Homosexual 'National Kiss-In Day' Small Compared to Chick-fil-A 'National Appreciation Day'

Hey, maybe the homosexuals weren't too comfortable about the public sex part.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Chick-fil-A 'Kiss in' protest small compared to appreciation day."

At a Chick-fil-A in Torrance where vandals painted the words "Tastes Like Hate" on the side of the restaurant Thursday night, the "National Same-Sex Kiss Day" was off to a slow start.

A steady parade of cars made their way into the parking lot as diners strolled in and out of the restaurant. Some held signs that read "Jesus is the only answer." Many said they were there in support of Chick-fil-A and denounced the vandalism.

"It's a civil debate; it has nothing to do with defacing someone's property," said Alfonzo Rachel, 40, a Torrance resident who said he dines at the restaurant regularly.

Cole Donahoo, operator of the Torrance restaurant, declined to comment about Friday's vandalism.

"I'm just trying to operate a business," he said.

Donahoo said he did see a great turnout at the restaurant, at 182nd Street and Hawthorne Boulevard, for Wednesday's national "Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day" event, championed by conservative talk show host Mike Huckabee.

That would be AlfonZo Rachel, on Twitter here.

PREVIOUSLY: "Chick-fil-A Makes Front-Page at Los Angeles Times — Gets Slammed as Out of Step With 'Mainstream' Corporate Practices."

PHOTO CREDIT: Ringo's Pictures via Zombie.

Chick-fil-A Makes Front-Page at Los Angeles Times — Gets Slammed as Out of Step With 'Mainstream' Corporate Practices

Okay, following up on my post yesterday, "Did Media Coverage Ignore Chick-fil-A 'National Appreciation Day'?"

So here comes the Times with its front-page piece, on how Chick-fil-A's a corporate freak, or something. See, "Chick-fil-A Official Has Little Company in the Corporate World."

And here's the online version at latimes.com, "Many businesses seek favor among LGBT customers":

Chick-fil-APresident Dan Cathy's public opposition to gay marriage has landed him in a lonely corner of corporate America.

While the fast-food chicken chain has inflamed gay organizations and their supporters nationwide, many companies are going out of their way to court those groups.

J.C. Penneythis year hired lesbian talk show host Ellen DeGeneres as its spokeswoman and featured same-sex couples in its catalogs. Kraft Foods recently posted a photo of a rainbow-hued Oreo cookie to its Facebook page.

Bank of America and nearly 40 other companies now offer tax relief to gay employees — triple the number of firms with the same option last year. In Washington state, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos and his wife last month donated $2.5 million to back a gay marriage ballot initiative already endorsed by Microsoft, Starbucks and Nike.

Business donations to Los Angeles gay pride events, including a festival and a short parade, have doubled in five years to $300,000 last year, when Bud Light, Johnson & Johnson andCoca-Colawere sponsors.

It's not hard to see why. Estimates peg the self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender demographic at about 3.8% of the American population — or roughly 9 million people. Their buying power is expected to reach $790 billion this year, according to Witeck Communications, a marketing firm specializing in LGBT issues.

They're not shy about spending, dropping more than $60 a week each on restaurants, according to a 2010 report from Community Marketing Inc. More than a quarter of gays and lesbians bought a high-definition TV that year.

Nationwide, more Americans now support same-sex marriage than oppose it, according to recent surveys from the Pew Research Center. Backing is particularly strong among young people, a demographic that advertisers are keen to reach. LGBT characters are gaining prominence in popular entertainment, with more major roles in music, television, movies and even comic books.

As customers shift with the cultural tide, many formerly conservative companies are doing the same.

"Corporate America is definitely following the trends, reading the tea leaves," said Jason Snyder, an assistant professor at UCLA Anderson School of Management. "It's more symbolic of what's happening in society — that supporting gay marriage is becoming a less risky or taboo position."

Gay consumers also tend to react faster and more forcefully to slights. They pay attention to which companies promote diversity and lend support to same-sex causes — factors that heavily influence where their dollars go, according to the Community Marketing report.

And the LGBT population is often highly organized in using Twitter and Facebook to pull together mass petitions and boycotts within hours. More than 14,000 people signed up on Facebook for National Same Sex Kiss Day atChick-fil-Aon Friday, an event arranged mostly online.

The Times, to its credit, had good coverage yesterday of the left's vandalism of the Torrance Chick-fil-A location. But as noted, its coverage of the Wednesday buycott was relegated to the business section, not the front-page.

