Friday
Declaration of Rights and Responsibilities
We must DO something. Stand watch. Speak up. Become involved.Thus, we the people do hereby declare not only our rights, but do now establish this bill of responsibilities.
1. Because I have the right to choose, I recognize that I am accountable to God and have the responsibility to keep the 10 commandments in my own life.
2. Because I have the right to worship as I choose, I have the responsibility to honor the right of others to worship as they see fit.
3. Because I have freedom of speech, I have the responsibility to defend the speech of others, even if I strongly disagree with what they’re saying.
4. Because I have the right to pursue happiness, I have the responsibility to show humility and express gratitude for all the blessings I enjoy and the rights I’ve been given.
5. Because I have the right to honest and good government I will seek out honest and just representatives when possible. If I cannot find one then I accept the responsibility to take that place.
6. Because I have the God given right to liberty, I have the personal responsibility to have the courage to defend others to be secure in their persons, lives and property.
7. Because I have the right to equal justice, I will stand for those who are wrongly accused or unjustly blamed.
8. Because I have the right to knowledge, I will be accountable for myself and my children’s education…to live our lives in such a way that insures the continuation of truth.
9. Because I have the right to pursue my dreams and keep the fruits of my labor, I have the responsibility to feed, protect and shelter my family, the less fortunate, the fatherless, the old and infirm.
10. Because I have a right to the truth, I will not bear false witness nor will I stand idly by as others do.
Unconditionally, while maintaining my responsibility to compassionately yet fiercely stand against those things that decay the natural rights of all men. And for the support of this declaration, and with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence we mutually pledge to each other our lives, fortunes and sacred honor.
In order to continually experience life, liberty and happiness as promised, nature’s God demands obedience to His law to protect those rights. This is where we have fallen short and therefore, in order not to lose the blessings of freedom, the people of the world must turn from the sole focus on rights, and recognize the inherent and required responsibilities that we have.
Among the responsibilities to which we must adhere to maintain our God given rights are honor, courage and vigilance.
Over time, we believe that these basic human responsibilities have been trampled, and replaced with degradation, fear and apathy.
But when a long train of abuses of the people and conscience by the media and by other segments of society, pursuing the same path of reducing them to ridicule, scorn and even sub-human status, it is their right, it is their DUTY, to peacefully, but vehemently take a stand.
Men want to be king, and the more we concentrate on our rights and the more we are told not to worry about our responsibilities, the more we lose our rights.
Just as physics show, for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction. The time has come to declare that at least for the western world human rights are generally accepted and moving in the right direction however a new movement is required a movement of human responsibility.
The media, politicians and large institutions both academic and political have been lying to us, and we must demand the truth be told.
With that demand, comes the responsibility that we tell the truth first, in ourselves. Too many of us delegate our responsibility to the media…and too many believe there is no personal responsibility at all.
Political correctness has polluted our language and clouds our every discussion.
What was once accepted as good and right, is now considered bad and evil, and that which was bad and evil is now presented to the world as good and decent.
Opposing thoughts or opinions are referred to as crazy, insane, non-factual and utterly without merit. Furthermore, we are told, they should not even be heard.
Now, the time has come to take a stand by exhibiting the traits – honor, courage and vigilance.
What is honor? It is being honest in all of our dealings. It is showing loyalty and fairness, and being a beacon of integrity in all our beliefs and actions. It is showing respect for others.
Ruth honored Naomi when she told her that she would not leave her. That she would go wherever Naomi went, that she would live where Naomi lived and die where Naomi died. Her God would be Naomi’s God.
Courage is the ability to face danger, criticism or scorn – not without fear, but while overcoming fear to deal with that which comes our way.
When no one else in the Kingdom wanted to face the mighty giant, Goliath, young David was willing. David must have felt fear at the sight of his foe, but overcame it, and courageously vanquished his enemy.
Vigilance is being watchful for all forms of treachery and tyranny, lies and deceit. The person in the watchtower, waiting all night, suddenly sounding the alarm that the enemy is coming. The careful observer of the markets and economies who proclaims to the world, all is not well, there is trouble ahead and the outspoken critic of the powerful, going against societies’ grain, warning that all is not as we’re being told. These are the vigilant.
