Handed Out At Philly Pride

Source. (Tipped by JMG reader Daddy Ray)

Clinton Goes Unrecognized At Chipotle

The Clinton campaign stopped for lunch at a Chipotle in suburban Ohio yesterday and the press is making a big deal because nobody there recognized her. Via the New York Times:

Maybe it was the dark sunglasses. Or maybe she had a certain je ne sais — qui? But nobody took notice of the celebrity in front of the counter. Fellow patrons paid her no more attention than a driver would get from a toll taker. Nor did the restaurant’s staff notice Mrs. Clinton, until this reporter, tipped off that she had dined there, telephoned. The Chipotle manager, Charles Wright, insisted at first that the tip must have been false. But he offered to review his security-camera recordings, and quickly reversed himself. There was Mrs. Clinton, in a bright pink shirt, ordering a chicken burrito bowl — and carrying her own tray. “The thing is, she has these dark sunglasses on,” Mr. Wright said. “She just was another lady.” Some people in the restaurant at the time had even noticed that a man was taking pictures of Mrs. Clinton, he recalled, but no one had wondered why. His employees, he said, were “kicking themselves right now.” Mr. Wright, 29, said that he was a Republican and was not planning to support her, but that knowing he had missed a chance to meet her “really hurts.”

Matt Baume On Religious Liberty

Teabaggers Vs Chipotle

Tea Party supporters are already furious at Chipotle for asking "open carry" nuts not to bring their weapons into their outlets. This weekend ten of thousands of teabaggers shared a Tea Party News Network post which declares that Chipotle is run by communists.

After Chipotle declared that they were prohibiting patrons from exercising their Second Amendment rights in their restaurants, the Mexican grill took another step to the left by writing slogans on their bags that include plainly Communist rhetoric. The fast-food grill now issues paper bags for to-go orders with a variety of quotes from authors like Toni Morrison, Malcolm Gladwell and George Saunders. The campaign, announced in May, was created by militant vegetarian Jonathan Safran Foer who claims that he wanted to offer people something to read while dining. One quote has stood out from the rest as it unabashedly calls for a Utopian existence free of monetary arrangements and committed to a Bolshevist ideology. A bag with a quote from George Saunders offers this bit of pretentious rambling: “Hope that, in future, all is well, everyone eats free, no one must work, all just sit around feeling love for one another.” Damn- that should have been Obama’s campaign slogan. The brief statement is simply absurd. Aside from the obvious impracticalities of such a world, the bag’s quote describes, essentially, a world without purpose- no working, no comparative value- just nothingness. Further, the quote promotes a Communist ideology that is simply and ironically incompatible with the food establishment in which it is offered. It’s amazing that I must state the obvious but…. If everybody eats for free, then Chipotle cannot exist as they must charge for their food.

Saunders, it should be noted, was once a devotee of Ayn Rand. These days he is a Buddhist. See the full series of quotes here.

Chipotle: Leave Your Guns At Home

Over the weekend a Texas "open carry" group visited a Dallas outlet of Chipotle, where they bravely protected their burritos with semi-automatic weapons. After a furious social media campaign from the anti-gun group Moms Demand Action, Chipotle has issued a meek request:

The issue of gun ownership or gun rights has become one of the most contentious debates in the country. Chipotle has never taken a position on this issue, as we focus instead on our mission to change the way people think about and eat fast food. Recently participants from an “open carry” demonstration in Texas brought guns (including military-style assault rifles) into one of our restaurants, causing many of our customers anxiety and discomfort. Because of this, we are respectfully asking that customers not bring guns into our restaurants, unless they are authorized law enforcement personnel.

Historically, we felt it enough to simply comply with local laws regarding the open or concealed carrying of firearms, because we believe that it is not fair to put our team members in the uncomfortable position of asking that customers refrain from bringing guns into our restaurants. However, because the display of firearms in our restaurants has now created an environment that is potentially intimidating or uncomfortable for many of our customers, we think it is time to make this request.

We acknowledge that there are strong arguments on both sides of this issue. We have seen those differing positions expressed in the wake of this event in Texas, where pro-gun customers have contacted us to applaud our support of the Second Amendment, and anti-gun customers have expressed concern over the visible display of military-style assault rifles in restaurants where families are eating. The vast majority of gun owners are responsible citizens and we appreciate them honoring this request. And we hope that our customers who oppose the carrying of guns in public agree with us that it is the role of elected officials and the legislative process to set policy in this area, not the role of businesses like Chipotle.

Over on Twitchy, the statement is being spun as a victory over the "gun-grabbers at Moms Demand Action" because Chipotle only issued a "polite request" and didn't ban guns outright.

Chipotle Parody

A commercial comes first. Here's the original.

(Tipped by JMG reader Jeff)

Amazing New Chipotle Ad

No, really. It's gorgeous. And their name scarcely appears.

(Via Gawker)