They say Justice is Blind,
 But In Texas Justice is Also Deaf.
By Joan Estelle High
©4-26-2008

Because She could not have heard the cries from the women and children whose lives were violently changed when the State of Texas decided to raid the West Texas polygamist compound near Eldorado.

Acting on a faked story in a call from an apparently mentally unstable women in another state  they went to   the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ranch.  "Yearning for Zion"  
    
They seized over 400 children on the grounds that they were being abused and in immediate harm. Not every one living on the ranch is a polygamist.
Some live with their families in separate quarters.  

Their main leader in the movement is in jail in another state because he forced a marriage between a young women and her cousin. The man named by the nut that called in the domestic hot line was a convicted child molester. Which he became when he spiritually married an under age girl and they had a child. .
It seems he was still in another state (Ariz.) not at the location in Texas.

 In Texas a girl under 16 can not marry even with her parents permission.

 ( Interesting question was noted by a letter writer stating that when the group first located to Texas the laws here were close to the sect marriage custom but the law here in Texas was change in 2005 that could have violated the groups first amendment rights by the state enacting a law  that appeared to be  targeted to their  particular religions practices ) . Some body should look into that.

However the law is the law and if the old men  who are taking  the young girls to wife should be held responsible for their actions.
There are laws on the books to take care of them.

 But my anger is directed at the absolute denial of the rights of  about 200  children under 5 and their being taken away from their families with no charges of abuse of these children in any way.

The hard hearted Hanna of a "Judge" willing ripped the babies from the breasts of their loving nursing mothers who are not charged with any miss -deeds. In fact at the most they might be victims of their religious environment. Then they take these little children away from everything and body they know and put them into the Texas foster child system which is notorious for not protecting or nurturing children in their care. I would call that "Abuse".

Teen age boys who were not abused sexually or physically were removed from their home and sent a ranch for troubled and abandoned teens. The boys will certainly find that a learning experience.!

My heart breaks for these mother who are not charged with any crimes or mistreatment being denied access to their children to comfort them during this frightening time in their lives.

It did not sound like something that could happen in America. I am ashamed for Texas.

I hope the State has deep pockets and when the state gets sued be sure to include the "judge" and the other social workers who have screwed up royal.
 

Who is next ?

Some judge will decide you can not home school your children because you might molest them or teach them to fear the state or not be politically correct.   I ask you what happens the  next time one of your pastors molests a child or your priest get caught with the altar boy, will the state of Texas  step in and kidnap all the children from the parents in the church.  Is Guilt by association the standard.

 There was a small church in Arkansas, a few years ago and the kids were being taught in a ratty old broken down building they called a school. The black pastor was convicted of having sex with several teen age girls. Funny thing, they put the pastor in jail but they did not take the children away from the parents who left them to the trust of the sleazy pastor in a building that wasn't fit for animals to live in.

Every mother in the country  should sit down and write the Governor  of Texas and protest the way these women were treated. Speak up now ladies because every day in this country your rights are being taken away one by one. Speak up now because the time is coming when you will not be able to speak up about anything.

If you would like to make a comment on this situation or what I had to say
please feel free to send your letter to Crystal @ crystallady.com

Update
5-3-2008

The news yesterday was very sad. The state of Texas
took custody of a one day old  baby from a mother who may or
not be 18 years old. The father of the baby is supposed to a 22 year old
man. He apparently is laying low. They already have a 20 month old
son. He could be charged with rape as she apparently was under
the age of consent to have had the first baby.  If it is customary
for the state of Texas to take custody of every baby born to an unwed
under 18 young women then I guess it was only fair that this young woman
suffer the same fate. In fact the state of Texas should require DNA tests
of  all underage women to make sure none were impregnated by a
relative. Lord knows the state doesn't need any more in-breeding.

How ever I feel very sorry for this young woman who I feel is also
a victim of her upbringing. I would rather shine a light so she
could see a better way of life and come out of the darkness.

First I would buy her a new dress and a pretty pair of shoes.
Get her some books and send her to school. Maybe there she
would come in contact with other young women and  learn
 she does not have to be "barefoot and pregnant" in this day and age.
She would have to attend mandatory child care classes to help
her become a good mother. Her and the children would be kept
together under supervision for a year. At the end of that time,
she would be allowed to marry her young man if he was free to
commit to a legal marriage as defined by the state of Texas.

