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• Prosecutions Underway in Child Sex Abuse Scandal

  Ay. Reading this story is entering a vortex of awfulness. In Mineola, Texas (pop. 5,100), four children were drugged with Vicodin and made to perform in weekly sex shows for a crowd of adults. Three of the children (now aged 7, 10, and 12) are siblings, while the fourth is their aunt (now 10). The siblings alerted their foster mother to the abuse in June 2005, telling her that they were dancing for men and that “everybody does nasty stuff in there”—there being a windowless building then known to the town as a swingers' club. Read More... Posted Jun 23 2008, 03:01 PM by Hannah Tennant-Moore with | with 8 comment(s) Filed under: children, texas, sexual abuse, mineola, patrick kelly, sex shows, sexual exploitation of children, swingers club

• Substitute teacher shows up drunk

  During my time going to school in New York City, I saw a lot of things. However, I never once saw a teacher pull a kid to the front of the class so the other students could berate him. I also never had a substitute teacher show up drunk. In Richardson Texas, Thomas Brownlee arrived at school with liquor on his breath and, one assumes, sadness in his heart. Another teacher figured out what was happening and the drunken doof was removed from the class. Once you get past "wow, that's really terrible" and move on to "that would make a great SNL skit" ("1+1 ain't 2! It's misery! You try being married to that woman!" etc.), it makes me wonder how many times this sort of thing has happened. In fourth grade, I remember... Read More... Posted Jun 04 2008, 12:00 PM by Brett Singer with | with no comments Filed under: school, drinking, alcohol, texas, teacher, drink, SNL, Brett Singer, drunk, Thomas Brownlee

• Children of Polygamy Cult Returned to Parents

  A dozen of the children removed from the FLDS Polygamy cult in Texas are being reunited with their families. Said parents and children will be allowed to live together under state supervision until a verdict comes down from  the Texas Supreme Court. They may not, however, return to their Yearning For Zion ranch for the time being. Last Friday an appeals court ruled the state had no right to take the children into custody... Read More... Posted May 26 2008, 10:00 AM by Cole Gamble with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: children, texas, religion, courts, abuse, minors, lawyers, controversy, rape, polygamy cult

• Polygamists as Victims

  Are the members of the FLDS victims of religious persecution? That's what some people from the polygamy-practicing sect are saying. A Texas court is holding hearings to determine what will happen to the children who were removed from the ranch last month, and with "463 children, 168 mothers and 69 fathers", that's going to take awhile. FLDS spokespeople are playing the victim card, crying religious persecution. One of the "elders" of the sect wrote a letter to President Bush calling the ranch raid a "terrorist act." Read More... Posted May 20 2008, 09:30 AM by Brett Singer with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: pregnancy, news, texas, religion, marriage, crime, child abuse, sexual abuse, custody, polygamy, ranch, teen, update, yfz ranch, physical abuse, cult, fundamentalist church of jesus christ of latter day saints, compound, Brett Singer, FLDS, sect, CPS, mormons, warren jeffs, polygamist

• Alas poor Yorick...dude, I am totally baked

  I know it's hard to find a head shop in some towns, but this is taking things a little too far. Three teenagers in the Kingwood community of Houston, Texas have been charged with "misdemeanor abuse of a corpse," a phrase that makes me wonder just what more serious abuse of a corpse would be. (Actually, forget I said that, I don't want to know.) What they did was dig up a body and turn the skull into a bong. Yes, gentle reader. To smoke the merry-jee-wanna. Even better -- one of the sacreligious stoners... Read More... Posted May 19 2008, 05:00 PM by Brett Singer with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: news, teens, teenagers, texas, police, drugs, weird, Houston, marijuana, pot smoking, skull, Brett Singer, bong

• Young Polygamy Mom Gives Birth In Custody, FLDS has two websites

  Here's the latest from the FLDS case, including: - an underage girl gives birth while in state custody. FLDS says she's 18, state says she's younger. - FLDS has not one but two websites, one of them put together specifically for this incident. - more abuse allegations, for the boys this time. Click for more.  Read More... Posted May 01 2008, 06:00 PM by Brett Singer with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: pregnancy, news, texas, religion, marriage, crime, child abuse, sexual abuse, wtf, custody, ranch, teen, update, yfz ranch, physical abuse, cult, fundamentalist church of jesus christ of latter day saints, compound, Brett Singer, FLDS, CPS

• Political Nanny: McCain Goes After Jenna on Her Lack of Support ... Maybe

  According to this intercepted IM transcript between Jenna Bush and John McCain, the senator is none too happy with Bush's recent appearance on Larry King Live.   Read More... Posted Apr 26 2008, 05:28 PM by Madeline Holler with | with no comments Filed under: texas, CNN, Clinton, Laura Bush, jenna bush, huffpo, republicans, Democrats, obama, John McCain, Larry King, Would never vote for a Clinton, crossover appeal, independent voters, kids growing up, 23/6, IMing

