Re: Was SC AG influenced by Microsoft contributions?

[Dan Strychalski <dski@cameonet.cameo.com.tw>]

Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org> wrote --
> See
>
> http://www.sjmercury.com/business/top/045337.htm

The article, posted at 8:19 p.m. PST Thursday, December 24, 1998, is
titled "Microsoft political donation called coincidental," and starts --

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- A contribution by Microsoft Corp. to South
   Carolina's Republican Party during the 1998 campaign preceded a
   decision by the state's GOP attorney general to withdraw from an
   antitrust suit against the computer software giant.

Not much focus or new news in that article; I suspect it's filler, and
the headline is a cheap trick to get people's attention.

Not that I don't think the matter bears closer scrutiny. Following are
excerpts from two of the articles I downloaded just after the withdrawal
announcement. I've underscored a couple of passages with circumflexes, a
convention that arose before proportional screen fonts; hope everyone's
software can handle it correctly (I've heard of Windows programs that
can't)....
___

   WASHINGTON (December 7, 1998 7:04 p.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com)
   . . .
   "I can no longer justify our continued involvement or the expenditure
   of state resources on a trial that has been made moot by the actions
   of the competitive marketplace," Condon said in a statement that also
   was distributed by Microsoft.                   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
   Microsoft said it gave $20,000 this election cycle to the Republican
   party in South Carolina. State GOP executive director Trey Walker
   described the contribution as among the largest received.
   . . .
   <http://152.52.2.152/newsroom/ntn/info/120798/info3_17771_noframes.html>
   Copyright (C) 1998 Nando Media; Copyright (C) 1998 The Associated Press
   By Ted Bridis, Associated Press Writer
___

   December 7, 1998: 8:07 p.m. ET
   . . .
   Microsoft hopes South Carolina's withdrawal, and the reasons behind it,
   will urge other states to follow suit. Microsoft's legal team said they
   were involved in ongoing talks with other state attorneys general.
   . . .            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
   <http://cnnfn.com/digitaljam/9812/07/microsoft/>
   Copyright (C) 1998 Cable News Network, Inc.
   by staff writer John Frederick Moore
___

Dan Strychalski                               dski@cameonet.cameo.com.tw