CLINTON PLAYS THE MISOGYNY CARD

Clinton plays the Misogyny card!
"Lipstick on a pig!"[ap]

"I'm reminded," said witness Jim Blanchard, the former governor of Michigan, "of the old Will Rogers adage, which was, 'I belong to no organized party. I'm a Democrat.' "[m]

Only Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan had an irrefutable point. "We've got a totally irrational system of nominating our president," he said.[m]

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Audience becomes an unruly mob[m]

THE START It started with hundreds of demonstrators chanting outside, until torrential rains drove them away. Inside were the 28 rules committee members, who sat under the lights at a U-shaped conference table[n]

THE END Front-runner Barack Obama turned to wrapping up the Democratic presidential nomination after a party committee dealt rival Hillary Clinton a blow by seating the disputed Michigan and Florida convention delegations at half-strength. [y]

THE REAL BATTLE BEING PLAYED OUT NATIONALLY WITHIN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IS THE CONTEST BETWEEN PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE DEMOCRATS AND THOSE THAT BELIEVE IN SOCIAL LIBERALISM OR LIBERALS

Social liberals, also referred to as progressives or modern liberals, constitute a large part, about 45.6 percent, of the Democratic voter base. Liberals thereby form the largest united typological demographic within the Democratic base. [wp2]Since the 1890s, the Democratic Party has favored "liberal" positions (the term "liberal" in this sense describes social liberalism, not classical liberalism). [wp2]

The Democratic base currently consists of a large number of well-educated and relatively affluent liberals as well as those in the socially more conservative working class[wp2]

Historically, the party has favored farmers, laborers, labor unions, and religious and ethnic minorities; it has opposed unregulated business and finance, and favored progressive income taxes. In foreign policy, internationalism (including interventionism) was a dominant theme from 1913 to the mid 1960s. In the 1930s, the party began advocating welfare spending programs targeted at the poor. [wp2]

In recent decades, the party has adopted a centrist economic and more socially progressive agenda, with the voter base having shifted considerably. Once dominated by unionized labor and the working class, the Democratic base now consists of social liberals who tend to be well-educated with above-average incomes as well as the socially more conservative working class. [wp2]

The Progressives are the economic elite in the democratic party. They have sold out, run for cover and generally showed themselves to be a weak spined lot during the Bush neo conservative ear. What we are seeing today is a battle for the hearts and minds of the democratic party. Do we want more of the minority block the democratic elite PROGRESSIVES controlling the Democratic Party the very people directly responsible for allowing, through ineffective opposition to Bush, the demise the American Middle class. Or do we return to our majority base the LIBERALS and social liberalism which brought you the middle class. IT’S A NEW DAY![trb]

THE RECENT SKIRMISH, THE PROGRESSIVE CLINTONITES LOSE..... The hotel where the 30 Democratic rule-makers met today -- to decide whether rules are rules or whether rules are made to be broken -- was within howling distance of the National Zoo.[l] Outside the stately Marriott Wardman Park Hotel were clusters of women with "Hear Me Roar" placards in their fists who came in from all over the country -- $4 a gallon be damned -- to make what could be a last stand for their Hillary.[l] The deep wounds among Democratic partisans — and the unification challenges that lie ahead — were laid bare when the committee rendered its judgment around 7 p.m. Supporters of Mrs. Clinton jeered the decision.[n]

OUR REAL LEADER Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, opened the meeting by urging party activists who filled the hotel ballroom to think beyond the immediate concerns of their chosen candidates and begin working for the benefit of the party in the general election.[n]

THE GOOD Former Michigan congressman David Bonior, who argued on behalf of Obama at the meeting, said the result was "fair" and predicted "we’re very close to the end" of the long primary campaign. He would not say whether he expected Clinton’s campaign to carry the potentially damaging delegate fight to Denver.[N]

THE BAD "Behind all the rhetoric during the meeting about democracy and on and on and on, I am stunned that we have the gall and the chutzpah to substitute our judgment for 600,000" Michigan voters, Ickes said. "I submit that hijacking [Clinton delegates] is not a good way to start down the path of party unity." [N]

