They're Baaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Remember that anti FLDS site with all the objectionable pictures that Wordpress pulled?

They're at it again. Sans pictures. Somebody spent some money too, to make it look real spiffy. Apparently they also tried again with another URL, and got that deleted as well. Maybe they finally got it right, as far as legalities go.

LOL, three blogs, two down for TOS violations. Maybe those lawyer boys don't know what they're talking about after all. Maybe we shouldn't be concerned with their legal opinions as well. Of course, if this were baseball, their batting average would be good. If these guys are criminal defense attorneys, I'm glad they're not defending us.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

March Makes it a Year

The calls started coming a year ago in March.

With the sudden wind down of child custody cases, came a sudden disappearance of stories from all the major press outlets. The only story covered was a self congratulatory one from the Deseret News about what a cool job they did covering the YFZ raid. You can almost hear the doors slamming, the lights going out, the file boxes being filled and placed in storage.

Phase one, is over.

The first part of the FLDS story is that which all good hearted people (which would be most of us) could care about. Mothers separated from their children. This is never good and even CPS admits that. Now we're down to three, perhaps two children, depending on whether you believe Bill Medvecky, I do, so it's two. Effectively speaking a very small child who probably won't end up ultimately in CPS custody and 14 year old Merrianne Jessop, betrothed and/or wed to Warren Jeffs are really, in the mind of the assembled guardians of public access, not too high a price to pay in our collective conscience for getting a bunch of dirty old men.

We now know what the press thinks of Warren, and the other eleven indicted men. They are as expendable as the remaining two children. This list was originally found at the Salt Lake Tribune, but now can be found archived here;

• » Warren S. Jeffs, 53, aggravated sexual assault; sexual assault of a minor; bigamy.
• » Lloyd H. Barlow, 38, failure to report child abuse.
• » Keith William Dutson, 23, sexual assault of a minor.
• » Michael George Emack, 57, bigamy.
• » Allan Eugene Keate, 56, sexual assault of a minor.
• » Abram Harker Jeffs, 37, bigamy; sexual assault of a minor.
• » Lehi Barlow Jeffs, 29, bigamy; sexual assault of a minor.
• » Fredrick Merril Jessop, 72, conducting an unlawful marriage.
• » Merril Leroy Jessop, 33, sexual assault of a minor; bigamy.
• » Raymond Merril Jessop, 36, sexual assault of a minor; bigamy.
• » Wendell Loy Nielsen, 68, bigamy.
• » Leroy Johnson Steed, 42, sexual assault of a minor; two counts of bigamy; tampering with evidence.

I pointed out earlier today that our world champion "marrying kind," Linda Lou Taylor, had married first at age 16, in 1956 to a 31 year old man fresh out of the military. There was even a song in that era, celebrating age differences that they used to sing, slightly modified. Linda stayed married to that man for 7 years, and described him as her "best" husband. More recently there have been songs like the one covered by Ringo Starr, "You're 16, you're beautiful, and you're mine." Loretta Lynn marries at 13 and has a bigger family by 18, than almost anyone you now know, unless you watch the Duggers on TV and think you know them. Unless you're FLDS. And reading this.

Now the age differences of Raymond Jessop, Merril Jessop, Leroy Steed, Lehi Jeffs, Keith Dutson and their similarly aged brides are vilified and pilloried as heinous felonies. I fail to see how marrying a 16 year old becomes rape in a mere 50 years. I fail to see how it is that if you did marry, legally, a 16 year old in these days and cheated on her, that the actions of Raymond, Merril, Leroy, Lehi and Keith in marrying informally the girls they married and having others, would amount to any thing more serious than the aforementioned cheating older husband.

Let me run that by you again. I'm saying you can run out and marry a 16 year old and cheat on her and nothing will happen to you. Nothing substantively different happens to the girls of the FLDS men either, yet while they all want to remain with one another, the FLDS men are perhaps going to jail for a very long time as felons. This is nonsense. Yet this is "icky" to the press covering it, so they won't stand up for these men at all.

Linda Lou can marry her 31 year old at 16. A 13 year old can marry her 14 year old boyfriend, and cheat on him with her soccer coach. Linda Lou's husband can cheat on her with a 21 year old woman, and no one goes to jail. If you propose that what you do is marriage, but don't bother to register it, and also suppose that you can have permanent other girlfriends, you're going to jail, don't pick up the soap.

This is a nutshell is where the press is now. They're faced with investigating a story that may, in the end, result in letting 11 men go that did something we allow to happen legally, all the time, but don't want to hear about, because it's "icky." God help you if you stand up and say "what have these men done" because if you do, you'll be labeled as a pedophile.

Phase two, where the press steps back, having given the people what they want, mothers with their children, and gives over the men, to be sacrificed. After years of being told they're not needed. Men can now be thrown overboard.

To my knowledge, there is not one wife that wants to be loose from her common law spouse. All will be 18 or older when the trials start next fall. It's icky though, and we saw it, so these men must pay.

To my knowledge, there is not a child that wants to be separated from their fathers, but the above applies as well. It's icky, we saw it, the men must pay. Study after study shows the effects on children of breaking up families, of separating children from their fathers, but, it's ICKY. They MUST PAY.

So we have the press on the brink of a logical jumping off point and they're bailing it would seem. I sincerely hope I am wrong but there has been little in the way of news for about two weeks now, and by my estimation, there is only two important stories left as far as the press in concerned, and they don't happen until this fall. Merrianne Jessop going free. FLFS men going to jail. From the presses concern, this is a fair deal. Kids back with mama, and dirty men in jail. Everyone's happy, right? FLDS haters get frog walking geezers going to lock-up to be sodomized, FLDS sympathizers see mama with the kids.

I'm going on record as saying unless EVERYONE goes home, men included, I don't count it as a victory. From here on out though, I don't think there is going to be a lot of help from the press.

And I really, really hope I'm wrong about that.

Next, what I humbly see and guess is next for the FLDS.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Dr. James Dobson Steps Down

I am by no means, a fan. I think he was politically blinkered, and the very name of his ministry promoted theological error.

Christianity, something Dr. Dobson and I both share in common, is not focused on the family. Not in the slightest. It is focused on the LORD. Focusing on the LORD on average, should have beneficial effects on the family I believe, but only if the center of attention is our God. You do not come to God to fix your family. You come to God and he may purpose in that to fix your family.

Colorado Springs, CO - "One of the common errors of founder-presidents," Dr. Dobson said, "is to hold to the reins of leadership too long, thereby preventing the next generation from being prepared for executive authority. I have wanted not to make that mistake with Focus on the Family, which is why I stepped back, first from the presidential duties six years ago, and now, from board chairmanship. Though letting go is difficult after three decades of intensive labor, it is the wise thing to do."

One of the most destructive lies that Dobson drummed ignorantly away at in the public arena was this one:

"God created marriage as a loyal partnership between one man and one woman."

He was also obsessed with homosexuality. I sternly and strongly reject homosexuality in the fellowship of Christ, but outside the Church, God judges. To rail and rant publicly against gays is folly. What, after all, does one expect from the lost? Appearing on secular television shows, answering in the public forum as to the rightness and wrongness of homosexuality is foolishness. "Gay gene" or no, they are as God made them, and if God elects that they be saved, he will deal with their error. It's a "Whisper on a scream and doesn't mean a thing." There is no record in New Testament Christianity of marching in protest in Rome, or Athens. We have enough planks in our own eyes and should deal with matters inside the church.

Dr. Dobson's perpetual promotion of the lie of monogamy as marriage has helped keep the church blinkered. Like anyone on the establishment side of the church and marriage issue, I'd love to take him on man to man. But they won't do that. It's a no win scenario for Dobson and others. It's a losing argument so why have it with me and call attention to that inadequacy or me for that matter?

Hat tip to Professor Howard Friedman, Religion Clause.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Linda Lou Taylor leaves the "Woman at the Well" standing.

