The persecuted persecute

Hearken back to April 2008, when the State of Text staged an over-the-top paramilitary raid on the Yearning For Zion (YFZ) ranch and kidnapped the children of FLDS church members. I made multiple blog posts regarding this atrocity. In those posts, I called into question the actions of Texas law enforcement, which I (correctly) labeled as police-state brutality and wrong on all fronts. As a result, I was labeled pro-FLDS and an apologist for their practices.

I wonder what I'll be labeled now. 

It seems that the persecuted have become the persecutors. This story, which I'll summarize in the interest of brevity since the pertinent facts are spread throughout it, merits condemnation for those practitioners of the FLDS faith who were involved.

An individual in Colorado City, AZ, a former FLDS member and frequent critic of the sect, has for some time been receiving "gifts" of dead cats on his property. According to the story, the dead cats are supposed to be an intimidation tactic by FLDS members against said individual.

The latest incident, however, didn't involve a dead cat, but rather a live cat half-buried in concrete on his property. The animal was in incredible agony. After it was rescued, it was taken to a vet, but it died of its injuries in spite of efforts to save it.

You can tell a lot about a person by their treatment of animals. I'm no fan of cats, since they tend to make me stop breathing, but I would in no way ever condone subjecting a cat to the agony this animal endured. Only a monster would do such a thing. Or a sociopath. Either way, there's no denying that the persons involved here are evil to their core.

The FLDS church needs to "get it" here. If you condone intimidation of critics and torture of animals, you are no better than the mouth-breathers over at FLDS Texas who fanned the flames of persecution against you in the aftermath of the YFZ raid. 

Do the right thing. Identify the persons involved so they can stand before the law. Show everyone that you're not "those people" that the mouth-breathers accuse you of being. 

xfloggingkylex's reaction to the linked story was, "Fuck the FLDS!". Mine will be the same if you don't make this right.

What anonymity really means

There once was a blog called Coram Non Judice (known to regular readers of this fine blog as Caput Penitus Culus).  The blog was purported to present valid legal opinions on issues related to the FLDS raid in Texas.  The blog was run pseudonymously by a fellow identifying himself as TxBluesMan.  No one knew his real name.  No one knew what his credentials were to opine on legal matters.  No one.

When asked how he justified writing anonymously what essentially amounted to hate-filled propaganda in the guise of legal opinion -- citing precedent often, of course -- TxBluesMan compared himself to the Founders, who at times wrote anonymous tracts against the colonial government and the King.

This, of course, was complete horse hockey.  There was nothing remotely similar to what the Founders did in anything TxBluesMan wrote.  The Founders hid behind anonymity to avoid arrest for sedition.  TxBluesMan wrote anonymously for a far different reason.

Anonymity, Martha Nussbaum, a professor of law and philosophy at the University of Chicago observes, allows Internet bloggers “to create for themselves a shame-free zone in which they can inflict shame on others.” The power of the bloggers, she continues, “depends on their ability to insulate their Internet selves from responsibility in the real world, while ensuring real-world consequences” for those they injure.

As the tipster who passed this story on to me wrote, "That, boys and girls, is the story of TxBluesman."

100% true and accurate. Think I'm kidding? I was accused by TxBluesMan of being pro-polygamy and pro-pedophilia for simply opining that 4th Amendment protections were violated during the Texas Stoßtruppen's raid! 

TxBluesMan is an intolerant bully.  He desperately needed to be outed.  And he was.

TxBluesMan turned out to be Sgt. Gregory Prickett, AKA the Caput a Palos, AKA The Prickette.

Once he was outed, The Prickette immediately shut down his odious blog to try to bury the evidence.  You see, now his real self was linked to his Internet self -- and real consequences awaited.

It's not pleasant when the curtain is parted and the Great and Powerful Oz is revealed to be a two-bit loser with a penchant for throwing his weight around and playing the big shot.  At least, not for Oz.

UPDATE: The same tipster who passed on the NY Times article adds the following:

Just FYI: while online at any sites controlled by Google, your "anonymity" is subject to their selective authority that may or may not conceal it.

