Numerous gay marriage militants have accused me of lying when I claimed the DC Chick-Fil-A food truck had long lines when I went there for lunch last Wednesday, saying this photo of mine clearly showed a line to the grey truck in the distance, not the Chick-fil-A truck. It's disappointing to see our opponents so desperate to cast doubt on every thing we at NOM say that they will spend as much time as they did trying to accuse me of lying for posting a photo.
Luckily there's an easy way to settle this. Here's a second photo I took the same day:
That's clearly 15 people in line for Chick-fil-A.
Back to my original photo:
If you were actually there last week, you would know the gentleman in the red hat is the order taker for Chick-Fil-A (go back and check yourself) -- if all those people are going to the grey truck (Pho Junkies' truck by the way, great food) why is the Chick-fil-A guy taking their orders?
Of course, that whole line is really to Chick-fil-A.
What's amazing to me in all of this is how many militant gay activists instantly presumed that I was lying. Really, guys? Don't project your paranoia on me.
I welcome them to come out to Chick-Fil-A's DC food truck next Wednesday to see just how long the lines are for themselves (and eat some delicious chikin!).
Roseanne Barr is apologizing for a tweet she sent Wednesday attacking Chick-fil-A, as well as customers of the fast food chain.
“anyone who eats S%#@ Fil-A deserves to get the cancer that is sure to come from eating antibiotic filled tortured chickens 4Christ,” she tweeted, later adding, “off to grab a s%#@ fil-A sandwich on my way to worshipping Christ, supporting Aipac and war in Iran.”
...Barr later fired back to criticism: “christian liars: i never wished cancer on you at all-jesus will punish u 4 ur deceit-I said processed foods cause cancer.”
However, shortly thereafter she wrote: “Retreading my tweet I realize that I used the wrong word-I shouldn’t have used the word deserves. I shouldn’t have used the word deserves in my tweet and I apologize.” -- CBS
NOM's co-founder Maggie Gallagher writes for National Review's The Corner blog:
Andrew Pierce, a gay man (who opposes gay marriage), says Cameron’s support for gay marriage is destroying the Tory party. Ken Mehlman, and the rest of the GOP elites trying to accomplish the same thing here, should read this story:
But the bitter and ineluctable truth is that, far from increasing numbers, Mr Cameron has presided over the sharpest decline in membership in the Conservative party’s history.
Today, I can reveal that the number of Tory party members has fallen below 130,000, a drop of around 60 per cent since he took over in 2005.
The party’s U-turns over a referendum on Europe, its failure to reform the loathed Human Rights Act and the Tories’ infuriating tendency to give ever more ground to the wretched Lib Dems have contributed to the decline.
The revolt in the shires over the ‘reform’ of planning policy in the green belt also led to numerous members withholding their subscriptions in protest.
But the issue that has been the single biggest factor in this membership crisis is Mr Cameron’s unwavering commitment to gay marriage — which he reiterated at the annual Downing Street reception for members of the gay community this week.
"...LGBT activists have successfully blocked a Chick-fil-A from coming into town, at least temporarily.
Photo: Steve Webel
Turned off by the company's anti-gay reputation, area resident David Speakman posted an online petition on fundraising site WePay looking to gather the $1,000 necessary to lodge a zoning challenge to stop the franchise from moving in.
... "It could be Mother Teresa that owns it, and it would be a bad place," Speakman told the San Francisco Chronicle. "But because it was a bunch of bigots, it gave us an extra nudge."
In 2008, Speakman and his husband Richard were the first gay couple in Santa Clara County to be legally married.
"We're pro-business and pro-growth, but businesses that move here have to reflect our community," Speakman added to the Palo Alto Daily News. "If they're going to be offensive to our friends and family who happen to by gay or lesbian, we're going to look at them a little bit harder and make sure they follow the rules." -- The Huffington Post
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary will be buying chicken sandwiches for faculty, staff and students on Aug. 1 to show its support for Chick-Fil-A as part of a nationwide initiative launched by former presidential candidate and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Beginning at 11:30 a.m. Central time, the Fort Worth seminary expects to purchase more than 200 sandwiches at the local Chick-fil-A in Fort Worth.
... Southwestern Seminary, an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention, is one of the largest seminaries in the world with more than 3,500 students, faculty and staff. The seminary affirms the biblical definition of marriage and is in full agreement with the Southern Baptist statement of faith, The Baptist Faith & Message 2000, which says in its article on the family: "Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime." Additionally, the seminary's administration supports Cathy's First Amendment rights.
"...Just because people disagree with you, believe things you personally find hateful and make statements that curdle your innards, does not make them incapable of excellence. In fact, those qualities go hand in hand rather more often than one would like. Look at almost anyone who made anything beautiful ever. If the Victorians could still read Greek philosophy while intensely disapproving of the philosophers’ personal lives — and we now consider the Victorian era to be benighted and repressed — surely we can do people the same courtesy.
Judge the sandwich by the sandwich.
Judging people by anything other than what they are capable of always leads to bad places. Mores change. What society accepts is changing all the time. But art and sandwiches endure. Would you rather have the most skilled surgeon with the steadiest hands or the one who votes the way you vote?"
