I guess that this didn't work out so well.  The Texas Supreme Court ordered the children back to their parents.

Put away your hatred for quirky, devout religious sects and this makes your (my) skin crawl.  400 children?  On the basis of a single, unsubstantiated complaint on the part of a 16 year old girl, who has not yet been found?  Maybe this is real, maybe this is a legitimate act on the part of the state of Texas.  But it sure looks like an abuse of power right now.  Is there no cynical press in America anymore?  If Bush were somehow involved, imagine the cacophony of outrage we'd be hearing.

What's even more hilarious is that the sect leaders accused the authorities of violating their constitutional rights.  That some  nerve coming from guys who take 14-year-old girls as "spiritual wives" and expect the taxpayers to foot the bill. 

Update: Polygamist Moms Fight for Custody of Kids. The whole case is in limbo. They haven't find the teenage girl who made the call. These poor brainwashed women are not doing their children a favor by demanding that the government send their children back to a life of slavery and child abuse (inbreeding).

Four stars now, but this story could fade fast although I hope it won't. . .we should wait for the details to be released since its early, but all early signs indicate the problem with religious zealotry that most Americans don't want to talk about- the obsession with (and problems pertaining to) female sexuality and control thereof.  (Islam is a serious offender of this in my book) This story illustrates that in the name of 'faith' contemporary (not 'centuries ago') people (a small but noticeable cotingent) are quite content with participating in this behavior or looking the other way in the name of religious freedom over individual welfare and civil liberties.  Legally, this has the potential to be a most fascinating case.  Of course people have the right to practice nonsense- but when does the issue of control (wearing dresses, violating young teens, or refusing medical care) over another person take precedence?  Early noise with this story- let's see what happens. . .