Saturday, June 4, 2011

What do you think of the film

What do you think, on the money? over the top? the system works? throw it out and start over?

9 comments:

  1. I fell pray to family court after working so hard to keep my family together. It was like one man fighting an army. I could find no help in holding families together. Family court is a greed driven system that has no conscience. To capitalize on ones misfortune is evil in my mind yet no one cares until it happens to them. I recently attended a conference on court reform. I suggested that it should become a volunteer system. Judges, lawyers, custody evaluators, mental health professionals from all over the world were appalled. God help us all for they know not what they do.

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  2. My children and I were victims of Domestic Violence..I was stabbed twice, beaten many times. After a third stabbing attempt I filed an order for protection.I also asked for Guardian ad Litem services for the children, ages 14 and 10. What ensued was the biggest nightmare in our lives.An Advocate got involved, the presiding Judge throughout the entire OFP hearing and divorce, proclaimed I was the "epitome' of a domestic batterer." I had 1 hour to gather my belongings,and try to explain to my children why their dad, a registered emergency room nurse, was being police escorted out my home and their lives! I was court ordered "not to contact my children by any means,including phone,e-mail,even christmas card until a visitation position opened up at the Children's Safety Center for supervised visits." It was 3 months before I was able to secure a visit for 2 hours, 75 miles away. I spent about one year seeing the children for only 2 supervised hours at a day care facility 75 miles away, they were the oldest kids there at ages 14 and 11. I was only allowed to hug them when they first arrived and our bodies were not to touch. We could not talk about anything pertaining to their mother, all the people invading their lives or what may happen to them. In the meantime an alcoholic, their mom ,was allowed to beat those girls,while verbally and psychologically abusing them. The advocate, the guardian ad litem, the special therapists coming to the house and county child protection all knew the kids were being abused by mom. I was financially drained by the court, all assets including our home was just allowed to be frittered away while I was seeing my kids in a safety center! As an emergency room nurse I was allowed to care for the sickest children, yet I couldn't really hug my own. You see my crime don't you?? I was a responsible, caring father trying to protect my kids. My real crime I was "a man, a male" in the system set up to abuse men, family court! The entire wording and punitive nature of the law,VAWA, was designed to systematically make men helpless,while financially and psychologically destroying men. These laws don't prevent violence they promote it!

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  3. The same thing is happening to me right now:-( yet I have to pay $25,000 in her lawyer fees!!!

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  4. Similar nightmare here. I married a woman with Borderline Personality Disorder. She is physically abusive to me, and emotionally abusive to me and our two boys. I never engage her attempts to start a fight. One time, when she attacked me, I just walked out with the older boy to get away from the situation. In a vengeful rage she called 911 and made any and every accusation she could dream up with no thought as to the consequences. I was arrested and the nightmare began. This is three years ago, and our family has been ripped apart by this system which preys on males, renders us defenseless, and steals the souls of our precious children. Since then I have turned the tables and called the police on her two times. She still acts out, but now she sees I cannot be intimidated. When she acts out, I video her behavior and threaten to report her to Child Protective Services. Last month I moved back in for the sole reason that my kids need a stable adult presense in their lives! It's tense and crazy, and there's no guarantee that things won't blow up again, but at least I am trying to be there for my kids. I am still afraid of the system and my wife, but by playing along I may have bought some time until I have the resources to divorce and get custody of my boys. I've learned a lot about this corrupt system the hard way, and I am better prepared in case I have to deal with this a second round. I read "Taken Into Custody" by Stephen Baskerville and highly recommend it as a well-researched exposé of the Domestic Violence and Family Court phenomenon. Also the Fathers and Families websites for following current trends. I have yet to see this film, but I am eager to view it. The message really needs to get out about this debacle of justice. Most people are clueless and apathetic, and it will be a very long time before there is enough public knowledge and outcry to even begin to address the issue.

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  5. Why isn't this on 20/20? Dateline? John Stossel?
    We need a voice who will independently present the facts about family court; the costs, the time it takes, the bias, the arrogance and the lives ruined and lost. I'll help!

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  6. I would like to have seen the producer of this film align with one of the national fathers rights or shared parenting orgs like ACFC much like Blue October and ACFC have now.

    Until men and paternal families unite and become as strong as the womens rights groups are politically, this crap is going to continue.

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  7. what prompts you people to look at the question "what do you think of the film?" and respond with your horror story or personal position. Watch the film then answer the question. As to the film makers, this is 2012, if you are marketing to fathers beaten by family justice maybe make it very low cost or free online. Find a way to ask for donations. Everyone hates buying something then regretting it later. Dangit, now i just did what i said not to. oy.

