Sunday, May 31, 2009

And now, the Emperors Prize. GM goes into bankruptcy - (UPDATED, It's official)

First it was Chrysler in Carbonite. Now, GM.
Yahoo News - WASHINGTON – "General Motors Corp., the iconic U.S. automaker that turned the concept of a 'car for every purse and purpose' into a global icon, will file for bankruptcy protection Monday and the federal government plans to take a 60 percent ownership stake in the company, said a congressional official briefed on the plan."
Having proved that they could encase Captain Solo (Chrysler) in bankruptcy protection without killing him, it's time for Luke Skywalker (GM). UPDATED, it's official.
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Saturday, May 30, 2009

People Can Tell, or at least "My People" can...

I had an interesting experience today. People from Montana say they meet one another everywhere in the world. Now I know why.


Montana is a small state, in terms of population. It's large in terms of size but there aren't many more people in Montana than there are here in Vermont. 2/3rds though of Montana's population is stuffed into about a 15th of the space. We're very different places.

Nevertheless, picking out someone from Montana, as my new found friend succeeded in doing, depends on factors that explain how people in vast airports always find folks that are "from" Montana. It gave me a certain amount of gratification to know (finally) how it's done, and a certain amount of chagrin as well.

"Mark" as I will call my new friend was entering the backdoor mall entrance to the "BURR-lin" mall (if you pronounce it like the German city you show you're not a "Vermonter") and I held the door for his family as he approached, and enjoyed the little girl with Blond Ringlets as she bounced her way into the store. It was peaceful happy moments and I turned to walk across the back parking lot towards my truck.

At this point "Mark" exited the store and came part way across the parking lot and said, "You're from Montana, aren't you?" Well yes, I said, I certainly was and he asked where and I said "Mostly Kalispell, but I've lived all over Montana." He said he'd seen the truck parked in the back lot with Montana plates and knew I was the guy because I'd been so polite and no one in Vermont was like that.

That made me laugh of course, and smile, and in the ensuing conversation I learned he was from Broadus (which even people in Montana have difficultly locating) but I am one of the elite few who not only could locate Broadus on a map, but I could name off landmarks. You see, I've been to Broadus many times over the last 26 years and mentioned two other small "burgs," Hammond and Alzada and then he said he was actually from Biddle and a school teacher at the High School in Broadus. That's how those conversations go.

Another perspective moment. Powder River County, for which Broadus is the county seat, is one third the size of Vermont, there are about 1800 people that live there. Biddle has a post office, but there is no official population.

"Mark" teaches here in the area. He promised to drop by my office at work when he had the chance. I'll probably see him again. This is how folks from Montana recognize one another. We seem to gravitate towards one another wherever we may be, probably because of style issues. Being polite is one of them.

In the end I found out some things about myself. Vermont is like that. It's not revealing that I am the best of people despite what may seem to have been revealed about my character by my encounter out back of Penneys, other things came to light as well, not so wonderful things about myself.

I've been having trouble remembering people's names around here. I've worked at this job for 9 months. I still can't tell you who I work with in some departments. I had written it off to age and bemoaned my deteriorating condtion, and indeed, some of my inablity should be laid at the feet of my advancing age, but most of it, I have to admit, is due to a less flattering cause. I don't care about these people. That's ugly.

As I drove away from the Mall I found that I do indeed know how to remember names. As I focused on the positives about two Montana guys finding each other 2600 miles from home, I realized I still had the talent for remembering names as I did everything necessary to burn "Mark's" name into my memory. Those people at Church and at Work that I have difficulty when it comes to recalling their names? It's because I have no love for them, or very little. I need to work on that, or the next guy from Troy or Circle or Ennis, won't recognize me and I'll have no one to blame but myself.


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Friday, May 29, 2009

The State of Utah Replies to Warren Jeffs Supreme Court Appeal (UPDATED)

Parallels to the Parlay Dutson case would seem not to apply, as Warren's attorney's consented to the seating of a new juror. In Parlay's case, the compromised juror was allowed to complete deliberations.
I find this language to be the most interesting:
The Plural Life - "The state has finally filed a response to Warren Jeffs’ Utah Supreme Court appeal. It will be months before we know whether the court will hear the case.

The state’s 84-page brief makes these points. Point 13 is interesting because of what happened yesterday in the case of Parley Dutson.

1. Elissa Wall expressed lack of consent to sexual contact with Allen Steed when she 'repeatedly and tearfully begged [Warren Jeffs] and Rulon, in Jeffs' presence, not to make her marry at age 14 or marry her first cousin.

2. Elissa expressed lack of consent when she later told Jeffs Steed was touching her in ways that made her uncomfortable and that she wanted to be released from the marriage.

3. Because of her age, she could not legally consent to sexual relations.

4. Jeffs held a position of 'near-absolute authority over Elissa.'

5. Together, those elements made Jeffs an accomplice to her subsequent rape.

'In other words, while Jeffs himself may not have had non-consensual sex with Elissa, and while Jeffs may not have specifically intended that Allen forcibly rape her, everything Jeffs did ensured that Allen would have non-consensual sex with Elissa.'

'The statute requires only that Jeffs intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly solicited, requested, commanded, encouraged, or intentionally aided Allen to have non-consensual sex with Elissa.' "
The reply excludes the idea that Warren "intentionally or knowingly" "requested, commanded, encouraged or intentionally aided Allen to have non-consensual sex with Elissa." What's left is "recklessly."

Why?

If Allen did not have "non consensual sex" with Elissa, then if Warren is doubted to have "intention" or have "encouraged" or "requested" or "commanded" or knowingly done any of the preceding, then he can only have "recklessly" encouraged it. The case hangs on the idea that Warren created an environment for rape, and then the rape happened. That alone makes my skin crawl as a concept, as it makes us play God, knowing men's hearts, but be that as it may, it's the only thing left.

Suppose that Allen is acquitted. There was no lack of consent. The majority of the statute does not apply and we are left with only the "reckless" part. Granted it could still be said that Warren was "reckless." I think he probably knows that legally, he would be considered as "reckless" now, but did he really know then? It would be as if they saw Warren driving drunk, and convicted him of murder, when no one was even injured. I understand the principle, he basicly is said to have pointed a gun into the dark and fired off blind shots, convinced he was doing no harm, and I get that, really, I do.

But it's not murder unless he connects. It's something else.

(UPDATE) It would be my thought that it can be no crime if Allen is not convicted for these reasons. What Warren is expressing in speech and thought is protected speech. He CAN believe that it is proper for a young lady to marry at 14. That is his right. He MAY express that belief as part of both free speech rights, and his right of religious freedom.

Does Utah and this country say that Warren may NOT believe as he clearly believes? He may not express that belief? Ultimately if Allen is not convicted and Warren's conviction is upheld, then it's probable that this law will wholly or partially be set aside on constitutional grounds.
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What Happened to Brooke's story on Long? (UPDATED)

11 days ago Brooks Long's testimony was on Brooke Adams mind. But first, she had a "book review" to do.
From "Twitter."
"Beautiful day in Salt Lake and I have the day off! Garden, here I come! Lots to blog about from last week. Long's testimony is on my mind.10:46 AM May 18th from web."
What happened? All we got was a story about how cold it was in Judge Walther's courtroom.

UPDATE: She wrote the story.
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Thursday, May 28, 2009

Warren's Attorneys formally acknowledge bogus photo.

Remember that photograph that wasn't of the YFZ raid? Anti FLDS members of the blogging world got all torqued out of shape about it.
It's being pulled from the identical motion in Arizona.
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So you think Home Churches are the answer?

Maybe, but I've gotten the impression from some of my brothers in Christ that if they attack the building, you'll just go home and have "church" there. Think again.
KTVG San Diego - "Attorney Dean Broyles of The Western Center For Law & Policy was shocked with what happened to the pastor and his wife.

Broyles said, 'The county asked, "Do you have a regular meeting in your home?" She said, "Yes." "Do you say amen?" "Yes." "Do you pray?" "Yes." "Do you say praise the Lord?" "Yes." '

The county employee notified the couple that the small Bible study, with an average of 15 people attending, was in violation of County regulations, according to Broyles.

Broyles said a few days later the couple received a written warning that listed 'unlawful use of land' and told them to 'stop religious assembly or apply for a major use permit' -- a process that could cost tens of thousands of dollars."
You're going to be herded back to your churches, and regulations imposed on your there. Religion is being Zoned. Hat tip to Right Mind.
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Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Hey! I thought of that too! Or was that oneth? Firstest?

Almost immediately after the list of closing Chrysler Dealers came out, and it was a bit skewed from what personal experience said was "good sense," I began to wonder.
Was the Perpetually Campaigning Obama Administration persecuting Republican Campaign Contributors? My wife and I discussed it, and I complained that it was a great story, and I utterly lacked the resources to follow it up. So I didn't.

