I hope someone pulls a car-fruitmarket like stunt in the near future.



Hecklers harass families of US soldiers killed in Iraq
Mar 12 7:21 AM US/Eastern
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Five women sang and danced as they held up signs saying "thank God for dead soldiers" at the funeral of an army sergeant who was killed by an Iraqi bomb.

For them, it was the perfect way to spread God's word: America was being punished for tolerating homosexuality.

For the hundreds of flag waving bikers who came to this small town in Michigan Saturday to shield the soldier's family, it was disgusting.

"That could be me in that church," said Jackie Sandler whose son Keith is currently serving his second tour of duty in Iraq.

The fringe group of fire and brimstone Baptists from Kansas has been courting controversy for more than 15 years, traveling the country with their hateful signs and slogans.

The Westboro Baptist Church first gained national notoriety when they picked the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a Wyoming student who was murdered in 1998 for being gay.

They have since picketed the funerals of Frank Sinatra and Bill Clinton's mother, celebrated the terrorist attacks of September 11 as an act of God's wrath, and have even targeted Santa Claus and the Ku Klux Klan.

But it was the callousness and cruelty of harassing the grieving families of soldiers at dozens of funerals across the country that has sparked a grassroots movement of bikers determined to drown out the jeers and taunts.

In Flushing, Michigan they turned their leather-clad backs to the five women and held flags and tarps up so that mourners walking past wouldn't see the signs saying "God hates fags," "fag vets" and "America is doomed."

Many found it hard to hide their anger when Margie Phelps, the daughter of Westboro's founder, called out "All this for little old us? Oh, you shouldn't have. I feel so special," before she started singing "the Pope, the Pope, the Pope is on fire. He don't get no water let the heretics burn" in front of a Catholic church.

The glee with which the women hurled insults made John Franklin, 64, sick to his stomach.

"This guy's family deserves a peaceful funeral. It's not right what they're doing," said Franklin, who fought in the Vietnam War. "The only reason they're able to walk around like that is because the veterans fought for their freedom."

While Westboro's congregation remains stable at around 100 people - most of whom are the extended family of founder Fred Phelps - the ranks of the Patriot Guard Riders has swelled to more than 16,000 in just a few months.

The protests come at a time when many Americans think the war in Iraq was a mistake but are anxious to show their support for the troops.

Four states have enacted legislation barring protests at funerals and a dozen more are in the process of introducing bans. But it is unlikely that the bans will stand up to legal challenge.

The group is careful to protest in public spaces and is well aware of its constitutional rights - 11 of Phelps' 13 children are lawyers.

"This nation is poised to trash the first amendment just to stop my preaching," Fred Phelps said in a telephone interview. "I'm kind of honored."

Phelps said he and his congregants are targeting the funerals because God's way of punishing an "evil nation" of "fags and fag enablers" is to "pick off its children."

"I don't have any sympathy for these parents. They're all going to hell," Phelps said. "The family's in pain because they haven't obeyed the Lord God."

The group is so outrageous that some among the extreme-right have speculated that Phelps is a plant aimed at giving the anti-gay movement a bad name, said Mark Potok, the director of the intelligence project at the Southern Poverty Law Center which tracks hate crimes.

"I don't think they have any constituency beyond their own members - even the Nazis aren't interested," he said.

Phelps' virulence and frequently graphic condemnations of anal sex could mask a deeper issue than a radically literal interpretation of the Bible, Potok speculated.

"This man probably thinks more about gay sex than any other person in the United States of America and one can only guess at what that means," he said. "Many of the most homophobic people are deeply afraid that they might be gay."

That's sad. They should be sent over to Iraq themselves, preferably somewhere on the front line...maybe land mine detection.

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Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon

From the Paul Daily Times...

Five women were found dead today, strangled with their own intestines.

Sources say they were self righteous idiots who did not appreciate the means in which they had come by the freedoms allowed them.

When reached for comment their family members said "good".

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Pxland

2001 Honda Accord

1995 Jeep Cherokee

1973 MB 280SEL 4.5

There sure are A LOT of lunatics in this world...
Now i'm no Bible thumper but isin't there many versus that clearly state not to judge others but judge your own actions, or something like that.
I guess they can ignor that part. If this is what they truely believe, they should just keep it to themselves. I imagine having nothing better to do than traveling around the country pissing people off speaks for itself. For more silly pictures of these "fire and brimstone Baptists from Kansas" please see this link. http://www.godhatesfags.com/photos/thisyear.html

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Current Stable:
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PREVIOUSLY OWNED:83 300SD, 87 420SEL, 88 420SEL, 90 420SEL, 86 560SEL, 86 190E 2.3-16V AMG, 94 E320

If one is known as much by the enemies one keeps as by ones friends, then one could do worse in life than be hated by the God those nuts worship.

What is the sound of one libertarian knee jerking?

Hey, was that from me? I'm famous!

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Pxland

2001 Honda Accord

1995 Jeep Cherokee

1973 MB 280SEL 4.5

Unless you're an alter ego of H2O2 (himself the alter-ego of another entity...) then it didn't originate with you.

B

It is distasteful but it is their right. Kinda like the cartoons

Even though I believe that God DOES hate FAGS, I would never judge anyone nor picket with those hate signs. I am a sinful person and I just couldn't point fingers.

These guys are great- patriotguards.org

It seems that the site is up and down. No doubt getting lots of traffic in the last few days. If you're a rider, not just Harleys, you might be interested in checking your local area.

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-livin' in the terminally flippant zone

Now that the Abortion thing is beat into the ground again..let's hear thought on....

Bloody farkin' unbelievable.

I can't figure it. Some of those fresh faced youngsters, beaming while they're holding up those signs. Lot of room to get lost in one's own head, I reckon.

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Actually, it did originate from him, the "sound of one knee jerking" part anywho.

Bad news Botsenhammer. Zz is an actual person, as am I, with a functioning brain, that is, if'n I can trust my senses.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

WTF are you going on about now?

Sigh.... I do try not to go over your head...

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K