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Flags will be lowered in New Jersey Saturday, the day of Whitney Houston’s funeral. But a Marine mom in Arlington says it’s an honor Houston doesn’t deserve. When Phyllis McGeath heard Gov. Chris Christie had ordered flags lowered to half-staff for Houston, she said she felt a pain deep inside her. “I was hurt and offended. Disappointed. Saddened,” she said. “I felt like the honor that was given to my son was tarnished.” McGeath had three sons who were active duty Marines. Her oldest, Philip, was killed by a suicide bomber just four weeks ago in Afghanistan. He was 25.

The Westboro Baptist Church, which has gained infamy for protesting at the funerals of men and women killed in combat, will have a new target on Saturday: the services for two little boys slain by their father. The church, whose "God hates fags" signs and messages have been seen across the country, intends to be at the funeral of Charlie Powell, 7, and his brother, Braden, 5. Saturday at the Life Center Church in Tacoma. The boys died Sunday after their father , Josh Powell, blew up their Pierce County home.

Arlington, Va.—May the government force entrepreneurs to do useless things, like build extra rooms in their stores that they do not need and will never use, just to prove they are serious about their business? That issue is at the center of a major lawsuit filed today, January 19, 2012, in Minnesota State District Court by the Institute for Justice (IJ) on behalf of Verlin Stoll, the 27-year-old owner of Crescent Tide Funeral Home in Saint Paul.

No Hats, No Scarves, No Gloves! By Lee Seok Young [2012-01-03 10:23 ] Daily NK has received information confirming the level of stage management that went into the memorial service for Kim Jong Il on December 28th in Pyongyang. A source from the city told Daily NK on January 2nd, “The day before the event sending off comrade Kim Jong Il, heads of people’s units told us that ‘comrade Kim Jong Eun will also be escorting the General’s hearse bare-handed’ and conveyed a list of important instructions.” According to the source, the authorities were intending to make sure that mourners...

North Korea’s ‘Mourners’: Dehumanized By Communism Posted 12/28/2011 07:03 PM ET Totalitarianism: The world witnessed a grotesque spectacle Tuesday as millions of North Koreans mourned the death of the world's most odious dictator. It's a classic demonstration of the dehumanization of communism. In the free world, tears would never be shed for a monster like Kim Jong Il, the megalomaniac who ruled North Korea with an iron fist for 17 years, leaving a legacy of man-made famine, a network of Gulag prison camps for free thinkers, and bone-grinding poverty for workers unlike any other place on earth. But in a...

Towering hypocrisy right to the end... A number of news reports coming out of North Korea today purport the American-looking cars at the head of the Kim Jong Il funeral procession to be 'Russian limos'... but the first point of note would be that such cars were only manufactured in the Soviet era: the GAZ Chaika has been out of production for decades, and ZiL only recently made/restored a single old-style limousine to custom Kremlin order- an open parade-car looking nothing like the car above. And as one personally familiar with all these designs (have touched and sat in every type...

/begin my translation [Kim Jong-il's Death] Japanese Female Magician "Not to Attend the N. Korean Funeral" 2011-12-27 09:31:00 A female Japanese magician, who was a close acquaintance of N. Korean leader Kim Jong-il, decided not to attend his funeral, her agent conveyed on Dec. 26. In a statement, the magician Princess Tenko(天功, age:51) said, "Considering all circumstances, I decided not to attend the public event." N. Korea invited her to Kim's funeral which is to be held on Dec. 28. Tenko, a world-renowned female magician, was invited by N. Korea to perform in 1998 and 2000, and also attended Kim...

Gravediggers have jumped up and down on the coffin of an elderly woman to force it into a tight hole as her family looked on in horror, according to her family. The workers at a Roman Catholic cemetery near Pittsburgh are also accused of poking it with poles. Theodore Zimmick, his daughter and granddaughter sued the Pittsburgh diocese and its Catholic Cemeteries Association over the burial of his 91-year-old mother, Agnes Zimmick... After the funeral service...saw workers stamping and walking on the coffin and otherwise jamming it into the grave.

