Topic 29 of 96: gwbush.com
Thu, Jun 10, 1999 (10:53) |
Paul Terry Walhus (terry)
gwbush.com is the spoof site for G W Bush's real presidential campaign
site. The spoof gets millions of hits while the "real" site gets tens of
thousands, to the consternation of the Bush campaign. Tough times in
shubville.
9 responses total.
Topic 29 of 96 [news]: gwbush.com
Response 1 of 9: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Jun 10, 1999 (10:53) * 90 lines
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.
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Topic 29 of 96 [news]: gwbush.com
Response 2 of 9: Wolf (wolf) * Thu, Jun 10, 1999 (17:14) * 1 lines
why doesn't he just concentrate on his campaign than on other people who have nothing better to do....
Topic 29 of 96 [news]: gwbush.com
Response 3 of 9: wer (KitchenManager) * Thu, Jun 10, 1999 (17:42) * 1 lines
maybe this is the only way he knows how...
Topic 29 of 96 [news]: gwbush.com
Response 4 of 9: Alexander Schuth (aschuth) * Sun, Jun 13, 1999 (04:14) * 3 lines
Wolf, perhaps this is a PR sideshow to have people go "Aw, the poor deary!", so he gets coverage for free while NOT HAVING TO DELIVER ANYTHING SUBSTANCIAL on his views.
We got elections today for EU commissions. Dunno what I'm gonna vote for...
Topic 29 of 96 [news]: gwbush.com
Response 5 of 9: wer (KitchenManager) * Sun, Jun 13, 1999 (09:18) * 1 lines
peace, justice, and the American way?
Topic 29 of 96 [news]: gwbush.com
Response 6 of 9: Alexander Schuth (aschuth) * Mon, Jun 14, 1999 (12:42) * 3 lines
Like hell I would! (locking the double barrelled sawed-off shotgun I pulled from my black trench coat) Whaddaya say, bub?
...actually, this was the first time I missed an election. Ever. In my whole life. Bah! But I bought a Bobbie Gentry record, so perhaps somebody might forgive me...
Topic 29 of 96 [news]: gwbush.com
Response 7 of 9: wer (KitchenManager) * Tue, Jun 15, 1999 (22:40) * 1 lines
might just!
Topic 29 of 96 [news]: gwbush.com
Response 8 of 9: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Mon, Nov 1, 1999 (18:08) * 26 lines
Gov. George W. Bush suffered minor bruises to his right leg and hip Monday
when he dove to avoid a truck while he was jogging on the Town Lake hike
and bike trail this afternoon, his office said.
Police were called to the intersection of Cesar Chavez Street and Lamar
Boulevard shortly after noon when a tractor-trailer truck overturned, said
Austin Police spokeswoman Sally Muir.
Bush was treated for minor injuries at the scene and then left, said
Warren Hassinger, spokesman for Austin Emergency Medical Services.
"Governor Bush is in good condition and good spirits," a statement from
the governor's office said.
Texas Department of Public Safety agent Roscoe Hughey, 39, also was
injured in the incident and was taken to Brackenridge Hospital with
"nonlife-threatening injuries," Hassinger said. Hughey was traveling with
Bush on a bicycle when he was hit by debris flying from the truck.
Muir said authorities weren't immediately certain what the debris was.
The statement from Bush's office said "he hopes that Sergeant Hughey's
injuries are not serious and that he will be able to leave the hospital
today."
Topic 29 of 96 [news]: gwbush.com
Response 9 of 9: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Nov 1, 1999 (20:09) * 1 lines
(Are the democrats that afraid of him that they send their worst drivers out to run him off the roads in Texas? How appalling!)
news conference 
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