Westboro Baptist Church

[knapplc]

You're a biblical man. Go read I Kings 18 about Elijah and the priests of Baal. Read Mark 11 about Jesus and the money changers. Read Matthew 10 where Jesus sends His disciples out into the world. There's no wisdom in holding on to false hope.

 

 

That just seems like righteous indignation on the part of Jesus, which I absolutely have towards the members of that "church". However, the fact still remains that we are to love everyone, and I have tried figuring out exactly how to do that in life, and the best answer I have come up with for myself is to wish, hope and pray for others to lead great lives, and if the opportunity presents itself, to encourage it.

 

Sorry for taking this topic off-track a bit guys.

 

What's amusing about this is that to a degree you're doing what WBC folks are doing. You say that with love and compassion you think you can turn them around, yet you've been presented with reasoned arguments and biblical examples where certain people have been written off by God due to their recalcitrance, yet you refuse to budge from your stance. You are your own best example of how certain people simply cannot be dissuaded.

[Enhance]

I think there's a certain point to that; if they're just ignored they'll feel haughty and superior, bold crusaders among a sea of vermin.

 

Plus, I think a little man-to-man (or woman-to-woman) smooching could go a long way!

 

It doesn't go as far as you would think. I know a guy who tried this drove by one of tgheir protests, yelled to get their attention and kissed his buddy on the cheak. The protesters than followed them untill they through a cup out the windowm. WBC filmed it and a week later he was given a ticket for littering. (The story is second hand but I fully believe it)

These people are very good at what they do.

 

Not only do they record any counter-protesters, but they also know the first amendment like the back of their hand. They will do anything and everything to get their message out, stay within the law, and act the "victim".

[zoogs]

I was talking more like, coming on to one of them. Maybe they'll like it.

 

It's sad that people so intelligent are so despicable. And, stupid.

[Vuren]

One family of a deceased soldier actually sued the WBC for picketing their son's funeral. They won the case and earned 11 million dollars, yet the 4th circuit court of appeals overturned the ruling, stating that the WBC had every right to picket wherever they wanted as long as they followed 1st Amendment guidelines as well as state and local guidelines.

 

These people are masters of the 1st Amendment. They know it like the back of their hand. They will do everything they can to protest and picket within the rights of the law, without actually breaking any laws. They will picket a funeral, but they'll do it from a public area or some place that is in fact "legal".

First watch the BBC ((believe lou therez)http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=38B55803C2FEDFAB) report on them, google video had it up. Also Keith Allen(british comedian, father of the musician lily allen who they will insult during the show) did a good documentry where he talked to a lawrence journalism student, a bunch of the local churches, and talk show hosts(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt1kN6hzabc).

 

second, what do you expect from a family that is a bunch of lawyers? hell fred phelps is an ex lawyer(dis barred due to witness intimidation i believe).

 

3rd, the comparisons to hitler are striking, watch either of the documenterys and you will see them.

 

4th, Fred Phelps is an ex ACLU lawyer, who took down most of the Jim Crow laws in kansas.

 

5th look at the abuse he has commited against his children and grand children(i believe 3-4 of his children have left the parrish)

 

and if i'm not mistaken the first admendment does not cover hate speech.

 

my personal opinion, i wish they'd pull this crap in eustis nebraska or my buddies home town, the cops would help us hide the bodies.

 

also shirly's eldest daughter? totally tap able if you'd gag her.

 

Edit: put in video links.

 

NOTE: Keith Allens special will have some langauge and nudity(very brief and just making a pointed joke at them)

[Vuren]

Treating them with love and respect would work even better than ignoring them I feel.

 

You really, really don't get these people if you think this is true.

he doesn't the only way you stop them is with a .50 cal bullet inbetween the eyes. i am not advocating anyone does that, i'm just saying the only way they will stop is when they are 6 cold cold cold feet down in the ground.

[sarge87]

I could care less what they are for or against, but there is no excuse whatsoever for their protesting at funerals. None, nada, zilch.