Too bad for me, and too bad for the wonderful self promotion it would have provided but I figured someone one notice if it was happening.

Some did.

Thanks to the Common Room for pointing to the stories.

Here at "Hyscience."

At "Redstate."

"Hot Air".

"Michelle Malkin."

And Reuters.

It would have been indecent to throw it out there as speculation without foundation but there were stories of recently renovated large market Chrysler dealerships that had been cut off.

Additionally there are inexplicable examples of closures, and non closures that I can cite from personal experience. Holes in the wall in no place USA, still open and surrounded by competitors at all points of the compass.

To be fair though most Car Dealers are Republican, at least in my subjective experience. Raving support for Barack Obama didn't do Flanagan's any good when the axe flew.
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What Did She Mean?

Having endured vicariously a Judicial Bully in the person of Barbara Walther, this concerns me, because Judge Sotomayor is being called a bully.


Frankly, the issue of whether or not this potential "Supreme" is a Latina and the "peril" that might be involved in "attacking" her is all the more reason in my humble opinion, to eviscerate her, provided that is the "right(s)" response. We are no longer a "racist nation" so her status as a "Latina" is utterly irrelevant other than I would think it provides a chance to showcase the idea that whatever race you are, if you're an idiot leftist, the political right stands ready to field dress you (figuratively) on the spot.
The New Republic - "The most consistent concern was that Sotomayor, although an able lawyer, was 'not that smart and kind of a bully on the bench,' as one former Second Circuit clerk for another judge put it. 'She has an inflated opinion of herself, and is domineering during oral arguments, but her questions aren't penetrating and don't get to the heart of the issue.' (During one argument, an elderly judicial colleague is said to have leaned over and said, 'Will you please stop talking and let them talk?')"
A Judge in love with her own opinions and the wisecracking sound of her own voice? This is a Judge with her mind already made up and I've seen one of those before. Judge Walther "made herself clear" and then promptly lost control of her courtroom. Do we need a Supreme that's going to start verbal brawls in our highest court?

So what did she mean in the above clip? If she's a Judicial Bully and she likes to hang with her "crowd" and make snickering inside jokes about writing law from the bench or "making policy" there, she's the most dangerous sort of Justice. We'll be listening to her enjoy the sound of her own voice for decades to come and at worst, she will lead the liberal charge on our bench for 30 years or more, at best she will be a marginalized joke.

She could be making an honest remark about the unfortunate nature of courts in this country, that policy is indeed made from the bench whether that be appropriate or not. In that case Sonia Sotomayor will probably take a dim view of it when she spots egregious examples of law making from the bench and from the tone of her voice, in the above clip, it's possible she just might mean that. I doubt it. Consider the author of her nomination.

If Judge Sotomayor is a winking middle finger flashing equivalent of her nominating President, she should be fought tooth and nail for whatever faint hope of her defeat there might be. If she's just a liberal Judge, well, we have a Liberal President and a Liberal House and a Liberal Senate where there is a filibuster proof Liberal majority and the only useful purpose of resisting her will be the simple benefit of illustrating who Liberals are.
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"StoneWally" Oppal gone.

Not that it's over, but Wally Oppal, who has been after Canadian FLDS polygynists,
loses an election:
The Canadian Press/Google News - "Wally Oppal, one of Premier Gordon Campbell's most recognizable and trusted ministers, lost his suburban Vancouver seat to an Independent, apparently over divisive local issues.

'It is a disappointment, because when we went in there, we thought we would do well,' Oppal told reporters in Vancouver Tuesday after the results were announced."
Hat tip to "Share the Light," Winston Blackmore's blog.
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Saturday, May 23, 2009

"We're out of Money"

Well, der...

The Drudge Report - OBAMA: "Well, we are out of money now. We are operating in deep deficits, not caused by any decisions we've made on health care so far. This is a consequence of the crisis that we've seen and in fact our failure to make some good decisions on health care over the last several decades."
YA THINK?
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For Blues,

You know what I mean.

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Friday, May 22, 2009

A Former Employer Bites the Dust

Ultimately, the decision to leave was a good one.
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle - "Scott Whiting is a third-generation General Motors dealer. So when Whiting Motors received a form letter from GM last week announcing that its franchise agreement would be cut off next year, it was like a physical blow, he said.

'It’s like your wife of 28 years leaving you and saying she doesn’t love you anymore,' Whiting said.

Whiting Motors was one of 1,100 General Motors dealerships informed last week that their franchise agreements will not be renewed as part of a massive restructuring effort for the American automaker."
Back in 2003, Scott's Finance Manager pulled a disappearing act on him, and I was suddenly out of work at the same time. He was entering a tent sale and needed someone to do that job, and that someone was me. I made some good friends there. I didn't want to leave but economic necessity forced me to do so, either that, or go bankrupt. So I left.

Ultimately Scott did not wish to expand his dealership and I could see the writing on the wall. Whiting would be perpetually small, there was no future there for me. Little did I know there just wasn't a future there. Scott operated out of an ancient dealership facility in the middle of Livingston MT and had a satellite used car operation near the Interstate. In reality his "Used Car" lot was his only lot, and he sold the vast majority of this new cars from there as well. I'm sure this wasn't what GM had in mind.

Like many generational successors owning a car dealership, Scott had just recently "paid off" his father. Now he has very little to show for it. Livingston may have only one franchised new car dealership in the near future, that being Ford.
"Headwaters GMC-Buick-Pontiac, which has locations in Three Forks and Livingston, was also told by GM last week that its franchise agreements would end in 2010, said owner Dave Jackson."
It would seem that GM has closed dealerships in such a fashion that the Gallatin valley is feeling the greatest impact. Livingston is on one side of Bozeman Montana, Three Forks is on the other. I haven't heard the word on some other small dealerships I have a feeling for.
KPAX - "The four Montana dealerships affected by the news are Rimrock Chrysler Jeep and Underriner Motors in Billings, Flanagan's in Missoula, and Bell-McCall in Hamilton."
Flanagan's is not a dealership for which I experience sadness. I would have to say I suffered abuse at the hands of their owners, and unjustly at that. They will survive as they have other franchises. I find that I am not as forgiving as I would wish to imagine myself when I hear news of such failures and truly I struggle, not with how to feel, but knowing what I feel when I see news such as this. There are a number of other dealerships I am keeping track of, one of which stole money from me, literally, in the form of travelers checks. I'm actually experiencing "Schadenfreude" when some of these folks go down. This is not a glowing commentary on my moral condition.

Nevertheless, with few exceptions, these closings are retroactively justifying my decision to leave some places, and making the sting of losing other employment less sharp. Even without the sinful and regrettable pleasure I experience at some falling on bad times, the closures say there was no future there, and the bad fortune that I experienced at their hands, was not so bad after all.
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Thursday, May 21, 2009

Prima Facie Evidence that there was "No Cause" for entry of YFZ

Most if this occurs as a reply to one of my previous posts. I thought it might be an important enough thought to make it a post itself.


There must be a standard for entry into a home other than "I'm really really really sure something bad is going on in there.

Let's review. We have a caller who alleged certain crimes who needed coaching to reach the level of being believable.

We have Doran and Long both saying that they think she might be lying about her age and name. They have to be expressing real doubt because of the next point.

Their doubt is not expressed as has been suggested, because they think she may have lied to the hospital, because they did not call the hospital. Thus they attest to having doubts that are contemporaneous with her call, about her truthfulness regarding Name and Age. That means they don't really believe her.

Doran withholds evidence, namely, Rozita's phone number. He has not been forthcoming so we don't know how long he withheld the evidence, but we do know that before the raid was over he had her phone number and called it, because his phone number is on Rozita's phone.

Long Lies. He said there was an investigation of "Sarah's" visit to the emergency room, he said so in testimony to the Arizona court.

Thus law enforcement is shown to have manipulated the facts during the raid an after the raid. They lied during the raid and after the raid to cover it up. They cannot be trusted. Common sense tells us we have found but the tip of the iceberg.

For freedom to exist, cause must exist to abridge freedom. Crimes often go undetected and unpunished because no cause exists. The very fact that Long and Doran (and who knows how many others) lied to manufacture cause says THERE WAS NO CAUSE because if there was cause THEY WOULD NOT HAVE LIED BECAUSE THERE WOULD BE NO NEED. The lying and withholding of Doran and Long are prima facie proof that no cause existed.
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The Sputtering Stall of the New Hampshire SSM bill

There are certain passages that preachers neglect in scripture, to their peril. One is the capstone story of the Book of Judges
, in which a rather spineless Levite loses his rather unfaithful and less than sympathetic figure of a wife, his concubine. Virtually everyone in the story remains unnamed. It's not a good commentary on the principals involved. He woos her back, then he throws her to the wolves in a story that parallels remarkably the tale of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Why should we be more afraid of "Gay Marriage" than of polygamy? It's contained in this one sentence.
CNN - "The (new) language (of the same sex marriage bill) would specify that religious organizations can decline to take part in any marriage ceremony without incurring fines or risking lawsuits."
To say I watch my legal facilitators with a baleful eye is to grossly understate the situation. If SSM advocates were truly of the "live and let live" variety of folks by and large I could almost be in favor of same sex "marriage." Almost.

