News Roundup for 7/23/10

Counter-argument to Westboro's hate

-Headline of the day-
"Super Heroes vs. the Westboro Baptist Church."

Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church cult hates everyone. No, really. They literally hate everyone. Gays, America, Catholics, Jews, Sweden, Mr. Rogers, etc. The whos and whats that they hate aren't so much random as they are all-encompassing. If they don't hate you specifically, it's just because they haven't gotten around to it.

Anyhoo, Phelp's cult finally got around to hating on Comic-con, because God hates nerds. They set up a protest across the street to let the geeks know they were all going to hell -- and Westboro believes everyone is going to hell and there's nothing you can do about it, so you wonder why the protests. I mean, isn't it just an exercise in futility?

But I digress.

Here's the problem for Phelps and company; nerds are smart. Smarter than they are, anyway, and things did not go well.

First off, Futurama's Bender way outdid them in the hate department:



And this guy reminded us of the really important issue facing America:



Jesus showed up to correct the record:



And everyone chanted "What do we want? Gay sex! When do we want it? Now!"

Sure, the nerds didn't actually accomplish anything either -- those cultists were just as crazy the next day -- but they sure had one helluva lot more fun wasting their time than the Phelps crowd did. (Comics Alliance, with video and plenty more photos)


-Patriotism personified-
Healthcare reform is totalitarianism. Plain and simple. Sure, it'd be nice if everyone could afford decent healthcare and then we wouldn't all be sick, but you know who else liked healthy people? Hitler!

Well, Rep. Zach Wamp is having none of this Hitler-loving and he has a plan to do something about it. In a three-way primary against two other nutjobs for the governorship of Tennessee, Wamp really has to amp up the crazy to stand out. And he's more than equal to the task.

According to the report, Wamp "has a dire warning about the new health care reform law: If a new Congress and president aren't elected in order to repeal the bill, states might just have to secede."

Oh no! What would we do without Tennessee! It's a horrible prospect! Why, we have to do without all of their... Ummm... Uhhh...

Anyone have any idea what the fuck we get out of Tennessee? It's not really leaping to my mind. I'm sure we need it. Or like it. Or at least tolerate it. And I'm sure they'd have no problem being a landlocked postage-stamp nation surrounded by the country they just dissed.

But have you ever noticed that the people who wrap themselves up in the flag and declare themselves patriots are also in the front row of the "Let's hate America!" parade? Weird how that works. They love America so much that they're willing to dismantle it.

That's what you call yer "rightwing patriotism," formerly known as "fair-weather patriotism." (Talking Points Memo)


-Bonus HotD-
"Sharron Angle responds to a question."

Big news! After walking out on a presser without answering any questions, crazy Nevada prospector Sharron Angle finally got around to taking a question from the press. She wanted to talk about the estate tax, but reporters didn't because, frankly, that's boring and who even cares. So they asked her if she'd talk about something else and she said no.

That was the question she answered. I'm not kidding. (Politico)