It has become increasingly clear, both in text and image, that Nadya Suleman, the controversial single mother, too "disabled" to work but not too disabled to bang out 14 children via artificial means, is simply mentally incompetent.
Filed under: Activist Legislators & Nanny Statists, Children v. Parents; Homeschooling, Law, Socialized Medicine | 5 Comments »
Several libertarian commentators were quick to note the irony of President-Elect Obama and his wife choosing the hyper-elite Sidwell Friends academy for their two children, despite his (and his party's) adamant opposition to school choice. Today's Kip Clip is dedicated to Obama's hypocrisy*: *I'm a bit confused by the comments left below. Here is the [...]
Filed under: Children v. Parents; Homeschooling, Humor, Politics | Comments Off
I've been sitting on this story for over a week, trying to figure out how best to approach it. But given how utterly incomprehensible it is, I've decided that there is no "best way" to approach it: The letter from Hampshire Social Services was as brief as it was bewildering. "Please ring me on the [...]
Filed under: Children v. Parents; Homeschooling, Foreign Affairs | Comments Off
Apparently the threat of gay men coming after their sons (or husbands, for that matter) isn't enough to keep some redneck Evangelical mothers lying awake at night: The homosexual agenda wants people to think that homosexual men are safe for women to hang around and even be alone with. Nothing could be further from the [...]
Filed under: Children v. Parents; Homeschooling, Gay Rights and Issues, Society, Religion, Culture Wars | 1 Comment »
It's a long-standing principle in the law that "predatory" crimes should not be applied to those whom the law is meant to protect. So, for example, minors usually (though not always) cannot be prosecuted for statutory rape. Due process demands (or ought demand) that someone cannot simultaneously be the perpetrator and the victim of the [...]
Filed under: Children v. Parents; Homeschooling, Constitutional Issues, Gay Rights and Issues, Law Enforcement Abuses, LGBTQ Youth Suicide, New York City & State, Society, Religion, Culture Wars | 2 Comments »
A follow-up to my recent post on the proper role of child welfare authorities under libertarian theory. Gruesome Example Number 1: A toddler whose remains were found inside a suitcase in Philadelphia in April was starved to death by members of a religious cult, including his mother, in part because he refused to say "amen" [...]
Filed under: Children v. Parents; Homeschooling | 2 Comments »
To review: A strange alliance of libertarians and theocrats emerged upon news that an intermediate California court had concluded that California law in fact barred homeschooling unless the parents employed or were themselves properly credentialed educators. The theocrats were aghast because they are increasingly turning to (uncredentialed) homeschooling to ensure that their children are in [...]
Filed under: Children v. Parents; Homeschooling, Law, Privacy Issues | Comments Off
To review: While I certainly concur with the overwhelming majority of my fellow libertarians that there is a presumptive right to raise one's children as one sees fit, I sometimes get into trouble for insisting that this presumption is rebuttable. Whatever the "right to raise one's children" may be, it simply cannot include a "right [...]
Filed under: Children v. Parents; Homeschooling, Constitutional Issues, Society, Religion, Culture Wars, Torts | Comments Off
As often heretofore pointed out, rights guaranteed by the Constitution may not be abridged by legislation which has no reasonable relation to some purpose within the competency of the state. The fundamental theory of liberty upon which all governments in this Union repose excludes any general power of the state to standardize its children by [...]
Filed under: Children v. Parents; Homeschooling | 3 Comments »
As someone who has been warning my fellow libertarians for some time now about not being too absolutist in insisting that there is an unlimited right of parents to homeschool their children, I felt an especial sense of Whoa! upon hearing that an intermediate appeals court in California held that there is no right whatsoever [...]
Filed under: Children v. Parents; Homeschooling | 8 Comments »