Protective Mothers Alliance International

Protective Mothers' Alliance International 2011 2.mov

2011-01-09T21:18:00.000-05:00

2010-06-21T22:54:00.003-04:00

The Guardian of Truth
"GOT"

A PROTECTIVE MOTHER ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER

MAY/JUNE 2010
Volume 6/7

Dear Protective mothers and advocates:

Welcome to the sixth/seventh edition of THE GUARDIAN OF TRUTH ( GOT).

Traveling down this path of activism together, we are sharing some victories, and sadly even more tragedies. Protective Mother's stories of heartache and despair are brought to light as we battle this broken family court system together.
One of PMAs State Chapter Leader's was recently assaulted by a foster mother who was caring for her children against her will, yet court ordered. This foster mother damaged our leader's elbow so badly that even with surgery, it will never be the same.
This begs the question: If this foster mother can assault an adult in this manner, what is she doing to this mother's children?
Will the court officials involved, finally step up to the plate and protect these precious children? Will they send them back to their fit biological mother who they miss so much and so desperately need in their young lives?? Time will tell.

A protective mother who has battled the family court system for too many years, loses her children then promply commits suicide.

One of PMAs most active State Chapter Leader's son commits suicide after years of torment, bullying and abuse by his abusive dad and the dads family. His young life cut short, by yet another family court which cares more about a fathers rights then they care about protecting the children.

Yet in the darkness of despair and anguish, lies pin points of the brightest light of hope, inspiration and victories. These pinpoints of light punch powerful holes in the dark, and have the magical ability when mixed with focused love, solidarity, and action to expand into the brightest of light beams that continues to grow, until the darkness is consumed by this light and victory is achieved.

Can we achieve this?? We must, as the alternative is an unacceptable fate that this country and other countries simply cannot afford to experience. The children are the future, our most precious resource and we cannot let them down. They deserve our very best and PMA will continue to fight for these precious children until the light consumes the darkness and we are finally at a place where children are loved, respected and valued as they deserve to be. A place in our culture and all the cultures around the world, where motherhood is lifted up to the highest position of respect and esteem, becoming the most important calling that a women could ever answer and fulfill; That which is being her children's mother.

Protective Mother and Child Reunion:
Gold Ribbon Campaign

“The beautiful memories that we have of our beloved children are golden and can NEVER be erased from our hearts and
minds.”

PMA is promoting our ongoing Gold Ribbon Campaign in an effort to reunite protective mothers and their children who have been separated by the family courts. We encourage all advocates and their allies around the globe to wear gold ribbons and to tie gold ribbons around trees to symbolize the effort that protective mothers and their allies are making to reunite children with their protective moms.

PMA continues to grow! If you want to join our fast growing family of advocates, please contact Janice Levinson @ lb.jlpma@gmail.com or by phone 941-822-5592.

"Some people are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway"

"If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway."

Special Report - A Protective Mother's Story

In this special report, PMA shares with all protective mothers, advocates and supporters a unique situation that one of our many callers found herself involved in. Sit back and allow yourselves to enter the world of our anonymous protective mother as she attempts to maneuver through uncharted territory for the safety of her child.

A FAIRY TALE TURNED NIGHTMARE:

My story may ring alot of bells to some Americans who have married an immigrant. We are all aware of charming narcissistic men . But charming narcissistic men with an agenda and hope for "the good life" in the U.S are a breed unto themselves . These men prey on your giving, loving heart and, charm you into falling in love with them. They convince you to marry them by telling you their sad tall tales, and then they tie that tale up with a big bow of guilt. But it is only when you become pregnant with their child that the nightmare really begins....

This is my story: PART 2:

After receiving the news that I was pregnant, he was very excited and even more anxious to come to the United States. During the months to follow, we were in constant communication via telephone every day. The pressures of asking for time off to seek legal advice (concerning how to get my fiancé into this country), the usual bills, the emotional and physical demands on my newly pregnant body, the isolation I was feeling as a result of working alone to figure out both processes simultaneously, began to take their toll. I was emotionally and physically exhausted not being able to get him here, as he had no status of any kind such as visa, passport etc... to come into the US. As I write this now, it’s so clear what was going on, I was really blinded at the time. He was completely charming and believable, of course now I see the signs that I missed then. (We live life forward and understand it in reverse). Anyway, time passed and I had to bring up the question about finances for the pregnancy, as I did not have medical insurance. My future husband who was so excited about having this baby states that he didn’t have money and said it was up to me if I wanted to abort the baby. (Another warning sign!) I stated that I would not do that and would seek government help.
The first social worker who learned of my situation was particularly judgmental of me. He became very upset when I told him I was going to marry an Iranian. He told me a story about an American who married an Iranian and he beat her; he suggested that I change my mind. He later declined the medical insurance I desperately required and just said that I made too much money. I didn’t let his behavior stop me from pursuing the help I needed so, I called a different social worker and explained the situation to her. She was wonderful and held no judgments and took on helping me and our baby! She proceeded with organizing and submitting my paperwork and realized that I was completely eligible. So, with her help I received the medical attention for my pregnancy.

I explained to my fiancé that I was able to get the insurance, and as I recall he wasn’t excited that I got it; he was indifferent about the whole thing. So during the months to follow, we waited patiently and continued our constant communication.

Knowing the difficulties I was experiencing, my boss graciously suggested I take some time off to go be with my fiancé in Europe to make sure our love was still intact. I excitedly told my fiancé the news that I would be coming! He then came up with reasons I shouldn’t come. He stated that he had no place to live and no money to support us while I was there. I explained that he didn’t have to worry about that; I had money for the plane ticket, and enough money while I was there, and a place for us to stay. The day I was to book the ticket, he told me not to come, he wasn't sure if he was going to leave the country and ask for asylum in another country. I was shocked, hurt and completely confused by this, and just convinced myself that he was under extreme stress. This conversation did however; leave me with doubts about us, and that maybe he just didn't want me to come....

to be continued...

Anonymous Protective Mother

"If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway."

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: MO TERESA HANNAH PHD

DR Hannah is Professor of Psychology at Sienna College in Loudonville, NY. A clinical psychologist, Dr Hannah specializes in couples therapy. She has published six books, and she teaches and speaks on topics related to relational psychology and battering dynamics. Dr Hannah's interest in abusive dynamics and their impact on interpersonal relationships, led her to develop with fellow battered mother and friend, The Battered Mothers Custody Conference.

( BMCC) first held in January 2004. She is Co - Editor ( with attorney Barry Goldstein) of the upcoming book on this topic. Domestic Violence, Abuse and Child Custody: Legal Strategies and Policy Issues.

Our very own co founder/co director Janice Levinson , had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Hannah for this issue of GOT:

JL: What is your favorite word?

MH: Monique.

JL: Least favorite word?

MH: War

JL: What turns you on creatively, spiritually, emotionally?

MH: Meditation, contemplation, reading, music, singing and playing, time with my kids, teaching, and learning.

JL: What turns you off?

MH: Injustice.

JL: What sound or noise do you love?

MH: The Holosync program's meditation music.. Mind blowing. And the ambient sounds of Steve Roach, which I hear is what the afterlife sounds like.

JL: Do you hate?

MH: Drunken brawls at 2 in the morning coming from the Roman Pub on Rt. 2 in Latham, New York.

JL: What profession other then your own would you like to attempt?

MH: None.

JL: What profession would you not like to do?

MH: Just about everything, except what I do.

JL: If heaven exists what would you like to hear God say as you arrive at the pearly gates?

MH: No admission fee.

JL: What is your favorite color?

MH: The colors of the seven chakras.

JL: What is your favorite food?

MH: Grapes and most other green things.

JL: If you could live anywhere in the world where would you live?

MH: Right here, right now.

JL: Where is your dream vacation?

MH: Any place where I'd get no phone calls or emails for a month.

JL: If you had a magic wand to do anything with , how would you use it?

MH: Transform the world into a place where abuse doesn't exist.

JL: Why did you begin this journey as an advocate?

MH: Because I was royally pissed off at what was done to me and multitudes of my sisters,and I wanted to fight back.

JL: What motivates you?

MH: Inner peace.

Thank you so much MO for your cooperation, support and dedication towards PMA International.

"The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway."

GETTING TO KNOW US: KARIN HUFFER

PMA is proud to claim Karin Huffer, as our Nevada State chapter Leader. Karin Huffer M.S., M.F.T. is an AAMFT Clinical Member , Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice and public consultant. Karin is the author of Overcoming the Devastation of Legal Abuse Syndrome. Karin continues groundbreaking research, writing, and speaking on the effects of ethics and legal violations on individuals and our culture. The denial of honest services, cronyism, and widespread acceptance of fraud on the court precipitates complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD), called Legal Abuse Syndrome. She is deeply concerned that access to our court system is being denied to protective parents, and permanently damaging children. Karin proposes that this public health menace must be confronted as a compensable condition. Therefore, she serves as an expert witness regarding special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. She continues to perfect protocols for treating PTSD from litigation and is certified in both levels in Eye
Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Karin has been a columnist for Nevada Woman Magazine, Risk Management Magazine, has published several articles, and made many radio and TV appearances. She is committed to bringing the medical and legal communities together to eradicate Legal Abuse Syndrome, a preventable public health epidemic.

"Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway."

PMA LOOKS AT THE NEWS:
Custody Battle For Child Of Murderer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Supreme Court on Monday said the parents of a man who murdered his estranged wife and two others should be able to adopt the couple's 9-year-old daughter, as opposed to the slain woman's parents.

The decision involves a custody battle and adoption fight over the child of a man who opened fire at the Tennessee Department of Transportation headquarters in Jackson in 2005. David Lynn Jordan was sentenced to death for the murders of his estranged wife, Donna Renee Jordan, and two others. The 31-year-old woman was a TDOT employee.
Please click the link below for more of the story.

http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/tennessee/051010-custody-battle-for-child-of-murderer

"People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway."

HERO/SHERO OF THE MONTH: Taylor Lemm
My name is Shannon Taylor Saunders'Lemm, but I am known as Taylor. I am 18 years of age and a freshman at Thomas Nelson. I live with my mother, sister, and the man whom I call my “father.” I am a victim, and survivor, of a horrendous crime. I was sexually abused by my “biological” father, whom I last saw at my high school graduation. I have never sent this letter, I wrote it for myself, knowing sending it would not help anything in this circumstance. I have triumphed over the evil I believe was in my life, with good help from family, therapists, good friends that loved me, and my unbelievable mother. We got through something, that in this day in age is almost impossible. I want to fight this system that is taking children and placing them with men that have broken the law multiple times and are abusing them. This needs to change.

"What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway."

KARLI'S KORNER:
We are proud to announce another co director of HEAR US NOW Taylor Lemm.

Taylor found her voice at this year's BMCC. Taylor courageously confronted her abusive dad in a letter, which she shared with everyone at the BMCC VII. Once she finished her presentation there was not a dry eye in the house. Thank you Taylor for your strength and courage. PMA is so proud to have you as part of our family. We appreciate your generosity and willingness to share your powerful letter with our readers.

Taylor Lemm:
First off, I would like to tell you how wonderful my Graduation day was, no thanks to you. You go behind my back to get tickets. Thanks to some of my teachers I thought twice to ask the people selling tickets if you had ordered some. Also, my mothers wonderful boss had sent you a letter telling you not to come, saying how it would cause me emotional distress and to respect my wishes, you still manage to show up. Thats how I know that you came for yourself, and not me. I would really like to know, honestly, what you were trying to do by not telling me you were going to be there. Was it to shock me? To make me upset? Well whatever it was you did not win. FYI, if I didn't invite you, that should have been enough to say I don't want you there. I had a wonderful day, and I spent it with the people that matter to me the most, the ones that have been there for me and loved me. The ones that raised me right, made me see who God is and what he has planned for me and my life. Its amazing to me. That I have seen and felt real pain, caused from my “biological father.” I like to call you that, makes me feel more and more that you aren't apart of my life. That I overcame you, that my father, Giovanni, showed me what being a good dad is really about. Lets also talk about my mother. I would just like to let you know how wonderful she raised me. That she showed me everything I needed to know. She made me strong, very strong. Strong enough to ignore you video taping me, when before I might have cried. Oh and by the way, I hope you love the footage.

I'm not going to get into “why wont you admit it”, or “why did you do these things to me” because I wont get anywhere. In a way I'm glad I overcame what I overcame, because it made me understand other how tough the world is. I'm planning on helping other children as a career, so pedophiles, like yourself, will be shown more justice than I could ever say you got. As for this letter, I do not want a response. Who knows with you though, right? Your too worried about what is in YOUR best interest.

I would like to see my sister and brothers, so you can contact my dad for those plans. One last thing...just know, I'm not sure what exactly you told your new wife, but if she tells me she's praying for me when I see her like she did last time, I promise you that I will unleash gory details of what a pervert you are, whether she believes me or not. The fact is, God is on my side, and he's a lot to fight Gary.

"People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway."

ATTORNEY'S INSIGHT:

The following is part 2 of attorney Barry Goldstein's informative article:

NOW THAT WE KNOW THE CUSTODY COURT SYSTEM IS BROKEN : Barry Goldstein Esq

Ten Ways Anti-sexist Men Can Help Reform the System

Research has now established that the custody court system's response to domestic violence cases is deeply flawed.1 Courts' use of outdated practices, unqualified professionals, inadequate training, gender bias and other mistakes has resulted in thousands of children being sent to live with abusers. This article explores the role anti-sexist men can play in reforming the custody court system.
Extremists who control “fathers' rights” groups have developed powerful tactics to help abusers maintain what they believe is men's privilege to control their partners and make the major decisions in the relationship. Abusive fathers with little involvement with their children during the relationship are seeking custody as a way to pressure his partner to return, punish her for leaving or obtain a favorable settlement of economic issues. Judges and other professionals, happy to see a father interested in his children have been slow to recognize abusers' legal tactics. The male supremacist activists have created an illusion that they speak for most fathers. This is why it is particularly important that good men speak out for the safety of protective mothers and their children.

Garland Waller is an award winning producer of documentaries and professor of communications at Boston University. In her chapter for the forthcoming book DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, ABUSE and CHILD CUSTODY, she describes the failure of the media and particularly the national media to expose the crisis in the custody court system. Professor Waller suggests that there is a “tipping point” for this issue and once enough of the public is aware of the problem, the media will cover the issue and the public will no longer tolerate the outdated practices that have ruined so many children's lives. The suggestions in this article are designed to help society reach this tipping point.

1. Learn about the subject: In order for men to play a role in ending these avoidable tragedies, they have to first make themselves knowledgeable about the subject. Fortunately there is much up-to-date research and information available to refute the myths and stereotypes commonly used by those unfamiliar with this research. On the web, good information and links can be found at web sites for the Battered Mothers Custody Conference (Batteredmotherscustodyconference.org), National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV.org), Leadership Council (Leadershipcouncil.org), Stop Family Violence (Stopfamilyviolence.org), Liz Library (thelizlibrary.org) and my web site (Barrygoldstein.net). This is not a complete list and many other good sites will be found in the links available on these sites.

