Has Trump Joined Westboro Baptist Church?

Donald Trump has decided to publicly insult the LGBT community; specifically, those who serve in all branches of the military. He announced a ban on transgender people serving, even after supporting gay marriage, over the years. So why the sudden shift? Has the Donald taken his "strong Christian" stance to Kansas, and joined one of the Christian congregations there, such as New Hope Baptist Church in Seneca, Kansas, led by Reverend Curtis Knapp, or perhaps Westboro Baptist Church?

In other news, Donald Trump donated $130,000 to Faith Among Nations, a shell corporation created by the late Rev. Fred Phelps, of Westboro Baptist Church, suspected of quietly funneling money into the church to pay church salaries.

Foo Fighters Rickroll Westboro Baptist Church

Lol! Westboro Baptist Church decided to picket a Foo Fighter concert in Kansas City, but the band rode by on the back of a pick-up truck blasting Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up", hence the term "rickrolling", thereby completely upstaging them! Foo Fighters did something similar in 2011, when Westboro Baptist Church picketed them in Topeka. They dressed up in wigs and played "Keep It Clean" for Westboro.

Let's Revisit This

Some of you, and you know who you are, have, possibly correctly, accused yours truly of not understanding the make, model, and serial number stamped upon every real christian. This is not a very big problem, in the large scheme of things. There are many educated, thinking, and unique subscribers to christianity, just....not many in Kansas. That, too, is not a big problem. Now that the grand dragon of Westboro Baptist Church has passed away, perhaps the white christians of Kansas will reconsider their attempts to persuade America that they are not all exactly like Westboro Baptist Church. 

Anyone making assumptions about those of us who exist outside of the cookie cutters and the molds and casts can continue to make assumptions at his or her own risk.

Au Revior, Reverend Phelps

On March 19, 2014, just before the stroke of midnight, the renowned fire and brimstone preacher, sometime civil rights attorney, and great granddaddy of all sign carriers, Reverend Fred Phelps, of Kansas, drew his final breath. He was only eighty-four years old. He started his career as an attorney; back in the day. He even won some battles for progressive and noble causes, such as litigation against Jim Crowe racists, who lurk all over Kansas. It is unclear exactly when Phelps became completely disillusioned with the cause of Light, and switched over to the dark side, but sources place this sometime in the early 1980's. It is rumored that Phelps noted that his grandchildren were not as safe playing outside as he wished them to be, and felt that Topeka had not lent an acceptable amount of support in the arena of cleaning up Gage Park, in Topeka, and policing the area more efficiently. It is easy to understand the desire to protect one's children, but to date, no one outside of Westboro Baptist Church has been able to find the correlation between protecting children from stranger danger and hate campaigns against minorities and picketing funerals.  Readers in Marshall County, Kansas will be interested to note that Fred Phelps graduated from the same school that produced Laura Johnson-McNish;  Washburn University.

Amusing but not surprising is the request from Westboro Baptist Church for privacy while they mourn! Considering the history of Westboro Baptist Church, that is certainly an interesting request. Christians all over Northeast Kansas tend to make similar requests, however. Anyone who is not a mainstream neo-nazi christian thug is considered fair game for everything from slander to violence, but when the tables are turned, Kansas Christians are never able to understand why the First Amendment applies to all American Citizens, not just white christians and government employees.

The video above is a riot.

A Few Kansans With Misplaced Priorities

A couple of trolls, who left tracks from a certain location in Northeast Kansas, seem to be very discontented with the fact that I support safe schools and background checks for teachers and others whose job descriptions involve contact with children. Very recently, a ten year old girl named Hailey Owens was forcibly kidnapped and murdered. The murder happened within the predicable time frame of three hours from the time of the kidnap. Yesterday, after finding that Hailey had been found deceased, I quoted an early article, on this site, identifying the perpetrator as a para professional and athletic coach at Hailey's school. It happened to be the article that I linked when I stated that the Amber Alert had been cancelled. Later on, it was discovered that while this man occasionally substituted at all the schools in the district, his duties as a para and as a coach were actually at the local middle school, not the elementary school attended by Hailey. While the statement probably deserves clarification, any inference that teachers and other school employees should undergo background checks is still spot on, and I will not back down from my statement that we need to be much more careful of who we trust to teach our children, here in the Midwest. But wouldn't you know it; one of the above mentioned trolls from Northeast Kansas had this to say:

"He was NOT a para or coach at her school. He was employed through another school and did not know her. You def. need to get your facts straight!"

