Banned in Boston…and Chicago (UPDATED)
According to the Chicago Tribune, the sudden government mania for punishing people for their moral opinions has spread to the Windy City:
A Chicago alderman wants to kill Chick-fil-A’s plans to build a restaurant in his increasingly trendy Northwest Side ward because the fast-food chain’s top executive vocally opposes gay marriage.
“If you are discriminating against a segment of the community, I don’t want you in the 1st Ward,” Moreno told the Tribune on Tuesday.
Moreno, of course, has no evidence whatsoever that Chick-fil-A has ever discriminated against anyone gay. Not in employment, not in service. But that’s not what this is about, anyway. It’s actually about liberal politicians trying to punish people who don’t agree with them, which is as repugnant to the First Amendment as anything they can possibly do. Moreno confirms that this is precisely what he’s doing:
Moreno stated his position in strong terms, referring to Cathy’s “bigoted, homophobic comments” in a proposed opinion page piece that an aide also sent to Tribune reporters. “Because of this man’s ignorance, I will now be denying Chick-fil-A’s permit to open a restaurant in the 1st Ward.”
But this isn’t just an isolated instance of overt authoritarianism in America’s most corrupt city:
The alderman has the ideological support of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
“Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values,” the mayor said in a statement when asked about Moreno’s decision. “They disrespect our fellow neighbors and residents. This would be a bad investment, since it would be empty.”
Yep, “Chicago values.” That would be gang violence and political corruption so pervasive it became the basis for the latest Batman movie trilogy. I can certainly understand why Emanuel wouldn’t want an outfit such as Chick-fil-A to land in the midst of that.
UPDATE: Seems that “Chicago values” includes working with anti-Semites. According to the Chicago Sun-Times yesterday:
Ignoring Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan’s history of anti-Semitic remarks, Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday welcomed the army of men dispatched to the streets by Farrakhan to stop the violence in Chicago neighborhoods.
Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th), an Orthodox Jew, has said it’s good that Farrakhan is “helping” in the fight against crime, “but it doesn’t eradicate the comments that he’s made about the Jewish community.”
Emanuel offered no such caveat. Although Farrakhan has a history of making anti-Semitic statements, Chicago’s first Jewish mayor has no interest in revisiting that controversy.
(Hat tip: Capt. Father Warren in the comments.)
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So, if cities are now able to exclude people and businesses on an ideological basis, would it be okay for, say, Little Rock to keep out a company like Starbucks because its executive leadership is left of center? Or maybe Cheyenne banning deliveries of Ben & Jerry’s to local supermarkets because the former execs were pinkos?
[1] Posted by Jeffersonian on 7-25-2012 at 07:19 PM · [top]
Jeffersonian, that is where both mob rule and elitism lead, and why the Federalist Papers posit the need to frustrate both raw majority and narrow faction control over government. That is the basis of the Constitution we so zealously ignore these days.
[2] Posted by Timothy Fountain on 7-25-2012 at 07:33 PM · [top]
Fr. Fountain, I agree. This “ban” won’t hold water, but the totalitarian mindset of the Left will remain. The Left today is openly fascist, to the point that merely expressing an idea that runs counter to their zeitgeist is grounds for official repression.
We are wading into dangerous waters.
And why are comments showing up bacwards?
[3] Posted by Jeffersonian on 7-25-2012 at 07:39 PM · [top]
No Jeffersonnian, you don’t understand. It is a one way street. As long as your are a lib-proggie you are to be allowed to do what ever you want including discriminating against people for their beliefs because you are an enlightened elite one. Those troglodyte conservatives are just animals that need to be kept in check so the First Amendment doesn’t apply to them.
[4] Posted by BillB on 7-25-2012 at 09:29 PM · [top]
Chick-Fil-A should be thankful that they are not wanted. Chicago values? Generations of political corruption. Ward bosses so powerful that they think of their “wards” as their fiefdoms has been true since the late 40s when my parents lived in Chicago. Why would a company like Chick- Fil- A want to even consider Chicago as a possible site for a restaurant?
I am sure there are probably smaller more conservative towns that would be ideal places for Chick-Fil-A.
[5] Posted by SC blu cat lady on 7-25-2012 at 09:38 PM · [top]
I wonder on what grounds this alderman would attempt to keep CFA out of “his” ward. Do companies fill out questionnaires with their building permit applications that probe the firms’ officers’ political views to verify that they are sufficiently fashionable? Who gets to decide whether the views are stylish enough? The alderman?
