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Should I send this off and hope for some reaction? or does it suck and =
somebody else should? or am i just forgetting something? and I'm not =
sure if i should keep the very last line and url in as our page doesn't =
mention this topic.
anthony
Hello,
As a longtime listener, I thought that a little local government news =
that isn't getting ANY popular press but has far reaching impact might =
be worth a few words of discussion.
The state of Arizona, as well as several if not all counties and school =
districts, has a clause for debarring contractors if they have violated =
certain Federal laws concerning Antitrust activities. Last year, =
Microsoft was found guilty of just such actions and are now in the =
penalty phase. A large group of concerned citizens has realized that =
many of our goverment agencies are therefore "breaking the rules" by =
spending MILLIONS on contracts with Microsoft when they should not even =
be in the running for these contracts.
Here is an excerpt from an email I sent to my County Councilman:
"According to MC1-902 DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION OF CONTRACTORS, I read =
the following:
"B. The causes for Debarment or Suspension shall include, but are not
limited to, the following:
2. Conviction of any Person or any subsidiary or affiliate of any Person
under any statute of the Federal government, this State or its political
subdivision or any other State for:
k. Any other offense indicating a lack of business integrity or business
honesty which affects responsibility as a Contractor.
3. Conviction or civil judgment finding a violation by any Person or any
subsidiary or affiliate of any Person under State or Federal Antitrust
Statutes."
Microsoft, having been convicted of Federal Antitrust Statutes =
(penalties pending), clearly falls into the catagory described in part =
3, and several court cases past and pending show a clear lack of =
integrity and business honesty as outlined in part 2. I cannot find =
that ANY government body would be willing to work with such contractors, =
let alone having rules against it and clearly ignoring those rules.
There are many alternatives to Microsofts products. Alternatives that =
have broken no laws, Federal or Local, are well supported and used by =
many large governments (Germany, Taiwan, et al). As a concerned voter =
in Chandler, I must point out that I cannot support criminal behavior =
and would hope that my County Council would see fit to do the same and =
ONLY consider alternatives as Microsoft is clearly unqualified to meet =
County requirements."
The county has responded to us thus:
"You recently inquired about the County's use of Microsoft products and =
the manner in which we license their software. We appreciate your =
interest in the County's technology plans. To provide a forum in which =
to discuss our technology direction and address any questions you may =
have, we will have Information Technology staff members available to =
meet with citizens at 8:30 am on Monday July 8th. The meeting location =
will be the County Administration Building at 301 W. Jefferson in Suite =
420. Please RSVP your attendance so we can ensure that adequate =
facilities are available for the meeting.
Thank you for your inquiry,=20
Paul Allsing=20
Deputy CIO=20
Maricopa County=20
301 W Jefferson, Suite 420=20
Phoenix, AZ 85003 "
Yes, this Monday. If you are at all interested and would like further =
information for perusal, feel free to reply to this email or view the =
following urls:
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=3D02/06/17/1651231&tid=3D103 =
(Slashdot)
and again here: =
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=3D02/07/01/1832218&mode=3Dthread&tid=3D=
167
http://pluglist.mybutt.net/pipermail/plug-discuss/2002-July/026752.html =
(discussion thread of Phoenix Linux user Group)
http://pluglist.mybutt.net/pipermail/plug-discuss/2002-June/025868.html =
(discussion thread of Phoenix Linux user Group)
http://pluglist.mybutt.net/pipermail/plug-discuss/2002-June/026044.html =
(discussion thread of Phoenix Linux user Group)
http://pluglist.mybutt.net/pipermail/plug-discuss/2002-June/026345.html =
(discussion thread of Phoenix Linux user Group)
Alternatives to Microsoft are secure and even used by governments =
(Germany, Taiwan) with the cost being inexpesive and the total cost of =
ownership being 50% less.