Blew by her like she was motionless in fact, Linda Lou Taylor has been married 23 times.

You have had five husbands Christ told her. What would Jesus do here?

The Indianapolis Star - The nicest (husband Linda had) was George Scott, her first and -- at seven years -- her longest marriage. He was 31 and fresh from a stint in the military. She was 16 and just out of eighth grade. "We used to sing that song, 'I'm only 15 and he's 21,' " Wolfe said. "But we'd go around saying, 'I'm only sixteen and he's thirty-one.' "

Right now, they are prosecuting for felony, men in Texas who married girls about the same age. Oh well, that was then, this is now. We ARE advancing, aren't we?

More →

Sphere: Related Content

The Deseret News captures Award over FLDS coverage.

Frankly I thought Brooke Adams did the best job individually with FLDS coverage, but the Deseret News did put on a late fourth quarter rally and apparently put more players on the field covering the story.

"The Deseret News swept the General Reporting category in its division with reporters Ben Winslow, Brian West, Nancy Perkins and Jasen Lee taking first-place honors for their coverage of the raid of the Fundamentalist LDS Church's Texas ranch.

'The Deseret News hit a grand slam with its coverage of the FLDS controversy,' the judges said. "The voluminous amount of stories covered every twist and turn of the saga with detail, depth and drama. The photos helped to further captivate the reader.' "

From my perspective, I found myself quoting the Tribune far more often as they seemed to have the story first, which in my book, counts for something. Both papers have covered the story less and less over the last month. It would seem to me that they rely too much now on having the story handed to them by government entities and think that because the child custody issue is largely over, so is the story.

Opinion and fact must be kept as far apart as possible when trying to objectively cover a story for all readers, I realize, but at some point an opinion, a muse, must guide you down the path when the going get's a little tougher. There are underlying reasons this fiasco occurred, and all media outlets are still calling it like a ballgame.

I continue to NOT understand why the media which hunted for the story in the early days, now waits on it, as if it is over. Too many questions have never even been asked as we approach the one year anniversary of the raid.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

"You want monogamy? Marry a Swan" (or a goose, or a flatworm).

Or so goes the line penned by Nora Ephron, in "Heartburn." Shocking to hear that from your dad when you're wanting sympathy over an unfaithful man, but maybe he's not unfaithful, maybe he's doing what he was designed to do.

Borrowing from David P Barash, a professor of psychology at the University of Washington, Brandon Jessee points out that we bare all the animal characteristics of a polygamous species, or at least a lot of them, and also mentions that when it comes to generalizing, exceptions prove the rule. (Remember, if it's an exception, generally speaking the OTHER thing happens more often, hence, the exception proves the rule).

The Tallahassee Democrat - "(Polygamy is) in our blood, our nature, to mate with as many partners as possible, to spread our seed and reproduce the most capable of offspring. But some people still believe love conquers all — even science.
To conclude his argument that humans are polygamists by nature, Barash states that 'before the cultural homogenization that came with Western colonialism, more than three-quarters of all human societies were (polygamous).'

Not until 'religious freedom' was assumed in the new world did the human race figure itself to be better than nature and invent mountains of asinine rules to be divulged in a fancy book.

So next time you’re entertaining the idea of a long and loving marriage of three to five years, consider the possibility that maybe that road wasn’t meant for you. It was made for geese and flatworms, and they don’t appreciate the traffic."

The original article was "Deflating the Myth of Monogamy," by Professor Barash.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Why it is not Polygamy that I advocate. Christians need to accept reality NOW.

Because THIS, is a Polygamy:

"(Kathleen) married Alan. The idea of polygamist relationships didn't bother either of them, so when Kathleen fell in love with Eric there was a simple solution; Eric moved in and started the beginning of an unconventional living situation.

Like the commercial says though, "Wait! There's MORE! The Buchtelite;

"She says the discussion and decision to make Eric a member of the family was one of the most important of her life.

The family continued to grow when Eric married Leslie. Somewhere along the way Amber joined this unique family. The family does not just include the five adults there are also four children and one on the way. She says their families know who is married to whom, but have never asked questions as to just what the situation is."

This is, as defined, a Polygamy. It is a "clan marriage" or a "group marriage" or "communal marriage" or even a "polyamory," since we don't know if homosexual or bisexual play takes place.

I warn you. This is what the world is entirely comfortable with, and what they will recast marriage laws to encompass, and you simply don't want to go, where they go.

Legalized polygamy is a double edged sword. If it is done by courtroom fiat, we will get laws that accommodate one form of marriage, namely, anything. Fighting for "monogamy as marriage" is futile. Because it isn't, not in God's eyes, it's not.

Lapsing into denial and protesting and waiting for the State to get around to it will produce overnight change. That change will look like the above, or worse. Realize now that if we, as Christians DO NOT define marriage legally in a way that provides for our various visions of marriage, of which polygyny is one form, we will have what the world gives us, and we will not like it, none of us will.

Get ahead of the issue. Allow adults to contract with adults for whatever arrangement they want, in exchange for being able to contract with each other, in the way you want to. Either that, or you're going to be told that your wife can bring another man into your marriage, by the courts.

(the Buchtelite is a "public forum" publication of the University of Akron, Ohio)

More →

Sphere: Related Content

The Earth Strikes Back at those that would cause her to warm.

We're going to need to use the remote start on that, several times.

And it's all in Swedish, There is a translation though, if you click the right button.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

150, and done, the Rocky Mountain News is History.

Being mostly from the west, I've been hearing this or that story "as reported" by the Rocky Mountain News for some time. Because of my recent blogging efforts, I've been reading the paper a lot lately. Here, the employees get the bad news. They should keep in mind though, that is "G. Gordon Liddy" hawking gold over their shoulders on the TV monitor, so while things may get bad (Liddy being a convicted Watergate felon), they do change.

They are toast.

"The Rocky Mountain News publishes its last paper tomorrow.

Rich Boehne, chief executive officer of Scripps, broke the news to the Rocky staff at noon today, ending nearly three months of speculation over the paper's future. He called the paper a victim of a terrible economy and an upheaval in the newspaper industry.

'Denver can't support two newspapers any longer,' Boehne told staffers, some of whom cried at the news. 'It's certainly not good news for you, and it's certainly not good news for Denver.'

On Dec. 4, Boehne announced that Scripps was looking for a buyer for the Rocky and its 50 percent interest in the Denver Newspaper Agency, the company that handles business matters for the papers, because of financial losses in Denver. Scripps said the Rocky lost $16 million in 2008.

'This moment is nothing like any experience any of us have had,' Boehne said. 'The industry is in serious, serious trouble.' "

Sorry to see them go, but they could have tried the untried. Namely, taking an overty conservative outlook, as opposed to the "objective" (liberal really) approach. They were almost 150 years old. Slavery was still legal in the United States when they started, there hadn't been a civil war, the West was not yet won, and women could not vote.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Ducky, and polygynous women making a "run" for it.

They're cowed, mousy, illiterate, beaten down, and I'm lying.

From the "Just Ducky" Blog.

"My friend who wrote to me pointed out that with so many men out of town, 'escaping' wouldn't be a problem. This is actually what she wrote: 'We are so controlled that the men in general are never in town and if we wanted to we could escape at anytime and return unnoticed. =)' "

There's a lot more and it's worth the read.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Creeping towards 100,000

I use Alexa Ranking because it is readily available to every reader of this blog, and widely considered to be roughly accurate.

As of today, the "Modern Pharisee" ranks as 109,358th most popular web site in the United States. That's bigger for instance than the "Big Fork Eagle" or the "Whitefish Pilot" or the "Eldordo Success," which are all newspapers.

I have however, not made my first $100.00 in ad revenue. Why is this remotely interesting, at least to me? Because I'm for the first time, less than 10,000 places away from the 99,999th ranking spot in the United States. Clearly if I ever get to something like the top 10,000, this will be a full time job. I'm not there yet, but I can break that 5 significant digits barrier, and I'm working on it.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

The Non Conspirators continue to not coordinate the non existent plan to destroy the FLDS

It's all in your mind. There is no plan to attack the FLDS on all fronts all at once, you foil hat wearing weirdo. This lawsuit is just another in a long line of coincidences, totally unrelated.

