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An
Announcement Regarding Our Campaign
Against PBS's Anti-Father Breaking
the Silence |
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April
17, 2006 |
|
An Announcement
from the Leaders of the
Campaign Against PBS's Anti-Father
Breaking the Silence
The following
is a statement from
Fathers & Families,
the
American Coalition for Fathers
& Children, and
newspaper columnist
Glenn Sacks, the leaders
of the
Campaign Against PBS's Father-Bashing
Breaking the Silence:
"The
purpose of this letter is
to update you on what is
happening with PBS in relation
to its father-bashing documentary
Breaking the Silence: Children's
Stories. As most of
you know, last fall we led
a protest campaign against
the film.
"Breaking
the Silence, which aired
on many PBS affiliates in
late October, portrayed
divorcing dads who contested
custody as batterers who
wanted to punish and abuse
their ex-wives. It presented
an extremely one-sided,
harmful and inaccurate view
of divorce and child custody
cases.
"In
response to our protest,
over 10,000 people called
or wrote PBS, and our campaign
garnered
widespread media coverage.
From the beginning our demand
was simple--we wanted PBS
to provide fatherhood and
shared parenting |
|
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advocates
a meaningful opportunity
to present our side of the
issue. The campaign was
led by the shared parenting
organizations
Fathers & Families
and the
American Coalition for Fathers
& Children, and
by newspaper columnist
Glenn Sacks.
"Both
the Ombudsman for
PBS and the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting
(CPB)
spoke out strongly against
the biased nature of the
documentary. In a
statement released on
December 20, PBS notified
us that it would 'commission
an hour-long documentary'
that would be 'produced
and broadcast in Spring
2006' for the purpose of
further examining the 'complex
and important issues' raised
in the film and by our campaign.
Though PBS defended Breaking
the Silence, they pledged
that the 'hour-long treatment
of the subject will allow
ample opportunity' for those
of differing views to 'have
their perspectives shared,
challenged and debated.'
"We
commended PBS for understanding
our concerns and taking
action to address the situation.
We have been in talks with
the producers who are making
the new film on behalf of
PBS, and film crews will
be filming and conducting
interviews in New York,
Connecticut, Massachusetts,
and other places in April.
Fathers & Families members
will be filmed April 27
and 28. The producers have
informed us that they are
also interviewing other
experts on child custody,
family law, domestic violence,
and related issues.
"We
will keep you informed as
events progress.
Ned Holstein,
M.D., M.S., Chair, Board
of Directors, Fathers &
Families
Dan Hogan, J.D., Ph.D.,
Executive Director, Fathers
& Families
Mike McCormick, Executive
Director, American Coalition
for Fathers and Children
Glenn Sacks, newspaper columnist"
The PBS Campaign
I would
like once again to thank
the Sackson Horde and our
allies for their massive
participation in the campaign
against PBS's Breaking the
Silence. The film was a
public relations debacle
for PBS, particularly after
we revealed that one of
the mothers portrayed as
a heroic victim in the film
had been found culpable
of multiple acts of child
abuse by a California Juvenile
Court.
We will
not know the exact nature
of this new film for certain
until the final cut is made
and the film is broadcast.
However, over the past several
months PBS has taken steps
which indicate that they
intend to honor their commitment
to produce a balanced program. |
The American Coalition for
Fathers and Children
The American Coalition for
Fathers and Children is dedicated
to creating a family law system
which promotes equal rights
for all parties affected by
divorce. Contact the
ACFC at 1-800-978-3237 or
visit them on the web at
www.acfc.org.
Parenting Plan Calendar
Software
Shared Ground (R) is
an easy-to-use custody calendar
software program designed
for divorced families to
track visitation schedules.
Includes a built-in percentage
calculator, schedule templates,
free training and excellent
customer assistance. Parents,
attorneys, arbitrators and
mediators can generate equitable
parenting plans, which is
especially useful for parents
seeking fair division of
their children's time. FREE
TRIAL SOFTWARE AVAILABLE
by clicking
here. |
English Fatherhood Activists
Strike Again
According to
Reuters:
"Two fathers' rights
campaigners were arrested
on Friday after scaling Westminster
Abbey with a crucified dummy
Jesus Christ, police said.
"Two protesters demanding
greater access to their
children clambered up the
historic landmark on Thursday
with the dummy figure that
wore a T-shirt bearing the
words: 'Our Father Who Art
in Hell.'
"The 'Real Fathers
For Justice' said in a statement
that they had staged their
Easter protest to 'demand
that both parents be as
equal in family law as they
are in the eyes of God.'
"A police spokeswoman
said: 'They were arrested
for aggravated trespass
when they came down early
this afternoon. They have
been taken to a central
London police station.'
"In January, the mainstream
Fathers4Justice campaign
group decided to disband
after reports that police
had foiled a plot to kidnap
Prime Minister Tony Blair's
five-year-old son Leo.
"The group, which
insisted that none of its
current members had been
involved in any kidnap plot,
had staged several high-profile
protests in the past few
years.
"A campaigner dressed
as Batman climbed Queen
Elizabeth's Buckingham Palace
in 2004 and another threw
purple flour bombs at Blair
while he addressed parliament."
According to another report,
one of the two men protesting
had not seen his child for
four years.
The "kidnap plot"
mentioned by Reuters and
every other media outlet
reporting on the Westminster
Abbey protest was a scam.
