Guess what's coming up in January? The 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit

Anybody up for a road trip? ;-)

I have a sinking feeling that Ford just isn't going to be getting the kind of publicity they want from this show. I wonder what we could organize that would totally disrupt a week's worth of media coverage for Ford during the show, letting the entire world know how bigoted Ford has become, and how Ford has sided with extreme right-wing conservative Republicans? I'm also curious how much of the rest of the world would buy cars from an American company that has decided to embrace George Bush's far-right Republican cultural agenda? I suppose there's always Poland.

I think January is going to be a very fun month. Stay tuned. Read the rest of this post...

Friday Orchid Blogging

Oncidium Sweet Sugar (probably)

This is a pretty standard run-of-the mill oncidium orchid. It's the first one I ever bought, probably two and a half years ago. This baby is pretty easy to grow, it likes a good watering, then you let the medium get pretty dry, then water it again - probably once a week, maybe twice, depending on the size of the pot and your conditions. It does not have a fragrance, but has beautiful pretty large yellow flowers that teeter in the wind. My plant, the one in the photo, blooms around 3 times a year, which is pretty darn good for an orchid. I was repotting it last year and it split into two plants (one way orchids divide), so I gave half to a friend, and this one is now back to blooming again. Like I said, a simple "ordinary" orchid, but a pretty one that blooms great. Love it. Oh, it likes LOTS of sunlight, so you don't want this one unless you have a good southern exposure, plant lights, or moderate conditions where you can grow it outdoors year round.

Here is a close-up of the flowers. Enjoy.

Read the rest of this post...

You can pre-order Markos' book online already

Here. It doesn't come out till February. Who knows, maybe somebody will send me one early... Read the rest of this post...

Plame resigns from CIA

And that means now she's got quantifiable monetary damages for the years of employment Rove and Libby and company took from her, in addition to the damages from invasion of privacy, etc. Regardless of what happens with Fitzgerald, I can't wait for the civil suit. Read the rest of this post...

A friend of Ford weighs in on the debate

I just got the following email from someone who obviously sides with Ford in this debate:

Date: Fri Dec 09 14:58:36 PST 2005
Sender: Vern
To: AMERICAblog
Subject: QUEERS and The American Blog

OK pal I will give you a tip; you are a prime example of education gone awry. The queers have an admitted problem, "their brains are wired differently" you bet so are kids with Downs Syndrome and a few other maladies but sensible people seek medical attention to work on a fix.

The last I heard the "QUEERS" out of the closet constitute less than 3 % of the American population throwing in another 3 % (maybe) would bring the total to 6% at the outside.

So don't you think you may have the tail wagging the dog here ?
And further for your information I am not one of the religious right I do not attend church nor do I contribute to any church.

According to the listing of your credentials you have an extensive formal education but you sure as hell missed the "common sense" class. I have two nephews that "think" they are QUEER because some pseudointellectual such as yourself have convinced them that is was OK.

I will actively contribute money and energy to ANY organization that will put sorry asses such as yourself out of business.

Vern

You think Vern drives Jaguars? Read the rest of this post...

Ford spokesman Mike Moran lies to Baltimore Sun

Ford spokesman Mike Moran is now claiming Ford did not cave to the anti-gay demands of the extremist gay-hating organization American Family Association. In fact, Moran himself admitted Ford caved earlier this week.

Moran had this to say to the Baltimore Sun today:

"Jaguar and Land Rover have been streamlining marketing and making reductions across the board," Ford spokesman Michael Moran said in a telephone interview yesterday. "The decisions on advertising were made for business reasons and not as a social statement one way or the other."

Moran's statement to the Baltimore Sun directly contradicts a statement he gave earlier this week to the DC-based Metro Weekly:

When asked if the advertising was being discontinued because of the threatened AFA boycott, Moran said, ''Ceasing advertising is an outgrowth of those meetings.''

Moran also contradicts the statement he gave to the Advocate last week:

"They've heard our concerns; they are acting on our concerns. We are pleased with where we are," said Donald Wildmon, AFA's chairman, in a statement....

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 finally Moran contradicts statements from Ford's other spokesman, Jim Cain, saying that Ford was pulling ads from "advocacy publications," labeling such benign publications as OUT and The Advocate (akin to the gay version of "People") as promoting "gay advocacy." Cain confirmed that Ford had indeed reached a formal settlement with AFA, and this specifically includes withdrawing advertising for certain Ford vehicles from LGBT publications/media.

So in addition to lying to the New York Times, Washington Post, AP, Reuters and CNN, Ford has now lied to the Baltimore Sun as well. Time will only tell whether the mainstream media plans on following up on the lies they've been told, or whether the lessons of Judith Miller journalism have yet to be learned. Read the rest of this post...

NYT upcoming article on conservative vs. liberal blogs and impacts on the elections

Atrios has the goods. I agree with his analysis. Read the rest of this post...

