The Boycott over Decency is ended Today

As a proud Texan living near Houston we can now happily drink our beer, read the magazine of our choice and watch whatever movie Hollywood puts out -- without a local store making that decision for us.

This week I realized the local Right had lost their battle against alcohol, porn and free speech when the Randall's grocery store chain that wouldn't sell wine on Sundays had now replaced Muzak in Aisle 10 with "What if God was one of Us (just a Slob like one of Us)"

The year was 1994 when the Houston company decided six days a week was ample time to purchase our Shiner beer and Miller Lite. Many Texans decided that 365 days was about right for avoiding that billion dollar retailer.

The precedent for this hoopla started in 1986, when Southland Corporation pulled Playboy magazine off the shelves of its 7-11 stores to make a statement - a convenient cause once they realized the last of the Baby Boomers passed 21 years old that year, and that shelf sales peaked over a decade earlier for the magazines.

And two years later, Blockbuster Videos made it easy for every real Texan to support their local video rental store when they refused to let their customers watch the Martin Scorcese film "The Last Temptation" - although they'll now let you RENT IT here.

Back to 2008 where the effects of Texas' boycott worked: Randalls (who bought Safeway upon their initial exit from the state) is now owned by Safeway, 7-11 is owned by the Middle Eastern guys who work twenty hour shifts there, and Blockbuster is about to purchase Circuit City and soon be owned by banktuptcy pink sheet buyers for pennies on the dollar.

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