The word 'deranged' seems suitable.

Their deliberately inflammatory rhetoric has accomplished its goal: their church membership is about 15 people, yet here we are talking about them.

The way Westboro funds itself is to be as noxious as possible and then sue cities and states for violating their right to free speech when people just can't take their nasty rhetoric any longer. The WANT to be shut down so they can sue. That's why some of them go to law school.

Speaking as a pacifist, some people just need a good ass-beating. I mean that all seriousness.

Twisted religious psychosis and unbalanced mentality seem to go hand in hand (chicken meet egg). As long as these kooks are kept at a safe distance there's little we can do.

God Is Everything And God Made Me A Cold Anti-Gay Zealot
http://rectonoverso.wordpress.com/ze-deep-thoughts/#Anti-Gay%20Zealot

There's a crazy person on almost every makor streetcorner...Why do we pay these particular nuts any attention?

These people are insane. And for trashing the President's family, I've got an impecatory prayer for all of them. I wish nothing death, pain and the destruction of they're entire family! I don't care if this makes me sound as crazy as they are. I'm only sorry that Dr. Tiller wasn't available to their moms. We might have been spared from these subhuman pieces of garbage!

Actually, since these pigs will be protesting at Ft Hood tomorrow, I hope that a car backfires prompting a spray of bullets from the military into their crowd of loons!

I am sure Faux News is going to be asking every single GOP congresscritter to criticize Westboro, uhm, not.

Just when I thought people couldn't sink any lower. I'm sick to my stomach...

Westboro Baptist Church Haters = Beckian Teabaggers - Flag Burning - Protesting at Funerals of Dead Americans Troops.

That really is the only difference so far as I can tell.

The poster that the protesters are holding is in error. Obama does in fact eat frog legs, but they are always cooked. Man, they should get their facts straight!

So...what do tolerant people do about intolerant people? Take em out! As Malcom X said, ".....in this day, which we intend to bring into existence By Any Means Necessary". Let's use the same tactics we used against Rev. Butler and the Neo Nazis. Sue them and then take their assets. They won't be able to go anywhere or do anything without money.

Gosh these folks need to seriously get a life. Today's nonsense is just one more evidence of this. But that its a protest of Obama's children's school is not surprising to me. This group haphazardly protests like rapid-fire out of an uzi directing fire at anyone and everyone.

My aunt and uncle live in Topeka, KS where the Phelps family (Westboro Baptist Church)is from. These folks picket churches, regardless of whether they are conservative or liberal on issues of human sexuality. They picketed the largest Catholic Church in Kansas - Most Pure Heart, where my aunt and uncle attend. They picketed my friend's baptist seminary graduation. When I lived in Michigan it was their practice to picket military funerals saying that the war was God's judgment for the US's support of gays and lesbians. The state of Michigan passed a law specifically because of these people that you can't picket funerals.

It is sad really. They have no life and no chances of finding anything to do but picket. They were disfellowshipped from the Southern Baptist Church long, long ago. They live to stir things up. The church is primarily made up of a single family and many of them have legal degrees. I spoke with a friend who was the chief assistant for the Attorney General of Kansas in the early 90s who said they operate always just inside the law and that they were looking for anyway they could to keep them in line and from being a nuisance to everyone else. No one has succeeded yet in keeping them in check.

They are a scourge and a pox on society and have been for a long time.

With a police presence, I would march the children out and gather them around, then when physical contact is made or unacceptable language is heard , have the nuts arrested. I'm sure most reasonable judges would be very sympathetic to deranged assholes shouting crap outside a school.

