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Fred Phelps’ Dying Words: ‘I Do It With Boys’ And Other Magic Moments In The Westboro Baptist Church
FRED Phelps, the man whose catchphrase was “god hates fags” and whose media-savvy Westboro Baptist Church of Kansas commandeered the dead and famous for their own self-promotion, is dead.
Across the Church’s website and its “sisters sites” – GodHatesIslam.com, GodHatesTheMedia.com, GodHatesTheWorld.com, JewsKilledJesus.com, BeastObama.com and PriestsRapeBoys.com, tributes are flowing.
It can’t be too long before a couple meet on WestboroMingle.com and name their first son Fred Phelps. And, yes, the WBC dating Petri Dish exists:
On the WBC website, beneath the title “Your Dashed Hopes”, we are invited the lament the 84-year-old’s passing:
The world-wide media has been in a frenzy during the last few days, gleefully anticipating the death of Fred Waldron Phelps Sr. It has been an unprecedented, hypocritical, vitriolic explosion of words…
It’s like every journalist in the world simultaneously set aside what little journalistic integrity they have, so that they could wait breathlessly for a rumor to publish: in-fighting, succession plans, and power struggles, oh my! How shameful! You’re like a bunch of little girls on the playground waiting for some gossip!
And then as God shows Phelps the final message on the last placard, the WBC issues a statement:
“This is a very difficult time for us, so we ask that the public have a little decency and respect by allowing us to mourn a great man who served God and tried to protect America from the threat of fags and perverts (i.e. gays and U.S. soldiers).”
As Peter Kaufman puts it:
The Westboro Baptist Church has upped the definition of chutzpah, for all eternity.
It is, of course, the last desperate stunt of a dead man. Without Phelps, the Church is rudderless.
What we really want to see are not millions of people protesting the death of a traveling sideshow, but the great man’s death bed confession “I like doin’ it with guys” become his lasting epitaph.
Anyone offended by Phelps’ ravings is thinking too much. He was ridiculous. His purpose was to give us something to lampoon. As Brick Stone asked one of the church’s members:
“Have you ever wondered how good gay sex must be if people are willing to go to Hell for it?”
Lauren Drain, 27, a former member of the Westboro Baptist Church who wrote Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church
I never understood why, when [the media asked him], “Why are you so against the homosexuals? Did you have a homosexual experience? Do you have homosexual tendencies?” And he would get so mad, he would shut down. And he’d be like, “I can’t talk to this person anymore, they’re stupid.” His reaction to that was stronger than any other question you can ask him. So I always wondered that — why does he get so mad? If I’m not gay, I’ll just say I’m not gay. And I’m not going to freak out, like, “Why are you calling me gay?” I always thought that was super strange. … I don’t know what happened there, so [speculation] is all that I can leave it at. But something happened, and something made him change his mind about the military, and in turn have kind of a crusade against sexual immorality and homosexuals.
Many of us will miss Fred Phelps, the ludicrous lunk. He was just about the most recognisable Christian bigot out there.
So. Let’s not picket his funeral. Let’s not sell that story of the time with Fred(a) at Chariots Sauna and Plunge Pools. Let’s enjoy what the man gave us: laughs.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: Fox News Fail Illustrates The Importance Of The Comma
MALAYSIA Airlines Flight MH370 illustrates the importance of the comma:
On the phone: Kathleen Bangs Aviation Expert
Torquay Police Bypass Journalists And Publish Direct On Local Newspaper Website
AFTER the hacking scandal broke, there were many stories about cosy the police, media and politicians had become. It looks like sensitive information is now mere merchandise. Where are the checks and balances? Who is watching whom?
Who at the Torquay Herald Express thought it a good idea for the local police to have access to the paper’s website?
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Madeleine McCann: Black Euclides Monteiro Is A Brown Moroccan And Other Facts
MADELEINE McCann: Anorak’s look the missing child in the news. In 2009, Cape Verdean national Euclides Monteiro, 40, died in a tractor accident. His name has been linked the missing child. There is no evidence in the media that he stole the child.
The Guardian notes:
A suspect in the Madeleine McCann case who may have sexually assaulted five British girls in the Algarve up to 10 years ago died in 2009…
We’re noted that the dead black immigrant cannot be easily questioned.
