NY Times has yet another story on the Microsoft story. This one ties a lot together and includes the Ralph Reed story which you read here last night...and the article cites Americablog:
Critics, including gay rights activists and people inside and outside the company, have produced a flood of e-mail and comments on Web logs over the past few days with outraged reaction to the company's decision not to support the bill. They have also attacked the company for paying Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition and a close ally of the Bush administration, as a communications consultant.Kudos to John for his great work on this one.
Company officials said Mr. Reed had been on retainer for several years. He earned $20,000 a month over the last six months, according to invoices obtained by Americablog.com, a left-leaning Web log run by John Aravosis, a writer and political consultant.
Mr. Reed remained on the Microsoft payroll even after a controversy erupted in 2000 over his lobbying Gov. George W. Bush, who was then a candidate for president, on behalf of Microsoft during its antitrust battles, while also serving as an adviser to Mr. Bush's campaign. Mr. Reed later apologized for creating the appearance of a conflict.
The critics also contend that Mr. Gates's comments to The Seattle Times contradicted those of Microsoft's chief executive, Steve Ballmer, who sent a companywide e-mail message last Friday explaining the decision not to support the bill as part of a larger reconsideration of the role the company should play in social debates.
