Janet Reno will make this right.

So they are bad parents because they hate the government and like to smoke pot?
LEAVE THEM ALONE!

Gig103: Ugh, leave them alone, don't waste government resources on one stupid kid and his stupid parents. Grandma needs to suck it up, she obviously raised one shiatty kid who wasn't capable of being a parent, what's to say the grandson will be any better?

Let Cuba worry about them from now on.

That's a great sentiment. In fact, lets just scrap all child welfare systems entirely, because they're expensive and the rotten crotchfruit clearly aren't worth anything.

"Approximately two weeks later, Slidell Police were notified that Mr. Hakken had shown up to the foster family home ... with a firearm demanding the return of his children," the Slidell police statement continued. "The foster parents called 911, and Mr. Hakken fled without his children. We have heard nothing until (Wednesday)."

Yeah, it looks like they took his kids from him for very good reasons.  He needs to be institutionalized.

Release the Hakkens!

"Unfortunately, these parents and these poor children, these innocent ones, will now be in a country where there are no laws, there is no redress, and that has been a refuge for fugitives and wanted criminals for many years," Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R- Florida, told CNN.

Does R stand for Retard? Seriously, Cuba has no laws?

The U.S. Interest Section in Havana  [...]

Why don't we get a proper embassy? The whole "we're so mad that we're not going to talk to you anymore" thing is stupid and only serves to make things more difficult when there is a real need for cooperation like in this case. Oh right, we can't because a bunch of people in Miami like to put the letter 'R' behind their name.

Interesting strategy, let's see how that works out for them.

By being forced into a closet?

solokumba: So they are bad parents because they hate the government and like to smoke pot?
LEAVE THEM ALONE!

They were planning to take their kids "to the Armageddon" with guns.  Do those people REALLY sound to you like they'd make good and safe parents?

Joshua Hakken and his wife, Sharyn Hakken, lost custody of their boys in July, after authorities in Louisiana found them acting bizarrely in a hotel room. Joshua Hakken had marijuana, a gun, a knife and his two boys with him.

Police arrested him and put the children in foster care.

About two weeks later, authorities say, Joshua Hakken showed up at the foster home, waiving a gun and demanding his boys back. He left after the foster mother called 911.

 This is all just one big misunderstanding.

FatherChaos: "Approximately two weeks later, Slidell Police were notified that Mr. Hakken had shown up to the foster family home ... with a firearm demanding the return of his children," the Slidell police statement continued. "The foster parents called 911, and Mr. Hakken fled without his children. We have heard nothing until (Wednesday)."

Yeah, it looks like they took his kids from him for very good reasons.  He needs to be institutionalized.

Damn right. You don't go carrying a sidearm into a situation involving the abduction of your children unless you're ready to escalate the situation until people are dead. Jesus Christ, have you not learned anything from 40 years of watching "The Institution" in action?! I say we need to immediately send this guy to any police academy, where he can be properly "institutionalized".

EngineerAU: "Unfortunately, these parents and these poor children, these innocent ones, will now be in a country where there are no laws, there is no redress, and that has been a refuge for fugitives and wanted criminals for many years," Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R- Florida, told CNN.

Does R stand for Retard? Seriously, Cuba has no laws?

The U.S. Interest Section in Havana  [...]

Why don't we get a proper embassy? The whole "we're so mad that we're not going to talk to you anymore" thing is stupid and only serves to make things more difficult when there is a real need for cooperation like in this case. Oh right, we can't because a bunch of people in Miami like to put the letter 'R' behind their name.

Wow, you've convinced me! If it weren't for Republicans, Cuba would be a virtual paradise with perfect, amicable relations with the US!

solokumba: So they are bad parents because they hate the government and like to smoke pot?
LEAVE THEM ALONE!

About that whole anti-government thing....

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/hillsborough-deputie s- investigating-child-kidnapping/2112866

"My name is Joshua Hakken," he wrote. "I am a father, a registered professional mechanical engineer and a veteran of the USAF. I am absolutely devoted to life, liberty, the rights of the individual and the Constitution of the United States of America." After saying that he had noticed that "things here in Florida have not added up for quite some time," he concluded, "in these crazy times, maintaining open communication lines for ideas, observations and news is absolutely crucial if the 'good guys' are to be successful in surviving to maintain the fight of ideas."

It's not hard to do.

zeláznoG náilE

There... I did it for him.

/Why would I RTFA?

