Re: I think that ... the state AG's have ... become more worthy of respect

[John Robert BEHRMAN <jbehrman@netropolis.net>]

  If I may take the liberty of publicly posting a snip from REISER's off-list note:
  
  I do not think so in the instant case:
  
       MORALES and GOODHOPE are history now. They had no gift for strategy, discipline or action. You are correct that they are intimidated
       by technology. You are wrong about them being politicians.
  
  Politician is good. It is what you have to be in order to discharge the offices they hold. But, these were garden-variety opportunists, not
  the same thing as a politician by a long shot. Now, they are just more lawyers looking for jobs and exploiting the residuals of their
  present offices.
  
  In any event, the duty of any Texas lawyer is not to be intimidated by anything, certainly not by technology. The Attorney General of Texas
  is a general. He has almost as big a military-academic establishment at his command as the President of France. A serious AG could have
  handled the MS thing single-handedly, years back, if he knew how to discharge his office.
  
  This state's stake in all things digital and anti-trust tradition makes a compelling case for such action. MORALES is too late, and
  GOODHOPE is too little. They are finished.
  
  Nonetheless, the DoJ will likely prevail within the modest limits of what they are pressing for, not the break-up of MS:
  
       MS will keep its gains from the DOS/Windows monopoly.
  
       I expect MS will be restrained from further "leveraging" DOS/Windows, for instance, in order to promote VMS/Windows or so as to
       oppress their large OEM customers.
  
       I expect MS will compete fairly with <WindowsNT>.
  
  That leaves some big questions open:
  
       First, there is one raised by Prof. POLLACK here, namely, regulation of public communication interfaces. This is a public health and
       safety issue, exactly what Ralph NADER does better than any state attorney general, save maybe Senator HUMPHREY's boy.
  
       Then, there is the one I have raised, the cost of projecting American intellectual property law beyond our territorial limits, what
       Prof. KEEGAN calls The Price of Admiralty. This is a matter of national sovereignty and its bloody limits.
  
       Finally, there is the fundamental matter Prof. SHAPIRO, also here, touches on in the NYTimes today, regulation of Internet traffic
       generally. That is a matter of both individual liberty and collective security, the First and Second Amendments to be precise.
  
  It has been a privilege to participate in this forum. Despite the trivia and personalism, of which I have contributed more than my share, I
  have learned much, and there has been much of value for all of us I think. Note that the panty-waist GOODHOPE signed on, did not get
  anything he could use, and move on to what he is looking for, not a strategic opening, not a Schwerpunkt, just something to do or say while
  padding his resume and temporizing with his responsibilities.
  
  
  
  
  
  Hans Reiser wrote:
  
  > I think you are being much too hard on Sam Goodhope without knowing much about him.  I admit I don't know him well either, but I spoke
  > to him for a few minutes at the conference, and yes, he is a politician who pays more attention to reporters than random other persons,
  > but this is normal for all of us, and I am inclined to the belief he tries to do good work for the State of Texas and the average joe
  > citizen.
  >
  > <snip>
  >                                                   ------------------------------------------------------------
  >
  >   Hans Reiser <reiser@ricochet.net>
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  >   Hans Reiser
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  >   Additional Information:
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  >   First Name    Hans
  >   Version       2.1
  
  
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