Canadian Fundamentalists - Primary Sources

In any scholarship, it is always desirable to consult primary sources. For far too long the mass media has only considered one side of the story. When is the last time Oprah interviewed a current FLDS member with the same level of sympathy with which she treated various anti-FLDS bigots and profiteers? Politically powerful people with bully pulpits have use the mass media to spread their propaganda without having to face any opposition to their ideas.

Fortunately, that has changed somewhat recently. While the Canadian politicians have had their say, and the canadian newspapers have largely followed the party line, we our fortunate in having the other side. Here is the rest of story, courtesy of Winston Blackmore.

It seems that too many times only having one side of the story perverts justice, denying protection of family rights to the politically incorrect. Sensationalization and lack of balance in reporting creates an environment which endangers parent and family rights.

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.

Some Web highlights

I am only linking a few articles that I feel are either important or rare. You can get most of the mainline stories from newspapers or other blogs.

Follow-up failure in Texas from Journalism.org notes that the original raid recieved much more media attention than the Texas Supreme Court forcing the children's release.

The drop-off in coverage from the initial raid to the Supreme Court decision occurred across all media sectors. Online and network news saw the greatest decline in coverage.

Plural Marriage is Among Consenting Adults by James A. Marples in the Albert Lea Tribune (Minnisota and Northern Iowa) as a Letter-to-the-editor

If all those in the relationship were consenting adults and no abuse, incest or coercion takes place, and if all the children are happy and healthy, I say: Let those people live quietly in peace. It was good enough in Old Testament days of the Holy Bible. And that scriptural precedent should be the legal foundation or precedent for revisions in America law today.

Monogamous Deception Letter to the Editor by Thomas McCabe in the Cape Verde (AZ) Bugle

The lower courts have spoken; the Supreme Court of Texas has spoken. Yet the quasi-dictatorial government agency, the Texas Child Protective Services, defies the courts to impose 'their' own brand of 'law.' On March 29, Texas State Police armed with assault rifles, attacked, without cause, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints and forcibly removed 416 children. What is considered kidnapping in Texas? Doesn't the Bill of Rights apply to all citizens?

CPS Actions Damaged Children Editorial by Johana Scot and Richard Wexler in the San Angelo Standard-Times.

Instead, CPS opted for the mass amputation of the mothers from their children. They were taken from the foggy and distant danger they faced and thrown into the clear and present danger of foster care. ... Instead, CPS opted for the mass amputation of the mothers from their children. They were taken from the foggy and distant danger they faced and thrown into the clear and present danger of foster care.

Home Schoolers Threaten our Cultural Comfort by Sonny Scott in the Northeast Mississipi Daily Journal.

Indications are that home schooling is working well for the kids, and the parents are pleased with their choice, but the practice is coming under increasing suspicion, and even official attack, as in California. ... Now the kid is raising hell again, demanding the latest Play Station as his price for doing his school work … and there goes that modest young woman in the home-made dress with her four bright-eyed, well-behaved home-schooled children in tow. Wouldn’t you just love to wipe that serene look right off her smug face?

You can now purchase FLDS clothing! Provide modest and functional clothing for your children while helping the famalies recovery from the raid.

Continued Coverage

Looks like there is now an official in Canada trying to prosecute polygamists. However, the two prosecutors he has hired have both declined to prosecute. Hopefully he gets the message some day, but it might take the Canadian Supreme Court, just like it took the Texas Supreme Court.
It's proving difficult to prosecute polygamists by Daphne Bramham, Vancouver Sun
B.C. prosecutor weighs polygamy charges by Wendy Stueck, The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Tellingly, the articles never quote a current Bountiful resident, only repeating allegations of government officials and a former FLDS member. Bigotry and slanted media are not just US problems when it comes to religion.
The mess in Texas, Pancho Villa and "usos y costumbres" on The Mex Files
International coverage continues, with the article discussing Pancho Villa being a polygamist, as well as many Mexican immigrants to the United States currently practicing polygamy.

The claims of abuse were overblown, and the State of Texas has not been particularly interested in pursuing child or spousal abuse cases that involve more "mainstream" sectarians.

Whose Kids Are They Anyway? by Mike Gallagher, nationally syndicated radio talk show host
He joins Micheal Savage as major radio talk show hosts who have spoken out on this issue.

