Newborn Grandbaby

Meet Anson Riley Petersen, born at 1:46 p.m. Mountain Time yesterday, 27 May 2008. He weighed in at 8 lbs. 9 oz.

Mother Jodi and baby (and daddy Brad) are all doing great.

So far he hasn't been very fussy at all. We were there for well over an hour and he hardly even whimpered. Quite content to just lie there and sleep. Brad laid him down and uncovered him to see if he'd object. Nope. ZZZZZZZ.

So he tickled his feet. He didn't like that very much, and objected. "Daddy, quit picking on me!"

Soon he was right back in Slumberville.

Memorial Day 2008

In honor of all who have honorably served our nation, we're flying the flag today at blog648. Thank you.

I borrowed a tribute Ronald Reagan paid to The Unknown Soldier in 1984 that was published in the Salt Lake Tribune.

"About him we may well wonder, as others have: As a child, did he play on some street in a great American city? Or did he work beside his father on a farm out in America's heartland? Did he marry? Did he have children? Did he look expectantly to return to a bride? "We'll never know the answers to these questions about his life. We do know, though, why he died. He saw the horrors of war but bravely faced them, certain his own cause and his country's cause was a noble one; that he was fighting for human dignity, for free men everywhere. "Today we pause to embrace him and all who served us so well in a war whose end offered no parades, no flags, and so little thanks. We can be worthy of the values and ideals for which our sons sacrificed - worthy of their courage in the face of a fear that few of us will ever experience - by honoring their commitment and devotion to duty and country."

- PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN at Arlington National Cemetery, May 28, 1984, to commemorate the tomb of the Unknown Soldier who fought during the Vietnam War.

You can read tributes that others have paid to Veterans here: http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9381037

Unshackle FLDS Girls

FLDS moms and kids prepare to board buses at the YFZ ranch in Texas on 5 April 2008.

Photo from Captive FLDS Children website.

http://www.captivefldschildren.org/

Here is a Public Forum letter that appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune entitled "Unshackle FLDS Girls."

I am a 15-year-old girl with a cell phone and iPod. Call me spoiled. I like sports, boys and dancing. I still play with my dog. It wasn't that long ago that I believed in Santa Claus and gave my mom painted rocks for Mother's Day.

I can't imagine being married at this age, let alone having a baby. I'm pretty sure those FLDS girls are just like me in most ways. They want to enjoy their youth, friendships and all that modern life has to offer, and not be handed over to some gross old guy and forced to sleep with him. Helloooo?

Hooray for the Texas authorities who raided the Yearning for Zion ranch of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Maybe they can take the girls to Great Clips hair salon and then to the mall for a new pair of shorts. It's about time someone stepped in to stop this robbery of precious childhood.

Ellen Sliwinski
Salt Lake City

As you can imagine, there were many colorful responses, some applauding this young lady, others mocking her. You can go to the link and read the comments if you like.
http://www.sltrib.com/Opinion/ci_9370217

I commented also. Here's my response:

"Do you know that when they were first taken to the shelter, those FLDS girls were not allowed to pray if they wanted to? Nor were they allowed to close the door when they went to the bathroom.

A teen age boy got up to give a talk, and officers took him away and locked him in a utility closet. They left him there overnight, then took him away in the morning.

I suspect if they took these girls to the mall, they might have to shackle them together to keep them from running away. I suspect they would have to be forced to get haircuts, and they'd have to hold them down to strip those prairie dresses off and put those new shorts on.

Yes, it's a shame someone didn't step in sooner and free these girls from their oppressors."

My YFZ Photo Gallery

Here's an interesting photograph I borrowed from the Grits for Breakfast blog. It's unattributed, but appears to be a phone-camera image that was taken surreptitiously. It's a fairly ambiguous photo. Does it show young FLDS boys who are caught in a sinister opressive cult that will precondition them to become predatory males and child rapists? Or are they prisoners of the state, incarcerated for no other reason than that their parents practice a strange, unpopular religion and their mothers wear odd, 19th century dresses and hairstyles?

My YFZ gallery is growing. Here's another photo, also borrowed from GFB, of a young girl being bused away into state foster care.

