HOMESCHOOLING UNDER FIRE IN CALIFORNIA

ORIGINAL TEXT HERE

Judge orders homeschoolers into government education
Court: Family’s religious beliefs ‘no evidence’ of 1st Amendment violation

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Posted: February 29, 2008
3:24 pm EasternBy Bob Unruh
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

A California court has ruled that several children in one homeschool family must be enrolled in a public school or “legally qualified” private school, and must attend, sending ripples of shock into the nation’s homeschooling advocates as the family reviews its options for appeal.The ruling came in a case brought against Phillip and Mary Long over the education being provided to two of their eight children. They are considering an appeal to the state Supreme Court, because they have homeschooled all of their children, the oldest now 29, because of various anti-Christian influences in California’s public schools.

The decision from the 2nd Appellate Court in Los Angeles granted a special petition brought by lawyers appointed to represent the two youngest children after the family’s homeschooling was brought to the attention of child advocates.

“We find no reason to strike down the Legislature’s evaluation of what constitutes an adequate education scheme sufficient to promote the ‘general diffusion of knowledge and intelligence,'” the court said in the case. “We agree … ‘the educational program of the State of California was designed to promote the general welfare of all the people and was not designed to accommodate the personal ideas of any individual in the field of education.'”

The words echo the ideas of officials from Germany, where homeschooling has been outlawed since 1938 under a law adopted when Adolf Hitler decided he wanted the state, and no one else, to control the minds of the nation’s youth.

Wolfgang Drautz, consul general for the Federal Republic of Germany, has said “school teaches not only knowledge but also social conduct, encourages dialogue among people of different beliefs and cultures, and helps students to become responsible citizens.”

Specifically, the appeals court said, the trial court had found that “keeping the children at home deprived them of situations where (1) they could interact with people outside the family, (2) there are people who could provide help if something is amiss in the children’s lives, and (3) they could develop emotionally in a broader world than the parents’ ‘cloistered’ setting.”

The appeals ruling said California law requires “persons between the ages of six and 18” to be in school, “the public full-time day school,” with exemptions being allowed for those in a “private full-time day school” or those “instructed by a tutor who holds a valid state teaching credential for the grade being taught.”

The judges ruled in the case involving the Longs the family failed to demonstrate “that mother has a teaching credential such that the children can be said to be receiving an education from a credentialed tutor,” and that their involvement and supervision by Sunland Christian School’s independent study programs was of no value.

Nor did the family’s religious beliefs matter to the court.

Their “sincerely held religious beliefs” are “not the quality of evidence that permits us to say that application of California’s compulsory public school education law to them violates their First Amendment rights.”

“Such sparse representations are too easily asserted by any parent who wishes to homeschool his or her child,” the court concluded.

The father, Phillip Long, said the family is working on ways to appeal to the state Supreme Court, because he won’t allow the pro-homosexual, pro-bisexual, pro-transgender agenda of California’s public schools, on which WND previously has reported, to indoctrinate his children.

“We just don’t want them teaching our children,” he told WND. “They teach things that are totally contrary to what we believe. They put questions in our children’s minds we don’t feel they’re ready for.

“When they are much more mature, they can deal with these issues, alternative lifestyles, and such, or whether they came from primordial slop. At the present time it’s my job to teach them the correct way of thinking,” he said.

“We’re going to appeal. We have to. I don’t want to put my children in a public school system that teaches ideologies I don’t believe in,” he said.

A spokesman for the Home School Legal Defense Association, one of the world’s premiere homeschooling advocacy organizations, said the group’s experts were analyzing the impact of the decision.

“It’s a very unfortunate decision,” he said.

Randy Thomasson, of Campaign for Children and Families, said under California law parents have the legal right to create a private school in their home and enroll their own children.

“Children belong to the parents, not to the state,” he said. But he acknowledged that there’s a great deal of misinformation about the status of homeschooling in California.

“For years the government school establishment has been lying to parents about the law. Just this week, a Los Angeles Unified school district employee lied to a mother who wanted to homeschool, telling her you must have a license, you must be credentialed and you must follow all the state curriculum. That’s three lies in one sentence.”