Many good books and articles containing up-to-date research and information are also available. Men who wish to read about this topic should consider work by Lundy Bancroft, Dr. Jay Silverman, Peter Jaffe, Claire Crooks, Nicholas Bala, Joan Zorza, Evan Stark, Michael Lesher, Dr. Amy Neustein, Dr. Maureen Hannah and Barry Goldstein. These writers in turn cite research from other good sources. Men should avoid articles based on flawed and biased research such as those cited by male supremacist organizations or Parental Alienation Syndrome propagandists.
Another good source of accurate information about the crisis in the custody court system is domestic violence advocates and protective mothers. Domestic violence advocates are the only professionals that work full time on domestic violence issues. Their information is often minimized based on the belief that they are partisan. The advocates have the expertise to recognize domestic violence and understand the best approaches to preventing it. Domestic violence advocates always oppose domestic violence just as firefighters are always against arson and doctors against disease. No one considers them partisans because it is society's policy to prevent arson and disease just as it is our policy to prevent domestic violence. Anti-sexist men can learn from the advocates in their community and support their work.

2. Speak to friends, family and colleagues: Many protective mothers have expressed the concern or experience that people would assume they must be horrible mothers because they lost custody. Male supremacists support this myth when they claim the court system favors women because mothers receive custody more often than fathers. While the statement is true, it is also misleading because most of the time cases are settled more or less amicably and the mother receives custody on consent. This reflects the practice of mothers doing most of the child-care in this society. The problem is contested custody cases, 90% of which involve abusive fathers seeking custody, but 70-83% of these cases result in custody or joint custody to the overwhelmingly abusive fathers.2
Anti-sexist men can help change the hostility faced by protective mothers and move towards the tipping point by discussing the crisis in the custody court system with family, friends and colleagues. This will help make the public aware of the intolerable practices involving domestic violence custody cases. As word about these tragedies spreads people in a position to change the system or further inform the public will be among those educated.

3. Speak out in letters to the editor, talk radio and on the Internet: Male supremacists constitute an extreme fringe group that opposes child support, enforcement of domestic violence laws and in some cases support sex between adults and children. Obviously if they expressed their agenda they would not be taken seriously. Instead they create the illusion of reasonableness by using seemingly reasonable positions like shared parenting, compromise, “friendly parent” parental alienation syndrome and “fathers' rights” to promote their agenda. They are well funded and often successful in manipulating courts, media and politicians to believe they speak for most fathers.
Accordingly it is important for good fathers to speak out and make sure the public understands these extremists do not speak for us. Men can support protective mothers by writing letters to the editor, making calls to talk radio and posting their views on the Internet. These acts help bring public awareness about the crisis in the custody court system and counter the misperception that custody disputes are a battle between mothers and fathers rather than between safety and abuse. Reporters, like other professionals frequently fail to understand domestic violence custody issues or place them in the proper context. Men can contact reporters and news outlets when they see inaccurate coverage of this issue and encourage the media to use genuine experts such as domestic violence advocates as their sources of information.

4. Help local protective mothers: The crisis in the custody court system is a national problem so protective mothers who have been mistreated by the court system can be found in every state and most localities. Men can go to court, and observe the proceedings to support protective mothers. Some, but not all abused women have friends, family or domestic violence advocates to accompany them to court. The court can often be frightening and hostile to victims of domestic violence so the more support she receives the better. In the notorious Shockome case in Poughkeepsie, New York a dozen advocates and supporters regularly came to court to support the Dutchess County Mother of the Year who was abused first by her husband and then by the court. We noticed that the judge treated male observers more respectfully than female observers. Although this practice is wrong, it points out the importance of good men supporting battered mothers. I do not believe it was coincidence that when the mother appeared in court without her supporters, the judge treated her repeated statements of "objection" designed to preserve her right to appeal as if her intent was to interfere with the court process. The judge sent the seven-months' pregnant woman to jail for almost a month for this "contempt."
When I was preparing to give a workshop at a NOMAS conference with Ben Atherton-Zeman, we prepared by asking protective mothers and their advocates what men could do to help. Many of the women suggested that men come to court to support protective mothers in their area. Men who wish to support a protective mother can contact the local domestic violence agency and organizations working to reform the custody court system to find protective mothers looking for support. The women have had their trust violated by their partners and often by the court system they thought would protect them. Accordingly men must understand that some of the survivors may have trouble trusting another man so he should be guided by her preferences and comfort.

5. Support organizations working to help protective mothers: Protective mothers often enter the custody court system expecting to easily receive custody because they have been the main caregiver and the children's need for their mother is obvious. They are not prepared for the brutal attacks they receive from their abusers and how open the courts are to lies and manipulation by their abusers. The failure of the media to expose the crisis contributes to the shock protective mothers feel when they realize what they are up against. Battered mothers often expend a great deal of resources and energy attempting to reinvent the wheel. There are now many wonderful organizations and resources available for protective mothers and anti-sexist men can help by supporting these organizations.

The Battered Mothers Custody Conference (BMCC) has held annual conferences every year. since 2004 bringing together the leading national experts about domestic violence custody cases and protective mothers. The organization was founded and is led by Dr. Mo Hannah. They also have a web site with research and sources of assistance. BMCC focuses solely on the protective mother issue and its efforts have helped increase the involvement of domestic violence organizations. The leading national organization working on domestic violence issues is the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV They have made the crisis in the custody court system an important priority because the abuser tactic of seeking custody to maintain control over mothers seeking safety has been successful in stopping progress to end men's violence against women. They have state coalitions and local agencies as part of their membership that provide resources for protective mothers in most communities. Protective mothers should start by contacting their local domestic violence agency. These organizations provide many more services besides shelters. Stop Family Violence is an organization led by Irene Weiser that has made protective mothers a high priority. They have research available on their web site and organize advocacy to change policies that make it harder for mothers to protect their children. Of course there is Protective Mothers Alliance International and all protective moms should join. The Leadership Council is an organization of respected professionals who use their expertise to help protective mothers. They have good research on their web site and sometimes provide expertise on particular cases. Some chapters of NOW have made this issue a high priority. There are many other organizations, locally and online working on this issue. Anti-sexist men can join these organizations, provide financial and other support, and send messages to government officials and the media in support of the actions of these organizations. As mentioned before it is particularly helpful for government officials and the media to know that men support protective mothers because male supremacists seek to create the illusion they speak for most men.

6. Work with anti-sexist men's groups: Men have come together to create organizations designed to oppose men's abuse of women and sexism. The National Organization of Men against Sexism (NOMAS), A Call to Men and others work to support the movement to end domestic violence. NOMAS has a child custody task force that works to support protective mothers. Anti-sexist men should join these men's organizations and send a message that the custody crisis is not a dispute between men and women, but an issue about the safety of children and mothers abused by their partners and too often inadequately trained court professionals.

7. Contact your local court system and ask them to adopt up-to-date practices: When the modern movement to end domestic violence started in the mid to late 1970s, there was virtually no research to help understand domestic violence. Courts adopted practices and approaches to respond to domestic violence custody cases during this time frame. Most of these practices are still in place despite substantial research and information to demonstrate the failure of these approaches. This is why courts so often fail to recognize domestic violence and frequently force children to live with abusers.

With the publication of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, ABUSE and CHILD CUSTODY and other research there can be no further doubt that the custody court system is broken. Rita Smith, Executive Director of the NCADV has written that after the publication of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, ABUSE and CHILD CUSTODY, any continuation of the present practices should be considered malpractice. Protective mothers and their allies will be working to convince courts to revise their training methods and practices based upon up-to-date research and information. Anti-sexist men can help this key aspect of the reform movement by contacting their local administrative judges and asking them to apply this up-to-date information into standard court practices. While it would be unethical for judges to discuss specific cases, discussion of patterns of problems in the court system and useful research is totally appropriate. One of the problems with the court system is the lack of accountability of judges and other professionals. Involvement of the public through such contacts would make judges understand the public is watching the courts to make sure children are protected from abusers.

8. Seek legislative reforms: Although the courts could do a good job protecting children with the present laws, there are changes to the law that would provide additional safety to protective mothers and their children. Laws supporting “friendly parent” provisions or shared parenting should be repealed because they are routinely used to support abusers and even when there is an exception for domestic violence, the exception is regularly ignored or minimized. These laws have been applied in a gender biased manner and there is no research to support a belief the laws benefit children. Research regarding the harm of domestic violence to children has resulted in laws requiring courts to consider domestic violence or create a presumption favoring custody for the non-abusive parent. The problem is that most of the laws apply only to the more severe forms of abuse and require a high level of proof. Legislatures should pass laws supporting the best practices found in up-to-date research which is the victim or less aggressive parent should have custody and the abuser should at least initially be limited to supervised visitation. Professionals without substantial domestic violence training and experience should not be permitted to work on domestic violence custody cases or should at least be required to consult with a genuine expert. Courts should be required to keep records for each judge of how often they make findings supporting allegations of domestic violence and how frequently they create Custody-Visitation Scandal Cases. Courts should be specifically barred from permitting evidence of unscientific theories such as Parental Alienation Syndrome. Judges should be required to put their reasons in writing when they rule against domestic violence allegations. Laws should be passed encouraging courts to award legal fees and other support to the parent having fewer assets when this is required to level the playing field. Evidence of gender bias should be grounds for appeal and when a judge engages in gender bias an appeals court should not be permitted to defer to his judgment based on his familiarity with the parties and their demeanor in court. States should establish effective disciplinary protocols for judges and create whistle blower protections for attorneys or others who expose improper behavior of professionals in the court system.
The organizations mentioned before often work on legislative reforms and anti-sexist men can support these campaigns. They can also write to their representatives and speak with them about the crisis in the custody court system and need for reforms. Most people including legislators are unaware of the seriousness of these problems. The more they hear from the public the easier it will be to create the needed reforms.

9. Contact journalists: Although the media covers domestic violence issues far more frequently than before the start of the domestic violence movement, it continues to make too many mistakes. Few journalists have training in domestic violence so when they are assigned a domestic violence story they often use unaccountable language and don't know who the experts are. Journalists frequently use terms like “domestic dispute” to describe a vicious assault by a husband against his wife. The language makes it seem as it both parties contributed to the problem. This would be like describing the mugging and robbery of a cab driver as a “fare dispute.” The one profession that works full time on domestic violence issues and must have extensive training is domestic violence advocates. Recently there was a series of murder-suicides across the country where men killed their wives, children and/or other family members. The media produced some stories in which they looked at the economy, guns, depression and personal setbacks as causes of these tragedies. In fact many of the cases included histories of domestic violence and custody disputes, but the media failed to consider the most likely cause. Women suffer depression and economic hardships and tragically they sometimes commit suicide, but they don't usually kill their family also. The difference is that men more often believe they have the right to make decisions for their family and that no one else can have her. The journalists could do a better job analyzing the pattern if they spoke with domestic violence experts.
The failure of the media to expose the crisis in the custody court system is a major obstacle to creating the needed reforms. The media is critical to helping the public understand the problem so the “tipping point” can be reached. Anti-sexist men can encourage the media to cover the issue and help them understand the male supremacists do not speak for most men. Men can contact reporters in response to articles about domestic violence and point out mistakes regarding domestic violence information. Ask reporters to do follow-up stories that focus on the custody court crisis. Encourage reporters to use local domestic violence agencies and national experts as sources of information to help them understand the issues. If the media gives coverage to the male supremacist viewpoint, request articles supporting protective mothers. Encourage reporters to look at the patterns of these cases instead of just an individual case that might not be typical.

10. Use your position, contacts and influence: The failure of the court system to recognize the abuser tactic of seeking custody to maintain control over his victim and punish her for leaving has caused the courts to inflict unspeakable pain and suffering on children and protective mothers. Since a large majority of men and women prisoners experienced domestic violence or child abuse as children, the courts' failure has undoubtedly resulted in the loss of potential of thousands of battered women, children and third parties victimized by crimes committed by abused children. I do not believe the public would tolerate this tragedy if they knew the extent of the problem. This is why it is so important to bring attention to the pattern of mistakes that has resulted in so many children forced to live with abusers.

Anti-sexist men can use their positions and contacts to help the public understand this problem. Anyone in an academic institution can encourage domestic violence to be included in the curriculum and their institution to present speakers. Men can encourage their religious leaders to speak out about the custody crisis, provide programs and information and support protective mothers in the congregation. Civic institutions like Rotary or Kiwanis can be encouraged to create programs about this issue. Lawyers can encourage pro se and reduced fee representation of protective mothers, better training regarding domestic violence and to speak out when judges or others engage in gender bias. Businesses can support protective mother organizations, provide jobs and support for protective mothers and prevent abusers from using resources at work to harass his partner. Perhaps the media would pay more attention to advertisers than they do to protective mothers when we seek coverage about domestic violence custody cases. I am sure men can come up with many other ways they can use whatever contacts or influence they have on behalf of protective mothers and their children.

In my first book, I told the story of three children who were physically and sexually abused by their father. My client had to go to Family Court for an order of protection and custody. The children bravely told the judge, their attorney, the court-appointed evaluator and the child protective service caseworker what their father had done. As is typical of these cases, the professionals all believed the mother was pressuring the children to make false allegations and warned her she would lose custody if she did not stop. The judge ordered unsupervised visits with the father to resume. Thereafter the father was confronted by the baby-sitter in the presence of the law guardian and admitted kissing his daughters on their privates. The law guardian responded by joining me in a motion to stop the unsupervised visitation. The judge consulted with the evaluator who said the father used bad judgment but he should still receive his visitation. During this visitation the four-year-old was penetrated for the first time. I called child protective services to make a new report based on the father's admissions. When the judge heard this he yelled and screamed at me saying the allegations had already been investigated. A new caseworker investigated the allegations and found the father did far worse than we alleged. CPS filed charges against the father and he never again received more than supervised visits. When the mother won custody she invited the caseworker and I to a celebratory dinner. The children had a name for us. They called us “believers” because we believed them when all the professionals who were supposed to protect them didn't. We will need a lot more believers in order to protect our precious children.

"If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway."

INSPIRATIONS FROM THE HEART:

Broken Mother

To-night,
She took her life
She tried to cope
she lost her hope
Her hearrrrrrrrt, was broken

It isn't right!
it iiiisn't fair-air air
now she's, not here
her chiiiild, was stolen

And now, her cries
are si.....lenced
A great, injuh.....stice,
truuuuuuuuuuth for lies

Who will remember?
a mother who lost HER baby
no one was there to protect her,
they got what they wanted and left her broken and empty!

And now, her voice
is, si.....lenced
A great, injuh.....stice,
truuuuuuuuuuth for lies

Tonight, she died
She took her last breath
she tried to cope
it's hard when your hope is stolen, broken,
heart,.......ripped apart,
the day they took away her baby, yeah-eah

Who will remember?
DON'T you forget about this MOTHER!
We've got to defend her,
And every mother who's left broken and empty!

NOW! We rise,
It's time, and, we recognize
truth, from lies
so let's unite and defend what's right
Before another mother, DIES!
-Jennifer Dunn

"Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway."

SHOUT OUT:KUDOS TO:

CALIFORNIA PROTECTIVE PARENTS AND CENTER FOR JUDICIAL EXCELLENCE
for a very successful peaceful silent vigil in Washington DC this past MOTHER'S DAY
MOTHERS DAY AT THE WHITE HOUSE
http://www.protectiveparents.com/momsday2010.pdf

CENTER FOR JUDICIAL EXCELLENCE
http://www.centerforjudicialexcellence.org/

For you hard work in exposing the family court crises on the DR PHIL SHOW:
http://www.drphil.com/shows/show/1442

PMA SUPPORTS BOTH ORGANIZATIONS , THEIR HARD WORK AND EFFORTS MADE ON BEHALF OF THE CHILDREN AND ALL PROTECTIVE MOTHERS

"You see, in the final analysis
it is between you and God
It was never between you and them anyway."

