Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
If the anti-gay crowd is really serious about going after any company that supports the "gay agenda" by supporting the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, they're gonna have to boycott pretty much every major business in the country. Below the fold, I'll show the companies who support the NGLCC:
These are the Founding Corporate Partners - you know, the ones who really support the gay agenda:
And these are just the regular gay agenda pushers:
Now ya'll go boycott, ya hear? But I'm sorry, you can't use the internet to organize the boycott because Cisco is a supporter and they make most of the routers that pass along emails and URLs. And you couldn't use a computer that has an Intel chip in it anyway.
Politics
Comments
How about companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Dell that provide benefits to same sex couples?
Posted by: SLC | July 30, 2008 9:38 AM
Bravo. I hope this list has been forwarded to the news outlets that have covered the story and to the various "family-friendly" organizations that were involved in outing McDonald's.
Posted by: Immunologist | July 30, 2008 9:41 AM
I don't believe there is a need to boycott all these companies. However, I do believe concerned citizens of the US should know what companies are endorsing policies that contrary to our culture and principles.
Posted by: SteveP | July 30, 2008 9:43 AM
Darn, my company isn't up there. Time to drop a note in the suggestion box.
Posted by: Abby Normal | July 30, 2008 9:53 AM
Re SteveP
Apparently, the blog has a new nitwit calling himself Mr. SteveP to replace nitwit Mr. mroberts who has apparently migrated over to Vox Days' whackjob site.
Just to demonstrate what a moron he is, if Mr. SteveP doesn't think it is productive to boycott the companies listed by Mr. Brayton and myself, how does he expect to change their behavior? Of course, the reason is obvious. If assholes like Mr. SteveP boycotted companies like Intel, Microsoft, Apple, Dell, etc., they wouldn't have the capability of posting their crap on this website!
Posted by: SLC | July 30, 2008 10:05 AM
Acme in there too? They're going to have to boycott the cartoons as well.
Posted by: Bob O'H | July 30, 2008 10:06 AM
Crap. Sodexho is involved in this?
Now I have to give them credit for doing something right, despite having choked down their mostly execrable cuisine for four years of college.
Posted by: MRL | July 30, 2008 10:25 AM
"I do believe concerned citizens of the US should know what companies are endorsing policies that contrary to our culture and principles."
Principles like plurality, equality, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the constitutional separation of church and state, constitutional law, and international law?
Does anybody have a list of companies standing against those principles? (and why do I have a feeling we will find such companies have close ties to Cheney and Bush?)
Posted by: Jason Failes | July 30, 2008 10:29 AM
Jason Failes' comment (along with the recent stories about DADT) makes me wonder if Blackwater will be hiring former soldiers that happen to be gay...
Posted by: Umlud | July 30, 2008 10:37 AM
Umlud:
then it will be a true sign of equality that everyone, black/white, gay/straight, etc etc, will be able to participate in acts of moral uncertainty that aren't related to race or sex.
Posted by: matt | July 30, 2008 10:41 AM
Johnson & Johnson? Do you have any idea how much stuff they make? If they were to boycott J&J, they'd have to boycott:
Johnson's Baby, Desitin, Clean & Clear, Roc, Rogaine, Neutrogena, Johnson's, Shower to Shower, Aveeno, Lubriderm, Band-Aid Brand, Bengay, Caladryl, Purell, Neosporin, Tuck's , Listerene, Efferdent, Rembrandt, Reach, Stayfree, Monistat, Carefree, E.P.T., K-Y, O.B., Tylenol, Sudafed, Rolaids, Motrin, Mylanta, Zyrtec, Benadryl, Imodium, Pepcid, Splenda, Lactaid, Viactiv, Benecol, Visine, and Acuvue.
And that's just the consumer product companies that I recognized. There's more that I didn't. Not to mention their medical devices and diagnostics and prescriptions. And that's one company.
Not exactly a good plan, is it?
Posted by: Neviditelny | July 30, 2008 10:46 AM
Mormon-dominated, Idaho-based Albertson's?
