Deep Fried Doughnuts

Chicken bites doughnut:

A simmering feud between a fried-chicken restaurant and the doughnut shop next door boiled over Monday when the owner of one store set the other store on fire, arson investigators said.

The chicken place's owner, Kabeer Ahmad, whose business had taken a nosedive, used a hammer to punch a hole in the wall between the stores around 4 a.m. Monday, squirted gasoline into the doughnut shop and tossed in a lit match before driving off...

The owner of the doughnut shop, Mike Chhor, said he didn't know why his neighbor set the fire and destroyed his business...

"I don't know why he burned the store," Chhor said. "I had no problem with him."

Let us examine the facts and see if we can enlighten Mr. Chhor, shall we?

The Bronx food fight began when a Twin Donut shop started competing with a Kennedy Fried Chicken by adding legs, wings, breasts and thighs to its menu and selling plates of food for 50 cents cheaper, supervising fire marshal Robert Pinto said.

So you, as the proprietor of a doughnut shop, were underselling a fried chicken restaurant--probably at a loss in an attempt to drive him out of business. Well, that's capitalism. I certainly don't condone arson as a counter-tactic.

Do not, however, try to play stupid about the root cause. Being a low-life Yankee trader is one thing, but claiming ignorance and acting saintly when the (fried) chickens come home to roost is just despicable.