The Modern Pharisee's BIGGEST Month

As of this writing, I have over 4000 unique visitors, and over 5000 page views for the month of November 2008. If you're a net savvy person, this is hardly impressive. This stat is measured through "Blogflux," since my Google Analytics went down when I changed templates. I don't know what number (usually higher) that Google thinks I've achieved in terms of unique visitors for November 2008.

Like ballot recounts though, I have no reason to think Blogflux has a weighted myopia. I am sure they miss counting hits based on no particular profile, so based on that measurement, I will end the month with an over 33% increase in hits, and an over 20% increase in page views over and above any previous "good" month.

Having a background in broadcasting as I do (a deep and old background) I know that web ratings are similar to Radio or Television ratings. They measure your total audience vs how long you hold them. For instance a page view rating of 4, which would be for 4000 unique visitors, 16,000 page views would be pretty good. It would involve apparent intense interest on the part of my readers.

I have certain blind spots when it comes to improving that number. I've seen other blogs where the first few lines of an article which contain an writing hook (a journalistic device that catches your interest) and then an arrow that you click for "More." That increases page views. I have looked for that feature on my blog template, and can't find it. I'm an idiot, it's probably staring me right in the face. It's not just a trick because it compresses content so that more of it is seen on the "front page" of your blog and more articles can be seen. It also demonstrates involvement because a reader reads "more" when their interest is high.

But this is pretty good for me. I'm not doing all the things I need to do to promote this blog. There are "descriptions" I should be inserting into some place on the blog that make it more "search friendly" and there are widgets I could put in that would automatically ping certain engines when there is new content. Imagine me as Shrek with a blog. It's rather amazing that anyone knows I'm pounding away at the keyboard inside my swamp. It's amazing that I found the Internet, much less learned how to put content on it that anyone would read.

So I chum. In angling terms, that's throwing bait on the water's surface to attract fish. I'm now a certified "Third Rate" or "Third Tier" blog which I mentioned before. As other blogs that have been "FLDS" centric during their time of crisis, I have risen with that tide, a tide I would have wished never came. But as their sustaining tide wanes, I continue to experience a wider audience. For this reason I am repeating my appeals, which I believe the LORD will answer if he sees fit. This means I probably won't pander again, for a while.

Again, I need TECH help. At present I can pay nothing for it. If I could, I would have already gotten it. It figures someone out there has roughly similar sympathies and can make a blog bigger through the various tweaks.

I would very much like writing assistance. Doubtless there are some out there who also see things similarly and would contribute to the content of the Modern Pharisee. For those of you who would wish to contribute, I have several requirements, in order of importance.

• Christian: You must be a reformation leaning Bible Believing CHRISTIAN. This rules out the LDS who I have supported to varying degrees. This rules out Catholics and I am married to a Catholic. Catholics are Christian, but vary to much in doctrine and governance issues.
• I would greatly prefer a Calvinist leaning writer, as I believe firmly the LORD ordains all things. Some doctrinal issues can be solved by my editorial control over this blog.
• It almost goes without saying, but this also means that you regard the 66 books of the "Bible" to be infallible, at least in their original tongues.
• A willingness to work within established denominations first, is a goal of the Modern Pharisee. I am instructed by the behavior of Luther, and the early church in Jerusalem, who met in Solomon's portico.

Last, and least in many ways, there is MONEY. I'm worse than broke. Things have improved a lot recently but they are not improving quickly. In theory I could do this, and only this. It is my intention to confront the church in the very near future. For that I could quickly become a thorny stink to people I work with, and people in church.

If I began to receive contributions, I would cease "blog ads" and may do so anyway. I would be accountable to my contributors by listing the denominations of my contributions and the total amounts. If I receive enough to sustain me as a job, I will consider distributing the excess to worthy causes, or perhaps shutting off contributions for the month by removing my "Paypal" button for that time.

In putting this speculation out there, I seek the will of God. Clearly if someone started writing me a check every month for $5000.00, I would have no need of another job. Clearly if I had writing help it would signify that there were others that heard a similar theme from God that I have heard. Clearly if I got tech help, more people would know of these concerns.

That's it for the year, I promise not to mention it again (at least in terms of money) for another 6 months. It's fine with me if no one responds on any front. That would indicate God's will for me to the extent that I at least know I do this alone for now. It would also mean that this concern would only continue as long as I was able to perform it. That would be of course, God's will, and I would clearly hear it.

The bigger this effort gets, the more I will press the issue of marriage, as defined scripturally, in the church. That is the primary goal I have been pursuing now with increasing audience and impact, for nearly 14 years. More →

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More Post Turkey Day Dumbness

I've got a lot of blogging thoughts I don't quite get finished, and I browse about other blogs. Hat tip to "Biblical Christianity."



Yes, I watch both. More →

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Need Porpoise?

Thanks to the Contemporary Calvinist for bringing my attention to this important news.
More →

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Thankful in the blogging context.

There are many things I am thankful for. All my children are healthy and doing something productive. Children ripped from their families almost 8 months ago are mostly back and things continue to look good for them staying home. I celebrate President Bush's ability to keep the enemy from our shores for now more than 7 years. I praise and thank our military which is the finest in the world. My son is one of them.

My favorite sports team does not have a losing record as of this weekend. Okay, that's a little trivial, but I am enjoying it.

I have a job, my wife does. We have mountains of bills, but we're working and will probably make it through the winter and then as a 55 year old man, I will have to make a life of it. A ten year sprint to the "finish" which is retirement. If they don't move the goal line in between times. All things to be thankful for, all things to praise God for, and there are of course many many more things, I just peeled off a few random thoughts combined with some genuinely wonderful things.

In the blogging world I am having my biggest month every, and it's not over yet. I may well hit over 4000 recorded "unique hits." That's good for me and I had expected to dwindle to nothingness as the FLDS controversy ground into the court phase. I am what Six Meat Buffet calls a "third tier blog." If no less an authority than 6MB calls himself a "Third Tier Blogger," I must have reached that stratospheric level as well.

I continue to think I can do more with this tiny soapbox. To that end I need at least some tech help which might lead to the revenue that might pay for the tech help which might in turn make this a paid profession someday, if I live long enough to supplement my doubtful social security with internet millions that come from this sort of effort. Have a Happy Thanksgiving! More →

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Comparing FLDS women with the women outside

By today's "sexed up" standards, the women of the FLDS hardly look sexy. They do have a bit of a feminine allure with their long "french braids" which most men tend to see as attractive (the long hair that is). Other than that they dress in all too similar "unflattering" prairie dresses. Their beauty though, leaks out at the strangest times. I am reminded of Warren's daughter Teresa Jeffs (not Teresa Steed) who was captured in playful bliss, several times in a tree where she also appeared alternately brooding and pensive. She was also captured floating above the earth having bounced on a trampoline, her hand chastely controlling her flaring skirt, giving us insight into the Victorian thrill of a "well turned ankle." Teresa's head is turned away from the camera revealing her flaming red hair. She was (and is) a thing of beauty.

Now contrast the women in this photograph from Trent's blog "Fly on the wall."


But wait, there's more,


I am not slender, neither is my wife. I am sure there are some portly FLDS men and women. Willie Jessop cuts a wide swath if you know what I mean. But all in all what would your desire focus on as a man in this "Theatre of the Real?"

Let's be frank, if you could have all the naked posters of pinup models to choose from to populate your desk drawers at work, all the porn you wanted and one of the NON FLDS women in these pictures (I assure you there are many similar ones at Trent's site) or any one of the FLDS women pictured there including the one pictured inconsolably distressed in agonized despair, would you take one of the women guarding them and keep your porn stash, or throw it all away for just one of these women in their sensible shoes and weird dress?

