Sick bigots from Westboro Baptist "Church" picketing in south Florida this week

If you're smelling a rancid, disgusting stench emanating from America's Glans™ today, most likely it's those hate-spewing, foul excuses for humanity from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan. We've seen them occasionally on Blast Off! before, spreading their message of anti-gay, anti-Semitic hate at soldiers' funerals, schools, and street corners alike.

This week they're focusing their repulsive message at the Jewish community in Palm Beach County:

This afternoon, the group is scheduled to be at the Jewish Community Center branch in Palm Beach Gardens, at Seminole Ridge High School in Loxahatchee, at the Chabad of West Palm Beach, and at the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County in suburban West Palm Beach.

Tuesday morning, the group is scheduled to picket three Boca Raton area locations: Spanish River High School, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County.

The group also plans pickets today in Miami Beach and Tuesday and Wednesday in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, including just before Tuesday night's Miami Heat-Toronto Raptors professional basketball game in downtown Miami.

[...]

The Westboro demonstration at the Jewish Federation is scheduled for Tuesday morning, when parents are dropping off children at school on the federation campus.

"We will ignore them," said Bill Bernstein, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County.

[...]

Westboro representatives did not respond to an interview request but had this message for any "Buddhists, Hindus or Christ-rejecting Jews" who called them: "You are all heads of the exact same monster. God hates you all and you are all headed to the same hell."

What kind of God, particularly a Christian God, hates anyone? I mean, I'm admittedly no expert on Christian theology, but I always learned God loves everyone. These Westboro cretins have an extraordinarily perverted view of Christianity ... and at some point, their ability to rely on constitutional freedom of speech ought to be questioned.

Here's what I'm trying to say: as a lawyer and an amateur First Amendment scholar, I know that expressions of opinion cannot be censored for their content; while there is room for reasonable restrictions based on the time, place, and manner of the expression, such restrictions must be "content-neutral," that is, imposed regardless of the message being delivered by the expression in question. My feeling, though, is that at some point, these Westboro assholes are crossing a line from free expression into, frankly, terrorism. What other purpose could they have in picketing military funerals to claim that God took the servicemembers' lives because He "hates fags?" And why else would they go to the JCC, the ADL, and high schools with large Jewish populations other than to terrorize the targets of their hatred?

If Westboro's message can be construed to be directed at placing Jews (or gays or whatever group) in fear for their safety and well-being, then perhaps it is not such a large step to interpret it as terrorism. And that ought to be the focus of some investigation at the local, state, or federal level: not as "censorship" per sé but as a means to rid our nation of this terroristic scourge -- the vile, destructive hate of these putrid, squalling scumbags who claim to wield the power of Christianity to defend their evil statements and actions.

Radical? Maybe. Appropriate? Absolutely.

In Naples, the furor over "Kick A Jew Day" continues

Maybe you've been paying attention to this growing controversy. Maybe not. Either way, it might be instructive to take a look at what's happening in southwest Florida, in the wealthy retirement enclave of Naples.

On November 19, a few students at North Naples Middle School, inspired by an episode of TV's "South Park," instigated a self-proclaimed "Kick A Jew Day" at the school. The students, two of whom themselves are Jewish, kicked a number of other students; it appears that they did not specifically target Jewish students but, rather, students who were "different."

“What the school found out is that it wasn’t ‘kick a Jew day.’ It was a ‘kick a fill-in-the-blank day,’” [Collier County school superintendent Dennis] Thompson said. “Many of the kids who kicked other students kicked someone they didn’t like or someone who is different. The kid who was kicked the most was new to the school. That, to me, is the tragedy. These kids picked on someone who was new to the school.”

The new student is not Jewish.

Thompson said it is unfortunate that one student was kicked for being Jewish but it seems to be an isolated case. He added that all of the students who were suspended had never been in trouble before.

“This is certainly not about religious intolerance. This is about, do you know who your child is communicating with? Do you know who your child is communicating about? The real lesson is that we need to understand what our kids watch and who they communicate with,” he said.

