Radio host Mike Gallagher (in photo) has given the Phelps clan three hours of airtime on his talk show today in exchange for their not picketing the funerals of the Virginia Tech students. He made a similar arrangement to keep the Phelpses from protesting at the Amish schoolchildren’s funerals.
I wouldn’t have made the deal, but here’s why Gallagher says he did it: "I truly feel called, on a spiritual level, to allow my radio show to be a tool that prevents these angry, hateful people the opportunity to hurt grieving families. I fully comprehend the arguments against doing this (’giving in to terrorists,’ ‘allowing them a national platform,’ etc.), but my heart is telling me to do something positive here. If my radio show can prevent a circus atmosphere of protests, counterprotests, police protection and media coverage from taking place in front of churches where grieving families are trying to say goodbye to their loved ones, then I think that’s a good thing."
What do you think?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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52 Comments
Words cannot describe the depravity of the Phelps family. They are truly the worst people in this entire nation.
It’s Gallagher’s radio show, he can do with it what he wants. If he wants to give Phelps a platform, good for him. I don’t have to listen to it.
I think it shows deep compassion on Gallagher’s part.
As Tom says, it’s his show; I don’t have to listen. A good trade? Likely so, for the families of the victims. This gives the Phelps folks free air time to exercise their positions in a manner where listening to the same is truly voluntary.
Ditto VT. Gallagher deserves some recognition for his actions. I can’t imagine the horror the families would feel with those idiots ranting and chanting. satan has a special place for folks like them.
Jerry Springer gives the KKK airtime and that stopped them from being racist so this radio idea should work with the Phelps.
Nah, they’ll just protest anyway even if given the free air time.
He’s doing a real service to the families.
Unfortunately, all his listeners are going to switch off ten minutes into his program.
I agree with you, Capn, about it being a service to the families. That hateful inbred cult is an embarassment to the human race.
Who are the douche bags that rent the Phelps’s vechiles, hotel rooms so they travel the country. How much vacation time do Margie and her brothers get? I should get a State job.
Now, what WE need to do is organize a nationwide Turn-Off, so when Phelps is on the air, NOBODY’S LISTENING! You know what to do, so let’s get busy!
Well, it also gives the rest of the nation the opportunity to hear the insane ramblings of this group, and draw their own conclusions. In 3 hours they will have tons of opportunities to step on their own collective d**cks …
– I hope he is allowed (after their stint on air) to talk about their support of Sadam years ago, and perhaps build a case for incarcerating them as conspirators in terror …. CIA — secret prison —: Out of sight out of mind
Big down side tho as we know it will sound as if Kansas gave birth to these folks, and in some fashion endorse em, because Kansas has done nothing to stop them —
I think it’s a great idea.
We can switch off the radio if we choose, but the families of the grieving deserve respect that day.
The more Phelps talks, the more people he turns off.
Ken,The state really has no legal means to stop the bastard.He is, by one of his own sons admission, a monster that will stoop to any means to control those around him. He supported himself for years by making his kids go sell candy door-to-door and beat them if they didn’t meet his quota.He is a disbarred lawyer who is known for filing numerous nuisance lawsuits against anyone who displeases him, and calls anyone who opposes him in any way a fag. This guy is so morally impoverished that he has only one cussword to his name!I don’t know of any Kansan that actually supports the guy, except for a couple preachers who are also in hot water now. The demonstrations he organizes have never had more than about a dozen people, mostly family members. Still, he manages to get publicity by crossing all known boundaries of human decency. If the media were to agree to ignore him, he would probably start shooting babies to get public notice! Bottom line is that anyone who’s met him is afraid of him.
“I truly feel called, on a spiritual level, to allow my radio show to be a tool that prevents these angry, hateful people the opportunity to hurt grieving families.”
Yeah, Right….
This is about ratings. Put somebody like Phelps on the show and listener numbers will jump just because the Phelpses are controversial. There are a lot of reasons to listen that don’t include supporting the SOBs.
How many nuts outside of the family support crazy Fred? Let him rant for a few hours.
Maybe he’ll get over-excited, keel over and die.
TDT – I think you put it well. I don’t think Ghalager is putting the Pharisee on for ratings. I like Jed’s idea of a big ‘turn-off’ for the show on that date.
It would be interesting to see what the Prarisee would do if he were counter-protested by a thousand people softly singing the sunday school song “Jesus loves me … “? I bet THAT would fly in the face of his hate-theology.
