Radio show keeps Westboro Baptist Church from protesting Virginia Tech victims' funerals

I've written many times about the wackos at Westboro Baptist Church. You know the ones — they show up at funerals for soldiers carrying signs printed with "God hates fags" and "Your son is rotting in hell."

Last week it was reported that this group of fundamentalist fools were planning to stage protests at the funerals of all 32 victims of the Virginia Tech massacre. I've been following the news, but haven't heard of any incidents.

Now I know why.

Radio host Mike Gallagher got them to promise not to do it. According to his website SmallGovTimes.com, he offered the group extended airtime on his radio program in exchange for their promise not to picket any of the funerals.

Last year he offered them an hour of airtime, which they accepted, in exchange for their promise not to show up at the funerals of the Amish children slain at a school in Pennsylvania.

Westboro Baptist Church formally accepted his offer, and Shirley Phelps-Roper and other representatives of the group were scheduled to appear on his show yesterday.

Gallagher wrote on his webpage April 23:

I know that many people disagree with my decision. I have also received many notes and calls of support. Please allow me to state why I'm doing this: 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, counter-protests, police protection, and media coverage from taking place in front of churches where grieving families are trying to say good-bye to their loved ones, then I think that's a good thing. I feel with all of my heart that this is the right thing to do.

If you don't choose to listen, I understand completely. If you disagree with my offer, I respect your position. Please know that I didn't come to this decision easily or casually. I've prayed and consulted with my family, friends and colleagues. I know that many people will slam my decision. Last time, I was publicly criticized and mocked by a CNN/Headline News talk host for doing this with the Amish funerals. Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper wrote that I "surrender(ed) (my) radio show... giving them a minor victory."

I am proud when a radio show like mine can actually do something good for people. Most times, those of us with a radio show or newspaper column can just talk about issues. Once in awhile, we can literally stop a horrible event in its tracks. This is one of those times. And whether you agree or disagree with me, I just wanted you to know — from me — why we're doing this.

Mike Gallagher | Westboro Baptist Church | Fred Phelps | Shirley Phelps-Roper | Virginia Tech | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

List of memorial services for some of those slain at Virginia Tech

The Virginia Tech website has posted a list of memorial services for some of those slain in Monday's tragedy.

Virginia Tech | Memorial Services | List of Memorial Services for Victims | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Full list of Virginia Tech victims

Here is the complete list of victims from Monday's massacre at Virginia Tech. This updates the partial list we posted on Tuesday.

Virginia Tech officials announced today that all of the student victims would be awarded their degrees posthumously. Students wounded or traumatized by the attack may be allowed to finish the semester immediately without academic consequences, they said.

• Ross Abdallah Alameddine, 20, sophomore from Saugus, Mass.


• Christopher James Bishop, 35, German instructor.


• Brian Roy Bluhm, 25, civil engineering graduate student from Stephens City, Va. He had previously lived in Iowa, Detroit and Louisville, Ky.


• Ryan Christopher Clark, 22, of Martinez, Ga., senior majoring in psychology.


• Austin Michelle Cloyd, sophomore international studies major and member of the honors program from Blacksburg, Va. Cloyd and her family previously lived in Champaign, Ill.


• Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, French instructor, according to her husband, Jerzy Nowak, the head of the horticulture department at Virginia Tech. Here is an article from a newspaper website in Nova Scotia, Canada, about her.


• Daniel Alejandro Perez Cueva, 21, of Peru, sophomore majoring in international studies. He also had lived in Woodbridge, Va.


• Kevin Granata, engineering science and mechanics professor, according to Ishwar K. Puri, the head of the engineering science and mechanics department.


• Matthew Gregory Gwaltney, 24, of Chester, Va., graduate student in civil and environmental engineering, according to his father and stepmother, Greg and Linda Gwaltney.


• Caitlin Millar Hammaren, 19, sophomore majoring in international studies from Westtown, N.Y.


• Jeremy Michael Herbstritt, 27, civil engineering graduate student from Bellefonte, Pa.


• Rachael Hill, 18, of Glen Allen, Va., according to her father, Guy Hill.


• Emily Jane Hilscher, 19-year-old freshman from Woodville, Va., majoring in animal and poultry sciences.


• Jarrett Lee Lane, 22, senior majoring in civil engineering from Narrows, Va.


• Matthew Joseph La Porte, 20, sophomore from Dumont, N.J.


