And by the way, Ford is now lying about the entire fiasco

Yep, their spokesmen are now out there this evening lying about the entire thing. But it's okay, because I've already caught them in their lie. I have a big post dissecting the entire thing. But I'll save it for Tuesday, since by then Ford will probably lie a bit more, then we can really nail them with all their contradictory statements.

I've actually got a number of other fun things planned for Ford tomorrow, so do stay tuned. We have lots more Ford executives for you to call and email, contacts for all their local dealers in every single state across the country, and every day this month we'll be excerpting passages from the literary masterpiece "The International Jew, the World's Foremost Problem," by Henry Ford. My copy arrives tomorrow from Amazon.com.

You see, this was only day one. It's gonna keep getting better all week, and all month, unless Ford comes clean, admits what it did, and promises to never do it again.

Sleep well, we have a busy day tomorrow :-) Read More......

Ugh, Blogger melted down and took us all down with it

No, Ford did not take down the blog (though it would have made for great fun if they'd tried). Blogger apparently melted down and took all of us down with hit, including Atrios and others. If you'read reading this, Blogger is back.

Now back to our regularly scheduled corporate gay-bashing. Read More......

BREAKING: United front of every single national gay civil rights group calls on Ford for urgent meeting

The nuance will probably be missed by Ford, but you can NEVER get all of these groups to sign on to the same request, ever. This is a BIG deal. Well, we can thank Ford for one thing, they've galvanized the gay community and its allies as never before. We didn't even have this much coordination when we successfully went after Microsoft.

From the National Gay & Lesbian Task ForceMonday, December 5, 2005

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights groups call for urgent meeting with Ford Motor Company

MEDIA CONTACT:
Task Force Communications Department
Roberta Sklar, Director of Communications

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2005 — Below is a unity statement on media reports of Ford Motor Company entering into a confidential agreement with the American Family Association:

“We are deeply dismayed by reports in the media and otherwise that the Ford Motor Company has entered into a confidential agreement with the extremist American Family Association (AFA) that requires Ford to stop advertising in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media. If there is an agreement with AFA, we expect Ford to disavow it. We expect Ford to publicly reaffirm its historic support for our community. And, we expect Ford to meet with LGBT representatives this week to resolve these concerns.”

Family Pride
Freedom to Marry
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)
Human Rights Campaign
Mautner Project, the National Lesbian Health Organization
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
Lesbian and Gay Rights Project, American Civil Liberties Union
National Black Justice Coalition
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
National Youth Advocacy Coalition (NYAC)
Out & Equal Workplace Advocates
PFLAG National (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays)
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
Triangle Foundation

Read More......

This is the hateful American Family Association message that Ford is now apparently embracing

From an email alert sent out by the American Family Association this past May, 2005:

Ford Motor Company Supports Homosexual Marriage Movement

You are probably unaware that Ford Motor Company is a major supporter of the homosexual movement, including homosexual marriage.

From redefining family to include homosexual marriage, to giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to support homosexual groups and their agenda, to forcing managers to attend diversity training on how to promote the acceptance of homosexuality, to sponsoring a "commitment (marriage) ceremony", to sponsoring Gay Pride Parades, Ford leads the way.

To let you see Ford's support, we developed the BoycottFord.com site.

I urge you to take action today. Sign the petition to boycott Ford. Call your local Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo, Jaguar, Mazda and/or Land Rover dealer (all are part of Ford Motor Company) and inform them you will not be buying a Ford product until they stop their promotion of the homosexual movement and homosexual marriage.

Be sure to forward this information to your friends and family. They will be as surprised as you to learn of Ford’s extensive promotion of homosexuality.

Click here to go to BoycottFord.com and take the action listed on the right hand side (signing the pledge and calling your local dealer). Remember, calling your local dealer is very important. Please be polite. If the dealer wants more information, refer him to the BoycottFord.com page.

Sincerely,

Don

Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman
American Family Association

You can read more about AFA's demands, which apparently Ford sufficiently satisfied, here. Read More......

DeLay's going to trial

Just in time for the big Cheney fundraiser tonight, Tom DeLay found out he's going to trial CNN just reported. Apparently, the judge refused to dismiss the money laundering charge against DeLay, although he did dismiss the conspiracy charge.

Bottom line is DeLay won't be the Majority Leader anytime soon as AP notes:

A judge dismissed the conspiracy charges Monday against Rep. Tom DeLay but refused to throw out the money-laundering charges, dashing his hopes for now of reclaiming his post as House majority leader.

Read More......

