Whoa! Polygamist solution is frightening...

[The Mrs]

Originally Posted by Newman

The Mrs- Ok I want to understand your thoughts and feelings better. So let's say that the reports are 100% accurate and there are 31 pregnant or minor mothers out of 53.... (which I don't believe but for the sake of discussion)

1. Does it matter to you if none of the women feel victimized and they are happy with their lives as they have been living this way for six generations?

None? If that were the case, why are there Carolyn Jessops, Flora Jessops, and Kathy Jo Nicholsons to name a few. http://helpthechildbrides.com/stories.htm The problem with cultic practices is, you won't believe you're in a cult.

Originally Posted by Newman

2. Does the end justify the means? Was is OK if the phone call hoax was a set up to gain entry to the ranch?

3. Do you think Texas handled it right when they first got to the ranch about 9pm five days after the phone call? Do you think it was Ok to get the children out of their beds at 3am first to question them even as they saw themselves surrounded by an army of people with weapons?

Again, I believe that CPS made the right choice with what info they had at the time. A lot of variables and unknowns. They had no guarantees this was not a destructive cult.

Originally Posted by Newman

4. Do you think that the response to underage marriage in a state with the highest rate of teenage pregnancies should have been the removal of more than 200 children under five years old? Does it matter that this is never the response of Texas authorities to other identifiable groups where teen age births are rampant and adult fathers the norm?

Just because the state has the highest teen pregnancy rate doesn't make it legal. Or right. (Are you trying to justify bad behavior by bad behavior?) Are minors with babies left to themselves when discovered? Or are they remanded to a guardian/parent?

Originally Posted by Newman

5. Have you done any research on Texas foster care? Do you know that a news station (in the not so distant past) reported that 2/3 of Texas foster children were reported to be on psychotrophic drugs including those under the age of 5?

6. Did you know that the national outcome for foster children is that more than 70% of the children end up in jail, or homeless, etc.?

7. Do you know what amount of sexual abuse of YOUNG CHILDREN goes on in Texas foster care based on their own admissions?

I just saw Dr. Phil talking about this in a video clip. My first thoughts: why would you associate the two groups and assume a similar outcome? You have to first realize that the children that are placed in foster care have come from a rough life, and are most likely not going to change that direction already started before they arrived in foster care.

And secondly, these FLDS children were not set up in individual foster homes. They were placed in GROUP HOMES. The state made efforts to keep siblings together. See Court Document: Placement of Children here They are also making efforts to provide the style of living they are accustomed to while on the ranch; food, clothes, education, religious practices. (It was even reported that one of the homes repainted a red wall so as not to offend the children, and that red items were removed.)

Originally Posted by Newman

8. Are these facts meaningless to you because there is a greater good somewhere? If so, what? If not, why such a hard stance against children caught in the chaos?

Which outweighs which?