• Political Nanny: Bush Daughter May Not Vote for McCain

  First Daughter (for a few months more) Jenna Bush hinted to CNN's Larry King last night that she might not vote for Republican John McCain in November.   Read More... Posted Apr 24 2008, 05:31 PM by Madeline Holler with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: texas, CNN, Clinton, Laura Bush, jenna bush, republicans, Democrats, obama, John McCain, Larry King, Would never vote for a Clinton, crossover appeal, independent voters, kids growing up

• Let's talk about sects, baby – Polygamy compound update

  It was two weeks ago that hundreds of children were extracted from the YFZ Ranch in Eldorado (YFZ stands for "Yearning For Zion," it's not the name of a new rap group. Yet.)  The polygamous compound (the phrase sounds like an ointment you would put on a wart) is run by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or FLDS. Every article I've read about this case takes great pains to point out that FLDS is an "offshoot" of the Mormon religion, so we'll do the same. This is one of those stories that gets worse the more you hear about it. For example... Read More... Posted Apr 21 2008, 11:24 PM by Brett Singer with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: pregnancy, news, texas, religion, marriage, crime, child abuse, sexual abuse, custody, ranch, teen, yfz ranch, physical abuse, cult, fundamentalist church of jesus christ of latter day saints, compound, Brett Singer, FLDS

• Political Nanny: Ron Paul's Still in the Race?

  Shhhh, Political Nanny's going to get fired. She hasn't paid a BIT of attention to Ron Paul -- remember him? -- and it turns out he's still in her charge. Ugh!   Read More... Posted Apr 21 2008, 02:31 PM by Madeline Holler with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: texas, fundraising, political nanny, election 2008, ron paul, GOP, congressman, paulistas, Ron Paul supporters, libertarian, ron paul revolution

• Texas Sex Ed to Get Even Dumber

  Oh sweet fancy Moses, tell it me it has not truly come to this. Texas schoolkids will  devote a large portion of their health education classes next year to such topics as proving who their babydaddy is and how to get child support. The target audience for this "Parenting and Paternity Awareness"" curriculum? 15-year olds. This is the same Texas, mind you, that teaches abstinence and abstinence only in their sex ed classes. So let's just parse the message here...   Read More... Posted Apr 10 2008, 09:32 AM by AmyinMotown with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: texas, sex ed, paternity, abstinence, stupid

• 159 Children Removed From Polygamous Cult Ranch

  Authorities have moved in on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints compound in Texas and removed 159 children and 60 adults since Thursday. They were alerted by a call from a 16-year-old girl, who said she had been married to 50-year-old Dale Evans Barlow. The girl reported sexual and physical abuse in the cult (including arranged marriages for young girls) and that Barlow had fathered her child. Ugh. Eighteen girls are in state custody, and were reported to have been abused or at immediate risk of future abuse. It gets scarier: The girl who made the call... Read More... Posted Apr 07 2008, 03:29 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: pregnancy, texas, religion, marriage, crime, child abuse, sexual abuse, custody, ranch, teen, yfz ranch, physical abuse, cult, fundamentalist church of jesus christ of latter day saints, compound

• Dad Puts Baby In Microwave

  Apparently because he was mad about his loveless marriage, a Texas man placed his infant daughter in a microwave and turned it on.    A Jury has handed the 20-year-old man a 25 year prison sentence... Read More... Posted Mar 31 2008, 09:00 AM by Cole Gamble with | with 6 comment(s) Filed under: infant, father, texas, burns, microwave, Bad Parent, MSN

• Mayor, Hands Off My Daughter!

  I'm a liberal thinker.  I believe in the potential for rehabilitation, and that people's mistakes shouldn't necessarily haunt them for the rest of their lives. But vote for a mayoral candidate who's also a registered sex offender?  I don't think so.   Read More... Posted Mar 25 2008, 08:36 AM by asflutz with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: texas, registered sex offender, Wilmer, mayor, Brian Sliter, candidate

• Strollerderby Playdate: Raising Chickens and Hell in Texas

  Sometimes, you just need to go to Texas. Today -- when the weather where I am will make it above 20 degrees F only if the sun explodes -- is a fine day to head to the deep southwest. Today is perfect for a playdate with Redneck Mother Casey Kelly Barton.   Read More... Posted Feb 11 2008, 02:30 PM by Adrienne Martini with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: texas, playdate, pistol shrimp, hurricanehead, redneck mother

• How Safe is Your Kid's Schoolbus?

