Except for a few small presses, most publishers are north of Ground Zero.
I gave you three proofs of witchcraft. A cat that drinks blood! A horse that talks! And a man who propagates POODLES!
The great thing about the Internet is that it will not abide by the rules.
We project our ideas about ourselves into the heavens and call them ideas about God.
Most writers can write books faster than publishers can write checks.
The key factor is whether the agent is a member of the Association of Authors' Representatives, which screens its members and requires them to uphold a Canon of Ethics.