Here's another of my favorites, a Deseret News photo featuring a Baptist missionary, a former FLDS "escapee" who can't wait to take as many of the FLDS children into her care as the state will allow, so she can convert them and save their souls from hell.

Here are some links for more background:

http://texaslastfrontier.com/prairie_fire_journal/blog1.php
http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2008/04/96681.html
http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=64356
http://www.lewrockwell.com/fisk/fisk39.html
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/05/what-does-texas.html?loc=interstitialskip
http://www.texascivilrightsproject.org/?p=239
http://iperceive.net/judge-barbara-walther-madame-defarge-of-san-angelo-texas/

2008 Spring Salon of the Springville Museum of Art

Every year I try to get to the Springville Art Museum for their Spring Salon, which features works by Utah artists, as well as famous former Utah artists.

This is "Who" by Jeff Hein, a Salt Lake City artist who, incidentally, is a friend of my son and his wife. Jeff is clearly a "talented boy", as my wife Laura said. He has a studio and art acadamy in Salt Lake City and is opening another in Provo, in partnership with several other artists.

This is the Step Down Gallery in the front of the museum. It's kind of the unofficial place of honor. Really large pieces are usually displayed in this gallery.

Another view of the Step Down Gallery.

This is a work by Justin Taylor, one of the artists working with Jeff Hein at the Bridge Acadamy in Provo.

Here is "Call of the Wild", by Chris Paul Miles. It received a merit award, and in my view deserved at least that.

This is, um, the "Step Up Gallery" just off the Step Down Gallery.

This is a piece by a well known Utah artist who works in bronze and features little children. L'Deana something. Well known to all but me apparently, because I can't remember her last name. She has several pieces in the permanent collection at the museum.

Here is a large charcoal drawing that looks very nearly photographic.

Heron II

One of my favorite paintings in this year's show. I like the use of the bright red drawer contrasting with with the white knob and the shadow to give the whole composition a distinct 3-dimensional quality. Did I bother to remember the name of the artist, or the title of the work? Sorry, no. I didn't take notes and it's gone down the memory hole.

This very large painting was another of my favorites. The following day when I returned to the Museum it was not in it's place, and it's name plaque was gone, too. Perhaps it was being photographed for the catalogue, but no one I talked to seemed to know what happened to it.

Another view of the Step Up Gallery. It actually has a name, but I never pay attention to those things.

The Hallway Gallery, just off the Step Up Gallery. Yes, I'm making these names up as I go.

This is not a thrown clay pot. The medium is wood. Nice job.

This is the Whimsical, Slightly Wierd Gallery, where whimsical, slightly wierd art objects seem to gravitate.

I liked this whimsical, slightly wierd piece. I didn't get the title or the artist's name.

This reminds me of the float bulb in a toilet tank. That's not a value judgment. I already said I liked the piece.

It seems like every year at least one artist submits a work with a "Tree of Life" theme.

Leaving the Whimsical, Slightly Wierd Gallery and entering the Land of the Truly Strange, where truly strange "objets d'art" seem to gather at the annual show. I think the actual name of this gallery is the West Gallery, but calling it the Wild West Gallery would be misleading.

This peice was suspended from the cieling and was entitled "Cleave Unto...". Again, that's not a value statement. I didn't say I didn't like it.

Yeah, I like red.

This piece was stuck over in a dark corner where we almost missed it. Laura did a double take and then asked me "Is this, uh, artwork?" I assured her it was intentional, and showed her the name and title plaque. I've forgotten the title, except that the word "light" appeared in it. The large glass tube in the center changed to different colors as we watched. Kinda cool.

This was a large, "wall sized" piece. Striking, if for nothing but it's size.

This was a small, bright piece suitable for hanging on a pillar. By Shirley Hancock Nelson of North Ogden, it was entitled "the Painter".

I think it's interesting that the museum shows the year of birth of each artist, and they leave a blank space for the death date, as if they expect that to happen at any moment. I've never seen a death date on a work displayed in the annual Spring Salon. I assume that dead artists don't bother to submit their work.