This is a contrast I have been reluctant to point out. I mean no slight to any one woman who guards the FLDS flock. I do not know them. They have a job to do. They may be equally saintly or more so than those they guard. Overall though there is a pattern. We have our anorexic naked fantasies, our pornography, our revealing dresses and no reality with which to match it.

The FLDS have none of this, and in terms of exterior appearance, even in their worst moments, virtually all the women of the FLDS are more superficially desirable than their counterparts in this real world comparison. It is not my intention to make FLDS women objects of inappropriate desire, most of these girls are women, married women, they are not suitable for my interest, or anyones other than their husbands.

If we try to produce a bionic sex bomb pinup paramour open field of sexual delights, and instead produce female english bulldogs and fire hydrant look alikes, haven't we entirely missed the point? Pretty but severe and distant Pamela Andersons? Desperate hiding and suicidal Anna Nicole Smiths?

It makes me wonder. In the skin revealing "real world" out here, I see more and more women, showing piercings and tattoos, and yet other women sheathed in layers of fat. Maybe we should just let them wear clothes and sensible shoes and cover themselves that way. More →

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Maybe not so strong? "Sealed agreement reached" with Teresa Steed

Perhaps I expected too much. It is of course, way too soon to tell as we don't know what the "sealed agreement" is. This is nauseating. Precisely who does this "sealing" protect? Ms. Steed? She's already gone out on a limb. From the San Angelo Standard-Times;

"(Teresa Steed) showed up; her infant did not.

'The baby is not here, so they have defied the court's order,' CPS attorney John Dolezal told the judge, asking to put the 17-year-old (Ms. Steed) on the stand to testify about where the infant was.

(Teresa) initially pleaded the Fifth Amendment when asked whether the baby stayed with her at her given address in San Antonio, but after consultation with Ellis, she answered that the child at one time did stay with her at that location but was not there anymore.

(Teresa) told Dolezal the baby is out of state.

'I don't know right now' the exact whereabouts of the child, she said. 'She is traveling.'

When Dolezal asked where the infant was being taken, (Teresa) shut down.

'I refuse to answer that question,' (Ms. Steed) said, and when pressed on why she refused, she said: 'I just don't want anyone to know where she is.'

Ellis then consulted with (Teresa Steed) again, and the attorney quietly told Walther (Teresa) knew the potential repercussions of refusing to answer a question when instructed to by the court.

'Ma'am, the court instructs you to answer the question,' Walther said.

'I refuse to answer,' (Teresa) replied."

Again I openly wonder how a girl can be deemed to understand the "repercussions of refusing to answer" and not be capable of forming responsible opinions about sex, reproduction, motherhood and who her sex partner will be. It may be the law, but the law is a farce. Teresa can on the one hand incriminate herself, or make herself liable or be held in contempt, and in the next moment cannot be trusted to make lucid informed decisions about motherhood? The only answer is that logically, this makes no sense unless you make it logic about the law. Namely the law can make any ridiculously contrary set of rules, and well, it's the law. It would seem to me if you could hold her responsible for her actions, you are likewise emancipating her. Then how do you gain control of her child?

"Walther recessed the court and called the attorneys into her chambers, where - as she has been known to do, especially during this case - she tersely ordered both sides to reach an agreement. Soon after, she left the courthouse."

This "take my ball and go home" behavior has been displayed by Walther before, and what has always stunned me is, that it works. The behavior of those in her courtroom suggests strong armed blackmail. How for instance, can you order people to reach an agreement. Answer? You threaten at least one of them. Do any of you suppose that Walther threatened the state? In all likelyhood she threatened to take custody of the child once it was found, and never return it to Teresa Steed. Then she gets up, says "make an agreement" and walks out.

Not knowing what "family service plan" that Teresa's parents signed, I can only theorize that if they hadn't signed one, they'd be better off right now. I still think Walther would have threatened what she threatened, whatever that was. The advantage for Teresa Steed would be that if CPS had no stake now, they'd have to gain one first, and that could take considerable time. Time during which Teresa might turn 18.

I also cannot figure how Teresa is in any way criminal in this case. There is as of yet, no evidence of a crime. There is the theory out there that Teresa's partner is an older man. Without examining the child though, how could they know that? It's a catch 22.

Now to the "sealed agreement."

"After the sides reached the agreement, Texas Ranger Sgt. Nick Hanna and an investigator from the Texas Attorney General's Office told the girl they needed to serve a search warrant, immediately after which courthouse security cleared the building, telling reporters and observers it was closed.

The warrant was for a DNA sample, said sect spokesman Willie Jessop - a move Jessop criticized, noting that samples were taken of all children by court order in April."

Ok, maybe that's all the agreement was, to get a DNA sample from Ms. Steed. Now we have disturbing parallels to Veda Keate, who had her child sampled three separate times. It would seem that Texas is trying to establish as pure DNA trail that has nothing to do with evidence collected at YFZ.

There's no way of knowing until later, but it looks as if part of the agreement was that Teresa Steed give a DNA sample. It may be that Ms. Steed also had access to something that would give a DNA sample for her child. I would love to have been there in Walther's courtroom, to verify what must have been brutal blackmail.

The only heartening evidence we have here, is that Texas continues to make moves that show it is preparing for cases that it cannot used DNA collected earlier in the year, which means they believe they could lose and evidence challenge.

My personal hope is that the child is not only out of state, but out of the country.

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A "child" leads them. Is this the Steely Will of the Helpless? Teresa Steed tells Walther "Forget it!" Tiananmen Square moves to Texas.

Mousy cowed baby factory FLDS victims have more steel in their spine than most of our leaders. I'm giving up the pretense of "Marlo" as the name is out there. Teresa Steed stands up, and is counted.

The Deseret News - " 'She is living out of state. ... I just don't want anyone to know where she is,' said the 17-year-old (Teresa Steed), who was wearing a dark blue prairie dress and her hair braided back, the typical style of female members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church."

How is this the action of someone who cannot speak for themselves? As pointed out before, if indeed 16 is too young (but it wasn't 5 years ago) then since Ms. Steed has turned 17 and could be deemed responsible enough to give consent, can't she say that retroactively, she would have given consent? If she wanted to escape her cruel husband, she could simply "break down" in a puddle and give her child up to Texas. They'd embrace her, and "protect" her as their star witness. She does not break down though, she stands like a Tiananmen Square protester and will not be moved. This is no child, this is an adult. Right or Wrong, Teresa Steed stands on her own. I guess a child will lead them. More →

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Coleman Gains Ground on Franken's "Turf"

Hat Tip "Minnesota Democrats Exposed."

Pioneer Press - "As Minnesota's recount in the U.S. Senate race marches on, campaign operatives have focused on the color of the ballots being counted.

Are the piles of recounted ballots from red counties, where Republican Sen. Norm Colman might be expected to pick up a few stray votes? Or blue counties, where DFL challenger Al Franken might have the advantage?

But Minneapolis — the biggest, bluest pile of all — is turning that logic on its head. With nearly half of its ballots recounted, the city Franken calls home isn't doing the candidate any favors. And that could be dimming Franken's hopes of catching Coleman before the state canvassing board meets Dec. 16.

'Things are clearly moving in the wrong direction for Franken,' said Larry Jacobs, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for the Study of Politics and Governance.

With fewer than half of the ballots counted in Minneapolis, Franken has lost 86 votes, while Coleman has lost just 37. In other words, the city could be blunting any recount advantage Franken might have in the rest of the state as the recount rolls toward its Dec. 5 deadline."

