state that allows voter-initiated measures. The measure has been considered previously in states such as Massachusetts. Proposition 23 opponents include Green Party leaders, who say it would harm parties seeking voters dissatisfied with Democrats and Republicans. "This initiative will just draw votes away from candidates who are trying to provide credible alternatives to the major parties,"' Sara Amir and John Strawn of the Green Party wrote in ballot arguments. Nevada has had "None of These Candidates" on its ballot since 1976. While it hasn't ended negative campaigning or created a more responsive government, it has been popular and withstood several repeal attempts. And when "None of These Candidates" has received a large vote - it beat Republican George Bush and Democrat Edward Kennedy in the 1980 presidential primary - it has drawn the kind of media attention to disenchanted voters Shugart hopes to generate in California.

To: Stitch who wrote (7912)	2/10/2000 10:21:00 PM
From: Mark Adams	Respond to of 9256

Stitch, History has shown Seagates' diversification made them the star of the sector. Jury still out on vertical integration? QNTM's presence in the Tape sector helped some, but not to the same extent. Says something about the sector, that they guys with one foot outside of DDX sector do the best. Guess the Indy's don't have much interest in diversification? I understand heads, and even sliders make nice jewelry. I can remember, not so long ago, when all the big guys were trading at $20 (HTCH, SEG, INVX, QNTM, even WDC/RDRT). And back then, I expected things to turn around in months, not years.