Nancy Pelosi, San Francisco Democrat: 'I'm a Kentucky Fried Chicken Fan'

Yeah, that makes sense. I'm sure the Castro is just lined with KFC outlets.

This was at Twitchy a few days back, "Nancy Pelosi prefers KFC to Chick-fil-A; conservatives prefer snark to Nancy."

And then yesterday, at The Hill, "Pelosi stands by KFC in Chick-fil-A controversy."

Actually, KFC loves teh gays. I mean, really loves teh gays: "WATCH: Colonel Sanders Says KFC Loves Gay People."

Wendy's Briefly Backs Chick-fil-A, Then Dumps the Christian Company Like a Rotting Bag of Pink Slime

From Dana Loesch, "Wendy's Stumbles Into Chick-Fil-A Controversy."

And at Fox News, "Where's the beef? Top Wendy's franchisee backs Chick-fil-A -- briefly":

They smeared Chick-fil-A, pure and simple.

PREVIOUSLY: "Wendy's Courts Public Relations Disaster: Implies Chick-fil-A Doesn't Serve All Customers."

Chick-fil-A: The Left's Ominous Attack On Religious Liberty

From Jay Richards and James Robinson, at the Wall Street Journal, "The Chicken Inquisition":

The campaign against Chick-fil-A may be a more ominous attack on religious freedom than the Affordable Care Act's mandates. ObamaCare would force millions of Americans to fund actions they find morally reprehensible but leaves them free to denounce it. The chicken inquisition, by contrast, directly targets religious speech itself.

Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy recently dared to describe his views on marriage during a radio program. "I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, 'We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,'" he said. "I pray God's mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to redefine what marriage is about."

For this, activist organizations are trying to brand Chick-fil-A as "anti-gay" and intimidate other businesspeople into thinking twice before exercising their freedom of speech.

The agitators chose a most improbable villain. Dan Cathy is the son of the 91-year-old founder of the company, S. Truett Cathy. Truett is an entrepreneur and philanthropist who is also a committed Christian. His fast-food chain is famous not only for tasty chicken sandwiches but also for being closed on Sundays. The Cathys don't think of their company as a "Christian company," but they have sought to run their business on "biblical principles." This gives them a special interest in families.

"We are very much supportive of the family—the biblical definition of the family unit," Mr. Cathy explained recently in an interview with the Baptist Press. "We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that."

In virtually every culture, marriage is an institution involving a public commitment between a man and a woman. The complementary nature of men and women points to the unique purpose of marriage: to bear and raise children. One can recognize this fact and so conclude that "same-sex marriage" is an oxymoron—without being "anti-gay."

Mr. Cathy and many other Americans see marriage as a sacred institution. As a result, the campaign against Mr. Cathy is not just an attack on speech but on religious speech.

Continue reading.

Religion really is a the bottom of this.

See my earlier report: "Why Are Progressives So Intolerant?"

Harry Reid Pederasty Rumors

Glenn Reynolds picks up on Harry Reid's McCarthyism:

HARRY REID’S FINANCIAL MCCARTHYISM. “I don’t think the burden should be on me.”

And I don’t think the burden should be on me to resolve those Harry Reid pederasty rumors, either. But when there’s this much Harry Reid pederasty buzz on the Internet, I think Sen. Reid owes the public an explanation.

Check that hilarious screencap at the link.

And at AoSHQ, "When Will Harry Reid Address The Growing Concerns About His Pederasty?" (And don't miss Jon Stewart calling out Reid's bullsh*t, at that link.)

PREVIOUSLY: "'Put Up or Shut Up' — Mitt Romney Calls Out Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid."

BONUS: At Twitchy, "#HarryReidFacts: Some guy totally told Truther Harry Reid a thing about Romney’s taxes; Media repeat; Update: #HarryReidIsAPederast."

EXTRA: Back over at Instapundit, "FORGET THOSE UNSUBSTANTIATED, BUT TROUBLING, PEDERASTY RUMORS: Why Doesn’t Harry Reid Answer Sourced Accusations of Racism and Corruption?"

He's a Democrat.

Shield Anonymous Commenters? More Papers Say 'No'

An interesting piece at NPR, "Newspaper Takes a Stand On Anonymous Commenters":

The Internet is slowly becoming a less anonymous place. YouTube has a new policy encouraging commenters to use their real names, and many news sites have switched to a login system run by Facebook.