Back in the Slightly Wierd Gallery; I realize that art is a highly subjective endeavor. My dad used to say really obnoxious things about work that he considered unworthy of consideration. His favorite quip: "I've seen better art on toilet paper!", followed by an evil smirk. For some reason, this piece reminded me of my dad and what he used to say. The artist is Frank McEntire of Salt Lake City, and the piece is entitled "Lord of Hosts". Clearly Mr. McEntire considers some aspect of Mormonism to be, um, "birdcage worthy". And yes, that is a value judgment, on both our parts, I suppose.

Incidentally, the fact that this work, or any work was exhibited, is a value judgement on the part of somebody.

"Birth of Spring" by Jack Moford of American Fork.

"Rub-a-dub-dub, Three Men in a Tub".

No, I'm kidding.

Leaving the Whimsical, Slightly Wierd Gallery, heading for the Wild West Gallery. Which by the way, is not in the West Gallery.

"Gentlemen's Foursome", by Arnold Friberg. Incidentally, you can click on any of the photographs for an enlarged view.

This work is called "the Mittens". I have been to this exact location and tried to take this same picture many times.

Obviously, I didn't photograph every piece that was in the exhibit. I have neither the time nor the inclination to do that. I photographed works that struck me in some way. I know that every year the powers that be at the museum decline to exhibit hundreds of works submitted for the annual Salon. Often, Laura and I have noted with surprise that a certain piece received an award of merit or second place or something like that and wondered why. And then again, other pieces that we liked and viewed as worthy of an award didn't receive one, and we wondered why not. So clearly, art is a subjective endeavor. Still, as we left, I thought I would have liked to have seen some of the works that were rejected for this year's show. I'm not sure that's a value judgment.

Have a nice day. Thanks for viewing.

Comments from the blogosphere on YFZ Debacle

Scott Henson is a Texas blogger who writes about the Texas criminal justice system, and has covered the YFZ debacle relentlessly in his blog, GRITS FOR BREAKFAST. As enlightening as his own articles are, some of the comments by readers are equally revealing. Here's a small sample:

Comments at Grits For Breakfast

"if...the 'nature of some of the [adult] marital relationships' was a reason DFPS took the kids, they were woefully beyond the scope of their authority! There are only four reasons DFPS can seize a child:

1. an immediate danger to the physical health or safety of the child,
2. the child has been the victim of sexual abuse.
3. the parent or person who has possession of the child is currently using a controlled substance,
4. the parent or person who has possession of the child has permitted the child to remain on premises used for the manufacture of methamphetamine.

Notably, non-traditional (or rather, ultra-traditional) family structures or strange religious beliefs are simply not on the list of reasons the state can take your kids. That appears to be exactly what happened, though."

Grits For Breakfast
__________________

An anonymous commenter on the process of reporting suspected child abuse:

"Law inforcement refers them [suspected abuse cases] to CPS. If the suspected abuse is happening in the context of a government institution the complaning witness is told that CPS doesn't have jurisdiction."

If CPS itself is neglecting the care of a child who investigates this? After months of investigation and the damage is already done a court tells CPS, 'Don't do that or we'll be forced to tell you not to do that again.'"

Anonymous
______________________

Belated Wishes For a Happy Mother's Day, Especially to FLDS Moms

Scott Henson at Grits For Breakfast appeals for readers to think about the FLDS mothers and kids who've been separated by the state of Texas, and to pray that perhaps by Fathers Day the state will have sent most of the children home and just keep the ones that may have actually been abused.

He also provided a link to this Houston Chronicle article that highlights sharp differences some mental health workers had with CPS over the way they treated FLDS mothers while in San Angelo.

From the Houston Chronicle:

Mental health workers sent to emergency shelters in San Angelo last month to help care for the hundreds of women and children removed from a polygamist sect's West Texas ranch have sharply criticized the Child Protective Services operation, telling their governing board it unnecessarily traumatized the kids.

The CPS investigation of suspected child abuse and its decision to seek state custody of all 464 children punished mothers who appeared to be good parents of healthy, well-behaved and emotionally normal kids, workers said in a set of short and unsigned written reports made at the request of the board after a briefing Tuesday.

All nine reports by employees of the Hill Country Community Mental Health-Mental Retardation Center expressed varying degrees of anger toward the state's child welfare agency for removing the children from their community, separating them from their mothers or for the way CPS workers conducted themselves at the shelter.