The most recent failure of the bill in New Hampshire had several former supporters of the bill switching sides to vote against it. Why? Because it removes the ability to "force" religious organizations into acceptance. It wasn't so much that the bill was designed linguistically to sue churches and denominations, but it did open the door to such suits and now we see an idealistic pettiness I usually associate with the right. A "my way or the highway" attitude.

If you want to examine the rather dense language (I advise two "pirin" tablets, that's Aspirin with the A and S scraped off) and a reading of Governor Jim Lynch's statement on the New Hampshire bill, and the changes he requires in it. I have posted it over at "Vermont Polygamy."

The legal common ground between supporters of SSM and supporters of legal polygamy (in my case, the more narrow case of polygyny) should make, except for the religious differences, happy bedfellows. Ultimately I think it does not which is why I lean so hard on the horn of marriage contracts. Just as it wasn't the object of the men of Sodom, Gomorrah or Gibeah to compromise or live and let live, I don't think it is the object of present day SSM advocates to do that either. While they may open the door to legal polygamy, we must not only take that gift, but also built a legal wall between us and them or they will be at the door, pounding on it, demanding that they destroy. There is nothing new under the sun. We are not better. We have not progressed. The same scenes will play themselves out again.
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Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Why will the evidence eventually fall?

Michael Piccarretta "Gets it."
He has a case, that's key, but this is too:
The San Angelo Standard Times - "Noting that Walther signed the warrant for the YFZ search, Piccarreta said he’s skeptical that she’d essentially reverse that decision by granting the suppression motion.

Piccarreta said granting the suppression motion will be an easier task for Mohave County Superior Court Judge Steve Conn, who has no political capital at stake regarding events in Texas. Piccarreta said there’s no dispute that the YFZ search was a product of Rosita Swinton’s misrepresentations and lies that she was a teenager impregnated by Dale Barlow of Arizona at the YFZ ranch."
It's political. Michael might be wrong though.
"Piccarreta said he expects an appeal if Walther rejects the suppression motion."
I'm still holding out the real possibility that Walther will recuse herself. Walther does know her limitations. I get continuing impressions of that based on her behavior in the various hearings that have been going on. She's given herself enough time to "show" her work, or better yet, show Goldstein's work to others. I still figure she'll be bowing out. In which case there may be yet another "evidentiary hearing" or the evidence may be ruled out.

Nevertheless, Piccarreta is confident enough to proceed with everything all over again in Arizona, which means he's not just saying he thinks there is only one good answer for appearances sake. He doesn't just believe it because he's so close to the problem. Piccarreta thinks he can do it.
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Tuesday, May 19, 2009

I'm number 96,085. Cracking the "100,000th" mark, with a bang.

The bigger the audience, the bigger the impact. It's both vain and important at the same time.
I have to assume that you, the reader, agrees.

If the subject matter here attracts you then since it is about things that matter, you must feel as strongly as I do on certain matters. The more readers I get, the more general agreement there is out there with our collective points of view.

For the weekly rank I hit 338,454 worldwide. The rolling Alexa ranking now has me at 462,968th in the world, and more importantly, since the subject matter here is tied to US topics, I'm the 96,085th ranked website in the United States. For now.

Friendly blogs and sites of note and their ranks in the United States:

85,751 - The Truth Will Prevail
96,085 - The Vain (Modern!) Pharisee
110,747 - Free the FLDS Children
221,773 - Sore Toes and a Bleeding Heart
231,714 - The Common Room
396,025 - FLDS View (Pliggy)

The "Bad Guys/Gals"

190,963 - What Princess Says Goes (Rozita)
191,431 - Coram Non Judice
504,900 - FLDS Texas

And from being "The" go-to site for info on the YFZ ranch, "Texas Polygamy" has fallen off the radar altogether. Rozita certainly owes some of her ranking to my shameless promotion of her site. Blues drafts Brooke Adams linkage.

On the neener neener front. All by myself I outrank "Theologyweb." In the United States. If you don't know why I mention that, never mind. Worldwide they kick my butt.
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The Headmistress Pulls it all together

I'm going to out a fellow blogger and friend a bit for not going with her instincts. No, not the Headmistress, but Toes over at Sore Toes and a Bleeding Heart.
Twice now she Toes has approached me with excellent research and tried to give the story to me, and I've said "no," "blog it yourself." This resulted in the widely read and linked to posts "HB 3006 in Texas, the hearing," "More on the FLDS '05 hearing, and other stuff" and now "Schleicher County Medical Center and the FLDS girl." Toes and I talk regularly and this relationship goes back to early last year, right after the raid. Whereas I have tired of the tedious research, she just keeps plugging right along and doing an exemplary job. Way to go TOES!

The "Headmistress" over at "The Common Room" is a widely read and respected blogger. Each and every time I have refused the story Toes brought to me and said "blog it yourself" it has been with the object of drawing attention to one of the more thoughtful bloggers on the internet (that would be TOES). I knew the stories would be read, and would be considered "big." Headmistress confirms the quality of Toes stuff, and her popularity spills over onto me, your Humble Pharisee. Headmistress concludes "The Texas case looks fishier and fishier," as she does a powerful job of tying it all together.

So WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?! Go read it all.
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Yes, what happened to the FLDS could happen to you Mr and Mrs Christian Conservative. Vote AGAINST Rick Perry.

Over at the "Ellis County Observer" a letter from "GOP Activist" Robert Morrow is posted. An excerpt.
"Imagine a fascist, totalitarian government coming into your household and ripping away YOUR kids based on a crank phone call. That is exactly what happened to those FLDS families in 2008 and Religious Oppressor Rick Perry supported that move LONG AFTER it was revealed that a crank phone call complaint was the basis for the move. And even if the ONE complaint had been legitimate, what kind of a fascist, totalitarian government would come in there and remove FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY EIGHT children from hundreds of families?

As of now, 438 of the 439 children who were taken are back with their parents, which just shows how weak the CPS case was and proves that the real motive for this raid was governmental religious oppression. The FLDS had been watched and targeted by the government who was just looking for an excuse to move in and destroy their lives.

If you are a home schooler or a conservative Christian or you just believe in freedom and 'live and let live' you should be extremely concerned at the state sponsored gross miscarriage of justice that happened to these FLDS families. Perhaps you live in a Christian household where the man is the spiritual 'head of the family' or you teach that homosexuality is wrong. Thanks to Rick Perry, maybe one day the Left Wing and Child Protective Services will be TARGETING YOU and your family and they might not even need a crank phone call to religiously oppress you."
Which is why FLDS victory, is your victory. You may loathe polygamy. You may think it is inextricably connected to systemic child abuse. You may think that it is oppression of women in and of itself. You might even HATE the FLDS.

If they go down for this though, you do too. And soon.
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Pastor Andy Anderson was where?

This is the kind of thing you always get accused of wearing a tin hat for mentioning. Nevertheless it's worth pointing to the strangeness of Pastor Andy Anderson's destination, when he dodged his subpoena over the weekend.
Andy took off for Pagosa Springs, CO. It would be interesting to know how many times he has been there before. What, might you ask is just down the road from quiet Pagosa Springs? 85 miles down the road, on US Highway 160, turning neither to the right, or to the left, is Mancos, CO. What's in Mancos you ask? The FLDS.

It of course could be nothing. It is noteworthy though that Andy Anderson who was going to be asked when it was that he was informed buses were going to be needed to pick up kids from YFZ, skipped town. He may have made trips to Pagosa Springs before, and that is where he was, when he skipped town. Barbara Walther DID NOT issue a bench warrant to bring him back, and she went from having a hearing about having a hearing to declaring the hearing about a hearing to be the hearing and limiting testimony time and cutting off witnesses and denying the defense other witnesses so that she could get it all wrapped up, before Andy Anderson got back. At least that's the way I understand it.

I suppose the record could come out in the next few days and it will show Andy did make it back and testified. From where I sit though, I have seen no report of Andy showing up, and he just skipped without answering the subpoena. And Walther stayed until 10:30pm Friday night, and worked an 11 hour Saturday, 8:30am until 7:30pm and changed the proceedings into an evidentiary hearing and wrapped up everything and told the attorneys to "mail it in" and Andy did not testify. It would seem.
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The other shoe drops in Rozita's court cases, something stinks?

