Pushing It

There are downsides to everything, and one downside to American freedoms of speech and religion is Fred Phelps, who operates the Kansas sect known as Westboro Baptist Church. As I understand it, Westboro has about 70 members, most of whom are Fred's family and relatives. Fred and his small band of followers believe that God hates homosexuality so much that he kills off soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan to punish America for allowing it. It would be better for everyone if God just held his breath until his face turned blue, but noooo. Fred realized that he can get lots of attention by pushing his free speech rights to the absolute limit, then well past that point, by picketing funerals. It's unfortunate, but the easiest way to get free publicity and TV time is to do outrageous stuff. Fred and Sarah Palin understand that, and take advantage of it.