Official Wikileaks Review Finds Little Damage To U.S. Diplomacy

by Metavirus 

Gee, what a surprise.
The Big Tough Daddies in government whined and cried for weeks on end about how Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has brought ruin – RUIN! – to American diplomacy.

They ran to their loyal stenographers in the D.C. press corps and did verily catch the overwhelming vapors, rose up into tears and telegenic hysteria, and finally dropped to their knees, rent the threads of their garments asunder in righteous fury, and denounced Assange as a most despicable and deleterious scourge of a man – a Traitor! that must be summarily assassinated by the U.S. military without resort to the petty grievances that a trial court might deign to so offensively proffer to stop the extinguishment of Hitler Assange from the face of all of Western Christendom!!

Well, guess what?

The damage caused by the WikiLeaks controversy has caused little real and lasting damage to American diplomacy, senior state department officials have concluded.

It emerged in private briefings to Congress by top diplomats that the fallout from the release of thousands of private diplomatic cables from all over the globe has not been especially bad.

This is in direct opposition to the official stance of the White House and the US government which has been vocal in condemning the whistle-blowing organisation and seeking to bring its founder, Julian Assange, to trial in the US.

Oops.  You have one guess as to where we learned this news from:

Of course, I had to read that in the Guardian, because neither the Times nor the Post deem it worthy of a report.

Are we really so incapable of ever showing a face to the world that isn’t hysterical and worthy of neverending mockery?

Kidnapped Carlina White Reunited With Real Mum On A Hunch

CARLINA White was kidnapped from a New York hospital when aged 19 days. Her kidnapper raised her as Nejdra Nance. Now aged 23, she’s back with her mother Joy White.

Why? Well, Carlina never felt like she belonged with Mary Pettway, the woman who raised her. She called the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. And after a few tests, the truth was established.
Time to pick up the phone, kids…

BTRAKING NEWS: More Than 100 Alleged Mobsters Arrested In NY-Area

File

New York - Federal agents have arrested dozens of suspected mobsters in multiple investigations of New York’s organized crime families.

The FBI said most of the arrests were made Thursday morning throughout New York City, in New Jersey and New England. Charges include murder, extortion and narcotics trafficking.

Attorney General Eric Holder and other officials were expected to discuss the cases later Thursday at a news conference in Brooklyn.

The takedown was another blow to New York’s five Mafia crime families. Federal probes aided by mob turncoats have decimated the families’ ranks and resulted in lengthy prison terms for several leaders.

More details in The NY Times 

Loughner Indicted On Three Counts

Washington Post:
TUCSON – A federal grand jury indicted accused Tucson gunman Jared Lee Loughner on three counts Wednesday, with prosecutors saying that more indictments could be on the way for the 22-year-old.
The news came on the same day that aides to wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) announced her scheduled transfer Friday from a trauma center here to a rehabilitation hospital in Houston.

Loughner will be arraigned in a Phoenix courtroom Monday. He was indicted with attempting to assassinate Giffords and two counts of attempting to murder her congressional aides, Ron Barber and Pam Simon, in the shooting rampage Jan. 8 that killed six and wounded 13, U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke announced. Those charges carry maximum sentences of life in prison and 20 years, respectively.

Loughner also has been charged with killing District Judge John Roll and Giffords aide Gabe Zimmerman. If indicted in those killings, Loughner would face the death penalty.

Justice Department rules “require us to pursue a deliberate and thorough process,” Burke said in a statement. “Today’s charges are just the beginning of our legal action. We are working diligently to ensure that our investigation is thorough and that justice is done for the victims and their families.”

Lougher also is likely to face state murder charges in the deaths of the four others who were not federal employees.

Giffords (D-Ariz.), who remains in serious condition after being shot in the face at close range more than a week ago, has been in Tucson’s University Medical Center since the shooting. Barring unforeseen complications, she will be transferred Friday to the TIRR Memorial Hermann rehabilitation hospital in Houston, her aides saidy.

“I am extremely hopeful at the signs of recovery that my wife has made since the shooting,” said her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, who has been at her bedside.

The family also considered Washington’s Walter Reed Army Medical Center and facilities in New York and Chicago. But Kelly said the Houston hospital is near where he lives and where he trains, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

The news of a hospital transfer was hailed by well-wishers in Tucson who have streamed to makeshift memorials outside the medical center and Giffords’s local office, leaving cards, stuffed animals, signs and candles for the 40-year-old congresswoman.