But the mantra of "protecting our children" shouldn't give a state agency the ability to shred the constitutional rights of each and every adult who comes into CPS's crosshairs. ... Everything about this story is rotten. It's the textbook example of a zealous government destroying the United States Constitution in order to grandstand and pretend that they are only interested in protecting the children.

Links to Editorials

The National Coalition for Child Protection Reform has a blog, and they ran a piece entitled The unbearable vindictiveness of Judge Walther. It has a number of good snippets.

Ever since the first three judges, on an appellate court, ruled against her, Judge Walther has made her displeasure clear. But apparently her vindictiveness knows no bounds. ... She decided to impose a series of extra conditions of her own, which appear to have no purpose other than harassment. ... As far as I can tell, since the appellate court ruled, that brings the number of editorial pages from outside Texas and Utah condemning Texas CPS to 11. The number supporting CPS: 0.

It also contains links to two more editorials.
The right decision - Texas court rules state overstepped authority by the Worcester Telegram.

It still may be weeks or months before many of the children and parents have been reunited. Nonetheless, in declaring state officials overstepped their authority, the Supreme Court took a welcome first step toward righting a wrong that defied logic, compassion and the law.

Texas went too far in case by the Leaf-Chronicle in Clarksville, TN.

No government agency in the United States should simply round up hundreds of children and take them from the arms of their mothers without just cause. This is still a nation of laws and individual rights, and the nanny-state doesn't always know best.

The blog also links to other articles in earlier posts.
Sect Mothers Say Separation Endangers Children in the New York Times.

Many child-welfare experts across the nation ... say the raid on the polygamist ranch diverged sharply from the recommended practices both in Texas and elsewhere in the country.

Child Welfare — Think First in the Topeka Capitol-Journal.

The Texas case brought to mind an incident in April in which a man temporarily lost custody of his son for buying him a lemonade at a baseball game.

Polygamists' Kids in Their Own Private Gitmo by Richard Wexler in The Nation magazine

When children are needlessly put into foster care, they lose not only mom and dad but often brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents, teachers, friends and classmates. For a young enough child, it's an experience akin to a kidnapping.

Overprotective in Texas from the New Jersey Star-Ledger

By overreacting, Texas officials may have hurt what they described as their primary mission: protecting children.

News Stories on the release

Was polygamist raid doomed from start? from the Seattle Times.

Investigators listened to a lot of misinformation and allowed themselves to be kind of captivated by these anti-FLDS people.

US sect children set to go home from the BBC demonstrates international coverage.

But last week the state's Supreme Court said officials had failed to prove the children faced immediate danger.

Critics say CPS failed to foresee nuances in the Houston Chronicle.
On the whole not a very good article, as it seems to try to cover the bias of the newspaper by trying to cover the CPS. But, I liked this quote about the CPS:

Their blundering and their hubris created this mess

Who's the real abuser? by the National Post in Canada

Unconscionably, the state agency clung to the YFZ children even after these facts were learned. The seizure, based as it was on a sincere belief that young children were being sexually abused and beaten, was one thing. But the refusal of the CPS to admit its mistake is quite another.

Tender Thoughts of a Lonely Mother by Maggie Jessop on Truth Will Prevail
I liked the pictures in this article. But, in regards to the picture at the bottom, please remind the boy not to touch the optics on the binoculars! (a pet peeve of mine ;)

Still I wonder just what will they do next to create "evidence" during the next ninety days, since they are requiring our subjection to their ongoing investigations. How could I possibly give these people my confidence after the atrocities heaped upon us and our innocent children during the last two months? It is not a matter of our unwillingness to cooperate and comply. It is a matter of betrayal. It is a situation of government officials destroying my trust in the ability of the State to govern justly, lawfully, and appropriately. How thankful I am to see the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the State of Texas beginning to bring injustice to a halt.

On the web

Some Muslims in U.S. Quietly Engage in Polygamy by Barbara Bradley Hagerty on NPR
I do, I do, I do. The last taboo and GTA's secret world of polygamy by Noor Javed in The Star (Toronto)
All of these articles discuss Muslim Polygamy. None of them talk about how removing criminal offenses for polygamy would greatly help the situation. Bringing it above board would do considerable good, especially for abused women.