This of course was dictated by her trial being moved to August.
KKTV Colorado Springs - "A court hearing for a woman identified as a person of interest in the calls that triggered a raid on a Texas polygamist group has been postponed.

Rozita Swinton faces legal proceedings stemming from two false reporting cases in Colorado that are unrelated to the Texas raid.

A Douglas County judge had been set to decide Monday whether to revoke Swinton's probation there because she now faces charges in Colorado Springs.

The judge decided to delay a decision until August 20, after the Colorado Springs case is expected to be resolved. Swinton has pleaded not guilty that case.

In Douglas County, Swinton was put on probation after telling police she was a 16-year-old girl who was suicidal after giving birth. She faces jail time if found guilty of violating her probation."
There's a small problem though. Rozita's trial in El Paso county has been scheduled for August 31st. She has plead guilty in the Castle Rock case in nearby Douglas County and has received a deferred sentence. This scheduling of the hearing regarding probation revocation is set for 11 days before her trial, the outcome of which determines whether or not her deferred sentence will be enacted. Namely, her guilty plea will go on the record, and she will be sentenced.

So either this is an error, or some sort of procedural move. If it is a procedural move maybe there is some protocol that the probation revocation/plea bargain hearing can't be put off more than perhaps 3 months. She would then be scheduled as far out as she can be scheduled and we can expect another change of date.

Or Douglas county expects things to be over by then which is what the story says. This would mean the August 31st court date is one no one expects to happen. Some sort of deal is in the offing. Speculation runs wild at this point. Is Texas taking Rozita? Are charges going to be dropped in El Paso County? Etc, Etc. Hard to figure but it bears watching. I hardly think that those involved are up to something good in this case. Texas almost has to be involved in the "deal."
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Monday, May 18, 2009

Argh! 101,718

I've been flirting with this, like the sound barrier for the last 6 months.
I never quite get there, but I'm oh so close. My "Alexa" rank in the United States is 101,718. If a tree fall in the forest and no one hears, did it make a sound? Clearly some are listening and I thank you all.
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Sunday, May 17, 2009

Arrest David Doran

I said LE knew about Rozita DURING the raid.
The Salt Lake Tribune - "(Texas Ranger Philip) Kemp also found a 90-second call from (Sheriff David) Doran's cell phone to (Rozita) Swinton on April 8, 2008. Doran never told rangers he had the number until Kemp asked him about it.

The Sheriff said he heard only silence in the 90-second call."
Sheriff David Doran withheld material information, during the raid. I contended that LE knew about Rozita DURING, not after the raid, on more than one occasion. I did so after gathering news from personal contacts with the principals in the story.
February 5th, 2009 "Since I have documented a link in the bureaucratic communication that had to be at least the SECOND, not the FIRST investigation into the matter, this means that somewhere in between the 3rd of April and the 11th, they knew. The likelihood with bureaucratic non urgent communications being as they are. (SEE PEARL HARBOR AGAIN) it took a good deal of time. That means sometime well before the 11th. Probably no later in April than the 6th."
Since the date keeps being pushed back, and since the men who tell us it was later, not earlier, and they knew less earlier as opposed to later are men now demonstrated to have lied, bald faced. I think it's fair to say that my fair estimate of "no later than April the 6th, 2008" will be found (eventually) to be more than gracious.

Brooks Long and David Doran have both now been shown to have obstructed justice by withholding or lying (or both) about facts. We cannot believe them about what they knew (being not much) and when they knew it (being much later). We have to doubt it all.

As I have also said about motive, motive becomes important when someone is shown to be lying. A truthful man may have an ulterior motive, but still speaks the truth and his motivations must be discounted if the information is pertinent. An untruthful man must be evaluated in terms of what he might gain from his lying, and his actions must be attributed to those discovered gains.

Brooks and Doran gain entry to YFZ by lying. They hide their criminal activity by lying. They must be assumed to be hiding further criminal activity by lying until they are proved to have done otherwise. Short form? They can't be trusted and must be assumed to have lied about everything. It must be assumed that they will lie again to minimize the damage.

We also now have a real conspiracy. Two or more people plotting against others, using falsehood to gain what they want. That is "an agreement by two or more persons to commit a crime, fraud, or other wrongful act."




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Arrest Brooks Long

This is step one. He lied in an affidavit and/or under oath to the court.
The Salt Lake Tribune - "(A private) investigator for (FLDS Attorney Gerry) Goldstein testified that he checked with the Schleicher County Medical Center and learned no one from law enforcement had ever attempted to verify the caller's claim of being treated there for broken ribs. That contradicts testimony by (Texas Ranger Brooks) Long, who said that was done by the district attorney's office."
Brooks of course may legitimately implicate someone else, such as a person who REALLY and TRULY told him from the DA's office that they did in fact call. There could be other mitigating circumstances such as the discovery of actual notes revealing such a call was made. I grant that if the officer was telling the truth and if the DA did in fact call, that they're hardly expecting the defense to successfully discover evidence that they did not call.

As it stands now, the most likely explanation of the testimony by the FLDS hired private investigator is that no one called. This raises the point of active conspiracy, real and actual. This says that Texas Ranger Lieutenant Brooks Long perjured himself and that he and several others did so in support of the warrant used to enter YFZ. A warrant that you lie to obtain is a prima facie case for there being no probable cause.
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The Pharisee's Phearless Phorecast

Ok, maybe Phearful.
Walther will recuse herself. As I was telling a friend this evening, she's lost control of the proceeding. It's worse than that I believe from watching the superficial symptoms from a distance. She's not following it. She is hardly a great jurist. She's out of her depth and deathly afraid of ruling.

When she limits the time, testimony and cuts people off she can control the size and scope of the case so that the ruling fits what she's allowed to happen. This battle has grown to big for her ability. She's lost and incapable of making a coherent ruling.

We'll see though, I may have to eat my words but I am willing to step out on another limb. Let's see how long I last.

Either it's recusal, or it's ruling against the evidence.
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Saturday, May 16, 2009

And now, the Rangers just resort to LYING, Walther admits an Evidentiary hearing is necessary.

When all the dodges, the hiding behind "Secret Grand Juries" and Judge's peticoats give way, what do tough Texas Rangers Do? LIE. They just plain lie, bald faced. These are not men. They shame their uniforms.
The Salt Lake Tribune - "(A)n investigator for defense attorney Gerald Goldstein testified that he checked with the Schleicher County Medical Center and learned that no one from law enforcement had ever sought medical records related to the caller's claim of receiving treatment there for broken ribs. That contradicts testimony by Texas Ranger Brooks Long, who said earlier this week that the Tom Green County prosecutor had inquired about the records."
So Brooks is exposed as a liar. That means everything he says is now called into question and cannot be believed unless it is corroborated. Not by the testimony of OTHER liars, but by hard evidence. Phone records for instance. By the way, one of the reasons you don't call hospitals and confidently state that no one came into the emergency room by that description? You already know no one came into the emergency room fitting the description of Sarah. One of the reasons you know there is no "Sarah" in an emergency room? You already know the calls are coming from Rozita Swinton. Just a thought here.

Next liar? Philip Kemp. Allegedly it was Brooks Long that was calling the Colorado Springs Police Department on April 13th, a Sunday, in 2008 to investigate Rozita Swinton. Now we are simply asked to believe a new story contrary to those published reports I have already proven were false?
"(Ranger Philip) Kemp said he was asked to investigate the calls on April 14, 11 days after authorities received a search warrant that gave them access to the sect's ranch. Authorities removed 439 children from the ranch last spring after receiving Swinton's calls."
Sorry boys, your Modern Pharisee already talked to CSPD on this one. We are now asked to accept bald faced a new date and a new caller. Not Brooks Long on the 13th, but Philip Kemp on the 14th.

The problem is it wasn't either of them on the 13th or the 14th. It could have been one of them earlier than that. The FBI made contact with CSPD, probably looking for someone for Kemp to dance with that week. That means, as I have contended before, that it was already known who Rozita was before that. Kemp's alleged Monday the 14th "investigation" is most likely a set up. A staged event to mark on the calender when it was that the "shocking" news of Rozita was "discovered."

I saw this coming.
"This is pretty much going to be the evidentiary hearing," Walther said (this) afternoon.
On no you don't. It's your resistance that has forced this proceeding to turn into a near evidentiary hearing, but you don't get to change it to that because you have lost control. Everyone deserves real notice for one thing.

If Walther says this IS the evidentiary hearing, then she has now admitted the evidence standard was cleared by a country mile, that an evidentiary hearing was dictated by weight of the evidence a long time ago.