THE UGLY Mark Brewer,....(HIRED GUN OF THE PROGRESSIVES.....[TRB])..., chairman of Michigan’s Democratic Party, told the panel the best solution was a compromise, based on an assessment of exit polling and other data. Brewer said Obama was entitled to 59 pledged delegates to Clinton’s 69, "a far fairer reflection of the Democratic preferences in Michigan.’’ That became the formula for the solution.[N]

MICHIGAN A STATE FULL OF HALFLINGS AND HOBBITS Democratic Party leaders agreed Saturday seat Michigan and Florida delegates with half votes into this summer's convention with a compromise that left Barack Obama on the verge of the nomination but riled Hillary Rodham Clinton backers who threatened to fight to the August convention.[ap] ....hinting at a bare-knuckles fight the party had sought to avoid.[BC]

THE RISE OF LIBERALISM...ON TO THE NEXT BATTLE.... The chaos and vitriol seemed to confirm Democrats' fears that they might blow an election that should otherwise be an easy victory for them. Nor did the party's compromise fit well with the Democrats' oft-voiced commitment to voting rights. They decided they would give Florida and Michigan half of their voting rights - one of the more arbitrary compromises since the 1787 decision that a slave should count as three-fifths of a person - and voted to award Obama 59 Michigan delegates even though his name wasn't even on the ballot in the state.[m]

D.B.COOPER STRIKES AGAIN "Hijacking four delegates is not a good way to start down the path of party unity," said adviser Harold Ickes.[ap]

I WANT IT ALL AND I WANT IT NOW!!!! Clinton's...(PROGRESSIVE CAMP...[TRB]) ...maintains she was entitled to four additional Michigan delegates.[ap] A civil war, that's how it felt. Democrat against Democrat. Not long ago, they were united in the cause to wrest the White House from the Bush legacy, end the war, stop global warming, empower the middle class.[l]

OBAMA IS A CLASS ACT, THE CLINTON PROGRESSIVES, CLASSLESS.... The Obama campaign applauded the party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee’s handling of the emotion-charged disputes in an often-raucous televised meeting in a Washington hotel. But the committee’s decision on the Michigan primary, which Clinton won in January by a wide margin after other contenders took their names off the ballot, left Clinton’s supporters fuming and threatening to take the fight to the party’s nominating convention in Denver in August.[b]

WE WILL PICK UP OUR MARBLES AND LEAVE And now, many of them were so mad they said they planned to defect from their party for the first time ever -- if Hillary Rodham Clinton were not the nominee.[l] Please do, while we still have a middle class Do not let the door hit you in the butt.[trb]

THE PARTY WILL UNIFY, THESE MORONS CAN NOT STOP THAT, JUST SPIN THATS ALL THEY HAVE LEFT... The decision by the party's Rules Committee raised slightly the total delegates Obama needs to clinch the nomination. Clinton advisers conceded privately he will likely hit the magic number after the final primaries are held Tuesday night, but said the ruling threatened to dash any hopes of a unified party.[ap]

MRS. CLINTON (I.E). BUBBAS WIFE, IS STICKING A SHARP STICK IN OUR EYE "Mrs. Clinton has told me to reserve her right to take this to the Credentials Committee" at the convention, said Ickes, who is a member of the Rules Committee that voted Saturday.[ap] Mrs. Clinton was in touch with Mr. Ickes throughout the day, aides said, and she instructed him to conclude his remarks with that message to the party. It remained an open question, though, how much leverage Mrs. Clinton would have after the primaries concluded on Tuesday.[n]

OUR GUY WILL WIN, ITS TIME TO AIM OUR CANNONS AT MCCAIN.... The resolution increased the number of delegates needed to clinch the nomination to 2,118, leaving Obama just 66 delegates away from the majority needed to secure the nomination.[ap]

FINALLY SOMEONE IS MAKING SENSE "Our main goal is to get this resolved so we can focus on winning Michigan and Florida," Obama said while campaigning in South Dakota. "There were compromises. ... I'm glad the DNC worked it through and I hope we can start focusing on substance as opposed to process."[ap]

MRS. BUBBA THREATNED A RIOT/PROTEST SHE GAVE US RAUCOUS So, these women climbed in buses and in their cars and came to fight. Clinton's campaign didn't organize it but didn't dissuade them; Barack Obama's camp discouraged its supporters from demonstrating, mindful not to offend Hillaryites they hope will come their way by the time Nov. 4 rolls around.[l]

