Election Diversity: We’ve Come a Long Way … or Have We?

With the four leading candidates in this year’s presidential contest having been an African-American, a female, a Mormon, and a 72 year-old, the diversity envelope was certainly stretched this year. A USA Today/Gallup poll reported last year on the willingness of present-day Americans to select a non-traditional candidate for the presidency compared to responses to [...]

Ferraro, Obama, and Mormonism

My last post, which dealt with misunderstandings about Mormons, made me think back to an article written after Gerarldine Ferraro commented that Obama was “lucky to be who he is” and that the country was “caught up in the concept.”
In a Newsweek/Washington Post article (“You’re Wrong, Ms. Ferraro”), Rev. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite leaned toward judging [...]

“We’re Not Going to Violate Their Civil Rights until We Get an Outcry”

State of Texas 45, King George 28
45. In what has to be one of the most notable quotes of the Eldorado fiasco, the Schleicher County Sheriff said, “This is the United States…. We’re not going to violate their civil rights until we get an outcry.”
Here’s a little more context for the quote, as reported by [...]

Texas-Sized Double-Standard in Dealing with FLDS

State of Texas 43, King George 28
43. The State of Texas just can’t make up its mind whether teenage sexual activity is right or wrong.
The Texas Supreme Court minority opinion cited a psychologist’s testimony indicating that:
The pregnancy of the underage children on the Ranch was the result of sexual abuse because children of the age [...]

Texas Governor Not Worried about “Fine Legal Lines”

State of Texas 39, King George 28
39. Texas Governor Rick Perry says he is more concerned about the welfare of children than observing “fine legal lines.” According to a Dallas Morning News article, Perry said:
If responsibility needs to be taken for [court edicts] saying that we stepped across some legal line, I’ll certainly take that [...]

Virtual FLDS Petition

Below I’ve listed links to writings that express concern about the way the state of Texas has dealt with the FLDS. Although one of the below entries is an actual petition, the remainder were not written as petitions but nonetheless do express significant concerns with the events in Texas. Of course, I don’t necessarily agree [...]

Sanity of a Court, Insanity of the State of Texas

King George 28, State of Texas 28
As the insanity continues, it’s now a tie game…
26. The Texas Court of Appeals, Third District, found that evidence to support the CPS claim that the FLDS community constituted a single household “was not legally or factually sufficient.” The court summarized the CPS reasoning as follows:
All 468 children were [...]

Digest of Abuses

State of Texas v. King George III
In which the contest begins…

King George 28, State of Texas 3
1. Legal action should be directed at individuals, based on evidence of specific actions committed by those individuals, rather than being directed against a community.
2. The government actions against the FLDS appear to violate the first amendment guarantee [...]

Big Tab for Big FLDS Raid

King George 28, State of Texas 25
In the ongoing contest between King George and the State of Texas, the State of Texas is rapidly catching up:
24. The Utah Attorney General, who has experience dealing with polygamist groups, has questioned the approach of Texas authorities. He is quoted as having said, “There is that sweeping statement [...]

When FLDS Children are MIA or WIA

King George 28, State of Texas 23
21. The children seem to be suffering significant health issues since entering state care. As of 28 April, nine of the children had been hospitalized. One of the children was hospitalized for dehydration. A report written by one of the mental health workers who helped at the shelters in [...]