Shouldn't they be too busy celebrating that there's one fewer Catholic in the world?

No, their raison d'etre seems to be protesting that God hasn't gotten rid of enough of "those" sorts. "Those" meaning people not like them. IE, nearly everyone.

They are baffling in their batshit insanity. One wonders how they manage to transport themselves from place to place.

Sewers.

Okay, I tried to read the WBC Wikipedia page to figure out what, exactly, their deal is, and I started to become almost physically ill.

If you're gonna look at that page, scroll down to the bottom and the "counter protests" section. It's by far the best (and least horrifying) part of the article. Some of the examples are actually pretty awesome.

I would like to report for the record that a garden spade is a highly inadequate tool for driveway shoveling. I finally just cleared off the end, which is always the slipperiest.

DCJ, glad to hear you and the new truck are okay. I'ma send out more car~ma! It's not helping yet!

Sewers.

I'd think the rats would protest.

If I believed in hell, I would believe that the Devil is building a special new section, just for the WBC.

Wow, I'm sleeping a lot. The sore throat has been replaced by snot, mostly, and I still don't really have an appetite, though I am eating what I can.

If you really want to learn more about the WBC, I found Keith Allen's documentary to be very good. It's hard not to be physically ill but his approach helps.

I think its time to start ignoring Westboro Baptist.

Stop giving a shit if they yell outside a funeral, you know? Sure its a dick thing to do but doesn't make anyone any more dead, its disrespectful as hell but it doesn't make that day any worse or the loss any more profound. Ignore them. They want attention and we're all giving it to them.

I would love to see networks and newspapers announce en masse that this is not newsworthy and they're not going to discuss it any more.

I've heard from several sources that WBC is a for-profit scam. Doesn't mean they don't believe most of the shit they say, but doesn't mean they do either. Fundamentally their schtick: engage in the most provocative disgusting behavior against people already under emotional stress that is legal and protected under the first amendment. Hope that someone violates their legal rights . Win big bucks in court. I think the word has spread so that people are as careful to keep counter-protests legal as WBC is to keep their actions legal. Which people should in any case. Really even dicks should not have free speech rights violated. But until recently provoking illegal behavior and suing was a successful revenue model for the single family that constitutes this church. Last few years not so much. I wonder if we can go long enough with nobody giving them a basis to sue and win, if they will run out of money.