David Hackbart is about to walk away with a cool $50,000 once it is approved by the Pittsburgh City Council. How did he get so lucky? Simple…he flipped off a cop and was issued a citation for obscene conduct under the disorderly conduct statute.

Within the blink of an eye, the American Civil Liberties Union swooped in and claimed that flipping someone off is protected under free speech. A federal judge agreed with the ACLU and rescinded the citation. The judge agreed that flipping a cop off, while distasteful, is not against the law.

So, all of you Christmas shoppers out there that are a little short of cash, here is a chance to ride the gravy train. Get out there and start flipping off every cop you see. Use both hands if you want to get some extra money. Granted, there is a slight chance you will take a beat down or get Tased, especially in Philly, but that seems like a small price to pay.

Another way to get more money would be to poop in the back of the police car. Pooping is a God given right and if you can’t hold it, you can’t hold it. Again, there may be some short term ramifications for this behavior, a definite ass kicking, but think of the nice things you will be able to buy.

As Thanksgiving approaches, I want to give thanks to the ACLU for protecting all of the douche monkeys of the world. Thanks for protecting the Westboro Baptist Church. You know them, the good folks that go around with signs that say “God Hates Fags”, “Thank God For Dead Soldiers”, and “Thank God for 9/11”. A true Christian group if there ever was one.

Thanks for letting prisoners have pen pals in Florida. Thanks for protecting e-mail spam by calling it free speech. And thanks for making libraries give people access to porn sites. Oh, and before I forget, thanks for making hundreds of thousands of dollars by suing state buildings that had the audacity of posting the 10 Commandments. It wasn’t enough to simply have them remove it. No, you also needed to be compensated to the tune of over half a million dollars. The taxpayers that footed that bill say thank you!

I hope the taxpayers of Pittsburgh realize that the $50k they are about to shell out is money well spent. They should all send the ACLU a basket of fruit and a thank you note. Congrats Pittsburgh on your new found, finger flipping freedom.

Westboro Baptist Church, an anti-homosexual group is planning to picket All Time Low’s show in Philadelphia on December 6th.

In other news, Alex Gaskarth revealed that All Time Low will be spending time in January writing songs for their next album due out Fall 2010.

All Time Low is under attack by the Westboro Baptist Church. If you don’t already know, WBC is known for their radical anti-homosexual views.

This is what the WBC has to say about the situation:

“You may be wondering what in the world WBC cares about these losers – so let me break it down for you. How do you know how far gone a society is? You look at their social icons. When you look at these gender-confused, haphazard freakazoids then you can plainly see that america is DOOMED, for real! This is the final generation, and a little concussion is the least of their worries. Here is what they have to look forward to when this once great nation finally falls – for her fall is already started… Cain was the father of all musicians, and you still bear his curse to this day. Praise God! AMEN!”

A member also tweeted Alex Gaskarth [frontman for All Time Low] the following:
“”God Hates Fag Enablers! WBC will picket All Time Low’s concert in Philly.”

Gaskarth’s response:
“”Stay home. Intolerance isn’t welcome at our show.”

Ridiculous much?

The Westboro Baptist Church is now targeting Jews, claiming that they’re promoting the homosexual agenda.  They have apparently forgotten that the sexual prohibitions outlined in the Book of Leviticus are part of Torah:

In Washington, Margie Phelps balanced several signs targeting Jews, Israel and the Obama administration. One read “Rabbis Rape Kids,” another said “God Hates Jews.” Margie Phelps’ T-shirt read “Jews Killed Jesus.” She argued with men and women passing by, warning them that God will soon send the Jews to hell.

“I don’t care what you claim, chosen wise,” she said. “Obedience is the standard.”

If these are the sorts of people that get into heaven, then I’ll gladly go to hell.

1. Mutant genes ‘key to long life’ -

There is a clear link between living to 100 and inheriting a hyperactive version of an enzyme that prevents cells from ageing, researchers say.

Scientists from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the US say centenarian Ashkenazi Jews have this mutant gene.

They found that 86 very old people and their children had higher levels of telomerase which protects the DNA.

They say it may be possible to produce drugs that stimulate the enzyme.

2. Atheist billboard goes up in San Diego – It’s gotten some great publicity here and in this CNN video. As always, there’s someone in the video claiming that the billboard is attacking people, which perfectly illustrates the level of delusion we’re dealing with here as the ad simply says, “Don’t believe in God? You are not alone.”

