IP: Bush's internet nightmare continues

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 15:52:04 -0400
> From: Guilherme Roschke <gr () network3 entropy upenn edu>
> X-Mailer: Mozilla 2.01 (X11; I; AIX 1)
> To: farber () cis upenn edu
>
>
> The following was posted to upenn.talk newsgroup.  i believe Bush's
> comments and the Domain Name Issues brought up may be of relevance (if
> not humorous) to some IP'ers.
>
> Regards,
>
> Guilherme Roschke
> gr () network3 entropy upenn edu
> Programmer
> Dept. of Anesthesia, U.of Penn Medical School
>
> PS. This Press Release, as well as others, is at http://www.gwbush.com/
>
>
> > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> > May 26, 1999
> >
> > BUSH REQUESTS "LIMITS TO FREEDOM"
> > Internet bites Bush: Not news. Bush bites Internet: News!
> >
> > Contact: Ray Thomas (mailto:bushinfo () rtmark com)
> >          Zack Exley (mailto:zackexley () yahoo com)
> >
> > The satirical website GWBush.com has received several million hits since a
> > press conference Friday at which Texas governor and probable presidential
> > candidate George W. Bush called its owner "a garbage man" and said "There
> > ought to be limits to freedom."  The outburst followed two separate
> > attempts by Bush campaign attorneys to shut down the site. (For coverage of
> > the comments, please visit the press archive at http://gwbush.com/)
> >
> > Those behind GWBush.com--a Boston computer consultant named Zack Exley, and
> > RTMARK--ascribe their site's newfound notoriety to the interesting nature
> > of Bush's words themselves, and also to the ease and speed with which
> > ordinary people can make their voices heard on the Internet. The statement,
> > besides being broadcast on television and reprinted in hundreds of
> > newspapers in the U.S. and abroad, immediately became a hot topic of
> > discussion on the Internet.
> >
> > According to RTMARK spokesperson Ray Thomas, "Anyone at all can now compete
> > for attention with huge, wealthy corporations--or with well-funded
> > candidates. Bush's 'limits to freedom' quote is interesting because it
> > reflects the (usually unspoken) desire of certain market segments to
> > suppress this potential of the Internet."
> >
> > "The Internet has amplified the voice of the ordinary citizen," said Exley.
> > "This web site is only two months old and cost only $210, yet we already
> > have more readers than many major political magazines. Americans are
> > excited about this new power and freedom, and they will distrust a
> > candidate who says he wants to limit that freedom."
> >
> > Bush's statement was the latest in a series of widely-reported gaffes
> > related to GWBush.com. Here follows a blow-by-blow account of the action:
> >
> > 1. The Bush campaign fails to reserve permutations of Bush's name, and in
> > December of 1998 Zack Exley purchases GWBush.com, GWBush.org and GBush.org.
> >
> > 2. Upon noticing GWBush.com, with content by RTMARK and Exley, Bush
> > campaign advisor Karl Rove belatedly scrambles to reserve up to 260
> > 'bush'-related domain names (Bush campaign accounts of the actual number
> > vary). When this frenzy becomes a running joke on the internet, Bush
> > spokespeople claim the names were reserved in the summer of 1998. (Internic
> > records available to the public reveal that the domains names were in fact
> > reserved two months after Exley reserved his.)
> >
> > 3. Bush attorney Benjamin Ginsberg sends Exley a cease-and-desist letter,
> > and shortly afterward registers a complaint with the Federal Elections
> > Commission.
> >
> > 4. The Bush campaign tells press interested in the above situation that
> > GWBush.com contains click-throughs to pornography sites. RTMARK and Exley
> > are inundated with emails from frustrated visitors seeking pictures of nude
> > women.  (Note: GWBush.com has never contained nor linked to pornographic
> > images of any kind.)
> >
> > 5. The Bush campaign tells press that GWBush.com is deceptive. (Meanwhile,
> > the Bush campaign uses the negative domain names it has
> > bought--bushblows.com, bushsux.org, etc.--to point unsuspecting Internet
> > users to the official campaign website.)
> >
> > 6. Governor Bush himself lashes out at GWBush.com at a televised press
> > conference, calling the site's owner "a garbage man" and saying "There
> > ought to be limits to freedom."  The quote is widely reported and becomes a
> > hot topic of discussion on the Internet.
> >
> > 7. Domain name speculators begin snapping up other names related to the
> > Bush campaign, like gwcocainejr.com, bush-lite.com, and cokeisbush.com.
> > GWBush.com itself has so far reserved justsayyestobush.com,
> > fantasticbush.com, bushisnicelydressed.org, and about a dozen others.
> >
> > For more about GWBush.com, including a partial press archive and letters
> > from visitors, please visit the site itself.
> >
> > RTMARK (http://rtmark.com/) uses its limited liability as a corporation to
> > sponsor the sabotage of mass-produced products. One of RTMARK's ultimate
> > aims is to eliminate the principle of limited liability. Occasionally, as
> > with http://www.gwbush.com/, RTMARK participates in advocacy directly
> > related to issues of corporate abuses of the political process.