Now she's trying to pull the fast one of limiting the hearing, and tricking attorneys who were not prepared to argue admissibility, only the need to have such a hearing. If you admit that you're having the hearing already, then you admit to it's necessity. If you admit to it's necessity, you admit to the need to do it right.
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Walther struggles to gain control, Rozita subject spills out into court, Texas admits there is no "Sarah"

She imposes a "time limit."
The San Angelo Standard-Times - "It is the fourth day of the session, and 51st District Judge Barbara Walther opened proceedings by imposing a time limit.

'One hour per side per witness...' "
She made the 400 plus kid soup that is the evidence mess with a hoax tip, now she wants to be home in time for dinner?

This also tells a witness that if they can obfuscate and drag their feet for a while, they can get out of saying anything.

I continue to be amazed that the Judge actually thinks she can dictate the size of the evidence notebook that is presented to her and the amount of time a witness can be on the stand.

Texas also officially acknowledges Rozita Swinton:
"Defense attorney Kent Schaffer called Texas Ranger Sgt. Phillp Kemp, who confirmed information in reports regarding Rosita (sic) Swinton, the woman now known to have made the hoax call to a San Angelo shelter for battered women that ultimately led to the April 3, 2008, raid on the polygamous sect's Yearning for Zion Ranch."
Kemp also tries to sell the story that Texas didn't know this until April 16th, 2008. Well, at least he may not have known.
"Kemp acknowledged in brief answers to Schaffer's lengthy questions that cell phone records obtained after the raid showed an array of calls from four cell phone numbers traced to Swinton, who lives in Colorado Springs, Colo., including calls to NewBridge Family Shelter in San Angelo, a shelter in Everett, Wash., and former sect member Flora Jessop in the days before the raid.

Kemp also testified that Texas law enforcement authorities learned that Swinton had an extensive record of such vexatious calls. She posed as Sarah Barlow, a 16-year-old girl living on the YFZ Ranch, mother to one child and pregnant with another, who claimed to have been abused by her husband, Dale Barlow, in calls to both the San Angelo and Everett shelters, Kemp testified. Swinton, Kemp said he was told by Colorado authorities, had posed variously as persons named Erica, April and Jennifer in calls reporting she had been raped, forced into incest, forced to have multiple abortions, and held against her will in a basement by drug dealers.

In the call to Flora Jessop, Swinton pretended to be Sarah Barlow's sister, Laura, Kemp said.

The information came out after the raid, Kemp said, and he learned about it when he was sent to Colorado on April 16, 2008, to consult with authorities there."
And "Sarah?" She is now officially non existent.
"It was only in the days after the raid that authorities determined that no such person as Sarah Barlow existed, the state has said."
This may well spill over into next week:
"The session may continue into the afternoon. Defense attorney Jerry Goldstein informed the court that one witness, retired probation officer Bill Loader, is being brought to San Angelo from out of state and is not expected to arrive until late in the afternoon."
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Texas Obstructs

Why will the evidence eventually be thrown out?
Brooke Adams "Twitters"
"Defense is about to put CPS investigator Angie Voss on the stand but state is trying to block that."
Walther may keep the evidence in play, but you can't block witness testimony in Texas, and expect it to survive in Arizona. Arizona will, trust me, eventually boomerang back to Texas.
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You talkin' ta me? (UPDATED)

"If you want to interview someone. Don't shot yourself in the foot by talking about them before an interview, write or publish things about them that is not true or have been proven."
"No one will get an interview who has done this. Why would anyone in their right mind be interviewed by someone who appears bias right off the bat? I believe in interviews face to face none of the over the phone b*llshit.


If you are truly interested in interviewing someone don't try and blow smoke up their ass for an interview. Just freaking ask, how hard is that? Then when you are asked a question by the 'potential interviewee' answer it and don't dance around the question. If you want an interview expect questions to be ask of you before hand. What people/media fail to realize is that not everyone you want to interview is a complete idiot. Maybe if you give them some credit they would consider speaking with you.


We* have no problem setting up interviews as long as it is with a respectable person/network/reporter who is not bias one way or another. We thank those of you who have requested and welcome others. If you have done any of the above mentioned items, then don't bother waisting your time even asking."
Yes, I've asked Rozita for an interview. Apparently so have others. I can only suppose that I am one of, if not the one she is talking about here, at least with reference to some of the points the blogger makes. One of the comments says this is directed at me personally.
"Pharisee *cough cough*

I dont' know why people think they can get somewhere after being so flippantly rude about everything. It amazes me."
I thought rude was calling in a phony police report that could have ended up with a large loss of life. I don't owe Rozita an apology unless she can prove you didn't make the calls. They were her phones.

Is the blogger Rozita? Almost certainly. If not the blogger is playing with fire since she is in the middle of one of the biggest frauds perpetrated by the police in recent years. The search for a scapegoat is beginning in earnest so playing peek-a-boo with the mighty and amoral is a dangerous thing to do.

I'd say this one thing to the blogger. Of all the people out there who have written about you, but haven't met you, I probably know you the best. Enemies are intimate, and are often your potential best friends. You have after all, the same interests. Keep that in mind.

(UPDATE) These are the comments, so far, that "Rozita" has published on "What Princess Says Goes."
"Anonymous" said...

Pharisee *cough cough*

I dont' know why people think they can get somewhere after being so flippantly rude about everything. It amazes me.

15 May, 2009 14:43

"Anonymous" said...

I would be interested in possibly interviewing you if your Rozita or Rozita. I will check with my editor and get back to you.

15 May, 2009 15:03
Blogger "The Pharisee" said...

I'd love to Rozita, but I don't have the time or $$$ to do this in person.

Maybe you can get us both on Oprah or O'Reilly or Larry King. I'm sure they would listen to you, you're far more important than I am.

As an antagonist (in your view), I am better equipped to interview you than anyone else out there. Though I am sure my knowledge is in error in some places, in others, it's not.

Anytime.

16 May, 2009 07:57
Blogger "Rozita" said...

Hugh, What makes you better equipped to interview Rozita than anyone else out there? Nothing but bias has been shown on your part. A true journalist does not get emotionally involved in a "story." If this had been something that you had been reporting on for years or decades and you had family connections involved I could see it. Granted there are times it occurs we're all human.

You jumped on the bandwagon and started spewing hate. No one would hire you as a journalist with that approach.

16 May, 2009 08:25
"The Pharisee" said...

I'm not looking to get hired as a journalist.

Besides, I have a blog bigger than some of the smaller newspapers out there already.

There's no story in being interviewed by someone like "Kate Rosemary," but there would be one in being interviewed by moi.

If you want I can arrange someone more objective. I just want the story told.
16 May, 2009 08:33
"Jam Inn" said...

Rose Mr. Hugh just wants to feed his ego and 'scoop' Bill "Wacky" Medvecky for his blog site. You see Mr. McBryde has convinced only himself that he can investigate you better than the Texas Rangers can do in the ona and only interview of you. You remember, the interview that asked about "Sarah" and ended with no co-operation or information from you. He is well aware that you are facing a charge and have an attorney to represent your interests but he ignores that fact and has chosen to be the 'SUPER' sleuth vigilante force of one. He posts his tripe on his blog and solicits "0" Comments, so don't rush into any eyewitness interview with this 'Child McBride" because you might become associated with his lowlife peer group.
16 May, 2009 08:54
*you got a mouse in your handbag?
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We're in overtime. Court begins at 8:30 CDT, today

Apparently Barbara has lost control.
The most clear evidence of that is the fact that there will be a session today, Saturday.
The San Angelo Standard-Times - "(Judge Barbara) Walther called a recess to Friday’s marathon hearing about 10:15 p.m. It started at 9 a.m. with anticipation of an early morning ruling. The hearing will resume at 8:30 a.m. today."
I don't recall that happening before. The clear intent now of Judge Walther was to get this "over with" yesterday, hopefully yesterday morning, rule, and bolt.

Which means she had her decision already made. Instead she sputters:
"I thought I made myself clear at 9 a.m.," 51st District Judge Barbara Walther said Friday morning, as she asked attorneys to bring forth "actual evidence — not arguments — to support your case."
But she can't do that, she can complain, she can spit and whine, but she can't do that. The "evidence" is a sort of reasonable doubt of the evidence and the motives behind collecting it and acting on a suspect call. You have to testify. What does Gerry Goldstein do? Stand up and say "there was no probable cause" and then sit down and wait for Eric Nichols to say "oh yes there was?"

Was too!

Was not!

Was too!

This is a case of trying to prove the negative when it comes to evidence. By asking for actual evidence "not arguments" Walther is asking for the impossible, and knows it. The evidence is the arguments.
"We did not know that (the call was a hoax). We thought it was happening," Long said. "We had a duty to act."
Really Brooks? When both you and David Doran speculated that your "victim" might not be telling the truth about her age or name? You've never had a hoax call before? If Brooks, who holds himself out as a domestic violence expert hasn't had a hoax call in that arena before, he's a living embodiment of the winning lottery ticket.

