Posted by
ryuzaki0
on from the isn't-it-ironic-dontcha-think dept.
rm-r writes: "The BBC is running a story here about Microsoft hiring Ralph Reed, one of George W. Bush's senior consultants and a big figure in the Christian Coalition, to lobby against their anti-trust case." Think MS knows that many people consider them the Great Satan??
But Ralph Reed IS.
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 5
Ralph Reed and his ilk are, in the words of John McCain, evil. They preach a peculiarly nasty strain of evangelical fundamentalism, one that would have Americans sniping Slepians and crucifying Shepards. While Bill Gates may have gotten a bad rap, cozying up to nutcases like Ralph Reed doesn't help.
Re:MS is NOT Satan, nor is Mr Gates.
by
Danse
·
· Score: 5
You're partially right. Bill Gates is not Satan. He is merely a henchman of Satan. Satan wouldn't be caught dead with a haircut like that.
Seriously though, I don't know if there is really any point in separating attacks on his empire from attacks on him personally. It amounts to the same thing. He IS Microsoft. Sure, he has his minions to do the day-to-day stuff, but there is no doubt that he runs the show. I'll agree that it's overkill to call Microsoft evil in the traditional sense, but we are talking about a company that has been breaking the law, and is now trying to use its money and power to influence politicians to keep from being severely punished.
One could argue that any of us would likely try to fight back and change the law if we felt we were being unjustly prosecuted for something, but I certainly feel that if that were the case, I'd do it openly and try to make an argument that stands on its own merit rather than simply getting an exception made for me under the table. The problem is that Microsoft has tried several times to make a public argument, but they always twist the facts and leave out the parts that don't look so good in the light of day. That doesn't work in court though, so many of these facts were brought to light and, in the end, that's why they lost the case. The facts simply contradicted their arguments almost entirely.
-- It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds. - Captain Hammer
There is a very distinct line between criticising the Christian Coalition and criticising Christians in general. The Christian Coalition is an extremist, authoritarian group, hungry for power. It has an ends-justify-the-means mentality; its leaders are on record advocating anti-democratic measures when they think the press isn't watching. Their legislative agenda would turn the US into a fundamentalist theocracy, imposing their narrow, judgmental morality on everyone. If they had the power, there would be stonings of fornicators, sodomists and blasphemers in town squares.
Furthermore, they are not representative of all Christians, or even the majority. There are many Christians who are content to live out Christ's message of judge-not-lest-ye-should-be-judged and being generally decent to their fellow human beings without declaring holy war against those whose values don't match theirs. And if I remember correctly, Christ had something to say about the hypocrites who make a point of wearing their "righteousness" as a badge of pride.
I'm not a Christian myself, but I have the greatest respect for those who are and live a decent life, rather than using their Christianity as an excuse to hate or condemn those who don't share it. Unfortunately, that's what most of the Religious Right seem to do.
Interesting Details at NYtimes
by
Chris+Phillips
·
· Score: 5
It's traditional microsoft public relations tactics.
About hiring Reed, the nytimes writes- "Microsoft's aim, the company says, is to curry favor with the apparent Republican presidential nominee,"
To do this, Reeds's firm would do this- "A series of e-mail messages from John Pudner, senior project manager for Century Strategies, laid out a detailed plan by Mr. Reed's staff and his contractors to recruit senior Bush supporters from around the country in an effort to undermine the government's suit. The Bush supporters -- and the e-mail showed that Mr. Pudner isscreening them carefully to make sure they are influential within the campaign -- are being asked to write letters to Mr. Bush saying they believe the government's case is misguided, and that the American people oppose it."
They get $300 a letter. Classy.
More info at- http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztec h/articles/11soft.html
On the good side, the man in charge of the committee that approves justice dept officials is Orrin Hatch, a big microsoft foe. The state atty generals are also involved with the case- GW can't just fire them.
A match made in heaven (pun intended)
by
Stiletto
·
· Score: 5
Ralph Reed gives Christians as much a bad name as Bill Gates gives computer enthusiasts. ________________________________
"Oh please boot please boot please stay up for over an hour oh please oh please oh please..."
--
--The basis of all love is respect
Microsoft hedges their political bets.
by
MattXVI
·
· Score: 5
Before anybody reads too much into the hiring of a GOP lobbyist, keep in mind that MS has hired Democrat lobbyists as well. Why doesn't that merit a story on Slashdot? The GOP controls both side of Capitol Hill, so it certainly makes sense to employ a big name GOP lobbysist if you are one of the biggest corporations in America.
It's interesting to note that Microsoft gives about the same amount of money to each party. Like most companies, they hedge their bets. This article has more details.
-- When I'm singing a ballad and a pair of underwear lands on my head, I hate that. It really kills the mood. -Tom Jones
Think MS knows that many people consider them the Great Satan??
Many people reading Slashdot, maybe. How many people in the normal population have this view, though? I'll give you a clue, it's somewhere in the single digits.
