The American Family Association has a long history of inciting riots against "pro-gay" companies. They've got their on-and-off hate affair with Wal-Mart. And of course there's their "victorious" campaign against Ford's dalliance with GLAAD.

But how do the "traditional" family focused rabble rousers know which brands to brand enemies of their fundamentalist state? They subject themselves to hours and hours of gay-endorsed television, of course. The group's project summary:

Between February 11 through May 5, American Family Association monitored the top eight prime-time network programs featuring lead or supporting homosexual characters. These programs were specifically identified by the activist-homosexual group GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) as GLAAD Media Award winners, or as showcasing leading or supporting homosexual characters.

Of the eight shows - The Simpsons, ER, The Office, The Class, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy - four air on the Disney-owned ABC. That means the AFA's going to have to add the media giant to its list of offenders, which already includes Ford, Verizon and Quaker Oats. The AFA's got quite a battle ahead.

If they're really serious about taking down fag-friendly firms, AFA members should again take GLAAD's advice: the media watch dog has a rundown of all the gay pride month televisuals.

Ten companies to support, as per the AFA [AfterElton]
It's Not TV. It's H-O-M-O. [Good As You]

Certainly you remember the story on how a group of pious investigators discovered Walmart.com sells "gay books". In an effort to stop their dastardly deeds, concerned consumer Donna Garner gathered a group of homies to raise a stink, telling The Baptist Press:

I think we’ve done a pretty good job in our country of letting Wal-Mart know we’ve not been pleased at all with their decision to back the homosexual agenda.

Of course you're not, honey. And, yes, you have done a "good" job.

As we learned with the Wal-Mart v. American Family Association, the mega store's got a reputation for folding under pressure. Thus, it (unfortunately) comes as no surprise that they've already pulled a number of titles from their online store. The twist comes in a particular genre being targeted: a sexually explicit anime known as Yaoi Hentai and the so-called controversy that boils below.

CONTINUED »

AFA may have called off its boycott of Wal-Mart back in November, but it seems a number of conservatives weren't entirely convinced the super store had given up its "fag-enabling" ways. And they were right - some sleuthing found that the discount store's been selling such outrageous texts as David Eisenbach's Gay Power: An American Revolution and over 1,000 more. Vile, no? Writing for The Baptist Press, Erin Roach fumes: .

...Wal-Mart continues to dabble in supporting a lifestyle that is contrary to what many of its customers believe is natural and safe.

By offering book selections that cater to the gay and lesbian crowd, America's top discount retailer is demonstrating a desire to satisfy a vocal minority at the expense of losing the support of a large demographic that helped make Wal-Mart the successful business it has been for years.

Such betrayal! How will they ever go on? By raising a stink, that's how.

CONTINUED »

As it's almost Thanksgiving, we headed over to Renew America to see what our favorite American hater, Madeline Crabb, has to say for herself. Sure, we think she's a totally insane twat, but we're thankful she exists - not only do we love to poke fun at her nonsensical arguments, but she stands as a beautiful example of free speech, another thing for which we give thanks.

Anyway, this week Mad Crabb's taken on Wal-Mart. The original piece posted yesterday, before the American Family Association lifted its ban on the discount retailer. Not surprisingly, Crabb used her column inches to deride the store for its alleged - and somewhat anachronistic - homo-love. She even gave it a poetic title, "Say No To Wal-Mart". Pure journalistic genius.

Here's a little taste:

The "Gay," Lesbian, Bi-sexual, and Transgender (GLBT) activists threaten boycotts and other repercussions if corporations don't cater to their special wants. This is why so many corporations have now succumbed to the pressure and offer same-sex domestic partnership benefits. Oh, and let's not forget the diversity training they demand for all those pesky "homophobes" and Christians.

Let's ask ourselves what is more important: saving a few dollars, or honoring God by using his money to support more worthy companies....When Wal-Mart was questioned about what they would do if Christians withheld their business in protest, Wal-Mart officials said they would just lower their prices more to keep Christians coming. They think we value our wallets more than we do biblical principles...Biblical and family values are more important than money, aren't they?

They sure are, Crabbie. Considering Wal-Mart's about-face, however, it seems that you won't be forced to choose between your love of a misread Bible, shitty products and good "family" values. Proof perfect that there is a God, right?

It seems the American Family Association has received their holiday wish: shopping at Wal-Mart! (Which is good, because we were beginning to wonder where they would get their traditional silver Christmas trees.)

