Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft's Veteran Suzan DelBene 'Part of the Problem' in D.C.

Name tag



Summary: How former Microsoft employees who become politicians facilitate the company's corruption of the government

A NEW post titled "DelBene: Reichert 'part of the problem' in D.C." has just been published in the Microsoft-boosting Seattle P-I, which is defunct as a news site (for about 2 years now). But who is DelBene? Here's who it is:



On the surface, Suzan DelBene's challenge of Rep. Dave Reichert has a familiar look. In 2006 and 2008 Reichert beat Darcy Burner, a Democrat who worked at Microsoft who had no prior elected experience. DelBene is a Democrat who was an executive at Microsoft and other tech companies who also has never held office.


Microsoft has littered the political system with former employees who are now doing favours to Microsoft*. A few months ago we showed Microsoft crawling into bed with Washington in this particular way while the Seattle Times conveniently ignored it. Microsoft's former manager, Mr. Hunter, used his political position to facilitate Microsoft's tax evasion, essentially legalising it. Nothing was ever done to resolve it and a former Microsoft employee who protested about it has not been active for months. Maybe he gave up trying. The Gates family is meanwhile working to ensure that its own bank account remains resistant to taxation. Later in the week we will show that Bill Gates' father is still working on it right now.

How sad it must be when a company as abusive as Microsoft gets into a position where it controls the government. It's quite a blazing saddle to sit on. Later in the week we will show new evidence demonstrating the relationship between the banking industry and Microsoft (the banking industry too is notoriously close to the government). Citi is one Microsoft friend which now appears to also be a partner in a finance site (good for verification):

Bundle, whose other backers include Microsoft Corp and Morningstar Inc, currently allows consumers to compare their spending habits with those of other users, based on data from government sources and Citigroup's credit card unit.


We covered this before. Another thing we illustrated numerous times in the past is that Tim O’Reilly and his ilk play along with Microsoft and in this new case even assist the company's lobbying of government. Typical O’Reilly. Just mention money and/or influence.

As a capacity crowd at the Microsoft New England Research & Development Center in Cambridge’s Kendall Square settled into their seats one evening in August, Laurel Ruma stood to the side of the podium, previewing her five-minute presentation.

[...]

At the Microsoft event, a gathering of people involved in mapping and location technologies, Ben Berkowitz, talked about co founding an online service called SeeClickFix to allow citizens to report problems such as potholes and graffiti to city governments. (The service is available on Boston.com.)

[...]

There was also some Gov 2.0 skepticism at last month’s event at Microsoft center in Cambridge.


It's easy to find a lot of Microsoft at O’Reilly events. Why? Because it funds them [1, 2, 3]. ____ * Sometimes they are hired by Microsoft. In general, Microsoft also loves hiring journalists and this brand new example is no exception:

The former journalist became the chief executive of a Minneapolis firm with 3M, Microsoft among its clients.


Recent Techrights' Posts

Gemini Links 11/01/2026: Scott Morgan and 'The Unix Way'
Links for the day
IBM to Be 'Reorganised'
The rich look for ways to 'monetise' what's left IBM
Dr. Andy Farnell Explains Why He'll Stop Sending E-mail to Microsoft and Gmail Users
The article is long and well worth reading
GNOME Foundation's Microsoft Developer Account
"Lately they're teaming up with Mozilla to eliminate middle click paste - something which I use continuously."
Links 10/01/2026: "Abolish ICE or GTFO", Calls to Ban X/Twitter From Apple/Google App Stores (or Implement National Blocks) Over MElon Turning It Into Non-consensual Deepfake Porn Site
Links for the day
EPO People Power - Part XXX - New Year Starts, Cocainegate Still Discussed a Lot, António Campinos Desperate for Distraction From It
Why the sudden change or 'generosity'? [...] Actual cocaine addicts caused nervous breakdowns among sober people
 
