* I’m almost an absolutist when it comes to the 1st Amendment, so I have mixed feelings about the new law that prohibits protests within 300 feet of military funerals. But I have no mixed emotions at all about the idiotic morons at the Westboro Baptist “Church”…
Members of an anti-gay fundamentalist group known for their protests of military funerals will have to stay a bit farther away from such services under a measure Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law Sunday as the Illinois State Fair observed its Veterans Day.
In contrast with the shouting members of the Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church who often engage in outside funerals, Quinn quietly signed off on the “Let Them Rest In Peace Act,” which pushes protestors back another 100 feet to 300 feet - the equivalent of a football field’s length - at military funerals. Protests remain banned 30 minutes before and after funeral services.
A Westboro member labeled the new law as unconstitutional and said the church would continue its protests as it fights the laws in court.
“They can make (the ban distance) 100 miles, and it changes exactly nothing,” said Margie Phelps, a lawyer and the daughter of Westboro pastor Fred Phelps. “You all are delusional if you think you’re going to win this one.”
For those who aren’t familiar with the church, whose double-digit membership consists mostly of the children and other relations of patriarch Fred Phelps, they believe end times are nigh owing to our un-Christian ways. To ensure their own salvation, members go to soldiers’ funerals and other charged occasions like the first day of same-sex marriage in New York and scream and sing slurs while trampling the flag and rotating an array of aggressively obnoxious signs in the hopes of drawing media attention — which they inevitably do.
As church members see it, the point of yelling at the damned (pretty much everyone but them) isn’t to save us, but only to ensure we sinners have been warned so that our damnation won’t be on their hands. It’s nutty and not very consequential, though of course the groups the church targets sometimes have a tough time seeing it that way.
Talking to Margie Phelps, one of Fred’s daughters and the most vocal by far of the New York contingent, she boasted about how the media spreads her message despite her open contempt for it. Reading the Voice, she said, “I just skim through with my finger looking for our words. I don’t care how you encase them.”
Church members, she continued, had mastery of “the press, and Twitter, and social media. We’re skilled social marketers,” she said, crediting God with that development. Throughout the conversation, she lapsed into media jargon, like “close the loop,” alternating those thoughts with an almost random stream of vitriol.
* Speaking of free speech, WBBM TV truly ought to be ashamed of itself…
WBBM aired a story June 30 about a shooting in which two teenagers were wounded. It included video of the 4-year-old saying he wanted his own gun. The station edited out the rest of the boy’s statement that he wanted the gun because he wants to be a police officer.
Through communications director Shawnelle Richie, WBBM management admitted that employees made a mistake airing the video and compounded the error by editing the clip to take the boy’s comments out of context.
This was aired during the height of the alleged “wilding” wave, which resulted in a media frenzy. That CBS2 would actually lie about a story in order to perpetuate the craziness is beyond irresponsible. People ought to be fired for this, and those people should never be allowed to work in journalism ever again.
It’s no secret why members of Congress would shy away from holding open town hall meetings – it’s no fun getting yelled at by angry constituents or having an uncomfortable question become an unfortunate YouTube moment. By outsourcing the events to third parties that charge an entry fee to raise money, members of Congress can eliminate most of the riffraff while still – in some cases – allowing in reporters and TV cameras for a positive local news story.
“Public” servants are elected by the “public” thus should be “freely” available to the “public” in open forums so that the “public” can exercise its right to “freely” speak. I suspect the same “public” will exercise its right to vote next year and the “public” servants who charge an entry will no longer serve the “public.”
Rich, I’m with you, I’m not ok with limiting free speech, but I’m ok with limiting when you can say it. I don’t want people protesting funerals. You can say whatever you want 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after. But you can’t interrupt a funeral. It’s not limiting free speech, it’s making sure people treat others with respect… which is sad that we have to do.