UNTIL NEXT TIME WISHING YOU LIGHT LOVE AND TRUTH THE PMA FAMILY OF ADVOCATES

Please visit our links:

Please listen to our Protective Mothers Alliance blog talk radio shows:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/pma/2009/12/18/protective-mothers-alliance

Please visit our web site:
http://protectivemothersalliance.org/index.html

Please visit our Facebook group sites:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=96245838687#!/group.php?gid=167102295487&ref=ts

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=96245838687

Please visit us on ning:
http://protectivemothersalliance.ning.com/

Please follow PMA on twitter;
https://twitter.com/JANICELEVINSON

~Merry Christmas and Happy New Year~

2009-12-20T15:53:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! Protective Mothers Alliance Guardian of Truth newsletter will not be published this month due to the holidays. We will return in January with another exciting and informative edition. Thank you for your continued support for protective mothers and their children!

Blog Talk Radio

2009-12-14T16:09:00.003-05:00

Please join us on December 17, 2009 for our blog talk radio show featuring Dr. Mo Hannah http://www.blogtalkradio.com/pma/2009/12/18/protective-mothers-alliance

2009-10-14T19:39:00.210-04:00

The Guardian of Truth
"GOT"
A PROTECTIVE MOTHERS ALLIANCE NEWSLETTER

Sept/Oct 2009
Volume 4/5

Dear Protective Mothers and Allies, welcome to the fourth edition of The Guardian of Truth (GOT). In this issue, our very own co founder/director Janice Levinson will be put “Under the Microscope” where we get the opportunity to take a tiny glimpse into her soul.

We have a heartfelt poem, written by Makayla Ramirez age 12 the daughter of one of our administrative assistants during the time that she was the source of a heated custody battle between her protective mom and her dad. This strong and beautiful young lady expresses her love and admiration for the trials and sacrifices that were made by her mother on her behalf.

Once again, our co-director of “Hear Us Now” Karli Singer shares her most intimate feelings on what it is like to be separated from a loving mother. Karli’s Korner takes us on another walk together through an emotional journey which looks at family court abuse through the eyes of a young child...and so much more.

As our family of advocates continues to grow, unique situations for protective mothers and their children are revealed. We have been recently made aware of the challenges and obstacles facing protective moms who marry immigrants. These moms encounter so many questions that other moms do not. The most basic question is, "Exactly why did this man marry me?" The emotional twists and turns that these mothers experience is slightly more complex than that of the typical protective mom.

Green card fraud wrapped in a protective mother's nightmare tosses these protective moms into a maze of just one more unsupportive and broken system. A system in which they must attempt to navigate for the safety of their children. We at Protective Mothers Alliance continue to have our collective eyes opened to the plight of protective moms everywhere in various unique situations around the world. This has only served to strengthen our resolve to fight family court corruption no matter what aspect or form that it may take. As a family of advocates, PMA stands strong and united for the sake of children and protective moms everywhere.

Warm regards,
Janice, Lundy and the PMA Team… A family of advocates.

PMA continues to grow!

We have Chapter Leaders in LA, CO, WI, NY, GA, VA, MD, MA, FL, PA, TN, KS, MI, ID, TX, MN, CA ,WV, SC, Canada, Australia, the UK and Italy. If you want to join our fast growing family of advocates, please contact Janice Levinson @ lb.jlpma@gmail.com or by phone 941-822-5592.

Protective Mother and Child Reunion:
Gold Ribbon Campaign

“The beautiful memories that we have of our beloved children are golden and can NEVER be erased from our hearts and
minds.”

PMA is promoting our ongoing Gold Ribbon Campaign in an effort to reunite protective mothers and their children who have been separated by the family courts. We encourage all advocates and their allies around the globe to wear gold ribbons and to tie gold ribbons around trees to symbolize the effort that protective mothers and their allies are making to reunite children with their protective moms.

CONTEST- WHERE'S THE GOLD RIBBON??

Do you remember the popular books called Where’s Waldo? In the spirit of Where’s Waldo? PMA has launched our Where’s The Gold Ribbon? contest. Somewhere in this beautiful graphic created by our talented artist has hidden a single gold ribbon. Your job is to find this Gold Ribbon and once you do, email us at lb.jlpma@gmail.com. The first one to successfully find our Gold Ribbon will win a gift certificate to a popular family restaurant.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!

Special Report - A Protective Mother's Story

In this special report, PMA shares with all protective mothers, advocates and supporters a unique situation that one of our many callers found herself involved in. Sit back and allow yourselves to enter the world of our anonymous protective mother as she attempts to maneuver through uncharted territory for the safety of her child.

A fairy tale turned nightmare....

My story may ring alot of bells to some Americans who have married an immigrant. We are all aware of charming narcissistic men . But charming narcissistic men with an agenda and hope for "the good life" in the U.S are a breed unto themselves . These men prey on your giving, loving heart and, charm you into falling in love with them. They convince you to marry them by telling you their sad tall tales, and then they tie that tale up with a big bow of guilt. But it is only when you become pregnant with their child that the nightmare really begins.

This is my story:

A Fairy Tale Turned Nightmare:
I met my ex husband at a train station in Europe while on a vacation/business trip. We exchanged glances as we passed by each other. He immediately approached me respectfully, introduced himself and politely inquired if I needed help.. He was so charming!

I instantly felt safe and comfortable with him, feeling like I had known him for years. I explained that I couldn't figure out the train schedule. He helped me find the correct train, and escorted me there. He even waited with me until it arrived. At this point he gave me his cell number, stating that if I was interested in getting together with him to give him a call. He wrapped his arms around me, pulled me in close, gave me a big, warm hug and I was on my way!

I was smitten! Within a couple of days I called him to arrange a time for us to meet. From that moment on we became engaged as a couple, and I became overwhelmed with a euphoric feeling. One night that burns forever in my memory,was the time that we went out for a romantic dinner. He tenderly shared with me the sad, and horrifying story of how he left his country. My heart just broke for him. I felt closer to him then ever before. At that moment my love for him was so strong and deep, that I just knew that I found the man of my dreams, my soul mate. I was happier then I could ever remember.

I spent the remainder of my trip with him and then returned to the U.S. We kept in touch through phone calls and e mails, with an account that I set up just for him.

During this time he asked me if I could come out to visit him in December. He offered to help pay for my flight, and I told him that I would look into the cost. When I discovered how much the flights were, I realized that I would most certainly need financial help from him.

During a phone conversation about my visit, he sounded very upset and impatient when I revealed to him that my trip might have to wait until after the holidays. Obviously, because of his reaction, I felt very hesitant to ask for the help that he offered. When I finally had the courage to remind him about his financial offer, his response was in contradiction of the original offer. He told me that if I paid for the ticket I wouldn't have to spend a penny while I was with him.

Reluctantly, I agreed and finally purchased a ticket. As the days drew closer for us to be together, my hesitation melted away and my excitement to see him again took hold. With great excitement and expectation, I flew out on Christmas Day and stayed for two weeks.

During my stay he tearfully explained his difficult situation,and how he was living there without any status .He was very upset and started to cry very hard. Moments later he asked if I would marry him. Surprised, yet happy I said yes. He wanted to instantly get married while I was still there with him. I explained to him that I was not ready yet, as I felt the need to get to know him better.

A month later, after I returned to the states , I had found out that I was pregnant. Cautiously, I phoned him to tell him the good news. I was thrilled to discover that he was very excited. I thought how perfect life is! Sadly, it was only a matter of time before I started to see the red flags waving in front of my face, that existed from the start, yet not noticed by me before.

to be continued...

Anonymous Protective Mother

Under the Microscope - Who is Janice Levinson?

As PMA's Co-Director of Public Relations, I Cara Wilson had the opportunity to interview Janice Levinson. We all know Janice as the Co-Founder and Co-Director of Protective Mothers Alliance. She is a passionate advocate and a great friend to many. Like our very own Lundy Bancroft, I have the privilege of working very closely with this incredibly selfless woman, mother, and friend. Join me as I take the opportunity to get to know a lady who is relentless in her quest for reform and still remains grounded, humble and in touch with herself and those around her. Truly she is an example to all and force to be reckoned with.

CW: Alright Janice, are you ready?
JL: Yes, it’s weird being on the other end!

CW: What’s your favorite word?
JL: I probably should have prepared for this hmmm…. May I give you two? because it‘s a cross between two.
CW: Sure…
JL: Hope and Love

CW: What’s your least favorite word?
JL: I think I have an idea but I want to mull it over…
CW: We can always come back…
JL: Sure let’s do that…
JL: I got it! It just popped in my head….oppression, yeah that’s the one.

CW: What turns you on creatively, spiritually and emotionally?
JL: Hmmm a lot of things… my faith, observing people giving of their time and generosity in helping anyone in need. A simple answer is music… I love music…all types. Observing or participating in the birth of a baby.
CW: Ah, that’s sweet…
JL: And…observing or participating in the joy of a child/children. And … Protective Mother Alliance of course . I think that’s about it.

CW: What turns you off?
JL: Manipulative people
CW: That’s it?
JL: No, deceitful people, rude people, meddlers and gossipy people…did I say vindictive?
CW: Nope
JL: Definitely put that in there…Vindictive people!

CW: What sound or noise do you love?
JL: My favorite sound in the whole wide world is the sound of all 3 of my children‘s voices. It just delights me, especially when I hear them say that they love me. Next is the sound of a newborn's first cry as they enter the world , also the sound of children giggling.

CW: What sound or noise do you hate?
JL: The sound of a Jackhammer and any loud construction noises.

CW: What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
JL: A surgeon
CW: Any type in particular?
JL: Not really, I would be fascinated with cutting people open ,fixing them up and sewing them back together. Or a midwife.
CW: Interesting.

CW: What profession would you not like to do?
JL: I wouldn’t want to be a toll booth collector. Anything boring and repetitive. I like a challenge. Yes, a tool booth collector would just about do it for me.

CW: If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
JL: “You did a great job , I love you, come on in my child. Yes animals DO go to heaven and here are all your pets waiting for you. Oh , BTW George Clooney is on your 3rd door to the left.”
CW: Why the left?
JL: I don’t know, I just envision it that way and besides my animals are on the right.

CW: What’s your favorite color?
JL: Purple , any shade
CW: Okay…why?
JL: I just always loved it since I was a little girl. My room was all shades of purple and I even had a stuffed animal that was purple
CW: Do you remember the animals name?
JL: I believe it was Sparkey.

CW: What’s your favorite food?
JL: Lobster any kind of shell fish…I love it…

CW: Alright moving right along…
CW: If you could live anywhere,where would you live?
JL: I would have to pick somewhere in Italy or the South of France.
CW: Why there?
JL: Both Italy and France are beautiful countries. They have always been family/child oriented cultures, with very warm friendly people. Also my ancestors are from there.

CW: What is your dream vacation?
JL: I would have to say anywhere in Europe. Since I live near a beautiful beach, I can’t say I have the need for a beach vacation anymore. I’d love to experience another culture and taste new foods and have new experiences.

CW: If you had a magic wand to do anything with, what would you do?
JL: That’s an interesting question…I would wipe out hatred, oppression, war, discrimination poverty and abuse for everyone, but especially towards women, children and animals . I would bring in peace, love, harmony, and equality for all.
CW: Very nice.

CW: Why did you begin this journey as an advocate?
JL: Because I know first hand through my own personal experience what protective mothers go through when they fight for the safety of their children and fight to hold onto the relationship that they have with their children. I don’t ever want another mom or child go through this excruciating pain. There really are no words to describe the agonizing pain, destruction and suffering that family courts do to the loving mother/child bond as a protective mom fights to keep from losing her children.

Of course, another large part of my motivation is for the children. In many ways these children are suffering more than the mothers because they are still living with the abuse. They don’t have adult coping skills and it’s our job as adults to protect our children. The fact that family courts and the professionals that are supposedly put in place to protect children are miserably failing our children, is the deepest tragedy that I have ever encountered in my life.

CW: What motivates you?
JL: Love
CW: That’s it?
JL: That’s it LOVE…pure and simple.

CW: Well Miss Janice, our readers will thank you as do I and we’re done. I must say, some of your answers I would have never expected. I was amazed and inspired.
JL: Thank you. It was fun.

Join us next time when we put Dr Mo Hannah “Under the Microscope”! If you have any questions you would like to ask Dr Hannah email us at lb.jlpma@gmail.com.

" A turtle travels only when it sticks out its neck" - author unknown

Getting to Know Us :
Lorraine Tipton, Administrative Assistant/WI State Chapter Leader PMA

PROTECTIVE MOTHERS ALLIANCE SUPPORTS LORRAINE TIPTON

On 10/14/09, Judge David Miron, Marinette County Circuit Court, stated that a disabled mother, Lorraine Tipton (formerly Fetterly) may be jailed for 30 days, on contempt of court charges. This contempt is due to the fact that her 11 year old daughter refuses to visit her abusive father, Craig Hensberger.

In fact, the forty one year old mother is facing another contempt charge. This charge involves the father's intention to claim the child on his 2008 taxes, even though the IRS sanctioned him for claiming his child “EIC” from 1999 to 2007 unlawfully. This contempt charge would force the mother to potentially face another 30 days in county jail.

Mrs. Tipton, never married the father, Craig Hensberger, and left the abusive relationship in 2005. Since then Mrs. Tipton has moved on, married and put her life back together. Regardless, Mr. Hensberger continually has taken her back to court, three times in 12 months, regarding the 11 year old daughter's refusal to visit her abusive father.

You may recognize the name of Craig Hensberger, as the father from the news story highlighted in Fox 11, NBC 26 and other local newspapers. This story entitled "Fishy Tale" broke in March of this year. The father, Craig Hensberger, caught a fish weeks in advance, kept it alive in a fish tank and succeeded in fraudulently presently this fish to three different fishing tournaments in one weekend. The daughter won these tournaments based on her fathers hoax.
For more information on this news story, please click on this link.
http://www.nbc26.com/Global/story.asp?S=10005532

But Craig Hensberger’s crimes do not end here. Previously in June 2005 this father was arrested for his second DUI in less than a year with his daughter as a passenger. In another incident the child disclosed sexual abuse about her father in 2006. Once again instead of helping the child, CPS, Aaron Krzewinksi (Guardian Ad Litem) and other court professionals placed her back into the hands of her abusive father.

CPS finally did substantiate the abuse in 2008 but the father found a loophole and was granted an administrative appeal by Oconto County Family Court Commissioner, Frank M. Calvert.

Previously, in 2007, Mr. Calvert recused himself from any proceedings regarding Mrs. Tipton due to his role as Guardian Ad Litem in her divorce/custody dispute with her ex husband.

On May 21, 2008, Mr. Calvert held a hearing, in which Mrs. Tipton was not notified. This ex parte hearing unsubstantiated the sexual abuse and attacked the character and credibility of Mrs. Tipton.

The most interesting fact on this case is that this is a “Paternity” case and the mother had sole legal custody until her former abuser, Craig Hensberger, forged her signature on a court stipulation in 2002.