At the time screaming headlines
proclaimed "Plot to
kidnap Blair's son smashed,"
"UK police foil plot
to kidnap Blair's son,"
and "Scotland Yard
uncovers plot to kidnap
Blair's son."
These illustrate Mark Twain's
assertion that "a lie
can travel halfway around
the world while the truth
is still putting on its
shoes."
Major media worldwide--including
CNN, the Associated Press,
the BBC, Fox News, Reuters,
and hundreds of newspapers--reported
that extremists tied to
the British fathers' rights
group Fathers 4 Justice
planned to kidnap British
Prime Minister Tony Blair's
five-year-old son Leo. Yet
subsequent reports reveal
that the sensationalized
kidnapping 'plot' was apparently
nothing more than drunken
pub chattering among a few
fools and loudmouths who
evidently didn't realize
they were being monitored.
Not a single arrest has
been made.
Nevertheless, this non-incident
is and will for many years
be used to portray the fathers'
movement as violent extremists.
It is certainly true that
fathers' groups do attract
a lunatic fringe. But most
fathers' activists are decent,
loving dads who can't quite
believe that the family
law system so readily allowed
them to be driven out of
the lives of the children
who love them and need them.
Fathers 4 Justice's always
nonviolent campaign has
included many daring, highly
publicized protests atop
cranes, bridges, and government
buildings. The grievances
which drive them and activists
in the US, Australia, and
Western Europe are very
real.
I have repeatedly defended
Fathers 4 Justice's tactics
and encouraged their extension
into the United States.
To learn more, see
The Future of the American
Father, my address to
the 2004 Men's Rights Congress
in Washington, DC. In my
speech I said:
"Fathers 4 Justice
has shown that men CAN fight
for themselves as men and
men CAN win. It takes a
strategy, it takes discipline,
and it takes unity...I want
to see us take the fight
here, and I want us to fight
with the same courage, the
same discipline, the same
humanity, the same humor,
and the same conviction
our brothers in England
have employed.
"Part of our problem
is that we've waited for
large numbers, and felt
that if we don't have them
we can't fight. What
Fathers 4 Justice has shown
us is that you don't need
large numbers of people--what
you need is a cause which
resonates with a lot of
people--and God knows the
mistreatment of fathers
certainly does--and you
need a small, disciplined
group willing to take dramatic
action to fight. I want
to see
David Chicks and
Jolly Stansbys and
Ron Davises and
Spidermen and
Powdermen in every American
city and in every legislature
and family court in the
country. We can fight, we
should fight, we must fight,
and the men in this room
right now should form the
core leadership of that
fight." |
|
BBC Program Covers International
Fatherhood Movement, Plays
Segments from His Side with
Glenn Sacks
The BBC recently did a
program on the international
fatherhood movement. The
show featured segments from
radio shows in South Africa,
Australia, the Czech Republic,
and
His Side with Glenn Sacks
here in the U.S. The program
discussed the way England's
Fathers 4 Justice helped
bring the issue of fathers'
rights into the public eye.
The segments from
His Side were from the
show
Father Fights Adoption Agency
for Right to Raise His Son
(7/17/05), which discussed
the Mark Huddleston case.
Huddleston is the biological
father of a 16-month-old
child he says he wants to
raise. But a judge has ruled
the child should remain
with its adoptive parents,
who have had custody since
the infant was three days
old. Huddleston claims he
didn't know the baby existed
until two months after its
birth, and the state said
the private adoption agency
hadn't properly notified
Huddleston.
Despite doing everything
possible to be a father
to his son, Huddleston's
baby boy was given away
by a vindictive mother working
hand in glove with a predatory
adoption agency. Sixteen
months and $70,000 in legal
fees later, Huddleston has
no rights to his own son.
Huddleston, his attorney
P.J. Hartman, and Mike McCormick,
Executive Director of the
American Coalition for Fathers
and Children, were guests
on the show.
To listen to the show,
click
here.
Parental Alienation Awareness
Day
Parental Alienation Awareness
Day on April 25 raises
awareness about Parental
Alienation Syndrome, the
psychological abuse children
suffer when a parent attempts
to turn his or her children
against the parent after
divorce or separation.
Parental Alienation involves
the systematic brainwashing
and manipulation of children,
both overtly and with subtle
behaviors, that results
in the destruction of a
loving relationship they
once shared with the parent.
As a result, the child fears
and/or hates the target
parent without reason. According
to psychologist Richard
Warshak, author of Divorce
Poison, in PAS cases "You
will see a degree of contempt
and cruelty reserved for
one's worst enemies".
In my column
PBS Declares War on Dads
(World Net Daily, 10/20/05),
I described numerous Parental
Alienation scenarios, including
the following:
"'A four year-old boy
is jumping up and down with
joy.
"'Daddy! Daddy!'
"Dad gets out of the
car.
"'Daddy's here! Daddy's
here!'
"The boy is behind
a locked screen door. He
tries to open it.
"'Daddy's here! Mommy,
look, daddy's here!'
"Dad knows he shouldn't
open the door. He waits
for his ex-wife to open
the door. She doesn't do
it.
"'This is my visitation
time,' Dad says, waving
a court document.
"Mom still won't open
the door.
"The boy jumps up and
down, saying 'daddy, daddy.'
He yanks on the screen door
handle but still can't get
it open.
"Dad looks at his little
boy. He pauses, takes a
deep breath, and walks back
to his car.
"The little boy doesn't
understand. Why won't daddy
come? Why is daddy walking
away from him?
