Help!

Here's the story about a South Carolina teen who's been arrested in a plot to bomb his school. He wanted to die, and then kill Jesus after he got to heaven.

Yeah, I think he may need some help.

Here's a link to the story if you're interested.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/29/national/main4056750.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_4056750

Texas Hostage Crisis, Day 25

Former FLDS member Mary Mackert, now a Baptist, talks about her life in the FLDS faith Sunday at the Central Faith Baptist Church in San Angelo, Texas. (Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)

Baptist missionary looks forward to deprograming, converting FLDS child hostages
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695274460,00.html

One of Grits For Breakfast's commenters responded to his Yippe Ki Yi Yay ditty with one of his own:

"How about this takeoff on "Git along little dogies"?

Yippee ki yi yay,
Git along little Mormons.
It's your misfortune
And none of my own.

Yippee ki yi yay,
Git along little Mormons.
You know CPS will
Provide a new home.

Peace from a Baptist brother who resents linking 'Baptist' and 'bigot' as though they were synonymous.
Rev. Charles Kiker"

I couldn't let that stand. Here is my response:

I think it's interesting that Rev. Kiker resents linking Baptists and bigots, but doesn't mind blurring the line between polygamists and mainstream Mormons who don't preach or practice polygamy. Your little ditty about little Mormons reinforces stereotypes that don't fit, and confuses people who don't know (or care) about the distinctions.

The reason it's of concern is because many are confusing mainstream LDS with this FLDS sect, and persecution has already begun. A group of LDS missionaries eating lunch in a San Angelo restaurant were threatened by a man brandishing a knife. An LDS couple in Victoria were shocked to find that neighbors had vandalized their property by spray painting anti-Mormon slogans and threats.

Judge Walther demonstrated her own ignorance about the distinctions when she suggested mainstream Mormons be called on to monitor FLDS prayer sessions, a request that baffled and offended many mainstream Mormons, who resent being tarred by the same broad brush.

With the combination of the Baptist Church buses and this little ditty about little Mormons penned by a Baptist minister, it looks pretty obvious that the Baptists are at the center of this bigoted crusade to stamp out this strange, unorthodox sect.

Furthermore, there's a former FLDS lady who's converted to the Baptist Church and has received a calling to the FLDS, and is eager to receive as many of these FLDS children into her care as possible so she can begin deprograming them and converting them to be Baptists.

Hint: If you don't want to be labeled a bigot, don't act like one.

Texas Hostage Crisis, Day 24

Some child hostages hospitalized, the rest now scattered all across Texas

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9075298
Incidentally, to give you an idea about the vast distances that we're talking about here, Eldorado is 384 miles from Houston.

Two Texas child hostages unaccounted for, but Texas DFPS "not worried"
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695274226,00.html

There's a blogger in Texas who is a former Director of Police Accountability at the Texas ACLU. He's been blogging about the FLDS raid since it happened and has had a steadily growing sence of unease with the propriety of how and why it went down like it did and how it got as far out of control as it did. He says that any actual crimes that were committed wil not be successfully prosecuted because of the way this was handled. CPS may get away with kidnaping these kids, but eventually there will be legal repercussions.

The blog is called Grits for Breakfast.
He wrote a poem that I think is appropriate. Here it is:

I'll never forget that sad April day
When the Baptists brought buses and
Cops hauled us away
From our home on the ranch
Where the kids used to play
And sing "Ki Yi Yippe Ki Yay"

I'll never forget how we all knelt and prayed
While men with machine guns
Filed in like a parade
By the hundreds, an army
Swarmed God's holy place
Singing "Ki Yi Yippe Ki Yay"

I'll never forget hearing Judge Walther say
That my parents' beliefs were
Abusive per se
And I needed protection
From them and their faith
She sang "Ki Yi Yippe Ki Yay"

So they brought in more buses and swept me away
Into foster care, now the Judge
Says I am safe
But I don't feel that way
All alone and afraid
Singing "Ki Yi Yippe Ki Yay Ki Yay"
Singing "Ki Yi Yippe Ki Yay"


None of this is about protecting children from harm. It's about stamping out a despised lifestyle of a wierd group of people that is guilty of rejecting mainstream American values in a spectacularly strange way. The driving force behind this effort is an odd combination of Bible belt bigotry and liberal feminist moral revulsion. It's a rescue attempt of people who see no need to be rescued. It fits the definition of genocide because it entails removing the children and youth from the population.

http://www.johntfloyd.com/comments/april08/13a.htm
http://www.johntfloyd.com/comments/april08/22a.htm

Texas Hostage Crisis, Day 21

Salt Lake Tribune Bagley Cartoon

Culture Shock: Plyg Kid Hostages Face Tough Adjustment

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

The youngsters are being moved out of the crowded San Angelo Coliseum and will be placed in temporary facilities around Texas - some as far away as Houston, 500 miles off - until individual custody decisions can be made.

