This You Gotta See!

I'm sure no animals were harmed in the making of this clip:

Two Extremes

If innocence in the eyes of God can be personified, it is in the Old Order Amish people of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The community met the horrific tragedy brought by Charles Roberts with resilience and acceptance, even expressing sympathy and condolences to the family of Roberts as they mourned their own loss. It would be hard to find elsewhere such testimony to the teachings of Christ as the Amish community exemplifies.
The notorious Westboro Baptist Church, of Topeka, Kansas could be seen as the exact opposite. The congregation of that organization is known to travel to military funerals carrying placards that read, "God hates you," "God hates America," and the like. They had been planning to carry their protest to Pennsylvania for the funerals of four of the young victims, until nationally syndicated radio personality Mike Gallagher offered their spokesperson a spot on his radio program.
Westboro spokesperson Shirley Phelps-Roper appeared on Hannity and Colmes last night, to be given the opportunity to explain the actions and intentions of the protesters. She spewed hatred for all of Humankind, saying that the children "deserved to die," and that the Amish people "brought it upon themselves," for "not obeying the commandments of God."
The main commandments I remember from Christianity are those which speak of universal kindness, such as "Treat others the way you want to be treated," "Love your neighbor as you love yourself," and "Judge not, lest you be judged yourself."
Phelps-Roper did not seem to be familiar with these commandments, which brings me to wonder exactly what commandments the Westboro congregation does follow, and, in fact, what God do they worship?
It is the same kind of extremism demonstrated by such organizations as Al Qaeda and Hamas. The silence of the Baptist Denomination concerns me as to whether the Westboro Baptist Church is representative of the tenets of the entire Baptist organization.
This isn't the most recent interview, but the following video gives and idea of what these people are like:

South Park's Season Ten begins tonight!

My favorite televised tribute to freedom of speech begins its tenth season tonight! This is from one of my all-time favorite episodes:

Terrible Tragedy in Amish Community

Even while we were recovering from the tragic events at Bailey, Colorado, an even more horrific and unthinkable tragedy unfolded in an Amish community near Lancaster, PA. It is even made sadder that it happened in a closed community that protects itself from the harshness of the modern world by isolation.
Charles Carl Roberts IV, a truck driver whose job was to transport milk from the Amish farms in the community to the dairy, entered a schoolhouse and bound ten girls, aged six to thirteen, then shot them all, execution style.
It was, allegedly, a premeditated crime; reportedly, Roberts had begun buying the materials he had used in the siege and murders up to nine days previously. These were items that could not have been foreseen to be used in the manner they were used, so the tragedy was not anticipated in any way.
When a person is willing to die in taking the lives of others, and if there is no indication of what the person is planning, the event becomes inevitable. No amount of vigilance, gun control laws, or security can stop this type of event from happening, which is what makes it even more frightening.
It is not believed to be a “copycat” of the Bailey tragedy. Five young girls died, for no reason, and five more are hospitalized in critical condition from gunshot wounds. It is a terribly sad day for us, and our hearts and prayers are with the families of the victims.