News sites that still allow anonymous comments are finding there are legal risks. The Spokesman-Review newspaper in Spokane, Wash., has spent the last few months trying to protect the identity of a reader who saw a photo of a Republican Party official in Idaho named Tina Jacobson, and then posted a disparaging comment.

The paper's city editor, Addy Hatch, practically has the comment memorized, given the amount of trouble it's caused.

"Is that the missing $10,000 from Kootenai County Central Committee funds stuffed inside Tina's blouse?" Hatch recites.

Besides insulting Jacobson's appearance, the comment suggested she stole party funds. Jacobson decided to sue the commenter for defamation — and took the paper to court to make it reveal the person's name.

The paper resisted — on principle, Hatch says.

"You know, it's against the grain for a newspaper to give up anonymous sources of any kind," Hatch says. "And we just felt like we had to take a stand."

Continue reading.

RELATED: At Blazing Cat Fur, "Why Did the Globe Pull Paul Koring's Chick-fil-A Article?": "Personally I suspect it was the comments that got it pulled, the tolerant left was out in force making supreme asses of themselves."

Yeah, it was the comments alright. I read through some of those earlier. F-king progs are out for blood.

'Put Up or Shut Up' — Mitt Romney Calls Out Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

In national political news, The Hill has this, "Romney: Harry Reid needs to 'put up or shut up' on my taxes."

Also at Hot Air, "Reid: Romney is guilty of my evidence-free accusations until he proves himself innocent; Update: Repeats accusation on floor of Senate," and The Other McCain, "Slander on the Senate Floor: Harry Reid Repeats Romney Tax Accusation."

Robert has more here, "Harry Reid’s Financial McCarthyism: ‘I Don’t Think the Burden Should Be on Me’."

Lots more at Memeorandum.

And Romney advisor Eric Fehrnstrom attacks the "McCarthyism" on Fox News (video).

Added: At the Washington Examiner, "Jon Stewart tells Harry Reid to ‘shut up’ after ‘bullsh*t’ shot on Mitt Romney."

Adam Smith, Hateful Chick-fil-A Drive-Up Guy Who Made Videotape, Fired From His Position as Executive at Vante Corporation

It was a stupid stunt. Mean, heartless, and stupid.

But William Jacobson's not cheering his termination. See: "Why I’m not cheering the termination of Vante’s CFO for his anti-Chick-fil-A political stunt":

Why pick on a drive-through window clerk? The video seemed to capture in minutes the entire bullying methodology of the left.

Needless to say, the reaction has been substantial.

Now the person in the film, Adam Smith, has lost his job (unclear if he resigned or was fired, but clear what the cause was)...

Continue reading.

Actually, I don't think the guy should have been fired, but the folks at Vante must have been worried about a backlash, so something happened. It probably would have been a public relations disaster, especially as the guy was an executive at the firm. That said, I can see how a lot of folks on the right might be cheering this. If progressives want to act out like that --- in ways totally socially unacceptable --- they should be ready for the consequences.

More at Business Insider, "Vante CFO Bullies Chick-Fil-A Worker, Then Promptly Gets Fired For It."

Blazing Cat Fur also reported, "Liberal Douche of the Day."

PREVIOUSLY: "Hateful Progressive Berates Young Woman at Chick-fil-A Drive-Up Window."

ADDED: Linked at Blue Crab Boulevard. Thanks.

Feminist Jessica Valenti, Who's Not Unattractive, Berates Teenager Who Had Corrective Surgery After Being Bullied

Okay, so she's not Penelope Cruz.

Still, this piece from so-called radical feminist Jessica Valenti is a bit much, at the Nation, "The Upside of Ugly."

(Via Althouse, "'This is a fucked-up country to grow up in, especially as a girl'.")

And from Valenti's essay:

There’s nothing wrong with embracing ugly. It’s okay to feel inferior—we don’t feel ugly or less than because of some deficit in our confidence, we feel that way because we’re systematically trained to believe it. Because society depends on it. Self esteem won’t change that—shifting the culture will.

As an adult, I can look back and know that like a lot of kids, it just took me a while to grow into my face. I look how I’m supposed to look. But more importantly, I know that anger and action can be more fulfilling than being beautiful.

People who promote self-esteem in girls have their best interest at heart. And self-love and self-care are certainly worthy goals—but not on their own. Because what makes us feel better about ourselves is not always what's best for us or others in the long run. Life shouldn’t be a feel-good campaign.