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To Jennifer Wright, 51, who was outside the office Wednesday wearing a T-shirt covered with peace signs, Giffords’s departure from Arizona will be bittersweet because it could mean an extended absence from the community she serves. “Knowing she’s right here down the street has been comforting,” Wright said.
Inside the office, the mood was lifted by the presence of dozens of stuffed animals that were collected from the memorial for donation to local children’s charities.

Experts cautioned that Giffords still has a long road ahead. Michael Yochelson, director of the brain injury program at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, said she faces up to three months of in-patient care, followed by an additional two to four months of therapy after she is discharged.

Yochelson described an intense regimen of activities for patients with brain injuries similar to Giffords’s: physical therapy (for strength and coordination), occupational therapy (for basic skills such as grooming and getting dressed), speech therapy and neuropsychology (for cognitive functions and emotional support).
The risks include infection and pneumonia, as well as partial blindness.

“It is a long haul,” Yochelson said.

TIRR Memorial Hermann is ranked as the nation’s fifth-best rehabilitation center by U.S. News and World Report. One of its most famous patients was Buffalo Bills football player Kevin Everett, who recovered there after being nearly paralyzed during a game in September 2007.

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley Confused by Nature of Family

Recently sworn-in Governor of Alabama Robert Bentley wants to know: who’s your daddy? Just a day after his January 17 inauguration, Bentley, a former dermatologist and current Deacon and Sunday School Teacher, made several remarks at Montgomery’s Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist church that served to illuminate his somewhat tenuous grasp on the nature of human genealogy.

Bentley began by explaining: “Now I will have to say that, if we don’t have the same daddy, we’re not brothers and sisters.” At first glance this may seem tenable, but on further reflection it hides a disturbing patrilineal bias. If we had the same father I could be your bro, but the fact that we have the same mother means nothing? Still, that’s not as bad as what followed: “So anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I’m telling you, you’re not my brother and you’re not my sister, and I want to be your brother.”

Ok, Bentley, I know it’s the south and all, so sometimes family trees can get a little… tangled. But c’mon, you’re operating under some serious misconceptions here. First of all, you don’t get parents by accepting some one as your savior. I never accepted my father as qualified to help me with my homework, let alone save me! And its sweet that you want to be closer to me, but I guarantee you after the second or third phone call asking you to wire money because I spent it all on booze and don’t want to admit it to the parents, you’d get pretty sick of being my older brother.

I, on the other hand, would at least enjoy the satisfaction of younger siblings everywhere: I would get to call you an asshole to your face!

 

January 19, 2011 Keir Willett

Health Care Reform and Pre-Existing Conditions

Posted by Ben Domenech
I actually have to agree with the president’s signing statement when it comes to pre-existing conditions. I know, I know, I’m a squish, but it’s TRUE.

“For too long, tens of millions of Americans have been denied health insurance coverage because they have preexisting conditions. We have all heard their stories. A husband and his pregnant wife lose their insurance and then find they cannot buy new coverage because her pregnancy is considered a preexisting condition. A young woman starting out in her career cannot accept a promotion with another company because its health insurance policy won’t cover her diabetes. A small business owner faithfully pays his group health insurance premiums for years only to learn that his coverage won’t be renewed after one of his employees develops a heart condition. Since taking office, I have been fighting for changes that would stop this kind of unfairness and make health insurance more accessible for all people, including the most needy.”

Of course we should all agree with this. He also said:

“This legislation will set into motion several key reforms. First, it will eliminate the possibility that individuals can be denied coverage because they have a preexisting medical condition. Second, it will require insurance companies to sell coverage to small employer groups and to individuals who lose group coverage without regard to their health risk status. Finally, it will require insurers to renew the policies they sell to groups and individuals.”

As PRI’s John Graham pointed out, and as you may have guessed, I’m playing a game with you. The president I’m quoting is Bill Clinton, when he signed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act in August 1996. It had just passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 421-2, with leading Democrats like Nancy Pelosi onboard at the time. The Senate passed it unanimously by 98-0.
Now, HIPAA’s a flawed effort for reform, and supporters like Dick Armey have acknowledged that. But the fact is that many of the most popular aspects of Obamacare have been the law of the land for a long time, and don’t go away when it’s eventually repealed.

