Wal-Mart is destroying small town America. Clear Channel dominates radio with the same bland product everywhere, and funds right wing political causes. Exxon-Mobil is a nasty oil company, destroying the Earth for fun and profit. Altria (owner of Philip Morris) produces a product that kills if used as intended.

Microsoft makes software that most of us use to access DailyKos. Microsoft makes the software most of us use to send e-mail and letters to Congress. Microsoft's products haven't killed or hurt anyone, are pretty much non-polluting, empower small businesses and individuals to do things that would have been prohibitively expensive or impossible without Microsoft software, and provides a way for many people to access information they would not otherwise get.

Microsoft treats its employees better than most companies, too. Though there are no unions active, that's mostly because until recently there has been little need for them. Pay is competitive. Health benefits are unbeatable. Gay and lesbian employees have full domestic partnership benefits.

Are they perfect? No. Have they been brutal to their competitors? Sure. Is the whining of Microsoft haters justified? 90% of the time, no way.

I get really sick of this smearing of a company that, while it is definitely a huge corporation subject to the institutional problems of any corporation, is much better than most. In corporate terms, Microsoft is progressive, and Nader should only be embarrassed about holding their stock because he engaged in the same knee-jerk Microsoft hatred that is so common among otherwise thinking people.