Troy Davis’ funeral in Savannah, Ga., yesterday attracted more than 1,000 mourners, according to the Associated Press and The Washington Times. Sent to death row 20 years ago as a convicted cop killer, Troy Davis was celebrated as “martyr and foot soldier” Saturday by more than 1,000 people who packed the pews at his funeral and pledged to keep fighting the death penalty.Family, activists and supporters who spent years trying to persuade judges and Georgia prison officials that Davis was innocent were unable to prevent his execution Sept. 21. But the crowd that filled Savannah’s Jonesville Baptist Church on Saturday...

Excerpt only website: A Glasgow-based company has installed its first commercial "alkaline hydrolysis" unit at a Florida funeral home. The unit by Resomation Ltd is billed as a green alternative to cremation and works by dissolving the body in heated alkaline water. The facility has been installed at the Anderson-McQueen funeral home in St Petersburg, and will be used for the first time in the coming weeks. It is hoped other units will follow in the US, Canada and Europe. The makers claim the process produces a third less greenhouse gas than cremation, uses a seventh of the energy, and...

Petty Officer Jon T. Tumilson was laid to rest Friday in Rockford, Iowa, where an estimated 1,500 mourners came to pay respects for the fallen Navy SEAL, including his dog Hawkeye. In fact, Hakeye’s loyalty to his owner at the funeral was visible, creating a heart-wrenching image as he laid down by the casket of his owner during the entire service:

I stopped in at "Big Papa's Pit" in Tampa for some barbeque and Earl the manager showed a picture he had been sent. I just have to share it. This was on 275 in Tampa

<p>Washington D.C., Jul 29, 2011 / 02:12 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Updated July 29, 2011 at 6:07 p.m. MDT. Includes details about funeral location and book of condolences.</p> <p>U.S. bishops involved in planning memorial arrangements for papal nuncio Archbishop Pietro Sambi told CNA on July 29 that his funeral has been moved to Italy.</p>

A mother and brother of a victim of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s death squads were gunned down as they tried to bury the victim until security forces fired at crowds. Five others were killed and more than 40 were wounded. The mourners fled in a panic, and soldiers and police continued to shoot at anyone in the street in Homs, a center of opposition against the Assad regime. Video, must see The death toll the past four days has climbed to 50, and even pro-government media are beginning to encourage diplomatic means to end what one newspaper called a “nightmare.”...

Morris Pollard, the father of Jonathan Pollard, has died at age 95. HIs family has sent an urgent plea to President Obama, asking him to show mercy and allow Jonathan Pollard compassionate leave to attend his father's funeral. Jonathan Pollard was convicted for passing classified information to a foreign country and has been incarcerated for 26 years Pollard's father had been hospitalized for the last several months. During this period, activists on Pollard's behalf and various well-known Israelis, attempted to no avail to obtain permission for Jonathan to visit his father on a 24 hour leave. The refusal prompted MK...

Noticeably missing from San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee's lengthy introduction of the city's "official family" at Friday's funeral of two firefighters was public defender and pension reform advocate Jeff Adachi. That's because Adachi, who had been standing with other dignitaries at the memorial outside of St. Mary's Cathedral, was asked to leave before the service started.According to witnesses, a large firefighter in uniform came up to Adachi and asked him to leave, at the request of a member of the fallen firefighter's family.When asked about the incident, Adachi confirmed that he had been asked to leave. "I had gone to...

MYFOXNY.COM - Sophomore Jackie Genovese, 16, of New Jersey, had the perfect prom dress and date. But tragedy struck last week when her boyfriend of two years was killed in a car accident. Jackie's boyfriend, James, died on the way home from a baseball team dinner. He was a popular Jackson High School senior only weeks from graduation. She bought her $1,200 dress at Freehold's Diane and Co., also known for their popular Oxygen show "Dress Coutoure." She wanted a refund for her dress so she could help pay for her boyfriend's funeral. Jackie's mom asked the owners of the...

