Monday, April 18, 2005
Topeka held hostage
A City Held Hostage
Homosexual-hater Fred Phelps' lawsuits and heavy-handed tactics have 'bullied into submission' an entire Kansas city
TOPEKA, Kan. …[The police] took reports from people who were battered, harassed, stalked and spat on by the Westboro congregants. They heard about scores of people like the mainstream preacher who was accused by one of Phelps' followers of "drink[ing] anal blood at the altar of the sphincter." Still, Fred Phelps and the police found ways to get along — perhaps a little too well. The city's police chief was asked to resign in 1997 after allegedly instructing his officers never to arrest Phelps or his picketing congregants. The new chief, who had tangled with Phelps earlier, promised to stand up to the man, to end the special treatment. Within months, Phelps and his lawyer-laden church had written up 40 pages of complaints and sued him. To settle the case, the chief promised to never publicly discuss Phelps or deal personally with his church. … WBC members have picketed the funerals of Bill Clinton's mother, Sonny Bono and Frank Sinatra. Even Bob Dole, Jerry Falwell, the Ku Klux Klan, Santa Claus and the 17 sailors killed aboard the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen last October have been attacked as "fags" or "supporters of the fag agenda." …Thanksgiving was established as a "pagan feast" so the Massachusetts governor could "lust after the semi-naked bodies of the Indians he invited." Poet Maya Angelou is the "filthy face of fag evil." …And then there are the lawsuits. Phelps himself is a disbarred attorney who was long known for massive litigation; at one point, he personally had almost 200 lawsuits pending in federal court. Although his congregation includes only about 22 adults, at least 14 of those have law degrees. … Many people have speculated about Phelps' desperate hatred of homosexuals, wondering if he has something to hide.
Fred Phelps should be a key element of any properly-calculated Rapture Index.
More blogs about politics.
