Posted on 07/16/2006 11:48:03 AM PDT by Military family member
As a Baptist, I'd show up at any event where these protestors were going to be near me. As I stood near the police line protecting the protestors...
Me: Look, officer! There's a sight you don't see every day.
Protestor: Owwww!!!
Me:I dunno officer. He just doubled over, clutching his crotch. I think he might be a queer...
The PGR website has been down all day. It will be good to get someones side of the story who was there.
Thanks Star.
FYI -- Most of the Westboro "congregation" are extended family to Phelps....
AND... a large majority of the grown children and/or their spouses are lawyers..... Who work for the church for "free"
Which I surmise is why this hasn't been done... even though most of us would like to see it...
There may be more effective direct tactics...
Like a concerted and prolonged visit to TOPEKA --
With protests on every corner of the "church" property...
Add in a media blitz and other publicity that "outs" the lawyer businesses of these Phelp-istines attorneys in the town... etc.
Yes, the Westboro group does exactly that ... try to draw someone or someone(s) into a confrontation where they can sue and further get the publicity they desire to spread their hate message. The article is incorrect in saying that local law enforcement was not prepared. They most certainly were and their police chief went on the record thru more than one source last week advising people not to get caught in the web. Some people just can't help themselves.
I have a fantasy about a pickup with a holding tank in the bed, and a cannon that shoots liquid pig manure. A quick drive-by soaking would be most satisfying!
jury nullification
Incorporated in 1967 as a not-for-profit organization, the Westboro Baptist Church considers itself an "Old School (or, Primitive)" Baptist Church. The Church is led by the septuagenarian Reverend Fred Waldron Phelps Sr., and many WBC congregants are related to Phelps by blood. His wife, several of his children and dozens of his grandchildren frequent the church.
While WBC has picketed the gay community at hundreds of events nationwide, most of the individuals protested by the Church are not homosexual. In fact, WBC most often targets people it mistakenly claims are gay or those it believes to be encouraging homosexuality. Many WBC fliers emphasize the race or religion of these individuals, suggesting that the Church's hate spreads beyond its abhorrence of homosexuality. WBC congregants believe that "God's hatred is one of His holy attributes." What appears to be anti-gay rhetoric is often a vehicle for WBC's anti-Semitism, hatred of other Christians, and even racism, though in the 1980s Fred Phelps received awards from the Greater Kansas City Chapter of Blacks in Government and the Bonner Springs branch of the NAACP for his work on behalf of Black clients.
Trained as a lawyer, Fred Phelps was disbarred in 1979 by the Kansas Supreme Court, which asserted that he had "little regard for the ethics of his profession." The formal complaint against Phelps charged that he misrepresented the truth in a motion for a new trial in a case he had brought, and that he held the defendant in the case up to "unnecessary public ridicule for which there is no basis in fact." Following his disbarment from Kansas State courts, Phelps continued to practice law in Federal courts. In 1985, nine Federal court judges filed a disciplinary complaint charging him and six of his family members, all attorneys, with making false accusations against them. The Phelpses fought the complaint but lost. In 1989, Fred Phelps agreed to surrender his license to practice law in Federal court in exchange for the Federal judges allowing the other members of his family to continue practicing in Federal court.
In 1991, WBC staged its first public demonstration, targeting a park in Topeka allegedly frequented by gays. Thousands of protests have followed, and WBC shows no sign of slowing down. In addition to speeches on the picket lines, the Church spreads its hateful message via faxed fliers and "News Releases." These faxed documents also appear at WBC's notorious Web site, Godhatesfags.com, along with photos of Church pickets and a schedule of upcoming demonstrations. A second WBC Web site, Godhatesamerica.com, contends that the United States is "doomed" because it supports gays. According to Fred Phelps, "God invented the Internet for us to preach on."
“We don’t strive to change your hearts or minds,” Phelps wrote in a letter to the Capital-Journal. “Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t make you believe the truth.
“Every person who is predestined for hell will remain in darkness.”
Once was the time that Cops would just turn their backs as idiots like Phelp's clan got their just rewards.
Some may not like it, but the hell with thier "freedom of speech." Families freedom to mourn takes precedent in my book.
Some good old fashioned Southern Justice might just be in order for these clowns.
Al Gore claims he invented the Internet.
