Books I've Read (2003 Thru 2012)

Books I've	Read This Year
Title	Author	Genre	Grade	Year
Please Kill Me	Legs McNeil			2003
Nightmare Town	Dashell Hammett			2003
Skipping Christmas	John Grisham			2003
Burglar In The Rye	Lawrence Block			2003
The Chelsea Girl Murders	Sparkle Hayter			2003
Nanny Diaries, The	Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus			2003
Stainless Steel Rat Joins The Circus	Harry Harrison			2003
Roaring 2000's, The	Harry Dent			2003
Dreamcatcher	Stephen King			2003
T2: Infiltrator	S.M. Stirling			2003
Deer Leap, The	Martha Grimes			2003
Liar's Club, The	Mary Karr			2003
T2: Rising Storm	S.M. Stirling			2003
Sex & The City	Candace Bushnell			2003
Lost Explorer: Finding Mallory on Everest	Conrad Anker & David Roberts			2003
Harry Potter & Order Of The Phoenix	J.K. Rowling			2003
About A Boy	Nick Hornby			2003
All The Old Bargains	Benjamin M. Schutz			2003
Tanner On Ice	Lawrence Block			2003
Memoirs Of Sherlock Holmes	Arthur Conan Doyle			2003
Candy & Me	Hilary Liftin			2003
Mysteries Of Pittsburgh	Michael Chabon			2003
Pleasure Of My Company, The	Steve Martin			2003
Fearless	Francine Pascal			2003
Even The Wicked	Lawrence Block			2003
Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot	Al Franken			2003
Hitman	Lawrence Block			2003
Bridget Jones: Edge Of Reason	Helen Fielding			2003
Pumping Irony	Tony Kornheiser		B+	2004
Naked	David Sedaris		B-	2004
Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants	Ann Brashares		B+	2004
Tinsel	William Goldman		B	2004
Complete Idiots Guide To Running	Bill Rodgers		C	2004
Songbook	Nick Hornby		B+	2004
Bad Boy	Jim Thompson		C	2004
George Bush, Dark Prince Of Love	Lydia Millet		B	2004
I, Robot	Isaac Asimov		A	2004
Chance	Robert B. Parker		B	2004
Shame the Devil	George Pelecanos		C	2004
Scribble, Scribble	Nora Ephron		C	2004
King Of Torts, The	John Grisham		C+	2004
T2: Future War	S.M. Stirling		A	2004
L Is For Lawless	Sue Grafton		B	2004
Catch Me If You Can	Frank W. Abagnale		B	2004
Dance At The Slaughterhouse	Lawrence Block		B	2004
Prey	Michael Crichton		C	2004
Girl's Poker Night	Jill A. Davis		C+	2004
Getting Over Jack Wagner	Elise Juska		B-	2004
Stargazey	Martha Grimes		B-	2004
Stainless Steel Visions	Harry Harrison		C-	2004
N Is For Noose	Sue Grafton		C+	2004
Switch Bitch	Roald Dahl		B	2004
Widow's Walk	Robert B. Parker		B	2004
Back Story	Robert B. Parker		B	2004
I Capture The Castle	Dodie Smith		B	2004
America: Citizen's Guide To Democracy Inaction	Daily Show w/ Jon Stewart		A	2005
Man Against Nature	Charles Neider		B-	2005
Naked Brunch	Sparkle Hayter		B+	2005
My Quest For The Yeti	Rheinhold Messner		C+	2005
Past Tense	William G. Tapply		B	2005
A Fine Line	William G. Tapply		B	2005
Shadow Of Death	William G. Tapply		B	2005
Series Of Unfortunate Events: Wide Window	Lemony Snicket		B-	2005
Teammates: Stockton & Malone	Robert Schnakenberg		D	2005
Da Vinci Code, The	Dan Brown		B-	2005
Second Summer Of The Sisterhood	Ann Brashares		A-	2005
Series Of Unfortunate Events: Miserable Mill	Lemony Snicket		B-	2005
Series Of Unfortunate Events: Austere Academy	Lemony Snicket		B-	2005
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy	Douglas Adams		B+	2005
Bitch Creek	William G. Tapply		B	2005
One Minute Manager, The	Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson		B-	2005
Me Talk Pretty One Day	David Sedaris		C+	2005
Sex, Drugs & Cocoa Puffs	Chuck Klosterman		B+	2005
Bandit Queen Boogie	Sparkle Hayter		B+	2005
Girls In Pants: Third Summer Of The Sisterhood	Ann Brashares		A-	2005
Thank You For The Music	Jane McCafferty		C+	2005
Aspen Pulp	Patrick Hasburgh		B-	2005
Fargo Rock City	Chuck Klosterman		B-	2005
Demons & Angels	Dan Brown		B-	2005