The students involved were disciplined with in-school suspension for one day, and the superintendent says this isn't about religious intolerance. Before reading articles about the incident, I was inclined to agree, knowing only that non-Jewish students were victims of the bullying as well. But then I read about the "South Park" episode in question --which featured Eric Cartman kicking "gingers," or red-haired kids, and I began to wonder how that morphed into "Kick A Jew Day." It certainly seems to suggest that religious intolerance plays more than a passing role in the genesis of this incident, doesn't it, Mr. Superintendent?

But you really only need go as far as the comments to the latest article about the incident to see that intolerance is a significant issue, at least among observers of the controversy (some of whom, it should be noted, do not live in Naples or even in Florida). Comment after comment suggests that this is just "something kids do" and that since the superintendent said it wasn't about religious, everyone should just shut the hell up:

Sounds like a witch hunt in the making to me! If the issue were anything else than hypersensitivity to the word "Jew",this would not even be newsworthy. How long will this "Holocaust mania" continue to cloud peoples minds that there are other people, other religions and cultures or no religious preferences at all that are just as important as those of the Jewish faith? Would "Kick a Muslim Day" be just as dramatic? As was stated by both the article and a previous poster this had absolutely NOTHING to do with raligion or culture? Get it?

******

Who cares? What a bunch of whiners. Only the rich Jews would get all this attention.

Pack up and move back to New York. This news isn't kosher.

******

Kids don't pay attention to the religion of others unless their parents brain wash them.

Facts: There was 2 Jewish kids kicking others too. If you read all the facts, it looks like some kids were horsing around and kicking each other... no matter if they were Jewish or not.

It was the MEDIA that picked out the phrase "Kick a Jew Day" that would sell newspapers... and the MEDIA made an issue of the ONE PHRASE. It is the Naples News that created this problem!!

What are you going to do? Put the kids in jail for horsing around on the playground?

How come no issue is made by the media when kids single out the FAT kids... or the SHORT kids... or the ITALIAN kids... or the MEXICAN kids... or the WHITE TRASH kids... or the BLACK kids or the NERD kids?

Kids can be mean to each other for no reason other than there is nothing else to do at the moment.

It is the fault of the Naples News that this playground horse play got the worldwide attention it did. Do you feel proud of what you did Naples News by making the residents of Naples look like fools? ... just a question

Well, the simple fact is that this wasn't about fat kids or short kids or Italian kids or Mexican kids ... and it would have been just as newsworthy if it were. Instead, somewhere along the way, this prank evolved from mimicking a cartoon to focusing hatred on a particular ethnic group. The fact that two of the miscreants were members of that faith is completely irrelevant. So, where do you suppose kids (at least the ringleaders) are learning that sort of hate, hmmm?

One Collier County School Board member calls the incident a "hate crime." I don't know whether I'd go that far, but I do believe the district's response has been embarrassingly, even painfully tepid. It's a teachable moment ... but instead they appear to want to sweep it under the rug. And yet, in a town like Naples or an area like southwest Florida, I can't say I'm terribly surprised.

Jewish Floridians: beware of insidious push-polling

My blogfriend trifecta alerts me to a new push-poll, with Karl Rove's pawprints all over it, targeting Jewish Floridians:

Key West resident Joelna Marcus received a phone call today. She was asked if she is Jewish, and she replied in the affirmative.

She was asked if she was religious.

She was then asked if her opinion of Barack Obama would change if she knew that Obama had given lots and lots of money to the PLO.

[...]

Update: Another FL voter (from Gainesville) has revealed he too received a similar push-poll call.

What really kills me is that this is the same tactic that was used against Huggy Bear in South Carolina in 2000 -- remember the "brown baby" push-polling there?

And people wonder why I say Huggy has zero integrity ...

Here comes Huggy Bear, here comes Huggy Bear, right down Huggy Bear Lane

... and right into Palm Beach County. Yep, Huggy Bear's coming to America's Glans™ tomorrow for a very specific purpose: capturing votes and money from the area's wealthy Jewish population.

The fund-raiser for McCain at the Ocean Ridge home of Lothar and Carlyn Mayer was put together as a way of "thanking and acknowledging Sen. McCain's longtime relationship with and support for Israel," said one of the event's hosts, Jeffrey Feingold, a Delray Beach periodontist active in state and national Jewish outreach for the GOP.

