The Rev. Fred Phelps is Finally Dead. Good.

And they say evil never dies. Image from source, Advocate.

Yeah, I've already run a piece on the previously pending death of Topeka's ironically demonic Reverend Fred Phelps, but now that the bastard is dead, I couldn't let the opportunity pass. Phelps has been antagonizing gay people for a very long time, seemingly forever. He and his cultish family church would protest just about anything gay-related, wielding signs carrying slogans that were even over-the-top in the less-enlightened 80s. Emblazoned with words that I refuse to type here (but which are still seen in arch-right-wing armpits of the internet like FreeRepublic.com), Fred and his family were fearless in their disregard and slander of an entire group of Americans.

Remember, this was during some of the worst of the AIDS crisis, so not only was the LGBT community still reeling from that, they then had to go on defense against these hateful people. Called The Westboro Baptist Church (but disowned by actual Baptists), this demented group owned a block of homes and a plain (ugly, really) church in Topeka, Kansas. I drove by it about 10 years ago when on business in the city, and recall the dumpy neighborhood, cramped one-way street, and on the church, a banner that read GodHatesAmerica.com

I have no idea which Phelps this is, but
helloooo, sister! Image from Huffington Post.

See, after the Phelps family got tired of picketing the funerals of AIDS victims, they branched out. America in total was their new target, because of tolerance for abortion (occasionally) and gay people. So, they started protesting at the drop of a hat, barely even trying to tie a logical thread between the protest and the protestee. They'd release extremely low-tech press releases that looked like third- or fourth-generation mimeographs of bad copies of bad faxes. Their website--which, again, I refuse to type--had the look of absolute insanity, but without the artistic flair you'd expect from the insane.

But it wasn't until they started regularly protesting soldiers' funerals that mainstream America stood up and took notice. Suddenly, these vile people were attacking people who "mattered." Even Right Wing World began to call WBC and the Phelpses out for their wicked, hateful behavior. Of course, the right can't help but point out that Fred himself was at least one time a Democrat, which is almost as relevant to his behavior as the fact that he used to fight Jim Crow laws. Both facts actually go counter to his behavior, especially in the past 25 years or so.

But the most important thing is, this nasty fucker is dead. Dead, dead, dead. Oddly, most mainstream gay organizations, blogs and celebrity types are urging calm, respectful, quiet responses, if any. And they're of course free to do whatever they want. But not me. This man didn't deserve respect, reverence, politeness, or anything resembling common courtesy. He's dead. Good.

Here's hoping that his demented family--minus their lighting-rod patriarch--eventually tires of their pointless hate carnival, and the WBC just peters out. Until then, I hold this cult in exactly the same regard that I hold their former leader.

[Excerpt]
 
Westboro Baptist Church Founder Fred Phelps Dead at 84

. . .The 84-year-old preacher and disbarred lawyer built a hateful name for himself by establishing the WBC in the 1950s, and rose to prominence picketing the funerals of people who died of AIDS complications, then gained international attention when the church picketed slain gay college student Matthew Shepard's funeral in 1998. Under the leadership of Phelps, Sr., his children and grandchildren who comprise the vast majority of the church's congregation made a habit of picketing the funerals of military veterans, carrying inflammatory signs with messages like "Thank God for Dead Soldiers," and claiming that the death of American troops was God's punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality. The WBC regularly picketed funerals and events which they believed were sinful, often "thanking God" for natural disasters, violent massacres, and even the attacks on September 11, 2001. . .

Read more at: The Advocate

The Gay Thing: Anti-Gay Laws on the Horizon? It's Getting Ridiculous

News for gay people has been--for lack of a better description--a bit bi-polar of late. Marriage equality is racking up wins left and right, small and large. There are multiple lawsuits against discriminatory state constitutional amendments in multiple states, all seemingly on track to success. Little by little (and sometimes bigger by bigger), the movement is in a really good place.

But the backlash has begun. Well, to be fair, it's been coming since forever, but it's got a new face. A really stupid, really odd, really hateful face. The new line of attack from the religious right is the concept of "religious freedom." Or, rather, the new concept of religious freedom that doesn't track logically, but somehow has found traction in Right Wing World. It goes like this: if you're selling a product or a service, and you're quite religious, you shouldn't have to sell to people who live their lives in a way that contradicts your religion.

Well, it's tighter than that. Specifically, if you're gay, they shouldn't have to accommodate you. Not divorced, or an adulterer, or any of a lengthy list of sins. Just The Gay Thing. The religious freedom of the customer doesn't matter, only the business owner, salesperson, or other employee offering the goods or service. This is--to say the least--a very peculiar and specific definition of religious freedom. And it breaks many current public accommodations laws.

