Apparently not. The Westboro Baptist Church is at it again:
A Kansas church group that planned to demonstrate at the funerals of five Amish girls killed in an attack on their one-room schoolhouse has dropped the picket plans, a reversal that came hours after Pennsylvania’s governor offered the Amish police protection.
Members of the Westboro Baptist Church issued a statement saying a representative will appear on a nationally syndicated radio talk show hosted by Mike Gallagher instead of picketing the funerals.
Gallagher’s website indicated the group was offered an hour of airtime in exchange for dropping the planned demonstration.
In preparation for the demonstration, Governor Ed Rendell said that he appealed to the Topeka, Kansas-based group to allow the Amish to conduct their funerals in privacy.
Members of the church group routinely picket military funerals, saying that American servicemen and women are dying overseas because God is displeased that the United States tolerates homosexuals.
It’s truly disgusting that these lunatics even considered picketing the funerals of children–children!–gunned down by disturbed gunman. Every time that I think Fred Phelps and his disgusting band of hate-filled zealots can’t sink any lower, they do. Worse, to appease them and keep them from intruding on the tragedy these simple people suffered, a nationally syndicated talk show host is giving them airtime. I don’t know who Mike Gallagher is, but I can only hope he gives them hell. (If there are any listeners out there, the WBC representative is scheduled to be on between 10-11 AM EDST.)
And what is the rationale used by the church for intruding on the Amish? Here:
WBC to picket funerals of Pennsylvania school girls killed by a mad man in punishment for Gov. Ed Rendell’s blasphemous sins against the WBC–in religious protest and warning.
And what did Rendell do to deserve this? This:
Gov. Ed Rendell – speaking and acting in his official capacity to bind the State of Pennsylvania – slandered and mocked and ridiculed and condemned Westboro Baptist Church on national Fox TV. Rendell also revealed a conspiracy to employ the State’s police powers to destroy WBC in order to silence WJ3C’s Gospel message. Co-conspirators identified by Rendell included state officials, citizens, lawyers, legislators and media.
I wonder if this part of a new strategy they plan to use: Threaten to picket at highly visible, tragic events unless they get air time on a major radio or TV network. It’s blackmail, pure and simple.
