Who Is The Mystery Man Behind Prop 8?

Who is funding California's Prop 8, the country's most controversial ballot measure? The Mormons' donations are well known, and are a source of outrage among the church's more moderate elements. But little attention has been focused on two of the proposition's biggest individual donors: Elsa Broekhuizen, the mother of Blackwater founder Erik Prince, and Howard F. Ahmanson Jr., the reclusive theocratic millionaire who inherited $300 million from his philanthropist father at age 18.

When I profiled Ahmanson in a 2004 article for Salon.com, I became the first journalist in 20 years to interview him. Yesterday I resurrected my reporting for The Daily Beast, updating it to cover Ahmanson's recent machinations, particularly his role in Prop 8. As I wrote, Ahmanson few Americans have heard of Ahmanson -- and that's the way he likes it. His extreme politics and eccentric personality reveal the draconian underside of a ballot measure billed by its proponents as "pro-family."

During a 1985 interview with the Orange County Register, Ahmanson summarized his political agenda: "My goal is the total integration of biblical law into our lives."

Though Ahmanson's rhetoric has softened over the years, his politics are derived from the radical Christian Reconstructionist theology of R.J. Rushdoony, a far-right theologian who advocated replacing the US Constitution with biblical law. "God's government prevails," Rushdoony wrote, "and His alternatives are clear-cut: either men and nations obey His laws, or God invokes the death penalty against them." Those eligible on Rushdoony's long list for execution included disobedient children, unchaste women, apostates, blasphemers, practitioners of witchcraft, astrologers, adulterers, and, of course, anyone who engaged in "sodomy or homosexuality."

Rushdoony was the father Ahmanson never had, bringing him to radical right-wing Christianity not long after the anxiety-ridden, Tourette's-afflicted scion of wealth checked out of the Menninger Clinic. Ahmanson bankrolled Rushdoony's religious empire; in return, Rushdoony made Ahmanson a board member of his think tank, Chalcedon, which to this day advocates theocratic revolution in the United States. Ahmanson and his wife were at Rushdoony's bedside when he died in 2001.

(Read the full story on Ahmanson here).

My article is accompanied at the Daily Beast by a new video by Michael Wilson, creator of the brilliant documentary, Silhouette City. Wilson also co-produced my video documentary about Sarah Palin's belief in spiritual warfare, "In The Land Of Queen Esther."

On November 2, Wilson went to San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium to cover "The Call," an 80,000-strong Pentecostal rally for Prop 8. The Call organizer, Lou Engle, gathered his troops together for several days of fasting and prayer to stop what he called the "sexual insanity" of Prop 8 opponents. The rally culminated with Engle imploring his fervent crowd to become martyrs, to be willing to lay down their lives for the cause.

(Click here to see Wilson's video.)

The defeat of Prop 8 would be a nightmare for the Christian right. As Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council said of the ballot measure, "It's more important than the presidential election... We will not survive [as a nation] if we lose the institution of marriage."

But behind the Christian right's panicked pleas for preserving "traditional marriage" lies a more deep-seated fear. California's rejection of Prop 8 would represent a decisive repudiation of the theocratic fantasy outlined by Rushdoony and mainstreamed by Jerry Falwell, James Dobson, Lou Engle and countless evangelical minions. Ahmanson has spent what he could to keep his mentor's dream alive, but the movement's nightmare may arrive nonetheless.

Original here

In Death, Einstein Makes More Money than John Lennon

Who said going into science wasn’t a lucrative career move? In Forbes’ latest ranking of the highest earning dead celebrities, Albert Einstein beat out the likes of John Lennon, Andy Warhol and Marilyn Monroe to take the fourth spot behind Elvis Presley, Charles Schultz and Heath Ledger. Even though the father of relativity has been dead for 53 years, he remains one of the most recognizable faces in the world. He’s been a consistent appearance on Forbes’ list and raked in $18 million last year.

But where is all this money coming from? And who gets it?

As it turns out, Einstein doesn’t have any living heirs. He bequested all his personal papers, intellectual property rights and the right to use his image to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The university hires the company Greenlight to manage these rights and dole out permission for Einstein paraphernalia. (Greenlight also manages the rights to Steve McQueen and the Wright brothers.)

Greenlight says they receive 400 applications a year to use Einstein’s image, but they only approve about 40 of them. According to Martin Cribbs, director and brand strategy manager of Greenlight, to receive approval a company needs to prove that they are serious about the product, provide three years of sales predictions, and demonstrate a commitment to green issues. Cribbs says they reject proposals for cigarettes, sex toys, and anything of a scatological nature, like toilet paper.

Among products that have made the cut are Einstein calendars, mugs, jigsaw puzzles, action figures and a Japanese brand of coffee made by Nestle. The biggest source of revenue to the Einstein estate, however, comes from parents hoping to raise their very own geniuses. Disney’s line of Baby Einstein products, including educational DVD’s, books, and toys for babies, brings in millions every year. Most recently, Einstein has also been seen hawking Kobe Bryant’s new Nike ZKIII sneakers as part of its Genius campaign.

Earlier this year, Hebrew University asked an Israeli telephone company to retract its advertisements for its new Google-enabled mobile phones because they used the slogan “Everyone’s become an Einstein.” The company was told that it would cost NIS 400,000 (more than $100,000) to use the frizzy haired scientist-celeb for their ad campaign. Take that, Elvis.

Original here

Auto sales 'unsustainably weak'; GM's fall 45 pct.