3. Right-Handed Chimps: Clues to Language Origin -

Most of the linguistic functions in humans are controlled by the left cerebral hemisphere. A study of captive chimpanzees at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center (Atlanta, Georgia), reported in the January 2010 issue of Elsevier’s Cortex, suggests that this “hemispheric lateralization” for language may have its evolutionary roots in the gestural communication of our common ancestors. A large majority of the chimpanzees in the study showed a significant bias towards right-handed gestures when communicating, which may reflect a similar dominance of the left hemisphere for communication in chimpanzees as that seen for language functions in humans.

4. Westboro Baptist Church shifts focus from gay-bashing to Jew-bashing – Why do I continue to report the antics of these media whores when I know all they care about is getting attention? Because they are my favorite religion ever. They illustrate what is wrong with religion perfectly and get called lunatics by mainstream religious folks despite the fact that they share nearly identical positions. The only difference between Pat Robertson and the WBC is that says gays are evil on TV before an audience of millions while the WBC has to get creative in order to get their audiences.

The shirts read, "I'm not with stupid."

Yep, everybody’s favorite too-homophobic-to-be-true church is coming to town:

The city school district is preparing for demonstrations by members of a Kansas church protesting the Albany High School performance of “The Laramie Project.”

Westboro Baptist Church members are expected to be at the high school Friday, Nov. 20, before the second performance of the play. The church is led by Fred Phelps, who says homosexuality is to blame for the deaths of soldiers in the war on terror.

Albany students say they were inspired to perform the play, about the life of a college student beaten to death because he was gay, by the church’s protest in Albany last year.

Phelps wasn’t at the protests eight months ago, but members of his Westboro Baptist Church stood outside the school. Five held “God hates fags” signs. They stomped on an American flag. They chanted about dead babies and how America’s lapsed morality was causing the deaths of its soldiers.

Am I the only person who thinks that Fred Phelps is some sort of FBI agent provocateur who’s being paid to make Christians look bad? Westboro’s entire gestalt hews too closely to the stereotypes that insular, atheist, left-wing blue state SWPLs have of God-fearing heartlanders to be believable. Anyone else think Phelps will end up being unmasked as the Hal Turner of American Christianity?

In the last six months, there has been sufficient traffic generated to this blog using Fred Phelps as the keyword search for me to know the public is fascinated by this man’s portrayal of a Christian minister.   It is a mystery to me how the man who believes that the casualties of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 9/11 tragedy, etc. are God’s judgment against the United States has somehow managed to avoid having the wrath of God poured out upon himself.

It all came back to me yesterday when my son stumbled across this video where Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes interviewed Shirley Phelps Roper back in 2006.   If ever atheists wanted to make the case that Christians are all mindless idiots, Shirley provides enough ammunition for their argument.

Anyway, here’s where my thoughts were at six months ago, in case you missed the original post.

Living one country removed, until recently, I have been only superficially aware of the name Fred Phelps. This man, his Westboro Baptist Church, and his crusade just isn’t the sort of thing that makes the evening newscasts here. But when fellow Alltop blogger Jake Bouma had a link to the website I’m about to direct you to, something about it intrigued me.

For those who don’t know, Phelps is a media-grabbing activist protester who preaches a gospel of hate, but does so in the name of Christianity, the faith named after the person who preached a gospel of love.  His approximately 100-member church attracts an inordinate amount of media publicity for the picketing and protesting they do at a variety of religious and civic events.

The above-mentioned website is a paper presented by Nate Phelps, one of Fred’s sons, at — wait for it… — the American Atheists Convention. That shouldn’t come as a big surprise, should it? That being raised in the home of man who is considered an off-the-scale extremist by both Christians and non-Christians alike should cause his children to grow up anything close to ‘normal’ would be the greater surprise.

The paper takes the better part of a half hour to read, but you really should read this. It gives insight into the everyday life of one of America’s most famous religious extremists. And actually, at the end of the day, Nate does seems relatively ‘normal’ after all. At least now he does. I’m just sad that he has had to ditch everything he grew up with to get normal, but I hope he eventually finds his way to what would be — for him — the spiritual middle ground.

Here’s the direct link to Nate’s paper. Take the time to read this.