“Now we have judges going crazy and actively separating children from their parents.”

A legal outline for parents’ homeschool rights in California, published by Family Protection Ministries, confirmed Thomasson’s description.

The state’s legal options for home educators include establishing a private school in their home by filing a private school affidavit with state regulators or enrolling in private school satellite instruction programs or independent study programs, it said.

The Long family had been involved in such a program with Sunland Christian School, but the appeals court took the extraordinary step of banning the family from being involved in that organization any longer, since it was “willing to participate in the deprivation of the children’s right to a legal education.”

A number of groups already have assembled in California under the Rescue Your Child slogan to encourage parents to withdraw their children from the state’s public school system.

It’s because the California Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger worked together to establish Senate Bill 777 and Assembly Bill 394 as law, plans that institutionalize the promotion of homosexuality, bisexuality, transgenderism and other alternative lifestyle choices.

“First, [California] law allowed public schools to voluntarily promote homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality. Then, the law required public schools to accept homosexual, bisexual and transsexual teachers as role models for impressionable children. Now, the law has been changed to effectively require the positive portrayal of homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality to 6 million children in California government-controlled schools,” said Thomasson.

Even insiders joined in the call for an abandonment of California’s public districts. Veteran public school teacher Nadine Williams of Torrance said the sexual indoctrination laws have motivated her to keep her grandchildren out of the very public schools she used to support.

The Discover Christian Schools website reports getting thousands of hits daily from parents and others seeking information about alternatives to California’s public schools.

WND reported leaders of the campaign called California Exodus say they hope to encourage parents of 600,000 children to withdraw them from the public districts this year.

The new law itself technically bans in any school texts, events, class or activities any discriminatory bias against those who have chosen alternative sexual lifestyles, said Meredith Turney, legislative liaison for Capitol Resource Institute.

There are no similar protections for students with traditional or conservative lifestyles and beliefs, however. Offenders will face the wrath of the state Department of Education, up to and including lawsuits.

“SB 777 will result in reverse discrimination against students with religious and traditional family values. These students have lost their voice as the direct result of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s unbelievable decision. The terms ‘mom and dad’ or ‘husband and wife’ could promote discrimination against homosexuals if a same-sex couple is not also featured,” she said.

Karen England, chief of CRI, told WND that the law is not a list of banned words, including “mom” and “dad.” But she said the requirement is that the law bans discriminatory bias and the effect will be to ban such terminology.

“Having ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ promotes a discriminatory bias. You have to either get rid of ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ or include everything when talking about [parental issues],” she said. “They [promoters of sexual alternative lifestyles] do consider that discriminatory.”

The California plan still is facing a court challenge on its constitutionality and a possible vote of the people of California if an initiative effort succeeds.

CREEPY PEOPLE

“I deeply resent the way I’ve been characterized. I’m no more a white supremacist than the Dalai Lama is. I love my people just as he does.”(Kevin Alfred Strom, courtroom statement 1/14/08)

Kevin Alfred Strom was once the metaphorical backbone of the largest and most prolific hate group in America. Serving Dr. William Luther Pierce, and later taking his place as America’s Dissident Voice, Strom was considered one of the true intellectuals in the racist movement.

Revered by some and deeply criticized by others, Strom would later become the Director of National Vanguard, a splinter group which never really got off the ground.

Considered by many to be “too effeminate,” Kevin Strom had another onus to bear. He wasn’t the homosexual that many on the extreme right suspected – he liked girls – very young girls.

For years, Kevin maintained a website with an odd collection of art mixed in with virulently racist rhetoric. At he beginning of the 21st Century, his cyber presence was rife with pictures of young females, usually scantily clad, and often belonging to parents active in the National Alliance. Many of those pictures were, reportedly, presented without parental knowledge.

Even though Strom was suspected of being “sexually twisted” by many individuals on the racist right, his radio programs and scholarly essays continued to be disseminated and praised by those who would otherwise have considered him unfit for white nationalist circles.

When Strom was arrested in January of 2007, on a series if child pornography and intimidation charges, some were shocked, some were disbelieving and still others were in complete denial.