As far as paying for a town hall meeting, I love Ryan’s plan. He’s going to take away grandma’s ability to pay to attend town hall meetings that he charges for. He doesn’t have to face the music and one of his allies makes money. It’s brilliant, sure he’s a dirty rotten scoundrel, but brilliant.
:)
- Gotta Love the GOP - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 10:46 am:
The GOP is all about the money, so it’s no surprise that GOP Congressmen would charge constituents for the privilege of questioning them face to face.
Umm, groups do that all the time where you pay to hear a guy speak and then ask questions. They are fundraisers for various groups, most of the civic organizations in Chicago don’t let you in for lunch and QA for free.
Also reading the story it isn’t that he is charging, it’s the group.
Every time I hear a journalist say they are almost absolutists on the first amendment, my thought is they are only familiar with the “freedom of the press” part.
Westboro was in town recently protesting the KISS concert — these buffoons also picketed the Jewish Federation Government Affairs Office, based on their anti-Semetism and dislike for Jewish community political or governmental advocacy.
Apparently no one told them that the Jewish Federation government affairs office is now staffed out of Chicago, and their Lincoln Towers office is just a computer, phone, and fax machine available to the lobbyist when she is in Springfield… Westboro demonstrates in front of the dead at funerals, and now pickets empty lobbying offices. What a bunch of marroons, as sage Bugs Bunny would say.
There is nothing wrong with having a breakfast or luncheon serve the dual purpose of a fundraiser and meeting with your consituents. The problem comes in if that is the only avenue the elected official allows for face to face contact with his/her constituents. Elected officials do have to raise money, but they also have a responsibility to face the music whether its a tune they enjoy or not.
- Bring Back Boone's - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 11:25 am:
As I work more and more alongside the MSM it becomes apparent that they are the same as/ worse than the people that they try to demonize. Everything has to fit into their narrative to “sell more papers” or “attract more viewers.”
I was at an event to honor a group of people hosted by a politician. A CBS reporter came to the event, interviewed the people who were being honored, and then refused to talk to the politician who hosted it claiming that it would be “editorial content.” Later that night the spot aired on the news and they completely cut out who sponsored the event, why, and where because it ran contrary to the meme of politicians screwing something up or scamming the taxpayers. It’s pretty sickening that reporting on anything remotely political these days is tantamount to yellow journalism.
Can we not learn to enforce the laws we have rather than create political response ones every time there is a new “issue”? How about using “Disturbing the Peace”? Would not protesting and disrupting ANY funeral be disturbing the peace? Too many laws make for a mess; where does it end?
- Quinn T. Sential - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 11:37 am:
It appears as though Rezko will continue to have the opportunity to exercise his First Amendment Rights at his sentencing hearing on October 21st.
If memory serves me correctly, the Cellini trial is expected to begin October 6th. If that is indeed the case, then should we assume that the G-men expect the trial to be over prior to sentencing Rezko, or that at least he will have been called to testify in the Cellini case prior to testifying, or should we instead assume that Rezko will not be testifying in U.S. vs. Cellini at all?
Don’t you folks understand? The First Amendment is ONLY for Christians. (As Dave Barry would say, “I am not making this up!”) See: http://www.care2.com/causes/the-first-amendment-only-applies-to-christians.html ““The First Amendment was written by the Founders to protect the free exercise of Christianity. They were making no effort to give special protections to Islam. Quite the contrary,” he says. Yup! So, I guess if you’re not a Christian journalist, just SHUT UP!
There is no solution to Westboro. Either they get a forum or they get validation via persecution, and a forum in the courts.
Sometimes people are just awful and there’s nothing to be done for it.
- Quinn T. Sential - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 12:02 pm:
Rich,
While the judge sets the date, both prosecutors and defense counsel can have a say by petitioning the court to either set a date, or delay a date already set, and they can also mutually agree on a date before the court.
Rezko’s sentencing date has been set, cancelled, and re-set several times since he was convicted. When the October 21st date was set by agreement of both the prosecutors and the defense at the end of January, Cellini’s trial date was still scheduled for August at that point.