Personal to Nate: The internet being what it is, if it happens that you’re reading this, let me say on behalf of millions of Christians everywhere that I am so sorry that you had to grow up with this. I’m sorry that you missed out on a childhood and adolescence that could have been so much more beneficial.

I can’t agree with the philosophy you’re now embracing, but I can’t for one minute criticize the process that brought you there. The people you’re interacting with now and things you’re reading now must all seem like a breath of fresh air. I encourage you to continue reading and studying literature from a variety of faith perspectives. It’s too soon to say you’ve now got it all sorted.

Down the road, I hope you’ll admit that your Dad’s take on the Bible and Christ’s teachings wasn’t that different than the way the Pharisees and religious leaders in Jesus’ day often completely missed the point and misinterpreted the Law and Prophets. They were sincere, but they were sincerely wrong. And as a family, you paid a price for that error.

Despite that, as Christ followers we are compelled to love Fred; even if he himself has been less than charitable towards anyone else. And if we love Fred, we certainly love you. You have been hurt, wounded, broken; a true casualty of “religion.” But it is into our hurt, wounds and brokenness that I believe Christ longs to enter, to bring wholeness and healing.

November 2009 update:   Here’s one that may be more difficult for you to wrap your brain around.   What if, at the end of one of the Westboro Baptist protests at a gay/lesbian rally,  a gay person went up to the Westboro people to try to better understand their whole perspective, and that person just happened to be better versed on the big picture of scripture than the Westboro people were?    Well…that’s what you’ll find here at the blog Sinnerview, when you read A Conversation With The Lost.   [HT: Comment left at Girl in A Glass House blog.]

Additional Update:  I no sooner had this posted than we got into a discussion about it over dinner.  It was then that I observed a fundamental difference between Canada, where the Phelps phenomonon would never happen, and the U.S.:

In the United States laws protecting freedom of religion trump any prohibitions against hate speech.  In Canada laws forbidding hate speech trump any protection of freedom of religion.

Topeka’s Westboro Baptist Church, and founder Fred Phelps, are some of the worst bigots out there.  Recall that they picketed Matthew Shepard’s funeral. Well, guess what? They’ve found a way to be even more bigoted.  Says USA Today: “For more than a decade,Westboro Baptist Church has raised a ruckus with the message that God hates gays, posting itself outside government buildings, college campuses and even the funerals of American soldiers. But in recent months, the Topeka, Kan.-based church has been moving toward other targets, predominantly in the American Jewish community.”

Yup, they now think God hates Jews, too. USA Today reports protests with messages like: “Margie Phelps balanced several signs targeting Jews, Israel and the Obama administration. One read ‘Rabbis Rape Kids,’ another said ‘God Hates Jews.’ Margie Phelps’ T-shirt read ‘Jews Killed Jesus.’ She argued with men and women passing by, warning them that God will soon send the Jews to hell.”

So just how do they explain this?

According to Margie Phelps: “We’ve protested this nation’s love of fags for 20 years,” she said. “And Jews have been carrying the water for the homosexual agenda.”

I guess this means I’m their worst fear: a Gay Jew.

Ugh. I seriously wish that I had time to write more on this blog, but high school is high school. And with high school comes homework. By itself, it isn’t bad, but there’s a crapload every night. Alright, I lied. Usually it’s not too bad, two hours at the most. But then I get really lazy, plant my roots in the floor and gaze at the television with an empty look in my eyes. I’m so “great” at managing my time… (Among the other things I wish were but will never happen, I wish that the formatting allowed me to indent every paragraph. I’m anal like that.) Homework does add regularity to life, but regularity makes it boring, especially when the regularly occurring task is so soporific.

Since this post actually needs to be about something and nobody wants or cares to hear me whining on about how bored out of my mind I am, let’s talk about high school. In essence, it is a compulsory educational period, but puberty, hormonal changes, and the natural tendencies of human beings turn it into a rather social and often weird occasion. I go to a predominantly Asian high school, which liquefies any stereotypical high school… uh, stereotypes. The most noticeable difference is the lack of gangs as they are commonly known across the rest of America. As a nerdy and academically strong school, the largest “gang” on campus is Academic Challenge, a club that has nothing to do with any gang-like activities. And then you have our school cheer. I don’t know if this is actually the real cheer, but I’d laugh if it was: “Sine, cosine, cosine, sine, three-point-one-four-one-five-nine! Twenty-four hundred SATs, we’re all taking six APs! Go [insert name of school here.] All of this wonderful nerdiness doesn’t seem to be stopping some of the weirder parts of high school. A lot of the other guys “sag,” a clothing trend characterized by wearing pants or shorts [too] low or [too] loosely. It’s disgusting. Another large portion of the guys think it’s cool to talk with crappy grammar that would make English teachers cry in an attempt to talk like what they think is an African-American way. Very sad. But hey, that’s high school for you.