The stipulation gave him “50/50” custody and forgave back child support that was owed. The Oconto District Attorney, Jay Conley, told Mrs. Tipton that “even though we know who the likely suspect is we have no proof”. Because of this the District Attorney refused to investigate and/or file charges.

The refusal of the District Attorney, Jay Conley, to investigate and/or file charges prompted Mrs. Tipton to get her own hand writing analysis. The forensic hand writing analysis expert confirmed that it was not her signature. When she presented this evidence to the District Attorney these findings were minimized and ignored with Mr. Conley stating, "This only proves this is not your signature"

PMA Looks at the News:

U.S. Father Arrested In Japan

A Tennessee father has been arrested in Japan while trying to reach a U.S. consulate with his two children who had been abducted by his ex-wife, Nashville's WTVF TV reports. Japanese police, who do not recognize U.S. family court orders, took Christopher Savoie into custody just outside the gates of the consulate in the city of Fukuoka.

In August, Savoie was awarded full custody of 8-year-old Isaac and 6-year-old Rebecca by a Tennessee court after his ex-wife, Noriko, whisked them off to Japan. The court also issued an arrest warrant for her. WTVF says Savoie picked up the children Monday as they walked to school, according to friends and a witness. He then raced to the nearest U.S. consulate to try to get passports for them, CNN reports.

WTVF says Japanese police were already there, blocking the road near the consulate and arresting Savoie after he jumped from the car with the children and rushed to the gates.A witness told the TV station that the consulate would not open the gates. The U.S. State Department has refused to comment, citing privacy issues.

CNN says Savoie has been charged with the abduction of minors, which carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2009/09/us-father-arrested-in-japan-for-picking-up-kids-abducted-by-exwife.html

Hero-SHero of the Month: Amy, Ducan and Jack Liechenberg

In this months edition of GOT, Protective Mothers Alliance had decided to make Amy Liechenberg and her beloved sons Duncan, age 9 and Jack, age 7 our Heroes-SHero of the month. These two young children payed the ultimate price in family court corruption. At 7pm Sunday, March 29th, 2009 after a long exhaustive search their young lives came to an abrupt end at the merciless hands of their father, Michael Connelly who also ended his life. Amy was indeed the epitome of a protective mom who fought endlessly to try to get the help of court officials and police to ensure the safety of her 2 innocent children. Like the plight of so many protective moms, multiple violated restraining orders and cries for help fell upon the deaf and corrupt ears of family court officials . Now this incredibly brave, and loving mother is left to pick up the shattered pieces of her new life as she grieves the loss of the greatest love she ever knew, the love between a mother and her children.

We are including the links to Amy's Facebook tribute page for her sons as well as the link to the full heartbreaking story that strikes an eerie resemblance to many of the protective moms out there who are disparately trying to avoid the same fate as these precious little boys.

May healing and peace be upon this loving mother as she tries to navigate the road of grieving for the loss of Duncan and Jack, while bravely struggling to rebuild her life. May Duncan and Jack know that their sacrifices will not go unheard. Our family of advocates at PMA will help lift up your voices and the voice of your mom as she continues to share your story while, we advocate for much needed change within the family courts.

Please click on the link below for the shocking and heartbreaking story.

http://justiceforduncanandjack.com/chicagotribunestory/

“ Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal" - MLK

Karli’s Korner:

Karli wants to share what she felt as a child, separated from her Mother. During the years of the custody battle which kept her away from her Mom, she kept a journal to record her thoughts. This is the second in a series of excerpts from Karli's journal. She was very kind to share this with us, so let's take a walk together as we venture along an emotional journey through the eyes of a child...

click on link to see journal entries

page 1 http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=9e14726e6e&view=att&th=124462f774b68355&attid=0.1&disp=inline&realattid=f_g0ohk97p0&zw

page 2 http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=9e14726e6e&view=att&th=124462f774b68355&attid=0.2&disp=inline&realattid=f_g0ohke4s1&zw

ATTORNEY'S INSIGHT: Barry Goldstein esq.

PMA is delighted to have on our team a small handful of brilliant, competent, compassionate attorney’s who lend their knowledge and experience to our organization in several ways. In light of this, we have designated a spot in GOT just for them. This spot is called, Attorney’s Insight. In this months issue, one of our famed attorney, Barry Goldstein, submitted his fascinating news article, "How do you know custody courts are sending children to live with abusers?". This is part one of a two part series you will not want to miss.

HOW DO WE KNOW CUSTODY COURTS ARE SENDING CHILDREN TO LIVE WITH ABUSERS?

TEN WAYS TO KNOW THE CUSTODY COURT SYSTEM IS BROKEN

by Barry Goldstein

Mothers and domestic violence advocates have been complaining for many years about problems in the custody court system that have resulted in large numbers of children being sent to live with abusive fathers while safe, protective mothers are denied any meaningful relationship with their children. Courts have tended to dismiss the complaints by referring to the mothers as “disgruntled litigants.” As more concern about the problem has been expressed and more research performed, the mothers’ complaints have been confirmed. Later this year (2009) a new book co-edited by Dr. Maureen T. Hannah and Barry Goldstein, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, ABUSE and CHILD CUSTODY will be published and end any doubts that there is a pattern of mistakes made in the custody court system. These mistakes have caused thousands of cases to be mishandled and placed the lives and well being of battered women and their children in jeopardy. The book includes chapters by over 25 of the leading experts in the United States and Canada including judges, lawyers, psychiatrists, psychologists, sociologists, journalists and domestic violence advocates. Although these experts come from different disciplines and approached the issue from different directions, there is a remarkable consensus about the problem and the solution. The up-to-date research and information now available makes it clear that the present practices can no longer be justified and the custody court system must create the necessary reforms to protect the safety of children and protective mothers in domestic violence custody cases. This article will discuss ten reasons we know the custody court system is broken and must be reformed.

1. Mothers’ Complaints: The problem this article seeks to discuss are cases in which a mother who has been the primary caregiver and makes allegations of domestic violence and/or child abuse loses custody to the alleged abuser and receives supervised visitation or no contact with her children. These cases have increased since federal laws designed to increase enforcement of child support orders were passed. Male supremacist groups have encouraged abusive fathers to seek custody as a way to avoid paying child support, to pressure his partner to stay or punish her for leaving. The courts and the often inadequately trained professionals they rely on, glad to see the involvement of fathers in children’s lives often fail to recognize the tactic and motivation. Courts tend to look at each case separately and so fail to see the patterns of mistakes in these cases. Demonizing their victim is a common strategy employed by abusers so a court could believe there was something profoundly wrong with an individual mother to justify the extreme outcome. When experts look at the pattern of these cases it is evident that the unusual circumstances needed to justify a particular outcome cannot be as common as the results would suggest. Women and children make deliberately false allegations of abuse between one and two percent of the time, but the court decisions support the myth that such deliberate false allegations are common. Furthermore, domestic violence allegations are painful and embarrassing to make and require the victims to speak about uncomfortable issues and questions. Research demonstrates that allegations of domestic violence and child abuse make women less likely to obtain custody. We can’t know that an individual case was improperly decided without careful review of the case, but we know the frequency of outcomes that give custody to alleged abusers cannot possibly be based on objective facts.

2. Available Research: The modern movement against domestic violence is only about thirty years old and there was little research available when it started. We now have extensive research to demonstrate common mistakes courts and the often-unqualified professionals they rely on use in domestic violence custody cases. Studies show that while evaluators believe they are considering domestic violence in their investigation of the family, in fact most fail to do so. We have many studies proving widespread gender bias against women in the approaches used by the courts. Evaluators regularly use psychological testing that has little or no relevance to the issues before the court and is gender biased. Psychologists testifying before the courts rarely inform the judges that their results are based upon probabilities so that factors in the case that would reduce those probabilities can be considered. Most important to the present topic is research that considers the accuracy of the actual court decisions. Most custody cases (over 95%) are settled more or less amicably. The problem is with the minority of terrible cases that continue to trial and beyond. Courts often think of them as “high conflict” cases, but in reality these are mostly domestic violence cases. Research studies vary somewhat on the percentage of these cases that involve abusive fathers, but all agree the majority of such cases involve domestic violence. I believe the studies that found 90% of these contested custody cases are caused by abusive fathers because unqualified professionals frequently miss domestic violence. In any event, contested custody cases should be being decided overwhelmingly in favor of protective mothers because most of the fathers are abusive, but 70% of the cases result in custody or joint custody to the father. This does not tell us an individual case was wrongly decided, but does demonstrate that a large percentage of cases are being decided in a way that is harmful for the children.

3. Battered Mothers Testimony Project and Research: Several states including Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, California, Arizona and New York City have done studies based on questionnaires filled out by protective mothers. These surveys have demonstrated widespread problems in the custody court system, many common mistakes and outcomes that fail to protect battered women and their children. This is admittedly not scientific research as the participants are volunteers rather than randomly selected (much of the “research” cited by male supremacist groups comes from interviews with alleged abusers, but is often treated as if it were valid research). Sociologists, Sharon Araji and Rebecca L. Bosek went several steps further for their chapter in DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, ABUSE and CHILD CUSTODY. They performed a similar study in Alaska and then compared the results from the various states that interviewed protective mothers. The authors found the responses similar across the several state surveys. They then compared the results of the surveys filled out by protective mothers to scientific research performed by a variety of researchers using accepted scientific methods. Significantly the findings from the protective mothers are strongly supported by the scientific research. In other words, the complaints by protective mothers that have been so often dismissed as coming from “disgruntled litigants” actually have substantial validity.

4. Courageous Kids: If a court system wanted to determine the validity and value of psychological evaluations, it would look for research that examined how the recommendations and approaches used by the evaluators worked out in the lives of the children. Without such research there is no way to determine if the time, money and results for evaluations are useful. In fact there is no such research and I would certainly recommend obtaining such research if evaluations were to continue to be used in child custody cases. The closest we have to such research is the Courageous Kids Network. The Courageous Kids are young adults who were forced to live with abusers by the decisions of the custody court. They are now old enough to have escaped their abusers and are speaking out about their experiences. The stories are painful to hear because they had to survive such awful abuse, but life affirming as they overcame the obstacles to support each other and help change the broken system. These heroes have spoken at judicial trainings, legislative hearings and domestic violence conferences. Their presentations are effective because it is all too easy to discredit protective mothers, but hard to discredit the children for whom the courts and the professionals are supposedly trying to help. Remember these children were forced to live with and be influenced by the abuser. In most cases they had to endure “therapy” designed to support the abuser and discredit the protective mother. There are many psychological, safety and other reasons to discourage such children from coming forward and speaking out. The fact so many Courageous Kids have spoken out demonstrates the courts are getting large numbers of cases tragically wrong.

5. Review of Bad Cases: The authors of the 25 chapters in the book have carefully reviewed hundreds if not thousands of these cases. In their book, FROM MADNESS TO MUTINY, Dr. Amy Neustein and Michael Lesher reviewed over 1000 cases. The Truth Commission listened to the testimony of 17 women and reviewed records from their cases. Many other experts have studied domestic violence cases where the alleged abuser received custody and the protective mother received little or no contact with her children. In these cases we have found widespread mistakes, bad practices, use of myths and stereotypes, the failure to use up-to-date research, gender bias and outcomes that place children at risk. The legal system works on the assumption that once a case is decided or facts determined that the findings are established and any further consideration should be based upon the assumption the court decided the case properly. This assumption will lead to misinformation and inaccurate research because there is strong evidence that most contested domestic violence custody cases and certainly those that result in custody to the alleged abuser are wrongly decided. We are particularly concerned with the growing court practice of retaliating against protective mothers and professionals trying to help them for exposing court mistakes in these cases. Frequently a mother’s refusal to believe an abuser is safe after the court fails to recognize his abuse is used to justify severe and extreme limitations on her access to her children without regard to the harm such rulings have on the children.

6. Parental Alienation Syndrome: PAS is a bogus theory created based on the personal biases of Dr. Richard Gardner. His books were self-published and never peer reviewed. It is used only in domestic violence custody cases to prevent or shorten investigations of the father’s abuse. PAS assumes that if a child expresses negative feelings about the father or doesn’t want visitation, the only possible explanation is that the mother alienated the child and the solution is to force the child to live with the abuser and have at most supervised visitation with the protective mother who has been the primary attachment figure for the child. PAS is not recognized by any reputable professional organization and does not appear in DSM IV, which contains recognized diagnosis. Dr. Paul Fink, past president of the American Psychiatric Association wrote a chapter for the book in which he demonstrates the invalidity of PAS. Dr. Fink points out that Richard Gardner made numerous statements complaining that society takes child sexual abuse too seriously and that sex between adults and children can be appropriate. This explains why PAS is so often used to give custody to fathers who have sexually abused their children. Dr. Fink points out that psychologists are starting to lose their licenses for using PAS in evaluations. They are, in effect diagnosing something that does not exist. Thousands of the cases in which alleged abusers won custody was based upon the discredited PAS or PAS by a different name. Any case in which “evidence” of PAS was allowed was likely wrongly decided.

7. Gender Bias: The Truth Commission recommended that rather than training professionals with general domestic violence information, all professionals should have training in Gender Bias, Recognizing Domestic Violence and the Effects of Domestic Violence on Children. This is because they found that many of the mistakes made in these cases were caused by a lack of understanding of these basic concepts. At least 40 states and many other districts and communities have created court-sponsored gender bias committees. They have found widespread gender bias and particularly in domestic violence custody cases. Among the common problems were blaming victims for their abuser’s behavior, burdening women with higher standards of proof and giving fathers more credibility than mothers. Other research, including the chapter in the book by Molly Dragiewicz has made similar findings. In one New York case the court gave custody to an abuser and denied the protective mother any contact with the children after the evaluator used and the judge supported a certainty standard for the mother and probability standard for the father. Few litigants could win a case when faced with a certainty standard. At least 15-20 different judges were asked to review this clear example of gender bias (the different standards were stated in the evaluator’s report and repeatedly challenged in the transcript), but every judge failed to correct this obvious error. Lynn Hecht Schafran wrote a brilliant article “Evaluating the Evaluators” that illustrates the problem. The article describes a new psychologist asked to perform an evaluation on a young family. She went to the father’s apartment and found it a complete mess with no food in the refrigerator. She wrote the father lives in a typical bachelor apartment. She went to the mother’s apartment and found it to be somewhat messy, but not as bad as the father’s. She had food in the refrigerator, but not as much as preferable. The evaluator wrote the mother lives in a messy apartment with inadequate food. The evaluator had a supervisor because she was new and the supervisor asked if she saw what she had done. The evaluator could not believe she had engaged in gender bias and quickly corrected the report. The article is valuable because it demonstrates that professionals acting in good faith (including women) can easily engage in gender bias without realizing it because of the sexism and stereotypes so prevalent in our society. How can anyone reasonably believe the courts are reaching fair decisions in domestic violence custody cases when gender bias is so common?

