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PBS
Portrays Known Child Abuser
as Hero:
Juvenile Court, CPS, Family
Court Records Detail Mother's
Physical Abuse
Sadia
Loeliger, one of the central
characters in Breaking the
Silence: Children's Stories,
is portrayed by the filmmakers
as a heroic mom. The filmmakers
spotlight and applaud her
fight to gain custody
of her daughter Fatima, who
is also featured.
After
the film's debut I was contacted
by Dr. Scott Loeliger, Sadia's
ex-husband, and we are now
revealing, for the first time
publicly,
Sadia's long, documented history
of child abuse--a history
which the film's producers
chose to ignore despite
repeated warnings.
We
are launching Round 2 of our
campaign against Breaking
the Silence today--read the
shocking Loeliger revelations
here and then return to
this E-newsletter for instructions
on how you can participate.
Round 2 of the Campaign Begins
To
date, we have generated over
4,000 calls and letters to
PBS protesting Breaking the
Silence. Round 2 begins now--I
want all of you to join our
campaign by clicking
here.
There
have been many indications,
some of which I am not at
liberty to discuss, that our
protests have concerned PBS.
The film, which aired on some
PBS affiliates on October
20 and will air on many others
in the coming weeks, is a
direct assault on fatherhood.
The film portrays fathers
as batterers and child molesters
who steal children from their
mothers. We want PBS to allow
both sides of this issue to
be heard.
Again,
I want all of you to join
our campaign by clicking
here.
Our Side Gets Chance to Speak
on Houston PBS
To
its credit,
Houston PBS followed through
on its commitment to allow
our side to air its view of
Breaking the Silence: Children's
Stories and Parental Alienation
Syndrome on its round-table
discussion show
The Connection on Friday,
October 28 at 8 PM CST and
again on Sunday, October 30
at 5 PM CST.
The
show featured
Dr. Reena Sommer, an expert
on Parental Alienation Syndrome,
as well as Andy Sperling,
director of Fathers for Equal
Rights in Houston. The opposition
was represented by
Thomas H. Burton III,
General Counsel for the nonprofit
organization
Justice for Children.
Burton
labeled Parental Alienation
Syndrome "junk science"
and his group's website calls
claims of PAS an "unethical,
immoral" tactic.
According to Barbara Sweet
of
Help Stop PAS Inc, our
side's points came across
loud and clear.
Thanks
to Sweet, who has done a lot
of good work on this issue,
as well as to Sommer and Sperling.
Also,
I suggest you commend Ken
Lawrence, the Director of
Programming for PBS of Houston,
for his evenhandedness--to
write him, click
here.
To
read a more detailed description
of the Houston broadcast,
click
here.
I'm
disappointed and a little
surprised at the position
Justice for Children is
taking on PAS. I had one of
their leaders, Donnalee Sarda,
on
His Side with Glenn Sacks
earlier this year, and while
Donna and I certainly don't
see eye to eye on everything,
she seems much more reasonable
than what is posted on their
website.
I
receive a steady stream of
letters from target parents
of PAS, and I told some of
the stories I was able to
investigate in the first part
of my co-authored column
PBS Declares War on Dads
(World Net Daily, 10/20/05).
To deny that alienation exists,
or that children can buy into
the alienation and align themselves
with the alienating parent
against the target parent,
seems to me to be an intellectually
untenable position.
However, this is certainly
not to say that claims of
PAS are not misused--in my
co-authored column
PBS' Breaking the Silence:
Family Law in the Funhouse
Mirror (Albany Times Union,
10/20/05, Norfolk Virginian-Pilot,
10/24/05) I noted:
"To
be fair, it is true that there
are fathers who have alienated
their own children through
their abuse or personality
defects, and who unfairly
blame their children's mothers
by claiming PAS. Yet parental
alienation is a common, well-documented
phenomenon. For example, a
longitudinal study published
by the American Bar Association
in 2003 followed 700 'high
conflict' divorce cases over
a 12 year period, and found
that elements of PAS were
present in the vast majority
of them."
To
hear
Sommer and Judy Jones
of
Help Stop PAS Inc on
His Side, see
The Lohstroh Case: Alienating
Mother Pushes 10 Year-Old
Boy to Kill Father (10/31/04).
More News on Breaking the
Silence Protests
Sacks Discusses
PBS Campaign on NPR's CrossTalk
(11/1/05)
Sacks Discusses
PBS Campaign on 700 WLW in
Cincinnati (11/1/05)
Judge Featured in Breaking
the Silence Attacks Sacks
in LA Newspaper
Jeff Leving
& Glenn Sacks--"
Film Goes Too Far as Advocate
for Cutting Fathers Off From
Kids"
(Los Angeles Daily Journal,
San Francisco Daily Journal,
11/1/05)
No Justice for Dads/Dads Protest
Too Much
(Norfolk Virginian Pilot,
10/31/05)
Documentary failed to show
the system also victimizes
men
(Albany Times Union, 10/29/05)
New documentary shines light
on bitter custody fights,
draws fire from fathers
(Sacramento News & Review,
10/27/05)
Columnist: PBS Film Unfairly
Represents Fatherhood
(Agape Press, 10/27/05)
PBS Documentary Has Fathers
Seething
(Family News In Focus, 10/26/05)
Mental Health Professionals
Condemn PBS's Breaking the
Silence, Endorse Campaign
Last
E-newsletter we announced
that the
American Psychological Association
Says Breaking the Silence
Misrepresents Its Position
on PAS. Over two dozen
mental health professionals
have now endorsed our campaign.
To read their statement, click
here.
Breaking the Silence: More
Credibility Problems
American Psychological Association
Says Breaking the Silence
Misrepresents Its Position
on PAS
A
spokeswoman for the American
Psychological Association
says that PBS's new documentary
Breaking the Silence: Children's
Stories distorts the APA's
position on Parental Alienation
Syndrome. The film criticizes
PAS, which arises when one
parent tries to turn his or
her children against the other
parent during a divorce or
separation.
In
the documentary Joan Meier,
a professor of clinical law
at George Washington University
and one of the film's chief
spokespersons, states that
PAS "has been thoroughly
debunked by the American Psychological
Association." Connecticut
Public Television, one of
the film's producers, put
out a
press release promoting
the film which stated that
PAS had been "discredited
by the American Psychological
Association."
However,
according to Rhea K. Farberman,
Executive Director of Public
and Member Communications
of the American Psychological
Association, these claims
are "incorrect"
and "inaccurate."
Farberman says that the APA
"does not have an official
position on parental alienation
syndrome--pro or con."
She adds:
"The
Connecticut Public Television
press release is incorrect.
I have notified both Connecticut
Public Television and their
PR firm of the inaccuracy
in their press release."
To
learn more, click
here.
Leader of Domestic Violence
Shelter Which Helped Fund
Breaking the Silence Criticizes
Film
Calling Breaking the Silence
imbalanced and focused on
extreme cases, Pam Kallsen,
executive director of the
Marjaree Mason Center, a domestic
violence shelter in Fresno,
California, contacted her
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