Re: Texas Polygamists--sf in real life?

In article <6n5d14pfinogj4c1q5l4726vik082o38g6@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
 Daniel R. Reitman <dreitman@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:

> On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:17:41 -0700, David Friedman
> <ddfr@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> 
> >. . . .
> 
> >Are you at all disturbed by the CPS spokeswoman claiming that several
of 
> >the girls told her they knew the Sara who had made the phone call but 
> >clammed up in response to later questions? It's now quite clear that
the 
> >person who made the call was a 33 year old Colorado woman. From which I

> >conjecture that the spokeswoman either was deliberately lying or
engaged 
> >in self-deception--neither of which inspires much trust in the 
> >authorities. 
> 
> >. . . .
> 
> How clear is clear?  Talk of the Nation today acknowledged that the
> initial cal was anonymous and that there had been speculation as to
> the identity of the caller, but didn't point the finger.
> 
> 						Dan, ad nauseam

Very clear. Take a look at the London Times story from a week or so ago.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article377648
3.ece

On March 29th, a woman who said she was an FLDS pregnant teen named Sara 
called a number in Texas, which call ended up setting off the raid--I 
think there may have been a later call as well. The call wasn't made 
public until several days later.

On March 30th, a woman who said she was an FLDS pregnant teen named Sara 
called an anti-polygamy activist, I think in Colorado. The caller was 
very convincing, but the woman called eventually grew suspicious after a 
number of calls, and the calls were traced to a 33 year old Colorado 
woman named Rozita Swinton, who turned out to have a history of fake 
phone calls, including a conviction. 

It strikes me as unlikely that Ms Swinton, by pure chance, duplicated 
the story, including the name, of a real FLDS pregnant teen. You can add 
to that that, with only two pregnant girls among those seized, the 
authorities could surely figure out if one of them was "Sara," and the 
fact that the one testable part of "Sara's" story, the identity of her 
husband, turned out to be false--a real FLDS member who hadn't been in 
Texas in decades. 

You can find essentially the same facts, presented less clearly, on 
CNN--but not where one is likely to come across them:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/23/polygamy.arrest/index.html

Which adds one additional fact:

"One of the telephone numbers used to re****t claims of abuse at a 
polygamist sect's Texas ranch was previously associated with a Colorado 
woman whom authorities have named a "person of interest," a court 
do***ent says."

The main story that is linked to is written as if it is still an open 
question whether or not Sara was genuine. And, of course, CNN highlights 
the claim that more than half the seized girls 14-17 had had children or 
were pregnant, not the fact that precisely two out of 53 were actually 
pregnant.

-- 
 http://www.daviddfriedman.com/
http://daviddfriedman.blogspot.com/
 Author of _Harald_, a fantasy without magic.
 Published by Baen, paperback in bookstores now