We implore all people to stand with these characteristics – honor, courage and vigilance.
To that end, we must restore honor in our own lives. Seek after the truth. Declare right now, that no longer will we simply accept what is told us by the media or anyone else.
The media has the responsibility to tell the truth, we have the responsibility to learn it.
Stand with courage, even if it means the end of our jobs, the end of our positions in life…or even the end of our very lives.
We must have the courage to be peaceful, while recognizing the courage to defend and respond to threats and/or attacks when necessary.
Turn the other cheek when possible.
We must be vigilant. We must think the unthinkable. The holocaust occurred because no one could imagine it, but evil never sleeps, and neither must we.
As Edmund Burke said, “all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”
Post by Glenn Beck.
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Family Court...When children are involved it becomes the never-ending trickle of salt into the open wound you’re trying to heal
When Children Are Involved
Written by Dr Tara J.
Palmatier on August 17, 2011
The following article is written by another CrazyBuster veteran: LiliM. Like Micksbabe and Peppy, LiliM also married a man with a high-conflict ex and alienated children.
In her first Shrink4Men article, LiliM offers suggestions on how to navigate the divorce process with a high-conflict ex when children are involved based on her and her husband’s hard won firsthand experiences:
One of the biggest issues people struggle with in dealing with a high-conflict (HCP) ex is when children are part of the equation. It’s hard enough to shed a HCP spouse or partner; when children are involved, it becomes the never-ending trickle of salt into the open wound you’re trying to heal.
As noted in a previous Shrink4Men article, the trick to neutralizing the Crazy is boundaries. For some of us, creating boundaries for ourselves is difficult enough. It becomes hellishly difficult to implement healthy boundaries when there are children to consider.
Why is it so difficult? In many cases, the answer is fear.
HCPs are predators, as Dr T and Micksbabe so aptly identified them. They know the smell of fear. If you have any, they will know it. They might not be the sharpest pencil in the box otherwise, but boy, do they know how to sniff out fear. Then they capitalize on it to the nth degree.
Once you or the HCP decide the marriage or relationship is over, you need to immediately be on your guard. At that point, regardless of what your HCP ex says, you are now the enemy in their mind. Many men are often lulled into a false sense of security by the fact that she seems to be behaving and seems to be thinking and acting rationally at the beginning of the break-up or divorce.
She is not. It’s a trap! (Think Admiral Ackbar here.)
This is when it becomes very important that you start changing the way you see your wife or partner.
She is your wife, for a little bit longer. She is also the mother of your children. That’s a powerful old saw that many high-conflict exes play to the death. My response to these tired old chestnuts is, yes, she is the mother of your children — and heaven help them because she is also the Crazy.
She is the parent who will sow deep gaping trenches into your kids if you don’t create boundaries for yourself and show the kids what a non-Crazy parent looks like. At this point, you are your kids’ best hope for normalcy.
Tuesday
Ex-Wife's Baseless Restraining Order Costs Her $852,000
Man Awarded $852,000 in Civil Court After Ex-Wife Falsely Accuses Him of Sexual Abuse
False allegations and baseless restraining orders are known to be common tactics used by high-conflict women and men (primarily women) and negative advocate attorneys to gain an advantage in divorce and custody cases.
It happens. We know it happens. And we know that most false accusers are rarely prosecuted for this criminal offense.
In March 2011, AVoiceforMenRadio aired a show called, Cry Rape! The Plague of False Allegations with guest E. Steven Berkimer (False Rape Society). I called in (68:20 on the counter) to ask why men aren’t suing women who make false allegations against them in civil court if family court and the police won’t hold these women accountable and prosecute them.
Looks like the inevitable has finally happened.
Last month, a judge awarded Daryl Ginyard of Severn, Maryland $852,000 in damages for the false light cast upon him and other punitive damages he incurred after his wife, Amani Ginyard, falsely accused him of sexually abusing their daughters.
$852,000.
Almost forgot to mention that this decision came more than a year after another county circuit judge awarded Mr Ginyard full custody of his children.
$852,000 and full custody to father because mother lied.
