Philadelphia Will Do  
 

Jun

15

America’s Best Columnist Attacks Free Markets

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It’s been a while since we’ve checked in with America’s Best Columnist, Chris Freind of the Bulletin. And what’s he been up to recently? Well, aside from writing a column “gloating” (his words) and basically summarizing a few previous columns — including one about SEPTA where he was right because somebody had to go to the hospital because a bus hit her! — he’s been getting all riled up about foie gras.

Foie gras, if you didn’t know, is duck or goose liver that is enlarged by force feeding it. About 15 people protested to ban this practice in Philadelphia, but since somebody at the Inquirer feels the same way as they do, they got a front page story on a Sunday, so it’s a bigger issue than more well-attended protests. (Even the “King Tut was black!” protest got more people.)

But, anyway, Chris Freind is against restaurant owners making their own decisions on what to serve because it’s a slippery slope.

I respect the animal rights groups’ opinion, although I am in disagreement with it. They have been successful in getting foie gras banned in certain areas, and as a result of their efforts, more than a few restauranteurs have taken the item off their menus. While this is a bottom-line victory for the vegans, it is less a result of their arguments and much more because most business people are cowards. Instead of banding together to aggressively advocate their side of the fight, and shelling out the money to hire the best attorneys and PR firms to represent their interests, they cave in when there is a ripple of controversy. (That’s you, Steven Starr. But hey, at least we now know from your asinine comments what kind of character you have. People should boycott your restaurants on that basis alone.)… More to the point, perhaps the cowardly restaurant owners and chefs who cave in to such pressure tactics should be more concerned about their own guts than those of a duck.

If you ban foie gras, Chris Freind will force feed you until your liver explodes!

Foie Gras? It’s About Having ‘Guts’ [The Bulletin]
 
dmac | 2:40 PM | 6 Comments
America's Best Columnist, Chris Freind, Foie Gras
 
  1. Anonymous Says: Jun 16 12:28 AM

    They should get Larry Mendte to protest foie gras in a bikini.

  2. Susie from Philly Says: Jun 17 2:46 PM

    You do know about Chris Freind’s family tree, right? His father is former state Rep. Stephen Freind - the anti-abortion PA state legislator who famously explained that women could not get pregnant by rape because if they were traumatized, they wouldn’t excrete a “secretion” that was necessary to do so.

    And that was one of his less controversial statements.

  3. Murphy Says: Jun 17 4:53 PM

    This Friend fellow, he needs to get over himself in a bad way.

  4. Anonymous Says: Jun 18 10:01 AM

    Freind’s ancestors, politics, and writing style aside, I think what he was trying to say is that restaurant owners should be allowed to make their own decisions. The situation with vegan protesters deciding for them is unacceptable in a free society. As you pointed out, they are just a few people (although they make a disproportionately big noise–not to mention threats to employees at restaurants). Why should they tell anyone else what to eat or sell?

    P.S. Foie gras is NOT cruel to ducks! Look online for information that comes from other than animal rights activists.

  5. Anonymous Says: Jun 19 11:15 AM

    Larry Mendte would never say anything controversial like that.

  6. Christopher Freind (The Bulletin) Says: Jun 29 5:17 PM

    One on one with Chef Perrier…today’s Bulletin front page:

    http://tinyurl.com/2bsmml

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