That's a net gain of 39 votes for Coleman. It isn't over until it's over, but I find the recount disparity on Franken turf to be fascinating. Could it be someone padded things a little for Al?

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Modern Day Jonathan

Hat Tip, Ace of Spades HQ, via the "Jawa Report," A modern day Jonathan.

Military.com - "During the battle, the designated marksman single handedly thwarted a company-sized enemy RPG and machinegun ambush by reportedly killing 20 enemy fighters with his devastatingly accurate precision fire. He selflessly exposed himself time and again to intense enemy fire during a critical point in the eight-hour battle for Shewan in order to kill any enemy combatants who attempted to engage or maneuver on the Marines in the kill zone. What made his actions even more impressive was the fact that he didn’t miss any shots, despite the enemies’ rounds impacting within a foot of his fighting position.

'I was in my own little world,' the young corporal said. 'I wasn’t even aware of a lot of the rounds impacting near my position, because I was concentrating so hard on making sure my rounds were on target.' After calling for close-air support, the small group of Marines pushed forward and broke the enemies’ spirit as many of them dropped their weapons and fled the battlefield. At the end of the battle, the Marines had reduced an enemy stronghold, killed more than 50 insurgents and wounded several more."

Compare;

"Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, 'Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.' And his armor-bearer said to him, 'Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul.' Then Jonathan said, 'Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. If they say to us, "Wait until we come to you," then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. But if they say, "Come up to us," then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.' So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, 'Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.' And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, 'Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.' And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, 'Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.' Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him. And that first strike, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, killed about twenty men within as it were half a furrow's length in an acre of land. And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic. And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude was dispersing here and there." - 1st Samuel 14 (ESV)

God teaches us war now, there is value in it. There will be a day when we will study war no more, but it is not this day.

Judges 3 - "Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before."

If we are not defeated, and God gives us war, he teaches us War, and we are blessed. This is a hard thing but it is true. There is value to knowing war now. There is a life lesson in it. God uses war to keep us on the straight and narrow. Be thankful he teaches us, and does not defeat us. Pray for these men who go out and learn what God teaches. More →

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The Sporting Pharisee

The Apostle Paul was a fan of both boxing and running using both in illustrations in the scriptures. Sports do not equate to life, life is not a game, but both are theater of the real in which we see life principles acted out in short periods of time. The outcomes are like life. Often the winner is not the best man, heroic effort on the other hand often does make a difference. Reward most often seems to go to those who strive and fight the good fight.

I felt bad about what happened to my Miami Dolphins on Sunday. I'm a fan, I've been a fan since before they ever experienced a winning season. Does anyone remember George Wilson? I didn't think so.

Things got out of hand near the end of an otherwise great game on Sunday. For three quarters plus, it was close, then it wasn't, then the wings started to come off as the game crashed and burned. But I feel good about it. Now. On Tuesday morning. I recalled the game with a Patriots fan who was out hunting Sunday. I pointed out it was worth watching, for the time it was close, it was like watching a human pinball machine.

NFL/Associated Press - FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- "Matt Light and Channing Crowder left their face-shoving, hair-pulling, head-smacking tussle with big smiles."

From where I sat I thought Crowder got the better of Light. High Definition replays may show more to the altercation but Light pulled Crowder's helmet off and then it was on. The whole game was an argument being had about who was the better team and up until just before that point, there hadn't been an answer. Light surrendered to hair pulling and pounding Crowder as Crowder laughed. Both will probably pay later. Crowder for encouraging the crowd to support such nonsense, Light for starting it or escalating it out of control.

In Sports, the fights are never over. Both teams will meet again, maybe this season, possibly on Dolphins home turf in the playoffs. They'll pick up where they left off. Hopefully they'll keep it between the lines which is the way such contests are designed. As all fans I didn't like losing, the fights that broke out at the end of the game were not good behavior and not a good example to anyone. Joey Porter also lost it and thought he could defy his own coach and stay on the field after twice being summoned to the sidelines. Perhaps coach Sparano can corral his wayward flock, tell them their intentions (to win) are good, and find a way to point out this should never happen again. I think he will. We won one at their place going away. They won one from us on our turf going away. The fights at the end say they can't wait, to do it again.

Calm down guys, you really love each other. For without each other, there would be no one to play with. Cowboys fans love the Redskins, Dolphins fans love the Patriots. Until next time. More →

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Flora Blinks!

Flora Jessop is acting like she has something to hide;

The Salt Lake Tribune - "(Michael Piccarreta) plans to seek a court order to require an anti-polygamy activist to answer questions after she refused to cooperate Monday unless a television crew was allowed to tape the meeting.

Flora Jessop had agreed to a voluntary interview with attorney Michael Piccarreta, who represents polygamous sect leader Warren S. Jeffs. Piccarreta had asked Jessop to bring recordings of her conversations with a caller who used a phone linked to Rozita Swinton, a Colorado woman."

Now she's refusing, unless she can have her precious television cameras to play up to. No Flora, it doesn't work that way. You were given the courtesy of an interview, now it will be court ordered. The question on everyone's mind should now be, "Why is Flora blinking when she is asked to talk about Rozita Swinton?"

"Piccarreta said Jessop refused to proceed unless Mike Watkiss, a reporter with KTVK Channel 3 News in Phoenix, and his cameraman were allowed to record the meeting.

Piccarreta said he had never had such a demand in 34 years of criminal defense work. 'That is not the purpose of an interview, to provide entertainment on television,' he said.

He said the request also was inappropriate due to a courtroom ban on television cameras in Jeffs' Arizona proceedings."

You had your chance Flora, now it will be by force of law.

"Piccarreta said he will ask Mohave County Superior Court Judge Stephen Conn to order Jessop to sit for a deposition. He wants to ask Jessop about conversations she had between March 22 and April 16 with a caller who used the phone linked to Swinton; law enforcement in Arizona and Texas; and child welfare officials in both states."

Hey Michael, as long as she's making you get a court order, dig deeper, ask Flora for records of contact between her and Rozita dating back to 2005, ask Flora if she used intermediaries to contact Rozita. I can provide you with names. I doubt seriously that Judge Conn will deny Piccarretta his order, in view of the fact he has provided such orders for more highly placed figures such as Sheriff David Doran. Flora my dear, I think you blew it, and you showed your hand.

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"Marlo" the FLDS Cow and her Calf subject of CPS round up to take tissue samples.

First of all, I understand that legally, in terms of how Texas law is written, most of the language here makes sense. However, it's a deep Orwellian detour into "newspeak."

The Salt Lake City Tribune - "On Thursday, 51st District Judge Barbara Walther ordered the 17-year-old girl, her baby and the girl's mother to appear in court after the Department of Family and Protective Services said the teenager refused to let it see the infant."

This is always the difficulty I have with the way these laws are written. Granted, the law says that you ought not have sex with a 16 year old in Texas, but we know it goes on, and it has probably happened more than several times during the writing of this post, in Texas. Texas however says that a girl can consent to sexual relations at the age of 17. "That girl," who I call "Marlo" for the sake of discussion, is now at the age where the state now says she can consent, she has the capacity to do so in the view of the state of Texas. Why is it that now, when she is 17, and she can clearly think for herself per Texas law, can she not say; "I have made up my mind, I wanted to do what I have done, I am in possession of my wits, leave me and my child alone!"

In addition there is no real evidence yet that something criminal has occurred. The assumption of criminality depends in large part on the result of tests Texas wants to conduct. This is a modern day dragnet. Round up everyone, search everyone, and sift through the objects you have collected to see if anything illegal is going on. When you find something indicative of a crime, you charge someone with a crime. The problem is you really didn't know a crime had occured, until you conducted the search, you didn't even really know what crime you were looking for, and who the criminal would be.