Ford confirms pulling ads to appease anti-gay religious right bigots; company didn't want to advocate for the "gay agenda"

A trusted reader relays the following communication he had with a Ford public relations person yesterday:

I reached XXXX on his cell phone, xxx of Ford pr. We had a lengthy and civil, if tense, discussion. He clearly confirmed that Ford was pulling ads from "advocacy publications," which seems to cover every gay magazine and newspaper in the country since they "advocate" a "gay rights agenda." xxxxxxx said that this all started due to Ford ads in Europe, which apparently include some gay people/couples in a positive way. But he did confirm that Ford had indeed reached a formal settlement with AFA, and this specifically includes withdrawing advertising for certain Ford vehicles from LGBT publications/media. He tried to wiggle out of it by saying that (a) Ford had a good track record re the LGBT community, and (b) Jaguar and other divisions are "almost like separate companies."

My response was that (a) I was especially shocked and outraged that Ford had caved into the worst fringe of the fundamentalist right precisely because it has had a decent record, and (b) he can't get away with a disingenuous claim that because these are separate divisions Ford, corporate can't and shouldn't impose a corporation-wide policy to resist the witch-hunters and blacklisters who represent the most backward-looking, repressive and bigoted forces in American society.

Then there's this Ford told The Advocate magazine last week:

When first contacted, Ford spokesman Moran referred Advocate.com to the AFA statement, suggesting that the company had no disagreement with Wildmon's assertions.

And I spoke to a 3d journalist who was told the exact same thing by Ford, that this was very much a decision reached to appease the anti-gay bigots in the religious right.

So, Ford, please do tell us what part of this story we're getting wrong, which apparently is the message you're now giving people who contact you. Because, if we're "wrong" then you might want to inform your own spokesepeople how "wrong" they are for confirming your entire anti-gay decision. Read More......

Feel free to call these senior public relations folks as well

And when they tell you "the story is just flat-out wrong" - which some of Ford's PR people are now saying - ask them, then, why I now have 3 reports, one from the Advocate, one from another journalist, and one from a senior gay rights advocate, that all quote different Ford spokesmen saying that this is EXACTLY what happened - that Ford caved to pressure from the religious right?

Contact: Rosemary Mariniello, Jaguar Land Rover North America, (201) 818-8010
Contact: Jim Cain, Ford Division, (313) 248-6288
Contact: Sara Tatchio, Lincoln and Mercury, (313) 594-3744
Contact: Roger Ormisher, Volvo Cars of North America, Inc., (800) 970-0888
Contact: George Pipas, Ford Motor Company, (313) 323-9216
Contact: Dan Bedore, Ford Division, (313) 323-7045 Read More......

Second Ford Motor Company action of the day: Call them

UPDATE: The classic response from the folks you contact will often be "we're the wrong people to contact." They're not the wrong people to contact, though they may think they are. These are all people in Ford's marketing division, and Ford needs to hear from everyone in their marketing division that their very bad marketing decision is causing a firestorm of protest. We'll move on to other employees tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and so on. And each day we'll probably hear the same thing - Paramount and Microsoft both said this too us all the time, we're the wrong people. Well, find the right people and tell them that this is a big problem.

For this afternoon's action, please contact the same Ford marketing people by phone this time. They're apparently now blocking their email accounts, which means you got to them. Now phone them.

Steve Lyons: 313-845-1621
Mae Smith: 313-845-1510
Terri Cavanaugh: 313-845-0580

These people are all in Ford's marketing department - some are execs, others are staff. We are intentionally targeting both high-level and lower-level staff in the marketing department so that our message is heard throughout the entire company, not just by one vice president.

As always, be nice but firm, and don't threaten them or do anything else obnoxious. Leave that kind of behavior to America's Taliban. But do make clear that their company is toast.

Background on what Ford has done. Amongst other things, you might want to ask Ford if they'd pull their ads from African-American or Jewish publications if the Klan objected? Read More......

9/11 Commissioners: Bush and GOP Congress have put US at "great risk" of terrorist attack by their inaction

This is the Republican head of the commission saying this. God help us.

The U.S. is at great risk for more terrorist attacks because Congress and the White House have failed to enact several strong security measures, members of the former Sept. 11 commission said Sunday.

"It's not a priority for the government right now," said the former chairman, Thomas Kean, ahead of the group's release of a report Monday assessing how well its recommendations have been followed.

"More than four years after 9/11 ... people are not paying attention," the former Republican governor of New Jersey said. "God help us if we have another attack."