As it happens, this troll is angry and upset because I won't shut up about a coach from Frankfort High School, in Northeast Kansas, who dropped my daughter off by herself four miles away from the school for cross country practice. I had already told him not to do this with my daughter, who was only fourteen years old at the time, because without adult supervision, any child who fell and suffered injuries or got stung by a bee and suffered an allergic reaction would have no available support. Cell phone signals are not the best in this area, and I have never heard of this practice in a public school. After refusing my offer to help supervise, as a volunteer, (only Christians are allowed to volunteer, Methodists and Catholics preferred; and I am not Christian) the coach promised me he would not do it again. A week later, he did it again, only this time, my daughter was all by herself, as the only girl who attended practice that day, and she got lost. When the coach person realized she was lost, he looked for her for awhile by himself, but did not call me, her her father, or the police. After school was over for the day, he went home and had dinner, and still had not told anyone my daughter was missing! Some folks who happened to be driving in the area where my daughter was lost gave her a ride home. Suppose it had been a dangerous person, instead? Coach person certainly was nowhere nearby, and did NOT know where my daughter was! He certainly had no control over who offered her a ride at that moment. It was a terrible chance to take with my child's life, and I certainly will never personally trust him again. I also resent the school's insistence, by keeping him on the payroll, that parents continue to trust this man.

Both the coach at Frankfort High, and the coach who kidnapped Hailey Owens are the type of school employees who should never be trusted with children. I'm so sorry if I read an article that had the wrong school listed as the place of employment. The particular school where he taught is not the point; the point is that he had access to children and children had seen him supervising games and classes, and therefore trusted him. He was not just any stranger; he was a teacher. My point was, and is, that we should not pay people who are obviously dangerous in one way or another to teach or care for our children. One way to weed out the bad ones is to perform background checks. What, pray tell, is wrong with reiterating that? How could such a statement provoke such ire? A background check probably would have weeded out the coach at the Missouri School, and the past use of terrible judgement would weed out the coach at Frankfort, Kansas. Really simple stuff; no need to become a rocket scientist first.

It's abundantly clear that the Frankfort Kansas crowd desires strongly that the incident involving my daughter and the errant coach be swept under the rug and forgotten. I will never do that for them, but here's a question: who benefits when criminal behavior is covered up and kept secret? The victims? Any potential or future victims? No, not at all. The people who benefit when crime is kept secret are criminals. Frankfort Kansas school employees and assorted others want me to stop talking about child safety and help them make their community a more welcome environment for crime against children.

Here's another group of Kansans who are upset that a nearby community is taking a serious look at child safety:

My daughter was missing just a little bit longer than Hailey Owens was missing. She is certainly very blessed and very lucky. Shut up, Frankfort Kansas!

Following The Day We Fight Back

Just a reminder of why it's so important to remain educated about local and national politics. Just last week, the Kansas House of Representatives, for all practical purposes, joined Westboro Baptist Church by passing House Bill 2435. This bill is written to allow businesses and government agencies legal recourse to discriminate against the gay community. Anyone old enough to remember "whites only" water fountains? Kansas actually doesn't have a very large gay community. Where do you suppose this action, and the attitude that accompanies it, is truly headed?

In Case You Skipped Church On Sunday

It's Russell Brand and Westboro Baptist Church, in the same room! I am now beginning to see that there was never a chance of Kansas and yours truly seeing eye to eye. The two chaps engaged in the interview look and act very much like White, Christian Kansas. Kansas denies it, nonetheless; it's a fact. White, Kansas Christians have a very limited view of Life. Had the middle eastern messiah been real, White Kansas would have hated him, too.