Now that Cellini’s trial date was pushed back to October 3rd, and yet neither his attorney or federal prosecutors asked for a sentencing delay beyond October 21st today, that seems to signal that they expect it to be over, they expect Rezko to have testified already by then, or they may not intend to use him.
I have a suspicion that his sentencing will get delayed again; ev en if just briefly, in order to make sure he remains viable for the Cellini trial.
If you want readers to share your anger at the mainstream media for reporting on an unnamed “event to honor a group of people hosted by a politician” that “completely cut out who sponsored the event, why, and where,” don’t you think you’d be more effective if you told us who the “group of people” was, who the politician was, and when, where and why the event was held?
I can’t make an informed judgment if you don’t tell me the facts. Sound familiar?
There may be little that can legally be done about WBC, but the Project Lemonade approach at least takes a positive approach that benefits others in response.
I look forward to a day when people clamor, not for a ‘Tea Party’, but instead for a Lemon Party …
I agree WBBM’s use of the 4-year-old’s comment comment about wanting a gun, particularly without the context of his wish to be a cop, is atrocious and that heads need to roll at that station.
However, given the media’s general policy of excluding context in favor of controversy, all while squeezing a story into an increasingly limited space, it’s not terribly surprising.
News stories are commonly tailored to meet the reporter and/or editor’s view of what the story *should* be; reporters are conditioned to seek out and focus on elements more likely to make the story pop, rather than simply following the news and working to ensure the story is told in proper context.
Sorry your offended Rich but if the media didn’t focus on the “man bite dog” extremists stories the fringe groups wouldn’t likely be seeking the attention.
==I agree WBBM’s use of the 4-year-old’s comment comment about wanting a gun, particularly without the context of his wish to be a cop, is atrocious and that heads need to roll at that station.==
What’s wrong here, in my opinion, was taping the reaction of an extremely young child after a violent event. Four year old children cannot process violent or highly emotional events in ways that make sense and shouldn’t be taken seriously, or recorded.
How do the Westboro ‘maroons’ pay for all the expenses to travel from Kansas and show up in Illinois so much? There is no winning with them. Their extreme ideology allows them to rationalize themselves as the suffers who will save all. The fact they come across as idiots will never be a thought in their head
Maybe so, but as Anon 1:04 and 1:13 noted, the Patriot Guard has done a pretty good job of neutralizing the effect of those nutjobs on the funerals of our fallen soldiers.
Having people pay to attend a town hall is no worse than charging taxpayers for an “official” bus tour. At least the town hall attendees have a choice.
That is a weak argument. Whoever is in the White House always gets the benefits of that office when it is time to run again. Move on to some other “outrage” against Obama . . .
=== What’s wrong here, in my opinion, was taping the reaction of an extremely young child after a violent event. ===
That’s an issue separate from the one I was addressing. But yes, that’s a whole other problem with the WBBM story. Some news outlets have a policy of not quoting a minor (certainly not a 4-year-old) without first gaining the parent’s consent. I have no idea what WBBM’s policy on this may be, or whether they even have one, but they should waste no time publicly explaining that policy and whether their employees violated it.
=== True. But they shouldn’t be told to flat-out lie. There’s a huge difference here. ===
Respectfully, Rich, I don’t see a “flat-out lie.” I see a story directly quoting a kid without including critical context; it’s a story with a half-truth that sloppily and unacceptably misrepresents the child’s view. Unless I’m missing something …
As a First Amendment absolutist, I honor Justice Roerts and the Suprmees for defending the right of the Westboro crew to sperad their venom.
As a decent human being, I defend the unconstitutional actions of Gov.Quinn and the GA in trying to limit their activities.