And, by the way, hello, Democrats? This is the kind of issue you shut down Congress and the government over. You want to take back Washington and the country? Seize the moment, or move out of the way. Read More......

First Ford Motor Company action of the day: Email 'em

UPDATE: Ford is now blocking emails to those addresses, so use these phone numbers instead.

Todays' Ford marketing and public relations targets are...

Steve Lyons: slyons@ford.com

Mae Smith: msmith26@ford.com

Terri Cavanaugh: tcavanaugh@ford.com

Background on what Ford has done. Amongst other things, you might want to ask Ford if they'd pull their ads from African-American or Jewish publications if the Klan objected?

Come back at 3pm Eastern for the next action of the day... Read More......

Iraqi VP says Bush lied about readiness of Iraqi security forces in his "victory" speech

Gosh, you mean Bush misled the American people last week during his big speech on Iraq? I'm so surprised.

The training of Iraqi security forces has suffered a big "setback" in the last six months, with the army and other forces being increasingly used to settle scores and make other political gains, Iraqi Vice President Ghazi al-Yawer said Monday.

Al-Yawer disputed contentions by U.S. officials, including President Bush, that the training of security forces was gathering speed, resulting in more professional troops.

Bush has said the United States will not pull out of Iraq until Iraq's own forces can maintain security. In a speech last week, he said Iraqi forces are becoming increasingly capable of securing the country.

Read More......

Religious right bigots targeting even more pro-gay companies

Now they're going after Wells Fargo too. This is all out war. They want to destroy us by going after every company that dares not treat gays like they're diseased pariahs. Microsoft did the right thing. Kraft did the right thing. Wells Fargo has so far done the right thing. Ford has done the wrong thing.

Message to corporate America: When the 21st century incarnation of the Klan comes knocking, tell them to go to hell. Read More......

Wash Post online chat about Ford Motor Company's future, 11AM Eastern today

It got canceled. Oh well, we have lots more actions coming.

Perhaps we should ask some questions about how Ford's embrace of bigotry might affect their bottom line. Remember, this is NOT a Ford representative on the chat, it's a writer who has written about Ford and their future. So ask him some serious questions about how this could affect Ford.

Submit questions here.

More background on the writer.

More background on Ford's new embrace of anti-gay bigots. Read More......

Oh Ford

It's begun. Read More......

Dear Ford Motor Company,

Since you've now embraced a bigoted, religious right anti-gay agenda, we're going to do to you what we successfully did to Microsoft and Bill Gates earlier this year.

If you aren't familiar with the absolute public relations disaster we created for Microsoft, please read the following links, then get back to us.

Microsoft Abandons Gays (or Gates-gate)
- Microsoft abandons gays (4/20)
- The Stranger article that broke the story (4/20)
- Microsoft messed with the wrong faggots (4/21)
- Gay rights bill loses by one vote - Where was Microsoft? (4/21)
- Microsoft caught lying to NYT (4/22)
- HRC blasts Microsoft (4/22)
- LA Gay Center asks for its award back (4/22)
- Microsoft lies to MSNBC (4/22)
- CEO email confirms Microsoft is abandoning gays because of religious right (4/23)
- Micro-too-soft (commentary) 4/25)
- Microsoft's own employees fight back (4/25)
- Microsoft paying Ralph Reed $20k/month retainer (4/26)
- Microsoft reverses position, pro-gay again
- Microsoft's email re-endorsing civil rights for gays
- Editorial supporting Microsoft's support for gays
- Editorial from the Seattle paper

Seriously, you have no idea what's coming.

Love, JOHN Read More......

Monday Morning Open Thread

This could be a fun week. Read More......

White House still pushing torture

The Bush/Cheney torture squad is still alive and kicking:

The White House is seeking a compromise with a leading Senate Republican over its efforts to exempt the CIA from a proposed ban on torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners, President George W. Bush's national security adviser said on Sunday.

"We are working hard in good faith on both sides to come up with an approach that can be supported by the president and the Congress, to both find a way to be aggressive in the war on terror and still comply with U.S. law," national security adviser Stephen Hadley said on "Fox News Sunday."

Now that sounds good, but it's code for saying the White House is opposed to the ban on torture.

We're having a debate in America about allowing torture. What a great legacy for the Bush/Cheney team. Read More......

Just in time for the holidays

Oil creeping back up to $60/barrel. And to think the Bush people don't understand why Americans don't believe anything he says anymore. What ever happened to that promise of jawboning the oil countries? It must have been lost with the post-invasion peace plan for Iraq. Read More......