"I am absolutely devoted to life, liberty, the rights of the individual and the Constitution of the United States of America."

Good luck with that in Cuba.

TorqueToad: Wow, you've convinced me! If it weren't for Republicans, Cuba would be a virtual paradise with perfect, amicable relations with the US!

We don't have a perfect, amicable relationship with Canada, but that hasn't stopped us.

Am I the only one who thinks "a reverse Elián González" would involve going to Cuba to retrieve your kid...NOT taking him there?

They got a lot of 'splainin to do.

CarnySaur: By being forced into a closet?

In Florida, you're always forced to be in the closet.

EngineerAU: "Unfortunately, these parents and these poor children, these innocent ones, will now be in a country where there are no laws, there is no redress, and that has been a refuge for fugitives and wanted criminals for many years," Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R- Florida, told CNN.

Does R stand for Retard?

And D stands for Dumbass. This concludes todays Poli-Sci 101 course. There'll be a quiz tomorrow.

But Cuba doesn't subscribe to corporate socialism which makes them communists.

I'll never forget Marisleysis' last press conference where she went into hysterics and repeatedly yelled "I demand you let me see him. I DEMAND!!!" and waved that famous photo, screaming "your child will be next". My favorite part was when she asked why everybody was laughing at her. Defiitely felt more schadenfruede than I have before or since.

/live by the press coverage
//die by the press coverage

The father is a bit of a lunatic. Hope the kids are okay.

Taking a trip to the Armageddon
http://reason.com/blog/2013/04/04/louisiana-police-claim-hakkens-said - they

http://reason.com/blog/2013/04/09/josh-hakken-man-who-kidnapped-kids- a fter

"Unfortunately, these parents and these poor children, these innocent ones, will now be in a country where there are no laws, there is no redress, and that has been a refuge for fugitives and wanted criminals for many years," Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R- Florida, told CNN.
 Maybe those kids were terrorists,  Guantanamo would be the correct place to send them.

flynn80: "Unfortunately, these parents and these poor children, these innocent ones, will now be in a country where there are no laws, there is no redress, and that has been a refuge for fugitives and wanted criminals for many years," Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R- Florida, told CNN.
 Maybe those kids were terrorists,  Guantanamo would be the correct place to send them.

Not really. The sign outside the waterboarding chamber clearly states: "You have to be THIS tall to ride this ride".

Satanic_Hamster: solokumba: So they are bad parents because they hate the government and like to smoke pot?
LEAVE THEM ALONE!

They were planning to take their kids "to the Armageddon" with guns.  Do those people REALLY sound to you like they'd make good and safe parents?

Reason Magazine has been lionizing these two as great patriots for a week.

Cuba is like, the best neighbor ever. It's like we share a bedroom wall in a duplex, and there's just never any noise at all. Just strangely quiet, minding their own business and never attracting attention to themselves. Like a Caribbean Finland.

Danger Avoid Death: Not really. The sign outside the waterboarding chamber clearly states: "You have to be THIS tall to ride this ride".

The face of the clown was replaced with Ahmadinejad.

Danger Avoid Death: flynn80: "Unfortunately, these parents and these poor children, these innocent ones, will now be in a country where there are no laws, there is no redress, and that has been a refuge for fugitives and wanted criminals for many years," Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R- Florida, told CNN.
 Maybe those kids were terrorists,  Guantanamo would be the correct place to send them.

Not really. The sign outside the waterboarding chamber clearly states: "You have to be THIS tall to ride this ride".

So what do they do with midget suicide bombers?

CNN locates family who fled Florida to CubaThey shall not escape Florida so easily.

BSABSVR: Satanic_Hamster: solokumba: So they are bad parents because they hate the government and like to smoke pot?
LEAVE THEM ALONE!

They were planning to take their kids "to the Armageddon" with guns.  Do those people REALLY sound to you like they'd make good and safe parents?

Reason Magazine has been lionizing these two as great patriots for a week.

That's not exactly helping their case.

Don't understand the far right on issues like this.  You'd think someone would say, "Hey, does defending these people really even help us, if not make us look really bad?"

tricycleracer: Joshua Hakken and his wife, Sharyn Hakken, lost custody of their boys in July, after authorities in Louisiana found them acting bizarrely in a hotel room. Joshua Hakken had marijuana, a gun, a knife and his two boys with him.

Police arrested him and put the children in foster care.