• Henry J. Lee, also known as Henh Ly, 20, first-year student majoring in computer engineering from Roanoke, Va. He had enough advanced-placement credits to be considered a sophomore by Virginia Tech.


• Liviu Librescu, 76, engineering science and mechanics professor who joined the faculty in 1985. Originally from Romania and had also lived in Israel.
  
  From the blog Religion Clause, April 19: "The blog Yeshiva World on Tuesday carried an interesting account of the accommodations made by Virginia state officials so that Professor Liviu Librescu, one of the victims of the Virginia Tech mass shooting, could be buried in accordance with Jewish law. Librescu was the Romanian-born Holocaust survivor who was shot while barring his classroom door to permit his students to escape. Rabbis in the United States, contacted by Librescu's family in Israel, told the Virginia medical examiner's office that autopsies were inconsistent with Jewish law. The medical examiner agreed to merely use x-rays and a minimally invasive procedure to remove bullets. Also Jewish funerals are generally conducted promptly after death. Bad weather prevented immediate flight of the body to New York for ritual handling before burial, so state police all along the route from New York to Virginia provided a police escort for the vehicle that drove to pick up the body. On Wednesday, President Bush specifically mentioned Librescu's courage during a presidential speech at the U.S. Holocaust Museum."


• G.V. Loganathan, 51, civil and environmental engineering professor, according to his brother G.V. Palanivel.


• Partahi Mamora Halomoan Lumbantoruan, 34, of Indonesia, civil engineering doctoral student.


• Lauren Ashley McCain, 20, of Hampton, Va., freshman international studies major.


• Daniel Patrick O'Neil, 22, of Lincoln, R.I., first-year graduate student in environmental engineering.


• Juan Ramon Ortiz, 26, graduate student in civil engineering from Bayamon, Puerto Rico.


• Minal Hiralal Panchal, 26, of Mumbai, India, graduate student in architecture.


• Erin Peterson, 18, of Chantilly, Va., an international studies major, according to her father, Grafton Peterson.


• Michael Steven Pohle Jr., 23, of Flemington, N.J., senior majoring in biology.


• Julia Kathleen Pryde, 23, graduate student in biological systems engineering from Middletown, N.J.


• Mary Karen Read, 19, freshman from Annandale, Va.


• Reema Joseph Samaha, 18, freshman from Centreville, Va.


• Waleed Mohammed Shaalan, 32, of Zagazig, Egypt, doctoral student in civil engineering.


• Leslie Sherman, sophomore history and international studies student from Springfield, Va., according to her grandmother Gerry Adams.


• Maxine Turner, 22, senior majoring in chemical engineering from Vienna, Va., according to her father, Paul Turner.


• Nicole White, 20, junior majoring in international studies from Smithfield, Va., according to a family statement released by the Suffolk, Va., Police Department.

Victims List | Virginia Tech | April 17, 2007 | Virginia Tech Black Ribbon Tribute | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Sick bastards at Westboro Baptist Church praise God for sending mass murderer to 'shoot at your children'

Those sick bastards at Westboro Baptist Church never sleep.

Already, Rev. Fred Phelps and his insane hellions have issued a screed on their website God Hates America, praising mass murderer Cho Seung-Hui as "a crazed madman sent by the Lord your God to shoot at your children," claiming God "willed this to happen to punish you for assailing His servants [them, the Westboro Baptist Church]."

They vow to "preach at the funerals of the Virginia Tech students."

I don't like even giving these perverted fundamentalists publicity, but these extremist "warriors of God" are more dangerous than any Iraqi suicide-bomber. The members and supporters of Westboro Baptist Church are too twisted and demented to ignore.

Everyone, but most especially Christians, should be outraged at and should be speaking out — loudly — against this lunatic cult. It's your Savior's name they claim to be speaking in: your Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

God — Jehovah, YHVH, GAOTU, whatever you call Him — doesn't hate homosexuals, soldiers, America, or even these demented demons from Westboro....

God is love.

Image: Vile. Nauseating. Disgusting. My blood pressure is up just writing this.

Westboro Baptist Church | Virginia Tech | Cho Sueng-Hui | Christian Fundamentalists | Fred Phelps | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com

Georgians among those killed at Virginia Tech

The Widow's Son and all Masons (if I may speak for you) send out prayers for and condolences to the students, faculty, friends, families, law enforcement agents and others who were involved in and affected by yesterday's senseless killings at Virginia Tech.