Drain the trust, imprison the leaders, raid the ranch, book after book after book and now sue an FLDS run company for discrimination.

The Deseret News - "Shem Fischer is suing a Hildale cabinet-making shop, claiming that he was unfairly and illegally fired because he and another shop employee were no longer members of the polygamous sect. They were replaced with faithful FLDS members, Fischer's lawsuit against Forestwood Co. says."

Of course all this coordinated picking on is not coordinated and does not represent a conspiracy against a group because of their beliefs but the firing of two employees does.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Jay's Thoughts on Stuff. Polygyny

A fellow traveler, and a book.

"By the time I had accumulated more than one hundred pages of Bible passages (paraphrased to aid my own understanding) and typed notes, I was convinced: Stivers was correct. Not only is most of today’s church incorrect about polygyny, but they are dead wrong about a whole host of issues related to marriage and family."

Check out his blog, I know I am.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Broken Broke Blogger

For a while at least, I can only post when near a computer. The power supply is fried on the one at home.

I'll post a picture later, of my attempts to revive it. Maybe. Of course if someone sends me those internet millions someday, I'll just buy on off the shelf Cray Super Computer, and a host of white cote engineers to maintain it.

And I'll move it all to a remote place in the North Fork, and blog with renewable energy sources. This post was beamed in using my telepathic powers.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

It's a..............!

Spam Sandwich!

Ex-Pat Chow.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

I'm not Racist, you are. Clueless Jeff Danziger at it again.

Four years ago I extracted the written admission of the New York Times Senior Editor Bill Borders, that NYT Syndicate cartoonist Jeff Danziger had penned a clearly racist cartoon of Condoleezza Rice

The Following is the text of a letter sent to me by the NYTimes in which Bill Borders admits that the Danziger Cartoon is OBVIOUSLY both RACIST and OFFENSIVE.

"Mr. McBryde:

It is of considerable importance to us. I haven't gotten back to you again because I didn't have all the facts. I still don't, but I can see that I should have given you an interim report.

Obviously the cartoon is racist and deeply offensive. Whether that means that Danziger himself is racist I don't know and don't much care. My only real concern is whether and to what extent this cartoon had any relation to The New York Times. (It certainly was not published in the newspaper.) As soon as I can answer that question for you, I will. In the meantime, thank you for bringing it to our attention.

Best, Bill Borders"

Jeff doesn't think he's racist, you are.
Here Danziger mocks a cartoonist and the editors responsible for a recent editorial offering where a chimpanzee was shot, and the police officers comment that it must have been the monkey that wrote the "Stimulus Bill."

Once such cluelessness is established, its borders are limitless. Obama is said by many to have been subject to a racist attack in the "Monkey Shot" cartoon by the New York Post, but folks, Obama didn't write the stimulus bill.


The joke is a play the old query of how many monkeys, how much time and how many typewriters it would take to write Shakespeare or some other worthy literary tome. The idea being that intelligence is displayed by intelligent result, and the stimulus bill looks more like the work of a monkey with a typewriter. With that said, here is Danziger's latest, which apparently is published only in Vermont at the Times Argus, and as of yet, not available online.

The picture is from a camera phone, so I apologize for the quality. Depicted left to right are, An unknown constituent wearing a "George Wallace Lives" lapel button (and maybe spittin' some chew), the former Democrat Senator (now Republican) Richard Shelby, another apparent constituent with one of those cute '20's vintage 'Lil rascals frayed edge skullcaps, and an Alabama Senior Citizen Grandmother (?) that smokes a corncob pipe.

Let's not forget that Senator Shelby is wearing a conveniently plaid jacket, and doesn't think his constituents can read his "Talkin' points." The cartoon is titled "Senator Shelby (R-Alabama) Explains That Obama Isn't the President," and says "Now... You see here? Obama weren't even born in the USA. He was born in Africa or somewheres.....oh... sorry... Lemme read it for you...."

I'm not so sure what sort of bias is being displayed here. A sort of New England Northeast better than you are in the racist Southeast bias? An "I'm educated and you're not" bias? Living here as I do now, in Vermont, let me tell you, there is no superiority on display. I've only had two black people buy a car where I work since I've been here, and there are precious few on display anywhere.

Mr. Danziger apparently grew up here and was educated here, a famous alum of a local college. He draws cartoons for local issues and local papers, and apparently this is one that he did not see fit to place on his website. Yet. When that happens, or if it gets displayed at the local paper's website, I'll upgrade my copy of his latest brilliance.

But let me remind Mr. Danziger that I have the evaluation of New York Times editor Bill Borders that Jeff is a writer of racist cartoons. The Times syndicate distributes his editorial cartoons to this date. Bill goes to great lengths to tell me that he did not publish the cartoon in his paper, and for some reason doesn't think that drawing a racist cartoon, amounts to making the artist a racist themselves. I guess you have to be "right wing" to draw racist cartoons, with racism in your heart.

I'm going to dig around in my archives, for I am fairly sure I have a letter over the Condi Rice cartoon from Danziger himself, also apologizing. How soon he forgets and does it again. Until I find MY copy, I'll print this one found at Steve Darnell's site.

"The cartoon in question did indeed show Ms. Rice in the role of Prissy from the classic film 'Gone with the Wind'. I have indeed apologized for the use of that imagery. The film itself was full of racist stereotypes since it was made in 1937 and was intended to amuse white viewers. But the instances in the movie are so ingrained in American culture, and indeed world culture, that I used it without full thought. I draw several hundred cartoons a year and this one was an error. Except for the right-wing bloggers in this country, seeking to score some points about liberal racism, the cartoon was unpublished, and was withdrawn by me."

Steve, you might want to revisit Mr. Danziger on that racism thingy. I'm going to go diving for my copy of the Danziger apology letter. You also might want to consider that part of your problem with bias, Mr. Danziger, is your view of the "Right Wing." A man is defined, is he not, by his actions? Be careful what you pretend to be, because you are what you pretend to be.

By the way, Jeff, my curiosity regarding the Barack Obama Birth Certificate centers around his being asked for it, not producing it, and no one ever having seen it. That bothers me regardless of his racial makeup. At this point in time as badly as he's messing up, it might be a big relief to find out he was born elsewhere. Joe Biden couldn't do any worse.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

The Fall of Reynolds would be Just Ducky with me, and other random news.

More new blogroll Members. More deletions. Goodbye with sadness to the the "Politburo Diktat" and the "War Fish Blog" (the Pharisee has a soft spot for submarines) because they simply don't post enough information. I'm saying hello to

The Fall of Reynolds and Just Ducky. Not much is happening of the FLDS front. There is an important court date later this month, Friday, in Arizona. I watch the High Profile Cases page in Mohave County like a hawk, for any movement.

The FLDS I think can win the truth war, if they get their message out. I posted this letter to several friends recently and I think it's important to note WHERE people go to find out WHAT is going on with the FLDS cases.

Something to note. The MOST COMMENTED on blogs are blogs liked by those who oppose the FLDS in this particular circumstance. Texas Polygamy for instance, and Texas Blues Man's blog "Coram Non Judice" have extensive comments. So does Brooke's blog. There is a perception that her BLOG is widely read.

Prior to Brooke switching publishing software, from "Blogger" to what I believe is "Word Press," her blog was tied up in the rankings of the Salt Lake Tribune, making it hard to determine what she really draws. While her blog is still in it's infancy, as far as the SITE LOCATION it has now, it's important to remind you again, of what I just said.

The MOST COMMENTED on blogs are the least read, in general, in this controversy. The most READ blogs have higher than average comments, but not the most comments. It seems to resemble what we knew, back when I was in radio, about call in talk shows. You're tempted to go for high caller participation, because that means a lot of people are out there listening, right?