Fred Phelps worked for the Al Gore campaign in 1988
Does Fred Phelps think Al Gore is God? Does Al Gore think Al Gore is God?
Despite the term ‘Baptist’ in the church’s name, the hate group - made up largely of Phelp’s children, grandchildren and in-laws - is not affiliated with any denomination. Most Christians reject Phelp’s theology and methods:
He moved to Topeka, Kansas, in 1954 where he formed the unaffiliated Westboro Baptist Church in 1956. Phelps earned a law degree in 1961 at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, and worked for several years as a civil rights lawyer. He was disbarred by the state of Kansas in 1979 for improper conduct and lack of legal ethics. Phelps also had political ambitions and twice has run for governor and was a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Kansas in 1992.
Phelps intimidates his opponents by threatening and instituting lawsuits. Politicians in the state of Kansas have been reluctant to confront him. His insistence that the only true Jews are Christians and his attacks on gays horrify mainstream religious leaders. Phelps spends around $250,000 annually traveling around the country fighting gay rights. Phelps also operates a Web site that advances his anti-gay program.
The Phelps family consists of:
* Pastor Fred Phelps: head of Westboro Baptist Church
* Marge Phelps, wife of Fred and mother of their 13 children. The children are listed as follows, from oldest to youngest.
* Fred Phelps Jr., staff lawyer at the Kansas Department of Corrections
* Mark Phelps, businessman in Southern California, estranged from the family
* Katherine Phelps-Griffin, law license was indefinitely suspended effective in August 1993 for 30 counts of giving worthless checks
* Margie Phelps, director of re-entry for the Kansas Department of Corrections and a lawyer
* Shirley Phelps-Roper, lawyer at Phelps-Chartered
* Nate Phelps, businessman in Southern California, estranged from family
* Jonathan Phelps, lawyer at Phelps-Chartered
* Rebekah Phelps-Davis, lawyer at Phelps-Chartered
* Elizabeth Phelps, lawyer, no longer in practice
* Tim Phelps, lawyer and employee of the Shawnee County Jail
* Dortha Bird (nee Phelps), lawyer practicing independently in Topeka, estranged from family
* Rachel Phelps, lawyer at Phelps-Chartered
* Abigail Phelps, works for the Topeka Juvenile Correctional Facility, part of the Juvenile Justice Authority
* 54 grandchildren
* Five great-grandchildren
- Source: The Phelps Family, Witchita Eagle, Apr. 2, 2005.
Phelps-Chartered, Attorneys At Law. We are a full service, client-oriented law firm serving the state of Kansas.
http://www.phelpschartered.com/FirmHistory.htm
Fred W. Phelps, Sr. retired from practicing law in 1987. Eleven of his thirteen children hold law degrees
Yep! I'm sure he'll be suing the Huntington Police Department for failing to protect him. I wish I could sit on that jury.
" In 1985, nine Federal court judges filed a disciplinary complaint charging him and six of his family members, all attorneys, with making false accusations against them. The Phelpses fought the complaint but lost. In 1989, Fred Phelps agreed to surrender his license to practice law in Federal court in exchange for the Federal judges allowing the other members of his family to continue practicing in Federal court. "
I wonder if there was anything else Phelps agreed to, other than giving up his own license, in order for his family to be able to continue practicing in Federal court? I would hate to see his family members lose their licenses and unable to defend themselves ;)
Agreed!! The article doesn't make it clear whether the two counter protestors were PGR or not. I know from experience that we are instructed to NOT engage the moonbats when we are with PGR, so I'd almost assume that these were other folks, not PGR. In any case, I don't blame them a bit for wanting to deck these idiots.
I had a Logic class like that many years ago. I hated it. NO common sense at all!
Phelps claims his political roots lie in the Democratic Party, having run for office in Kansas five times and previously supported Democrat Al Gore in 1988 and 1992.
