The Plural Life (Brooke Adams)

This Blog Has Moved! New RSS Feed.

2009-02-09T14:14:16.397-07:00

Sorry for the late notice, but about a week ago we moved to a new, improved site:http://166.70.44.68/blogs/plurallife/You can subscribe to the new RSS feed on the new page.Thanks!

UEP talks go on and on and on . . .

2009-01-30T16:03:43.201-07:00

. . . which is actually a good thing, I suppose.I spoke with a bunch of attorneys recently to get a sense of where things stand. Here is what I learned.Jerrold Jensen, Utah assistant attorney general, told me that last week Third District Judge Denise Lindberg held a teleconference with the attorneys. Jensen said the judge thought things would be progressing faster.Bill Richards, assistant

A sealing in the works?

2009-01-29T16:08:03.834-07:00

Attorney Amy Hennington has submitted a motion to seal the deposition records, according to a clerk at the Tom Green County Courthouse.The clerk told me that the motion is on the judge's desk but Judge Walther has not yet acted on it.

What Shecky said . . .

2009-01-29T15:55:55.971-07:00

I emailed Jeff Schechter this morning to ask what his involvement, if any, might be in the FLDS case.Schechter is a motivational/leadership/marketing guru. It was apparent to me from looking over his Web site he has nothing to do with the sect.In my first email, I said his Web site was mentioned in a deposition involving a member of the FLDS church. ''Why? Do you have any connection to the sect?'

All consuming fire of heaven? Part Three

2009-01-29T11:47:59.648-07:00

Unanswered questions from Merril Jessop's Jan. 23, 2009, depositin, part three:195. Do you know David Allred?196. Where is R23 located?197. Are you familiar with a company called United Land Company?198. What is your relationship to a person named Lyle Jeffs?199. Were you involved in the negotiation or sale of any land referred to as the Apple Valley land?200. On page 191 there is a reference of

Do you have a bank account in Texas? Part Two

2009-01-29T11:10:40.194-07:00

Unanswered questions from Merril Jessop's Jan. 23, 2009, deposition, Part Two:99. I'm handing you Exhibit No. 4 again, and there is some handwriting on this page, do you recognize that handwriting?100. I'm going to hand you Deposition Exhibit 13, which is two pages of handwriting, and ask if you recognize the handwriting that's in cursive.101. Is that your handwriting?102. Are there any aspects

Do you worship a higher power?

2009-01-29T10:59:51.951-07:00

Okay, there were A LOT of questions not answered. I am going to break them into three posts.There have been A LOT of discussions already about the implications of Merril taking the Fifth in response to questions during this deposition. Kurt Schulzke has a great explanation on his blog, Iperceive.net. In short, the Fifth is not an admission of guilt and a person can refuse to divulge information

Questions answered . . .

2009-01-29T01:57:33.420-07:00

Why question Merril Jessop in relation to Teresa Jeffs' situation? Here is how Natalie Malonis explained it to Judge Barbara Walther last week according to a transcript of the deposition:''I think this witness has information about the way that the financial structure's set up and how my client and her family, their needs are taken care of, their living expenses, you know, how much control and

Documents cited in deposition

2009-01-29T01:32:16.207-07:00

During Merril Jessop's deposition last week, Natalie Malonis introduced as exhibits a number of documents that I don't recall hearing about in previous court sessions or filings:A budget estimate for the Short Creek StakeA trust document for a property trust in TexasA 1996 statement from Sam BarlowA transcript of a March 23, 2008, lesson given by Warren Jeffs to family and friends during a visit

Who is Shecky?

2009-01-29T01:02:01.005-07:00

So I'm reading through the transcript of Merril Jessop's deposition (thanks Paul!) and come across this exchange:Malonis: Are you familiar with a company called JeffsBusiness.com LTD?Amy Hennington, Merril's attorney: Upon the advice of counsel my client is invoking his right to assert the privilege against self-incrimination pursuant to the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution, as

Malonis at center of new firestorm

2009-01-28T18:10:56.710-07:00

Well, well. A new mess is brewing in Texas.Someone leaked a copy of Merril Jessop's deposition, taken by Natalie Malonis last week, to Paul Anthony of the San Angelo Standard. Malonis also apparently gave an excerpt of the deposition transcript to Kurt Schulzke, who has the iperceive blog. Malonis posted several comments on the blog in which she names some children whose cases have been nonsuited

Church of Lies

2009-01-27T23:00:54.876-07:00

It is looking like a busy week for Flora Jessop.On Wednesday, she is being deposed in Arizona.On Tuesday, her book ''Church of Lies'' was due to be released today. You can order the book on Amazon but I have not yet seen it in book stores. I went searching around, however, and found the book index, chapter list and first chapter on line at the publisher's Web site.The first chapter, titled 'The

Blog alert!