OAKLAND, Calif. - By a strange twist of fate, the Twins will be in Arizona this morning to say goodbye to hall of fame slugger Harmon Killebrew, the face of the franchise when he played 14 seasons in Minnesota and their godfather the past decade. Morneau is one of three current Twins joining manager Ron Gardenhire and Killebrew's former teammates Rod Carew and Tony Oliva and former manager Frank Quilici as pallbearers for this morning's funeral service in Peoria, Ariz.

More news/views/tasteless humor at Reaganite Republican

When 9-11 took place, Muslim spokesmen in America and elsewhere (as well as their non-Muslim apologists), assured us that Osama did not represent "real Islam". They told us that Osama's actions made him anti-Islamic and a non-Muslim. If the above is true, then why was Osama given a Muslim burial? America had every right to wrap his body in pig skins, accompanied by strips of bacon and pork chops. How could Muslims have complained, when they assured us that Osama does not represent Islam? In any case, doesn't giving Osama a Muslim funeral increase his chances of going to the...

Video of Osama bin Laden's dead body being dropped into the North Arabian Sea from the USS Carl Vinson early this morning will be made public, according to officials. The 40-minute ceremony, and perhaps photos of his corpse, will be released "cautiously," according to The Associated Press, citing two Pentagon officials.

The Sin of SuicideFR. WILLIAM SAUNDERSWhat is the Church's teaching regarding suicide? I always thought that suicide was a mortal sin, so how is it that a person can be buried in the Church? Before addressing the act of suicide, we must first remember that God is the giver of all life. Each of us has been made in God's image and likeness (Genesis 1:27) with both a body and a soul. Therefore, life is sacred from the moment of conception until natural death, and no one can justify the intentional taking of an innocent human life. For Christians, this teaching...

Thousands of firefighters in uniform on paid agency time came from different fire agencies all over Southern California to attend Glenn Allen's funeral bringing with them tens of millions of dollars of firefighting equipment, helicopters. Just the cost of fuel alone must have cost in the tens of thousands of dollars, notwithstanding the cost of salaries and accrued benefits of thousands of active duty firefighters. His funeral must have cost the taxpayers millions of dollars thanks to union rules that permit such a waste of taxpayer funds. I personally mean no disrespect to his family, but if it were not...

Sin eaters and the custom of sin eating seem to come from Wales. Early descriptions of the ritual all mention the bread eaten over the corpse, as well as the payment of sixpence to the person assuming the sins of the dead. Below are two 19th century accounts of sin eaters. "In the county of Hereford was an old custom at funerals to hire poor people, who were to take upon them all the sins of the party deceased, and were called sin-eaters. One of them, I remember, lived in a cottage on Ross high-way. The manner was thus: when...

I've received word that Westboro Baptist Church (according to their website) will be picketing the funeral of a decorated veteran in Bordentown, NJ on Saturday, January 22nd. We are seeking volunteers to form a silent wall to block the sight of it so the family can bury their son in peace.

Using God’s name in vain usually brings to mind a person cursing another, asking God to damn someone. The definition of vain as described by Webster is as follows. 1: having no real value: idle, worthless 2: marked by futility or ineffectualness: unsuccessful, useless 3 archaic: foolish, silly4: having or showing undue or excessive pride in one’s appearance or achievements: conceited5: to no end: without success or result 6: in an irreverent or blasphemous manner Westboro Baptist Church portrays the word vain in the purest of forms in its attempt to spew hatred as God’s representative. The world is looking...

Keepin’ it classy: TUCSON (NY Times) -- When President Obama took the stage here Wednesday to address a community — and a nation — traumatized by Saturday’s killings, it invited comparisons to President George W. Bush’s speech to the nation after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001,... …Even as it began, some conservative commentators were posting comments criticizing the memorial service for being overly partisan and more like a pep rally, and there were some boos in the hall when Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, spoke. Those reactions would have been hard to imagine, say, in the days after the...