And how is this congruent with the Rule of Law? It strikes me that it’s the very definition of the Rule of Men. Chicago turned Zimbabwe.
[6] Posted by Jeffersonian on 7-25-2012 at 10:09 PM · [top]
Jeffersonian: Good question regarding the formatting. I will pose it to our technogeek and let you know.
[7] Posted by David Fischler on 7-26-2012 at 07:44 AM · [top]
But Farrakahn is welcome in Chicago,
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/13996951-418/rahm-welcomes-help-from-farrakahn-ignores-anti-semitic-remarks.html
What does that tell us about Chicago values?
[8] Posted by Capt. Father Warren on 7-26-2012 at 07:47 AM · [top]
Good point, Fr. Warren. Let’s run the good Minister Farrakhan through Alderman Moreno’s ideological filter to see if he and the Nation of Islam will be allowed to remain in the Windy City. Tell us all how Islam says Muslims are to treat homosexuals.
[9] Posted by Jeffersonian on 7-26-2012 at 08:03 AM · [top]
Chicago politicians probably want to ban Chik-fil-A because of the company’s anti-beef ads which discriminate against the famed Chicago stockyards and beef eaters everywhere.
[10] Posted by Undergroundpewster on 7-26-2012 at 08:42 AM · [top]
Anyone believe that these Democrats would be picking a fight with a company that has done nothing wrong if they thought they weren’t about to get creamed in the upcoming elections? This fight is making them look bad, and will probably drive up the negatives for the gay/lesbian activist community…but they are so desperate for any sort of enthusiasm at this point that they will do anything. I guess it is damage control…they think the White House is gone, but they want to keep as many Scott Brown types of Republicans from winning in blue states.
It is disgusting, evil, and wrong, but it makes sense.
[11] Posted by All-Is-True on 7-26-2012 at 08:46 AM · [top]
This is probably going to increase Chick-Fil-A’s business. They’re certainly getting much free publicity.
David Katzakian
[12] Posted by sactohye on 7-26-2012 at 09:03 AM · [top]
Some kind soul gave me a coupon for a free Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich, no questions asked. I intend to put it to good use and strike my own cost-free blow against the Left Wing Juggernaut. If I need to take a bicarbonate afterwards, I’ll pay for it myself.
They also gave me a coupon for a free Kid’s Meal, but I can’t do anything about that.
[13] Posted by episcopalienated on 7-26-2012 at 02:27 PM · [top]
sactohye:
I read the other day that CFA’s business was up 13% last year, with 64 new stores opening up. And the militant, leftist gays have been after them for some time now.
[14] Posted by Jeffersonian on 7-26-2012 at 03:50 PM · [top]
Okay, this made me chuckle. From Reason magaine:
“Chicago Alderman Proco “Joe” Moreno explains that he won’t allow Chich-fil-A to open a store in his ward because of the owners’ anti-gay-marriage views, thus symbolically supporting civil rights by actually violating civil rights. No, he doesn’t get it.”
[15] Posted by Jeffersonian on 7-26-2012 at 03:56 PM · [top]
I’m not sure any of us is surprised that the mayor of Boston is an idiot, but he called his mistake of threatening to squeeze out a private business because it expressed its first amendment rights Menino-ism. Someone make this guy a Tec bishop.
[16] Posted by All-Is-True on 7-26-2012 at 04:10 PM · [top]
Jeffersonian:
Sounds like they are crying all the way to the bank.
David Katzakian
[17] Posted by sactohye on 7-26-2012 at 04:21 PM · [top]
TEC is missing their opportunity. They should immediately be seized by the vision for Gay-Filet, the city’s premier meat market and all-you-can-eat diner. It’s open to all comers featuring queer steer, chicken and shellfish. They can have a drive through wide enough to accommodate a gay pride float and provide condoms with every happy meal. Purple will be the uniform and Bishops can blend right in and continue their work.
[18] Posted by iamaworm on 7-26-2012 at 04:48 PM · [top]
Bloomberg in NYC, OTOH, thinks it’s none of the city’s business.
[19] Posted by C. Wingate on 7-27-2012 at 05:03 PM · [top]
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