Solution! Make new laws! Carve out exemptions for religious people (read: born again Christians) who don't want to sell stuff to "sinners" (read: gay people). Now, when this sort of thing was done prior to the civil rights awareness of the 1960s, it was called "Jim Crow." But the current crop of anti-gay politicos don't see it that way. And they aren't limiting their ire to participating in "gay marriage." In fact, in several of the cases that have made it to court, there wasn't any legal gay marriage in the states in questions. No, some of these hateful, nasty laws are going even further, into much more serious territory. Like emergency response. Medicine. Surgery.

Yes, these "good Christians" wish to be able to be as mean as they want to this select group of people, and have it codified into law. Does that sound "Christian" to you? It certainly doesn't sound constitutional.

[Excerpt]

Idaho bill would allow doctors or cops to refuse service to LGBT people on religious grounds

An Idaho Republican can’t think of anyone in his state who has been forced to render aid to a gay or lesbian person against their will, and he’d like to keep it that way. Rep. Lynn Luker outlined a proposal Tuesday backed by his conservative Christian allies to shield religious people from the threat of losing their professional licenses for refusing service or employment to anyone they conclude violates their religious beliefs. “This is pre-emptive,” said Luker, a Boise Republican. “The issue is coming, whether it’s 10 years, or 15 years, or two years. . .”

Read more at: Raw Story


[Excerpt]

Anti-gay marriage bill wins Kan. House's approval

Gay-rights advocates lashed out Wednesday at the Kansas House's leading Democrat, saying he showed only tepid opposition to a bill protecting people who, based on their religious beliefs, discriminate against gays and lesbians. Minority Leader Paul Davis, a Lawrence Democrat who's also running for governor, voted against the measure, which the House passed 72-49 on Wednesday, sending it to the state Senate. . .

Read more at: Houston Chronicle

What's the Matter With Kansas?: Birthers Want Obama Removed from Ballot

He's not embarrassed. He should be, but he's not.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. Image from TPM.

There's a lot of ridiculousness in politics these days, but nothing tops the "Birthers." These people have concocted a convoluted set of (sometimes self-contradictory) conspiracy theories about President Barack Obama and his eligibility for the office of president. Some of what they believe is based on very sketchy, old case law about the meaning of "natural born citizen." Some of it is a wholly concocted fantasy, in which Obama's mother traveled to Kenya whilst very pregnant, gave birth there (or elsewhere on the way home or something), and then smuggled little Barry into the country, all the while orchestrating false evidence that he was born in Hawaii. Using the expensive and complicated travel and communications technology available in 1961. All in anticipation that her half-black, half white child with "Hussein" as a middle name would one day run for president and need to have citizenship to do so.

ZOMG! It has layers! I debunked the amateur
analysis of the allegedly "fake" Obama long-form
birth certificate HERE.

Believing such (utterly without evidence) nonsense isn't so hard to understand when you consider the significant overlap of young-earth creationists in this crowd, who believe that all evidence of an old earth is put there by God to test our faith, or the Devil to lead us astray. They're not deep thinkers, and are seemingly eager to believe anything that supports their story, and able to ignore evidence to the contrary. For the record, every single aspect of Birtherism has been debunked, in a very detailed and organized way at ObamaConspiracy.org. If you even have an ounce of doubt, go there, poke around, you'll see what I mean.

The fact that a conspiracy theory has become almost mainstream in Republican politics is a frightening thing. It's something you tolerate in your weird Uncle Rick. It's not something you expect in an elected official. Kansas is not alone in having a prominent birther in office, but they are a state with a lot of embarrassing politics, including creationism in science class. What is it going to take to get these people to see Barack Obama as an ordinary person, and not a statist, Maoist, Marxist, socialist, fascist, communist, Kenyan, Muslim, Black-Identity-Christian, Godless, far-left radical Alinskyite? And do you really still want to tell me this has nothing to do with the fact that he's. . . black?

[Excerpt]

Kansas Goes Birther: State Board Considers Removing Obama From Ballot

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, an informal advisor to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, said on Thursday he and his fellow members of a state board were considering removing President Barack Obama from the Kansas ballot this November. . .

Read more at: Talking Points Memo

President Obama's Still Gives Great Speech

On Tuesday in Kansas, Barack Obama gave one of his best speeches in recent memory. If I didn't know better, I'd think they stole my idea of hiring Aaron Sorkin to write his speeches. It's the kind of thing we've been wanting to hear for a very long time. And when you realize that he's harkening back to some of the very things Teddy Roosevelt--a Republican, remember--was talking about a hundred years ago, you realize how far today's GOP is from its roots.