Published: May 03, 2008 09:36 am         

Other View: Who are the real freaks?

Many of us have puzzled over ... the Fundamentalist LDS women of West Texas, with their plain faces; long, swept-up hair; and 19th-century farm dresses. ... their pioneer-era modesty is, well, kind of freaky.

And then you hear about something like "My Beautiful Mommy" ... and you may wonder who the real freaks are.

Written by a Florida cosmetic surgeon, "My Beautiful Mommy" is a picture book explaining to nervous small children why their mothers need to have plastic surgery ... The book's mommy got a tummy tuck and a nose job to be, as she tells her daughter, "not just different, my dear -- prettier." ...

And ... tween superstar Miley Cyrus is under fire for a semi-nude magazine spread that may help change her public image from good girl to Lolita. ...

... (M)embers of the FLDS sect (may be) guilty of criminal behavior. But ... we should at least grant that ... withdrawal from the modern world ... is not entirely crazy.

Dallas Morning News