Republican mainstay, Heritage Foundation-funding Coors?
Phil Gramm-employing UBS?
Jesse Helms-sponsoring Wachovia?
And all those Wall Street & Bia Pharma outfits?
Suggestion to the Wildmon Family Ass'n: please throw a big public hissy fit demanding that John McCain and the Republican Party refuse to accept any "contributions" from NGLCC members!
Posted by: Pierce R. Butler | July 30, 2008 10:49 AM
Pepsi in in the list, but I do not see Coke (maybe I need my eyes changed, though). So perhaps we should start a boycott of our own ;-)
Posted by: Jérôme ^ | July 30, 2008 11:14 AM
SteveP:
Please do not include me in your myopic definition of "our culture". We do not share the same ideologies. These companies are supporting the values I deem important. I'm sorry that you do not share the principles of tolerance and plurality. You are entitled to your opinion but you do not have the right to include anyone else unless they have given you permission to do so. And I have most definitely not.
Posted by: Donna | July 30, 2008 11:18 AM
SLC
I'm not out to change the behavior of these companies.
Posted by: SteveP | July 30, 2008 11:18 AM
If only we could convince them that air was pro-gay, we would be all set.
Posted by: Frito | July 30, 2008 11:20 AM
I interviewed at a company a few years ago that will remain nameless (*cough* echolab *cough*). I sat down with the HR rep to discuss the benefit policy and they were really proud of their pet insurance plan. But in all the details it became very clear they didn't have a domestic partnership policy. So even though it wasn't the primary reason I didn't take the job - I told them that putting dogs and cats ahead of my partner was not acceptable. The silence on the other side of the phone was priceless.
Oh - and SteveP remember this quote:
"There is some sort of perverse pleasure in knowing that it's basically impossible to send a piece of hate mail through the Internet without its being touched by a gay program. That's kind of funny." --Eric Allman creator of sendmail
Posted by: yoshi | July 30, 2008 11:26 AM
SteveP, brainwashed homophobic drone:
Oh, so all these companies are "endorsing policies that contrary to our culture and principles?" Really, Steve? Care to point out WHICH policies and explain HOW they're contrary to our culture and principles?
No, you won't, because you can't. Just like you couldn't explain what the hell you meant about "special rights" or "christian principles" in the other thread. You have nothing. You don't even know what you're talking about. You're just a mindless parrot.
The only question that remains is, are you so stupid that you actually believe that equality is anti-American, or are you just a liar? Or maybe a poorly-programmed spambot with no capacity to even understand the words you post?
Posted by: phantomreader42 | July 30, 2008 11:45 AM
See how powerful these guys are - they boycott McDonalds* and Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac take a HUGE dive, McSpooky. [/scarcasm] -DJ
*I assume they are not going to vote for Mayor McCheese come November then.
Posted by: DingoJack | July 30, 2008 11:48 AM
Yes, I for one would like to know what companies support Focus on the Family, the AFA, and other such right-wing groups who seek to betray our founding principals of freedom and equality.
Moron.
Posted by: Spidergrackle | July 30, 2008 12:05 PM
Boycotts, in general, do not work against national corporations. What does work is exposing practices that will make the companies embarrassed and get them to change their ways because of the bad press. An organization calling for a boycott usually gets a splash of news that gets them some free advertising to point out the practice that the business has that that organization thinks will be an embarrassment to the corporation. (Boycotts work much better against locally owned and operated organizations where economic pressure can be directly felt - it's the national and multinational corps that don't feel a damn thing economically by most boycotts).
Unfortunately for the anti-gay crowd, companies like these aren't particularly embarrassed by their support of gay organizations. In fact, most of their PR departments will cheerfully talk it up if you ask them about it, and you can usually find information about their support on their own websites, if only in the archive of press releases. And the reason why they aren't particularly embarrassed by their support of gay organizations is because, over the last decade, support for gay folks has become incredibly mainstream. Why should they be embarrassed to support a position that a majority of the population of the country has for themselves? 15 years ago you might have been able to embarrass them over it, but nowadays not so much. (Heck, the Southern Baptists weren't able to embarrass Disney out of their support for gays and lesbians over 10 years ago - and it's only been getting easier to support gay organizations since then).