Republican strategists, and even some local Democratic activists, say McCain has the potential to attract more Jewish votes than President Bush won in 2004. Polls suggest Bush got between 22 percent and 25 percent of the Jewish vote.

Optimistic Republicans point to McCain's long pro-Israel record in the U.S. Senate, as well as his support from figures such as Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2000.

From my vantage point as a Dirty Fucking Gentile (DFG), it seems that many Jewish voters in south Florida are making their decisions, or at least being encouraged to make their decisions, pretty much on a single issue: Israel. And that's just too bad -- especially when their champion is a douchebag like Lieberman.

Another concern by many is that Jewish support in Florida is far stronger for Hillary Clinton than for Barack Obama -- I say "concern" because to me it still seems probable that Obama will be the nominee. Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Delray Beach) is doing his best to overcome that, though.

Sheila Rothman, a Democratic precinct captain who lives in a largely Jewish area west of Boynton Beach, said Obama would "definitely have a problem" in her precinct because many of her neighbors are uneasy about his longtime pastor and spiritual mentor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Wright, who recently retired as head of Trinity United Church of Christ that Obama attends in Chicago, made anti-Israel pronouncements from the pulpit and last year in the church bulletin reprinted an essay by a leader of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that advocates Israel's destruction.

Obama, a 20-year member of the church, has condemned Wright's views on Israel and called printing the Hamas essay "outrageously wrong."

U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Delray Beach, an early and ardent Obama endorser who is Jewish, said voters should look beyond Wright.

"I'm voting for Barack Obama. I'm not voting for Rev. Wright," Wexler said. "Most Americans are well beyond attributing to an individual the ideology of a particular church."

In Wexler's heavily Jewish congressional district, 70 percent of Democrats voted for Clinton in the Jan. 29 primary. Only 19 percent chose Obama.

Wexler says many Florida voters simply don't know enough about Obama, who along with other Democrats refused to campaign in Florida because its primary was held too early, violating party rules.

"I'm quite confident that, when the Jewish community in Florida gets to know Barack Obama, when they see him in South Florida, when he talks about his steadfast support for Israel ... Barack Obama will be a very attractive candidate to Jewish people in Florida," Wexler said.

The outcome of the election in this area likely will depend on how well Obama and his supporters can reinforce the fact that Rev. Wright is not the candidate, nor do his views represent those of Obama.

But in the meantime, we've got to deal with tomorrow's visit from the Dessicated, Goiter-Ridden Near-Corpse. As if it weren't bad enough to live in the same county as Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter ...

Israel ♥ liberal bloggers

A group of prominent lefty bloggers (sadly, I was not invited) traveled to Israel last week at the invitation of the Solomon Project, a division of the National Jewish Democratic Council. Apparently pro-Israeli organizations have perceived a certain animosity towards Israel and the Jewish community from the Left, and so this trip was arranged to give some key DFHs an up-close-and-personal look at the actual situation in that country. Among those on the trip were representatives of HuffPo, Daily Kos, Open Left, and MyDD.

The bloggers said Israel was one of the few "wedge" issues in the American progressive community, even if support for the Jewish state on the whole remained strong.

The influence of anti-GOP sentiments was clear on the trip during discussions about Iran.

Nearly all of the Israelis with whom the bloggers met warned about the dangers posed by the Iranian regime. For the American bloggers, the concern expressed by Israelis across the political map stood in marked contrast to the discourse back at home.

In the United States, the bloggers said, the push to raise red flags about Iran has been tainted and even discredited in the eyes of those who see it as one of President Bush's pet issues.

Because Bush was so roundly discredited after leading the country into war in Iraq over weapons of mass destruction that turned out not to exist, confronting Iran is going to be a hard sell -- if not an impossible one -- to the American public, the bloggers insisted. They said that learning more about Iran's role in supporting Hamas was important, but were doubtful that it would translate into increased American action.

"A few of the more conservative, right-leaning Israelis we met expressed that George Bush is the best friend Israel ever had, and the news we had to deliver them was that your best friend has left you hanging out to dry with Iran," said David Waldman, a contributing editor at Daily Kos.

Ultimately, the bloggers said, they did not believe that Israel has a problem within the base of the Democratic Party. But, they added, in times of intense conflict -- the 2006 Lebanon War, for example -- raw emotions emerge, especially in the comments left by readers.