An unsold 2008 300C sedan sits at a Chrysler-Jeep dealership in the southeast Denver suburb of Centennial, Colo., on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008. Chrysler LLC said Monday, its U.S. sales plunged 34.9 percent in October, blaming reduced fleet sales and an overall industry declines. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) By Tom Krisher and Bree Fowler

DETROIT—General Motors' October U.S. sales plunged 45 percent, and Ford's and Chrysler's weren't far behind, as low consumer confidence and tight credit combined to bring the industry's sales to an "unsustainably weak level" that is the worst in 25 years.

Automakers sold 838,156 vehicles in October, 32 percent fewer than the same month last year and the worst performance since January 1991, according to Autodata Corp. and Ward's AutoInfoBank. The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 10.6 million vehicles was the lowest since February 1983.

"It's really an unsustainably weak level for all manufacturers," said Mike DiGiovanni, GM's executive director of global market and industry analysis. "This is clearly a severe, severe recession for the U.S. automotive industry and something we really can't sustain."

The annual sales rate in October 2007 was 16.1 million.

Chrysler's sales tumbled 35 percent and Ford's dropped 30 percent. Toyota's sales fell 23 percent despite its zero-percent financing offer, and Nissan and Honda posted 33 percent and 25 percent declines, respectively.

Overall, General Motors Corp. sold 168,719 vehicles in October, while Ford Motor Co., including its Volvo brand, sold 132,278 light vehicles and Chrysler LLC's sales totaled 94,530 units.

If GM's sales were adjusted for population growth, October would be the worst month of the post-World War II era, DiGiovanni said.

"Clearly we're in a very dire situation," he said. Detroit-based GM said its light truck sales tumbled 51 percent compared with the same month last year, while demand for passenger cars fell 34 percent.

Despite the steep drop, GM's total was enough to keep it ahead of Toyota Motor Corp. for the No. 1 U.S. sales spot. Toyota, which rolled out an offer of zero-percent financing during the month, sold 152,101 vehicles. The Japanese company's light truck sales fell 34 percent, while car sales dropped 15 percent.

Honda Motor Co.'s sales fell to 85,864 vehicles as truck sales fell 29 percent. But sales of cars from its Acura luxury division rose 6 percent.

Nissan Motor Co. sold 56,945 vehicles, and its truck sales dropped 52 percent.

Ford officials said on a conference call with reporters and industry analysts that as bad as October sales were, it's probably not the bottom.

Emily Kolinski Morris, the Dearborn-based company's senior economist, said that because automobiles are more durable, people can wait without buying a new vehicle until they feel more confident in the economy.

"The answer to when we will start to come out of that trough lies in when the economy comes out of that trough," Kolinski Morris said.

Ford likely will announce car and crossover vehicle production cuts when it announces its third-quarter earnings on Friday, said George Pipas, Ford's top sales analyst. Truck production cuts earlier in the year have kept inventories low, but car and crossover inventories need to be brought into line, he said.

Sales of the company's F-Series pickup trucks, traditionally its top seller, fell 16 percent in October, better than Ford's light trucks as a whole, which dropped more than 30 percent. The company began selling a new version of the pickup last month and has announced plans to add 1,000 workers at its Dearborn Truck Plant in January to handle what it expects will be increased demand.

Even Ford's Focus small car, which had experienced sales increases during the summer, saw its sales drop 18 percent.

Pipas said that even cars that once were selling well aren't selling in a U.S. market that last month shrank to an annual sales rate of about 11 million vehicles.

"In an 11 million industry, you're not going to see very many products for very many manufacturers post year-on-year sales increases."

Jim Farley, Ford's group vice president of marketing, said it's likely auto companies will start their year-end sales promotions early to try to drum up business, although he would not say what steps Ford would take.

GM said it will start its annual "Red Tag" sale Tuesday, with lower pricing and customer cash back on most of its new models. The sale typically begins later in the year.

Chrysler said it would continue incentive programs introduced in November that include cash rebates of up to $6,000 and discounted financing on remaining 2008 model year vehicles.

The Auburn Hills-based company is also offering lease loyalty allowances of up to $750 for purchases made by returning lease customers, along with bonus cash of up to $2,000 on some 2008 vehicles for customers who lease through independent financial institutions.

After reeling from a 32 percent drop in September sales, Toyota launched zero-percent financing on almost all of its models, prompting analysts to predict that it could post better-than-average October sales and potentially surpass GM for the first time as the U.S. sales leader.

But, like at Ford, the vast majority of Toyota models still posted double-digit declines. Notable exceptions included sales of the Corolla, which rose 6.1 percent, and the Sequoia sport utility vehicle, which posted a 21 percent gain.

Toyota Division General Manager Bob Carter said the financing offer, which had been set to expire on Monday but will now be extended for another month, gave October's sales a needed boost.

"This managed to breathe some life into an otherwise lackluster month," Carter said.

GM's financing arm, GMAC Financial Services, said last month it was tightening its lending standards to require a credit score of at least 700, potentially shutting out some buyers.

Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president for North American sales, said steep cutbacks in leasing and lack of available credit accounted for half of GM's year-over-year sales decline.

"There really needs to be actions focused on the consumer and available credit," DiGiovanni said.

Analysts said GM's employee pricing incentives in September likely pulled in buyers who would have waited to purchase cars, further reducing October sales.

The Associated Press reports unadjusted auto sales figures, calculating the percentage change in the total number of vehicles sold in one month compared with the same month a year earlier. Some automakers report percentages adjusted for sales days. There were 23 sales days last month, two less than in October 2007.

Original here