8. Failure to Recognize Domestic Violence: Many of the mistakes custody courts make have to do with failing to recognize domestic violence. In fairness some of the problem is caused because victims or their attorneys fail to present the necessary evidence. Unqualified professionals often discount allegations of abuse based upon information that represents a normal and reasonable response to his abuse. In the book, Judge Mike Brigner writes about training judges in domestic violence. They often ask him how to respond to all the cases where women are lying about domestic violence. When he asks what they mean, they cite cases where women go back to their abuser, withdraw petitions for a protective order, fail to file police complaints or don’t seek medical care. In reality there are safety and other explanations for women’s response to domestic violence and none of these examples should be used to assume her complaints are false. At the same time they use information of limited value to discount domestic violence, professionals fail to use helpful and relevant information to understand the pattern of domestic violence tactics. Too often the professionals are interested only in physical abuse. They fail to consider a variety of controlling and coercive tactics. They don’t understand the significance of a woman’s fear of her partner. Domestic violence advocates are the only professionals that work full time on domestic violence issues. The advocates receive more training and have more knowledge of domestic violence then the professionals relied on by the courts. Domestic violence agencies have very limited resources so they are forced to screen clients before providing services. Accordingly when a woman is receiving services from a domestic violence agency, it is a strong indication that she is a battered woman, but many professionals fail to consider this information. Although seeking custody to pressure a mother to return or punish her for leaving is a common abuser tactic, few courts consider why a father with limited involvement with the children prior to separation suddenly demands full custody. Similarly unqualified professionals often fail to consider evidence that a man believes his partner has no right to leave is a strong indication of his motivation in seeking custody. How can courts be expected to decide domestic violence custody cases appropriately if they don’t know what to look for when determining the validity of domestic violence allegations?

9. Effect of Domestic Violence on Children: Every state has passed laws designed to promote greater consideration of the effects of domestic violence on children. Some states require domestic violence to be considered in making custody and visitation decisions and others create a presumption against custody for abusers (although often the laws or the courts require a level of proof or create other restrictions that limit the effectiveness of these laws). Prior to these laws, when a protective mother asked to limit the father’s contact with the children because of domestic violence, the judge would ask some version of “Does he also abuse the child?” If the answer was no, the court treated the father as if he was just as appropriate for custody and visitation as the mother. The change in laws was based on overwhelming research that children witnessing domestic violence were harmed as much as children directly abused. The research found these children to be at substantially greater risk of a wide range of dysfunctional behaviors when they were older. In other words, domestic violence is a serious form of child abuse. We have found, however that courts frequently place greater reliance on other custody factors that have far less consequences to the safety and well being of children. In fairness, the courts are not solely to blame as legislatures have passed laws like “friendly parent” factors and failed to make domestic violence and safety the primary factors in custody determination. There is no research that “alienating” statements or attitudes by one parent to the children has the kind of serious long-term harm of domestic violence and yet many of the cases reviewed focus far more attention on alleged alienation. When mothers respond normally to their partner’s abuse with fear or attempts to protect the children, courts frequently treat this as the most important issue in deciding custody. This is a common example of what was discussed in gender bias reports in that the mother is held responsible for her reaction to the father’s abuse instead of holding the father responsible for his abuse. This type of mistake is at the heart of the common mistakes made by custody courts and does not serve the best interests of the children. If children are having problems as a result of the father’s abuse, unqualified professionals often blame the divorce and separation instead of his abuse. They often recommend cooperation and interaction between abuser and victim that is the opposite of what is healthy for children, but often benefit the fathers’ cases. When children appear to be doing well, inadequately trained professionals mistakenly assume this means the abuse allegations are false. Some children respond to abuse by trying to be perfect and take on adult responsibilities. Many years later the harm of the father’s abuse comes out in debilitating ways. Similarly children will often behave well with abusers and act out with their mothers because they know she is the safe parent. This is often misunderstood and courts reach the false conclusion that the father is the better parent. As long as the courts fail to understand the long-term harm to children of placing them with abusers, the courts will continue to make decisions that ruin children’s lives.

10. Extreme Results: If a court were to give custody to a protective mother and limit the father to supervised visitation because of his domestic violence, it would be following the recommendations of up-to-date research. In other words there is a scientific basis for such an outcome. The researchers weigh the harm of restricting the children’s contact with their father and the harm the father is likely to cause with unrestricted visitation and the message sent to the children by awarding normal visitation with someone they know abused their mother. Instead what we are seeing is alleged abusers receiving custody and protective mothers having supervised or no visitation. Obviously, in these cases the courts are assuming the mother’s allegations of abuse are false. They justify the visitation restrictions by their concern the mother will continue to believe she was abused and say negative things about the father. Where is the research that the harm to the children of hearing such statements is greater than the harm of being denied a normal relationship with their mother? Even in intact families the children often hear negative comments about the other parent. In other words, these extreme court decisions are based upon the belief systems and biases of court professionals and not up-to-date research. Many children have been denied any contact with their mothers in these cases. Ironically fathers are often granted custody based on the belief they are the friendlier parent and will promote the relationship between the mother and children, but he proceeds to terminate all contact once he has control. Many courts that jumped all over mothers for requesting the court restrict the father’s access have done nothing in the face of the father preventing visitation or other contact between mother and children. Rapists and even murderers frequently receive some supervised visitation and yet mothers who sought to protect their children from an abuser are completely cut off from their children. The extreme outcomes faced by protective mothers are unsupported by any research, but demonstrate serious flaws in the custody system.

to be continued...

INSPIRATIONS FROM THE HEART:

Creative Writing from one of our Administrative Assistants and Co State Chapter Leaders' daughter: Makayla Ramirez, Age 12

My Angel

She went through hell without even knowing

She went through hell without a thought for herself

She went through hell and didn’t even know

She thought she was weak

She thought she was stupid

She thought she was the problem

She went through hell without even knowing

She went through hell without a thought for herself

She went through hell and didn’t even know

She thought she was ugly

She thought she was incapable

She thought she was worthless

She blamed herself

She absorbed all the pain

She hid herself from the world

She blamed herself for her own damnation

She took all the pain and blame of others

She carried the weight of the world on her shoulders

And thought she wasn’t carrying enough

She tried desperately to fix herself

When she didn’t need to be fixed

She went through hell without even knowing

She went through hell without a thought for herself

She went through hell and didn’t even know

She was blinded

She couldn’t see that she was beautiful

She couldn’t see that she was strong

She couldn’t see she could do anything

She couldn’t see she was worth the world to me

She couldn’t see how much she knew

How much she could do

How much she martyred herself for others who gave nothing in return

She didn’t know she was amazing and wonderful

She didn’t know she was an angel, tortured yet beautiful and good

Then she realized

She made it

She made it through her hell

She fought it off

She survived

And she’s never going back

Because she is smart

And she is beautiful

And she is capable

And she is strong

And she is worth the world to me

She is my angel

She is even stronger than she knows

She carried the weight of the world on her shoulders

She is strong

She went through hell without even knowing

She went through hell without a thought for herself

She went through hell and didn’t even know

She went through hell and survived

She is my angel

My mother

Shout Out:

To Mary Morgan for her brilliant, insightful article ; "What NOT to say to a Non-Custodial mother":
http://anonymiss.viviti.com/entries/non-custodial-moms/what-not-to-say-to-an-non-custodial-mother

To Lorraine Tipton for her courage in the face of family court corruption
http://mamaliberty.wordpress.com

To Amy Leichtenberg for her strong love and devotion to her sons and for being forced to pay the ultimate price in family court corruption

To all Protective Moms for your unlimited and unending love for you children!

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor. It must be demanded by the oppressed" - MLK

Please visit us in our various venues!

Lundy Bancroft site

PMA Facebook Group

PMA on MySpace

PMA on Photobucket

Protective Mother & Child Reunion : Gold Ribbon Campaign Facebook groGp

The Guardian of Truth (Go here to submit stories)

To join our rapidly growing family, to share your views, articles and feedback or if you have any questions that you’d like to ask, contact PMA pH 941-822-5592 or email lb.jlpma@gmail.com.

Until next time wishing you light, love and truth, The PMA Family.

The Guardian of Truth Newsletter - Vol. 3/4

2009-07-23T15:28:00.022-04:00

The Guardian of Truth

"GOT"

A PROTECTIVE MOTHERS ALLIANCE NEWSLETTER

"Ensuring the rights of children and protective mothers in family court."

Dear Protective Mothers and Allies, welcome to the July/August edition of "The Guardian of Truth" (GOT). In this issue, Attorney Richard Ducote will be put “Under the Microscope” where we get the opportunity to take a tiny glimpse into his soul. We have a heartfelt poem, which will leave you breathless, written by our NY State Chapter Leader. Once again, our co-director of “Hear Us Now,” Karli Singer, shares her most intimate feelings on what it is like to be separated from a loving mother. Karli’s Korner takes us on another walk together through an emotional journey, which looks at family court abuse through the eyes of a young child.

As PMA continues to evolve and grow, we are flooded with phone calls from desperate protective moms being terrorized by the corruption of family court. We are struck by the amazing strength, determination and resilience that these loving mothers possess. It is so ironic to us that most of these moms are being labeled with various forms of psycho-pseudo syndromes. We strongly feel that these so-called “experts” labeling them erroneously in this way, would quickly crash and burn themselves if placed in a similar situation.

It has also been gratifying for us when speaking with these moms to see changes taking place in these courageous women as we share with them the vision of PMA. We verbally open an inviting door and tenderly greet them as members of our PMA family. This is the moment that we feel their spirits transform. The change in the tone of their voice, the excitement, hope and empowerment coming from their hearts and souls as they make the switch from victim to advocate, is quite magical. Like a beautiful wave that we ride together, this feeling of hope and empowerment uplifts us on a quest towards change. We at PMA, extend to you, our deepest desire to help all protective moms feel this hope and empowerment for themselves and their children.

All members of the PMA family believe that by working together as a tight team, we can have an impact on dramatic change. We also recognize the individual deep healing that can take place as protective moms turn their anger into advocacy realizing that there is hope, and light at the end of a very long dark tunnel. The PMA family, hope that you enjoy this issue of GOT finding it informative, inspiring and entertaining.

Warm regards,
Janice, Lundy and the PMA Team… A family of advocates.

PMA continues to grow! Our latest international chapter leader joins us from Canada, in the Province of Quebec. We have Chapter Leaders in CO, WI, NY, GA, VA, MD, MA, FL, PA, TN, SD, QC (Canada) and Rome (Italy). So if you want to join our fast growing family of advocates, please contact:

Janice Levinson lb.jlpma@gmail.com or by phone 941-822-5592.

Protective Mother and Child Reunion:
Gold Ribbon Campaign

“The beautiful memories that we have of our beloved children are
golden and can NEVER be erased from our hearts and minds.”

PMA is promoting our ongoing Gold Ribbon Campaign in an effort to
reunite protective mothers and their children who have been separated by the family courts. We encourage all advocates and their allies around the globe to wear gold ribbons and to tie gold ribbons around trees to symbolize the effort that protective mothers and their allies are making to reunite children with their protective moms.

Upcoming contest:" Where's the Gold Ribbon?"

In the spirit of the popular Where’s Waldo? books, PMA will be launching a "Where’s The Gold Ribbon?" contest. Your hunting skills will be honed as you participate. Somewhere in a beautiful graphic created by one of our talented artists, will be hidden a gold ribbon. Your job will be to find this Gold Ribbon and once you do, email us at lb.jlpma@gmail.com. The first one to successfully find our Gold Ribbon will win a gift certificate to a popular family restaurant. (Janice was going to auction off Lundy but he just blushed!)

Keep an eye out for this upcoming contest.

Meanwhile, please enjoy the Gold Ribbon photos submitted by our members.

Under the Microscope - WHO is Attorney Richard Ducote?

We all know Attorney Richard Ducote, but do we REALLY know Attorney Richard Ducote?

PMA Co-Director, Janice Levinson, interviewed the multifaceted attorney Richard Ducote in the style of “Inside the Actor Studio with Host James Lipton.” In keeping with the “Actor Studio” tradition, let us take a tiny peek into the soul of Attorney Richard Ducote.

JL: What’s your favorite word?
RD: Non-sense.
JL: What’s your least favorite word?
RD: Try.
JL: Try?
RD: I always say try is a word that should be used in reference to lifting heavy furniture.
JL: That’s good.
JL: What turns you on creatively, spiritually and emotionally?
RD: Encountering problems that affect many people and finding ways to solve it outside the box.
JL: What turns you off?
RD: Manipulative people who are users.
JL: Yes, me too.
JL: What sound or noise do you love?
RD: Crashing waves.
JL: What sound or noise do you hate?
RD: I once had an old typewriter and there was one key I’d hit and it would make a noise that would drive me nuts.
JL: What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
RD: Furniture maker or pediatrician.
JL: What profession would you not like to do?
RD: Middle school teacher.
JL: Oh yes, been there, not good.
JL: If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
RD: Free diet Pepsi.
JL: What’s your favorite color?
RD: Cobalt blue.
JL: What’s your favorite food?
RD: Grilled chicken.
JL: If you could live anywhere, where would you live?
RD: Carlsbad CA and La Jolla CA.
JL: What is your dream vacation?
RD: N. California.
JL: If you had a magic wand to do anything with, what would you do?
RD: I would have the family court function as any other court, having it be based on evidence with no bias in abuse cases.
JL: Why did you begin this journey as an advocate?
RD: Reason 1: Because when I worked in juvenile probation, I saw that kids in the legal system were being mistreated and neglected by the entire judicial system and everyone in it I wanted to find a way to remedy this and I couldn’t understand why attorneys were not drawn to this type of law because it was very fulfilling to me professionally.
Reason 2: When I was 12 years old, my father died and my mom was left with 5 children. My father’s former boss continued to pay my father’s salary to the family for the next 18 years. Because of this, I want to give back.
JL: What motivates you?

RD:Seeing injustice and trying to correct it.
JL: Thank you so much Richard, we really appreciate it.

Be sure to visit our “Get to Know Us” to learn more about Attorney Richard Ducote. Join us next time when we put our very own Co-Director/Founder, Janice Levinson “Under the Microscope” If you have any questions you would like to ask Janice, email us at lb.jlpma@gmail.com.

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” -Edmund Burke

PMA Looks at the News:

Porn king's son captured after allegedly killing baby's mother and fleeing with infant.

Police say they have located the 1-year-old girl who was abducted by her father from her Novato home after he allegedly beat the girl's mother to death.

Novato police Sgt. Jennifer Welch said the girl was found unharmed and that 27-year-old James Raphael Mitchell, the son of San Francisco porn king Jim Mitchell, was arrested early today. She declined to give further details, but several media outlets reported the arrest took place in Citrus Heights near Sacramento.

The abduction had triggered a statewide Amber Alert.

Mitchell, who according to his grandmother had recently been kicked out of the military, is suspected of killing the girl's mother Sunday before fleeing with the baby, Samantha Mitchell. Police found the woman dead in a yard when they responded to a call just before 7 p.m. about a possible assault.

Welch said Samantha was found within the state, but refused to release any additional details. Mitchell had threatened to kill any law enforcement agents who came into contact with him, according to the Novato Police Department.

Jim Mitchell, the suspect's father, had developed a multimillion-dollar adult-film empire with his younger brother, Artie, and later was convicted of killing Artie. Jim Mitchell died at his ranch near Petaluma in 2007 at age 63 after serving a six-year sentence for manslaughter in San Quentin Prison.

From their San Francisco offices atop the O'Farrell Theatre, a Advertisement combination movie-and-stage-show emporium that opened in 1969 and was called the "Carnegie Hall of Sex," the brothers built an empire that at one time included 11 movie theaters as well as movie and video production.

The dramatic rise and fall of the Mitchell brothers was chronicled in books, the Showtime movie "Rated X" and in countless newspaper and magazine articles. In the 1960s and '70s, the brothers produced a string of adult-film hits, including "Resurrection of Eve" and "Sodom and Gomorrah: The Last 7 Days" and "Behind the Green Door."

