Going to the dogs

If this story and and this story weren't related before, here's hoping they are now.

You must now write "I will not abduct kids without sufficient evidence" 1,000 times

The Third Court of Appeals has agreed with what the sane world has been maintaining for six weeks now -- that the State of Texas had absolutely no reason to invade a religious compound near San Angelo and separate close to 500 children from their parents.

Here is the nutgraph from the ruling: "The simple fact, conceded by the Department, that not all FLDS families are polygamous or allow their female children to marry as minors demonstrates the danger of removing children from their homes based on the broad-brush ascription of every aspect of a belief system to every person living among followers of the belief system or professing to follow the belief system."

It's about time someone in authority uttered the words a lot of us have been saying for a while now.

Talk about sinking property values

The Southeast Texas town of Daisetta is literally going down the drain ... or not. Geologists can't decide. But it doesn't look too good right now. Who's to blame? It could be a natural phenomenon or it could be caused by oil companies re-injecting produced water into the earth causing the salt domes to hollow out.

It's getting a little less lonely over here

Other than my interview with Dallas City Council member Sheffie Kadane over a controversial zoning case, no blog I have posted received as many comments, most of them saying I was nuts, than the one I wrote suggesting the DPS acted hastily in polygamist compound case in West Texas. But now it appears more are recognizing what a terrible travesty of justice is being done out near San Angelo. The Grits for Breakfast blog has posted some especially good articles about the incident. But I was especially gratified to see this today over on Unfair Park.

It appears the DPS did jump too fast, too soon in Eldorado

Colorado Springs, Colo., police arrested a 33-year-old woman named Rozita Swinton in her home today and charged her with making crank calls. What's interesting about all this is that Texas Rangers were present when the arrest was made.

Did Swinton pretend to be a pregnant 16-year-old member of Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who claimed to have been repeatedly raped by her 50-year-old husband who also was the father of another one of her children. Don't know yet. But here's what is known:

1. After the caller first telephoned a hotline in San Angelo, someone claiming to be the same 16-year-old called former church member Flora Jessop, who operates a rescue mission for girls leaving the Eldorado compound the DPS recently raided. Texas Rangers have traced the calls to Jessop to Colorado Springs.

2. Colorado Springs police say Ms. Swinton has been arrested for local calls in which she falsely claimed to be an abused child imprisoned in a basement.

3. No other complainant has been located.

4. No pregnant girls under the age of 16 were found at the church's YFZ compound outside Eldorado.

5. More than 400 children have been removed from their home at the expense of Texas taxpayers.

6. The AP reports that the resulting court case has "descended into farce."

This whole thing has had a rotten smell right from the very beginning.

Did DPS jump too fast, too soon in Eldorado?

I have had a limited experience with religious cults including one founded by the woman who claimed to know the exact date California was going to slide into the ocean. When that date came and went, she took her flock and moved to Montana where they took up residence in a series of underground bunkers about the size of a American Airlines hangar, causing the locals to say these activities were causing major disruptions of the geysers in nearby Yellowstone National Park.

In early 1982, a DOA motion picture about religious cults, "Split Image," was shot here and because I was dating someone in the movie I spent a lot of time at the filming locations, soaking up as much knowledge as I could about its subject matter.

Other than that, my experience includes nothing more than observations on the Branch Davidians and others. I'm not even sure, to be honest, that the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints actually qualifies as a cult, whatever the qualifications for a cult may be. It has been called that in various newspaper accounts, but it might be more accurate just to call it the largest polygamist offshoot of the Mormon church.

Whatever you want to call it, it has been much in the news the last couple of weeks. Here's the story as well as I can put it together. It seems a 16-year-old girl telephoned Texas authorities last week, telling them she had been sexually abused by a 50-year-old man who fathered a child with the girl when she was 15. All this apparently happened at the FLDS compound near Eldorado in West Texas. As a result, Texas authorities, led by the Department of Public Safety, came onto the Yearning for Zion ranch (I don't want to use words like "stormed," although others have) and, so far have removed 401 children and are now trying to place them in foster homes.

Here are the problems as I see them. Problem No. 1: No one has found the 16-year-old girl who made the initial complaint. Does she even exist or was this entire affair triggered by someone who had something to settle against this religious sect? Problem No. 2: Dale Barlow, the alleged abuser in question, has been living in Arizona where he was sentenced last year in another abuse case involving a 15-year-old. According to Barlow's probation officer, Barlow has been a model probationer, calling in every day and checking in personally once a week and has not left the state since 1977. Problem No. 3: 401 children who presumably were living with one or more of their parents are being taken from those parents and sent into the Texas foster care system.

I have heard DPS spokespersons say they wanted to avoid another Waco in Eldorado so they moved swiftly. I'm thinking they may have moved too swiftly.