Discussion
  • Read More
    NevergreenBrendan O'Connor
    1/25/16 7:39pm

    This is what I always think of when I hear people say they want “small government” - what they really want is to keep the national government small so people can build their own fiefdoms with no interference. Fuck these guys.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Quint the GreyerNevergreen
      1/25/16 7:42pm

      This is exactly what they want.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      SonicToothNevergreen
      1/25/16 7:47pm

      It’s funny: country white folk want small gov’t because they can count on controlling local gov’t through cronyism. Country black folk want bigger gov’t intervention for the exact same reason.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    Fresh Courage TakeBrendan O'Connor
    1/25/16 8:15pm

    The first high profile criminal case I defended was as co-counsel for Tom Green, an FLDS member who was married to five wives. Wow, what an experience. They had at least 11-13 kids (I don’t honestly remember the number), but all the kids looked ill and sickly and extremely thin. This despite he and his wives all being portly. One of the wives — the oldest one, as I remember it — was kind of the boss of all the wives. And two of the wives were daughters of one of the other wives. At the time, I was a devout mainstream Mormon. (I’m no longer active.) He never once tried to proselytize to me about the fundamentalist Mormons, and he was a helluva conversationalist. What I remember about the relationship between he and his wives was not that he disrespected them; he just never paid attention to them. He could have put on a business suit, lost a few pounds and fit right in on Wall Street. The wives, though, were — sadly — completely uneducated and really skittish when they would come to court in the “big city” of Provo, Utah.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Kenhe LoginFresh Courage Take
      1/25/16 8:52pm

      Great and interesting comment. Thanks. He sounds like a sociopath.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      Fresh Courage TakeKenhe Login
      1/25/16 8:55pm

      I’ll give you that, particularly how quickly he’d fit in on Wall Street.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    Sid and FinancyBrendan O'Connor
    1/25/16 8:24pm

    Sounds like these officials were up Short Creek without a pedo.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      thethinwhitedukeSid and Financy
      1/25/16 8:38pm

      Goddamnit. +1

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      Al Litigator, Reptilian Attorney-at-LawSid and Financy
      1/25/16 9:47pm

      Needs way more stars.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    Corbin, Michael CorbinBrendan O'Connor
    1/25/16 7:32pm

    Florida, sleeps well tonight.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Quint the GreyerCorbin, Michael Corbin
      1/25/16 7:43pm

      Give Florida a chance. They day ain’t over yet.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      miltonistaCorbin, Michael Corbin
      1/25/16 7:47pm

      While proper comma usage suffers another fitful, fretful night.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    pedal-forceBrendan O'Connor
    1/25/16 10:48pm

    Thank god there’s no Sharia law here. We were dangerously close to having large portions of our government beholden to religious laws.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      BCDFGBrendan O'Connor
      1/25/16 8:22pm

      “hail hydra”

      Reply
      <
      • Read More
        PoodletimeBCDFG
        1/25/16 10:18pm

        Goodness, yes! That’s very acute.

        Reply
        <
    • Read More
      BobbySeriousBrendan O'Connor
      1/25/16 7:26pm

      Oh....so now civil rights matter Utah?

      Reply
      <
      • Read More
        puncha yo bunsBobbySerious
        1/25/16 7:42pm

        #notallUtahs

        Reply
        <
    • Read More
      thekitchenat401Brendan O'Connor
      1/25/16 7:40pm

      I mean, this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, right? I remember interviews with some of the women who either managed to escape or left after Jeffs was imprisoned, and I believe they stated that one of the biggest hinderances in attempting to leave the FLDS was getting caught by the local sheriff’s office, who would just deposit them right back to Jeffs. And for that, they deserve a special place in hell.

      Reply
      <
      • Read More
        stellablackthekitchenat401
        1/25/16 8:28pm

        Exactly. And in a few of the books written by survivors, the name Barlow - one of the police officers mentioned above, and also a large and prominent FLDS family - has been mentioned more than a few times. Short Creek is essentially a prison for these women.

        Reply
        <
      • Read More
        snakebitestellablack
        1/25/16 10:01pm

        Yeah, there are about five last names in Short Creek. Jeffs and Jessop are also really populous last names.

        Reply
        <
    • Read More
      gramercypoliceBrendan O'Connor
      1/25/16 7:56pm

      I don't even want to know what's in the water in those towns.

      Reply
      <
      • Read More
        kbrookBrendan O'Connor
        1/25/16 8:27pm

        I cannot recommend Under the Banner of Heaven by John Krakauer enough if you’re interested in the history of Mormonism and the various fundamentalist sects.

        Reply
        <
        • Read More
          snakebitekbrook
          1/25/16 10:05pm

          Completely agree! I also read most of his bibliography (whatever I could find), and I’m a big fan of the books that results from the Jeffs trials too, by Elisa Walls one by Brandon Jeffs, The Witness Wore Red and one by the investigating officer with a forward by Krakauer.

          Reply
          <