The disputed Michigan and Florida primaries became a focal point of anger for the Clinton supporters, and busloads of them arrived in Washington to protest — many of them Clinton campaign volunteers. Holding placards and shouting slogans like, "Count every vote!" they demanded that the Democratic National Committee honor all the primary votes and pledged delegates from Florida and Michigan.[N]

The deal was reached after committee members deliberated for nine hours, including three where they met privately and argued fiercely over their eventual deal, according to several people inside. They voted in front of a raucous hotel ballroom that frequently interrupted proceedings and reflected deep divisions within the party.[ap]

MARK BREWER (MDP) &MRS. BUBBA DID NOT FOLLOW THE RULES, ½ VOTE IS THE DNC POLICY TO SANCTION UNRULY CHILDREN "How can you call yourselves Democrats if you don't count the vote?" one of the many hecklers in the audience yelled loudly and repeatedly before being escorted out by security. "This is not the Democratic Party!"[ap]

SPIN, SPIN AND MORE SPIN, THE VOTER ARE GETTING DIZZY... A senior Clinton adviser, speaking on a condition of anonymity about internal campaign decisions, said the decision could be used to help her raise campaign donations for a scaled-down campaign that might focus on a signature issue — such as health care reform — rather than a traditional fight for the nomination.[ap]

MR. AND MRS BUBBA DESERVE NOTHING AFTER THIS IS OVER, ITS BEYOND BELIEF THEY HAVE THE GALL TO TAKE THIS LOSING FIGHT THIS FAR The advisers said no decisions had been made, and it was still possible that Clinton would bow out once Obama goes over the top.[ap]

SHE WON NOTHING, IT WAS BUSH LIKE/LEAGUE TO HAVE EVEN BEEN ON THE MICHGIAN BALLOT WHEN THE DNC SAID STAY OUT Clinton and her supporters wanted the Michigan and Florida delegations fully restored, according to January primaries that she won. But those contests were not recognized by the party because they were held too early, and both candidates agreed at the time they would not count.[ap]

THEIR RAGE IS WHAT MUST BE RECOGNIZED. PUNISH THOSE AT FAULT FOR THE MICHIGAN MESS, MARK BREWER IS A GOOD START But as Clinton tried to catch up to Obama's delegate lead, she has argued that the votes of the 2.3 million people who participated in the elections must be recognized.[ap] Obama supporters argued that they did compromise by allowing her to take the majority of delegates in two contests where he didn't campaign.[ap] The sticking point was Michigan, where Obama's name was not on the ballot.[AP] Clinton's camp insisted Obama shouldn't get any pledged delegates in Michigan since he chose not to put his name on the ballot, and she should get 73 pledged delegates with 55 uncommitted. Obama's team insisted the only fair solution was to split the pledged delegates in half between the two campaigns, with 64 each.[ap]

SHE DESERVES..... NOT ....THE 10 VOTE ADVANTAGE, HE FOLLOWED THE RULES SHE DID NOT The committee agreed on a compromise offered by the Michigan Democratic Party that would split the difference, allowing Clinton to take 69 delegates and Obama 59. Each delegate would get half a vote at the convention, according to the deal.[ap] The deal passed 19-8. Thirteen members of the committee had endorsed Clinton for president, so she wasn't even able to keep her supporters together.[ap] Allan Katz, a Rules Committee member and Obama supporter, said the Obama campaign had enough votes on the committee to support the campaign's proposal to split the delegates 50-50 in Michigan. Ultimately, the campaign agreed instead to support the compromise negotiated by the Michigan Democratic Party as a way to resolve the matter.[ap]

OBAMA IS HIGH MINDED MRS CLINTON IS LOW ACTING "The ironic thing is Obama had the majority of that committee," Katz said. "The Obama campaign wants to move on and compromise. We did not muscle our way through it. It was a wise decision from a well run and wise campaign that will reverberate."[ap]