"The little boy disappears
inside the house.
"Dad calls the police.
When the officers arrive
he shows them his court
documents. The officers
go inside to investigate.
They come out a few minutes
later.
"'Your son says he
doesn't want to see you,'
the officer says. 'There's
nothing I can do. You'll
have to deal with it in
the court. I can't make
him go with you if he doesn't
want to.'
"Dad finally gets to
see his kids three months
later. The children spit
on both him and their grandmother.
Almost in unison they repeat
'I don't want to be here.
I want to go home with mommy,
I don't want to be here.
I want to go home with mommy,
I don't want to be here.
I want to go home with mommy.'"
Experts backing
Parental Alienation Awareness
Day include Dr. Richard
Warshak, Dr. Michael Bone,
Dr. Reena Sommer, and numerous
others. Warshak played an
important role in the
LaMusga move-away case
in the California Supreme
Court (to learn more, click
here and
here). Bone helps divorced
parents through
Tree House Solutions,
which he co-founded. Sommer
has done fine work on PAS,
including during our
Campaign Against PBS's Father-Bashing
Breaking the Silence
and regarding the tragic
Lohstroh Parental Alienation
case. To hear
Sommer discuss PAS and
Lohstroh on
His Side with Glenn Sacks,
see
The Lohstroh Case: Alienating
Mother Pushes 10 Year-Old
Boy to Kill Father (10/31/04).
To learn more about Parental
Alienation Awareness Day,
go to
www.parental-alienation-awareness.com
or write to them
here.
Are You a Target of Parental
Alienation Syndrome?
The sponsors of
Parental Alienation Awareness
Day are interested in
hearing your PAS story.
To tell your story, click
here.
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Some Feminist Domestic Violence
Leaders Do Have Some Brain
Cells Firing
Some
of you may recall my sparring
with
Esta Soler, founder and
president of the Family Violence
Prevention Fund, one of the
world's leading domestic violence
organizations, in the San
Francisco Chronicle last
year. Soler was unhappy over
my column
Domestic violence a two-way
street ( San Francisco
Chronicle, 4/8/05) (aka
Domestic Violence Series Substitutes
Emotion for Facts)
and fired back at me
in the Chronicle,
calling my column a "shameful
example of cherry-picking
and distorting data to confuse
readers." Read her letter
here.
My domestic violence column
was written in response
to a recent series of alarmist,
manbashing articles in Chronicle.
The article series to which
this opinion column responds
is (Traces
of Danger Beneath the Calm
and
Deadly Warning, San
Francisco Chronicle,
3/13/05).
At the time we invited
Soler to discuss the issue
with us on
His Side with Glenn Sacks
but she declined. However,
I recently noticed some
encouraging news about Soler
in a
Men's News Daily
column by domestic violence
expert Richard L. Davis
called
Mandatory Arrest and No-Drop
Prosecution. Davis wrote:
"Soler believes that
all acts of intimate partner
violence are wrong. But,
Soler acknowledges that
domestic
violence is not one
person pushing another person
once or twice because of
an argument. Soler believes
that domestic violence
occurs when there is 'an
ongoing pattern
of fear, intimidation and
violent assault.'"
Davis also has some positive
news about Ellen Pence,
who pioneered the highly-influential
Duluth Intervention Project.
In my column
Domestic Violence Treatment
Policies Put Abused Women
in Harm's Way (Daily
Breeze [Los Angeles],
11/7/05) I wrote:
"Current domestic
violence treatment strategies
are based on the Duluth
model, which depicts domestic
violence as a function of
patriarchy and men's patriarchal
privilege. This model assumes
that the reason men physically
abuse women is to maintain
control over them. In ideologically-driven
classes for offenders, men
in need of serious psychological
intervention are instead
screamed at and called 'domestic
terrorists' and 'fascists.'
"A recent report by
the National Research Council's
Committee on Law and Justice
condemns these programs
for failing to consider
non-Duluth causes of domestic
violence. The report criticizes
the way batterers are 'treated
as a homogeneous group,'
and states that treatment
programs are 'driven by
ideology and stakeholder
interests rather than by
plausible theories and scientific
evidence of cause.'
"While some domestic
violence no doubt stems
from a warped desire to
control spouses or intimates,
most experts believe that
the roots of domestic violence
generally lay elsewhere."
According to Davis, Pence
"also believes that
today's one-size-fits-all
mandatory arrest and no-drop
prosecution policies are
not accomplishing what the
Duluth Intervention Project
intended. Pence acknowledges
and understands that those
who commit minor acts of
'family conflict' or one
act of abuse are not 'batterers.'"
Davis' article criticizes
the way the current domestic
violence system hammers
on anyone accused of abuse,
regardless of whether the
individual in question is
truly a batterer or was
instead involved in a minor
and/or mutual physical confrontation,
or was falsely accused altogether.
I've discussed this problem
in numerous columns, including
Baseball Player's Domestic
Violence Arrest Demonstrates
How Men are Presumed Guilty
in Domestic Disputes
(Los Angeles Daily Journal,
San Francisco Daily Journal,
8/8/02),
VAWA Renewal Provides Opportunity
to Stop Destruction of Innocent
Cops' Careers (Ft.
Worth Star-Telegram,
7/19/05), and my co-authored
Domestic Violence Lawsuit
Will Help Secure Services
for All Abuse Victims
(Los Angeles Daily Journal,
San Francisco Daily Journal,
12/28/05).
