You might think of it like an apartment building or a condo development where every one shared a common faith and ideology. They are still individual domiciles.

They do things bigger in Texas, I hear...

Cliff, I think you've converted me on this issue.

My mind is not changed about the community in this discussion - the rights of those young girls and women are being violated. And I believe that the young boys and men are being deprived of a full understanding and existence as well.

But the flagrant laziness of the law enforcement to actually deal with the situation within the rule of law has the potential to erode that standard which is critical. If society sees that any group can be treated without due process then it will undermine society's belief and an individual citizen's belief in the rule of law. This erosion has already been underway since the 1980's with the uneven application of penalty and enforcement in the so-called War on Drugs and currently in the Gitmo and torture situation in the War on Terror.

It appears to me that law enforcement was just too lazy to do the job right and thought they could bully their way through to successful prosecution of the alleged wrong-doers. Laziness may not be the issue, possibly it is lack of funding to do the job properly. I am uncertain about that. However, in this case, I'm glad the court ruled against the abductors because possibly if that ruling is upheld in the appeal, it will once again illustrate to law enforcement that they need to get it right.

Confidence in rule of law is critical in a western democracy.

Now, someone needs to get busy and look after those children. The trauma that their lives has become will affect them for a long time. Being improperly torn from their families will serve only to cement those relationships and deepen the warped beliefs in that community. If the job had been done properly, it would have taken longer but an awakening of understanding of the outside world could have been cultivated in that community and some would have had the courage to question those parts of their belief system that may be or are inherently harmful. Instead we've helped to harden positions that will take decades to see the light of day.

I'm sure the absolute opprobrium against cults in society at large was a factor in the emboldening, if not the sole predication for the mass kidnapping.