In the 1980s prior to Phelps protesting at funerals,[18] the Phelps family were supporters of then-senator Al Gore's Presidential aspirations. The basement of Fred Phelps Jr.'s law office supposedly acted as Gore's Kansas campaign office, and the Phelps hosted a fundraiser. Numerous photos exist on the Internet of Fred Phelps Jr. and his second wife, Betty Phelps-Schurle, posing with Al and Tipper Gore. Phelps Jr. also served as a Gore delegate on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta in 1988. [22]
During Bill Clinton's presidential campaign, Fred Phelps Jr. and members of Westboro campaigned for Gore, though simultaneously attacking Hillary Clinton. In January 1993, Fred Phelps Jr. and Betty Phelps-Schurle were invited to the inaugural ball in Washington, D.C.[23]
Phelps was first arrested in 1951 and found guilty of misdemeanor battery after attacking a Pasadena police officer. He has since been arrested for assault, battery, threats, trespassing, disorderly conduct, contempt of court, and several other charges; each time, he (along with Westboro and its other members) has filed suit against the city, the police, and the arresting officers. Though he has been able to avoid prison time, he has been convicted more than once: [33] [23] [34]
Phelps' 1993 convictions stemmed from a raid on the offices of his family's lawfirm, "Phelps Chartered," in which $37,000 worth of equipment was seized as evidence. Phelps later sued the city of Topeka for seizing the equipment and won $43,000 in damages. By the time an appeals court overturned the ruling, the statute of limitations had expired and Phelps was allowed to keep the money.
Phelps' 1995 conviction for assault and battery carried a five-year prison sentence, with a mandatory 18 months to be served before he became eligible for parole. Phelps fought to be allowed to remain free until his appeals process went through. Days away from being arrested and sent to prison, a judge ruled that Phelps had been denied a speedy trial and that he was not required to serve any time. [23] [34]
In December 1996, in the wake of Fred Phelps' assault and battery conviction, two Topeka police officers came forward claiming that then-police chief Beavers had, in 1993, enacted a "no-arrest" policy that actively ignored complaints against Phelps and WBC members unless they were blatantly physically violent and/or witnessed by several persons. Beavers was quoted as saying:
The Phelpses are not going to live in my house. Don't these officers know the Phelpses can sue us and take our houses? Commander, do you understand my order?
An investigation was launched by the City of Topeka and the Topeka Sheriff's department in 1996. It was determined that Chief Beavers had been allowing Phelps and WBC protestors to commit crimes without arrest, and that Phelps and WBC members had taken advantage of their knowledge of the policy by becoming more abusive towards Topeka citizens; in following years, Topeka citizens formed a loose support group on the Topeka Capital-Journal message board recalling abuse they had suffered from Westboro members during this period, which included threats of sexual assault to women and children; some claimed that they had caught members of Westboro going through their garbage looking for personal information to use against them. Following the findings of the city and Sheriff's office, Beavers was asked to resign, and his successor immediately repealed the "no arrest" policy.
******
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/images/20001025_xnjdo_FrdBtyGorTip.jpg
ELECTION 2000
Gore sought help from anti-homosexual group
'God hates fags' creator preaches 'hate because the Bible preaches hate'
Posted: October 25, 2000
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Jon E. Dougherty
© 2000 WorldNetDaily.com
A Kansas-based Baptist church led by a vehemently anti-homosexual pastor was once sought out by then-Sen. Al Gore, Jr. in his Democratic bid for the presidency in 1988, according to group leaders who at one time even worked for the Gore effort in Kansas.
Fred Phelps, Sr., pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., and creator of the notorious "God Hates Fags" website, said that when Gore was running for president 12 years ago, he enlisted "members of the Westboro Baptist Church to help run his 1988 campaign in Kansas."
In fact, Fred Phelps, Jr. [son of Westboro pastor Fred Phelps, Sr.] was one of his delegates," he said.
Also, in 1989 Phelps claims to have held a fundraiser at his home for Gore, attended by an estimated 500 people and "considered a success by any political standards."
So grateful for that support was Gore, said Phelps, that four years later, in 1992, Phelps was provided tickets to the inauguration of President Clinton. He was also sent tickets to the 1996 inauguration, he said.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/images/20001025_xnjdo_FredGoreFiny.jpg
Dag Vega, a spokesman for the Gore campaign, responded to Phelps' claims by saying, "We are not dignifying those stories with a response." But he did not deny any past association between Gore, Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/images/20001025_xnjdo_FredTimGore1.jpg
http://tinyurl.com/g4cmf
He was a Civil Rights lawyer representing African-Americans in discrimination lawsuits. He ran for office as a Democrat. Now he's the "God Hates Fags" guy. What a strange, strange man.
Preface it with "I believe"
That way it is an opinion, not something that can be considered libelous
I'm not even sure that works by logic class standards.... I'm just having fun.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