I
As an old hairy-ass hillbilly from DeKalb County, I celebrate my biker friends who are willing to break the law, and more, to ensure a solemn farewell to our heroes.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 10:31 am:
“Public” servants are elected by the “public” thus should be “freely” available to the “public” in open forums so that the “public” can exercise its right to “freely” speak. I suspect the same “public” will exercise its right to vote next year and the “public” servants who charge an entry will no longer serve the “public.”
- Ahoy - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 10:41 am:
Rich, I’m with you, I’m not ok with limiting free speech, but I’m ok with limiting when you can say it. I don’t want people protesting funerals. You can say whatever you want 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after. But you can’t interrupt a funeral. It’s not limiting free speech, it’s making sure people treat others with respect… which is sad that we have to do.
As far as paying for a town hall meeting, I love Ryan’s plan. He’s going to take away grandma’s ability to pay to attend town hall meetings that he charges for. He doesn’t have to face the music and one of his allies makes money. It’s brilliant, sure he’s a dirty rotten scoundrel, but brilliant.
:)
- Gotta Love the GOP - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 10:46 am:
The GOP is all about the money, so it’s no surprise that GOP Congressmen would charge constituents for the privilege of questioning them face to face.
- Cheryl44 - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 10:52 am:
I wouldn’t spend a dime to talk to a Republican “public servant.”
- OneMan - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 10:53 am:
Umm, groups do that all the time where you pay to hear a guy speak and then ask questions. They are fundraisers for various groups, most of the civic organizations in Chicago don’t let you in for lunch and QA for free.
Also reading the story it isn’t that he is charging, it’s the group.
- Liberty First - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 11:04 am:
Every time I hear a journalist say they are almost absolutists on the first amendment, my thought is they are only familiar with the “freedom of the press” part.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 11:08 am:
LF, bite me.
- Capital View - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 11:12 am:
Westboro was in town recently protesting the KISS concert — these buffoons also picketed the Jewish Federation Government Affairs Office, based on their anti-Semetism and dislike for Jewish community political or governmental advocacy.
Apparently no one told them that the Jewish Federation government affairs office is now staffed out of Chicago, and their Lincoln Towers office is just a computer, phone, and fax machine available to the lobbyist when she is in Springfield… Westboro demonstrates in front of the dead at funerals, and now pickets empty lobbying offices. What a bunch of marroons, as sage Bugs Bunny would say.
- Tommydanger - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 11:13 am:
There is nothing wrong with having a breakfast or luncheon serve the dual purpose of a fundraiser and meeting with your consituents. The problem comes in if that is the only avenue the elected official allows for face to face contact with his/her constituents. Elected officials do have to raise money, but they also have a responsibility to face the music whether its a tune they enjoy or not.
- Bring Back Boone's - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 11:25 am:
As I work more and more alongside the MSM it becomes apparent that they are the same as/ worse than the people that they try to demonize. Everything has to fit into their narrative to “sell more papers” or “attract more viewers.”
I was at an event to honor a group of people hosted by a politician. A CBS reporter came to the event, interviewed the people who were being honored, and then refused to talk to the politician who hosted it claiming that it would be “editorial content.” Later that night the spot aired on the news and they completely cut out who sponsored the event, why, and where because it ran contrary to the meme of politicians screwing something up or scamming the taxpayers. It’s pretty sickening that reporting on anything remotely political these days is tantamount to yellow journalism.
- OneMan - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 11:27 am:
I am glad I live in a land where we have the freedom to suggest someone bite us…
- Carl Nyberg - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 11:33 am:
Voters have a right to vote out members of Congress who charge people to attend their town hall meetings.
Yes, our media sucks. Yes, our politicians are irresponsible.
But at some point the voters have to take some responsibility.
- JustaJoe - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 11:37 am:
Can we not learn to enforce the laws we have rather than create political response ones every time there is a new “issue”? How about using “Disturbing the Peace”? Would not protesting and disrupting ANY funeral be disturbing the peace? Too many laws make for a mess; where does it end?
