Carolyn Jessop--A Portrait of Courage

--At 18 years of age, Carolyn Blackmore was forced to marry 50 year old Merril Jessop. She became his 4th wife. Even though she got violently ill with each pregnancy, and the last 4 endangered her life, she gave birth to 8 children.  One of whom had numerous medical needs, and required 24/7 care.

--She lived with abuse for 17 years. Her husband was physically, emotionally and verbally abusive.  He also manipulated his other wives to punish her for not being an "obedient wife".

--She finally became disillusioned with the FLDS and polygamy.  She started planning her escape in the year 2000, and was successful on April 21, 2003.

--She was the first woman to gain full custody of her children after leaving the FDLS community.


--Carolyn Jessop has written two books, Escape and Triumph: Life After the Cult--A Survivor's Lessons.  A movie was made based on her life, In God's Country.

--I have always known that polygamy was oppressive and abusive towards women and children, but I was horrified as I learned of Carolyn's story.  I am just flabbergasted that so many men, women and children can be brainwashed so completely.

--In the FLDS, everything in a woman's life is about pleasing and obeying her husband (her priesthood head).  It is through her husband that a woman is able to get to heaven.  So, the man's needs are not only more important than a woman's, but even more important than the children's needs.

--I was shocked to hear about how the children were sexually and physically abused and neglected.  The wives couldn't risk displeasing their husbands (because that would endanger their chance of getting into heaven), so children were often neglected as a result.

--Carolyn's ability to not only survive years of brainwashing and abuse, but to escape from it is a profile in courage.  She is a heroine for women of all walks of life.

Horrific Flogging of Woman in Sudan!

Via Gateway Pundit:

Societies that treat women badly, are dangerous societies.~~Condoleeza Rice

I have been outspoken about human rights abuses in other countries, especially against women. Sudan is plagued by genocide in Darfur and their human rights' abuses are atrocious. Sudan is run by Omar al-Bashir, who was listed as the world's 2nd worst dictator by Parade Magazine last year.

Sudan needs our prayer, and the women in the Middle East and other countries need our help and prayers as well.

Two Weeks in Review!!

I have been to Dixon and Aurora, Illinois, Out-in-the-Boonies, Michigan and St. Louis, Missouri in the past 2 weeks! As a result, I've ignored my blog and have a lot to catch up on.

--The pictures above show me at Ronald Reagan's Boyhood Home in Dixon, Illinois! The one is of me with a cardboard cutout of Reagan (obviously). Several people thought my picture of Sarah Palin and I was a cardboard cutout, so I took this one to show people what it does look like ;-)!!

What I missed reporting on:

~~Ecstatic about Proposition C passing by 71%

~~Bummed about the outcome of the Clay County Auditor Race

~~An interesting perspective on the 34th District Senate Race

~~More on the Iranian Woman Stoning Case
Shocker!! She was tortured before her "tv confession". What has been done to this woman and what continues to be done to women all over Iran is reprehensible. We as women from free countries need to start speaking up for our sisters who have no freedoms.

~~Obama shocks no one by supporting a controversial Islam Center near 9/11 site
Sickening!! After seeing the OKC bombing memorial I can't imagine having something to celebrate the likes of Timothy McVeigh close by. Talk about adding insult to injury.

Yet, in his classic decisive nature, he then backtracks his support. What a leader we have, what a man of solid convictions...... I guess he gets a little weak spined when he sees that 2/3rds of the American people don't support something.

Iranian Woman's Possible Stoning Finally Sparks Worldwide Outrage!

So many women don't have basic human rights in the Middle East. Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani's story is just one of many women who face executions for crimes they don't even commit. After international pressure, the Iranian embassy is now saying that Ashtiani won't be stoned. Yet, reports had been out that she had been convicted of adultery and had been sentenced to death by stoning.

Sean Hannity and scores of others were speaking out, while noticing Obama's silence. Nevertheless, this time it appears enough may have spoken up.

Yet, it doesn't touch the problem that millions of women face all over the Middle East. Since, I am doing research on women this year, I have been reading about just such women. Over the next week I will be touching on some of the very stories that have popped up recently dealing with the plights of some of these women:

~~I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced
~~U.S. Journalist Roxana Saberi Finally Freed from Iranian Prison!
~~The Stoning of Soraya M.

Stunner: China Accuses U.S. of Human Rights Violations!

China is one of the biggest human rights violators in the world. So, the fact that they have the audacity to criticize a free country that protects human rights is beyond the pale.

When I first heard this, I thought it would be laughable if it weren't so sickening. The Obama administration brought this on by apologizing for the Arizona immigration law.

Flopping Aces concludes his post this way:

I’m guessing the ambassador won’t say a peep about this. Why should he? He works for a man who lives and breathes anything Anti-American. Every person brought into the administration knew what Obama was about, and the multiple apology tours have just reinforced the truth. Ayers, Wright, Meeks and so on, ooze their hatred for this country, and they were his teachers.

Which has finally led us to our State Department apologizing to one of the worst human rights violators on this planet about one of our States having the audacity to actually try to stop illegal immigration by enforcing the law already on the books.

Imagine that!

Just Say No to the Beijing Olympics!

Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, is the first world leader who has decided not to attend the Olympics in Beijing. She follows Poland's Prime Minister, Donald Tusk and President Vaclav Klaus of the Czech Republic who were the first EU heads of government to announce a boycott. Tusk had this to say:

"The presence of politicians at the inauguration of the Olympics seems inappropriate," Tusk said. "I do not intend to take part."

An article in The Guardian on Saturday had this to say:

"China had hoped to use the games to highlight its economic development and growing openness. But it is increasingly proving an opportunity for critics to bash China's one-party political system, human rights abuses, treatment of minorities and tightly controlled media.

The Tibet crisis has been pushed on to the agenda of a meeting of European foreign ministers in Slovenia, with the French, who will be presiding over the EU during the Olympics, calling for a team of European officials to be dispatched to China on a fact-finding mission.

British and US diplomats were among a group of outside officials allowed to travel yesterday to Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, for the first time since the crisis erupted a fortnight ago.

The EU foreign ministers are to discuss the China quandary at lunch in Slovenia today, with calls being made for a common European position."