This is a fucked-up country to grow up in, especially as a girl. And we all want to give young women the tools necessary to succeed. So let’s teach girls to survive a misogynist culture with a fist, not a smile [emphasis added].

Perhaps she was an ugly duckling. But she's not "ugly," by any stretch --- which makes her essay pretty ridiculous.

And remember, Valenti had a traditional white wedding in 2009 and she's now the mother of a 2-year-old daughter. Yeah, I know, she's really taking it to the man!

FLASHBACK: At Althouse's, "Let's take a closer look at those breasts."

PHOTO CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons.

MSNBC Hacks Attack 'Hate Groups' Who Turned Out for Nationwide Chick-fil-A Buycott

This is the full MSNBC hack-tacular!

You've got the country's biggest civil rights hypocrite Al "Tawana Brawley" Sharpton, with the bonus appearance of token "GOP" gay marriage expert Megan "Don't Look at My Big Boobs" McCain. And then throw in Jonathan Capehart, from the Washington Post's deep-bench of political correctness, and what could go wrong?!!

And here's the thing: Reports show some reasonable gay individuals who support Chick-fil-A's First Amendment rights. See the Los Angeles Times, "'I am gay and I support Chick-fil-A,' California teen says." And the customer response yesterday was nothing less than a massive repudiation of the left's bigotry and thuggery, as sales at Chick-fil-A were through the roof:

Steve Robinson, executive vice president of marketing for Chick-fil-A, said in a statement that although the company would not release exact sales numbers, Wednesday's totals were "unprecedented."

"We are very grateful and humbled by the incredible turnout of loyal Chick-fil-A customers on Aug. 1 at Chick-fil-A restaurants around the country," Robinson said. "We congratulate local Chick-fil-A owner/operators and their team members for striving to serve each and every customer with genuine hospitality."

Some outlets had so much business they had to close early because they ran out of food.

Frankly, this has been one of the most remarkable repudiations of progressivism since, well, since the Wisconsin recall! And the leftist establishment is bumbling its response. As Glenn Reynolds indicates, Jim Romanesko had to pull the story of a reporter who claimed to have been allegedly "shocked" at all the hatred and homophobic rants he heard while reporting from Chick-fil-A outlets. See: "Reporter Pulls Rant About Chick-fil-A Customers."

So there's your context to Al Sharpton's segment, attacking the GOP as "hateful bigots" simply for supporting a Christian business executive's right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

BONUS: From John Hawkins at Right Wing News:

If I were the Democrats, I’d be sweating twice as much as I was before Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day because this wasn’t all about chicken, my friend. It was about Christians and conservatives in this country who’re tired of being shoved around. If people will turn out like this all across the country to get a little chicken and send a little message, just imagine what it’s going to be like in November. Barack Obama is doomed.

Sounds good to me. More chicken!

Femen's Got It Goin' On! Topless Activists Protest Sharia at London Olympic Games!

Now these are some radicals I can get behind.

At Pamela's, "OLYMPIC PROTEST STAGED BY TOPLESS AGAINST THE SHARIA - THEY ARE RIGHT ..... BOOBS AND ALL":

And while going topless is clearly a bit extreme, these women are right, and desperate to get their message out there. And the venue is dead on balls. The IOC has been pro-Islamic, supporting Jew-hatred and misogyny in their official capacities.

And from the report at Telegraph UK:

"The Olympic Committee must not have allowed those governments to be represented in the Olympics. They are fascists of our time, they treat women like third-class citizens. This is what we object to, this is what they are protesting against," said protester Reza Moradi, without specifying any countries.

Yeah, the Islamists, and their progressive fascist enablers in the Western democracies. Jamie Glazov wrote the book on this, United in Hate: The Left's Romance with Tyranny and Terror. And from Ben Furman's blurb at the link:

The ideological descendents of the communist/progressive Left that spent its capital hoping the West would lose the Cold War to the Soviet Union are today's leftist core. Based on their hatred for the United States, the Left has forged a symbiotic relationship with radical Islam, whose hatred for America equals theirs. Both make it clear that they consider Western civilization evil and unworthy of preservation. Violent revolution is the Left's path to change; the Jihadists' follow the path of war and annilation.

Nanny Bloomberg

Pamela talks to Ezra Levant:

And from Atlas: "Bloomberg should be thrown out for this tyranny, this war on individual rights."

Hateful Progressive Berates Young Woman at Chick-fil-A Drive-Up Window

The video was pulled at Gateway Pundit last night, "AWFUL!… Hateful Leftist Abuses Young Woman Working the Chick-fil-A Window (Video) …UPDATED."