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12823802?source=most_viewed

Hero-SHero of the Month: Susan Murphy - Milano

Susan Murphy- Milano was selected by PMA as this month S(H)ero for her years of dedication and advocacy work that encompasses everything Domestic Violence, including but not limited to criminal cases and family court corruption.

Susan was very gracious to allow a platform for PMA to address our experiences with family court, abused children and protective moms. We are very grateful to Susan for this opportunity and look forward to an ongoing partnership with her. To learn more about Susan, please take some time to enjoy her bio , visit her site and listen to her blog radio show featuring our Co-Director/Founder Janice Levinson.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/SusanMurphyMilano/2009/07/08/The-Susan-Murphy-Milano-Show

Susan Murphy-Milano, an expert relationship strategist and advocate,has developed specific tools and techniques you need to safely leave a relationship. Her books, Defending Our Lives and Moving Out and Moving On address the life saving strategies on moving away from abuse and dealing with the many confusing situations surrounding a breakup or divorce. Susan is an adult survivor of her parents' violent marriage. Her father, a Chicago violent crimes detective, murdered her mother and then took his own life after the couple separated. Susan has vowed to make changes after finding their lifeless bodies and trying to make sense of this tragedy. Susan has worked tirelessly dedicated to meeting the individual needs of all women and children in crisis and advocating for them through the legal process. Susan’s quest for justice was instrumental in passing the IL Stalking Law and the Lautenberg Act. She is the host of a very popular and widely received blog radio show.

http://www.susanmurphymilano.com

Karli’s Korner:

Karli wants to share what she felt as a child, separated from her Mother. During the years of the custody battle which kept her away from her Mom, she kept a journal to record her thoughts. This is the second in a series of excerpts from Karli's journal. She was very kind to share this with us, so let's take a walk together as we venture along an emotional journey through the eyes of a child...

Attorney’s Insight:

PMA is delighted to have on our team a small handful of brilliant, competent, compassionate attorney’s who lend their knowledge and experience to our organization in several ways. In light of this, we have designated a spot in GOT just for them. This spot will be called Attorney’s Insight.

In this months issue, one of our famed attorney’s submitted this fascinating news article straight from Louisiana. Hope you enjoy.

2009-O -0736 IN RE: JUDGE TIMOTHY C. ELLENDER Retired Judge Philip Ciaccio, assigned as Justice ad hoc, sitting for Justice Chet D. Traylor, now retired. Accordingly, it is ordered that Judge Timothy C. Ellender of the Thirty-Second Judicial District Court for the Parish of Terrebonne, State of Louisiana, be and he is hereby suspended for thirty days without pay for violating Canons 1, 2A, and 3A(3) of the Code of Judicial Conduct, and Article V, §25(C) of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974. It is further ordered that Judge Ellender reimburse the Louisiana Judiciary Commission $185.50, for costs incurred during the prosecution and investigation of this case. Additionally, Judge Ellender shall enroll in and complete instruction on addressing domestic violence cases. JOHNSON, J., concurs and assigns reasons. VICTORY, J., dissents and assigns reasons.

Click on the link for full document. http://www.lasc.org/opinions/2009/09O0736.opn.pdf

INSPIRATIONS FROM THE HEART:
Creative Writing from one of our members:

Baby Blue Tears

"Baby, you've got to trust in what I say."
She looked up at me in that innocent way
Her tiny eyes so wide and so blue
"If you tell the truth they'll listen to you."
Again and again, she bravely told
The story of a crime so heartless and cold
They turned their heads; then they looked away
They weren't willing to hear what she had to say
Surely, they had mistook what others could clearly see
Surely, if I explained they would listen to me
So loudly and clearly in my adult voice I decided to talk
But at everything I said they only would balk
And suddenly I was handing her over to him
Knowing this weekend would prove just as grim
Staring into her eyes filled with terror and tears I finally let go
The pain in my heart you'll just never know
I screamed and I cried and I counted the days
That my little girl suffered in such brutal ways
I held onto strength, and I held onto prayer
But wherever I turned there was nobody there
How could this insanity be such a real thing?
Who had died and made this judge king?
They all told me not to go over his head
But I knew if I didn't we'd all wind up dead
So, I marched on and shouted and saved her I thought
Not from him, but from the abuse, which was what I sought
Still, from the emotional beatings she wasn't quite free
And one day she told me, "Mom, he's killing me!"
Again I told her this time I was sure I could win
The one thing she wanted, which was less time with him
`But they still wouldn't listen, though she wanted to die
Once again I had no choice but to tell her goodbye
When I told her what the judge said she fell to the ground
"Seven years you have fought and are always knocked down!"
A knife cut right through me when I heard what she said
It was then that I learned we had more tears to shed…

Submitted by Bette M

Shout Out!
PMA Shout Out:

A warm PMA welcome to Attorney Leo Breznik, Assistant D.A. of Pennsylvania. We are privileged to announce that he has recently joined our growing attorney team. We look forward to working with this brilliantly, renowned and respected attorney and we are grateful
for his contributions to PMA and the cause. Be sure to keep a watch out for future issues when we highlight Leo.

PMA is pleased to announce that we have joined forces with a select group of exceptional paralegals to help protective mothers and their children. We welcome these committed and experienced professionals to our PMA family.

PMA has a very last minute shout out to one of our FL State Chapter leaders. the incomparable, unstoppable and truly reliable, Maddy Graves and her equally talented, reputable, save the day graphic artist daughter for picking up the reins on our runaway horse. PMA was almost left without graphics. Had it not been for their commitment and professional talent, we would not have had this issue for all our followers to read and enjoy. HATS OFF TO YOU TWO WONDERFUL, CREATIVE LADIES.

California’s Shout Out:

Center for Judicial Excellence
WE DID IT!!!

After 17 months of delays and procedural hurdles, California's Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC) yesterday unanimously passed Senator Mark Leno's request to audit the Marin and Sacramento County Family Courts.

The 14-member JLAC Committee approved the audit request with a 12-0 bipartisan vote thanks to all of your hard work making phone calls, sending emails and turning out.

Note: Our audit presentation begins at 46:33 mins into the hearing, and ends at 1:10:40 mins, so it lasts about 24 minutes.

The passage of this audit is a remarkable victory that we have fought long and hard for. Please take the time to thank Senator Mark Leno for his work on this important issue. His leadership and commitment to transparency has made this audit a reality.

The Bureau of State Audits will begin work on this audit within the next couple of weeks according to committee staff. Please trust that we will provide you with more details as they become available.

Click here to read the Marin Independent Journal's coverage of this emerging story.

To learn more visit: www.centerforjudicialexcellence.org -- and remember to check the site often for updates.

Together, we can rebuild public trust in our courts, reinforcing the the judiciary as a well-managed model of integrity, justice and equality.

“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the Ocean, but the Ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” - Mother Theresa

Get to Know Us:
Who is Richard Ducote?

Richard Ducote has achieved a rare record of child advocacy successes in his 30 years of practicing law. Always conscious of the importance of the relationship between social services and the legal profession, just six months after his admission to the Louisiana Bar in 1978 he conceived, co-authored, and then directed a grant proposal submitted to the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect to improve the court handling of child protection and foster care cases in the Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, Juvenile Court where he had served as a probation officer. The proposal was one of only four funded nationwide and created the Tulane University School of Law’s Juvenile Law Clinic.

The project jointly trained law students and School of Social Work students to vigorously advocate in teams for dependent children. In 1980 the federal Department of Health, Education, and Welfare chose the project to showcase nationally as an example of innovative and successful initiatives.

While personally representing hundreds of abused children from 1978-1981, he helped strengthen and unify the local and state fosterparent associations to reform the foster care system through legislation and administrative advocacy. Following the Louisiana legislature’s enactment of Mr. Ducote’s package of statutory changes, including three amendments to the termination of parental rights provisions, the state’s Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources was still frustrated that changes in the laws alone were insufficient to move children from foster care to adoption. His solution was to create a special post for Mr. Ducote to act, in essence, as the state’s TPR “czar” mandated to “do what needed to be done” to appropriately free kids for adoption. Starting from scratch and often confronted with a skeptical cadre of caseworkers who had little faith that anything would change, since promises of new initiatives were routinely broken over the years, Richard Ducote kept his word and exceeded all expectations. From 1981-1984, he traveled the state negotiating agreements with every prosecutor, compiling decision-making and referral packets, and conducting his motivational and training seminars for the social workers, lawyers, and mental health professionals involved in the cases. At every session he invited the workers to present their most troublesome cases, which he would then digest overnight while typing up TPR court petitions to present to the pleasantly startled case managers for filing the next day.

Several awards have highlighted Mr. Ducote’s career. In August 2000, he was presented a special ceremonial eagle blanket by the Northern Plains Tribal Institute in South Dakota for his participation in the training of over 350 Indian tribal and federal judges from over 90 different tribes on child sexual abuse issues. In January 2001, he was honored by the national child advocacy organization “Justice for Children,” for “Pro Bono Service With Sincere Appreciation for [His] Commitment to the Abused Children of Our Nation.” On May 10, 2001,he received the Louisiana State University School of Social Work Alumni Recognition Award for his contributions to the prevention of family violence through the legal system. On April 30, 2004, the advocacy organization Justice for Children presented him with the Harvey M. Houck Award for his work.

He has served on the boards of the Jefferson Children’s Council, Schools Combating Abuse and Neglect, and the Region VI Adoption Resource Center. In June 2002, he published Guardians ad Litem in Private Custody Litigation: The Case for Abolition, 3 Loyola Journal of Public Interest Law 106 (Summer 2002). In Miller v. Martin, 838 So.2d 761(La.2003), Mr. Ducote persuaded the Louisiana Supreme Court to hold that the State was strictly or automatically liable when children in state custody were abused in a foster home. In Turner v. Ostrowe, 828 So.2d 1212 (La.App.1st Cir.2002), he convinced the appellate court to more than triple a trial court’s award of damages to a woman who was circumcised by her physician husband without her consent. Recently, in Velardo v. Ovitt, 2007 Vt. LEXIS 170 (7/27/07), he won the reversal of a child custody/abuse case in the Vermont Supreme Court based on the relationship between the judge and the guardian ad litem. Also, in C.L.S. v. G.J.S., 953 So.2d 1025 (La.App.4th Cir. 2007), he and his associate Erica Burns successfully proved by clear and convincing evidence that a young girl had been sexually abused by her father, resulting in termination of all contact with him. In December, 2007, he won a case in the Nebraska Supreme Court, S.L. v. Steven L., 274 Neb. 646, 2007 Neb. LEXIS 171, which allowed an abused child to sue her father, a Canadian citizen, for the abuse in a Nebraska state court.

In September 2003, he again was a featured presenter at the 8thInternational Conference on Family Violence: Advocacy, Assessment, Intervention, Prevention, and Policy. His panel workshop was entitled, The Ten Biggest Mistakes Made in Family Court Custody Evaluations. During the conference he was presented in special plaque from the California Protective Parents Association in appreciation for his work on behalf of abused children. In November 2004, he trained legal services attorneys from throughout the United States on the cross-examination of custody evaluators in domestic violence cases and on other trial techniques. In December 2004, he was the keynote speaker at the New York State NOW convention, and addressed the crisis in the family court system in domestic violence/ custody cases.

In October 2006, he was invited by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Buffalo and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to train FBI agents, federal prosecutors, and state and local law enforcement agents on the use of expert witnesses in child pornography cases.

In October 2005, he was featured in the PBS documentary Breaking the Silence: Children’s Stories exploring the failure of family courts to protect abused women and children. He was also quoted by Newsweek Magazine in a September 25, 2006, article on PAS entitled “Fighting Over the Kids: Battered Spouses Take Aim at Controversial Custody Strategy.” Again, he was quoted by Oprah Magazine in the November 2006, article, “The Rapist At Home.”

He is admitted to practice in all states courts in Louisiana, the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 4th, 5th, and 9th Circuits, the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Middle, and Western District of Louisiana, the Northern District of Texas, the Eastern District of Texas, the Northern District of Ohio, and the District of Colorado. He has been admitted pro hac vice in over 40 states.

Protective Mothers Alliance offers no legal advice. PMA does not endorse any individual attorney. You are totally and solely responsible for your own selections of attorney and actions.

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the
silence of our friends” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Please visit us in our various venues!

Until next time wishing you light, love and truth, The PMA Team...A Family of Advocates

©2009 by Protective Mothers Alliance. All rights reserved. Although some parts of this publication may be reproduced and reprinted, we require that permission be obtained in writing.

We do not necessarily endorse the views expressed. The information in this publication is presented in good faith. PMA does not guarantee accuracy or assume responsibility for errors or omissions.

PURPOSE OF PROTECTIVE MOTHERS ALLIANCE

"The purpose of this Site is to give the visitor a general understanding of the law; not to provide specific advice. While a great deal of care has been taken to provide accurate and current information, the ideas, general principles and conclusions presented at this site may differ depending on local, state and federal laws and regulations and court cases. Because the law constantly changes and varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and is subject to varying interpretations, the reader is urged to consult professional legal counsel in his or her state regarding the applicability any points of law discussed at this Site to any specific problem. This web site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice."

NO LEGAL ADVICE PROVIDED

Protective Mothers Alliance offers no legal advice under any circumstance. You are totally and solely responsible for your own selections of attorney and actions.

We welcome your views, articles, and feedback!

The Guardian of Truth Newsletter - Vol. 2

2009-06-17T15:34:00.002-04:00

HTML clipboardHTML clipboardHTML clipboardHTML clipboardHTML clipboard

June 17, 2009

Volume 2

The Guardian of Truth

"GOT"

A PROTECTIVE MOTHERS ALLIANCE NEWSLETTER

"Ensuring the rights of children and protective mothers in family court."

Photobucket" border="0">

Dear Protective Mothers and Allies,

Welcome to the second edition of the Guardian of Truth (GOT).

In this issue, Lundy Bancroft will be put "Under the Microscope" and interviewed "Hollywood Style." In addition, Attorney Richard Ducote will share valuable information and so much more! We have received positive feedback about GOT and we thank you for your support.

The Guardian of Truth is a newsletter produced by Protective Mothers Alliance, which is an international organization co-directed by Lundy Bancroft & Janice Levinson who are working together to bring about change through local grassroots organizing of mothers, education, legislation reform, and enforcement of current legislation. PMA supports the efforts of protective moms in keeping themselves and their children safe from the abuse of a former partner, and in empowering these moms to become advocates for themselves, their children, and others. PMA is committed to bringing about dramatic reforms in the treatment of protective moms and their children in family court. GOT's mission is to report positive actions taken for change in family court by PMA, other advocates, and advocacy groups. We also report newsworthy items as they relate to family court issues. Our intention is to build bridges of action and communication between protective mothers, advocates, advocacy groups and professionals; the ultimate goal being to move together in the same direction towards change. While we try to maintain an upbeat attitude, we realize the seriousness of these issues, which is family court corruption and abuse. By no means do we minimize the devastation that the courts have caused; in fact, for most of us at PMA, we have lived it. All of us at PMA hope that you enjoy this issue of GOT and find it informative, inspiring and entertaining.

Warmly,

Janice, Lundy and the PMA Team

PMA is now international! Please join us in giving a warm welcome to Linda and her beautiful country, Italy! Please read "Get to Know Us" to get to know our newest member!