Arizona Moves To Ban Funeral Protests The Arizona Legislature has approved emergency legislation to head off picketing by a Topeka church at the funeral service for a 9-year-old girl who was killed during Saturday's shooting in Tucson. Unanimous votes by the House and Senate on Tuesday send the bill to Gov. Jan Brewer for her expected signature. The bill prohibiting protests at or near funeral sites would take effect immediately. The Westboro Baptist Church said Monday it plans to picket Thursday's funeral for Christina Taylor Green. She is one of six people who were killed in the shooting that injured...

Funeral pickets to be met by 'angels'By the CNN Wire Staff January 11, 2011 2:25 a.m. EST Tucson, Arizona (CNN) -- Tucson just isn't that kind of town, says Christin Gilmer. Gilmer is talking about Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, that has made its name picketing the funerals of people who died of AIDS, gay people, soldiers and even Coretta Scott King. **SNIP** They're planning an "angel action" -- with 8-by-10-foot "angel wings" worn by participants and used to shield mourners from pickets. The actions were created by Coloradan Romaine Patterson, who was shocked to find the Topeka church...

McALLEN — Hidalgo County should ban funeral processions, county District Attorney Rene Guerra said Thursday. A fatal crash during a funeral procession Wednesday has led to questions about the safety of the motorcades, where law enforcement officers guide traffic by blocking intersections. A Hidalgo County Precinct 2 constable’s deputy hit and killed an Alamo woman Wednesday when the deputy’s cruiser “t-boned” the vehicle she was traveling in. Guerra said he’s been concerned about funeral processions for years now, but Wednesday’s crash has revived the debate and sharpened his concerns. “I was afraid that what happened yesterday would happen,” he said....

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, leaving the funeral of a murdered Border Patrol agent Wednesday, scolded a reporter for asking her to address the victim's family's concerns that not enough is being done to secure the southern border. The family of agent Brian Terry had complained that Napolitano had offered them "empty words" when she called to express her condolences. Terry's father, Kent Terry, in an interview with ABC affiliate KGUN, said he told Napolitano to "wake your man up in the White House," to which she replied that he's done more in two years than any president. Napolitano attended...

McALESTER, Okla. — Members of a Kansas church that protests at military funerals may have found themselves in the wrong town over the weekend. Shortly after finishing their protest at the funeral of Army Sgt. Jason James McCluskey of McAlester, a half-dozen protesters from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., headed to their minivan Saturday, only to discover that its front and rear passenger-side tires had been slashed. To make matters worse, as their minivan slowly hobbled away on two flat tires, with a McAlester police car following behind, the protesters were unable to find anyone in town who would...

Sgt. Jason J. McCluskey was laid to rest on Saturday with hundreds of his friends, family members and comrades in attendance. And there were hundreds more standing outside the First Baptist Church in McAlester listening to his memorial service via tall standing loudspeakers. And still there were hundreds more lining the roads and intersections from the church to the cemetery waving American Flags and patriotic signs. And there were yet hundreds more at his graveside services at the Tannehill cemetery. The 26 year old Army paratrooper was killed in action on November 4th in Afghanistan. During his tour of duty...

WESTON, MO. — People in Weston, Missouri banded together on Saturday. They wanted to protect loved ones who were saying goodbye to a fallen soldier and stood up to members of the Westboro Baptist Church who planned to protest at Sgt. First Class C.J. Sadell's funeral. Sadell died October 24 from injuries he suffered in a surprise attack in Afghanistan. On Saturday, there was quite a turnout of people who wanted to keep the protesters away from the funeral. "I'd say probably half the people in Weston are here," said Eric Moser, Marine Corp veteran. Weston has less than 2,000...