Not just any lie, the most despicable lie a parent can manufacture about the other parent. The lie that puts you on the sex offenders list. The lie that costs you your job. The lie that that makes it impossible to find a job. The lie that turns you into prison meat if you go to jail.
$852,000 seems paltry in comparison to the often irreparable damage caused by this kind of lie, but it’s a victory and it’s a good start.
And so it begins. . .
The Ginyards divorced in 2005. Two months into their equal time custody agreement, Christmas arrived and trouble ensued. Mr Ginyard was supposed to have the girls for the holiday, but his ex-wife decided she wanted the children for the day.
Rather than stick to the custody arrangement she presumably agreed to during their divorce, Ms Ginyard called the police and reported that the children were “in trouble” and that Mr Ginyard was trying to leave town with with them unlawfully.
Ms Ginyard didn’t stop there.
HometownAnnapolis reports:
The following February, on Valentine’s Day, Ginyard had custody over his eldest daughter while his ex-wife had their youngest girl. After that visit, it was alleged that Ginyard sexually abused his eldest daughter during the visit. The allegations were investigated and ruled unfounded.Over the next two years Ginyard was accused of sexually assaulting both daughters seven more times. All of the accusations were ruled unfounded. He testified last week that as the allegations accumulated, questioning by detectives went from hour-long talks to two- to three-hour interrogations.During the investigations, he lost custody of his children. After an allegation in March 2006, Ginyard wasn’t allowed to see his girls for nine months. Starting in September 2007, following a separate allegation, he went six weeks without being allowed to see his girls.
Mr Ginyard also lost his job as a result of Ms Ginyard’s false allegations. In 2006, Mr Ginyard’s employer was notified of a court subpoena for a child sexual assault and the bank he worked for let him go. He wasn’t able to find work at another bank until this past January 2011.
That’s almost 5 years out of work because of Ms Ginyard’s lies.
Ms Guinyard made a total of 8 false allegations. The girls told every child therapist, evaluator and court-appointed official they saw that no abuse took place.
Over 5 years from the time his nightmare began, Mr Ginyard was reunited with his girls. HometownAnnapolis reports:
In February 2010, after a two-day trial, Circuit Court Judge Paul F. Harris Jr. ruled that the allegations were false and that Ginyard did nothing to his children. Harris reversed the earlier custody decision, giving primary custody to Darryl Ginyard. The girls’ mother now gets visitation.Lawrence-Whittaker [Ginyard’s attorney] said the case since has gone to the Court of Special Appeals, which upheld Harris’ ruling.
Much like Tracy West, who staged her own rape scene and made false allegations against her son’s father to deny him access, Ms Ginyard also gets visitation. A mother who put her girls through needless hours of of questioning and evaluations and who deliberately told the most horrific lies about their father, gets visitation. What does it take for a family court judge to deny access to a mother hellbent on alienation?
Even though Mr Ginyard has his daughters back and almost a million dollars in damages, there are lingering effects of Ms Ginyard’s lies. Also fromHometownAnnapolis:
Ginyard testified that the years of false allegations damaged his relationship with his daughters. He said he has become withdrawn with the girls and is afraid to do things normal parents do – like hug or snuggle with his children while watching a movie.“I don’t let them stay in my room a lot,” he said. “I have to distance myself from them, no matter how much I care about them, because of the way things have transpired.“… I don’t want to put myself into a position like that at all.”
This may be the most heartbreaking side effect of the lie. Mr Ginyard is afraid to show his own children affection, to be close to them. He has to squelch his natural affection for the girls.
Is Ms Ginyard sorry for lying and the pain and damage she caused? Here’s what her attorney had to say on her behalf:
Amani Ginyard’s attorney, Michael G. Morin, said Darryl Ginyard did not suffer enough to get the money he was demanding.He said his client didn’t publicly accuse her ex-husband.“He has suffered zero damages except his ego,” Morin said.He called Ginyard’s lawsuit “a shot at the lottery.”
Wow. Just. Wow. Not sorry. Not at all. If I’d been a juror and heard that bit of remorseless sociopathy, I’d have multiplied Mr Ginyard’s award by 1000.
Moral of the story.