Wrong. The most listened to talk shows have a much lower level of listener participation. A local talk show host caught up in "lighting up the phone lines" died in the ratings.

Right now, "Plural Life" has a ranking of 965,660 in the United States.

Truth Will Prevail, 89,838
Me, 114,820
Bill, 174,847
Kurt (Contraries/I Perceive), 236,611
Toes, 257,759 (Toes, if you'd put more content out there, you'd outrank Kurt)
Pliggy, 393,417
Texas Polygamy, 446,601
Coram (Blues), 463,672

What does this mean? The VAST majority of people LOOKING for news on the FLDS/YFZ situation expect to hear the TRUTH from a PRO FLDS point of view. That means they have already decided. The truth war is over.

First they go STRAIGHT to the FLDS (or at least, in their mind, "TruthWillPrevail" amounts to that), then they hit either me or Bill, Toes, Pliggy or Kurt.

Bottom line, if the STORY could be more widely told, the story from the FLDS perspective would be more likely believed. It's worked where ever it's been tried.

Last, I go before the "session" on March the 8th, with my views on polygyny. Those who are Presbyterian will (or should) know what this means. The purpose of the appearance is to ratify formally that I hold the views I do, contrary to church doctrine, but wish to be a member anyway.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

New Addition to the Blogroll

A wife, searches for a Sister Wife, and gives her 10 reasons for entering a Polygyny.

1. You are living in a big family with your best friends always around, and a lot of support for your life style from other adults.
2. You have a lot of children around, your own and those of your sister wives.
3. The work in house and garden is distributed evenly amongst the adults of the family.
4. You, as a part of the family, can live self sufficiently on the family's own land, and so can your children.
5. You are well protected in bad times, and in good company at all times.
6. You can home school your children together with other children of the household.
7. You will not have to go to a nursery home when you are old, but will be well cared for all the days of your life.
8. You can eat wholesome food that the family grew itself.
9. You can stay home with your children and don't have to sell yourself to an employer.
10. Your children have plenty of other children to grow up with, who are all raised according to the same standard.

"Sister, where art thou?"

More →

Sphere: Related Content

C.S. Lewis weighs in on YFZ

Believe it or not, "Jack" just couldn't stay out of it, so he comes back from the grave to speak about on the raid.

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

Well actually, someone named "Retired Military" posted it at Wizbang, for an entirely different reason. It's apropos though.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

The latest "Front" in the War on Polygyny.

Complete with help from sympathetic articles in the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune.

But if you go to their website, "Holding out Help" is clearly an ANTI polygyny organization, smiled beamingly upon by Mark Shurtleff. They state that their Mission is:

"(To be) available for those individuals living in or desiring to leave the polygamist community. We provide assistance through a network of volunteers, state agencies and individual donors. Ultimately, we strive to increase self-sufficiency and the dignity that everyone deserves."

As if polygyny was not about self sufficiency or dignity. We also learn that the state is funding this joke, something not made clear by either article about them. Quoted in the Tribune article Tonia says:

"We are throwing judgment and condemnation aside and are going to love you where you're at and help with whatever needs you have," Tewell said. "We're not anti or for, but we are willing to love these folks where they are."

No Tonia, you're anti.

It's not clear who Tonia Tewell is, she's probably not THIS Tonia Tewell, but probably is this one.

They've even gotten a "couple" of calls from families. Your Tax Dollars at Work?

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Gary Condit Innocent of Murder, but apparently Guilty of Texas Style Polygamy. Arrest that man!!

Remember Gary Condit? Who when we were through with him, we were sure he murdered Chandra Levy, with whom he was having an affair? (BTW, didn't that make him a "polygamist?")

Maybe Gary didn't do it.

"NBC affiliate WRC in Washington and KGO, KFSN and KCRA in California said D.C. police are seeking an arrest warrant in Chandra Levy's death.

The warrant would be for an inmate convicted of attacking two female joggers in the same Washington park where Levy's remains were found in 2002.

Quoting sources, WRC reported that police have submitted evidence to the U.S. Attorney's Office in an bid to get an arrest warrant for a man identified as Ingmar Guandique.

WRC said an inmate serving time with Guandique told investigators that Guandique told him he killed Levy. Guandique told police he saw Levy in the park, but did not harm her."

The Polygamist Part?

"The married Condit told police that he and Levy were having an affair. Police did not consider him a suspect, but the negative publicity was cited as the main cause of the California Democrat's re-election defeat in 2002."

As long as he didn't "purport" to be married, and use his freedom of speech to do anything more than have an affair, I guess that's ok.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Redacting Sarah Part Deux: The "Unpersoning" of Sarah.

Earlier I had posted about the reason for the redaction of "Sarah Barlow" from Arizona Motions as evidence that Arizona is participating in the legal fiction of "Sarah Barlow." Why?

As long as there is a legally real potential victim "Sarah Barlow" then Texas doesn't have to acknowledge that the call that set off the raid of YFZ was a hoax. It's one of those open secrets. "Everybody knows" or at least "Everybody who is familiar with the case knows" that there is no Sarah Barlow, there is only Rozita Swinton of Colorado Springs, or maybe a federal psychiatric facility somewhere in Missouri. Or maybe...or maybe who knows.

The Salt Lake Tribune - "(Texas Ranger Lt. Brooks) Long said during his interview he is unaware of any investigation into (Rozita) Swinton. The ranger said that authorities from Texas, other states and the federal government met in 2004 to discuss the FLDS and that he visited the ranch at least four times prior to the raid."

Treat this as the truth, because in essence, it is. Despite the fact that Texas has an ongoing investigation into Swinton that is not yet complete, Brooks just blurted out the truth, they're doing NOTHING. So, when the latest motion gets posted to the Mohave County site, it gets posted LATE, and while every reference made to the childless 34 year old African American Ms. Swinton, who is PROBABLY a lesbian to boot, who has NEVER had a child, is spelled out, every reference to the mythical "Sarah Barlow," is REDACTED. In case you're wondering, that's REMOVED, or WHITED OUT. The Salt Lake Tribune goes on to participate in the myth by ALSO not naming her, as if she is a real victim. The protocol, if you will remember, is that a minor victim of a sex crime should not be named. So, we pretend that Sarah exists, and thus she now loses her name.

"Long did acknowledge that authorities never located the girl named in two search warrants used to enter the ranch and the sect's temple. They also never located anyone who claimed to have made the calls, Long said.

'I don't think that you're gonna have somebody stand up and say, "I made the call," ' Long told the defense attorneys."

So why don't you ask? Remember that Brooks Long has said that there is no ongoing investigation, yet that was the immediate statement of Texas (linked above) on April 18th, 2008 after Rozita's arrest, and now, this exchange from the interview (page 20);

Michael Piccarreta: "(D)o you recognize now that this outcry that started this whole thing came from Rozita Swinton?"

Eric Nichols, Texas Attorney General's Office: "We're not uh, Mike, just so you know, we're not going to be answering questions concerning matters that are, as the witness has already said, may implicate 6(e) concerns as well as matters that are a matter of ongoing investigation in the State of Texas."

Michael Piccarreta: "Well I'm just, all right, well let me ask you this. Do you concede now that the phone calls that triggered these events back in March and April of '03, were not from a (NAME OF SARAH BARLOW REDACTED)?"

But Brooks says he's not aware of an ongoing investigation, and he's sitting right there, next to Eric Nichols, when Mr. Nichols, says there is. Now with the press in active participation mode, removing the name of a non existent victim, they are beginning to weave an Orwellian web where the names of the inconvenient, the unpersons, just disappear. Sarah becomes a mixture of State Hero turned State Villain slowly receding like the Cheshire Cat, until nothing but the call remains. Or, is it that Rozita is Emmanuel Goldstein?

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Revisiting when Texas knew.

Something critical happened, that if known, would expose a fact Texas does not want known. It happened at 10:40am, CDT, April 9th, 2008. It's in regard to Rozita Swinton, and the raid was still going on.

