[geek][politics] I've got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach...

John at AMERICAblog has a story that Microsoft has quietly yanked their support for HB 1515, the pro-gay, anti-discrimination bill stuck in the state legislature... Quoting John who is in turn quoting from The Stranger (online tomorrow - I almost picked one up today but didn't...), we have this:

The pastor, Ken Hutcherson of Antioch Bible Church in Redmond, met with a senior Microsoft executive in February and threatened to organize a national boycott of the company's products if it did not change its stance on the legislation, according to gay rights activists and a Microsoft employee who attended a subsequent April 4 meeting where Bradford L. Smith, Microsoft's senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary, told a group of gay staffers about Hutcherson's threat.... At the April 4 meeting, Smith told members of GLEAM, the gay and lesbian employees group at Microsoft, that the company had switched its official stance to "neutral" on the bill, and took personal responsibility for the decision. He characterized the shift as part of a broader general review of company policy designed to more precisely formulate criteria for determining when Microsoft should involve itself in "social issues," but also disclosed the pressure that had been brought to bear on him by Hutcherson....

WTF? "[B]roader general review of company policy"? I'm at a loss for words. I won't be at a loss tomorrow when I call Microsoft... I'll let you know how it goes.