Do two people, who know nothing of a subject, get together and talk about that subject, know more or less than one person who knows nothing of that subject? I think less. The more the people, the less..........





Those of you who are LDS, or those who know an LDS person, think of this:


"One of the most unreliable things connected with mankind is popular opinion. So far as God's dealings with the children of men are concerned, and the sending of Prophets and Apostles to them, those who have been guided by popular opinion have always erred. The opinions of the great majority concerning the truth have in almost every instance been unreliable". G.Q. Cannon 3,23, 1873.

Let the children stay with their Mothers.
That is where they belong.

If only more officials or heads of state would really look at whats going on with this people, they wouldn't be so anxious to hurt them, they would be more apt to help defend there rights as parents and U.S citizens. I was talking to some of my teenage nieces and sisters who are not married, and ask them if they felt abused or forced to make any decisions. They laughed and said "If anyone is hard done by, it is our parents. We demand so much of them, they have to keep us busy, they are our taxi service. They work so hard for us so we can be happy and FREE from making wrong decisions in our lives, and so much more. We love our family. We love this way of life. Our parents ,we know, would give there lives for us." They said so many things I can't even right it all. We love children, we love to watch them grow and make their own decisions. I grew up FLDS and love everything about it. My wife and I were in our twenties when we were married. We were never forced or even asked to make a decision about marriage. We believe in freedom of religion. There are so many lies about our people and so many prejudice it is truly amazing and hard to keep up with.

Dear Governor,

The following was a report made to this workers Supervisor. She worked at the San ANgelo "Shelter" that was used to imprison the 465 Mormon children who were kidnapped by Texas. As you recall, the Children were Ordered by the Supreme Court of Texas to put the children back where they belonged all the while, and now, the crackpot of a Judge who took them away in the first place want to return them to the hell you call foster care.

I think these children have been abused and tortured enough, don't you?

Thank you,

B. Medvecky












The following are a couple of points I would like to makes as my experience in
Eldorado

• One of my previous jobs was of a CPS worker. When I first head of what was going on with CPS in Eldorado, I actually thought that my past experience would prepare me for what I was about to face. After all CPS only removes children you are abused or neglected. After my arrival there and an opportunity to see the Mothers and children interact it was obvious that this was not handled like a “typical” case. Children were well behaved, healthy, loved and under the circumstance in good spirits, play, curious, & engaging. An investigation was not conducted prior to the removal of the children and ALL children where removed not just the ones in who could be possibly abused.

• The first statement we head concerning the Mothers and Children were that they were not going to be open to us, they would not be approachable and that if we attempted to engage the children the only response we would receive from the children would be “not without my lawyer”. This was completely opposite to our actual encounters. The Mothers and Children, although cautious at first, did interact Mothers would have conversations with us and the children would play with us.

• Our roles became that of confidant and a broker (of sorts) between the Mothers and CPS.
For Example:

A Mother wanted to peel and cut into small pieces an apple for her toddler, CPS stated no. I then went to inquire they were resistant but stated the knife would be given only to me to peel and cut the apple. The Knife was my responsibility. There had not been any evidence that any of the Mothers would hurt themselves and especially not there children.

Another incident involved a pair of scissors. The Mother wanted the pair to be able to cut yarn for a project (to make a Cheerio’s Necklace) for the children to be entertained. The same procedure was followed as with the knife.

A Mother had asked if she could cover her infants play pin, in which he was taking a nap, half was with a blanket (it was a very thin blanket). She stated that he had not been able to take his naps and rest due to the lights. CPS told me no, that it was a health hazard.

• The Mothers repeatedly during their first couple of days upon arrival to the Coliseum were asking to allow there children to play outside they were repeatedly denied access.

Dear sir,

a child's place is with his mother and father and brothers and sisters. To remove children from their family is a heinous crime against those children and their families.

Plese stop persecuting the families of the YFZ community. They have a different way of understanding the world than you do, but really - who is to say with ultimate authority who is right?

Step back and look at their children for a moment. Step back and consider what is being done to them by the state of Texas. For what? What have they done? Their mothers love and care for them. Their fathers love and care for them. They are surrounded by a wholesome environment.

Stop persecuting them. Leave them alone. If anything, ask their parents to offer classes in parenting.

Sincerely,
Jay Litehiser
Munich, Germany

Revelation to Street August 12, 2008, in regard to Texas and U.S. authorities continuing to threaten to kidnap FLDS children because of their religion and their Christian beliefs in the Word of God. This revelation is in response to a public petition circulating the country for redress before our government.

I inquired of the Lord my God: My Father, what is Thy word in response to our government’s continued aggression to kidnap thy children again from the faithful, to violate again their families and their right to life, liberty, and happiness, even pure life from the source of thy stream at puberty, according to Thy commandment (Exodus 22:29), to violate again their right to religious freedom and to have no law against it, as guaranteed by the Supreme Law of the land, and to seek their genocide?

My son: Their aggression is false theory and thunder over my mercy and blessing. Therefore, I will come out of my hiding place, and I will make mine own petitions in renewed aggression against these evil men and their criminal minds and hearts, for my servant’s sake and for my harvest. I will be his help, and the help of my faithful. Deliverance cometh after 40-days and 40-nights, according to mine own time and will, for I am his God (El-I-Hu or God of him).

Wherein my servant fully expects and waits and yearns for my Zion, he proceedeth out of the realm of danger. The obstacle hath been removed, and the difficulties are being resolved. My deliverance is not yet achieved, but it hath begun. It cometh in stages. Hasten unto normality, pardon the misdeeds, and be still. Three cunning and designing foxes are caught. They must be removed. Then cometh my deliverance. Devote thyself wholeheartedly unto this task, for such rectitude and inner strength is the best weapon against all that is false and low.

Persue not wealth, for robbers draw near and wait to steal. Free thyself from all who attach themselves through the force of daily habit, all who have no inner connection with my spirit. Then ye shall have my sanctuary. When the inferior see thy inner resolve, they withdraw. Then shall one in high position be removed, he who hath hindered thy deliverance because he is hardened in his wickedness. After thou hast made ready the means, take thy quarry, and thy deliverance is sure.

Even So, Amen.

Dear Governor Perry,
I believe you must have thought when you were voted in as governor, you thought maybe you could make a difference. NOW IS YOUR CHANCE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE! You KNOW, you can tell by looking at those beautiful children, that they ARE NOT ABUSED! YOU KNOW IT! Do you have children of your own? How would you feel if those were your children? This could happen to you! Step up and STOP the INJUSTICE that is being done to those children. They NEED their parents. THEY ARE NOT ABUSED! THEY NEVER WERE! YOU KNOW THIS! I KNOW YOU KNOW THIS! STEP UP AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND LET THE CHILDREN BE WITH THEIR PARENTS WHERE THEY BELONG!

When first arriving at Fort Concho in San Angelo we were debriefed about “The Guests” at the fort; the “guests” were the women and children from the Eldorado Ranch. During the debriefing I learned that these women and children came from a culture very different that ours. I heard that they would likely not talk to us, make eye contact with us, and that they were brainwashed.

Within the first two days of being among the women and children from Eldorado I learned though observation and interactions that the initial information we received was false. The women and children did make eye contact; Things stuck me immediately.

These women carried themselves confidence; they were polite and respectful; they displayed what we would consider a great deal of self-esteem.

An incident happened that helped me understand how brainwashed we all are; in my professional opinion brainwashed is the same as conditioned and/or socialized =; and we all have been socialized/conditioned in our respectful cultures, subcultures or societies.
A woman requested to be escorted across the parking lot (from the shelter) to the make shift clinic were an EMS vehicle had pulled up because she believed a child of a close friend was hurt. When we asked CPS staff permission to escort the woman we were told no, she can not go there. We told the woman she was not allowed to leave the shelter area. I later regretted having asked the CPS worker for permission to begin with; I wished I had simply accompanied the woman across the parking lot to the clinic.
This incident made me aware of how conditioned/brainwashed I am. I was obviously afraid to challenge the rules because I might have painful consequences for me. I actually pictured myself being stopped by a law enforcement person and possibly removed for the premise and/or accuse of interfering with legal proceedings.

The entire experience at fort Concho and the Coliseum was sure-real; at times it felt like these woman and children were prisoners;
I head some people wonder out loud if this was Nazy Germany? The thought had struck me too. Is this what it was like for the people in concentration in Germany? The women and Children from Eldorado were lied to and deceived on several occasions.

I often felt helpless; I also felt in awe of the grace, and self-confidence in which the woman behaved. My culture, my society could learn from these woman and children; they have my at-most respect.

Honourable Sir Governor !
Please, do not allow the anti-White andti-Mormon anti-FLDS genocide in the State of Texas. Please, stop the great religious prosecution against the minor FLDS Mormon group. Please, do not follow the falsehood and the false rumours.
The violence against the FLDS is actually the violence against the USA Constitution with its principle of religious liberty. The great USA Constitution does protect absolutely the FLDS Mormon people and their unique religion.

The Texas CPS and San Angelo Judge Walthers have already proven themselves to be enemies to the American Family order through their Continued acts of aggression against the peace-loving innocent mothers and children of the YFZ Ranch.
Governor, the surest way for evil to triumph is for GOOD MEN to do nothing! The unwarranted attacks on the FLDS NEED TO STOP!
Do you, Governor, see yourself as a GOOD MAN? If so, then you will honor yor OATH of OFFICE and protect the Constitutional rights of the innocent. WE, The Concerned American citizens call upon you to intervene and put an end to this POGROM, this RELIGEOUS GENOCIDE!
If you do nothing, then you should be considered a WILLING ACCOMPLIST to KIDNAPPING, RAPE, CHILD ABUSE, MURDER AND EXTERMINATION just as Governor Lilburn W Boggs of Missouri was in the 1830s when He issued the extermination order against the Mormons.
THE EYES OF THE WORLD ARE UPON YOU, anxiously waiting for YOU to step up to the plate and curtail this CPS mob.

Aug.13,2008
Governor; re; THE FLDS CHILDREN
"COMMON SENSE", In all that is "correct thinking," you know that the very best and safest place for the children is with their mothers. Where they will receive the kind love and nurturing that only a mother can give.
The children are not in any danger,being with their mothers. Judge Walthers knows that! Dept. of child protective services know that, Sheriff Doran knew that!
So what is the hidden agenda?( Or not so hidden agenda!) What are you allowing to happen? What you are doing is not going to protect the children! By taking them from their parents. Are you and the Great State of Texas going to destroy the children? And break their tender hearts? Are You Governor, Going to Put a stop to the actions of DCPS. And this Terrible treatment of the FLDS people? Of abusing the Children? Or their Fathers and Mothers.
DISCRIMINATION ! POGROM ! GENOCIDE !
Look what happened to Vera Black's child. (Willford Black) check it out. "This same type of DCPS, out of control, The state of Utah, destroyed that boy".
Are you a party to destroying children and families? Think, about what you and the state of Texas are doing, Under Your Watch!

THE CHILDREN BELONG WITH THEIR MOTHERS!

The actions of Judge Walthers, DCPS, Sheriff Doran, and especially,THE Proud, Texas Rangers,
DEFIES. "COMMON SENSE"!
This is DISCRIMINATION ! Against a people,an established Religion.
Even after the high courts ruled, Judge Walthers, just goes ahead with the agenda, DCPS, Chilldress,continues as if the high court did not exist. They act as if the children belong to some arbitrarily MONSTER,called The State of Texas, Department of Child Protective Services? HOW ABSURD! What a Gross false hood. to think that they would protect these children? How Absurd!
The children belong with their parents. You all know that, everyone knows that!
Again we all ask,does Judge Walthers and DCPS, have greater power than GOD? We know the answer.
WHAT! Because, the simple report of a case worker,Who has nothing but a government job, no understanding of love, of a mother and a child for each other. So this case worker makes a report, based on her biased opinion. What? Would she herself,want her children taken from her on the same premise? I think not.

Governor; The children are in the best place they could be, With their mothers.

The High Courts of Texas,has ruled, this must mean nothing to DCPS. Is the DCPS, greater than you Governor?

We, all parents cross the UNITED STATES, call on you. Put a stop to the actions of DCPS and the Un American actions of Judge Walther and the Child destroying, yes the family destroying, actions of TEXAS!