The source also said there had been another so far unpublicised incident in which another British girl on holiday with her parents was sexually abused, although he did not go into when this came to light nor where or when it took place.
Any more facts?
The revelations came the day after the Metropolitan police in Britain appealed for information on a total of 12 incidents in which an intruder entered holiday accommodation in three resort areas including one where Madeleine, then three, went missing in May 2007. Four of these cases, between 2004 and 2006, involved assaults on girls aged seven to 10 and one involved two children, according to Scotland Yard, although police in both countries have looked at incidents up to 2010, three years after Madeleine vanished.
The Guardian’s source was careful to say the police had come to “no definitive conclusions” about Euclides Monteiro
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Posted: 22nd, March 2014 | In: Key Posts, Madeleine McCann, Reviews | Comment
The 1983 Atari 2600 Bible Game Moses ‘Red Sea Crossing’ Let Christian Kids Play God
FLASHBACK to 1983: The Atari 2600 machine feature the Moses ‘Red Sea Crossing’ Bible story video game.
If you saved hard to buy this gem, then the good news is that the thing is worth a bomb. In 2012, one copy was sold for $10,400.
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Posted: 22nd, March 2014 | In: Flashback, Technology | Comment
Retro Gadgets: The 1951 Morale Raiser For Henpecked Men
FLASHBACK to 1951:
The electronic Morale Raiser was invented in 1951 to boost men’s confidence. For reasons unknown it never really took off.
Posted: 22nd, March 2014 | In: Flashback, Technology | Comment
Board Game Genocide: Nazi Family Fun With Juden Raus! Das Neue Gesellschafts-Spiel
IN 1936, German toy maker Günther & Co. released the board game “Juden Raus! Das Neue Gesellschafts-Spiel” (“Out with the Jews! The Game of the New Society”).
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Posted: 21st, March 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts | Comments (2)
Watch John Peel Get Almost Decapitated On Noel Edmonds’ The Late Late Breakfast Show
BBC Radio DJs Noel Edmonds and John Peel feature in this 10 September 1983 clip from The Late, Late Breakfast Show. Edmonds is vying for control of the Beeb, so we can expect lots more of this kind of telly is he gets his hands on it.
Key moments to look out for:
0 mins 32 s: John Peel almost has his head taken off.
0 mins 48 seconds: Noel’s “reassuring assurance”
Audience laughter.
1 min – 52 seconds – the Star Wars music keeps playing
2 mins 20s – next week: racing airplanes
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Posted: 20th, March 2014 | In: Flashback, TV & Radio | Comment
Who Killed Disco? 7 Suspects Revealed
IT’S actually amazing when you stop and think about it. A counter-culture movement originating in homosexual night clubs somehow wound up overtaking every nook and cranny of the pop culture landscape. From Hollywood to the fashion industry to ridiculous albums like the one pictured above – nothing was safe from the marauding cash cow called Disco.
So, why did it die a horrible death in the early 1980s?
There were plenty factors at work, such as a very real homophobic backlash. But that is an issue best reserved for a more serious discussion. Instead, let’s focus on 7 other primary suspects all wanted for “discocide”.
1. OVER-SATURATION
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Posted: 20th, March 2014 | In: Flashback, Key Posts, Music | Comment
Madeleine McCann: Attention Turns To The Foreign Sex Attacker Wearing What Could Be An Arsenal Shirt
THE sun is out, spring is here and thoughts turn to holidays overseas. And with it all comes more news of Madeleine McCann. The BBC reports:
Madeleine McCann: Police hunt sex attacker
Who is this criminal?
UK police probing the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are seeking an intruder who sexually abused five girls in Portugal between 2004 and 2006. Detectives say the attacks happened in holiday villas occupied by UK families in the Algarve. The man, described as tanned with dark hair, is suspected of breaking in to 12 properties from 2004 to 2010.
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Posted: 19th, March 2014 | In: Madeleine McCann, Reviews | Comments (2)
Pat Robertson’s Fever Dream: Four Times When Horror Movies Met The Devil’s Own Rock-and-Roll Music In The 1980s
JUST last week, the 700 Club’s Pat Robertson spoke out about the hidden scourge of our modern society: those demons from Hell who like to crash your car.
Yes, it turns out that devils can cause really horrible road accidents because — by merely watching horror movies — you have “granted them permission” to do so.
