Free Republic

BOISE, Idaho (Reuters) - Pregnant mothers caught using illegal drugs could go to prison for endangering their unborn children under a bill passed by the Idaho State Senate on Tuesday. "The first thing we're after is a drug-free baby," said State Sen. Denton Darrington, a Republican who said his eastern Idaho district is plagued by methamphetamine use. "Meth is a problem everywhere in the state of Idaho." If the measure passes the Idaho House and receives the approval of Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, a Republican, the measure would be the first in the United States specifically to make it a...

NEW YORK (AP) -- In the eyes of her stepfather, 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown was an out-of-control troublemaker. She stole money from her parents and broke her siblings' toys, she stole milk from a younger sibling and broke their computer printer, he said. And when he found that she had gone into the refrigerator and taken a cup of yogurt she wasn't supposed to have, he flew into a rage. Police say Cesar Rodriguez beat the little girl to death, then tossed her on the floor of what was known in the family's apartment as the "dirty room," a rodent-infested room...

Posted on Fri, Jan. 20, 2006 2 children dead at S.E. Mecklenburg homeSTEVE LYTTLEslyttle@charlotteobserver.com Five-year-old twin girls were found dead Friday afternoon at a home in southeast Mecklenburg County, and police say they are questioning a suspect in connection with the case.The children's mother and older siblings are in seclusion while police continue their investigation.WCNC-TV, the Observer's news partner, reports a man called 911 early Friday afternoon and said he had stabbed his two children.Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police spokesman Keith Bridges would not confirm if the children's father was the suspect being held. He also would not comment on the cause...

High Point, NC -- We all know the stories about deadbeat parents. Well, Billy Mason is not a deadbeat dad, he's not even a dad to one particular child. But, he still has to pay for a child that's not his. Billy Mason says he was 15 at the time he went before a Guilford County judge on a child support case and said, "Didn't know anything about them kind of laws." "The judge asked me if I was the father of the child. Yeah I'm the father. That was my girlfriend at the time. She was pregnant. I just...

The ordeal is finally over, but for the past year, a North Carolina family has been torn apart after state officials claimed family photos of a father kissing his baby's belly button were some kind of child abuse. It began when Teresa Hamaty took impromptu party snapshots of her husband, Charbel, playfully embracing their naked, newborn son, Kristoff. After dropping the film off at an Eckerd store in North Raleigh, authorities were notified. "You see the back of the baby, and like if someone is kissing the baby's belly button," Teresa told WRAL-TV. But police saw the worst and arrested...

My son was taken from me when he was only 2 months old because I supposedly "worshiped the devil" in front of him. I am an atheiest. I don't even belive in the devil. It ruined my life and at the same time opened up a whole new world of horror stories from other parents. How our government is walking all over the rules they put in place to protect us and how our civil rights are violated each and everyday. EVERYONE especailly those with families should be aware of this!!! Please visit my sites and sign my petition to...

A Plymouth father facing a felony charge for using a belt to spank his 12-year-old son over forgotten homework says he's the victim of overzealous authorities with no business telling him how to discipline his child. ``My record is spotless and all of a sudden I have a felony charge?'' an exasperated Charles Enloe said following his arrest by Plymouth police. ``. . . How is a parent supposed to raise a child these days? You can't spank them, you can't yell at them in stores. I feel I was wrongly charged.'' Enloe, a 42-year-old divorced father, was charged with...

Parents: 4th-Grade Girl To Become Boy Mom Says Youngster Has Male Brain METHUEN, Mass. -- A fourth-grader who was attending a Methuen elementary school as a girl before February vacation has returned to school as a boy. The parents of the 9-year-old child said the youngster was born with the body of a girl, but the brain of a boy. They have asked that he be referred to and treated as a boy by teachers and other students, and school officials are accommodating the request. The parents have even changed the child's name. The child's mother told The Eagle-Tribune that...

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — A middle school principal was arrested Tuesday, accused of offering money to a 14-year-old male student to take off his clothes. [snip]Daniel L. Edwards, 55, was being held on $35,000 bail after being arrested at his home in Pennsauken. He faces child endangerment and official misconduct charges.[snip]The 14-year-old boy came forward on Monday and said Edwards had approached him three times this month. The principal allegedly asked the student to take off items of clothing, including his shirt, pants and "drawers."[snip]The boy put a micro-cassette recorder in his shirt pocket during the most recent exchange, and...

Chul-Mo Sohn is a single father from Sacramento, CA who was raising his two daughters until the Department of Children and Family services interfered and destroyed his life, as well as the lives of his daughters. Chul-Mo is now on a hunger strike to his death to protest the destruction of his family by this corrupted agency that strip searched and handcuffed his twelve year old daughter for protesting against the removal of her little sister, Yih. When Chul-Mo intervened to protect his children from physical and sexual abuse, and took custody of the children to remove them to safety,...

