There's a reason why Bernie Madoff managed to deflect more than 10 years of suspicion and whistle-blowing before the authorities took the complaints seriously. (In that case it was not until Madoff himself confessed that his business was a fraud that authorities took any of the complaints seriously.) There's a reason why IndyMac was able to falsify the statements of their deposits for months before they ultimately collapsed (it appears because bank regulators told them how they could do it). There's a reason why athletes like Mark McGuire and Alex Rodriguez were able to juice on steroids for so long before any investigations were performed. All of the reasons have to do with how much America loves their heros.

As a company, Microsoft is an American hero, landing at #10 on the the 2009 list of "America's Most Admired Companies". But why? XBox has lost a collective $5B in its history, and Microsoft won't tell the truth about the "red ring of death". In terms of their OS products, what does Microsoft have to show for their $6B/year R&D investment? Vista's "improvement" on the Blue Screen of Death is to also offer a Black Screen of Death (for supposedly unauthorized users). How on earth is it possible that Microsoft can be admired when their flagship product is so poor that it is now a question for the courts to determine just how bad it is and how bad it should be allowed to be?

The bottom line is that our politicians, who control how our prosecutors spend their time, are scrambling to adjust to the reality that our financial service sector, manufacturing, construction, and retail are all in trouble. Are they going to take the long view and stop giving Microsoft a free pass? Or are they going to take the short view and continue supporting [1], [2] a powerful and influential monopoly? That all depends on what position We The People take. If Microsoft can make it to #10 on the list of America's most admired companies, it shows what a long way we have to go. Then again, they are talking about restoring to Hank Aaron the all-time home-run record, so perhaps we will see Truth Happen in this arena, too.

____ [1] Tacitly by condoning their behavior. [2] Financially buy continuing to procure and promote their products.

• Microsoft Blast from the Past: Lawsuits and Fraud
• Microsoft Blast from the Past: Conspiracy and Money Laundering
• Microsoft Blast from the Past: Blackmail
• Shareholder Likens Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates to Bernard Madoff