You know who you are…
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Posted: 19th, March 2014 | In: Film, Flashback, Key Posts | Comments (2)
Daily Mail Writer Uses Her Column To Tell Young Daughter She May Never Be A Mother
ANNA Louise is worried. She wonders aloud:
How do I tell my daughter she may never be mother?
Well, writing about it the Daily Mail is one way…
Next week, Mail writers confide:
I’m finding it hard to tell my son’s he dying
My son’s ugly and makes my stomach churn but I love him too much to tell him
And
Since becoming a mum I fantasise about murdering my kids with a broom
Spotter: Deborah Ross @deborahross
From BBC Children’s Favourites To Captain Kangaroo, Edward White’s Puffin Billy Kept The Kids Delighted
ITEM of the day is this 60 piece puzzle in box of Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan). There are no missing pieces.
The show was ideally suited to being packaged as a jigsaw:
That music was composed by Edward White and played by the Melodi Light Orchestra.
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Posted: 19th, March 2014 | In: Flashback, The Consumer, TV & Radio | Comment
I Was A 1960s Mod: Watch The Soul Rider Documentary
The modern fad for having as much sound and light as possible on your scooter reached the Epsom Downs for Derby Day. Proud owners are Roy Young and Linda Jarvis. Date: 31/05/1964
IN the 1960s, Glenn Stewart was a mod. There Is More filmed Glenn over six hours as he recalled him time as a suited and booted, Vespa driving mod.
It’s a lovely short film about one of Britain’s fashion tribes:
Spotter: ModStyle
Posted: 18th, March 2014 | In: Fashion, Flashback, Music | Comment
Sod The Sugar And The Salt We’re Allowed To Eat Fat Again
SO. Everything that we’ve been told about healthy eating for the past 30 years has turned out to be a mistake. Or a lie, your call:
For the health conscious reader who has been stoically swapping butter for margarine for years the next sentence could leave a bad taste in the mouth.
Scientists have discovered that saturated fat does not cause heart disease while so-called ‘healthy’ polyunsaturated fats do not prevent cardiovascular problems.
In contrast with decades old nutritional advice, researchers at Cambridge University have found that giving up fatty meat, cream or butter is unlikely to improve health.
They are calling for guidelines to be changed to reflect a growing body of evidence suggesting there is no overall association between saturated fat consumption and heart disease.
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Posted: 18th, March 2014 | In: Money, Reviews, The Consumer | Comment (1)
1959: A Nurse Injects A Dummy At The Nursing & Health Exhibition
FLASHBACK to March 2 959:
Nursing & Health Exhibition at County Hall: A nursing sister shows how an injection is given. The exhibition was organised by the London County Council.
(Because dummies are terrifying.)
Posted: 18th, March 2014 | In: Flashback, Photojournalism | Comment (1)
Read Alfie’s Home: The Creepy Children’s Book That Will Make Your Gay Children Straight
DR Christian Jessen is the star of the Channel 4 documentary Undercover Doctor: Cure Me, I’m Gay.
Can you be “cured” of your homosexuality? Some want to change. They sign up to schemes to become healthy and straight and good.
He tells viewers:
“Reparative’ techniques used across the world, primarily by some extreme right-wing organisations, have included electric shock therapy, exorcism, hypnosis, and even sessions with prostitutes.”
Because this is Channel 4, the main premise of the show will be to portray the curing community as freaks and nutjobs. But you needn’t tune in to know that, although the penile plethysmograph to measure Jessen’s post-cure arousal is an interesting reworking of TV clap-ometer.
The Cohens
You see all Channel 4 need do is show viewers pages from Richard Cohen’s Coming Out Straight, Gay Children Straight Parents, Let’s Talk About Sex, and Alfie’s Home, published in 1993 by Cohen’s International Healing Foundation (IHF).
The IHF website states:
Our goal…
Our goal is to promote healthy individuals and relationships, while assisting in the healing of families, communities, and places of worship.
In this film, Cohen, an ex-gay who is now married with 3 children and president of PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays), is seen playing with magnets. He says opposites attract, like magnets. Same things repel, like magnets. D’ yer see the point he’s making? Richard does.
This is book for children:
It’s all batshit mental. And it’s being promoted in Uganda:
Spotter: Patheos, Right Wing Watch
Posted: 18th, March 2014 | In: Books, Key Posts, Reviews | Comment