"In a court filing, the department said it wants to conduct an 'inspection, observation and genetic testing' of the infant to 'protect the safety and welfare' of the teenage mother."

Now the "newspeak" takes over. Realizing again that laws are drawn in terms of age, and that this girl is not 18, she is nonetheless of age to consent now, and in less than a year she will be an adult, legally. Do any of us really suppose that so much is going to change in the life of "Marlo" who is 8 and a half months away from her 18th birthday? Frankly, if she chooses to "go on vacation" for 8 months, out of the country, it's a bit of a moot point. Her desires are clear at this point. Having had late teen children who make up their minds, you can propose your better idea all day long, once they've made up their minds, they will probably stick to it. They can see the goal line from where they are and they will wait you out. So in this context, the state intends to "protect the safety and welfare" of "Marlo?" By the time they finish wrangling the details of that protection with a uncooperative 17 year old, she'll be 18. They can "try" to "protect" her, that protection amounts to simple custody of her. Nothing will be protected other than the human evidence chain.

"The filing states the department has 'cause to believe' the girl was married at age 14 to an adult man. She was among 439 children taken in April from the Yearning For Zion Ranch, home to members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints."

That's still not cause to believe that she carries that man's child, and while I doubt seriously that her child is any man's other than her husband's child, law enforcement is not free to assume this. They want to make her child a ward of the state and the mother a ward of the state so that they can then supply a "will" for both of them that they would not express themselves.

"John R. Dolezal, attorney for DFPS, said in a Nov. 14 court filing the department believes it is in the teenage mother's 'best interest' to 'provide her with parenting classes and related assistance in ensuring that she is able to appropriately provide for the care of her child.' "

In full Orwellian mode the state uses it's legal right to speak words like "best interest." It also uses words like "provide" as if someone wanted a service, such as the parenting classes it offers. In the same way they could be said to "provide life altering services" to an inmate on death row.

"(Texas) also wants to collect DNA from the infant so it can identify 'the individual who sexually abused' the teenager and bar contact between the two."

Let's stay clear that Texas does not know "sexual abuse" occurred. Thus they cannot be said to be seeking that individual. The child and it's mother are essentially cattle, that are used in evidence. No interest in the "best interest" of either exists here. If there was such an interest, they would want to spare the mother and her child the trauma just as it appears that everyone in this whole case wants to spare poor Rozita Swinton the trauma of prosecution. In fact they insulate the instigator of this whole mess while they seek to traumatize that "children" they claim to want to protect. Again, does anyone seriously think that "Marlo's" ability to express her wishes is really impaired? If they really wanted to protect "Marlo" they would just emancipate her or leave her alone for 8 months. They don't want to protect her, they want to harvest evidence from her. More →

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More FLDS men surrender

Three FLDS men surrender;

The Salt Lake Tribune - "Fredrick Merril Jessop, 72; Wendell Loy Nielsen, 68; and Leroy Johnson Steed, 42, were booked and released after posting bonds.

A Schleicher County grand jury indicted the men on Nov. 12. The jury also issued a new indictment on Warren S. Jeffs, president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Jeffs, currently jailed in Arizona, was indicted on a first-degree felony charge of sexually assaulting a child. The Schleicher County grand jury previously indicted him in July of sexually assaulting a child and, in August, on first-degree bigamy.

Court documents list Jessop as the bishop of the sect's Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas. He faces one count of conducting an unlawful marriage ceremony involving a minor, which is a third-degree felony.

According to other court documents, Jessop performed a spiritual marriage between a 12-year-old daughter and Jeffs in 2006 at the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado.

The girl, now 14, was returned to state custody in August after her mother balked at cooperating with Child Protective Services caseworkers. Jessop posted a bond of $30,000.

Nielsen is the founder of a high-tech machine shop, formerly located in Utah and known as Western Precision. He is charged with three separate counts of third-degree felony bigamy, and posted a $10,000 bond on each count.

Steed is charged with one count of sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony (because it involves a prohibited marriage); one count of second-degree felony bigamy; one count of third-degree felony bigamy; and one count of tampering with physical evidence, a third-degree felony.

Steed was arrested during an April raid on the YFZ ranch after he attempted to remove some documents. He posted a total bond of $120,000, with $100,000 for the sexual assault count."

If memory serves me, Wendell Loy Nielsen hasn't been charged before. It also seems he is only charged with bigamy, though there are three counts of it.

More →

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Citigroup Bailout evidence of corruption?

A while back the US Government was forcing a marriage between Wachovia, and Citigroup, just a month or so ago as a matter of fact.

In that forced merger which failed, the Government was collapsing Wachovia and throwing in a bunch of cash, defrauding Wachovia's shareholders of any return and giving the assets of Wachovia to Citgroup along with a dollop of Taxpayer Cash.

Now it appears Citigroup was as sick as Wachovia, if not more so. Think about it. This means Citi was in trouble and the Government was REALLY going to bail THEM out. That money never would have come back.

That, is corruption. More →

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Go ahead, make my day.

I just love this part;

The Deseret News - "Failure to appear for this deposition may result in sanctions including, but not limited to, dismissal of the prosecution, a ruling that the search of the YFZ Ranch in April 2008 was illegal and unconstitutional, or contempt of court against the deponent..."

Oh please. Try it. But it looks like they will show, and show up in full armor.

"(Sheriff David) Doran said the Texas Attorney General's Office will assist them in the depositions.

'We have nothing to hide,' the sheriff told the Deseret News. 'We'll discuss whatever topic.' "

Nothing to hide, but the Texas AG is coming along. To keep stories straight?

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Marlo. A conclusion about the "Third Girl"

Let's just say I am now convinced that there was an underage girl or girls that were seen and were pregnant during the raid of YFZ. The chronology of disclosures in press accounts and by CPS contain errors and those errors masked the true chronology and made it seem as if certain "possibilities" were eliminated. I stand by my previous remarks that this is still not evidence of a crime. It's just not. Any honest observer knows this.

I was asking questions about the "Third Girl" in June that was said to be on the verge of giving birth. It appears that this did happen, that there was such a girl. I shall refer to her as the "Third Girl", or "That Girl" or "Marlo" from now on out. ("That Girl" - "Marlo," get it?)

I of course cannot know what people said to various law enforcement officers that day at YFZ. That will wait until someone gets into court and puts the facts into evidence. If some child said "This is my mommy and he's my daddy" with one of the underage teens, that would be pretty damning for instance.

My remaining concerns are the much harder to prove "conspiracy" to enter YFZ in the first place. Much of the evidence points to at least an informal one. I've pointed out before that even if there is no firm basis legally for the second warrant, the facts are beginning to resemble a firm legal basis and there will be enough people who will line up and say "that's good enough" and ignore the real issues. I am instructed by the overwhelming wins of the principles involved in the last election. Where are we going to find people who will be willing to be fair and say that seeing a pregnant teen in a community of people "known" to practice underage marriage is not cause? More →

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The "Third Girl" issue comes alive again.

Was I "sandbagged" by Patrick Crimmins? The "third girl" issue surfaces again. We know two girls who gave birth later turned out to be adult women, now this;

The San Angelo Standard-Times - "A girl alleged to have been married to an adult at age 14 has become the new focus of the state's investigation into allegations of sexual abuse at a Schleicher County polygamist compound.

In a brief hearing Thursday, the girl's attorney told 51st District Judge Barbara Walther her client was not present, torpedoing a planned hearing on a motion by the state's Child Protective Services agency that would have compelled the girl to produce her newborn child for DNA testing.

'My client is not willing to appear voluntarily,' said Kelly J. Ellis, the San Angelo attorney appointed to represent the girl.