Odd to attack the children of the one of the few well adjusted first families -- one happy marriage, two loving heterosexual parents, all well-educated and responsible, two lovely and well-loved children -- while spewing loyalty to a party and cause which has given us Larry "Wide-Stance, I like my sex in the airport men's room" Craig, David "I committed adultery with hookers" Vitter, John "My top staffers not only work hard, they f*&k me hard too, and their husbands only mind a little if I pay them" Ensign, Newt "I was blown while still married, and abandoned one of my 3 wives when she was recovering from cancer treatments" Gingrich (actually, never mind, they hate Gingrich too . . . because he's too liberal), and dozens of other Republicans up to their eyeball in scandals that speak volumes to the hyprocrisy in GOP members who invoke family values -- Mike Duvall (CA Assemblyman until the sex with lobbyists scandal resulted in his resignation), Paul Stanley (Former TE state senator until sex with 22 year old intern gave rise to his resignation), Governor Mark Sanford (who hiked the Blue Ridge via repeated a king-sized bed shared with his extramarital lover in Buenos Aires), Dick Armey (who was accused of secually harassing his students), Bob Barr (paid for his 2nd wife's abortion, breached child support obligations to the children of his first two wives), William "I am a gambling addict who wired $1.4 Milllion to pay off gambling losses" Bennett, and on and on teh list goes. I love a good glass house.

their word is different than the Word they purport to espouse.

In Matthew 19:13-15 it says, "Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'
When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there."

but they think it is justified to attack the children and make them evil. they suffer their own little children, as i've personally seen at one of their protests, by having them spew hate and lies about anything and everyone.

they are the modern pharisees...

oh, and they would attack me, as a non-believer, for daring to quote what they believe, but, hey, it's their Word not mine...

Westboro is not fringe. Its views are quite mainstream within the Evangelical community, in fact. They just have the "courage" to say out loud what is said every Sunday in Church.

These people are despicable. And that goes for Randall Terry, too.

These folks are all excellent arguments for birth control

I actually love these people! They unwittingly and fearlessly do good liberal work. I wonder whether they're really a radical gay performance art troupe. they probably wind up liberalizing people more than a lot of liberals do!

At some point (if not already), these people will incite violence or perpetrate it themselves. Here's Morris Dees' 1995 article in TRIAL addressing taking hate groups to court.
http://www.splcenter.org/pdf/static/courtroom_victories.pdf
Marcia

"They believe that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks...are punishment from God for tolerance of homosexuality."

Actually, maybe god blew down WTC Building 7 and kicked that little hole in the Pentagon. Yeah, that's it! Thanks, fucking crazy retards, you solved the mystery. Why didn't the 9/11 whitewash commission think of that?

I hope the MPs shoot every one of them in the head if they really do step foot on base with anything but the highest amount of respect for the people that died. I'll pay for the damn bullets.

Is anyone surprised to see Fred Phelps stalking prepubescent girls?

wasn't this the same group that came to san francisco to protest the funeral of randy shilts? their van pulled up and met a counter-protest 10x as large, so they got back in their van and drove back to who-cares-where-ville.

Why homosexuality, though?

How do we know that God is not punishing us for demon rum? Or pornography? Or not declaring a real war on prostitution? Or creeping legalization of marijuana? Or the unprovoked invasion of Iraq? Or failure to stop genocide in Rwanda? Or what about rock 'n roll? God likes country, but he hates rock 'n roll, right? The Almighty don't boogie! And blues and jazz are the devil's music; isn't he livid over them? Or masturbation? Sex outside of marriage? Why isn't mad that we are destroying the environment? How do we know he's not infuriated that we haven't all converted to Hinduism? Or that we kill animals and eat meat? Anal sex -- I personally find that disgusting; how can we be sure that God is not really steamed about heterosexuals having anal sex? Or petting outside marriage? Or kissing outside marriage?

Surely these people are not saying that petting outside of marriage is okay with God, right? So since they aren't saying that, how can we be sure that petting is not what the Supreme Being is so wound up about?

Stange as it may seem. Phelps claims to be a Democrat and has run for office (but never been elected) in that party's primary in Kansas. He is also a disbarred attorney.

Phelps senior is a GAY MAN! For pete's sake, why doesn't anyone near him start asking his life long friends what - who - he was up to in his youth????
And, rumour has it that his 'grandson' by his daughter, Shirley, is actually his SON!

This guy deserves to be exposed for everything he obviously is!

This family is a viper pit full of lies and its skeleton closet is bursting.

Isn't there a journalist in the area who wants to do a Pulitzer quality story?

sick fucks...die, painfully and slowly.

yea they are sick. but the saddest part is that most of them were brainwashed literally from when they were born, children holding signs and they dont know any better. they believe the sick hate their parents teach them. they should all be gassed to get rid of their group.

Interesting Story.... this is ridiculous. e cigarette