Open thread

In order to re-open the top of the blog, and not obscure the new posts, I've created a Ford Action Center at the top of the left hand column. You'll find there a slew of new media contacts at Ford that I just added. Please contact them. Thanks, JOHN Read the rest of this post...

President Clinton pulls a fast one on Bush over Kyoto

Ok, this is good.

A contentious U.N. climate conference entered its final day Friday with the long-term future undecided in the fight against global warming, and with a surprise visitor on tap to rally the "pro-Kyoto" forces.

Bill Clinton, who as president championed the Kyoto Protocol clamping controls on "greenhouse gases," was scheduled to speak at the conference Friday afternoon — in an unofficial capacity but potentially at a critical point in backroom talks involving the U.S. delegation.

The U.S. envoys, representing a Bush administration that renounced the Kyoto pact, were said to be displeased by the 11th-hour surprise, although there was no formal protest, according to an official in the Canadian government, the conference host.

Read the rest of this post...

AFA used hate group's 'Nazi Germany'-type 'science' to try to influence Ford in 2002

Some AMERICAblog readers uncovered an action alert the American Family Association (AFA) used to try to influence Ford to become anti-gay three years ago.

In that alert, the AFA uses the science of one Paul Cameron, the head of the Family Research Institute, an organization labeled a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and whose "research" the SPLC says "echoes Nazi Germany."

1. FORD MUST COME CLEAN ABOUT NAZI-ESQUE SCIENCE

We now know the AFA used Nazi-esque "science" in 2002 to try influence Ford, and may very well have used that Nazi-esque science in its ongoing communications with Ford this year. Ford must immediately come clean as to whether any Nazi-esque anti-gay science was discussed in any of its secret meetings, phone calls and communications with the AFA. And more importantly, Ford must immediately disclose whether its decision to drop the gay ads and events was in any way based on its consideration of this hate group's science that "echoes Nazi Germany."

Specifically, the AFA is using Paul Cameron's fake "study" in which he determines that gay men die by the age of 40. I'm serious. (Cameron simply read the obituaries of gay men in gay publications in 1993, then averaged the age of death - really.) The AFA literally cited the results of this study in their action alert - I've been following Cameron's "research" and the religious right's use of him for the past 13 years.

2. CAMERON SAYS GAYS DIE BY THE AGE OF 40

Here Cameron explains his own study on his Web site:

These events, coupled with various STDs (especially AIDS) gotten from other gays, resulted in a median age of death of 40 among gays and a median age of death of 45 among lesbians.

And in the footnote to the study you see that Paul Cameron is the author, footnote 22:



3. AMERICAN FAMILY ASSOCIATION CITES HATE GROUP SCIENCE

Now read the American Family Association alert about Ford where they quote as truth Cameron's "Nazi Germany"-esque science in the last paragraph:

Action Alert - 05/14/02
Ford Motor Company values homosexuality
Join OneMillionMoms.com and OneMillionDads.com in sending an email to Ford Motor Company.
email this page to a friendE-mail this page to a friend
May 14, 2002

Dear Friend,

I want to thank the thousands of you who already joined our new campaign to clean up network television - ONEMILLIONMOMS.COM and ONEMILLIONDADS.COM

OneMillionMoms.com and OneMillionDads.com is quickly becomming a powerful tool to protect our children.

I am contacting you today to ask for your help. Ford Motor Company, a leading sponsor of NBC's Will & Grace, has responded in this manner to those who asked the auto company to stop sponsoring the program which promotes homosexuality:

Thank you for your recent e-mail. We appreciate your input regarding our advertising.

Ford Motor Company is a global company of significant size which values the diversity of its customers and employees worldwide; including different races, genders, generations, cultures, physical abilities and sexual orientation.

We believe one of the most effective ways to connect with customers and generate mass awareness of our products is through television advertising. We treat our purchase of commercial time in Will & Grace as we do any other prime time, mainstream television program. By buying commercial time on top-rated shows like Will & Grace, we are not making judgment on the specific content of the show but simply making an optimized attempt to reach our many customers through award-winning television programming.

Sincerely,
Ford Motor Company
Customer Relationship Center

It is tragic that Ford "values" a lifestyle which is harmful to so many, and leads to an early death. The average lifetime for a practicing homosexual is in the lower 40's. Ford equates homosexual relationships with marriage

4. FORD MUST COME CLEAN ABOUT NAZI-ESQUE SCIENCE

Ford Motor Company must come clean. Was Nazi-esque science discussed in any communications Ford had with the American Family Association? Did Ford use the "research" of known hate groups, groups akin to the Klan and the neo-Nazis, in making its determination to no longer support the gay community as it has for years?

Ford must immediately repudiate the American Family Association's use of hate groups to further their anti-gay agenda in this campaign, and Ford must disclose what it knew about the use of this Nazi-esque science and when it knew it.