Dear Sir,
Surely you can see that taking a bunch of innocent children away from their Loving Parents is not the answer to this situation.
And how can it be expected that any Mother, especially one seeking the best interest of her children,Would sign something that made so her children could no longer see their Father?
Just because someone dissagrees with the way he lives? As if having their memories scarred for life is some how better than witnessing 1 out of a million under age relationships?
Ouch!
How many men out there can truthfully say he has never been with an underage girl?
And how many that have, can say that they supported her or her children in any way?
Go figure.
If America wants to be strong,then America should be Just.
I ask you to Consider your choices well, and make the right decisions.
Do NOT hurt these children Any more.

Dear Governor Perry,

A plan is in the works to take 8 children back into custody of your foster care system. This is the way one Mental Health worker at San Angelo described what she saw your CPS doing to those children and their mothers. This is disgraceful, and you sir need to stop it.


I went the & final week. First day when I got badge was given Tip Sheet on rules & how to handle this population. Upon entering the Coliseum noticed several mothers coming at to our group and hugging them (they remembered them). The 1st family I met the mother knew the older children were taken the day before & she was preparing/packing her things. She allowed me to Interact with her children & read stories to them. One of the daughters looked at my badge & went & told mother. Mother knew I was not CPS & allowed me to take her children to the find scotch tape. CPS worker stopped me & checked my badge. At least 3 CPS workers circled us pretended to pick up items off the floor right in front of us while I read to these children.

Met another mother who was nursing her son, whom I’d, met & interacted with before, was trying to nap & was restless due to coughing. Asked her if I Could pat his back & help settle him. CPS worker came up to me inquiring about his mother; Worker went up to her with clipboard & said, “You need to take him to nurse right now.” This mother was breast feeding at this time. CPS worker would not let me take him. I spent time with her & other children. She was animated, scared, telling me, “It’s like CPS is dangling something over our heads.” Other children came up to us & all wanted to know what was going to happen & why was this happening & letting me know CPS was mean.

Met 2nursing mothers who were breast feeding & let them know I was there to help. Saw them next day at Seton House in San Angela & they came up & hugged me & were grateful they got to stay with their infants & small children. At least 5 mothers reported that at night CPS circled their beds, held flashlights in their faces & then would sit inches away from them as they tried to sleep. Mothers reported they were scared CPS would take their children during the night thus leaving them & their children exhausted. Reports of no privacy & interruptions at pray time were given, as well.

Observed CPS in coliseum sitting in chairs some were sleeping, talking to each other, circling the families, facing the wall not even looking at families. Families reported being cold at night & did not get to go outside, “I wish the tornado would come and blow us back home”, one child stated to me. Mothers were gracious, kind, scared, worried, etc. Children had colds, 7 were arguing at this point over toys CPS brought in.

On the bus I was not allowed to help Children/Mothers get off or help carry any of their items. Children without mothers were crying, one asked me, will I at least get to stay with my brother, and he was weeping. It was heart wrenching & an experience I will never forget but, am humbled & grateful to have been apart of.

Dear Sir:
The State of Texas, including Judge Barbara Walther and CPS, has already done irreparable harm to the FLDS people.
You have a responsibility to protect the rights of your citizens, not participate in the illegal kidnapping which was perpetrated on the FLDS people. Removing eight of these children from their homes again, because of the bias of CPS and Judge Walther, is unconscionable. There has never been proof that these children have been mistreated or will be mistreated, and their mothers should not be required to sign papers they cannot in good conscience sign.
The abuse of power by CPS and Judge Walther should be stopped. Please intervene for the sake of these children. They have already suffered enough abuse from the State of Texas. The safest place they can be is in their own homes with their own parents.

Sincerely,
Dawn Boss

This USE to be a free country, I am not sure what Kind of country it is now.What are we trying to do in this country? If Our Forefathers saw what a sad state this country is in, they would weep. This nonsense has got to stop. NO ONE has the right to take a child from his parents for no SENSIBLE reason,PERIOD!

I am thankful for the opportunity to be a part of such an important event and to be a part of the requisite mental heath services. Many of my colleagues have addressed very valid and troubling aspects of the happenings in San Angelo; therefore I will not reiterate their passionate words. Rather, I will address the vast amounts of hypocrisy I felt I had unwillingly became a part of during this time. Within my own family, we have argued the concepts of the letter of the law and the sprit of law en regards to the FLDS children.

First and foremost, I want to address the fact that unlike many of my other colleagues, most of my interactions with CPS workers were pleasant and enlightening. Many of the ladies and gentlemen in San Angelo were genuinely confused as to why their agency was placing so much energy into the removal of these children. On a number of occasions, I saw CPS workers trying to build a healthily relationship with the children and mothers. Furthermore, if they felt that it was better to have me intervene when a child needed the additionally mental health support, they called upon me in a positive manner.

As to my issue of the apparent hypocrisy of the basis of the raid, I should address the fact that I am originally from the Texas-Mexico border and spent a number of years working out in the “Colonias” of Laredo prior to my tenure with Hill Country. During my time working in the Colonias and my own personal experiences, I have personally known of a good number of children as young as 11 bearing children fathered by older men as well as by teenagers. I find it strange that, as least these communities in which I am speaking, the Colonias have not been the subject of large raids under the apparent stance that the CPS has taken on the Yearning for Zion compound and its residents.

During my time in San Angelo with the mothers and children, the thoughts of the inconsistency created more confusion, as I watched the healthy interaction between mother and child. Many of the mothers tried to continue with their normal daily activities such as education, worship, and chores. I was impressed by their dedication to their children and the needs of their children.

For me, on a person level, the most difficult aspect of the entire experience was the apparent lies being told to the mothers. I myself felt the inconsistency in information when we had been told that Special Needs children were to be allowed to stay with their mothers and, yet, by that afternoon, that was no longer the case. This left me in a strange position in which I felt compelled to voice the needs of these children and their mothers. This was met with less then enthusiastic response and after, after I spoke out for the children, I was asked to either leave the bus or be arrested.

Once again CPS is involving themselves needlessly in another un warrented situation. What is it going to take for the government to see that this agency that is supposed to protect children are the very thing that has and is still damaging thousands of children. I do not in any way condone the polygamist lifestyle. However, the children have the right to be with their familes until or unless there has been PROOF of abuse. Removing these children needlessly from the only people they have ever known has done damage that may never be able to be reversed. Will common sense ever come into play with our government? I too am a victim of CPS. I say victim because my family truly feel that we were and actually still are being victimized by our government and CPS. CPS has focused so much time and energy on ripping apart familes where there is no proof of any wrong-doing that the children that truly need heir help is being ignored. Enough is enough. One agency should not have as much power as CPS. It's time you all woke up and looked closer at this agency. Children are being victimized and abused, many of whom will never be the same. My son and daughter was taken from me and thankfully given to my mother based on nothing but an accusation. CPS never investigated a thing. Not a thing. It took four months to get my son. A year and a half later we are still fighting this in court. There was never any proof that my husband did the things my daughter accused him of doing. In fact she has changed her story many times. No one in CPS wants to hear the truth that maybe she made it up. Someone needs to stop them.

Dear Governor Perry,
Please put an end to atrocities committed by 'child protective services'. This is a worldwide epidemic. The FLDS case, as well as my own, here in Colorado, was totally based on hearsay, false allegations, and speculation by unlicensed social workers.
CPS is funded by Title IV, which makes it unprofitable for reunification of families. Families such as my own, who have completed unconstitutional 'case plans'. It's funny how they think to have the 'best interest of the child' in mind, when they don't even ask the children their input into the case and who they want to live with! My 3 children are in the custody of my lesbian mother and her controlling 'partner'. We are only allowed to see the kids for 2 hours a week! By the way, there was NO ABUSE in my case! One of our caseworkers is a lesbian who is friends with my mother. I wrote a letter to the human services board in Denver, who sent it back here to corrupt Fremont County, who, of course found NOTHING WRONG. This caseworker still has her job. The judge who always gets the DHS cases ALWAYS rules in favor of DHS and the guardian ad litem actually hired a private investigator to spy on my husband at the bowling alley. He was doing NOTHING ILLEGAL!
Please tell me: IS THIS AMERICAN JUSTICE?
I am going to Washington DC for the second year in a row to try to put an end to abuses by the Department of Human Services. We need to put FAMILIES FIRST, not feminist inspired special interest groups!

Susan C. Fretwell

Dear Governor Perry,

You should stand up and take control of this mess, stop letting CPS and some lower court judges make the state of Texas look like Nazi Germany. What happened to innocent until proven guilty, fair and impartial trails, and freedom of religion. If you will not uphold the constitution, the state of Texas will become an embarrassment. If you show you don't have the backbone to uphold the law, who will take you serious for the rest of your career.
Please consider what they are doing to these little children. Where else would you hear of someone being forced to commit to not letting their children see their Father, because someone doesn't like the way he believes. Let justice be served, but stop judging without a fair trial.
Sincerely,
Jason Knudson

Dear Governor Perry:

I have no allusions that you care in the slightest for the 465 children of the YFZ Ranch in Eldorado Texas, but I do know that this e mail has to be a part of the record by Texas Law of your Administration.

I want this letter, written by a member of the team YOU hired to take care of the women and children in San Angelo after they were illegally taken by CPS from their homes.

Please make no mistake, if this letter is not made part of the Record, I will bring suit against you in Court for failing to follow Texas Public Records Law.

Bill Medvecky



I participated in the San Angelo Incident for three consecutive weeks in April 2008.
When I first received notification from my supervisor to participate in the incident, I was anxious to take part as I had just received my licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor, less then seven days prior. However, when I arrived on sire with the women and children, I quickly realized that there was nothing in any textbook that could prepare me for what I was about to experience. To sum it up, I felt as if I was working with my hand were tied behind my back, a blindfold on, and I was leading going on human instinct. I tossed all of my years of experience and textbook knowledge as I merely tried to engage in conversation with the women and children to build a rapport to gain their trust, and help them process what they were going through, and what they were going to experience in the days to follow. It ultimately boiled down to treating people with human respect. And you do not have to have advance training to bigher education to do that.

When I arrived in San Angelo the first week and participated in the debriefings, I was taken back by the information that was given to us by the representative of the Command Station. We were informed of how resistant and difficult this population of woman and children were. We were given instructions to “merely observe”, and be prepared for responses such as “I want to talk to my lawyer or not without my lawyer”. The information given was quite the contrary. We informed that our shifts would be twelve hour shifts, from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm.

The first week in San Angelo, I found the women and children to be quite pleasant. They were reserved, yet friendly when spoken to. Much of the women’s first comments were, “when are we going home?” or “what is going to happen to us?” All I could say was, “I’m not sure, but I can inquire and pass on the information when it is available.” Much of the women stated that the children were missing their school lessons and their fathers. They also asked when they could get their personal cell phones returned to them. The informed me that their cell phones had been taken from them. When I attempted to ask the shelter manager for a phone or if I could let the woman use a cell phone, she commented to me (with the woman present, behind me), “I already told you, no cell phones”. The representative further stated to me “she is being manipulative; I’ve already told her no”. I was embarrassed when I turned around to speak to the woman because she heard the CPS worker’s comment.

The first three to four days that I was present at the Concho Valley Fort, the women and children were all well mannered and extremely cooperative. The unit of the Pavilion where I was stationed, my task was to offer comfort and support the women and children, referred to as “guests”. I worked alongside two BCFS workers and at least four CPS workers. Four CPS workers were stationed at the two doors of the unit. For the most part, they sat y the doors and observed the “guests” who were either discreetly breast feeding their children, on their cot, schooling/teaching their children, or feeding their children with food, drinks, and snacks. I was asked by the unit leader to sit outside of the unit, to monitor who was coming and going out. Most of my day was spent taking shift with MH workers due to the hot sun.