Society today  will accept people  who have serial marriages,
Some have  one marriage right after another.
However it frowns on men having more than one wife at a time.

No religion should be above the law. If a group doesn't like the laws
in the area they live in then by all means they should move to a country
whose has laws they would like better.

5-3-08
It has been 1 month since the ranch in Texas was raided and this story began
For more information you might want to check out this page on the My Way News web site.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080503/D90E1EFO1.html

* There is just one  more thing I would like you to note a line in the above article.
I saw this quote previous to this page so I am going to take it at face value

"Child welfare officials told the judge the children were living in an authoritarian environment that left girls at risk of sexual abuse
and raised boys to become sexual perpetrators"

I think there are enough people in jail for crimes they have committed and
a lot more should be jailed for things they have already done.
But I don't like the idea of "Thought Police" who punish people for what they may do years down the line. Seems there are a lot of seers and fortune tellers  in the child welfare office .

 The future is not written in stone.  People do grow mentally and spiritually.
A new group  dynamics could be formed tomorrow. They could be
 lead by an different  more spiritually advanced man  or just a more law biding individual.
One of these days the women will get together and say it is time for a change.

Child Welfare  made this amazing statement then to cover their tracks they began to
talk about the boys being sexually abuse.  Maybe this is nothing but a
hot bed of perverts, they could be running  the biggest whore house in Texas  for all I know.
 But even the  worse criminals have some kind of rights. But to take  young  children
on the grounds that they will sexual perpetrators 10 years in the future is a bit much.

I would like to know what you think
write me
crystal @ crystallady.com
the crystallady @hotmail.com

Update
5-9-08

Article in today's Dallas Morning News
calls the Zion Ranch  a "ghost town" where they are pouring the milk from the cows
in the garden because all the children are gone.  It mentioned that the once lush lawns now
are parched and brown.  The school is closed and the mothers are scattered all over the state
as to be near their children's foster homes.  There was about 700 people living there until the raid
about 5 weeks ago.  The paper did agree that the call that started the child welfare investigation
was a hoax.  the 1700 acre  industrious ranch that  paid about $ 400,000 in taxes last year.
The welfare people say they stand by the news they released about pregnant teenagers.
broken bones and that sexual abuse of young males has not been ruled out.
 

5-9-08
I find it interesting to hear all sides of a story. I found one today on www.rense.com
that  you might find interesting. One thing mentioned caught my eye was the statement
that the state of Texas in this case and other cases think to deny children the
the chance to watch T.V. is in it's self child abuse. Surly that can't be one of the
charges by the state about this group of children .
I would like to hear what you think about all of this.

Update  5-13-2008

Update 5-12-2008

Hope you read the article in May 12^th Dallas morning news concerning the children from the West Texas polygamist sects ranch. I have been saying that this raid was unconstitutional, unconscionable and probably unnecessary. Well guess what a it seems that a few workers of the Hill Country Community Mental Health-Mental Retardation Center seems to agree that it was unnecessary.

Their assessment of the removal of the 464 children because of suspected child abuse punished the mothers who they observed to be good loving caring mothers of healthy normal kids. The complimented the inter action between mothers and children. They found the kids to be well socialized and well behaved and commented that the kids ware happy to interact with them. They also said the kids were well nourished and appeared healthy. Not with any of the withdrawal behavior normally seen in abused children.

Makes me proud of Texas people who have the courage to speak out and let the truth be known.
Even when it is not politically correct. We owe them a vote of thanks and we hope it will help.
They  were sent there to  help staff the large shelters in San Angelo where mothers and kids were allowed to stay together for the first few days. The workers claim they were sent home after the second week because they were seen as being too compassionated. One worker claimed to have been threatened with arrest when she questioned a decision about separating children that had special needs from their mothers.

Some of the things reported were that CPS worker did not treat the mothers very well,
They claimed  that the mothers were lied too and denied access to their lawyers.
Enticement was given to the mothers that if they went to the shelters and not back to the ranch they would be allowed to see their children.

MHMR workers were made to sign agreements not to disclose what they had seen but these allegations surfaced when written statements were given to their board and later releases by a Comal county commissioner.

"God Bless This Mess"