"...Don’t shop at stores or eat at restaurants where the owners proudly embrace or fund positions with which you disagree. Put your money where someone else’s mouth is. Picket on the sidewalk out front if you like. Just don’t ask The Man to do the dirty work of attempting to marginalize and silence your opponents.
The chastened Chick-fil-A issued a statement when this controversy broke saying “going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”
That sounds wise. But to paraphrase the words of Voltaire that are literally carved in stone at Tribune Tower, I’d say this to this owners:
I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to sell chicken sandwiches in order to make money to help you say it."
Scotland's government has announced plans to legalize same-sex marriages.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Wednesday that legislation permitting the marriages would soon be introduced.
The measure has backing from the major Scottish political parties. It follows a public consultation on the issue.
When enacted, Scotland could become the first part of the UK to allow same-sex marriages.
The UK government has conducted a public consultation on legalizing same-sex marriages, and it has the backing of Prime Minister David Cameron. But UK officials are waiting for the results of the public consultation before taking further steps.
Marriage amendment supporters in Minnesota are counting on strong support from the African-American community come Election Day, when they hope to change the state constitution so that it blocks same-sex marriage.
The Rev. Jerry McAfee is on their side. As pastor of New Salem Missionary Baptist church, believes marriage between a man and a woman is based on teachings in the Bible. Tuesday night at his Minneapolis church, he brought together Baptist and Pentecostal preachers and a representative of the Minnesota Catholic Conference so they could all say why they support the ballot measure - and hear from opponents of the measure as well.
One of the ministers, Pentecostal Bishop Richard Howell, told the audience that acceptance of same-sex marriage was weakening society, and, and that "it's time for the church to open its mouth, not be silent another day in her life."
The Philadelphia Daily News Philly Clout blog reports that a Philadelphia Councilman has declared that support for traditional marriage (which is actually the law in Philadelphia) is intolerance and hate:
Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy’s recent comments about gay marriage has caused quite a stir across the country and has City Councilman Jim Kenney fired-up.
... "As an American you are legally entitled to your opinion, regardless of how insensitive and intolerant it may be, but as a fellow American and an elected member of Philadelphia City Council; I am entitled to express my opinion as well. So please – take a hike and take your intolerance with you. There is no place for this type of hate in our great City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection."
And when City Council returns in September, Kenney said he will introduce a resolution condemning Cathy and the company.
Famed evangelist Billy Graham has come out in defense of Chick-fil-A as the fast food chain faces sustained attacks in the wake of its president’s public support for true marriage.
I want to express my support for my good friends Truett Cathy and his son Dan Cathy, and for their strong stand for the Christian faith,” said 94-year-old Graham in a statement Thursday. “I’ve known their family for many years and have watched them grow Chick-fil-A into one of the best businesses in America while never compromising their values. Chick-fil-A serves each of its customers with excellence, and treats everyone like a neighbor. It’s easy to see why Chick-fil-A has become so popular across America.”“Each generation faces different issues and challenges, but our standard must always be measured by God’s word. I appreciate the Cathy family’s public support for God’s definition of marriage,” he added.
... “As the son of a dairy farmer who milked many a cow, I plan to ‘Eat Mor Chikin’ and show my support by visiting Chick-fil-A next Wednesday,” he said.
"... [Mayor of Boston Tom] Menino suggested that it would be appropriate to block the chain from opening in Boston because Cathy's views amount to discrimination. That would rightly apply if Chick-fil-A were to refuse service to gay customers; the city has a right and an obligation to prevent discriminatory actions against its residents and visitors. But there's no evidence that any such thing has occurred.
Menino referred derisively to Chick-fil-A's possible plans to open a restaurant along the city's Freedom Trail, considering Cathy's stand on marriage freedom. That too misreads law and history. It was the freedom to express politically unpopular views and to oppose such views that the Founding Fathers fought to establish"
Approximately 13 hours after deleting an online invitation from former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee asking people to show support for Chick-fil-A on Aug. 1, Facebook restored the page around midnight Tuesday.
Before it vanished, nearly one million people had shared the invitation and 100,000 had said they’d be attending after Huckabee posted it on Monday.
“Yesterday, we mistakenly blocked an event as part of our spam prevention efforts and quickly worked to rectify the mistake as soon as we were notified,” Facebook told CitizenLink today in an emailed statement. “Our policies are enforced by a team of reviewers in several offices across the globe. This team looks at hundreds of thousands of reports every week, and as you might expect, occasionally we make a mistake and block a piece of content we shouldn’t have. We have already taken steps to prevent this from happening in the future and we sincerely apologize for any convenience.”
Huckabee said that explanation was “more thorough” than the one Facebook provided him on Tuesday; the company said it was a “content” issue.
That “was remarkable to us, because the content was not offensive,” Huckabee told CitizenLink. “It was not asking anyone to do anything violent, unholy or unhealthy to anyone. It was simply expressing affirmation to the Chick-fil-A company. Interestingly, while that site was pulled down, the site that the militant homosexual groups had put up, which was Same-Sex Kiss Day to happen on Aug. 3 at Chick-fil-A restaurants, was left up.” -- CitizenLink