I think we've all seen the stories in newspapers or heard the reports on TV or on the radio about out of control elementary kids refusing to calm down throwing books, rocks, desks, tearing up school property, kicking and spitting on teachers, threatening violence and saying words no child should ever know much less utter. Often the police are called in and the children are carted off to a counselor or parents are summoned to pick them up. But that is rarely where the story ends. Usually a parent wants to sue all involved for damaging their little angel. "You handcuffed him, you held him too tight! You abused my darling!"

A temper tantrum is something that most children are taught to control before school age. Yes, they may still throw a hissy fit, but good parenting teaches the child not to be destructive about it and to snap to when instructed to do so and not continue and not escalate. Children that know no boundaries with their behavior are most often raised by parents that do not think boundaries are important and that in and of itself is CHILD ABUSE. To send a child out into the world unprepared to deal with their emotions in an acceptable manner is poor parenting.

Of particular horror to me, according to a recent Associated Press article (surprisingly, the story wasn't picked up by nearly as many other sources as I though it should be), a loving Pennsylvania mommy... mother used her 4-week old baby as a weapon during a fight!

During a domestic dispute between the mother and her boyfriend (the illegitimate baby boy's father) escalated to such a degree that the woman seized her infant out of his bed by the feet and swung him like a baseball bat - striking the father in the head.

The child, at the time of this writing, is in a medically induced coma at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Doctors there hope the coma will help the child recover from his injuries - a fractured skull and a bruised and bleeding brain...

Authorities are holding the unemployed mother, 27-year-old Chytoria Graham, on $75,000 bail for charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, and simple assault. They've also taken custody of her 4 other children and placed them with the state's child services department.

Lawyers for Graham are claiming she suffers from ailments like the very real post-partum depression and the so-called "battered woman syndrome."

Everybody has an excuse these days and everyone who is the actual villain wants to take a free pass on their behavior leaving the real victims who are the children harmed in these incidents to be trained as the next batch of people beaters. Monkey see monkey do as kids learn what they live.

Rotten crummy violent intoxicated out of control people who have no business having children themselves due to the fact that they themselves are still mentally children should be held accountable for the violence that they teach in their homes and the damages their children do instead of being given a forum in a court to point the finger at others. Others who did not raise that child, others who are just trying the best they can to deal with the mess created by irresponsible parents and we see this every day.

Foley the Congressman wants a free pass on acting like a predatory pervert because he is alcoholic and may have once been abused himself. Alcoholism does not turn one gay. Alcoholism does not turn a person into a pedophile and being abused is no excuse for abusing others and this man needs to grow up and own up to what he has done instead of trying to hide behind any excuse his pickled brain can come up with. Alcohol can enhance what is in you. But it cannot create in you what was not there to begin with! He needs to get help, apologize and get on with his life.

In my neck of the woods some teenagers were arrested for damaging 81 cars in one night because they thought that it was all in good fun. What kind of fun is that? Who taught them that disrespect for other people's property? Who had their backs turned while these kids went from innocent baby to 16 and 17 year old monster? I know who now will attempt to teach them respect and as usual ALL of the damages I've written about on this page are paid by folks who did their jobs as parents and that shouldn't be. The crummy parents should be held financially responsible for the messes they send out into the world that prey on others!

I think a lot of folks in America are sick and tired of school shootings, school bullying, community vandalism, stealing, cheating, out of control behavior and outright murder while the so called poor parents that raised these kids enjoy victim status. It isn't true at all. They are not one of the victims and they are the chief reason their kids explode into destruction and mayhem.

You often see these things generational too. There are always those certain names we all know that we always connect with bad things. Father and son in prison together or 16 year old girl gets knocked up young just like her mother did and the chain continues. Bad behavior begets bad behavior and no one is ever responsible because all declare victim status and we go no further to press the cases.

As a country and a people we have to stop being so politically correct (We DO NOT live in Iran) and stop thinking that things are merely subjective because there are real rights and real wrongs that real people are responsible for and if we are to change things for the better, for the children, for future generations we cannot ignore the 800 pound gorilla by pretending that we do not know that their is evil in many people and those people need help or punishment or both and not coddled and pampered and agreed with like we see so much of today.

Today Is October 25, 2006 That's my personal opinion and rant which is strictly my personal opinion. I have to say that so no one else in my family has to take heat for what I write which is BS anyway since WE DO NOT LIVE IN IRAN!