As Avik Roy, Peter Suderman, and Michael Cannon have written, this week’s claim by HHS that those with pre-existing conditions will be unfairly penalized — and that this number amounts to millions upon millions of Americans, as many as “1 out of 2″ elderly persons — is just exaggeration. HHS’s own data show that less than 1% of Americans have ever been denied coverage for any reason, including fraud (which is usually the reason). That’s just one of the reasons that only 8,000 Americans have applied for the vaunted new risk pools.
Of course, the repeal bill passing tonight is just the beginning. There are plenty of questions that come next, and Republicans need to be prepared to answer them.
Benjamin Domenech is a research fellow for The Heartland Institute and managing editor of Health Care News.

Willow Smith in Talks for ‘Annie’ Remake

It’s about to be a hard knock life for Willow Smith. Following in her family’s footsteps, the “Whip My Hair” singer is in discussions to star in a remake of the 1982 musical film Annie.


The 10-year-old phenom, who previously acted in I Am Legend and Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, would play the big-haired orphan adopted by a millionaire. Her father Will Smith, who developed the $350 million blockbuster The Karate Kid starring his son Jaden, would produce through his company Overbrook Entertainment in association with Sony Pictures.

On the music side, Willow’s Roc Nation boss Jay-Z has been approached about handling musical duties. The hip-hop mogul has his own Annie connection, having sampled the musical’s theme song on his 1998 hit “Hard Knock Life.”

While the film is currently in development, the pint-size diva is prepping her Roc Nation debut, slated for a spring release.

Carmelo Anthony Continues to Hold Denver Hostage

 

Can you ever remember this long of a period of trade speculation about a player during the regular season as what’s currently going on with Carmelo Anthony?

A few years ago, it looked like Kobe Bryant was on the verge of being dealt to the Clippers, Bulls, and whoever else, but that was during the summer, and even then I don’t remember this much focus being placed on a potential trade for one of the league’s superstars.

Last night, I was watching SportsCenter to bask in my Chicago Bears punching their tickets to the NFC title game. The first 40 minutes of the show was, of course, devoted to the NFL because ESPN crushes some NFL year round. The next story: “Latest Carmelo Speculation”.

We had a near Clippers-Lakers brawl yesterday, as well as two top ten college basketball upsets and a 20 point North Carolina defeat, but the next biggest story of the day in the eyes of the all knowing ESPN execs was Carmelo.

And it’s been that way for at least two weeks now.

Everybody knows Carmelo is going somewhere, simply because he has to. Denver is not going to be able to hold onto him beyond this year and when you lose the cornerstone of your franchise, you can’t afford to do what Cleveland did and get basically no other assets in exchange.

While Carmelo will leave Denver in a slightly better way than LeBron James left the Cavaliers because the Nuggets know it’s coming, the divorce between the two is far from ideal. Denver absolutely has to deal Carmelo before the trade deadline and they are basically in a holding pattern until they do, because much of their roster will turn over when the deal goes down.

Carmelo has made it clear that New York is his preferred destination. When he is dealt, he wants to get a big $$$ three year extension signed (before the CBA expires and the salary structure in the league is potentially seismically altered), but it looks like he will only sign said deal with the Knicks. The only way that changes is if somebody like the Nets can convince him otherwise in a sit-down like the one that may happen this week with the New Jersey Nets.

As trade partners go, Nets are absolutely ideal for the Nuggets. They have draft picks, valuable young pieces, and are highly motivated to get a deal done. However, the Nets are a less than ideal spot for ‘Melo. Even with veterans like Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton coming with him, NJ doesn’t figure to contend with the likes of Boston and Miami in the short run. New Jersey wants Carmelo, but they don’t want him if he won’t agree to an extension.

As I mentioned before, the Knicks are the ideal landing spot for ‘Melo. He gets to play on the big stage of Madison Square Garden with Amar’e Stoudemire, who would be the best big man Carmelo has ever played with. However, the Knicks just don’t have the kind of trade pieces that the Nets have. Any deal that the Nuggets make with NY will be worse than one they get from NJ.

So, where does that leave us? Essentially, either Carmelo or the Nuggets are going to have to yield in this game of chicken. Will the Nuggets cave and send him to the Knicks or will Carmelo cave and agree to an extension with a team like the Nets?

There is a third option though. Teams like Houston, Dallas, and maybe even the Clippers (among others) could potentially contend this year with Carmelo on board, meaning they would be willing to make a deal without getting an extension signed. All those teams have better trade pieces than the Knicks and may be willing to gamble on getting ‘Melo for the rest of the year without any guarantee of him returning.