- Quinn T. Sential - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 11:37 am:
It appears as though Rezko will continue to have the opportunity to exercise his First Amendment Rights at his sentencing hearing on October 21st.
If memory serves me correctly, the Cellini trial is expected to begin October 6th. If that is indeed the case, then should we assume that the G-men expect the trial to be over prior to sentencing Rezko, or that at least he will have been called to testify in the Cellini case prior to testifying, or should we instead assume that Rezko will not be testifying in U.S. vs. Cellini at all?
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 11:40 am:
QTS, you may be outhinking yourself here. The judge sets those dates, not the prosecutors.
- ivote - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 11:51 am:
Don’t you folks understand? The First Amendment is ONLY for Christians. (As Dave Barry would say, “I am not making this up!”) See: http://www.care2.com/causes/the-first-amendment-only-applies-to-christians.html ““The First Amendment was written by the Founders to protect the free exercise of Christianity. They were making no effort to give special protections to Islam. Quite the contrary,” he says. Yup! So, I guess if you’re not a Christian journalist, just SHUT UP!
- Dirt Digger - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 11:56 am:
There is no solution to Westboro. Either they get a forum or they get validation via persecution, and a forum in the courts.
Sometimes people are just awful and there’s nothing to be done for it.
- Quinn T. Sential - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 12:02 pm:
Rich,
While the judge sets the date, both prosecutors and defense counsel can have a say by petitioning the court to either set a date, or delay a date already set, and they can also mutually agree on a date before the court.
Rezko’s sentencing date has been set, cancelled, and re-set several times since he was convicted. When the October 21st date was set by agreement of both the prosecutors and the defense at the end of January, Cellini’s trial date was still scheduled for August at that point.
Now that Cellini’s trial date was pushed back to October 3rd, and yet neither his attorney or federal prosecutors asked for a sentencing delay beyond October 21st today, that seems to signal that they expect it to be over, they expect Rezko to have testified already by then, or they may not intend to use him.
I have a suspicion that his sentencing will get delayed again; ev en if just briefly, in order to make sure he remains viable for the Cellini trial.
- olddog - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 12:02 pm:
@ Bring Back Boone’s
If you want readers to share your anger at the mainstream media for reporting on an unnamed “event to honor a group of people hosted by a politician” that “completely cut out who sponsored the event, why, and where,” don’t you think you’d be more effective if you told us who the “group of people” was, who the politician was, and when, where and why the event was held?
I can’t make an informed judgment if you don’t tell me the facts. Sound familiar?
- Happy Returns - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 12:11 pm:
There may be little that can legally be done about WBC, but the Project Lemonade approach at least takes a positive approach that benefits others in response.
I look forward to a day when people clamor, not for a ‘Tea Party’, but instead for a Lemon Party …
- hawksfan - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 12:17 pm:
A member of the Westboro Baptist Church labeling others as “delusional”, ahh the irony.
- Coach - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 12:19 pm:
I agree WBBM’s use of the 4-year-old’s comment comment about wanting a gun, particularly without the context of his wish to be a cop, is atrocious and that heads need to roll at that station.
However, given the media’s general policy of excluding context in favor of controversy, all while squeezing a story into an increasingly limited space, it’s not terribly surprising.
News stories are commonly tailored to meet the reporter and/or editor’s view of what the story *should* be; reporters are conditioned to seek out and focus on elements more likely to make the story pop, rather than simply following the news and working to ensure the story is told in proper context.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 12:38 pm:
===reporters are conditioned to seek out and focus on elements more likely to make the story pop===
True. But they shouldn’t be told to flat-out lie. There’s a huge difference here.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 1:04 pm:
Good for Quinn on military funerals…and thanks as always to our Patriot Guard Riders.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–92lbsY2T0
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 1:13 pm:
Sorry, don’t know why that link isn’t working. It’s a thought-provoking video on the topic. In case someone wants to see it, youtube search:
“Life of Duty - Patriot Profiles: Patriot Guard Riders”
- Liberty First - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 1:52 pm:
Sorry your offended Rich but if the media didn’t focus on the “man bite dog” extremists stories the fringe groups wouldn’t likely be seeking the attention.