In addition, the area code, and phone number of the phone calls was known to Texas from day one, and they knew it was coming from a Colorado Springs phone number. That may seem obvious, but Texas has tried to hide how early and how specific their knowledge was. Texas just flat knew and they knew early on. Bare minimum, they knew while they were still raiding and carting off evidence. So did the FBI. Not so odd then, that Mark D. White of the Dallas office of the FBI says he CAN'T talk to me. After all, there is a Federal Grand Jury now. They figured that they'd have so much obvious evidence by the time they were inside, that they didn't care the call was bogus, they were just glad they had it. It gave them an excuse. Page 4 of the PDF.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Piccarreta's Latest Motion, moves to strike. (UPDATED)

The motion is 63 pages long. It contains the interviews of Brooks Long and David Doran. I'll update and comment as I become familiar with it.

Motion to strike.

Point one, Piccarreta says Texas wrote Arizona's motion. That's hilarious. It's also probably true.

Point two, there are several excellent points made but I'll focus on this. Texas may well conspire and cooperate among the FBI, Rangers, Sheriffs and Judges, but Judge Conn in Arizona would not be part of this cabal, in fact the obstruction of Texas which has worked for them to this point on their side of the border, works against them in Arizona, and if they are NOT forthcoming, will get the evidence excluded. Piccarreta notes that it is the court's duty to do this when such obstruction is carried out.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Watch this, (I can't find the EMBED code yet)

Rick Santelli (who?) flips out, in a GOOD way.

CNBC.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

The "Audacity of Crises" or "25 Crises" by Barack Obama

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Heck, didn't Richard Nixon only have six?

I'm beginning to have the audacity to think that with all this crisis mongering, with the sky falling all around us, people will get bored with this guy.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

What Passes For Intelligence on the ANTI Polygyny side of the argument.

Blather, be dense, repeat. The arguments against polygyny are simply stated over and over again, and the writers of lies about the practice end up citing each other and the echoes of those lies to lend each other credibility. Who IS this unoriginal idiot? Does she just watch Oprah, Jerry Springer and Bill O'Reilly waxing ridiculous about "sex beds?"

Carolyn Tytler just regurgitates myths that the opponents of Polygyny WANT to be true.

* These settlements are especially harmful environments for children. Every child deserves a home and family of his or her own. Growing up in a commune-like community deprives a girl or boy of that in
dividual love and attention that should be the right or every child. Youngsters receive inadequate education, medical care and socialization skills because of lack of funds and isolation from the outside world.

* The women must render unquestioning obedience to the leader of the group. They are subject to their husbands in every area of their lives. Girls are forced to marry men chosen by the leader who are often much older. Wives are frequently victims of physical abuse while being forced to bear an unhealthy number of children. The women are regarded as possessions of (a) the group leader (b) their husbands. If they try to escape they are pursued and brought back.

* Even the men's lives are far from ideal. True, they have all the sexual activity they want and probably often more than they would wish, but they also have many mouths to feed and gaggles of women constantly vying for their attention. Imagine coming home after work to a household of 15 children and five or six bickering wives. In addition, if they happen to displease the leader, their wives and children can be taken away and redistributed to some of the male church members. Continually buried in a mountain of debt, inundated with needy wives, whining children and a despotic leader, these polygamous husbands must sometimes wonder if salvation is worth the price they've been asked to pay.

This garbage was so trite that I actually looked up the website's rank, before pointing to it to confront it as false. I wouldn't have wanted draw unnecessary attention to something like The Hope Organization, a site no one visits. Or maybe this nitwit did, and thought she was doing "research."

More →

Sphere: Related Content

President Ron Burgundy? Chris Muir strikes again.

Day by Day can't decide.

Clouseau or Ron Burgundy?

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Don't worry Annette, we're from the Government, and we're here to help you. (UPDATED)

With really, only two (one?) girl(s) as full of vinegar towards the state as could possibly be found, what was the reason to raid YFZ again?

The three remaining FLDS children under suit are Teresa Steed ? (Serena Keate?), Merrianne Jessop and one boy, a 9 10 year old. Of the three, two are directly tied to Warren, one through marriage/betrothal, that being Merrianne and the other being his son Ammon. His daughter, Teresa Jeffs, has been dropped from CPS suit. (UDPATE-It appears Ammon Jeffs has been NONSUITED, circumstances to follow.)

"Child Protective Services confirmed to the Deseret News the agency filed to have the child 'nonsuited' on Friday, leaving only two children left in the case. However, a judge may have to decide custody issues before dropping the case."

Typically, when a decision isn't going Judge Walther's way, she shoves the decision up against a weekend and "plays" FLDS parents for the duration. This was a particularly nice weekend to use, with "President's day" being on Monday, essentially Annette Jeffs, who is not the child's mother (that woman having died in 2004) has to wait out the weekend. I'm beginning to see a pattern of not waiting well on the part of the FLDS in general. They signed too many "service plans" right after the raid to get their children back when a little patience may have spared them a lot of later grief. More recently there was an anti FLDS blog site that went up and in the disorganized dither and panic surrounding it, people complained to "wordpress" and the site was taken down. Yes the site was embarrassing but the art of war says "leave it up and draw out it's publishers into the open." In the end, a lot more could have been gained by patience than by panic. Everybody should know where their towel is. So Walther, who is a consummate small town political operator, leans emotionally on the FLDS because she has had success in the past doing so. "Make 'em wait" she seems to say, "A bad day on Friday for me, is a better day on Tuesday." "Let 'em stew." And stew they do.

Here's hoping no one makes foolish concessions. The only reason to have Warren's son is that technically, he is probably the only child that should have stayed under CPS suit after the raid. His dad is in jail. The state actually had a formal responsibility to declare guardianship once his essentially orphaned state was discovered.

"San Angelo attorney Jonathan R. Davis also raised questions about Warren Jeffs, noting his criminal convictions, pending criminal cases and documents that revealed he performed underage marriages. Davis asked that either CPS or Annette Jeffs be appointed conservator over the child, with conditions, and Warren Jeffs' access to the boy limited until he reaches maturity."

This is utterly ridiculous. LIMIT access to the boy? His access is already limited. Warren may live out his life in jail in another state. The only reason Warren's access would not be limited is that Warren would not be IN jail and by the time that happens the reason for limiting his access will either be swept away through acquittal on charges and reversal of previous charges or because Warren has been let out of jail after a long time in prison and his son, who is 9, will easily be another 9 years older. An adult. Admitting something along these lines though would be admitting for instance that Merrianne Jessop is no longer in danger, for the same reasons.

"Davis wrote that the boy appears 'physically healthy and is both courteous and well-behaved.' He currently lives with Annette Jeffs and is home-schooled, according to court papers. Montford asked for that arrangement to continue, adding that if the case were to go to court she would mount a religious freedom defense.

'Annette Jeffs is free to exercise and hold her religious beliefs and raise her children according to these beliefs without government infringement,' (Annette's attorney Mindy) Montford wrote. "Respondent may also educate her children in a manner that she sees appropriate.'

Court clerks were unsure late Friday if 51st District Judge Barbara Walther had nonsuited the boy. A court hearing is tentatively scheduled for March 5. The boy's siblings were dropped a couple of weeks ago."

Having heard nothing over the weekend on this case, I'm going to guess Barbara waits until some concession is made today, or that she waits until March 5th. That day being a Thursday, she will probably decide to "think about it" overnight and will return to issue an 11th hour ruling on Friday. That ruling will be timed and handled so as to muffle the sound of the child's non-suiting and release or to make as much of a dust up as possible about some rumored abuse. There's always the possibility that she will release the child under the cloud of some huge news cycle so that no one notices. If the stock market plunges or an important figure dies or someone goes to war, figure that Warren's 9 year old will quietly be slipped through the dust to Annette.