FLDS mom, 18, says state wanted her baby from CNN

The state apparently agreed that Jessop was not a minor. A caseworker signed a statement saying Jessop gave her age as 18. Her birth certificate says so, along with a "bishop's list" collected as evidence from the sect's records.

Birthdays without Pressure
I don't know how many times I have been to a birthday party where the parents spent over and above their means to overindulge children and impress the parents. I wish people would chill a little where birthday parties are concerned. It should be about the kids having fun, not spoiling them or impressing parents.

If you think children’s birthday parties are getting out of control, you’ve come to the right place. We want to raise awareness of this problem and offer alternatives for parents and kids who want birthdays without pressure.

The savage travesty is unraveling from Wendy McElroy, self proclaimed feminist and Libertarian

As the media ceases to tiptoe like scared mice around the blatant, raging abuse of power that is the CPS in Texas (and elsewhere) other details might emerge. ... Is anyone in Mudville's media brave enough to inquire WHY the removal of children is entrusted to bureaucrats who can't even count how many children they kidnapped on one particular day? ... Are we going to have a State-imposed purity test for ideology before allowing parents to raise their children? ... Frankly, sometimes I don't like the fact that human rights are universal. But I always find solace in the fact that universal rights are tremendously better than the alternative.

"Heroes In Error", Again (Media Update) by William N. Grigg on Pro Liberate Blog

If they're looking for a slam-dunk criminal indictment, they could have one against Flora Jessop: She has publicly confessed to making a "False report regarding [a] missing child or missing person," as defined by Chapter 37, section 081 of the Texas Penal Code. Given that Flora Jessop appears to be the proverbial poisoned tree in this entire matter, she is the only legitimate target for a criminal probe -- unless, of course, the probe turns up tangible evidence of deliberate criminal misconduct on the part of CPS officials.

Links for Today

Let's start off with some humor:

Dave's Political Satire has Polygamy Made Legal

Male politicians are also warming to Utah’s new offering. Rather than engage in risky extra-marital affairs and dalliances, certain high-needs officeholders can now satisfy their urges within the law.

FACT has Top Ten Signs You Are A Victim of Religious Persecution

9. Your religion is constantly referred to as a cult.
4. The state accepts birth certificates as proof of age for everyone
except those practicing your religion.
2. You have to prove to the State you can raise children, when you
have been raising them just fine.

Legal Documents relating to the reversal:
Appeals Court Decision
Amicus Curae letter of support
Texas RioGrande Legal Aid was the legal group that helped in the filing.

County Sheriff Travis McPherson - "I think that TRLA is the problem because they're supplying these people with the information and they're telling them all about the Federal laws and everything."

Polygamy? It's positively biblical on The Philadelphia Inquirer opinion page by Martha Nussbaum, the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago

Yet in 1878, the U.S. Supreme Court would uphold an anti-polygamy statute with these words, extraordinary from justices who were supposedly Bible readers: "Polygamy has always been odious among the northern and western nations of Europe, and, until the establishment of the Mormon Church, was almost exclusively a feature of the life of Asiatic and of African people."

I would like to personally thank the FLDS for standing up to the state. You have defended the family rights of everyone!

Something Positive in the Deseret News

It seems to me that the Deseret News editorial board has taken a rather decided stance against the FLDS, and in their coverage and editorials have mostly tried to distinguish between LDS and FLDS. Thus it was encouraging to see this article:

Long litany of legal disputes begins in FLDS raid

It contained this tremendous one-liner:

Speculation does not suffice

I wish that saying were stamped in the minds of all judges who are trying these cases.

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.
   

Response to "Give System Time to Work"

I recently came across an opinion article posted in the Houston Chronicle. It is impossible to respond to every inaccurate story, but I did respond to this one. I felt it appropriate that since Mr. Shields is the Executive Director for Justice for Children, it was important to make an attempt with this article. While writing to your legislators is more important, leaders of organizations such as this should not get away with bigotry and ignorance.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/5729137.html

To: jshields@justiceforchildren.org
Subject: Children Being Emotionally Abused

Jim Shields:

I am emailing to report child abuse. The State of Texas has systematically abused almost 500 children. I "want protectors of children to have as few obstacles as possible to do their jobs," which is why the children from the FLDS compound should be returned to their best protectors, their parents.