WILLMAR, Minn. (AP) -- The body of a Minnesota soldier killed in Afghanistan is coming home. The body of Army Pfc. Ryane Clark is scheduled to arrive at 12:30 p.m. Thursday at Willmar Municipal Airport. The West Central Tribune reports a procession escorting Clark's body will leave the airport about 1 p.m. and travel through Willmar and Spicer on its way to his hometown of New London. Clark died last week after his unit was attacked by insurgents. The 22-year-old was based at Fort Bragg, N.C., and had been in Afghanistan since December. His funeral is at 2 p.m. Sunday...

WASHINGTON - Supreme Court justices, in a rare public display of sympathy, strongly suggested Wednesday they would like to rule for a dead Marine's father against fundamentalist church members who picketed his son's funeral - but aren't sure they can. Left unresolved after an hourlong argument that explored the limits of the First Amendment: Does the father's emotional pain trump the protesters' free speech rights? The difficulty of the constitutional issue was palpable in the courtroom as the justices weighed the case of Albert Snyder. His son died in Iraq in 2006, and members of a family-dominated church in Topeka,...

NEW ORLEANS -- An order of Benedictine monks sued Louisiana regulators Thursday for blocking them from selling handmade caskets because the monks are not licensed funeral directors. The monks of the 121-year-old St. Joseph Abbey, in St. Tammany Parish north of New Orleans, charge the state Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors is attempting to maintain a casket cartel, and that board members are mostly engaged in industry they regulate. They claim the regulations are unconstitutional. The monks planned to sell their wooden caskets for $1,500 or $2,000 to support the abbey. They tried to get an exemption from...

Can the government restrict the monks of St. Joseph’s Abbey in Saint Benedict, La., from building boxes? Yes, says the state, if those boxes are for the deceased. In 2007, the monks at St. Joseph’s Abbey started St. Joseph Woodworks for the purpose of building simple wooden caskets as a means of supporting themselves. Monks in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Minnesota have been in the casket-making business for years. Before they were able to sell even a single casket, the Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors told them that their sale of caskets violated state law, which says...

John DeHoop loved Harley-Davidson motorcycles: He rode one, had a tattoo of one and outfitted the family room of his White Bear Lake home with Harley memorabilia. Before he died of cancer at age 55 in May, DeHoop told his wife, Kathy, he wanted a motorcycle hearse at his funeral. During their rides along the St. Croix River, the couple had seen a Harley hearse parked outside Afton Leather, a motorcycle-apparel shop in Afton's Old Village. "He wanted that hearse," Kathy said. "Before being cremated, he wanted to go for one last ride."

“Forgiveness, Resurrection, and Life: God’s Gifts to Ron” (Apostles’ Creed)Ron, Doris, John, family and friends of Ron Benear Jr., dear brothers and sisters in Christ: Today we mourn the loss of a son and brother, a friend, and fellow member of this congregation. It hurts to lose someone we know and love. Ron and Doris, you’re not supposed to say goodbye to a son. It’s supposed to be the other way around. John, to lose a brother you’ve known your whole life--that’s like losing an arm, or maybe more closely, to lose a piece of your heart. And for all...

Bill Clinton's comments today at the Robert Byrd funeral take the cake. In one swift moment, Clinton manages to defend Byrd by condemning the entire state of West Virginia - "He once had a fleeting association with the Ku Klux Klan, what does that mean? I'll tell you what it means. He was a country boy from the hills and hollows from West Virginia. He was trying to get elected," former President Bill Clinton said of Sen. Robert Byrd. "And maybe he did something he shouldn't have done come and he spent the rest of his life making it up....

On June 28, 2010, Second Lieutenant Michael E. McGahan was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. The horse drawn caisson led Second Lt. McGahan to his final resting place. Following behind, were family, friends and colleagues. He was 23 years old. His hometown was Orlando, Florida. Second Lt. McGahan died June 6, 2010 in Khogyani district, Nangarhar providence, Afghanistan. He died from gunshot injuries caused by an enemy forces attack on his unit. At the time of the assault, McGahan's platoon was investigating reports of an unmanned aircraft. McGahan, who came from a military background, with both grandfathers serving...