Those decisions could result in a number of possibilities: Some children could be placed in permanent foster care; some parents who have left the sect may win custody; some youngsters may be allowed to return to the ranch in Eldorado; and some may turn 18 before the case is complete and be allowed to choose their own fates.
___

So if parents renounce their religion and leave the sect, they may win back custody of their kids.

How much of their religion do they have to renounce?

Do they have to prove they're legally and properly married, not just spiritually married? If they're not legally married, will that disqualify them, and why would it?

Will they have to show excommunication documents, or copies of letters resigning their membership in the FLDS Church? Will they have to affirm that they no longer believe in the doctrines of the FLDS Church? Or will they be allowed to affirm only that they won't do anything illegal, such as consent to allow their underage children to be married or engage in sexual activity, i.e., spritual marriage. Will they be required to renounce polygamy as a doctrine they believe in?

There is so much about this case that is just plain wrong. The US Supreme Court has ruled that authorities can regulate religious practice, and that was settled in the 1890s. But to regulate religious belief is wrong, and flies in the face of the First Amendment.

The US Supreme Court has also ruled that consenting adults have a constitutional right to sodomy. If that's the case, then it seems reasonable that consenting adults have a constitutional right to fornication and adultery. Consenting adults can have sexual relations with as many adult partners as they want, but they can't marry more than one of them (at a time).

Prohibitions against polygamy were enacted with the intention of enforcing them against the Mormons and their offshoots, and no one else. I've never heard of Muslim polygamists being prosecuted in this country. And it seems insanely schizophrenic to give constitutional protections to consenting adults who want to commit fornication and sodomy with multiple partners, while denying other consenting adults the privilege of engaging in plural marriages as part of their religious beliefs. That alone has made laws against polygamy unenforceable. To enforce them makes a mockery of the Constitution.

Either repeal the laws against polygamy, or enforce them. Don't leave them on the books if they're not enforced. If you repeal polygamy laws, do so with the resolve that illegal activity such as underage marriages (child rape), child abuse, torture, welfare fraud, racketeering, tax evasion, etc. will be vigorously prosecuted, and then follow through.

And let's do something about the immunity that CPS has from Constitutional prohibitions against illegal searches and seizure of property and kids on the basis of fraudulent or false information by calling it a civil action instead of a criminal one. The potential for abuse of power is obvious.

Punish the Guilty, Let the Innocent Go Free

This is how I feel about the FLDS situation in Texas.

If there has been sexual abuse of minors, then charge the perpetrators with crimes, prove the charges in a court of law and put the guilty in prison. Don't punish the innocent. Let them go free.

If there are people who are guilty of polygamy or welfare fraud, prove it in a court of law and put the guilty in prison. Don't punish the innocent. Let them go free.

If they teach their children principles that you find repugnant, such as that their children will go to hell if they abandon their faith, that's none of the states business, and doesn't fall under the jurisdiction of the Texas Department of Family Protective Services. You can't justify taking these kids away because they are taught things that you find objectionable, or because your sense of moral outrage has been offended.

You can't take kids away from parents because they wear strange clothes and long underwear or have odd hairstyles or because they hold to beliefs that don't conform to your standards. If they've done something illegal, fine, prove it in a court of law and put the guilty in prison. Don't punish the innocent. Let them go free.

Taking all the kids away before any crimes have been proven is punishing the innocent along with the guilty. It's a travesty and a sham. To date, not one single person has even been charged with a crime. Constitutional rights have been trampled by the state of Texas, and even if some people are eventually found guilty of crimes, none of this kidnaping and hostage taking is justified.

I've seen comments made where people have said they believe these men should be castrated and the women sterilized, and they should never be allowed to have any more children. This prosecution has taken on the hysterical tones of the Salem witch trials, and has turned into a witch hunt and a religious persecution. You can't tell me these people aren't being persecuted for their religious beliefs.

All I'm saying is put the guilty in prison and let the innocent go free. This is a horrible injustice and a moral outrage.

Texas Hostage Crisis, Day 20

Texas DFPS plans to re-educate, de-program FLDS child hostages

From the Deseret News:

Darrell Azar, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, said the following:

"We'll start to assess what their educational needs are, what level of mental and physical health care they'll need, counseling, set up a curriculum for their education," he said. "We'll set up a plan for each one."

As the child custody process goes forward, individual plans could include visitation from their parents, but Azar said that's "not a bridge we've crossed yet." On Tuesday, Azar said the other children in the coliseum appeared to be doing well, despite having stayed in a makeshift shelter for so long.

"We're trying to get these children into a more normal setting as quickly as possible so they can be provided what they need to flourish and we can continue investigating what happened in their lives," he said

_______________________________

So they're going to continue investigating what happened, presumably because they don't know what happened, but based on what little they already know, or think they know, they're completely comfortable with the notion that they should take all 437 children hostage and begin re-educating and de-programming them.

It would all make perfect sence to me if this were happening in a communist country, or Nazi Germany, or any place where we didn't have a Constitution that guarantees individual rights to freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, assurances of due process and equal protection under the law.

Oh, wait...This isn't America, it's Texas. That's right, don't mess with Texas.