But it's back up now. Watch it.

And see Twitchy, "Douche of the day: Tolerance bully proudly harasses young woman at Chick-fil-A window."

Plus, Ace of Spades HQ makes a go of it:

Oh jeeze!!!Being an internet super-STAR!!! is not quite all I hoped it would be!I'm taking my video down!!! l8r h8rz!!!!
— Johnny Douchechills (@AceofSpadesHQ) August 2, 2012

Blazing Cat Fur has it as well:

Liberal douche rolls up to a Chick-fil-A drive through so he can berate a teenaged girl about gay marriage. This is an object lesson in things you should not post on YouTube.

And following the links takes us to Toronto's Globe and Mail, and from the comments there:

The furore was not set off by Dan Cathy of Chick-fil-A. It was set off by all the arrogant politically correct leftist commentators who want to shut up the expression of any opinion except their own.

Exactly.

Kofi Annan Resigns as United Nations Envoy to Syria

Things aren't going too well for the U.N. mission, obviously.

See the National Post, "Kofi Annan to leave Syria role as rebels hold advantage in intense battle for Aleppo."

PREVIOUSLY: "Atrocities Seen as Battle for Aleppo Intensifies."

New Book Claims Valerie Jarrett Coached President Obama on Bin Laden Raid

And remember, this was the "gutsy call" that the White House has been trumpeting for maximum political advantage.

The main report's at The Atlantic, "White House: Of Course Obama Didn't Call Off Bin Laden Raid."

At issue is Richard Miniter's new book, Leading from Behind: The Reluctant President and the Advisors Who Decide for Him.

And Michelle gives a good interview at the clip, but see also Matthew Vadum, "Valerie Jarrett’s Bin Laden Raid Veto."

Miniter, a two-time New York Times bestselling author, has not yet explained to the media why Jarrett pushed for three separate stays of extrajudicial execution. Americans will have to wait until the book, published by St. Martin’s Press, is officially released on August 21 in order to find out....

And there’s no doubt that Jarrett, who seemed to function as de facto Secretary of Defense last year, is, like Obama, a hardcore leftist with radical roots.

Like Obama and Bill Ayers, Jarrett lived within the precincts of Hyde Park, Chicago, the home of many elite leftists. She worked for Chicago’s first black mayor, the radical Harold Washington, whose election was cheered by leftover 1960s radicals. After Washington died in 1987, she worked for the new mayor Richard Daley. Jarrett later landed a job at Habitat, which was headed by Daniel Levin, cousin of two left-wing politicians, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Congressman Sander Levin (D-Mich.).

In 1983 she was married to Dr. William Robert Jarrett, son of the Chicago Sun-Times columnist Vernon Jarrett. Jarrett’s father-in-law wrote upbeat articles about communist members of the artistic community including Paul Robeson, Langston Hughes, and W.E.B. DuBois. He also served on a union publicity committee alongside Frank Marshall Davis, an important early influence on the young Barack Obama. And as Paul Kengor notes in his new book, The Communist: Frank Marshall Davis, the Untold Story of Barack Obama’s Mentor, Jarrett was also a member of the Illinois Council of American Youth for Democracy, the youth wing of the Communist Party USA.

Jarrett is obsessed with racial issues. She has helped to promote Al Sharpton’s radical agenda, according to Obama administration staffers. She pushed Obama’s campaign staff in 2008 to be more aggressive on racial matters, telling them they needed to be less “gun-shy on race issues.” After that, according to a campaign source, moving forward Obama “made it very clear to us that we were just a bunch of white people who didn’t get it.”

Once ensconced in the Obama White House, Jarrett successfully lobbied to weaken rules preventing officials from meeting with lobbyists. The reason given for the flip-flop on lobbyist meetings was that the rule would prevent other “legitimate” issues raised by “civil rights organizations whose directors happen to be registered lobbyists – [from being] heard.” Of course, to Jarrett so-called civil rights organizations are groups like ACORN, Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition, and the radical Service Employees International Union.

Jarrett pressed Obama to create the office of Chief Diversity Officer within the Federal Communications Commission. The post came to be occupied by Hugo Chavez admirer Mark Lloyd, a Saul Alinsky adherent and former senior fellow at the Center for American Progress who wants to put conservative talk radio out of business.

The pinnacle of corruption. As bad as it gets.

