When will Obama defend the religious rights of the FLDS?

Here is a quote from Obama on the proposed mosque near ground zero:

But let me be clear. As a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. ... This is America. And our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country and that they will not be treated differently by their government is essential to who we are. The writ of the Founders must endure.

So, when is he going to extend the protection of religious freedom to the FLDS? Their civil rights have been trampled on. When will the Department of Justice step in?

Here is a quote from the Counsel on American and Islamic Relations:

"We welcome President Obama's strong statement of support for American Muslim religious rights and hope his remarks will serve as encouragement to those who are challenging the rising level of Islamophobia in our society," Awad said. "We urge other national political and religious leaders to speak out in defense of the freedom of religion and equality of all Americans enshrined in our Constitution."

So will Obama also speak out to defend the freedom of religion when it comes to the FLDS? Better yet, will he back it up by having the Department of Justice investigate the abuses in the Great Eldorado Roundup?

Article in National Geographic

National Geographic has an article on the FLDS. It seems to me to be very well done, with the excellent photography typical of NG (as you can see above). I think it goes a long way toward quashing the stereotypes that led to the Great Eldorado Roundup. However, I do wish they had covered some of the other polygamist groups as well.

"Race to the Pole" and anti-Mormonism

I recently finished a very interesting book - Race to the Pole: Tragedy, Heroism, and Scott's Antarctic Quest, by Sir Ranulph Fiennes. When I picked it up I thought it would be an interesting book about how early explorers lived and died in their quest for the antarctic. I only later found out I was stepping into a historical controversy.

Sir Fiennes is a modern explorer of note. He has apparantly crossed Antartica on foot, and performed a number of other extrordinary feats. In the mid-1970s a biography came out that was highly critical of explorer Robert Scott. From this book, the contemporary view of Scott has become one of a bumbling idiot, according to Fiennes. According to Fiennes, the book even went so far as to accuse Scott's wife of an affair, and the head of the Royal Geographical Society of being a homosexual, all with no substantive evidence. Further, Fiennes pointed out that the other author had never been to Antartica.

I have yet to read the other book, so I can not comment on it directly. However, much of what Fiennes said about the way Scott kept his diary and the nature of scientific expeditions resonates with my own experiences. Thus, it gives merit to his book in my mind.

Now, I have not researched the history of Scott enough to resolve this historical question to my satisfaction. However, I see Sir Fiennes engaged in a very similar struggle to that of polygamists. They are contending against sensationalist writings that have become considered "common knowledge." Just as such things as the weather conditions in March 1912 have come to light with further research, items such as the "FLDS on welfare" fallacy have been debunked by adversarial witnesses such as Texas officials. It is clear that "common knowledge" has been wrong, it is more a matter of seeing how far it has drifted.

Copyright infringement a $150,000 Crime?

Note - Given the pointing out of errors in my earlier post, I have edited the earlier edition. This may leave some comments sounding strange.

-------

Copyright infringement carries a fine of up to $150,000 per incident. While the penalties on copyright infringement are ridiculous, so are the penalties on polygamy. But those who promote the importance of following stupid and overreaching laws should first make sure that they are obeying all the stupid, overreaching laws.

FLDS speaking out, Family planning in China

Here is an article dealing with the One Child Policy in China. Ironically, the policy reversed an earlier policy in which the Chinese government encouraged large families, at least according to a native Chinese that I used to carpool with. My carpool associate also pointed out that ethnic minorities could have more than 1 child. However, it all begs the question, why should government be interfering in family life? Obviously, it should not.

A new book on the FLDS is coming out, and it is by an FLDS member, Betty Jessop. It has already provided an interesting counterpoint to a book written by her mother - Carolyn Jessop. In a CNN interview discussing the two, Carolyn has already contradicted statements in her book. How accurate is the book when the author confirms contrary evidence? FLDSView also provides some comments from the authors sister, Maggie Jessop. Will Oprah give the new book the same red-carpet treatment she has given anti-FLDS books? Will the other promoters of sensationalism give equal time? Will the main stream media even recognize that Carolyn is confirming her own testimony to be false? Unfortunately, objectivity and fact checking seem to be missing ingredients to most main stream FLDS coverage.