With CPS having essentially "non-suited" all but two of the 439 children, the question of whether or not the YFZ environment is or was abusive is settled. It wasn't. Virtually every other "environment" for 439 children in this country if investigated in the same fashion, would yield more cases of abuse. Right now we have a 14 year old virgin that is threatened by a man that will be locked up for the duration of her teenage years, and a 17 year old with a child, who isn't interested in the state's help, has been openly defiant of them and will be 18 this summer. Clearly no one needed or wanted their help. A classic case of "we're from the Government, and we're here to help you."

More →

Sphere: Related Content

A Pharisee's Homestead

This is one of the homes I grew up in, a home my mother and father designed.

Previously there was another house on this site. The home was torn down and replaced in the 60's by this one. My mother designed a laundry shoot that would dump laundry from the upstairs, to the downstairs. Dad conceived of a coal brick fired furnace that generated "radiant heat" from the floors. Copper piping was built into poured concrete. The concrete was mixed by hand and we watched. When it was finished, it was the 7th home I had lived in, and I expected to spend all my life there, at least, until I was an adult. We left it too soon. The Mission back home in the "States" decided Dad had done his job too well, and he was no longer necessary. Dad was a "medical missionary," a Hospital Administrator turned contractor turned "bunker c fired" oil heating expert during his stay in Korea.

Dad's plans called for flexible copper piping but instead rigid copper pipe was ordered and had to be bent to do the job. Importing another set of the correct flexible copper pipes would have taken too much time so we made do with what we had. I can remember the head scratching that went on trying to figure out what to do with all that wonderful rigid copper pipe.

The "door to nowhere" you see on the second story was a fire escape. Judging from the condition of the home, I daresay it's never been used. To the bottom left was a pile of debris 40 years ago, from the old house. I remember stepping on a nail there after famously telling my mother, that there were no nails in the pile, or that I would watch my step. I was not through confidently declaring my immunity when I stepped right onto one. I endured tetanus shots for that brilliance on my part.

Mom had a lot of azalea bushes. They are native to Korea. We had a rabbit hutch farther to the left, past the area of my infamous nail stepping trick. During the year this home was being built, we lived farther up the hill in the "Linton House" where I often played chess with Tommy Linton. The Lintons were visiting the United States during that time.

Further down the hill was the intersection of a road where one of the Missionary men faced off individually against several hundred, maybe a thousand demonstrating South Korean students while I watched. Orioles used to dive bomb us from tall maple trees that were in the area. I rode my bike everywhere.

All of this brought back huge memories that are becoming more familiar by the moment. At first seeing the home made me think of life in those days like they belonged to another person, not me. But I'm becoming more comfortable with my old self by the second. Getting to know me, all over again. With most of your childhood memories half a world away, that can be difficult to do. My son, who was a Sergeant stationed nearby had a chance to see where I grew up a couple of years ago but never visited this home.

You might be wondering what this is doing here. To give you an idea of the history tied up in the place I grew up, this is Eugene Bell's final resting place on this earth, that is, until he is raised incorruptible. Eugene Bell is the Grandfather of Ruth Bell. I used to play in the graveyard, in and on Eugene's grave. Please don't take it wrong Eugene, I was just a kid. Who is Ruth Bell? Up until 2007, she was Mrs. Billy Graham.

Thanks to "The Marmot's Hole" and it's author Robert J. Koehler. Also, a hat tip to family friend Clarence "Gun" Durham, who let my mother know about this blog, this entry and these pictures, which led to me posting them here.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Marriage, and a tale of four Websites.

Which site would you expect to be the largest? The Presbyterian Church in America? The Orthodox Presbyterian Church?

Mine? The Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America? The very fact that I am asking the question suggests that perhaps I top the list. In terms of how all of us rank in the United States (a rank found at the bottom of the Alexa Page) I came out on top.

The Modern Pharisee - 130,097
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church - 138,138
The Presbyterian Church in America - 190,047
The Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America - 842,749

I haven't been selective. These are the major Presbyterian and theologically conservative denominations in the United States. The Associated Reformed and Hanover Presbytery all rank a lot lower and don't have a national rank for this country. To be fair, the "Anchor Church" in the PCA, the nationally known "Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church" outranks my web page by a little bit (update, that rating changed over night to me being slightly ahead). The Late Dr. James Kennedy preached at Coral Ridge. Church members are far more likely to turn to their own church's web page than to that of the denomination. The web pages of "ministries" also do a lot better. Gary Demar's "American Vision" does better than mine.

All of these sites have substantial design and support dollars behind them. They have staffs. Aside from Trina, I've had no help, the content is all mine, except for quoting material found elsewhere on the internet.

The point? I have often been told that the subject matter that I care about and place in my blog is of no concern to people. Yet here it is, outranking the two denominations that I have attended over my years of wandering across this country. I've been told this at forums I frequent. No one cares, yet the subject matter tends to attract the greatest numbers of comments and views of other subject threads in those forums.

Why do you suppose that is?

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Personal Needs

I am suddenly beginning to have real issues with my vision.

It might just be eye strain. It could be a need for a new prescription. Of course, it could be more serious. As always, my financial situation is precarious so I tend to make decisions of this sort in an "economic" way. I don't run to the Doctor even though I have very good insurance, but I instead wait to see how things sort out.

For instance, I broke my right big toe in what appeared to be two places Monday and opted not to go to the Doctor. I've broken toes before and all they say is, "Yeah, it's broken," and tape it to the toe next to it and send me home with bills for x-rays and a visit.

As with all things expensive, I tend to wait around and see if symptoms pass or things change. This isn't passing, it seems to be getting steadily worse. The issues started with an increased sensitivity to light.

Since I am mildly behind on all my bills, I'm not in a hurry to run off and spend new money at a Doctor who might just say "Don't spend so much time in front of the computer screen" or "Wear dark glasses" or "get new glasses."

This hopping back and forth from frying pan to fire and back again is not my idea of a good time.

Prayers would be greatly appreciated.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Piccarreta derisively questions Arizona's presumption.

Why does the state of Arizona even THINK it can oppose the deposition of Sam Brower?

Found here.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Day by Day evaluates President Obama

President "Clouseau."

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Discussion goes well

As I mentioned before, I met with an elder of my church.

The probable outcome of the discussion would be that they won't change, and I won't change, but that I would be accepted. That'll do.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Face to Face on Polygyny

Tomorrow I begin a sit down discussion with an elder in my denomination, on Polygyny.

I have no idea how long it will last. Normally such discussions do not last very long. Pastors in general resort to authority (their own) very quickly when a discussion of doctrines or theology does not go their way.

At issue is my place in the denomination. Whether I will remain in it, or be cast out of it. Either way works for me but I would greatly prefer to stay in the denomination. I will not compromise though.

Either I am convinced, or I will stand fast. Either I am accepted, just as I am in the denomination, or they must shut the door to me. Acceptance may be accomplished by agreeing to disagree, or by agreeing.

7am EST tomorrow. Your prayers are greatly appreciated and valued.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Texas KNEW all along. The FBI continues to Stonewall on Swinton investigation.

Mark D. White of the Dallas office of the FBI continues to have my calls verbally screened. Today though, the message changed.

Instead of saying that he doesn't have the time, or that he has nothing for me, he's now changed to saying he can't talk to me.

That'll do I guess. I am forced to interpret this as YES, The FBI DID open a case on the Texas side of the inquiry into Rozita Swinton. I am also forced to interpret this as being they are sensitive on the date.

What this means, until I am supplied information to disabuse me of this notion is, that if revealed, the date of inquiry into Rozita's phone numbers would substantially alter the public perception of the case. It's TOXIC in other words.

Mark of course could ask me to print a retraction of this, but in doing so, he would have to tell us when it was that the FBI requested the information. He knows my number. From now on out, I will cite this conversation with the Dallas office of the FBI as proof that Texas or the Texas FBI knew about Rozita Swinton, prior to executing their search warrants.