To me, the issue is not so much with Israel itself. Certainly Israel has been and continues to be a key strategic ally for the United States in the Middle East. The problem is that the neoconservatives have co-opted Israel into their demented power play over the years, and as a result, there is a perception that the American Left despises Israel. I don't think anything could be farther from the truth. It's not true that "any friend of my enemy is my enemy," and this is a prime example thereof.

I think it's just that we on the Left, by and large, respect the territorial and cultural rights of the Arab community as well as those of the Israelis, and because the Bush crime syndicate has branded all Muslims as Dirty Brown People, Republicans simply cannot be equitable. (See, e.g., Lieberman, Joe.)

It's a good thing that the progressive bloggers went to Israel to see what things are really like there, but I'm not sure there was a problem to begin with. I'm all for protecting Israel, but an illegal war against an Arab nation (and a potential one against a Persian Muslim nation) is not the way to handle the situation. Perhaps the bloggers were able to help the Israelis see that ...

(h/t reader MG)

Generation gap

I come from a long line of, well, rabid wingnuts; only one cousin that I know of is even remotely "liberal" in perspective. In fact, some time ago my father, from whom I am estranged, sent me an Ann Coulter column, and I asked him not to do that anymore. I haven't heard from him since.

Normally, I don't think much about my family's perspective. I like to think I've escaped the family curse of conservatism and, yes, bigotry. But sometimes it still hits me close to home.

Tonight my mother called, as she frequently does on Sunday nights. My mother and I have grown closer over the years, since she and my father divorced after 39 years of marriage and since I have had children of my own. What can I say? -- I'm an only child, and you only children out there know what I'm talking about, I'm sure. Anyway, Mom is 75 years old and facing a third round of cancer surgery. She's tougher than anyone I know, and she's as kind as can be. Yet, times like tonight, I remember that Mom has a distinct perspective.

Mom was describing to me yet another episode in a dispute she's having regarding some property she owns; she owns half of a resort house, and the guy who owns the other half wants to buy her out. She said she would only do so if he bought a nicer place nearby, and then they would just trade the houses. So the guy talked to the owner of the nicer place and apparently offended the latter (this guy is a real piece of work, I understand).

Then Mom says, "Well, you know, his name is [clearly Jewish surname]." "What does that mean?" I asked. "Oh, you know, he's obviously trying to work the guy over." I persisted: "But what does that have to do with his name?" "Oh, [Sinfonian], I just mean, you know, he's trying to 'Jew us over,' as they say."

"Who says that, Mom?" I started to get mad. "What does his religion have to do with it? Can't he just be a jerk regardless of what his faith is?" "Oh, I didn't mean anything by it," she said, and she moved on in the conversation. I was too shocked, or maybe too sensible, to pursue the thought further.

This really troubles me. I expect to hear shit like that from my father (age 75), or from my aunt (71) or my late grandfather (who died in 2003 at the age of 97) or my 86-year-old stepfather, none of whom would have the least compunction about ascribing negative characteristics to people based solely on their race or religion or sexual orientation, usually after saying something along the lines of, "I don't mean to say Jews are stingy, but ..." But to hear it from my mother, well, I'm stunned. Even if she has always believed it, I can't remember ever hearing her say such a thing.

While visiting my mother not too terribly long ago, I remember noting how Drunky McStagger's approval ratings had dropped to 30% or so, and I said, "Please, Mom, tell me that you're not still supporting this guy!" She replied, tellingly, "I almost wish Bush had lost the [2004] election, because you just knew whoever won would have such a mess to deal with." I didn't say anything more, and I regret that now, because what I wanted to say was that it was Bush who got himself into that mess. But I didn't.

So, I'm sorry that I nearly started a fight with my mother tonight, but I'm not going to put up with backwards, bigoted, unacceptable attitudes around me anymore, at least not from those closest to me. I felt guilty about not having said something in the Bush episode a couple of years ago, and I'm glad that spurred me to say something tonight. I guess if we have to fight the media and the Republicans and all the idiots in this country who think that Jews or African-Americans or foreigners or brown people are responsible for everything bad that happens, the only way we can do it is one conversation at a time.

If you've had similar experiences, I'd be glad to hear about them in Comments.

