"thank god for dead soldiers"

"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all."
-Noam Chomsky
"It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either."
-Mark Twain

Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas (the Refried Christians who hold "God hates fags" signs at the funerals of gay people) believe that God is killing soldiers to punish America for condoning homosexuality. The group also says God sent Hurricane Katrina and 9/11 to punish America for embracing "the gay agenda." (Sidebar: Ask your gay friends who can't get legally married how embraced they feel by this country sometime.)

Since last summer, up to 20 of these fundie nutjobs have been showing up at soldier's funerals to chant, wave their their signs, and kick around tattered American flags. The protests, viewed by many as cruel and unpatriotic, have set off a wave of grassroots outrage and 14 states are now considering laws seeking to restrict demonstrations at funerals and burials.

As repugnant (and ridiculous) as their message is, I'm more than a little concerned at the thought of government restricting Rev. Phelps and his crazy Tennessee Taliban's freedom of speech.