Another letter on the Senate Hearings

I sent similar letters to both my senators, my representative, the state Attorney General, Governor Napalitano, Obama, and President Bush. Please reach out to your legislators with letters. Feel free to use my letter as a base.

Senator Reid has called for a hearing on the FLDS that seems to be nothing more than federally funded hate speech. Reid has included only anti-FLDS bigots that are proven liars and profiteers of sensationalism. No pro-FLDS individual has been called to testify, reminiscent of Hitler, Mao, and Stalin.

Meanwhile, the Texas raid has proven that the FLDS have much lower rates of welfare, underage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and rape than the general U. S. population. Senator Reid should either grant equal time at the hearings, or be forced to resign for using taxpayer money to promote religious persecution. As president of the Senate, please compel Senator Reid to include equal time for the FLDS at the hearings, and personally attend the hearings to insure that the FLDS are fairly represented.

I have written, and will write again. My representatives, the president, and the vice president can not say "we haven't been asked."

Letter about the hearings scheduled by the Senate Judiciary Committe

I was really frustrated when I read what Harry Reid was up to, and I sent this letter to my senators. Please let your senators know about this miscarriage of justice, and do not let them get away with it.

Senator Reid has recently proposed holding a senate hearing on the alleged crimes of the FLDS. As the situation in Texas has demonstrated, the detractors of the FLDS have been shown to be liars, bigots, and profiteers. Yet, Senator Reid has so far not allowed any FLDS representatives to testify.

I implore you to insure that the FLDS have at least one representative at the hearings. It is against every principle of justice to have what amounts to a trial without the accused even allowed to be in the courtroom. I heartily encourage you to take a stand against this religious bigotry.

Sincerely,

Lawyers taking a stand against abuses

Kurt S. Schulzke, an attorney from Woodstock, GA, wrote a powerful editorial in the San Angelo Times, and commented about it on his blog.

Let the government violate the law today to "protect children" and you empower it, tomorrow, to violate your rights in pursuit of other objectives. How will you redraw the line once you have crossed it "just this once"?
This isn't just a case about child endangerment; It's about the rule of law and the American system of government. Those who commit such crimes against the rule of law - whatever their office - should pay a price in court or at the ballot box. If they don't, the rest of us someday will.

Another attorney, this time Gregory Hession in Springfield, Missouri wrote an excellent article entitled "Whose Children are they, Anyway" in The New American.

This episode should be a warning to all families that an arbitrary attack by the state against a family can happen to any of us and that a court will likely not protect the family from overreaching state social workers or false reports of child abuse.

The Christian Science Monitor has an article on an appeal to the U. S. Supreme Court to invalidate illegal tactics that the Illinois CPS has been using.

The offer: Agree to a safety plan or your children may be taken away. Parents are not given an opportunity to know the substance and source of an abuse allegation, nor are they given an opportunity to challenge the safety plan before a neutral decisionmaker.

With the slur "cult" back in the news I found a great link to quotes on what comprises a cult. I encourage everyone to continue to fight the bigotry of those who use "cult" as hate speech.

1. "...one person's cult is another's religion; all religions begin life as cults. An alternative definition is that a cult is a religion which you happen to dislike." Anthony Campbell
   
2. "Cult is a word without much use outside the realm of religious mudslinging." Philip Kennicott
3. "When someone uses the word 'cult,' it usually says more about them than the group," J. Gordon Melton, founder and director of The Institute for the Study of American Religion.
   
4. "It's easy to tell the difference - a cult is someone else's religion. Corollary: "A fanatic is someone who believes something more strongly than you do." Jim Heldberg
   
5. "I have often thought that the difference between a cult and a religion is an IRS ruling." Ron Barrier
   

Letter to Governor and Attorney General about Hate Crimes

I wrote these letters in response to remind our elected officials that many hate crimes have come from these raids, and that false reporting is a serious matter that needs to be attacked.

Subject: Hate Crimes in the wake of the FLDS raid

As a citizen of Arizona I have been concerned with a possible pattern of hate crimes. As you know, the FLDS compound in Eldorado, Texas was raided around a month ago, and much slander and false rumor has been circulated in press reports. Perhaps as a result, Mormons of all kinds in Texas have been targeted for hate crimes – LDS missionaries being threatened with weapons, LDS homeowners having their home vandalized, and anti-Mormon graffiti. Unfortunately, some of the same type of thing has been happening in Arizona, as an LDS missionary in Mesa was beaten up the day after the Eldorado raid.

Recently, a potential anti-Mormon hate crime also occurred in Tucson. The Binghampton Chapel was the first LDS chapel in Tucson, and has become a local icon. Recently, glass doors and windows were smashed in this historical building. The state should investigate this vandalism as a possible hate crime, given the recent prevalence of anti-Mormon sentiment.