 

These morons are a good example of what happens when these right wing kooks start taking the BS that they spew too seriously. Personally, I'd like to see them all locked in their "church" as it's burnt to the ground. Freedom of speech should not apply when you are talking about making a scene at someone's f'ing funeral-let alone someone who died fighting for their country(regardless of how stupid the particular war may be).

 

All it would take is one sniper to turn the head of this Phelps a-hole who runs the place into an exploding watermelon. How it has never happened is beyond me.

Uhhhh.....Fred Phelps Sr. is a registered Democrat as well as the rest of his family.

 

Phelps has been an active contributor to the Democratic Party. In fact, Phelps was an active supporter of Al Gore for President. His son Fred Phelps Jr., was a Democratic party delegate for Al Gore for President and hosted a fundraiser for Gore's Senate campaign at his home. Phelps Sr. has run numerous times in the Democratic primaries for Kansas Governor, once receiving 31% of the primary vote in 1992. I do find it somewhat amusing 1/3 of Kansas Democrats voted for the bigot. Because of their years as loyal Democrats, the Phelpses have even been invited to and attended both of Clinton's inaugurations.

 

The ironic part is Phelps Sr. used to be a civil rights attorney who fought against Jim Crow laws in the 60's. Disbarred in 1979 for abuse of a client, Phelps later opened shop as a Baptist minister coming to media infamy during the murder trial of Matthew Shepard.

 

Although its members--mostly all Phelps' relatives--identify themselves as Baptists, the church is not affiliated with any known Baptist conventions or associations.

 

The WBC's rhetoric matches 60's radicals and Code Pink groups who spit on our troops coming back from war.

<----Gotta luv those Code Pinkos.

 

Actually, Phelps' bigotry puts him more in line with President Obama's former Pastor, the one Reverend Jeremiah Wright with his anti-American and anti-Semitic rants.

[Vuren]

I could care less what they are for or against, but there is no excuse whatsoever for their protesting at funerals. None, nada, zilch.

 

These morons are a good example of what happens when these right wing kooks start taking the BS that they spew too seriously. Personally, I'd like to see them all locked in their "church" as it's burnt to the ground. Freedom of speech should not apply when you are talking about making a scene at someone's f'ing funeral-let alone someone who died fighting for their country(regardless of how stupid the particular war may be).

 

All it would take is one sniper to turn the head of this Phelps a-hole who runs the place into an exploding watermelon. How it has never happened is beyond me.

Uhhhh.....Fred Phelps Sr. is a registered Democrat as well as the rest of his family.

 

Phelps has been an active contributor to the Democratic Party. In fact, Phelps was an active supporter of Al Gore for President. His son Fred Phelps Jr., was a Democratic party delegate for Al Gore for President and hosted a fundraiser for Gore's Senate campaign at his home. Phelps Sr. has run numerous times in the Democratic primaries for Kansas Governor, once receiving 31% of the primary vote in 1992. I do find it somewhat amusing 1/3 of Kansas Democrats voted for the bigot. Because of their years as loyal Democrats, the Phelpses have even been invited to and attended both of Clinton's inaugurations.

 

The ironic part is Phelps Sr. used to be a civil rights attorney who fought against Jim Crow laws in the 60's. Disbarred in 1979 for abuse of a client, Phelps later opened shop as a Baptist minister coming to media infamy during the murder trial of Matthew Shepard.

 

Although its members--mostly all Phelps' relatives--identify themselves as Baptists, the church is not affiliated with any known Baptist conventions or associations.

 

The WBC's rhetoric matches 60's radicals and Code Pink groups who spit on our troops coming back from war.

<----Gotta luv those Code Pinkos.

 

Actually, Phelps' bigotry puts him more in line with President Obama's former Pastor, the one Reverend Jeremiah Wright with his anti-American and anti-Semitic rants.

i just want to tack on, i can't remember which, but one of his sons talks about how on christmas one day he was hit over 100 times with a rod(until he was unconscious) for "all the transgressions i didn't catch". The family members who have left(mostly the children) speculate that Phelps actually is a rageaholic, and feeds off the hate. and there is a notion to that when you take it all in context. oh also if anyone wants to see a funny thing, look up the michale morre stuff he does with fred phelps, particulary the soddom mobile, that he takes to protest fred phelps.