The unfortunate truth is that "normal" people consider MicroSoft to be gods. They see Bill's incredible success and marvel at it. They see the newest version of Windows and stand bug-eyed when they see their start menu fade in.
My father was even saying how unfortunate it is that MS is even involved in the anti-trust case at all. Lets face it, the general population really doesn't know what's going on... not that they have to, though. Windows is good enough for their means, and it's relatively easy to use. As long as this holds true, their opinion of MS is not going to change, no matter what happens.
Slashdot Mirror
Ralph Reed and his ilk are, in the words of John
McCain, evil. They preach a peculiarly nasty
strain of evangelical fundamentalism, one that
would have Americans sniping Slepians and
crucifying Shepards. While Bill Gates may have
gotten a bad rap, cozying up to nutcases like
Ralph Reed doesn't help.
You're partially right. Bill Gates is not Satan. He is merely a henchman of Satan. Satan wouldn't be caught dead with a haircut like that.
Seriously though, I don't know if there is really any point in separating attacks on his empire from attacks on him personally. It amounts to the same thing. He IS Microsoft. Sure, he has his minions to do the day-to-day stuff, but there is no doubt that he runs the show. I'll agree that it's overkill to call Microsoft evil in the traditional sense, but we are talking about a company that has been breaking the law, and is now trying to use its money and power to influence politicians to keep from being severely punished.
One could argue that any of us would likely try to fight back and change the law if we felt we were being unjustly prosecuted for something, but I certainly feel that if that were the case, I'd do it openly and try to make an argument that stands on its own merit rather than simply getting an exception made for me under the table. The problem is that Microsoft has tried several times to make a public argument, but they always twist the facts and leave out the parts that don't look so good in the light of day. That doesn't work in court though, so many of these facts were brought to light and, in the end, that's why they lost the case. The facts simply contradicted their arguments almost entirely.
It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds. - Captain Hammer
There is a very distinct line between criticising the Christian Coalition and criticising Christians in general. The Christian Coalition is an extremist, authoritarian group, hungry for power. It has an ends-justify-the-means mentality; its leaders are on record advocating anti-democratic measures when they think the press isn't watching. Their legislative agenda would turn the US into a fundamentalist theocracy, imposing their narrow, judgmental morality on everyone. If they had the power, there would be stonings of fornicators, sodomists and blasphemers in town squares.
Furthermore, they are not representative of all Christians, or even the majority. There are many Christians who are content to live out Christ's message of judge-not-lest-ye-should-be-judged and being generally decent to their fellow human beings without declaring holy war against those whose values don't match theirs. And if I remember correctly, Christ had something to say about the hypocrites who make a point of wearing their "righteousness" as a badge of pride.
I'm not a Christian myself, but I have the greatest respect for those who are and live a decent life, rather than using their Christianity as an excuse to hate or condemn those who don't share it. Unfortunately, that's what most of the Religious Right seem to do.
It's traditional microsoft public relations tactics.
c h/articles/11soft.html
About hiring Reed, the nytimes writes-
"Microsoft's aim, the company says, is to curry favor with the apparent Republican presidential nominee,"
To do this, Reeds's firm would do this-
"A series of e-mail messages from John Pudner, senior project manager for Century Strategies, laid out a detailed plan by Mr. Reed's staff and his contractors to recruit senior Bush supporters
from around the country in an effort to undermine the government's suit.
The Bush supporters -- and the e-mail showed that Mr. Pudner isscreening them carefully to make sure they are influential within the campaign -- are being asked to write letters to Mr. Bush saying they believe the government's case is misguided, and that the American people oppose it."
They get $300 a letter. Classy.
More info at-
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/bizte
On the good side, the man in charge of the committee that approves justice dept officials is Orrin Hatch, a big microsoft foe. The state atty generals are also involved with the case- GW can't just fire them.
Ralph Reed gives Christians as much a bad name as Bill Gates gives computer enthusiasts.
________________________________
AP story: "Reed Apologizes for Bush Work"
"Oh please boot please boot please stay up for over an hour oh please oh please oh please..."
--The basis of all love is respect
It's interesting to note that Microsoft gives about the same amount of money to each party. Like most companies, they hedge their bets. This article has more details.
When I'm singing a ballad and a pair of underwear lands on my head, I hate that. It really kills the mood.
-Tom Jones
Think MS knows that many people consider them the Great Satan??
Many people reading Slashdot, maybe. How many people in the normal population have this view, though? I'll give you a clue, it's somewhere in the single digits.
The unfortunate truth is that "normal" people consider MicroSoft to be gods. They see Bill's incredible success and marvel at it. They see the newest version of Windows and stand bug-eyed when they see their start menu fade in.
My father was even saying how unfortunate it is that MS is even involved in the anti-trust case at all. Lets face it, the general population really doesn't know what's going on... not that they have to, though. Windows is good enough for their means, and it's relatively easy to use. As long as this holds true, their opinion of MS is not going to change, no matter what happens.
-- Dr. Eldarion --
Check out the MSNBC article.
kwsNI
tcd004