already I have seen you troll rated up the wazoo for some things you say in other diaries and Open Threads. And seeing you as the first outside commentor on this diary, I immediately was on guard for what you have to say.

But I haven't rated you yet because I'm curious as to what you're standpoint is.

I can't tell if you're conservative, central, liberal, or really anything. You haven't posted any diaries and a lot of your comments have gotten low marks.

But I'm still willing to listen, if you're willing to step up to the plate.

""I too would like to know. What is worth shouting about, RealityBasedJoe?""

In politics, very few things - Shouting just generally indicates a lack of self control and an unawareness of how to present oneself decently.

""I curious - I'm too lazy to go get the link - as to your underlying stance on both the issue of gay rights,""

My position is pretty much a mirror of Andrew Sullivan's.  I support gay marriage wholeheartedly.  Not a big fan of hate crime laws, in that in reality the costs of going down that slippery slope outweigh the benefits.  A big fan of equalization under the law in all its forms.  All the costs, all the benefits.  All avenues should not descriminate.

""and this particular piece of legislation that Microsoft has done a complete 180 on that you yourself also said in a previous Microsoft diary of a few days ago, that you wished they had supported this bill, as you're a supporter of gay marriage. ""

Read my actual comment -- I didn't make it nearly so simple.  I said that I support the bill, and so in my heart I have a simpleminded notion of "It'd be nice if everyone everywhere supported it", but in my head I know it's not a corporation's place to get involved in this sort of thing.

""Which in itself is ironic because now you're saying they shouldn't take any stance, but they did - going against what they've traditionally done - and taken a non-progressive political stance.""

Going against what they've traditionally done by withdrawing themselves is not 'taking a stance'.  It's going from 'a stance' to 'an absence of a stance'.

""...because well - they did get political about it. Initially, it was a progressive movement towards diversity and equal rights - now it's become a political stance, based on the woes of the religious right.""

And now they feel it's better if they're not political.  Nothing wrong with that, because it wasn't their role as a corporation to begin with.

You have this very odd notion in your head that once they're political about it, they must be political about it forever more, and cannot backtrack out of politics.