October 3rd, 2008 by Bob Schwartz
Google is the latest company to be in the crosshairs of the homophobic Campaign for Children and Families. They have called for the boycott in response to Google coming out in opposition to California’s Proposition 8 which would ban gay marriage.
Google now joins the likes of Levi’s, AT&T, McDonalds, and Disney as targets of various homophobic groups which has me wondering how long it will be before the followers of these groups will have no where left to go when they need “gay-free” goods and services.
But I guess in the grand scheme of homophobia, boycotting Google probably won’t mean much will it? Do homophobes really need or even use Google to search WorldNetDaily and OneNewsNow?
August 22nd, 2008 by Bob Schwartz
It looks like McDonalds has company in the sights of one of the several homophobic groups preaching intolerance in the US. This time the group Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (somehow I doubt much truth is coming from these folks) is mad as hell at Hallmark for having the audacity to produce cards celebrating gay marriage. The head homophobe even sent them a sternly worded letter telling them he will not be buying any cards from them until they stop.
Meanwhile A Williams Institute study estimates that more than 85,000 same sex couples in the U.S. have entered into a legal relationship since 1997 so let’s see, Hallmark can either tap into this market that just exploded with California’s new law or they can appease the homophobes. McDonalds chose to throw it back in their faces by taking out a half page ad in a gay publication celebrating their diversity, I wonder which one Hallmark will choose?
UPDATE: Well no surprise here. The American Family Association, the group behind the McDonalds boycott among others, has gotten involved and announced that they will be leading a boycott of Hallmark as well. This could be a good thing for Hallmark though as during the 9 years that the AFA boycotted Disney, they saw record profits.
July 31st, 2008 by Bob Schwartz
I know that saying that the AFA (American Family Association) isn’t homophobic is like saying the Ku Klux Klan isn’t racist but their stated reasons about what is and isn’t behind their latest boycott attempt of McDonald’s is almost comical.
From the AFA’s McDonald’s boycott site:
What the boycott of McDonald’s IS about
It is about McDonald’s, as a corporation, refusing to remain neutral in the culture wars. McDonald’s has chosen not to remain neutral but to give the full weight of their corporation to promoting the homosexual agenda, including homosexual marriage.
What the boycott of McDonald’s IS NOT about
- This boycott is not about hiring homosexuals.
- It is not about homosexuals eating at McDonald’s.
- It is not about how homosexual employees are treated.
So the boycott isn’t about the above stated bullet points but is instead about McDonald’s promoting the homosexual agenda? Isn’t their ability to work where they want, eat what they want, and be treated like everyone else the homosexual agenda? Isn’t that the agenda of every human being?
July 28th, 2008 by Bob Schwartz
If you somehow missed the news over the weekend, a deranged gunman opened fire in a Tennessee church killing 2 churchgoers during a children’s performance. Today more news is being released on the accused gunman including his possible motive for targeting the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in the first place.
Besides the obvious of being totally deranged, Jim D. Adkisson appears to have chosen this particular church because of their liberal views which included being advocates of gay rights and progressive social work.
“It appears that what brought him to this horrible event was his lack of being able to obtain a job, his frustration over that and his stated hatred of the liberal movement,” Owen said at a news conference.
Crooks and Liars goes a bit further in their description of Adkisson:
We will most likely learn more details in time, but the picture that’s developing is one of a typical, uninformed Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Wiener-Savage fan — an angry white male who has been brainwashed into thinking that everything wrong in America and around the world is the fault of the evil liberals.
I am sure that the above is a very over-simplified view but it does get you thinking because I am sure that it describes more than a few people you know or have met at one time or another. It also shows what can, and often does happen when someone lets that intolerance and hatred get the better of them.
UPDATE 7/28: Crooks and Liars might not have been too far off with their assessment after all. Here is Adkisson’s reading list per the Knoxville News Sentinel
Inside the house, officers found “Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder” by radio talk show host Michael Savage, “Let Freedom Ring” by talk show host Sean Hannity, and “The O’Reilly Factor,” by television talk show host Bill O’Reilly.
July 14th, 2008 by Bob Schwartz
Fred Phelps and his homophobic Westboro Baptist Church are planning their next funeral picketing campaign and the target this time is former White House press secretary and Faux news talking head Tony Snow. Why is the Phelps brigade planning to protest at Snow’s funeral?