Don Black, founder and operator of the oldest and largest white nationalist website, Stormfront, admitted that he was not surprised and that “they” had been worried that this was going to happen. Yet there were those, and still are, who refused to believe the charges. Many believed that his wife Elisha set him up even after evidence surfaced and eventually, by Kevin’s own admission, it became clear that he had, in fact, not only received and possessed child pornography, but had actually stalked a 10-year-old female.

While some charges were dropped, on January 14th, 2008, Strom pled guilty to child pornography and will be sentenced in April. Out of concern, the Judge asked Kevin if he had been coerced or, in any way, intimidated into making such an admission to which Strom replied, “They’re trying to kill me because of the press coverage,” he said. “I deeply resent the way I’ve been characterized. I’m no more a white supremacist than the Dalai Lama is. I love my people just as he does.”

For most people, living within the realm of sanity, the very idea of child pornography and pedophilia is repulsive and being legally charged with such crimes is unthinkable. Yet Strom is more concerned about the media coverage labeling him a “white supremacist,” which he is.

Additionally, we all know that in jail or prison any inmate who has committed crimes against children are not going to fare well and are much more likely to be attacked or killed. Why then the concern over being called a white supremacist? Could it be that Mr. Strom knows that not even the Aryan Brotherhood will be on his side?

For years Strom has railed against African-Americans, Jews, and other minority groups. To now be concerned about his extremely racist views seems almost ridiculous. However, being called a white supremacist doesn’t sit well with his wife either.

In an interview after the court appearance, Elisha Strom was quick to correct reporter Lisa Provence from “The Hook”telling her that she isn’t a white supremacist either, but a white separatist who wants a white homeland.

There is very little to laugh at in this seedy and repulsive case, but watching the two racists strive to somehow ameliorate their racism is pretty damned funny. As the National Alliance has had their stated goals listed for years, to suddenly attempt to cast a more positive light on themselves in the midst of something most of the sane world has difficulty stomaching, is beyond the point of ridiculous.

Here are three of their stated objectives…

“We will do whatever is necessary to achieve this White living space and to keep it White. We will not be deterred by the difficulty or temporary unpleasantness involved, because we realize that it is absolutely necessary for our racial survival.”“The fact is that we need a strong, centralized government spanning several continents to coordinate many important tasks during the first few decades of a White world: the racial cleansing of the land, the rooting out of racially destructive institutions, and the reorganization of society on a new basis.”“The central task of a new government will be to reverse the racially devolutionary course of the last few millennia and keep it reversed: a long-term eugenics program involving at least the entire populations of Europe and America. Such a task is necessarily intrusive, and it will require large-scale organization.”While Elisha Strom apparently assisted the prosecution and testified against her husband it is unclear whether she did so willingly or to save herself from being indicted on charges, as well. There are several questions regarding her involvement.

Throughout the last year, Elisha has attempted to rid herself of the cloud that still hangs over her head as far as her fellow racists are concerned. She has claimed that her relationship with Kevin has been a stormy one, especially since she caught him masturbating in front of the computer while viewing photos of the heads of the neo-Nazi singing duo of Prussian Blue, now 15, pasted on the naked bodies of younger female children.

During that time, Elisha claimed that she had made Kevin sign a contract to seek help for his problem and to continue in counseling until such time that he was “cured” from his pedophilia. She placed that notarized contract online as proof that she had taken some sort of action.

Later, an audio tape of Kevin speaking with his counselor surfaced. On the tape, he admitted to being attracted to children and to the fact that Elisha had caught him masturbating to images of “shockingly young girls.” Also on the tape, he chronicled how Elisha had set up what sounded to be an elaborate set of cameras in the house in order to catch him. This revelation only fed the hysteria of those who believed Elisha had been complicit in setting him up.

Elisha also spoke of an incident where he had walked the young child that he had been stalking to the car during a rain shower while leaving his own family behind without the benefit of an umbrella. Additionally, she recalled an incident where she, Kevin, and Prussian Blue were present at a David Duke event. She claimed that Keving wanted to take pictures of the young girls in their bathing suits while they were at the pool. According to Elisha, she headed him off and got someone else to take the pictures.

