Today's "Asinine URL O' The Day" is sponsored by the Westboro Baptist Church, led by... ahem... "pastor"... Fred W. Phelps, Sr. This bastion of The Truth According To Phelps has taken such issue and umbrage with non-heterosexuals that they regularly picket anything that doesn't reflect Mr. Phelps view of what's morally, sexually, correct. They quote Bible passages ad nauseum that have little or nothing to with their stand. And they pick the most controversial (read "sickening and shocking") venues in which to scream their message.
If you decide to visit http://www.godhatesfags.com, be sure to visit the pictures section. Be sure to check out the faces of those standing on the grave of a non-heterosexual touting their assumptions on his fate in the hereafter. Be sure to check out the faces of those picketing the Gay Pride Parade in Chicago, thanking God for AIDS. Be sure to check out the faces of those picketing at the University of Kansas claiming that hate is a virtue according to the Bible (Notice the barrier reads "Bureau of Sanitation". Appropriate, no?). Remember these people. Remember their faces. You may run into one of them one day. These are people that feel that it's ok to preach hate and intolerance, and don't for one minute assume that their intolerance ends with other people's sexual preferences. Intolerance and hate are blind to such things. These people have made public gestures to separate themselves from major segments of the population, to hold their targets up and proclaim them inferior to themselves, to claim that those they hate are less than they are, doomed to eternal punishment at the hands of that which created the universe. Their pitiful, hopeless, powerless minds demand that they place someone beneath them so they can feel better about themselves. Beware of them. You may be their next target. Are you non-white? Are you a natural-born citizen of the U.S.? Do you go to their church and profess to hold the same religious beliefs? Do you part your hair on the right side? Did you vote for the right president? Do you mow your lawn regularly and wear the same K-Mart shirts and Sears Toughskins pants they wear? If not, you may be next... And while you're committing the faces of these pitiable, small, people to memory, remember this: according to statistics, just over half of the new HIV cases are HETEROSEXUALS. That's right, straight people get it too. Take a look:
(1)Among males 13 to 19 years of age, there were 995 cases of HIV disease reported. Of these, slightly under half were acquired by homosexual activity. Of the 6285 men with HIV disease ages 20-24, slightly over half became infected through homosexual contacts. Many of the 6285 cases reported were obviously infected while they were still teenagers. Among girls, HIV reporting statistics reveal that the primary means of spread of HIV disease is heterosexual. 42% of all HIV cases in girls 13-19 and 40% of all cases in girls 20-24 were acquired by heterosexual contact.
HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 1993. Available from the CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, on request.
My point? That some of these fine (cough), upstanding (cough cough),
God-fearingly moral (choke!) people may, themselves, be infected
with the HIV virus, anal sex or no. And can you imagine how the
tide will turn against those unfortunate members of Mr. Phelps flock
that find themselves afflicted with this horrible disease? Will they
be surrounded with the love of their friends in their time of need?
Will the members of the church they devoted their lives to shower them
with love and support?
Yeah. That might happen...
Sounds good to me. Makes total sense. Advertising of potentially dangerous substances is something to be regulated at the local level by city councils and such. But regulating the dangerous substance itself is something for the FDA to do. That's why the FDA exists. I have a bit of an issue with some of the substances the government has seen fit to regulate and the level to which they have regulated it, but the fact remains that that particular government body's charter is to control the manufacture, sale, and possession of substances deemed dangerous by the public's elected officials.
And the tobacco companies take on the decision? Why, they're outraged! Offended! They'll appeal, oh yes they will!
Well, shoot, what did you expect? That those greezy, greedy bastards would just roll over and give up? Heck, no! They'll continue to work this sinking ship, pulling in as many morons as they can get a penny out of, for as long as any part of it is still above water. That's the beauty of corporate America. See, the entire concept of corporations ensures that those that run the corporations will run them as a shield. The corporation can be sued for selling a product known to kill people, but the people that ran the corporation, that set the course for the company and the direction for the business strategies, the people that made gross amounts of money making the company do things they would never do personally if it meant they'd be liable for the outcome, those people cannot be touched.
Anyway, the point of this rant is to say "Good for you!" to the courts and "SHAME!" to the tobacco companies.