As a basketball fan, I think this may be the ideal option. The Nuggets get assets in return that will allow them to become competitive again soon, ‘Melo plays on a good team, and then we get the drama of “where will ‘Melo sign?” whenever a new CBA is signed.

Trenton cop Joseph Schiaretti charged after man found dead in police lockup

By L.A. PARKER
Staff Writer

TRENTON — City Police Officer Joseph Schiaretti and two aides are facing charges in connection with the death of an inmate at the city lockup who was found face-down in his cell on Sunday, police said.

Schiaretti is charged with tampering with public records and presenting false documents.

Aide Jose Millan is also charged with  tampering with public records and presenting false documents, while aide Richard Reyes is charged with tampering with public records.

Investigators are looking into whether the sergeant on duty had any role.

Detective Manuel Montez of Internal Affairs investigated the death. A source said the investigation hinged on whether police made required regular visits to check on Howard’s condition.

The Mercer County medical examiner said Howard died of chronic liver failure due to cirrhosis of the liver.

Policy dictates that police or aides check on inmates in the lockup every 30 minutes. There is surveillance footage from that cell that may verify whether that happened.

The investigation is ongoing.

Police found the lifeless body of inmate Kenneth Howard, 55, of Trenton at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Saturday. He was brought in at 8:30 p.m. the previous night.

Jose Millan, reached for comment last night, said he “got there late, but I can’t talk right now.”

Millan is the stepson of a cop, Jose Villanueva, who was a police aide in February 2007 when he rescued a drowning Rottweiler from the frozen Raritan Canal.

http://www.trentonian.com

Father: 'My children are being held hostage'

By Brian Fitzpatrick
© 2011 WorldNetDaily

Jackson family at Maj. John Jackson's promotion ceremony.

It's every parent's nightmare. 
Army Major John Jackson and his wife Carolyn, devout Christian homeschoolers with a history of serving as adoptive and foster parents, had their five children taken away in April 2010 by the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services – and despite the collapse of the evidence against the Jacksons, DYFS hasn't returned the children to their parents.

During the course of a nine-month legal battle to regain custody of their children, the Jacksons say they have encountered prejudice against their religion and homeschooling as they fight a state agency determined to see the children adopted by strangers no matter what the evidence says.

According to the Jacksons, DYFS employees, contractors and foster parents alike have demonstrated anti-religious bias, including one case supervisor who refused to allow the Jacksons to pray with theirchildren as they wished, for the reunification of the family.

"You can pray about other things, you can pray that they'll be happy in their placements," said a DYFS worker identified by Jackson as Denise Hollerbach.

Jackson accuses DYFS of fraudulently misrepresenting statements by himself and his children to build a case against him, "brainwashing" the children by telling them they have been abused and "isolating" them by not allowing them to be assessed independently by U.S. Army investigators.

The father of five claims DYFS suppressed a medical report concluding that injuries suffered by daughter Chaya Jackson could not be proven with "medical certainty" to have resulted from child abuse. Dr. Mark S. Finkelstein of the Alfred I. Dupont Hospital forChildren wrote, "It is equally possible that this injury may have occurred in or around the time of birth or in the later post-neonatal period" – before Chaya was adopted by the Jacksons.

"DYFS kept this out of the court. We had to get it and provide it as evidence," said Jackson.

"DYFS had the information to exonerate us before they removed our children, but they continued on to try to gather information to remove the kids," said Carolyn Jackson. "It's been difficult to work with them and try to walk in integrity and love when you know anything you say will be turned around and used against you."
John Jackson added DYFS conducted a "forensic assessment" under the guise of fulfilling a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation: "It was really an interrogation. They should have been read me my rights, and I should have had a lawyer present."

"They've got all my children," John Jackson lamented. "My children are being held hostage. They've been kidnapped.

"They're not accountable to anyone," Jackson told WND. "They told us they do not lose cases, and they will substantiate the abuse. This has not been an objective investigation in the first place. They want to adopt the children out, because they get money for adopting children out."

A DYFS spokesman refused to comment on the case, citing "strict confidentiality laws."

Anti-Christian bias
 
"This is a good, Christian homeschooled family. They're being persecuted," said the Jacksons' lawyer, Grace T. Meyer, a New Jersey attorney affiliated with the Home School Legal Defense Association. "They're homeschooled and they don't fit the pattern for most DYFS cases. Most cases involve parents who are on drugs or in jail … in these cases you're guilty until proven innocent."