Domestic Violence Law
Enforcement Policies Criticized
by Ex-Cop
George Sperry, a retired
police officer, echoes similar
sentiments in a recent
letter to the editor
of a San Diego newspaper.
Sperry wrote:
"I recall police training
classes in the '70s and
'80s--mandated after the
earlier laws were passed--given
by female instructors (never
saw a male instructor),
with their teachings so
dripping with male hatred
that everyone in the class
felt uncomfortable, male
and female officers alike.
Truly abused women needed
better laws to protect them,
but not these. They also
removed arrest decisions
from the responding officer
and we repeatedly had to
arrest the man, some whose
only crime was physically
repelling a woman attacking
him.
"In the hundreds of
calls of domestic violence
I responded to in my career,
perhaps 90 percent to 95
percent were false, yet
I saw children's and men's
lives destroyed irrevocably
due to vindictive, greedy,
spoiled, mentally imbalanced,
and/or drug-infested women
perverting the judicial
system. This is not to say
the man was a pillar of
virtue, just that the judicial
sword was placed in the
woman's hand by poor laws.
"The best I could
do, in face of mandated
laws, would be to also arrest
the woman if there was sufficient
evidence she also was violently
involved (not self-defense
reactions) or initiated
the incident. On rare occasion,
able to prove the woman's
claim was false, I would
arrest only her. Obviously,
in those cases, I was not
popular with whatever movement
supported this 'Alice in
Wonderland' approach, nor
with supervisors or prosecuting
attorneys so self-absorbed
with political correctness
that truth was irrelevant."
Convicted Murderess Gets
Protective Order Against the
Father Whose Girl She Drowned
The Judi L. Noe case is....amazing.
According to the Associated
Press article
Woman convicted of killing
daughter gets protective
order:
"A woman convicted
of drowning her 2-year-old
daughter obtained a protective
order against the girl's
father after she was released
from prison earlier this
week.
"Judi L. Noe, 36, served
one year and 13 days in
prison on a charge of voluntary
manslaughter for drowning
her daughter, Brieana Jaide
Noe, in June 2004.
"The girl's father,
Brad May, said Tuesday he
was not surprised by the
order, granted by an Allen
Superior Court magistrate.
He has been critical of
the decision to release
Noe.
"'I wish somebody would
have put half this much
energy into protecting Brieana
as they are into protecting
Judi now,' May said.
"Noe pleaded guilty
but mentally ill to the
reduced charges and was
sentenced to serve five
years of an eight-year sentence
in prison, followed by three
years on probation.
"Allen Superior Court
Judge John Surbeck Jr. on
Feb. 23 approved Noe's early
release from prison and
moved her to the county's
re-entry program, which
requires weekly court appearances
and provides counseling
and job-search assistance.
"Noe was scheduled
to begin mental health treatment
this week as part of her
early release.
"The protective order
prohibits May, who lives
in Michigan, from contacting
Noe in any manner, including
by telephone, in person
or by letter and from harassing,
annoying, or threatening
her for two years."
Amazing--she murders (OK,
"manslaughters")
their baby, and she's a
victim in need of protection.
According to another article,
after what could be euphemistically
called Noe's "sentencing"
on March 29 of last year,
the little girl's father
"described the sentence
as absurd and said five
years in prison isn't enough
time for 'a baby killer.'"
The father asserted that
it was not a coincidence
that Noe drowned Brieana
on Father's Day, and told
the judge during the hearing
that "he believed Noe
planned to kill their daughter
after he began pursuing
custody. He also told the
judge he believes his daughter
struggled and suffered for
at least 30 minutes before
she died, based on his conversations
with doctors."
If May had been given custody
of the little girl instead
of her mother, she would
be alive today.
This case is another fine
example of the female sentencing
discount. Carol Kuhn, the
child's paternal grandmother,
believes "the judicial
system made a joke of the
situation by giving Noe
such a short prison term."
"Judi essentially just
got away with it,"
Kuhn said.
I discussed the female sentencing
discount in my column
Female Murderers Seen in
a Different Light: Society
Prefers to View Violent
Women as Victims (Pasadena
Star-News & Affiliated
Papers, 7/5/01). My
friend Marc Angelucci later
wrote a better and more
thorough analysis of this
problem--see
Males Get Longer Sentences
Than Females For Same Crime
(Ifeminists.com,
4/23/02).
To learn more about the
problem of restraining order
abuse, see my co-authored
column
Letterman Case Shows Problems
with Restraining Orders
(Albuquerque Tribune,
1/17/06) and my column
VAWA Renewal Provides Opportunity
to Stop Destruction of Innocent
Cops' Careers (Ft.
Worth Star-Telegram, 7/19/05).
|
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New Column: 'Roe v. Wade for
Men' Case Illustrates Family
Law System's Inequities
My recent co-authored column,
'Roe v. Wade for Men' Case
Illustrates
Family Law System's Inequities
(Daytona News-Journal,
3/31/06), discusses
the problems with our family
law system in light of the
new lawsuit over men and
reproductive rights. Mike
McCormick, Executive Director
of the
American Coalition for Fathers
and Children, and I
wrote:
"Whether one sympathizes
with Dubay or not, his lawsuit
illustrates the way the
family law system addresses
the needs and desires of
women, while turning a cold
shoulder to those of men.
This system represents the
most egregious violation
of gender equity in our
society today.
