Today's Daily Schadenfreude: Westboro Baptist Church

In a country where hate and intolerance have been gaining increasing traction since Republicans gained power in the mid-'90s, no organization or group -- not even the Bush crime syndicate itself -- has been as openly and egregiously hateful as the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan. Led by a genuine lunatic, Fred Phelps, the "church's" name may be deceptively benign, but its mission is repugnant.

That's why it's particularly satisfying to see that Phelps and his band of psychotic idiots have been hit with a $10.9 million judgment for their behavior at the funeral of a Maryland soldier killed in Iraq.

Albert Snyder of York, Pennsylvania, sued the Westboro Baptist Church for unspecified damages after members demonstrated at the March 2006 funeral of his son, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq.

The jury first awarded $2.9 million in compensatory damages. It returned later in the afternoon with its decision to award $6 million in punitive damages for invasion of privacy and $2 million for causing emotional distress.

U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett noted the size of the award for compensating damages "far exceeds the net worth of the defendants," according to financial statements filed with the court.

[...]

Snyder claimed the protests intruded upon what should have been a private ceremony and sullied his memory of the event.

The church members testified they are following their religious beliefs by spreading the message that the deaths of soldiers are due to the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.

Their attorneys argued in closing statements Tuesday that the burial was a public event and that even abhorrent points of view are protected by the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech and religion.

The judge said the church's financial statements, sealed earlier, could be released to the plaintiffs.

Earlier, church members staged a demonstration outside the federal courthouse.

Church founder Fred Phelps held a sign reading "God is your enemy," while Shirley Phelps-Roper stood on an American flag and carried a sign that read "God hates fag enablers."

Members of the group sang "God Hates America" to the tune of "God Bless America."

Snyder sobbed when he heard the verdict, while members of the church greeted the news with tightlipped smiles.

Finally, a court has told this pathetic group of human excrement that their First Amendment rights are not without limit, that their ability to espouse even their disgusting, extreme views does not give them license to exacerbate the private pain of a family.

I'm not holding my breath, but I sincerely hope this is the beginning of the end for Phelps' movement of hate. Snyder ultimately may see little or no compensation for what he endured from the Westboro gang, but this judgment will follow Phelps for the rest of his life. So I won't extend my customary congratulations to the Westboro Baptist Church for earning today's Blast Off! Daily Schadenfreude, because they deserve nothing but derision and shunning by all normal people everywhere.

Now that's schadenfreude.