About two weeks later, authorities say, Joshua Hakken showed up at the foster home, waiving a gun and demanding his boys back. He left after the foster mother called 911.

 This is all just one big misunderstanding.

I know a lot of guys who are great fathers and husbands and pretty much always have a gun and a knife and marijuana in their truck at least

Stone Meadow: Am I the only one who thinks "a reverse Elián González" would involve going to Cuba to retrieve your kid...NOT taking him there?

As long as you're accompanied by Moses Dolphins and take a raft to get to Cuba to retrieve him

  

brantgoose: If I'm not mistaken, a Reverse Elian is when you high-jack yourself for political purposes of your own and force yourself to fly to Cuba." In other words, it's sort of like when you hold a gun to your own head and say. "Nobody move or the N****r gets it!"

A regular Elian is when everybody else high-jacks you for political purposes of their own. Any guns held to your head are purely to ensure you stay safe and happy where you are. It's like somebody putting a gun to your head and says "Don't move. We don't want to have to shoot you for your own good."

Either way, there is a danger of somebody shooting off your nose to spite your face.

Here's an idea:

The U.S. empties all prisons and jails and sends them to Cuba.

Turn about is fair play; kind of a reverse Mariel boatlift .

Jgok:
Not really. The sign outside the waterboarding chamber clearly states: "You have to be THIS tall to ride this ride".

So what do they do with midget suicide bombers?

The Navy uses them as anti-ship mines in Iran.

brantgoose: Upon learning that custody was given to the grandparents, from whom the boys were kidnapped by their own parents, my first question is why they lost custody of their children.

Article says that they were acting strangely in a hotel, talking about making a voyage to Armageddon, yada, yada.

Game plan:

OK, religious conservatives take the parents side and insist the children remain in Cuba, which, although it appears to be in the opposite direction of Armageddon, which presumably is in California, will do for now.

Atheists, take the position that the parents are religious nutters and a danger to their children because of their insane End Times beliefs and because of the possibility that they may belong to some kind of private suicide cult, possibly Christian.

Non-religious conservatives insist that the children and all criminals currently taking refuge in Cuba be returned to the USA forthwith, and that the children be given back to their grandparents.

Religious liberals, take the position that Cuba is probably a safer and less Godless place to live than Florida and that while the grandparents sound like a better option than the parents, you don't like to judge others, lest ye be judged.

Floridans take the position that anybody in Cuba can stay in Cuba unless they vote Republican and have lots of money.

Liberals and Cuba-lovers complain that the idiot Florida Republican said that Cuba has no laws, which is far from the truth.

Fark trolls complain that Subby used an "Interesting" tag when the story is, in fact, not interesting.

Everybody else ask yourselves why this does not deserve a Florida tag.

Cuban Farkers, if there are any, ask for a "Cuba" tag. You will have the full support of conservative Republicans and other nutters. You can't expect much support from friends of Castro, Devil's Advocates, or anybody who holds intelligent, nuanced, realist views on any subject whatsoever.

If they gave Cuba a tag, they'd have to give Canada, Puerto Rico and Guam a tag. That way lies madness.

Satanic_Hamster: That's not exactly helping their case.

Don't understand the far right on issues like this. You'd think someone would say, "Hey, does defending these people really even help us, if not make us look really bad?"

Especially given that pretty much all sides admit that this guy ziptied the grandmother and reabducted his kids.  I'm pretty sure that the freedom to swing your fist ends at assaulting your relatives/in-laws.

FatherChaos: "Approximately two weeks later, Slidell Police were notified that Mr. Hakken had shown up to the foster family home ... with a firearm demanding the return of his children," the Slidell police statement continued. "The foster parents called 911, and Mr. Hakken fled without his children. We have heard nothing until (Wednesday)."

Yeah, it looks like they took his kids from him for very good reasons.  He needs to be institutionalized.

I'd do the same thing if someone tried to take my son away from me too, and if you wouldn't I'd say you're the shiatty parent for not loving your kid.

BSABSVR: Satanic_Hamster: That's not exactly helping their case.

Don't understand the far right on issues like this. You'd think someone would say, "Hey, does defending these people really even help us, if not make us look really bad?"

Especially given that pretty much all sides admit that this guy ziptied the grandmother and reabducted his kids.  I'm pretty sure that the freedom to swing your fist ends at assaulting your relatives/in-laws.

Where I'm from, family's the only people it's acceptable to whup.