And so look at this today: A total of 14,000 people organized on Facebook "within hours"? Well, blow me down! And how many people turned out around the country on Wednesday to support Chick-fil-A's corporate practices? The company won't release exact details, although it did say that the sales were "unprecedented." That is news. That is front-page news. We'll see how it goes at some of the rest of the national media today. Here's Thursday's report at the Weekly Standard, "Mainstream Media Blacks Out Chick-fil-A Story?" And at AoSHQ, "Media Blacked Out Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day":

Okay, in the post below, I was going to claim the media blacked it out, but I didn't know if that was true; for one thing, I don't watch the media, so I had no idea. For another, I saw a stray mention in a comment or on Twitter that it was being covered on some local broadcast. So I thought maybe they were covering it.

Nope. The major papers embargoed the actual news.

More later.

I'll choke on my chicken if a photo of homosexuals kissing makes the front-page a major metropolitan daily.

P.S. Not mentioned by the Times is how gay marriage referendums have failed each and every time they've been placed before the voters at the state level --- 32 times by the latest counts. Kudos to Jeff Bezos for putting his corporate money where his mouth is. We'll see if he's on the right side of history when Washington state voters head to the polls in November.

Ezra Levant and Kathy Shaidle Discuss Chick-fil-A

Always a good show:

Also at Kathy's blog: "Democrat admits, ‘Attack on parental rights’ is ‘the whole point’."

PREVIOUSLY: "Hollywood Chick-fil-A 'Kiss-In' Day: 'Jesus Is a C*nt'."

Hollywood Chick-fil-A 'Kiss-In' Day: 'Jesus Is a C*nt'

From Zombie, at PJ Media, "Chick-fil-A Kiss-In, Hollywood: The Pictures," and at Weasel Zippers, "Pics From The Hollywood Chick-Fil-A “Kiss-In” – “Jesus Is a C*nt” …":

These people are deranged, to state the blatantly obvious.

Hey, it's free speech!

Did Media Coverage Ignore Chick-fil-A 'National Appreciation Day'?

Actually, the New York Times buried its report on page A9, although the Los Angeles Times put theirs on the cover of Thursday's business section. Still, how many newspapers put Chick-fil-A on the front cover? AoSHQ wants to know, "Media Blacked Out Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day."

The jury's still out for me. If we see front-page shots like this tomorrow, then the game is rigged.

Added: From Twitchy, "Media swoons over pitiful Chick-fil-A ‘kiss in,’ sweeps appreciation day success under lapdog rug; Update: Media using misleading photos."

'Tastes Like Hate' — Classy Homosexuals Vandalize Chick-fil-A for National 'Kiss In' Day

From NBC Los Angeles:

Message painted on a Torrance #Chick-fil-A early Friday ahead of kiss-in protests 4.nbcla.com/RhqZUS twitter.com/NBCLA/status/2…
— NBC Los Angeles (@NBCLA) August 3, 2012

More at Sooper Mexican, "Chick-Fil-A Spraypainted with Message “Tastes Like Hate”."

And at LAT, "Conservatives blast Chick-fil-A 'Tastes like hate' vandalism," and "Chick-fil-A 'kiss in' protest off to a slow start." (And at Memeorandum.)

And spend some time reading the comments at Joe. My. God. See: "Man Fired After Chick-Fil-A Protest," and "More Gasoline."

RELATED: At Ace of Spades HQ, "At a Hollywood Chick-fil-A, Police Called To Escort Disruptive Protestors From Premises - Did I Say Disruptive Protestors? I Meant Disruptive Media."

Kathleen McKinley, at KRIV-FOX Houston, Comments on Chick-fil-A Buycott

Kathleen blogs at the Houston Chronicle.

She comments on Chick-fil-A at the clip.

The homosexual dude is Noel Freeman, President of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus. He goes off on all the issues that bug the gays about Chick-fil-A, especially the concern's support for conservative causes. Freeman is interviewed at Wednesday's piece at the Chronicle, "Crowds flock to Chick-fil-A to back anti-gay marriage view."

Today: 'National Same-Sex Kiss Day at Chick Fil A'

Just be nice, progs.

At the Christian Post, "Mike Huckabee Says 'More Power' to Gay Activists Planning Chick-fil-A 'Kiss-In'."

RELATED: At iOWNTHEWORLD, "Cardinal George Questions the Chicago Left Machine When They Claim That They Set Chicago Values."

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?"

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.)

On Twitter, 'Tolerant' Progressives Send Death Wishes to Chick-fil-A Supporters

They're relentless.

At Twitchy, "Libs support Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day … because ‘Bible thumpers’ might choke on their food."

As Twitchy reported earlier, Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day has been a huge success. Supporters of free speech, tasty chicken and religious freedom are turning out in droves.

Even as many progressive tolerance tyrants cling bitterly to their failed Chick-fil-A boycott, some are actually encouraging conservatives to “eat mor chikin” … on the off-chance it might kill them.