When or if gay marriage (civil unions) is legal, what about polygamy?
As long as those involved are adults, wouldn't it only be fair to allow this also?
Sometimes I wish I had a sister-wife to help around the house. Maybe
Of course some polygamists can't seem to keep their hands off the teen-agers.
Thats another unpopular question. Why is sixteen the majic age for sexual consent?
In bibical times, a girl became a woman when men·stru·ation started. In nature this determines maturity, in ability to procreate.
But of course no one today likes to see their 12 or 13 year olds having sex. So it's more of a modern cultural restriction.
If I am for gay marriage, should I also support polygamy?
Nov 23, 2004
Sliwinski, Montana's infamous po·lyg·a·mist has fled
This one offers up plenty to talk about.
First, the article says they think he may have gone to Mexico.
That reminded me of a book I read last year called "Under the Banner of Heaven"
In the book, there is a place in Mexico where American Morman polygamists live in peace, or in other words hide from the American authorities. I will have to check this book out again from the Library and find out which town it was.
I'm curious as to whether Montana would bother to have him extradited.
Sliwinski believed to have skipped country to avoid prosecution
By CAROLYNN BRIGHT - IR Staff Writer - 11/23/04
As Leah Comeau gets on with her life in Helena, the question on law enforcement officials' lips is: Where is Thomas Sliwinski?
Sliwinski has been on the lam since September after he failed to appear for a hearing to determine whether his suspended sentence for having sex with one of his young brides while she was still underage should be revoked."I no longer trust the legal system," Sliwinski wrote in a five-page letter addressed to Judge Jeffrey Sherlock in explanation of his decision to abscond. "I no longer believe in truth anymore."Sliwinski pleaded guilty to criminal endangerment last year in connection with a charge by prosecutors that he had sex with Comeau's younger sister before she reached the age of 16.Sherlock sentenced Sliwinski to 10 years suspended and ordered him to obtain sex offender counseling as a condition of that suspended sentence.
Earlier this year, Sliwinski was convicted of tampering with evidence in the criminal endangerment case and received a five-year suspended sentence to be served consecutive to his 10-year suspended sentence.Again, Sherlock ordered Sliwinski to obtain sex offender counseling.In June, prosecutors were notified that Sliwinski had terminated his therapy with counselor Kevin Wyse without the permission of his probation officer. Apparently Sliwinski disagreed with Wyse's recommendation that he move out of the home he shared with his children and Comeau's sister - the victim in the criminal endangerment case.Sliwinski was arrested at that time and prosecutors initiated the revocation process they hoped to bring to a conclusion this fall.At the time of the revocation hearing, Sliwinski communicated to authorities that his vehicle had broken down in Utah and he would be delayed. He never appeared in court again."I will go for the legal system is blind," he wrote in his letter. "It wishes no truth to be known. Perhaps they will try to catch me, but till that day comes, if it be one day or 100 years, no one will ever hurt, (undecipherable), or try to kill any of my family members."Lewis and Clark County Attorney Leo Gallagher said officials believe Sliwinski might have taken his family to Mexico to avoid prosecution.Comeau said it concerns her that Sliwinski remains under the radar of law enforcement, but she won't let her fears govern her life."I can't sit here and waste my time worrying," she said.She said she periodically receives letters from Sliwinski at her post office box, and although their contents portray her as an evil woman who destroyed the family, she lets her older children read them."I want them to grow up knowing him," Comeau explains. "I want them to come to their own conclusions. I fought those kinds of battles with my own father."Comeau said she has one regret about leaving the "The House of Thomas," and that is that she wasn't able to take her younger sister, Heather, and the rest of the family with her.Heather remained with Sliwinski in Craig, and is probably hiding out with him now.Comeau said she has come to the conclusion that she can't help someone who doesn't want the assistance, but she hopes her sister will muster the courage to leave Sliwinski one day."I miss her every day," Comeau said. "And I'll be here for her when she decides to leave."If you have any information about Sliwinski's whereabouts, call Crimestoppers at 443-2000.
First, the article says they think he may have gone to Mexico.
That reminded me of a book I read last year called "Under the Banner of Heaven"
In the book, there is a place in Mexico where American Morman polygamists live in peace, or in other words hide from the American authorities. I will have to check this book out again from the Library and find out which town it was.
