Sometimes it's worth the extra pennies…

…to get the good stuff, especially when the good stuff comes from the good guys. Kos has the text of a letter from a Kraft Foods executive, under assault from the fundies over the company's sponsorship of the Gay Games. My take on the best bits...

Diversity is more than a word many people like to say. At Kraft we truly respect all kinds of differences. And diversity is not a selective concept. By definition, it's nothing if not inclusive. We respect diversity of ethnicity, gender, experience, background, personal style and yes, sexual orientation and gender identity. Recognizing, respecting and valuing these differences helps us be a more successful business and a workplace where all employees can realize their full potential.

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It can be difficult when we are criticized. It's easy to say you support a concept or a principle when nobody objects. The real test of commitment is how one reacts when there are those who disagree. I hope you share my view that our company has taken the right stand on diversity, including its contribution to the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago.

Sadly (if too typically), the thread at Kos quickly devolved into condemnations of Kraft as purveyors of poly-unsaturated something or other and a puppet of big tobacco.

Don't even go there. All y'all waiting for the Democratic Party to become as dogmatically anti-corporate as some on the left are going to have to wait until after the revolution - or until Dennis Kucinich wins the Presidential nomination - or something.

Is every product Kraft produces the key to healthy living? Certainly not, but mac & cheese was a staple of my GI-bill financed undergraduate diet, and I've lived many years to tell the tale. Is every link in their corporate chain a paragon of enlightened corporate citizenship? That, too, would be a big no.

Is this a good time to shut up about all that for a minute and laud Kraft for an enlightened and committed position on workplace diversity and community engagement?

Damn straight…err…right…err…Hell yeah!