Blowback over Parental Alienation; Glenn Debates Geraldo Rivera on Fox; Activism Opportunity
Glenn's E-Newsletter/Week in Review, September 30, 2008
In response to Alec Baldwin's media tour surrounding his new book about Parental Alienation, misguided women's groups have been pushing the notion that Parental; Alienation is a "batterers' tactic" and "junk science."
I appeared on Fox's nationally-syndicated Morning Show with Mike and Juliet last Thursday to debate Geraldo Rivera and Dr. Joy Silberg over the issue of Parental Alienation.
Rivera puts the blame for post-divorce strife squarely on fathers.
Silberg is Vice President of the Leadership Council, an organization which is in the forefront of fighting against fathers' access to their children during custody disputes. The Leadership Council believes that Parental Alienation is a "batterers' tactic" and "junk science."
Also on the show were Bill and Sam Sears, a father-son combo who have dealt with Parental Alienation. Only 17, Bill has testified before the Georgia legislature on shared parenting and appeared on numerous TV shows. He was also very fair, pointing out that his father had also made disparaging remarks about his mother in the wake of the divorce.
Silberg said that fathers blaming mothers for being alienated from their children is like a bank robber who denies robbing a bank, blaming it on "bankteller delusional syndrome."
I replied, "Separating a father from his children and not allowing him to him see his children and telling them that the father is bad and that you shouldn't want to be with him, that's really a very serious thing. It's not like teller delusional syndrome."
The most heated moment of the day came when Geraldo Rivera told me:
What you're not talking about is how many of these fathers stopped paying child support...It's always financial 95% of the time [after divorce]...the husbands' stop paying, the woman is desperate...it's about the money...you should really call it 'Parental Stiffing Alienation Syndrome' because that's what it is.
I replied that the child support establishment's own studies show that the overwhelming majority of men who are behind on their child support are low income fathers.
Other issues debated or discussed on the show included:
1) How the mental health community views Parental Alienation.
2) The Holly Collins case, where a mother abducted her children to Holland, claiming that she did so to protect them from their father's abuse. Jennifer, Holly's adult daughter, appeared on the show and supported Holly's version of events.
To watch the video of the show and learn more, click here.
Activism Opportunity--Columnist Tells Readers Parental Alienation Is 'Junk Science'
Examiner columnist Gayle Trent uncritically quotes claims that Parental Alienation "has been repeatedly debunked by leading professional organizations" and is "junk science." This is dead wrong--Parental Alienation has not been debunked and is viewed as valid by many, many mental health professionals. It is also the life experience of hundreds of thousands of noncustodial parents.Write to Trent and tell her Parental Alienation is real and harms our kids--click on gd830@hotmail.com.
Remember to be polite and to stick to the point. To learn more, click here.
Fathers 4 Justice Protesters Perched on Crane Near Ohio State
From NBC4 in Columbus, Ohio's Will they still be there at Christmas? (9/29/08):
Two men protesting for fathers’ custody rights say they will still be perched atop a crane if by Christmas Governor Ted Strickland and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger have not investigated the court system, which protestors said is biased against dads.
Camped a top a crane near Ohio State University, Fathers 4 Justice members Paul Fischer, of Ohio, and Donald Tenn, of California, told NBC 4’s Matt Alvarez that they have enough food to last "as long as they need."
The fathers said they will come down when the governors from both states agree to a non-partisan investigation into the family court system in their respective states.
I have several tactical disagreements with the way F4J has gone about this but out of respect for the protesters' admirable courage and initiative, I'm going to keep my yap shut. According to F4J's press release:
Fathers 4 Justice Members Paul Fisher of Ohio and Donald Tenn of California have secured themselves 100 ft in the air on top of a crane...Donald Tenn has legal rights to see his daughter, yet has not been able to see her in 2 years. Paul Fisher has won his case in Supreme Court and the decision was then violated in the local family court.
Crane workers reported to the job site this morning and were unable to work while Tenn and Fisher remain positioned on the equipment. Fisher said, “They understand why we are doing this.”
To learn more, click here.
Loyal Daughter Defends Her Dad's Reputation Against Biden's Slurs
Senator Joe Biden has been falsely attributing his former wife's and infant daughter's tragic deaths to a drunk driver, and the now-deceased truckdriver's loyal daughter is fighting back.
I don't know if Biden's statements are due to carelessness, his flair for the overdramatic, or his pronounced tendency to cast men as villains. Whatever the cause, his statements have been enormously unfair to former truck driver Curtis Dunn, who is remembered fondly by his daughter as a loving father.
From 1972 crash still haunts driver's family (News Journal, 9/4/08):
Since his vice presidential nomination, Joe Biden's 2007 statement that a 'guy who allegedly ... drank his lunch' and drove the truck that struck and killed his first wife and daughter has gained national media traction...since Barack Obama tapped Biden to be his running mate on Aug. 23, The New York Times, National Public Radio and The Economist have run stories that characterized Dunn as a drunken driver.
Alcohol didn't play a role in the 1972 crash...The senator's statements don't jibe with news and law enforcement reports from the time, which cleared driver Curtis C. Dunn, who died in 1999, of wrongdoing.
'To see it coming from [Biden's] mouth, I just burst into tears,' Dunn's daughter, Glasgow resident Pamela Hamill, 44, said Wednesday. 'My dad was always there for us. Now we feel like we should be there for him because he's not here to defend himself'...
Hamill, one of seven children, was 8 years old at the time of the accident. She remembers her father watching news reports of the crash while wearing a sling to support a shoulder injury he suffered in the accident.
She said Dunn was always 'solemn' around the Christmas holidays. Years later, when her brother planned to get married on Dec. 18 [the date of the accident], Dunn told the family 'I don't celebrate on that day,' Hamill said.
To read more, click here.
Some of the other stories I'm covering this week include:
'My father was always there for us. I don't understand why they would say he abandoned us'
Some fodder for readers who believe the media favors liberals and is against conservatives...
63% of Retired NFL Players Report 'Permanent Injuries'
'I've a restraining order against me, am homeless, living in shelters...'
'I don't like the thought of our daughters spending time with the woman who split the family up'
More Child Support Enforcement Bungling
The 20/20 Special on Parental Alienation (Part II)
But It Doesn't Mean She Wasn't Raped...
Out of 1,000,000 marriages which split up, 999,900 men do not kill their wives/ex-wives
Woman breaks glass on boyfriend's head, swings sword at him--but don't call it 'Domestic Violence'
Lesbian Social/Noncustodial Mom: 'Put yourself in the position of a father upon separation'
Study Reports 'Nearly One in Five Young Women Have Experienced Forced Intercourse'--Is It Accurate?
The McCain/Fathers' Rights Incident: McCain Dismisses Fathers' Concerns over Family Law
Custodial Mother: 'The laws protect the deadbeats'
To comment on what I've written or to join the lively discussion on my website, simply click on the "comments" link below each blog post on my website.
Best Wishes,
Glenn Sacks www.GlennSacks.com
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