Travels	Michael Crichton		C+	2005
Thirty Nothing	Lisa Jewel		B-	2005
Secrets Of "Angels & Demons"	Burstein, Daniel.		B-	2005
Collected Short Stories Of Truman Capote	Truman Capote		B	2005
Blue Last	Martha Grimes		B+	2005
Killing Yourself To Live	Chuck Klosterman		A-	2005
Underneath It All	Traci Lords		A-	2005
Digital Fortress	Dan Brown		B+	2005
To The Nines	Janet Evanovich		B-	2006
Couplehood	Paul Reiser		B	2006
Deception Point	Dan Brown		B	2006
Lincoln's War	Geoffrey Perrett		B	2006
Love Monkey	Kyle Smith		B+	2006
Emily's Reasons Why Not	Carrie Gerlach		C-	2006
Long Way Down	Nick Hornby		B+	2006
Bad Business	Robert B. Parker		C+	2006
Thank You For Smoking	Christopher Buckley		B-	2006
Where The Truth Lies	Rupert Holmes		B+	2006
First Light	Phillip Craig & William G. Tapply		B-	2006
Nervous Water	William G. Tapply		B-	2006
Mr. Monk Goes To Hawaii	Lee Goldberg		B-	2006
No Man's Land	Greg Rucka		B-	2006
Little Green Men	Christopher Buckley		B	2006
Mr. Monk Visits the Firehouse	Lee Goldberg		B	2006
Housekeeping Versus The Dirt	Nick Hornby		B+	2006
Hearts In Atlantis	Stephen King		A	2006
Sammy's Hill	Kristin Gore		B+	2006
Loose Lips	Claire Berlinski		B-	2006
Phil Gordon	Little Green Book		B-	2006
IV	Chuck Klosterman		B+	2007
Silent Gondoliers	William Goldman		B	2007
Mr. Monk & The Blue Flu	Lee Goldberg		B	2007
Dupont Circle	Paul  Kafka-Gibbons		C+	2007
Derailed	James Siegel		B-	2007
Polysyllabic Spree	Nick Hornby		B+	2007
Love Is A Mix Tape	Rob Sheffield		C+	2007
Hundred Dollar Baby	Robert B. Parker		C+	2007
I Feel Bad About My Neck	Nora Ephron		B-	2007
Rogue's Game	Milton Burton		B	2007
Turning The Tables	Rita Rudner		B	2007
Then We Came To The End	Joshua Ferris		C+	2007
Dedication	Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus		B+	2007
Lucky At Cards	Lawrence Block		C+	2007
Lean Mean Thirteen	Janet Evanovich		C+	2007
Last Summer (Of Me And You)	Ann Brashares		B+	2007
Harrington On Hold'em Vol 3	Dan Harrington		B+	2007
I Love You, Beth Cooper	Larry Doyle		B+	2007
Swing	Rupert Holmes		B+	2007
Assertiveness Skills	National Press Publications		D-	2007
Sammy's House	Kristin Gore		B+	2007
Little Blue Book Of Poker	Phil Gordon		C+	2007
Lion Eyes	Claire Belinski		B	2007
Harrington On Hold'em Vol. 1	Dan Harrington		B	2007
Sammy's Hill	Kristin Gore		B	2007
Confessions Of A Teenage Slueth	Chelsea Cain		B-	2007
Everything I Need To Know, I Learned From A Chick Flick	Kimberly Potts		B-	2007
Star Trek Academy: Collision Course	William Shatner		B	2007
Cons, Scams & Grifts	Joe Gores		C+	2008
Playing For Pizza	John Grisham		B-	2008
Devil's On The Deep Blue Sea	Kristoffer A. Garin		A	2008
Candy Girl	Diablo Cody		B+	2008
Bleachers	John Grisham		B-	2008
High Five	Janet Evanovich		B-	2008
Deadly Beloved	Max Allan Collins		B-	2008
Ammunition	Ken Bruen		C+	2008
Friend Of The Family	Lisa Jewell		B-	2008
Eat This, Not That	David Zinczenko		B-	2008
Mr. Monk & The Two Assistants	Lee Goldberg		B+	2008
I Was Told There'd Be Cake	Sloane Crosley		B-	2008
Mr. Monk In Outer Space	Lee Goldberg		B-	2008
I Hated Hated Hated this Movie	Roger Ebert		B-	2008
The Film Club	David Gilmour		C+	2008
Central Europe: Friends & Enemies	Lonnie Johnson		C+	2008
Death De Jour	Kathy Reichs		B-	2008
Next	Michael Crichton		C-	2008
Rough Weather	Robert B. Parker		B+	2008
Downtown Owl	Chuck Klosterman		B	2008
Fencing Master, The	Arturo Perez-Reverte		B	2008
How To Be Good	Nick Hornby		B	2008
Are You There Vodka?  It's Me, Chelsea	Chelsea Handler		B-	2008
Hell Bent	William G. Tapply		B	2009
State By State	Matt Weiland & Sean Wilsey		A-	2009
Mr. Monk Goes To Germany	Lee Goldberg		B-	2009
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist	Rachel Cohn & David Levithan		A	2009
