Ford made an interesting pivot last year with its new C-Max MPV by dropping its plans to offer a version with the 1.6-liter EcoBoost and go hybrid only. That makes the C-Max, Ford's first exclusively hybrid vehicle (at least here in North America, Europeans can still buy it with gas and diesel powerplants).

It's nearest competitor here will be the Toyota Prius V which is also a hybrid only. Unlike the Toyota (for now at least, Ford will also offer a plug-in version of the C-Max. Ford is now taking orders for the C-Max which has been officially priced starting at $25,995, $555 below the Prius.

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Ford Begins Taking Orders for C-MAX Hybrid – America’s Most Affordable, Fuel-Efficient Hybrid Utility Vehicle | Ford Motor Company Newsroom
Ford Begins Taking Orders for C-MAX Hybrid – America's Most Affordable, Fuel-Efficient Hybrid Utility Vehicle. Ford dealers are now taking orders for the Ford C-MAX Hybrid, which will be more affo…

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I'm far more likely to skip a film from a company that shuts down anyone's free speech rights than the beliefs of an individual star. For example, I abhor the politics of Kelsey Grammar but I still like to Boss on Starz because he puts in an amazing performance.

Republicans (and politicians of all stripes) need to get it into their heads that the bill of rights trumps their money making opportunities every single time.

Reshared post from +Dan Gillmor

When a right-wing shareholder of Time Warner asked the CEO to muzzle anti-tea party comments from an actor, the CEO said, "What can we do about it? Not much."

The correct answer from a media executive should have been: "Have you ever heard of free speech, you jerk? I don't care how many shares you own."

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Dark Knight Rises imperilled by Morgan Freeman's politics, claims Time Warner shareholder
Conservative shareholder in media conglomerate demands there be no repeat of Freeman's anti-Tea Party remarks during publicity drive

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Also the US Department of Justice stepped up today and issued a strongly worded 11-page page letter defending the right of people to record the actions of police offers. Police are important to maintaining a civil society, however, protecting the public safety does NOT put any cop above the law. They are required to observe the constitutional rights of the people and if a bystander sees a police officer violating the law they have the right to record that and blow the whistle on that officer.

Now if we can just get police to recognize the right to photograph public places and buildings and start locking up rent-a-cops for harassing anyone with a camera we'll be getting somewhere.

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Justice Dept. Defends Public's Constitutional 'Right to Record' Cops | Threat Level | Wired.com
As police departments around the country are increasingly caught up in tussles with members of the public who record their activities, the U.S. Justice Department has come out with a strong statement …

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Is this finally the start of rolling back the police state that has been established since 9/11? We can only hope that this stands up under appeal.

It doesn't matter how scared we might be, there is no reason to detain people indefinitely without charge or a trial.

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Federal court enjoins NDAA
An Obama-appointed judge rules its indefinite detention provisions likely violate the 1st and 5th Amendments

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In principal I agree with the idea of appointing Supreme Court justices for life. Not having to repeatedly deal with running for re-election should allow justices to step back and examine laws on their merit and the constitution rather than political expediency.

The flip-side of allowing justices to serve for life needs to be complete transparency. While lifetime appointments have allowed many great justices to serve this country well, some of the appointments in the past few decades have been decidedly political (yes we're looking at you justices Scalia, Roberts, Thomas and Alito).

The only way to really judge the intellectual honesty of our justices is to be able see the papers they produce in the course of deliberations. While they will of course argue that they should be able to keep their deliberations private, this is a bogus argument. The court is there to serve the interests of the American people and protect our constitutional rights.

The Citizens United case was one of the greatest legal travesties of the last half century and while Chief Justice Roberts might not like it, we deserve to see what went on behind the scenes. The court only deserves the reverence it earns. They are not royalty. It's time for Justice Souter to publish his thoughts on the case and for other justices to come forward with the truth of what goes on. Perhaps in the harsh light of day, we will end up with a better court.

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Citizens United: Justice David Souter’s dissent in the Supreme Court’s momentous campaign finance case.
The New Yorker’s Jeffrey Toobin this week revealed  juicy bits from the Supreme Court’s deliberations as it considered Citizens United, the thunderous case in which the court allowed corporations and …

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If I were running Sprint or AT&T right now, I'd stop all sales of iPhones right now until Apple backs off on this ridiculous injunction.

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Sprint finally acknowledges EVO 4G LTE delay on its community forums | Android Central
EVO 4G LTE Sprint's community forums this morning have acknowledged that the EVO 4G LTE has been delayed, stuck in customs. It hasn't gone out and said that it won't be available for Friday morning's…

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To hell with Apple

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HTC Evo 4G LTE to miss May 18th launch due to US Customs investigation
News broke last night that shipments of HTC's One X for AT&T and Evo 4G LTE for Sprint were indefinitely delayed at US Customs as the agency investigates the devices for potentially infringing…

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The Uni-Cub is an evolution of the +Honda U3-X concept that I got to try out when I visited Japan in 2009
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/22/tokyo-2009-autoblog-samples-quirky-honda-u3-x-and-other-assist/

It was actually a very cool concept with some neat technology, but I'm not sure how useful it actually is.

Reshared post from +Evan McCausland

Meet the Honda Uni-Cub. Interesting gizmo, but I miss the days when a Honda Cub was a lithe, amusing 50cc motorbike.

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(Almost) Better Than Walking: Honda's New Uni-Cub Mobility Machine – Rumor Central
Honda's new experimental vehicle is a personal mobility device named the Uni-Cub, a two-wheeled, electric-powered pod.

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