The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., plans to stage protests at funerals of victims of the 35W bridge collapse to state that God made the bridge fall because he hates America, and especially Minnesota, because of its tolerance of homosexuality."Land of the Sodomite Damned"? I like it! It sure beats "Land of 10,000 Lakes" or "L'Etoille du Nord" for state motto. I hope we can get that onto the license plates by 2008, for the GOP convention.
The church and its pastor, the Rev. Fred Phelps, have become notorious over recent years for their claim that the attack of 9/11 was an act of God's vengeance and their determination to make that case at the funerals of U.S. soldiers who died in Iraq.
In a press release issued the day after the bridge collapse, the church called for protests at the funerals and outlined its feelings about the relationship between God's plan and the sins of Minneapolis and Minnesota, which it calls the "land of the Sodomite damned."
Of course, the Westboro Baptist Church has good reason to hate Minneapolis:
We know Minneapolis and Minnesota well, having picketed there many times. Twice they stole our picket signs -- on the public sidewalk in front of the Basillica of St. Mary, 88 N. 17th St., Minneapolis, MN -- as the police looked on and laughed. Typical Minnesotans.Yeah, those bastards, stealing those beautiful "God Hates Fags" signs. Ah, Fred Phelps. You make Pat Robertson look like John Shelby Spong.