Abuses in Arkansas and North Carolina, a few interesting sites

Legally Kidnapped has a link to an article, as well as a comment from a mother of one of the girls that the state kidnapped. Persecution of an unpopular religion once again seems to come into play here. Once again, no objective reporting by the main stream media. However, the families involved in this case posted videos of an abusive interview by the FBI, and sent it to the white house as well. This has force the main stream media to deal with real facts, and not just the typical government whitewash.

North Carolina has some serious problems with CPS abuse, including forged signatures and other overt illegal actions. Government officials once again abusing power, with family suffering as the fallout.

Here are a couple of sites that may be of interest to readers. Those with Jewish heritage are aware of the dangers of bigotry and persecution. Thus, the Jews for the Preservation of Firearm Ownership have a rather clear position. Also, the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform has some good resources and ideas on their website.

Sore Toes and a Bleeding Heart recommends that the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts have a "FLDS family Day," just as they are having a Chinese family day. There is also a link to an article in which Hildebran admits that mistakes were made. However, he does not take responsibility for his own mistakes and bigotry, preferring to take the immature route of blaming others.

Another Great Blog, Post on Plural Life

The "Freedom and Separation" blog has a couple of good articles on Canada, and the Texas CPS trying to turn Merianne away from her FLDS heritage. I like the statement "The audacity of this rogue agency is nauseating," as I think it aptly describes the "Jim Crow" way that CPS has acted.

There is also good press coming from Canada, researching the realities of such things as the Charter of Rights. It is refreshing to see some defense of religious liberty after the initial articles were extremely one-sided.

Here is an edited post I made on the plural life blog about the changing times we now live in. The original topic was an article about a blog post by Bill Medvecky that was being passed around the courtroom. Did it help or hurt the case? Perhaps it doesn't matter, as the long-term implications are more important. Here it goes:

Good generals know there is a difference between a temporary battle and the overall war. The immediate battle right now is over the custody of Merrianne. But, there are two long-term wars: the war between FLDS and anti-FLDS, and the war between CPS/DFPS organizations and parents.

On the FLDS vs. nonFLDS front, the fact that Bill is being quoted is a definite long-term win. Instead of all the lies being spread by the anti-FLDS profiteers, the media is quoting a pro-FLDS site. Main-stream media has finally been lured into pro-FLDS territory. It is a subtle but very important twist, and one that is becoming much more common. Before, new books or congressional hearings would report only the anti-FLDS side of the story -- now they are reporting both. Things that had previously been reported as fact, such as "infant grave yards full of murdered children" and "vast stores of weapons," are now seen by any reasonable person as wildly distorted rumor at best, and more often as as the intentional libel it was.

Now for the second war -- Government vs. parents. The entire FLDS case has focused more energy and complaints on extra-constitutional abuses of various agencies such as CPS - a spotlight they certainly did not want. Using a court room to had around anti-CPS blog posts indicates that CPS has become sensitive to the criticism, and are worried about their reputation. The long term war here is whether voters and elected officials will protect parents rights, as opposed to supporting bureaurocratic abuses. The fact that there is a blog complaining about their abuses, and that it is still actively updated, is a long-term threat to their power and survival.

In the long term, what Bill has done is a victory in both wars. There has been an inflection point, the sands are shifting, and the winds have changed. Bill's post being handed around is more evidence. It is time to write to your state representatives and demand a Parents Bill of Rights.

FLDS need to fight for their rights

I have been encouraged to see the FLDS fight for their rights. They have done a wonderful job in slowing the abuses of the state of Texas. It is important for the rights of everyone that they However, I was really disappointed with how few of them registered to vote. This is even more frustrating as they need to register to sit on juries. I have also been disappointed that the FLDS have seemingly not been as active in legal attacks as I think they should be. I think they should be much more agressive.

In the meantime I will try to be agressive in writing my state congressional representatives pushing for more parental rights. As US citizens we must be strong when confronting legalized bigotry.

