Fred + Fred =

[wordsmythe]

Phelpses: Thompson agreed with them in the 1980s
The Associated Press
Published Wednesday, October 17, 2007

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Members of the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church are urging Fred Thompson to support their stance on homosexuality — a position on which they say the Republican presidential candidate once "saw eye to eye" with them.

Thompson was hired for a mid-1980s legal case in Kansas on the recommendation of Margie Phelps, daughter of Westboro founder Fred Phelps.

The Topeka, Kan.-based church is now best known for protesting at soldiers' funerals, claiming their deaths are retribution for the nation's acceptance of homosexuality.

Thompson campaign spokeswoman Karen Hanretty on Wednesday dismissed the church as "a radical fringe group, looking to draw attention to themselves."

"Their behavior at the funerals of fallen soldiers is disgraceful and reprehensible," she said. "In no way do these people share Fred's values."

Church members released an open letter to Thompson this week, saying he had discussed his views on homosexuality with them while handling the case of a woman who had sued the state's Republican attorney general for sexual harassment.

"We know what your position used to be on the homosexual question — and it was wonderful, and we saw eye to eye," church members said in the letter to Thompson.

That statement appears to conflict with comments made by Margie Phelps to the Journal-World of Lawrence, Kan., in June about her interaction with Thompson.

"I'm quite confident he would've completely disagreed with everything about my faith," she told the paper.

Phelps' sister, Shirley Phelps-Roper, said in a phone interview Wednesday that while Thompson might disagree with the church today, he didn't disagree then.

And yet, Phelps-Roper said, "He wouldn't dare stand up and say that when he's running for president."

Thompson, a former Tennessee senator, has said he favors a constitutional amendment that bars judges from legalizing gay marriage but would leave the door open for state legislatures to act.

Thompson was hired in 1985 to represent Marcia Tomson Stingley, who sued Kansas Attorney General Bob Stephan, accusing him of violating a confidentially agreement on a sexual harassment case she had filed against him.

Margie Phelps, the original attorney on the harassment case, could no longer represent Stingley because she was now a witness. She recommended Thompson because she had just read a book about his representation of Marie Ragghianti, a Tennessee official fired by the state's governor because she refused to go along with a cash-for-clemency scheme.

Thompson won a $200,000 judgment against Stephan, who abandoned plans to run for governor because of the controversy. Stephan avoided paying by declaring bankruptcy.

A campaign spokesman this summer said that Thompson's firm did not make any money off the case.

[SGT T.]

Interesting wordy... where did you find that?

[wordsmythe]

Sorry, forgot to link it.

CJOnline - Phelpses: Thompson agreed with them in the 1980s

[Highwayman]

Phelps' sister, Shirley Phelps-Roper, said in a phone interview Wednesday that while Thompson might disagree with the church today, he didn't disagree then.

Wow! A lawyer "didn't disagree" with a client 20 years ago but probably wouldn’t agree with how they conduct themselves now. What a surprise.

Thompson campaign spokeswoman Karen Hanretty on Wednesday dismissed the church as "a radical fringe group, looking to draw attention to themselves."

Looks like Wordy has been calling it right on this all along.

Originally Posted by wordsmythe

They would be elated with the attention....

Originally Posted by wordsmythe

...As far as what Fred (Phelps) wants... He wants exactly what we are doing right here right now - giving him attention. He's nothing more than an attention whore...

Originally Posted by wordsmythe

...They try to get more outrageous to keep people paying attention to them. Truly evil and stupid people....

[TigerEyes]

Highwayman, is your shock a response to Wordsmythe being right or his opinion being held in common with a Republican candidate for the presidency?

[wordsmythe]

He's drawing attention away from his fellow reight winger by pointing out that I've said in the past the fred heads just want attention.

But that's OK this is a red state and more people agree with the Phelps Cult's beiliefs, if NOT their practices, so this is more of an endoresement than a slam.

[Highwayman]

Originally Posted by wordsmythe

He's drawing attention away from his fellow reight winger by pointing out that I've said in the past the fred heads just want attention.

But that's OK this is a red state and more people agree with the Phelps Cult's beiliefs, if NOT their practices, so this is more of an endoresement than a slam.

Wordy, I’d like to remind you that polls show 90+% of this country’s population claim to be religious and 80+% say they are Christian. There is no way that Phelps and his bunch resemble the majority of the folks. I’m sure that your constant attempt to paint all folks of faith has haters offends far more people that the ones that find it cute.

And quoting Upton Sinclair shows us that you are from the outer space of far left and no where near the “moderate” that you claim to be.

Have a nice day.

[Bubba]

Originally Posted by Highwayman

...polls show 90+% of this country’s population claim to be religious and 80+% say they are Christian...

Funny, you should mention that. I found those numbers a little high, so I started to research them. This is the first thing I found...

Americans get an 'F' in religion


By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY
Sometimes dumb sounds cute: Sixty percent of Americans can't name five of the Ten Commandments, and 50% of high school seniors think Sodom and Gomorrah were married.

Stephen Prothero, chairman of the religion department at Boston University, isn't laughing. Americans' deep ignorance of world religions — their own, their neighbors' or the combatants in Iraq, Darfur or Kashmir — is dangerous, he says....

source- Americans get an 'F' in religion - USATODAY.com

Then I found this...

Americans almost all say that religion matters to them, yet more people than ever are opting out. Not just out of the pews. Out from under a theological roof altogether.

More than 29.4 million Americans said last year that they had no religion — more than double the number in 1990, according to the American Religious Identification Survey 2001. And at 29.4 million, that's more than Methodists, Lutherans and Episcopalians all added up.

People with no religion now account for 14 percent of the nation, up from 8 percent when The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, authors of the ARIS, conducted its first survey of religion in 1990. Today the range stretches from 3 percent with no religion in North Dakota to 25 percent in Washington state.

The six states with the highest percentage of people saying they have no religion are all in the Western region, with the exception of Vermont at 22 percent. (Hawai'i and Alaska were not surveyed, for reasons of cost.)...

source- 29 million in U.S. claim no religion - The Honolulu Advertiser - Hawaii's Newspaper

This article was written by the same person and published in a Honolulu paper in 2002. I would venture to guess that the number today would be more than 14%. At any rate, 14% of the nation claiming no religion doesn't add up to 90% claiming religion, at least in the math that I learned.

Please list a source when giving information like that. Thanks!

[Highwayman]

29.4 million out of over 300 million sounds like about 10% to me.

U.S. and World Population Clocks - POPClocks

Even if the percentage is somewhat less it doesn’t change the point.

[wordsmythe]

You're so funny Highway...

Always painting everyone with the same brush and just HOPING they all see the same picture you do.


Hang in there big guy.