"The plight of unwed
fathers exemplifies the
point. Dubay is vilified
by both the pro-choice feminist
left and the pro-life right
as an irresponsible cad,
deadbeat and whiner. Yet
the millions of unmarried
men who do try to be fathers
to their children find that
while they are frequently
lectured to 'take responsibility,'
they're often not permitted
any meaningful role in their
children's lives. These
stand-up guys usually get
to spend only a few days
a month with their kids,
if they're lucky. Once mom
finds a new man, they're
often pushed out entirely
in favor of the child's
'new dad.' And fathers who
look to the family law system
for help quickly find that
said system has no interest
in their case beyond keeping
the child support checks
coming."
I've written about anti-father
bias of the family law system
on numerous occasions. Some
examples include:
California NOW's
Family Court Report 2002:
Faulty Research, False Conclusions
(Los Angeles Daily Journal,
San Francisco Daily Journal,
7/11/02); my co-authored
Have Anti-Father Family
Court Policies
Led to a Men's Marriage
Strike? (Philadelphia
Inquirer, 7/5/02); my
co-authored
California Supreme Court
Takes Step Backward on Children's
Rights (Daily Breeze
[Los Angeles], 2/9/06);
my co-authored
PBS's
Breaking the Silence:
Family Law in the Funhouse
Mirror (Albany Times
Union, 10/20/05,
Norfolk Virginian-Pilot,
10/24/05; and my co-authored
Laws Must Protect the Rights
of Military Dads (Army
Times, Marine Corps Times,
3/28/05).
We've also discussed this
bias on
His Side with Glenn Sacks
on numerous occasions. Some
examples include:
Families and Fathers Conference
2005:
Civil Rights Leaders or
Reactionary Patriarchs?(6/5/05);
First Wives vs. Second Wives
(11/21/04);
Not the Era of the Deadbeat
Dad but the Era of the Hero
Father (6/19/05);
Support California Shared
Parenting Bill AB 1307
(4/24/05);
Michigan's Top Cop Tells
Kids: Denounce Your Daddy
(10/3/04); and
Fathers Targeted by Cox
Speak Out (10/17/04).
|
Tree House Solutions
As with the tree house of
childhood, parents as well
as children need a place
of refuge and support to
"see above" and
to navigate what has been
termed "high conflict"
divorce.
Tree House Solutions, LLC
is a growing and evolving
resource that is designed
to meet both the emotional
and the informational needs
of parents who are going
through divorce, as well
as those who are divorced
but still experience challenges
in shared parenting with
their former spouses.
www.treehousesolutions.org.
Are You Really the Father?
Find out the underlying flaws
in the DNA paternity testing
system and learn how a man
with results in the 90%, 95%
or even 99% positive range
may not be the father. Learn
what most lawyers and judges
don't know about paternity
testing.
www.paternitytestflaw.com. |
NOW Launches Counterattack
Against FaFNY, Sackson Horde
In response to over 7,000
calls and letters to the
New York Assembly Committee
on Children & Families
in support of A330, the
New York Shared Parenting
Bill, the New York State
Chapter of the National
Organization for Women and
Stop Family Violence have
launched a counterattack.
To see NOW's Call to Action,
click
here. To read the Stop
Family Violence Call to
Action, click
here. In both cases,
it's the usual feminist
hysterics about savage males
and innocent, saintly, victimized
females.
As during our
Campaign Against PBS's Father-Bashing
Breaking the Silence,
NOW is
not able to match our numbers.
However, their counterattack
is still problematic. This
is because the Assembly
committee members began
blocking emails from our
supporters after last week's
wave, and we stopped faxing
the committee members two
weeks ago at their request.
I don't blame them--staffers
told our activists that
the deluge prevented them
from being able to get any
work done.
However, the result is
that at this point the committee
members are pretty much
just hearing from feminist
opponents of A330, even
though we have far more
supporters. As a remedy,
I suggest you call the committee
members yourselves and send
them faxes and emails independently.
These aren't blocked and
will get through. To call,
fax, and email the committee
members, click
here.
A330, the New York Shared
Parenting Bill, is sponsored
by the
Coalition of Fathers and
Families New York, the
New York affiliate of the
American Coalition for Fathers
& Children. To learn
more about the bill, see
my co-authored column
Shared Parenting Bill Would
Help New York's Children
of Divorce (Albany
Times Union, 3/28/06)
and NOW president Marcia
Pappas'
Joint custody bill not in
child's interest.
Again, to contact the committee
members, click
here.
Surprise: Albany
Times Union
Endorses Shared Parenting
The Albany Times Union
has long been seen by shared
parenting advocates as a
pro-feminist/anti-male obstacle.
However, as I've pointed
out, both during the PBS
campaign and the A330 campaign
the Times Union has
made a legitimate and admirable
effort to be fair and to
give both sides a hearing.
Nonetheless I was more
than a little surprised
to find this morning that
the Albany Times Union
is now endorsing
Shared Parenting and A330.
In the editorial
Custody challenges: It's
time New York embraced the
concept of shared parenting
the paper's editorial
board writes that A330's
presumption for shared parenting
is "the right presumption--and
an overdue one." The
editorial has its weaknesses,
but it represents a significant
step forward for our movement
in New York, a key battleground
state.