A cop-killer who is the son of the Dallas police chief continued to stir deep emotions Friday as he headed to his grave. An apparent last-minute decision by a deputy police chief to provide assistance during part of David Brown Jr.'s funeral procession angered some police associations. The city manager quickly issued a written statement distancing herself and Chief David Brown from the decision.

SIERRA VISTA - A 21-gun salute marked a farewell Tuesday to Army Spc. Christian M. Adams during a funeral service at the Main Post Chapel at Fort Huachuca. Maj. Gen. John Custer, commanding general of the Army Intelligence Center of Excellence and Fort Huachuca, presented folded flags to loved ones, including Adams' mother, Donna Adams, his wife, Amanda, and their 2-year-old daughter, Faith Marie. Tears flowed among the crowd of more than 100 gathered at the military honors ceremony when little Faith Marie reached out, then held onto the flag presented by Custer in the chapel courtyard. A private funeral...

Dec 6, 1980 - May 15, 2010 Donald G. Barton, 29, of Huntington, IN, died Saturday, May 15, 2010. Mr. Barton had been employed by several area factories. He was born Dec. 6, 1980, in Fort Wayne. He is survived by his father and stepmother, .....

GORDON SWIRE IS SUPPOSED to be sitting next to Ben in this Cadillac. Gordon's the man who inadvertently changed rock'n'roll history - and a good few other things - by introducing his art school pal Malcolm McLaren to his married sister Vivienne Westwood back in 1966. And Ben? He's the art photographer who's Vivienne's son and thus McLaren's step-son. Ben is driving his American motor in the McLaren funeral cortège - a horse-drawn hearse, a dozen limos and a double decker battle bus - that's heading towards Highgate Cemetery. But Gordon Swire's not in the front passenger seat because...

SKorean buries 46 sailors killed in warship sinking at military funeral, vows to retaliate South Korea buries sailors killed in ship sinking By YOUNG-JOON AHN and HYUNG-JIN KIM | Associated Press | 21 minutes ago in World Wailing families placed white chrysanthemums, burned incense and bowed in front of the framed photos of the men before their cremated ashes were buried at the country's national cemetery in the central city of Daejeon. Buddhist and Christian clergy offered prayers and a dirge was played. Some mothers clad in black Korean traditional mourning dress wailed uncontrollably, touching photos of their sons and...

Your recent editorial “Funeral protests cause disdain” addresses the vexing First Amendment issue in the lawsuit against the “Christian” church that picketed the funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in action in Iraq in 2006: Should “hate speech” be constitutionally protected … or punished? Albert Snyder was awarded damages against Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka after its members waved inflammatory signs at his son’s funeral saying “God Hates Fags” and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers” (God’s “payback” to America for tolerating homosexuality, claims the church), but the 4th Court of Appeals reversed the verdict, ruling that the...

...His coffin, emblazoned with the slogan "too fast to live, too young to die", was carried on a horse-drawn carriage. Mourners included his former partner, fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood, and Sir Bob Geldof. McLaren, who died earlier this month aged 64, will later be buried at Highgate Cemetery in a private service. ...Beverley Gardener, 47, from Camden, went to Sex Pistols concerts in the late 1970s and said: "I just thought I'd come down to see him off. "It's sad, but he was a beautiful man - the king of punk. That is all I can say about him....

The volcanic ash that brought European air travel to a standstill forced the cancellation of President Barack Obama's weekend trip to attend the funeral of Polish President Lech Kaczynski. As understandable as Mr. Obama's inability to travel to Krakow was, his choice of alternative activity boggles the mind. Seeing the sudden opening in his schedule, he and three companions headed to the links for a round of golf. This is just the latest in a growing list of missteps, inappropriate behavior and downright odd choices by a president who seems to not only lack basic social graces when it comes...