The American Family Association thinks it's omnipotent. The anti-gay "family" values group takes credit for Ford Motors' shocking 21% sales plunge. In a delightful action alert, the AFA declares itself a winner:

Ford Motor Company sales dropped 21% in September compared to that month's sales a year ago. Ford sales have dropped in 17 of the 19 months since AFA began a boycott of the company. AFA began boycotting Ford in March 2006 when the company reneged on a pledge to stop supporting homosexual organizations and same-sex marriage.

While not totally responsible for the decline in sales, the boycott is having an impact.
…
Ford continues to consider support for the homosexual agenda and same-sex marriage more important than making a profit for the company.

Ford has rebuffed repeated attempts by AFA asking the company to remain neutral in the culture war.

Meanwhile, other, more even-minded analysis points to a lower demand for trucks, one of the company's cornerstones.

(PS: Ford hasn't stayed neutral.)

The American "Family" Association may be against hate crime legislation, but you can bet your bottom dollar Human Rights Campaign's all about it.

The "largest" LGBT non-profit's asking you and yours to support the Matthew Shephard Act by signing this letter. It's really quite painless. Way, way painless than a hate crime, that's for sure.

We've pasted the text of the letter after the jump. Also, we'd like to point out that HRC allows you to edit your letter. The AFA - who fear hate crime legislation will curtail their freedom - don't allow the freedom of using your own words. Just a note.

CONTINUED »

The American "Family" Association's all sorts of angry over a recent Oakland, California, "hate crime" case. A group of black Christian women are facing the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals after distributing a "pro-family" pamphlet for their group, Good News Employee Association.

The pamphlet in question described the GNEA as "a forum for people of Faith to express their views on the contemporary issues of the day. With respect for the Natural Family, Marriage and Family Values". The women's coworkers balked at the language and insisted the cease and desist distribution of the flyer.

The women, however, insist they were simply responding to some of their more gay-friendly friends. Oakland government officials, however, claim they were helping perpetuate discrimination. Now, both sides are in court duking it out.

Not surprising, AFA and their conservative allies are stirring the shit.

CONTINUED »

Wal-Mart's love affair with the gays has come to an end. The mega-retailer joined forces with the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce last year, but has again folded to conservative pressure and disavowed its gay ways. From Fortune:

"We are not currently planning corporate-level contributions to GLBT groups," said Mona Williams, the company's senior vice president of corporate communications. Individual stores can still donate to gay groups.

By way of explanation, Ms. Williams cited a policy adopted last fall saying that Wal-Mart would not make corporate contributions "to support or oppose highly controversial issues" unless they directly relate to the company's ability to serve its customers.

While one would expect an outcry from gay activists, it seems even they, like the AFA, can't quit Wal-Mart.

CONTINUED »

The American Family Association has a long history of inciting riots against "pro-gay" companies. They've got their on-and-off hate affair with Wal-Mart. And of course there's their "victorious" campaign against Ford's dalliance with GLAAD.

But how do the "traditional" family focused rabble rousers know which brands to brand enemies of their fundamentalist state? They subject themselves to hours and hours of gay-endorsed television, of course. The group's project summary:

Between February 11 through May 5, American Family Association monitored the top eight prime-time network programs featuring lead or supporting homosexual characters. These programs were specifically identified by the activist-homosexual group GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) as GLAAD Media Award winners, or as showcasing leading or supporting homosexual characters.

Of the eight shows - The Simpsons, ER, The Office, The Class, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy - four air on the Disney-owned ABC. That means the AFA's going to have to add the media giant to its list of offenders, which already includes Ford, Verizon and Quaker Oats. The AFA's got quite a battle ahead.

If they're really serious about taking down fag-friendly firms, AFA members should again take GLAAD's advice: the media watch dog has a rundown of all the gay pride month televisuals.

Ten companies to support, as per the AFA [AfterElton]
It's Not TV. It's H-O-M-O. [Good As You]

Talk about timing. Just as politicians gear up to debate The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the American Family Association offers its dedicated readers a chance to pipe in on the politicized proposal. They write:

Several corporations are now supporting the homosexual agenda. These companies have been convinced by homosexual activists and the mainstream media that in order to be 'fair and tolerant,' companies must make special rules for homosexuals and provide company money and resources to help promote their lifestyle. Many companies, at the urging of these groups, have also begun to support same-sex marriage.

"Special rules"? Ain't nothing special about 'em, dudes. They're simply the same rights already afforded straight couples. That said, it seems to us it's the straights who have "special" rights. Maybe the AFA uses the same dictionary as Family Research Council. How convenient, especially considering many of their members probably don't know the meaning, anyway.

You kids do, of course, so you should head on over and make your voice heard, too. Be sure to enter your security word. Ours was "tendon", which gave us a bit of a laugh.

GLAAD once applauded Ford's commitment to supporting the gay community, but they've been mysteriously silent about the company's dissociation from their media awards.

The car company had been slated to sponsor the March 26, event, but the American Family Association-sponsored website, One News Now reports that they've backed out. Not surprisingly, AFA founder Don Wildmon takes some of the credit:

…Wildmon says he believes Ford's cancellation of its sponsorship of the Annual GLAAD Media Awards is another direct result of the boycott by AFA, other pro-family groups, and many Americans in response to the automaker's institutional support of homosexual causes and ideology. AFA also announced last week that Ford would no longer support homosexual publications with advertising.