All of this, however, still begs the question, if she knew about Kevin’s penchant for children why didn’t she warn the parents of the children Kevin had access to? Additionally, why did she remain with Kevin throughout all of this?

We’ve all heard of the battered woman syndrome and how many women are afraid to leave or continue to return to the abusive relationship. But – this is different. This involved children who were being preyed upon and exploited – and she remained silent.

While all of this would, undoubtedly, make a really good movie for Lifetime, it really doesn’t play well to those of us who realize that the semantics of supremacist and separatist really doesn’t make a hill of beans or to those of us who, at the realization that our spouse was seriously twisted and deviant would have taken the high-road and left the bastard’s ass hanging out to dry while singing like a canary at the local precinct.

In fact, the only thing it does is solidify our belief that those involved in racist activities really are pretty creepy people.

CAT FIGHT

By Nicole Nichols

Some people love cat fights…they really get amused. Usually, I find them ridiculous and demeaning to those involved, as well as those cheering them on. However, the feline frenzy that is taking place on VNN between April Gaede, ersatz mother of singing duo Prussian Blue, and Elisha Strom, estranged wife of the sexually twisted Kevin Alfred Strom is just too outlandish to walk away from.

The latest round started when Elisha Strom announced that her estranged husband was probably going to enter into a plea agreement with the prosecution and admit to being in possession of child pornography.

Now, there are those in the VNN group, as well as Stormfront, who still refuse to accept Strom’s guilt. In spite of all the evidence and the admissions made by Strom himself, they believe that it was his wife, Elisha, who set Kevin up. There are also those who believe there is nothing wrong with what Kevin Alfred Strom did. Consequently, Elisha knew that she would generate a lot of discussion and a lot of unfriendly conversation.

Among those long time supporters of Kevin has been April Gaede who was quick to point a finger at Elisha on Stormfront once the news of Strom’s arrest hit. Elisha was equally quick to fight back against claims that she had set her husband up for this fall. Questions about all of this have surrounded the case for almost a year now and accusations have been flying for just as long.

The recent event was brought about by Elisha Strom’s statement on VNN claiming…

“Although she admits to being aware of Kevin’s “problem” more than a year and a half before he was arrested, April Gaede continued to send Kevin photographs of her daughters almost up to the day of his arrest. Then April comes on here and blames me for causing pictures of her kids to be used by Kevin in the nasty way they were. I suppose April also blames me for her sending dozens of photographs of her daughters to David Lane, even after he admitted on television that he sat in his prison cell looking at those pictures and thinking of her daughters in a more “grown up” way.”

It should be noted that Kevin was found masturbating to pictures of the Prussian Blue twins, Lynx and Lamb. He had pasted their heads onto the bodies of much younger children. The reference to David Lane, now deceased, refers to a comment made by Lane in a recent documentary about April and her girls. Lane, sentenced to 190 years for his part in robberies and murders, called the girls, who were 14 at the time, his “sweetheart fantasies.”

Also, referring to that very same film, Elisha had the following to say…

“April called her daughter a “cunt” on national television. She announced to the world on live radio that her daughter was “PMSing.” Rather than speaking out against the pedophile who used her kids and her, she goes after, with the most vicious slander, the woman who tried to protect them from him. You might believe those are the actions of a good mother, but I definitely do not.”

The actual quote became a point of semantics on the forum where it was argued that April did not call her daughter such a name. What was actually said by April was, “And then when they leave…you can act as much of a cunt as you want, for the rest of the night…ok.”

The comment itself drew a collective gasp from many while watching the film. However, it demonstrated precisely what life for the Gaede twins, as well as their 3 year old sister, is really like.

In response, Gaede claimed:

“As for saying the word “cunt”. My daughters were acting like spoiled brats that day to the max. They were mad because they wanted to hang out with their friends and couldnt because of the filming, which they had agreed to do and so they decided to act like brats. I said what I said because at that age, telling them they were acting like brats doesnt mean much. So what, I dont see that it is that big a deal. I dont use that word often but I was pushed to the breaking point. In retrospect, I should not have said it, but what the hell, life goes on.”

I guess in the world of skinheads, racists, and hate-mongers, using such language when disciplining children is just normal. I guess that age 14 is considered “grown” to a woman living such an existence.