Stop Family Violence Says
a Child's Love for His Parents
Only Matters if the Parents
Get Along
I've written many times
about feminists' desire
to give divorcing mothers
a veto over fathers' fatherhood
and over children's right
to a relationship with their
fathers. In
Stop Family Violence's
Call to Action
here they write "fathers'
rights proponents will also
tell you that what's best
for children of divorce
is that courts protect the
loving bonds with the two
most important people in
children's lives--the child's
mother and father. That's
true, but only if the parents
get along and choose joint
custody." In other
words, the bonds matter,
unless mom's mad at dad,
in which case they can be
quickly tossed aside.
|
DadsDivorce.com informs
fathers about their rights
during divorce litigation
while providing them with
concrete, practical resources
to get results in the courtroom.
DadsDivorce.com is a popular
meeting place for fathers
facing divorce.
Learn About the 3 Forces
That Make Men Weak, 'Nice,'
and Passive
Paul Coughlin, author of
No More Christian Nice Guy:
When Being Nice--Instead
of Good--Hurts Men, Women,
and Children, takes
aim at a cultural prejudice
against men, a dangerous
caricature of gentle Jesus
meek and mild, and explains
how passive people think
and how they are made, not
born. Says Dr. Laura, who
wrote the forward, "This
is a fabulous book. It's
so clever, I think it will
jump-start you guys--Christian
or otherwise." Join
the Good Guy Rebellion and
start a better life today.
Visit
www.christianniceguy.com |
Criticism of Glenn Over
Including Link to NOW Column
in Email Form Letter
A few of you have criticized
me over last week's form
letter in support of A330,
the New York Shared Parenting
bill. As you know, on 3/28
the ACFC's Mike McCormick
and I squared off against
Marcia
Pappas, president of the
New York State Chapter of
the National Organization
for Women, in a point/counterpoint
on A330 in the Albany
Times-Union.
In our form letter
which went out to members
of the New York Assembly's
Committee on Children &
Families last week, I included
the following at the end:
"To learn more about
the bill, see the Albany
Times Union's debate
on it--Supporting
the child by order of the
court (in favor) and
Joint custody bill not in
child's interest (opposed)."
In fact, some members of
the
Coalition of Fathers and
Families New York have
copied and distributed both
our column and Pappas' column
to members of the New York
Assembly.
I have a couple of responses
to the criticism over this.
One is to echo something
very wise which Ned Holstein
of
Fathers and Families
emphasized during our
Campaign Against PBS's Father-Bashing
Breaking the Silence
--"have faith in the
truth." In other words,
don't be afraid to let the
other side be heard--have
faith that the truth in
what you're saying will
be understood. I frankly
have a hard time believing
that many people, reading
our column and Pappas' column
together, would side with
Pappas.
Moreover, my critics misunderstand
what constitutes political
power. I discussed this
issue on
His Side with Glenn Sacks
in response to criticisms
of my cordial demeanor with
Martha Burk, Gloria Allred,
Michael Kimmel, Amanda Marcotte
and other opposition guests
on the show. To listen to
my response, click
here.
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Stephen Baskerville Skewers
Family Court 'Privacy'
Stephen Baskerville,
president of the
American Coalition for Fathers
and Children, skewers
family court "privacy"
in his new piece
Banned Near Boston: More
chicanery from the underworld
of family law. The article
deals with the case of
Kevin Thompson, a Massachusetts
father who "received
an order prohibiting distribution
of his book,
Exposing the Corruption
in the Massachusetts Family
Courts. The court
also impounded the records
of Thompson's custody case,
reinforcing the secrecy
in which family courts like
to operate."
Baskerville's description
of the role of "privacy"
in this case is perfect:
"The standard justification
for secret courts is the
one Judge Manzi now extends
to censorship: 'privacy
interests of the parties'
minor child.' Thompson's
son has already been forcibly
separated from his father,
and his life is now under
the total control of state
officials. What 'privacy'
does this child have left?
Baskerville also notes
that the "true reason
for the secrecy and censorship
is not to protect privacy
but to invade it with impunity."
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Grieving Parents, Families
Deserve Peace When Burying
Their Loved Ones
This doesn't have much
to do with the usual issues
I discuss but it struck
me as being worthy of mention.
As many of you know, the
Westboro Baptist Church
of Topeka, Kansas, headed
by
Reverend Fred Phelps,
protests at the funerals
of dead American soldiers,
saying the deaths of U.S.
soldiers in Iraq are God's
vengeance for protecting
a country (the U.S.) that
tolerates homosexuality.
They carry signs that read,
for example, "Thank
God for Dead Soldiers"
and "Thank God for
IED's" in reference
to the improvised explosive
devices used by terrorists
in Iraq.
When I first heard of it,
I thought that Phelps and
crew were only protesting
at the funerals of gay soldiers
who had been mortally wounded.
This would have been appalling
enough, but what I hadn't
realized was that they were
protesting at the funerals
of all soldiers.
I was contacted by a woman
named Nancy Totman, a military
and legislative advocate
for the Blue Star Moms of
California. Her group and
others are working in favor
of a bill which would ban
demonstrations or protests
within 300 feet of funerals.
California Assemblyman Rick
Keene (3rd district) has
introduced AB 2707 in California
(sponsored by the Blue Star
Moms) which addresses the
disruption of the funerals
of soldiers who have died
while serving. If you're
interested in supporting
this legislation, write
a letter of support to Assemblymember
Rick Keene at
assemblymember.Keene@assembly.ca.gov.
Phelps & Co. had also
protested at the funerals
of the miners killed in
the
Sago Mining disaster.
One woman even held up a
poster which said
"Thank God for Dead
Miners." In my
co-authored column
Are American Husbands Slackers?