Wiener of the Year

Prior to 2010 I awarded the Wiener of the Week award and the Wiener of the Month award every week/month.  I discontinued that practice this year because it constrained my flexibility with regard to subject-matter selection.  It was a decision I'm glad I made, given that the past year I've had significantly less opportunity to post than in past years.

But at the time I announced the discontinuation of the Wieners of the Week and Month, I stated that the Wiener of the Year award would still be given out to the person or persons most deserving of that dishonor.

In past years I solicited nominations for the WotY.  Not this year.  There was no need for that.  The winner (wiener?) was decided months ago.  There aren't even any candidates for the runner-up spots.  Nope, for 2010 there's just one, and he may be the most deserving recipient yet.

Ladies and gentlemen, your Wiener of the Year for 2010 is: Sgt. Gregory Prickett (hereinafter referred to as The Prickette).

It's ironic, but The Prickette is a two-time Wiener.  Last year I picked co-Wieners when I awarded the WotY to two blogs noted for their anti-FLDS bigotry.  At that time the identity of the person behind the execrable Coram Non Judice (known by regulars here as Caput Penitus Culus - Head Inside Ass) was unknown.  Thanks to the efforts of The Pharisee and others, the identity of the Caput a Palos was revealed.  Rather than bore you with the history of what transpired in the wake of that revelation, you can read up on it here.  Suffice it to say that The Prickette has paid dearly for playing lawyer and accusing innocent persons of pedophilia.

What makes The Prickette Wiener-worthy?  Let me count the ways.

1. He shut down his blog once he was outed.   It's gone for good, deleted by its owner.  Note that The Prickette has never at any time denied that he is TxBluesMan, the sorry excuse for a human being who proudly used his purported legal "expertise" to espouse bigotry and hatred.
2. He presented himself to his blog readers as a legal expert.  He not only isn't a lawyer, he wasn't even a real law enforcement professional (campus cop does NOT count as law enforcement).
3. He lost his job as a campus cop.  It would be purely speculative on my part to posit a theory as to why he is no longer employed by UNT, but it is likely related to alleged misuse of university resources in furtherance of his malignant campaign of pure bigotry against the FLDS.
4. Now that he's been "outed", his relationship with Natalie Malonis has become fodder for speculation.  I wonder how Mrs. Prickette feels about the coziness between her pompous-ass husband and Ms. Malonis.
5. He has attempted to sue those responsible for outing him for "damages", yet, as noted earlier, he has NEVER denied being the cowardly subhuman behind Caput Penitus Culus.  Never.  Kinda hard to prove damages when the "damage" is the result of the revelation of the truth.

Face it, Prickette.  Your life is a colossal fail.  Epic.  You sat in judgment of others, flinging baseless accusations from behind the cloak of anonymity like an ape throwing feces at the zoo (a fitting mental picture of who you really are).  And you've proved to be a fraud, a loser, a nothing.

Congratulations, Prickette.  You're the Wiener of the Year.

 Pictured: the Caput a Palos himself

Escallation

Ron in Houston has apparently LOST IT.  Check out the comments he made about my last post which, paradoxically, had absolutely NOTHING TO DO WITH HIM OR HIS VILE ILK.  It's even worse over at FLDS Texas.  Here is a sampling of what Ron wrote there.

Oh, no, no. None of you mess with me tonight. I’m not in the mood. If you want to mess with me, read this first.

Ron in Houston said this on September 19, 2010 at 11:39 PM
[...]

OMG

I know that apparently I “control” you guys.

You evil a$$hats are nothing more than my sycophants.

I’d love to claim your collective hatred for people that view sex with 14 year old girls as socially acceptable but unfortunately I cant.

My advice to you? Be active. When you see dickheads like Vulture, don’t be afraid to speak out. If the (deleted) tries to suppress your free speech rights then send an email to his employer an ask them if they support Michael Fulmer’s positions on sex with 12 year old girls.

These dickheads deserve it. Go for it.

Ron in Houston said this on September 20, 2010 at 12:10 AM
[...]

Hey Mike – where do you work? Want to play anymore with me?

Ron in Houston said this on September 20, 2010 at 12:41 AM
[...]