"We were told we're 'excessive Christians' by our therapeutic supervisor," a DYFS contractor, said John Jackson.

During a visit with the children, a DYFS supervisor told Jackson he was not allowed to pray with his children for reunification of the family. Jackson recorded the following conversation with a woman he identified as Denise Hollerbach:

Jackson: I was told by Mr., ah, [unclear] that we can't pray about reunification?

Hollerbach: No. Not about reunification. You can pray, I can talk to you in the other room away from the children if you'd like.

Jackson: OK

[sounds of movement]
Hollerbach: Can you tell me what the prayer is about?

Jackson: Yeah, the prayer is about our family and restoring our family.

Hollerbach: OK, and that's what – because we don’t want the children to feel guilty about anything that's going on and we're afraid that would inspire guilt in their heart, which we're trying to, you know, we’re trying to keep that out of it. [garbled] We're talking in terms of prayer, not about reunification

Jackson: OK, you're telling me what I can and can't pray about.

Hollerbach: Well, for the kids' sake, the psychologists have recommended that we not discuss reunification right now.

Jackson: That you not discuss it or …

Hollerbach: No, that you not discuss reunification.
Jackson: All right, so I cannot pray about reunification.

Hollerbach: Correct. It's for the psychological benefit of your children, because we don't want them to feel guilty about anything that's going on. We don't want them to – that will inspire guilt in their hearts and we don't want that to occur.

Jackson: I just don't understand. How can that inspire guilt when reunification means restoring the family? They didn't do anything to separate the family, so they shouldn't feel guilty about separating the family…

[crosstalk]
Hollerbach: But they feel that, so we're trying not to …

Jackson: Well, I don't see how they feel that because they’ve done nothing

Hollerbach: We agree wholeheartedly

Jackson: And the evaluators know they've done nothing.

Hollerbach: We agree wholeheartedly on that.

Jackson: So they can't feel guilt about something that they haven't been …

Hollerbach: Well they can, they can, and that's been discussed with us, as far as that …
Jackson: So I cannot pray about reunification.

Hollerbach: Right.

Jackson: Is there anything else I can't pray about?

Hollerbach: Right now that's one thing that we've been told that there shouldn't be a prayer about. You can pray about other things, pray that, you know, they're happy in their placements. You could pray about, umm, you know, but that you can't pray about.

Jackson: So DYFS gets to tell me how I can pray to God with my family?

Hollerbach: Well right now, right now for the benefit of your children, we're asking that you not pray about reunification because we don't want the children to feel guilty about anything that has occurred and when parents talk about reunification, that sometimes even though we tell thechildren, and I'm sure you've told the children that this is not their fault, they feel that it is.

Jackson: All right, I understand. We don't pray about reunification. Got it.

Hollerbach: All right, thank you.

The following week, DYFS withdrew the prohibition on praying for reunification.
After another supervised visit, Carolyn Jackson said the DYFS supervisor told her, "It was a good visit today because there wasn't much God talk. We have a problem with your believing in the part that talks about spanking." Jackson added, "They are changing ourchildren's words, 'if a man loves his child he'll beat his child.' They will skew any words they can to fit their own purpose."

Allegations of abuse disproven
 
The Jacksons' problems with DYFS trace back to 2008 when their adopted two-year-old son Joshua died of a seizure. The Jacksons had providedfoster care to several medically at-risk children while living in Oklahoma and adopted Joshua, who was born with birth defects and a drug addiction.

According to John Jackson, when possible abuse of Chaya emerged, a hospital social worker claimed Joshua had died at home under suspicious circumstances and was cremated rapidly so his death could not be investigated.

John Jackson replies that Joshua was cremated only after his body was examined and released by a medical examiner, and the family was cleared of any wrongdoing by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division.
"He died of a seizure disorder in the hospital," said Jackson, who asserted in a court document that Joshua died at St. Clare's Hospital in Dover, N.J. The Army major then observed that, as an active duty serviceman, he has no permanent home.

"I [cremated Joshua] so we can take him with us. When we have a permanent home he will be buried there, with us."

After the Jacksons brought two-year-old Chaya to Morristown Memorial Hospital with a high fever and heavy sweating, they were accused of "medical neglect, malnourishment and salt poisoning," said Jackson. He added that the hospital "manufactured evidence" of broken bones to prove Chaya had been physically abused.

