Thinking Outside The Box

Chick-fil-A Will Not Back Down

My take: People seem unable to understand some simple logic.
Can my wife say, "I love you, but do not appreciate you being mean to me" all at the same time? Of course! We separate the issue of being mean from her love for me. 
It is just as legitimate for my wife to disagree with homosexuality and still love the person.  The logic of "you must agree with my conduct to prove you love me" is absurd.  We can correct our kids and love them throughout the whole process. 

"You are intolerant if you do not agree with my conduct" is such an immature position. It is not rooted in logic or facts.
1. "Being gay is not morally wrong"; is a proposition. It is either true or false.
2. "Being gay is morally wrong"; is a proposition. It is either true or false.

What makes 1. okay to say, but not 2.?  They are both propositions that are either true or false.  Some believe 1. is true, others believe 2. is true.  Name calling (intolerant, less of a person etc) if one holds the other side only highlights the immaturity of a position (on either side of the debate).  Our first call is to love others, not condemn others.  We can love others and disagree with conduct.

Interesting Read:

All of a sudden, biting into a fried chicken sandwich has become a political statement.

Chick-fil-A, the fast-food chain known for putting faith ahead of profits by closing on Sundays, is standing firm in its opposition to gay marriage after touching off a furor earlier this month.

Gay rights groups have called for a boycott, the Jim Henson Co. pulled its Muppet toys from kids' meals, and politicians in Boston and Chicago told the chain it is not welcome there.

Across the Bible Belt, where most of the 1,600 restaurants are situated, Christian conservatives have thrown their support behind the Atlanta-based company, promising to buy chicken sandwiches and waffle fries next week on "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day."

The latest skirmish in the nation's culture wars began when Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy told the Baptist Press that the company was "guilty as charged" for backing "the biblical definition of a family." In a later radio interview, he ratcheted up the rhetoric: "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.'"

That fired up gay rights advocates, including a group that waged a campaign against the company in recent years by publicizing $3 million in contributions that the Cathy family foundation has made to conservative organizations such as the Family Research Council.

"This solidifies Chick-fil-A as being closely aligned with some of the most vicious anti-gay voices in the country," said Carlos Maza of Equality Matters.

A Chicago alderman vowed to block a Chick-fil-A proposed in his district, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel supported him, saying, "Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values." Boston Mayor Thomas Menino wrote in a letter to Cathy: "There is no place for discrimination on Boston's Freedom Trail and no place for your company alongside it."

In announcing it was pulling its toys, the Jim Henson company said it has "celebrated and embraced diversity for over 50 years." It directed its revenue from the Chick-fil-A toys to GLAAD, a leading gay rights organization.

On the other side of the debate, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister, declared next Wednesday "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day" to support a business "whose executives are willing to take a stand for the Godly values." Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who like Huckabee ran for president as a darling of social conservatives, joined the cause along with religious leaders.

"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," the Rev. Billy Graham said in a statement, referring to the slogan in the company's ads, which feature cows urging people to eat poultry.

The Rev. Roger Oldham, spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention, said many Christians want to support businesses owned by fellow believers, and the loyalty intensifies "when Christians see a fellow Christian being persecuted."

"They will come out of the woodwork when a theologically based position is being politicized by individuals for their own purposes," he said.

The Cathy family has never hid its Southern Baptist faith. Since Dan Cathy's father, Truett, opened the first Chick-fil-A in 1967, the restaurants have been closed on Sundays, and the company refused to reconsider during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, sacrificing profits. It also boasts that the Chick-fil-A Bowl is the only college football bowl game with an invocation.

Chick-fil-A posted more than $4.1 billion in sales last year, most of it below the Mason-Dixon Line. Just 14 of its restaurants are in the six states and the District of Columbia where gay marriage is legal. Massachusetts has just two locations, both more than 10 miles from Boston. Illinois, which does not have same-sex marriage, has around a dozen, though only one in Chicago.

The company is well-positioned to come through the criticism relatively unscathed, even if it loses new markets in the North and elsewhere, University of Georgia marketing professor Sundar Bharadwaj said. He said that is because Chick-fil-A basically reflects the politics of its customers.