Russell Brand is very nice to them in this segment. In fact, Brand is nicer to the Kansans than anyone outside of their Kansas church!  I am not sure I could be so nice to these Kansas Christians.

 

 

In Case You Missed Church On Sunday

 

I hope everyone had a great Halloween!

 

In Case You Gave Church A Miss This Sunday

Some else actually didn't give church in Kansas a miss! Vince Gill discovered that some things don't seem to change.
 

In Case You Missed Church On Sunday

If you missed church on Sunday, you can relax. You will still be able to find a date for homecoming. A fundamentalist Christian church in Kansas has you covered!

 

Education Knocked Off Balence In Kansas Schools

Last week, Minneha Core Knowledge Magnet Elementary in Wichita, Kansas had a display on a bulletin board of five pillars, with an explanation of the five pillars of Islam. A tootie-frootie whacky-assed fundamentalist Christian who was taking up space inside the school for some reason or other took a picture of the bulletin board and included it on a facebook page, along with an hateful message about other religions, after the manner of Kansas Christians, who are some of the most hateful people on the planet. Westboro Baptist Church, anyone? Other Kansas Christians are not that different, only more lazy and less vocal. Here's what the Christian had to say:

"Students at Minneha Core Knowledge Elementary School in Wichata (sic) Kansas were met with this their first day of school,” a caption under the photo said. “This is a school that banned all forms of Christian prayer. … This can not stand.”

Unfortunately, schools in Kansas are not consolidated. This means that when a gang of angry, inbred, Christians from an insular community gangs up on a teacher or parent who wants the local school to be more like schools in the rest of the nation and less like daycares for the senile and demented, the angry inbred Christian usually gets it's own way. If the schools in Kansas were consolidated, every school would be answerable to the state for an educational curriculum that matched the rest of the nation's and enabled high school graduates to attend college. In Frankfort, Kansas, sixth graders are taught about Jewish culture by viewing the movie, "The Ten Commandments", starring Charleton Heston. Heston is much loved by the staff at Frankfort because of his ardent support of the National Rifle Association. This obviously, in their minds, makes him a great and factual example of the eventual culture of the so-called messiah, otherwise known as White Jesus, that mythical character whose existence, as told to children by Germanic Christians in Kansas schools, is not even possible, let alone believable. At the end of the movie, each and every class of sixth graders is not even accountable to name the Jewish religious observance that came from the text about which the movie was made! Yet Frankfort keeps this curriculum, despite it's inefficiency, and tells parents that children are learning about all cultures! To the right is a picture of Melissa Kennedy, who developed this "lesson plan".

The above cited article is the best comment this blogger has seen about the incident so far. It's writer was quite correct in pointing out that, as Kansas schools have certainly NOT banned all forms of Christian prayer, as the whacky-assed Christian states; the whacky-assed Christian is an obvious liar. Also, while Christian prayers can still be said at public school, as long as no one hears, and no one forces Christian prayers or gives obvious favor to anything that is Christian, there should be a way for a tootie-frootie wacky-assed fundamentalist Christian in Kansas to learn how to spell Wichita.

Another cultural lesson. If Kansas Christians get their own way in schools, everyone should.

In Case You Weren't In Church This Sunday

 

If you were not in church this Sunday in northeast Kansas, perhaps you were outside drinking lemonade across the street! Five year old Jayden Sink, daughter of Jon Sink, of Freshcassette-Creative Compassion, decided to set up a lemonade stand at the Equality House, directly across the street from Westboro Baptist Church. She is donating the proceeds of her enterprise to Planting Peace, a group which promotes environmentalism and non-biased charity. The northeast Kansas Christians at Westboro Baptist Church called the cops on her. When they responded by buying lemonade, they cussed her out and harassed her, after the manner of other northeast Kansas Christians. She remained undaunted, though. The times, they are a'changin', Kansas!

 

Look who else missed church on Sunday!

