NRO's The Corner: Rolling Bile, Spit, and Gnash Thread

Chickening Out Hurts the Bottom Line
August 18, 2010 3:10 PM
By John Hood

The suits at KFC — the restaurant chain that used to be called, proudly, Kentucky Fried Chicken — have claimed that their 2009 decision to emphasize grilled chicken and sandwiches was based on “extensive consumer research.” I don’t find their assertion credible. I think they were trying to adjust the company’s direction and marketing strategy to their perception of the prevailing political and social attitudes about obesity. I don’t think the execs carefully considered how their consumers would react, particularly to ad campaigns that explicitly repudiated the fried-chicken brand of KFC.

I’m not alone in drawing these conclusions. KFC franchisees are livid about the resulting loss of business. They have sued the parent company to wrest control of KFC marketing from execs who fail to understand that, in the words of one franchisee, “by and large the general public doesn’t give a damn how many calories are in it.” After all, dieters and health-nazis are unlikely to make up a significant share of the KFC customer base in any event.

What’s the larger significance of KFC’s internal battles? In both the public and private sectors, far too many decisions are made on the basis of silly fads, partial glimpses of nebulous trends, a temptation to placate powerful interest groups, or a pathetic desire to be seen as enlightened. In the private sector, companies sometimes waste time and money on pointless public-relations exercises, senseless recycling programs, and the like. But subjected to the rigors of competition, these firms tend to pay the price over time and adjust their behavior accordingly. In the public sector, however, politicians don’t have to worry as much about losing ground to competitors. Their absurdities persist. Their pretensions multiply.

Leaders who make hard-headed decisions on the basis of valid empirical evidence, logical reasoning, and sound priorities tend to do well. Leaders who chicken out and pander tend to fail in the long run — except in safe political districts, where they can afford to screw up, hang around, and accumulate rent-controlled apartments.

the restaurant chain that used to be called, proudly, Kentucky Fried Chicken

There would be mass suicide at the NRO offices if KFC ever went out of business.

KFC-Jean Lopez.

'mass' as in a lot of people, or just by weight?

lol has the dude not seen the DOUBLE DOWN

here's the article linked in there

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_34/b4192019553596.htm

Leaders who chicken out

Oh the wit.

What a bunch of mothercluckers.

so proud I never fell for that recycling fad

The sun's not red, it's chicken.

Someone use their Photoshop powers and do something with K-Lo and a bucket of KFC chicken.

god no

Bucketgirl

Here play with this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/obsequies/2605265939/

AUGH xp

I hate you so very much, Ned Raggett

Ah well.

"Hey there, Alfred...pass the potatoes..."

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/WilliamCrump63/ColonelLopez.jpg

:o

lol at the hair

holy christ. This is like Laura Dern's face in Inland Empire -- it will haunt me for the rest of my days

Now just replace 'chicken' with `Lopez.'

I don't think Jonah is being given enough credit as a KFC fan.

This is like Laura Dern's face in Inland Empire -- it will haunt me for the rest of my days

You're far too kind. My shop skills have gone way downhill since Tuomas Is Real and Breakdancin' Ken.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ucVjoTr_7s&feature=related

K-Lo's secret blend of herbs and spices.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tijuana+picnic

oh no no no no no no no
(lol)

This fucking guy.

Wait is it Star Trek week again over there?

The cruise is next week! Get your cabin, Ned!

Only if I can install a black hole in it.

Don't talk about Dan that way!

Andy McCarthy: QQ

Having worked for a very long time with moderate Muslims, I can tell you it’s disheartening to be called an Islamophobe. Not by the CAIR types — who cares what they say? No, it’s when the charge (or at least the whiff of it) comes from thoughtful people, people like Ron Radosh, whom I admire. When that sort of thing happens, it tells me two things: first, the smear tactics of the CAIR types work; second, maybe I haven’t been clear enough — although God knows I have tried to be — about my position.

Christ, what an asshole.

some of his best friends are moderate Muslims!!!!!

he was even okay with letting his daughter date a moderate muslim!!!

lol

"When someone at work tells me I'm wrong, I tend to accuse him of misinterpreting me."

"When that sort of thing happens, it tells me two things. Oddly, neither or them are ever 'I might be wrong here.'"