At a downtown Atlanta Chick-fil-A on Thursday, customers were divided over the company's stance.

"If you're a Christian, you believe in the Bible. The Bible says homosexuality is wrong. (Cathy's) absolutely right," Marci Troutman said over her breakfast.

Her business partner, Steve Timpson, said he chose not to eat at Chick-fil-A: "You've got to be more tolerant if you're going to operate in the wider market in this country."

Nearby, Dustin Keller offered another view of Cathy: "It's his opinion. He's entitled to it. I'm just here to eat."

A Smart NDP Dude Finally Explains Reality

As an intellectually honest NDP supporter, I feel it is necessary to explain the NDP constitution we finally posted on our website.  Although it is mostly administrative happenings, there are some key points I want directed to you.  I would also like to highlight that I am very smart and it is quite possible this will be the most honest and genuine explanation you will ever find; so buckle up and learn!  Although I stand behind our platform, I am not arguing why our preamble is good, I am merely explaining what it means. 

Please review:

Marked in red above, each number I comment on:

1.       We the NDP party have laid the groundwork and foundation for wealth generation in Canada: democratic socialist principles.  Although we cite public affairs as the branch in which our principles will extend themselves through, it must be known that our principles in action will necessitate serious involvement, oversight, ownership and taxation of the fee market.  Read 2, 3 and 4 and incorporate said definition into our involvement and you will soon see the obvious connection.   Please also note that we believe that social, economic and political progress all fall under the jurisdiction of public affairs.  We do not define to what extent our powers will extend to, however, judging by how we define democratic socialism; you can take a pretty good guess.

2.       This is the crux of the issue.  We believe in economic, social and political progress.  The context: democratic socialism. The underling foundation: production and distribution of goods and services shall be directed to meeting the social and individual needs of people (see #1, administered by public affairs) within a sustainable environment and economy AND NOT to the making of profit.  When the private sector owns something, its motive is profit.  Profit looks after the needs of those who own it: the capitalist owners.  The dog scraps are left for the low wage earner.  This leaves many in a disparaging position where they are left to go without.  The remedy to this is for the government to own the means of production (machines, technology etc.) and distribution (products etc.).  The government then takes the rewards of ownership of said channels and offers the dignity and freedom to each Canadian, not just a lucky select few who happen to make the profit.  By the public affairs controlling the means of production and distribution, we can ensure we live up to our commercials that we indeed are fighting for you.  The enemy: profit had by a few, and owned privately. Our remedy? As stated: government control of economic activity and distribution of services.

3.       To achieve #2, the status quo will not do.  People owning business making a profit will always give the choice for some to excel and others to suffer and fall behind.  This injustice ought to be remedied through action.  Look at #3 and you will see how we intend to affect our vision for a fairer Canada.  The quick translation: change laws for government to own and control ‘monopolistic’ organizations.  Since there is no actual monopoly in Canada (other than government in business) we really mean ‘big ticket items’. Like: banks and oil fields.  Large, capital intensive organizations will, quite frankly, be owned by the government.  “Modify” means change from privately owned, to publically owned.  “Control” means to run, oversee, direct and plan.  “Social planning” means we the government will do this.  Social ownership means the people benefit from large ‘profits’ from the private sector, through government planning/ownership.

4.       Dignity and freedom of the individual is very hard to define accurately as we do not really explain what this means. However, in the context of what I explained so far, I can confidently tell you this:  Value of a person is based on our definition of freedom and dignity being met.  We require public companies ‘profit’ from the private sector to be converted to government owned/run division that releases extra money into the hands of all: especially the impoverished.  This transfer of wealth increases dignity.  We disagree with the capitalist who thinks learning skills (even if at lower wage) and hard work dignifies a person.  We believe a person having things (regardless if it is provided by others) is what dignifies them.   This is how we argue for dignity and seek ownership of private profits.  Dignity is not earned by an individual, it is imputed by government. A key difference between democratic socialism and free market thinking.  Under our system, everyone is dignified, not just those who 'work and get'.With respect to freedom: the impoverished is not ‘free’ to run things.  They are not ‘free’ to do fun jobs.  They are bound to low wage work.  Under our system of shred ownership, this will empower the individual to work on jobs that pay them good money so they are ‘free’ to live with dignity.  This is how we connect freedom to dignity: and it is all based on government ownership of profits. 