Sometimes you shouldn’t drop the rope. Sometimes you have to fight back. Sometimes fighting back works. If the family court and criminal courts won’t do their jobs and help protect men in similar situations, perhaps civil court can.
$852,000 is a small amount compared to the pain, humiliation and time Mr Ginyard lost with his daughters. It’s also a small amount when you consider that his relationship with the girls may be forever altered. He’s afraid to hug them. He’s afraid snuggle up and watch a movie with them.
No, $852,000 is not enough, but it’s a good start.
Oh, and false accusers beware. It just might cost you more than a slap on the wrist and a trip to your local community counseling center.
Shrink4Men Coaching and Consulting Services:
Dr Tara J. Palmatier provides confidential, fee-for-service, consultation/coaching services to help both men and women work through their relationship issues via telephone and/or Skype chat. Her practice combines practical advice, support, reality testing and goal-oriented outcomes. Please visit the Shrink4Men Services page for professional inquiries.
Sunday
Courageous...Powerful, Heroic, and Life-Changing
Four men, one calling: To serve and protect. When tragedy strikes home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Protecting the streets is second nature. Raising their children in a God-honoring way? That's courageous.
War Room, the brand-new Kendrick Brothers movie, is now in theaters! Alex Kendrick and T.C. Stallings are both back from...
Posted by Courageous Movie on Friday, August 28, 2015
Thursday
The Mechanisms of Civil and Criminal Courts Don't Exist in Family Court
TIPS FROM THE TRENCHES »Overcoming Judicial Bias
By Stan Perry
Judicial bias may be conscious or unconscious. For example, there is the natural tendency of judges to feel more comfortable with lawyers who practice regularly before them, and to view lawyers from afar with suspicion, if not hostility. The best antidote I have found to combat bias against an out-of-town lawyer is to find the best local trial lawyer and hire her. You can gain instant credibility by associating yourself with a local favorite.
Too often, retaining local counsel focuses on who is perceived to have influence with the trial judge. Instead of influence, I suggest you look for the best courtroom skills. Even hostile judges appreciate excellence in the courtroom, especially excellence with a local flavor. It’s a mistake to ask a local lawyer to do nothing more than file pleadings until it is time to pick a jury. Instead of having the local trial lawyer sit on the sidelines, get her into the field as soon as you can and make her an integral part of your trial team.
Another antidote to potential judicial bias can be summed up in a single word: Listen. This is so very hard for lawyers to do, especially trial lawyers. Many times hostile judges will signal—if not flat-out tell you—what they do or do not want to happen in their court. Lawyers, however, are often too busy talking (or arguing) to pick up on these vital, and sometimes obvious, clues.
Recently, I was in a rural county in Texas before a trial judge who was not receptive our position. The judge mentioned, in passing, that the trial date was firm and he was not going to continue the trial. Only a few of the 20 or more lawyers in the courtroom were paying enough attention to hear the judge. Well, I heard it—and I based my discovery plan on the premise that the trial date was set in stone, and not the aspirational guideline my adversaries were expecting. When the trial date approached, we were ready, and they were not. Our timely preparation was an excellent antidote to the judge’s initial bias against my case.
Another story highlights the additional benefit of listening: you may avoid giving the judge a reason to dislike you. My local trial lawyer and I planned to divide oral argument between us, with him starting and me finishing. Five minutes into the hearing, however, it became obvious that the judge really liked and admired our local lawyer. So I decided it might be best if I never opened my mouth. To this day, the trial judge may think I am the local lawyer’s associate. I could have argued part of the motion and explained to the court that I have handled numerous cases like this one and they never have any merit and blah, blah, blah. My argument, however, would have forced the judge to defend his home turf and the local opposing counsel. Instead of that scenario, the court was entertained by two excellent local lawyers arguing about the meaning of law outside his circuit and whether it should or should not apply to our case. Had I interjected myself into this hearing, the tone and context would have been dramatically different.
