DaddyBlogger.com

Michigan Best Interests of the Child: "The Capacity and Disposition....to give the child love, affection, and guidance....

Continuing with the "best interests of the child" criteria in Michigan law, the second factor, or factor (b) reads: "the capacity and disposition of the parties involved to give the child love, affection, and guidance and to continue the education and raising of the child in his or her religion or creed, if any".

Capacity is defined as "the ability to perform or produce", while disposition is defined as "the power or ability to control, direct, dispose", or "one's usual mood temperament".

An average person would likely read this to mean that, in the parent under question, their usual "temperament" would be to show to their child love, affection, and give them proper guidance.  Sounds good, doesn't it?

The problem is, attorneys and judges can twist this to their own liking.  The average custody hearing lasts less than one hour of actual litigating and testimony.  In that time, the judge will hear false accusations and misleading allegations mixed in with some of the truths.  The attorneys and judges DON'T know you or your kids, and they don't want to.  They want to rush you through the system, with the usual predetermined results.  More on all of that yet to come.

Referring back to my personal matter-if anyone could have seen the looks on the faces of my daughters, after their school musical, when they saw the blank, uninterested look on their mom's face.  Her body language, and her words, expressed that she could not care less what, or how, they performed in the musical.

I believe that it is essential to promote a child's feeling of self-esteem, and build up their self-confidence.  My daughters were literally bouncing off the walls and jumping for joy after their performance, and after my words of praise for them.  Within seconds of being back with their mom, their feet shuffled, and the glee was gone.

The judge in our case figured my ex-wife, and myself, "equals" as far as factor (b) is concerned.

A Father of Two

Think Michigan Child Custody Determinations Are Fair?  Think again!

Divorced Dads - To Date, or Not To Date? That Is The Question.

Most everyone seems to have a difficult time getting back into the "dating game" after a divorce.  For those dads among us who have taken an active role in fighting the abuses of the family law court system pertaining to child custody post-divorce, this is even more of a challenge.

The reality of this country is this:  most women seem to resent fathers who want their children-to these dads,  their kids come first, as they should.

From my personal experiences, women, particularly those who are divorced, seem to be looking for one or more of the following:

1.  Mr Movie Star.  The guy had to be physically attractive to get their time of day, or else forget it.

2.  Mr. Moneybags. The guy has to have loads of money to spend on her, or else forget it.

3.  Mr. Pursuit.  This guy has to "chase" the woman.  For some idiotic reason, far too many women seem to feel that they must be "pursued".  Good luck with that, ladies.

I will take my hat off to those of you who failed at the first marriage attempt, and have somehow managed to find "the right one" this time, hopefully, and try it again.  I hope it works out for all of you.

In reality, re-marriage seems to happen fairly quickly, within a couple of years, or not at all.  

Personally, I have been told by several prospective girlfriends that they and their kids would come first, and "to heck" with mine.  I have also been told, by more than one, that she could not possibly stand to have a boyfriend who actually wanted`his' kids at home with him.

In my humble opinion, women, those in Michigan in particular, have a serious attitude problem when it comes to looking for men.  Most men will not fall into one of the three categories above-leaving most people single, which is not a bad thing, but is far from what most of us desire. 

Mr. "average man" has little, if any, chance out there today.  And, if he happens to advocate against the abuses committed by our family courts, he may as well hang it up.  I speak with other father advocates who relay the same message to me-they have given up on dating, much less on ever finding a compatible lady to spend their life with.

It seems to me that if this "forced perception" of divorced fathers was brought back to into the realm of reality, that we all would be much better off. This perception is inflicted upon us all by today's media and the courts themselves.

America, this needs to change.

A Father Of Two

Recommended Reading:

Dating for Dads: The Single Father's Guide to Dating Well Without Parenting Poorly

Mothers Who Kill Their Children

Why Mothers Kill - A Forensic Psychologist's Casebook

61% of all child abuse is committed by biological mothers.
25% of all child abuse is committed by biological fathers.

(Statistical Source: Current DHHS report on nationwide Child Abuse)

Mother Kills Newborn by Microwaving

Mother Attempts to Flush Newborn Down the Tiolet

Mother Stabs, Posions and Drowns Her Three Children

Mother drinks St. Ides beers and watches television - as her son slowly bled to death in the lesbian couple’s bed

Police Find Remains of Three Newborns - Mother Set Free

Mother Kills Three Children by Dousing With Gasoline and Sets on Fire

Mother Kills 7 Week Old Son in 1999 and Later Kills 9 Week Old Son in 2002

Mother Burns and Dismembers Newborn Son

Mother States Trouble Breast-Feeding and Places Twins Underwater

Mother Leaves Newborn in Trunk of Car to Suffocate

Mother Chokes Newborn to Death

Mother Kills Daughter Over Homework

Mother Kills Two Children and Places in Freezer

Mother Kills Newborn with Heroin and Methadone Tainted Breast Milk

Mother Suffocates Newborn to "Save Her Marriage"

Newborn's Death Was Third Murdered in Three Years by Mother

Mother Drowns Newborn to Hide Pregnancy From Husband

Mother Kills One Month Old Daughter

Police Say Mother Killed Newborn - Grandmother urged mother to dump newborn in trash

Mother Drowns 4 Month Old in Bathtub

Mother Kills Newborn and Only Receives Six Years Prison

Mother Kills Newborn with Plastic Garbage Bag

Mother Kills Newborn in Bathroom Stall - Only has to serve three years prison time

Mother Kills Newborn and Places in Trash

Mother Gives Birth in Woods and Leaves on Trail to Die

Mother Crushed Two Sons Skulls With Rocks on Mother's Day Weekend

Mother Charged with First-Degree Murder of 12 Year Old Daughter

Mother Kills Newborn by Leaving in a Box Near Trash Dumpster

Mother Kills Newborn With Her Thong Underwear

Mother Kills 4 Year Old Autistic Daughter

Hit Squad Hired to Kill 6 Month Old Son

Mother Tosses Son From Highway Overpass

Mother Drowned Her Newborn to Hide Pregnancy From Husband

Mother Planned and Killed Her Two Children

Mother Charged With Killing Son and Attempting to Kill His Twin

Mother Left Son in Car Trunk to Suffocate

Mother Places Son in Trash

Mother Strangles Son to Death - Serves Only Three Years

Mother Places Son at Bottom of Quarry

Mother Kills Daughter and Places in Local Landfill

Mother Runs 11 Year Old Son Over With SUV

Mother Slits Neck of Her Six Year Old Son

Mother Systematically Kills Her Five Children

Mother Shoots and Kills Her Three Sons

Mother Kills Child and Heads to Bar

Mother Kills Autistic Daughter

Equal Parenting Cometh to the 27 Mile Iceman Cometh Mountain Bike Race

A Child's Right members are excited to spread awareness of the benefits of Equal Parenting at the upcoming November 7, 2009 Iceman Cometh Challenge Mountain Bike Race.  Members will not only be racing, but they will be spreading equal parenting awareness throughout this event.  Special brochures are being made for this event and our mountain bikers will be wearing custom made Equal Parenting Thermal Jerseys.

This race will be rather easy for those cyclists who participated in the 758 mile Equal Parenting Bike Trek.  The weather is always unpredictable at this time of year in Michigan.  The Iceman Cometh starts in Kalkaska, Michigan and ends 27 miles later in Traverse City, Michigan.  Below is a picture of the Iceman Cometh map which cuts through the Pere Marquette State Forest.

If you would like to volunteer and help spread awareness at this event please email Executive Director Darrick Scott-Farnsworth.  Support Equal Parenting and already registered for this event?  Join us at this event by contacting the email address noted above.  Look for updates in October 2009 at Cycling4Children.com

Did you know that the state of Michigan PROFITS every time it CREATES a non-custodial parent?  Find out more about Title IV-D federal incentives.

Do you think child custody evaluations are fair in Michigan?  Michigan Friend of the Court worker blows the whistle on the corrupt nature of Michigan family courts.

Baxter Product Contained Live Bird Flu Virus. Potential Pandemic Virus?

Now this is just plain scary!  Reported by the Toronto Sun

Protein Wisdom, A Very Popular News Blog, Covers Documentary "Support? System Down"

Obviously we are thrilled that Protein Wisdom decided to post an article about the upcoming documentary "Support?  System Down"!  Thousands of Protein Wisdom's readers will be exposed to the brutal family court system here in America and how it is clearly profit driven under Title IV-D.

If you do not read Protein Wisdom on a daily basis you should visit a few days in a row and you will be hooked.  It is witty, funny, informative and the topics are numerous enough to capture your attention.  Really - you just have to admire the writing at Protein Wisdom!

If you don't think family courts are profit driven and make horrible decisions regarding our children just watch this:

BE SURE TO BUY A COPY OF THE SNEAK PEEK FOR SUPPORT? SYSTEM DOWN. YOU WILL RECEIVE ADDITIONAL MONEY OFF WHEN THE FINAL CUT IS LAUNCHED. ENTER childright FOR AN ADDITIONAL $2.00 OFF.

Depeche Mode - The Official Music Video "Wrong" From The Upcoming Album "Sounds of the Universe"

What happens to the guy in this Depeche Mode video below is definitely wrong! 

Be sure to check out Depeche Mode playing the single "Wrong" to a massive audience in Berlin Germany.  This is a must see video. 

Depeche Mode fans can already pre-order Sounds of the Universe on Amazon.com - be sure to check out the deluxe album as well!

AND - For the diehard Depeche Mode fan a must buy is Depeche Mode's Sounds of the Universe Deluxe Box Set which is LOADED with Depeche Mode delight!

Should Ron Paul Run for President in 2012? In 11 Days 6,337 Responded!

In the 2008 election primaries, Ron Paul was treated like a red headed step-child by other Republicans.  Perhaps mainstream Republicans still haven't gotten a picture yet - RON PAUL AND HIS SUPPORTERS WILL BE A FORCE TO RECKON WITH IN 2012!  Looking back Ron Paul was correct on so many issues we are facing this very moment. 

In 11 days 6,337 people voted in an online poll with the question being should Ron Paul run as President in 2012?  93% said yes!  However, what is most impressive is the sheer number of people that voted in this online poll AND the 348 people that commented as well.