Online Petition to Impeach Judge Walther

I was surprised and disgusted when Judge Walther acted in a vengeful and adversarial manner regarding the return of the children. I have no problem with a judge having an opinion. I have a big problem with a judge abusing their power. I wonder if she is acting to appease her ego, after 12 judges have unanimously condemned her decision? If so, she should recuse herself, and let someone else handle the case. Here is an online petition to impeach her:

Impeach Texas District Judge Barbara Walther Over FLDS Fiasco

Whereas Texas 51st District Judge Barbara Walther has violated the constitutional rights of more than 400 children and their parents of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints Church (FLDS);

and whereas Judge Barbara Walther took an oath to defend and protect the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Texas and has violated that oath;

and whereas both an appellate court and the Texas Supreme Court have sided with the FLDS children and their parents against Judge Barbara Walther;

and whereas the actions of Judge Barbara Walther have resulted in a great financial cost to the State of Texas and its taxpayers;

and whereas Judge Barbara Walther's actions constitute one of the greatest violations of constitutional rights in the history of the State of Texas;

and whereas Judge Barbara Walther should have known ahead of time that what she was doing was unconstitutional, since the Island Pond Raid in the State of Vermont in 1984 was almost identical, and there are other similar cases on record where judges refused to support unconstitutional raids by Child Protective Services;

and whereas Judge Barbara Walther has impeded the reunification of parents with their children, even after the Texas Supreme Court ruled that they should be reunified;

we ask that proceedings begin immediately for the impeachment of District Judge Barbara Walther of the State of Texas.

FLDS need to set their house in order

There are some things we can't change when we try to defend our parent rights. We can't change bigotry. We can't change books other people write. We can't instantly change past court decisions.

However, it is extremely, extremely important to take the legal protections that you can. I'm glad the FLDS are starting to do this. With the help of their lawyers they have appealed, and are now starting to register to vote. I hope they make it a "memorial day" activity to commemorate those damaged by raids.

But, I see a big, huge, gigantic way they can protect themselves. Right now they are still susceptible to the "one household" argument, and "one household" search warrants. How hard would it be to take the church parcel, and put it under a separate holding, deeding the land to the "YFZ FLDS chapel." Then, take the temple and give it to the "YFZ FLDS Temple." Finally, take the school, and put it under the "YFZ charter school." Not only would it force future warrants to specify those areas, it would allow them to be taxed as a church -- i.e. not at all. They will certainly need the money to pay for the lawyers. Finally, it greatly lowers the risk of the state seizing the buildings.

Then, they need to extend that to the homes. Put the homes, or at least the complexes under separate management entities. How can you possibly claim it is one community when each building or apartment is owned by a different entity?

If you are an FLDS member, or know an FLDS member, please remind them of these facts. They can protect their children, and what they have worked so hard to build, both now and in the future. What's more, they can pay the attorneys with the tax money they will legally save.

Walther out for revenge?

Walther has been, in my estimation, severely reprimanded by the appeals court - a unanimous decision voiding her judgment. It is clearly a great embarrassment, and political failure. It certainly impacts her legacy, and leaves her looking the fool on national TV.

When such things happen to humans (myself included), we tend to respond in a human way - revenge, and seek to strike out at whatever hurt us. It is the typical "fight or flight" defense, and since the judge has not stepped aside, I would suggest she is in fight mode.

Today, she heard the 14-day hearing of a set of parents. She was very careful, and said the hearing will take as long as it needs to take. She was also careful to avoid deciding the case before the long weekend, allowing the baby to stay in CPS custody another day. By taking her time, and allowing the appearance of due process, she is appeasing the appeals court, and reducing the chance that such a court will find she violated due process.

However, I fear it is all about appearance. There is no real justice. She has a fixed interest in seeing all FLDS placed in CPS custody to support her earlier ruling. There can be no real due process when the judge can unilaterally decide to support her earlier decision, and then put on a show trial.