Secondly, I would like to address another hate crime – that of false reporting. Just as the calls that sparked the Eldorado raid came from a false-reporting hate crime, the media reported that the State of Arizona received similar calls, and have received multiple such calls this year. I am wondering what is being done to prosecute these callers, and bring them to justice? For example, the penalties for setting off a fire alarm are very strict. However, calls such as these can deny parental rights without any due process, trial, or actual crime. Given the huge damage that can be inflicted by these calls, the state should aggressively prosecute and penalize hoax callers who do so with criminal and hateful intent. Perhaps Rozita Swinton would never have had the chance to destroy a community had Arizona treated false reporting with the seriousness it deserves.

In conclusion, I would like the Tucson vandalism to be investigated as a possible hate crime. I would also like to see the fraudulent phone calls that have already happened in Arizona to be prosecuted.

Sincerely,
xxxx

Second set of letters to United States Legislators

I have once again written to my US legislators. Once again, I hand delivered to my representative, and used the online forms for my senators. I hope everyone else is writing to their elected representatives as well.

I sent different letters to my Senators who are republican, and my representative who is Democrat. It just so happened that partisan politics helped my arguments, as opponents have been Democrats in the Senate, and Republicans in the house.

Once again, I would encourage everyone to write to their legislators and other elected officials. This is much, much more important than newspaper comments. We have to reach the actual decision makers.

Honorable Representative G:

I am writing you to express my concern over Civil Rights violations that appear to be happening in the aftermath of the Eldorado raid in Texas. However, I am not the only one, as the Texas ACLU and many national commentators and journalists from both parties have condemned the Civil Rights violations.

As you may recall, the raid was started by a hate crime – false reporting of child abuse for the specific intention of religious persecution. Since that time there have been other hate crimes throughout Texas, such as threats of violence against Mormons, anti-Mormon graffiti, vandalism of Mormon homes, and teachers in Texas public schools spreading anti-Mormon propaganda. Thus, the wildfire of hate crimes has spread far beyond the initial match, with even U. S. Representative Kay Granger (R-Texas) directly supporting religious discrimination in an official request.

Such an intolerant atmosphere makes the protections of the Bill of Rights even more important, as violations of rights are most likely to happen to unpopular people. In Nazi Germany it was the Gypsies and Jews who were first persecuted, and a similar pattern seems to be emerging here. Parents need a federal Bill of Rights to protect them from unreasonable seizure of their children without due process of law. As one of your constituents, I would appreciate it if you would do the following:

1- Sponsor a resolution in the House reprimanding Representative Granger for advocating religious preference in government contracts. The resolution should also call for an end to religious bigotry, and call for supporting first amendment rights for unpopular religions.

2- Start a Parent's Bill of Rights that protects families from unreasonable seizure of children, especially when anonymous reports may be given due to religious bigotry, racism, or political gain. (Note that the Texas CPS seizes a much higher rate of Latino than Caucasian children.)

Thank you very much for your consideration,

xxxx

I changed "Representative Granger" to "Senator Reid," included more about citizens of Arizona being subject to religious persecution, and deleted a line about Texas CPS seizing Latino children for the letter to the Senators.

I am writing you to express my concern over Civil Rights violations that appear to be happening in the aftermath of the Eldorado raid in Texas. However, I am not the only one, as the Texas ACLU and many national commentators and journalists from both parties have condemned the Civil Rights violations.

As you may recall, the raid was started by a hate crime – false reporting of child abuse for the specific intention of religious persecution. Since that time there have been other hate crimes throughout Texas, such as threats of violence against Mormons, anti-Mormon graffiti, vandalism of Mormon homes, and teachers in Texas public schools spreading anti-Mormon propaganda. Thus, the wildfire of hate crimes has spread far beyond the initial match, with even U. S. Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada) directly supporting religious discrimination against Arizona citizens.

Such an intolerant atmosphere makes the protections of the Bill of Rights even more important, as violations of rights are most likely to happen to unpopular people. In Nazi Germany it was the Gypsies and Jews who were first persecuted, and a similar pattern seems to be emerging here. Parents need a federal Bill of Rights to protect them from unreasonable seizure of their children without due process of law. As one of your constituents, I would appreciate it if you would do the following:

1- Sponsor a resolution in the House reprimanding Senator Reid for advocating religious intolerance of Arizona citizens. The resolution should also call for an end to religious bigotry, and call for supporting first amendment rights for unpopular religions.

2- Start a Parent's Bill of Rights that protects families from unreasonable seizure of children, especially when anonymous reports may be given due to religious bigotry, racism, or political gain.

Thank you very much for your consideration,

xxxx