View Poll Results

Just in case you missed it - Ron Paul on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher

Be sure to join the growing Campaign for Liberty

Michigan and 24 Additional States in America Claiming/Planning Sovereignty Under the Tenth Amendment

Numerous states are fed up with the insane demands and debt that the federal government is placing on them. 

Live in Michigan?  Be sure to contact your local state representative in support of Michigan House Concurrent Resolution No.4.

Michigan House Concurrent Resolution No. 4.

To see an updated list which is well organized be sure to visit MRStep

If you have not already, please be sure to join the Campaign for Liberty.

America During Economic Collapse - Entertainment Via george4title on Youtube

George4title on Youtube is an excellent channel on youtube covering America's current economic crisis.  The videos are educational, entertaining and very popular. 

DaddyBlogger.com recommends that all readers check out several of george4title's videos on youtube.com.  Below is a rather etertaining and futuristic look at America's collapse:

Obama Fund Fatherhood Now

Now that the Democrats are running DC and most of Lansing we need
to begin to communicate the need for DHS/CAPTA/VAWA/Title IV legislative
change. Looking at what has been proposed during the election we must
strike quickly to get our reform message in their ears. Obama's message of the
need for fathers and families needs to be directed towards legislative
changes that actually encourage the states to keep families intact and both
parents significantly involved with their children.
 

Here is Obama's site let him know what you think:

 

http://www.change.gov/page/s/yourvision/

 

 There is funding available and a drive by President Elect Obama to influence fatherhood so let's get busy.

 

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-s1626/text

 

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 

Congress makes the following findings:

 

(1) The most important factor in a child's upbringing is whether the
child is brought up in a loving, healthy, supportive environment.

 

(2) Children who grow up with two parents are, on average, more likely
than their peers in single-parent homes to finish high school and be
economically self-sufficient.

 

(3) Father-child interaction, like mother-child interaction, has been
shown to promote the positive physical, social, emotional, and mental
development of children.

 

SEC. 107. STATE ASSESSMENTS OF BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT AND FINANCIAL
SUPPORT OF CHILDREN.

 

(a) State Assessments and Reports- As a condition of the continued
approval of a State plan under part D of title IV of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 651 et seq.), each State with an approved such plan,
acting through the appropriate State agencies, shall assess the State
policies with respect to the issues described in subsection (b) and
submit a report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on the
results of such assessment not later than March 15, 2008.

 

(b) (5) Identification of any other barriers to healthy family formation
or sustainable economic opportunity for custodial and noncustodial
parents that are created or exacerbated by Federal or State laws,
policies, or procedures, including an examination of the rules of
Federal and State means-tested programs, the operation of the State
workforce system, the availability of financial education services, and
the availability of domestic violence services and child support
procedures to help victims of domestic violence stay safe and obtain the
child support they are owed.

 

(c) Grants to States for Commissions on State Law Improvements in the
Best Interest of Children and Families- The Secretary of Health and
Human Services shall award grants to States to establish or support
commissions to review the State assessment conducted in accordance with
subsection (a) and to make recommendations on ways to improve State law
in the best interest of children and families.

 

Make sure that the Obama administration puts the money where their mouths are.

 

"The federal government spends $99.8 billion dollars every year on
programs - such as child support enforcement and anti-poverty efforts -
that support father-absent homes"

 

https://www.fatherhood.org/research.asp

 

Darrick Scott-Farnsworth

Executive Director A Child's Right

www.achildsright.org

2692097144

Ron Paul on the 2008 post-election results for Republicans and Democrats

Ron Paul's analysis on the November 2008 election results.  On CNN 11/06/08. 

PLEASE be sure to visit Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty and to also educate yourself on The Revolution - super cheap on Amazon.com.

 CAMPAIGN FOR LIBERTY

OCKHAM’S RAZOR: A HERMENEUTIC OF TRUTH

Aristotle.  Socrates.  Plato.  Twenty-five hundred plus years is no small amount of history as the foundation for today’s discussion. The three men profiled arguably founded, not only Greek Classical Thought, but also paved the way for thinking in cultures and peoples stretching beyond Europe, Africa and Asia to also Australia, North and South Americas; from as early as 500 BC to the current twenty-first century AD. That forms of thinking- “knowing of what?”- have segregated into various schools of logic remain today is a testament to the brilliance of these three individuals.

The scientific study of interpretation, relegated to its sovereign- truth, is called hermeneutics. Logic is the path to truth, with its vehicle being hermeneutics. The hermeneutic called Ockham’s Razor is the subject for today’s dissection!

Ockham’s Razor has been employed in many contexts with subsequent definitions appropriately affixed. Our working definition will remain as it applies to the law, most especially your case and mine! Our working definition is: "All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best." Now let’s set our parameters.

Dominative Narrative:

In law, we often refer to the story as the dominative narrative, which contains as its underpinning the paradigm. This is simply understood in the following example:

Sally and Tom get a divorce. Sally and Tom have three children. Sally and Tom decide upon day care arrangements at XYZ Daycare for their children. XYZ Daycare charges $100/ week per child. Sally and Tom split the costs, despite Sally having greater use, as a result of her being the custodial parent and her having greater parenting time with said children.

Subsequently, after five years, both Sally and Tom become re-married, with each having an additional child. Ironically, both newborns are born only months apart. Additionally, as a result of much court battling, Tom is able to achieve a virtual 50/50 split in the parenting time of the jointly shared children. Both families continue to function, utilizing XYZ Daycare, as both new moms prepare to re-enter the work force. Soon thereafter, Sally’s new husband takes a job promotion and this necessitates Sally and her new hubby to move. The move creates a great distance, too prohibitive for Sally to continue to use XYZ Daycare. As such, she decides, with a newborn now a variable in her considerations, to hire a household employee at $500/ week flat rate to care for both joint children and her newborn. After moving, she informs Tom that she no longer will use the monies, she collects from Tom, to pay XYZ Daycare. Rather, she will utilize said monies to pay the new household employee at her home and that Tom will necessarily need to contribute more to Sally for the additional costs, now $500/ week. This now leaves Tom paying in full any costs that he has at XYZ Daycare when he has the joint children. Sally does not even consider that Tom, himself, has a newborn to plan into his equation.

Sally’s dominative narrative echoes her needs as custodial parent. Her paradigm is that of a victim- custodial mother with children at the mercy of a presumptive deadbeat dad who does not want to care for his children’s expenses.

Tom, who is financially broke, without council for assistance, turns to his local parental rights group for advice and proceeds to Court in Pro Se, armed with Ockham’s Razor, to defeat this injustice. Tom waits for his turn to speak, before the judge, and states the following:

“Sally has proffered a false paradigm of herself as a victim, in order to leverage this Court into granting an unfair award for day care expenses. The true paradigm is rather that Sally has herself chosen not in the best interest of our children and she is unwilling to provide her fair share for our children’s care while victimizing both their father and our children. Here are the facts judge!

The New Narrative:

“Sally moved without my knowledge until after the move was completed, so that her new husband could increase his income. Sally’s move re-located our children many miles away from their actively involved father who virtually has a 50/50 parenting time split with their mother. Sally then chose, not a day care equal to what has always been an acceptable day care for our children, but rather, she chose an improved style of care- nanny, with nanny’s subsequent cost increase, which serves not necessarily the best interest of our children, but rather serves Sally and her new hubby’s best interest. Even more so, Sally has wrongly included the cost for her newborn into the equation, while eliminating my costs still accruing for our children when they are with me; she has not considered the inherent increase of my travelling costs due to her moving; and, she has not added the known costs for day care associated with my newborn, if we are to compare both sides equally.

“Sally’s paradigm is false because according to Ockham’s Razor, ‘the answer that explains all of the facts in the simplest terms is the truth!’ Sally has censored many of the facts. Along with, she has insisted the facts she wants the Court to consider should be interpreted through her supplied paradigm as a victim of me, and as a mother with custody. The truth is found in all the facts explained by the simplest statement. Sally has chosen not in the best interest of our children and she has chosen to increase costs for the care of our children in order to extract greater amounts of money from me.

“This is shown by: She has chosen to distance our children from their father and she has increased, unnecessarily, the cost of our children’s day care through moving by creating the need for two day care arrangements and through hiring a nanny, a more expensive form of day care. On top of that, Sally has found that the additional costs associated with her newborn, that I am not the father of, should be shared by me, while the costs associated with my new born should not be equally shared by her. This, while she completely ignores the remaining costs associated with our children’s day care when they are with me and the increased cost of travelling expenses incurred by me due to Sally’s moving for her husband’s job promotion.

The New Paradigm:

Therefore your Honor, the new paradigm, according to Ockham’s Razor is that Sally operates according to her own self-interest which is towards the increase of her financial status at both the financial and emotional expenses of our children and of their father. I ask that the Court input day care costs at the fixed rate of XYZ Daycare. That Sally and I share these costs now almost twice as much as they used to be. That, neither her newborn, nor my newborn, should be considered in the computation of costs. That Sally re-imburse me half of the costs associated with my additional travels for her moving. And, Orally, I Motion this Court to find a change in circumstances under the MI Custody Act (MCL 722.21 Et, seq.) and Order a hearing in order to determine the Best Interest of our Children!

- William of Ockman

 Big Daddy

Husband Literally Cuts House in Two. Estranged Couple Were Married for 40 years.

No this is not a joke. 

"Last week, the husband and his friends moved his belongings to one side of the house -- and sawed and chiseled it off...".

The Husband Cut the House in Two.  CNN Asia

This is clearly The War of the Roses taken to a new level!

Joint custody awarded to same-sex partner

"To discriminate further against Ms. Kulstad because of her sexual preference in this day and age is no different than telling a person to go to the back of the bus because of her skin color," Judge Ed McLean wrote.

Why are fathers still being told to get in the back of the bus when it comes to child custody determinations?  According to Dr. Stephen Baskerville, Ph.D., author of Taken Into Custody, roughly 80% of sole custody awards are given to mothers nationwide.  When will the gender bias in America's family courts end?