A few described ongoing tension between the two groups of social workers, including threats by CPS to have interfering MHMR workers arrested.

"I have worked in Domestic Violence/Sexual Abuse programming for over 20 years and have never seen women and children treated this poorly, not to mention their civil rights being disregarded in this manner," one wrote.

All the MHMR workers described themselves as impressed by the mothers they worked with. Many of them described child welfare workers as high-handed, rude or uncaring toward the mothers and overzealous in their concerns that they might escape or harm their keepers.
________________________________________________

Read the whole article. It's disturbing.

Some may consider this entire thing a tempest in a teapot, but I think it has ramifications for all of us. If states can trample the human rights and dignity of people who are not favored for whatever reason, but particularly for religious reasons, then who is next, and how far will we go down this road?

By the time this whole thing is over, the FLDS children involved will have been harmed and traumatized much more by the state of Texas than by living the tenets of this strange, unpopular religion.

I think one thing that I find disturbing about this situation is the suspicion lurking in the back of my mind that the overarching motivation for this highhandedness on the part of CPS is a genuine, sincere but unexpressed concern for the welfare of the immortal souls of these FLDS kids. In other words, they're worried that if these kids are left in this horrible cult, their souls will burn in Hell.

I don't think this suspicion is unfounded. I can't shake the image of the Baptist buses hauling the kids out of the ranch, and the fact that the CPS incident commander at the San Angelo shelter was Kevin Dinnin, the president of Baptist Children and Family Services, a fact that I find unsettling.

In recent years, certain Baptist groups have sent missionaries to Utah with the express intent of converting Mormons. These people have not been shy about expressing their belief that unrepentant Latter-Day Saints will burn in hell.

Last month an article appeared in the Salt Lake City Deseret News, highlighting a Baptist missionary who is looking forward to taking as many FLDS children into her care as possible in order to convert them and save their souls from hell.

I don't think it's out of line to wonder if this missionary mindset hasn't permeated Texas state government, particularly the DFPS. I find it hard to believe it hasn't.

Stupid Headline

Stupid headline: Kearns man shot battling burglar
Actually it should read: Kearns man shot while battling burglar

The man went into his house, knowing the burglar was close by because he could hear him breathing. Not smart.

The gun grabbers are jumping on this because in their view it supports the notion that owning a gun will get you shot.

What it illustrates is the need to have a CFP and to be carrying the firearm on your person when you leave the house.


From the Salt Lake Tribune:
A Kearns man was shot while fighting a burglar in his own home Thursday.

Chad R. Morley, 27, returned home to the 6000 South block of 6070 West in unincorporated Kearns about 9:15 a.m. after meeting his father for morning coffee. Piled near his front door was a "bunch of high-dollar merchandise," such as his laptop computer and other electronics, Morley said.

"I could sense someone was in there, hear a pant of breath," he said.

Morley went to get his gun, which was hidden in the living room, and, as he turned, saw the burglar hiding behind his door.

The two men fought. When Morley looked around to avoid a table, the burglar hit him over the head with something.

Hand slippery with blood, Morley couldn't stop the robber from shooting him in the upper arm with his own gun. The bullet tore through muscle and cracked the bone.

After the shot, the robber ran away, and Morley called for police from a neighbor's house.

Illegal Religion in America

It has occurred to me that the thing that we should all be concerned about here is that the state of Texas has come very close, in fact dangerously close to criminalizing a belief. These people (FLDS) are being vilified in the press for what they believe, or at least what people think they believe, and not for any acts that have been charged or proven. CPS has justified taking the children based on what they (CPS) think the FLDS believe, not on anything they actually did, or can prove they did. CPS convinced Judge Walther to sign off on removing all the children based on abuses CPS thinks the FLDS might commit in the future, based on what they think they believe.

They have successfully made the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints a de facto illegal religion.

Think about that. Here in the United States of America, an illegal religion.

I just can't get my head around that.

I guess I'll have to reread the U.S. Constitution. I could swear I saw something in there about religion somewhere.

Actually it's not the first time it's happened in America. But who would have thought such a thing could happen here in this country in this century? Certainly not I.

Forty-One FLDS kids with broken bones, oh my!!

We've all read the headlines and seen the press reports, and I'll tell you why I think they're salacious and misleading.