  Before you say, "Oh, this couldn't happen to my kid. Our buses are safe!" think again. Are you sure? A school bus near Houston was carrying dozens of teens when the brakes seemed to fail and the driver seemed to lose control of the bus. No one was hurt but that's when they found out that the driver had expired insurance, didn't possess the correct type of license to drive the bus, and had only been on the job two days. Read More... Posted Apr 12 2007, 10:03 AM by Karen Murphy with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: children, texas, school bus safety

• TX Senator Wants To Pay Pregnant Women $500 To Choose Adoption Over Abortion

  Is it just me, or is the world filled with conservative crackpots who don't know their asses from holes in the ground?  Case in point: Republican senator Dan Patrick recently introduced Senate Bill 1567, which proposes that the state of Texas pay  women considering abortions $500 to choose the give their baby up for adoption, instead.  "My goal is to save as many babies as we possibly can," said Patrick, who went on to point out that if the bill reduced the 77,374 abortions performed in Texas in 2005 by 5 percent, they would have 3,000 fetuses that would have gone on to be wards of the state.  More orphans.  Sold by their mothers. Bought by the state of Texas.  Yeah.  That's what we need.  (????????) Read More... Posted Mar 25 2007, 11:03 AM by Alisyn with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: adoption, texas, abortion, senator dan patrick

• Baby Snatched From Hospital Found Safe and Well

  The baby snatched yesterday from a Lubbock, Texas hospital by a woman posing as a nurse has been found alive in neighboring New Mexico.  Mychael Darthard-Dawodu weighed only 5.2 pounds and was being monitored for severe jaundice, and one of many concerns about her since she was kidnapped was that she was in danger of not receiving proper medical care. Ironically, she was returned to a hospital in Clovis, NM, which makes me wonder whether the kidnapper had a change of heart somehow (though not likely, since she stuffed the baby in a purse to leave the Texas hospital).  I cannot begin to imagine what her parents have been going through these past 24 hours, but I can imagine that hospitals all over the country are reviewing their security practices. Posted Mar 11 2007, 11:06 AM by Karen Murphy with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: baby, texas, hospital, kidnap, hospital security, New Mexico

• Experts Still Skeptical About Abstinence-Only Education Trend

  New York's Guttmacher Institute followed school sex-ed programs nationwide for seven years and confirmed what many already know: that abstinence-only programs aren't working. Over a billion dollars in federal funding has been poured into programs that promote the belief that premarital sex is harmful and that sexual activity should be reserved for a monogamous marriage relationship. Comprehensive sex education has gone by the wayside as programs with more wide-ranging curricula have been eliminated in favor of programs that focus on abstinence. Bush even appointed a guy named Eric Keroack to be head of family planning at the Department of Health and Human Services--let's call this guy the Virginity Czar--who was previously associated with a group that believes that the wide availability of birth control is demeaning to women (!?!?!?!?). Read More... Posted Feb 12 2007, 07:09 AM by Patti with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: texas, California, abstinence-education, sex education, bush administration

• Texas Proposes Fines for Absent Parents

  Everything's bigger in Texas, including, apparently, the government. A Texas lawmaker has filed a bill that would punish parents who skip out on parent-teacher conferences. Representative Wayne Smith's proposal, if passed, would result in fines and a criminal record for parents who miss a scheduled meeting with their child's teacher. Schools would send the parents a written notice with three proposed dates, and parents who ignore the notice or fail to show up with a reasonable excuse ("my dog ate it" or "I got a note from Epstein's mother", for example) would run the risk of being charged. Read More... Posted Feb 02 2007, 10:17 AM by JasonAvant with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: education, school, law, laws, texas, schools

• Texas Leaves Children Behind to Work at McDonald's Someday

  Education experts say one in three Texas students drops out of school. They're predicting a social crisis in years to come, but I don't know why everyone's worried. With deplorable academic records like that, these Texans could end up as oil magnates, big league baseball team owners or, wait for it ... president. Of course, life won't be quite as fun for those that don't make it to the White House. According to a Houston Chronicle story, high school dropouts earn about $9,000 less each year than graduates, and there is an increased risk for poverty, illnesses, jail time, fatherhood and writing for blogs. (I really should have listened to my guidance counselor.) And because more kids in the state's largest cities are dropping out than graduating, experts are predicting, well, something close to Armageddon. Read More... Posted Jan 29 2007, 04:56 PM by Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) with | with no comments Filed under: academic, education, school, texas, no child left behind, president bush, high school

• Texas Foster Parents Not Allowed to Smoke Cigarettes in Front of Kids (Briskets and Ribs Okay)

  Texas is joining Vermont, Washington, and Maine in passing a new law stating that foster parents are not allowed to smoke in their homes or cars while children are present. The law takes effect on January 1, the same day that a buck-a-pack tax hike goes into effect. Personally, I could give a rip about smokers feeling like their civil rights are being violated, I'm all for laws that keep second-hand smoke away from our country's most vulnerable children. Critics say that the state shouldn't "tighten foster parent eligibility when an increasing number of children need help." They say the law will discourage people from becoming foster parents. I say foster parents can go outside to light up. Many smokers with children smoke outside or away from their kids out of consideration for their health. This surely won't be the last restriction Texas places on its foster parent community. After all, this is the state that wants its foster parents to be heterosexual despite the fact there are about 43,000 gay and lesbian couples who are willing to foster children. They can't all be smokers. Posted Dec 29 2006, 08:02 AM by Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) with | with no comments Filed under: parenting, anti-smoking, laws, cigarettes, foster parents, texas, smoking