Source: starpulse.com

From BlackVoices

Dear Chick-Fil-A,

You and I sure have had our share of good times. I fondly recall the first moment I ever met you: it was at the Atlanta airport. I’d always heard about you, and was a little nervous to approach. You were everything everyone said you were and more. It was truly love at first bite. I told you I’d come back, and I did — time and time again. We met in various cities all over the country, each time better than the last, as if we’d never been apart. Isn’t that what true love is, where it picks up right it left off?

You can imagine my excitement when I heard you were moving west to my city, Los Angeles. I’d be able to see you as much as I wanted, with no shame or recriminations. Our love would no longer have to be in secret. We could love out loud, for the entire world to see. I was in bliss, and for a time I was truly truly happy.

But baby, lately you’ve been doing me dirty. You’ve been speaking with a forked tongue, spewing hate instead of frying love. Who would have thought that a chicken sandwich would become a symbol for both free speech and intolerance at the same time? It brings a whole new meaning to the question, “Do you it want light or dark?”

I don’t understand why you’re jeopardizing what we have. You’re forcing me to choose between my heart and my stomach. Your president has said that you believe that a marriage is only between a man and a woman. But if anyone keeps eating at your establishment, the only relationship that’ll matter is between a man and his cardiologist. It’s not like anyone, gay or straight, is getting married in your restaurant — nor will any gay couple ever be serving fried food at their nuptials.

You say that gay marriage is a sin, like in Leviticus 19:22. But a preceding verse, Leviticus 17:14, says, “You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.” You don’t cook your chicken in a kosher way. On what grounds are you picking and choosing which edicts to follow?

Read the rest of D. L.’s letter on BlackVoices.com.

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Source: eater.com

The fight over Chick-fil-A and discrimination has taken an interesting turn.

If you recall, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino issued a scathing public statement condemning the fast food chain for having “arrogant attitudes” after the CEO of Chick-fil-A publicly announced that the company was “guilty as charged,” for its non-profit arms financial support to traditional marriage/anti-same sex marriage organizations. In a letter released late last month, Merino vowed to block plans for the development of a new Chick-fil-A in the city. He also said:

“You called supporters of gay marriage ‘prideful.’ Here in Boston, to borrow your own words, we are ‘guilty as charged.’ We are indeed full of pride for our support of same-sex marriage and our work to expand freedom to all people. We are proud that our state and our city have led the way for the country on equal marriage rights…There is no place for discrimination on Boston’s Freedom Trail and no place for your company alongside it.”

Mayor Menino has been heavily criticized for his statements, mainly from critics who charged that he was pandering, has overstepped his boundaries as mayor and has no legal recourse to bar any company from opening up shop.  Feeling the pressure, Menino has somewhat backed away from his statements, now saying that while he can’t “actively block the fast-food chain” from coming to the city, it would be “very difficult” for Chick-fil-A to obtain licenses for a restaurant in Boston.

However, Mayor Menino isn’t the only Bostonian issuing public statements/letters in regards to discrimination in the city. In a four-page letter, hand-delivered a week after Menino’s statement to the Mayor’s office, the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers, or MAMLEO, applauded the mayor for his “strong statements” regarding Chick-fil-A’s alleged discrimination, but also said that he needed to step up in addressing “discriminatory practices,” which they claim Menino has “allowed to exist in the City during your reign.”

Image: FoxNews.com

-The country added 163,000 jobs last month, a huge increase when compared to the 64,000 that were added in June. Even with this good news, there’s bad. First, the unemployment rate is up to 8.3 percent. Second, the country is producing as much stuff now as it did before the downturn, when there were five million more jobs. If companies can do more with less, they will. And third, the jobs being created is only covering the new people coming into the workforce. Add to that the ongoing concerns about the European economy and things are still looking pretty dark. But, the Federal Reserve sounds like it’s now ready to act with stimulus measures, so that could be a good thing.

-Gabby Douglas has the gold! The 16-year-old won the women’s all-around competition yesterday, becoming the first black American to win that coveted prize. Even with all the that, people have found a reason to bad mouth her. The Internet has gone in on Douglas’ hair, of all things. We’re going to ignore all that. #GoGabbyGo.

In other Olympics news, Michael Phelps is competing in the last individual race of his career today. And the U.S. basketball team is cruising, setting a points record beating Nigeria 156 to 73. Want to imagine getting your own gold? Go to the BBC site where you can plug in your height and weight and find out which Olympic athlete you resemble.

-Those angered by Chick-fil-A’s position on same-sex marriage are staging a kiss-in in protest. Participants will show up at restaurants across the country and kiss other protesters of the same sex. Wednesday was “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day” which brought record-breaking sales. The day was organized on Facebook and attended by many who support the stance put forward by company president Dan Cathy. Chick-fil-A restaurant locations are largely in regions where support for same-sex marriage tends to be low. But if the company tries to move into areas where the tide on the issue is turning, the company will likely run into trouble.

-The U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria and (former U.N. Secretary General) Kofi Annan is stepping down from his post at the end of the month. During a press conference, Annan criticized the lack of action and support he received from the Security Council. Violence continues in the country, where the city of Aleppo is now the main site of fighting between the government and rebels. More than 14,000 people have died.

