Bill Gates Admits Defeat

[JailForBush]

A few years ago, Bill Gates' partner in crime, Paul Allen, bankrolled a charter school initiative in Washington State. Fortunately, Washingtonians shot it down. This year, Bill Gates has joined forces with the most corrupt governor in Washington State history to promote another charter school initiative.

It just occurred to me: Isn't this an admission of defeat?

Think about it - Bill Gates has given over a billion dollars to pubilc education in the form of phony "philanthropy." Yet he wants to usher in charter schools.

So is Bill Gates trying to tell us that public schools are hopeless, even with Microsoft's (giggle) "support"?

Only a fool would suggest that Bill Gates gives a damn about children. Let's face it, it never was about children, and it never will be. It's all about Microsoft.

Rather than "support" public schools, Bill Gates is exploiting them, and he wants to usher in charter schools, because they'll allow him to exploit children even more thoroughly.

Isn't that right, William?

[Mobius]

1. Good point

I am forced to wonder if these schools would get software from microsoft? As I understand it, Apple has most of that action. Gates alsi designed the sotware for Diebold voting machines. How comforting , going into the GE...:puke:

[JailForBush]

2. Apple has dibs on charter schools?

I wasn't aware of that. But that could actually be the reason Bill Gates wants to get his hooks into charter schools - so he can give Apple the boot.

Bill Gates is such a menace. He's a far more disgusting person than most people realize, and he's just as dangerous as George W. Bush. I wish people would wake up.

[Damn Ann the Man]

9. As long as you have cyber fascist DINOs like Howard Berman...

Things will never improve.

[SaddenedDem]

3. Well, not exactly.....

First, Gates didn't "design the software for Diebold voting machines" or even close to it. While those voting machines do use Windows, and Microsoft Access, Microsoft had no hand in the modifications or use of either of these products.

In fact, Diebold lied when they said their operating system was COTS (Customer Off The Shelf) software to avoid certification of their bastardized version of the operating system.

As an aside, Apple used to have the school computer systems, but no longer. Our kids are indoctrinated to MS at the tender age of 5. Of course, this is an age old method of selling - IBM did it in the 50s so that when kids became corporate decision makers, IBM would be their natural choice for computers.

[Fovea]

18. A further correction

Those voting machines that run Windows CE must have the OS rebuilt for each distinct device they run on. So you can't load Standard Win CE, because there is no standard Win CE, AFIK.

But no, as far as the actual voting software goes, M$oft wrote no part of it that I know of.

[Florida_Geek]

4. Sidenote: It was NEVER Bill Gates giving real $$$$ to anybody

His spending real $$$ only came after he got married. IMHO, it is his wifes that pushes the real $$$ donations.

[JailForBush]

5. Frankly, I thnk Gates' marriage itself was nothing but a publicity stunt.

I remember the interview Gates did with "60 Minutes" immediately after he got his butt kicked in court. It was the most contrived "interview" I've ever seen, and it was "60 Minutes'" worst performance.

One of the most memorable statements was Bill Gates' claim that he had just rediscovered how much he loved his wife!

What a coincidence - Bill Gates suffers a legal defeat, and it stirs his hormones. Lying sack of shit.

[TreasonousBastard]

6. What's the problem...

with charter schools?

I hear in some places they're doing OK.

[JailForBush]

7. A couple points...

1. What you hear about public schools or charter schools can be likened to what you hear about Democrats and Republicans. You know what they say - figures don't lie, but liars do figure.

2. I'm not opposed to charter schools or vouchers in principle. But the entire education industry is controlled by corporations. Public schools are far more corrupt than most people realize, and charter schools are widely viewed as a scheme that would simply give the government (working for corporations) more control.

In summary, there's really no solution to our education woes other than tackling the REAL problems head on. That means waging war against corrupt school administrators, derelict teachers unions, Boeing and Microsoft and on and on. And that could be the EASY part. We could turn the tables in a heartbeat if we could just mobilize teachers and parents. But how do you give people backbone or brains? How do you make them care?

[TreasonousBastard]

8. The thing is that...

all public schools are not created equal. Nor are any other schools.

