UK to Phelps: STAY OUT

British "Home Secretary" (a position for which there is no similarity in the US; essentially, Secretary of State for all internal affairs, including immigration, naturalization, police, and citizenship) Jacqui Smith has officially banned Fred Phelps and his cult church family from entering the UK to picket a school play version of the Laramie Project:

A posting on Phelps's companion website God Hates the World this week stated: "God hates England. Your Queen is a whore. You're going to hell."

There was no evidence that the Phelps family, who tour the US spreading their message and have expressed a wish to come to Britain to preach at Speakers' Corner in London, had made arrangements to carry out their threat of picketing the play, but the Home Office said Phelps and other members of his family would be banned from entry if they arrived.

A UK Border Agency spokesman said: "The home secretary has excluded both Fred Phelps and his daughter from the UK. Both these individuals have engaged in unacceptable behaviour by inciting hatred against a number of communities.

"The government has made it clear it opposes extremism in all its forms. We will continue to stop those who want to spread extremism, hatred and violent messages in our communities from coming to our country … regardless of their opinions and beliefs."

Do you get the impression this man is going slowly insane? Do you realize how much it takes to be banned from a country? Please, I was banned from a bar for one night, and I thought my life was over.

Also, I have to wonder: was this just an excuse to be able to go to the UK? I mean, it would suck to be in that family, to have to just travel the country and picket all the time. May Shirley sat there one day and said, "Daddy, I want to see the world! I want to go to England!"

And, in his great love for family, Mr. Phelps looked down and said, "Sure thing, honey, let's just find something to picket first." No, it's not ideal for Shirley, but it was something, and she would get to leave Kansas.

Now, though, she cannot. . . and never will. It's sad really.

I think I just projected way too much.