As you have said, "more than 75 percent of the cases where CPS knows there is imminent danger to a child, CPS returns the child to the dangerous home." Yet in this case, the state's witness testified in court that no child under 5 was in imminent danger. Thus, we see a dangerous precedent where children are taken from their best protectors, and subjected to emotional waterboarding at the hands of the CPS.

You should know that the FLDS has been subject to false accusation, as the evidence proves the first warrant was based on a hate crime. But, the second warrant was only based on the appearance of teenage pregnancy. The same flimsy evidence would also convict high schools, projects, trailer parks and barrios.

Instead, you seem to be want to encourage further hate crimes by the unsubstantiated allegations in your Houston Chronicle Viewpoint. You say that "escapees from the FLDS compounds" have reported all manner of physical abuse. However, only YFZ Ranch can be described as a "compound," showing one factual error. Second, the stories of the escapees conflicts with the CPS workers testimony, the witness for the state, the attorneys for the children, and the public statements of the medical personnel who examined the children. Tales told to sell books is much less reliable than testimony under oath.

Your spreading of inaccurate and slanderous rumors does have real consequences for children. Though you may not be aware, there have been multiple hate crimes and threats against non-FLDS Mormons in Texas. While the persecution of adults will reach the media, bigotry against Mormon children will receive much less press, even though it likely to be much more prevalent. The FLDS children also face the threat of bigotry, persecution, and gang violence in foster care due to the many false rumors. Thus, your inflammatory remarks contribute to an environment that threatens the children you claim to want to protect.

Finally, you mention how stress can destroy the brain. But, you fail to point out the great deal of stress that the state has caused the children. How can you say that being forced at gunpoint to leave your home is not a stressful situation? How about having your cell phone unlawfully taken away, being cut off from the outside world, not being able to even see your attorney, or have no say in whether you are sent to a foster home or returned to your family? While you cannot prove your allegations of emotional abuse, I have plenty of evidence to support my contention.

In conclusion, the state has emotionally abused both the parents and the children. It is clear we need to save the children from the state.

xxxx

I would sign my name, but I don't want an anonymous caller from Texas to call CPS and have them take away my children and confiscate all my property. I don't get enough time with my children, and I need my computer to finish my dissertation.

Every moment we have with our children is precious. The state should be given "time to work" on acquiring actual evidence, not in tampering with our children.

Links to Blogs

Here are links to three excellent blogs that give you the inside scoop combined with excellent analysis. I have found them to be much more accurate and informative than the mainstream media.

Prairie Fire Journal

Grits for Breakfast

The Polygamy Files

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

Email to the Dave Ramsey show

Dave Ramsey is a well-known financial counselor with a radio show, and also is unapologetically Evangelical. His main mission is helping people get out of debt.

In an effort to stop the widespread intolerance and misinformation I observed in the media, I wrote Dave an email pointing out that while the FLDS lived the principles he claimed to support, most Christians do not live them, getting into significant debt. Citizens are much more likely to have their children unfairly confiscated when they are demonized in the media.

Dear Dave Ramsey:

After reading "The Total Money Makeover" I stopped taking out student loans, and worked extra jobs to help support my wife and two sons. Through the Grace of God and a tight budget, I am on track to graduate with a PhD this August, and shout "we're debt free" soon after.

One interesting fact from the recent raid on the cultist compound in Eldorado Texas is that the cult members lived debt-free, with their main community having over 90% of homes mortgage-free. Perhaps this question is rhetorical, but if poorly educated cultists with limited opportunities are "debt free," why are so many well educated Christians with unlimited opportunities "broke?"

God Bless,

xxxx

Link to mortgage data:

http://extras.sltrib.com/specials/polygamy/polygstats.asp

I use the word "cult" here to mimic typical Evangelical language, as well as other stylistic elements to both mimic Evangelicals and listeners to the Dave Ramsey show. I believe parents have constitutional rights -- regardless of religious membership, or unproven allegations.

I also emailed NPR. Though I seem to have deleted that email, it thanked them for trying to cover both sides, and asking what would happen if 400 Black, Latino, or Jewish children were forcibly separated from their parents.