More Chick-fil-a Fallout

It seems as though the decision by Chick-fil-a to retreat with honor from the front lines of the Culture Wars hasn't done anything to sooth the shit-storm they unleashed last week, especially in conjunction with the 'PR nightmare' they brought upon themselves with their retroactive recall of kid's meal Muppet toys in retaliation for dissolving their contract "For safety reasons," (Hey Chick-fil-a, asking for a cease-fire in your war against loving families, just to open up a front in the war against America's collective childhood? Might be a poor tactical choice.)

Weighing In on the brouhaha, Conan O'Brien helpfully offered up a new mascot to replace the recently departed Muppets.

Steven Colbert sprayed Chick-fil-a sauce on both Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum.

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And this young lady called for a use of biblical jujitsu again the faith based fast food chain.

The mayor of Boston, Tom Menino, was joined in his public denunciation of Chick-fil-a by Rom Emanuel, the mayor of Chicago, and Ed Lee, the mayor of San Francisco. While Menino himself made his opposition to beleaguered fast food chain official with a letter to it's president. And all three of them were denounced by conservative/gay blogger, Andrew Sullivan and the Big Gulp hating (but fried chicken loving) Mayor of NYC who reasserted his support for marriage equality while saying

“It’s inappropriate for a city government, or a state government, or the federal government to look at somebody’s political views and decide whether or not they can live in the city, or operate a business in the city, or work for somebody in the city,”

Here in Los Angeles the owner of the Hollywood Chick-fil-a took to the Facebooks and posted this very nice letter...

But what Mr. Cillipam doesn't seem to realize is this isn't about the personally held opinions of the executive of a privately owned company (which he is entitled to) no is it about how politely treated I am at the local branch of that privately owned company (which i am sure has exemplary service). This is entirely about what that privately owned company does with those dollars after i spend them. And it just so happens this privately owned company takes those dollars and spends them on depriving my people of their natural rights.

Mr. Sullivan (who I admire greatly) says that the issue at hand is Freedom of Speech, and warns us that our equality cannot come at the expense of other's freedoms. And I agree with that. By the same token, I am deeply uncomfortable with the notion of the State passing out permits based on religious or political beliefs. I love Freedom of Speech with a depth and passion that borders on zealotry. I would defend to the death Mr. Cathy's right to call me a sodomite and an abomination, but I don't have to help buy him a printing press, and I'll be deep and cold in the ground before i allow a single penny of mine to fall into his coffers. And while I'll admit I let out a little cheer when I read Mayor Menino had pulled in the welcome mat to CFA, intellectually, the State picking winners and losers based on political belief is abhorrent to me. But I wonder what if Chick-fil-a was funding Holocaust denial, or terror abroad, or the re-introduction of racial segregation in public schools? How would I or Mr. Sullivan, or Mr. Bloomberg feel then? 

Is it proper for the State to use it's vast array of powers against a private company if that company funds the oppression of it's citizenry?