 

oh right, phelps is also a bandwagon fan(in the early 90's he wore KU gear, in the mid 90's to early 2000's he wore KSU gear, while in lincoln for the vatech game he was again wearing KU gear.

[huKSer]

They're going to be here in about a week. I should probably lock myself up the night that they are in town (but there is a pretty good counter protest building)

It saddens me that there will be a counter protest. That is exactly what the Westboro Baptist Church wants. The quickest way to anger them/shut them up would be for everyone to totally ignore them. No media coverage . . . no crowd watching their antics . . . nothing. If everyone went about their business like the WBC people weren't even there they'd probably feel like they wasted their time.

What one group did around KC was when WBC came out to protest, the counter-protest across the street was a fund raising for gay rights groups. They got something like $5000 to $10000, and the organizer thanked WBC for helping raise the funds.

[74Hunter]

I could care less what they are for or against, but there is no excuse whatsoever for their protesting at funerals. None, nada, zilch.

 

These morons are a good example of what happens when these right wing kooks start taking the BS that they spew too seriously. Personally, I'd like to see them all locked in their "church" as it's burnt to the ground. Freedom of speech should not apply when you are talking about making a scene at someone's f'ing funeral-let alone someone who died fighting for their country(regardless of how stupid the particular war may be).

 

All it would take is one sniper to turn the head of this Phelps a-hole who runs the place into an exploding watermelon. How it has never happened is beyond me.

Uhhhh.....Fred Phelps Sr. is a registered Democrat as well as the rest of his family.

 

Phelps has been an active contributor to the Democratic Party. In fact, Phelps was an active supporter of Al Gore for President. His son Fred Phelps Jr., was a Democratic party delegate for Al Gore for President and hosted a fundraiser for Gore's Senate campaign at his home. Phelps Sr. has run numerous times in the Democratic primaries for Kansas Governor, once receiving 31% of the primary vote in 1992. I do find it somewhat amusing 1/3 of Kansas Democrats voted for the bigot. Because of their years as loyal Democrats, the Phelpses have even been invited to and attended both of Clinton's inaugurations.

 

The ironic part is Phelps Sr. used to be a civil rights attorney who fought against Jim Crow laws in the 60's. Disbarred in 1979 for abuse of a client, Phelps later opened shop as a Baptist minister coming to media infamy during the murder trial of Matthew Shepard.

 

Although its members--mostly all Phelps' relatives--identify themselves as Baptists, the church is not affiliated with any known Baptist conventions or associations.

 

The WBC's rhetoric matches 60's radicals and Code Pink groups who spit on our troops coming back from war.

<----Gotta luv those Code Pinkos.

 

Actually, Phelps' bigotry puts him more in line with President Obama's former Pastor, the one Reverend Jeremiah Wright with his anti-American and anti-Semitic rants.

If any group "deserves" to have their 1st Amendment revoked, its this group of bottom feeding pieces of whale excrement, but I think that they do have the right to make themselves out to be the utter disgusting asses that they are.

 

I find it ironic how the media likes to portray them as "right wing" when they are not, and people believe it. On that topic, how did the right wing become supposedly racist? Was it not a Republican President who ended slavery, much to the chagrin of the left wing?

[Chucktown Husker]

They were here last week. They brought a whoppin 3 adults and a 7 year old to protest at the Charleston Air Force Base.

 

LINK

[sarge87]

I thought this would happen and it did. The Snyder family had their decision overturned last Monday by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Snyders have been ordered to pay the Phelps' legal costs. However, the Supreme Court has decided to hear the case this fall.

 

In a story related....

 

O'Reilly Pays Legal Bill for Fallen Marine's Father

Tuesday, 30 Mar 2010 08:19 PM

 

By: David A. Patten

 

No. 1 cable news host Bill O'Reilly said Tuesday that he will personally write a check to cover $16,500 in legal costs for the father of a fallen U.S. Marine who sued the members of a church who picketed his son's funeral.