The second week I participated with the San Angelo Incident, the “guests” were housed at the Pavilion and Coliseum. My task on the second trip was to comfort and offer support to the children who were escorted to the Coliseum, and separated from their mothers. Most of the children stayed united with each other. The older children comforted the younger children when they began to cry and ask for their mothers. The older female children took on the role of mothers. They hugged and consoled the smaller children. It was touching to watch the intense bond these children had, regardless of the fact that they were not all blood siblings, but difficult at the same time. I found it extremely difficult to do my task of consoling and offer comfort when I was an emotional wreck myself. Even to be an observer at the facility was difficult. I could see the women and children being escorted by a string of law enforcement into the facility. They were escorted for the Coliseum into the Pavilion. CPS workers approached the “guests” and asked the women to follow them into another room while the children were asked to follow CPS workers and escorted them to the other end of the facility. As the children became scared and realized that their mothers were not going to return to them, they began to cry and became emotional. CPS responded by placing (bed) cots upright and building a was so that the children could not see what was going on at the other end of the facility. At one point, when the children were all separated, one male child who was about 9 years old, broke away from the rest of the children who were all hurtled say, “you’re the police, help us. Help me get my mother back. She has done nothing wrong”. The police officer could only respond by saying, “I can’t do that”. Once the children were gathered in one half of the facility with wall-to-wall cots forming a was, there were at least four policemen, over eight CPS workers and myself and another MH worker. Our job at that point was to merely observe, as the children found relief and comfort among themselves, and it seemed intrusive to disrupt the grieving process that was occurring. Within about an hour, our next task was to help CPS workers escort children in pairs of two to the restrooms, a few feet away from where they were to the restroom. For about thirty to forty-five minutes, I made repeated trips to the restroom with children and then escorted them back to their area. I also found it intrusive to go into the restroom and wait for the children to finish.

The third week in San Angelo was perhaps the most difficult. My main task was to escort the “guests” to the different shelters for both women and children. The bus I was on had two women and the rest were children ranging, form infants who were nursing to children ages 7 & 8 years old. The women were escorted on to the bus first and they were settled in with their infants. The children then joined them, in tears running to the two women. Within seconds, the two women had five or six children they were comforting. After about ten minutes on the road, the children were no longer crying. They were in awe of the bus and the sites on the way to San Antonio. One woman on the bus had a notebook and she documented all of the names of the workers on my bus were helping the two women and children on the bus. At one point, I joined a conversation of two young and relatively new CPS workers. They were upset with their lead on the bus because they believed they were asked to purposely mislead the women about if and when they could get the custody of their children back. Although the bus ride was only about three hours, the trip seemed much longer than that. Children were throwing up on the bus and the smell was unpleasant. The smell coming from the restroom was noticeable from the middle of the bus. Each bus had at least one EMS worker. A police officer, six CPS workers, one lead CPS worker and two mental health workers, and guests.

One of the MH workers from the Bexar County informed be on the way back to San Angelo from San Antonio that she was helping a child on the bus when she was interrupted by a CPS worker who told her she was told not to allow MH works interact with the children because they (MH workers) did not want to work with the children. The MH worker interjected and said that was not true. They only thing she did not like was the fact that she was not allowed (by CPS) to work with the children.

Overall, the opportunity to work with this population of people was invaluable. It was unique in the sense that I was able to observe the grieving process, daily, for several hours per day, for at lest three weeks. And through it all,, the “guests” managed their grief with dignity and grace, given the circumstances. In the grand scheme of things, there was evident deterioration with regard to behavior, nutrition, anguish, health, etc.
However, the “guests” never showed any signs of disrespect to anyone, even if they were not given the respect, in return.

DEAR Mr Gov,of Texas

I can't see how you can sit and look at what the people of TEXAS, ARE DOING TO THE CHILDREN OF THE Y F Z RANCH. Dose it not make you very SICK ?.Put a hole in your GUT.

I pray to our GOD that you will see the light of day and stop all this abuse on the children.

YOU MR. GOV, GET ON YOUR KNEES AND ASK GOD FOR HELP, HE WILL HELP YOU OUT AND MAKE STAND UP FOR THE RIGHTS OF ALL PEOPLE IN YOU GREAT STATE of TEXAS

Governor Perry,

Please don't allow them to take and turn these children's worlds upside down again. Imagine if it was you and your children this was happening too. How traumatized would your children be if they had gone through what these children have gone through? There has to be some other way to handle this. The children don't need to have anymore emotional harm done to them. I realize you don't believe in the ways of the FLDS, but Hitler didn't believe in the ways of the Nazi's. The great thing about America is that there are so many different cultures. I also know that constitution allows for FREEDOM OF RELIGION. Give these people their freedom and keep these children with their mothers. PLEASE, I PRAY of YOU, take MERCY on these CHILDREN!!!!

Dear Governor,

This attempt to kidnap more children from the FLDS people is wrong. How can the mothers sign a document to keep the children from their fathers if the fathers are not even guilty?? An indictment is not guilt. Please re-consider this move as every freedom of American citizens is hanging in the balance.

Why can't you people leave the FLDS Children alone? We now have two states in America where gays and lesbians can marry, and yet you are still trying to deny FLDS people their personal right to happiness. If you people in Texas were as concerned with illegal invaders instead of FLDS this country would not be so flooded with people south of the border.

Dear Sir,

I find it absolutely astonishing that ANY person can stand idly by and watch these children and their families be the target of further persecution and scrutiny by corrupt government forces who have apparently no intention of humbly taking the correction they were given by the higher courts in response to their first evil, conspiring attack. These people were ACCUSED BY THEIR ENEMIES of breaking the law. I think that most of us adults have been wrongly accused of various evils by people who do not like us for whatever reason, real or imagined. Now let us keep in mind here that in spite of a massive "witch-hunt" effort due to those accusations, none of these people have been proven guilty. However, the parties who unlawfully seized and destroyed property, removed children from a peaceful community without parental consent, and subjected them to untold emotional and mental damage DID break the law. Not ONLY did they break the law, but when the higher courts stepped in to correct these gross injustices they all but ignored the correction! And now - is this how they intend to "mend the fences" so to speak? BY FINISHING OFF the weak and wounded???? Maybe a better question would be WHAT DO YOU intend to do to protect these innocent women and children to shelter them from further destructive harm by corrupt government officials? Are you willing to step forward from your comfort zone to make a plea for justice in behalf of an unpopular religious minority? Are you the upright and noble protector of the weak and misunderstood? OR are you just in that office for the money? With all due respect sir, I hope your hesistancy so far is simply due to the fact that you were very carefully examining the situation in order to find a way to better protect those who have depended you to defend them as law abiding citizens (who like the rest of us should be afforded standard parental rights). If those officials had gone randomly into any gated community in this country and did the things to them that they did @ the YFZ Ranch in Texas, they would have most likely found more "crime" than they found there and the repercussion of their henious acts would have been unimaginable. Would ANY decent, loving parent that has been through what these parent have been through WILLINGLY sign legal, binding documents for these people who have PROVEN beyond the shadow of a doubt that they are the enemy? I pray that someone who has a voice in government will demand a listening ear from those who profess to uphold freedom, liberty, and justice for all. Maybe that someone will be you.
















'

CPS, judge threatened American foundation

By KURT S. SCHULZKE , Special to the Standard-Times

Thursday, June 19, 2008
Eldorado FLDS

Dear Governor Perry:

Like Sarah Holland in her June 12 Viewpoints column ("CPS deserves praise for raid on YFZ Ranch"), I have watched the tragic unfolding of Child Protective Services' attack against the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints near Eldorado. My perspective, however, differs from hers. There is more at stake in San Angelo than just child safety. The misconduct of CPS and Judge Barbara Walther threaten the rule of law and due process - foundations of our American way of life.
What did due process require in this case? CPS must prove three specific things about you and your children before they can carry them away from you. The Texas Supreme Court found that CPS had proven none of the three about any of the FLDS families whose children they removed. Three strikes, you're out.

The most important of the three strikes is that CPS must prove that some danger to the physical health or safety of your child was caused by your act or failure and that remaining in your home is contrary to that child's welfare. CPS can't just say it's so. They must prove it in an individualized adversary hearing in which you can rebut CPS's individualized accusations against you. It doesn't work to hold a trial for the whole neighborhood.

The venomous vacuity of Holland's article is astonishing. She reprises so much empty propaganda with such faux indignation - "brainwashing, conspiracy, child abuse, statutory rape, fraud and adultery" - it's hard to know where to begin a response.
Six years before the American Revolution, William Pitt proclaimed in Parliament, "Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it." As a subject of King George, how well he knew. Governments can inflict fearful damage on innocent people when officials are not required to follow the rules. That is what occurred in this case with horrific consequences that will reverberate for decades.

John Adams, defending the British soldiers accused of murder in the Boston Massacre, told the jury, "Facts are stubborn things and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictums of our passions, they cannot alter the state of the facts and evidence." So many want to believe awful things about the FLDS, we must be careful.

The Texas Legislature has given clear instructions as to when CPS may remove children from their homes. The Texas Supreme Court and Third Court of Appeals both declared that CPS violated those instructions and that none of the FLDS children should ever have been removed. Neither court granted any more authority over the FLDS to Walther or CPS than what they had already in the Texas statutes. They said simply, CPS and Judge Walther, you screwed up. Send the children home. If any CPS intervention later becomes warranted, the law gives the judge the power to order it. Follow the law.

Abuse of power often begins when sensational rumors are spun into a "noble cause" that appears to justify authorities in violating the rule of law. Authorities are rarely prosecuted for these violations, so they tend to move aggressively. Later, they insist their motives are good and, therefore, their violations should be overlooked. Former North Carolina prosecutor Mike Nifong - who lied to the court in a trumped-up rape prosecution of Duke University lacrosse players - followed this pattern and ended up in jail.
But the harm inflicted by Nifong on his victims was minor compared with independent eyewitness accounts of the distress, humiliation and physical abuse inflicted by CPS on the men, women and children of the YFZ Ranch. It should shock the conscience of the people of Texas. One witness described it as a Nazi concentration camp. Another, who saw the floor of the building "slick with tears," said it made her "ashamed to be a Texan." This was not Texas' finest hour.

Yet, CPS investigator Angie Voss and Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran have both been quoted - even after the Supreme Court condemned their actions - as saying they still believe they did the right thing in removing the children. In fact, they violated the laws of Texas while trampling underfoot highly valued relationships between parents and children. (No, I am not referring to alleged spiritual marriages.) This was a breakdown in the rule of law. Due process - that which most differentiates the United States from Mexico, Cuba, China and Russia - will be a casualty if Texans fail to demand accountability from those involved in this atrocity.

Texas law narrowly restricts CPS because parent-child relationships are a higher good than almost any other, save life itself. The Texas Supreme Court has said that "a parent's right to uninterrupted access to and care of her child ranks as far more precious than property rights" and, therefore, the law provides "heightened protection" to that "most essential and basic aspect of familial privacy - the right of the family to remain together without the coercive interference of the awesome power of the state." Family relationships are vastly more important than property. The agony that separation inflicts on parents and children is similar to - but longer lasting - than the pain of death. Thus, removal should be a last resort to be used only in the most extreme cases by an impartial judge, who considering all relevant evidence, approaches the task with reverence for the godlike power she wields.

No matter how much we might disagree with what we understand of the religious teachings of the FLDS, our American respect for due process of law should moderate our response to accusations against any of them. The facts - found by an impartial court - must fit the law and must relate to specific individuals, not to an entire group.

For example, Holland in her article points to a photograph that purports to show Warren Jeffs kissing a teenager as evidence of a crime. But Holland knows nothing about this photo or what it says about anyone connected with the controversy. It can be fairly understood, if at all, through forensic testing and courtroom examination. Yet Holland relies on this photo - and other even less reliable rumors - to stridently condemn every family who lived in the community.

Beyond un-American, such blanket denunciations are dangerous. It is easy for the majority to point at today's oddball minority and jeer. But today's majority can quickly become tomorrow's minority through natural disaster, demographic anomalies or immigration. What do today's West Texans want to teach newcomers about the rule of law? Whatever you teach, they will use on you or your descendants tomorrow.

Let the government violate the law today to "protect children" and you empower it, tomorrow, to violate your rights in pursuit of other objectives. How will you redraw the line once you have crossed it "just this once"?
This isn't just a case about child endangerment; It's about the rule of law and the American system of government. Those who commit such crimes against the rule of law - whatever their office - should pay a price in court or at the ballot box. If they don't, the rest of us someday will.

Kurt S. Schulzke is an attorney in Woodstock, Ga.

Posted with the permission of K. Schulzke
to Governor Perry of Texas.