Protective Mothers Alliance continues to grow! We now have state chapter leaders in Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, Idaho, South Dakota, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. So, if you would like to join our fast-growing team, please contact us at lb.jlpma@gmail.com or call 1-941-822-5592.

Protective Mother and Child Reunion

"The Gold Ribbon Campaign"

Our group, "Protective Mothers Alliance", has launched a gold ribbon campaign in an effort to reunite protective mothers and their children who have been separated by family court.

We invite all advocates and their allies around the globe to wear gold ribbons and to tie gold ribbons around trees, to symbolize the effort that protective mo thers and their allies are making to reunite children with their moms.

Please join us in supporting this campaign.

We will not stop, until family court stops destroying the relationships between fit mothers and their children!

"The beautiful memories that we have of our beloved children are golden and can NEVER be erased form our hearts and minds."

"Under the Microscope" -- Who is Lundy Bancroft?

“Inside The Actors Studio” with host James Lipton is known for a list of questions which he poses to each of his guests at the end of the interview. Lipton believes that these questions offer the listener an open window into the souls of his guests. He often mentions that this list was birthed by French novelist Marcel Proust (1871-1922). Proust did not actually create the questionnaire in which his name is attached, yet he did answer famously two versions of it, once at the age of thirteen and then again at age twenty. This served to make the list famous, but in fact the original author is unknown.

We at PMA believe that all protective mothers and advocates are modern day heroes. With this in mind, each issue of GOT will feature an advocate "Under the Microscope" interview, James Lipton style. So in keeping with the actors studio tradition, Janice interviewed her fellow co-director Lundy in which the following conversation ensued:

J: "What is your favorite word?"

L: "Justice."

J: "What is your least favorite word?"

L: "Bigot."

J: "What turns you on creatively, spiritually and emotionally?"

L: "Nature."

J: "Nice! … What turns you off?"

L: "Machines, concrete and technology."

J: "What sound or noise do you love?"

L: "Birds singing."

J: "What sound or noise do you hate?"

L: "Chainsaws. How about you?"

J: "We are really close on this one; jackhammers… What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?"

L: "Professional baseball player."

J: "Wow, you would get along great with my family. They are all die-hard Yankee fans… What profession would you not like to do?"

L: "Sales."

J: "If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?"

L: "Let's have fun."

J: "What is your favorite color?"

L: "Burgundy."

J: "What is your favorite food?"

L: "Yogurt."

J: "If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?"

L: "Yosemite Valley."

J: "Beautiful, I've been there several times too… What is your dream vacation?"

L: "Backpacking in King's Canyon National Park."

J: "If you had a magic wand to do anything with, how would you use it?"

L: "Wipe oppression and discrimination from the Earth."

J: "Why did you begin this journey as an advocate?"

L: "Because I could not bear to watch loving mothers have their children taken form them due to trying to protect them."

J: "What motivates you?"

L: "Seeing the good in people."

J: "Thank you very much Lundy for allowing us to take a tiny peek into your soul and put you "Under The Microscope.”

L: "You're welcome. It was fun."

Lundy Bancroft, co-director of PMA, is an author, workshop leader, and activist on trauma, abuse and healing. He offers dramatically new paths to understanding the emotional injuries we suffer, their lasting effects, and how best to get ourselves free. Lundy appears frequently as a public speaker and trainer, and as a leader of weekend retreats. Lundy's activist work is devoted to recovering the custody rights of protective mothers and their children in family court litigation across the continent.

Be sure to join us next time when we put Attorney Richard Ducote "Under the Microscope"! If you have any questions you would like to ask Richard, email us at lb.jlpma@gmail.com .

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Martin Luther King, Jr.

PMA Looks at the News

And so many in society still ask "Why did she stay?" Too many Moms are faced with domestic violence. Too many have to face the decision of whether they should stay and deal with the abuse to themselves and/or their children, or leave. Many know that if they leave, the abuser can fight for custody of the children, manipulating and lying in court to do so, using the courts to continue his cycle of abuse. Others that are lucky enough to retain custody of their children still have to face the manipulation and control that the abuser exerts through the children. As shown by the news article below, a Protective Order does not mean that the victim is protected from abuse. Here, a woman had full custody of her children and the abusive man had only visitation, yet things went totally out of control.

Too many times we've heard, "Just because he abused you doesn't mean he isn't a good Father." Where are the boundary lines? Speak to any victim that must continue to deal with her abuser through her children, hear about the abuse that the children continue to suffer, hear about the lies and manipulations that the victim must combat to continue to retain custody of her children, and with that fuller picture of the situation you will lose the temptation to ask, "Why did she stay?" In the news story below, you will see how the kind of case that is classified as a “family issue” can lead to the killing of a police officer that tried to protect a child. Our hearts and prayers go to the family of Officer Joshua Miller; he is truly a hero.

Police: Officers rescued boy during Pa. gun battle

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM, Associated Press Writer Michael Rubinkam, Associated Press Wr iter - Mon Jun 8, 6:46 pm ET

SWIFTWATER, Pa - Police officers in northeastern Pennsylvania recued a 9-year-old boy who had been kidnapped by his father as a fatal gun battle erupted between the man and state troopers, authorities said Monday.

After arguing with his estranged wife during a custody exchange, Daniel Autenrieth kidnapped his son at gunpoint, then led police on a 40-mile high-speed chase that ended with a crash and an exchange of gunfire, state police commissioner Col. Frank Pawlowski said. Autenrieth and a state trooper were killed.

"I can't begin to describe the hurt and sorrow being experienced by the Pennsylvania state police," Pawlowski told a somber news conference at the Swiftwater barracks, the trooper's home base. "What happened yesterday is nothing short of an American tragedy."

The chase Sunday night began outside Easton, about 50 miles north of Philadelphia, and ended just east of Tobyhanna in the Pocono Mountains when troopers purposely bumped Autenrieth's car, causing it to spin into a guard rail along state Route 611. As Troopers Joshua Miller, 34, and Robert Lombardo, 35, rushed the driver's side, Autenrieth took out a handgun and fired three shots from close range, police said. Though both troopers were hit, they returned fire, striking Autenrieth eight times. As the troopers and Autenrieth traded fire, two other officers plucked the boy from the front passenger seat of the car. The boy escaped injury. Autenrieth, 31, died at the scene. Miller, a Marine veteran who joined the force in 2002, was shot in the neck and thigh and was rushed to a hospital near Allentown, where he died of his wounds. Lombardo was treated for a gunshot wound and was released.

Miller was married with three children. Lombardo has been with the state police for five years. Both troopers are from Pittston. Outside the Swiftwater barracks Monday, about two dozen troopers, state police personnel and police officers from other departments lined busy Route 611, standing at attention and saluting as a convoy of police cruises and a police helicopter went past, escorting a hearse carrying Miller's body to a funeral home in Pittson.

Pawlowski called Miller "a hero." “An individual embroiled in a domestic dispute for some reason chose to escalate the violence, and it ended with a hero losing his life, a wife losing her husband and three children losing a loving father," Pawlowski said. [Editor’s note: Notice how the police commissioner praises a man who kidnapped his son and killed a police officer by calling him a “loving father,” and attributes his violence to the escalation of a domestic dispute, rather than to the father’s horrific violence. And he doesn’t mention that the mother had already needed to get a protective order against him.

Police were trying to figure out what set off Autenrieth, who was supposed to drop off his three children curbside at his estranged wife's townhouse Sunday night. Instead, he went into the house in Nazareth -- ignoring a May 18 protection-from-abuse order that forbade it -- and began arguing with her. A neighbor, Alrene Benginia, said she heard the couple screaming at each other. By the time she got outside to investigate, police had arrived but Autenrieth and his son were gone. "He has my son! He has a gun!" screamed the wife, Susan Autenrieth, according to Benginia.

Police immediately took off in pursuit and soon caught up to the suspect. The chase lasted more than 30 minutes and involved nine police cruises as Daniel Autenrieth threaded busy intersections and floored it on major highways, authorities said. "It was just sheer havoc out along the roadway," Pawlowski said. "It was an extremely dangerous situation."

Police said they are investigating how Autenrieth got the gun. Because he was subject to a protective-from-abuse order, he was not permitted to have one.

No one answered the door Monday at the home. Susan Autenrieth's landlord, Jay Orwig, said she moved to the townhouse with her three children in February. Her husband, who lived in nearby Palmer Township, "obviously wasn't thinking about the children at all," he said. Susan Autenrieth's next-door neighbor, Rachel Lilly, said she met Daniel Autenrieth once, when her children and his children played together at a community park. She said he seemed normal. "I feel so bad for all the children of the families involved, especially the children of the trooper," Lilly said. Susan Autenrieth, she said, is "a sweet lady who doesn't deserve this."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090608/ap_on_re_us/us_troopers_shot

Hero-Shero of the Month

PMA is excited by the addition of Jennifer Collins! She and Karli Singer will be co-directing "Hear Us Now", a chapter of PMA, designed to bring out the voice of adult children who have suffered because of "court abuse.” These young advocates want the world to know the pain and suffering caused by separating children and their Protective Mothers.

Karli and Jennifer met at the Battered Mothers' Custody Conference earlier this year. Jennifer had attended the conference to share her experiences with others in attendance. Jennifer had recently returned to the U.S. from the Netherlands where she, her mother and brother, had escaped to find refuge. Holly Collins, Jennifer's Mother, was determined that her children would escape abuse and that they would be protected. Holly fled with her two children after custody was given to their abusive father. They found safety in the Netherlands. However, because of insufficient documentation, Holly and her children spent several years in refugee camps. During this time the FBI found them and demanded that the Netherlands turn them over to the U.S. authorities, so she could be charged with kidnapping. But after conducting their own investigation, authorities in the Netherlands granted the family asylum due to the substantial evidence of abuse.

Finally, in 2008, with the help of advocates in the U.S., Holly was cleared of charges.

For more information: http://americanchildrenunderground.blogspot.com/

Now that Jennifer is over eighteen, she has begun to speak out about her abuse and the broken family court system. She has risen above the intense attacks by father supremacists and continues to find her voice, speak the truth, and be a powerful advocate for change. Jennifer's strength is admirable. She is a welcome edition to the PMA team and we are excited to have her on board!

To see more about the plight of Jennifer and her Mother, please watch this news release video...

Holly CollinsCRISIS in America's Family Courts-OUR Children at RISK~!~ -

Karli's Corner

Karli wants to share what she felt as a child, separated from her Mother. During the years of the custody battle which kept her away from her Mom, she kept a journal to record her thoughts. This is the first in a series of excerpts from Karli's journal. She was very kind to share this with us, so let's take a walk together as we venture along an emotional journey through the eyes of a child...

Richard's Report

Attorney Richard Ducote is an internationally renowned custody litigator in cases of domestic violence and child abuse. In his 28 years of legal practice he has achieved an impressive record of child advocacy success. In this issue, he has been kind to offer his expert advice to GOT for protective moms dealing with custody litigation.

PROTECTING KIDS IN FAMILY COURT CASES

Richard Ducote, Esq.

There is ample documentation of the difficulty parents, and particularly mothers, encounter when they seek to protect their children from domestic violence, and physical or sexual abuse, in family court custody cases. However, there are some encouraging developments within the legal system upon which we can build when litigating these cases. For example, the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals issued a great decision in March, 2009, with the help of attorneys from Justice for Children, which allows confrontation and cross-examination of mental health professionals and guardians ad litem who were making custody recommendations. The Tennessee Supreme Court revised the guardian ad litem rules to eliminate the vast power and large fees these attorney's previously enjoyed. Then, in early June, the United States Supreme Court ruled that civil litigants have a constitutional right to impartial judges, and that campaign contributions, under circumstances, can force a judge to recuse himself.

When parents are faced with these difficult and abusive situations, it is essential that early decisions and strategies be correctly thought out, because it is much more difficult to undue a negative custody outcome than to prevent one. Courts are historically designed to adjudicate facts, i.e. did this or that happen. This process is most important where there are questions of violence and abuse, because if the starting point is not whether the abuse did in fact happen the family courts are likely to decide the child's custody in an unsafe way. Therefore, the protection of children in family court begins and ends with careful and thorough litigation maximizing the court's ability to accurately determined facts. So it is vital that, from the very early stages of the case, protective parents do the following:

Rely only on attorneys, physicians, and mental health professionals with documented training and experience in domestic violence and child abuse cases. General family court experience for lawyers, and general child custody and family therapy training for other professionals, is woefully insufficient for these cases. Attorneys who represent the abusers should be avoided, as their experience with abuse cases is generally counterproductive. Look for attorneys who truly understand the constitution, the rules of evidence, and the mental health field, and who are willing to challenge the system when it is failing. Stay away from lawyers who believe that the wise psychologist and the experienced guardian ad litem will always make the right decisions and we just have to trust them.
Object to any process where written reports are submitted by guardians ad litem, custody evaluators, or mental health professionals. Insist that all rules of evidence be followed, and fight to keep bogus theories such as parental alienation syndrome and the like out of evidence.
Always depose any professional who is going to have an impact on the case.
Insist that any attorneys who purport to represent the interest of the children, such as guardians ad litem, minor’s counsel, or law guardians strictly comply with the American Bar Associations 2003 Standards of Practice for Lawyers Representing Children in Custody Cases and any state rules with similar provisions.
Never waive objections to unlawful procedures, and always argue that the court must decide the case based only on evidence properly admitted where your due process rights of notice and the opportunity for a fair hearing before an impartial judge are preserved.
Never waive your right to appeal an adverse decision.
Where children are old enough to testify about facts and events crucial to proving the abuse happened, their testimony should be presented, but in a way that minimizes the stress. However, continued abuse is much worse than the trauma of testifying.
Always use the testimony of fact witness who have direct knowledge of the abusive events, the aftermath of the abuse, and parenting quality. Do not expect the experts to be sufficient.
Never ask the court to require the accused abuser to submit to a polygraph, a psychosexual evaluation, or any other such evaluation. These devices are incapable of determining if abuse occurred and this strategy will backfire.

The first step in protecting children is controlling the process by which their fate will be determined. Where the integrity of the process is maintained, the opportunity for the court to know and understand the facts is maximized. Thus, an unbiased judge who considers only what is permissible, should then apply the law correctly with good results ensuing. While there are certainly no guarantees here, to ignore these guidelines will almost certainly invite disaster.

Inspirations from the Heart

CREATIVE WRITING BY ONE OF OUR MEMBERS:

WHAT SHOULD NOT BE

When the dust settles and all is quiet
When we are left with the destruction you have initiated
All against the innocent
All to hide your twisted and misguided intentions
Your sick mind
When the precious lives you have destroyed attempt to pick up the shattered remains...
While they are left sick to their hearts, stomachs and minds at the very image or thought of you
What then?
As I try to comfort the result of your destruction... the fear you have embedded in a life so precious...
As I attempt to sweep the hatred away and scour the filth... bandage the wounds and disguise the scars...
As her eyes, now not so innocent, stare into mine through her tears...
Questioning. Not understanding. She will not look toward you.
I hold her. I just hold her
I search for answers that do not exist... for reasons that have none... excuses that cannot sound plausible... my voice has no sound
I look up through the dust in this gathering gloom and see your figure walking away... No.
The tilt of your head and height of your sh oulders says you feel accomplished. It tells me you are proud. It lets me know you feel no remorse. There is no sadness. Only that which you have created.
You are incapable...
My mind cannot grasp it.
I look into her eyes again... the innocence is lost... the tears are blurring the color... I see the rage she is trying to either hide or understand... the questions she cannot grasp the words to ask...