- Wensicia - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 1:56 pm:
==I agree WBBM’s use of the 4-year-old’s comment comment about wanting a gun, particularly without the context of his wish to be a cop, is atrocious and that heads need to roll at that station.==
What’s wrong here, in my opinion, was taping the reaction of an extremely young child after a violent event. Four year old children cannot process violent or highly emotional events in ways that make sense and shouldn’t be taken seriously, or recorded.
- zatoichi - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 2:07 pm:
How do the Westboro ‘maroons’ pay for all the expenses to travel from Kansas and show up in Illinois so much? There is no winning with them. Their extreme ideology allows them to rationalize themselves as the suffers who will save all. The fact they come across as idiots will never be a thought in their head
- Slick Willy - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 2:11 pm:
===There is no solution to Westboro.===
Maybe so, but as Anon 1:04 and 1:13 noted, the Patriot Guard has done a pretty good job of neutralizing the effect of those nutjobs on the funerals of our fallen soldiers.
- Ben - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 2:28 pm:
@zatoichi
Lawsuits filed by those who take violent action in response to their provocations…
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/groups/westboro-baptist-church
- Cincinnatus - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 2:43 pm:
Having people pay to attend a town hall is no worse than charging taxpayers for an “official” bus tour. At least the town hall attendees have a choice.
- Wensicia - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 2:54 pm:
==At least the town hall attendees have a choice.==
They also have a choice, come next election, to vote for opposing candidates that don’t charge a fee before speaking to their soon to be constituents.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 3:04 pm:
===charging taxpayers for an “official” bus tour===
Who’s doing that?
- Cincinnatus - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 3:11 pm:
Obama’s three state “official” caravan is being paid for by the taxpayers. The Obama campaign will not be funding this event.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 3:12 pm:
lol, oh, ok.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 3:13 pm:
But, then again, who’s paying for those “free” congressional town halls? Walsh is doing ten of them.
- Wensicia - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 3:22 pm:
@Cincinnatus
That same “official” caravan will be offered to the Republican nominee when chosen.
http://whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/16/the-presidents-beastly-bus/
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 4:08 pm:
Cincy:
That is a weak argument. Whoever is in the White House always gets the benefits of that office when it is time to run again. Move on to some other “outrage” against Obama . . .
- Coach - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 5:29 pm:
=== What’s wrong here, in my opinion, was taping the reaction of an extremely young child after a violent event. ===
That’s an issue separate from the one I was addressing. But yes, that’s a whole other problem with the WBBM story. Some news outlets have a policy of not quoting a minor (certainly not a 4-year-old) without first gaining the parent’s consent. I have no idea what WBBM’s policy on this may be, or whether they even have one, but they should waste no time publicly explaining that policy and whether their employees violated it.
=== True. But they shouldn’t be told to flat-out lie. There’s a huge difference here. ===
Respectfully, Rich, I don’t see a “flat-out lie.” I see a story directly quoting a kid without including critical context; it’s a story with a half-truth that sloppily and unacceptably misrepresents the child’s view. Unless I’m missing something …
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 5:32 pm:
===it’s a story with a half-truth ===
Half true? Really? It’s completely fabricated. The kid wants to grow up to be a cop. There’s nothing halfway about this story.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Aug 16, 11 @ 10:49 pm:
As a First Amendment absolutist, I honor Justice Roerts and the Suprmees for defending the right of the Westboro crew to sperad their venom.
As a decent human being, I defend the unconstitutional actions of Gov.Quinn and the GA in trying to limit their activities.
I
As an old hairy-ass hillbilly from DeKalb County, I celebrate my biker friends who are willing to break the law, and more, to ensure a solemn farewell to our heroes.
Gentelemen and ladies, you’re heroes, too.