Finally, I don't ever recall outside of an opinion column a plain assertion of the follwoing as fact, by a reporter:
"Later, it turned out that 'Sarah Barlow,' as the caller was identified, didn’t exist."
If this is the case, why does the investigation of Rozita Swinton not proceed? The only way to do that is have a full on hearing, call her and others as a witness and just do it. It'll take a while Barabara, and there will be lots of speeches and lots of reading material. You might as well just roll up your sleeves and get to it. You made this mess, clean it up.

BTW, some of the evidence is contained in a certain Pastor's mind. You allowed him to skip town and haven't issued a warrant for his return. Could it be he might say something?
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Friday, May 15, 2009

San Angelo Proceedings Reviewed

The Salt Lake Tribune has published an article reviewing a number of the developments in today's court room activity in San Angelo.
I'll just go item by item, and comment.
"Shelter workers who spoke to the caller were 'adamant that this girl needed help; they were adamant that this girl needed to leave the ranch,' testified Texas Ranger Brooks Long."
This is meaningless. The "convinced" or "sincere" or "heartfelt" nature of the shelter's employees means nothing. The facts only mean things. Their feelings might exert a powerful tug on the heartstrings but as facts they amount to zero. Thus the adamant declarations of the shelter workers has the effect of multiplying zero by any large number. The result? Zero.
"The state entered into evidence..., under seal, about 10 photos taken inside the sect's temple and described as showing beds and pedestals. Testimony continued late into (the) night and the judge did not make immediate rulings."
Meaningless again. None of these things are seen or known about prior to entry into YFZ, so they are not a factor in justifying the warrant, again this is a purely emotional appeal to whomever. It's sheer grandstanding. It also signals that the state is still trying to push some aspect of the discredited "sex bed" story. There is nothing of substance here. Nothing in these exhibits pertains to any search warrant's justification. Don't be surprised if these photos now get "leaked" and show up (shock) on certain blogs. It's probably the only real reason for entering them into evidence.
"(Texas Ranger Brooks) Long said the caller who sparked the raid was credible, citing as an example her frequent use of the word 'prophet,' a title used for the sect's leader. Her vagueness in naming her husband -- her alleged attacker -- or a hospital where she was treated was typical of domestic violence victims, he said."
Brooks Long is a domestic violence expert? I would like some evidence of that status. Vagueness can only be attributed to domestic violence? Doesn't it have other causes, such as the vague person is lying? No one knows that the FLDS has a "Prophet?" I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that the larger "mainstream" LDS refer to their leader as a "Prophet." It's fairly normal in fact in this region of the country, to know that the LDS have a "Prophet." If it's a hoax call, all that is necessary is for the caller to be LDS.

Additionally, the caller displayed other telltales that dispute the genuine nature of the call. If Brooks asks us to believe that "vagueness" and the use of the word "Prophet" mean the call is genuine, laughable in the extreme, why is he not cautioned by the use of language naming parents "Mom and Dad" instead of "Mother and Father?" What about references to the holiday "Easter" which is not part of FLDS doctrine or custom? Brooks is holding out that he is an FLDS expert, and if he is, these telltales say that the caller is far from genuine.
"Once the caller identified her husband as Dale Evans Barlow -- selected from a list of men associated with the FLDS Church, read to her by hotline worker -- Long decided against contacting the man's Arizona probation officer.

Long said he had two reasons: in his experience, probation officers call offenders and alert them to such calls, and he had heard there were people sympathetic to the FLDS in the area's criminal justice system. Barlow, along with other sect members, had been prosecuted in Arizona on charges related to underage marriages."
First, the troubling "selection" of a name. Is the "abused" "Sarah" so unsure of the name of her own husband? Does she even KNOW where she is in the country? There are too many problems with this to address. If she can't identify her husband without help, why does this not erode her credibility as a caller from YFZ? I could call Newbridge right now from a phone with any area code from any part of the country. If I was chained in the basement and unsure of who my "husband" is, why do I even know I'm in Eldorado? I could go on and on.

Turning to Long's first reason for not calling the probation officer, Long cites an unsubstantiated belief that Arizona Probation Officers tip off their charges. What is his basis for this statement? What follows makes it even sillier:
"(Lt. Long) also did not ask the unnamed source he often used to gather information about the FLDS, he said, explaining his charge from the Rangers did not include locating Barlow."
First the Sex Beds brought into the discussion for no reason other than sensationalism, they cannot have been relevant to the proceeding, now Brooks Long's "Deep Throat" reappears. Isn't it time we had some name for this source, even if it is redacted? Shouldn't Judge Walther be able to say she knows who this source is at this point? Otherwise, the source has no credibility and shouldn't be mentioned in the proceeding.

Also Brooks first says he is concerned about "tipping off" "Dale Evans Barlow" but then he's not interested in locating him? What was all that noise then before about "tipping off?" He has a deep source in an evil empire that has tentacles everywhere, is this what he is trying to say? It's mumbo jumbo.
"They have identified at least 12 witnesses they plan to call, including Barlow, law officers, a Baptist pastor and a crisis hot line employee."
The pastor may be back by Monday. Assuming that the proceeding is still, proceeding, it may not be important that he skipped his summons. He'll be there in time anyway. We'll see Monday. He certainly should get a stern "talking to."
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(UPDATED) Long and Doran weren't even confident of the caller's age

And their suspicions were right. They thought "Sarah" had possibly given a fake name and age. (UPDATE, read comments. Their remarks probably refer to "Sarah" lying to the hospital, but how does that help?) UPDATE 2. Since it is now shown that they never called the hospital, it is just as I supposed the first time. They just thought she was lying about her name and age.
The San Angelo Standard-Times - "(Gerry)Goldstein also asked Brooks (Long) whether he told the judge that no records could be found of the caller's claimed visit to an area hospital. Brooks, after discussing the matter with Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran at the time, believed the girl could have given a false name and age."
How can you have probable cause then? The very officers who are "confidently" swearing to affidavits to support the warrant don't have confidence in two key facts. The name of the supposed abused and her age. How do you swear out a warrant for a crime against an unknown person that you haven't met, who won't give you their location? Her age? This is critical. A 33 year old woman who is claiming to be half that age is not the same kind of crime. Perhaps not even a crime at all. Under questioning he admits he had no confidence in key elements of the affidavit, but swears it out anyway.

If he doesn't believe her age, why does he believe she is at YFZ when she says she's at YZMIN? If he doesn't believe her name, why does he believe that her "husband" has been abusing her when he has every reason to believe that the "husband" hasn't set foot in the state at any time during the statute's period of limitations? These facts alone condemn the warrant, the idea of probable cause, and the subsequent raid.

I spent years in "all night" radio. I regularly got calls from girls saying they were going to kill themselves among other things. Is Brooks not familiar with people who do such things for attention? He's a Lieutenant now in the Texas Rangers. At the time, he was a Sargent. Unbelievable.
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FLDS Photo No No? Nada problem at all.

Not a big deal.
The Plural Life - "Defense attorney Gerald Goldstein said the photo was found through an Internet image search. He said it was posted on an ABC News Web site and referenced the YFZ Ranch investigation. He said the defense had authenticated all photos submitted but that one and had included a note in its submission stating the photo could not be verified."
Nuttin' honey.
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And the hearing is on? Or Not? (UPDATED)

It's always hard to tell with Barbara Walther, who autocratically makes things up as she goes along. It looks like we're having our hearing though.
The San Angelo Standard-Times - "After two days of presentations from attorneys, 51st District Judge Barbara Walther this morning issued the decision to continue with witness testimony."
So much for allegations of "falsified evidence." If there was, or was not, it apparently didn't impact the decision to continue, so we continue. It looks like I was right last night when I stepped out on a limb and made my prediction. Just call me "Huey the Pharisee," courtroom odds maker. Better yet. Don't. (Puh-leez don't.)

This is a new ball game. Whatever went on yesterday doesn't matter. Right, wrong, spit, fume, it's no longer relevant. There's an evidence hearing. The record starts now. If you didn't like the call in game six, that's too bad. Game seven is on, for all the marbles. It may have multiple overtimes.

I wouldn't be terribly surprised if she tries to make it a short show hearing and end it today. I'm not betting on that but this is "Athaliah" after all. Look for her to definitely try to wrap it up by next Friday, the "Long News Desert" known as Memorial Day Weekend.

(UPDATED) To hear Brooke Adams tell it though, this is a hearing about a hearing, with witnesses.
"51st District Judge Barbara Walther will first hear from Texas Ranger Brooks Long. Earlier, defense attorneys, led by Gerald Goldstein of San Antonio, had identified at least 12 witnesses they plan to call if the judge grants a hearing."
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Thursday, May 14, 2009

Brooke Adams Reports. Rozita was known to Schleicher County, in MARCH.