I look to the Heavens... I ask why... something wet slides down my cheek
I cannot fix this. I pray for God to take you... but still I see you there
In the distance... all of your arrogance overwhelms me. Still I hold her...

Pseudo: DONNA BEVEL - 2009

Shout Out!

"Thoughts, ideas, comments and updates from Protective Moms, Advocates and Professionals"

Lundy Bancroft's Shout Out:

Lundy Bancroft is pleased to announce the First Protective Mothers Alliance meeting in Western Massachusetts. This meeting will take place mid-June, and we are sure it will be a success. We will keep you updated on the outcome of this meeting along with additional others in the future.

California's Shout Out:

Public officials call for major changes in family law

By Kamika Dunlap

Posted: 06/11/2009 06:54:02 PM PDT

Updated: 06/11/2009 09:03:13 PM PDT

http://www.insidebayarea.com/oakland tribune/localnews/ci_12573211

OAKLAND -- One by one, parents around the Bay Area are beginning to step forward to share heart-wrenching stories of the injustices they experienced in California's family court system.

These parents have joined with thousands of others statewide to reform the family courts and protect child victims of violence and sexual abuse from judicial decisions the parents say place children in harm's way.

"I'm living proof this is happening today," said Susan, a California Family Court litigant and mother whose daughter was placed with her accused molester. "The family courts crisis is a plague and it's destroying peoples' lives." About 58,000 children per year in the U.S. ar e ordered into unsupervised contact with physically or sexually abusive parents following divorce, according to experts at the Leadership Council on Child Abuse & Interpersonal Violence.

Many people concerned about the systemic problems with family court attended a daylong public forum Thursday at the Alameda County Conference Center.Some compared the family court crisis to the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals because of what they call an institutional level of collusion of harm against children. Event organizers said they hoped the forum would inspire families who have survived traumatic family court ordeals to come forward in order to shed more light on the breakdown of the family court system. Participants, including family court litigants, child advocates and the general public, gathered to discuss the family court crisis and take a closer look at problems and solutions. The forum's session featured public testimony by speakers and a panel of legal experts and attorneys who gave free general legal advice about how to best protect themselves in the family court.

The event was organized by the Center for Judicial Excellence in partnership with UC Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law, California Protective Parents Association, Justice for Children, California Safe Child Coalition, Child Abuse Solutions and the Incest Survivors Speakers' Bureau. Their collective goal was to push to improve the judiciary's public accountability and strengthen and maintain the integrity of the courts. In addition, the center produced a documentary, “Family Court Crisis: Our Children at Risk,” and screened a 12-minute clip at the forum.

The American Judges Association found that approximately 70 percent of batterers succeed in convincing authorities that the victims of their abuse are unfit or undeserving of sole custody. Alameda County Supervisor Gail Steele and actress Nancy Lee Grahn from ABC's "General Hospital" are family court reform advocates and also participated in the panel discussions. Steele announced a new initiative to help better protect vulnerable children in family court. It includes her support of the passage of new proposed legislation by Assemblyman Jim Beall, D-San Jose, and Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, to reform family court. Her initiative also calls for the passage of Sen. Mark Leno's request for a legislative audit of Marin and Sacramento Family Courts. She also is pushing for ombudsman positions to be created in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, where parents can go for help and to plead their case.

"The system has to change in California and across the country," Steele said. Grahn did not talk in detail about her $1 million family court battle but said her experience was "maddening and perplexing." She was upset to learn that some laws were unfair and t hat some court procedures were abusive and treated children like hostages or assets that need to be divided up. After a three-year ordeal, Grahn finally gained custody of her 11-year-old daughter. She now works with community organizations and travels the state to meet with lawmakers and inform them about the about pitfalls of the family law system. "I met people who were in similar or worse situations," Grahn said. "There are thousands of women who were protective parents and their children were taken away and handed over to their abusers."

For more information visit, www.centerforjudicialexcellence.org

http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_12573211

Kudos for all involved and Thank You from PMA!

"Life's most urgent question is "What are you doing for others?"" Martin Luther King, Jr.

Get to Know Us:

Here is Linda’s story:

During her marriage, Linda’s current husband became increasingly aggressive, yet separation was quite peaceful. Once he finally left Linda and her children, they were all thankful for the tranquility. After their separation, Linda’s soon to be ex had little time for the children, so things went smoothly. But three years later he suddenly became aggressive again, scaring the children by threatening to take them away from their loving mother. Linda has proof of these threats in the form of voicemails. Events escalated as he started stalking the family. Linda initiated court action by asking for supervised visits, which the Court did not oppose. Unfortunately, Linda had an evaluator who came to the conclusion that the problem involved both parents and the children were suffering because of constant arguing. Yet another psychologist opposed this theory without success.

Regrettably the judge decided in favor of the former evaluator and custody was given to social services. After a year of supervised visitation in which the dad openly showed his abusive nature, causing the children to manifest health issues, a neuro-psychiatrist stepped in. He concluded that the dad was creating problems and sent his report to social services saying as such. The neuro-psychiatrist prescribed pet therapy, which the children loved. Currently, Linda is forced to attend couple’s therapy with her abuser, causing her to feel both fearful and traumatized.

We will follow Linda s situation closely, giving her comfort and support. It will be interesting to compare and contrast the family courts in Italy with those in the United States.

"Faith is taking the first step, even though you don’t see the staircase." Martin Luther King, Jr.

Please visit us on our various venues!

Please visit us on our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=58041937814

Here is the link for the Gold Ribbon Campaign Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=96245838687

The Guardian of Truth - Go here to submit stories h ttp://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=80414044039&ref=mf

PMA has now joined with MySpace! Please visit us and join as a friend at: http://www.myspace.com/protectivemothersalliance

PMA is also on Blogspot: http://protectivemothersalliance.blogspot.com/

Snag and share photos and videos with PMA at Photobucket: http://gs169.photobucket.com/groups/u204/J16OTAQIHO/

To join our rapidly growing team, to share your views, articles and feedback; or if you have any questions that you would like to ask, contact PMA:

Phone: 941-822-5592
Email: lb.jlpma@gmail.com

Until next time, Wishing you Light, Love and Truth:
The PMA Team...A Family of Advocates

©2009 by Protective Mothers Alliance. All rights reserved. Although some parts of this publication may be reproduced and reprinted, we require that permission be obtained in writing.

We do not necessarily endorse the views expressed. The information in this publication is presented in good faith. PMA does not guarantee accuracy or assume responsibility for errors or omissions.

We welcome your views, articles, and feedback!

The Guardian of Truth Newsletter

2009-05-10T15:51:00.002-04:00

May 10, 2009

Volume 1

The Guardian of Truth

In celebration of Mother's Day, The Protective Mother's Alliance (PMA), a national organization co-directed by Lundy Bancroft & Janice Levinson, has published the first edition of "The Guardian of Truth" (GOT). This is a monthly newsletter compiled by advocates. It is designed to empower women, who are in threatening litigation, which may interfere with continued custody/access to their children.

Advocates and professionals may use GOT to share their latest efforts in keeping children with their mothers and in maintaining healthy relationships between mother and child. Methods to identify court corruption on all levels may be shared through GOT.

GOT realizes that networking, sharing information and working together is necessary to end the obstruction of mothers' rights in family courts. The Guardian of Truth's mission is to provide communication between advocates, professionals, and other like minded organizations; with the ultimate goal of empowering moms before they can be victimized by the family court system. GOT's goal is to be the course for sharing information to benefit mothers and their children. Our mission is to connect the east coast with the west; the north with the south; The United States, Canada, Great Britain....and the world to reform family courts.

Please send a brief synopsis of any updates, or advice that you may have in dealing with ongoing issues affecting mothers and their children. Please contact us: lb.jlpma@gmail.com

Each issue of The Guardian of Truth will feature:
1. Updates from PMA (national group co-directed by Lundy Bancroft & Janice Levinson)
2. Karli's Korner: reports from a young adults perspective of how life dramatically changed because of biased courtroom decisions;
3. Get to Know Us; A featured biography of at least one member of PMA

Starting in the Second Issue:
4. Richard's Report a column by attorney, Richard Ducote featuring his observations from the trenches of the family court war zone;
5. Shout Out; comments, and ideas, shared by individuals, groups, and professionals;
6. Poetry, artwork and anything else that you want to share;
7. A courtroom horror story from a mother's perspective; beginning with the second issue;
8. Spotlight; Hero/Shero of the moth: recognition for a job well done;
9. Miscellaneous; Jokes and Quotes, recommended reading, etc.;
10. Letters to the Editor & Updates form advocates and like minded groups sharing information and useful tactics in promoting change

We still have a great deal of work to do.

We look forward to working with you!

In the next issue "Get to Know Us" will be featured an interview with Lundy Bancroft.

Wishing You A Wonderful Mother's Day!

PMA

Protective Mothers Alliance (PMA) is a national organization co-directed by Lundy Bancroft & Janice Levinson working to bring about change through education, legislation reform, and enforcement of current legislation. PMA supports the effort of protective moms in keeping themselves and their children safe from the abuse of a former partner, and in empowering these moms to become advocates for themselves and others. PMA is committed to bringing about dramatic reforms in the treatment of protective moms and their children in family court. Among the many common family law practices we work to stop are:

Custody of children granted to men who abuse women; those who abuse/have abused children; those who are perpetrators of sexual abuse towards children; and granting of unsupervised contact with children to abusers with no requirement that they overcome their abusiveness.

Other issues include:

Labeling protective mothers as parental alienators and punishing them for their appropriate protective efforts; using biased tests, and misusing psychological tests to support abusers; forcing protective moms to spend excessive amounts of money on prolonged, unnecessary litigation...

PMA members are working as a team to change harmful practices that eliminate, or restrict loving, biological mothers from the lives of their children. This will be done through education, community outreach, media exposure, and other strategies that can be effective and beneficial.

Gold Ribbon Campaign

Protective Mothers Alliance has launched a gold ribbon campaign in an effort to reunite protective mothers and their children.

We invite all advocates and their allies around the globe to wear gold ribbons and to tie gold ribbons around trees, to symbolize the effort that protective mothers and their allies are making to reunite children with their moms. Please join us in supporting this campaign. Email us with your ways of using gold ribbons. Join and support our facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/n/?..group.php&gid=96245838687&mid=6b0128G639e0500Gbe741G6

We will not stop, until family court stops destroying the relationships between mothers and their children!

"The beautiful memories that we have of our beloved children are golden and can NEVER be erased from our hearts and minds" ~source unknown

Hear Us Now
(Hear Us Now is another division of PMA which reaches out to young adult and teen survivors of the courts.)

Karli's Korner:
My name is Karli Singer and unfortunately I am one of the grown children who experienced a failed family court system. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, a disease of chronic pain, which is known to be linked to sexual abuse and a traumatic childhood.

Dealing with this horrible disease has made me want to go after my perpetrator who abused me, and the court system that refused to protect me. Stories like mine are happening to thousands of children all over the country, and it needs to stop. The corruption has to be exposed to the world. The court system likes to punish the protective parents and take their kids away from them, which is the worst kind of pain; but what they don't see is that they are ruining our lives, and our childhood; taking us away from our home and our loving mothers, and putting us in an abusive, unloved life; suffocating us, and not letting us out. The things I knew and said when I was four years old are the same things I am saying now that I am twenty one; and if only I was heard when I was four, I would not have had to endure a terrorizing childhood, and now a debilitating, painful adulthood.

Get to Know Us

Janice Levinson, PMA founder/co-director: Janice is an advocate living in FL. She is a loving mother of three children. Janice earned a BA degree from St. Leo University in FL. with a major in Drama/English/Education. Janice is currently a charge nurse at a rehabilitation facility that specializes in working with psychiatric patients. She is currently working on a second degree; BSN.

As a child Janice was a child actress singer and dancer. She appeared in TV Movies, Broadway plays, and commercials such as Coke, Ivory Soap among others. After graduating from college, she taught high school until she moved to CA.

Janice lived in CA where she raised her children while married. She owned and operated a few different types of businesses, including one of the first Doula business in the nation. Janice's business was featured in the Contra Costa times for its uniqueness.

Janice became an advocate for mothers when she lost custody of her own children while being dragged through the court system for over 10 years. Janice found herself in a vicious custody battle for her three children and lost custody of her children in CA. about 5 years ago.

Looking for support, Janice attended the second Battered Women's Custody Conference (BMCC) where she met Lundy Bancroft. She and Lundy became friends, and stayed in touch. Lundy asked Janice to be the FL. chapter leader of his organization which was then called Protective Mothers Alliance for Justice. Soon after, PMAJ was reorganized and Janice became co-director of the new organization: Protective Mothers Alliance.

"I feel blessed to be working with Lundy and will never stop fighting for the cause."

As a protective Mom who was in and out of court for close to 10 years Janice is dedicated to changing the current system. She is very close to her son who is 22 and attending college in CA, considering Law School. Yet, she has not seen or spoken to her daughters in 3 years.

Janice understands, too well, maternal deprivation and the negative ramifications that result in mother and child separation. She has founded the gold ribbon campaign to reunite mothers and children everywhere.

Note from the Editor: Please hold Janice and her daughters in the light and pray that one day they will be reunited and that their relationship will be happy and healthy.

Lundy Bancroft, co-director: is an author, workshop leader, and activist on trauma, abuse, and healing. He offers dramatically new ways to understanding the emotional injuries we suffer, their lasting effects, and how best to get ourselves free. Lundy appears frequently as a public speaker and trainer, and as a leader of weekend retreats. Lundy's activist work is devoted to recovering the custody rights of protective mothers and their children in family court litigation across the continent.

Karli Singer: the voice of "Hear Us Now" Karli is the victim of a failed court system. Kari is now 21, but she cannot forget the years of abuse that she suffered. She has decided to speak out to end court abuse. Karli hopes that her story will be instrumental in changing the current family court system. Although an adult, Karli still suffers because of her childhood trauma. She is diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, a disorder often attributed to children who have suffered during childhood. Karli is now studying pediatric medicine in college.

Karen Husain: FL leader, consultant, editor: a free spirited, free lance, advocate living in FL.; founder of the Atlanta chapter of Motherlink; active with numerous mother's rights organizations; organizes and presents workshops and public town hall meetings; editorials published; written resolutions setting precedence for The National Organization for Women; including the foundation for a national resolution resulting in formation of a national committee to work on issues involving child custody. Karen has three children. She enjoys writing, reading, watching sit-com reruns with her sons, and just hanging out.

Joan Peterson: Pennsylvania leader, contributing writer

Join the PMA facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?grid=58041937814

To join our rapidly growing team, to share your views, articles and feedback; or if you have any questions that you would like to ask, contact PMA:

Phone: 941-822-5592
Email: lb.jlpma@gmail.com

Until next time, Wishing you Light, Love and Truth:
The PMA Team

©2009 by Protective Mothers Alliance. All rights reserved. Although some parts of this publication may be reproduced and reprinted, we require that permission be obtained in writing.

We do not necessarily endorse the views expressed. The information in this publication is presented in good faith. PMA does not guarantee accuracy or assume responsibility for errors or omissions.

We welcome your views, articles, and feedback!