Some years ago Mary Bealle had him on her radio show locally. I called in and asked him about Jesus warning us about false preachers spewing hate – and referred to him as Pharisee Phred. Mary told me later he looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel!
Phelps goes to VT, they may come back in a body bag. I’d love to see that. Great idea Phelps…go back where everyone is mad, hurt, scared and mouth off.I hope someone caps your funny ass’s
Thanks Jed
… is afraid of him”
maybe not the Patriot Guard …
I think it’s a good deal. The rest of us don’t have to listen, and it keeps those f’ ups away from the funerals.
I think it’s a good idea to let Phred Felps on the radio for a couple of hours. Only by listening to his perverse interpretation of Christianity can you really understand how crazy he is; and how not very far his rants are from typical evangelical teachings about homosexuality.
I heard him on a Kansas City talk radio station a few years back and the host just kept giving Phred more rope to hang himself. That was back before the Felpses expanded their tirades to fallen soldiers — they were simply shouting “God Hates Fags” at people. And a surprising number of twice-born people called in to affirm that “…while I don’t approve of his methods, his message is correct.”
Conservative “Christianity” has been distorted into a sugar-coated excuse for hate. The more you hear Phred Felps, the more familiar it sounds to Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell claiming that Lesbians and feminists were responsible for 9/11.
The Democrat Phelps will just go on his show AND protest at the VA Tech funerals.
He can’t be trusted or compromised.
LTPFTL is more correct than I care to admit. Is it really all that different from saying “today God is killing sinners than later God will kill all the sinners?”
And while many Christians support Phelp’s views, they don’t like his methods. So is he the problem, or is it the doctrine?
If you haven’t seen Michael Moore vs. Fred, you’re missing a good one.
http://www.feckoff.net/2007/04/19/michael-moore-vs-fred-phelps/
Joe! What’s the latest from Republican David Duke?
Ken,While I support the Patriot Guard, I do wonder where they were when Phelps protested Matthew Shephard’s funeral, and the funerals of AIDS patients, and put up a monument celebrating Matthew’s “entrance into hell.”
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if people could picket the phelps clan whenever they (the phelps clan) picket anything. Signs could be made telling the clan how God loves even the sinner, but has a special place in hell for people who teach hate in the name of the Lord.
Jed I am not a member of the patriot guard nor am I raptor but I can paraphrase his reply to your question as it was brought up before.
The patriot guard is a group of vets that formed to serve as a barrier for the families of the service members lost and to honor fallen heroes. It is up to others to serve as a barrier for those that are being protested for other reasons. If you feel strongly that it is the right thing to do. Then it is up to you to be a barrier for those that died from Aids, in truth everyone should serve as a barrier against the insanity that the Phelps do.
Sorry Raptor I feel I did not do your original explanation justice.
FYI Richard Perle who help plan the Iraq war is a Democrat, but I still say Bush is not a Republican!
Writer Dog —
Good Answer —-
I don’t know what / who you mean by
“….nor am I raptor.”
JM, it’s not uncommon for a counter protest to take place when the Phelps have a protest. I went to one here in Wichita when “The Laramie Project” played at Century II. Fred wasn’t there, but his family was…we all had a ball. People had signs and they played music and had bull horns. It was great fun. The sad part of it was that the Phelps had some of their kids there, they’re such morons and undoubtedly their children will grow up to be the same way.
oops sorry WD — I misread that
thought it said I am not A raptor –
duh —- Senior mmnt
Mary – his little band picketed a Democratic function at the Broadview once. We also had a ball cat-calling them. A cop asked if he was a problem; my response was that he was perfectly within his rights. After all, we are a political group. And, since he was picketing US he wasn’t bothering some poor family someplace.
Pharisee Phred was wearing spandex pants – TALK ABOUT INDECENT EXPOSURE!
“Now, what WE need to do is organize a nationwide Turn-Off, so when Phelps is on the air, NOBODY’S LISTENING! You know what to do, so let’s get busy!”
People may SAY they won’t listen but believe me when Phelps is on, they WILL listen. I wouldn’t miss it for the world! Just to see what he will say next.
That’s sad Kev. You already know what he’s going to say.
Ken,While I support the Patriot Guard, I do wonder where they were when Phelps protested Matthew Shephard’s funeral, and the funerals of AIDS patients, and put up a monument celebrating Matthew’s “entrance into hell.”
