Phelps to Protest at Amish Funerals - UPDATE

According to the odeous and right-wing CNSNews.com:

A Kansas-based group that says "God hates fags" plans to picket the funerals of the Amish girls killed by a disturbed man in Lancaster County, Pa.

The Westboro Baptist Church -- described as a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League -- has made a name for itself by picketing the funerals of U.S. troops killed in Iraq. The troops are dying as punishment for America's tolerance of homosexuality, the group says.

The Westboro group says the Amish school girls were "killed by a madman in punishment for Gov. Ed Rendell's blasphemous sins against Westboro Baptist Church.

"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," the group says on its website.

"Rendell also revealed a conspiracy to employ the State's police powers to destroy WBC in order to silence WBC's Gospel message. Co-conspirators identified by Rendell included state officials, citizens, lawyers, legislators and media," the website says.

Westboro Baptist Church said it is "continuing to pray for even worse punishment upon Pennsylvania."

This should be interesting because the funerals will be held in private homes (the Amish don't worship in churches) on private property probably some distance from any public area.

That said, the WBC's bullshit may go over ok in Kansas, but I promise you Pennsylvania won't be as receptive.

Interesting side note: In Phelp's twisted mind, this wasn't punishment for sins against God, it was for sins against Phelp's Westboro Baptist Church. Call me crazy, but I think this relates to a story my church's minister told when I was a kid:

"There are no Proud Christians, just people who are one or the other."

God is personally intervening because Gov. Rendell said some nasty things about you're bat-shit crazy 'church?' I think not. If there's any justice in this world, Fred Phelps will be killed by a lightning strike.

UPDATE: 3:21 pm - More info via Fox News:

The controversial anti-homosexual Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., has canceled its plans to stage a protest at the funerals of the five Amish girls executed in their Pennsylvania school, a church official said Wednesday.

Shirley Phelps-Roper, the daughter of church's pastor, told FOXNews.com the group canceled the protests in exchange for an hour of radio time Thursday on syndicated talk-show host Mike Gallagher's radio program.

How big of FoxNews to give up an hour of radio time to a hate group that wouldn't be able to go to the funerals anyway because as I noted above, they're on private property. If you've never been to Lancaster County, it's beautiful country. The Amish houses (you can tell because the power lines go past without connecting) generally sit far back from the roads.

Speaking of the Amish, this is what Shirley Phelps-Roper, Fred Phelps' daughter had to say about them:

"Those Amish people, everyone is sitting around talking about those poor little girls — blah, blah, blah — they brought the wrath upon themselves," Phelps-Roper said, adding that the Amish "don't serve God, they serve themselves."

And they'll know you are Christians by your love. Or something.

Fred Phelps Christianists Hate Bigotry