Walther rescheduled the hearing for Tuesday, ordering the girl, her mother and the newborn all to be present.

According to the CPS motion, the girl gave birth June 14, just after Walther returned 439 children to their parents at the order of the Texas Supreme Court. The higher court ruled Walther should not have allowed the state to take emergency custody of all the children after its April raid on the YFZ Ranch northeast of Eldorado.

Court documents do not list the exact age of the girl, nor do documents released in the course of the seven-month case provide any immediate indication of how old she is or reference to her parents, Sarah Barlow and Joseph Steed."

NOW we have potential cause for the second warrant. Was this girl "Seen" at YFZ that day?

"According to the motion filed Nov. 14 by CPS' new lead attorney for the case, John R. Dolezal, the girl is still younger than 18 and was married at 14.The girl 'has a child,' Dolezal said in court Thursday. 'In order for us to do our duties investigating sexual abuse, we need the child produced to do genetic testing. We're here in the best interests of (the girl), to protect her from sexual abuse.' "

Ok, but this is still fuzzy. Is she 17? Where is she from? We do know that some people at YFZ that day were not from the ranch. Doing the math if John Dolezal is correct, the child was born either a bit premature, or, mom was under 17 when she became pregnant. If the child was conceived anywhere after today's date, a crime may in fact have occurred. A full term child would put the date of conception at about September 14th of last year.

Nevertheless we heard of a girl who refused a pregnancy test which indicates whatever condition she was in, it wasn't clearly showing. At the time of the raid she was 6 and a half months along. Again, assuming all of this is true.

Still, there are issues. Unless CPS has reason to believe that the father of this girls child was "overage" and saw her as "pregnant" that day, there is no reason to have the record that would give them the suspicion that a man fathered her child illegally.

The chain of events has to be;

• See the Girl as pregnant. Second warrant. We know the only girl that was not a minor at the time of the raid, that was later thought to be pregnant was asked to take a pregnancy test. They weren't sure.
• Find the marriage record by use of that warrant indicating that girl's "husband" was too old for her by law.
• Use that record to demand DNA testing.

Nevertheless, there is still the issue that a pregnant teen is not prima facie evidence of a crime. Seeing a pregnant teen does not tell you that she was;

• Not married legally.
• Has a child fathered by someone who would thus be a criminal.
• Had that child fathered in a location that made the act illegal. (They could have been in Mexico, or Utah, we don't know the age of the father.)
• Even a teen. They don't have "born on dates" like BEER.
  

This will be a big problem though if proved, the rope gets really thin and close to snapping. Judges and juries are people. Among themselves they will all be certain that the assumption of wrong was justified.

Or this could just be the death rattle of the CPS case. More →

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Texas Law Folk submit to Warren Jeffs attorneys interview. Will they plead the 5th?

Did I not say they would wait until the absolute last minute? Oh yes, yes I did.

The Salt Lake Tribune - "Three Texas law officers will be interviewed in mid-December by an attorney for polygamous sect leader Warren S. Jeffs.

Tucson attorney Michael Piccarreta will be in San Angelo, Texas, on Dec. 16 to depose Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran and deputy sheriff John Connor, according to court documents. Piccarreta will depose Texas Ranger Brooks Long on Dec. 17.

All three were involved in the April raid at the Yearning For Zion Ranch, home to members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Mohave County Superior Court Judge Stephen Conn ruled Oct. 28 that Piccarreta could interview the men to see what information and evidence they shared with Arizona prosecutors about the raid.

The deposition notices state that failure to appear could result in sanctions that include dismissal of the Arizona case, a ruling that the search at the ranch was illegal and unconstitutional or a contempt charge. The notice also states, however, that the officers have the right to invoke their Fifth Amendment privilege and refuse to answer questions."

Wouldn't that be special? Now who said this;

"Hate to bust y'alls bubble, but it ain't goin' happen... It doesn't matter what Judge Conn ordered, Jeffs' team of lawyers aren't going to talk to the Rangers...

Check my blog for the reasons..."

That would be Blues, oh yes, yes it was. It looks like Scott was right. To know what is going to happen in the FLDS case, Blues is a perfect predictor. Provided you take every bit of advice he gives, and you bet the opposite way.

"No offense, Bluesy, but your predictive powers on this one haven't really panned out. A betting man could have made a lot of money this spring by examining your daily predictions in Grits' comments then wagering the farm that the exact opposite would happen."

Here, in the comment section.

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A carmaker on the edge, Yugo Quits.

Remember the Yugo? They're finally out of business. Hat tip to "Nova Scotia Scott."

"The Yugo, the car everyone -- or almost everyone -- loved to hate, is no more.

The last one has rolled of the production line at the Zastava factory in the Serbian town of Kragujevac.

'Voted in an American survey as the worst car of the Millennium, the little subcompact was nevertheless well loved by motorists in the old Yugoslavia, where it represented a high point of industrial production in the communist state.

But now, Fiat is the new buzz word in Kragujevac. The Italian carmaker has taken over the Zastava plant and intends to assemble its compact Punto model there, to be marketed in Eastern Europe as a "Zastava."

There is also the possibility that General Motors' Opel subsidiary will produce a model there.

There is a certain poetic irony in Fiat displacing the Yugo, as the Turin-based company from the start was always the parent of Yugo designs.' "

The reason Yugo made an impression?

"Yugo's true moment of fame -- or rather notoriety -- came in 1986, when an American businessman decided to introduce it to the giant North American market. Priced at a sensational $3,990, it cost half as much as the next cheapest vehicle, and aroused a storm of interest."

Not exactly, Yugo had displaced Hyundai as the most affordable vehicle, in terms of price in the USA.
Wikipedia - "The Excel was introduced as a replacement for the Hyundai Pony. In the United States it was the company's first and only model, but thanks to a price of US $4,995 and being voted 'Best Product #10' by Fortune magazine, it set records for a first-year import by selling 168,882 units, helping push the company's cumulative production past one million by 1986."

The Yugo indeed was cheaper, but it wasn't better. After all of that, there is the Tata Nano, which I wrote about in another vein earlier this year.

The UK Times - "It is 3 metres long, seats four comfortably or five at a squeeze, does 65mph and aims to revolutionise travel for millions. The 'People’s Car' is also the cheapest in the world at 100,000 rupees (£1,300) – the same price as the DVD player in a Lexus."

That's about $2000 US, at least when the article was written in January of this year. For all I know with the monetary volatility of recent months, it could be even less than that now.

Among our various follies as a nation, we allow people to buy and ride motorcycles, which are not enclosed and differ pretty much from a Tata Nano, by having half the number of wheels and not being enclosed. A new Harley costs about $20,000 US.

A new Nano, a tenth of that. About the cost of union retirement obligations, per car, for the Big Three.

We're in a free market economy, right? Why aren't Nanos available here? I forget. More →

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Land Bank Notes, and great article at "The Common Room."

The Headmistress quotes;

"Define inflation as rising prices and, like Jimmy Carter, you’ll think that oil sheiks, credit cards, and private businesses are the culprits, and price controls are the answer. Define inflation in the classic fashion as an increase in the supply of money, with rising prices as a consequence, and you then have to ask the revealing question, 'Who increases the money supply?' Only one entity can do that legally; all others are called 'counterfeiters' and go to jail."