Well, that was supposed to be the end of the post, but then I went on Yahoo! News and discovered some strange stories that I could ramble on and on about.

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church are a disgrace to organized religion. For some unknown reason, they find it okay to proudly display signs saying unverified assumptions such as "God hates fags!" and other rude messages. This is more proof that radicals that adhere to any religion or system of belief are dangerous.

In other news, some religious idiots from the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas, the Christian version of Islamic suicide bombers, were protesting outside of Sidwell Friends, the private school that the Obama children attend. The protesters were holding signs with rather rude messages, like “The world is doomed!” and “God hates you!” Upon closer examination unclouded by anger at their idiocy, both of these are rather illogical statements completely based on assumption. That will be discussed in a couple sentences. What is really odd is that the school apparently got the children to come out and hold a counterprotest. Why, I wonder, why? Don’t provoke those idiots! It is assumed most that the protest targets not the children, who can’t really do anything other than be brainwashed by radical Christianity, but their parents. But if that’s the case, the crazy Baptists must have terrible problem solving skills. If you want them to hear the message, why not protest closer to them, not their innocent offspring! Westboro has a history of protesting things that are harmless and meaningful at the weirdest and worst possible time. For example, its members protested the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a victim of a anti-homosexual hate crime. They also seem to enjoy the word “fag” and its plural form, which is obvious because they hate gays for some reason or another.

All in all, the Westboro people are strangely satanic and hypocritical for reasons previously discussed in this post about gay hate and Bible-hugging Christians. What’s even worse is that its members raise their children to be just like them! Isn’t that terrible? They probably aren’t even given a choice, being brainwashed from the start like that. But back to how illogical their statements are. “The world is doomed” is based upon serious speculation. When taken literally, it becomes even stupider. Since everything physical eventually comes to an end, so will the Earth. It’s obvious, just like saying, “The sky is blue,” only it requires a little more thought to analyze. The second statement is “God hates you!” Even from a Christian perspective, that’s a bunch of baloney. According to the Christian Bible, which is generally held by them to be true, their god loves everyone unconditionally. (Which is rather strange because the Old Testament of it contains several accounts of the Israelites brutally smiting some other unfortunate population because they didn’t believe in their deity.) And if by some “miracle” their god was capable of hate (another contradiction because their god is supposedly all good), how would some stupid mortals know that a certain individual is frowned upon by something whose existence isn’t even confirmed?

Don’t take me wrong, I find that the Westboro Baptists are downright wrong and morally lopsided, but they do have a right to freedom of speech and expression of religion, and as long as they aren’t breaking the law while they protest, we won’t be seeing any less of them anytime soon. Darn.

-aikü

Westboro Baptist Church, the fringe-of-the-fringe anti-gay group famous for protesting at military funerals and claiming that God is punishing the country for its tolerance of homosexuality, is protesting this morning outside Sidwell Friends, the school attended by Sasha and Malia Obama.

Source:
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/11/westboro-baptist-church-protests-outside-obama-girls-school.php

Hat Tip News One -

Fans Walk Out On Tracy Morgan After Obama Sex Jokes

Fans expecting to see Tracy ­Jordan at Tracy Morgan’s Carnegie Hall performance Friday night got a rude awakening.
The bawdy comedian packed the venerable performance venue with fans expecting his “30 Rock” character’s prime-time humor. But minutes after Morgan started his routine, many walked out in disgust. Some of the controversial jabs he made included a set about the First Family.
“Obama is really changing the White House, because he and Michelle will have the first presidential sex tape out,” he said to a stunned crowd.

Tracey needs to sit down and STFU.

Katt Williams Says He Was Making Movie On Obama When Arrested

Comedian and rapper Katt Williams was released on bond Monday night after he was arrested for breaking into a home and stealing thousands of dollars worth of jewelry and coins.

Williams said he was staying in suburban Atlanta while filming a movie about President Barack Obama.

