Yo mama's so old, she used to babysit Jesus.Remember those nut jobs who would picket soldiers’ funerals under the premise that they were a result of god’s hatred for homosexuality in the US? Well - they got judged. Harshly.
A grieving father won a nearly $11 million verdict Wednesday against a fundamentalist Kansas church that pickets military funerals out of a belief that the war in Iraq is a punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality.
Albert Snyder of York, Pa., sued the Westboro Baptist Church for unspecified damages after members demonstrated at the March 2006 funeral of his son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq.
The federal jury first awarded $2.9 million in compensatory damages. It returned in the afternoon with its decision to award $6 million in punitive damages for invasion of privacy and $2 million for causing emotional distress.
Snyder’s attorney, Craig Trebilcock, had urged jurors to determine an amount “that says don’t do this in Maryland again. Do not bring your circus of hate to Maryland again.”
The defense said it planned to appeal, and one of the church’s leaders, Shirley Phelps-Roper, said the members would continue to picket military funerals.
What part of that did they not understand? What the hell is their deal? Are they really this delusional? What unmitigated gall. How has no one shot them over this yet. I’m not saying I would approve, but I’d understand. *
* amended from Chris Rock’s joke on OJ
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Yo mama's so stupid she thought hamburger helper came with another personI’ve always wondered how long conservatives in the current administration and Congress can continue to sell big government and divisiveness as part of the MO of God’s party. Michael Gerson came on The Daily Show recently to promote his book Heroic Conservatism: Why Republicans Need to Embrace America’s Ideals (And Why They Deserve to Fail If They Don’t). As a former Bush speechwriter, his thoughts bore no resemblance to the Cheneyan/Rovian Empire that saw dissent as treason (Valerie Plame) and the poor as collateral damage (Katrina disaster).
Of course, as Gerson says, this ain’t no easy fight. Consider what happened earlier this year when another group of conservatives began embracing environmental issues:
Good Lord. Just when you hoped that extremist Christian political leaders might have learned a lesson from last November’s elections, here they come again — nuttier than a pecan forest.
What’s got them jumping out of their shells is all the fuss about global warming. In particular, they are very upset that so many evangelical ministers and churches have become involved in this crucial environmental issue. The evangelical activists see global warming as a violation of the Biblical injunction to provide good stewardship of God’s green Earth, and they are joining with scientists and others to stop the industrial forces causing the Earth to warm. “Creation Care,” they call it.
But, whoa, this gospel-inspired effort does not suit the agenda of such Christian right-wing political operatives as James Dobson, Gary Bauer, Tony Perkins, and Paul Weyrich. So they sent a letter to the National Association of Evangelicals (which represents 30 million churchgoers), demanding that it hush up.
Always in touch with the people. It will be interesting to see the impact that moderates in both parties will have on the election. Maybe they can finally get a capon some of the loud extremists on both side and practicality can reign once again.
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