Again, now you know exactly what our constitution means and how it will impact Canada.

A Smart NDP Dude Finally Explains Reality

As an intellectually honest NDP supporter, I feel it is necessary to explain the NDP constitution we finally posted on our website.  Although it is mostly administrative happenings, there are some key points I want directed to you.  I would also like to highlight that I am very smart and it is quite possible this will be the most honest and genuine explanation you will ever find; so buckle up and learn!  Although I stand behind our platform, I am not arguing why our preamble is good, I am merely explaining what it means. 

Please review:

Marked in red above, each number I comment on:

1.       We the NDP party have laid the groundwork and foundation for wealth generation in Canada: democratic socialist principles.  Although we cite public affairs as the branch in which our principles will extend themselves through, it must be known that our principles in action will necessitate serious involvement, oversight, ownership and taxation of the fee market.  Read 2, 3 and 4 and incorporate said definition into our involvement and you will soon see the obvious connection.   Please also note that we believe that social, economic and political progress all fall under the jurisdiction of public affairs.  We do not define to what extent our powers will extend to, however, judging by how we define democratic socialism; you can take a pretty good guess.

2.       This is the crux of the issue.  We believe in economic, social and political progress.  The context: democratic socialism. The underling foundation: production and distribution of goods and services shall be directed to meeting the social and individual needs of people (see #1, administered by public affairs) within a sustainable environment and economy AND NOT to the making of profit.  When the private sector owns something, its motive is profit.  Profit looks after the needs of those who own it: the capitalist owners.  The dog scraps are left for the low wage earner.  This leaves many in a disparaging position where they are left to go without.  The remedy to this is for the government to own the means of production (machines, technology etc.) and distribution (products etc.).  The government then takes the rewards of ownership of said channels and offers the dignity and freedom to each Canadian, not just a lucky select few who happen to make the profit.  By the public affairs controlling the means of production and distribution, we can ensure we live up to our commercials that we indeed are fighting for you.  The enemy: profit had by a few, and owned privately. Our remedy? As stated: government control of economic activity and distribution of services.

3.       To achieve #2, the status quo will not do.  People owning business making a profit will always give the choice for some to excel and others to suffer and fall behind.  This injustice ought to be remedied through action.  Look at #3 and you will see how we intend to affect our vision for a fairer Canada.  The quick translation: change laws for government to own and control ‘monopolistic’ organizations.  Since there is no actual monopoly in Canada (other than government in business) we really mean ‘big ticket items’. Like: banks and oil fields.  Large, capital intensive organizations will, quite frankly, be owned by the government.  “Modify” means change from privately owned, to publically owned.  “Control” means to run, oversee, direct and plan.  “Social planning” means we the government will do this.  Social ownership means the people benefit from large ‘profits’ from the private sector, through government planning/ownership.

4.       Dignity and freedom of the individual is very hard to define accurately as we do not really explain what this means. However, in the context of what I explained so far, I can confidently tell you this:  Value of a person is based on our definition of freedom and dignity being met.  We require public companies ‘profit’ from the private sector to be converted to government owned/run division that releases extra money into the hands of all: especially the impoverished.  This transfer of wealth increases dignity.  We disagree with the capitalist who thinks learning skills(even if at lower wage) and hard work dignifies a person.  We believe a person having things (regardless if it is provided by others) is what dignifies them.   This is how we argue for dignity and seek ownership of private profits.  Dignity is not earned by an individual, it is imputed by government. Key difference between democratic socialism and free market thinking.  Under our system, everyone is dignified, not just those who 'work and get'.With respect to freedom: the impoverished is not ‘free’ to run things.  They are not ‘free’ to do fun jobs.  They are bound to low wage work.  Under our system of shred ownership, this will empower the individual to work on jobs that pay them good money so they are ‘free’ to live with dignity.  This is how we connect freedom to dignity: and it is all based on government ownership of profits. 