As Williams emerged from the county jail, he called the alleged burglary “a misunderstanding between me and two stupid detectives.”

Bond had been set at $41,150.

The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported the entertainer was mobbed by about 50 excited fans before departing in a van filled with friends and associates.

Williams, who police say is 38, is charged with burglary and criminal trespassing, according to Coweta County Sheriff’s Officer Maj. James Yarbrough.

Williams, whose real name is Micah S. Katt Williams, is known for his roles in the movies “Friday After Next” and “Norbit.” His comedy DVD, “Katt Williams: Pimpadelic,” was no. 8 in the nation for sales during the week of Oct. 30, according to Nielsen/VideoScan.

Maj. Yarbrough said the Sunday night incident happened at a home in Newnan, about 40 miles southwest of Atlanta. An employee — identified in a police report as Daniel Broach — who works at the estate where the comedian is staying called police around 9 p.m. to report a break-in at a guesthouse on the property.

Williams reportedly had a crowbar when he entered and is accused of taking $3,555 in jewelry and collectable coins.

He said he was staying at producer Barry Hankerson’s Coweta estate while in town filming a movie about President Obama.

The actor told Coweta County Magistrate Judge Joseph Wyatt he was “in the middle of a birthday party” when arrested.

“I’m one of the most honorable people in my profession,” Williams said.

Kat is next in line for one of our Orange Jumpsuit Awards!

I guess now that the race card is passe – some folks are using “the Obama Card”.

Radical Church Stages Protest At Obama Daughters’ School

Westboro Baptist Church, a hate group that travels around the country holding anti-gay rallies, protested outside the school attended by President Obama’s children on Monday morning.

The “church,” run by Fred Phelps and composed largely of his extensive family, is known for staging its events for maximum publicity and controversy. In the past, members have demonstrated outside troops’ funerals. Recently they have been targeting Jewish temples. Now they’re aiming their vitriol at Washington-area schools — including Sidwell Friends, where Malia and Sasha Obama are students.

A message on Westboro’s website refers to the Obama children as “satanic spawn” of a “murderous bastard.” Along with various schools, the church is also protesting outside the White House, the World War II memorial, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission field office.

I would hope the Secret Service is keeping a close watch on these scumbags, I really wouldn’t put it past them to try and harm President Obama’s children.

So, as I was busily fomenting evil by home schooling my child, I ended up having to take a break in order to partake in even further acts of extremism: Telling the Truth. I noticed Andrew Sullivan and David Shuster spreading lies and misinformation regarding the oh-so-odious Westboro Baptist Church and their head, Fred Phelps.

Andrew Sullivan had posted this:

Sasha and Malia: “Satanic Spawn”: The latest loveliness from the crackpot fringes of the Christianist right. … http://bit.ly/2YKYbp

Wrong, Andrew. Fred Phelps is an avowed DEMOCRAT, you liar. Not only did his church endorse Barack Obama, he worked on Al Gore’s campaign and has run for office himself several times — as a DEMOCRAT. He is NOT “christian right.” He is neither right, nor is he Christian. He is a sick psychopath. Sort of like you and your sick fascination with Sarah Palin’s lady parts and her amniotic fluid.  

Read THE FULL STORY by clicking here.

Courtesy of iowntheworld.com

RT @USArmy: …those in ICU are no longer on ventilators and are stable. <— Damn. I was hoping more Fort Hood pussies would die.
about 8 hours ago from UberTwitter

Just once, I'd like the opportunity to spit on a military widow or veteran. Especially the widows at Fort Hood. Bring it. #forthood
about 8 hours ago from UberTwitter

@Burninb They weren't innocent. By virtue of being there, they asked for it, there at Fort Hood. #fthood #forthood
about 9 hours ago from web in reply to Burninb
I have to respect Nidal Hasan (@nidalhasan). I consider the Fort Hood Killer to be an hero. #forthood #fthood. #heroes
about 10 hours ago from UberTwitter

Michael Crook’s Twitter Account

Michael Crook, the anti-American, troop hating, Fred Phelps loving scumbag strikes again. He always sides with scumbags like Lori Drew, Fred Phelps, and Nidal Hasan. He is no better than Al-Qaeda. Michael Crook, Fred Phelps, Nidal Hasan, Lori Drew, Osama bin Laden, and all moonbats deserve each other in the worst layer of Hell, who I really hate. Here is an article I wrote about Michael Crook.