Posted by: NonyNony | July 30, 2008 12:06 PM
xyz - Larry, I presume! As noted above (hey NonyNony). Since even the most conservative groups (such as the military, see recent threads on DADT) SUPPORT the "Gay Agenda"*, Boycotting companies just makes them look good and the boycotters look like idiots. It's counterproductive, I am aware that concept in counterintuitive, to you, but nevertheless true. -DJ
*What the hell is the "Gay Agenda" anyway? Can any anti-gay type explain it? Shades of "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" if you ask me.
Posted by: DingoJack | July 30, 2008 12:21 PM
Oh, go on and boycott them, Steve. We won't stand in your way.
Posted by: Sadie Morrison | July 30, 2008 12:26 PM
SteveP-
"Our" culture and principles? Sorry, liberty and equality are key principles in my culture.
Posted by: Ed Brayton | July 30, 2008 12:31 PM
You guys missed the one that will really hurt the boycotters. Up there among the regular gay agenda pushers is Pfizer, makers of, you guessed it!, Viagra!
Posted by: Mike from Ottawa | July 30, 2008 12:35 PM
I don't think it's anything sinister. I've always assumed it's like the way they use phrases like "militant atheists" or "radical feminists" to describe people no longer willing to take their crap and ask for seconds.
Posted by: SeanH | July 30, 2008 12:52 PM
I don't believe there is a need to boycott all these companies. However, I do believe concerned citizens of the US should know what companies are endorsing policies that contrary to our culture and principles.
Posted by: SteveP | July 30, 2008 9:43 AM
SteveP,
Our culture and principles is one of openess and acceptance. That is why it is acceptable for your to have your views and I to have mine. Sometimes they may agree and sometimes they may not. But that is the beauty of our culture, it allows for differences. Can you actually imagine if you were in a Muslim world where they would not allow you to practice Christianity? Most in America find that action to be unthinkable and unfair. So why is it that you can not allow the same freedoms you would expect if you happen to be in the minority?
Posted by: DavidR | July 30, 2008 1:01 PM
No, because he told you to get out and stay out, and you rudely keep on trying to stick your nose in the door.
Honestly, such rudeness and incivility deserves more than what you're getting, Larry.
Posted by: gwangung | July 30, 2008 1:22 PM
To Steve: When did bigotry become a "principle" of the United States? It was, I recognize, during the Republican ("fully owned subsidiary of ultra-conservative religious groupings") Party rule of Congress, but that doesn't mean it should be instituted forever. Countries grow. Why does America seem to be going backwards?
Posted by: Karl | July 30, 2008 3:49 PM
Take pity on SteveP. In a few decades he's going to be viewed the same way we view our elderly segregationist relatives.
Posted by: steve s | July 30, 2008 4:06 PM
Also note, steve s, that in the future all this numbnuts will ADAMANTLY DENY that they were *ever* bigots; "Son, it was all those unenlightened folks over there, not ME!
Posted by: Leigh Williams | July 30, 2008 4:56 PM
*ahem* "these" numbnuts . . . engaging fingers before putting brain into gear . . .
Posted by: Leigh | July 30, 2008 4:57 PM
Did anyone post this thread at the site where those unschooled McDonald's boycotters are? I'd really like to hear their back-peddling and lame rationalisations about this.
DingoJack, you said: "What the hell is the "Gay Agenda" anyway?"
And it made me curious as to what the people who use this term really do mean. So I looked up some religious sites and I found one in particular - called Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (!!!) - that set out rather boldly what they mean:
The article goes on to "explain" what Matt Foreman, the president of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force said at a conference. Foreman outlined the 7-point agenda he'd like to see happen in America for GLBT people: such outrageous things like freedom from discrimination and persecution.