Here comes Holy Joe

As I noted yesterday, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Am Embarrassed By Him), the Last Honest Man, will be in town this week -- tomorrow, in fact -- stumping (or, should I say, jowling) for his BFF John McCain.

My friend Mark, a staunch liberal (even though he's supporting Sen. Clinton*), received the following invitation in his e-mail today and, understanding its important role in my ongoing effort to inform you, the voting public, about opportunities to make fun of whackjob wingnuts, he passed it on to me.

You'll have to click the image or click here to get the full-sized, more legible version (which itself is scaled down a bit from the original):


Let me help you a bit with the parts I've highlighted for your amusement:

Senator Lieberman will speak about issues of national security, Radical Islam, Israel and his endorsement of
Republican Candidate for President, Senator John McCain

[...]

Seating is limited - RSVP is required for entrance at the Security Gate
Please be aware of arrival time due to entrance at Security Gate

[...]

This event is a members only event. If you are not a member of the RJC, you’ll be given an opportunity to join by phone or at the door. RJC e-team memberships are free of charge.

As Mark, who is Jewish and very involved in the local Jewish community, said in his e-mail to me, "Thought you would be equally nauseated by this email as I was. ... It is SO distasteful to most Jews to see this stuff."

Well, Mark, I am. In fact, I'm pretty much nauseated by anything Holy Joe says or does. Of course the man who waltzed through Baghdad's Green Zone wearing body armor and heavily guarded proclaiming how safe it was there would come to Boca and appear in a closed event at a gated community. Jeebus forbid he actually show his Droopy-Dog face in public. And I can't begin to describe how disappointed I am that I won't hear his riveting comments about "Radical Islam" and Israel.

And here I was all set to ask my neighborhood Publix whether they had any spoiled eggs or produce they wanted to unload ...

---

* I keed, I keed!

Today's Daily Schadenfreude: Mitt Romney

Well, it appears The Wingnut Formerly Known as Willard has gotten himself into another fine mess, this time with Jewish Democrats (and, you might be aware, there are a lot of them).

Seems Mitt plans to announce his candidacy for the GOP nomination for president back in his original home state (he's had a few of 'em), Michigan, where his dad was governor. Thing is, he picked the Henry Ford Museum for his announcement ... and Ford was a noted anti-Semite.

Whoops!

The [National Jewish Democratic Council] "is deeply troubled by Governor Romney's choice of locations to announce his presidential campaign," executive director Ira Forman said in a statement.

"Romney has been traveling the country talking about inclusiveness and understanding of people from all walks of life," Forman said. "Yet he chooses to kick (off) his presidential campaign on the former estate of a well-known and outspoken anti-Semite and xenophobe."

Forman said Romney's "embrace of Henry Ford and association of Ford's legacy with his presidential campaign raises serious questions about either the sincerity of Romney's words or his understanding of basic American history."

Ford was bestowed with the Grand Service Cross of the Supreme Order of the German Eagle by Adolph [sic] Hitler.

Romney becomes the first three-time "winner" of the Blast Off! Daily Schadenfreude "award," having previously been "honored" for employing illegal immigrants at his home (the very first DS award) and for flip-flopping like a pinfish on a dock over gay rights. His candidacy is a comedy of errors, and I only see more laughter and schadenfreude ahead. Frankly, it's folks like this that keep us lefty bloggers in bid-ness.

So, once again, congratulations, Mitt Romney -- today's Blast Off! Daily Schadenfreude is for you!

UPDATE (11:47 pm 2/12/07): Well, I'm just home from rehearsal, and I'd like to welcome all the visitors I've discovered from the Mitt Report, where this humble post is front-page "breaking news" tonight under the header "Whoops!...Already?"

Whoops, indeed. I mean, it's a safe bet that whoever gets the GOP nomination is going to get pwn3d in the general election, but seriously, if you think your guy has a chance in hell, you'd better get him to clean up his act. (Yeah, here I am giving advice to presidential candidates, and a Republic Party member at that. As with most advice, it's worth what you paid for it.)

Anyway, have a look around, comment or flame as you wish, and enjoy your stay. We may not agree, but the least I can do is be hospitable. (Isn't that preferable to me telling you to go Cheney yourself?)