an email i would like to send to KTAR 620
Raymond Cantwell
plug-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us
Wed, 03 Jul 2002 12:11:23 -0700
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tickticker wrote:
> 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,
> Paul Allsing
> Deputy CIO
> Maricopa County
> 301 W Jefferson, Suite 420
> 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=02/06/17/1651231&tid=103
> <http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/06/17/1651231&tid=103> (Slashdot)
>
> and again here:
> http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/07/01/1832218&mode=thread&tid=167
> <http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/07/01/1832218&mode=thread&tid=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
>
>
I say send it off, the worst they can do is ignore it. IMHO.
Ray
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tickticker wrote:<br>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid004f01c222c3$920bf720$0601010a@tickticker.com">
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http-equiv="Content-Type">
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<div><font face="Arial" size="2">
<div>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.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>anthony</div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Hello,</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">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.</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">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.</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Here is an excerpt from an email I sent
to my County Councilman:</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">"According to MC1-902 DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION
OF CONTRACTORS, I read the following:</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">"B. The causes for Debarment or Suspension
shall include, but are not<br>
limited to, the following:<br>
2. Conviction of any Person or any subsidiary or affiliate of any Person<br>
under any statute of the Federal government, this State or its political<br>
subdivision or any other State for:<br>
k. Any other offense indicating a lack of business integrity or business<br>
honesty which affects responsibility as a Contractor.<br>
3. Conviction or civil judgment finding a violation by any Person or any<br>
subsidiary or affiliate of any Person under State or Federal Antitrust<br>
Statutes."</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">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.</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">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."</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div>The county has responded to us thus:</div>
<div> </div>
<div>"<font face="Courier New, Courier" size="2">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.<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Courier New, Courier" size="2">Thank you for your inquiry,</font>
<br>
<font face="Courier New, Courier" size="2">Paul Allsing</font> <br>
<font face="Courier New, Courier" size="2">Deputy CIO</font> <br>
<font face="Courier New, Courier" size="2">Maricopa County</font> <br>
<font face="Courier New, Courier" size="2">301 W Jefferson, Suite 420</font>
<br>
<font face="Courier New, Courier" size="2">Phoenix, AZ 85003</font> <font
face="Courier New">"</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Courier New">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:</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Courier New"><a
href="http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/06/17/1651231&tid=103">http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/06/17/1651231&tid=103</a>
(Slashdot)</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Courier New">and again here: <a
href="http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/07/01/1832218&mode=thread&tid=167">http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/07/01/1832218&mode=thread&tid=167</a></font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><a
href="http://pluglist.mybutt.net/pipermail/plug-discuss/2002-July/026752.html">http://pluglist.mybutt.net/pipermail/plug-discuss/2002-July/026752.html</a> (discussion
thread of Phoenix Linux user Group)</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a
href="http://pluglist.mybutt.net/pipermail/plug-discuss/2002-June/025868.html">http://pluglist.mybutt.net/pipermail/plug-discuss/2002-June/025868.html</a> (discussion
thread of Phoenix Linux user Group)</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a
href="http://pluglist.mybutt.net/pipermail/plug-discuss/2002-June/026044.html">http://pluglist.mybutt.net/pipermail/plug-discuss/2002-June/026044.html</a> (discussion
thread of Phoenix Linux user Group)</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a
href="http://pluglist.mybutt.net/pipermail/plug-discuss/2002-June/026345.html">http://pluglist.mybutt.net/pipermail/plug-discuss/2002-June/026345.html</a> (discussion
thread of Phoenix Linux user Group)</div>
<div> </div>
<div>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.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>We are organizing several meetings about how to handle the Monday
meeting, interested parties can follow along at our website:</div>
<div> </div>
<div><a href="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>
</blockquote>
I say send it off, the worst they can do is ignore it. IMHO.<br>
Ray<br>
<br>
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