Again, now you know exactly what our constitution means and how it will impact Canada.

It Clearly Is Harpers Fault. Clearly.

"...After leading Canada into the worst recession of this generation Conservatives have an another economic downturn on their hands..."

Just in case you are too slow of mind to have known, please allow the genius NDP to enlighten you.

The Conservatives led us into recession by:

-Conspiring to have international banks and lenders make bad loans

-Created overnight lending terror that caused the LIBOR rate to skyrocket

-Led AIG into almost a 100billion dollar collapse

-Instructed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make terrible decisions as to who they are loaning money to

-Forced Europe to overspend, over borrow and run out of money

-Persuaded the US to make a 750 billion bailout so they could jack their debt levels to 'stimulate' the economy

-Were the 'leaders' behind the near total collapse of confidence in a non liquid financial market.

Did you know that the Conservatives led us (and therefore the world) into the 08' recession?  If you did not know that, well, now you do.  Once again, we can lean in on the NDP to completely deny emotion and only focus on logic and facts.

Quite frankly, I did not know Canada and it's conservative leaders had such an influence to cause all this havoc whereby the NDP would be justified in claiming they led us into the recession.  But hey, we learn something new everyday.

I am glad the NDP support base is so smart that they can understand the clear and logical connection between the truth of the NDP's claim and the evil powers our conservatives have over the world economy.

I stand with the NDP in ignoring the 'slanted and bias' bankers and economists who claim Canada fared very well against the rest of the world.  We want facts, not economic data! 

(It was not the harsh free market that hurt the poor and middle class...it was Harper.  When you understand the government is your provider and not the free market, you will be set free.  It's Harper attacking the poor because he is responsible for them.  Failure to respond to your responsibility is an attack.  Do you see how logical the NDP are?) 

12 Signs That Spain Is Shifting Gears From Recession To Depression

Received this note, very interesting read:


Where have we seen this before?  Bond yields soar above 7 percent danger level. Check. The stock market crashes to new lows. Check. Industrial activity plummets like a rock and the economy contracts. Check. The unemployment rate skyrockets to more than 20 percent. Check. The bursting of a massive real estate bubble pushes the banking system to the brink of implosion. Check. Broke local governments beg the broke national government for bailouts. Check. The international community pressures the national government to implement deep austerity measures which will slow down the economy even more and hordes of violent protesters take to the streets. Check. All of this happened in Greece, it is happening right now in Spain, and mark my words it will eventually happen in the United States. Every debt bubble eventually bursts, and right now Spain is experiencing a level of economic pain that very, very few people saw coming. The recession in Spain is rapidly becoming a full-blown economic depression, and at this point there is no hope and no light at the end of the tunnel.

The bad news for the global economy is that Spain is much larger than Greece. According to the United Nations, the Greek economy is the 32nd largest economy in the world. The Spanish economy, on the other hand, is the 4th largest economy in the eurozone and the 12th largest economy on the entire planet. It is nearly five times the size of the Greek economy.

Financial markets all over the globe are very nervous right now because if the Spanish government ends up asking for a full-blown bailout it could spell the end for the eurozone. There simply is not enough money to do the same kind of thing for Spain that is being done for Greece.

Of course European officials are going to do their best to keep the eurozone from collapsing, but what they have completely failed to do is to keep these countries from falling into depression.

As I have written about previously, Greece has already been in an economic depression for some time.

I warned that Spain, Italy, Portugal and a bunch of other European nations were going down the exact same path.

Now we are watching a virtual replay of what happened in Greece take place in Spain.

Unfortunately, the global financial system may not be able to handle a complete implosion of the Spanish economy.

The following are 12 signs that Spain is shifting gears from recession to depression....

#1 At one point on Monday, the IBEX stock market index fell to 5,905, which was the lowest level in nearly ten years. When it hit 5,905 that represented a drop of about 12 percent over just two trading days. If that happened in the United States, it would be the equivalent of the Dow falling by about 1500 points in 48 hours.

#2 So far this year, the Spanish stock market is down more than 25 percent. Back in 2008, the IBEX 35 was well over 15,000. Today it is sitting just above 6,000.