More on this story can be found at Jeanne M. Hannah's excellent blog titled, "Updates in Michigan Family Law"

More on Joint custody awarded to same-sex partner

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Be sure to review "Shared Parenting:  Facts and Fiction" by Dr. Linda Nielsen - Professor of Women's Studies Wake Forest University.

Tell others about the documentary on America's family court systems, "Support?  System Down" is making waves all across the U.S.

Thanks for reading DaddyBlogger.com

Angela

Michigan Equal Parents Week Rally Sept 23 2008

PLEASE ATTEND

Preserve and Protect Our Parent-Child Relationships

Equal Parents Week Rally
Tuesday September 23rd, 2008
11:00 am – 2:00 pm
East Side Capitol Lansing, Michigan

Contact: Darrick Lynn Scott-Farnsworth (269) 209-7144 darricksf@achildsright.net

Dads and Moms of Michigan, the Family Rights Coalition, A Child’s Right, Children Need Both Parents, Fathers for Equal Rights, Fathers-4-Justice and Children’s Rights Council invite you to join us in defense of the traditional American family at this historic rally at our State Capitol during Equal Parents Week.

Over 40% of Michigan’s population is being micro-managed by the family court system with disastrous consequences to our children, families and the state economy. Help transform Michigan from a wasteland of broken families into a promised land of healthy families and community renewal.
House Bill 4564, a bill to ensure equal parental responsibility, will result in a presumption of joint custody for fit parents and equal access for children to both their mother and father. Another hearing on this bill is expected this fall if enough public desire is expressed. 2008-House Joint Resolution NN Fundamental Parental Rights constitutional amendment has been supported by 80 representatives but has not had a hearing. It too will be supported and discussed at the rally and needs your attention. Your attendance at this rally will send a strong message in support of HB 4564 and HJR-NN will serve as a demonstration of our will to be equal and have parental rights to our children.

The Equal Parents Week Rally has been organized to bring to the attention of our legislature, our executive branch, our judiciary and the general public that Equal Parental rights are a civil rights issue whose time has come. America’s success was built on strong family bonds and the recognition that both a mother and a father are essential to raising healthy, moral and well adjusted children.
Rally speakers will include nationally-known family advocates, legislators, VIPs, community leaders and parents.

• Contact your legislator to show your support for HB4564 and HJR-NN.
Primary signs and literature will be provided by the rally organizers.
• Print a map, car pool and plan to arrive before 11:00 am for assembly or 10:00 am for setup if you are bring.
• Bring change for meter parking or consult the maps for the location of a public parking structure.
• Dress for the weather with walking shoes and bring a water bottle.
• Bring personal signs, pictures, and regalia.

Need people to use the Lansing area white and yellow pages and invite people to show up. Also let us know if you know any band who would like to perform some tunes for free. Need you to print out or have printed some parental rights and equal parenting handouts to give out. Does anyone have tables they want to setup for material?

Time Slot Speaker

11 AM State Rep Jones

11:15 State Rep Dean

11:25 State Rep De Roche

11:40 State Rep Kim Meltzer

11:50 State Rep Stahl

12:00 PM State Rep Hoogendyk

12:10 State Rep Candidate David Irons

12:20 Chrissy Chrzanowski Split-n-Two

12:40 Drew Thompson of Dads and Moms of MI

12:50 State Rep Polidori

1:00 David Taylor Oakland County FOCAC

1:15 State Rep Candidate Scott Hudson

1:30 Ingham County Comm Candidate Kerr

1:45 Get Off the Bench Lary Holland

Minister Ronald Smith Has Passed - Parental Rights Legend

A tragedy.  A shock.  Extremely sad news for all who knew this special man.  Minister Ron Smith was one of the best friends I have ever known.  Minister Ronald Smith passed away on Friday September 5, 2008 from a heart attack.  I am still very shook up from this news and will let our readers know more as soon as I get it.  He was such an incredible man and just recently brought the 2008 Million Man March to Michigan.  Minister Ronald Smith was also the founder of the National Fatherhood Summit and was one of the co-founders of the Family Preservation Festival.  Minister Ronald Smith was co-author of the book Cheated.  Minister Ronald Smith was the CEO of Children Need Both Parents, Inc.   Most of all Minister Ronald Smith was an amazing father and husband!

Minister Ronald Smith was actively involved with Michigan House Bill 4564 (shared parenting) and Michigan House Joint Resolution NN (2008) (Parental Rights)

My thoughts are with Ron and his family right now.

Below is a very well known video of Minister Ronald Smith. Incredible speech which I had the pleasure of filming and watching live in Iowa.

God Bless Ron - We ALL love you!  "My brother from another mother"

Robert Pedersen

(Readers can comment in memory/honor of Minister Ronald Smith at the bottom of this page)

From the Family of Minister Ronald Smith

Your Brother in Christ Minister Ronald Smith called Home to be with Yahweh

It is with a heavy heart, and deep sympathy, that I announce to you today that Minister Ronald Smith was called home to be with the Lord. Minister Smith passed away from an apparent heart attack on September 5, 2008.

We are currently making arrangements and would ask you to stand by for further communications with regards to a memorial.

Children Need Both Parents mourns the loss of it's founder and CEO. We praise God that Minister Smith finished all that God charged him with, and is re-united in Heaven with his son Richmond. We vow to press on with the vision God gave him. Everyone here appreciates your love and support through this most difficult of times.

May God continue to shine upon you.

Minister Ronald Smith believed in a proper accounting of God's resources. In our efforts to honor his memory, and honor his principles of stewardship, we humbly request that donations be sent in lieu of flowers. This will enable us to more effectively continue the work God began in him.

Official Announcement from Ronald Smith’s wife, Sherry Shabazz Smith:

Please be advised that there will be two services for Ronald Smith.

Many of you know that Ronald Smith passed away on Friday September 5, 2008.  Thank you for your kind thoughts, considerations  and prayers at this time.

The first service is coordinated by Ron’s sister and mother.  Ronald will be laid to rest in Chicago.  The wake and funeral specifics are listed below.

Minister Ronald. Elijah Smith
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Woodlawn Union Baptist Church
6359 S. Eberhart
Chicago, IL 60637
10:00 -11:00 visitation
11:00 - 12:00 funeral

The second service is a Celebration Of Ronald Smith And His Life. 

This celebration is coordinated by Sherry and will be held on Wednesday September 17, 2008  at 6:00 pm at the:   

Abundant Life Ministries
1725 Division SE
Grand Rapids
Michigan
616-301-2325.

Sherry asks that NO cut flowers be sent.  Live plants are welcome. Most importantly Sherry has asked that in lieu of flowers donations be made to Children Need Both Parents, Inc.  Ronald did not have medical insurance nor did he have any life insurance.  Again,  Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Who is best for fathers? Barack Obama or John McCain?

Governor Sarah Palin revived John McCain's campaign from the dead.  This will without a doubt make the race very competitive in November.  Governor Palin has a positive track record in reducing government intrusion into familes.  The National Organization for Women (NOW) ironically does not support Gov Palin.  No surprise there!  General common sense would lead you to think that if NOW doesn't like her then she must be great for us dads!

Placing the brilliant VP pick by McCain aside.  Who is best for fathers?  McCain or Obama?

In our opinion neither are ideal and both seem to be clueless as to the plight of today's fathers.  However, Obama may talk alot about fathers but he has to be the worst candidate of the two.  Obama's Responsible Fatherhood Act fails to recognize that fit and willing fathers are removed from their children's lives for the states to maximize Title IV-D funds.

“The federal incentives drive the system. The more divorces, and the higher the child-support guidelines are set and enforced (no matter how unreasonable), the more money the state bureaucracy collects from the feds. Follow the money. The less time that non-custodial parents (usually fathers) are permitted to be with their children, the more child support they must pay into the state fund, and the higher the federal bonus to the states for collecting the money. " - Phyllis Schlafly

Obama's Responsible Fatherhood Act mentions child support 65 times and fails to mention parenting time, custody, visitation time or access denial. Not only is this hostile to fathers but it also fails children by ignoring the numerous benefits of shared parenting for children.  Dads are more than paychecks!  Obama's Responsible Fatherhood Act is not only bad for fathers and children, but it will also significantly increase the size of government and the intrusion into our families. 

Phyllis Schlafly did an excellent article on this very point.  This article also mentions equal parenting advocate Robert Pedersen.  Another excellent article on Obama'a Responsible Fatherhood Act was written by Glenn Sacks and Mike McCormick.

We hope that John McCain and Barack Obama will address the issues noted in this incredible Youtube video on Men's Issues.

john mccain barack obama obama 2008 election sarah palin fatherhood

Grandmother Runs Around the World in Five Years

Incredible Story!  Grandmother runs around the world in five years.

Speaking of grandparents this is one organization to support.

States Are Abducting our Senior Citizens for Profit

Michigan Judicial Candidate Brian Downs, Esq. Explains Why Michigan Needs Equal Parenting

With a sense of sarcasm Brian Downs, a Michigan Judicial Candidate, does an excellent job explaining to an audience why Michigan needs Equal Parenting.  You will be amazed when you see how dramatically child custody determinations vary by county.  Michigan children deserve better!   Benefits of equal parenting for children.

If you support equal parenting please make a donation to his campaign at http://www.downs4judge.com/

DaddyBlogger.com Syndicated

Chicago Sun-Times - Mom Kills Kids While Dad Fights the Courts for Custody to Protect Them

Reuters - Men's Issues - A Must See Video

Beacon News - Armour Thyroid or Synthroid - Your Quality of Life Hangs in the Balance.

Reuters - Equal Parenting Wins in Florida

Computer Shopper - Dad vs Dell:  The Ultimate Dell Hell Story

Sacramento Bee - 2nd Annual Family Preservation Festival

Armour Thyroid or Synthroid? Hypothyroid Disease in Men
Which is better Armour Thyroid or Synthroid? My personal experience. My wife is a Registered Nurse and her suggestion has made a huge improvement in my life. I was placed on Synthroid when I was 19 years old for being hypothyroid at a serious level.
View more »

Detroit News Blogger Covers Civil Rights Event DC Festival 2008 and EP Bike Trek

Detroit News Fatherhood Blogger Robert Pedersen wrote an excellent update on the 2008 Equal Parenting Bike Trek and the upcoming DC Festival 2008.

