Obama Campaign Seeks LAMP Developers 488
kgamiel writes "The Obama campaign's CTO is hiring LAMP-biased geeks for the Boston office to help elect the Senator in the fall. This got me to wondering, what if he instead announced a SourceForge project toward the same end? What would such a project look like? Tools that both sides could use 'equally' would not achieve the desired end. And philosophically, could the Open Source community support one side in a competition such as this? What other issues does this raise?" Another reader notes that the Obama campaign is also searching for a security expert to plug the holes that allowed a hacker to redirect Obama's site (Linux/Apache hosted by GoDaddy) to Hillary Clinton's (Windows/IIS hosted by Rackspace).
This doesn't look like open source politics. (Score:4, Interesting)
If Obama does make a statement of support for open source software, then that'd give him kudos from me. Open source isn't the unstoppable freight train we'd like it to be, and could use all the friends in high places it can get.
Anything to piss in Microsoft's Cheereos makes me happy.
Re:It's murder, not killing, that is condemned (Score:4, Interesting)
Thanx for any clarification.
Re:But they're anarchists! They can't have meeting (Score:2, Interesting)
No, not SourceForge (Score:5, Interesting)
Please don't encourage the use of SourceForge for things like this. Not only is SourceForge a dead-end for time-limited projects, it is also full of dead, empty or completely abandoned projects.
A good 60% or more of the projects there have seen no activity at all (because people think creating a project there will automatically write itself), and many projects haven't been touched in 4, 5, 6 or more years.
They've consistently crippled the use of standard OSS tools like CVS, Subversion and Mailman just so they can try to retain control of projects by limiting the ability to use them effectively. They don't support other tools like git and proper MTA support for mailing commits to developers.
Also, quite a few projects have pulled the source to previous releases (a violation of the GPL that these projects were released under; gaim is one of them). Their management of projects and overall administration leaves MUCH to be desired.
Lastly, SourceForge was originally going to be called "Cold Storage", and it was supposed to partner with Freshmeat to permanently archive projects. I've seen many projects vanish from SourceForge, which completely negates the whole policy of its existance.
So while I respect and encourage the use of OSS tools, LAMP, retaining the mindshare of key developers who can help support a candidate they support, I don't think choosing SourceForge to host the project is a wise move.
Do you choose the type of hammer and nails you're going to use, before you draft the plans to build your new house? Do you choose the kind of vehicle you're going to drive before you know your destination and travel route? Of course you don't.
Why choose the hosting service before you've even chosen what kinds of components and requirements the project will need?
It is a feature, not a defect (Score:3, Interesting)
Another reader notes that the Obama campaign is also searching for a security expert to plug the holes that allowed a hacker to redirect Obama's site (Linux/Apache hosted by GoDaddy) to Hillary Clinton's (Windows/IIS hosted by Rackspace).
If I was an Obama campaign manager I would actually be thankful that happened. People like me, who started off being fans of the Clintons, have gotten turned off to them because of the negative tactics they and their strong supporters have used.
I had a refrigerator magnet that read "Come Back Bill, All Is Forgiven". I just moved and decided not to put it back up. In one day Geraldine Ferraro's reputation was ruined for me.
Re:Oh God (Score:5, Interesting)
So, in a community championing OSS, yes, I would say that's kinda of a big deal.
If you take this to its logical conclusion, there's a good chance, if elected as President of the United States, he (or rather his technology people) might be advocating for more OSS within the Government. THAT would be a Very Big Deal (tm).
Re:Tech (Score:1, Interesting)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nnj7r1wCD4
Re:why would you want a partner from a failed bid? (Score:4, Interesting)
What you quoted doesn't say "make no money, ever." It says "volunteer your time instead of focusing only on money."
I see no disconnect in anything but you and your failure to grasp simple logic.
Re:This doesn't look like open source politics. (Score:5, Interesting)
Lessig endorses him wholeheartedly (you could cynically say it's because he wants a SCOTUS appointment), and from what I've read on Lessig's blog, Obama agrees with much of Lessig's tech/internet policy.
And as Lessig is my hero ("hero" is not the right word, but "role model" doesn't suffice), that's enough for me.
Re:Our generation is coming up (Score:4, Interesting)
please drop the mccarthyism shit that has plagued your nation for the last 50 years.
balance needs to be pursued in EVERYTHING in life. if you let big corporations go unchecked like you did in u.s. for the last 50 years, they go haywire like they are doing there. trying to scuttle internet like at&t and bell do, kill small businesses, sell tools and weapons to oppressive regimes, buy out senators, every kind of shit.
if balance is way distorted towards the government in cuban socialism, its way distorted towards megacorporation enslavement in america. you are on the other end of balance spectrum.
Re:But they're anarchists! They can't have meeting (Score:2, Interesting)
You mean the weight of the edible flesh of said life ? Because that's the only value life has for anything that's not human.
It is a problem today that people don't know what the law of the jungle is. In America, not 60 years ago, it was *not* a rare occurance that a hyena killed an infant or a baby. Keep in mind that there are still hyena's, and they *still* try to eat babies. There is a reason that they are wiped out in cities.
Your distinction between murder and killing is wrong, according to scripture, you do NOT get to kill in self-defense according to the bible :
Killing : terminating a person's life for ONE reason : protecting SOMEONE ELSE's life (note that this very narrow condition in reality covers quite a lot of ground, for example, Jesus gave explicit permission to Roman Guards to use violence if they thought it just. They specifically asked him if all killing was wrong, and they should just stop being soldiers. He had a simple answer : "no".