Waging a Culture War Over Chicken Sandwiches

The massive free-speech buycott for Chick-fil-A makes page A-9 in the country's unofficial fish-wrap of record.

See: "A Day for Chicken Sandwiches as Proxy in a Cultural Debate."

But hey, I agree it's a culture war, however, and the progressives are getting crushed, mercilessly.

Some of my previous entries are at the link.

And check Instapundit for the latest.

Atrocities Seen as Battle for Aleppo Intensifies

The video purports so show Syrian rebels executing Assad's loyalists.

And see the New York Times, "Syrian Fighting Intensifies in Battle for Control of Aleppo."

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The battle for the Syrian city of Aleppo intensified on Wednesday as United Nations observers there reported that Syrian jets had fired rockets into contested neighborhoods and that rebels had commandeered tanks and other heavy weapons.

Opposition leaders — a few hours after President Bashar al-Assad urged his forces to step up the fight — also said that they had found dozens of bodies in a suburb of Damascus in the aftermath of the Syrian Army’s house-to-house search for rebel fighters and activists. This claim of a new massacre came as the rebels faced severe criticism themselves for what appeared to be their brutal summary execution, one day earlier, of suspected pro-government gunmen on the streets of Aleppo, recorded and uploaded on the Internet.

Videos purported to have been taken in the Damascus suburb, Jdeidet Artouz, showed bodies lined up under bloodstained sheets, as a narrator gave an estimated count that continued rising: 37, 42, and then even more.

“I counted 52 bodies,” said Abu Abdullah, a resident who said he had helped move the dead to a local mosque before burial. “I’m really shocked. Why here?”

The bodies were found near an area where rebels said fighting had flared in the past week. But analysts said the bodies appearing outside Damascus in a town also filled with refugees — along with reports of renewed fighting in the capital and an escalation of combat in Aleppo, Syria’s largest metropolis and commercial center — all suggested that the 17-month-old conflict was becoming increasingly intense and bitter, with more front lines and more bloodshed.

“It’s a rapid escalation,” said Andrew J. Tabler, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “Once you start using fixed-wing aircraft and you have a city under full revolt, it’s clear that the Assad regime is not going to stop and is not breaking. We’re entering a new phase of this conflict.”

Continue reading.

Why Are Progressives So Intolerant?

See Rob Bluey, at Hot Air, "Why are liberals so intolerant?" (via Instapundit):

The Chick-fil-A kerfuffle helped clarify a point conservatives have been making for years. Liberals are interested in debate only when they’re winning. And on the issue of marriage, they’re 0-for-32 in states that have put the question to voters.

Continue reading.

And here's this from my exchange yesterday with Clinton Fein, a blogger at The New Civil Rights Movement. Confronted with strong rebuttals to his hateful talking points, he came out and admitted what it's all about, hatred of religion:

@ampowerblog And do I "hate" people shoving childish fairy tales about virgin births and chatty snakes down my throat. Bet your ass I do.
— clintonfein (@clintonfein) August 2, 2012

More of this exchange here and here.

Some Chick-fil-A Restaurants Closed Early on 'Appreciation Day'

My earlier report is here: "Huge Crowds, Long Lines at Irvine Chick-fil-A."

And from divadoll123 on Twitter:

This was a nationwide explosion. Here's the Daily Bulletin out of San Bernardino, "Long lines gather at Inland Empire Chick-fil-A restaurants."

And see Bob Owens, "The Cluck Heard ‘Round The World." (Via Instapundit.)

Bigoted Chicago Democrats Get Their Comeuppance

At the Chicago Sun-Times, "GOP wants probe of attempts to block 2nd city Chick-fil-A" (via Michelle.)

There Was No Mitt Romney Gaffe in Israel

From Marc Thiessen, at the Washington Post (via Memeorandum).

And Jeff Goldstein comments, "When is a gaffe not really a gaffe?":

Well, there’s no absolute answer to that question, but a pretty good indicator would be that when the organized Left caterwauls about the outrageousness of your stated opinion and speaks of it as if you’ve damaged your brand by uttering it, there’s a pretty good chance it’s not only not a gaffe, but is instead the unvarnished and candid truth.

Kind of like when “progressives” speak of fairness, tolerance, and liberalism, what they really mean is central planning, government-approved speech developed in conjunction with specific Democrat client grievance groups, and the redefining of the individual as but a cog in the greater and goodly collective.

You know, bullshit.

And see Mitt Romney, at National Review, "Culture Does Matter."