I can't believe the News Journal would allow such blatent misleading!!

[LynneSin]

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060403/OPINION11/604030317/1112/OPINION

All soldiers' funerals should be off limits to anti-war protesters
04/03/2006

House Bill 371 addresses a problem that is so repugnant that its passage last Thursday was a no-brainer.

It's unfortunate though that a bill to ban protesters from interrupting the last public rites of our fallen soldiers needs to be considered.

But member of the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church make it necessary. They have vowed to expand their traveling protests against gay rights to funerals for our war dead. Until now only mourners of AIDS victims had to endure this sacrilege.

Westboro's beef is not even with our troops. They could not care less which side of the political spectrum these soldiers were aligned. In fact, their patriotism doesn't count for anything. The protesters claim that U.S. soldiers are dying because God is punishing America for tolerating homosexuality.

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Please, please, please write a letter and let them know this was just blatent misleading by associating Fred Phelp's organization with soldiers funerals. I have done some work with Pacem in Terris (Peace/Anti-war organization in Wilmington) and I can assure you that none of us would ever consider protesting a funeral. Hell I support HB371

I've sent my letter in today

[jberryhill]

1. The headline was certainly an eye-catcher

...but the text was clear. My assumption is that the headline writer was not the editorialist, and that headline text is more determined by space than anything else.

I had the same reaction, but was concerned that any attempted "correction" of the headline could be misconstrued as support for the Phelps clan and/or disagreement with the text of the editorial.

on edit...

Someone nailed it in an LTTE today:

I'm not aware of any protests at funerals by the "anti-war" movement. However, there have been numerous protests by Rev. Fred Phelps and his gang of thugs from Westboro Baptist Church.

Rev. Phelps is not part of the anti-war movement. His protests are an extension of his long campaign of anti-gay extremist hatred. He contends that American soldiers are being killed in Iraq as vengeance from God for protecting a country that harbors gays. While I'm happy to see Westboro's outrageous activities reigned in in a reasonable manner, it is very inaccurate to call this group part of the anti-war movement.

[LynneSin]

2. I saw that today - I had written a similiar letter

They could have easily have given a title that would have best described the article without trying to lump anti-war activists with Fred Phelps. In the past year, especially after Norman Lockman left the paper, I've noticed the paper moving heavily towards the left. I personally think that someone purposively made that title in order to make anti-war protesters a part of this hate group.

I don't have a copy of my letter but in a nutshell I said the same thing - Phelps is not anti-war but a gay hate-group and that anti-war protestors would not protest at funerals and actually support HB371

[jberryhill]

3. They ran a couple more, as well...

I have to wonder how many LTTE's the News Urinal receives. They ran one of mine today, and I think I've only written one in the last year that they didn't run.