Diabolical Minds-Michael Crook

Logic, n. The art of thinking and reasoning in strict accordance with the limitations and incapacities of the human misunderstanding. -The Devil’s Dictionary

Credit: Sarah Hardy

If A then B. A, so B. Not B, so not A. That’s logic right there. As I study truth tables for my Logic exam tomorrow, I notice that every statement can be broken down into a code of letters and symbols, written onto a chart, and solved. Is my argument good? All I have to do is make a truth table to figure it out.

Great! Now I can use my knowledge of logic to prove to everyone that I’m right about everything in the universe. Ummm…. or not.

Coincidentally, I was walking out of logic class last week when I saw a massive mob in the university quad. A man calling himself “Brother Matt” held up a sign in the quad which read, “God abhors homosexuality. Repent or perish Sodomites.” A camouflage hat on his head and a Bible in hand, he yelled verses loudly enough to echo across the entire campus.

None of his arguments made any sense. For each verse he spouted, I could think of five to dispute it. I was completely livid, but I wasn’t alone in that sentiment. Less than an hour after Brother Matt arrived, the Queer Student Union set up a booth across the quad and blared music promoting peace. A rainbow colored sign that said “Hate Free Zone” covered Brother Matt’s face. People argued and attempted to rationalize with him, but their pleas fell on deaf ears.

They were simply using logic. Protesters came up with beautifully crafted arguments, only to be called “witches who have been using too much meth.” How’s that for ad hominem? I could draw out Brother Matt’s arguments and prove their invalidity, but it would be a waste of time. As the day went on, protesters got more sick of the hate speech and name-calling. They abandoned their own logic, insulting him back. I watched from afar and took notes for a newspaper article on the event.

As I scribbled quotes from Brother Matt next to my truth table notes, I quickly realized how unimportant logic is to today’s society. The chaos of the crowd did much more to deter him than sound arguments. No one really cares that if there’s A, then there’s B. They do care if someone tells them that they’ll burn in hell.

I could tell my logic professor that I didn’t study for the exam because I don’t think logic has any merit in the real world… but that would be begging the question AND appeal to pity (two classic fallacies). I also probably wouldn’t pass the class. Study it is.

-mmbizz

Information about the protest

After seeing shit like this, sometimes I think eugenics would be a good thing.

Also, I tried watching teevee the other night. Every other commercial was about erectile dysfunction or fiber infused food. I’m talking fiber infused sugar, yogurt, water, pills, cheese. EVERYTHING now has fiber in it. What is going on, America? Every man has a broken penis and every woman can’t take a crap? Because that’s the message we’re sending via our media. What will people think sixteen hundred years from now?

This podcast discusses a recent visit of Westboro Baptist Church’s “protesters” to Rutgers University. The issue is whether religious freedom includes the right to encourage hate crimes on the part of those not directly involved in the “protests.” Religious freedom is the phenomenon that allows such groups to develop in a democracy, but the end results of such groups is destructive to the democracy that engendered it. This is compared to the Scientology case that is simultaneously taking place in France and noting the differences between them.

Mike Burstein gets out the word about God’s feelings best of all (via David Fine, found on Filipsagnoli).

Your Thoughts?

Aside from its glossy signs (“GOD HATES FAGS,” “THANK GOD FOR 9/11”) and its sickeningly callous tactics (its parishioners have protested at the funerals of AIDS victims and soldiers who died in Iraq), Westboro Baptist Church is perhaps most famous for prompting creative counter-demonstrations.

Ten years ago, filmmaker Michael Moore and a team of gay friends chased around the church’s founder, Rev. Fred Phelps, in a giant pink bus dubbed the “Sodomobile.” Last March, a group of frat boys at the University of Chicago danced to such queer classics as Donna Summer’s “I’m Coming Out” and Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” during a WBC protest.

And on Friday afternoon, a boisterous crowd of gay-rights activists, open-minded church-goers and high-school students from across the city met half a dozen WBC protestors picketing outside the San Diego High School Educational Complex with signs bearing slogans like “LOVE IS ALL U NEED,” “GOD IS LOVE” and “GOD LOVES FAGS.”