Some judges are tired of arrogant, conceited lawyers marching into their courtroom and explaining how things are done in Dallas, Los Angeles, or New York. The local judge does not care. He has a courtroom to run and a docket to manage, and has done just fine without the bright lights of the big city. In this scenario, it is time for the trial team equivalent of a curveball or change-up: Have your youngest member of the trial team make the argument. Her fresh approach may eliminate some of the tension, and even resentment, the judge has toward the out-of-town, know-it-all lawyer. On more than one occasion, I have seen a hostile judge go out of his way to help a young lawyer argue a position. The judge who snarls at the experienced lawyer becomes, somehow, the judicial equivalent of the aunt or uncle trying to mentor a favorite niece or nephew.
Sometimes the best victory is the one that is never fought. I am still amazed at how many times lawyers demand to have their day in court when they have a pending proposal from the opposing side that is better than their best possible ruling from the court. It is almost as if the lawyer would rather lose in front of a hostile judge, even if this is inevitable, than reach an agreement with the other side. It is, therefore, imperative that you work, and work hard, to reach an agreement so that you can avoid these guaranteed losses.
There is no dishonor in reaching an agreement with the opposing side that might be better than a result you would get from the trial judge. In fact, the opposite is true; there is honor in working to get the best possible result for your client by agreement and avoiding the risk of appearing before a hostile judge. Sometimes even the most hostile judge will appreciate your efforts to avoid a hearing. This is particularly true when the dispute is over discovery. Discovery disputes are to judges what children fighting over broken toys are to parents: unnecessary racket. Even a hostile judge may reward your efforts to avoid making him hear a discovery dispute by being more receptive to your arguments on substantive issues.
Throughout your dealings with the biased judge, frame the issues so that if she rules against you, you have a record you can take up by mandamus or appeal. This is lawyering as a high art form. You are taking your loss, which is as sure as the sun coming up in the east, and turning it into a possible win or, at worst, giving the judge a warning that his or her conduct is subject to review by the court of appeals. If you play your cards right, the hostile judge may even make—you guessed it—a hostile statement on the record that gives you a perfect lead for your appellate brief.
Even if you lose the mandamus or appeal, your effort may ultimately reduce the judge’s hostility. It has been my experience that most hostile judges do not think they are being hostile; rather, they have busy dockets to run, they are tired of arrogant and insulting lawyers, and, often, they are just bored of the same old thing, day in and day out. Seeing their own behavior in black and white can, occasionally, take the edge off of a hostile judge.
In dealing with a hostile judge, it is necessary to persevere. Sometimes a judge is hostile because he wants to avoid hearings or disputes, and one way to do this is to make sure that neither side wants to appear before him unless absolutely necessary. If you cannot get an issue resolved and judicial involvement is necessary, then stand strong and do not let the hostile judge intimidate you. After a while, the hostile judge will, grudgingly, grow to respect your perseverance, especially if your persistence is always professional.
I have seen hardened, hostile judges worn out by docile, introverted attorneys who refuse to go away and refuse to give up. It takes a very special touch, because pursuing the same argument the same way can quickly lead the court to perceive your persistence as disrespect of the court’s authority. One example of professional persistence is requesting individual trials in multi-plaintiff cases. A defense lawyer knows that individual trials are both critical to the defendant’s right to a fair and impartial jury and something the trial court would prefer to avoid because they mean more hearings and a more congested docket. The good defense lawyer raises the issue of individual trials at each opportunity—in connection with the scheduling order, decisions on which plaintiffs to depose first, the scheduling of experts and the challenges to experts—in a manner that is both respectful to the court and germane to the issue before the court. The key here is to persevere but not bore or offend the court.
Be a professional. Be careful not to lose your integrity when you lose a hearing. Don’t return a negative ruling or attitude from a trial judge with a negative comment or attitude. Rather, try to raise your professionalism each time the court is hostile. Self-reflection is important: what did you do right, what did you do wrong, what can you do to cure these mistakes, what other approach should you take with the court? If you can remain a professional, act with dignity, and learn from your losses, you will leave the courtroom with honor and dignity, and you will, eventually, overcome this judicial bias.
Keywords: Litigation, career development, judicial bias
Stan Perry practices law with Haynes & Boone, LLP, in Houston, Texas.
This article was adapted from a longer one that was published in the Summer 2009 issue ofLitigation.
Adversarial v Inquisitorial System
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