Fred Phelps' Clan in Cincinnati Tomorrow?

Thanks to Ryan M. over at Slouching Towards Manhattan for the phone call about this one.

From the "Upcoming Picket Schedule" on Fred Phelps' and the Westboro Baptist Church's GodHatesFags website, there's a plan to be in Cincinnati... tomorrow morning. Shut up!!!

This is what it says about a possible picket tomorrow morning at 8:15am:

Plum Street Temple - Jews Killed Jesus female rabbi is curse 720 Plum Street We will be at your little celebration to remind you all of a few things which you have forgotten. Here is the face of God's curses, and manifest evidence that God Hates You - you are going to have the first black female rabbi. Like as if that is an accomplishment. The opposite is the truth, and the prophet Isaiah had the same thing happening around him in his day, check it out: Isaiah 3:9 The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves. 10 Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. 11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him. 12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. 13 The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people. 14 The LORD will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. 15 What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord GOD of hosts. Also, if you believe that by having the face of this evil woman as your representative before the Beast Obama, he will spare you from his soon-to-be-announced attack on all things Jew and Israel - think again. He is the one who will destroy your people, and will be happy about it. Satan is still angry over the fact that God made a covenant with your ancestors - just like you are angry that God has made a new covenant with the Gentiles. Difference is, God is going to let Obama have his way with you as proper punishment for never having repented for killing Jesus. Wow, you all are in big trouble on every side! AMEN!

Jesus (no pun intended) -- does this mean we have to put up with them tomorrow morning? Gr. Ryan says he's tried to follow up, but cannot confirm their attendance here in the Queen City.

If you aren't aware, Hebrew Union College will ordain (is that the word) the first ever black female rabbi -- and she's convert! It's like a great bit of progressive action for Reform Judaism. It's an amazing story to read about. But, apparently, Fred and friends have a serious problem with this... which is funny because I don't understand how they have anything to do with Judaism except some not-so-subtle anti-Semitism. Why would this matter to them? 

Westboro Goes After the Jews

Why would Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church go after the Jews after all these years of just attacking LGBT folks... oh, and dead soldiers. Fred's daughter explains:

While picketing outside the Washington office of the Anti-Defamation League last Friday, Phelps' daughter Margie told JTA that the group is now focusing on the Jewish community because church members have been “testifying” to gentiles for 19 years that “America is doomed” and they haven't gotten the message.

“Now it's too late," she said. "We're done with them.”

Margie Phelps added, “one of the loudest voices” in favor of homosexuality and abortion is “the Jews, especially the rabbis.”

“They claim to be God's chosen people,” she said. “Do you think that God is going to wink at that forever?”

I'm sure God has a lot to say on the subject, Maggie, but I don't think you're going to like it one bit. And since when do you get to decide who's in and out? "We're done with them?" Oh, ok, very scary.

I was really hoping there would be a GodHatesRabbis.com site up... there's not :-(. I'm looking forward to some good old fashion anti-Semitic propaganda to fill my day.

Nate Phelps Speaks!

Nate Phelps, Fred's estranged son, spoke on April 11th to the American Atheist Convention in Georgia. He speaks about his life growing up as a Phelps, as well as his own personal struggle with god and spirituality due to the harshness of Fred's theology. It is an amazing testimony and worth the time it takes to peruse through it:

We learned that every thought and deed was laced with moral implications, that every decision was a decision for or against god’s will. If a judge ruled against one of my father’s clients, his raging eventually and inevitably became a righteous rant about the judge defying god, and attacking his people. Our father explained to us over and over about how our hearts were deceitful and desperately wicked. Our education about the world was profoundly colored by this fundamental assumption. One of my earliest doubts about our faith rose from the question that if, in fact, the Adamic race is so thoroughly cursed with this moral corruption, how is it that we so willingly turn to the writings of corrupt men to find our salvation?

Many Sunday sermons were spent poring over the nuances of Old Testament stories where Yahweh had brought his people to the point of despair then delivered their enemies into their hands with some violent, miraculous intervention. While it was clear that god was unyielding toward his enemies, it was equally clear that he seemed quite willing and even eager to violently strike down his appointed ones at the slightest provocation...

[After coming home to find his mother crying and her hair crudely cut...]
In my father’s world, obscure standards and requirements that he dug out of the Bible were far more important than improving one’s character, or demonstrating kindness towards others. When he took those blades to my mother’s head, he was making a powerful assertion that he had absolute control over her very salvation. So ingrained were these beliefs that I remember fearing that, by cutting her hair, my father had condemned her to eternal damnation.

Thanks to JereKeys for the heads up on this one.

And for people that are following, make sure you keep up to date on Belly of the Beast -- Gossip-Boy.com's expose of the growing movement surrounding, of all people, Anita-freakin-Bryant. The newest section is late is due out any day now.

Phelps-A-Thon

Now this is what I call a protest!

Seems a couple of upstarts got it into their heads to start using Fred Phelps to raise money for LGBT causes. How you may ask? Simple! Get pledges for every minute that Fred Phelps preaches!!!!!! It's so brilliant I wish I'd thought of it myself. The whole shebang, for now, is being organized to raise money for Driving Equality, the ambitious 16,000 mile bike trek being undertaken for the sake of LGBT equality this summer. (Unfortunately, it will not be coming to Cincinnati -- how does everyone heading down to Lexington sound this summer, though? You can also donate on the website, they are about 40% of the way to their goal of $25,000.)

It's called the Phelps-A-Thon -- and it might be coming to a town near you soon!

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.