When it comes to hatred, Westboro Baptist Church has it in spades—the organization is anti-gay, anti-Jewish, anti-Catholic, anti-military and probably anti- some other things that observers haven’t yet noticed. The group is so hateful, in fact, that even some of the country’s most intolerant evangelicals have distanced themselves from it: The late Jerry Falwell, well-known for his homophobic remarks, once called Phelps a “first-class nut.”

But that hasn’t dissuaded Phelps and his followers, many of whom are either related to Phelps by blood or through marriage. In fact, this has only encouraged them to focus their ire on rival evangelicals as well: They once condemned Billy Graham as a “Hell-bound false prophet,” and they protested at Falwell’s funeral in 2007.

The Phelps clan has essentially made a business out of their work. Some members, including Phelps’ daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper—who showed up at Friday’s protest in sunglasses and a “Godhatesfags.com” tank top—are trained lawyers who work for the family’s law firm, Phelps-Chartered. They are known to sue aggressive counter-protestors and municipalities that fail to provide for their safety.

On the other hand, these veteran media hounds are able to escape accusations of committing hate speech by putting their hatred into God’s mouth. “We’re not judging anybody. God is,” said Jonah Phelps-Roper, a 12-year-old Westboro member carrying a red-white-and-blue colored sign saying, “ANTICHRIST OBAMA IS DOOMED.”

The Westboro members showed up at the corner of Russ and Park boulevards—one of the first in a series of planned protests at high schools, Jewish centers and churches this weekend—just after 2 p.m., a few minutes before school let out. Posted kitty-corner to the school and often blocked by a throng of cars, their presence was barely registered by many of the students who began pouring out of the campus down Park Blvd. Of course, it helped that crowds of demonstrators espousing universal love filled every other street corner, drowning out the Westboro protests with chanting and drumming on pots and pans.

But it was still a media bonanza over at the Westboro corner. As the police tried to maintain order, photographers snapped pictures, cameras rolled and the Phelps disciples spewed their hyperbolic gospel in interviews. “Homosexuality is an abomination,” Shirley Phelps-Roper told a TV news reporter. “These children have been taught that God is a big, fat, stinking liar—that it is, in fact, OK to be gay. He says you’re going to Hell if you do that. They’ve been taught, ‘No, God is a liar.’”

At lunch earlier that day, many students were dismissive of the group. Westboro could hardly claim to have any fans at San Diego High School, which has its fair share of students who are queer-friendly, or have Roman-Catholic parents or relatives in the military, or all of the above. Lupe Brito, a junior at the School of Media, Visual and Performing Arts, one of the high school’s six “small schools,” had only one thing to say to the Westboro clan: “Get a life.”

But many students had been briefed about the protest in class, and members of the Gay Straight Alliance made their presence known when the protestors came—commandeering the school’s marquee at the corner of Park and Russ and covering it with a giant, hand-painted GSA sign. “They’re just invading our school,” said Jo Gookin, 17, president of the GSA. “This is a place of learning. It shouldn’t be brought here.”

All the same, some teachers considered the event a perfect “teachable moment”—a debate over the boundaries of free speech flaring up just outside the school’s gates. “I think that the students had a very good reaction to hearing about it. A lot of students were just really supportive of tolerance and equality,” said Kara Potter, a math teacher who was standing with the equality crowd. “It brought up a good point for discussion.”

And what was the lesson for ninth grader David Jones? “Let people be who they are. Let them be free to express themselves,” he said. “Who am I to judge you? We’re all humans here.”

Fred Phelps is an ass.  A hateful, vile, waste of space.  There, that’s as angry as I’ll be getting…hopefully.  Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church lunatics (mostly relatives of his) are planning on coming to San Diego within the week to spew forth their despicable ramblings, and thankfully San Diego folks are not going to let it take place without responding.  Mind you, PEACEFUL responses, without engaging these imbeciles who have the audacity to even protest at funerals of military men and women.   (Yes, I will be practicing restraint.  Practice, practice, practice…)

There are some who feel giving Phelps ANY attention is feeding right into the notoriety he so obviously craves, but many of us don’t care to see his hate go unchecked and want to divert attention from him, and toward a more peaceful and positive message.  Which way of responding is the correct one?  Who knows.  All I do know is that I’m sick and tired of seeing hate fill the airwaves, the media, and our lives, and I plan on doing my part to balance it out with positive actions.  If you’d care to join us, just read the information below and sign up.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 3, 2009
Contact:  Ben Cartwright

877-727-5446 x707
ben@sdgln.com

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Westboro Baptist Church Announces 30 Protest Sites in San Diego

(SAN DIEGO)  On October 5, the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) announced it will be protesting a total of 30 sites throughout San Diego County, a drastic increase from the six locations originally announced last weekend.