Links for today

NPR has a nice little article on "The Merry Wives
Polygamy Cafe Feeds the Hungry and Curious
In trying to find info on it, I noticed that it has already been covered by Brooke Adams and the Deseret News. If you would like to visit, eat there, or ask a question, their phone number is (435) 874-1425, and here is a map.

The FLDS have started a website with news and opinions, Truth will Prevail, as has been noted by many others. This recent article makes a strong legal point:
YFZ Children Lived in Separate Homes

Anyone visiting the YFZ community and examining the conditions under which the children lived knows that this perception is false and is either the result of ignorance or of a purposeful distortion of the facts. Those attorneys for the women and children who actually made such a visit were surprised, after hearing the news reports, to find that the families lived in separate homes where each family was an individual entity. It might also be remarked that they found the homes all to be well built, neat, and orderly---a far cry from the facilities in which the children have been living for the last six weeks and hardly the type of environment one would associate with child abuse.

Finally, the CPS has admitted in court that, essentially, Sarah does not exist, by admitting that her child does not exist. It is about time!
Live from the Courthouse (Note that this link may only be temporary)

Revisiting a case that the court quickly reviewed at the start of the morning, Judge Ben Woodward signed paperwork to put a case on hold involving a child called "Baby Girl Jessop." Child Protective Services reported this morning that its workers do not believe the child exists.

I think the press should report this with the same vigor they reported the original phone call, as well as the many instances of CPS insisting that Sarah was real.

Taking Liberties by Akka Gordon
Talks about problems from her time with ACS in New York. It clearly shows that parents need a Bill of Rights to protect us from unchecked and arbitrary acts of governmental agencies that serve as both prosecutor and judge.

But it did not take long for me to see that there was no adventure here. Many of these families were harassed, their rights systematically violated by ACS. Their children were being swallowed up by an agency that too often operated on virtually unchecked authority, wielded arbitrarily. And I represented that agency.

Here is the "Cattle Call" of daily links

A Chronology of Federal Legislation on Polygamy by Perry L. Porter
Hopefully, he will have some new, more positive legislation to add in the near future.

The beginnings of this chronology of the anti-polygamy bills for the Utah Territory, come from a hand out I received in a Religion or History class at BYU in the mid 1970's. I have significantly augmented it from 3 pages to about 29 pages, with additional line items from various scholarly History books and professional articles.

Sect mom allowed to stay with all her children from the Houston Chronicle.
While the judge denied the ruling on procedural grounds, she sounds quite sympathetic. It seems to me that the further the FLDS get from San Angelo, the more they are likely to find unbiased justice.

"If you think (Judge Walther) is biased, file a motion to recuse her. If you don't like the order, tell her to fix it. Don't ask another trial judge to fix it. I am not going to retry this case."
Addressing Daniel Jessop, who sat beside his attorney, Byrne added that she sympathized with his plight. "I know you don't think I do, but I do," she said.

FLDS Human Rights Violations are Fraud Reminiscient of KGB by Frank Staheli on Simple Utah Mormon Politics
While the article is not entirely current, it is certainly timely. The current abuses in Texas mirror other abusive dictatorships.

Texas is now in full damage-control mode for a heinous abrogation of human rights at Eldorado. The best damage control would be for them to admit that it was all a mistake.

More/Corrected info on Wilford Black by PligChild on FLDS View
Story of how the 1953 raid created long-term problems in at least one boy.

When he was returned to his mother, he stopped communicating with others and started wandering away. He would walk away from home and would have to be found and brought back. ... Wilford had begun attending school before the Raid, so he could do some things. After he was returned to his parents, they tried to send him back to school, but they could not get him to do anything. He couldn’t seem to concentrate.

Possible (or Probable) Source for Sarah Story

Here is an "example incident" from the The Primer: Helping Victims of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse in Polygamous Communities. This is the June 2006 edition - plenty of time for Rozita to plan her attack.

Look at "incident #3" on page 50:

3. A 16-year-old girl, Sarah, has run away from her fundamentalist community and contacted authorities, alleging physical abuse by her polygamous father and claiming that her father had just told her she was to become the second wife of a fellow member of the community. She has 23 siblings and her older sister was married at 16 and now lives in Canada. There is no physical evidence of abuse, but Sarah’s story is very compelling. She begs authorities not to return her to her parents. What is the potential impact of returning or not returning on Sarah?