Will Williams, who has been a long time detractor of Gaede and has published volumes about her sexual escapades, chimed in to further shred any myths about the fine parent that Gaede is. Williams made the following statement…

“Lane was a responsible, moral man of the top rank.

“I understand and accept Mr. Lane’s off the cuff comment in that hit piece. He probably didn’t realize that his comments on a speakerphone were going to be memorialized in a BBC docudrama. The poor fellow had been in Super Max lockdown for twenty years. He had had pictures of the twins all over the wall of his cell for at least five years, maybe six, going back to their pre-teen years, and had them reading poertry and singing to him over the phone most of that time. Lane was as manipiulated as the twins have been.”

It is important to note that Gaede had chosen Lane as her children’s “Godfather” and that she encouraged the girls to write and to stay in close contact with the prisoner.

The comment made by Williams did not go unanswered by April. She retaliated with:

“Will, you act as if you visited David’s cell yourself. I dont even have any idea about what was on his walls. Or, that you were privy to most of the phone calls from him, when in truth you were present on ONE occasion….The truth is that they confiscated David’s things often and he would ask for new pics of the girls, I sent pics of Dresden too and of the kids Bday parties with their cousins, our cattle branding etc. Just pics to show him that what he did was not in vain and to give him a glimpse into a healthy family life that he could not have. David was my friend, in all the years that I knew him via phone and email he never once said anything inappropriate to the girls. I believe that the comment that he made on the documentary was not made in a perverted way like Elisha and the documentary would have you believe. He was just acknowledging that pretty white women are attractive to WN men. The girls are 15, they are not babies, they are young women.

To claim that I manipulated David is so mean. I was one of the people who didnt forget him. How much did you write to him?”

Well, that was probably not the smartest thing that April has ever asked. Will Williams has been a long time activist within the movement and is well respected within the rank and file. His response?

“Gaede says it’s mean of me to say she manipulated David Lane, using her daughters. The truth can be mean. I’m not saying having the girls in his life didn’t bring David some measure of needed attachment to females on the outside. Fantasies were all the man had where he was.

“She asked me how many times I wrote to David Lane like that’s relevant. I was corresponding with Lane back in 1988 and for years after, long before she first wrote to him and started sending him pictures of her girls in 2001. I edited his 88 Precepts and was the first to publish them, 13 years before the Shewolf of the NA wiled her way into his lonely life, and was reasonably close to Katja Lane and especially with Ron McVan, David’s right arm, all through the 1990’s as they developed Wotanism together. I published a letter by David Lane in 1989 in which he called Xianity an “escape hatch,” and admitted that both he and Bob Mathews took a dim view of Xianity and had both read Klassen’s White Man’s Bible. So much for claims that they were Xians.”

While all of this may seem to be just more of the drama that takes place in cyberspace, it is important to view this squabble in context. Given the severity of the charges that have been leveled and acquiesced to in regard to Strom, the children with whom he had contact should be of the utmost concern.

April Gaede will probably never win “Mother of the Year.” However, there is even more to be considered when looking into her parenting practices. Rarely am I ever in agreement with a racist, but Will Williams raised a legitimate concern when he offered his opinion on the manipulation of the children. Also, are April’s wishes for stardom and success such that she not only manipulated but exploited these two beautiful girls? This question has been raised more than once by many people.

Kevin Alfred Strom was a huge promoter of the twins and April. The question remains, why did April continue sending Strom pictures of her girls? Apparently, many in the movement knew of Kevin’s penchant for young girls. It would be patently ingenuous of April Gaede to claim that she had no clue.

Any sane person would question April’s motivation behind her relationship with David Lane. Assigning Lane “Godfather” status begs the question of her own sanity, not to mention that she has also dubbed Matt Hale as their “Spiritual Leader.” One can only conclude that April understood the esteem that was bestowed upon Lane and hoped that by using his name the Prussian Blue duo would be revered and legitimized among those in the movement.

Booking her children into white power events, insisting that they perform for drunken and often obscene skinheads and the like cannot be justified as anything other than manipulation and exploitation. And if Kevin Alfred Strom’s actions with their pictures did not curdle her stomach the very thought of a murderous felon having sexual fantasies about them should have.