In this notion, to keep things reasonable, you should not weigh one life against another. Once you decide to protect someone, you are to keep doing it, even if it means killing 100 others. (because you should at ALL times keep your word) Only if you don't have the choice obviously.
Murder : terminating a person's life, either to protect yourself, or for personal gain, to satisfy revenge, honor killings like the muslims do, jihad, or
Certainly you cannot reasonably argue that Christianity doesn't allow the police to use lethal force, even if they do it by mistake. It *is* a sin to use lethal force, but it can be the better of 2 options.
Likewise defensive warfare, like the crusades (check wikipedia, and look up what the reason was for starting the first crusade, before you start going nuts) is certainly allowed. It *is* a sin, but again, leaving others to die is a much worse sin. (in other words : a marine is a much more moral person, even if he kills a thousand people, than a code pink protester, trying to help, even if you end up killing way too many people, is *always* a better act than doing nothing, to say nothing of attempting to force others to let people die, like the politically correct nutcases ask)
Another rule is that one should apologize for any killing done, personally and at the very least to God. Even if you are the last surviving member of a Jewish family and have killed Hitler, you are required to ask for forgiveness, from both his family and from God.
Every death is one to many, but there are situations in which you should kill.
Re:An Obama OSS project ?? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:why would you want a partner from a failed bid? (Score:5, Interesting)
If you want to talk service, then go ahead and talk service but don't tell the world that pushing class, race and religious division in order to get votes is some kind of community service.
Re:Our generation is coming up (Score:3, Interesting)
McCarthyism? This isn't a troll hunt for Communists, this is about how this country was founded.
excuse me, if you are blurting out that sentence, i have to be blunt - you dont know shit about history.
who founded your country were members of sons of liberty, which is actually a broad general public understanding of the principles that were invented in enlightenment france and refined in later 18th century. benjamin, paine, jefferson - the ideological leaders of that generation were totally into french enlightenment ideals. paine later went on to become a member of french parliament, after he was honored with french citizenship after french revolution.
now comes the punchline - what you despise here, what you term as 'socialist' here, are the VERY ideals of french revolution, which are based on late 18th century french enlightenment ideals, which are in turn also the basis for american revolution.
im turkish, born and raised here, even never left the country, heck, i traveled to only 4 other turkish cities than antalya, yet i know more about your country's history than you. thats just absurd.
Just look at hurricane Katrina. Thousands flocked to the Superdome to be saved by Nanny Government, and chaos ensued when nothing was available. None of those people took stock in themselves saying "maybe I should have taken care of myself and mine". Instead, they got put up in hotels and given debit cards, months later still in those hotels demanding more instead of pulling themselves up and marching on.
you are talking about exploitation here. you dont stop exploitation by totally destroying/removing the services that are exploited. with your logic, we should totally remove justice system from public life, because it is being widely exploited too, especially in u.s. ridiculous lawsuits, companies trying to clamp down on competition through frivolous claims, name your pick.
you stop exploitation by bettering the system that is being exploited. that is the way human civilization evolved since last 10.000 years, and thats the way that is going to be.
Politics are corrupt. The more complex the system gets, the more corruption and opacity reigns. Obama is just as corrupt as Hillary who is just as corrupt as McCain. It will be business as usual in Washington whoever takes the stand just as the Democrats took over congress and as Pelosi took the helm surrounded by children saying (and I quote) "do it for the children".
politics are corrupt, because you people let it to be so, there in u.s.. politics were much more corrupt, actually a few corporations were also owning everything in u.s. little short of owning individual citizens' butts, at the onset of 20th century. theodore roosevelt came, and set it right. actually we have based many of today's anti trust, pro competition practices based upon what him and his administration implemented. f.d. roosevelt took your country out of depression, without extensive suffering that other nations had to endure. that big a country, that big a depression, a major feat.
then you people glow complacent and then fell for the scaremongering of mccartyism era. what happened ? big buck corps were increasingly able to turn u.s. political scene into a big buck playground, eventually culminating in the unbelievably long republican era of 80s up to date, with a brief stint with the clinton era.
what did you expect ? of course some democrats turned their backs on people too. if you let an environment in which big buck can buy a senator/president and assure his/her election happen, then there will be changes everywhere.
internet only has been able to change this. obama campaign made its money through $5 donations from NORMAL people. they didnt have to go to big buck people and sell their butt in order to get donation money. excuse me - sorry - hillary did. but she was not successful. and then she suddenly remembered 'the people' and put up a
Re:why would you want a partner from a failed bid? (Score:3, Interesting)
Your post seems to be agenda-driven in that it assumes that he was "pushing class, race and religious division in order to get votes." But he brought people together then just as he seeks to do as president. The best evidence of that is his Senate election, where he was overwhelmingly supported by people from all walks of life in Illinois. And during the period of time you are talking about, he was working on behalf of the campaigns of others (along with a large variety of other community service programs). Many of these people are still and office today, and tend to be very well-liked by a broad cross-section of constituents.
In response to the question above yours, which is a good one, many of the activities you're asking about overlapped. For example, he was a professor at the Univ. of Chicago Law School during the entire time he was employed on a case-by-case basis by a law firm. Much of the community organizing took place during this period of time as well.