The greatest irony to this?

I’m a freaking pacifist.

However, there comes a point where you can even piss off a pacifist.

I will say this. Don’t be evil. However, sometimes the only way to stop evil is to meet it with evil of equal or stronger force.

Sometimes evil (deleted) -tards need to be smacked down. I’m must aaying….

Ron in Houston said this on September 20, 2010 at 1:01 AM
[...]

So, where I am now is willing to fight against the proxies. See, no one can fire me. I work for myself. However, if Michael Fulmer of Frederick Maryland wants to screw with me and call me an “asshole” well perhaps his employer needs to see how he’s spending his time at work.

See, I didn’t start this fight with these assholes. However, if they want to fight, then I’m more than willing to get it on with them.

In the end, all I want is to be left alone. I think another of Hugh’s proxies get’s that and actually respects it. I have no problem at all with him. After resolving our disputes, the guy has treated me with a fair degree of dignity and respect. I more than intent to repay that in kind.

The bottom line with Ron is that he doesn’t want to hurt anyone. You leave me alone, and I’ll be more than happy to leave you alone. I actually don’t necessarily agree with the 75 year sentence for Michael Emacks. I don’t disagree with it, but I do appreciate that 75 years is an awful long time. Really, is the guy that evil that he deserves to be locked away the rest of his life? Like I say, whether you agree or disagree, that is a very harsh sentence. The bottom line is that I don’t disagree with the premise of the guy being punished I’m just not sure that 75 years is really in the long term interests of society.

Obviously folks feel quite strongly on both sides of that issue, and I’ll let all you guys have at it. I’m just not certain that from a public policy standpoint it’s wise.

Ron in Houston said this on September 20, 2010 at 2:48 AM

Emphasis mine

Ron has threatened me. He has threatened my employment. He has slandered my good name by AGAIN accusing me of being pro-pedophilia (something I have NEVER supported and am on record as being FULLY AGAINST).

Do you have any further doubt about the kind of people we're dealing with here?  All I've ever done is bring up the Constitutional issues I see with regard to the raid on YFZ ranch.  And I've been called everything but a Child of God.  I've been called pedophile, pro-polygamy, and everything else you can think of.  These vile cowards threaten real people from a position of anonymity.  They are the worst.

I left every one of Ron's foul comments intact.  Yet EVERY LAST COMMENT I've made at the FLDS Texas site over the past few days has been summarily deleted, including this.

Mr. Lawyer,

I'm sure you'll delete this, like have all of my previous comments. But I wish to go on record as warning you that if you ever accuse me of wanting to marry 12-year-olds and threaten my employment again, I will retain a REAL lawyer and sue your sorry ass.

Put that in your culus and smoke it, palos.

Anonymity.  Threats.  Silencing opposing viewpoints.  Who's the bad guy here?  Me?  Or them?

If there are any real lawyers out there reading this (not wannabe almost high school teachers like Ron in Houston or the Mall Cop a Palos, please weigh in here.  I want to know if I have grounds to sue that asshole.

NO ONE threatens Michael Fullmer of Frederick, MD (yeah, asshole, I DON'T HIDE WHO I AM -- NEVER HAVE, NEVER WILL) and gets away with it.

Law abuse

This is exactly the sort of story that makes it clear why people despise lawyers.

The 62-year-old Ogletree, you see, was headed to Las Vegas on December 30 when he stopped at a pizza place in the Houston airport. Upon departing the food court in Terminal C, Ogletree somehow forgot to take his "expensive black leather coat," an XL Polo model (with a fashionable plaid lining) worth $800. Not surprisingly, the coat subsequently disappeared. Now Ogletree is threatening to sue the City of Houston, Continental Airlines, and the food court's management company for failing to have "collected the coat, kept it in a secure place and held it for a reasonable time" until he was able to reunite with the garment. These prospective defendants, Ogletree reasoned, "breached their duty" in connection with how they "manage lost and found items for which they are responsible." In his January 18 litigation threat letter, a copy of which you'll find below, Ogletree, pictured at right, noted that "further legal action" could be avoided if he simply was paid $800 "for the cost of the coat."