2009-01-27T18:17:01.353-07:00

I am giving you a heads up about changes looming for my blog. Trent has been hard at work on a new design using WordPress.He is putting the finishing touches on it and we will be rolling the blog over to the new design soon.The design gives more prominence to your contributions, will feature links to polygamy and other Salt Lake Tribune stories and has lots of cool features that will make it

Betty's story

2009-01-27T10:21:48.722-07:00

Photos by Trent NelsonLast May, I walked into the Tom Green County Courthouse where court hearings in the FLDS cases were about to get underway.I sat on a bench next to a couple women, both of whom I recognized. Other reporters were milling about, so I quietly said to one of the women: ''Hello. I know who you are but I am not going to say a word."She said, ''Thank you.''It was Betty Jessop, and I

Depositions in Texas

2009-01-24T09:45:15.261-07:00

Here is the story from Paul Anthony we ran today about Natalie Malonis' deposition of Merril Jessop yesterday in San Angelo.FLDS leader wants to plead the Fifth SectJessop's attorneys argue he shouldn't have to answer financial questions.By Paul A. AnthonySan Angelo Standard-timesUpdated: 01/23/2009 09:14:07 PM MSTSan Angelo, Texas Even after eight hours in a Schleicher County courtroom Friday,

And the survey says . . .

2009-01-24T09:41:07.374-07:00

About 1,300 people answered the question about how often they feel God's love in the 2004 General Social Survey.Here is what they said:Many times a day: 21 percentEvery day: 29 percentMost days: 14 percentSome days: 10 percentOnce in a while: 11 percentNever or almost never: 15 percentThat same year, the survey asked the same group a related question: "In general, how close do you feel to God?"

Big loving apology

2009-01-23T14:59:25.304-07:00

Tom Hanks, producer of HBO's "Big Love," has apologized for his comments about the LDS Church's involvement in the Prop 8 campaign.In an exclusive with People magazine, Hanks said he should not have called that involvement "un-American."

Sister Wife: The film

2009-01-23T10:27:42.648-07:00

Among the films previewing at the Sundance Film Festival is a 11-minute short called ''Sister Wife.'' Here is the festival blurb about it.I spoke with DoriAnn, the subject of the film and a resident of Centennial Park, about why she agreed to participate and the film's message. She asked that I not use her last name.The hope is the short is intriguing enough to draw funding for a full-length

Reading list

2009-01-22T19:39:20.590-07:00

My family likes to joke about how many books I carry with me everywhere I go. I took six on a recent five-day trip to California.Here are several of the books I carted to California, with an excerpt from each:''Redesigning the American Dream'' by Dolores Hayden.I am reading this for a class paper I am writing about characterizations of the YFZ Ranch in Texas during the April raid but the ideas

God in your life

2009-01-22T19:36:18.299-07:00

One of the horrors of graduate school is statistics. I am in graduate school and you have to take it, even if you are a word person and not a numbers person.You can guess which one I am.So, I was scrolling through questions in the General Social Survey looking for a topic for a statistics class project and saw a few questions that might be interesting to my readers.The General Social Survey, in

UEP board

2009-01-22T19:25:20.747-07:00

There were several posts about the town hall meeting last Friday in Centennial Park that claimed the UEP advisory board has been dissolved. I asked Bruce Wisan about it. Here is his response:''Pure garbage. Your FLDS contacts are really letting you down.''

President Obama and the fundamentalist view

2009-01-20T16:34:52.640-07:00

Today I have been managing a live blog for the Tribune on President Obama's inauguration. That has kept me busy, but it seems like a good time to share this question I received from a woman in London who is a regular reader. Here is her question:''Since the raids in April on the Yearning For Zion ranch I have turned to your newspaper for a more in-depth and less hysterical view. I have found your

Big Love imitates life

2009-01-19T00:03:21.643-07:00

You may not want to talk about ''Big Love'' but I do. And if you want to see how current events are being portrayed in pop culture, you ought to tune in. I had to grab a notebook a few minutes into tonight's premiere. From one minute to the next, real life was intruding on art.For starters, the show used real footage from the raid in Texas with a pseudo newscast about a crackdown on the fictional

NonFLDS meeting Friday

2009-01-18T17:24:28.712-07:00

On Friday evening, nonFLDS residents of the twin towns held a meeting to express their views about the United Effort Plan Trust.I assumed their views were being channeled through the advisory board since it is comprised of all nonmembers, but apparently some people consider the board to have an agenda of its own.I did not go. Is there any one out there who attended and can give us a review of

Big Love, big comeback

2009-01-14T20:33:03.571-07:00

Wondering what's up for the new season of Big Love? I have not seen the previews. The TV critic is hoarding the DVDs! If I can figure out who to call at HBO I am going to see if I can round up a few screenings. But here is a provocative review from Salon writer Heather Havrilesky, which begins like this:The woman you're dating loves your third wife, but she isn't crazy about your second. You're

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