Forty-one out of 463 is 8.8%, according to my desktop calculator. That has to be less than the usual number in a normal population.

But maybe my family wasn't normal. I had five kids, and they all survived to adulthood, although there were times when I was sure some of them would never live to see 21.

Let's see, my oldest boy at age 10 broke his arm when he fell off the roof. I know, that's prima facie evidence of child abuse and neglect right there. What was he doing on the roof, you might ask. Disobeying his father. I told him not to go up there.

My oldest daughter spent two days in a hospital with a concussion when she fell off a pool slide when she was a toddler. What was she doing on a pool slide? Well, she thought she was going to have a bit of fun. Mom and Dad turned their backs for a few seconds and she made a break for it. She was sure she could climb that ladder no problem.

When my third child, second son was 2 1/2 he broke his leg when he fell out of the back of the neighbor's pick-up. What was he doing in the back of a pick-up? Well, it was parked in front of the neighbor's house and a half-dozen neighborhood kids were playing in the back of it, including my boy. He got bumped into, lost his balance and toppled over the tailgate, after catching his foot on the side rail momentarily. I didn't see the accident, but that's what the kids who were there told me. The doctor at the hospital had some questions for me as he filled out a questionaire after my son was admitted.

My fourth child, third son made several trips to the emergency room, as did the other two boys, to get patched up or stitched as the result of various accidents, most of which involved bicycles, skateboards or swingsets. The emergency room doctor at the Payson hospital got so he knew my boys by name because we were in there so often.

My youngest daughter had an accident on her bicycle when she was nine, and she had a skull fracture and spent some time in the hospital. My ex-wife had moved out of state with the younger kids, and she never told me about this. I learned about it nearly a year later from one of my kids. Apparently my ex had not wanted to worry me.

At any rate, I don't think my kids have had anything but a fairly normal life for middle-class American kids. And I think it's accurate to say that 300% of my kids have required emergency medical attention due to a fairly normal array of minor and semi-major accidents that have occurred in their lifetime.

So to me, the 8.8% of FLDS kids in custody who've had broken bones that could possibly indicate physical abuse is clearly salacious and misleading. And keep in mind that one of the kids broke her arm while she was in state custody in San Angelo. They're kids. They break a lot of stuff, including the occasional bone.

Texas is running this salacious PR offensive because they need some cover, and if they can inspire the rest of us to hate the members of this cult, America will turn a blind eye to the injustice that is being perpetrated by the state of Texas.

I thinks it's working.

Check out these links for more background:

http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2008/05/misleading-pr-initiative-by-dfps.html

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9115950

http://www.examiner.com/a-1347693~Baby_snatching_by_Arlington_County.html

The thief doesn't always run away, as in the commercial

http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/18472794.html
Suspect in St. Paul break-in caught by homeowner
by Pat Pheifer

Jon Sokol wasn't trying to be a hero when he confronted a burglary suspect who had brazenly broken through the front door of his home in St. Paul.

Sokol, 49, said his adrenaline was flowing as he crept up the stairs, revolver in hand, from the basement bedroom he shares with his wife.

His wife had been awoken at about 4:45 a.m. Wednesday by their alarm system and initially thought Sokol had -- again -- opened the door to get the newspaper without turning off the alarm. But there he was, sleeping right next to her.

Then she heard footsteps. "I think there's somebody in the house," Sokol recalled her whispering. "I'm thinking to myself, 'Noooo.'"

Sokol said he'd gotten to the second step when he saw somebody cross the room upstairs. "Oh my, there is somebody in our house," he thought.

"I grabbed our gun, which we keep for protection," he said.

"As I stepped around the corner, he hit me ... right between the eyes," Sokol said. "And I fired the gun.

"Down on the ground he went and I insisted, in a not very nice way, that he not move," he said. "I held him at gunpoint until the police arrived."

Michael G. Spencer, 31, of St. Paul, has been charged in Ramsey County District Court with two felony counts of burglary. He has a lengthy criminal record, including convictions for theft and burglary as recently as last year.

According to the criminal complaint, Spencer feigned "unconsciousness, but finally responded ... that he had not been shot" after police arrived at 5 a.m. Wednesday at the Sokols' home in the 1400 block of Carroll Avenue.

