Short answers: Rick Casey.

When Houston landscapers Sabrina and Todd Farber, owners of Garden Guy Inc., recently refused to work with a gay couple because they "choose not to work for homosexuals," Houston Chronicle columnist Rick Casey called them out in decidedly sarcastic fashion. "I would commend the Farbers for standing by their principles in an age where money trumps all," Casey wrote on October 19. "They might, however, consider climbing up one more rung on the moral ladder. They should refuse to do business with all sinners." Not everyone got the joke.

Would you say a lot of people misunderstood your column?

I did have to suggest that some people should take an irony supplement. Frankly, it was a minority that didn't get it, but a substantial-enough minority that it was obvious I should have written it more clearly. There was one gay Web site that didn't get it, and their piece was reprinted in several gay newspapers around the country. But people were very nice when I explained.

Is satire--as wielded by the likes of Jon Stewart, Al Franken, and you-the new political weapon of choice?

Jonathan Swift would be upset if we were taking credit for satire. I was just having a little fun with the Christian notion of "He who is without sin ... " What the Farbers'

supporters say is, they make a distinction between "unrepentant sinners" and themselves, who are sinners but work hard and are saved, That puts them a step up on the rest of us, I guess.

What do you personally think of the Farbers' decision?

I don't see choosing not to serve people because you don't agree with their lifestyle. I think they believe homosexuality is a choice and [gays] are unrepentant sinners. That's just not my view of the world.

Any chance of a boycott by their florists and hairdressers now?

[Laughs] You can go to a straight landscaper or beautician, but why take a chance? That's a joke--I'm only kidding!