We have some excellent public schools, and some miserable ones. The problems are myriad, and intertwined with the parents, local community, and every level of government up to the feds.

I don't know how the same public schools we have now that are so craven did such an excellent job of educating students for the past hundred years or so. What is going on now that wasn't going on in the public schools of Chicago and New York in the 20's when kids speaking a dozen different languages actually learned things without armed guards patrolling the halls?

No one and nothing seems to be without blame, and we can't really point fingers until we know more about just how much blame lies where.

And, we might be better off just moving on and trying to improve things than wasting time pointing fingers anyway.

[Merlin]

10. I am astounded at the unbelievable, irrational hatred of Gates.

Microsoft got too successful. They built products that were history-changing and sold them cheaply. They built an empire and succeeded. They played the game a little heavy-handedly, but no differently than most other players in their biz (I can testify first hand to that as a systems buyer).

Gates gives hundreds of millions of dollars every year to worthy causes throughout the world. He is very careful to give where he thinks it can do the most good. He does not make a big fuss about it. I find that commendable.

Gates is a liberal, in case you hadn't noticed. Joking about him is fine. But trashing him is just plain dumb.

I don't like the focus on private schools. But until the teacher's union in this country starts to accept some needed changes (like reshaping tenure), competitive ideas need to be tried.

[historian]

11. well said

American thrives on the myth that anyone can become a millionaire and when he does (sorry billionaire - millionaires are out of fashion) he is immediately attacked. Very bizarre.
Personally Gates is less dangerous than the original Kennedys (grandpa liked hitler and was bootlegger) Rockefeller (stole oil fields with bunch of armed thugs) and so on... Computers are a luxury - if you dont have one you can still live, unlike oil and other commodities which screw us on a daily basis

[donco6]

12. Hear hear.

As a recipient of more than $500,000 in Gates grant revenue, I have to admire his willingness to give away money. We didn't have to buy ANY MS software to accept or use this money in ANY WAY.

[leyton]

13. I agree.

Bill Gates dropped out of college so he could write software. He became quite successful at it, became a millionaire in the process, and now gives money to lots of important causes. What's wrong with this?

Business is business. I hate predatory practices as much as the next guy and I think the likes of Ken Lay ought to be given life sentences. But having personal relatives who work for Microsoft, I can tell you this: Microsoft does not exploit its employees; it treats them incredibly well. There's not really the possibility that Microsoft employees will suddenly lose their pensions or whatever. What's more, though the "Inc." may be distracting, and at the risk of sounding like a sales pitch, Microsoft is committed to innovation. They really do try to deliver quality products and quality service. They may not always succeed, but there will always be holes in software and no product is ever perfect.

[wabeewoman]

14. How about some links, proof???

I read your posts, JailForBush and they are very anti public school. I know teachers and administrators and I don't see what you see. I'm also from Washington state. I also know Gates has given grants to schools with no computers. You could argue whatever you wish but the result was students who didn't previously have access to computers now do. Gates has said he plans to give away his fortune and does a lot of work with vaccines and aids in 3rd world countries. I think there are lots bigger boogie men around than Bill Gates and public education.
on edit: I'm old enough to remember when nothing was compatable in computers and they would lock up when you tried using one program with another. I give thanks to Microsoft for making my life easier.

[Nomad559]

17. How about some links, proof

David ( JailForBush ) Is what I call a Microsoft freeper, he needs no proof to make these irrational statements about Bill Gates.

David even went so far as to accuse Bill Gates of being a pedophile. The Mods deleted that stupid post.

[Bandit]

15. Boy you just plain don't like Bill gates do you?

Quite a few of your posts are rabid anti-Gates posts. I guess you have your agenda as we all have ours. I would say my major bitch is Rush Limbaugh on Armed Forces Radio. I feel about Rush as you obviously do about Bill Gates.

[Ediacara]

16. Gates and Locke have secret meeting you know

They're members of the corrupt Stone Cutters. Not only do they control the British Crown, but they also keep the metric system down.

I'm still wanting to know what actual CRIMES (nothing vague, no bad budgets, no vacuous murder charges) Locke has committed that make him deserve jail for the rest of his life.