In the debate over gay marriage, strikingly little attention has been paid to the impact on children. Some question the wisdom of having children raised by two homosexuals, but the best they can seem to argue is that serious flaws vitiate the literature defending it. Almost no attention has been devoted to what may be the more serious political question of who will supply the children of gay "parents," since obviously they cannot produce children themselves. A few will come from sperm donors and surrogate mothers, but very few. The vast majority will come, because they already do come,...

Thursday, July 1, 2004 Could your kids be given to 'gay' parents? Posted: July 1, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Stephen Baskerville © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com In the debate over gay marriage, strikingly little attention has been paid to the impact on children. Some question the wisdom of having children raised by two homosexuals, but the best they can seem to argue is that serious flaws vitiate the literature defending it. Almost no attention has been devoted to what may be the more serious political question of who will supply the children of gay "parents," since obviously they cannot produce children...

On the eve of Joel Steinberg's parole from prison, the foreman of the jury that put him behind bars thinks the cold-hearted child killer should rot there until his 25 years are up. "It was a truly reprehensible thing he did, and the penalty he's thus paid is not sufficient," ex-juror Jeremiah Cole told the Daily News yesterday. "The judge in the case recommended he serve the full sentence and I thought, under the circumstances, that was an excellent recommendation." Steinberg, 63, will be freed tomorrow from the Southport Correctional Facility in upstate Chemung County after serving the required two-thirds...

Did anyone else just see Frontline on PBS. The Taking of Logan Marr? I haven't screamed at the television in a long time but that did it. To make a long story short. Maine stole Logan from her mother because a neighbor saw her drop off Logan at her mothers house who they deemed a bad influence. After many months she got Logan back if she agreed to sever ties with her mother. Then she found her father in Florida. Maine again found out and sent a case worker to steal Logan and her new sister. These people are demonic...

As drug busts rise, locals build foster homes and donate toys to help children left behind after arrests Meat Camp, N.C. - It is a disturbing scene that plays out all too often across the hog hollows of Appalachia. Authorities raid illicit meth labs set up in rickety trailers and mountain shacks: Using hoses, scrubs, and soap, they decontaminate children on the spot and throw away tainted blankets and teddy bears. The loss of personal items may seem like a small price for the crimes of their parents, but for many experts, it symbolizes the plight of the region's growing...

STATESVILLE - In the weeks before he died, 3-year-old Bailey Mallan begged social workers not to send him to live with his father -- the man who now stands accused of killing him. Bailey said he was being beaten, and his caseworker testified Thursday that the boy clung so tightly to her neck before one visit with his father that she had to pry his hands loose. Once there, he prayed she'd return for him. The boy, who said he was determined "to change the mind of DSS," wasn't able to do so. Less than a month after he went...

North Carolina Supreme Court Rules Against Social Worker Investigation In a long awaited decision the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled 7-0 against the Department of Child Protective Services declaring that the department did not have a legitimate basis to even begin an investigation of the Stumbo family. "This is a great victory for parents in North Carolina. The decision means that families will be protected from aggressive social workers who are acting solely on the basis of anonymous tips," said Jim Mason Litigation Attorney for Home School Legal Defense Association. HSLDA represented the Stumbos throughout the case. The Associated Press...

“I have concluded that this case was mismanaged if viewed from the perspective of the family and their philosophical views,” Puckett wrote in a prepared statement. “I find it increasingly frustrating, and for me unacceptable, that our society, and more specifically our government, goes out of its way to be inclusive of harmful and often deviant lifestyles, but stands rigid against those families who have a solid Christian lifestyle or are unwilling to accept dependency on the government for subsistence. I hope that in the future the director of Social Services will take a more active role in ensuring that...

A Charlotte couple who has been fighting for nearly two years to regain custody of their 10 children from the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services (DSS) could be thrown in jail if a district court judge finds them to be in contempt of court after a hearing tomorrow. Jack and Kathy Stratton will appear in a Mecklenburg County district courtroom Friday afternoon, Sept. 27, on charges they owe $4.05 in child support payments and failed to produce tax documents verifying their income after a July 12 hearing. Previous attempts by the media to attend some of the Strattons’ hearings...

[...] Taxpayers Pay $260,000 for DSS Mistake The mother whose 5-year-old son, Kyle Ross, died after a Rottweiler attacked him at a foster home has received $260,000 in a settlement with the state. This is the same woman, Diana Ross, whose newborn baby was seized from her arms last year by state police and DSS agents at the maternity ward of the Mary Lane Hospital in Ware. At that time, Atty. Greg Hession told MassNews that the snatch could be retribution for the wrongful death suit she had filed against the agency for the injuries and death suffered by Kyle....