Life,liberty, and justice for ALL. Has this become a forgotten part of what democracy is about? I hope that you will step forward, Governor Perry, and intervene, so that Judge Walther is not allowed to further tramitize the innocent children of the FLDS people.

How can the United States of America think to be a world leader and an example of democracy when it allows such unconstitutional acts to be committed within her own borders?

Save the children from Judge Walther and the CPS workers. These children belong with their loving mothers.

Sir,
There is no safer place for a child than within
it's Mothers arms. So why take these Innocent children from their Loving sanctuaries?
They have done nothing wrong to deserve this Mental and Physical torture that is aimed to punish their parents for daring to fight for their rights. Honestly, what Mother in the world, would sign something that may interfere with the way she raises and cares for her children? None that I know of. These children are sweet, innocent and loved. They belong nowhere but in their Mothers arms. The arms of love.
Please, Show the world that ther is justice in America.

Dear Governor Perry,

Please take the time to review the following observations given by your constituents in regard to the treatment of women and children in the FLDS raid which occurred in April.

Governor,
Consider that the United States is now condemning Russia for threatening one of her sister states; Georgia. How can the proud United States of America justify such hypocrisy, when your great state, Texas, is so very guilty of the atrocities outlined here.

Respectfully,
Dan Wayman

• We were told before we ever saw these woman that they would not talk with us and that they were dressed “fancy” and had the best of everything. That they would only respond to us with “You will have to talk to my lawyer” This was an absolute lie and it was to “brain wash” MH to think like CPS. I never heard talk to my lawyer once while I sat and talked and played with the children. Everyone was polite and nice but very upset and confused… They were gracious and tried very hard to not be afraid and nervous.

• We were also told to observe only and not to help. We were told we were surrounded by DPS and there were snipers on the buildings for out protection. Our badges were checked constantly by CPS to make sure we were not in the “wrong place.”

• The women and children were placed in barracks built in 1800 with no air and no indoor plumbing, 80 women and children on cots side by side, even pregnant ladies.

• Separated from older children (12 and up) and for days not even allowed to wave at them across the open field- told they would never see them again if they continued to wave-threatened with jail for waving at them.

• Constant reminders that the adult women were only guests and that they were not in charge of the children and what CPS did to them. They belonged to CPS now and they could talk, interrogate, separated and treat them any way they wanted. This included physical exams and x-rays without adult supervision.

• Not allowed to talk to the outside world.

• Women were constantly lied to about where their children where and when they could see their lawyers and about when they would be reunited with their children.

• No consideration for their diets so all the children had diarrhea for days.

. No consideration for food, (meals served as late as 8pm, when these children were used to going to bed by then) clothing ( Only 1-2 sets of clothing) or cleaning of sheets and clothing-washers were brought but others had to do the washing.

• The more uncomfortable they were the more CPS thought they would talk.

• We were told that if we interfered with any o the investigation we would be arrested and handcuffed and placed in jail. This was said often to MH workers.

• There were no baby beds or high chairs for days and often our woman had to go buy this for the women.

• The entire MH support staff was “fired” the second week; we were sent home due to being “too compassionate”.

• The children and women learned quickly who to trust and if you did not have a CPS badge they would talk with you.

• After being removed the women stopped talking to CPS and we were “begged” to come back. When we returned we were told again to not interfere but “to do what we did best”. THE WOMEN HUGGED US AND STARTED TALKING AGAIN. Then they sent them all home with no children.

• The children were kept inside the arena for 23 hours a day.

• The children arrived healthy and happy and left sick and crying.

• Mothers and children were watched like they were criminals and every word or deed they did was written down by CPS.

• CPS yelled at the children & would not allow the women to talk with their lawyers, deprived them of sleep and constantly accused them of things most of them did not understand.

• Never once did I see a mother loose her temper, strike out at a child or discipline a child in an inappropriate manner.

• The last 2 days were the worst- over 100 State troopers surrounded these women and children taken away from them and only the nursing mother’s could keep their children. They were then escorted to a bus by a CPS worker and a DPS officer.

• Again we were warned if we interfered or helped the women we would be arrested, place in handcuffs and would go to jail.

I am thankful I was able to go and see all of this. Never in all my life, and I am one of the older ladies, have I been so ashamed of being a Texan and seeing what and how our government agencies treat people. Thank God for the Mental Health field, who have not forgotten what compassion looks like and still tries to help everyone.

This must stop somewhere and somehow. This invasion of their property and disruption of their lives could happen to anyone anytime if all power and authority is give to CPS. Remember this was an anonymous phone call.

May 7, 2008

Our experience in San Angelo during the “Eldorado Incident” was unique is that it was very different from what we expected, or from anything any of us had every experienced. It was frightening to watch women and children being herded and separated like cattle with no regard for human rights or the needs of the group or individual. How could this happen in America? How could this happen in Texas? If this had happened in another country, our government would have tried to prevent it! Old films of Concentration Camps came to mind.

The first night we were there, we worked to get air mattresses for the pregnant women who were sleeping on army cots with no padding. That first week was spent being a friendly face to the women and children. It was a relief to them to be able to speak with someone who was not writing down and reporting everything they said, and who would try to help get their simple needs met. We developed trusting relationships with them and came to respect and admire them.

They needed decent food such as vegetables, whole grain bread and meat instead of candy, cookies and processed foods, the sugar and additives were making the children sick because they had never eaten junk food. The boys and woman and girls had to share a bathroom and there were no showers available for several days. Then a shower trailer was moved to the parking lot and they were allowed to go there to shower, always under guard by CPS or DPS.

CPS workers were everywhere and these people had no privacy. CPS intruded on their every activity and conversation, and even followed us around and made notes on everything we said. They noted everything we said even when we were outside of shelters if they heard us.

We provided arts and crafts and school lesson for the children to the extent that CPS would allow us. There were very few things they were allowed to have as CPS had designated almost everything “weapon”. Obviously they did not know these people at all. Violence is not a part of their culture of belief. If they had been given a truck load of weapons they would have not used them.

These lovely women and children were gracious and kind always. They tried to cooperate with every request, even when terrified that they were going to be separated from their children. The mothers are incredibly loving and patient with the children. The children were well socialized and well behaved and interacted willingly and happily with us. All of the children were healthy when they were taken from their home, but when herded into extremely crowded quarters with an artificial environment (lighting on 24 hours a day, no fresh air, no sunlight, strange food, uncomfortable beds, surrounded by strangers watching there every move) they became ill.

Chicken Pox ran rampant through the children, diarrhea, respiratory conditions and other illness created grater discomfort and even hospitalizations.

The woman were lied to and denied access to their attorneys. They were told that they were going to be moved to another location so families that had been torn apart during the move from the ranch could be reunited, but when the got off of the bus at the new location the mothers of children ages 12 and older were taken through a door and loaded on another bus to take them back to the ranch. They didn’t even get to say goodbye to the children.

The children that were left behind were cared for by the mothers with younger children who remained.

Living conditions in the coliseum were not conductive to good health for anyone, and the presence of hostile CPS workers who spied on them constantly, kept them awake at night by shining lights in their faces and talking and laughing created enormous stress for the mothers and children. None of them slept well or enough.

One the awful day that they separated the mothers and children the level of cruelty and lack o respect for human rights was overwhelming. Crying, begging children were ripped away from their divested mothers and the mothers were put on buses to either return to the ranch or to go to shelters. Most went to shelters because they were told they would be able to see their children if they did not return to the ranch. This, of course, was another lie.

Try to imagine all these children from ages 1 year to 12 years, left in that coliseum with only CPS and DPS to care for them. The only others were the mothers who CPS decided were under 18 and kept in their custody along with their children. The floor was literally slick with rears in places. A baby was left in a stroller without food and water for 24 hours and ended up in the hospital. A 4 year old boy was so terrified that he snuck away and hid and was only found after the coliseum and been emptied the next day.

I witnessed a small boy, maybe 3 years old, walking along the rose of cots with a little pillow saying “I need someone to rock me, I just want to be rocked, I want to find a rocking chair.” Two CPS workers were following him and writing in their notebooks but not speaking to him or comforting him. Sally and I started toward him but his 8 year old brother came and picked him us saying, “I will take care of him.” He took the child to a rocking chair a held him in his lap. That little boy will always be in my mind. How can a beautiful healthy child be taken from a healthy, loving home and forced into a situation like that, right here in America, right here in Texas?

It would take a book to tell about this “incident”. There was so much that happened. This situation was a tragedy and surely illegal. Please pray fro these mothers and children every day.

Observations in San Angelo at the FLDS Shelter

April 2008

I arrived at the pavilion on my first night and was startled by my feelings of admiration for the women and protectiveness for the children. By the second day, I was ready to run in front of CNN cameras to shout that there was a travesty happening inside those walls. I could not fathom the thought of removing the children from their mothers. Of course I was cautioned not to interfere in a “crime scene investigation”/

The mothers were patient, attentive, and sweet with their children, working within the crowded and difficult environment to keep some control over the behavior or their children, their intake, and there schedule, on the first days I was in the Pavilion, women thanked me for all we had done and did not complain for the mistakes that had been made. They were grateful for our attempts to get air mattresses for the pregnant mothers. Some were friendly and engage in conversation, while others did not welcome our efforts to visit. Some who were previously sullen or reluctant to speak would brighten when they learned we were not CPS; others said they been lied to by everyone and would not alter their viewpoints about our team either.

I sat with Audrey while three of her children were removed for six hours of questioning. She cried but then apologized for crying, saying she did not want to be “burden” to her sisters. She also denied feeling angry, even though her eyes flashed at the CPS worker who had denied her ability to speak to her children as they were lead away. She said that remaining serene and polite through such a trial would only serve to make her stronger in her faith. While she waited for news of her children, she returned to her cot and to her other children. Amazingly, none of the other mothers acknowledged her or come to comfort her. (My interpretation is that Audrey has been trained not to fell her true feelings, and that the other woman were afraid to be seen as associating with someone whose children may have revealed secrets.) At the end Audrey (pregnant) was ferried to the shelter while her six children were split among three placement locations. After she was whisked away I sat with her oldest child, Rose, age 12, while we labeled her mothers additional belongings in a bag and hoped it would be delivered to her. Rose was obviously distraught and not eager to trust anyone, though she did tell me that she had heard from her lawyer about the sites where the children would be sent the following day.

I saw Jeannette rocking her 4 month old baby boy in a chair on the afternoon of April 23.

I could see what I interpreted as anguish on her face, so I approached her and asked how she was. She began to weep almost immediately and I invited her into a screened area where the woman could nurse their babies. She was terribly distraught, and I gave her information about the effects of stress, the likelihood of depression and the possible treatments. Her eyes revealed pain but they welcomed me to continue. I comforted and tried to find some hope for a speedy resolution. I did not get to see her the following day when she and her infant were separated from her older children. This woman’s mental health status is in grave danger, in my opinion.

On Wednesday, April 23, I also visited Pauline who told me that she intended to leave the ranch and to move to the closest city to her children, wherever they were moved, in order to be able to visit them as much as possible. She was more committed to her children than any convenience for herself. The next morning 40 woman boarded the bus to the shelter, including Pauline. To my knowledge none of these women actually wanted to leave her home on the ranch, but they felt they had no option if they wanted to see their children.

Some of the supposedly underage mothers spoke to me, revealing that they were indeed over twenty but the judge had declared that they appeared younger so they also must stay. Some did indeed look very young, and I also thought they might be underage. One extremely pretty young mother talked to me and said there her name was the same name as her mother. I asked if it wasn’t customary for a woman to take her husband’s name when she married, and she said she couldn’t talk about that and quickly turned away. I had stepped into a sensitive area of conversation.

Many complained that this was only a way to prevent them from practicing their religion. They quoted Bible verses and said they had expected to be persecuted for their religion. I told them that we too learned Bible verses, and that despite all their training otherwise, there are some good people out in the world, some who care about these women and their children’s welfare.

The children were sweet and well-mannered upon our arrival. They obeyed their mothers and appeared to be healthily and well-nourished. They were curious about us and asked questions about nail polish, hair-cuts, jewelry and about how we spoke. They wanted to be busy and asked to rake, sweep or wash windows, since without toys in their society, these were the “fun” activities open to them. They played awkwardly with balls that had been given to them, though as the days progressed, I saw the children having a wonderful time and developing some skill as they played actual games with CPS workers. The children laughed easily and gave eye contact. They had none of the traditional withdrawal common in abused children.

