It's elementary. Education control freaks will use any excuse to crack down on competition. With two million K-12 students now educated at home (including our 9th grade son), the temptation to exploit the most marginal cases of alleged child abuse by home-schoolers has proven irresistible to statist politicians and government apologists.
Take the case of David and Louise Turpin's 13 starving children, reportedly found tethered to their beds after one of the siblings escaped and contacted police. The Turpins' "house of horrors" in Riverside County, California, grabbed international headlines last week -- and lured a parade of publicity hounds. Former neighbors in Texas claimed they suspected physical abuse by the parents but did nothing at the time. These thirsty fame-seekers will, however, be appearing on "Dr. Phil" later this week to slurp up their 15 minutes of leechdom.
Louise Turpin's half-sister, Teresa Robinette, who also sat on the sidelines for years, miraculously found the energy and motivation to wake up early for an interview on NBC's "Today Show," where she gregariously gossiped about family secrets.
Another of Louise Turpin's sisters, Elizabeth Flores, dry-cried and show-sniffled on ABC's "Good Morning America" about her "love" for the Turpin children whom she claims to have tried to Skype unsuccessfully "for 20 years." How heroic of her. Flores also confessed that David Turpin allegedly spied on her while she showered. For some reason, it was more urgent for Flores to report this information to "GMA" anchor Robin Roberts and millions of strangers tuned into the boob tube than it was to tell her sister. Or her nieces and nephews. Or authorities.
Comment: Hopefully this officer is held accountable for his egregious abuse of power.