Police Claim Teaching Kids to Mistrust Gov Makes Parents "Unsuitable"
Dan Clore
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
[See the original for links and the CPS report.--DC]
http://tinyurl.com/yb2cela
Brave New Hooks
Mar. 30 2010
Police: Teaching kids to mistrust government makes parents ‘unsuitable’
By STEPHEN C. WEBSTER
Texans, beware: If you teach your kids that the “government is out to
harm them,” police in Williamson County might just deem you an
“unsuitable” parent.
That startling claim, leveled by officers in Child Protective Services
documents detailing an investigation into an Austin-area activist
couple, should be enough to give reason for pause to any staunch
conservative in the state.
The allegation was made against drug reform activist filmmakers Barry
and Candi Cooper, whose home was recently raided and searched after the
Williamson County Sheriff’s Department claimed Barry’s voice was heard
in the background audio of an allegedly false police report.
Once in the couple’s home, officers discovered a small amount of
marijuana and charged the Coopers with Class B misdemeanors, resulting
in both their arrests. Each immediately bonded out of jail and paid a
small fine. Days later, while Candi’s youngest son was visiting his
father in east Texas, Child Protective Services contacted the Coopers,
revealing that the incident could cost them not only custody of the boy,
but also their freedom on felony child endangerment charges.
After CPS interviewed the couple, Travis County Deputy District Attorney
Dayna Blazey pronounced both Coopers to be fit parents, whose children
are healthy, happy and “well cared for.”
“[There] is nothing to indicate that the kids are at risk,” she wrote.
A message requesting the deputy DA’s comment on this story went
unanswered at time of publication.
Her conclusion, which falls at the end of documents published below, is
almost odd following the numerous pages of text entered by police, who
seemingly describe an alternate reality.
Among their claims — that Barry and Candi regularly give illicit drugs
to their children, that they allow and encourage other kids to use drugs
in their home, that they’ve mentally abused their children by telling
them that marijuana is good and anti-drug efforts are riddled with lies
— the most extreme is that the Coopers are “unsuitable” parents because
they create an environment in which the children learn their “government
is out to harm them.”
The allegation is found atop page five of the CPS report.
In another completely dumbfounding, ironic entry, Sgt. Gary Haston of
the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department — the officer whose testimony
appears on the original search warrant affidavit — actually claims he
observed the children “crying for no reason” as armed officers invaded
their home. [Emphasis added.]
He also claims that Barry “hates” his father and does not believe in
church, as though this information would somehow be relevant to the CPS
agents.
Haston, who Cooper described as Williamson County’s “head of narcotics,”
has an extensive history with drug interdiction as a police officer. He
was even the 2008-2009 vice president for the Texas Narcotic Officers
Association Central Region, according to a memo circulated by the
association. It was his testimony that gave officers access to the
Coopers’ residence and files for the alleged misdemeanor offense of
filing a false police report.
A request for comment left with the Williamson County Sheriff’s
Department went unanswered at time of publication.
“In my 19 years of experience with criminal defense matters, a search
warrant for a misdemeanor charge is certainly unusual,” wrote Minnesota
attorney Maury D. Beaulier, who had no prior knowledge of the Coopers’
case. “It indicates to me that this is a targeted investigation. It may
be targeted because it is believed to be a part of a greater crime or
conspiracy, or, perhaps, because there are political motivations at work.”
While searching through the Coopers’ private data, police discovered a
photograph of a minor in the shower, nude from the bust up. The image
was a risque self-portrait shot by one of the adolescent children, who
later took sole responsibility for the photo. Both parents claimed they
knew nothing about it before the issue was raised to them by
authorities. Ultimately, the photo held no bearing on their case and the
minor was warned to be cautious with digital imaging equipment. Because
of the individual’s age, all identifying information has been removed
from the documents published below.
In a court hearing Tuesday, the Coopers were unsuccessful in
re-obtaining custody of Zachary, Candi’s seven-year-old who is currently
under the care of his father in Upshur County, Texas. The court did not
issue a ruling, as matters of geographic limitations have yet to be
addressed. Barry and Candi are seeking to have the custody battle in
Travis County, but it’s still a matter of dispute. Lawyers for the
Coopers and Zachary Johnston’s father brokered limited visitation rights
for Candi, but Barry is required to stay away from the boy for the time
being.
Because of the nature of Texas’ drug laws and their status as
nationally-known political activists, the Coopers are facing the very
real possibility of losing Zach entirely, with future contact only
allowed in the context of supervised visitation.
“I just don’t know what I’ll do if we lose Zach,” Barry said. “That
would be the most horrible thing to ever happen to me in my entire life.”
The 19-page CPS report follows.
--
Dan Clore
New book: _Weird Words: A Lovecraftian Lexicon_:
http://tinyurl.com/yd3bxkw
My collected fiction: _The Unspeakable and Others_
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0035LTS0O
Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
http://tinyurl.com/292yz9
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
All laws are good, to those who draw a salary for
their enforcement.
-- Clark Ashton Smith
Jerry
> Texans, beware: If you teach your kids that the “government is out to
> harm them,” police in Williamson County might just deem you an
> “unsuitable” parent.
And why not?
When you trust government licensing of doctors, you trust government.
When you trust the FDA to tell you what is and is not safe, you trust
government.
When you trust Codex Alimentarius to tell you what to eat, you trust
government.
When you trust voting machines, you trust government.
When trust the official news media, you trust government.
When you trust the government's version of 9/11, you trust government.
When you trust government education of your children, you trust
government.
When you trust the Federal Reserve making money out of nothing, you
trust government.
When you trust that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction without
evidence, you trust government.
You have a duty to trust government. To not trust government is
treason. To teach your children to not trust government is child
molestation. Anyone who does not trust government should be arrested
and put to death as an enemy of the state.
The citizens of the USSR trusted Stalin and were right to do so. The
citizens of Germany trusted Hitler and were right to do so. Similarly
the citizens of the USA have a moral obligation to trust Obama.
Government is always benevolent and all wise. You must believe in the
benevolence and wisdom of government no matter what evidence you have
to the contrary.
Every government that ever existed was benevolent and wise. Never
doubt that. If you think you have historic evidence to the contrary,
put it out of your mind. Do not allow yourself to get confused by
facts.
So what if Stalin deliberately starved millions of people? What Stalin
did is not for you to understand. Do not doubt the benevolence and
wisdom of Stalin.
Never think for yourself. Never question anything. Do not allow your
children to ask any questions. Do not allow your children to think. If
they get into the habit of thinking, this sets them up to become bad
citizens. They might even go so far as to question government.
James A. Donald
<story...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mar 30, 5:20 pm, Dan Clore <cl...@columbia-center.org>
> wrote:
>
> > Texans, beware: If you teach your kids that the
> > “government is out to harm them,” police in Williamson
> > County might just deem you an “unsuitable” parent.
> And why not?
>
> When you trust government licensing of doctors, you trust
> government. When you trust the FDA to tell you what is and
> is not safe, you trust government. When you trust Codex
> Alimentarius to tell you what to eat, you trust government.
But I trust none of these things, and by and large the rich
do not trust them either.
For example, the rich tend to eat non supermarket eggs from
small egg producers, which tend to be illegal eggs. The
behavior of the wealthy shows that in their hearts, they
believe that all this regulation is for the little people,
not for people like themselves.
--
----------------------
We have the right to defend ourselves and our property, because
of the kind of animals that we are. True law derives from this
right, not from the arbitrary power of the omnipotent state.