NRO-related LOL in the NYT book review today, an indignant letter to the editor complaining about last week's review of a Norman Podhoretz review identifying him as "an embittererd paranoid old crank" signed by Rich Lowry and other conservatives: "it debases the national discourse." FFS nobody connected w/the Corner can complain about THAT.

review of a Norman Podhoretz biography...

M@ark, I assume you've read Vidal and Hitchens' hilarious reviews of Podhoretz memoirs over the years? Awesome stuff.

By Katrina Trinko

That was the message a spirited, thousand-plus crowd delivered — to New York and D.C. politicians, to imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, and to all those who support building a mosque near Ground Zero — during a three-hour rally today that began near the proposed site for the mosque and ended with a short march to Ground Zero.

The rally, sponsored by the Coalition to Honor Ground Zero, drew a chanting, hollering, flag-waving crowd. Many participants carried signs, their messages ranging from photos of loved ones to “SHARIA” (written in blood-red dripping ink) to pleas for moderation (“If You Want To ‘Bridge The Gap’ Then Show Some Sensitivity And Put A Gap Between This Mosque & Ground Zero”). Protesters included 9/11 families and friends, New York police and firefighters, and bikers who had just completed a trek that began in Shanksville, Pa., and included a stop at the Pentagon.

Speaker after speaker testified to the importance of the Ground Zero site to Americans. “If we want a nation of peace,” said city councilman Dan Halloran, whose cousin died on 9/11, “then peace comes with understanding. And they need to understand that this is sacred ground to New Yorkers.”

A strain of populism was evident among the protestors. Several speakers mentioned the ruling class. One man held a sign bearing these words: “As An Out of Work Union Carpenter, I Rather [Would] Starve Than Earn a Bloody Check From That Trophy To 9/11 Terrorist[s].” Tom Trento, director of the Florida Security Council, mentioned his 87-year-old Teamster father, who had delivered scaffolding to the construction site of the World Trade Center. “[My dad] told me that no self-respecting Teamster in the brotherhood will deliver a bag of cement to that rat’s nest,” said Trento.

The participants’ views on Islam varied. Some seemed to believe that no moderate version of Islam exists. “These people, this Sharia people, are out to get you. They’re out to convert you. . . . They want to have their own law in our country,” warned actor Tony Lo Bianco. “In the Muslim world, a moderate believes that you can take down America without violence,” said Debra Burlingame, co-founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America. “You can do it by infiltrating their colleges and universities. You can do it by infiltrating the media, government, [and] cultural institutions, and you can bring down the house of the infidel from within.”

Not everyone took such a hard line. Most of the individuals I spoke to were fine with the mosque being built, just as long as it wasn’t in such close proximity to Ground Zero. “We’re not opposed to Islam. We’re not opposed to a mosque, because, obviously, there are mosques within a five-block radius of the World Trade Center,” said Maureen Bosco, whose son Richard died on 9/11. “We just feel it’s too close.”

There was excitement about November 2; several speakers reminded politicians they would be held accountable. The protestors lauded Rep. Peter King (R., N.Y.) and former mayor Rudy Giuliani — “rumor has it . . . that if [the imam] is walking down this street and Rudy Giuliani sees him, he’s going to kick his a**,” said Trento, launching the crowd into cheers of “Rudy! Rudy!” — and vigorously bashed President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg...

during a three-hour rally today that began near the proposed site for the mosque and ended with a short march to Ground Zero.

Nice of her to point out that it isn't at Ground Zero.

“If You Want To ‘Bridge The Gap’ Then Show Some Sensitivity And Put A Gap Between This Mosque & Ground Zero”

Then takes all of one sentence to forget.

We’re not opposed to a mosque, because, obviously, there are mosques within a five-block radius of the World Trade Center,” said Maureen Bosco, whose son Richard died on 9/11. “We just feel it’s too close.”

Five blocks good, two blocks bad. What about three or four?

Oh Tony...

http://www.friendsandfamily-themovie.com/headshots_small/_Lo_Bianco2_bwDropShad.jpg

pleas for moderation (“If You Want To ‘Bridge The Gap’ Then Show Some Sensitivity And Put A Gap Between This Mosque & Ground Zero”).

some protest sign slogan moderation would have been nice in the name of concision

Next you'll be asking them to use spell check.