A great deal of attention is focused on the recent raids on the FLDS compound in Texas. The behavior of the state has rightly been condemned, most effectively by Les Jones who wrote:
Imagine that some parents in a school district were accused of child abuse. Now imagine that the authorities took every child from the elementary, junior high, and high school away from their parents and put them in foster care. That's a rough analogy of what's happening in Texas. Read more »
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The ranch near El Dorado was owned and operated by a sect called the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, an offshoot of the much larger Mormon Church. The offshoot sect practices polygamy, something the Mormons dropped from their religion over a century ago.
The sect, known as FLDS, lived apart, communal style, and had very little contact with neighbors. Read more »
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Below is an interesting article from Prairie Fire Journal.
After getting a few hours sleep, I decided it was time to start doing some digging and pointing some fingers. I
n a previous post, I listed a couple of info tidbits that I thought point towards Flora Jessop as being behind the phone call that lead to the State of Texas kidnapping 416 children from the YFZ ranch, as well as being the unidentified informant mentioned in court affidavits used to secure search warrants of the YFZ ranch. Well, I've now arrived at my own conclusions about her and others involvement in this whole sordid mess. Read more »
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Among the hundreds of children, lawyers and caseworkers involved in an unprecedented child custody hearing this morning, one person will be noticeably absent the 16-year-old girl whose call for help set in motion the largest child protection case in U.S. history.
Texas authorities say they have not located or identified the girl, though they have said they believe she is among the 416 children from a polygamous sect who were taken into state custody nearly two weeks ago. Read more »
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In tearful speeches, Utah backers of plural marriage spoke out today at a rally in support of the children and their mothers who have been moved out of their homes on a polygamous sect's ranch in Texas.
"We know their needs are very unique compared to other children in foster care," Mary Batchelor said of the young members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Read more »
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Mothers who had lived at a polygamist compound in Eldorado, Texas, are mounting a campaign to get back their children, who were taken into custody by the state after a raid on the compound earlier this month.
A group of mothers from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints sent a letter to Texas Gov. Rick Perry asking him to see for himself what they call the "appalling and traumatizing" conditions at the shelter where 416 children are being held. Read more »
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Controversy surrounding the massive raid on a polygamous enclave in Texas spilled over into Utah politics Friday during one of the first candidate debates in the 3rd Congressional District race.
Rep. Chris Cannon said the government should not be going after polygamists solely because they practice plural marriage, relying on a controversial U.S. Supreme Court ruling that protects homosexual relationships. Read more »
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ELDORADO, Texas - A 32-year-old Nevada man drove 1,200 miles with a photo album of his children and said he would provide a DNA sample to Texas authorities Tuesday to prove paternity and get his three sons out of state custody.
David J. Williams, a former member of the FLDS polygamous sect, whose ranch was raided by authorities earlier this month, called the siege "an injustice" perpetrated by "unhonorable bastards." Read more »
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UNLV forward Joe Darger scored 18 points yesterday in leading the Runnin' Rebels to a 71-58 win over Kent State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Darger, a junior, is a good player, but what interests me about him isn't his game, it's his family.
Darger's father is a polygamist. His dad has two wives. One wife has 10 children and the other has eight. Although Joe Darger doesn't talk to the media about his family, his father, John Darger, has spoken proudly about his polygamist lifestyle, about how he supports both his wives, and about how all his children are growing up to be well-adjusted young people, as Joe Darger is, from all accounts.
But make no mistake: Darger's father is a criminal. He's flagrantly violating the law, in both his home state of Utah and every other state, and the Utah attorney general's web site makes clear that it's a law Utah takes seriously. If the authorities choose to, at any time, they'll have absolutely no trouble proving his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and throwing him in prison. If Darger's father is thrown in prison, would that be OK with you? Read more »
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CPS concedes sect mom was 18 when she gave birth
Posted on May 13th, 2008
Texas Child Protective Services conceded Tuesday a pregnant teen taken from a polygamists' ranch in West Texas was an adult when she gave birth in San Marcos last month, casting some doubt on the statistics released by the agency that more than 20 underage girls were pregnant or had given birth.
The teenager, 18-year-old Pamela Jeffs, gave birth to a boy on April 29. CPS officials said she was one of 27 girls in a "disputed" minor category who once told CPS they were adults but later indicated they were under 18. Read more »
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