Watching the DOJ/MS fight is sort of like watching Iraq and Iran fight. Or Iraq and Kuwait. I have a hard time working up much enthusiasm for either side. What finally knocked me onto {gasp, choke} Gates' side, was the following: WSJ, p. A16, 12/23/97 Dole Backing Effort to Slow Microsoft Plan Washington - Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole has been sending letters and calling companies seeking their support in an expanding campaign to curb Microsoft Corp.'s entrance into new Internet businesses. Mr. Dole is part of a nascent but growing lobbying effort that goes far beyond issues raised by the Justice Department's antitrust case against Microsoft. ... Mr. Dole is representing several companies, including Microsoft computer rivals Netscape Communications Corp., and Sun Microsystems Corp., and Sabre Group Holdings Inc., a Dallas-based airlines reservation system that faces competition from Microsoft. ... In a recent letter to one company that has been approached for support, Mr. Dole wrote: "In the coming months, we will need to educate the public, the administration, and Congress about the dangers of a laissez-faire attitude toward Microsoft. I am personally convinced that if nothing is done now, it will become increasingly difficult to have fair competition in the years ahead. That is why we will need companies like yours to help finance and support our efforts. Mr. Dole, who was travelling in Bosnia yesterday with President Clinton, couldn't be reached for comment. ... Whenever both heads of the DemoPublican hydra agree, they're circling the wagons to protect their "vital interests" against the barbarians. I'm rooting for the barbarians, no matter how stinky they are. Brad