Free Republic

A Kansas-based church that has blamed deaths in Iraq on U.S. tolerance of homosexuality has asked Gov. Christine Gregoire's office to approve a "Santa Claus will take you to hell" message to display among other religious statements in the Capitol's third-floor hallway.

Scott County Schools will be closed Friday because of an announced protest by a controversial Midwestern church, the district’s superintendent said this afternoon. “We have been notified that we have a group coming in from Kansas to picket our high school in the wake of our losing four students last week,” Superintendent Sharon Wilson said.

<p>A Maryland State Police trooper from Westminster who was killed in a helicopter crash in Prince George’s County early Sunday morning is being remembered by those who knew him as a great father and a nice person who took his job seriously.</p>

Blogger Michael Crook, known for Forsake the Troops and other such sites, pays veterans a little "visit", at a veterans' cemetery in Southern New Jersey. This video is a protest against veterans, and the military pay structure.

Members of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church are threatening to picket the funeral of Tim McLean, the young man decapitated on a Greyhound bus last week. The Kansas-based church - a small fundamentalist sect led by Fred Phelps - is reviled in the United States for protesting the funerals of hundreds of soldiers killed in the Iraq war. The sect gained notoriety in the 1990s by picketing the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man beaten to death in Wyoming. Seven members of the church originally planned to picket theatre performances in Toronto and Red Deer, Alta., later this...

On one side of Bragg Boulevard on Wednesday, American flags whipped in the wind, from toothpicks, from veteran’s hands, from the top of a pole attached to a pickup.On the other, American flags were being dragged on the ground.On one side, Army wives, veterans and bikers held signs that read "I Love My Soldier," "Our Husbands, Our Heroes," and "God Loves The World."On the other, four members of Westboro Baptist Church — including a 22-year-old woman and 7-year-old boy — held signs that read “God is Your Enemy” and "America is Doomed." The child’s read: "God Hates the U.S.A."The two...

A Kansas church well-known for its protests at the funerals of fallen American soldiers plans to picket at this week's funeral of former Press Secretary Tony Snow, declaring that Snow is "a very bad monkey" who is "now burning in hell." "He had a platform, he was given some small talent by his Creator. He was an unfaithful steward, and is now residing in hell," says a schedule on the website of the Westboro Baptist Church. "Each opportunity he had to faithfully report what the servants at WBC had to tell this country/world, Tony Snow besmirched and vilified the words...

The creeps from the Westboro Baptist Church are planning to protest Tony Snow's funeral:

Dear God, please let the Patriot Guard Riders know about this ahead of time. The Phelps gang is ready to strike, and they outline their intent here.

Free Republic Exclusive Fred Phelps, leader of the "God-hates-faXs" movement, is planning on crashing the funeral of one of our War Dead on July 4th. Why? To spread his message of anti-homosexual SPAM in the most inappropriate way imaginable. There's a time and a place for everything. He's a publicity whore, as far as I'm concerned. Here are snips from an earlier FR Report: "A SF SGT E-5, James Stewart, will be buried in St. Petersburg, Florida on July 4, 2005. It's wholly appropriate that he be buried on our nation's birthday, because Sergeant Stewart gave his life for our...

BALTIMORE - Two members of the Westboro Baptist Church have failed to post bonds needed to delay the collection of a $5 million jury award while their case is being appealed. As of 5 p.m. Monday, the deadline imposed by a federal judge, Shirley Phelps-Roper and Rebekah Phelps-Davis had not posted their bonds of $125,000 and $100,000. The women had argued in April for lesser bond amounts. The jury award followed a finding in November that the Kansas church intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon Albert Snyder, of York, Pa., by protesting the Maryland funeral for Snyder's son. Marine Lance Cpl....