To summarize:

• Lawyer enters airport


• All parties in the airport are immediately libel for any damage or loss involving his person and possessions

And to think! Once upon a time it was understood that personal responsibility requires one to be RESPONSIBLE for one's PERSON. By extension, one is also to be responsible for one's PERSONAL EFFECTS.

Mr. Ogletree, you're the recipient of the Wiener Award.

There is one lingering question, however. Could this possibly be the Caput a Palos, TxBluesMan himself?

Coram Non Judice - an update

The proprietor of Coram Non Judice and I have been going round-and-round all day today (click here to see the exchange; it starts a little more than half way down the page (search on 'Vulture' to see where it starts).

Mr. Non Judice is a real piece of work. Every time I make a point, he veers in a different direction. First it was "the FLDS act more like Nazis than the Texas Police supporting the raid" in answer to my point about the government slowly getting us used to paramilitary raids on weirdos so that they can branch out in suppression of any group deemed to be outside the mainstream.

Then he objected to my use of the word 'blitzkrieg' as a description of the raid when I was pointing out how grossly over-the-top the militarized police presence, in full combat regalia, was.

Then, when I pointed out the legal fallacy of a warrant naming one person being used as justification for the search of the ENTIRE COMMUNITY he fell back on "no one was deprived of their rights...there was a warrant".

Then, to counter my next volley, where I asserted that nowhere in the Constitution does the armed invasion of an entire community even BEGIN to be authorized by a mere warrant, he accused me of being a supporter of PPSG (Pedophile Polygamist Support Group)! To further add insult to insult, he called my thinking "muddled and unclear". My response:

Which part of "I don't support the FLDS, their beliefs, or their alleged pedophilia" don't you understand? Doing wrong in an attempt to "do right" is STILL WRONG. Yes, there may be child abuse and pedophilia going in at El Dorado. But does that make illegal search and seizure okay?

Think through the consequences. The Law of Unintended Consequences is a bitch.

I have no idea what is "muddled" and "unclear" about not wanting the Constitutional protections of the 4th Amendment to be violated notwithstanding the righteous cause being paraded about as the justification for doing so.

This earned me this rebuke.

It is clear that you don't understand the Constitution nor the law.

And your opinion still doesn't matter...

Now it was time for that winning Vulture charm to show through.

Okay, Mr. Constitutional Expert - show me where it says that ONE (or two - if you insist) F'ING WARRANT is sufficient to justify setting up a military-style perimeter around a village for purposes of searching ALL RESIDENCES IN THE VILLAGE w/o respect to whether the individuals dwelling therein ARE EVEN NAMED IN THE F'ING WARRANT, and then I'll shut up.

My opinions may not matter to you, Mr. High-and-Mighty-Legal-Expert, but my 'couldn't care less' quotient remains unaffected.

You and your chums here are nothing but bombastic authoritarians who think that any generic warrant is sufficient justification for any little thing der Staat wishes to do to its citizens.

Enjoy Amerika. It seems to fit you.

So...do I think Mr. Caput Penitus Culus (that's Latin for 'Head Inside Ass') will ever come around to my way of thinking? Not a chance in hell! This assclown is so steeped in his self-perceived superiority because......wait for it.....HE'S A LAWYER...that he'll never accept the error of his thinking, particularly when his foil is a computer programmer who doesn't even have a college degree (*GASP!!!!*)

I'm probably done arguing with old Culus. He's WAAAAAAAAAY too smart for me. Probably better looking, too. And more popular.

Tool.

Wiener of the Week - Updated

Normally the WotW is simply the Vulture poking at some governmental asshat through the bars of their bureaucratic cage with the pointed and barbed stick of vitriolic language. But today, it's personal.

This assclown seems to think that people like Toes and me who are appalled at the actions of Texas CPS and the militarized goon squad that supported it in the raid on the FLDS are, at best, stupid, at worst, supporters of pedophilia.

Let me set the stage for you. Sore Toes and a Broken Heart is an excellent blog that serves to document the invasion of the FLDS "compound" by Texas Stoßtruppen and the subsequent legal machinations engineered by Judge Barbara Walther, who, rather than sitting on a judicial bench, should be in jail for her contributions to this abortion of justice.