The website's elaboration was hateful. The whole thing's hateful, even if the religionists refuse to see it. Even after reading a few sites and listening to my bigoted co-worker, I STILL don't understand what terrible thing they think is going to happen when gay folk get their basic human rights met. The Apocalypse? But, I thought they were looking forward to that, y'know with all us sinners buring and being tortured by demons and such and them catching golden rickshaws straight up to heaven or whatever. But maybe I mean The Rapture instead, I dunno. I can never keep my endtimes fables straight... (bad pun not intended)
Posted by: marnk | July 30, 2008 5:01 PM
Speaking of Blackwater recruiting practices, how about air-dropping XBox 360's on troops. Join now and they'll throw in a bag of weed.
Posted by: Abby Normal | July 30, 2008 5:11 PM
I had lunch at McDonald's today.
First time in over a decade ...
It was better than I remember or expected.
Posted by: Wallace Turner | July 30, 2008 5:14 PM
If their beliefs are serious, they can and should boycott all of those companies. Here's hopin'.
Posted by: Andrea | July 30, 2008 5:26 PM
Heh. I acutally used this argument in a message board conversation here:
http://www.mormondiscussions.com/discuss/viewtopic.php?t=6851
(I was EAllusion)
I was having great fun with it. The real standout on the list of corporate partners is the financial institutions. It also would be quite a chore to own mutual funds and avoid all of those companies.
Posted by: Jason S. | July 30, 2008 6:21 PM
AFA is typical of the fundaMENTAList mindset. They pick a few companies that endorse policies of which AFA disapprove, and target those few, while ignoring the multitude of other companies whose policies are exactly identical. Simple case in point: Boycott McD's, but ignore Burger King...
Posted by: Blaidd Drwg | July 30, 2008 9:12 PM
On the computer thing... don't try to get around it by using a PowerPC-based Mac. The PPC chip is made by IBM and Motorola.
Teh Gay -- in ur comptrz seducin' ur kidz
SteveP: It's not a magic spell -- repeating it won't make it true.
Posted by: ArtK | July 30, 2008 9:19 PM
On the gay agenda thing; FWTW, the way it's been explained to me by the few evangelicals that I can engage in religious conversation: since being gay is a choice, the gay agenda is to turn us all gay; hence the worries about the population declining if gay marriage becomes legal (I wish I was joking.)
Posted by: ildi | July 30, 2008 10:06 PM
PepsiCo owns KFC, Taco Bell and LJS. So if McD's and Wendys and Burger King all support the homo agenda, where is a right winger supposed to go for a greasy burger? Plus, I wonder what exactly they're putting in those spice and seasoning mixes!
And J&J. Clearly they add some gay ingredient to the lotions that you rub on baby's bottom - that's probably what turned me gay. Of course, why aren't my two brothers gay as well? Huh.
Posted by: Pepe | July 31, 2008 10:59 AM
"Jason Failes' comment (along with the recent stories about DADT) makes me wonder if Blackwater will be hiring former soldiers that happen to be gay..."
That'd be funny if we were kicking out soldiers for being gay, then paying 10 times as much for them as contractors.
Posted by: Jon H | August 1, 2008 10:05 AM
ildi wrote- "On the gay agenda thing; FWTW, the way it's been explained to me by the few evangelicals that I can engage in religious conversation: since being gay is a choice, the gay agenda is to turn us all gay; hence the worries about the population declining if gay marriage becomes legal (I wish I was joking.)"
This points out something I've noticed as a major trend with evangelical christians (and any kind of authoritarian belief system in general)- DON'T look inward.
If these people view their own sexuality as something so fragile and tenuous (and scary to examine in any kind of detail) that an evening with the Queer Eye guys is enough to turn you gay, then of course teh gay must be suppressed.
I'd feel sorry for these idiots, if they weren't so dangerous.
Posted by: Rick R | August 1, 2008 11:50 PM