Texas FLDS Hostage Crisis Continues, Day Nineteen

LDS Church declines opportunity to spy on Texas FLDS hostages
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695272878,00.html

Salt Lake Tribune editorial points to government's "heavy burden of proof" in Texas FLDS hostage crisis
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9005771

Texas begins moving child hostages into foster homes
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695272825,00.html

Number of FLDS child hostages jumps to 437
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695272744,00.html

Texas harming FLDS child hostages, Utah group says
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695272632,00.html

Judge asks LDS to spy on FLDS hostages during prayers
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695272498,00.html

Local LDS Stake President baffled by request to spy on hostages
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695272746,00.html

Texas officials couldn't take children hostage earlier because they were home schooled
http://www.sltrib.com/polygamy/ci_9012668

Okay, I admit, the mainstream media aren't calling the children hostages, but that is in fact what they are, and I will continue to call them that. The state of Texas has not incarcerated a solitary adult male in relation to the original complaint. They have been unable to produce solid evidence of abuse of any kind, other than to say they've been "indoctrinated". They have the alleged underage teen brides in custody, and have had them for 19 days, yet none have stepped forward to say they are victims of sexual or physical abuse. They will continue to hold these children hostage until they are successful in coercing someone into stepping forward and claiming that they are victims of abuse. In truth, all 437 of these children are victims of abuse--by the state of Texas.

This is simply outrageous.

Texas Judge Orders CPS to Have LDS Supervise Prayer Sessions

"SAN ANGELO, Texas -- The Texas judge overseeing the polygamous FLDS sect's case today refused to make any ruling that would allow breast-feeding mothers to remain with their children in state custody. Judge Barbara Walther did rule on requests that women and children currently being held in San Angelo be able to pray together privately. She told Texas Children Protective Services (CPS) to find a member of the mainstream Mormon church to supervise group prayer sessions with FLDS women and children. Those sessions would occur in the morning and evening. Walther was addressing a request for temporary restraining orders filed by attorneys for four of the nursing mothers, but on behalf of all mothers there. The request asked the court to stop Texas child-welfare workers from separating mothers and children, to allow private prayer, and to give the women and children telephone access to their lawyers." --Salt Lake Tribune

This little bit of news just made my jaw drop to the floor. Presumably she means for Texas CPS to find someone in their organization who is LDS to supervise group prayer sessions with FLDS women and children.

Apparently the judge just doesn't get it. The LDS Church considers the FLDS group to be apostates and heretics. Their culture is very different from the mainstream LDS Church. I can't imagine an active LDS person feeling comfortable about "supervising" an FLDS prayer session, nor can I imagine that the FLDS women would be any more comfortable with an LDS supervisor than with a non-Mormon present. This is just amazing to me. If Judge Walther truly wants to be sensitive to FLDS sensibilities, this approach is simply non-sensical.

I've watched this media circus unfold over the last 18 days and have tried to hold off on making a judgment about the rightness or the wrongness of the raid and the fact that 416 children have been taken into custody. But frankly, I'm alarmed at how low the bar is for justifying the taking of so many kids into custody, based on such apparently flimsy evidence. Yet, no adults have been charged with a crime or taken into custody based on the original complaint. And the continued custody is justified by the fact that children are in danger of abuse because they are subject to indoctrination by their parents.

What exactly is indoctrination? Isn't it simply parents teaching their children their beliefs? Don't parents have the right, in fact, the responsibility to teach their children? Apparently you only have that right in Texas as long as you don't belong to a cult that holds strange beliefs and whose adherents don't wear strange clothes and funny hairstyles. Supposedly, there've been all these horrible crimes committed, but this case hasn't dealt with any of that.

They're in the process of taking DNA samples from parents and children, but then what? If they can prove that a man has fathered children by multiple women, will that prove in a court of law that they are guilty breaking laws regarding polygamy? No, because they can't prove they're married. There's no law against having sex with multiple partners. There are laws against having sexual relations with underage partners by men over a certain age. And if they won't accept notarized birth certificates proving the ages of teen-age brides based on the fact that they could be falsified records, why would marriage records be any more valid? So the only thing they can go on is the age of the bride when she conceived, and if you won't accept birth certificates, how can you establish age? And if none of the victim child-brides will step forward and admit they are victims, how do you establish that there is systemic abuse? Texas CPS can't establish their case, so they're going to hold their children hostage until someone comes forward and admits that they were abused. But if someone steps forward and admits there was abuse, what's going to happen? They're going to lose their children. No one's going to do that.

Let's face it, the powers that be in Texas have decided that this is an evil religious cult that needs to be stamped out, and that's what they're going to do, and they're going to do it by taking the children away and reprogram them into a suitable culture where they'll have a chance to grow up and be "normal". But if they're not successful in prosecuting adult males who have sexual relations with underage partners, this is just going to keep happening, and the FLDS people will only be further entrenched in their belief that they are a persecuted people. This is not going to go away without Texas becoming a total fascist police state. And if that happens, then who's next?