I'm curious as to whether Montana would bother to have him extradited.
Sliwinski believed to have skipped country to avoid prosecution
By CAROLYNN BRIGHT - IR Staff Writer - 11/23/04
As Leah Comeau gets on with her life in Helena, the question on law enforcement officials' lips is: Where is Thomas Sliwinski?
Sliwinski has been on the lam since September after he failed to appear for a hearing to determine whether his suspended sentence for having sex with one of his young brides while she was still underage should be revoked."I no longer trust the legal system," Sliwinski wrote in a five-page letter addressed to Judge Jeffrey Sherlock in explanation of his decision to abscond. "I no longer believe in truth anymore."Sliwinski pleaded guilty to criminal endangerment last year in connection with a charge by prosecutors that he had sex with Comeau's younger sister before she reached the age of 16.Sherlock sentenced Sliwinski to 10 years suspended and ordered him to obtain sex offender counseling as a condition of that suspended sentence.
Earlier this year, Sliwinski was convicted of tampering with evidence in the criminal endangerment case and received a five-year suspended sentence to be served consecutive to his 10-year suspended sentence.Again, Sherlock ordered Sliwinski to obtain sex offender counseling.In June, prosecutors were notified that Sliwinski had terminated his therapy with counselor Kevin Wyse without the permission of his probation officer. Apparently Sliwinski disagreed with Wyse's recommendation that he move out of the home he shared with his children and Comeau's sister - the victim in the criminal endangerment case.Sliwinski was arrested at that time and prosecutors initiated the revocation process they hoped to bring to a conclusion this fall.At the time of the revocation hearing, Sliwinski communicated to authorities that his vehicle had broken down in Utah and he would be delayed. He never appeared in court again."I will go for the legal system is blind," he wrote in his letter. "It wishes no truth to be known. Perhaps they will try to catch me, but till that day comes, if it be one day or 100 years, no one will ever hurt, (undecipherable), or try to kill any of my family members."Lewis and Clark County Attorney Leo Gallagher said officials believe Sliwinski might have taken his family to Mexico to avoid prosecution.Comeau said it concerns her that Sliwinski remains under the radar of law enforcement, but she won't let her fears govern her life."I can't sit here and waste my time worrying," she said.She said she periodically receives letters from Sliwinski at her post office box, and although their contents portray her as an evil woman who destroyed the family, she lets her older children read them."I want them to grow up knowing him," Comeau explains. "I want them to come to their own conclusions. I fought those kinds of battles with my own father."Comeau said she has one regret about leaving the "The House of Thomas," and that is that she wasn't able to take her younger sister, Heather, and the rest of the family with her.Heather remained with Sliwinski in Craig, and is probably hiding out with him now.Comeau said she has come to the conclusion that she can't help someone who doesn't want the assistance, but she hopes her sister will muster the courage to leave Sliwinski one day."I miss her every day," Comeau said. "And I'll be here for her when she decides to leave."If you have any information about Sliwinski's whereabouts, call Crimestoppers at 443-2000.
Nov 19, 2004
What is a moral person? from Bozeman
This whole business of "culture wars" (a term that brings up only 315,000 links on Google) centers on fear - fear of change, fear that the rules aren't the same as those we learned as children. People brought up to believe that they are superior to others for some characteristic - race, nationality, gender, religion, sexual preference - feel insecure when they realize that acceptance of their innate superiority is not universally agreed upon in the wider world.While we're talking definitions, I'd like to try out my personal definition of a moral person. I believe that a moral person is one who cares about other people as well as herself, who feels responsibility as a human to help those in need, who aspires to leave the world a better place for having been in it, who wants future generations to share the beauty of life on this planet, and who counts the devotion and appreciation of friends as of higher value than bank balances.I also believe that it is perfectly possible to be a good and moral person without going to church, or without believing in God. It's simply not true that without religion, people have no guidelines for their behavior. We can be guided by our common sense (the world simply won't work if everyone is only out for Number One) and by our sense of common humanity. To the non-religious it is very clear that some religious people spend much of their energy convincing themselves that they are right and that other religious people are wrong.In the end I would have to say that moral values means valuing behavior policies that are good for my fellow humans. I don't suppose that would light up Karl Rove's billboard, but it works for me.Marjorie Smith is a Bozeman writer and editor and former member of the U.S. Foreign Service. She can be reached at yokoi@mcn.ne
God given freedoms???