We are organizing several meetings about how to handle the Monday =
meeting, interested parties can follow along at our website:
http://plug.phoenix.az.us/
Thank you,
Anthony Milbauer
(480) 659-9920
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<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>
<DIV>Should I send this off and hope for some reaction? or does it suck =
and=20
somebody else should? or am i just forgetting something? and I'm =
not sure=20
if i should keep the very last line and url in as our page doesn't =
mention this=20
topic.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>anthony</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Hello,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>As a longtime listener, I thought that =
a little=20
local government news that isn't getting ANY popular press but has far =
reaching=20
impact might be worth a few words of discussion.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>The state of Arizona, as well as =
several if not all=20
counties and school districts, has a clause for debarring contractors if =
they=20
have violated certain Federal laws concerning Antitrust =
activities. Last=20
year, Microsoft was found guilty of just such actions and are now in the =
penalty=20
phase. A large group of concerned citizens has realized that many =
of our=20
goverment agencies are therefore "breaking the rules" by spending =
MILLIONS on=20
contracts with Microsoft when they should not even be in the running for =
these=20
contracts.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Here is an excerpt from an email I sent =
to my=20
County Councilman:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>"According to MC1-902 DEBARMENT AND =
SUSPENSION OF=20
CONTRACTORS, I read the following:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>"B. The causes for Debarment or =
Suspension shall=20
include, but are not<BR>limited to, the following:<BR>2. Conviction of =
any=20
Person or any subsidiary or affiliate of any Person<BR>under any statute =
of the=20
Federal government, this State or its political<BR>subdivision or any =
other=20
State for:<BR>k. Any other offense indicating a lack of business =
integrity or=20
business<BR>honesty which affects responsibility as a Contractor.<BR>3.=20
Conviction or civil judgment finding a violation by any Person or=20
any<BR>subsidiary or affiliate of any Person under State or Federal=20
Antitrust<BR>Statutes."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Microsoft, having been convicted of =
Federal=20
Antitrust Statutes (penalties pending), clearly falls into the catagory=20
described in part 3, and several court cases past and pending show a =
clear lack=20
of integrity and business honesty as outlined in part 2. I=20
cannot find that ANY government body would be willing to work with =
such=20
contractors, let alone having rules against it and clearly ignoring =
those=20
rules.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>There are many alternatives to =
Microsofts=20
products. Alternatives that have broken no laws, Federal or Local, =
are=20
well supported and used by many large governments (Germany, Taiwan, et=20
al). As a concerned voter in Chandler, I must point out that I =
cannot=20
support criminal behavior and would hope that my County Council would =
see fit to=20
do the same and ONLY consider alternatives as Microsoft is clearly =
unqualified=20
to meet County requirements."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The county has responded to us thus:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"<FONT face=3D"Courier New, Courier" size=3D2>You recently inquired =
about the=20
County's use of Microsoft products and the manner in which we license =
their=20
software. We appreciate your interest in the County's technology=20
plans. To provide a forum in which to discuss our technology =
direction and=20
address any questions you may have, we will have Information Technology =
staff=20
members available to meet with citizens at 8:30 am on Monday July =
8th. The=20
meeting location will be the County Administration Building at 301 W. =
Jefferson=20
in Suite 420. Please RSVP your attendance so we can ensure that =
adequate=20
facilities are available for the meeting.<BR></FONT><BR><FONT=20
face=3D"Courier New, Courier" size=3D2>Thank you for your =
inquiry,</FONT> <BR><FONT=20
face=3D"Courier New, Courier" size=3D2>Paul Allsing</FONT> <BR><FONT=20
face=3D"Courier New, Courier" size=3D2>Deputy CIO</FONT> <BR><FONT=20
face=3D"Courier New, Courier" size=3D2>Maricopa County</FONT> <BR><FONT=20
face=3D"Courier New, Courier" size=3D2>301 W Jefferson, Suite 420</FONT> =
<BR><FONT=20
face=3D"Courier New, Courier" size=3D2>Phoenix, AZ 85003</FONT> <FONT=20
face=3D"Courier New">"</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Courier New">Yes, this Monday. If you are at =
all=20
interested and would like further information for perusal, feel free to =
reply to=20
this email or view the following urls:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Courier New"><A=20
href=3D"
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=3D02/06/17/1651231&tid=3D1=
03">
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=3D02/06/17/1651231&tid=3D103</=
A>=20
(Slashdot)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Courier New">and again here: <A=20
href=3D"
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=3D02/07/01/1832218&mode=3D=
thread&tid=3D167">
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=3D02/07/01/18322=
18&mode=3Dthread&tid=3D167</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A=20
href=3D"
http://pluglist.mybutt.net/pipermail/plug-discuss/2002-July/02675=
2.html">
http://pluglist.mybutt.net/pipermail/plug-discuss/2002-July/02675=
2.html</A> (discussion=20
thread of Phoenix Linux user Group)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A=20
href=3D"
http://pluglist.mybutt.net/pipermail/plug-discuss/2002-June/02586=
8.html">
http://pluglist.mybutt.net/pipermail/plug-discuss/2002-June/02586=
8.html</A> (discussion=20
thread of Phoenix Linux user Group)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A=20
href=3D"
http://pluglist.mybutt.net/pipermail/plug-discuss/2002-June/02604=
4.html">
http://pluglist.mybutt.net/pipermail/plug-discuss/2002-June/02604=
4.html</A> (discussion=20
thread of Phoenix Linux user Group)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A=20
href=3D"
http://pluglist.mybutt.net/pipermail/plug-discuss/2002-June/02634=
5.html">
http://pluglist.mybutt.net/pipermail/plug-discuss/2002-June/02634=
5.html</A> (discussion=20
thread of Phoenix Linux user Group)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Alternatives to Microsoft are secure and even used by governments =
(Germany,=20
Taiwan) with the cost being inexpesive and the total cost of ownership =
being 50%=20
less.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>We are organizing several meetings about how to handle the Monday =
meeting,=20
interested parties can follow along at our website:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A =
href=3D"
http://plug.phoenix.az.us/">
http://plug.phoenix.az.us/</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Thank you,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Anthony Milbauer</DIV>
<DIV>(480) 659-9920</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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