Mysterious Benedict Society, The	Trenton Lee Stewart		B+	2009
Death Of A Musketeer	Sarah D'Almeida		B+	2009
Club Dumas, The	Arturo Perez-Reverte		A-	2009
Perks Of Being A Wallflower, The	Stephen Chbosky		A-	2009
Supreme Courtship	Christopher Buckley		B-	2009
Wishful Drinking	Carrie Fisher		B-	2009
Mysterious Benedict Society & The Perilous Journey	Trenton Lee Stewart		B+	2009
Pop Princess	Rachel Cohn		B-	2009
Naomi & Ely's No Kiss List	Rachel Cohn & David Levithan		B+	2009
The Fix (A "Burn Notice" novel)	Tod Goldberg		B-	2009
In Defense Of Food	Michael Pollan		B+	2009
Into The Volcano: A Mallory & Morse Book	Forrest DeVoe		B-	2009
Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Greg's Journal	Jeff Kinney		A-	2009
Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw	Jeff Kinney		A-	2009
Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Roddick Rules	Jeff Kinney		A-	2009
Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy	Douglas Adams		A-	2009
Restaurant At The End Of The Universe	Douglas Adams		A-	2009
Life, The Universe & Everything	Douglas Adams		A-	2009
How To Be Good	Nick Hornby		C+	2009
For Your Eyes Only	Ian Fleming		C+	2009
Grave Maurice, The	Martha Grimes		C+	2009
Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days	Jeff Kinney		B-	2009
Hearts In Atlantis	Stephen King		C+	2009
Great Train Robbery, The	Michael Crichton		B+	2009
Out Cold	William G. Tapply		B-	2009
I Might Be Wrong (But I Doubt It)	Charles Barkley			2009
Broker, The	John Grisham	Drama	B-	2010
Lost Symbol, The	Dan Brown	Thriller	C+	2010
Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams	Lawrence Block	Mystery	A	2010
What Music Means To Girls	Lavinia Greenlaw	Biography	C -	2010
Mr. Monk In Trouble	Lee Goldberg	Mystery	C +	2010
Dial H For Hitchcock	Susan Kandel	Mystery	C +	2010
Mr. Monk Is Miserable	Lee Goldberg	Mystery	B-	2010
Mr. Monk And The Dirty Cop	Lee Goldberg	Mystery	B+	2010
Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart	Lawrence Block	Mystery	B+	2010
Professional, The	Robert B. Parker	Mystery	B	2010
Mystery Of The Headless Horse (3 Investigators Mystery)		Young Adult	B-	2010
Shopaholic Takes Manhattan	Sophie Kinsella	Comedy	B-	2010
Eating The Dinosaur	Chuck Klosterman	Essay	C+	2010
Girl Who Played With Fire	Steig Larssen	Thriller	A-	2010
How Did You Get This Number	Sloane Crosley	Essay	B+	2010
School Daze	Robert B. Parker	Mystery	B-	2010
Payback	Richard Stark	Noir	B-	2010
Alphabet From A To Y & Bonus Letter Z	Steve Martin & Roz Chast	Children	B	2010
Missing Golden Ticket, The	Roald Dahl	Young Adult	B	2010
21 Proms	Anthology (Cohn, Levitan, etc…)	Young Adult	B+	2010
Painted Ladies	Robert B. Parker	Mystery	C+	2010
Pillow Stalk	Diane Vallere	Mystery	B+	2010
Mr. Monk Is Cleaned Out	Lee Goldberg	Mystery	B	2011
Lady Sings The Clues	Diane Vallere	Mystery	B-	2011
Mysterious Benedict Society & The Prisoner's Dilemma	Trenton Lee Stewart	Young Adult	B	2011
Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest	Steig Larssen	Thriller	B+	2011
Mr. Monk On The Road	Lee Goldberg	Mystery	B	2011
Pride & Prejudice	Jane Austen	Drama	B+	2011
Food Rules	Michael Pollen	Non-Fiction	D	2011
Outwitting Trolls	William G. Tapply	Mystery	B	2011
Zombie Spaceship Wasteland	Patton Oswalt	Memoir	B	2011
Burn Notice: The Reformed	Goldberg, Lee	Thriller	B	2011
Commencement	Courtney Sullivan	Drama	B	2011
Designer Dirty Laundry	Diane Vallere	Mystery	B-	2011
Hunger Games, The	Suzanne Collins	Young Adult	A	2012
TinTin- Various books in the series	Herge	Graphic Novel	A-	2012
Catching Fire	Suzanne Collins	Young Adult	A-	2012
Books Can Be Deceiving	Jenn Mckinlay	Mystery	C+	2012
Mockingjay	Suzanne Collins	Young Adult	A	2012