CLINTON WAGS WILL SINK THIS SHIP BEFORE IT ARRIVES AT OBAMA BAY But the irate reaction from Clinton's campaign and her supporters in the sharply divided audience shows Obama will have a long way to go to bring the party together after a long and divisive primary.[ap] Clinton had made the disputes over Florida and Michigan a rallying cry for her campaign. Officials told the panel Democrats could pay a price in November against McCain if the delegations from the two election battlegrounds were not seated and the results counted. [y]

CLINTON BACKERS: WE WON’T ROLL OVER[wt] Then you should be knocked out.[trb] Earlier in the day, hundreds of demonstrators, mostly Clinton supporters, jammed sidewalks outside the hotel, holding homemade signs reading "Count our Florida votes" and "50 states -- not 48." [y] "The Democratic Party has disdained the female demographic, they have demeaned Hillary Clinton, and this time we're not going to roll over," Ms. Garrard said. [wt]

MISOGYNISTIC "I refuse to be associated with a party that is stupid, self-destructive and undemocratic, and now, I'm beginning to realize, is misogynistic," said Norma Broude, an American University professor who was among more than 1,000 Clinton supporters at a "count the vote" rally at Rock Creek [wt] Misogyny is hatred (or contempt) of women.[WP]

CHILDREN BEHAVE "We just blew the election!" a woman in the audience shouted. The crowd was divided between cheering Obama supporters and booing Clinton supporters.[ap] OLD YELLER WAS YELPING "This isn't unity! Count all the votes!" another audience member yelled.[ap] Jim Roosevelt, co-chair of the committee, tried repeatedly to gavel it to order. "You are dishonoring your candidate when you disrupt the speakers," he chided.[ap]


HOW MUCH MORE OF THIS FIASCO IS LEFT... There are three primaries left in the contest — Puerto Rico on Sunday and Montana and South Dakota on Tuesday. Obama should get at least 30 delegates in the remaining primaries, meaning he has to pick up no more than about 30 more superdelegates even if he loses Puerto Rico and South Dakota.[ap] He will not clinch the nomination this weekend, barring a barrage of superdelegates Sunday.[ap] The committee also unanimously agreed to seat the Florida delegation based on the outcome of the January primary, with 105 pledged delegates for Clinton and 67 for Obama, but with each delegate getting half a vote as a penalty.[ap]

SHOUT IT OUT Proponents of full seating continuously interrupted the committee members as they explained their support of the compromise, then supporters of the deal shouted back.[ap] "Shut up!" one woman shouted at another.[ap] "You shut up!" the second woman shouted back.[AP] Obama picked up a total of 32 delegates in Michigan, including superdelegates who have already committed, and 36 in Florida. Clinton picked up 38 in Michigan, including superdelegates, and 56.5 in Florida.[ap]

OBAMA HAS AN INSURMOUNTABLE LEAD...WHY ARE WE ARGUING Obama's total increased to 2,052, and Clinton had 1,877.5.[ap] A proposal favored by Clinton that would have fully seated the Florida delegation fully in accordance with the January primary went down with 12 votes in support and 15 against.[ap]

THEN WHY DID THEY TRY Tina Flournoy, who led Clinton's efforts to seat both states' delegations with full voting power, said she was disappointed by the outcome but knew the Clinton position had "no chance" of passing the committee.[ap] "I understand the rules. ... I can tell you one thing that has driven these rules was being a party of inclusion," Flournoy said. "I wish my colleagues will vote differently."[ap]

A BACON MAKE OVER Alice Huffman, a Clinton supporter on the committee, explained that the compromise giving delegates half votes was the next best thing to full seating.[ap] "We will leave here more united than we came," she said.[ap] Some audience members heckled her in response. "Lipstick on a pig!" one shouted. [ap]

“McCain in 08! McCain in 08!” a woman yelled from the back of the room. “No-bama! No-bama!”[n]

But Obama supporters said that the Clinton camp was upset because it showed the nomination contest was essentially over. “There is no more big concentration of delegates from anywhere left,” said Allan Katz, a Florida lawyer and member of the rules committee who supports Mr. Obama.“This was their last big chance to move the goal posts and it failed,” he said.[n] “This is not about Barack Obama. This is not about Hillary Clinton. This is about our country,” Mr. Dean said. “This is about restoring America to its greatness, to restoring our moral authority and to healing America at home. That’s what this is about.”[n] Obama will hold a victory celebration after the South Dakota and Montana polls close on Tuesday night at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota -- the site of the Republican convention in September.[y]