Mr. Coram Non Judice (ooooooooh! He MUST be smart! He knows Latin! I'm so effing impressed!) took umbrage to a recent post by Toes in which she called into question the legality the both the search warrant used to justify the invasion as well as the legality of expanding the scope of that warrant from a single individual to the ENTIRE community.

Mr. I'm-smart-'cause-I-know-Latin savaged Toes, accusing her of being a "lawyer wannabee" and implying that she's pro-pedophilia.

When Toes brought this up on her blog, I made a comment in her defense that Mr. Self-Important found offense with. But rather than blast me, the commenter, he blasted Toes, for not censoring me!

Her argument would be stronger if one of her last commentators didn't use the term "strumtruppen," which she then moderated and approved.

I followed up at his blog with the following comment (entered verbatim)

SOOOOOOOOOO....you have a problem with my characterization of the amassed SWAT forces that invaded the FLDS "compound" as sturmtruppen. Boo-fricken hoo! Do you have a better word for militarized troops in body armor armed with automatic weapons and backed by armored vehicles?

Don't be disingenuous! Pull your head out of your dogma and look a little deeper at what has been a decades-long trend. Right now they only persecute "oddball" religious groups like the Branch Davidians and the FLDS. But, mark my words, they're working their way up to the point where ANY group of citizens whose views are outside the mainstream can be targets. People like you are "useful idiots" -- putting forth the government line ("this case says 'blah blah blah' so it's okay") and making future atrocities more likely.

Yeah, let's round up the weirdos who MIGHT be engaging in pedophilia! Let's round up all the weirdos, period! One day you'll be saying, "Hey, wait! I'm not a weirdo - I'm mainstream! Get away from me!" as you're led away for being a Mormon, or a blogger, or simply for belonging to DAR. Then maybe you'll understand the viewpoint of people like Toes and me.

Note: this comment still hasn't appeared on Mr. Genius' site yet. Maybe he'll censor me, since Toes wouldn't.

Congratulations, self-important assclown! You're the Wiener of the Week!

UPDATE: My comment finally did get posted 13 hours after I originally posted it. Now let's see what kind of response I get. I'm not nice like Toes, so it should be interesting.

WotY nominees

Toes has nominees for Wiener of the Year, and they're good ones.

Weiner of the Year: Angie Voss - the CPS social worker supervisor who instigated the removal of over 400 children from the YFZ Ranch in Eldorado, TX, because it was a dangerous and scary environment for children.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695271299,00.html?pg=1

"It was a very scary environment — intimidating. I was afraid. I saw men all over. It felt like the schoolhouse was surrounded," she said, "It was a fearful kind of environment."

"I heard a report that a tank was coming on the property. Things were getting more scary to me. It was a situation of a very huge magnitude with so many law enforcement officers around," she testified. The case workers wanted to interview the children in an environment that didn't seem "so scary and dangerous."

And

http://conchovalleyhomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=6301

Angie Voss, CPS Supervisor, " A combination of things happened within the first two hours that caused me great concern for the children. I don't know how to describe it if you weren't there - the atmosphere and the feeling of it. It's not a place for children."

It seems unlikely that the ranch was a dangerous place for a child to live on March 28, 2008. It became a place of danger throughout the night of April 3 and ensuing days, with the appearance of untold numbers of armed Texas Rangers, an APC carrying a SWAT team with automatic weapons, SWAT snipers appointed at various places, and armed Sheriff's Deputies from at least 3 different counties entering homes, searching through personal possessions, and ordering children onto buses.

This Angie Voss is not to be confused with the good Dr. Angela Voss, Director of Kent University's Cultural Study of Cosmology and Divination Master's programme, http://www.kent.ac.uk/secl/thrs/postgraduate/cosmology/index.html

"Cosmology and Divination focuses on the modes of knowledge implicit in divinatory practices, in relation to the cosmological frameworks in which they arise."