Links 11/01/2026: Bob Weir and Stewart Cheifet Perish
Links for the day
Higher Adoption Rates of GNU/Linux in Cyprus in Recent Years
there are some Cypriots who are championing Free software
Microsoft's linkedin.com is Shrinking, Expect LinkedIn Layoffs to Carry on in 2026
Expect the mass layoffs and office closures to carry on there, maybe as early as next week
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, January 10, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, January 10, 2026
Monday, January 12, Red Hat Layoffs Allegedly Planned
We'll update this post or follow up if or when we get more information
Slop Still Becoming Rare as Another Week Ends
Generally speaking, calm and quiet is desirable, it's what we hope for (an absence of slop, a lack of need to keep abreast of it, ultimately)
Links 10/01/2026: Iran Offline, Venezuelans Decry Civilian Casualties
Links for the day
GAFAM Wants War
Go war! Go bailouts! Go debt! Go Wall Street!
GNU/Linux and Chromebooks Rose to Almost 10% in Haiti
What's noteworthy is that this month GNU/Linux is measured at around 8% and ChromeOS at about 2%
2026 Might be the Year Microsoft Replaces Layoffs With Mass Firings (No Severance Payments to Dismissed Staff)
It's hard to "see" PIPs unless insiders blow the whistle
IBM and Microsoft Hiding Layoffs in Similar, Overlapping Ways
Performance Improvement Plans aplenty
IBM is a Cancer That Attaches Itself to Everything
Red Hat should have remained an independent company
Links 10/01/2026: STV Layoffs (Scottish TV), “CBS Evening News” in Chaos (Culls and Censorship by the US Regime)
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, January 09, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, January 09, 2026
Gemini Links 10/01/2026: Blackout, E-Waste, and Secondary Smartphone
Links for the day
Plot Twist: Microsoft MSN Relays Articles Hinting at or Pointing to Mass Layoffs Soon, Other Gossip
the narrative from Microsoft's "PR bunny" (Shaw) is showing mold already
Links 09/01/2026: Google and Character.AI Implicitly Accept Chatbots Kill Kids and GLP-1 ‘Slimming Pens’ Turn Out to be a Lot Worse Than Advertised
Links for the day
'Vibe Coding' is Not "AI", It's a Sewer, It is Junk
Linus Torvalds was wrong. 'Vibe coding' isn't good for anything.
GNU/Linux May be Approaching 10% "Market Share" in Montenegro
The surge started around 2021
At IBM, "Employee Reviews" (or Appraisals in the UK) Are a "Trojan Horse" for RAs (Mass Layoffs), a Waste of Time
comments from IBMer serve to suggest that appraisals can be precursors
Links 09/01/2026: Technical Blogging Lessons Learned and Google's Gmail Getting a Lot Worse
Links for the day
More IBM Layoffs in India
If IBM cannot afford to retain workers in India, then something is truly "out of control" at IBM
Escaping GAFAM Colonialism Requires Homegrown Free Software
GNU/Linux now measured at 3% in Zambia
Dr. Richard Stallman Has Done No Harm to the GNU Project or the FSF (He Had Benefited Both, Always, Even After the Attacks on Him Began)
Some people try to prevent Dr. Stallman from speaking or having a platform where many people can hear him
GNU/Linux at 4% in Saudi Arabia, Says statCounter
Some years ago Windows fell to a "market share" of just 11% there
Microsoft Isn't Denying the Mass Layoffs
Still silence from Microsoft
In Western Africa GNU/Linux Flirts With 5% Market Share
there's a gradual increase in GNU/Linux usage there
Gemini Links 09/01/2026: Pro1 X Repair and the Mercury Protocol
Links for the day
Links 09/01/2026: Cambodia and China Extradition, "NATO’s High-risk Patrols Near Ukraine"
Links for the day
No, Microsoft Did Not Deny the Q1 Mass Layoffs (Microsoft Can Delay These)
Maybe they disperse or delay the layoffs (changing plans), but the layoffs are going to happen
Only One Person in Charge of Fedora is Not IBM Staff
This is not a community project, it's just a way for IBM to onboard unpaid volunteers
This Is Not a Drill, GNU/Linux is Really Going 'Mainstream' on Laptops (and Desktops)
It is important to explain to people software freedom
IBM Albany Layoffs
not only did many in the site lose their job; there's more to come "and likely another one in February" (weeks from now)
EPO Workers' Industrial Action to Include Many Strikes, to Last Several Months
In some ways, The Hague and Bavaria are becoming almost indistinguishable from Moscow
EPO People Power - Part XXIX - Getting DER SPIEGEL, FAZ, Deutschlandfunk and Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) to Cover EPO Scandals
We kindly ask our readers to contact their local media and urge it to cover the scandals
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, January 08, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, January 08, 2026