 

 

Westboro Baptist Church Chickens Out

 

Amazing. Oklahoma City gets an F-5 tornado, and the very best Westboro Baptist Church can do is pull out their signs and threaten to picket. Gotta love Christianity in Northeast Kansas......NOT! Fred Phelps and Company threatened to picket in Oklahoma today, insisting that "God" sent the tornado to kill people because of Jason Collins's relationship choices. They apparently did not show, frightened away by the patiently waiting bikers.

 

 

When is Northeast Kansas gonna get off it's Christian kick?

 

 

 

Saline County Kansas Republican Jim Gile Is A Bigot

 

In yet another example of old school bigotry and racism in Kansas, (not that many families of the Kansas "old school" racists have really been in America long enough to be "old school", but that's another post) Saline County commissioner Jim Gile made a decidedly racist crack at a city counsel meeting the other day, and after a half hearted apology, resisted a well placed call for his resignation, insisting that racist remarks at public podiums were okey-dokey "back in his day" and that he actually represents his district very well, despite, and because of, his obvious bigotry!

The remark was made about roof repairs of government buildings. Giles expressed a desire to hire an architect, rather than allowing a contractor to do what he referred to as "nigger rigging". When asked what, exactly, he meant by that, he said, "Afro Americanizing". So there you have it, Kansas. An actual admission to racial prejudism from the podium by an elected official. Anywhere outside of Kansas, especially anywhere that boasted a population of truly civic minded intelligensia, who care about their community, their children, and the future of this nation, would have run out of forms for picketing permits by this time because of the commissioners remark. But Saline County appears to only have a handful of persons who find Gile an anachronism. Yet, as many American families of African descent have resided in this country longer then most Kansas Caucasion families, the excuses invoking an "old school" attitude don't really provide an equation that explains the commissioner's bigotry, either.

Okay then; this is exactly why Kansas children are seldom equipped to attend college or live successfully outside of Kansas. It's quite possible that Jim Gile actually DOES represent Saline County. That's incredibly sad. Shouldn't New Hope Baptist Church in Seneca, Kansas, and Westboro Baptist Church make enough of a statement about bigotry, without any help from officials who represent the views of the general public in Kansas?

"I am not a prejudiced person," Gile told the Salina Journal. "I have built Habitat homes for colored people."

 

A Symbol Of Love For Westboro Baptist Church

Awake Incorperated, which is associated with Planting Green, just gave Westboro Baptist Church something new to see. They purchased the house across the street from the church, and painted it in all the colors of the rainbow! The colorless, hateful, and prejudiced world of Kansas Christianity will have some balence flying in it's face now, and thanks to the photgraphic genious of Eric Ives, the pictures are available for all to see. That is one of his pictures at the left.

Awake Incorperated intends to raise awareness about bullying in Kansas and work to counteract it.


 

Of Google Searches And Valentines Messages

 

Hey Terri Horman.....wanna know what comes up during image searches for you on the internet? Here it is.....I thought it was rather funny when someone posted it on Facebook! I doubt if the person who found it is middle aged (haha!) enough to remember old thriller movies......I am beginning to see why your relationships never seem to last!

Aside from all that, Terri, Happy Valentines day! You should really come clean with a loving message for a change this time. It's not as impossible as your attorney thinks: did you know that a young lady from Westboro Baptist Church apologized recently for all the grief she caused? That was probably not an easy thing to do. You should think about it.

Happy Valentines Day, Terri! Where's Kyron?

 

 

 

In Case You Skipped Church On Sunday

Just in case you skipped church this Sunday, I thought these two barbies could help explain the Christian Fundamentalist Church experience for the American woman! And speaking of Christian fundy churches, and American women, Westboro Baptist Church has lost not one, but two women recently! Two granddaughters of Fred Phelps, the Grand Poobah of fundy hatred, himself, have decided to leave his organization in search of a more sensible way of life and better relationships with others. It's true.....for those who were wondering if there really IS a God!

