This could potentially be a good thing. Redhat could possibly receive a fair amount funding since AOL is always arguing with MS. As long as AOL doesn't dumbify the OS, include propriety programs, etc, etc, I see nothing wrong with this.
And the end of Open Source would be RMS selling out Billy G.
For anyone interested, slashdot links to the article at the Washington Posts site. However, from what I understand this was not printed. When it gets printed in the Post, then there it will be a better matter for discussion.