The patriot guard was not around then I don’t think. And they are just for military funerals. I am quite sure that the gay community can organize a “Gay Guard” for the same thing if they so desire.
I don’t know anything about David Duke. Do you?
By the way! I’m a Libertarian.
But I do know what the Democrat Phelps is doing, because his clan always gets media attention.
Good for you Joe! Did you know that Pharisee Phred has been disowned?
Ben, Thanks for the visual image of Fred in spandex, what a laugh! Didn’t the lead singer of “Queen” wear a lot of spandex? Makes one wonder?!? There is a song someone wrote that challenges Fred to come out of the closet!
Joe, Libertarian? You do know that one of the core principles of Libertarianism is not raising taxes to fund things that can be done with free enterprise, like the arena, waterwalk, airport expansion etc. They have a word for that kind of governance, socialism a far left idealogy.
Interesting info on Phelps by Wikipedia:
wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps
“Catherine died of throat cancer at the age of twenty-eight, when Phelps was five years old”
I wonder if she was a fag lover and burning in hell?
“Shortly after his mother’s death, his maternal great-aunt, Irene Jordan, moved in with the family and became a surrogate maternal figure; she was killed in a motor vehicle accident in 1950, shortly before Fred’s twenty-first birthday.”
I wonder if this is why he hates women so much…or could it be this?
“By Phelps’s own admission, he never dated, and had no interest in members of the opposite sex”
Uhhuh.
So was his father evil or something? Did he abuse Fred?
Born Methodist, but switched to Baptist….what caused this man to go completely crazy?
I saw a video of them being attacked as they piled into a van, and one of the windows was bashed out as they were driving away. I’d say that’s about the best way to deal with these people.
They have freedom of speech, but fighting words are fighting words. You piss me off bad enough, and I’ll kick your ass (or at least try). That’s why if one is going to say it, they better be willing to back it up. You may kick my ass, and that’s fine. I can live with that, but you do not get to provoke me, and have some magical bubble around you preventing consequences.
America has become the land of sissys!
P_Mom–
Phred is a self-loathing homosexual.
That’s what happens when a person represses who they are. They get twisted and hateful.
Look at Jim West, now deceased gay-baiting and gay-hating gay mayor of Spokane (IIRC).
Tom Paine–
Thanks for pointing out this massive contradiction to Joe W, as I have been doing for going on two years now.
Maybe if enough of us tell him, it’ll get through his head.
Joe is a garden-variety CONservative–pro imperial wars, against taxes unless they benefit the rich, anti-union, etc. etc.
Apparently, he thinks that “libertarian” has more cache.
I told my lawyer yesterday that while he loves to call himself libertarian, I know he’s nothing but a self loathing republican.
heheheheh. In case you are wondering, he thought it was funny too!
I’m just glad he’s a good lawyer :)
Does Joe Williams bring partisan politics into every thread?
ddub – YES.
Actually, I think the best way to deal with Phelps and his ilk is to gather together to laugh at them as they rant.
Attacks are something they’re prepared for – it fits into their ideology, and just makes them feel more vindicated.
Laughter will simply humiliate them, and make it plain that no one takes them seriously.
Stuart,I’ve thought for years that the gay community needs to get together and publicly present Phelps an award for his contribution to the gay rights movement, and it’s true!How many people have rethought their opposition to gays after seeing that horror of a man demonstrating at Matthew Shepard’s funeral? How many churches and corporations now support gay rights because they don’t in any way wish to be identified with Phelps? He is, to the gay rights movement what Bull Connor was to the civil rights movement; the galvanizing face of homophobia and hatred personified.Besides, giving him that award on national TV would utterly conflict the guy- he wouldn’t refuse the air time any more than he would accept such an award!
All well and good Jed, but who is going to protect the hot young men in attendance from Mr. Spandex?
Farm Gal,More to the point, who is gong to protect Mr. Spandex from all the hot young men with leather slacks and bullwhips? And is anyone going to care if he’s protected?
See, there’s the difference. I think Phelps should be protected from physical abuse or injury, just as I believe that anyone that has an opposing vie is entitled to the same.
hehehehheheheeheh! JED!
Have I told you lately that I love you?
Farm Gal,Not lately, but I never doubted you. Love you too, and your potato salad!