[TriLUG] White House response to FOSS petition?

[Peter Neilson]

On Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:17:08 -0500, Kevin Hunter <hunteke at earlham.edu>  
wrote:

> Hullo List,
>
> This whitehouse.gov petition  ...
> https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/#!/petition/lower-national-debt-expanding-governments-use-free-software-such-gnulinux-and-libreoffice/jkLbwPDC

The petition looks broken.

- The title suggests that the government's policies regarding software are  
a major cause of the national debt. "A sentiment open to doubt," as  
Dodgson said.

- In my view it hardly differs from a religious tract recommending  
official support for one religion over another. Does anyone ever base  
action on the content of religious tracts?

- It appears to be a request that rms be made Software Czar based on an  
assertion of his moral character.

- It attributes a PhD to rms, something I'm pretty sure he lacks: "(e.g.  
Dr. Richard M. Stallman of Boston, MA)"

- It's not possible to remove one's approval from such a petition, even if  
the petition is later modified or subverted.

- Appointment of Bill or Melinda Gates as Software Czar could easily be  
presented as fulfillment of the wishes of the petitioners.

- What prevents the Czar's creation of a new agency, the FOSS (Federal  
Open Software Service), and of the crime of creating or distributing  
non-FOSS-approved software?

"Be careful what you ask for. You might get it."