On the last day of my stay in the coliseum (April 24), the mothers had been removed, with the exception of those who were minors or suspected of being minors. The children had cried bitterly on the removal of the mothers, and they were now with strangers. The noise level went up several decibels as crying and running and screaming took over. Children were grabbing toys from others and using toys as play weapons against each other and their “captors.” In my estimation they were acting out their fear and anger. One little boy of about four was frantically running from CPS workers, avoiding capture in every way he could. Once caught, I held firmly in my arms while he wept that he didn’t want them to take his mother

Child Protective Services (CPS) Personnel

I personally did not see some of the individual acts of rudeness or intolerance viewed by some of the others in our group. I did see some wonderful interactions with CPS and some of the children, as they read stories and played comes. One young man sat two hours, comforting a toddler after his mother was taken. However, some of them seemed to be thoughtless in their dress or in their blunt demeanor. Some were totally invested in the CPS philosophy and others had questions about the wisdom of the plan. However, the CPS philosophy itself was the primary problem. I also saw a woman I know personally had been a prison principal now employed with CPS. She seemed to have retained an attitude that these people were inmates!

The philosophy is one that removes ALL children from a home in which only one child is suspected of being abused. Since this sect lives in such a communal setting, CPS interpreted all 460+ children as being in one family. They believed they were rescuing the children from abuse and that the mothers were also guilty since they had not protected the children from the suspected perpetrators. CPS had their primary focus the sexual abuse that was alleged, rather then the emotional abuse that I felt they were creating.

CPS said they were worried about safety, so numbers of events occurred in which centered on very strict interpretation of safety. For instance, a mother’s request to use a blender to make baby food was denied, since the blender was considered dangerous. Toddlers standing on their cots or babies covered with blankets in their beds were considered safety hazards and CPS commanded the mothers to alter the situation. The mothers had not been charged with a crime, and yet their cell phones were removed, since, I presume, CPS had determined that there might be conversations with outside individuals to plan to kidnap the children. Also as a safety caution, the children in the coliseum were not allowed to go to the neighbor’s football field to play but were kept on a small, dusty corner of the grounds.

CPS showed a disregard and disrespect for the mothers’ culture in various ways. We were advised to dress in ways to build trust and foster communication, but obviously CPS had not been so advised. On the morning we arrived at the Pavilion, a CPS worker in snug red capris was given the responsibility of photographing each child and each mother prior to their physical examinations. Tight, revealing cloths were worn daily by many of those in the Pavilion, and bare arms, feet, and legs were standard, even though FLDS custom is to stay covered except for hands and face.

The living quarters at Fort Concho and the coliseum were crowded, uncomfortable, and inconvenient. The cots were to close, allowing infections to spread rapidly. Quickly many children became sick with upper respiratory illness. There was no privacy for even a moment of conversation or solitude. The food was sufficiently different from their normal diet causing digestive upsets. Mothers requested that some of the sugary treats be put away since the children were indiscriminately sampling all through the day. Showers were few in number, generously manned by volunteers from Texas churches. The families had not had enough clothing g for more than two days. So dirty laundry was a constant problem, and again the facilities were meager. One mother told me that CPS had allowed her only one bag to pack herself and six children. I was told that on one night the laundry failed to return the washed sheets and blankets to one of the barracks, and the group had to sleep on bare cots on a very cool evening.

Sleeping was very difficult, with great numbers of CPS workers there to watch every move and record all activities. One woman told me that the mothers were afraid to sleep because they feared the children would be removed while they slept. Therefore the mothers arranged for some of their own group to stay awake all night to monitor the CPS workers! The woman told the they were particularly uncomfortable with how many men were assigned to watch them. Nap times were also very difficult, since the light level remained too bright, and the noise level was always too high for most people to be able to fall asleep.

On the Thursday morning, April 24,2008, I witnessed a young mother named Rosinith be required by CPS to board the bus back to the ranch, though her young child was in the hospital with 104 degree fever and even though the child’s physician had personally requested the mother’s presence at the hospital. This event haunts me still, and I cannot imagine such a heartless act.

I spent hours contemplating the scenes I had witnessed, and I listened with an open ear to the news commentary and special documentaries on television. I believed in a free and democratic society where woman are equal to men and are allowed to make choices and even mistakes on their own. I believed older adults should protect young men and woman and not take advantage of their youth and inexperience for their own sexual pleasure. I do not believe in polygamy and I see that as a proof that the men in this sect see woman as property. I do believe that we should do what is necessary to convince this community to abandon these practices as non-essential to their religion. However, I also know the research on long-tern consequences o removing children from loving parents. I do believe that the emotional abuse of 460+ children must be weighted in the equation.

These were only 3 of a total of 11 workers, all of which went home and complained to their agency about the inhumanity taking place in San Angelo against these innocent wonen and children.

Now, CPS wants to return these children, one group at a time, to their version of hell.

Dear Governor,

The attack on the Ranch in Eldorado that the Supreme Court of Texas said was illegal is again occurring as the same "Judge" who ordered the original removal of 465 innocent Children now wants to take 8 of them back in the first round of "Hearings" she intends to ram through the legal system while making it a mockery of Justice.

We ask you to look into this mess she has created and to read what one Mental Health worker hired by you said about the "Care" of these people by CPS.

May 7, 2008

Our experience in San Angelo during the “Eldorado Incident” was unique is that it was very different from what we expected, or from anything any of us had every experienced. It was frightening to watch women and children being herded and separated like cattle with no regard for human rights or the needs of the group or individual. How could this happen in America? How could this happen in Texas? If this had happened in another country, our government would have tried to prevent it! Old films of Concentration Camps came to mind.

The first night we were there, we worked to get air mattresses for the pregnant women who were sleeping on army cots with no padding. That first week was spent being a friendly face to the women and children. It was a relief to them to be able to speak with someone who was not writing down and reporting everything they said, and who would try to help get their simple needs met. We developed trusting relationships with them and came to respect and admire them.

They needed decent food such as vegetables, whole grain bread and meat instead of candy, cookies and processed foods, the sugar and additives were making the children sick because they had never eaten junk food. The boys and woman and girls had to share a bathroom and there were no showers available for several days. Then a shower trailer was moved to the parking lot and they were allowed to go there to shower, always under guard by CPS or DPS.

CPS workers were everywhere and these people had no privacy. CPS intruded on their every activity and conversation, and even followed us around and made notes on everything we said. They noted everything we said even when we were outside of shelters if they heard us.

We provided arts and crafts and school lesson for the children to the extent that CPS would allow us. There were very few things they were allowed to have as CPS had designated almost everything “weapon”. Obviously they did not know these people at all. Violence is not a part of their culture of belief. If they had been given a truck load of weapons they would have not used them.

These lovely women and children were gracious and kind always. They tried to cooperate with every request, even when terrified that they were going to be separated from their children. The mothers are incredibly loving and patient with the children. The children were well socialized and well behaved and interacted willingly and happily with us. All of the children were healthy when they were taken from their home, but when herded into extremely crowded quarters with an artificial environment (lighting on 24 hours a day, no fresh air, no sunlight, strange food, uncomfortable beds, surrounded by strangers watching there every move) they became ill.
Chicken Pox ran rampant through the children, diarrhea, respiratory conditions and other illness created grater discomfort and even hospitalizations.

The woman were lied to and denied access to their attorneys. They were told that they were going to be moved to another location so families that had been torn apart during the move from the ranch could be reunited, but when the got off of the bus at the new location the mothers of children ages 12 and older were taken through a door and loaded on another bus to take them back to the ranch. They didn’t even get to say goodbye to the children.

The children that were left behind were cared for by the mothers with younger children who remained.

Living conditions in the coliseum were not conductive to good health for anyone, and the presence of hostile CPS workers who spied on them constantly, kept them awake at night by shining lights in their faces and talking and laughing created enormous stress for the mothers and children. None of them slept well or enough.

One the awful day that they separated the mothers and children the level of cruelty and lack o respect for human rights was overwhelming. Crying, begging children were ripped away from their divested mothers and the mothers were put on buses to either return to the ranch or to go to shelters. Most went to shelters because they were told they would be able to see their children if they did not return to the ranch. This, of course, was another lie.

Try to imagine all these children from ages 1 year to 12 years, left in that coliseum with only CPS and DPS to care for them. The only others were the mothers who CPS decided were under 18 and kept in their custody along with their children. The floor was literally slick with rears in places. A baby was left in a stroller without food and water for 24 hours and ended up in the hospital. A 4 year old boy was so terrified that he snuck away and hid and was only found after the coliseum and been emptied the next day.

I witnessed a small boy, maybe 3 years old, walking along the rose of cots with a little pillow saying “I need someone to rock me, I just want to be rocked, I want to find a rocking chair.” Two CPS workers were following him and writing in their notebooks but not speaking to him or comforting him. Sally and I started toward him but his 8 year old brother came and picked him us saying, “I will take care of him.” He took the child to a rocking chair a held him in his lap. That little boy will always be in my mind. How can a beautiful healthy child be taken from a healthy, loving home and forced into a situation like that, right here in America, right here in Texas?

It would take a book to tell about this “incident”. There was so much that happened. This situation was a tragedy and surely illegal. Please pray fro these mothers and children every day.

Dear Governor Perry,

The attached is a letter from one of your own Mental Health workers who was at San Angelo and was working directly with the women and children of the FLDS in conditions that were described as feeling like a concentration camp setting.

Now this same idiotic Judge wants to throw 8 of these same children back into the control of CPS.

Why would any sane person think CPS will treat them any better now?

We all ask you to stop this mockery of justice and afford these people the same rights entitled to all Americans.

They are Mormon and that fact these locals cannot accept. Your participation in this persecution of these people will not withstand the scrutiny of the Federal Courts. We ask you to stop the suffering now, the damages eventually sought by these people is only going to be compounded by the day.


Observations in San Angelo at the FLDS Shelter

April 2008

I arrived at the pavilion on my first night and was startled by my feelings of admiration for the women and protectiveness for the children. By the second day, I was ready to run in front of CNN cameras to shout that there was a travesty happening inside those walls. I could not fathom the thought of removing the children from their mothers. Of course I was cautioned not to interfere in a “crime scene investigation”/

The Mothers:

The mothers were patient, attentive, and sweet with their children, working within the crowded and difficult environment to keep some control over the behavior or their children, their intake, and there schedule, on the first days I was in the Pavilion, women thanked me for all we had done and did not complain for the mistakes that had been made. They were grateful for our attempts to get air mattresses for the pregnant mothers. Some were friendly and engage in conversation, while others did not welcome our efforts to visit. Some who were previously sullen or reluctant to speak would brighten when they learned we were not CPS; others said they been lied to by everyone and would not alter their viewpoints about our team either.

I sat with Audrey while three of her children were removed for six hours of questioning. She cried but then apologized for crying, saying she did not want to be “burden” to her sisters. She also denied feeling angry, even though her eyes flashed at the CPS worker who had denied her ability to speak to her children as they were lead away. She said that remaining serene and polite through such a trial would only serve to make her stronger in her faith. While she waited for news of her children, she returned to her cot and to her other children. Amazingly, none of the other mothers acknowledged her or come to comfort her. (My interpretation is that Audrey has been trained not to fell her true feelings, and that the other woman were afraid to be seen as associating with someone whose children may have revealed secrets.) At the end Audrey (pregnant) was ferried to the shelter while her six children were split among three placement locations. After she was whisked away I sat with her oldest child, Rose, age 12, while we labeled her mothers additional belongings in a bag and hoped it would be delivered to her. Rose was obviously distraught and not eager to trust anyone, though she did tell me that she had heard from her lawyer about the sites where the children would be sent the following day.

I saw Jeannette rocking her 4 month old baby boy in a chair on the afternoon of April 23.
I could see what I interpreted as anguish on her face, so I approached her and asked how she was. She began to weep almost immediately and I invited her into a screened area where the woman could nurse their babies. She was terribly distraught, and I gave her information about the effects of stress, the likelihood of depression and the possible treatments. Her eyes revealed pain but they welcomed me to continue. I comforted and tried to find some hope for a speedy resolution. I did not get to see her the following day when she and her infant were separated from her older children. This woman’s mental health status is in grave danger, in my opinion.