Her claims of providing Lane with a “glimpse into a healthy family life,” would almost be laughable if the circumstances were not so wretchedly abominable.

Elisha Strom isn’t without culpability in all of this, however. In 2003, Elisha was featured as one the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “40 To Watch.” Countering what many called Kevin Alfred Strom’s “effeminate ways,” Elisha presented herself as more of a feminist often drawing fire from the rank and file racists for her strong views on women.

Entering into the fray that generally characterizes the racist right is not an easy thing for women. In most instances, women are viewed as weak and too emotional to handle things that should be left to the men – things like voting or participating in the political arena. Elisha didn’t fit the mold.

As much as Kevin’s website was strange, so was Elisha’s which often featured “hot men of movement.” As early as 2002, a confidential source eluded to the belief that Kevin’s feminism was rivaled by Elisha’s masculinity and claimed that both were involved in “weird sexual exploits.”

Kevin’s affinity for young girls was a well known fact among the racists yet his writings and broadcasts were highly touted by them. According to his first wife, Kirsten Kaiser, Strom was infatuated with “nymphs” and had them all over their home.

In a very revealing interview with Kirsten, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported that she had been interviewed and questioned by the FBI in November of 2006, and asked for names of underaged girls who might have lived on the National Alliance compound during the same time as Kevin.

Kirsten also reported a telephone conversation with Elisha:

“She said that for the first two years of her marriage she tried to figure out what was wrong with her [because Strom showed so little interest], and for the second two years she tried to figure out what was wrong with him,” Kaiser said. “The fact is, he wasn’t interested in me, either, once we got married.”

Now, considering all of these things, one must also consider that Kevin Alfred Strom and Elisha shared the same living space and the same bed. It seems almost inconceivable to me that any woman could live for so many years with a man who lusted after children and not realize that something was very wrong with that picture.

It seems to me that Elisha knew about her husband and, perhaps, ignored or denied or even abetted him in his quest for pictures of very young girls. She relates a story that while attending a function of David Duke, Kevin wanted to take pictures of Prussian Blue in their bikini’s at the pool. According to Elisha, she intervened and asked another person to get those shots.

This whole affair is a sordid mess and, I suspect, involves many others. There are those who knew and kept quiet. There are those who tried to cover or sweep it under the rug. And, there are those who obliged Mr. Strom by sending photo’s, by interfering with authorities, or by simply condoning his actions.

April Gaede as well as Elisha Strom must both share in this despicable happening. No woman would force her daughters into an arena so rife with degenerates nor allow them to associate with men with such disreputable pasts. Likewise, no woman would not know that there was something rotten going on with her husband, and once known, would have allowed it to continue.

Elisha will say that she tried to get him to seek help. She will say that she filmed him and recorded him for “proof.” The “proof” was always there and the bottom line is, she didn’t report him. He was brought to the attention of law enforcement by the parents of a young child that he was stalking.

In fairness, it is possible that Kevin was abusive and that Elisha feared him…but when it comes to children, no matter how much she feared, she should have done what was necessary long ago to protect them.

April Gaede is another story. Her manipulation and exploitation of the twins is unconscionable and may have adverse affects on both for years to come. While cat fights are not generally fruitful, I can only hope that, in this case, that April will see what she has done and ask forgiveness from her children.

Kevin Alfred Strom was scheduled for trial in January on the porn charges. If Elisha Strom is correct and he pleads guilty, I can only speculate that others will be named as part of that plea bargain. He will not go gentle into the night – bet on it.

An Unconscionable Number

 Around the world, 27–30,000 children die every day.

That is equivalent to:

• 1 child dying every 3 seconds
• 20 children dying every minute
• A 2004 Asian Tsunami occurring almost every week
• An Iraq-scale death toll every 15–35 days
• 10–11 million children dying every year
• Over 50 million children dying between 2000 and 2005

The silent killers are poverty, hunger, easily preventable diseases and illnesses, and other related causes. In spite of the scale of this daily/ongoing catastrophe, it rarely manages to achieve, much less sustain, prime-time, headline coverage.

Read More…