I will be HAPPY to issue an immediate retraction, but to do so, I would have to have the acknowledgment that a case was opened, when it was opened, and who requested it.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Still no court date for Allen Steed. The INCONVENIENT TRUTH of the Warren Jeffs persecution.

The forgotten man in the "Rape" of Elissa Wall is the man who actually had to have raped her, for Warren to be guilty of anything.

Allen is the ex husband or ex unwanted love interest, however you want to look at it, of Elissa Wall. After a flurry of motions last fall, in which Allen's attorneys appeared to gain the upper hand, it looked like a trial was going to be scheduled, and then the whole thing went dark. No trial, no pretrial motions. Nothing.

Nothing at all.

Who is Allen Steed? Quite simply he is the only candidate for the primary act of rape that has to have been committed, for Warren Jeffs to be guilty of Rape by Accomplice. The only person with whom Elissa claims to have had "non consensual" relations on two occasions is Allen.

The reasoning goes like this.

Warren arranged the "marriage." Elissa did not want to marry Allen.

She and Allen had sex on many occasions but on two of them she did not want to. This forms the basis of her rape allegation against Allen.

Since Warren coerced Elissa to have sex with Allen in the form of a relationship the FLDS call marriage, those two encounters were rape. Remember that under Utah Law, Elissa was too young to marry Allen but Elissa was not too young to consent to relations with a man of Allen's age. Utah's law was written to state that sex can be consensual for a 14 year old if her partner is no more than 5 years older than she is.

Elissa does not contend there was a case of mistaken identity, namely, that some other man entered her bedchamber who she thought was Allen and forced her on two occasions to have sex with her. Thus, Allen is the only possible primary Rapist. If he did not rape her, no one did.

Warren must be said (as he has been) to have coerced Elissa into a situation where she did not feel she could effectively resist Allen. There is no record of Warren stating that Elissa had to submit to sexual relations with Allen if she absolutely refused to do so. Any preacher I know of would tell a wife that in general, she should consent to relations with her husband. Unless this advice is now going to be construed as accomplice to rape, Warren does nothing wrong in stating the obvious. Normal healthy marriages have sex taking place between husbands and wives.

In short, Warren only encouraged Allen and Elissa to have sex as part of a relationship he regarded as marriage and that both Allen and Elissa regarded as marriage. There was no mysterious third party that could have committed the rape of Elissa Wall, nor was there any plan on Warren's part for someone to rape Elissa. It's not like he planned a rape for which no one showed up.

Bottom line, no matter how you look at it, either Allen rapes Elissa or he did not. If he did not, then Warren couldn't have been even said to have conspired to do so. He would not be an accomplice to an act unplanned, and never done. He's not waiting in the getaway car for a criminal that chickened out on him. There is no crime, there is no plan to commit the crime, there is no getaway car. NOTHING happened.

Yet Warren is locked up in jail in Arizona awaiting trial on charges that are becoming weaker every day. The potential jury pool is being hopelessly conditioned to believe he is a slavering sexual animal and criminal. In the end, he may be convicted of something on the basis of his horrible reputation, while the reputation he has is manufactured by an act that will, it seems, shown to have never even been thought of, outside the minds of the prosecutors. Without Allen as Rapist, there never was a crime in the first place.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

An Inconvenient Record, Maine's Cold Withstands Scientific Disbelief.

Previously, the record in Maine was -48 Fahrenheit. All that changed January 16th,

but it still only tied my new home of Vermont.

Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram - Augusta - "(-50) beats Maine's old record of 48 below zero set in 1925 in Van Buren, and ties the record for coldest temperature recorded in New England. That reading was made in 1933 in Bloomfield, Vt.

The record on New Hampshire's Mount Washington is minus-47.

Maine's minus-50 reading was made on Jan. 16 at a remote site along the Big Black River near the Quebec border as the region was in the grip of a blast of arctic air."

What an inconvenient record.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Piccarreta says he won't depose Rebecca Musser, if she cooperates. (Interview may already be over)

This motion was filed yesterday,

in Mohave County.

"The defendant, Warren Jeffs, replies to the State's Response to Motion for Deposition of Witness Rebecca Musser. As indicated in the original motion, Ms. Musser was instructed by representatives of Texas to not discuss matters relating to Texas. As long as she is willing to answer questions relating to matters involved with Texas law enforcement -- including her role in the Texas search warrants and execution thereof, and conversations with these representatives -- in a full and frank manner, counsel is agreeable to conduct another interview regarding those matters and will do so in good faith. Counsel has asked the State to arrange a telephonic interview in the immediate future. This Court is requested to hold this motion in abeyance pending completion of that interview. If the Texas authorities instruct Ms. Musser to participate in continued gamesmanship and not answer questions, counsel will ask the Court to order the deposition and seek sanctions. On the other hand, if Ms. Musser cooperates, this motion to depose will be withdrawn. Counsel will advise the Court of the status of the motion to depose after completion of the interview. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 5th day of February, 2009."

My guess? The motion has been withdrawn already, and the interview has been completed. He didn't get his deposition, and that's because he didn't need one. Rebecca has now cooperated. We'll see.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

A photo essay.

I am going to do a photo series. First, Rozita to the Right. Next is her Colorado Springs Room mate Becky Hoerth on the left. Click "more," because there is more.

Becky ran distance races in Colorado Springs, just like Rozita. She knew a lot about Rozita when they came to arrest Ms. Swinton, and claimed to have been her roommate only for one day.


I will picture next, Mary Catharine Nelson. Rozita's Foster Mother.




Rozita's foster mother. With a quote about Rozita.

"Swinton, Mary Catharine Nelson wrote, was 'to say the least, unpredictable.'

'With black hair and beautiful deep brown eyes and skin, she eventually went west to Utah and got a job she loved, as a nanny,' she wrote.

In the book 'Raising Shane,' (Rozita's Foster Mother) described Swinton as 'one of the most interesting people you can imagine.'

'Among her many talents, Rozita is a superb cook,' she wrote. 'Her fried chicken is, as they say, to die for.' "

Next, Dr. Peggy Ann Way. Tireless Gay/Lesbian/Trangender rights "Theologian."



A mentor of the "Rev." Mary Catharine Nelson, writer of gushing praises of the two forgetable vanity press tomes of "Kate Rosemary" aka "Merry Cate Noel" the nom de plumes of the "Rev." Nelson.



Oh, one more visit, with Becky, the woman on the lower left.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Bloating Blogroll !

New Blog Roll additions.

Brooke Adams' "The Plural Life" finally has a "RSS Feed" so it's on my blogroll. I've also picked up "Mitchieville" and "Forgusonviews." If the Rev. Brian Abshire ever checks his links, he's going to wonder why a Pharisee chose to pick on him and his "International Institute for Christian Culture." I've also had to prune. Some of the pruning involved friends blogs that aren't updated very regularly. I promise, I'll squeeze them back in, if you guys just POST. Some have tech issues. I love "the Nose on your Face" but the RSS feed is just messed up.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

New "ANTI" blog DOWN. Privacy WINS out.

Apparently, drawing attention to the questionable ANTI FLDS site http://flds.wordpress.com/ AKA "FLDS CULT" was the right thing to do. All the right people complained and it's gone.

I will not take the position that it was "Kiddie Porn" or pornographic in any way. It was, to me, a privacy issue and those behind the site apparently got told. Bravo. I do not believe some of the practices of the FLDS regarding marital ages to be IMMORAL. This is a delicate issue. For that reason I cannot regard the material as having been pornographic. It was however, RUDE. It showed no concern for the privacy of victims, for they are victims indeed. In my view though, they are victims of having their lives disrupted and what was a quite life, thrown onto the world stage.

Those that object to what the FLDS have done, and see their practice as the sexual abuse ARE guilty though, of showing Kiddie Porn. If what the FLDS did was wrong, or what they allege the FLDS did was wrong, then showing the pictures of child brides was in fact, pornography. The question now? Who was behind the site? Will there be arrests? Was what they did illegal or just against Wordpress policy?