Coke Bath

Some of you may know that I hate driving.  Anything longer than about 40 minutes annoys me.  First of all, it’s wasted time.  If I’m driving I can’t very well be reading a book or magazine.  I have to pay attention to just the driving.  I don’t have enough time in the day to do everything I need to do and time spent commuting eats away even more of it.  Luckily, I can listen to music at the same time, since that is passive interaction and hearing isn’t usually a sense that is required to devote to driving safely.  I’ve listened to a lot of music since living in this area.  Being able to do that doesn’t save me any time, since I’ve never just listened to music- it’s always been playing in the background during some other activity. 

I also hate driving because I’m sitting down in a confined area for extended periods of time.  It’s like being in prison but I can’t even get off the bunk and pace around my cell.  My butt cheeks fall asleep, my leg starts twitching and I can’t find a comfortable place to put my elbows.  I’m a walker- I like to get up periodically and walk around, find some quick task to do elsewhere before going back to my desk or where ever I was sitting.

The biggest reason that I hate to drive though, is because it means I’m forced to go out in the midst of thousands of other people careening around in two tons slabs of metal while they are busy not paying attention.  Texting and talking on the phone seems to be more important to them than keeping their car in their own lane.  Others seem to have defective cars, because the turn signals on their BMW don’t seem to work because they never are in use when the car slaloms across three lanes so they can cut me off and get to the exit ramp.  Yesterday was a perfect example of this. I’m driving along the Beltway in Maryland to get to my Brandywine office.  Ahead of me I see one of those roadside assistance vehicles behind a broken down car in the exit lane.  There are four or five cars sitting behind it, because apparently they didn’t notice a stationary vehicle in the road until it was too late to go around it. 