On Wednesday, April 23, I also visited Pauline who told me that she intended to leave the ranch and to move to the closest city to her children, wherever they were moved, in order to be able to visit them as much as possible. She was more committed to her children than any convenience for herself. The next morning 40 woman boarded the bus to the shelter, including Pauline. To my knowledge none of these women actually wanted to leave her home on the ranch, but they felt they had no option if they wanted to see their children.

Some of the supposedly underage mothers spoke to me, revealing that they were indeed over twenty but the judge had declared that they appeared younger so they also must stay. Some did indeed look very young, and I also thought they might be underage. One extremely pretty young mother talked to me and said there her name was the same name as her mother. I asked if it wasn’t customary for a woman to take her husband’s name when she married, and she said she couldn’t talk about that and quickly turned away. I had stepped into a sensitive area of conversation.

Many complained that this was only a way to prevent them from practicing their religion. They quoted Bible verses and said they had expected to be persecuted for their religion. I told them that we too learned Bible verses, and that despite all their training otherwise, there are some good people out in the world, some who care about these women and their children’s welfare.


Children

The children were sweet and well-mannered upon our arrival. They obeyed their mothers and appeared to be healthily and well-nourished. They were curious about us and asked questions about nail polish, hair-cuts, jewelry and about how we spoke. They wanted to be busy and asked to rake, sweep or wash windows, since without toys in their society, these were the “fun” activities open to them. They played awkwardly with balls that had been given to them, though as the days progressed, I saw the children having a wonderful time and developing some skill as they played actual games with CPS workers. The children laughed easily and gave eye contact. They had none of the traditional withdrawal common in abused children.

On the last day of my stay in the coliseum (April 24), the mothers had been removed, with the exception of those who were minors or suspected of being minors. The children had cried bitterly on the removal of the mothers, and they were now with strangers. The noise level went up several decibels as crying and running and screaming took over. Children were grabbing toys from others and using toys as play weapons against each other and their “captors.” In my estimation they were acting out their fear and anger. One little boy of about four was frantically running from CPS workers, avoiding capture in every way he could. Once caught, I held firmly in my arms while he wept that he didn’t want them to take his mother

Child Protective Services (CPS) Personnel

I personally did not see some of the individual acts of rudeness or intolerance viewed by some of the others in our group. I did see some wonderful interactions with CPS and some of the children, as they read stories and played comes. One young man sat two hours, comforting a toddler after his mother was taken. However, some of them seemed to be thoughtless in their dress or in their blunt demeanor. Some were totally invested in the CPS philosophy and others had questions about the wisdom of the plan. However, the CPS philosophy itself was the primary problem. I also saw a woman I know personally had been a prison principal now employed with CPS. She seemed to have retained an attitude that these people were inmates!

The philosophy is one that removes ALL children from a home in which only one child is suspected of being abused. Since this sect lives in such a communal setting, CPS interpreted all 460+ children as being in one family. They believed they were rescuing the children from abuse and that the mothers were also guilty since they had not protected the children from the suspected perpetrators. CPS had their primary focus the sexual abuse that was alleged, rather then the emotional abuse that I felt they were creating.

CPS said they were worried about safety, so numbers of events occurred in which centered on very strict interpretation of safety. For instance, a mother’s request to use a blender to make baby food was denied, since the blender was considered dangerous. Toddlers standing on their cots or babies covered with blankets in their beds were considered safety hazards and CPS commanded the mothers to alter the situation. The mothers had not been charged with a crime, and yet their cell phones were removed, since, I presume, CPS had determined that there might be conversations with outside individuals to plan to kidnap the children. Also as a safety caution, the children in the coliseum were not allowed to go to the neighbor’s football field to play but were kept on a small, dusty corner of the grounds.

CPS showed a disregard and disrespect for the mothers’ culture in various ways. We were advised to dress in ways to build trust and foster communication, but obviously CPS had not been so advised. On the morning we arrived at the Pavilion, a CPS worker in snug red capris was given the responsibility of photographing each child and each mother prior to their physical examinations. Tight, revealing cloths were worn daily by many of those in the Pavilion, and bare arms, feet, and legs were standard, even though FLDS custom is to stay covered except for hands and face.

The living quarters at Fort Concho and the coliseum were crowded, uncomfortable, and inconvenient. The cots were to close, allowing infections to spread rapidly. Quickly many children became sick with upper respiratory illness. There was no privacy for even a moment of conversation or solitude. The food was sufficiently different from their normal diet causing digestive upsets. Mothers requested that some of the sugary treats be put away since the children were indiscriminately sampling all through the day. Showers were few in number, generously manned by volunteers from Texas churches. The families had not had enough clothing g for more than two days. So dirty laundry was a constant problem, and again the facilities were meager. One mother told me that CPS had allowed her only one bag to pack herself and six children. I was told that on one night the laundry failed to return the washed sheets and blankets to one of the barracks, and the group had to sleep on bare cots on a very cool evening.

Sleeping was very difficult, with great numbers of CPS workers there to watch every move and record all activities. One woman told me that the mothers were afraid to sleep because they feared the children would be removed while they slept. Therefore the mothers arranged for some of their own group to stay awake all night to monitor the CPS workers! The woman told the they were particularly uncomfortable with how many men were assigned to watch them. Nap times were also very difficult, since the light level remained too bright, and the noise level was always too high for most people to be able to fall asleep.

On the Thursday morning, April 24,2008, I witnessed a young mother named Rosinith be required by CPS to board the bus back to the ranch, though her young child was in the hospital with 104 degree fever and even though the child’s physician had personally requested the mother’s presence at the hospital. This event haunts me still, and I cannot imagine such a heartless act.

I spent hours contemplating the scenes I had witnessed, and I listened with an open ear to the news commentary and special documentaries on television. I believed in a free and democratic society where woman are equal to men and are allowed to make choices and even mistakes on their own. I believed older adults should protect young men and woman and not take advantage of their youth and inexperience for their own sexual pleasure. I do not believe in polygamy and I see that as a proof that the men in this sect see woman as property. I do believe that we should do what is necessary to convince this community to abandon these practices as non-essential to their religion. However, I also know the research on long-tern consequences o removing children from loving parents. I do believe that the emotional abuse of 460+ children must be weighted in the equation.

The letter below is written to Governor Perry of Texas.

The writer wishes to retain her job as a Mental
Hygeine caseworker with a Department of the Texas Government and therefore does not want to divulge her name publically.

These were her observations in San Angelo Texas when 465 children were illegally taken from their homes according to the Supreme Court of Texas.

Now, The State is trying to take 8 of those children back into their custody abd control, and those children can fully expect to undergo the same terror they faced for 8 weeks under the control of CPS.







As a mental health professional my job in working in direct services is to teach, support, and comfort. When we arrive in San Angelo I did not know what to expect but I did expect that the women and Children would be in need of our services and we came to help in the way we knew how. What I was briefed to expect, was not that I found. I was told that the women and children would not speak with us and that the children would say they couldn’t talk to us without their lawyers. The picture had been painted of a large group of women and children that had been brain washed and abused.

To my surprise when I entered the Fort Concho shelter the morning of April 9th 2008 I Found a group of healthy, happy children and loving caring mothers’. Certainly not anything you expect to see in an abusive situation. The women and children weren’t anxious to talk with anyone. They had been forced from their communities as if jugged and found guilty before even being arrested and treated as perpetrators Rather than victims and no one even knew if they were victims but certainly not perpetrators.

I am from a small Texas town with a population less then all the people that were forced from their homes and separated from family members and confined to substandard conditions. I kept thinking to myself, this is no different that if someone, which in most small towns there are, had gotten pregnant as a minor by an adult and rather then investigate and deal with that situation they arrest the entire town and treated them like criminals. I would think is this AMERICA!

The women were strong in their faith, stronger then I had ever seen. I knew that if I had experienced what they had, I would not be able to be contained and even though I was leaning on my faith as a on looker I was certain that I would have a difficult time believing and having hope if I were in their shoes. The women would sing songs to comfort themselves and their children, some I had heard and had sung in my Methodist up bringing. Then they would gather and pray as well. May of the CPS workers said they prayed in code but I understood what they said and it was the same code I used to pray. Our job to support, teaches, and comfort changes. The women were very strong and self sufficient and had the faith strong then I had ever seen. Our jobs became advocates trying to help them obtain things they needed such as baby formula. Information on where other children were they had been separated from, negotiating for CPS to allow a friend to accompany them to the hospital with their sick child, more protein in their diet so they could breast feed, a high chair so a child could eat properly, air mattresses for pregnant women to sleep on, and on and on. Then we became their confidants and we provided support and comfort as they prepared for the separation. By this time they had distinguished that the staff from the MHMR’S were there advocates and they knew there were a few in all the many that guarded them like convicts them they could turn to and trust.

This experience is one we all were proud to be a part of, nor for the reason the people behind this action would hope but as advocates for the wonderful loving women and children that are being treated like convicts in a concentration camp by the stat of Texas.

I have always been proud to be an American and a Texan but this incident is not what America or Texas stands for and something must be don’t to undo the horrible injustice that has been done.

Judge Walthers and her illegal stay of discovery motions against the state and full discovery motions against the parents as well as ex parte actions between her and CPS Childress need addressed ASAP by the appropriate officials of Texas. As a Texan I am not willing to have my civil rights aboloshid for a few girls who do not see themselves as victims - and very likely are not. The precedence being set here is doing just that - taking away the rights of Texas citizens to justify corrupt actions of Texas government officials -from all appearances, that includes you, governor .

Eldorado-San Angelo Incident

Week #1: April 8th – April 10th (Fort Concho)

• We attended a briefing on the status of the situation upon arrival. We were told that the encounter with the FLDS women and children would be unlike anything we had ever experienced. We were informed that they would be dressed very strangely, but in clothing of the highest quality and cost. We were told not to expect any of them to engage with us, and if by chance they spoke to us it would be to tell us to speak with their lawyers. We were told that even the children were directing all outsiders to contact their lawyers.

• We were informed not to wear anything red, even nail polish. When I asked someone about the significance of the color red I was told that they believed it represented evil. Later we learned that red signifies the blood of Christ and is therefore sacred.

• The next morning I was assigned to Shelter #6 at Fort Concho. Upon arriving at the site I noticed a building set apart from all the others with a large handwritten sign designating it as Shelter #6. When I approached the building I could find no one with which to check in and proceeded to circle the building. On the backside, away from everything, was a small group of men sitting before a closed door. At my approach several of them arose and came toward me. When I started my purpose in being there I was immediately told I was in the wrong place and to return to the other buildings. When I pointed out the sign identifying the building I was again told to leave and return to the group of the other buildings. We later learned that the adolescent boys were being housed there, although we seldom saw any of them allowed outside.

• Returning back to where we had been earlier I learned that there was another building designated Shelter #6 for mothers and children. I located the CPS shelter supervisor and identified myself. He informed me that the building housed four women and sixteen children, but they were not likely to engage in any way. Since the door was open, I knocked on the doorframe and entered. I introduced myself and initialed conversation to build rapport. The children were quiet, but openly attentive and inquisitive. The women were guarded, but readily identified themselves with their first name when I introduced myself and the names ages of their children when I inquired.

• The one room they were staying in was approximately 20’-25’sq and built of rock walls with no insulation, unfinished wood plank floors, and had two windows - only once of which opened. There was a large potbellied wood stove in the center of the room and the four walls were lined with their twenty cots. There was no storage for their clothing or other belongings and it was neatly piled on cots and in the floor.

• The door to the room was almost constantly open. Even when the women closed the door to reduce notice during naptime or to dress themselves or the children, it was almost immediately opened again. At one point when the door was closed, a CPS worker stated that she did not know how she was supposed to “watch and supervise these people if they keep closing the door.” The women eventually dressed themselves and their children in the public restroom in order to have privacy.

• At on point I heard toward the public restroom and was immediately grabbed by the arm by a CPS worker who told me to use the port-a-potties outside the rock wall, “because we didn’t know what kind of diseases the people might have and we don’t want to catch anything from them”. I was later told that it had been determined that STDs were rampant among the women because of their promiscuous lifestyle. I did not believe that information since I knew none of the woman had submitted to examination.

