Last month, I blogged about a New Jersey family of white supremicists that named its children after Nazis, including little three-year-old Adolph Hitler Campbell. Now, the state of New Jersey has removed the children from their home. Michael Tomasky comments, "I think in this particular case most of us can agree that removing children from an atmosphere of obvious poison is probably a good thing."
Really? I don't agree at all. The principle that parents should be allowed to keep their own children ought to trump all other considerations except the most extreme forms of abuse. That was the principle behind the Clinton administration's returning Elian Gonzales to Cuba, which prompted one of the great spasms of righ-wing insanity, and may have cost Al Gore Florida. I'm also troubled about the state making judgments about a family's political beliefs, however repugnant they may be.
--Jonathan Chait