Make sure you read the article and COMMENT in support of the DC Festival 2008 and Equal Parenting.

View Robert's other articles written for Detroit News.

Please be sure to attend the DC Festival 2008.

Visit Cycling4Children.com for more updates on the Equal Parenting Bike Trek.

2008 Equal Parenting Bike Trek Main Page

Men's Issues - A Must See Video by True Equality - If This Doesn't Wake You Up Nothing Will!

Will men ever wake up?  Think things are great for men and it is "a man's world"?  If you do perhaps you crawled out of a cabin in the early 1900's.  True Equality created this incredible video and let me tell you it is a MUST SEE!  I learned alot from it and wanted to share it with our readers.  Please tell others about this post and send them the link.

Men and Boys Deserve Better - an informational booklet

To view a higher quality video visit True Equality

UPDATES ON THE 2008 EQUAL PARENTING BIKE TREK

Equality in Law and Life

As we follow the BIKE TREK for Equality in Parenting, Big Daddy responds to the “Social Ill” far too few of us are willing to admit!

In response to Courtney E. Martin article at:
“A Powerful Movement Puts Mothers at the Helm of Social Change”

Thanks Courtney for your Op-Ed piece- "The Maternal Is Political" sums it up well! Another recognized demographic seeking equality through politics!

As goes with any new movement, already prior stated- Motherhood is not well defined. It's not centered under a label. It has not a leader!

May I offer some suggestions? Myself, I'm a father! For years, we men, oops fathers, have dissembled, tripped, stumbled and bumbled in no particular direction in our attempt to make our claims of injustice, ironically, towards the same ends that mom's seek, only on different issues! We have fought vehemently, with all those opposed to us. May I dare say? You All! Moms!

The losers have been three groups, with the winners being two groups. The losers are both moms and dads and the underrepresented group called children! The winners have been lawyers and the political machine- whether called the courts, the legislature, or the executive branch leaders.

As we both toil, spending endless time and resources "bashing each other", has it occurred to only dads that neither group (moms or dads) is getting anywhere? Again, let's not forget the kids! That, while our government continues to increase taxes, devalues our earnings through inflation and continues to reign supreme in our lives, our households, and, over our children! Again, let's not forget the agent of debt- the attorneys, so employed to carry our message, whether in the courts or as officers of the various political branches. Have we all bought and sold their agenda? Their story? Their belief system?

History seems to so indicate! Whenever the people have discharged their duties to run government, thus anointing their leaders, who usurp the very people's rights once thought unimpeachable, now lost!

May I talk a vote? Who amongst us is guilty of sitting back apathetically not carrying his/ her duty to run/ control government? I'm guilty, as a citizen, a man and a father! My guilt is only exceeded by my ignorance- I bought and sold their lie!

Today's men's/ father's movement has at its core the fundamental belief that it's mom's fault! No lie could be farther from the truth. At the core of the feminist agenda is that its men's fault. Again, no lie could be farther from the truth!

We have blossomed today, most affected by the 1960's. We emerged from our political obedience into the false belief that our freedom was in the discharging of our responsibility! Then when we had our freedoms usurped there was a governmental agent, a lawyer or a political movement poised to fill our minds with the rhetoric of hatred. Hatred for another demographic group. And thus, the polarization begins again! May I suggest, the protagonist and antagonist of these battles are both created "Straw Horses" of the most sinister kind!

For all of recorded humanity, humanity has oft found itself polarized at the behest of its government and/ or its minions! To whom shall we lay this blame? In our foolishness, we blame each other, because they told us too! In our anger we fight each other! We target each other! And, thereby fuel the cycle of insanity by avoiding ever looking at ourselves!

May I suggest- that BOTH MOMS AND DADS need to take a candid individual look at, "how I am conducting myself?" I am for one- Guilty!

As we enter the second decade of our twenty-first century, may we start with an honest look at ourselves? Find that our greatest ally is our perceived enemy? And, seek to find ways to bridge our gaps? To work towards equality amongst all of our polarized demographic concerns?

Big Daddy

DaddyBlogger Gives Glenn Sacks Serious Props

DaddyBlogger gives Glenn Sacks serious props for covering the DC Festival 2008!  Glenn Sacks just wrote an article on the DC Festival 2008.  Please be sure to thank him for his coverage of this very important upcoming event.

Please be sure to attend the DC Festival 2008.

Visit Cycling4Children.com for more updates on the Equal Parenting Bike Trek.

2008 Equal Parenting Bike Trek Main Page

Equal Parenting Bike Trek Departure

2008 Equal Parenting Bike Trek departure from Lansing Michigan.

Please be sure to attend the DC Festival 2008.

Visit Cycling4Children.com for more updates on the Equal Parenting Bike Trek.

2008 Equal Parenting Bike Trek Main Page

View Even More Videos from the Equal Parenting Bike Trek 2007/2008

Equal Parenting Wins in Florida. Victory for Children!

"Mothers and fathers will have 50-50 rights to their children in a divorce beginning Oct. 1."  You can review more information about this in an article written by Jenny Andreasson of The Voice.  Ms. Andreasson should have titled the article "Victory for Children" because that is who really wins in all of this.

Benefits of Equal Parenting if both parents are fit and willing.

Who is holding Equal Parenting up in the state of Michigan?  Michigan Democrats such as State Senator Mark Schauer, Representative Andy Dillon, Representative Mark Meadows and Representative Andy Coulouris.  These Michigan Democrats and several others are holding up the benefits of Equal Parenting in Michigan.  They are not serving their constituents - poll after poll shows Michigan voters support Equal Parenting.  They support the Michigan Bar Family Law Section which opposses Equal Parenting legislation such as Michigan House Bill 4564. 

We are told during election time that Michigan Democrats serve the needs of the common person, however in this case it appears they ignore their constituents while submitting the the demands of the Family Law Section of the Michigan Bar.  So - rich attorneys and Michigan Democrats are delaying the benefits Equal Parenting brings to children, parents and society.  CONSIDER THIS WHEN YOU VOTE IN NOVEMBER!

Parental and Civil Rights Alliance Launched by A Child's Right

A Child's Right recently launched the Parental and Civil Rights Alliance.  The rare opportunity to form a Meetup Alliance is by invite only and not open to the general public.  Quite the honor! In less than two days this Alliance already has 26 organizations that have joined with over 53,000 collective members!  Incredible results in a short period of time and we expect the Parental and Civil Rights Alliance to be listed in the Top 10 Largest Meetup Alliance list.

Please join the Parental and Civil Rights Alliance.  Great way to pull more people into your local group.  26  groups and growing!

Only those who want to start a group or already have one (via Meetup, Facebook, Google, Yahoo, active website, etc.) can join the Parental and Civil Rights Alliance right now. If you don't want to be a group organizer, you can find an existing group on the internet, Meetup, Facebook, MySpace, etc and ask them to join the alliance.  Or start your own group right here in the Parental and Civil Rights Alliance.

If you have a leadership role in a local group or organization you should join the Parental and Civil Rights Alliance for the following benefits:
1)  The Parental and Civil Rights Alliance is a fantastic tool to help parental and civil rights activists all over the country to meet and organize in person.
2)  Network with similar organizations and groups to increase turnout at your local events.
3)  Learn from the successes and failures of local groups.
4)  Give your local organization an additional web presence with link.  Thousands of people visit the main page for Meetup Alliance daily and look for a local group in their area...look at it like the yellow pages – but this is free!
5)  Increase your membership totals in your local organization.  The Parental and Civil Rights Alliance allows those who come across it on the internet to search for a local group in their area.
6)  Want to carpool to a national event?  Research local groups and consolidate resources for a successful turnout.
7)  Network with Meetup groups, Yahoo groups, Facebook groups, MySpace groups and more!
8)  Expose your next event or meeting to a national audience!
9)  Create your own group's resource page.
10)  Finally create an international coalition of parental and civil rights activists!

Creating your own Alliance is not open to the public and the chance to grow this was given to me on an invite only basis from Meetup.  They are still in a Beta run and new features will be added very soon!

Meetup Alliance is the best way for leaders of local groups to share, learn and communicate.
Joining is free and will only take a minute. Just click the link below:
http://www.meetupalliance.com/parentalrights   

Pecuniary Interest

Yet again!  Excellent article by Big Daddy.

Pecuniary Interest

pe•cu•ni•ar•y / piˈkyoōnēˌerē/ • adj. formal of, relating to, or consisting of money: he admitted obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception.

As a boy growing up in the 70’s, my father taught me a valuable lesson towards understanding, often times, the seemingly peculiar chain of events of an incident. He said,
“Just follow the money trail. Then you’ll know both why and what has and will happen.”
Sage words of wisdom from the “Ole man!” These words were not any more truthful then, than they are now!

As I progressed thru my divorce proceedings, ultimately believing the judicial system would soon discover the truth about myself- contrary to how my Ex portrayed me; the truth of my ability to raise my kids- contrary to how my Ex portrayed me; and, the truth of the need for my four young children to have both parents equally involved in their lives, I became disillusioned, contrary to my formerly held belief, over the continuous Orders rendered by the Court! First in its sole custody award to my Ex. Then, its outrageous child and spousal support awards- triple the state’s mandated formula. Finally, as a death knell, an order of visitation, with my kids, for only four days per month! There were no summer vacations, only six half days of holidays and not any time on their birthdays. I was devastated. I couldn’t believe it! I fought back, only to lose again, and again.

After my third stint in the county jail, for allegedly being in Contempt for support arrearages; I guess over 80% garnishment of my check was not enough; I began to research this obvious injustice from my father’s old adage- “follow the money trail.” I soon discovered my Court’s pecuniary interest in: Making me a non-custodial parent; Ordering support triple the state’s formula; Refusing to reduce my support despite proof of my wage; Illegally editing the Official Court Record; Repeatedly incarcerating me for alleged contempt; Refusing to provide me with a Court appointed attorney as an indigent; And, Worst of all, taking my kids away from me by suspending my parenting time!