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  8. See http://tinyurl.com/c585sf on the $$ behind all this.

    This DVD claims that it's the first time fathers have a platform to express their feelings about not having access to their children. That's simply not credible!

    If you are angry about the situation, I suggest (after licking each others' wounds, and trying to re-frame the family court system as hostile to fathers, when what you're most angry about is the domestic violence movement), go to fatherhood.gov, read up on welfare reform which (since 1996) has enabled $10 million/year to support "access/visitation" funding with the express purpose of facilitating MORE noncustodial (father) contact with children, AND is also in place to enable the Secretary of HHS -- a single person -- to insist that the states (that's all 50) help the Feds with social science research and demonstration grants upon men, and women, coming through the courts.
    (Search "45 CFR 303.109" to read this regulation). Increasing centralized control of the states through incentives & punishments around welfare.

    Also see @ http://azffc.org (including affiliates)= F&F Coalition; supported by FR attorney Jeffrey Leving (IL), and how they suck up to HHS for grants monies year after year -- $150 million to promote Marriage & fatherhood, although, also blurring boundaries between religion and state. This =/= "F&F" of Glenn Sacks fame.

    REASONABLE fathers and mothers will acknowledge what FR funding and VAWA funding have in common, and work together to stop the fraud and "out-come based" proceedings. (We) also oppose the nonprofit organizations creating new professions for themselves through the judiciary (AFCC, CRC, NACC and so forth). I also oppose the Child Support regime, which LOSES millions in transit to families, etc. and can result in custody switch. This is a $4BILLION/yr enforcement industry, and corrupt.

    Family Law EXISTS as a business franchise, however, its net effect has been to undo OFPs, not uniformly favor mothers. When you read tax filings, HHS grants, Corp. filings, then you are out of the realm of "hearsay" and have a platform to dialogue with the other gender on reform. Keep it ONLY about gender and lose this battle, and get "played" by your own government. It's a choice. Also, til Congress represents the population of this country approx. by gender, you have no basis for complaints except to management. Do not mention VAWA unless you acknowledge the other side. My blog http://familycourtmatters.wordpress.com deals with DV & FR industries AND the professionals too.

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  9. Hear, hear... As in the Pedophile-priests and Vatican cover-up scandals, braver victims and true journalists persevered in spite of institutional pressures to stand down: "Priests would never do something like that, and even the Vatican backs that idea up!"

    I am a single dad of two wonderful daughters; my oldest daughter was abducted 423 days ago by a cadre of greedy, collusive and powerful court-criminals. No abuse, no neglect, no contact allowed; just an accusation and a "judge's" and a "mediator's" refusal to even read my proper evidence and expert-witness testimonies.

    Check out my simple, self-produced video short (feature length, in production) at althepal55 on YouTube: please feel free to comment and share! Also, check out the Blind Bulldog Blog sometime...

    Thank you all for coalescing to help fight a most formidable yet disgraceful and shameful army of FAMILY LAW INDUSTRIALISTS!

    The good news is we found each other via a small blogger, we organized and we just got a scurrilous "judge" Jack Halpin secretly yanked from the bench!

    http://www.redding.com/news/2012/may/03/long-time-judge-jack-halpin-retires/
    (Check out the comments... doesn't sound like a "retirement" to me...)

    BEWARE ASSIGNED JUDGES...

    Keep in mind that Jack Halpin is THE poster child of abusing the "assigned judges program" in the US!! The assigned judge, is one who retires with his/her FAT and full judges pension with platinum perquisites. Then, cozy up to their fellows (they're ALL lawyers) to get "assigned" to to be a judge getting 92% of their former salary on TOP of that former salary... still with me? There assignment is usually done on a 30 to 60 day basis as a way to help with court overload. And, since it is only a 30-60 assignment, "we can save tax-payers even more money by illuminating any oversight or accountability measures..."

    Jack Halpin... has been an assigned judge hear in Shasta County for about 19 Y E A R S ! Our collective and proper, substantiated complaints have been renered "confidential" and the self-protective architecture of our state judiciary continues to shield our 167 "assigned judges" from accountability, the true "best interest of our children, and elections.

    In solidarity, I am sending my very best wishes to you all and to your dear ones.

    Alan Ernesto Phillips (my story is on Google+)

    althepal55 on Twitter
    and althepal55 on YouTube

    Shasta County, CA.

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