The truly obscene thing about the Phelps picketing is that he claims that homosexuality is such a sin that there is no redemption, and that homosexuals are condemned to hell and can't do anything about it. Thus he is NOT preaching to anyone. He and his "congregation" are not attempting to convert anyone. He's just GLOATING that God (Fred) has condemned the whole world and everybody except Fred and his little congregation is doomed to be in hell. ... Soon. It's not even certain that any of his "congregation," with the exception of the members of his own family that he has not excommunicated, will be permitted in his heaven.

The biography written in 1994 by a newspaper intern is about the only thing available that really attempts to delve into the "internals" of the Phelps family. It gives a picture of Phelps that actually is consistent with what he and his cult are doing. It was released as a "court record" when the newspaper that hired the author declined to publish and tried to prevent the author from doing it himself. The title, Addicted to Hate is a pretty good snap-summary of Phelps. It's posted at a dozen or more sites on the web, so it's easy to find.

While Phelps and his crew are about as pleasant as vomit in the salad bowl, they're actually not, so far as I can see, currently dangerous (if you avoid the salad, and can ignore the smell). The truly worrisome ones are the "born-agains" who are attempting to create a "religious state" in the US that exactly parallels Natzi Germany, and who appear to have the political power to have a fair chance of succeeding.

The Landover Baptist Church site is not really a parody. It is a MIRROR of what I see on a daily basis in my area. I showed the site to my wife, and after flipping through the articles for twenty minutes she could not say that it was not a real church, because it could, at least for the half dozen "preachments" she read, be published and believed by churches we see practicing this drivel anywhere in the US. (I started her off with the "women have no souls" piece, and it is believable that churches here are preaching this.)

Senator Brownback is very popular here, and people are proposing him as the next Republican candidate for President. I don't think he'll get the nomination, but if he should happen to the "American Taliban" (or the new Reich) will be in literally in place in the US (in my own poor opinion). The "Rolling Stones" article, God's Senator, published recently is accurate, based on my own direct and local observation of his recent activities. He is not the only one similarly inclined, and he does not "work alone." But that's just my opinion.

John