(Tallahassee Democrat,
3/22/06) we discussed Terry
Helms, one of the 12 miners
killed in the disaster.
We wrote:
"Terry's son Nick
told the Associated Press
that his father 'had endured
numerous injuries in a 30-year
career and hated mining
because of the dangers.'
""[My father]
is very selfless,"
Nick said. '[He] refused
to quit because the job
put food on the table...
He gave his life in there
so I could go to the movies.'"
The idea that these lunatics
had free reign to disrupt
the funerals of men like
Helms is an outrage.
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Women's E-News Portrays
Men as Lazy, Overprivileged
Kimberly Gadette's new
Women's E-News column Male
Backlash Muddles and Misses
Facts provides an excellent
example of the bigotry and
derision which feminists
pour upon men. Gadette writes:
"Every now and then,
Western history belches
out some group of men who
protest their miserably
high status in life, claiming
that society is treating
them unfairly.
"I'm almost embarrassed
for them. It's as if Halliburton,
having been granted contracts
in the billions of dollars
to do work in Iraq and New
Orleans, would feel slighted
if it lost the job to work
on the asbestos problem
in my neighbor's guesthouse.
"...whine with cheese
[comes from] from the National
Center for Men, an advocacy
group founded in 1987 to
help right the wrongs of
individuals and families
who have been damaged by
discrimination against men.
They have issues--oh boy,
do they have issues! Here
are some quotes from their
Web site:
"'Men die about eight
years earlier than women.'"
"Though no supporting
facts are given, it sounds
about right to me. To maintain
good health, doctors recommend
a low-fat diet and exercise.
Consuming cheese doodles
and beer and lolling on
the couch does not make
for longevity. Darn the
luck, if only men liked
housework. By getting off
that sofa and washing a
floor, scrubbing a toilet,
raising a kid, they, too,
might live longer.
"'In almost every category
of disease, men suffer more
often than women.'"
"Again, no scientific
data is offered. If males
do indeed have special powers
in math and science--as
Mansfield's pal and ex-boss,
deposed Harvard President
Lawrence Summers, has been
known to claim--might we
have some evidence to support
such an assertion? Facts,
fellas, facts.
"The NCM--or, as I
call it, the "National
Center for Milquetoasts"--has
recently filed a lawsuit
in a U.S. district court
in Michigan on behalf of
Matt Dubay, a 25-year-old
computer programmer who
disputes having to pay child
support for his 7-month-old
daughter. Officially trademarked
as 'Roe v. Wade for
Men,' the group argues that
since the mother claimed
to be both infertile and
on birth control, the resulting
pregnancy was not Dubay's
fault and he should not
be held monetarily accountable.
"Note to men: If the
woman you're dating says
she's both infertile and
taking birth control, perhaps
wearing a condom is a good
idea until you can determine
whether she's Ms. Right
or Ms. Taken.
"As to family issues,
yes, sometimes a woman may
unjustly take a man for
a ride. However, there are
legitimate avenues for men
to pursue--state registries,
nonprofit educational groups,
state representatives, family
law attorneys--if they feel
they are being deprived
of their parental rights.
But just how 'manly' is
it to want to be free and
clear of all paternal obligations?"
A few comments:
Men do die substantially
earlier than women (though
I don't know if "8
years" is accurate)
and they are more likely
to die of all major diseases.
In my co-authored column
When Men's Health Doesn't
Count (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot,
10/9/02) I noted:
"The disturbing health
and mortality disparities
between American whites
and blacks are well known,
but most people do not realize
that the health and mortality
disparities between women
and men are just as great.
For example, the gap in
life expectancy between
whites and blacks is six
years, while the gender
gap is 5.7 years. Adjusted
for age, men are 1.6 times
as likely as women to die
from one of the top 10 causes
of death, and blacks are
1.5 times as likely to die
from them as whites.
"Despite this, it
is women's health, not men's,
which continues to receive
government attention and
funding. For example, the
National Institutes of Health--the
federal focal point for
medical research in the
U.S.--spends nearly four
times as much on female-specific
health research as on male-specific
research. And though the
average man is as likely
to die from prostate cancer
as the average woman is
from breast cancer, the
Department of Health and
Human Services' National
Cancer Institute spends
three and a half times as
much money on breast cancer
research as on prostate
cancer research.
"In fact, prostate
cancer makes up 37% of all
cancer cases but receives
only 5% of federal research
funding."
Gadette also trots out
the lazy husband myth, noting
"Consuming cheese doodles
and beer and lolling on
the couch does not make
for longevity. Darn the
luck, if only men liked
housework. By getting off
that sofa and washing a
floor, scrubbing a toilet,
raising a kid, they, too,
might live longer."
I debunked this myth in
my co-authored column
Are American Husbands Slackers?
(Tallahassee Democrat,
3/22/06). Family law
attorney Jeff Leving and
I wrote:
"When both work outside
the home and inside the
home are properly considered,
it is clear that men do
at least as much as women.
A 2002 University of Michigan
Institute for Social Research
survey found that women
do 11 more hours of housework
a week than men but men
work 14 hours a week more
than women. According to
the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
men's total time at leisure,
sleeping, doing personal
care activities, or socializing
is a statistically meaningless
1% higher than women's.
The Families and Work Institute
in New York City found that
fathers now provide three-fourths
as much child care as mothers
do--50% more than 30 years
ago.