More →

Sphere: Related Content

New ANTI FLDS blog UPDATED

You always question whether or not it is a good idea to point to the opposition.

I have removed the link as it distresses friends, but it can still be found. A brief survey of that site shows me someone is trying to hurt the FLDS, which I think has been the object all along of releasing all that information on them.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Is someone following Warren's attorneys around?

Suspicion of Public Intoxication.

Not a "Dewie" mind you, this is sorta like being plastered in a public place.

The Salt Lake Tribune - "An attorney who represents polygamous sect leader Warren S. Jeffs was arrested in Washington County early Saturday on suspicion of public intoxication.

Walter 'Wally' Bugden was arrested at 1:38 a.m. by Ivins police and booked into the Washington County jail on suspicion of public intoxication.

Bugden, 58, posted $182 bond and was released from jail.

He could not be reached for comment early Saturday evening.

The Ivins Police Department declined to release details of the arrest on Saturday. Ivins police Sgt. Tracy Marrott said Bugden was arrested within city limits, but wouldn't discuss the circumstances of the incident that landed Bugden in jail."

It smells a little like someone is watching him too closely and/or wants to embarrass or harass him. Of course, he could just have been slobbering drunk and made an ass out of himself. It happens.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

American Family Rights Association

Ok, they're a bit heavy handed, but, face it,

Considering who we're dealing with, maybe more heavy handed would be in order. Give them a visit.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Having your homes taken from you. The people speak.

Periodically, I feel called upon to add the disclaimer that this blog does not endorse the FLDS faith. What I do endorse is their right in this constitional form of Government, to own property in the way they see best, and to practice their religion. These are reserved, polite people that are articulate and are within the self imposed restraints of what they see as good behavior, passionate.


FLDS Gathering at UEP Hearing from Trent Nelson on Vimeo.

I am not FLDS and never will be, but in being Orthodox Presbyterian, I need protections, or at least would enjoy protections that if granted to me, are consquently granted to the FLDS as well. For that reason, despite my religious differences, which are vast, I support them and will continue to do so. Hat tip to Brooke Adams, at the Plural Life.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Predictably, Arizona opposes the deposition of Sam Brower

As long as I am forecasting this afternoon,

I say Piccarreta gets, what Piccarreta wants.

"COMES NOW, the State of Arizona, by the Mohave County Attorney, and hereby opposes Defendant's Motion to Depose Witness Sam Brower. Mr. Brower is a person who has not been listed as a State's witness and is not realistically going to be a witness at the trial of this matter. Any investigation Mr. Brower has done as a private investigator would be protected by the attorney-client privilege, as he has worked with the law firm of Roger and Greg Hoole who are located in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is not necessary as a witness concerning benefits given to any of the witnesses in this case because that information has already been disclosed to the defense and has been the subject of questions during interviews of other State's witnesses. For these reasons, the State requests Defendant's Motion to Depose Sam Brower be denied."

What you want to bet Flora said something and Piccarreta wants to know how reliable it was?

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Forecasting the Merrianne Jessop issue.

It will not go the way of Teresa Jeffs, at least not this afternoon.

The pattern of Walther's decisions are political. Merrianne might get her choice of lawyer because I know of no self respecting attorney that would want to do Walther's bidding after the Dusek and Malonis fiascos. Court appearances do not decide anything in Walther Land. Evidence presented in court decides nothing, the decisions are already made, and "announced." Hence there was a "surprisingly" short appearance by Walther and an exit. You don't spend time dwelling on bad news after all, for your side.

The Merrianne Jessop issue will be decided this afternoon, and Walther will spend, as she does, time deciding things behind the scenes, and then the bad news will be delivered and she will make a quick exit, leaving the results of her "drive by rulings" for everyone to struggle with over the weekend.

I'd love to be wrong, but in forecasting these things, I note that the San Angelo Standard Times motion to set aside a subpoena, was dismissed. That means Walther will continue to grind her ax in that arena, which is probably bad news for Merrianne. I'd love to be wrong. Let's hope I am.

More →

Sphere: Related Content

Walther starts to give in, Malonis & Dusek out. If the "Environment" wasn't abusive for Teresa Jeffs, it wasn't for ANYONE.

The Judge starts caving to reality. Malonis gone.

The San Angelo Standard-Times - "51st District Judge Barbara Walther dismissed all petitions and attorneys involved with the case of the now-17-year-old girl alleged to have been married to a 34-year-old man just after her 15th birthday - closing for good one of the highest profile and most contentious aspects of the long-running litigation surrounding the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."

This is key.

"Malonis had argued that a series of prospective witness statements from CPS in December stating that the girl had been in a 'harmful, abusive environment' should be considered before Walther dismissed the case."

This is the STATE's case, not Natalie Malonis' case. If they say that Teresa Jeffs was not in a 'harmful abusive environment' and that she should be released from any suit or case, then who ever was? When will they release Merrianne?

" 'The court can take notice of many things,' Walther replied, 'but the court must follow the law. The court cannot make the law. ... This is an unusual case, but I don't see any authority for you to continue.'

With that, Walther dismissed a raft of motions filed in the moments leading up to the hearing - including a motion filed by the Standard-Times to quash a subpoena filed against one of its reporters, as well as an ongoing fight over whether to seal the deposition transcript from YFZ Ranch leader Merril Jessop.

'I was prepared to continue doing what I thought I needed to do,' Malonis said, 'but I'm relieved to have relief.'

Walther also accepted the withdrawal of Carmen Symes Dusek as the attorney for a 14-year-old girl alleged to have been married to Warren Jeffs, the sect's leader, and signed an agreed order to seal a guardian's report filed in the case."

Walther now positioning herself as a Judge that doesn't make law? This is full scale headlong armor shedding weapon dropping retreat. If Walther doesn't see any authority for Natalie to continue, how did she ever see any authority at all?

More →

Sphere: Related Content

What's that all about? UPDATED

Rozita had a GUN and they let her KEEP IT? What's this all about? I don't know what to think, either we have another one of Bluesy's weird, always anonymous friends or this is a tale from the inside.

"TxBluesMan, Is the only one who gets what happen. He so has it there is no conspiracy. I will tell you that the LE in Colorado did not do things the way it should have been done. I have inside information. The arrest warrant was thrown together at the last minute so there goes a conspiracy theory. The bond was asked to be increased due to safety risk to the public and flight risk. If this was the case why didn't we confiscate her gun. CSPD isn't that smart to be involved in a conspiracy. We arrested her on a case that we had no proof that she was involved in in order to get her in so that the Rangers could question her. Along with the search warrant we were suppose to use it to gather evidence for the 'Feb call' but no it was a back door to let the Rangers in to get what they needed. So about 90% of what was taken from her apt the Rangers took back to Texas with them. Now we run into the problem of the case we charged her on. It's all circumstantial we have no proof she is connected to the 911 call. This is why the case has been delayed. If you notice the arrest warrant list a lot of circumstantial evidence, situations she has never been charged on. If you saw the discovery you would flip more than you have been. It is all circumstantial we have no proof. The reality is only one of the numbers are connected to Swinton. Is the (719)243 number. The other is connected to other Colorado calls that we have never been able to connect to her. Not only did we scew that up. Swinton asked for an atty before she even knew what she was charged with. After she asked for and atty and read her rights we continue to question her and we allowed the Rangers to enter the room after she asked for an atty. We realy screwed this one up. Finally ,I got that off my chest."

Frankly, it SOUNDS a little like one of the weird Rozita sympathizers that float around out there, but I don't have anything to say other than to offer it up for you to look at.

UPDATE - SPECULATION: This person is not literate enough to be CSPD. I too have my doubts about the relative wisdom of some of our boys in blue, but this is not well written.

BUT, on the face of it the writer would seem to have been there. So if the writer is not an outright liar:

That's CSPD.

Texas Rangers.

Rozita Swinton.

FBI? (only technically, I'm going to say writing style precludes that)

Rozita's roomie, Becky Hoerth

More →

Sphere: Related Content