• On the second day, the shelter supervisor (a man) entered the shelter (housing four adult women and their children) without knocking. Several men and a group of Teas Rangers followed him. I levered myself through the group in order to observe what was happening since I had already learned that the woman and children were being reacted discourteously and disrespectfully at best, with some observations of verbal abuse and emotional threats. I could not get close enough at first to hear what the shelter supervisor and his entourage were saying to them, but finally heard them ordering the women to submit their children for physical examinations. I also observed the Texan angers’ interactions with the oldest woman of the group. The Rangers were respectful and polite. The Ranger in charge of the group, a young woman named Wendy, squatted down to eye level with the woman, and greeted her by name. She returned the woman’s cell phone to her and told her that plans were being made to reunite the entire group.

• Although the women were not charged with any crimes, they were not allowed to communicate with the women in other shelters or with the outside world and their cell phones had been confiscated. Shortly after one of the mothers in Shelter #6 had a cell phone returned and was openly making a call, a CPS worker ordered a DPS officer to take it away from her. The DPS officer confronted the woman and asked her where she had gotten the phone. Se told him that the Teas Rangers had returned it to her and I backed up her explanation.

• The CPS worker were openly rude to the mothers and children, yelled at them for trying to wave to friends and family members in surrounding shelters, threatened them with arrest if they did not stop waving to others, continually reminded them that the women were guests only and could be made to leave if they did not cooperate, threatened the mothers with never seeing their children again if they did not cooperate, and ignored requests for anything. The mothers began asking if everyone who approached them was CPS or not

• CPS workers became irritated when the mothers requested brooms and mops to clean their surroundings. One broom, on mop, and one bucket were finally provided and were shared by neighboring shelters.

• CPS workers carried clipboards and continuously took notes of everything said or observed, sometimes writing while a mother was still talking to them.

• Mental health workers were treated rudely and their presence was discounted at every turn. We were repeatedly told that if we interfered in any way with CPS directives to us or to the guests, we would be arrested and charged with interference with a public servant in the performance of their duties.

• By day three, it became obvious that both the mothers and the mental health workers were being lied to and/or ignored. Even the simplest request was discounted. At one time a mother told me she wished she had some peppermint or chamomile tea to give to her toddle daughter for her runny nose. I approached the shelter supervisor with the request. Later his supervisor cam to me and told me that herbal teas were medication and could only be approved by a physician the request was denied.

• The mothers complained about the food and snacks provided for them. One mother told me that her children were accustomed to nuts fruits from snacks, not commercial fried pies. Chicken was served almost every meal with a little eor no seasoning and no flavor. Vegetables were scarce and everything was highly processed – very different from the women and children’s typical diet of homegrown organic and unprocessed foods. Very quickly, many of the children developed diarrhea and gastrointestinal problems.

• I observed that their clothing was indeed well constructed in a variety of styles and pastel colors, but was homemade. They were very modest in their dress and no skin was ever visible except hand and faces, even on small children. I learned that some women were known for their seamstress skills while others sewed little at all, so a group of woman sewed for everyone as their contribution to the community

• The Children were amazingly clean, happy, healthy, energetic, inquisitive, well behaved, and self-confident; while the mothers were consistently calm, patient, and loving with their children. Discipline was firm and consistent, with never a hand or voice raised. There mother’s parenting skills were textbook child development strategies. The children did not bicker among themselves and seldom cried. If a child did cry, his or her needs were met immediately and the crying stopped.

This report was delivered to this caseworkers Executive Director at HCMHMR.

Your government has way over stepped it authority by removing those children and putting them through such a mental hardship!!!!!

I'm 23 years old from Fort Myers FL. My father is Bill Medvecky. We all have been watching as you have destroyed families that have committed NO crimes. How can you in good conscience even think that taking children from their parents is right? Can you tell me what crimes these people have committed?

Dear Governor Rick Perry, the honest people of America call upon you, and all the public servants that have taken a oath of office to protect the constitution that guarantees the rights of all citizens, to stop this lawless act against the YFZ ranch (and I wonder who else is being harmed un-relentless) by Barbra Walters, she has proven to be INCOMPETENT
If you do not act now the people will act and you will be vote out and replaced by someone who can do honorable justice. Please take action now and stop this un-American act of injustice.

I was part of the team that went to Eldorado, April 22-25, 2008.
We arrived at the Coliseum area, went through security, and were briefed before entering the Coliseum where the women and children had been relocated. Upon entering the coliseum it looked like a disaster scene, rows and rows of cots with the women and children’s belongings in bags and piles surrounding them. Women and their children were sitting in groups, reading to their children, talking quietly, braiding their daughters hair, some sleeping and others just sitting looking concerned and very serious.

As I approached women the first question they asked was if I was a CPS worker. Upon speaking with the women they related stories and situations where they had been treated harshly, lied to, and not informed of information they felt was important to them: Where have you taken my children? Who will pray with my children? Do the people watching my child know they are not used to being talked to harshly and unkind? Who will braid my daughter’s hair in the morning? Do they understand that we eat a healthy diet? Will they allow my children to wear appropriate clothing? All questions that are reasonable and appropriate from mothers obviously worried about their children. My observation of the mothers’ interactions with their children was one of love, warmth, and kindness. Not once did I hear an unkind word, yelling, or negative response to a child’s behavior, I really fell these women could teach us all a lot about positive parenting. The women were friendly, even thanked us for our help and concern, but were divested by what they could not understand their treatment and the unknown reasons this was all happening to them. The children were the most well adjusted kids I have seen in a long time, playful, intelligent, courteous and active. Considering what was happening to these families I was amazed to see how the children were guided by their mothers to place nice, eat the food that was given to them, and be kind to the CPS workers.

CPS workers were everywhere, wearing green vests and name badges to indentify them.
As I was talking to a mother, her child spilled water down his front; he stood up on the cot so that she could wipe him off. A CPS worker strode over and told the mother, “You need to set him down, NOW.” The woman nodded and continued to wipe his shirt. The CPS worker then said “If you don’t sit him down NOW, I will set him down for you.” At this point I mentioned to the worker that she was simply wiping him off, had a hold o him and would sit him down as soon as this was done. The CPS worker glared at me and walked off. The mother whispered to me that “this is the way they always treat us, as if we don’t know how to care for our own children, they won’t even let our babies sleep with us.”

This ordeal left me with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach at the seeming injustice that has been inflicted upon these families. I continue to question the way this was conducted and have to question:
If the “fathers/men are the alleged perpetrators, why were they not taken from the ranch and the women and children (alleged victims) left in their homes?

Why was an investigation not held prior to taking the children?
Why were the women treated as they were guilty of child endangerment/mistreatment?
Before there were ground to implicate each and every woman?
Why were the women not allowed to keep there children at the shelters considering the alleged perpetrators we not present?
Isn’t there more potential injury incurred on these children being yanked for their homes and families, over potential allegation?

I have worked in Domestic Violence/Sexual abuse programming for over 20 years and have never seen woman and children treated this poorly, no to mention their civil rights being disregarded in this manner. It makes us all wonder how safe anyone is who has children.

Finally, one of the women asked me where I lived and told her center point. She asked me if I knew of any under age mothers in that community, I told her, “yes.” She asked me if I knew of any domestic violence or sexual abuse that had been reported in my community and I replied, “Yes”. “Why then”, she said, “did no one hear of that community having all of there children taken from all of the mothers?” All I could respond was, “that is a very good question.”

Written by a caseworker at Ft. Concho, TX

i have been to colorado city i lived there till i was 9 and have gone to chruch there till i was 12 i spent my child hood their. theyr beliefs bo not condone abuse. i know the acusations against them are bogus. you should be in thair checking up on the corupt judges cps workers cops and other officials that are eather mentally insane or demented to think theyr even capable of sutch forrific crimes. you should be in there stopping the abuse. not of children (cus there aint nun) but the abuse by barbra walther

Dear Governor Rick Perry, the Val and Laurene Jessop family call upon you, and all the PUBLIC SERVANTS of the Great State of Texas to STAND BY YOUR OATH OF OFFICE TO PROTECT THE CONSTITUTIONALLY GUARANTEED RIGHTS OF ALL (AND ESPECIALLY THE LITTLE DEFENSELESS) CITIZENS OF YOUR STATE. Please stop the unwarranted attacks that Judge Walthers and Texas CPS are making against the mothers and innocent little children at the YEARNIG FOR ZION RANCH. It is extremely obvious to the whole world that the worst persecution those little children have ever been subjected to has come from the very people who were hired by the State of Texas to PROTECT THEIR GOD-GIVEN RIGHTS! And now, adding more insult and injury to the origional April attack, Judge Walthers has stepped up her GENOCIDAL ASSAULT by trying to KIDNAP the children ALL OVER AGAIN!
We speak from our own personal experience when we refer to genocide and kidnapping by state officials: (www.thecurseof1920.com, Escape from Flora jessop, the story of Val and laurene jessop.) We ask you to intervene and overrule on behalf of the mothers and innocent little children at the YFZ Ranch! Don't let Judge Barbara Walthers and CPS do to them what Flora Jessop Fulp, Attorney Judith Morse, Dr. John Moran, Senator Linda Binder, Linda Walker, Jim Ashurst, Mike Watkiss,Ch. 3 News, (Partners-Crime in a Mafia style organization they call "The Child Protection Project!) and Judge Steven D. Sheldon did to us in Arizona! That was devastating to our children! They will NEVER completely recover from the trauma and emotional pain that those Evil SELF-SERVING PEOPLE forced on them.
Take Judge Walthers off the case! Get CPS off the Ranch! Make them all honor the ruling handed down by the Court of Appeals and the State Supreme Court: Since there was NO EVIDENCE of wrong-doing by the Mothers and Children at the YFZ, LEAVE THEM ALONE! LET THEM FINISH THE HARVEST, AND PREPARE FOR THE WINTER, AND TRY TO FIND WHAT LITTLE HOPE FOR PEACE THAT THEY CAN GET WITHOUT FURTHER UNWANTED INTRUSION! Please! Do the Right Thing.

I am an FLDS member with family involved in the Texas raid. I have a brother and a sister who have had their families ripped apart from them for no other reason than they were living on the YFZ ranch. I urge you to do the right thing and keep these families united. It would be the best thing in the world for you to realize that you made a mistake, apologize, and let us get on with our lives, and you with yours.

Doesn't it rip your heart out to see innocent little children ripped from their mothers' arms? How do you sleep at night knowing about the terrible trauma these dear children have been going through and are still going through? They suffered abuse every moment they were away from the ranch (being "protected"), and you know it! How is it in the "best interest" of a very small child to take it away from its loving mother? Did this child do anything wrong? Did the child's mother? So far, you haven't been able to prove it. Nearly every accusation that has been made against our people has proven to be false.

You say it's our beliefs that cause this abuse. I ask you, from whom did you learn about our beliefs? I think you'd be better off saying that our alleged beliefs are what is causing this alleged abuse. You see, no where in our religion, and never at any time has any leader taught that a woman must be married by a certain age. Yes, I know there are those who have been feeding you this false information, but why don't you get the truth from those who actually know it? If any girl was married under the age of 18, it was because she felt she was ready. No one is commanded to marry at a certain age. You see, force is opposite to our beliefs. I know this doesn't line up with what has been portrayed, but it really is the case. It is our fundamental belief that our religion is based on free agency, and force is the devil's plan.

Unfortunately, there have been those among us who have tried to hide behind our religion to do wrong and break the law. However, they are few and far between, and when discovered, they are no longer a part of our church. Do you honestly believe that these women would just give their daughters to any old geezer to be his "sex slaves" as has been alleged? How abominable! Such a thing is so abhorrent, words cannot describe my feelings. I would say, if any man forces himself upon any girl, whether a minor or an adult, that he is wrong and should be punished! However, I think you need to think twice about how you go about it. Most of us are innocent of any crime, and we wish to be treated as such.

I know much of what I have said goes directly in opposition to the picture that has been painted about us in the media and from ex-members. I really am sorry for them if they suffered any abuse. If anyone among us is being abusive, that is a person not living our religion. You see, our entire religion centers around LOVE. Our children are our most precious gifts, and they are to be trained through love and kindness. A harsh word should never be spoken to them. They should never suffer any form of physical, emotional, mental, or sexual abuse. Such things are so far distant from our beliefs that it makes our heads spin to see people accusing us of these things.