After weeks of boycotting the international purveyor of shit over Wal-Mart's apparent support of the homos, the two sides of have reached an "agreement". The company reiterated its political policies in what can only be described as a bland and fairly feckless statement:

We are working hard to make our corporate contributions reflect the values of our customers, communities, and associates. As Sam Walton said, “Each Wal-Mart store should reflect the values of its customers and support the vision they hold for their community.

Wal-Mart will not make corporate contributions to support or oppose highly controversial issues unless they directly relate to our ability to serve our customers.

Wal-Mart does not have a position on same sex marriage and we do not give preference to gay or lesbian suppliers. Wal-Mart does have a strong commitment to diversity among our associates and against discrimination everywhere.

Of course, "diversity" can be read in many ways. It can refer to race, religion, economic background...and, we suppose, it may mean sexuality. It's also worth noting that the company has agreed to use "Christmas" in their sales adverts, rather than the more universal - and sinful? - "holidays".

While the AFA celebrates what it sees as a victory, people on the homo-side of the great cultural divide see things a little differently. Everyone's favorite - er - activist, Joe Solmonese of Human Rights Campaign had this to say:

I don't see it as backpedaling by Wal-Mart...I think the AFA failed, and thought to themselves, 'Let's declare victory and hope nobody notices.'

Not everyone's being so forgiving of Wal-Mart's vague statement.

Chris Kofinis of WakeUpWalMart.com questioned the company's declaration:

[It's] a confusing contortion of words that make it completely unclear whether Wal-Mart still supports equal rights for the (gay and lesbian) community or not, and worse, raises real questions as to whether they caved to the pressure from the religious right...

It raises questions? Really? It seems pretty cut and dry to us. We won't say what we think, but we will say that Wal-Mart clearly knows their customer base. We will also say that we don't remember when we were last in a Wal-Mart. And, really, that says it all.

• JC Report gets all up in Australian fashion's under parts. (Boobies free of charge!) [JC Report]

• Now that he's taken down Ted Haggard, Mike Jones simply will not hook. He does, however, need money. Badly. [Joe. My. God.]

• Lindsay Lohan's gone and lost her mind. (No, seriously, she looks crazy in this GQ pics.) [Mollygood]

• Apparently Leslie Jordan and Delta Burke are a little too risque for a Nashville show. Now that's conservative. [TMZ]

• We know Hollywood and its denizens are a strange crew, but can someone please explain to us why Jennifer Lopez is at Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise's wedding? [Reuters]

• Wal-Mart's selling a girl with a chapter entitled, "My First Time Fucking a Girl". Obviously family values groups aren't pleased. (Lesbianism's never seemed less sexy. [LifeSiteNews]

You may recall a post from yesterday in which we brought up a debate raging at Swarthmore college over the appopriateness of so-called lewd, yet empowering queer coming-out chalkings. We asked you, our brilliant and opinionated readers, whether or not people should censor themselves. Well, today we want to take a look at the other side of the spectrum.

The American Civil Liberties Union has successfully petitioned for a man named Edwin Crayton to protest that bellwether of international fashions, Wal-Mart. As you may recall, conservative organizations have been making a stink over the super-store's so-called positive stance on the homos (for example, they recently included same-sex couples in their benefit packages). Last month, the American Family Association sent out a letter urging its members to boycott the store over products of products "relating to homosexuality [and promotion of] the agenda of the homosexual community."

In response, Mr. Crayton took it upon himself to start a one man protest outside a Lousiana branch of the famed retailer. Brandishing a sign reading "Christians: Wal-Mart Supports Gay Lifestyles And Marriage. Don't Shop There", Crayton marched in the parking lot, spreading his message to anyone who would listen.

Local coppers threatened Crayton with arrest, insisting he didn't have the necessary permits. Always ones to defend free speech, the ACLU insisted that Crayton's constitutional rights had been violated and asked that the city lift its permit requirement. ACLU lawyer Katie Schwartzmann said, "The right to speak one's conscience on matters of religious and political import is integral to a free and democratic society." Bending under the weight of American freedom, the court agreed and has granted Crayton permission to go about his expressive way.

As you may know a number of courts have recently passed legislation barring protesters from coming with certain distance of military funerals, most notably Fred Phelps and his homo-hating brethren. As we're sure you're aware, many of these protests involve virulently anti-gay messages, including the delectable, "God Hates Fags".

We ask you readers, if Phelps and his homies can't raise their voices, should Crayton be able to publicly oppose Wal-Mart? Sure, the messages may not be of the same caliber but the message remains the same: homos are bad news.