Unless that's who the Texas Angie Voss thought she actually was, and was operating on cosmologically and divinely inspired knowledge as to which children would have abused 10 or 12 or 14 or 16 years from April 3, which women were teenagers or adults, and which women were pregnant or not.

You, of course, could expand the award to include Judge Barbara Walther, and the entire team of Texas CPS litigants and participants, with no argument from me.

My only other nominees would be Sen. Harry Reid, for just being who he is; and Sen. John McCain, for pretending to run for President.

Ta-ta

Toes

Thanks, Toes! Those are some great nominees.

Ms. Voss is a most worthy nominee. Were she not so perpetually frightened of congregated men and an environment she and her kind created with militarized representatives of Der Staat driving their tanks around frightening children (like her), the prolonged and wholly unnecessary FLDS crisis might never have developed into the gigantic MCF it ultimately became.

Judge Walther's role in said MCF is also worthy of WofY status. The woman is a disgrace. She acted in clear violation of the Constitution on numerous occasions throughout the fiasco. She ultimately got the slap down she deserved from the Texas Supreme Court, but who knows how far she would have gone were it not for the intervention by the Supremes.

Harry Reid is always a front-runner for WotY. If I gave out a prize for "best imitation of a human being by a reptile", he'd win for sure.

John McCain is looking like the frontrunner right now. I haven't made my decision yet, but you have to admit, his credentials are strong.

Keep those nominees coming, gang. There's certainly plenty of Wieners deserving WotY consideration.

Sore Toes and a Bleeding Heart

I'm a firm believer in pointing out writers and bloggers who are doing a commendable job of drawing attention to the issues of freedom and government corruption that are the predominant theme of this blog. Anyone who's ever read this blog knows that I have a major man-crush on Vox Day and Steve Czaban. I've always enjoyed the wit and wisdom of Der Hausfraurer, Nate. In the past year, I've added William Grigg (Pro Libertate) and Andrew Bolt to my list of those who "get it" and are fighters against over-grasping government.

Today I'd like to call your attention to a lady who is fighting the good fight against a singularly corrupt and evil organ of government -- Child Protective Services (CPS). I'd like to introduce you to Sore Toes and a Bleeding Heart, a blog that caught fire during the FLDS fiasco.

Contrary to the name, "Sore Toes" is NOT a bleeding heart in the traditional, Upper West Side Limousine Liberal sense of the term. Her heart bleeds for the children being yanked away from family and home on the flimsiest of excuses. She's got a very good grasp of the issues, and a real nose for digging up the dirt on the "civil servants" behind Der Staat's malevolent claim on our children.

She's a talented writer and is significantly nicer in her treatment of the foul vermin she reports on than, say, Vox Day, Nate, or I. It's not a chick blog -- she addresses hard issues and does it well. Give her a read -- you'll be glad you did.

Finally....indictments

It started with a false tip from an anonymous source, who turned out to be a woman with mental issues who routinely calls police with false tips. Their ranch/compound was raided by Stoßtruppen with armored vehicles and automatic weapons. Their children were taken from them at gun point, and only returned when the Texas Supreme Court overturned a stateist judge's ruling and then had to force the nanny-fascist to comply with their ruling.

But all along they (the FLDS men) were guilty, right? After all, would Der Staat have descended upon their little enclave with such a display of force if they weren't? I mean, for a display of force THAT ostentatious, surely ALL of the men in the compound MUST be guilty of SOMETHING, right?

Yesterday it was reported on by the AP that indictments have FINALLY been handed down. Surely there must be dozens, right?

A Texas grand jury Tuesday indicted polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs on a charge of felony sexual assault of a child. Five of his followers have been indicted as well.

Attorney General Greg Abbott said four of Jeffs' followers are charged with one count of sexually assaulting girls under the age of 17. One of the four faces an additional charge of bigamy.

Abbott said a fifth follower is charged with three counts of failure to report child abuse.

Okay, let me get this straight. After...what has it been? 2? 3 months? After all this time, they hand down six indictments. Six. They send an effin' army, they steal the children of every family living there...and they could only come up with charges against six of them!

I hope the state of Texas is damn proud of their government agents. The Stoßtruppen. The Child Protective Services. Judge Walther and all judges of a like mind with her. Your tax dollars at work.

