That said however, the argument that the FLDS and similar authoritarian religious cults are severely impeding the development of the children under their influence is pretty compelling. If the kids’ critical thinking faculties are repressed, and natural individuation is discouraged (except for the inconvenient boys, who apparently are prematurely emancipated), then a meaningful exercise of freedom and consent is all but impossible.

I thought the Texas authorites said these people raped children. Where are the stats on 13 and younger? Isn’t that what led to the raid?

If they took the kids away from every member of a type of group which has pregnant young ladies aged 17, would catholics be allowed to have kids? How about blacks? I know whites have pregnant teenagers. How about the Joooooooz. I know they have pregnant teenagers. Let’s take away the kids of the Jooooooooooz.

The BS meter just went nuclear. I’ve met a family [I employed the father later on] who had had their children permantly removed because a prudish ‘friend’ called CFS telling them the mother didn’t wear enuff clothing around the house. Completely and utterly destroyed the parents. Feel free to contact the several millions of parents who have been ‘visited’ by the ‘village’ and see if they aren’t universally less happy. Not to mention that @ 73% of those who age out of the foster ‘care’ system end up in jail or homeless. Or 60% of Texas foster kids will be given drugs the FDA hasn’t even approved for use by children. Or that kids in Texas foster ‘care’ are 4x as likely to be murdered as the general population. Or that foster care has an unspeakably bad record of rape and pregnancy of minors, far higher than the pregnancy rate of minors in the general population which is already 3x to 4x higher than in FLDS…

…And I can double-damn guarantee you there won’t be an increase in happiness among the women involved from this state sanctioned kidnapping.