Microsoft is evil, not just spineless

According to AmericaBlog, Microsoft has not just caved in to fundamentalist pressure, they are actually paying one of the leaders of the theocratic right to lobby for them.

Microsoft is currently paying a $20,000 a month retainer to former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed's consulting firm Century Strategies. Which now begs the question of whether Reed was in any way involved with Microsoft's recent decision to abandon its decades long support for gay civil rights in order to curry favor with anti-gay bigots of the radical right.

Ironically, the fundamentalist right--both here and the Middle East--pretty much gets its raison d'etre by denying the rise of modernity. And Microsoft represents modernity to many people.

Fundamentally (sorry), this alliance should not be surprising. Corporations, whether newfangled "innovation-driven" or oldfangled "brick and mortar", are driven almost exclusively by their bottom line (or, more accurately their share price, which is not quite the same thing). If sucking Ralph Reed's toes or hanging Washington's LGBT community out to dry will help Microsoft's share price, then we should expect to see the socks start to come off.