Wow. Some of my clients use Lyris to manage their mailing lists, so I get their monthly newsletter. Guess who they chose for their Customer Spotlight this month?

American Family Association: Appealing to Family Values with ListManager Why did famous web marketing guru Seth Godin choose to profile the email strategy of a conservative Christian activist group like the American Family Association? And how can the budget-conscious nonprofit justify investing in a commercial email marketing program like ListManager?

Budget-conscious? They have a budget of more than $11 million and 200 radio stations. Here is a good write-up from People For the American Way on this "family" association. Their California director wrote the infamous "Pink Swastika", which tells us "homosexuals [are] the true inventors of Nazism and the guiding force behind many Nazi atrocities."

As promised, we went back at 3 for the kids leaving at the end of the school day. By this point, only the twinkie guy and the two others (that got left when the Phelps clan left via shiny Lincolns in the morning) were there. I added a few more photos to the gallery.

The twinkie guy held an extension cord to demonstrate the male/female aspect of electrical plugs, saying that this proved that homosexuality was unnatural. Someone yelled at him to tell him his big tool belt was "very Village People." I was amused to see him waving the plugs at the transgender kids that walked across the street to confront him. Their cohorts over on our side of the street yelled encouragements, such as "smack him with your tits!" and chanted "We're people! Not Plugs!"

After a bit the two bible guys walked over to the corner of Astor and Broadway -- out of their pen! A group of us went with our signs to get between them and the kids headed that way on their way out of the school. At first the police didn't like it and told us to go back to our pen, but we told them we didn't want the kids to get yelled at by the bible-thumpers. They were sympathetic, and just brought some more barricades and made us and the two bigots a new holding area. Our original four good guys were eventually joined by more people, including several teachers from other schools that had arrived by that point. I had a bit more flashback to my southern upbringing than I wanted as one of them yelled in the cadence of a fire and brimstone preacher about gays, AIDS, etc. It was an interesting experience -- we were standing right next to them in a 4' x 10' barricaded space next to Astor Hair.

One of the kids handed us a white paper heart that said, "My Big Gay Heart Loves You."

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Updated: See James's afternoon report, including some nice photos of the kids that crossed the street to confront the bigots.

Fred "God hates Fags" Phelps, the man famous for picketing funeral of people who have died of AIDS and the Matthew Shepard funeral, arrived with his little group to protest the first day of school at Harvey Milk High School.

There are a lot more anti-Phelps protesters -- we arrived at 7:30am and there was already a huge crowd.

I have a gallery with a few photos I took. Highlights of the morning:

• The crowd cheered the school kids as they walked past us to enter the school.
• The Police actually moved the barricades to give us more room, and put us closer to the Phelps gang across the street, when the "FAGS FDNY" and "Thank God for 9/11" signs appeared. I'm sure they also appreciated it when the Phelps people brought out the American flags to stand on.
• Someone yelled out, "Love the purple jacket, Fred!"
• Around 8:15 black towncars arrived and took most of the Phelps people away. They used a car service!
• There was one heavy guy on the Phelps side wearing a Twinkie box as a hat.
• They used printed lyrics to help them out while singing.
• There was a big garbage truck next to them, being loaded with demolition debris, for most of the demo. When it left around 8:30, people yelled, "Hey! Your ride is leaving!"

I'll be back there at 3:00 when the kids get out of school.

Here is what I wrote when people started screaming about segregation and "the gay high school."

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Updated: James's post and photos are up too.

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Updated again -- I'm in the photo at the top of the MSNBC article -- the blue and white striped shirt.

It's time to be there for the Harvey Milk kids on Monday morning and afternoon.

Fred Phelps and his ilk will be screaming their god-soaked obscenities at young gay kids on Monday as they attend the first day of school.

Supporters are encouraged to be at the school at 7:30 am on Monday, September 8 (first class is at 8:00 a.m.) and 3:00 pm (end of school day), with happy signs and encouragement. The Harvey Milk School is located at Two Astor Place at the corner of Astor and Broadway (take the 6 train to Astor Place or the N or R to 8th Street and Broadway).

James has more info.