BSABSVR: Reason Magazine has been lionizing these two as great patriots for a week.

Why am I unsurprised. I used to hang out at a bar not far from their offices, and they are the biggest group of insufferable pricks you would ever care to be around short of the Yankees locker room.

For a minute there I thought they were talking about Jay Z.

Wow. The comments on the CNN site go wildly off track.

Altitude5280: Wow. The comments on the CNN site go wildly off track.

While here at Fark we stay strictly on point.

Get Jay and Beyonce to smuggle the kids back to America. Problem solved.

Cuba says they're going to turn over the couple and the kid to US authorities. Wonder if the Republicans who jumped on the 'nation of outlaws' bandwagon will sprain something jumping back off.

/Do you know what nation actually does refuse to return criminals to the US even though we're BFFs?

Nabb1: By all means, they should be allowed to disregard a court judgment which found the children's continued custody with the parents to be so dangerous to their safety and welfare that the court terminated their parental rights altogether.  I mean, screw those kids, and WTF does that court know, anyway?

You mean a judgment by a court that had no jurisdiction to make the judgment in the first place?  It was a Louisiana court.  The parents and the kids are all Florida residents.  The court in LA had no right to make a custody determination.  UCCJEA (Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act) and PKPA(Parental Kidnapping Protection Act) both state that the children's home state is the state that has exclusive jurisdiction to make a custody determination; except in an emergency and only as long as the children are still present in the state where the emergency occurred.  There was an emergency in the sense that both parents were stoned out of their minds, but as soon as he was released from jail after the charge, he had every right to get his kids back.  At the time the LA court made the determination, the kids had been back in FL for months.  They had no jurisdiction to take his kids.

As for the waving the gun at foster care, it was alleged, and there were never charges brought and there are no outstanding warrants for it.  If the St Tammany Parrish Sheriff is willing to book the guy for a personal use marijuana charge and let him sit in jail for a week, what do you think they would do in those circumstances.  He may have had his gun in his holster which is entirely within his legal rights as Louisiana is an open carry state.

Cops said he was "talking out of his mind a bit."  No shiat.  He was stoned at the time.  Invariably any of my stoned conversations talk of taking a road trip or waxing philosophical and existential.  The Westboro Baptist Church members talk out of their mind all the farking time, but LA hasn't terminated any of its members' parental rights.

Given the circumstances that the guys entire criminal history(up until having his kids taken away from him at least), consists of the one marijuana possession charge that started this whole thing, rather than being demonized as an anti-government whack job, shouldn't there be an investigation into: 1. How a personal use weed possession charge can result in your kids being taken from you, and 2. How a court that has no jurisdiction to make a custody determination in the first place can do so and have it carry the force of law?  No.  fark it.  Let's just call the guy a whack job and be done with it.

BSABSVR: Especially given that pretty much all sides admit that this guy ziptied the grandmother and reabducted his kids.

It's a crime of passion and was done while unarmed.  But for the state of LA terminating parent's rights of FL residents over FL resident kids, it would not have happened.  The warrants pending for him are for burglary and battery, neither aggravated, which in FL would carry a mandatory 10 years and they would hit him with that if it were the case.  He was there to get his kids, not to hurt anyone.  Look at it from his perspective and his intent to leave the country.  He had two choices; spend tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars to appeal a judgment from a court that had no standing, or spend a few grand as a down payment on a seaworthy boat and get the hell out.

aerojockey: I, for one, fully expect Cuba to graciously respect the same familial rights and custody laws we respected when we returned Elian Gonzales, and return this child to his legal guardian in America.

Looks like your expectations have been fulfilled. And they did it much quicker than we did.

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/21920225/2013/04/09/report-hakken -f amily-spotted-in-cuba

Hakken parents arrested; children safely back in U.S.

After sailing all the way to Cuba, accused kidnappers Joshua and Sharyn Hakken have been returned to the U.S., arrested, and booked in a Hillsborough County jail.

They face several charges, including kidnapping, child neglect, burglary with battery and interference in child custody. The couple will make their first appearance in court Thursday.

The boys, Chase and Cole, are back safely in the custody of their grandparents, deputies said. The sheriff's office says they were medically checked and appeared to be OK.

After the Hakkens were spotted in Cuba, U.S. and Cuban authorities worked together to get them back to Florida. The Hakkens, including their dog Nati, were flown back overnight - escorted by federal authorities.

They even sent the dog back.