–END

Posted here by Terry Bankert ... 6/01/08

(If you like this article please forward to your friends, if not just keep it to yourself.)
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—WHERE DID THIS STUFF COME FROM [ap] AP http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5igrYLRrHG3P6lIbs2E7pSH0bxhvgD910VH9G0
[l] LA Times http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-scene1-2008jun01,0,5094571.story [m] Mercury News http://www.mercurynews.com/nationworld/ci_9444974
[WT] The Washington Times http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jun/01/clintons-backers-we-wont-roll-over/
[WP] WIKIPEDIA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misogyny
[n] The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/us/politics/01rules.html?em&ex=1212379200&en=393fad3614090350&ei=5087%0A
[b] Boston.Com http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/05/democrats_resol_1.html [bc] Boston.com http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/01/accord_furor_over_mich_fla_delegates/ [TRB] Comments of Terry Bankert to Include CAP headlines http://attorneybankert.com/
[Y] Yahoo News- Reuters http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080601/pl_nm/usa_politics_dc
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GOOD MORNING FLINT!
BY Terry Bankert 5/31/08 You are invited to join me at Face Book http://www.facebook.com/people/Terry_Bankert/645845362 ___________________________
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Topics
1. 400 children hurt by Texas Government http://flinttalk.com/viewtopic.php?p=29434#29434

2 .Obama always the gentleman http://www.flinttalk.com/viewtopic.php?p=29362#29362

3. Oil how high will it go http://flinttalk.com/viewtopic.php?p=28887#28887

KNOW THE LAW TOPIC
Issues:
Child support;
Post-judgment order denying the plaintiff-mother's request to increase child support;
Whether the trial court should have imputed income to the defendant-father; MCL 552.605(2); Ghidotti v. Barber; Reed v. Reed;
Whether the trial court erred in its earnings calculations;

Stallworth v. Stallworth Court: Michigan Court of Appeals (Unpublished) Case Name: McDowell v. McDowell Kalamazoo Circuit Court 02-007446-DM e-Journal Number: 39454 Judge(s): Per Curiam - O'Connell, Hoekstra, and Smolenski

The court affirmed the trial court's post-judgment order denying the plaintiff-mother's request to increase child support. The Court agreed with the trial court she did not establish the defendant-father was hiding large amounts of income and holding the trial court did not err in declining to impute greater income to defendant.

The court noted "there was no evidence presented regarding four of the seven elements courts look to in determining whether to impute income" - defendant's educational level, -whether he had any mental or physical disabilities, - the presence of children in his home and its impact on the parties' earnings, -and the availability of employment in his area.

The evidence showed defendant's prior employment experience was as a floor installer and a trucker. His social security statement showed taxable social security earnings from 1985 through 2003 and indicated the highest annual incomes he earned were $20,582 in 1998 and $28,812 in 1999. While plaintiff contended defendant earned $75,000 in the first 18 weeks of 2004 and admitted it at a referee hearing, the record did not support this claim. Plaintiff also asserted amended 1099s showed he and his new wife pocketed about $90,000 "under the table" and all of those funds should be imputed to defendant. Amended 1099s were issued to defendant and his new wife for 2004, which increased non-employee compensation to them by about $90,000.

However, plaintiff provided no cite to the record to support defendant hid or lied about the $90,000 and the court found no support for this in the record. Defendant and his new wife filed amended 2004 tax returns taking into account the amended 1099s. Their joint amended return stated an adjusted gross income of $36,780, taxable income of $14,690, and a net profit of $13,074 to defendant from the business.

The court concluded the $40,000 and $30,000 incomes imputed to defendant were in line with the figures he reported for the original FOC custody and parenting time evaluation, reflecting what he had earned as a floor installer since 1999. Affirmed.

CHILD SUPPORT GENERALY FROM THE MICHIGAN CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES In determining the contributions to support that divorced parents must make, the trial court must generally follow the formula developed by the Friend of the Court Bureau. MCL 552.605(2); Berger v Berger, 277 Mich App 700, 724; ___ NW2d ___ (2008).