5. CONTACT FORD, DEMAND ANSWERS ABOUT NAZI-ESQUE SCIENCE

Use the contacts at the top of the page to call and email Ford and demand answers about this troubling connection to hate groups. This hate group is just as bad as the Klan and neo-Nazis, they are in the same category according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Would Ford have secret meetings with groups who promote Klan literature about blacks and Jews?

Also feel free to contact these Ford spokespeople as well and demand answers:

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 the rest of this post...

New Bush spin for mess in Iraq

This week, he talked about the economic success in Iraq. So will he be talking about this? Yes, those numbers are pretty impressive. After years of sanctions followed by an invasion by the most powerful army in the world, how could there not be signs of growth in construction and oil production afterwards? When you are starting from such a low point, there ought to be some kind of improvement. Read the rest of this post...

Fitzgerald's had a busy week

Okay, we know he was at the grand jury on Wednesday. He deposed Time Magazine's Viveca Novak yesterday. And according to the Washington Post, he deposed Rove's Lawyer, Robert Luskin last week, too:

In another twist, the lawyer, Robert D. Luskin, was deposed on the same issue last Friday, a source close to the case said.

Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald's questions in both sessions focused on the same subject: the conversation that Luskin and Novak, longtime friends, had over drinks sometime in the first half of 2004 about Rove's potential exposure in the probe.

This is the conversation that's supposed to save Rove according to the rumor mill. Cause you know Karl is so overworked, he can't remember every little detail of who he is smearing when. Novak is going to write about her testimony in Time Magazine this weekend (it gets posted Sunday afternoon). Til then, we have this to chew over:

Sources familiar with their conversations say Novak's and Luskin's accounts to Fitzgerald appear to conflict on when they spoke.

The timing is apparently everything for Karl, because this is what allegegedly jogged his memory about Cooper...or not:

But one person close to the case said the conversation took place before Rove's first grand jury appearance in February. This person said the conversation was not the event that led Rove to change his testimony.

Stay tuned. Just remember one thing: prosecutors don't go to the grand jury unless they want to prosecute someone. They don't do it to exonerate someone. Read the rest of this post...

Friday Morning Open Thread

Start threading the news.... Read the rest of this post...

And the results of torture...

Bad information and tens of thousands dead. The British law lords were spot on with their criticism of information gathered via torture. It's crap and useless and in this specific case provided enough information for Bush to charge into a war that has killed a few thousand Americans and a hell of a lot more Iraqis. The Bush and Blair crowd believe that using such information is helpful if it can save a life but how many have died because of this and who is going to accept responsibility? This goes so far beyond an impeachable offense, it should be reviewed at The Hague.

The Bush administration based a crucial prewar assertion about ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda on detailed statements made by a prisoner while in Egyptian custody who later said he had fabricated them to escape harsh treatment, according to current and former government officials.

The new disclosure provides the first public evidence that bad intelligence on Iraq may have resulted partly from the administration's heavy reliance on third countries to carry out interrogations of Qaeda members and others detained as part of American counterterrorism efforts. The Bush administration used Mr. Libi's accounts as the basis for its prewar claims, now discredited, that ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda included training in explosives and chemical weapons.

The fact that Mr. Libi recanted after the American invasion of Iraq and that intelligence based on his remarks was withdrawn by the C.I.A. in March 2004 has been public for more than a year. But American officials had not previously acknowledged either that Mr. Libi made the false statements in foreign custody or that Mr. Libi contended that his statements had been coerced.

Read the rest of this post...

UK law lords strike down lower court acceptance of torture

Blair and his crowd have been struggling a lot lately and now this. A group of eight detainees being held as foreign terrorist suspects sued last year claiming that they were being imprisoned because of "evidence" which was gathered under torture outside of the UK. The British lower Court of Appeals ruled against the group but the decision yesterday by the law lords delivered severe criticism of the previous ruling.

In a landmark ruling, they demanded that the detention of eight foreign terrorist suspects should be re-examined by the secret anti-terror courts in case the crucial evidence against them had been extracted by torture.

Lord Bingham of Cornhill, the former Lord Chief Justice, who headed the panel of law lords, said the English law had regarded "torture and its fruits" with abhorrence for more than 500 years.

He said he was "startled, even a little dismayed" that "this deeply rooted tradition and an international obligation solemnly and explicitly undertaken" could be overriden by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), which oversees the detention of terror suspects.

Lord Hoffmann, a fellow law lord, said the use of torture corrupted and degraded the state that used it and the legal system that accepted it. In a reference to Guantanamo Bay, he said that many Americans have felt their country "dishonoured" by its use of torture outside its own jurisdiction and the practice of moving suspects to countries where torture is practised.

It seems like both the UK and US governments don't grasp the idea of what "rule of law" means. Either we are nations based on laws or we're not. Read the rest of this post...