As a true conservative who understands that conservatism means conserving individual liberty – all I do is look at the culture and politics within Mark’s sphere of influence and shake my head at the big fat zero of positive impact. Better off ’shutting up for Milwaukee.’

It really isn’t a silly argument, and yes it does have to do with high taxes and regulations. The state of Wisconsin, in general, thinks up and enacts policies and laws that are inherently anti-business. This is just another example of putting one more law on the books that private businesses have to adhere to, because someone (or some people) in Madison think that adding more laws, unnecessarily, is a good thing. This isn’t an attempt, at least by me, to get anyone all jazzed up (I’ve been arguing this “issue” for awhile now), it’s a valid, ever growing problem in this state.

As for your examples (disabled people, homosexuality, minorities) you do realize all of the people in those situations do not have a choice regarding their respective categories, right? I mean someone doesn’t go to a store and ask to be disabled, or wake up one morning and say “Hey, I want to be gay today.” BUT, when one chooses to breastfeed, that’s a different story. As I’ve mentioned in previous comments, there is plenty of time to plan around an infants feeding schedule, places to breastfeed in private, and ways to feed a child breastmilk without having to actually feed the child from the breast. When people are at a restaurant, they should not have to feel uncomfortable because someone has chosen to breastfeed. In that same vain, the business owner should not have the state mandate that he not be able to address that situation. It’s ludicrous and indicative, again, of our state government’s constant willingness to infringe on the rights of private business and the majority of customers in that business.

AND as long as we’re dealing in “extremes” and we’re OK with allowing Government to dictate how and what is acceptable, why don’t we allow people to walk into private businesses naked, or grope each other at their table, or yell at the top of their lungs for no apparent reason, with no recourse by the management of the business?!?!? Mandate the owner accept those acts as legally protected and tell the rest of the customers “Deal with it!” Sound stupid? Yes, but so does equating NOT allowing breastfeeding in public to 1958 Alabama.

That said, the thing is, a business owners rights don’t trump everything else, so to play it out as though rights stop the minute you cross a doorstop in to a private business is ridiculous.

That would be like saying a business should have the “right” to refuse service to anyone in a wheelchair, wouldn’t it? Do business owners, if that’s the real issue here, have the right to refuse entrance to those in wheelchairs in to their stores? Should they even need to build ramps so those in wheelchairs can get in to their stores?

Or how about if a store owner doesn’t agree or accept homosexuality? Should they be allowed to refuse service in that case? Take it to the extreme in the name of “business rights” and pretty soon you have stores that won’t cater to group X or Y and we’re back in 1958 Alabama.

That’s why trying to label this as a private business owners decision is a silly argument.

“You are not special because you choose to breast feed”
“If you were offended deeply by the sow remark, you are either a bit too emo and need to increase your meds a few milligrams”

This is not “self-victimizing.” This is not a “poor me” situation. A douchenozzle called women who breastfeed pigs. That is rude. End of story.

Your Feb 26 (1:54 pm) post is a steaming pile of victimization. Oh, poor me. I just don’t know how to deal with you ladies and it’s just so hard for me because the rules just keep changing. The one things that never changes is me– the regular old white guy– and poor me because I just can’t keep up with everything because it changes.

Hypocrite. Nice try.