The Court had developed a racket, a term commonly applied to syndicated crime families. The law had become the mob! Back in 1995, the Federal Legislature re-worded its laws for Welfare, Food Stamps, etc. The old wording was “a mother with child(ren) who has an absent father,” to the new wording, “non-custodial parent.” The seemingly innocuous re-wording was intended to defray the huge expenses the Feds were paying out to states in Food Stamps, Welfare, etc by incentivizing states to begin collecting child support from the absent father, now called the non-custodial parent. These, seemingly were the proper things to do. Why should children be allocated tax dollars for their care instead of parents paying to care for their own children? Ah, but we missed that third variable didn’t we? “The Federal Government wanted to incentivize the states.”

The states’ incentive is called Federal Title IV Block Grant Funding. The states receive funding from the Federal Government at a 2:1 match. (There are actually additional incentives for states beyond this figure tied to their performances) These block grants go straight to the County Court. Ah ha! My father was right! “Follow the money trail.” Now the injustices made sense. Now the kidnapping of my children made sense! Now the senseless incarcerations made sense. Now the erasing of Court documents made sense. Now the falsely claimed, irrationally applied, “Best Interest of the Children” made sense! Now the state’s hypocrisy made sense!

The next time you wander into a Family Court in MI and you hear a non-custodial parent attacking the court for its pecuniary interest, remember what my “ole man” said, “follow the money trail!” Sage advice for those of us who have children!

Big Daddy

Legal Positivism and Non-custodial Parents

- Please welcome our new blogger on DaddyBlogger.com-

-We are very thankful for the insight and writings of "Big Daddy"-

Legal Positivism and NCP’s

[W]hy then do parents who have NOT abandoned their child(ren) accept being classified as “non-custodial”???  Doesn’t accepting the label of “non-custodial” further the idea that legal positivism will be tolerated rather than attacked ferociously as well?

I agree with your implications. Legal Positivism is the denial of morality in law. While it might be argued not every law has moral implications (although I would present a different thesis), the legal positivist would assert no law has any moral implication. The law and morality are separately defined circles that never overlap. Our defense against legal positivism is founded in our basic assumptions. Or, as I am want of saying, our belief system!

That we the people, ever claim to have any rights must necessarily be derivative from an Authority. That we insist, that we have unalienable rights inherent within our beings, necessarily requires that those rights come both from said Authority and are also embodied within that said Authority, not the law. Otherwise, we begin down the slippery slope of relativism- non-absolutes. Thus, emerging with the reigning power self-granting its own authority- by law, according to its own agenda- sovereign’s will, to the degradation of the masses' once assumed unalienable rights, now absent Authority. The telos- The ultimate result, leads to totalitarianism!

One cannot insist he/ she has unalienable rights without granting that said unalienable rights are both embodied within and derivative from God! Once, we allowed the government to convince us that God was not allowed in the schools, thirty plus years ago, we began down the slippery road of relativism; Utilizing the replacement theology of existentialism; interpreting with the hermeneutic of modernism (and now post-modernism) resulting in the employed methodology of legal positivism to not only law, but also life. Absent of God, we have become absent of morality.

While woman for several decades have been moving their collective agendas through the legislatures and the courts, we men, more broadly IV-D and IV-E non-custodial victims, have nobody but ourselves to blame! We stood passive far too long ago, discharging our duty in the belief that- unalienable rights have no requisite in corresponding duties! Simple contract law asserts that "no right exists without a corresponding duty!" While assigning our duty to our elected officials we also, ignorantly, discharged our right to control government.

It is no wonder, within our ranks, that we see the evidences of our discharged duty. On the one hand, we have tyranny, ranging from ranting to, in some cases, full fledge gun assaults. On the other hand, we have tyranny's logical antithesis- apathy! Such has gathered us to this day!

“The fatuous path of the amoral person is the silent anesthesia of doom!”

Big Daddy

(please feel free to comment - no account is required!)

DC Festival 2008 Continues Under the Leadership of Lary Holland and Numerous Organizations

We are proud of the efforts of Lary Holland and numerous other organizations sending a message to the ACFC that this event will continue!  We applaud this courageous effort to make sure that the voices of those concerned over the right to parent and excessive government intrusion will not go unheard.

If you are an individual or organization we ask that you send a letter of support to Lary Holland and the DC Festival 2008 Team at laryholland@sbcglobal.net.  A growing number of organizations have already signed on in support of this important effort!  Make your support known now by sending your letter of support. 

Press Release

When and Where?

Why should you support this effort, attend it and encourage others to attend as well?

Listen in Tonight! Robert Pedersen on the Talkshow "Get Off The Bench" with Host Lary Holland

Please join us tonight at 8PM EST on the popular talkshow "Get Off The Bench".  What is this talkshow about?  Listen to this:

Call in or listen on your computer tonight as host Lary Holland interviews Equal Parenting Bike Trek Cyclist Robert Pedersen.

Call into the talkshow today at 8PM : 724-444-7444 TALKCAST ID: 43507

Or listen on your computer by getting a talkshoe account.

Be sure to also check out Lary Holland's Family Court Reports.

View the always updating list of media and new media coverage of the 2008 Equal Parenting Bike Trek.

Equal Parenting Cyclist Robert Pedersen - Front Page Detroit News, Mitch Albom Show, and the Dave Jaconette Show

Beyond Incredible!  Equal Parenting Cyclist, Co-founder of A Child's Right, DaddyBlogger and Detroit News featured fatherhood blogger Robert Pedersen made the FRONT PAGE of the Detroit News. This front page story with color photo was done by reporter Kim Kozlowski of the Detroit News.  This is Michigan's largest newspaper in the state of Michigan with overlapping coverage in Indiana and Ohio.  Circulation total is well over 300,000!

The article online also reached such popular demand that Detroit News placed in on their homepage and added additional online resources to the story.  They also linked to Robert Pedersen's blog with the Detroit News - he is one of their featured fatherhood bloggers.

The article by reporter Kim Kozlowski is still, after 24 hours in their most popular section on the homepage of the Detroit News.  With this success of this article Detroit News also conducted an online survey which is overwhelmingly in favor of shared parenting.

Be sure to comment on the article and vote in their online poll.  Also be sure to visit Robert Pedersen's blog with the Detroit News and comment on his four articles with many more to come.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Today Robert Pedersen was also on the Mitch Albom Show which is nationally syndicated and has a massive audience in the state of Michigan.  Not only does Mitch have a popular radio show, but he is also author of many books such as Tuesdays with Morrie and is a frequent guest on shows like Oprah and more.

 

Prior to the Mitch Albom show Robert interviewed on the Dave Jaconette Show out of Kalamazoo.  Robert seemed very impressed with Jaconette's interviewing style.  We are hoping to get recordings of the interviews.

Shocking Documentary on Family Courts in America

Support?  System Down is making its premiere this evening in California.  The intention of the filmmaker is to bring this film to other states including Michigan.  A Child's Right and Cycling4Children are both official sponsors of this documentary.

This documentary is truly shocking and will put you through an emotional rollercoaster.  According to the film’s website, “Support? explores the fundamental flaws in America’s Family Courts regarding the Divorce and Child Support System. The film explores the problems through over 38 interviews with both custodial and non-custodial parents and the attorneys, judges and county employees on both sides of the paradigm.”

View all four shocking trailers:

Corruption

It’s About The Kids

Divorce is Ugly Business

Military Soldiers Caught in the Crossfire of the Family Court Systems

The four trailers will show you the high quality of this film. We will most certainly keep our readers informed of the upcoming release in Michigan as soon as I receive a date. If you live near the showing in California be sure to purchase tickets now!

Associated Press (AP) Photographer Takes Pictures of Equal Parenting Bike Trek Cyclist Robert Pedersen

A very interesting process.  An Associated Press (AP) Photographer took a couple hundred pictures of Robert Pedersen training for the 758 mile Equal Parenting Bike Trek from Lansing MI to Washington D.C.  This happened very early in the morning today.  We were told that other newspapers and media organizations can buy these photos from AP to utilize in their stories.  We did confirm that some of these pictures will be used by THE largest newspaper in the state of Michigan - their total circulation is over 300,000!!!  We will let you know when this will be published.  Stay tuned!

2008 Equal Parenting Bike Trek

Robert Pedersen - Featured Blogger for Detroit News

76.208.62.105 Thanks for visiting. REMEMBER 6 days a month is child abuse. A child's right = equal time with both fit and willing parents.

Two Children and Their Mother Live With Decomposing Corpse for Two Months

A mother and her two children lived with a decomposing corpse on their only toilet for close to two months.  On the advice of the mother's spiritual leader they were told to pray for the corpse to come back to life.    If this happened in Michigan it just might be one of the few instances where the Friend of the Court might make a recommendation in the father's favor for child custody.   All jokes aside that attempt to drive a point about the significant gender bias in Michigan's child custody cases - this is one sick momma.

The mother told the children that if they were discovered that the children would have to get jobs and go to public schools because the "grandmother" paid all the bills.  Praying near the toilet for "grandma" to come back to life would somehow bring her back to life.  Here is a thought for mom - GET A JOB and stop expecting handouts!

The damage to the children will be permanent.  How could anyone recover from witnessing something this awful?  Tammy Lewis and the so called spiritual leader are being held in jail for felony charges of child abuse.  Why was this not caught sooner?  What warning signs could have been caught in order to help the children?

Michigan House Bill 4564 - Michigan Shared Parenting

Michigan House Bill 4564 Hearing

Children have a fundamental right to be loved, guided, educated and nurtured equally by both fit and willing parents.  To deny this is wrong.  To deny this is child abuse.

Please help us reform Michigan's antiquated and harmful child custody laws join the A Child's Right Meetup group:

Click here to check out
The A Child's Right Meetup Group!

Shared Parenting Facts and Fiction by Dr. Linda Nielsen - Professor of Women Studies Wake Forest University.

Derek Bailey, MSW Dance4Equality

Jim Semerad Dads and Moms of Michigan

Murray Davis National Family Justice Association

Dr. Mike Ross Family Rights Coalition

Minister Ronald Smith Children Need Both Parents, Inc.

Bill Reisdorf, Esq.

Dave Taylor

Please bookmark this page using one of the bookmarking services below. Thank you.