Does any of that seem to line up with the "Sarah" calls? It seems to me that Rozita used the primer to develop her story. Which also means that the Attorney Generals for Utah and Arizona should have picked up on the hoax call hate crime much earlier -- after all, they were responsible for the writing of the primer.

On the same page is an exercise that Texas should have finished before starting the raid:

Ask participants to brainstorm stereotypes associated with fundamentalist groups
Ask participants to list characteristics that they have seen or heard attributed to women and men from fundamentalist groups
Ask participants to cite sources of these stereotypes (ie, the media)
Discuss what information they have acquired that counters these stereotypes

Perhaps they would not have been so eager to violate the constitution if they knew more about the FLDS than "what was preached in the cult awareness seminar at my church."

More News Stories and Links

There are a bunch of good links and stories out there. I really want to include more, but these are just some I happened across today.

Do the FLDS in Texas Deserve Due Process? I Mean, Polygamy’s Worse Than Murder, Right?

It’s easy to pick on people that are different — and, as far as I can tell, that’s what’s happening to the FLDS in Texas. There’s been no court proceedings that have shown the individual parents of the abducted children have done anything untoward to their kids. (None that’ve been even suggested publicly, at least.) What there has been is a religious group that has different practices than are observed in the “mainstream”. And since they’re different, well then, there’s not going to be much of an outcry if we strip them of their rights, right?

Where's the evidence of abuse?

The Grit's blogger comes through in this very excellent op-ed piece.

Excuse me, Judge? You issued a sweeping, house-to-house search warrant based on a highly questionable anonymous call that turned out to be phony. You refused to allow individual hearings for children, grouping them together like cattle. You accepted the testimony of an expert on "cults" who only learned about FLDS from media accounts, rather than an academic who'd studied them professionally for 18 years.

A Vermont Expert's Take on Polygamy
Lyndon State College Professor Janet Bennion

If you can establish abuse, of course intervention must be made, but use an intervention that doesn't break the constitution and that doesn't violate all these civil rights laws

Life on the rock: A different brand of polygamy

It's simply a place where we strive to respect each other's differences

Polygamy in Islamic Law
Dr. Jamal Badawi examines polygamy in the Muslim, Jewish and Christian traditions.

Texas judge's 'concern'
Editorial by Ed Firmage Jr., Salt Lake City

Why? Because Walther thinks that membership in a religious group alone is grounds for ripping your children, even your nursing babies, from your arms and giving them to proper parents. Her justification: Belonging to your religion may - may - lead to abuse.

Parents Bill of Rights

WE THE PEOPLE do hereby insist on a Parent's Bill of Rights as an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to protect in perpetuity the family.

Some of these are rather old, but I wanted links to them for the record.

News Articles this morning

Here is a collection of some interesting items that have popped up in the news. Thanks to Grits for Breakfast and The Plural Life and their comment sections for the original links.

Mental Health Workers Rip CPS
Houston Chronicle
San Antonio Express News
Dallas Morning News
Summary: Previously, FLDS complained about their treatment from CPS, which has often been dismissed as the FLDS trying to wage a "propaganda campaign." However, in this story nine different workers from Hill Country Community Mental Health-Mental Retardation Center sent anonymous letters to the Hill Country MHMR board, who made them public. One board member, Jack Dawson, is also a Comal County commissioner.

This illustrates a few points:

1. It is not just the FLDS who thought the conditions at the shelter were poor, or that CPS mistreated them, lied to them, and lied in subsequent press releases/press conferences.
2. These reports are coming from at least one Texas politician, and various Texas mental health workers. Thus, it shows that Texas is not unanimous in condemning the FLDS, and people are willing to support fairness of unpopular religions.
3. The State CPS are not above reproach, and more evidence exists that they have lied.
4. Criticism of the CPS are coming from multiple sources, and not just the FLDS. It is much easier to dismiss the opinions of an unpopular religion than experienced mental health workers and county commissioners.

