A billionaire Republican hedge-fund founder tries to buy elections, and perhaps has succeeded. He did succeed in buying the naming rights of Harvard's general graduate school.

I expect the students and faculty will have their say now, and I hope their condemnation of that Republican will live longer than he does.

When the MIT AI Lab moved to the Stata Center, and I discovered that one of the two towers was named Bill Gates, I urged people to refuse to call it by that name. I suggested Minas Tirith and Minas Morgul, but people settled on the innocuous "D Tower" and "G Tower".

I also made a practice of formally saluting the sign that says "Bill Gates", near the outside door of the G tower, with my middle finger.

Methods like this can certainly be used against another billionaire donor who has harmed people's freedom.