Absolutely awful.



Federal authorities have charged an Army major and his wife with abusing their adopted and foster children through beatings, breaking their bones, failing to get them medical help, depriving them of drinking water and training their biological kids to take part in the mistreatment.



According to a 17-count indictment that includes charges of endangering the welfare of a child and assault, John E. Jackson, the Army major, and his wife, Carolyn Jackson, also force-fed the abused children hot sauce and red pepper flakes.

And it gets worse.

According to the indictment, the Jacksons had three children of their own and fostered three other children they eventually adopted. One of the foster children, referred to by the initials "J.J. (hash)2," died in 2008. The Jacksons weren't charged directly with the child's death but are charged with assaulting the child and failing to seek prompt medical care.

The Jacksons, who home schooled their children, appear to have become right-wing martyrs after their children were taken away from them by the State of New Jersey in 2010. This website paints the couple as "victims" of "anti-Christian bias." And they were similarly lauded in a Tea Party website.

According to another website called Tea Party Daily News.com, John Jackson served in active duty in both Kuwait and Iraq, and is a “decorated” veteran. Calling Jackson a “family man” and a “devout Christian and a patriotic American,” an article on the website state the Jacksons’ children took part in a cooperative homeschool program at a local church. At the Jacksons' home in Mount Holly today, a sticker was seen out front with a decal for “Timothy Christian Academy;” and that sticker indicated the academy is in Eastampton, N.J..

It will be interesting to see if this abuse is somehow related to the Jacksons' faith. Corporal punishment is not uncommon in right-wing, authoritarian Christian households that practice "spare the rod, spoil the child," though this kind of abuse is clearly beyond ordinary spankings.

But one thing is certain: if the Jacksons were devout Muslims, this story would be blowing up all over the wingnutosphere today. But since they're Christian home-schoolers and he's a US Army Major: crickets.