Spencer is being held in the Ramsey County jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Sokol said the burglar had a knife, but Sokol doesn't know if he was hit by that or a fireplace poker that he noticed had been moved.

He ended up with a small cut on his forehead and a somewhat shattered sense of security. He and his wife dead-bolted themselves in their bedroom Wednesday night, and still he stayed awake all night keeping watch while his wife slept.

The neighborhood has been on guard lately, he said. Two vehicles were vandalized a block from the Sokols' house last week, and on the night of the burglary, two other vehicles were vandalized and a porch was broken into.

Sokol said he doesn't know the defendant and doesn't know why his house was targeted. It's well-lit, he said, and has signs front and back about the alarm system.

"It's a happy ending, I guess," Sokol said. "The good guy's still alive, for the time being. And the bad guy is captured. It turned out like you see in the movies."
Pat Pheifer • 651-298-1551
________________________

Have more than an alarm system. Have a gun and be prepared to use it.

Here's why the YFZ raid is no Short Creek '53

CPS has much more power now than they did in 1953. Now CPS is terrified of returning a kid to an abusive situation and having that kid wind up dead. They'd much rather break up a thousand families than have one kid get killed.

CPS actions are under the radar because they are considered civil actions and don't have to comply with Constitutional prohibitions against illegal searches and siezures or abide by rules of evidence or any of that silly legal stuff. They don't have to prove criminal activity by the parents, only that they believe the evidence shows that the kids are being abused, or that they might be abused in the future, and if they can convince the judge of that, that's all it takes.

The YFZ parents are never going to see their kids again until they age out of the system. The fathers will never be allowed to see their kids. The only chance the mothers have of regaining custody of their children is if they leave the ranch, divorce or renounce their husbands, and renounce their religious faith, and convince the case worker assigned to their case that they're sincere, and not just going through the motions. This is about religion, and has very little to do with saving the children from harm. If you're a member of this sect, you'll not be allowed to keep your children by the State of Texas.

The only criminal prosecutions that will come of this case might be the two men who were arrested during the raid and charged with interference or disorderly conduct. No one will be charged with rape or incest or abuse of any kind, because the criminal due process threshold of evidence is higher and Constitutional prohibitions have to be complied with in criminal cases, even in Texas. All of the evidence siezed in the raid will be inadmissable because the warrant was based on a fraudulent phone call, and it won't stand up in court.

What will happen to the YFZ ranch? They'll probably go on. The men will probably quit marrying underage girls, but the polygamy will continue, they may just claim their "spiritual wives" are just girl friends and the sex is consentual. Unless the state of Texas can successfully criminalize other aspects of their behavior, I don't see much more happening between Texas and the FLDS.

And BTW, Texas has a 180 year history of older men marrying teen-agers as young as 14. No one ever considered it sexual assault on a minor. It was simply a grand old pioneer tradition. There are tens of thousands of teen-age girls having sex with older men in Texas right now. Texas is never going to go after those men. Only if they incorporate underage sex into their religion will Texas lift a finger to put a stop to it. There's just too much history behind the practice. This statute was aimed specifically at the FLDS, and they are the only target of this law.

So let's face it. Texas has succeeded in making the FLDS sect a de facto illegal religion. I didn't think that was possible in the United States of America. Not in my lifetime.

But then I forgot. In the late eighteen-thirties the governor of Missouri ordered the state militia to exterminate the Mormons and drive them from the state. They were forced out of their homes and off their lands, at gunpoint. A few years later the Mormons were driven from Illinois after Joseph Smith was assassinated. In the 1880's, Idaho passed a state law that Mormons couldn't vote in elections. State legislators were embarrassed a few years ago to find that those laws were still on the books and had never been repealed.

America will turn a blind eye to this, and the abuse of power will just keep getting worse. Texas DFPS is convinced if they can get you to hate this group of people enough, they'll be home free and out of the woods. They're going to get away with this because not enough people care about the rights of a wierd offshoot Mormon cult to get very fussed about it.

Check out these sites for more background. http://www.johntfloyd.com/comments/april08/13a.htm
http://www.johntfloyd.com/comments/april08/22a.htm

Have a nice day. Thanks for reading.

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?