At what point, then, do hateful messages become too distasteful for public exposure? What makes military funerals worthy of special protection? Should any and all hateful messages be banned? Do court's have the right to censor people's voices?

You know, just a few things we've had on our mind...

The American Family Association, those demigods of familial values, has just released an edict urging their members to boycott Wal-Mart over its alliance with National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

Insisting that said alliance furthers gay causes (or, as Shirley Phelps Roper would say, are "fag-enablers"), the AFA hopes to run Wal-Mart out of business. 365 Gay reports:

Randy Sharp, AFA's director of special projects said he did an online search of Walmart.com using such terms as "gay," "lesbian," "transgender," "bisexual," and "gay marriage".

"They'll come up with hundreds, sometimes even thousands of products relating to homosexuality [and promotion of] the agenda of the homosexual community," Sharp told Christian publication Agape.

AFA is calling "on Christian consumers to spend their dollars elsewhere as a sign of their displeasure with Wal-Mart's pro-homosexual leanings."

We've never thought of Wal-Mart as particularly gay, so to test out the Sharp's theory, we made a list of "gay" things to see if we could find them. And, you know what? We found every last one of them!

So, what was on our list? Poppers, industrial sized butt plug, a goat, "Family" sized Vaseline, barely legal hookers, Mark Foley, crystal meth, spiked necklace, rubber gloves, a gerbil, a gerbil wheel (don't ask), plastic wrap, a clown mask, and Saltines (we've got a sensitive tummy).

There you have it folks, Wal-Mart's a way better place to get your supplies for your next gay orgy than that dumb ol' sex shop.

We mourn the daddy of Madonna's Vogue. [Proceed at Your Own Risk]

Wal-mart is just so gay. [Family Research Council]

Rupert Everett just got hotter. Lost role. [Irish Examiner]

It's like a gay political daisy chain. [Gay.com]

Ghana stonewalls gay conference. [The Advocate]

You couldn't pay us to go to Iraq. [365 Gay]

We've been noticing the crunchier side of Walmart since earlier this year when they debuted their new fashion forward TV commercials (you know the ones we mean: "it's time to change, time to re-a-rrange") and their plan to greenify their stories and work with local communities.

Basically they are now doing the opposite of what they have been doing these last few years. Either they are finally listening to the people, their budget is looking grim, or they have new management. Maybe it's a combination of factors, but the latest is that they have hired the Witeck-Combs ad agency, which works with super-gay American Airlines, hippy-friendly Volvo, and other clients.

Of course, Rev. Donald Wildmon and his American Family Association, fresh off their completely pointless and ineffectual boycott of Ford, is set to boycott Walmart. Good luck Reverend. We just don't see it happening.

Walmart About to Feel AFA Wrath [BusinessWeek]

It may not matter that Wal-Mart is reaching out to the gay community. For the retail giant to have any inroads in the "worker friendly" realm – gay worker or not – first it needs to clean up its treatment of employees. At least that's how advocacy groups like Pride at Work feel in response to today's announcement between Wal-Mart and the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, which promises to form "a broad-based coalition of LGBT-owned and -friendly businesses." On Wal-Mart's end, they claim they're trying to include local businesses owned by gay men and women in its retail process. But a quick glance at most any data analyzing Wal-Mart's effects on local businesses could quickly label this arrangement as nothing more than hype.

Wal-Mart launches gay-friendly initiative [Gay.com]

• Civil rights leader and Wal-Mart "image maker" Andrew Young steps down from his post after saying the retail giant should displace mom-and-pop stores, as it's been Jewish, Arab and Korean local store owners who've been "ripping off" urban customers for years. [NYT]

• Soon-to-retire Martina Navratilova writes in to People magazine this week to urge Lance Bass to use his celebrity to become a pioneer for gay rights. In his own People coming out story, Lance has said he doesn't only want to be connected to gay issues. [Pink News]

• In Toronto, news comes via the 16th annual International AIDS Conference that new HIV infection rates in Canada, the U.S. Europe, and Australia have been rising 1.9 percent each year. [TodayOnline.com]

• In Israel, porn mogul and star Michael Lucas is set to arrive to entertain the troops. You know, the straight women. [Something Jewish]

• In Chicago, a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church may be ousted from the church after revealing he's been in a relationship with a man for two years. The church allows gays to serve in the church, so long as they remain celibate. [Chi-Tri]

• Eva Longoria's publicist rushes to deny reports the Desperate Housewives star claimed she wanted a full-on gay experience and that she flirts with other men to make boyfriend Tony Parker jealous.