"Yet even these studies
understate men's contributions
because they only count
the hours devoted to a task
without measuring the physical
strain and/or danger associated
with the task. A man doing
eight hours of dangerous
construction work in the
100-degree heat is credited
with no more 'work' than
a woman who works in an
air-conditioned office or
who does childcare or housework
in the comfort and safety
of her own home [and without
a supervisor breathing down
her neck]."
While indignantly asserting
women's iron clad right
to choice, Gadette demeans
as unmanly men who seek
reproductive choices. She
writes "But just how
'manly' is it to want to
be free and clear of all
paternal obligations?"
In my recent co-authored
column
Women Have a Choice--Men
Should Too (Saginaw
News, 4/2/06) family
law attorney Jeff Leving
and I wrote:
"One and a half million
American women legally walk
away from motherhood every
year by adoption, abortion
or abandonment, yet somehow
nobody labels them 'deadbeats'
or 'deserters.' In over
40 states a mother can return
the baby to the hospital
within a few weeks of birth--completely
opting out of motherhood
with less hassle than it
takes to return a DVD to
Best Buy. Yet if the mother
decides she wants to keep
the child, she can demand
18 [or in some states 21
or 23] years of child support
from the father, and he
has no choice in the matter."
Perhaps the most ludicrous
part of the article is Gadette's
analogy between men's privilege
over women and Halliburton's
advantage over a small time
asbestos remover. When I
first began writing columns
on men's and fathers issues,
I wrote the below. It still
seems accurate today.
"Some men are privileged
and some women are privileged.
Most are not. When we say
'privileged' we are only
looking up, at the leaders
of our society, who are
mostly male.
"If we look down, at
the bottom of our society,
we'll see that most of the
people down there are male,
too: the homeless, the imprisoned,
the suicide victims, those
who die young, the school
dropouts, etc. While many
of American women's issues
and concerns are certainly
still unresolved, women's
issues have received enormous
publicity and attention.
It's men's issues that have
received little publicity,
and that's why I write about
them."
This doesn't even account
for the most hideous disparity
between men and women--their
treatment in family court.
The tagline on Gadette's
article says "Women's
eNews welcomes your comments.
E-mail us at
editors@womensenews.org."
I doubt they'll welcome
yours, but since they offered...
|
Legal Help for Fathers
If you live in Los Angeles,
Riverside or Orange counties
and you're facing a divorce,
separation, or a child custody
issue, the law firm of Oddenino
& Gaule can help.
Congressional Candidate
Takes Strong Stand for Noncustodial
Parents' Rights
In 2004 Libertarian presidential
candidate Michael Badnarik
had a strong noncustodial
parents' rights
platform. Badnarik
is clearly aware of and
sensitive to the basic problems
fathers today face, particularly
the sole custody norm and
the denigration of noncustodial
parents to "second
class parent" status.
Badnarik is running for
Congress in 2006--to learn
more, go to
www.badnarik.org. |
Editorial Cartoon Acknowledges
Special Sacrifices Made
by Male Immigrants
However one feels about
the immigration issue, I
think we can all acknowledge
that most immigrants come
here for understandable
reasons and make many sacrifices.
My friend Al Rantel is a
staunch supporter of restrictions
on illegal immigration,
but often tells his KABC
listeners that if he lived
in Mexico or Central America
and had the chance to come
to the United States, he
would do so in a heartbeat.
It was nice to see
this cartoon reflect
the special sacrifices that
many immigrant men make
to provide for their families.
It reminded me of the sacrifices
made by so many of the Latino
immigrant men I've known
either through teaching
English and Citizenship
classes in South-Central
Los Angeles or doing construction
work.
The cartoon also reminded
me of some of the touching
songs about immigrants'
struggles on Bruce Springsteen's
album The Ghost of Tom
Joad, including
Sinaloa Cowboys,
Across the Border and
Balboa Park. One example,
from
Sinaloa Cowboys:
"Miguel came from
a small town in northern
Mexico
He came north with his brother
Louis to California three
years ago
They crossed at the river
levee, when Louis was just
sixteen
And found work together
in the fields of the San
Joaquin
"They left their homes
and family
Their father said, "My
sons one thing you will
learn,
for everything the north
gives, it exacts a price
in return."
They worked side by side
in the orchards
From morning till the day
was through
Doing the work the hueros
wouldn't do."
[Note: a "huero"
is a white American].
|
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I'm Now Officially an Old
Fogy
My seven year-old daughter
came home the other day
beaming that she's going
to be one of the key performers
in an upcoming school dance
performance. My daughter
has always enjoyed dancing.
She started as a toddler
dancing in the kitchen while
I cooked dinner. Her dancing
then consisted mostly of
just jumping up and down,
but she was happy and never
seemed to notice. The song
she will be dancing to is
called "Yeah!"
by the hip hop artist Usher.
The song features the following
elevated prose:
"These women all on
the prowl, if you hold the
head steady I'm a milk the
cow/Forget about the game,
I'm a spit the truth, I
won't stop till I get 'em
in they birthday suits/So
gimmie the rhythm and it'll
be off with their clothes,
then bend over to the front
and touch your toes/I left
the Jag and I took the Rolls,
if they ain't cutting then
I put em on foot patrol."
Somehow it seems rather
indecent that my little
girl is performing in public
(or anywhere) to such lyrics.
In other words, I'm now
officially an old fogy...
Best Wishes,
Glenn Sacks
GlennSacks.com
HisSide.com
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