Apparently he was mean to them.
07/17/2008 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Alexandria, VA Christ Episcopal Church (Lepor Colony) 118 N. Washington St. Tony Snow (Press Secretary for 6 “B” George W. Bush) is dead, YES! He had a platform, he was given some small talent by his creator. He was an unfaithful steward, and is now residing in hell. Each opportunity he had to faithfully REport what the servants at WBC had to tell this country/world, Tony Snow besmerched and vilified the words of God and the people of God.
So now they are targeting those speak ill of them along with those that promote the homosexual agenda that are normally the target of their hate. If that’s true, they will be quite busy.
July 12th, 2008 by Bob Schwartz
Worldnet Daily (ick) has an article that discusses a lawsuit brought forward by a gay man (that’s a homosexual man for the American Family Association’s homo-filters) against 2 Bible publishers for violating his Constitutional rights.
Bradley LaShawn Fowler, 39, of Canton, Mich., is seeking $60 million from Zondervan and another $10 million from Thomas Nelson Publishing in lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the Grand Rapids Press reported.
Fowler filed his claim against Grand Rapids-based Zondervan Monday, alleging its Bibles’ references to homosexuality as a sin have made him an outcast from his family and contributed to physical discomfort and periods of “demoralization, chaos and bewilderment,” the paper said.
Now I have no idea if this guy has a case, but what I consider a bigger point about this story is just how much certain interpretations of the Bible have been changed to reflect the world view of some homophobic biblical scholars that have been charged with updating these versions of the Bible. And as a result, how the ideals of those that follow their teachings have followed suit.
A perfect example of this shift towards unbridled religious driven homophobia by some is given by Fowler as part of his lawsuit and it perfectly documents this change by showing how much one passage has changed in the last 40 years.
In 1970, I Corinthians 6:9 read as followed-
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulteres, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effiminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind.
In 1982 ,the same scripture read like this-
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodimites.
In 2001 the same scripture reads like this-
Surely you know that the people who do wrong will not inherit God’s kingdom. Do not be fooled, those who sin sexually, worship idols, take part in adultery, those who are male prostitutes, or men who have sexual relations with other men, those who steal, are greedy, get drunk, lie about others, or rob these people will not inherit God’s kingdom.
Anyone notice a pattern? Over the years as gay and lesbian groups have begun pushing for more equality, the more anti-gay certain versions of the Bible have become. Kind of explains why the religious right’s agenda has become so anti-gay centric doesn’t it?
July 3rd, 2008 by Bob Schwartz
It appears the American Family Association has no problem with the unhealthy food being served up by the world’s biggest burger chain but when one of McDonald’s management members decides to serve on the board of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), watch out!
It is about McDonald’s, as a corporation, refusing to remain neutral in the culture wars. McDonald’s has chosen not to remain neutral but to give the full weight of their corporation to promoting the homosexual agenda, including homosexual marriage.
As if you had any doubt of the AFA’s homophobic agenda, Think Progress lists some of their other less than successful boycott attempts.
AFA has a long history of silly, offensive boycotts against, among others, Wal-Mart (for selling “Brokeback Mountain” DVDs), Ford Motor Company (for advertising in gay-friendly publications), and the American Girl dolls (because the maker contributed to a youth organization that was pro-choice and supported the acceptance of lesbians). In 2005, it called off its unsuccessful nine-year boycott of Disney (for its “embrace of the homosexual lifestyle“).
Like Disney that saw record profits during the AFA’s 9 year boycott, I doubt that Mickey D’s is shaking in there boots right now, even if they are blue suede and match their outfits.
June 30th, 2008 by Bob Schwartz
And I am not talking about “gay”.
Does the American Family Association have an homophobic slant? Just ask Tyson Gay, he got more than he probably bargained for when an AP story documenting his semi-final track and field win got caught up in the AFA’s “homo-filter”. The AFA apparently changes the more politically correct word “gay” with “homosexual” before posting the AP feed on their onenewsnow subsidiary and Tyson Gay became Tyson Homosexual. They have since unfiltered their AP story but you can see a screenshot of the orginal filtered story here.