 

According to news reports, the members of the Westboro Baptist Church, located in Topeka, Kan., believe that God is punishing the United States because of its acceptance of gay people. The church garners attention for its views by protesting high-profile funerals.

 

On March 3, 2006, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder died in a non-combat related vehicle accident in Al Anbar province in Iraq.

 

"He was a hero and he was the love of my life," said Albert Snyder, Matthew's grieving father.

 

During the wake that was held after his son's funeral, family members turned on the television to view coverage of the massive procession involving over 1,500 persons. They saw the church members waving signs and protesting the funeral.

 

"I just stood there in shock," Albert Snyder told O'Reilly in November 2007.

 

"I couldn't believe that somebody would do that to somebody else. I mean, I didn't know what to say.

 

"Finally, somebody yelled, 'Turn off the television.' But I just stood there in shock. I can't believe there's somebody that would actually do that to soldiers."

 

Albert Snyder filed a federal lawsuit against the church, and a jury awarded him nearly $11 million dollars for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. But the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the verdict on the grounds that the church's First Amendment right to free expression must be protected.

 

Adding insult to injury, the court also ruled that Snyder would have to pay $16,500 to church members, to defray what they spent to defend themselves in court.

 

It was a tough blow for the father, who was already trying to raise the funds needed to appeal the Court of Appeals verdict to the U.S. Supreme Court.

On Tuesday's The O'Reilly Factor, however, the host stepped forward.

 

"That is an outrage," he said. "I will pay Mr. Snyder's obligation. I am not going to let this injustice stand."

 

O'Reilly added, "It's obvious they were disturbing the peace by disrupting the funeral. They should have been arrested, but our system is so screwed up, so screwed up, that loons are allowed to run wild. Snyder is fighting the good fight, and he is taking his case to the Supreme Court as he should. We are behind him 100 percent."

 

Snyder's attorney, Sean Summers, says people can contribute to a legal fund established at MatthewSnyder.org. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear Snyder's appeal during its October term, with a verdict likely to be announced in mid-2011.

 

[zoogs]

In looking this over, I think maybe the decision the courts made was the correct one. As wrong and disgusting and despicable as what those guys did was, that doesn't necessarily mean that the lawsuit filed against them was valid. But I can understand why Mr Snyder filed the lawsuit too - it's just tough, because you WANT to do something, but legally, what can you do? Even against such disgusting behavior. It's unfortunate, but I'm GLAD that Bill O'Reilly is stepping up to the plate to help the family cover the costs. Mistake though the lawsuit filing may have been, they do not deserve this.

 

I mean, you can't have laws that force people to a certain standard of decency, right? There must be some other recourse for this that these poor families can take. Restraining orders?

[knapplc]

These people want to be martyrs:

 

Both Phelps and Snyder's attorney said they were surprised that the 4th District chose to weigh in on the issue of legal costs when they could have waited until after the Supreme Court hearing.

 

Phelps believes the ruling bodes well for her side.

 

"It is a good harbinger of the fact that the Supreme Court will remind this nation that you don't have mob rule. The fact that so many people hate these words does not mean you can silence or penalize them. That's supposed to be the great liberty that we congratulate ourselves on protecting in this nation. We strut all around the world forcing people to give all the liberties we supposedly have," she said.

 

Phelps anticipated that a Supreme Court ruling in the church's favor would be unpopular, but she said Westboro's members viewed the potential outcome in Biblical terms.

 

"When the Supreme Court unanimously upholds the 4th Circuit, it's going to put this country in a rage, and we will be expelled," she said. "But whenever it was time for an epic event in the Bible, the thing that happened right before is the prophets were removed from the land, and that's what's going to happen to us. ... We're going to sprint to the end of this race."

[mmmtodd]

i dont even have the words.

[RockyMountainOySker]

I don't think I've ever been more pissed off after reading something like this before. Those people deserve to die a slow and very painful death. Unbelievable.