I approach this cluster of dumb with mild curiousity and caution.  I notice the car right behind the emergency vehicle starts to pull out so I slow down a little.  Then the nose of the third car in the line starts to peek out at as I’m nearing and then pulls out right behind the first car.  There is no way that car can accelerate quickly enough to get out of the traffic on the Beltway because the first car is still in front of them puttering around the emergency vehicle.  I’m rapidly closing the distance and I can’t change lanes because I don’t have enough time to check if there is anyone already in the next lane so I have to slam on my brakes or hit the car.  I do briefly consider hitting it because the idiot pulled out when there were cars coming instead of during a gap in traffic and of course there was no turn signal employed during the maneuvering.  It would show them the stupidity of their actions and maybe permeate their obliviousness for a moment.  I decide against it though because it will mean my car gets totaled in the process and I might end up flying through the windshield somehow even though I am wearing my seatbelt.  I’m screaming at the car as I’m pressing the brakes and everything in my front seat goes flying onto the floor.  I’m still yelling as I pass the car as it gets back into the exit lane and I see the fat woman in the beater car carrying on like nothing happened, like she didn’t almost kill me. 

A mile or two down the road I finally look at the stuff that got thrown on the floorboards.  Oh shit!  I got a drink at 7-11 on the way and that cup was now sitting completely upside down on top of my CD holder.  I grab the cup and scan the floorboards- nothing on the carpets.  Maybe nothing spilled out?  I lift a CD out of the holder and lots of brown liquid streams off.  All the Coke had flowed through the straw and the hole in the cup and was now puddled in my holder, perfectly contained but also totally immersing my CDs in sticky liquid.  I start screaming at the woman in the car all over again.  Now not only had she not been shown the stupidity of her actions, they actually affected me more than her.  Several of the CDs were purchases, not burns of a digital songs, and they were ruined.  The new one from The Cult, something from Dangermouse, Paul Mauriat’s greatest hits- money was paid for all those and now they were soaked and ruined. 

When I got to work, I took a few minutes in the parking to try to clean them up but they had been soaking in too much liquid for too long to be spruced up with a tissue.  I’m hoping that the stuff I burned onto CD from the CDs in my house to make my monthly mix CDs will be salvageable.  So now I’m spending part of my Sunday rinsing off 3 years worth of monthly CDs and jewel cases in the hope that I can still play them after they dry off.  Do CDs rust? Did I get all the Coke off of them or will I end up ruining my car stereo as well?  Wouldn’t that be ironic- the person who avoids crashing into a dangerous motorist is the one who ends up paying the most for it.  That’s why I hate driving- it takes control out of my hands and puts it into the hands of people less concerned with my safety and my needs.  They don’t care what happens from their actions as long as things turn out okay for them.  I need a chauffeur.  My blood pressure can’t take this every day.  Nor can my numb butt cheeks.  Whew, I needed to get that rant off my chest.  I’d been thinking about this all weekend and needed to vent.  Thanks for listening all you faithful and also non-existent readers.

Kristen Stewart Apologizes For Cheating On Robert Pattinson

Wow!  I'm shocked because Stewart's main appeal was her supposed integrity and committment, to her performances and the way she led her life.  Now she's just another hypocritical, self-indulgent, weak-willed celebrity.

(Huffington Post, 25 July 2012)

Kristen Stewart released a public apology on July 25 after reportedly cheating on Robert Pattinson. After incriminating photos of Kristen Stewart with married director Rupert Sanders were splashed in Us Weekly, the "Snow White and the Huntsman" actress has admitted to cheating on boyfriend Robert Pattinson in a heartfelt statement to People.  "I'm deeply sorry for the hurt and embarrassment I've caused to those close to me and everyone this has affected. This momentary indiscretion has jeopardized the most important thing in my life, the person I love and respect the most, Rob. I love him, I love him, I'm so sorry."

News broke on July 24 that Stewart, 22, had cheated on Pattinson, her longtime boyfriend and "Twilight Saga" co-star. The pair quietly started dating after working together on the "Twilight" films, the last of which is set to be released in November.  Us Weekly obtained intimate photos of Stewart and Sanders, her "Snow White" director, and sources confirmed the recent affair to several outlets.