Justice for the FLDS/Nancy Grace is a Fascist

You could have knocked me over with a feather. A Texas appeals court has determined that Texas CPS had no right nor cause to seize the children of the FLDS cult.

The Third Court of Appeals in Austin said the state failed to show the youngsters were in any immediate danger, the only grounds in Texas law for taking children from their parents without court action.

Wait! Are you telling me that you have to have proof before you can take people's children? [/sarcasm]

This isn't just a victory for the FLDS. This is a victory for the Constitutional protections of each one of us.

But there are some among us who are perpetually less interested in justice and freedom and much more interested in righting perceived (if not factually provable) wrongs.

When I got home last night, Mrs. Vulture was watching Nancy Grace. I used to enjoy Nancy Grace the first several times I watched her show. But now, to me, she's just a screeching fascist. Last night was no different.

Her panel for the discussion of the FLDS ruling consisted of two male defense attorneys who defended the decision (quite well, I might add). The remainder of the panel consisted mostly of shrewish Naziettes whose idea of reasoned debate consisted of baseless (and, so for, evidence-less) charges. "Young girls barely into puberty are being forced to marry and have sex!" "They beat their wives - that's why they make them dress that way, so the bruises won't show!" "There's proof of physical abuse against the children!"

The Vulture had a one word reply for each of the baseless statements of the Fascistas - "Okay - where's the indictment?"

This is what separates the freedom lover from the Statist. The freedom lover believes that when one is accused of a crime, said crime should be investigated, evidence of guilt should be presented before a court, and judgment should be rendered by a jury of his or her peers. The Statist, on the other hand, believing that Der Staat is the solution to all problems, likes to take shortcuts. "Shoot first, ask questions later" takes a whole new meaning when you're talking about situations like this one where 460+ children have been needlessly traumatized because some übermommy decided that crimes have been committed and action must be taken by Der Staat!

I very much dislike the FLDS cult. I very much dislike the way that they treat their women, like cattle. I very much dislike and distrust cults in general. But in the United States of America, under the Constitution, even the most unlikeable cult has rights, and NO ONE, not the government, not the Texas Stoßtruppen, and certainly not the Texas übermommies, can abridge those rights.

Thank God there's still one court in this land that understands and abides by that. And thank God that Nancy Grace isn't our ruler!

More Texas police news

Photo Courtesy of Crane News in Crane, Texas

What do they put in the water in Texas that makes their cops act the way they do? I mean, come ON! They make the Maryland State Police look like a collection of Emily Posts. They seem to view themselves as the law, and God help anyone with the temerity to defy them.

Just ask Brian Barnes, a professional storm chaser. He dared to "talk back" to the law and wound up in jail for it.

"I told him that I was helping out the National Weather Service in San Angelo, and they were relaying my reports to Midland. He told me he didn't care, and that I needed to go."

Barnes thought it was his obligation to stay put and follow the storms, a decision that landed him in jail.

"He jumped out and put me in handcuffs. I turned around and I remember him slamming me up against his vehicle, and then it all got kind of scary."

Among the witnesses was Dennis Greer, who had a similar run-in, with the same deputy, just minutes earlier while he was shooting pictures of the same storm for the local newspaper.

"His first words to me were, 'are you a blankety-blank idiot?' He told me if I didn't leave, I was going to jail, flat out," Greer said.

Nice.

Better still is the phony, trumped-up charge hung on Mr. Barnes.

Barnes was arrested at a road side park on Highway 385 and charged with obstruction of a highway or other passage way.

According to witnesses, there is plenty of room on on the road in front of the park for a vehicle to get by. That's why they are questioning the validity of the charge.

Dennis Greer says, "The guy wasn't blocking anything. He was able to drive a full size truck by with no problem."

Doesn't matter. You didn't follow direct instructions from the law.

The cop was abusive, used foul language, and used unnecessary force on a man who neither posed a threat nor resisted arrest. Apparently, that's par for the course in Texas. The FLDS were REALLY smart not to resist the Stoßtruppen who invaded their ranch.