Christopher "Jamie" Bishop, instructor of Introductory German, was the first to die in the classroom building. He earned his undergraduate and masters degrees at the University of Georgia. He was an avid hiker, movie buff, and Atlanta Braves fan. He had spent several years in Germany, and had married Dr. Stefanie Hofer, whom he met there. She is an instructor of foreign languages at Virginia Tech as was he.

You can see Jamie's Virginia Tech website here.

Jamie was a talented artist and photographer. You can see his portfolio here.

Jamie Bishop's father is science fiction writer Michael Bishop, from Pine Mountain, Georgia. The elder Bishop is the author of The Secret Ascension: Philip K. Dick is Dead, Alas. The "alas" in the title of the Kurt Vonnegut article I wrote here last week, "Kurt Vonnegut is Dead, Alas," was a nod/tribute to PKD and to the 1987 novel by Michael Bishop.

Several bloggers who knew Jamie have written about him in the past 24 hours. As someone who has lost close friends who were in the prime of their lives, including one who was murdered, I especially sympathize with them:

• Jason Lundburg
• Alex Wilson
• F. Brent Cox

Ryan Clark, 22, from Martinez, near Augusta, Georgia was one of the first two people killed in yesterday's rampage. Ryan was to graduate next month with dual degrees in biology and English. He was a resident adviser at West Ambler Johnson dorm. He intended to pursue a Ph.D. in psychology and was a member of Virginia Tech's marching band.

Though neither of these two men, nor anyone killed at Virginia Tech were Masons (that I know of), they were fellow human travelers and fellow Georgians. I offer this Masonic tribute to their too-short but well-traveled lives:

Wherever you may chance to be — Wherever you may roam,
Far away in foreign lands; Or just at Home Sweet Home;
It always gives you pleasure, it makes your heart strings hum
Just to hear the words of cheer, "I see you've traveled some."

When you get a brother's greeting, And he takes you by the hand,
It thrills you with a feeling that you cannot understand,
You feel that bond of brotherhood, that tie that's sure to come
When you hear him say in a friendly way, "I see you've traveled some."

And if you are a stranger, In strange lands all alone
If fate has left you stranded — Dead broke and far from home,
It thrills you — makes you numb, When he says with a grip of fellowship,
"I see you've traveled some."

And when your final summons comes, To take that last long trip,
Adorned with Lambskins Apron White and gems of fellowship —
The Tiler at the Golden Gate, With Square and Level and Plumb
Will size up your pin and say "Walk in,"
"I see you've traveled some."

— Author Unknown

Image #1: Christopher "Jamie" Bishop
Image #2: Ryan Clark

UPDATE: Here is a partial list of those who died yesterday at Virginia Tech. Remember them and their families.

• Maxine Turner, Vienna, Va., Senior, Chemical Engineering
• Henry Lee, Roanoke, Va., Freshman, Computer Engineering
• Matt La Porte, Dumont, N.J., Freshman, University Studies
• Jamie Bishop, Instructor, Foreign Languages and Literatures (German)
• G.V. Loganathan, Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Juan Ortiz, Graduate Student, Civil Engineering
• Jarrett Lane, Narrows, Va., Senior, Civil Engineering
• Ryan Clark, Columbia County, Ga., Senior, Biology, English, Psychology
• Leslie Sherman, Sophomore, History and International Studies
• Caitlin Hammaren, Sophomore, International Studies and French
• Liviu Librescu, Professor, Engineering Science & Mechanics
• Kevin Granata, Professor, Engineering Science & Mechanics
• Reema Samaha, Centreville, Va., Freshman
• Emily Hilscher, Woodville, Va., Freshman, Animal and Poultry Sciences, Equine Science

UPDATE: The Salvation Army brought a truck from Roanoke to serve meals to victims to families, emergency workers and others gathered at the Inn at Virginia Tech. Richard White, a captain of the organization, estimated 500 meals had been served so far, about 10 of which were brought to a grief-sticken family staying upstairs at the Inn at Virginia Tech. "There's not a lot you can say," White said.

If you feel the need to "do something," a contribution to your local Salvation Army might be appropriate.

UPDATE: Bro. Chris Hodapp of Freemasons for Dummies has put faces on some of those killed by posting photographs.

Virginia Tech | Christoper Jamie Bishop | Ryan Clark | Burning Taper | BurningTaper.com