# Foreigners blocked from Bush's website **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 27, 2004, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreigners-blocked-from-bushs-website/271560 "2004-10-27T23:10:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreigners-blocked-from-bushs-website/271560/21 "2004-10-28T11:44:16Z")
We did a hijack on this in the [lost Florida ballots Pit thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=283253). I posted the letter I wrote to the Bush campaign about it. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreigners-blocked-from-bushs-website/271560/22 "2004-10-28T11:55:57Z")
Because of course, no computers in America could _possibly_ be used in a DDOS on an American server. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreigners-blocked-from-bushs-website/271560/23 "2004-10-28T12:27:19Z")
BTW: I get the error message when accessing [http://www.georgewbush.com/](http://www.georgewbush.com/) , but when I type in [http://65.172.163.222/](http://65.172.163.222/) I can access the site (on one of its Akamai servers) OK. So this is keeping a lot of legitimate users out (including any Bush supporter who happens to be in the wrong sort of country), while failing as a security measure on at least three levels (HTTP instead of packet filtering; circumventable by using IP addresses; still wide open to millions of compromised Windows PCs in the US). Also they could easily have mitigated the impression this makes on any prospective visitors from abroad by modifying the standard 403 error page to include an explanation and links to alternative sites. Just few minutes of work (i.e. just a few days of billed IT consultant’s time). It really seems to be a common reflex for higher brain functions to shut off when you feel under a security threat… ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Cooper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@Agent\_Cooper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Cooper)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreigners-blocked-from-bushs-website/271560/24 "2004-10-28T12:40:14Z")
just for the record … loads fine here in CA ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreigners-blocked-from-bushs-website/271560/25 "2004-10-28T12:55:31Z")
[http://65.172.163.222/](http://65.172.163.222/) Loads for me in Ireland. The [georgebush.com](http://georgebush.com) link gives Access denied ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreigners-blocked-from-bushs-website/271560/26 "2004-10-28T19:03:38Z")
Maybe you have to sign a loyalty oath first? ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreigners-blocked-from-bushs-website/271560/27 "2004-10-28T21:21:56Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > [http://65.172.163.222/](http://65.172.163.222/) > > Loads for me in Ireland. The [georgebush.com](http://georgebush.com) link gives Access denied Different strokes for different folks! ??? Maybe content differs. Can’t access numerical URL. ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreigners-blocked-from-bushs-website/271560/28 "2004-10-28T21:27:06Z")
DOESN’T work for me, as we speak, in the UK… ---
**Author:** ![qwertyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/bbce88/32.png) [@qwertyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qwertyn)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreigners-blocked-from-bushs-website/271560/29 "2004-10-29T00:28:30Z")
To access bush’s site go to [http://www.kniff.de/cgi-bin/cgiproxy/nph-proxy.cgi/010110A/](http://www.kniff.de/cgi-bin/cgiproxy/nph-proxy.cgi/010110A/) and type/paste [http://www.georgewbush.com](http://www.georgewbush.com) inside the space provided 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreigners-blocked-from-bushs-website/271560/30 "2004-10-29T00:48:17Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > [http://65.172.163.222/](http://65.172.163.222/) > > Loads for me in Ireland. The [georgebush.com](http://georgebush.com) link gives Access denied Doesn’t work for me. I get an access denied too. ---
**Author:** ![qwertyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/bbce88/32.png) [@qwertyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qwertyn)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreigners-blocked-from-bushs-website/271560/31 "2004-10-29T01:24:28Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Doesn’t work for me. I get an access denied too. make sure it’s [georgeWbush.com](http://georgeWbush.com) ---
**Author:** ![tygerbryght](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@tygerbryght](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygerbryght)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreigners-blocked-from-bushs-website/271560/32 "2004-10-31T20:19:19Z")
(trying desperately to catch up after one brief session t’other day the only one since last Sunday) For anyone abroad who wants to see it, and still can’t, here’s the story from [Boing Boing](http://boingboing.net/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=Bush+website+blocked). and for anyone anywhere who wants the full story, complete with all the graphs:: [Bush Campaign Web Site Rejects Non-US Visitors](http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2004/10/26/bush_campaign_web_site_rejects_nonus_visitors.html) At the moment, the stories on [netcraft.com](http://netcraft.com) are still on the front page. Not sure how quickly they’ll be bumped, as it’s not a site I monitor regularly, as I’m not part of Web biz. I didn’t google, but I’m kinda surprised that nobody offered links before. Is the information really so poorly circulated? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreigners-blocked-from-bushs-website/271560.md?page=1)