The American Family Association is up to their boycott tricks once again, this time targeting Swedish home goods and homo-lovers, IKEA. It seems the AFA doesn't approve of the retailers use of homos in their commercials and thinks they're trying to import more than just affordable beds. Okay, whatever, we're not shocked, scandalized or even really that intrigued - AFA boycotts are a dime-a-dozen these days. (They've even recently rejuvenated their age old Ford boycott.)

Anyway, after reading the story, we thought we'd head on over to the AFA's website to poke around a little. We were particularly intrigued by one section: Pray for AFA, on which they implore their readers:

We believe prayer is the chief catalyst God uses to accomplish His purposes in the earth.

We're looking for faithful volunteers who will take just a few minutes each day to pray for the needs and concerns of American Family Association. Our goal is to have a 24/7 nationwide team of prayer partners.

They then have a link through which you can add your name to their totally self-righteous army. We clicked on through to see what that page had to say - not much, really, but we were a little surprised by the amount of time each volunteer must commit: one solid, uninterrupted hour!

It seemed like a hefty holy request at first, until we read their prayer concerns, which includes this:

American Family Association continues to come under attack from the homosexual community. We are considered to be hate-mongers and have been compared to Nazis. Nothing, of course, could be further from the truth. It is precisely because we love those trapped in the bondage of homosexuality that we are willing to speak the truth of the gospel to them. We ask you to intercede that God will continue to deliver and heal homosexuals.

Yeah, they're totally not Nazis, dudes. They have no loyalty to the National Socialists. It's a pure coincidence that they share many of the same political ideologies.

As for the AFA praying "that God will continue to deliver and heal homosexuals" - no thanks, we're doing just fine on our own.

(Image from Justin Hampton.)

Certainly you remember the story on how a group of pious investigators discovered Walmart.com sells "gay books". In an effort to stop their dastardly deeds, concerned consumer Donna Garner gathered a group of homies to raise a stink, telling The Baptist Press:

I think we’ve done a pretty good job in our country of letting Wal-Mart know we’ve not been pleased at all with their decision to back the homosexual agenda.

Of course you're not, honey. And, yes, you have done a "good" job.

As we learned with the Wal-Mart v. American Family Association, the mega store's got a reputation for folding under pressure. Thus, it (unfortunately) comes as no surprise that they've already pulled a number of titles from their online store. The twist comes in a particular genre being targeted: a sexually explicit anime known as Yaoi Hentai and the so-called controversy that boils below.

CONTINUED »

The American Family Association, those demigods of familial values, has just released an edict urging their members to boycott Wal-Mart over its alliance with National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

Insisting that said alliance furthers gay causes (or, as Shirley Phelps Roper would say, are "fag-enablers"), the AFA hopes to run Wal-Mart out of business. 365 Gay reports:

Randy Sharp, AFA's director of special projects said he did an online search of Walmart.com using such terms as "gay," "lesbian," "transgender," "bisexual," and "gay marriage".

"They'll come up with hundreds, sometimes even thousands of products relating to homosexuality [and promotion of] the agenda of the homosexual community," Sharp told Christian publication Agape.

AFA is calling "on Christian consumers to spend their dollars elsewhere as a sign of their displeasure with Wal-Mart's pro-homosexual leanings."

We've never thought of Wal-Mart as particularly gay, so to test out the Sharp's theory, we made a list of "gay" things to see if we could find them. And, you know what? We found every last one of them!

So, what was on our list? Poppers, industrial sized butt plug, a goat, "Family" sized Vaseline, barely legal hookers, Mark Foley, crystal meth, spiked necklace, rubber gloves, a gerbil, a gerbil wheel (don't ask), plastic wrap, a clown mask, and Saltines (we've got a sensitive tummy).

There you have it folks, Wal-Mart's a way better place to get your supplies for your next gay orgy than that dumb ol' sex shop.

If the Five Hundred didn't give you cause to look into purchasing a Ford, perhaps the automaker's pro-gay policy will. Unlike Macy's, Ford is willing to stand up to the conservative right-wing, answering the American Family Association's call for a boycott of the company for its inroads in gay advertising with a simple explanation: "We buy advertising to put Ford's message in front of as many customers as possible."

That statement came in an email from Ford's vice president Al Giombetti, who has no plans to pull ad dollars from gay media. Meanwhile, the Ford Motor Company Fund will continue funding Detroit-area gay pride evens, because "[i]t has a community agenda, not a political one, and it supports causes and people from all walks of life."

Never before have we felt so comfortable – and willing – to simply look like a fat checkbook to an American corporation.

Ford defends gay advertising [Pink News]

Hurry while supplies last! Run on over to the American Family Association website where they are selling discount copies of their fraudulent video It's Not Gay, featuring HIV-positive former "ex-gay" Michael Johnston, who recently suffered a "moral fall" that included doing it with several guys at once in Virginia Beach without telling them about his HIV status. That sounds less like a "moral fall" to us and more like a criminal offense.

Fire Sale On Video Featuring 'Ex-Gay' Fraud [Wayne Besen]
Ex-gay leader experiences ‘moral fall’ [Southern Voice]

Ford’s announcement that it will once again advertise in gay publications and supporting gay events has made the queers happy. But not everyone is running out to buy a Jag to celebrate. The American Family Association is thinking about boycotting the former homophobic car company.

Again.

All we wanted was for Ford to refrain from choosing sides in the cultural war, and supporting groups which promote same-sex marriage is not remaining neutral.

We think AFA meant to insert the words “other than our own” in between “sides” and “in.”

AFA considering boycott of Ford Motor Company [AFA]