Apr 29, 2005  |  By: RYAN LEE  | COMMENTS     

Microsoft’s employment of Ralph Reed, a conservative political consultant who rose to fame as former president of the Christian Coalition.

Reed, currently a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in Georgia, has been paid by Microsoft for several years, but his company, Century Strategies, is limited to advising Microsoft on issues like trade and competition, Begasse said.

“Century Strategies has never advised Microsoft in any way on any social policy issues, including anti-discrimination legislation,” Begasse said.

In an interview with the Seattle Times published Tuesday, Gates said the company did not expect the media firestorm over its decision to drop its support of the non-discrimination bill. He added that Microsoft may consider endorsing the bill when it is introduced in 2006.

Procter & Gamble changing?
Employing the same bravado Hutcherson used in describing his alleged takedown of Microsoft, the American Family Association recently sent an e-mail alert to its members, listing a litany of gay-friendly positions Procter & Gamble supposedly abandoned as a result of AFA’s boycott of the company.

“Our boycott of P&G has been successful,” AFA Chair Donald Wildmon wrote in the April 16 e-mail. “We cannot say they are 100 percent clean … but judging by all that we found in our research, it appears that our concerns have been addressed.”

When the AFA launched its boycott against Procter & Gamble products — most notably Tide detergent and Crest toothpaste — it cited the Cincinnati-based company’s support for the campaign to repeal Article 12, a section of Cincinnati’s charter that prohibited laws based on sexual orientation, including non-discrimination and domestic partner benefit policies.

Procter & Gamble’s efforts included donating $10,000 to Citizens to Restore Fairness, an ad-hoc group created to remove the measure.

In an August 2004 letter to employees, Procter & Gamble executives said “Article 12 “prevents Cincinnati from developing a reputation as an open and welcoming community” and “negatively impacts the city and region’s image and therefore limits P&G’s ability to attract and retain the best talent to help build our business.”

AFA responded to the letter by launching a boycott in conjunction with Focus on the<