Founded in 1955 by controversial pastor Fred Phelps, the church is monitored as a hate group. Members of the congregation commonly protest against homosexuality, Judaism and Catholicism.  The group is also anti-Swedish, anti-Irish, and often chastises the United States as being “a sodomite nation of flag-worshiping idolaters”.

Among groups who have been closely monitoring the WBC is the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Founded in 1913 “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all”, the ADL is the nation’s premier civil rights/human relations agency, fighting anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry. They believe the WBC is carrying on this campaign in the hopes of getting reaction from the Jewish community and to garner media attention.

“The purpose of every one of their events is to manipulate the media,” said ADL Regional Director Morris Casuto. “The WBC normally appears in a location to garner publicity for itself and its grotesque and disgusting message.”

While acknowledging the church’s actions may be offensive, the ADL is asking members of the Jewish community to respond by not responding.

“We are recommending for the Jewish community to pay them no mind.  Give them their 30 minutes of useless disgusting protest and let them go back to their obscurity.”

Members of the gay community are taking a different approach.

“It truly is a sad day when the Phelps bandwagon comes to town,” said San Diego Pride Executive Director Ron de Harte. “San Diego Pride encourages those who want to stand up for love, peace and equality to register at http://nohate.sdgln.com.  Organized counter demonstrations will overshadow this hate group’s message with a message of respect, freedom and equality for all people.”

Community activist Sara Beth Brooks, who has taken an active role in helping organize counter rallies, agrees.

“I think organizing peaceful opposition rallies are really important.” Brooks has taken an active role in helping organize those who have expressed an interest counter rallying the WBC protest at San Diego High School.”

The WBC will be protesting San Diego high school because they “think it’s sooooo cool to be fags”.

“We can’t allow this type of discrimination and hate to exist anywhere. We can’t just look the other way and allow Fred Phelps to come into our community and onto school grounds and tell students that God hates them.”

Brooks, who recognizes Phelps is a known “baiter” that oftentimes tries to get counter protesters to fight back, has been taking advance precautions to ensure that participants on both sides remain equanimus.

“I’ve been in contact with the San Diego Police Department as well as the San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice. Both police and peace officers will be monitoring the situation to ensure peace is maintained.”

She has also been corresponding with other faith based organizations to let them know their institutions may be targeted.

“What’s ironic is that while most of these institutions regularly disagree with the LGBT community on a lot of things pertaining to marriage equality and faith issues, they have been very receptive and thankful that we have reached out to them to let them know their place of worship is going to be protested.  This has been an opportunity for us to make some inroads within the faith community.”

The main goal of the counter protests, she notes, is peaceful opposition.

“It is our goal to facilitate peaceful, positive protests that promote love and equality.  It is our goal to promote values which are at the core of our community, and to let our message of love and equality to outshine the WBC’s message of hate.”

Columbine killer’s mom: ‘No inkling’ son suicidal
By KRISTEN WYATT (AP) – 2 days ago

DENVER — The mother of Columbine killer Dylan Klebold says she has been studying suicide in the decade since the high school massacre but had no idea her son was suicidal until she read his journals after his death.

Susan Klebold’s essay in next month’s issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, is the most detailed response yet from any of the parents of Columbine killers Dylan Klebold or Eric Harris. The teenagers killed 12 students and a teacher in the 1999 shooting rampage at Columbine High School in suburban Denver. Twenty-one people were injured before Klebold and Harris killed themselves.

The parents have repeatedly declined to talk about the massacre. They gave depositions in a lawsuit filed by families of the victims, but a judge in 2007 sealed them for 20 years after the lawsuit was settled out of court.

Full Article

The Harrises and Klebolds have been silent since April 20, 1999. Now, Susan Klebold speaks out. Eric Harris is a psychopath, while Dylan Klebold is a conflicted avoidant. I have an extensive article about the Columbine Massacre.

High School Massacre

Harris and Klebold are evil like Fred Phelps, Lori Drew, Gertrude Baniszewski, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Adolf Hitler.