It's simple, it's direct and you should read it. At the Common Room. Inflation is the subtle tax government imposes on you and uses to devalue its debt. Let's peg the currency to something, like Federal Land. What if $1000.00 U.S. Dollars was always worth at least an acre of land, somewhere, that you could redeem? It would be the feds call as to which acre, but an acre. Until it's gone. We'll call our new currency "Land Bank Notes." More →

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Vermont State Thief Jeb Spaulding wants to Increase Gas Tax

Yup, just when you're getting comfortable with low gas prices, that's just the time to slip you a hike. I was debating whether or not to call Jeb Dr. Evil instead of Moron. It's a tough call. I settled on "State Secretary of Thievery," or State head of Thievery Jeb Spaulding. Head Thief Joe Spaulding? Hey, I'm working on it.

The Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus - "Steep budgetary shortfalls threaten to undermine the state's transportation system unless Vermont levies a new tax on gasoline and diesel purchases, according to a report issued by State Treasurer Jeb Spaulding.

The recent decline in transportation revenue has exacerbated a funding gap that jeopardizes the state's ability to keep pace with transportation needs, the report found. A 5-cent-per-gallon tax on unleaded gasoline and diesel, Spaulding said Wednesday, would raise $20 million per year and provide the financial wherewithal to resolve a backlog of infrastructure projects."

Gas here is already way up there in price. I don't know what combination of taxes or some custom cocktail blend designed to save the environment causes it, probably both. Diesel costs almost a dollar more than regular unleaded. If you thought you were going to save money with the better mileage of a diesel, think again. Pay 50% more for diesel, chump. The tax differential alone probably costs Vermont millions every year. Vermont is so small anyone that can fill up out of state, does so, and strips that revenue away from Vermont.

"Spaulding said new federal funding is unlikely to solve the problem on its own. Vermonters, he said, are coming to understand the gravity of the situation, and will recognize the necessity of financial sacrifice.

'I think Vermonters understand that there is no free lunch out there,' he said. '… I'm confident you can tell the truth and people can understand it.' "

I'm going with too giddy with lowering gas prices to notice. Slip in another 5 cents, and if gas drops 10 cents this week, we see a 5 cent decrease. Our pockets are effectively picked. Look for this tactic in a state near you! Heck, look for it on the federal level. More →

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Coleman - Franken Senate Race Recount

It seems enough attention has been directed to the Al Franken, Norm Coleman Minnesota Recount that I could possibly hope to be the one to bring anything new to the table. To that end, I have included "Minnesota Democrats Exposed" on my blogroll, and would point you to this site; "Election Reporting," for recount news every evening. It's updated every evening shortly after 8:00 pm (Central Time).

Norm is the certified winner of the race. Minnesota law requires a recount when the race is as tight as it was. That recount proceeds. Even if the original margin of 7oo + votes were still the certified margin of victory for Coleman, Minnesota law would required a recount. Except for about 540 questionable votes "found" for Franken shortly after the election, all is as it should be. There will continue to be flurries of court action around ineligble/eligible absentee ballots that Franken says should be counted, and Norm says didn't come into the precincts for counting in a legal fashion. So far Minnesota elections officials agree with Coleman that they should not be counted. If the margin of victory is ultimately smaller for Coleman than the number of "uncounted ballots," look for there to be a huge blow up over counting them. Even if they didn't show up on time or have disqualifying irregularites.

This article by MDE shows how Dems are insulting their own to gain acceptance for the idea that improperly marked ballots would swing for Franken. More →

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Prop 8 Unconstitutional? But it changed the constitution didn't it?

I've seen this at least once before. Here's an example in Georgia.

May 17th, 2006 - ATLANTA (Reuters) - "A Georgia judge on Tuesday struck down a ban on same-sex marriage that was approved by voters in 2004, saying it violated the Southern state’s constitution."

You stupid voters. You don't get to change the constitution. (Thanks to "Different River" for preserving the record.)

It came as no surprise to me that after heterosexual monogamy was stricken down as the only form of marriage in California, that the voters would then get a chance to install a constitutional amendment. They did in the form of Proposition 8 and as detailed in a recent post, when Prop 8 passed, all unholy hell broke loose.

As you know, I continue to be torn. I am by far and away not a gay marriage advocate, believing as I do that no human law can create a joining that only God can, and that only God can define. Is it an effrontery to pretend and declare that gay "marriage" can occur? It certainly is, but it cannot occur.

Having also stated for the record, recently, and several times that I would have voted against Prop 8 because I also think its definition of marriage is too narrow, it's still the legitimate law of the state of California. So be it. But that is not going to go down well for Prop 8 haters. They went to court to declare a California Constitutional Amendment, Unconstitutional.

The Mercury News - Silicon Valley - "The legal challenge maintains that Proposition 8 is invalid and takes away a 'fundamental right' from 'just one group — lesbian and gay Californians.' The petition argues that the state constitution cannot be amended if it violates other constitutional rights."

Now wait a minute. Clearly what has just been said here with Prop 8, is that as defined by the California Constitution, duly and properly amended, marriage is not a fundamental right or available in all situations. It is a right for eligible men and eligible women should they wish to marry a member of the opposite sex.

Some situations that legal marriage in California is NOT a fundamental right would be if one of the parties was too closely related or if one of the parties was married already or if one of the parties was of the same gender or if one of the parties was too young or perhaps, incapacitated.

I'm not for the overturning of Proposition 8. It's the law and besides I don't live in California. Judging a constitutional amendment to be unconstitutional is the ultimate in lawlessness. It also sets up courts as absolute judges of what the constitution says, and apparently, if we make an amendment to make it say something judges don't like, they'll just change it back to a form that they did like.

Ridiculous? Yes, but the California Supreme Court plans to hear arguments.

"The California Supreme Court moved swiftly Wednesday to tackle the latest legal showdown over gay marriage, agreeing to consider three lawsuits that challenge the legality of Proposition 8's abolition of same-sex weddings.

At the same time, the state's high court rejected a bid to put Proposition 8 on hold while the legal struggle unfolds, postponing indefinitely any new wedding vows for gay and lesbian couples. The Supreme Court indicated it is likely to rule by June."

So, about 7-8 months. What do you wish to bet that they will, after all the noise has died down, rule the newest part of the constitution, unconstitutional? Prop 8 proponents will return with a new amendment addressing the issue, but then are likely to run into the noise that was the basis of the Georgia decision. That the amendment addresses too many subjects.

By the time Prop 8 proponents get to the stage with the two amendments that need to be passed to pave the way for Prop 8, I'm guessing the way the court demands it be phrased will be so scary to the average voter that they will reject the one amendment that the new Prop 8 will need to be accepted into the California Constitution.

7-8 months. Do you think that by the time the new Prop 8 gets written and it's accompanying amendment that makes it constitutional that Prop 8 opponents won't have moved the electorate that last 2.3 % necessary to simply defeat the measure at the ballot box?

Think also about this. If the amendment is declared unconstitutional in such a broad way, there will be no barrier to polygyny in California. How could there be? They would have just kicked a part of their constitution out on the basis that it conflicts with the principle also expressed in their constitution of the fundamental right to get married, no matter who you are. How could you then stop a married man from marrying again? Isn't it a fundamental right?

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Naomi Johnson drops suit, Says she "swapped"

They nonsuit, the FLDS doesn't sue. Now why not just do that across the board?

"We basically swapped nonsuits," Johnson's attorney, Robert Gibson Jr., told the Deseret News on Monday. "They dismissed, we dismissed."

I still wonder if there's not enough daylight left to simply blame this all on Flora and Rozita and let it drop. Throw Rozita in the mental hospital. Tell Flora she's an idiot and to go away. Write a check for actual damages to the FLDS and get on with life. That would be the wise thing. I have a feeling the FLDS would be wise, but would Texas? More →

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Flora gets deposed, over Rozita

FLDS attorneys representing Warren Jeffs will be deposing Flora Jessops regarding Rozita Swinton. Good news. If there is anything to discover, let's start discovering;

The Salt Lake Tribune - "Attorney Michael Piccarreta will depose Flora Jessop on Monday and has asked her to bring any recordings of phone calls with Rozita Swinton, law enforcement in Arizona and Texas and child welfare officials in the two states. The summons asks Jessop for any recordings of telephone calls made between March 22 and April 16."

