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Default OT Conservative Christians Show Stupidity (again)

Christian group pulls Wells Fargo accounts
Focus on the Family objects to donation to gay rights group
Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, December 6, 2005


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The conservative Christian group Focus on the Family has closed all its
Wells Fargo accounts because the San Francisco bank contributed to a
gay rights group that promised to use the funds to "fight ... the
anti-gay industry."

A Focus on the Family official would not disclose how much money the
organization kept with Wells Fargo, its primary bank, but said the
nonprofit group's income was $146 million last year.

"We don't expect corporate America to do our bidding on the issues, but
when they use the proceeds from our business and give them to others
who clobber us over the head, we say enough is enough," said Tom
Minnery, who oversees public policy for the organization.

Focus on the Family's move follows a recent spate of conservative
boycotts and other actions against large companies that support gay and
lesbian causes, including Walgreens drugstores and Kraft Foods Inc.,
both of which contributed to the Gay Games.

Conservative groups also have targeted Ford Motor Co. for advertising
in gay media and Procter & Gamble for advertising during the television
shows "Will & Grace" and "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." The
best-known protest may have been the nine-year boycott led by the
Southern Baptist Convention against Walt Disney Co. for hosting Gay
Days, a week of gay-themed activities at Walt Disney World in Orlando.
That boycott ended in June.

A Wells Fargo spokesman said the $50,000 donation to the Gay & Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation came from profits on accounts in the San
Francisco area, not Colorado, where Focus on the Family has its
headquarters.

"We absolutely made a $50,000 grant to GLAAD, and we're absolutely
proud of our support for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
community," said Chris Hammond, spokesman for the banking giant, which
gives about $2 million a year to gay and lesbian organizations.

A leader of the American Family Association, the group advocating the
Walgreens and Kraft boycotts, said those companies' donations supported
"subsequent activities" that occur during the Gay Games, which draw
thousands of participants and spectators.

"With this many people, we expect an increase in the bar scene, and we
expect a lot of anonymous sexual encounters," said Randy Sharp, the
association's director of special projects.

But the main point of the boycotts is to protest companies' support of
gay culture, Sharp said.

"When you go out of the scope of normal business operations to donate
large sums of money to organizations or events like Pride, that's out
of the scope of a company like Kraft," Sharp said.

"It's almost an endorsement of the lifestyle," he added.

The American Family Association also called for the boycott of Ford,
for advertising in gay publications. On Monday, Ford said it would no
longer advertise its Jaguar and Land Rover brands in gay publications,
according to the New York Times.

Ford spokesman Mike Moran told the Times the ads were eliminated as a
cost-cutting measure, and he played down the role of the boycott in the
company's decision.

But gay rights leaders said Ford's decision to stop the ads resulted
from a "confidential agreement" the company made with the American
Family Association, and they demanded a meeting this week with Ford,
according to a statement issued Monday by the National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force that was signed by 18 other gay rights organizations.

Justin Nelson, who leads the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of
Commerce, said boycotts and other protests actually could help the
bottom line of targeted companies because they attract the business of
gay and lesbian consumers.

"The gay and lesbian population is extremely brand-loyal," Nelson said.
"If companies stay with the community, not only will the community be
with you before the uproar, but during and after."

The Wells Fargo controversy stems from a fundraising plea GLAAD made on
the Internet five months ago that showed the Wells Fargo and GLAAD
logos side by side above a large headline: "Double your impact in the
fight against the anti-gay industry."

GLAAD asserted in the ad that it had "incredible news" that Wells Fargo
would match any contribution to the organization dollar-for-dollar
until July 2.

Wells Fargo did make a $50,000 contribution, Hammond said. But he said
the claims in the ad were untrue. The grant was not a matching gift,
and Wells Fargo never agreed to allow GLAAD use the donation in a
fundraising campaign.

GLAAD officials did not respond to questions about those details
Monday.

Focus on the Family officials raised the issue with Wells Fargo in
July.

"We asked for as much as a letter to GLAAD demanding they take it down
or a letter to us, and we got none of the above," Minnery said.

Hammond said he had had two telephone conversations with Focus on the
Family officials explaining the bank's stance, but he does not remember
their asking for a letter. Late last week, the conservative Christian
group decided the bank had not satisfied its concerns and transferred
its accounts to First National Bank of Omaha.

Wells Fargo has a long history of support for gay and lesbian causes
and has never donated to Focus on the Family, but Minnery said that was
not the primary concern.

"The point is they are allowing their logo to be used in a campaign
against one of their customers, namely us," he said. "That is the
problem."

Focus on the Family has not called for a boycott of Wells Fargo. But
the bank, San Francisco-based Levi Strauss and the Bank of America
faced a significant boycott 13 years ago when they stopped donating to
the Boy Scouts of America because of its ban against gay members.

Wells Fargo now contributes to the Boy Scouts on a case-by-case basis,
allowing local bank branches to decide, Hammond said.

Levi Strauss requires any charitable organization to which it donates
money to sign an agreement that the organization won't discriminate
against people on the basis of sexual orientation, among other
attributes, said E.J. Bernacki, spokesman for the company. The company
has donated money to a host of gay and lesbian organizations.

"We're a values-based company," Bernacki said. "Every decision we make
reflects our values."

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posted to rec.boats
 
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Default OT Conservative Christians Show Stupidity (again)

Really.....

is it that stupid to not endorse, or patronize organizations, and
companies and services you don't agree with?

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Jim Carter
 
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Default OT Conservative Christians Show Stupidity (again)


"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
The fundies ought to consider relocating to countries that appreciate
simple, closed minds. Saudi Arabia and Iran are possibilities.


Those two countries would not have the fundies relocate to their shores.
Perhaps they could go to Israel?
They would fit in there for sure.

Jim C.




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UglyDan®©™
 
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Default OT Conservative Christians Show Stupidity (again)

Jim C.
Sorry for jumping in on this thread, but would you mind if I emailed you
privately. I would like to ask you a few questions on your upcoming
vacation.
Thanks, Dan




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John H.
 
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Default OT Conservative Christians Show Stupidity (again)

On Tue, 6 Dec 2005 08:32:35 -0800, jps wrote:

In article .com,
says...

Christian group pulls Wells Fargo accounts
Focus on the Family objects to donation to gay rights group



Fundies regularly practice terrorism, in a more gentile fashion.

FOTF thinks gay folks should go back in the closet. They don't deserve
to be recognized as citizens.

Sane people will hopefully move money to Wells Fargo in amounts that
dwarf sums lost in this stupid charade.

jps


How much should I send, jps?
--
John Herring

Hope your Christmas is Spectacular,
and your New Year even Better!
  #10   Report Post  
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P Fritz
 
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Default OT Conservative Christians Show Stupidity (again)


"John H." wrote in message
...
On Tue, 6 Dec 2005 08:32:35 -0800, jps wrote:

In article .com,
says...

Christian group pulls Wells Fargo accounts
Focus on the Family objects to donation to gay rights group



Fundies regularly practice terrorism, in a more gentile fashion.

FOTF thinks gay folks should go back in the closet. They don't deserve
to be recognized as citizens.

Sane people will hopefully move money to Wells Fargo in amounts that
dwarf sums lost in this stupid charade.

jps


How much should I send, jps?


Don't you love it when liebrals whine about others doing the very thing they
are guilty of?

--
John Herring

Hope your Christmas is Spectacular,
and your New Year even Better!



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