One of those be grateful damn it letters.
Let us not abuse God-given freedoms
I don't want to start another slogan, but it was interesting to observe that what was talked about least in the presidential debates was really a dominate issue in the election.Ellen Goodman has brought to our attention that the top "issue on voters minds was moral values" (Missoulian Nov. 9). She says, "The entire moral vocabulary is now a wholly owned language of the religious right."Obviously our nation is divided over the definition and living out of morality. "Values" is a corresponding word that seems to be used to shed light on the subject. I think it actually obscures the true meaning of morality. What is morality? Briefly defined, morality relates to principles of right and wrong, or to a standard of right behavior.In the '60s and '70s a great change came in thinking concerning morals. It was called the "new morality." The moral foundation that supported our society was challenged and everything became relative. "If it feels good, do it!" became the motto. The Ten Commandments were challenged, along with anything else that smacked of being absolute. Religion and philosophy became fuzzy, as the nation underwent a tremendous upheaval in our society.The Beatles proudly announced, "We have become more popular than Jesus!"Thankfully, people are coming to their senses again. There are some absolutes in the world, even moral, and God is not dead, as he was proclaimed back then.It was God who gave us our freedoms in this nation and it is only through his grace that we shall keep them. May we not abuse that freedom.Lester R. Johnson, Victor
Let us not abuse God-given freedoms
I don't want to start another slogan, but it was interesting to observe that what was talked about least in the presidential debates was really a dominate issue in the election.Ellen Goodman has brought to our attention that the top "issue on voters minds was moral values" (Missoulian Nov. 9). She says, "The entire moral vocabulary is now a wholly owned language of the religious right."Obviously our nation is divided over the definition and living out of morality. "Values" is a corresponding word that seems to be used to shed light on the subject. I think it actually obscures the true meaning of morality. What is morality? Briefly defined, morality relates to principles of right and wrong, or to a standard of right behavior.In the '60s and '70s a great change came in thinking concerning morals. It was called the "new morality." The moral foundation that supported our society was challenged and everything became relative. "If it feels good, do it!" became the motto. The Ten Commandments were challenged, along with anything else that smacked of being absolute. Religion and philosophy became fuzzy, as the nation underwent a tremendous upheaval in our society.The Beatles proudly announced, "We have become more popular than Jesus!"Thankfully, people are coming to their senses again. There are some absolutes in the world, even moral, and God is not dead, as he was proclaimed back then.It was God who gave us our freedoms in this nation and it is only through his grace that we shall keep them. May we not abuse that freedom.Lester R. Johnson, Victor
Seventh Day Adventist and Santayana
The Missoulian has seen quite a few letters like these, mostly by those frustrated by the last election.
Story on religious leader was irresponsibleWhy did the Missoulian give a full-page spread Nov. 6 to the founder of the Seventh-day Adventist sect? She was not qualified to say anything sensible about anything at all - not the age of the earth, not what anything means or is. She was so profoundly ignorant that there was no way she could know her ignorance. In a real sense she was not sane, just as George W. Bush is not sane, just as he is profoundly ignorant."The Truth is a terrible thing. It is much darker, much sadder, much more ignoble, much more inhuman and ironical than most of us are willing to admit, or even to suspect." George Santayana, "The Last Puritan" p. 250What Santayana says in that quotation explains (reveals?) why George W. Bush was re-elected.Lee Enterprise (its editors) is deeply, deeply irresponsible.
J F, Missoula
Story on religious leader was irresponsibleWhy did the Missoulian give a full-page spread Nov. 6 to the founder of the Seventh-day Adventist sect? She was not qualified to say anything sensible about anything at all - not the age of the earth, not what anything means or is. She was so profoundly ignorant that there was no way she could know her ignorance. In a real sense she was not sane, just as George W. Bush is not sane, just as he is profoundly ignorant."The Truth is a terrible thing. It is much darker, much sadder, much more ignoble, much more inhuman and ironical than most of us are willing to admit, or even to suspect." George Santayana, "The Last Puritan" p. 250What Santayana says in that quotation explains (reveals?) why George W. Bush was re-elected.Lee Enterprise (its editors) is deeply, deeply irresponsible.
J F, Missoula
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