Sources told People, "She wasn't having an affair with Rupert. It was just a fleeting moment that shouldn't have happened."  Sanders, 41, is currently married to British Vogue model Liberty Ross, and the couple has two children.  Ross has deleted her Twitter account, though E! Online reports that the last tweet from the account @RossLiberty read: "Wow."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/25/kristen-stewart-apologizes-cheating-robert-pattinson_n_1702836.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl3%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D184000

Mainstream Media Invents Gay Marriage Chick-Fil-A Controversy

(By Patrick Hobin, NewsMax.com, 24 Jul 2012)

CNN and other left-friendly media outlets are running full speed with an erroneous story that brands the president of the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain a homophobe because he allegedly told a reporter he is “guilty as charged” when it comes to his company being opposed to gay marriage, The Weekly Standard reported.  But the Chick-fil-A president, Dan Cathy, did not condemn gay marriage. CNN and other liberal outlets made their own leap from Cathy expressing support of the traditional family and Christian growth and ministry to making Cathy appear to be condemning gay marriage.  A review of the original interview shows he wasn’t even asked a question about gay marriage nor did he say he condemns it.

The erroneous report caused such an uproar that even Boston's mayor threatened to deny the company business permits, and the Muppets announced the fast food chain wouldn't be able to license any new toys for their kids meals.  For example, CNN said in its story: “But the comments of company President Dan Cathy about gay marriage to Baptist Press on Monday have ignited a social media wildfire.  ‘Guilty as charged,’ Cathy said when asked about his company's support of the traditional family unit as opposed to gay marriage.  ‘We are very much supportive of the family – the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that,’ Cathy is quoted as saying.”

In the actual interview, Cathy wasn’t specifically asked about gay marriage.  His remarks to the paper were as follows: “We don’t claim to be a Christian business,” Cathy told the Biblical Recorder in a recent visit to North Carolina. He attended a business leadership conference many years ago where he heard Christian businessman Fred Roach say, “There is no such thing as a Christian business.”  “That got my attention,” Cathy said. Roach went on to say, “Christ never died for a corporation. He died for you and me.”

“In that spirit . . . [Christianity] is about a personal relationship. Companies are not lost or saved, but certainly individuals are,” Cathy added. “But as an organization we can operate on biblical principles. So that is what we claim to be. [We are] based on biblical principles, asking God and pleading with God to give us wisdom on decisions we make about people and the programs and partnerships we have. And He has blessed us.”  And here's what Cathy says about marriage, the Weekly Standard reported: The company invests in Christian growth and ministry through its WinShape Foundation (WinShape.com). The name comes from the idea of shaping people to be winners. It began as a college scholarship and expanded to a foster care program, an international ministry, and a conference and retreat center modeled after the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove.  “That morphed into a marriage program in conjunction with national marriage ministries,” Cathy added.

Some have opposed the company’s support of the traditional family.  “We are very much committed to that,” Cathy emphasized. “We intend to stay the course,” he said. “We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles.”  CNN and other outlets reported that Cathy spoke words directly addressing gay-rights issues and implied that he delivered anti-gay remarks.  GetReligion.org said the reporting “raises an interesting journalistic question: Is a defense of one doctrine automatically the same thing as an on-the-record attack on the opposite doctrine? In this case, is it accurate for CNN (and others) to say that Cathy made comments about gay marriage when, in fact, he did not speak words addressing that issue?”

 

The reporter of the original Biblical Recorder story, K. Allan Blume said, according to GetReligion.org, that Cathy was "very positive” and the conversation was not being portrayed accurately.  Many of those reports “turned [the original story] into a negative,” Blume said, according to the website. Blume said the term “anti-gay” never came up in the interview.  “He was not saying ‘guilty as charged anti-gay,’” Blume said. “[Cathy] never even brought up that subject. Everything he stated was on the positive side . . . He never stated anything negative.”

