A Pre-emptive Strike In The Christmas War: AFA's List Of "Anti-Christmas" Companies. Guess Who Made It!

Banana Republic is doomed. So is The Gap, L.L. Bean, Foot Looker, Office Depot, Old Navy, Radio Shack, Barnes & Noble and... Victoria's Secret!! They're all doomed to perdition by the American Family Association (spearheaded, of course, by the ever-righteous Bryan Fischer) because they've been deemed to be AGAINST "Christmas." (Their emphasis, not mine)


The AFA hardly waited until the first "Happy Holidays" after Thanksgiving was uttered to deem these retailers unfit to carry the "true" Christmas spirit. Like some angry neighbor in a property dispute, it has fired a warning shot over an imaginary fence, telling people that their wrath will be appeased sooner or later. Their "criteria" for "good"  "marginal" and "bad" retailers is supposedly based on "print media (newspaper inserts), broadcast media (radio/television), website and/or personal visits to the store." But a closer examination to the "naughty" list produces another criteria: "gay friendly."
For example, Old Navy launched a "gay-friendly" line of clothing for Gay Pride and teamed up with It Gets Better for a t-shirt promotion. Banana Republic and The Gap (all owned by Gap, Inc.) are all considered to be "gay friendly." So is Barnes and Noble. And we all know what Bryan Fischer thinks of Home Depot ("Homo Depot"). And with the exception of Walgreens, Best Buy and Macy's, the "nice" retailers aren't too overtly pro-gay. If they were, they wouldn't be given the Bryan Fischer/AFA stamp of Christmas approval.


So if you're gay-friendly and don't say "Merry Christmas" in your ads and to every man, woman, child, dog and cockroach that comes into the store, you're going to hell. Well, maybe YOU won't go to hell, but your company will, because the tone of the AFA's ongoing articles on the subject is a loud whisper: "boycott."


On the other hand, maybe you WILL go to hell... after standing in the unemployment line.


Who will be on THE LIST in any of the three columns is anyone's guess - depending upon who encounters "friendly" or "unfriendly" retailers and reports them to the AFA. Will the Scottsdale Gun Club be on it? Hard to say since it depends on who the guns are pointed at when they say "Merry Christmas."


OWNING CHRISTMAS


Each year, the "War on Christmas" brings up one salient point: who owns Christmas? The Christian Right hammers away at the CHRIST part of the holiday name as proof that they and only they can lay claim to it. And any misuse or omission is a sign of sacrilege or worse ... persecution. There will be a three-part series on the subject for OpEdNews readers within the coming weeks, but for now, we can safely say that the Christian Right refuses to regard the Spirit of Christmas as transcending the holiday: Christmas, in all its goodness and holiness and charity is theirs and theirs alone. Righteous arrogance rears its ugly head during the season, overshadowing the essence of humanity that the season tries to embody.


And speaking of bodies...Victoria's Secret DOES mention Christmas in its ad - just not in the convention way that Bryan Fischer wants (see below) because it also says Happy Hannukah and Kwanza and all those other sacrilegious things that the AFA doesn't want you to know about. 


While the link to the list is HERE, it's just too good to pass up reprinting it along with this article.
Here is the actual list updated as of 11/30 (from the AFA website)


AFA's 2011 listing of top retailers and how they recognize Christmas


Color Code:
GREEN: Company uses the term "Christmas" on a regular basis, we consider that company Christmas-friendly.

YELLOW: Company refers to Christmas infrequently, or in a single advertising medium, but not in others.
RED: Company may use "Christmas" sparingly in a single or unique product description, but as a company, does not recognize it.   