A COURT MAY ENTER AN ORDER OUTSIDE THE GUIDELINES A court may deviate from the support formula only if application of the formula would be unjust or inappropriate. MCL 552.605(2); Ghidotti v Barber, 459 Mich 189, 196; 568 NW2d 883 (1998).

IF YOU VOLUNTARILY REDUCE YOUR INCOME YOUR CHILD SUPPORT COULD BE SET BASED ON YOUR HIGHER INCOME When assessing a parent’s ability to pay support, the trial court is not limited to consideration of a parent’s actual income, Reed v Reed, 265 Mich App 131, 163; 693 NW2d 825 (2005), rather, it may consider the parent’s voluntarily unexercised ability to earn. Ghidotti, supra at 198.

FACTORS THE COURT USES TO DETERMINE IMPUTED INCOME When evaluating whether there is an unexercised ability to earn, the following factors must be considered:

1) Prior employment experience;

2) education level;

3) physical and mental disabilities;

4) the presence of children of the marriage in the party’s home and its impact on the earnings of the parties;

5) availability of employment in the local geographical area;

6) the prevailing wage rates in the local geographical area;

7) special skills and training; or whether there is any evidence that the party in question is able to earn the imputed income. [Ghidotti v Barber, 459 Mich 189, 199; 586 NW2d 883 (1998), quoting Michigan Child Support Formula Manual, Tenth Rev, p 8.]

SEE THE COMPLETE CASE AT http://www.michbar.org/opinions/appeals/2008/052208/39454.pdf
[The case above was prepared for media presentation, with changes. Only rely on the full case linked above after consulting counsel.]

--
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Posted here by Terry Bankert ... 5/31/08
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400 children harmed by the Texas government.

RUSH TO JUDGEMENT HARMS CHILDREN
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REFLECTIONS: The State actors we rely on to protect children can harm them. To read more from the perspective of parents caught up in child protective proceeding see:[trb] http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/child_neglect_abuse/

400 LITTLE LIVES SHATTERED! The Texas Supreme Court ruled Thursday that more than 400 children taken from a polygamist sect's ranch nearly two months ago should be returned to their parents, saying child welfare officials overstepped their authority.[d] The decision was issued in response to an appeal by the state Child Protective Services (CPS) of the April ruling of Austin's Third Court of Appeals against state custody of the children from a Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) ranch. The appellate court had ruled that evidence was inadequate to prove that the children were in danger of sexual abuse. [A] When a Texas court ruled last week that state child welfare authorities were wrong to seize more than 440 children from a polygamist sect, it certainly wasn't the first case in which welfare officials were accused of overstepping their bounds. Sadly, it probably also won't be the last, either.[t]

THIS CASE IS ABOUT RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION AND THE HYPOCRISY IN AMERICAN GOVERNMENT Just hours before the ruling, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a friend-of-the-court brief siding with the FLDS mothers, expressing concern that Texas was targeting a religious culture. A Dallas child-abuse lawyer filed her own brief supporting Texas.[des] The results of DNA testing to determine family relationships are also expected back today or next week, the Texas Attorney General's Office said. A criminal investigation remains under way, with Tom Green County prosecutors saying they are considering a number of options — including a bigamy prosecution. Jessop called it a "war on religion."[DES]

CPS WORKERS WITH TOO MUCH POWER, TO LITTLE ACCOUNTABILITY MAKE BAD CALL The court affirmed an appeals court decision last week that said Child Protective Services failed to show an immediate danger to the children living on the Yearning For Zion Ranch.[d]

