Demagogue

As Sue from Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents aptly points out, this seemed pretty inevitable-- the ACLU is defending Fred Phelps and his crazy clan and their right to protest at the funerals of fallen soldiers. Specifically, the ACLU has filed against a Missouri law that was designed to prevent Phelps & family from protesting funerals by infringing on their constitutional rights, namely free speech and freedom of religion.

This is one of those cases where the ACLU takes a principled stance and is likely to get burnt from all sides-- the left, the middle and the right. Naturally I don't like the case or what the Phelpses do, but I agree with the ACLU's position. As twisted as it sounds this is one of thoses cases that reminds me why I've been a proud, card-carrying member of the ACLU since I was a teenager.

One more thing, Sue also points out that even the Phelps family reaction to the news reveals just how truly cracked they are.

"I told the nation, as each state went after these laws, that if the day came that they got in our way, that we would sue them," said Phelps's daughter Shirley L. Phelps-Roper, a spokeswoman for the church in Topeka, Kan. "At this hour, the wrath of God is pouring out on this country."

HUH?!? Despite the offensiveness of their general message the Phelps really make very little sense most of the time. It's one of the reasons they don't upset me anymore, they just seem so terribly mentally ill, as if the entire family was raised on daily shots of mercury and lead-based paint chips.

Plus they've been doing this for so many years-- they got their start protesting the funerals of gay people-- so the shock value of their antics wore off many years ago.