Westboro Baptist Church Defectors Speak

The Article: The Westboro Defectors Speak: Phelps Granddaughters Embrace Tolerance by John Avlon in The Daily Beast.

The Text: On Thursday afternoon Megan and Grace Phelps-Roper visited the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. They’d been inside only a few minutes when they saw a photo of their family.

There, as part of the permanent exhibit, was an image of their grandmother and sister at the murder trial of Matthew Shepard’s killers, holding the signs for which the Westboro Baptist Church has become infamous: “God Hates Fags,” “AIDS Cures Gays,” and “Matt in Hell.”

This was once their way of life. Now 27, Megan had been taken to protests since age 5; her younger sister Grace had been attending since birth—all as part of the Kansas ministry founded by their grandfather.

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Noam Chomsky On Big Think

Surprise, the equal-opportunity critic actually has positive–albeit qualified–things to say about the Obama administration’s actions.

12 Of The Greatest Stephen Fry Quotes

There are few names–or noses–better known in today’s literary world than Stephen Fry. From poetry to journalism to plays, Fry has done it all…and likely better than you. Here are some of his most memorable moments.

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UN Investigator Demands Obama Release Bush Counterterrorism Program Details

The Article: UN investigator: Obama must release details of Bush kidnapping and torture program by Stephen Webster in The Raw Story.

The Text: President Barack Obama must release the details of internal probes into the Bush administration’s practice of kidnapping and torturing terrorism suspects, a United Nations investigator said Monday.

Ben Emmerson, the U.N. special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, will release a new report on Tuesday detailing his findings about the Bush-era program, according to Reuters. The report was not published online ahead of a planned hearing set for Tuesday, and a spokesperson was unavailable for comment.

“Despite this clear repudiation of the unlawful actions carried out by the Bush-era CIA, many of the facts remain classified, and no public official has so far been brought to justice in the United States,” Emmerson says in the report, Reuters noted.

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Meet The Tea Party Patriots

If you think this is something from The Onion, you’re sadly mistaken. To bear witness to the source of the crazy, check out the Tea Party Express’ website>.