HB4564 Michigan House Bill 4564 Shared Parenting Equal Parenting Joint Physical Custody Joint CustodyMichigan Father's Rights Fatherhood Fathers Men Divorce children's rightsFather's Rights A Child's Right Dads of Michigan Dads and Moms of Michigan Family Rights Coalition National Family Justice AssociationDance4Equality Derek Bailey Dave Taylor Delete Jim Semerad Mike RossMurray Davis Bill Reisdorf Family Law Reform Michigan Family Law Reform

Michigan House Bill 4564 Testimony by Derek Bailey, MSW of Dance4Equaltiy

A Child's Right had the pleasure of urging Derek Bailey, MSW and Dance4Equality to attend the hearings for Michigan House Bill 4564.  American Indian Shared Parenting Organization, Dance4Equality was present outside of the House Building Office performing their spiritual dance in support of Michigan House Bill 4564.  Derek Bailey, Tonia Bailey, Robert Pedersen and myself (Angela) had an excellent time the night before the hearings learning much about the culture of Derek Bailey's tribe which is located in Michigan.  We experienced an amazing connection with the couple and are so proud to call them close friends.  To see some of the members of Dance4Equality walk into the hearing room was breathtaking to say the least!  A Child's Right is proudly affiliated with Dance4Equality.

Derek Bailey, MSW did an outstanding job outlining how shared parenting would positively impact his tribal community.  He also did an incredible job explaining his viewpoint as a state of Michigan licensed clinical social worker and MSW.  Dance4Equality CLEARLY "put themselves on the map" in Lansing as a leading shared parenting organization in Michigan.  There was a tremendous sense of pride by all who supported Michigan House Bill 4564 when Dance4Equality was present.

Michigan Child Custody

Michigan Child Custody. Michigan Father's Rights. Michigan Equal Parenting Rights. Michigan non-custodial parents. Michigan Grandparents. Michigan step-parents. All are welcome.

Click here to check out
The A Child's Right Meetup Group!

Dad Vs. Dell. Have you been screwed by Dell?

Dad vs. Dell.  The Ultimate Case of "Dell Hell"?  Dell Tech Support Case Number #607307171

Special Thanks to Protein Wisdom for informing their thousands of readers about this blog post. Special Thanks to Erica Ogg of CNET News for informing their thousands of readers about this post. I have also faxed this information to numerous computer and technology magazines, news organizations, etc.  Dell has now contacted me and I am waiting to see if they really make this "right" especially considering the time and energy just to get a proper response.  If Dell makes this "right" I will certainly post this and to what extent they went to correct this.

**PLEASE NOTE:  DELL HAS TAKEN CARE OF THEIR CUSTOMER IN THE END AND I AM VERY SATISFIED WITH WHAT THEY DID TO RESOLVE THIS AND KEEP THE CUSTOMER HAPPY**

Dad vs Dell - Close to a month, 37 different communications, a Certified letter to the CEO of Dell Computers, Inc, and 29 actual hours working directly with Dell Computers, Inc in my attempt to simply get my Dell laptop repaired or replaced.  Why did I spend the extra money for the NEXT DAY (including nights and weekends) in-home repair warranty?  Still unresolved!

Dell loves to sell their laptop warranty repair service at a very steep price.  I bought the 5 year NEXT DAY including nights and weekends in home repair.  "Next Day"  "Including Nights and Weekends" "In Home Repair" Sounds great huh?  My Dell Inspiron E1705 Laptop went AWAL on April 18 2008.  It is May 4 2008 and I am still waiting for a phone call to schedule the "Next Day in-home repair" despite over 37 communications with Dell Computers, Inc. via chat, email, phone and even a certified letter to the chairman and CEO of Dell - Michael S. Dell. 

This all comes at a horrible time for several reasons:  1) A large portion of my job in sales is completed on my personal Dell laptop 2) The rise in media and blog coverage over the upcoming Equal Parenting Bike Trek requires me to constantly update this event's homepage. 3) My wife and I just had a baby and I need a fast computer for uploading pictures and video for family members.

If you are in the market for a computer DO NOT BUY DELL.  You may eventually become a victim of Dell Hell and spend countless hours communicating with Dell seeking a solution.  Heck, I even gave them the option of sending me another laptop of equal or greater value.

Dell Technical Support Technicians will not give a crap about your problems and will recite the same solution.  They will go over the same troubleshooting despite the fact that the problem was identified and is available to them via your case number.  In several cases they even contradicted themselves as to what is wrong with your Dell laptop hardware, despite the faulty hardware already being identified and noted in the case notes.

Dell Technical Support Supervisors tell you over and over again that someone will call you and that your issue has been "escalated".  I have talked with two by phone, four by chat, and one by email.

Dell CEO and Chairman Michael S. Dell's office will not even send a letter passing the problem off to a particular department.  A Certified Letter to Michael S. Dell did not even generate a phone call or email by their incompetent technical support technicians.  Clearly Dell Computers, Inc Chairman and CEO must not see a basic level of customer service as required for future growth...if he does I am still waiting.

I am now very close to a month of zero response from a in-home repair technician despite 37 (and counting) communications with Dell Computers, Inc.  This has been a complete waste of over 29 hours of actual time communicating with Dell.  Time is money!  I figure they owe me at least $1,000 for the loss of my valuable time.

Can anyone suggest others ways to hopefully get this nightmare resolved?  That is...other than a class-action lawsuit by the many customers who have been screwed by Dell Computers, Inc. with similar circumstances.

Below is an incomplete summary of the problem, troubleshooting and Dell Technical Support communications. 

The ultimate boiling point came when a technician told me that my problem was different (over two weeks later) than what was diagnosed by a very lengthy session with a Dell Technical Support Supervisor.  I knew what was wrong with my Dell Inspiron E1705 based on my own troubleshooting, but went through the motions for Dell Technical Support in my first few contacts with them. 

Thus my solution matched the Dell Technical Support Supervisor's solution - I needed a new motherboard and video card. Over two weeks later a Dell Technical Support Technician tells me the problem is with my LCD screen, despite this being ruled out by two different Dell Supervisors.  KEEP IN MIND THEY HAVE ALL NOTES ASSIGNED TO A CASE NUMBER AND THIS WAS AN "ESCALATED CASE" SO ALL HARDWARE PROBLEMS ARE CLEARLY IDENTIFIED IN THE CASE NOTES. DELL PULLED THIS SOLUTION OUT OF THIN AIR OVER TWO WEEKS LATER!!

Certified Letter to CEO and Chairman of Dell Computers, Inc Michael S. Dell

04/23/08           Certified Mail # xxx

Michael S. Dell
Chairman of the Board and CEO
Dell Computer, Inc.
1 Dell Way
Round Rock, TX 78682-0001

Dear Michael S. Dell:

This is my final attempt to find a solution through Dell Computers, Inc. for my Dell Inspiron E1705. The technical/warranty support problems for my Dell Inspiron E1705 has led me to vigorously seek other Dell customers with similar computer and support problems that create the closest thing to what it must feel like to be in hell.

Please note I have been a repeat customer of Dell and have purchased XPS Desktops, the Dell Inspiron E1705, a Dell Axim handheld and have referred many family members such as my father to also purchase a Dell.  I think this may be my turning point towards Dell.  I would like to resolve this through you immediately.

I have spent roughly 27 hours dealing DIRECTLY with Dell technical/warranty support via chat and phone.  By my calculations this amounts to $1080 in value of the time I have wasted repeatedly dealing with Dell Technical/Customer Support and yet again having NOTHING resolved.  I have been promised one thing after another to only find myself disappointed over and over again.

I am requesting that my Dell Laptop with the Service Tag #xxxxxxx be IMMEDIATELY repaired or allow me to have this unit replaced with something similar/better which would be agreed upon by ME.

I have found MANY Dell customers with the exact same problem that I am having.  You can review my support notes via Service Tag #xxxxxxx or Case #:  xxxxxxxxx. 

I was promised that my Dell would be fixed by now.   I was told that someone would call me regarding coming to my home to repair this laptop and no one has yet to do this…still waiting.

Each time I contact Dell Support/Warranty I get different answers from the technician.  I am tired of the run around which now feels deliberate in nature.  Not being able to use my computer has caused a tremendous amount of stress.  Added to this stress is the wasted time and money dealing with Dell Support having them once again not resolve my problem.

I have attached an example of my latest Dell Support Chat Session notes and also a copy of what I have been leaving (my frustrations) in computer forums all across the Internet.  There is ample evidence to suggest that there are many Dell customers who have the same problem with their video card/motherboard PLUS the same lousy customer service response to resolving my problem.

I hope this can be resolved immediately.

Respectfully,

Contact Info

Forum Post and Brief Summary of Troubleshooting

Thank Goodness I Found This Post - Dell Inspiron E1705
The Dell Tech Supervisor was supposed to call me over an hour ago so I thought I would add my experience with this. Just spent the last 6-7 hours researching this problem and communicating back and forth on Dell Tech Chat Support which has been less than helpful...seemed at times I knew more than they did perhaps from Popey's post.

How it all started:

Using my Dell Inspiron E1705 to view a photo slide show. Screen flashed for a second and then went black but was still illuminated if you looked closely at it.

Tried the usual reboot a few times and nothing. The system start up appeared to go ok but you could see green/yellowish lines running down the screen. After the system was rebooted with drivers the screen went black as described above. Don't waste your time doing a system restore because this will not work to resolve this issue.

Got on to another laptop and researched this problem.
Utilized Dell Chat Tech support for several hours back and forth and what was most frustrating was that the chat sessions would end abruptly with out my case being resolved.

Dell will tell you that if you update your BIOS and complete a unistall/reinstall of the NVIDIA GE FORCE GO 7900GT that this will solve the problem. Based on hours of researching this online in numerous forums this NEVER resolves the issue.

The only way I could go online with the laptop was to turn off computer and to start it in SAFE MODE by pressing F8 repeatedly as you powered on the laptop. In SAFE MODE I was able to disable the video card which allowed me to go online with the laptop and I had all functions with the exception of the horrible screen resolution caused by disabling the video card.

I did an uninstall/reinstall of the 7900GT and as soon as the reinstall completed and the video card driver was installed the screen went black yet again. Dell Tech Support kept wanting to "flash" and update my BIOS which I kept telling them that I had the latest update on the BIOS which was A09 (06/27/07)

After MANY hours of Dell Tech Support via chat and all of the sudden abrupt chat disconnects where I had to start all over again explaining this, NOTHING WAS RESOLVED STILL.