March 29th. They already knew about Rozita Swinton.
Brooke Adams, The Plural Life - "Today during the court hearing in San Angelo, defense attorney Kent Schaffer, who represents Wendell Nielsen, told Judge Barbara Walther this:

On March 29, at 1:59 p.m., the Schleicher County Sheriff’s Department received a call from the same number now traced to Rozita Swinton, who is believed to have made the hoax calls that triggered the investigation at the Yearning For Zion Ranch.

At 2:25 p.m. that day, 26 minutes later, the same phone was used to make the first call to the NewBridge Family Shelter.

Obvious question, not yet answered in court testimony: Did someone at the sheriff’s office refer the caller to the shelter?"
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The Pharisee's Hearing Prediction

There's going to be one. In Texas.
The San Angelo Standard-Times - "Late (this) afternoon, 51st District Judge Barbara Walther recessed a preliminary hearing and is expected to rule (Tomorrow) morning whether there will be a hearing to suppress the evidence."
It's by no means certain, but reports coming out of the courtroom point to an angry, irritated Judge Walther. People react with anger when they are afraid and cornered so why would a Judge feel angry and cornered? Because she's going to have to do something she doesn't want to do.

I'm going to say I'm over 50% on this prediction. Remember, it's political. If Walther doesn't have the hearing, it will come back to haunt her after Arizona does. Remember, Matt Smith said they would have a hearing in Arizona, if there wasn't a ruling to exclude in Texas.

The problem is that a hearing is not entirely predictable. Walther doesn't know what the witnesses will say. Her problem is that a hearing may well produce testimony that makes exclusion necessary.

If I'm wrong, certain folks will claim I boldly stepped out and said definitely that there would be a hearing. I didn't. I said I was over 50%. I will say this, if Walther doesn't rule for the hearing, she stands to be embarrassed again, and she's been embarrassed once before. She's also got Arizona's gun to her head.
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Modern Pharisee "Dodges" Bullet

I work at a Chrysler dealer in Vermont.
WPTZ - "Rutland Dodge in North Clarendon and Walker Motors in Montpelier are on a list of 789 dealers nationwide that Chrysler proposes eliminating because it says it has too many. The company makes Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles."
I don't work at either. Thank God. There are those at both dealerships that didn't "Dodge" Chrysler's scythe.
"Walker owner Wade Walker says Jeep sales account for about 25 percent of his business, which was already down 40 percent. He said losing that would hurt."
That's bad, but we've all been hurting and Wade has Ford at the dealership he sold Jeeps from. Those at Rutland Dodge are certainly having a bad night.
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Read it Witch

You make a mess, you clean it up. It's one of the cardinal rules of life.
The number of points that can be made from the various articles at the San Angelo Standard-Times yesterday and today are large, but this is a big one:
"During the hearing, (Gerald) Goldstein gave (Barbara) Walther two large notebooks filled with information. Walther later asked Goldstein how long it would take to pare down the notebooks to what she called 'the specifics'."
If you drove a truck drunkenly into someone's living room, and say, Judge Walther had sentenced you as part of your punishment to clean up the mess, I would say this is the rough equivalent to what is going on here. Barbara (who I often refer to as "Athaliah," usurper Queen of Judah), made this mess. For her to say that the notebook should be "par(ed) down" to "the specifics" indicates several things. One is, that she has already ruled on this in her mind, and is just sitting in to edit her decision to make it appear that she responded to the "facts." That we talked about yesterday. The judicial diva of San Angelo was quoted as saying; "Not a lot of evidence has been presented, There have been a lot of speeches this morning." She rattles off disparaging one liners in the morning to telegraph that she is essentially part of the prosecution, and not a judge. Then she is then confronted with the facts in the afternoon. Point one, she's made her decision. Point two? The lazy usurper witch responds to "Gerry" Goldstein's by acting like a Prima Donna complaining "Could you pare it down a little?"

Barbara, you asked for it by playing comedian to the press and spouting off about speeches. Well, here's your evidence, and now you don't want to read it? Call a recess if you want. Find a nice shade tree, get out your cigars and sippin' whiskey but READ IT. I can only be glad that she sets herself up so obviously and publically for a reveresal later. Her intent is clearly stated in the morning, and her lazy judicial partisanship is further underscored in the afternoon. Read the notebooks Athaliah, THEY ARE THE SPECIFICS.

Having all the children returned to their parents proves there was no probable cause in the first place IMHO. With over 400 children taken and a whole community sacked for evidence, there are going to be a lot of "specifics." Deal with it. She owes that to the defendants. She owes that to Schleicher County before putting them through the expense of the trials and the inevitable bank busting appeals. A lot of work now may turn out to be relatively small work compared to the bigger mess to clean up later.

This is the "trial" of the evidence. There are a lot of people waiting hopefully in the wings to see this handled properly. Judge Steven Conn continues to send little messages to "get this right" by supplying Walther with all the witnesses he can provide. Even showing faith in that witness, the convicted sex criminal that was supposedly at the ranch that day.
"(Yesterday Dale) Barlow appeared before Mohave County Superior Court Judge Steve Conn in Kingman, Ariz. Barlow told the court he had no objection and would cooperate with the subpoena to appear as a witness in the Texas suppression hearing at the Tom Green County courthouse."
Unlike Texas who have obstructed every appearance of witnesses in Arizona, and co-opted Matt Smitt to plead that YFZ evidence is not relevant and have argued the points of Texas actively before Judge Conn, Judge Conn has facilitated the Texas inquest into the evidence, granting Dale leave to travel to San Angelo. It is an arduous task for Dale as well.
"Barlow’s trip to Texas was likely an exhausting odyssey. He made a five-hour drive to his Mohave County Superior Court appearance Tuesday, then had to drive two hours to Las Vegas, Nev., where he was to catch a flight to Dallas, then to San Angelo."
Further proof that it is a trial of the evidence that "Athaliah" must conduct, or someone else will have to is provided by the unfriendly prosecutor Matt Smith, who provides us with this clear eyed and honest assessment.
"Smith said the question will be moot if the suppression motion is granted in Texas.

Otherwise, Smith said, litigation of the suppression matter will be the next significant event in Arizona pretrial proceedings for Jeffs."
Well Bravo Matt, after acting like a toadie for Texas, he tells it the way it is. That's a refreshing change from doctrinaire Texas prosecutors and anti FLDS bloggers who crow insistently like every decision handed down from judicial partisans amount to certainty, finality and truth. If Texas will not try the evidence, Arizona will have to. In fact, Matt is saying in code that unless Texas rules the right way (against the evidence), he's going to have to participate in a trial to determine that in Arizona. Matt will believe that the evidence is inadmissible if Texas says so, Matt will also not believe it is admissible if Texas says so. Matt is also admitting in coded language again, that he has every intention of using that evidence, if it's available to him. Thanks again Matt, that's about as much as we can expect from the opposition. After that breath of fresh air, it's back to the hubris of Texas.
"Assistant Attorney General Eric Nichols said the defendants’ claim of omissions didn’t meet the burden of proof for suppressing evidence. There was probable cause to believe a 16-year-old girl was being held on the ranch and being abused, he said.

The caller gave details about her situation and living details of the ranch that officers knew to be true, he said.

“None of these claims of omission would affect the underlying probable cause to issue the search warrant,” he said.

He added later: 'We feel very confident in our position the defendants did not satisfy any' of the burden of proof to suppress."
Matt Smith gives lie to all of this. Again, the only acceptable outcome to Arizona is exclusion. Otherwise they are compelled to see for themselves. I'm getting the impression that Matt is tired of this.

Despite the fact that legally it is difficult to transfer Arizona's exclusion of the evidence back to Texas after they have ruled it acceptable, it will eventually wind it's way back to a Texas court. Before, or after the trials of the FLDS men.
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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Told you So, Rozita's Trial delayed again, until August 31st

Why not just be honest and say "never?" What's the big deal? It's a misdemeanor trial, yet it is being delayed like a celebrity murder beef.
I of course reminded you of her high priced legal help yesterday, and expressed my doubts the trial would take place.
The Deseret News - "During a hearing in a Colorado Springs court (today), court records show the trial for Rozita Swinton, 34, on a charge unrelated to the Texas raid was vacated and rescheduled to begin Aug. 31. Swinton is charged with a misdemeanor count of false reporting, accusing her of pretending to be a sexually abused teenage girl in Colorado Springs who was chained in a basement."
Last week I spoke of the predictive mechanism I use for determining when it is that Rozita's trial will be scheduled and why. I may be wrong about the motives of her attorney and those behind the scenes, but isn't it odd that it serves as a perfect predictor of what will happen.