Editorial from Maggie Jessop in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Here is an editorial from an FLDS mother. She attacks head-on some of the many negative rumors, slanders, and lies that have been published about the FLDS. I think I liked this line of sarcasm best:

However, I may not have it within my psychological or emotional capacity to communicate appropriately due to the widespread "fact" that I belong to an uneducated, underprivileged, information-deprived, brainless, spineless, poor, picked-on, dependent, misled class of women identified as "brain-washed." But, I'll give it my best shot.

She certainly lets loose some emotion. It is a rather potent denunciation of the actions of Texas, and the media for spreading unsubstantiated, incorrect, and sensational rumors.

Child protection law and the FLDS: There's a better way by Linda F. Smith, professor and clinical program director at the University of Utah's S. J. Quinney College of Law.

Here is the final two paragraphs:

If there are families within the FLDS community who do not impose under-age "marriages" on their children, the CPS workers should return their children to them and solicit their help to change this dynamic within the community.
Such an approach would more likely lead to eradicating what society clearly considers abusive than will a full-scale assault on the community's practice of plural marriage.

It seems to be a well-reasoned and well-informed article. She lists possible means of appeal, and what amounts to the really terrible method of the initial hearing that deprived the parents of their children without due process. It has encouraged me to once again write my state legislators and appeal for parental rights and the support of the constitution in child welfare cases.

What does Texas church raid say about us? USA Today editorial by Mary Zeiss Stange, professor of Women's Studies and Religion at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Here is an official USA Today editorial ripping the situation in Texas, and bringing up the bigotry aspect.

What is clear, however, is that there is no objective justification for brushing off the mothers as a bunch of prairie-style Stepford wives, let alone for leaping to the conclusion that mounting an armed raid to take their children away was indeed proper to do on the strength of a metaphor grounded in a religious stereotype.

This is a professor and a feminist saying this, not a member of the FLDS, and probably someone who has no contact with them. From this I pick up a few important points:

1. Feminists, who tend to extremely oppose polygamy, and are generally considered a hostile witness, oppose the actions of Texas. It is hard to argue that it is just the FLDS, religious extremists, "Utah Mormons," or pedophiles that oppose the raid.
2. A professor opposes the actions of Texas, and says so in an editorial. Professors have many things to write about. That they would write about the Eldorado raid signifies that it is important to them, and that intelligent people oppose the actions of Texas.
3. Problems with the Eldorado raid are recognized nationally. Just like Jim Crow laws and civil rights, those outside Texas saw the problems, and opposed the abuses.
   

Very Touching Video

I found this video to be extremely touching. It rather disproves much of the slander that has been slung at the FLDS. I like how it destroys that "relic of barbarism" -- bigotry.

FLDS Children

Some Links

Here are some more links on the Eldorado raid that I found interesting.

Equal justice for prophets and priests

FLDS: Big Hate - Big Brother

What Did The FLDS Kids Do To Deserve This?

FLDS intolerance, prejudice unjustified

Messenger and Advocate

Principle Voices

FLDS - The Victim that Wasn't

Letter to the Eldorado Success

The Eldorado Success is the local paper in Eldorado, Texas, and apparently the editor/owner is also on the City Counsel. Thus, bigotry in his position is doubly harmful to families he doesn't agree with.

This letter is very crude and under-developed. I just whipped out a short email, I didn't intend for it to be published, and looking back the quality is embarrassing. However, since it may give some people good ideas, I am posting this rather terrible bit of writing.

to: success@myeldorado.net

I am interested in the FLDS situation going on in Eldorado, so I checked your paper. However, I noticed that in your "Worship Link" section you didn't even have a link for the FLDS worship service. Looking back over your articles, the editorial board seems to take a decided stand against the FLDS, always offering them a rebuttal, but never asking a hard question of their persecutors. I would advise you to check out Charlie Rose or the News Hour. Both shows are freely available, and though I may not agree with their politics show good journalism in asking tough questions. For better or worse the FLDS have helped you sell papers, and it is only proper that you give them a fair treatment.

XXXX