So the Dell Tech Rep told me to run a special hardware/hard-drive diagnostic test. To run this you hold down the Fn key while you power up your piece of crap Dell Laptop. I was told that this would take 15-20 mins and that the Dell tech Rep's supervisor would call me on my phone to discuss this problem further...STILL waiting for the call. (they never did by the way) After the roughly 15-20 mins of running this test the test stated that everything seemed ok and that I had the option of running a more extensive test which would require another 20-30 mins to run. Since the Dell tech Supervisor had not followed through on what was promised I elected to run this more extensive test..still nothing wrong according to the test.

I told Dell from the start to send an engineer to my house to fix it and to bring a new video card and motherboard since it is integrated. So here I am still waiting for the phone call when I need my laptop urgently for work. They promised a call in 15-20 mins by the supervisor and they failed to deliver.

I am so glad that I found this post because the way popey described it in detail made me realize that this was a much bigger issue than a simple BOIS update or uninstall/reinstall of the video driver.

Based on all of these comments to this post it is VERY CLEAR that DELL has serious issues with this happening to not only XPS systems but also to INSPIRON laptops as well.

Can you say class action lawsuit against Dell?

Here I am still waiting for Dell to call as promised!!

Thank you again for such a detailed post.

Copy of a Dell Technical Support Chat Over A Week Later From Being Told I Would Have an In-Home Technician Call Me (Note this is just one of many communications with them!!)

You Will Just Love This...

1:49:32 AM      
System  You are now being connected to an agent. Thank you for using Dell Chat
1:49:32 AM      
System  Connected with Rahul_127805
1:49:39 AM      
ME  Hello
1:49:39 AM      
Rahul_127805  Thank you for contacting Dell Technical Support. My name is Rahul and my rep ID number is 127805. How may I assist you today?
1:50:00 AM      
Rahul_127805  Hello, how are you?
1:50:16 AM      
ME   A supervisor was supposed to contact his "higher-ups" to get a compatible video card and motherboard and get back to me on Monday...no call yet again!
1:50:37 AM      
Rahul_127805  I apologize for the inconvenience caused to you.
1:52:01 AM      
ME   The frustrations have been BEYOND anything I have expected. I am planning on contacting PC World and PC Magazine with my frustrations and to blog about my horrible experience so far. Please report to higher ups and advise.
1:52:57 AM      
ME   hello
1:53:12 AM      
Rahul_127805  I apologize for the inconvenience caused to you, I will do my best to help you with your issue today.
1:53:22 AM      
Rahul_127805  As a consumer myself, I can certainly understand your frustration.
1:53:22 AM      
Rahul_127805  Please give me 2 to 3 minutes to pull up your account information.
1:53:39 AM      
ME   ok
1:58:08 AM      
Rahul_127805  Thank you for staying online. I appreciate your patience.
1:58:13 AM      
ME   ok
1:58:38 AM      
Rahul_127805  I reviewed the case and will send a technician to your place and replace the faulty parts on your computer.
1:59:17 AM      
ME   ok the supervisor said that he needed approval form higher ups to find a compatible video card and motherboard
1:59:53 AM      
Rahul_127805  Don't worry about the part we will arrange the parts for you and send the technician as soon as it is available,.
2:00:04 AM      
Rahul_127805  let me check if the parts are available.
2:00:46 AM      
ME   One minute...I have next day repair in home service including nights and weekends. I need this completed by Friday at the latest.
2:01:54 AM      
Rahul_127805 Iam looking for the parts.
2:01:58 AM      
ME   ok
2:02:04 AM      
Rahul_127805  let me check if the parts are available.
2:02:08 AM      
ME   ok
2:07:08 AM      
Rahul_127805  I have forwarded the information to the concerned department and one of the technician will follow up on this. We were not able to create a dispatch on this issue as one of the important part was back lodged.
2:07:52 AM      
ME   They said they were going to find a different and compatible video card...you should have read this in the notes from the supervisor.
2:08:23 AM      
ME   If this is the case and it is back logged Dell should send me a new computer despite being past 30 days
2:08:38 AM      
Rahul_127805  Don't worry about the part we will do our best to resolve this for you as soon as possible.
2:09:15 AM      
ME   I know but I was told someone would be out to my house by now.
2:11:40 AM      
ME   please understand that I keep getting promises and there is never any follow through. I was told by now that my dell would be fixed. You have told me nothing different from what the supervisor told me...I realize you are trying to help.
2:13:01 AM      
ME   still there?
2:14:40 AM      
ME   hello
2:17:23 AM      
ME   Are you still there?
2:19:30 AM      
ME   This is not good customer service if no one responds. Are you there? It says this chat help session is still live.
2:20:42 AM      
ME   Rahul_127805
2:20:51 AM      
ME  are you there???
2:22:35 AM      
ME   OK I have now been pushed to the edge. I will contact the Dell CEO.
2:24:42 AM      
Rahul_127805  Tools are been updated due to which there will be some delay in my responses.
2:24:53 AM      
ME   ok...
2:25:07 AM      
Rahul_127805  I am sorry for delay in my responses.
2:25:10 AM      
ME   ok
2:26:17 AM      
Rahul_127805  You will get a call back on this issue.
2:26:27 AM      
ME   when
2:26:54 AM      
ME  they should just replace this instead of making me wait forever for the part to come in
2:28:23 AM      
Rahul_127805  We will surely send the technician with parts.

2:28:31 AM      
ME   when
2:29:06 AM      
ME   Please note to supervisor and technician I will need BOTH a new video card and a new motherboard.
2:29:53 AM      
Rahul_127805  Yes, you will these parts.
2:30:21 AM      
ME   I need fixed by Friday at the latest. I have next day in home repair
2:31:33 AM      
Rahul_127805  I will include this in the supervisor comments.
2:32:43 AM      
ME   ok. Thank you for being understanding as to how I am frustrated with this. Please tell supervisor that I am sending a certified letter to the CEO of Dell just in case if this is not handled immediately.
2:36:03 AM      
Rahul_127805  I will surely take care of this.
2:36:08 AM      
Rahul_127805  Is there anything else regarding your Dell system that you need help with?
2:36:16 AM      
ME   no
2:36:21 AM      
Rahul_127805  Are you satisfied with the level of service provided to you on this chat today?
2:36:44 AM      
ME  still unresolved!
2:37:23 AM      
Rahul_127805  Its been a pleasure assisting you today.
Thank you for choosing Dell Technical support. Have a Wonderful day ahead.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seven days later I receive the email response below. The ultimate in Dell Hell to date. Keep in mind that within these seven days I have emailed, called, used the Dell Chat Technical Support numerous times AND sent a Certified letter to Dell Computers, Inc CEO and Chairman Michael S. Dell, etc.

Email from Dell Tech Support

Dear______,

Thank you for replying. I appreciate your patience and cooperation.

As I understand from the email you want to get the motherboard and video card replaced with the LCD. (no...I told them I was STILL waiting for these to be replaced after being told an in-home repair technician would call and repair)

The issue we are facing is not related to motherboard and video card and so motherboard and video card does not need to be replaced. (Read my case notes and stop wasting the customers time!  You contradict numerous communications with and by Dell Technical Support, troubleshooting and diagnosis by a Dell Technical Support Supervisor for hours on the phone and my own troubleshooting)

The technician will surely come and replace the LCD on the system, for replacing the LCD please provide me with the shipping address and the contact number to create the dispatch. Please provide me with the information to proceed further

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to assist you. Your case number for this interaction is XXXXXX.  Please keep this number for your records as it will help us keep the track of this issue.

If you require any further assistance, please feel free to visit our Online Technical Support Center at: http://support.dell.com.

Our 24x7 technical support center can also be reached at 1-800-624-9896. (Please have your Express Service Code handy when calling)

Thank you again for contacting Dell Technical Support.

Respectfully,
Manjit Singh.
Dell Rep ID 131846
Dell Technical Support
Timings: 10:00 A.M to 07:00 P.M CST
Weekly Offs: Sat/Sun.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So here I am close to a month later with no repair and the ultimate experience in horrible customer service by Dell Computers, Inc.  Now I wonder why I ever bought a Dell and the 5 year NEXT DAY (including nights and weekends) in-home repair warranty?

Dad Vs. Dell - Who will win this "war" in the middle of Dell Hell?

Would you buy another Dell?  I am not the only Dell customer who has experienced a level of customer service and warranty repair that could now be considered criminal in nature.

Do you also have a beef with Dell Computers, Inc?  Make sure you leave your "Dell Hell" story in our comment section - no account is required to comment.

Dell Dell Computers Inspiron E1705 Dell Laptops Dell Notebooks Michael DellComputers Computer Reviews Laptop Reviews Dell Reviews Dell Reliability Dell Customer ServiceDell Technical Support Technology Inspiron Desktops business news technology news

Can Women Rape Men?

Can Women Rape Men?  Is it even possible?  Sadly, some think that if the male had an erection he must have wanted it from the female and therefore could not be classified as rape.

Rape to a male by a female can occur if the male was unable or unwilling to consent to sex.  This can happen when they are 1) Under the age of consent (varies by state). 2) Handicapped or physically limited. 3) Impaired by alcohol or drugs.  4) Forced or coerced by a woman

Stimulation alone can cause a male to have an erection even if the stimulation is forced.  This is a scientific fact.  Males can have two types of erections psychogenic and reflex.  A reflex erection occurs when there is direct physical contact with the penis, ears, nipples or neck and is completely involuntary.  A reflex erection can occur without desire or sexual stimulating thoughts.  The ability to have this simple reflex is located in the sacral nerves (S2-S4) of the spinal cord.  Males can also become erect if they are on certain drugs or forced to take them.  They can also become erect by certain states of relaxation, anxiety, in certain stages of sleep, etc.

Review a compiled list by WND of the rape and/or sexual assault of over 100 males by females.

Sadly many males do not report that they were raped.   

Obviously any victim of rape should seek immediate medical and law enforcement help.

