Lobbyists Tied to Microsoft Wrote Citizens' Letters

[grnidone]

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.

Story here [latimes.com]

The thing that gets me the most about this story is not that Microsoft could be doing it, but that there are people who work for grassroots campaigns who specialize in making letters look like they come from ordinary citizens. The article sounds like this isn't a new technique and is employed by many big businesses to get what they want.
-G

[Mike_Mackin]

>The article sounds like this isn't a new technique and is employed by many big businesses to get what they want.

It happens all the time!

[grnidone]

I had no idea. I find this rather disturbing.

-G

[Macguru]

They used it too during the trial. Even USENET news groups and private boards where flooded by Microsofties. Theyre Internet access accounts where fixed with Microsoft corporate credit cards...

[Brett_Tabke]

There are firms that privately advertise "we can land 10k letters from the senators home district on his desk within 8 hours". Remember when that one congressman was shown on the floor pulling out letters out of his pocket? I think that was during quick zipper clintons congressional foo.