This is very good. Depose. Under oath. Perjury if you lie. I like it. This is one of those big moves that put people on the spot. I don't understand though why phone records were not asked for between Flora and Rozita dating back to the time when she began to make crank phone calls. Probably nothing happens before March of this year, but what if there was a phone call between them? Before that. Inquiring minds would really want to know. More →

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This should make you weep

They're not stupid, but they are willfully ignorant. They're also willing to impose that frightful ignorance on all of us.

I've been seeing this on Fox News and was more recently pointed to it by Michelle Malkin and Hot Air.

Michelle calls them stupid, and they are not. They've redefined truth as personal. Since truth is personal, no one can tell them they are wrong, as evidenced by one voter who when confronted with the weight of her towering ignorance does not look at the danger that represents to the rest of us, she says she'd still vote the same way. Furthermore, pushing them on this will make them angry, it will make them deny what you present as partisan. This is about what they WANT to be true.

Visit "How Obama Got Elected." More →

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The Obama Citizenship Question

Quite a few suits have sprung up over Obama's Hawaiian birth certificate. We have yet to see the original, or at least a picture of it. There are related questions regarding his registration with the Selective Service.

Prior to the election, I would have said there was something on Obama's birth certificate he didn't want known. I'm sure a lot of you will say "Yeah, the fact that he wasn't a natural born United States citizen." I was of the school of thought that "yeah, maybe, but also there might be something on that certificate that would be harmful to his potential election." Lack of qualifying citizenship wouldn't have been harmful to his election, it would have prevented his election. The disclosure of something else, say, a hypothetical reference to his parents (and thus his) religious beliefs or a longer middle name like "Barack (Mohammad Jihad) Hussein Obama" could have been the issue.

Now it looks like his actual Citizenship is the question. Normally, whatever secret you have that you didn't want to disclose prior to your election because it would chase people off, you disclose immediately after the election so as to put the most possible distance in between that disclosure and your re-election bid in four years. Barack is still stonewalling us. Most often that indicates something the candidate believes to be an "epic fail" if discovered. The only true "epic fail" that could befall a man just elected to the Presidency, is that he can't be elected to the Presidency. Barack as few people realize or know these days, is not the President elect. He is the presumptive President elect. The Electoral College has not yet met, and has not voted. There is every reason to release his birth certificate now, if the certficate just contains something irrelevant to this upcoming and real election. But that's just it, Barack hasn't been elected yet. The circumstantial evidence now points strongly to his birth certificate containing disqualifying evidence. Why class? Because anything else he would have revealed by now. Are we dealing possibly, with a real "Manchurian Candidate?" A man in the Iron Mask? More →

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And now, the Heartland?

Remember this? The organization known as "the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence" invades the Catholic Church of the Most Holy Redeemer in San Francisco. Fast forward to California's Prop 8 battle where the electorate reverse the presumption of the courts and established that marriage is between a man and a woman in California, by imbedding it in their constitution. As you who regularly read here know, I don't even believe "gay marriage" is possible, whether declared legal, or not. Sure, those who think it is possible will use those words and perform ceremonies where it is legally "possible," but that does not make it any more a reality than the moon turning out to be made of cheese.

I disagree with Prop 8 because it attempts to codify something I don't believe to be correct in an attempt to head off the specter of "gay marriage" by defining marriage as one of it's parts; Heterosexual Monogamy. I'm all for Heterosexual marriage, but of course believe that polygyny is part of the Heterosexual marriage spectrum.

Nevertheless, Prop 8 opponents came perilously close to getting their way and they know it. The incidents of intimidation in the wake of Prop 8's success show it for what it it really is, a failure. Less than 2.3% of the voters of California need to change their minds for the pendulum to swing back the other way. Out of 12,153,632 votes cast on the issue, 263,802 voters need to change their minds or 527,603 more gay marriage sympathizers need to show up and/or register to vote. That's certainly within the reach of voter fraud.

The Orange County Register -SANTA ANA - "Proposition 8 leaders gathered Friday to denounce their opponents' post-election tactics as harassment, intimidation and – in the case of white powder sent to two Mormon temples – 'domestic terrorism.' "

There are many other incidents. Gay rights activists are emboldened. They foresee a greatly more liberal judiciary under Obama and the Democrat near super majority in Congress. They're pressing their advantage. Prop 8 was not a win for "traditional marriage" advocates. This attack was repulsed. The next will not be. Or the next, or the next....

The Lansing State Journal - Delta Township - "Protesters who entered the Creyts Road church along with worshippers surprised the congregation when they stood up during the service, threw fliers at churchgoers and shouted slogans such as 'It's OK to be gay,' and 'Jesus was a homo,' according to David Williams, communications director at the church. His father, Dave Williams, is the church's longtime pastor. He was not preaching at the church Sunday.

Another group of protesters demonstrated outside the church at the same time as the indoor protest."

The Eaton County Sheriff's Department responded to the scene Sunday but no arrests were made."

Eaton county has about 104,000 people in it. By comparison, Orange county California has over 3,000,000 people. More than 4 times as many people cast their vote against Prop 8 (for "gay marriage") in Orange county than live in Eaton county Michigan, 15 times as many than the number of people who live in Delta Township where the Mount Hope Church is located.

The behaviors of the Gays in both cases recalled here are reminiscent of the Angels experience at Lot's home in Genesis, and later that of the Levite in Gibeah. These people will not give up, their tactics are thousands of years old. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Israel razed Gibeah, we do not have that option. Short of evangelizing them all, they're going to keep coming back. This is also a prelude to suing the churches to gain acceptance in the congregations.

Let me warn you about what is coming in the legal fight to keep gays out of the conservative churches. You Will Lose. Not the Gays. You Will. Conservative Christians. I am one of you. The difference between you and I in the Conservative Christian Camp is that I am more conservative than you are. You are not simply Conservative Christians, you are Cultural Christians.

If you're going to hope to win this battle or at least stall it's progress into the foreseeable future, you need to stake your ground out in the Bible. Not in the west. Not in the traditions of the Reformation. Not in the Catholic Church, IN THE BIBLE.

Your problems are several as noted often before here in this blog. Christianity, as based in the Bible, does not condemn some forms of marriage that Cultural Christians who imagine themselves conservative, condemn. Polygyny is never discouraged or frowned on in scripture. It is perfectly acceptable.

The monogamy only doctrine has been the result of over a thousand years of spin and nuance and interpretation. It is a doctrine of men. When you defend Heterosexual Monogamy as marriage itself, you add to scripture. In doing so you have established the church, the ecclesia, as having the authority to define marriage politically or arbitrarily. These are simply words for majority rule. Most of you see it that way, that's why it is that way.

Gays will seize this. They will not only invade your churches, they will take you to court and they will find a venue in which they will prove that YOU have twisted scripture to define marriage culturally. They know you will not give this cultural vision up. They have you. You're toast.

Once it is proved that your defintion of marriage is arbitrary you will be liable for damages. You may have to compensate gays by allowing them into the governance of your denominations. They will pursue you wherever you go.

Or, you can give up your pride now. You can reexamine the scriptures. You can admit that you have been conned into believing that marriage is monogamy. You can give up the notion that marriage occurs in churches and/or courts or it is no marriage. If you define marriage Bibilcally, you can in fact hope to defend yourself in court, because when you pull the Bible out, and they pull the Bible out to defeat you with your own book, they will not be able to. That will be because you defend Scriptural territory, not your cultural heritage.