 The Weekly Standard wrote, “To say that Cathy condemned gay marriage is stunningly dishonest. And yet, Cathy's had to endure headlines such as, "Boston Mayor Blocks Chick-fil-A Franchise from City over Homophobic Attitude" — and that headline comes from Time, which is allegedly one of the more responsible media outlets. CNN, Time, and many other news organizations owe Cathy and Chick-fil-A some serious corrections and/or clarifications.”

Chick-fil-A is not without its backers, however, as the backlash of the non-controversy has a backlash of its own, with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee asking supporters to eat at one of the fast food chain's more than 1,500 locations on Aug. 1 as part of an "appreciation day."  "The goal is simple: Let's affirm a business that operates on Christian principles and whose executives are willing to take a stand for the Godly values we espouse by simply showing up and eating at Chick Fil-A on Wednesday, August 1," Huckabee wrote on his Facebook page.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/gay-marriage-chik-fil-a-controversy/2012/07/24/id/446402

Here’s the Snopes link too… http://www.snopes.com/politics/sexuality/chickfila.asp

Along with the original interview… http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38271

In the follow-up to the original article ( http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38301 ), I was particularly impressed with the following passage:

“It remains to be seen whether the controversy will harm Chick-fil-A, but the company likely will survive and might even pick up some new customers. That's partially because its base is passionate about its food and, for the most part, apparently appreciates its traditional stance…because its base remains in conservative states. Texas has the most Chick-fil-A restaurants at 262. Including Texas, five states have more than 100 restaurants, and they're all in the South. North Carolina, which has 143 Chick-fil-A restaurants, passed a constitutional marriage amendment in May defining marriage as between a man and a woman. By contrast, the entire state of New York has one Chick-fil-A restaurant. Washington state doesn't have any. Neither does Oregon. Or Vermont. This means that many of those calling for a boycott don't have a restaurant in their area to boycott -- and they've likely never been to a Chick-fil-A.

After watching the uproar, Focus on the Family's Glenn T. Stanton, who often debates the issue of gay marriage and takes the traditional side, told Baptist Press, "I'm gonna have to stop by there for spicy chicken sandwiches and a milkshake more often."  "We hear almost monthly of new major companies announcing their support for the gay community, regardless of what most of their customers want," Stanton said. "And here we have the CEO of a clearly on-the-record traditional values company simply saying he supports the traditional family and how tampering with it is contrary to God's will. And the split-second reaction from these activists is to slander him and his company in the press and blogosphere. It just takes one company taking an alternative position to make the gay activists and liberal press hit the ceiling. But that's where we are today."  Stanton said the message by some opponents of Chick-fil-A apparently is, "Speak up for the natural, traditional family and we will come after you."  "If you don't believe this," Stanton said, "just watch how Chick-fil-A will be treated in the coming months. They [Chick-fil-A's critics] are the new close-minded fundamentalists."

My take, in case you were wondering, is that I don’t have any issue with gay marriage rights.  I have several friends that are married to a same sex partner and I’m very happy for them.  In fact, I’m jealous that they found someone and I haven’t.  What I do have an issue with though, is when people get slammed for voicing their opinions.  Being “pro” something doesn’t automatically make me “anti” something else.  I donate to cancer research organizations but that doesn’t mean I’m “anti-polio cure” because I don’t donate to polio research organizations.  If your argument is that traditional family negates the concept of gay marriage, fine.  Then Chick-Fil-A is anti-gay marriage… and they have a right to be. 

 

If the anti-Chick-Fil-A group got their “genie lamp wish” granted, Chick-Fil-A would go out of business and a differing opinion would be eradicated.  How is that different from misguided people in the 1950’s whose genie lamp wish would be something along the lines of “to have all the queers disappear”?  If the culture of oppression from before needed to change to allow gay marriage to happen, why do the pro-gay marriage advocates want to institute their own culture of oppression?  America was founded on the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  People should be free to say and do what they what as long it doesn’t interfere with my right to do the same.  Being the most vocal doesn’t make you the majority, or even right.  Your voice needs to be heard but you also have to let others speak too, even if you disagree with them.  Being close-minded on either end of the political spectrum is wrong.  That’s why the “Coexist” bumper sticker had to be created.