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.

Canada has bigots, too.

Here is the story from Fox News on the polygamy charges in Canada. Here's blog posts from Messenger and Advocate, Free the FLDS Children, and Modern Pharisee.

This kind of bigotry is unbelievable. It certainly makes the case for Canada needing a Parents Bill of Rights.

Move to Virginia

I have moved to from Arizona to Virginia, and will now inform my elected representatives of the Commonwealth of that this voter insists that the rights of parents be protected, and insists on a "Parents Bill of Rights." I am encouraged by what I see are positive developments in the FLDS situation, such as most of the children being set free, and multiple Texas officials resigning. I still find it troubling that they have not done anything to bring Swinton to justice, despite the fact that 911 coverage for cell phones requires position triangulation. Very frustrating.

Victory in Home Schooling Rights

Looks like California has come to it's senses regarding parental rights in homeschooling. The LA Times reports:

Governator Schwarzenegger:

This is a victory for California's students, parents and education community. This decision confirms the right every California child has to a quality education and the right parents have to decide what is best for their children. I hope the ruling settles this matter for parents and home-schooled children once and for all in California, but assure them that we, as elected officials, will continue to defend parents' rights.

Phillip Long:

Educating your children in your own home preexisted these buffoons that sit on the 2nd Circuit. It preexisted this state. It preexisted us. Parents have been teaching their own children since the beginning.

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
   

"I Percieve" blog, email to Judge Walthers church

Recently found this blog, which carries powerful and rather incendiary prose. I usually don't dedicate an entire post to a blog (otherwise I would have to do it every day for Grits and Brooke) but this has some interesting articles that I've never seen before.

Texas TRO: Separate CPS & Walther from FLDS

I smell a rat. Having read both draft orders in the FLDS case, my view is that neither draft complies with the order of the Texas Supreme Court... The drafts suggest that these unfortunate victims of government abuse are beginning to legitimize — in their own minds — the misconduct of their government captors.

First United Methodist of San Angelo burns cross, prays for Judge Walther

I have a feeling that with the atrocities she has inflicted on FLDS families, Walther will need those prayers. ... Why don’t the FLDS appear on First United Methodist’s prayer page?

I thought that was a good question. While they did have a listing for "Eldorado Situation" that could mean anything. So, I wrote to the email addresses on their Prayer Request page:

I respectfully request that you add to your prayer list that the FLDS parents and children be protected from the abuses of power of the State of Texas, and be protected from those who desire to persecute them.
Sincerely,
xxxxx

It was a good reminder for me to say my prayers - both for the FLDS, and also to keep the CPS far away from me and my family.

CPS a national “empire built on taking children”, Georgia Senator Schaefer warns

As the Texas CPS horror unfolds, some American parents watch passively as if it couldn’t possibly happen to them. Be warned. What Texas CPS did to the FLDS en masse, other states’ CPSs do every day across the country to individual families.

Walther signs extortionary FLDS order

A house is only a home if you enjoy the protections against search and seizure that all Americans are supposed to enjoy. This distinction is obviously lost on the judge who — for what reason God only knows — continues to preside over the case. Because of their religion and the venomous bigotry of Judge Barbara Walther, these Americans citizens are being denied their basic constitutional rights.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Ideas for a Parental Bill of Rights

The abuses of the FLDS in Texas show what a slippery slope we enter when we deny constitutional rights. I am in the process of writing my state representatives, encouraging them to enact a "Parent Bill of Rights" that would protect us from unlawful seizure of our children. Such a measure would return the burden of proof to the state, and require greater oversight on the activities of various "protective" organizations. It would also require greater proof than accusation in cases of alleged abuse.

I am posting this here because I really want your feedback before writing these letters, and possibly circulating a petition. Please comment on what you would like to see.

Thanks

Welcome to the blog!

One of the United States flags was a snake with the saying "don't tread on me." That is the message I would like to give to the government workers that are treading on parent rights, and the elected officials that rubber stamp their actions. With the recent situation in Eldorado, Texas, it is clear that state agencies have the ability to violate constitutional rights, even when motivated by religious bigotry or an attempt to score political points. I have set up this blog in an attempt to combat the unconstitutional actions that are taking place.