David Foley won't try Rozita's case with Allen Steed's case up in the air. He wants to see what happens there first. Foley wants the evidence situation resolved in Texas and Arizona regarding the FLDS raid, and he wants to know if Allen Steed will be convicted of rape. He will twist and maneuver to make sure his client never goes to court before these story lines play out.

Foley wants no chance of Swinton being asked in court if she made the phone call to YFZ, which would of course, be a violation of her deferred sentencing arrangement. You can believe completely that Rozita will get off entirely of her Colorado charges, if the ones in Texas become moot. The deal is already made, they just can't announce it until the dust settles, so they put the trial that will never happen off, again, and again and again. If someone wants to know what Rozita knows, they'd better sue her.

What's the big deal? How is Rozita harmed by a mere misdemeanor conviction? That she could easily live down. It's just that no one can know, if Texas can help it, what Rozita knows.
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"Not a lot of evidence has been presented," Walther said. "There have been a lot of speeches this morning."

Wait, how is it that you give evidence of no evidence? Is "Athaliah" Walther asking that FLDS attorneys prove the negative? She's signaling her ruling here, in the face of overwhelming lack of evidence, namely, the overwhelming lack of evidence that there was a girl in distress at the ranch.
The San Angelo Standard Times - "The calls from Sarah are now believed to be a hoax, likely perpetrated by a 33-year-old Colorado Springs woman arrested on charges of making similar but unrelated calls in Colorado.

(Gerry) Goldstein said the person who made the call said she had been taken to a hospital, but it was later revealed no such person was admitted at the local hospital. The caller also initially refused to give a name or address, he said.

The caller also couldn't give the first name of the alleged husband until she was presented with several FLDS members' names, Goldstein said.

'The caller was given a multiple choice exam to her husband's first name,' Goldstein said.

Long was the only witness called so far, but it was early in the hearing and he was asked whether defendant Frederick Merril Jessop lived on the ranch and if he was considered the ranch leader. The defendants signed affidavits stating they reside on the ranch and follow the church's teachings.
This is why Rozita, who in my estimation has the IQ of a rock, sounded so convincing, she was given a script.

The ruling clearly will be for the inclusion of the evidence. "Athaliah" is already making speeches. Probably some of those very words will be used in the appeal to show she had her mind made up and was playing diva to the press.
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Glenn Beck Bumbles his way through the Polygamy inevitability

For that, you have to speak with bloggers such as moi. Watch the frustrated and amateurish (though correct) explanation.


For the LOGIC you must go to Vermont Polygamy. Yes Glenn, it is not logically possible to exclude more than two from entering into marriage when you've broken the gender difference barrier, but you need to tell them why that is.

This is why polygamy and polyamory will probably be legalized by the courts.

Hat tip to Media Matters. (&Toes)
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Tuesday, May 12, 2009

"Our Firm is an Exclusively Criminal Defense Firm..."

Just a reminder that somebody brought a Howitzer to a thumb war.


Why does an attorney oriented exclusively to Criminal Defense, take up the cause of a misdemeanant? Where did the money come from? What are they afraid of?

Rozita is a lifetime renter that let her Kia get impounded and junked. She then gets the big gun lawyer to smash a spider. He has succeeded in obtaining delay after delay after delay, and MAYBE something will finally happen next Tuesday. Maybe.

Why?
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Bill O'Reilly and Polyamory

Over at Vermont Polygamy (which I wonder if I should take down and re title "New England Polygamy") I have posted on the Culture warrior segment of the O'Reilly factor last night. God help me if I ever get my wish and end up on some program like "The Factor." Just keeping up with the auctioneer's style of delivery that some the guests have would be one of the biggest problems.

Read on.


I have listened to the audio of this encounter now three times, and only in conjunction with the transcript at "Media Matters," did I begin to understand everything that was said, and who said what.

Of the three, Gretchen Carlson and Bill O'Reilly make the most sense, Margaret Hoover makes the least. An accurate transcript is linked to in the above video window, that takes you to Media Matters, my detailed analysis is at Vermont Polygamy. "Dumb. Blonde. Republican."
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Apologies for a recent lack of content...

I've been trying to get in something in the way of content every day on the Modern Pharisee.
Right now, even though there is less news out there, there is still a lot to write about. It's fair to say I haven't been feeling well.

This is just one of those "functions of age." I'm either not as strong willed as others who fight through those various exhausting encroachments or I'm some sort of heroic warrior in the geriatric wars. Probably, it's closer to the first alternative. I'm just guessing here, I can't "be" someone else to try their situation on for size.

This sort of thing tends to be cyclical though the down cycles are longer and more frequent at my age. I'm sure there are 80 year olds out there laughing at my claim to be infirm even in the smallest way. So I apologize, because I am less prolific.

Work is demanding of my time and always has been. I arrive at 8am, and work until 7pm, rarely leaving the building. Whatever breaks I take, I generally take at my desk, and hence, you have all of these wonderful pieces of internet wisdom to keep up with. Hehehe...

Anyway, I'll get to feeling better sometime soon, and I could probably do with a larger computer screen, so as to see what I'm doing. One of the reasons I know I am tired, overly tired, is that I get up and wish I hadn't. I'm hoping about a week off will do it. and I have one coming up next month.
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Monday, May 11, 2009

Yawn.

Another one that read Elissa Wall's book,
and as a result, thinks she now "knows."
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Sunday, May 10, 2009

Harvey's Website Down....Getting rid of the Evidence?

Based on the fact that Toes has revisited the Harvey situation, I went back and checked some old posts I did on the same subject.
This may be old news but his site is down and the "wayback" machine says it's blocked to bots.

A lot of the thinks Toes points to were also documented by press releases at Harvey Hilderbran's site, and, they're not there anymore. Hmmmmm...
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Friday, May 08, 2009

Allen Steed gets a "Resolution Hearing" set for June 25th

The only report that I can find is a "Twitter" by Brooke Adams.
This is an odd sort of legal phrase to associate with rape, at least to my knowledge. It generally shows up in family law matters, not when you're accused of a felony. So I venture this article I found on "Resolution Hearings" as it relates to family law, to see what might possibly be going on. Attorney Jo Spain (Family Law):
"If an agreement can't be reached then you will go into Court and your representatives will put forward their cases. No evidence is given but your representative will summarise your position and explain what you are seeking. If either side has made a 'Without Prejudice' offer then these will be shown to the Judge.

The Judge will have read all of the documents already filed and after hearing your representatives will indicate what he or she would order if this were a final hearing. There is no order made but this does mean that you will both hear what may well happen if this went to a final hearing."
The phrase, "Without Prejudice" is explained this way:
Wikipedia - "In many common law jurisdictions such as the United States, the U.K., Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, the term 'without prejudice' is also used in the course of negotiations to indicate that a particular conversation or letter is not to be tendered as evidence in court; it can be considered a form of privilege. This usage flows from the primary meaning: concessions and representations made for purpose of settlement are simply being mooted for that purpose, and are not meant to actually concede those points in litigation."
Essentially, Judge Beacham is asking both sides in the Steed case to tell him how far they might go. I've heard a judge ask what the status of the jury was before, in a deadlocked deliberation. He was trying to get a feel for there being any possibility of a verdict.

Similarly Judge Beacham is sounding for potential common ground. If for instance Allen Steed were willing to plead to the lowest felony form of sexual intercourse without consent, and the prosecution were willing to make a plea bargain to the effect of some type of related misdemeanor, the Judge could signal both sides that resolution was possible, but would not tell either side how far the other was willing to go. There would be some hint though if the prosecution were willing to plead out the case to a misdemeanor, and were told that there was possibility of resolution, they would know that at least Allen would go as far as their worst case offer, "worst case" being from the prosecution's point of view, namely, that they weren't getting much of a conviction.

Anyway, that's how I see it. Allen's case has not shown up on the St. George/Washington county calender yet, but I'm sure it will. A similar flurry of activity occurred about this time last year with Steed's attorney's ending up telling the prosecution to go get bent.

I also see this sort of movement as an attempt to flush out related activity. In the past when these "minor" but related cases move in one state, another moves in yet another state. Rozita Swinton for instance is not yet charged with anything in Texas, and has a trial date of the 19th (this month) set in Colorado on an unrelated charge. Expect her attorney to play the "wait and see" game again if he can, and delay her appearances to late June or July.

It's like this: If Allen plea bargains, Warren's rape conviction ceases to be wet concrete and sets. If Warren is snugly in jail on felony rape for a while, panic eases for the prosecutions in other venues because he won't be going anywhere. Avoidance is less necessary for Texas with regard to Rozita, and they may choose to dismiss her "minor" misdemeanor case as Utah and Arizona already have, without much investigation, Rozita then can say she didn't violate her probation with the call to YFZ in April of 2008 and she doesn't have her deferred sentencing deal processed, and goes free. So expect David Foley to try to delay things again. It's his specialty in Colorado Law.
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