I again urge you to just do the right thing. I would wish for you, that if you are ever in a situation similar to ours, that justice would prevail in your behalf. I do not hold any ill feelings against anyone who has wronged us. All I want for them is the same blessings I desire for myself. I would never wish upon anyone what has been happening to us.

You say you want to protect the children. Well, so far, your "protection" has done nothing more than cause our once healthy and happy children to become miserable, sick, underweight, and withdrawn. Please quit using our children as pawns to suit your own agenda. You have no idea how much trauma they have suffered as a result.

By James C. Harrington
Director, Texas Civil Rights Project
Why do Texas officials, especially Child Protective Services, seem so intent on punishing the mothers and children of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints ranch in El Dorado?
In fact, the actions of Texas officials against the FDLS community in El Dorado may be a tragedy in the making, at least for the moms and kids concerned.
The officials’ raid and attempt to remove the children away from their mothers has the potential of seriously harming these 416 children for the rest of their lives.
It is becoming increasing apparent that either officials were duped into obtaining a false warrant or obtained a warrant for which they knew there was no reasonable factual basis.
It is also clear the evidence Texas Child Protective Services has so far is slim, to say the least, and even that questionable evidence may have been manufactured.
If there was child abuse, it should be punished — that means the perpetrator and not the mothers and the children. It is the culpable man or men who should be arrested. Nothing at this time suggests wrongdoing to justify mass separation of all the children from their mothers. Otherwise, all that happens is victimizing innocent children. So far, nothing has come to light that shows any grievous misconduct at the El Dorado ranch. In fact, it now turns out that the one alleged perpetrator has been in Colorado all the time.
Yet, CPS convinced the judge that mass genetic testing was necessary and wants to move forward, removing children from their moms. And why does the judge — who rather shamefully referred to the mass proceedings she engineered as a “cattle call” — need to wait until June for another hearing on the future of the children? There are plenty of retired judges around who could help resolve these cases quickly. All that happens in the meantime is the kids suffer more and more.
One certainly can get the impression the officials may be motivated more by bias against the FLDS people because of their practice of plural marriage and their self-isolation in an enclave. It would not be the first time in American history that majority society has struck out against Mormons or other self-isolating religious groups. Simply because their beliefs and lifestyle are very different, and maybe even incomprehensible to majority society, is no reason to leverage the law against them. Religious freedom is a cardinal tenet of the First Amendment. It may be hard to swallow for many “mainstream” folks, but it is essential to any pluralist democracy. And so is due process.
These children are taught they live on a ranch, insulated from the general community, because the majority society acts arbitrarily and capriciously toward religious minorities. State officials and the judge are reinforcing that view.
Imagine what kind of trauma befalls a young child who is rounded up with everyone else and transported en masse to live in Ft. Concho national park and then herded off to the city coliseum — all while the state tries to take them away from their mothers.
This sad situation needs to be resolved — quickly — for the children’s sake. Punish the wrongdoer, if any, but not the children and their mothers. And, if the state has committed a grave error, the officials should apologize and let everyone return to their lives.

Re: raid on Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in El Dorado, Texas
Dear Attorney General:
The Texas Civil Rights Project calls upon you in your capacity as the Attorney General of Texas to appoint an emergency panel of judges and law professors to evaluate and make preliminary and final findings and recommendations regarding the raid and subsequent activity of Texas Child Protective Services to separate permanently more than 325 children from their mothers, and another 100 children 5-years-old and younger in limbo with their mothers.
Authorities say they were looking for a teenage girl who had reported being abused by her husband, but they have yet to identify or produce any evidence of the girl whose alleged call to a domestic violence hot line triggered the April 3 raid. In any regard, that would not seem legally sufficient to justify the wholesale raid and now current efforts by CPS to separate all the mothers and children.
From all appearances at this juncture and singular lack of evidence, the raid and CPS actions seem to be prompted more by intolerance for a religious group that does not conform to the ideas of majority society. If this is the case, it would be a grievous transgression of the religious freedom guarantees of the Texas and Federal Constitutions and wreak untold havoc and pain on innocent young children. I am sure you would agree the state should not rip apart these mother-child relationships without proper legal cause — and that would not include religious persecution.
Nor should the taxpayers of Texas shoulder the enormous law enforcement charges and phenomenal legal costs that will be incurred in CPS’ efforts to use the courts to break up these peaceful and peaceable families.
Because of the ongoing and volatile situation that may cause permanent damage to such young children and their mothers, we respectfully ask that you convene this panel immediately so that the judges and law professors can make immediate interim recommendations and end this consummate miscarriage of justice, if they indeed find that is what is occurring.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Cordially,
James C. Harrington

I have been following the FLDS fiasco since it began. I do not live in Texas and I have no connection with the FLDS. In fact, I am opposed to many of their beliefs. However, I am deeply disturbed at the way CPS dealt with FLDS children and parents. An appeals court and the Texas Supreme Court have stated clearly that CPS and Judge Barbara Walther's actions toward the FLDS were unconstitutional, yet Walther seems determined to remove some children anyway. The FLDS children have suffered abuse--not from their parents--but from CPS, Judge Barbara Walther and other people who have taken an oath to uphold the constitution of the United States and Texas, yet seem bent on violating their oath of office. Please stop this tragedy from happening.

The children of the Yearning for Zion Ranch are (much) safer with their mothers and fathers than with any CPS agents. Please leave them alone. Don't make them suffer more physical, emotional, and mental abuse from being harassed once again by federal and state agents. The allegations of young girls being forced to marry older men was and IS a lie. Ripping children from their parents, even nursing infants is a travesty and all those involved should be held accountable.

The Judge in San Angelo has returned from her vacation and has begun again her attack on the parents of the Yearning For Zion ranch in El Dorado Texas. Judge Barbra Walther is looking more and more like a judge from Nazi Germany.

After a fourteen day hearing in April that was predetermined to be acted upon without hearing from any real representation from the children's parents, Judge Walther, the very same judge that issued both search warrants against the ranch, ignored justice and decency by removing 420-plus innocent children from their terrorized mothers. She had to be overruled by the Appeals court and the Texas Supreme Court to be set in her place as far as justice is concerned.

Then she needed public outcry before she would sign the necessary orders that the Supreme Court required of her. Holding children, who only longed for their homes and mothers, for days longer than necessary.

She and her partner, CPS lead attorney and University of Texas Law Professor Charles Childress, pulled another fast one while the FLDS people were watching Senator Harry Reid (D) NV and others call the tiny religious group a criminal organization warranting Federal Investigation. The same day of the Senate Justice committee hearing, a motion withholding the parent’s rights to discovery (for them or their legal representatives to see the evidence used against them); doing this knowing that CPS was going to push to remove children again.

Finally, after CPS issued motions to remove eight children from their parents again (This without even so much as checking on the children in the past six weeks since they were allowed to go home), and the reason for this was the mothers of the children refused to sign a paper that is basically an admission of guilt by association. Guilt of charges that are but allegations at this time, and orders that the children cannot see relatives who they are not living with anyway; one mother referring to the order as "against common sense".

Now this self-proclaimed justice provider has arbitrarily moved up the court date that was set for September 25’Th by the Judge who was acting in her absence. She has moved it to August 18th, while yet still, having not given the parents the Constitutional right to discovery.

I am demanding that Judge Walther be censured, publicly and within the law. I am demanding that attorney Childress also be censured before the Texas bar for the "ex parte" communications that have obviously gone on. I am begging that common sense be used and not innocent children, as the weapon in this obvious religious war.

Thank you for listening to my concerns, I pray to be able to continue to call the United States the greatest country in the world, but this corruption and child stealing is intolerable, regardless of the accusations or crimes that may be involved.

Dear Gevernor Perry,
The most endearing for any and all of us is to please our Heavenly Father. It is not in the least pleasing to Him to see the atrocities His children commit against each other. Can you possibly think that destroying hundreds of lives is going to recompense the alledged or supposed injury to the State of Texas by the only people living closer to the guide provided by Him. Each of you have the Holy Bible, I am sure. They live your Bible better than you do! Is that the reason for the attacks? How much damage has to be done to be done doing it? The first and greatest commandment of God was to Love Him. The second is like unto it, Love you neighbor as yourself. Would you really treat yourself like that? These folks have already forgiven you, but that would not bring to you the mercy of God to treat them so. There are none of them forced to do anything among themselves. Why are you and the state officials forcing them? I urge you to stand up with some backbone and end this travesty! Before it proves to be Genicide!

Please give the FLDS another chance, they have now committed to not condone underage marraiges. The children are innocent, please don't make them pay for these accusations against their parents which they have committed to do away with now.

Dear Governor Perry,

Events in San Angelo

• We were told before we ever saw these woman that they would not talk with us and that they were dressed “fancy” and had the best of everything. That they would only respond to us with “You will have to talk to my lawyer” This was an absolute lie and it was to “brain wash” MH to think like CPS. I never heard talk to my lawyer once while I sat and talked and played with the children. Everyone was polite and nice but very upset and confused... They were gracious and tried very hard to not be afraid and nervous.

• We were also told to observe only and not to help. We were told we were surrounded by DPS and there were snipers on the buildings for out protection. Our badges were checked constantly by CPS to make sure we were not in the “wrong place.”

• The women and children were placed in barracks built in 1800 with no air and no indoor plumbing, 80 women and children on cots side by side, even pregnant ladies.

• Separated from older children (12 and up) and for days not even allowed to wave at them across the open field- told they would never see them again if they continued to wave-threatened with jail for waving at them.

• Constant reminders that the adult women were only guests and that they were not in charge of the children and what CPS did to them. They belonged to CPS now and they could talk, interrogate, separated and treat them any way they wanted. This included physical exams and x-rays without adult supervision.

• Not allowed to talk to the outside world.

• Women were constantly lied to about where their children where and when they could see their lawyers and about when they would be reunited with their children.

• No consideration for their diets so all the children had diarrhea for days.

. No consideration for food, (meals served as late as 8pm, when these children were used to going to bed by then) clothing ( Only 1-2 sets of clothing) or cleaning of sheets and clothing-washers were brought but others had to do the washing.

• The more uncomfortable they were the more CPS thought they would talk.

• We were told that if we interfered with any o the investigation we would be arrested and handcuffed and placed in jail. This was said often to MH workers.

• There were no baby beds or high chairs for days and often our woman had to go buy this for the women.

• The entire MH support staff was “fired” the second week; we were sent home due to being “too compassionate”.

• The children and women learned quickly who to trust and if you did not have a CPS badge they would talk with you.

• After being removed the women stopped talking to CPS and we were “begged” to come back. When we returned we were told again to not interfere but “to do what we did best”. THE WOMEN HUGGED US AND STARTED TALKING AGAIN. Then they sent them all home with no children.

• The children were kept inside the arena for 23 hours a day.

• The children arrived healthy and happy and left sick and crying.

• Mothers and children were watched like they were criminals and every word or deed they did was written down by CPS.

• CPS yelled at the children & would not allow the women to talk with their lawyers, deprived them of sleep and constantly accused them of things most of them did not understand.

• Never once did I see a mother loose her temper, strike out at a child or discipline a child in an inappropriate manner.

• The last 2 days were the worst- over 100 State troopers surrounded these women and children taken away from them and only the nursing mother’s could keep their children. They were then escorted to a bus by a CPS worker and a DPS officer.

• Again we were warned if we interfered or helped the women we would be arrested, place in handcuffs and would go to jail.

I am thankful I was able to go and see all of this. Never in all my life, and I am one of the older ladies, have I been so ashamed of being a Texan and seeing what and how our government agencies treat people. Thank God for the Mental Health field, who have not forgotten what compassion looks like and still tries to help everyone.

This must stop somewhere and somehow. This invasion of their property and disruption of their lives could happen to anyone anytime if all power and authority is give to CPS. Remember this was an anonymous phone call.

Governor Perry,
These children are safer in their mothers arms than anywhere else in the world, especially the foster care system. You must know that. Please intervene on their behalf. They are happy, they are healthy. If underage marriage is the issue, there must be another way, than to take these children from everything they know. You have a responsibility to them. Do not make them live through that nightmare again. And that is precisely what it was. A nightmare.