Hi all, several years ago those of you who were around FR might remember a band of young rocker brothers who did a song "Hateful Lies" that skeweed Michael Moore. Well, the band is still around, and has just released a music video for its new song "Westboro", inspired by the lunacy of the WBC. We thought some of you might be interested, if so the video can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD0oSIyBUBQ. If you like their music video, let them know please, they have a myspace at http://www.myspace.com/attilahuns. FYI, here are the lyrics: Westboro, words and music by Andrew O'Donnell...

The family and friends of two teenagers who died in a car accident over the weekend are puzzled as to why a fundamentalist church group plans to demonstrate at the teens’ funerals. Tracey Burke, whose daughter Emily died in the crash near Finksburg late Saturday night, said she doesn’t understand the logic of Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church unless its members, "are just people of hate." "It makes no sense," Burke said. "I can’t believe they’d choose to [demonstrate at] the funeral of a child." Julio Calderon, whose brother Rodolfo Calderon also died in the crash, said he was...

BALTIMORE - A federal judge in Baltimore ordered Westboro Baptist Church members to post their church building and nearly $500,000 more in cash and property while appealing a judgment for protesting a Marine’s funeral. The Kansas church members had hoped to avoid posting a bond while delaying payments in the $5 million judgment a jury awarded Albert Snyder, the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder who died in Iraq. Westboro church members preach that God kills American soldiers as punishment for the country’s tolerance of homosexuality. They protested Matthew Snyder’s Westminster funeral in March 2006 by waving signs...

It's expected hundreds will attend the funeral services for the Sueppel Family, and it's likely there will be an outside presence there--for an entirely different reason. Westboro Baptist church--a controversial group based out of Topeka Kansas-- travels state to state protesting at high-profile funerals for their own cause. Now comes word the group plans to be outside the Sueppel services, when emotions will no doubt be running high. The religious group, led by Reverend Fred Phelps-- plans to be outside The Sueppel family funeral, simply because it's expected to be a large gathering.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Members of a nationally known church will be picketing outside of several Central Florida churches on Easter Sunday with a message pastors say is more about shock value than God's words. A group from the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church has announced they will be outside Easter services at St. Luke's United Methodist, First Baptist Church, Calvary Assembly of God and Mary Queen of the Universe churches early Sunday. Westboro church members said they believe school shootings, 9-11 and solider deaths are "God's revenge" for America's moral decline and tolerance for homosexuality and abortion. "This nation is awash...

Westboro gang to picket funerals: 03/09/2008 2:15 PM - 3:00 PM Athens, GA First United Methodist Church 327 Lumpkin St. Funeral of Eve Carson 03/09/2008 4:45 PM - 5:30 PM Marietta, GA Temple Kol Emeth 1415 Old Canton Rd. Funeral of Lauren Burk

Thousands waited outside the Flour Bluff entrance to Naval Air Station-Corpus Christie, expecting a confrontation with the members of the Westboro Baptist Church members, but they never came. The crowd instead showed support for U. S. Soldiers.

LDS President Hinckley's funeral has been targeted as a protest site by members of the Westboro Baptist Church. Members of the Topeka, Kan., church have picketed several military funerals out of a belief that the war in Iraq is a punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality. The group issued a press release Monday saying members will picket President Hinckley's funeral. In 2007, a federal jury in Baltimore, Maryland, awarded $10.9 million to a father of a Marine whose funeral was picketed by members of the Westboro Baptist C Church members showed up at the soldier's funeral chanting derogatory slogans...

Jacksonville, North Carolina, January 26, 2008— The NC Gathering of Eagles sponsored an Operation to demonstrate support for and celebrate the American Military. Hundreds of people came to Jacksonville, from all over North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina and West Virginia.They spread out along Highway 17 waving American and Marine flags and holding signs proclaiming respect, admiration and gratitude to the men and women of the United States Military. GOE National Director, Larry Bailey reports: In response to the pitiful gathering of Westboro Baptist Church miscreants near Camp Lejeune, NC, on 1/26/08, the North Carolina chapter of Gathering of Eagles organized...