-A study conducted by two liberal advocacy groups, U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) and Demos, found that just 47 people have given 57.1 percent of the $230 million donated by individuals to PACs during this 2012 election. Super PACs supporting Mitt Romney have spent $144 million on TV advertising in swing states so far. Billionaire Sheldon Adelson and his family have donated  good portion of the $36 million that they’ve given to Winning Our Future, a PAC with ties to Newt Gingrich. They’ve also given $10 million to Restore Our Future, a PAC started by Mitt Romney’s former aides. The report’s authors ”calculate that it would take 321,000 middle-income families, donating an equivalent share of their wealth (0.15 percent), to match the Adelsons’ giving,” The Washington Post reports.

Still a little unsure of what a PAC is? Stephen Colbert started his own super PAC and invited legal expert Trevor Potter on The Colbert Report to explain what they are and how (horribly) they’re allowed to be behave.

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Source: Los Angeles Times

I know, those are two dramatically different situations going on, but that’s why this is considered random and crazy ish.

On the first note, in the midst of one of the biggest PR crises to hit Chick-Fil-A in recent years, the company’s vice president of public relations passed away suddenly from a heart attack this morning. Chick-fil-A released a statement saying:

“We are saddened to report the news to you that our dear friend Don Perry, vice president of public relations, passed away suddenly this morning.

“Don was a member of our Chick-fil-A family for nearly 29 years.  He was a well-respected and well-liked media executive in the Atlanta and University of Georgia communities, and we will all miss him.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”

Although many factors play a role in one’s risk for a heart attack, it’s hard to not see the stress of defending Chick-Fil-A’s stance against gay marriage—which he had been doing repeatedly lately—as a possible contributing factor here. It’s definitely sad to think his job might have killed him.

On another note, for some reason Conrad Murray thinks that now is a good time for him to have a jail cell chit chat with Katherine Jackson. The doctor widely regarded as the man who killed Michael Jackson told CNN that he heard Katherine is “having a difficult time” (ya think?) and he’d like her to come to his jailhouse for a talk.

“I’ve been told that she has a desire to speak with me before she departs this life,” he said. “Seeing that she is up in age and in questionable health, and the fact that she is the mother of a very dear departed friend, it would give me great pleasure to sit with her one on one and answer any questions she might have.

“I do not want Mrs. Jackson to suffer. She remains as dear to me as my own mother, unbeknownst to her.”

Interesting timing, Dr. Murray. I’m pretty sure Katherine has enough fooolishness going on in her life without adding the complication of meeting with her son’s convicted killer to boot. He’s going to have to hold off on that reunion and he actually ought to be happy to stay as far away from the seemingly wacko Jackos right now anyway.

What do you think about the death of Chick-Fil-A’s exec and Conrad Murray’s request?

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Source: instinctmagazine.com

To boycott or not to boycott Chick fil-A, that is the question?

To borrow the only few words (besides “Et Tu Brute?”) that I actually remember from our readings of the great works of Shakespeare in high school, the question does come down to if folks, who claim they are for equal rights, are really down for a Chick fil-A boycott?

Before you answer, let’s consider the reasons why you might:

Last Thursday, Chick-fil-A President, Dan Cathy told The Baptist Press, that the privately owned company is “guilty as charged” in support of what he called the biblical definition of the family unit. Now I know what you are thinking? So what? Well that statement on its own wouldn’t have been so bad if not for the fact that the Atlanta-based fast-food chain, which has more than 1,600 restaurants in 39 states and Washington, D.C., has a nonprofit called the WinShape Foundation and the nonprofit has donated about $2 million to pro-traditional marriage Christian groups. Some of these pro-traditional marriage groups have taken an active stance against same sex marriage, this according to Equality Matters, a campaign which seeks full equality for the LGBTQ community.

Of course, Cathy’s proclamation along with the money the company is throwing around to back it up, has ignited calls for protest against the chicken chain. Even Actor Ed Helms, best known for his role in The Hangover, and the city of Boston, have thrown their support behind a Chick-fil-A boycott. Much of this has put the onus on fair-minded consumers to make up their own minds as to whether or not they will continue to support a company that has virtually co-signed marriage discrimination. Yet for some supporters of gay rights, boycotting Chick-fil-A isn’t as cut and dry.

As Josh Ozersky. Chick-fil-A eater and writer for Time Magazine says:

“Chick-fil-A’s charitable foundation gives money to theocratic organizations that I consider malevolent. Objecting to gay marriage is, at least in my view, indefensible in a free society, but it’s only a small part of these groups’ agendas. But they have a right to exist, and American businesses have a right to donate to them. Customers, in turn, have a right to boycott them. But, just as with JC Penney and DeGeneres, it doesn’t seem fair to me. Should you boycott the Grammys because they put on the guy who beat up Rihanna? Then you would have missed Adele.”

And Jonathan Merritt of The Atlantic, and also a Chick Fil A eater, co-signs that sentiment and adds, “But my bigger question is this: In a nation that’s as divided as ours is, do we really want our commercial lives and our political lives to be so wholly intermeshed? And is this really the kind of culture we want to create? Culture war boycotts cut both ways and are much more likely to meet with success when prosecuted by large groups of people, such as Christian activists, who are more numerous than gays and lesbians and their more activist supporters.”