It is not a benign "punishment" as one might find in an intra-church squabble. It is one crazed ex-Amish bishop's idea of retribution for being excommunicated. Real acts of violence have indeed occurred, and serious charges have been filed -- with more likely to come, based on the actions of a grand jury.

The state is acting because crimes were committed and -- in a rare act -- a criminal complaint filed by at least one victim, with the blessing of the greater Amish community. The real Amish are very concerned, and have made a collective decision to do what is necessary to stop this violence before it escalates. This is serious stuff.

Wow...is this a superficial story.

First, not all Amish are farmers. Only about 10 percent are farmers anymore.

Next, this is not a "feud." That implies active engagement of two sides in an ongoing dispute. This is a series of violent acts perpetrated solely by the followers of a disgraced former bishop.

It is important to note that the alleged attackers are NOT Amish anymore, and professed as much during the incident that occurred in Holmes County.

The attackers face serious charges, including kidnapping -- hardly the stuff of a "feud."

Ah yes...more news from the religion of peace. Nothing to see here, move along now...

I can't believe the greed of some universities! So...are they going to claim that term papers, theses and dissertations are their property as well?

It's a good thing that Fred Smith didn't encounter this when he submitted his idea for Fedex to a Yale professor!

I have been predicting this since last May. It doesn't matter what reason Hillary states publicly, the fact is that she is going to challenge BHO for the Dem nomination in 2012 -- and she could very well win.

Let's not forget that Hillary was the clear frontrunner (and would have mopped the floor with McCain) until the MSM saw that BHO had a shot at winning (following the Iowa caucuses). After that, the media completely savaged Hillary, and helped BHO win.

Also do not forget that these two camps truly hate each other. The only reason BHO appointed her as SecState was to keep her from becoming Senate majority leader (which the Dems gladly would have done), where she would have had equal visibility as the president. It was a calculated move to marginalize her.

As a Conservative, I despise the Clintons and everything they stand for politically, but you have to admire their abilities. The Clinton machine is alive and well, and until somebody brings me her broom, I will never believe that HRC is dead politically.