#3 Spain has banned many forms of short selling for 3 months.

#4 The yield on 10 year Spanish bonds is now well above the 7 percent "danger level".

#5 Thanks to the problems in Spain, the euro continues to fall like a rock. On Monday it hit a new two year low against the U.S. dollar, and it is near a twelve year low against the Japanese yen.

#6 During the first quarter of 2012, the Spanish economy contracted by 0.3 percent. During the second quarter of 2012, the Spanish economy contracted by 0.4 percent.

#7 Local governments all over Spain are flat broke and need to be bailed out by the broke national government. The following is from a recent CNBC article....

Adding to Madrid's woes, media reports suggested another half a dozen of Spain's 17 regional authorities, facing an undeclared funding crisis, were ready to follow Valencia in seeking aid from the central government.

#8 The percentage of bad loans on the books of Spanish banks has reached an 18 year high. European officials have already promised a 100 billion euro bailout for Spain's troubled banking system, but most analysts agree that 100 billion euros will not be nearly enough.

#9 Spanish industrial output declined for the ninth month in a row in May.

#10 The unemployment rate in Spain is up to an astounding 24.6 percent. The unemployment rate in Spain is already higher than it was in the United States at the peak of the Great Depression of the 1930s.

#11 The youth unemployment rate in Spain is now over 52 percent.

#12 The Spanish government has just announced a whole bunch of new tax increases and spending cuts which will cause the Spanish economy to slow down even more. In response to these austerity measures, people are taking to the streets all over Spain. Last week, 100,000 demonstrators poured into the streets to protest in Madrid alone.

Sadly, the nightmare in Spain is just beginning.

If the yield on 10 year Spanish bonds stays above 7 percent, that is going to be a really bad sign. According to the Wall Street Journal, the 7 percent level is key as far as investor confidence is concerned....

Monday's dramatic market moves suggest Spain may be stuck in a spiral that culminates in a bailout from other euro-zone countries.

"The rise in the 10-year yield well beyond 7% carries a very distinct reminder of events in Greece in April 2010, Ireland in October 2010 and Portugal in February 2011," said analysts at Bank of New York Mellon. "In each case, a decisive move beyond 7% signaled the start of a collapse in investor confidence that, in each case, led to a bailout within weeks," they added.

So keep an eye on that number in the weeks ahead.

Meanwhile, the Spanish economy continues to get worse with each passing month.

So just how bad are things in Spain right now?

Just check out this excerpt from a recent article by Mark Grant....

Recently two noted Spanish economists were interviewed. One was always an optimist and one was always a pessimist. The optimist droned on and on about how bad things were in Spain, the dire situation with the regional debt, the huge problems overtaking the Spanish banks and the imminent collapse of the Spanish economy. In the end he said that the situation was so bad that the Spanish people were going to have to eat manure. The pessimist was shocked by the comments of his colleague who had never heard him speak in such a manner. When it was the pessimist’s turn to speak he said that he agreed with the optimist with one exception; the manure would soon run out.

That may make you laugh, but for those in Europe going through these horrific economic conditions it is no laughing matter.

On Sunday, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras actually told former U.S. president Bill Clinton that Greece is already in a "Great Depression".

Like Spain, the unemployment rate in Greece is well above 20 percent and the youth unemployment rate is above 50 percent.

The only reason the Greek financial system has not totally collapsed is because of outside assistance, but now there are indications that the assistance may soon be cut off.

At this point there are persistent rumors that the IMF does not plan to give any more aid money to Greece unless Greece "shapes up".

Meanwhile, the suffering in Greece just gets worse and worse.

Sadly, most Americans pay very little attention to what is going on in Greece and Spain.

Most Americans just assume that we will always have "the greatest economy on earth" and that we can take prosperity for granted.

Unfortunately, the truth is that the United States already has more government debt per capita than either Greece or Spain does.

Just like Greece and Spain, we are also rapidly traveling down the road to economic oblivion, and depression-like conditions will arrive in this country soon enough.

So enjoy these last months of economic prosperity while you still can.

A whole lot of pain is on the horizon.

Help Make A Difference By Sharing These Articles