FC: Dead people write pro-Microsoft letters to governors; ATL poll

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Thu Aug 23 2001 - 08:38:41 PDT

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    http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-000068380aug23.story
    
        Lobbyists Tied to Microsoft Wrote Citizens' Letters
        August 23, 2001
    
        By JOSEPH MENN and EDMUND SANDERS, TIMES STAFF WRITERS
        Letters purportedly written by at least two dead people landed on the
        desk of Utah Atty. Gen. Mark Shurtleff earlier this year, imploring
        him to go easy on Microsoft Corp. for its conduct as a monopoly.
        The pleas, along with about 400 others from Utah citizens, are part of
        a carefully orchestrated nationwide campaign to create the impression
        of a surging grass-roots movement. But it may be backfiring.
    
        [...]
    
    *********
    
    For Immediate Release						Contact:
    Adam Bromberg,/
    August 23, 2001						Suzanne Bakri, or
    Danielle McDonald
    								703-683-5004
    
    
    OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF CALIFORNIA VOTERS WANT AG LOCKYER TO SETTLE
    MICROSOFT CASE
    
    WASHINGTON, DC -- A statewide survey of California voters commissioned by
    Americans for Technology Leadership (ATL) finds that an overwhelming number
    of California voters believe that the state should seek to settle the three
    year running case against Microsoft.
    
    "California voters are sending a clear message to Attorney General Bill
    Lockyer and regulators in Washington, DC that it's time for this case to
    come to an end" said Jim Prendergast, ATL's Executive Director.
    
    The survey of 800 California voters contacted between July 26 and 30 finds
    that 65 percent of registered voters believe that the federal government and
    state attorneys general should settle the case or drop it altogether.  Only
    22 percent feel the state should stay involved.
    
    After intense lobbying from Microsoft competitors  - America Online, Sun
    Microsystems, and Oracle, -- the Clinton Justice Department brought an
    antitrust suit in 1998.  D.C. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson
    ruled against Microsoft and ordered the break up of the company.  A recent
    decision by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down most of Judge
    Jackson's decision to breakup Microsoft and drastically limited the scope of
    the case.
    
    The ATL survey also showed that California voters overwhelmingly believe
    that the current case against Microsoft should not be expanded to prevent
    the company from shipping its newest product - Windows XP - as some have
    proposed.  76 percent of California voters believe that Microsoft should be
    able to distribute the product, while 80 percent said that the state
    attorneys general should not stop the shipment of Windows XP.
    
    "Clearly, Californians feel strongly that the case against Microsoft should
    certainly not be expanded or prolonged.  With the technology sector playing
    a key role in the country's economy, now is not the time to hinder economic
    growth brought about by innovative technology products," Prendergast said.
    
    Americans for Technology Leadership is a broad-based coalition of technology
    professionals, consumers, and organizations dedicated to limiting government
    regulation of technology and to fostering competitive market solutions to
    public policy issues that affect the technology industry.  For additional
    information on ATL, please visit the web site at www.techleadership.org.
    
    For a complete copy of the statewide survey, or for more information please
    contact Adam Bromberg, Suzanne Bakri, or Danielle McDonald at (703)
    683-5004.
    
    -30-
    
    
    
    
    
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