Several Resources to Review:

Stop Abuse for Everyone

Myths About Male Rape Victims

Wikipedia Violence Against Men

RADAR

Abused Men

ABOUT.COM, A Top 15 Content Provider, Covers the Equal Parenting Bike Trek

Last week we had the incredible experience of having Instapundit, one of the world's top ranked news and political blogs, cover the 2008 Equal Parenting Bike Trek. This single post by Instapundit exposed thousands upon thousands of people to this inspirational story.

So many news blogs are covering the 758 mile Equal Parenting Bike Trek that we are finding new coverage on a daily basis.  OVER One Hundred blogs have already covered this event.

ABOUT.COM, owned by the New York Times and recognized as a top 15 content site, just covered the 2008 Equal Parenting Bike Trek.  In less than 24 hours, thousands of readers have visited the main event page for the Equal Parenting Bike Trek! 

Please take the time to thank author Wayne Parker for covering this important human interest story.  Commenting does NOT require you to sign up for an account so it is very easy.  If you utilize Stumbleupon, Digg!, Mixx or other social bookmarking please do so on Wayne Parker's story.

Carol Rhodes, Former Michigan Friend of the Court Officer, Speaking at the Barry County Equal Parenting Symposium

A Child's Right recently organized a successful Equal Parenting Symposium in Barry County Michigan.  Following is Carol Rhodes, a former Michigan Friend of the Court officer, who blows the whistle on the bias and corruption in Michigan's family court systems.  Special Thanks to Phil Wurm for organizing this event and Special Thanks to the Barry County Democrats for allowing the use of their facility. 

A Child's Right will be bringing Equal Parenting Symposiums throughout all of Michigan.  If you would like your county to have a symposium please contact Darrick Scott-Farnsworth at darricksf@achildsright.net.  This is part one of Carol's speech.  We will have many more videos from speakers at this event in the near future on DaddyBlogger.com. 

Also -

PLEASE review the incredible media and blog coverage that is already occuring over the 2008 Equal Parenting Bike Trek.  Instapundit, About.com, Dr. Helen, Protein Wisdom and many more of the world's top ranked news blogs have already covered this.

Blogger's News Tip: Instapundit Covers the 2008 Equal Parenting Bike Trek

Literally thousands of new and unique visitors will be exposed to the exciting story of the 758 mile Equal Parenting Bike Trek thanks to the world famous blog Instapundit!  Instapundit brings more exposure to this event/story than any traditional media source possibly could.  This news and political blog averages between 250,000-500,000 visitors a day!!  Truly stunning by all comparisons.

Are you one of the few on planet earth that has not heard of Instapundit?  You might want to review this summary.  Ok...now you see why this is so huge?  I actually gave up tracking my visitor count on the main page for the Equal Parenting Bike Trek because there were literally thousands of people viewing it at once.

Currently over 95 blogs are buzzing about the 2008 Equal Parenting Bike Trek.  See our always updating list.

Parental Alienation Awareness Day is April 25th. Do You Know Someone Who Has Used This Form of Child Abuse?

Tomorrow you have a duty.  You have the responsibility of telling others that April 25 is Parental Alienation Awareness Day!  Parental Alienation is all too common now during and after divorces where children are involved.  Essentially the parent which attempts to alienate the other parent is too consumed in their hatred towards the ex-spouse to even realize the tremendous damage they are doing to their own children.  Parental Alienation can be subtle or openly pursued.  Mothers and Fathers can both be responsible for Parental Alienation.  They do not love their children enough to place aside their hatred towards their ex-spouse. 

Moms and Dads aren't the only ones which can use parental alienation tactics.  Grandparents can become child abusers as well by bad mouthing the father in front of the children.  It is all too common to find that they were responsible for parental alienation towards their own children if there was a divorce in the mix.  Sadly, they can shape their own children to be adults that use parental alienation tactics.  Children of divorce have already been through enough and will have many additional challenges just because of their parents getting a divorce.  Parents and grandparents should love their children/grandchildren enough to eliminate any form of parental alientaion.

Parental Alienation is indeed child abuse!  A few examples of Parental Alienation can be:  1)  Mom tells Dad he is a "deadbeat dad" in front of the children.  2)  Mom refuses to allow meaningful time for Dad to form an appropriate parent-child relationship which includes nuturing, educating, reading, loving, guiding, playing games and toys with the child, etc.  3)  Mom allows her friends that visit to speak poorly about the Dad in front of the children with no correction by Mom.  4)  Bad mouthing or undermining the other parent in front of the children.  5)  Mom tells children that Dad did not call when he actually did to say goodnight, talk briefly, etc.  To clarify again -  both genders are capable of parental alienation.

What are some warning signs of Parental Alienation?

-Children perceive one parent as causing financial problems of the other parent
-Children appear to have knowledge of details relating to the legal aspects of the divorce or separation
-Children show sudden negative change in their attitude toward a parent/guardian
-Children appear uneasy around target parent - they resort to "one word" answers and fail to engage openly in conversations as they previously have done
-Children are uncharacteristically rude and/or belligerent to target parent
-Access time is not occurring as agreed upon or court ordered - visitation is being unilaterally cut back by the other parent
-Hostile Aggressive Parent (HAP) parent undermines the other parent or speaks disparagingly about other parent in the presence of the children
-HAP parent starts making reference to other parent as being abusive and a risk to the children with no apparent good reason
-Allowing children to choose whether or not to visit a parent, even though the court has not empowered the parent or children to make that choice
-Telling the children about why the marriage failed and giving them the details about the divorce or separation settlement
-Refusing the other parent access to medical and school records or schedules of extracurricular activities
-Blaming the other parent for not having enough money, changes in lifestyle, or other problems in the children's presence
-Rigid enforcement of the visitation schedule for no good reason other than getting back at the other parent
-False allegations of sexual abuse, drug and alcohol use or other illegal activities by the other parent;
-Asks the children to choose one parent over the other
-Reminding the children that the children have good reason to feel angry toward their other parent;
-Setting up temptations that interfere with visitation
-Giving the children the impression that having a good time on a visit will hurt the parent;
-Asking the children about the other parent's personal life;
-'Rescuing' the children from the other parent when there is no danger.

If you are concered about Parental Alienation please tell at least two people tomorrow about this oftentimes hidden form of child abuse.  Print out this brochure and post it or hand out to others that you know.  Download parental_alienation_awareness_brochure.pdf

Hopefully with films such as Jake's Closet, which we discussed in a prior post, more people will become aware of Parental Alienation and put a stop to it.

A true to life case of Parental Alienation was discussed on Dr. Helen Smith's Blog.  If you are not reading her blog on a daily basis you are missing out on one of the best blogs on the internet.

A few DaddyBlogger recommedations:

Organizations   

Parental Alienation Awareness Organization

I have personally worked with this organization and they are excellent.  PAAO is leading the movement to get all governors in the United States to recognize Parental Alienation.  Does your state recognize Parental Alienation Awareness Day?

Split-n-Two

True Story of Parental Alienation

"Cheated" By Ronald E. and Ariel D. Smith - full disclosure - the author Ronald Smith is one of my best friends.  Here is a very powerful speech by him.  Minister Ronald Smith recently lost his son due to liver cancer.  He is always in our thoughts and prayers.

A Book To Combat Parental Alienation

I can not say enough positive things about the book below.  In fact, I even wrote a review about it on Amazon.com which is something I rarely make a point to do.  There is a reason why the ratings of this book are so high - it has helped many loving parents throughout the United States.

Divorce Poison By Dr. Richard A. Warshak

A Moving Video on Parental Alienation

The part that pulls on my heart is the line "Don't talk bad about my other parent like that. I still love them. And your words HURT me."

Jake's Closet - The Award Winning and Shocking Movie About A Child Caught In His Parent's Divorce

Jake's Closet is an award winning and shocking movie about a child caught between his divorcing parents and the parental alienation that is all too common in heated divorces.

Wow!  You must view the trailer for this haunting movie.

Jake's Closet Synopsis

When visiting the Jake's Closet movie website you find yourself looking around Jake's room.  Explore yourself and learn more about this movie.

Learn more about Parental Alienation and how common it is used in child custody disputes:

Split n Two

Parental Alienation Awareness Organization

Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, President Bush and John McCain Comment on the Equal Parenting Bike Trek

To find out the REAL scoop about the 2008 Equal Parenting Bike Trek visit Cycling4Children.com

John McCain George Bush President Bush Barack Obama Hillary Clinton McCainBush Obama Hillary Republicans Democrats MichiganLansing Lansing Michigan Election 08 2008 Elections Politics Fox News ChannelFunny Video Youtube Parody Video Political Video Equal Parenting Bike Trek cycling4childrenNews cycling bicycling fathers fatherhood menMySpace Ron Paul News Interview Libertarians Lansing Capitol American IndianNews and Politics computers entertainment Media News Pennsylvania

Blog News Tip: Over 85 Blogs Buzzing About the 2008 Equal Parenting Bike Trek

Blog News Tip:  Over 85 Blogs Buzzing About the 2008 Equal Parenting Bike Trek

Truly amazing new media buzz over the five fathers that are pedaling 758 miles for their children!!!

Some of the word's top ranked blogs have already covered this event/story.  What is even more exciting is that these are blogs that cover different topics; we have fatherhood, cycling, and news blogs covering this event for a good cause.  There is much excitement over the upcoming departure event in Lansing Michigan at the Capitol.

Here is just a sample of the blogs covering this exciting event:

Protein Wisdom

Protein Wisdom #2

Dr. Helen

Instapundit

Cycling Dude

Bicycling Magazine

Akindele Unleased

Murdoc Online

and many many more!

Help us spread the word about this event and if you know a blogger ask them to kindly cover this incredible story.

 

Wife, Tricia Walsh-Smith, Airs Divorce Grievances and Gets Revenge on Youtube

Tricia Walsh-Smith tells millions on Youtube her divorce grievances.  She makes allegations that are nasty against her husband.  She pulls out her wedding album, calls her husband's work and talks to the secretary and many more nasty things.  So sad that things so easily progress to this type of nastiness in divorces.  If you ask me she sounds like a bitter and vindictive wife.  Information from local news channel 6 on this divorce - they call it a "scary new step" in divorces.

Have you heard about the five fathers that are pedaling 758 miles for their children?