Jewish World Review Oct. 14, 2002 / 8 Mar-Cheshvan, 5763

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The root of all evil



http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | The brutal murder of Charlie Young in Milwaukee and the case of deadbeat dad David Oakley, also in Wisconsin, pinpoint the exact reason why crime in America is an enterprise that is assured for years to come.

Eleven children have been charged with beating the 36-year-old Young to death with a variety of weapons. The resumes of these indicted kids is absolutely frightening. The local Milwaukee press assembled the following data:

  • Thirteen-year-old Kenny Mays says he attends the eighth grade but doesn't know the name of his school.

  • Marlin Dixon is 14 years old and already the father of a 5-month-old baby.

  • Thirteen-year-old Don Dixon's father was recently murdered outside a methadone clinic.

  • Montreon Jordan is 15 and on probation for a robbery conviction.

  • Sixteen-year-old Lee Mays does not attend school because his mother told authorities she doesn't know where to send him. His lawyer, Michael Backes, told me the mother has "mental issues" and that Michael should be removed from the home.

Milwaukee police say that the accused murderers all lacked parental supervision and were pretty much allowed to do whatever they wanted. In fact, after the 10-year-old boy involved in the murder confessed to police, reporters heard his father say, "Kids are going to be kids."

Which brings us to David Oakley, a man that has fathered nine children with four women. Oakley owes at least $25,000 to those kids, and the Wisconsin courts have been chasing him for years. Finally, a judge sentenced him to eight years in prison but reduced the sentence to parole if Oakley would agree not to father any more children.

He did. But that's not the end of it.

Enter Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe, the man who handled Al Gore's appeal in the election mess. Tribe appealed the judge's ruling to the Wisconsin Supreme Court saying the state "failed to justify its need" to bar Oakley from having any more children.

What? The guy has nine kids -- most of whom are living in poverty -- and he can't or won't provide care for them, and the state has not "justified its need"? Ridiculous is far too mild.

But then again, we must look at this from Tribe's point of view. He firmly believes that the Constitution gives all Americans the right to have children and not support them. He believes that other Americans should support those kids in the form of welfare and assistance payments.

Counselor Tribe went on to argue that "procreation is at the very heart of the personal rights protected by the Constitution, for it by definition concerns the most intimate of human activities and relationships."

Well, you can't argue about the "intimate" nature of sex. And apparently that is more important to Tribe than the welfare of children who are being created by the sexual act.

To be fair, Laurence Tribe is right in theory -- the government should not be interfering with the act of procreation. But what Tribe and others like him ignore are the rights of the kids. Listen up, counselor: Every child born in America has the right to basic care. And if their parents will not provide that care, those parents must be criminally charged.

The solution to the problem is to prosecute deadbeat, abusive and absent parents on criminal-neglect charges, and put them in jail, or after-work house arrest. If society did that, there would be far fewer kids committing murders on the streets, and far fewer David Oakleys wandering around "procreating."

The Constitution was created to protect all Americans from harm and unfairness. Legions of kids are being harmed by their neglectful parents, and millions of taxpayers are being abused when their dollars are used to support Oakley's children.

By the way, Tribe lost his case. David Oakley either stops making babies, or he goes to prison.

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JWR contributor Bill O'Reilly is host of the Fox News show, "The O'Reilly Factor," and author of the new book, "The No-Spin Zone: Confrontations with the Powerful and Famous in America" Comments by clicking here.

Up


10/07/02: When children murder
09/30/02: THE TRUTH BE TOLD
09/23/02: The death of outrage
09/17/02: Singing a different tune
09/09/02: Answering my critics about the Roush case
09/03/02: Let's misbehave
08/26/02: Money makes the world go 'round
08/19/02: Long live the King
08/12/02: A friendly reminder
08/05/02: Heaven only knows
07/29/02: Blood money
07/22/02: Suffer the children
07/15/02: Reaching critical mass
07/08/02: Believe it or not
07/01/02: Charity begins at home
06/24/02: Spinning a tale and the case for "Stupid White Men"
06/17/02: Blank those Europeans!
06/10/02: What does Bono want from us?
06/03/02: On fighting evil
05/28/02: A Tale of Two Churches
05/20/02: Crimes against humanity
05/13/02: Silence of the lambs
05/06/02: Hide the children
04/29/02: 'Paul, Paul, Paul!'
04/22/02: Barbarians in the Church
04/15/02: Pray for peace, polish the weapons
03/11/02: Do no harm? Time to spank "Dr. Phil"
03/04/02: Promoting the general welfare
02/25/02: Who's responsible?
02/19/02: Lay it on them
02/11/02: Buy dope, fund terror
02/04/02: Back room deals
01/28/02: From boom to bust
01/21/02: The Fairness Doctrine
01/14/02: Hey, Paula, take it to the bank and hush up
01/07/02: And justice for none
12/31/01: All that's left
12/24/01: Santa is appalled
12/17/01: Fight the power
12/10/01: The black challenge
12/03/01: How things have changed
11/26/01: Waiting in the Bushes
11/19/01: The sign of the Cross
11/09/01: Hollyweird strikes back
11/06/01: The fear factor
10/26/01: Show me the money
10/22/01: See no evil
10/15/01: Peace, but no quiet
10/08/01: The air war
10/01/01: I don't understand
09/24/01: We are all soldiers, and we have a job to do
09/14/01: Evil on display
09/11/01: Family matters!
09/04/01: End of summer blues
08/27/01: Summertime -- and the livin' ain't easy
08/20/01: The rap on rap
08/13/01: The truth hurts
08/06/01: Amnesty for illegals: Bush's political investment
07/30/01: The big picture on Condit-Levy
07/24/01: Silence of the Shams
07/16/01: Condit, Kennedy and cable news
07/09/01: Heather needs a childhood: The unnecessary loss of innocence
07/02/01: What would have happened if Steven Spielberg had recut "Schindler's List" for German audiences so they wouldn't be confronted with "emotional issues"?
06/25/01: Freak dancing
06/18/01: Work or die
06/11/01: Soundbite nation
06/04/01: Paying through the nose
05/29/01: Graduation Day 2001
05/21/01: Accepting the unacceptable
05/14/01: The Clinton legacy
05/07/01: Kerrey's ordeal
04/27/01: Is the party over?
04/20/01: Racism in public education
04/16/01: The fleecing of America
04/10/01: People who need perspective
04/03/01: Dubya's bottom line --- and ours
03/27/01: Don't tell, don't ask
03/20/01: Greenspan with envy
03/13/01: Clinton and Jackson
03/07/01: All that's left in America
02/27/01: The Letterman experience
02/20/01: Bread and circuses
02/06/01: How the Clintons do it
01/30/01: The Bush dilemma
01/24/01: I have been investigating Jackson's finances for the past two years
01/17/01: Sifting Ashcroft's record

© 2001 Creators Syndicate