Culture changes. God does not. Stake out your territory near God, where you can defend it. You're not there now.

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Was the CPS attack on the FLDS Racist?

What if you complained at work, that you couldn't tell the black people apart, because they all "looked alike," or the people of oriental origin? Having living in the orient I know that Japanese can tell Koreans from Japanese. Koreans can tell themselves apart from Chinese, and Chinese can tell themselves apart from Vietnamese an vice versa and so on. In Africa, Tutsi, Hutu and Twa peoples can tell themselves apart.

When different races encounter one another there is often a disconnect. The first thing Caucasians often see when encountering Orientals is the shape of the eye, the upper eyelid, the color of their hair and it's uniform straightness. We see sameness, at least initially, then later we realize they're very different people, each and every one of them. This is particularly true when you live among them.

For 100 plus years the FLDS have been keeping to themselves and have been practicing their own brand of religious eugenics. Are they now a separate racial group? If so, can this be applied to their case and anti discrimination laws applied? I haven't asked, but I do think they already see themselves that way.

Even the spell check in Fire Fox is racist. It insisted that Caucasian be capitalized, but Oriental was not spell checked in the same way. I fixed it. More →

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37 FLDS kids to wait a little longer for an answer

I talked to Patrick Crimmins again today. It now appears that the "Final Report" on the FLDS children and the 37 still under suit won't be until the end of the month. I suppose this could change, since the "Two Weeks" scenario has changed and it doesn't appear now that we'll have a report in that time frame.

Patrick was curious about the interest which now seems to be coming from several quarters on the 37 children and why everyone seemed to care about any of them being pregnant now. CPS of course is not prosecuting any criminal cases but I explained to Mr. Crimmins that while we out here in the rest of the world couldn't be absolutely sure, it would make sense that if there were any "children with children (of their own)" or "pregnant underage girls" at the time of the raid that were seen at YFZ, then it made a lot of sense to us that CPS wouldn't nonsuit those children. This was something he did not contest. If view of that I said, information about the composition of those remaining 37 children was of interest.

I also allowed that since the number was now "manageably low," it was something everyone could get their minds around. Some examples of telling evidence would be that there were no girls left in the 37 children. Combining that with the belief that CPS would keep underage pregnant girls or girls that were mothers under suit, we would know that there were no "children with children (of their own)" or "pregnant underage girls" at YFZ that day. Following a little further with this line of thought, no one could see what wasn't there, unless of course they were psychotic. Since we'll assume that no officers of Texas law or CPS workers are or were psychotic that day, we can just settle on the reality that they saw nothing.

Another curious offering by Mr. Crimmins was his insistance that two girls gave birth while in custody prior to be released by CPS. That means several things. One, there were only TWO pregnant underage teen "candidates." There has been much talk of a third girl who may have been pregnant but was so underdeveloped, so few months along, that only a test could determine her pregnancy. This now seems to be a complete myth, there was no such girl at all, at any stage of pregnancy. So Crimmins either offered me the information cynically, thinking I didn't know the two were later declared to be "of age," or he simply didn't know, himself. That, if true, would represent an amazing sort of bunker mentality where CPS is not even communicating enough internally to know the facts relevant to the decisions they were making.

I think it's safe to say Patrick knows it's a question now as it has been offered to him by others, and by myself. It won't be responsible of him going forward to offer that there were any pregnant underage girls to any member of the press, because we now know he knows there weren't any. Another safe conclusion is that of the remaining children, only the "children with children (of their own)" remains on the table, and that, only technically.

I would speculate now, based on past behavior that when they got down to 37, someone somewhere in Texas called a halt to the nonsuits. I speculate also that this is the reason for the sudden tight-lipped exodus of Charles Childress. If I hadn't asked the question, someone else would have. With only Merrianne Jessop in custody, having been placed their again by CPS and clearly NOT pregnant and clearly NOT having children of her own, someone would have asked about the second warrant. Some of the dimmest members of the press would have had a light go on and say "what exactly DID you see at YFZ then?" Childress leaves under this scenario because he is a bit like Pilate, declaring he could find no fault, Texas simply couldn't have that. I strongly suspect that few if any suits will be terminated prior to the last meeting of the Grand Jury. The decision to keep the children under suit is being made outside CPS and has nothing whatsoever to do with the welfare of the children, or the facts of their cases.

I would like to observe that in our two conversations, Mr. Crimmins has been as forthcoming as his position allows him to be with the possible exception of the "two girls" remarks he made. He's been very generous with his time as well. I'm not a member of the Main Stream Media so his courtesy and devotion of time to my questions represents a laudable transparency. I just wish Jerry Strickland would behave the same way.

I was able to leave a specific message for Mr. Strickland with one of his associates regarding the questions I have outlined above, concerning "pregnant underage teens," "children with children (of their own)," and the connection with the second warrant. We'll see if I get an answer. More →

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8 more FLDS indictments against 4 people.

It of course is not clear if any of the charges are against DIFFERENT men, than men already under indictment. Some of the dust surrounding the story suggests it won't be all men, and that of course suggests anything from indicting Rozita Swinton to indicting women at the YFZ ranch.

"A Texas grand jury investigating crimes within the Fundamentalist LDS Church issued eight more indictments this afternoon.

'There's eight indictments and four different people,' Schleicher County Clerk Peggy Williams told the Deseret News shortly after the grand jury ended for the day.

Williams declined to say what charges were filed or against whom, but did say that some of the charges were handed down against people who have already been indicted. The names will likely not be released until arrangements are made for the indicted individuals to surrender to the Schleicher County sheriff.

'The attorney general's office will arrange for their surrender through their attorneys,' Sheriff David Doran said Wednesday. 'We'll handle it from there.'

A message sent to the Texas Attorney General's Office was not immediately returned Wednesday."

UPDATE: It's all men. No women. Some are indicted for essentially aiding and abetting.

"A Texas grand jury investigating crimes within the Fundamentalist LDS Church issued more felony indictments this afternoon against four men.

One FLDS man was indicted for conducting an unlawful marriage ceremony involving a minor, which is a third-degree felony, according to a statement from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. A second man was indicted on three counts of bigamy, a third-degree felony.

A third man was indicted on four charges: first-degree felony bigamy, second-degree felony bigamy, third-degree felony bigamy, and tampering with physical evidence, a third-degree felony, according to the attorney general.

The fourth person indicted Wednesday was FLDS leader Warren Jeffs. He was indicted for aggravated sexual assault, a first-degree felony. 'Today's sexual assault charge is in addition to Jeffs' July 2008 indictment for sexually assaulting a child,' Abbott said."

Also in the story, Rozita appears in Colorado on an "unrelated charge."

"Texas authorities have labeled Swinton a 'person of interest' in connection with the phone call that led to the April raid on the YFZ Ranch in Texas. But investigators are keeping quiet about the status of their ongoing investigation and whether any criminal charges are imminent. A recent records request by the Deseret News about Swinton's alleged involvement in the YFZ raid has been unfulfilled in part because many of the records are considered protected as part of the ongoing investigation.

'The responsive records in this instance comprise e-mail communications between DPS investigators and the assistant attorneys general assigned to assist those investigators in identifying and developing cases that can be criminally prosecuted,' lawyers for the Texas Department of Public Safety wrote in a letter to the Texas Attorney General seeking a ruling on whether they are public or not."

As long as they keep "investigating" Rozita, they don't have to talk about the case. It's not like she's hard to find. How difficult could this be?

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