 

Anonymous Has A Message Concerning Aaron Swartz

By all accounts, Aaron Swartz was a brilliant and creative young man. His absence will certainly make the world a sadder and duller place. He was only twenty-six years old, and was a serious advocate for freedom of information and the first amendment. There really wasn't a reason for America's judicial system to harass him to the extent of charging him with felony crimes, and it is a shame that Aaron died so young. But what has this got to do with Westboro Baptist Church? It's hard to say, yet they have still publicly discussed picketing Aaron's funeral. In response, Anonymous sent them a message. Here it is:

That said, Westboro Baptist Church wisely resisted the urge to stand outside today, in Chicago, where the funeral was held, with stupid signs. That is good, but here is one very disturbing question about all this: why was Aaron Swartz facing more prison time than murderers?

More: Anyone with intel on the activities or plans of Westboro Baptist Church is invited to share it with Anonymous at OpAngel@hushmail.com  

Anyone in Northeast Kansas up to that?

Petition Concerning Westboro Baptist Church

Lately, it seems that there has been a morbid and rabid fascination for Westboro Baptist Church, that bunch of obnoxious Christians from Topeka, Kansas, who think that God hates minorities, and think that they should drive to funerals of soldiers and famous people and let us all know how the Christian god of antiquity feels about all of us. There is even a petition asking that they be "identitifed", somehow, as an hate group, to which I will link you here. I did not link to the church's official website above, but rather the Wikipedia description of them, as the church already garners enough attention.

It's well and good to sign a petition concerning this matter, as a "feel good" measure, but all of us who have been within earshot of any active member of Westboro Baptist Church are already quite aware that they are hateful. Law enforcement, everywhere the church goes, has them pegged as hateful and unkind as well. England has even taken the unusual step of banning a couple of the church's members from visiting their country. The FBI is also aware of them, and regards them as problematic, not only because of what they do, but because of the potential for adverse reactions of others. Speaking of adverse reactions of others, this is one of the two things that the members of Westboro Baptist Church want the most. They not only desire adverse reactions on the parts of bystanders and nearby property owners; they want to be arrested, assaulted, and harrassed. Their whole game revolves around gaining negative attention and reactions from others, escalating the same into unlawful or combative reactions, then litigating against those who became offended and reacted. They generally do not bother to file suit unless they know, beyond the shadow of any doubt, that they can win in court. This is how they pay the bills at their church, everyone.

The other thing this merry band of attention whoring Christians want is publicity. That's why the funerals of soldiers are used as the church's platform, and also the funerals of others who are well known or famous, or the funerals of people who died in events that have been heavily publicized, such as the school shooting in Connecticut on December 14. The petition counts as publicity, too. The more Westboro Baptist Church interviews, press coverage items, facebook pages, and petitions for or against their silly-assed rhetoric find their way into our reading material, the more infamous Westboro Baptist Church becomes. It's a fact. That's why I did not bother to sign the petition concerning their behaviors. Had the press never picked up on the church's story  and run with it in 1998, most of us probably never would have heard of Westboro Baptist Church. While all of the media coverage cannot be undone, fewer pixels and less ink for this bunch is certainly worth considering.

 

Shirley Phelps, daughter of the paster of Westboro Baptist Church, and other female family members. Notice how they all look like carbon copies of each other. Inbreeding is a terrible thing.

 

Could Santa Claus Be Real?

Could Santa Claus actually be real? I had not seriously considered it until this week, but those of us who really can't stand the rhetoric of Kansas Christian congregation, Westboro Baptist Church, got a gift this year! Actually, two. The first gift is from the hackers who go by the name, Anonymous. They hacked the main website of the church and the twitter account of Shirley Phelps, one of the church's main hate mongers. The second gift was from the Patriot Guard Riders, who showed up to thwart Westboro Baptist Church's efforts to mock those attending funerals of children who lost their lives in the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary. A Big THANKYOU goes out from this blog to the Patriot Guard Riders!

Eat your heart out, Shirley Phelps! Have fun with Anonymous!