 List updated on 11-30-11

Companies FOR "Christmas"  AFA Online Store ACE Hardware Amazon.com Bass Pro Shops Bed Bath & Beyond Belk Best Buy Big Lots Books-A-Million Cabella's Collective Brands Costco CVS Pharmacy Dick's Sporting Goods Dilliards Dollar General Dollar Tree H.E.B. Stores HSN.com Hallmark Hancock Fabrics Harris Teeter Stores Hobby Lobby Home Shopping Network JC Penney JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts Stores Kmart Kohl's Kroger Lowe's Macy's Marshals Meijer Menard's Michael's Stores Neiman Marcus Nordstrom Office Max Petsmart Pier One Imports ProFlowers.com Publix QVC.com Rite Aid Sears Scheels Sporting Goods Super D Drug Stores Target TJ Maxx Toys R Us True Value Walgreens Wal-Mart/Sam's Club Zappos.com

Companies marginal on "Christmas"  1-800-Flowers.com Bath & Body Works Cooking.com Dollar Tree Hy-Vee Stores Limited Brands Safeway Starbucks UncommonGoods.com Whole Foods

Companies AGAINST "Christmas"  Banana Republic Barnes & Noble Family Dollar Foot Locker Gap Stores L.L. Bean Limited Brands Office Depot Old Navy Radio Shack Staples Supervalu Victoria's Secret

The Fine Print: Beck's Demise Is No Demise ... and No Surprise

SHOCK!! Glenn Beck announced that his FOX News show is being canceled! It truly is the END OF THE WORLD!!

With a totally disingenuous statement ("Fox is one of the only places you will find truth"), Glenn Beck said goodbye to his blackboards and his cable TV viewers. But lest we feel sorry for The Beckster, we should look at the bigger picture: rosier than ever for Glenn Beck. 

 From The Hollywood Reporter:

Beck, who Forbes estimated made over $32 million last year (only $2 million of which was for the FNC show), insisted he was not making this change because he can make more money elsewhere. It is not, said Beck, “because it’s good or bad for business but II think you, of all people, will truly get this, our only business is the business of freedom and our country at this time.

Yeah, right. Glenn Beck will still retain his daily radio show, his lecture/performance circuit and, of course, more free time to "write" books. He will also be doing "specials" for FOX. 

Still, there will be a great wailing, ripping of garments, gnashing of teeth as conspiracy theorists (his biggest following) will somehow blame the show's demise on President Obama. Even I am a little sad to see such an incredible source of material (and mockery) go away. No doubt, the makers of Vicks Vapo-Rub will also shed a tear (sorry).  Certainly David Barton - Beck's all-American-Christian pseudo historian - will have to find another cable show to appear on (other than Pat Robertson's The 700 Club, of course). There will be articles about BB and AB - Before Beck and After Beck. 

That this was an expected and calculated media move there is no doubt: ratings (relatively) tanked in the last year to the point that Beck couldn't have expected to be around very long: Uncle Rupert (Murdoch) liked him, but Uncle Rupert never shoved money down a rat hole, either. People speculated that Beck had gotten too full of himself calling together rallies and such, but for my money, I think Beck with welcome the relative quiet this will bring to his career. For all the show of being in touch with today's common man, Glenn Beck was and always will be for Glenn Beck. 

Another indication that he's resigned in his FOX situation: his calm. People have gotten to know his mercurial tantrums, peppered by his overactive tear ducts. His deportment was dignified in his announcement - very unusual for a man who has ordered people off his radio show with bouts of screaming. His macular dystrophy (disorder of the eyesight) might play into his acceptance of cancellation, since no one wants to see a blind pundit on TV. Knowing Beck, he might be able to play loss of eyesight into his persona.

OK, the last is a bit cruel, but Beck has parlayed a lot about himself into media gold, even his Mormonism: it isn't easy to host people like David Barton, who think Mormonism is just a "cult." His new persona (and there will be one) may morph into the kind of character Rush Limbaugh wish he had if he could emit more sincerity and compassion and if both would get him ratings. Limbaugh is wise in that he has always played to his core market, whereas Beck has been taking chances (e.g., his occasional lapse into being gay-friendly) and gone too far out in conspiracy theories. 

Some Republicans may even be heavy a sigh of relief: Beck's forays into various ideologies have been a bit too fringe for them to hang their hat on and what they don't need right now is any more fringe candidates. 

With his benign cancellation and his ability to work medias like radio, stage and print, Glenn Beck will still be around for a long time. 

Unfortunately.