The Funniest Thing in this HuffPo Article on the Westboro Idiots

We’ll start with the serious stuff.  As the Huffington Post “reports” there was a funeral recently in North Carolina: “The service was meant to honor 29-year-old Staff Sgt. Donna Johnson, who was among 14 people killed earlier this month in a suicide bomber attack in Afghanistan.”  Each American who dies protecting our freedom deserves our reverent honor—and for that matter, for us not to squander the freedom they paid for so dearly.

And equally serious, if the reports of assault and battery on one of the Westboro morons are true, this is wrong.  Reportedly this @$$hole* had chosen to stomp on the American flag, which is noxious, but presuming it to be his or own property, it is their right and part of that right is the right to do so without being subjected to violence.  Yes, on some level I understand the emotions involved but that does not justify or excuse this conduct.

This supposedly shows what happened, but truthfully with the poor video quality, I can’t make heads or tails of what we are seeing (it looks much better when viewed on a phone):

But the part that made me laugh out loud?  Well, see if you find anything odd about this passage:

The service was meant to honor 29-year-old Staff Sgt. Donna Johnson, who was among 14 people killed earlier this month in a suicide bomber attack in Afghanistan. Johnson was reportedly gay, and is survived by her wife Tracy Dice, also a member of the armed forces.

(Emphasis added.)  That is right, Staff Sgt. Donna Johnson has left behind a grieving wife, but let’s not draw any hasty conclusions about her sexuality!  We only have reports that this woman was gay, and we will just have to wait until her wife tells us or not.

Once again, the investigative reporting of the Huffington Post proves it is among the best in the world.

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* Let me be clear, my constant derogatory references to the Westboro protesters, calling them things like idiots and @$$holes, is not meant to justify or diminish the wrongness of the act allegedly committed against one of them.  Rape is still rape, whatever the length of her skirt.  And the First Amendment protects the right to be an obnoxious @$$hole, much to the relief of Code Pink and PETA.

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My wife and I have lost our jobs due to the harassment of convicted terrorist Brett Kimberlin, including an attempt to get us killed and to frame me for a crime carrying a sentence of up to ten years.  I know that claim sounds fantastic, but if you read starting here, you will see absolute proof of these claims using documentary and video evidence.  If you would like to help in the fight to hold Mr. Kimberlin accountable, please hit the Blogger’s Defense Team button on the right.  And thank you.

Follow me at Twitter @aaronworthing, mostly for snark and site updates.  And you can purchase my book (or borrow it for free if you have Amazon Prime), Archangel: A Novel of Alternate, Recent History here.  And you can read a little more about my novel, here.

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Disclaimer:

I have accused some people, particularly Brett Kimberlin, of reprehensible conduct.  In some cases, the conduct is even criminal.  In all cases, the only justice I want is through the appropriate legal process—such as the criminal justice system.  I do not want to see vigilante violence against any person or any threat of such violence.  This kind of conduct is not only morally wrong, but it is counter-productive.

In the particular case of Brett Kimberlin, I do not want you to even contact him.  Do not call him.  Do not write him a letter.  Do not write him an email.  Do not text-message him.  Do not engage in any kind of directed communication.  I say this in part because under Maryland law, that can quickly become harassment and I don’t want that to happen to him.

And for that matter, don’t go on his property.  Don’t sneak around and try to photograph him.  Frankly try not to even be within his field of vision.  Your behavior could quickly cross the line into harassment in that way too (not to mention trespass and other concerns).

And do not contact his organizations, either.  And most of all, leave his family alone.

The only exception to all that is that if you are reporting on this, there is of course nothing wrong with contacting him for things like his official response to any stories you might report.  And even then if he tells you to stop contacting him, obey that request.  That this is a key element in making out a harassment claim under Maryland law—that a person asks you to stop and you refuse.

And let me say something else.  In my heart of hearts, I don’t believe that any person supporting me has done any of the above.  But if any of you have, stop it, and if you haven’t don’t start.