Comments about ‘Barlow to meet with Texas Rangers today’

Barlow, better bring some t-shirts and shorts, and I'd go with a very short hair-cut. The hot time of year is nearly upon us here in Texas.

I know that you don't like the truth here because you will not publish my simple comments. But I would bet anyone that this raid was the result of a sick prank perpetrated by someone outside the community.

The exact same phone call was made to Arizona officials, with the same details, claiming to come from Colorado City. Read the article about it at the Arizona Republic website. (I could give the link but then you would not publish this for no good reason either)

Now I do not fault anyone who has good intentions to protecting a young girl, and (as I wrote in my other comments that you would not publish) I like any FLDS father, would want my daughter protected from an abusive man. It is not tolerated in the slightest bit by the FLDS. Their standards of kindness and caring are higher than mainstream society. I know personally from being sent out myself.

I gaurantee that the 30k they spend a day is not much in food, but rather mostly in salaries.

However long it takes, I hope these children will finally be given a chance to live a normal life.

Whether the 16 y/o girl who made the original phone is ever identified, or not, Texas did the right thing in investigating this tragic situation.

Anyone suggesting that not infringing on constitutional rights is more important than stopping the abuse of these children really doesn't care about the welfare of the children.

If it were their children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews that were being abused, you can bet your last nickle that those same critics would be demanding that Texas authorities should have used whatever means possible to remove those children from the abusive situation they were in.

""I was told they wanted to talk to me. It's the first time I've heard from the Texas Rangers," Barlow said Friday "

Perhaps Barlow will become a guest at a Texas State Prison soon.

What's really scary is the link between the FLDS and LDS church is now so visible. The Texas Rangers carried copies of the Book of Mormon and pictures of Joesph Smith out of the FLDS compound. Those are the very things I have in my house and that makes me uncomfortable.

Hurray for Kevin Dinnin.
I enjoyed reading a somewhat positive report on these people from the compound. I appreciate Dinnin refering to these people as guest. He sounds like someone with true concerns in allowing the people to be who they are. Marleigh Meisner in her mind has already convicted these children. She reminds me of the Priests in the old Mission Schools when all the native children were taken out of their natural environment. I know some Ktnaxa nation elders who remember life in those schools. They were forbidden from even speaking their native language. They were forbidden from seeing their grand parents. The nation wanted to teach these native people how not to be Indians. They suffered far more abuse with these priests than ever in their natural environment. Marleigh keeps referring to these Mormon kids like they are wild animals, rounded up and caged. The media keeps bringing in these sex craved commentators like Flora who have all got books to sell. KUDOS to you Kevin Dinnin. Let those Mormon kids be Mormons.

What does baseball have to do with this?

Oh, *those* Texas Rangers. :-)

By any legal standard, what is occurring in Texas is a "Fishing" expedition.

Unfortunately, the "Bait" are innocent children who's only "Crime" is being Mormon which the locals have been
against since day one.

Like Cross Creek, the Elders are silent and the children's tears for their loving parents are owned by those who have abandoned them.

Can anyone imagine this happening in Boys Town if the authorities received an unsubstantiated call from a resident (Or not), there?

Plain and simple, this is a case of persecution on a massive scale and our leaders remain silent. Shame on them!

I'm building a list of Texas Officials names. I think a good "butt" kicking is in order for all the civil rights violations and lies coming from the mouths of law-enforcement.

Who expected Barlow to say "yes, I beat up a fifteen-year-old wife" after all this law enforcement going on in Texas? If they (the honorable police) can't get the girl, then I suppose it would be difficult to press charges against Barlow.

Do you think that the FLDS may have hidden the girl? It seems plausible . . .

Will he sign a contract and go to AA ?

while not defending the deplorable and unconscionable acts of these people in regards to their child molestation beliefs (I AM an active LDS member), I do NOT believe this 16 year old female, as described, exists in the form Texas officials wish us to accept.
I believe these alleged phone calls from this mysterious 16 yr old mother are a figment of an active and fraudulent imagination and are a scheme to bring this all to a head.
I would advocate a lifetime of incarceration, hard, forced manual labor and even a couple death penalties if the abuse charges are proven AS ALLEGED are correct.
If this 16 year old cannot be found, substantiated, corroberated or otherwise proven, then I suspect the charges and search warran will be a subject if intense litigation for many years.
Why cannot the phone calls be traced?
I smell a big rat here, in more ways than one!

I am glad to see that Texas officials are trying to make things as comfortable and respectful as possible for these women and children. I am grateful they seem to recognize that they are victims; not criminals. The abusers are still "free" and the victims are hopefully being kept safe but they must remember to be consistently respectful because the women and children have been emotionally, and likely physically and sexually battered. They have no confidence in their own strengths and rights. Those who are helping them must do everything possible to restore their faith in themselves and self-respect. I have no doubt the men have destroyed their spirit and any sense of autonomy they might have had so it will take much patience and education to help them to learn to survive and thrive.

This is a difficult and tragic situation. I don't believe as these people do but there are a thousand ways men can destroy women and children. People must help all abused people to find safety and confidence in themselves. They need help, understanding, love and resources if they are to escape the control of the abusers. This goes for abuse victim in any setting.

This must be so hard on the children and women. How sad that they are the property of men. I hope this can change some of the horrible things going on in that community. They need to get enough help long enough to realize that they are can make their own choices.

Why are these comments referring to these kids as "Mormon" kids? They are not "Mormons". "Mormons" are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or the LDS church. The FLDS church is not the same.

I support efforts to stop child abuse. I just hope that the situation is not that of a "prank" caller and innocent children and families have been traumatized. I definitely do not like the idea of polygamy, but in a society where "shacking up", adultery, rampid divorce rates, etc. seems to be so normal and acceptable, I don't think polygamists should be singled out. Their families and children seem to be a lot more stable than those I've seen of the aforementioned.

Underage marriages if they are happening are wrong but, I must say that my 20 years of dealings with indivuals of the FLDS group have been nothing but honorable.

Texas is spending $30,000 a day to care for these 500 people. That will be that much less paid out in welfare subsidies these men are already collecting. If all the women and children were removed permanently, how long do you think these men would stay together? So, how valuable are women and children...?
Don't you wonder what happened to the 16 y o girl who called?

What I can't figure our is that if these kids are cut off from the outside world, no TV or internet, then how did this girl find out the number for the crisis hotline and obtain a cell phone in the first place? The whole situation seems hinky to me. And to Hey, Just Wondering, that is a bad comparison. What if the Church of Scientology wanted to be called Southern Baptists--how do you think the Southern Baptists would feel about that?

It's not as simple as just choosing between protecting constitutional rights and protecting children. If any constitutional rights are violated, then evidence could be thrown out and then Texas can do nothing to protect those children.