A MICHIGAN EXAMPLE OF CPS ABUSE ON A FAMILY..DO NOT THINK THIS CANNOT HAPPEN TO YOU! The Texas case brought to mind an incident in April in which a man temporarily lost custody of his son for buying him a lemonade at a baseball game.[T] Maybe you've heard this one. If not, the incident involved a University of Michigan professor of archaeology who was watching a Detroit Tigers game with his 7-year-old son when the boy asked for something to drink.[T] The professor, Christopher Ratte, went to a concession stand and asked for a lemonade. He received a product known as Mike's Hard Lemonade, which contains alcohol.[T] Ratte said he didn't know he'd purchased what amounted to a mixed drink, and there's been no evidence to suggest he was lying. Seems he spends more time reading books and visiting archaeological sites overseas than watching TV commercials touting alcoholic beverages.[T] But after Ratte gave the drink to his son, a security guard saw the boy drinking it and called the police.[T] This is where the story gets particularly disturbing. Because even though a police officer who interviewed Ratte thought the professor made an honest mistake, the welfare system kicked into gear and common sense went out the window.[T] Following protocol, the officer's supervisor insisted that the case be turned over to Child Protective Services. The welfare authorities who were assigned to the case took custody of the boy even though they apparently agreed with the police officer that Ratte didn't do anything intentionally wrong.[T] Again, it was a matter of protocol. But it led to a series of events that included the boy being taken away from his parents for a day and a half, then being allowed to go back home only on condition that Ratte stay somewhere else. Finally, after about three days, the family was reunited.[T] Granted, Ratte made a mistake. But was his error so terrible that he had to face the awful possibility of losing his child over it? Seems like few people in the system thought so, but the system itself wasn't able to draw a distinction between an accident and an intentional case of harming a minor.[T]

THE JUDGE WAS WRONG, HOW DID THAT HAPPEN..... The Texas Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that it was an abuse of judicial discretion to take hundreds of children in what has become the nation's largest-ever child custody case.[des]

A CALVARY OF LAWYERS TO THE RESCUE...GO BROTHERS AND SISTERS, GOOD JOB! Lawyers for dozens of FLDS mothers challenged the court's decision. The 3rd Court of Appeals sided with the mothers, saying that the state failed to show the children were in immediate danger and ordered them to be returned to their mothers immediately. Texas child welfare officials appealed, saying the children were in danger of abuse in a culture that groomed little girls to become child brides and boys would grow up to become sexual perpetrators.[DES]

CHILDREN TO BE RETURNED, WHAT HARM TO THE CHILDREN HAS BEEN CAUSED BY THE STATE The ruling directs a lower-court judge to reverse her decision putting the children into foster case. The appeals court ordered the children returned to the parents, but it's not clear when that will happen.[d] "End this nightmare and end this torture that they're putting these families through," he said Thursday. "These children have suffered enough at the hands of the state of Texas. It is time for the children to come home."[DES] "There has been a catastrophic, physical and emotional trauma to these families, permanent damage that will be left on them for a lifetime. Two wrongs do not make a right and this court has an ability to load these children up and return them to the families and I can assure you we can figure out who mothers and fathers are," said the FLDS member.[W] "One of the clear messages from the court is that CPS has got to stop treating these people as a crowd," he said. "The clear message from the court is it's time for these kids to go home now."[DES] A polygamist sect elder says parents are excited about a state Supreme Court decision today but will remain apprehensive until they get their children back.[K]

ONE PROBLEM IN CHILD PROTECTIVE PROCEEDINGS (cps)IS THAT CHILDREN ARE TAKEN TOO QUICKLY In its ruling, the high court said that state law gave the lower court broad authority to protect children "short of separating them from their parents and placing them in foster care," including removing the alleged perpetrators from the home and preventing the removal of a child from the jurisdiction of the investigating agency[DES] CPS is a bureaucracy filled with over worked undertrained poorly supervised good people who on occasions such as this do harm to children. What can be learned here? We should look at the protocols in all states are we taking children too quickly from the home? Yes is my answer. Does our system of child helper on occasion become child harmerS? Yes. Has American given too much unchecked power to the agents of a state government who some times are private contract worker? Yes is my answer.[trb]
–END

Posted here by Terry Bankert ... 5/29/08
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—WHERE DID THIS STUFF COME FROM-- [DES] Deseret News http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700230321,00.html [d] Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080530/NEWS07/805300363 [T] Topeka Capitol Journal http://cjonline.com/stories/052908/opi_284029009.shtml [W] WBKO http://www.wbko.com/news/headlines/19375474.html [K] WKDBC http://www.kdbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=8397866&nav=menu608_5_16 [TRB] Comments of Terry Bankert to include CAP headlines http://attorneybankert.com/ [A] AHN http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7011107709 58170

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