Read the book that tells us how Americans can take back their nation and reassert their political and religious freedoms.
The hospital found that Chaya was very small for her age and had abnormally high levels of salt in her blood. X-rays revealed evidence of a healed fracture in the wrist.

"All five children were taken away, right away, " said Meyer. The five children include the Jacksons' three natural children, 13-year-old John Jr., 10-year-old Cameron, 9-year-old Chavon, and two adopted children, four-year-old Jana and Chaya. The two adopted children are daughters of a cousin of Carolyn Jackson, and were classified as medically at-risk when they were adopted. Chaya, in particular, has not grown in length since she was one year old, and has been diagnosed with "failure to thrive."

"When the kids were in custody, they said 'Yes, we were spanked,' and they quoted the Bible, 'Spare the rod, spoil the child.' So DYFS said they were beaten with rods and are 'over-religious,' and took their Bibles away," said Meyer.

In addition to physical abuse, the Jacksons have been accused of abusing the children through corporal punishment and depriving them of TV and video games, and of harming their social development through home schooling.

According to Meyer, a pediatric nephrologist has found that Chaya's excessive salt is caused by a medical condition called hypernatremia, not by "salt poisoning." Another specialist will testify that Chaya's broken bone may have occurred at birth, not resulting from abuse by the Jacksons.

"Many of the reasons they took the children in the first place have been disproven," Meyer added. "Now the case is just about spanking."

Jackson children allegedly mistreated in foster homes
 
As the legal battle drags on, the five Jackson children have been bounced around between several foster homes, and currently live in three separate homes.

"We have relatives willing to take all five children, but DYFS told us that family is not an option for placement for our children," said Carolyn Jackson.

"They put our children into homes completely opposite to our lifestyle … It has just been a constant barrage of them coming against our faith," Carolyn Jackson continued.

"They went through a process of forcing our children to assimilate, trained our children to defy authority, and tried to break down their resolve," she added. "Foster parents encouraged kids to do ungodly things. [DYFS] wouldn't put them with the family we chose whose values were consistent with ours.

"They've been ridiculed for praying before their meals, their Bibles have been taken away from them. I made up books of pictures for the kids. They took away pictures of all their parents, brothers and sisters, stripped them of any memory of home.

"Two of our kids, Cameron and Chavon, have been moved to relative care after being moved around in four different homes," added Carolyn Jackson. "In the fourth home, the man picked my daughter up off the floor, slammed her against the wall and screamed at her. They stripped our children of any comfort food, only water and cold cut sandwiches. They were 10 and 8 at the time, Chavon is now 9."

Chaya is living in a special foster home for "medically fragile" children. According to John Jackson, she has put on weight, but still hasn't grown in length.

John and Jana are living with foster parents who "told them they had been abused," said Carolyn Jackson. "They told the kids we are religious fundamentalists who didn't allow the children to socialize because we homeschooled them. This unmarried couple has put out documents saying we were religious fundamentalists, enrolled our daughter in public school and refused to bring her out to the Christian school.

"The foster father threatened my husband, so he filed a police report. DYFS won't see it is a hostile home environment. They moved instead to cut off our phone access to our kids. DYFS successfully got our daily phone contact cut to two times a week."

John Jackson added that the foster family enrolled John and Jana in public schools in defiance of a court order allowing the Jacksons to enroll their children in Christian schools.

"We were told we don't have a right to know what school our child is going to, after we won in court the right to keep our children in Christian schools."

The case returns to court Monday, when the Jacksons will present their defense.

---

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Read more: Father: 'My children are being held hostage' http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=253365#ixzz1BaokuzBx

Christian homeschooling family broken apart by N.J. agency

Pic of the day: NAACP defiles George Washington statue - box it up for MLK Day

I couldn't believe this was real when I first saw this pic over at moonbattery:

Alas, it is. From Free North Carolina:

Date: Monday, January 17, 2011, 2:17 PM

The annual MLK observance at the state house in Columbia SC had an interesting twist this year. The event is held on the north side steps of the statehouse. Prominent at that location is a large bronze statue of George Washington. This year, the NAACP constructed a "box" to conceal the Father of His Country from view so that participants would not be offended by his presence.

Another pic during the festivities:

Disgusting. The NAACP should change it's acronym to what it really is - for purposes of truth in advertising - the NAALCP, the National Association for the Advancement of Liberal Colored People. And yes - the should keep Liberal italicized sine that is their main function.