I received a great audition recording of Chapter 8 "The Gauntlet" by director Alex Freeman. He is able to portray the fear and panic that I endured while walking the streets of Managua after 10 pm at night, looking for my son Benjamin. It is a superb rendition by a talented producer.
If you have any comments, let me know. Thanks.
What I Am All About
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Monday, August 8, 2016
My Worst Thanksgiving Ever
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| My Worst Thanksgiving Ever |
As of yesterday, the full version of My Worst Thanksgiving Ever is now available as an Amazon eBook. It will be available as a free download the next three days. Please download and read it and spread the word for me.
It's a good read but a sad story about how my then 12-year old son Benjamin was abducted by the American embassy in Nicaragua during the Thanksgiving weekend of 2013. To worsen matters, the people involved in the abduction then blamed me for "abandoning" Ben, and that despite getting mugged 5 times total in two nights.
If you don't have a Kindle, you can download a free copy of the Kindle Reader here. You can also find versions for your iPhone or Android device.
So again, please download and read the free version of the book some time in the next three days, enjoy, and spread the word.
Thanks.
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Motherhood Privilege
Did you ever write a letter to the courts saying that someone you never met was "dangerous" and suffered "from a nervous condition?" Of course not. Neither have I. But Ms. Dunia Loreta Navarro, a "Delegate" from the Ministry of Family, Adolescence, and Childhood" (Mi Familia) in Managua , Nicaragua must think it is her duty to libel fathers like that. She not only made it up, but she sent an official letter saying those things to the family courts in Fond du Lac, WI during my divorce. Unfortunately, the court commissioner Sally-Anne Danner believed this slander and prevented me from seeing my own kids.
Calling an agency that breaks up families "Mi Familia" is governmental double-speak. Coincidentally, all of the people who pulled me apart from my own children are women: my ex-wife Angie, Sra. Navarro, court commissioner Danner, and someone I talked with for maybe two minutes in Nicaragua, Jennifer Fay Marshall of the NGO Batahola. I'm afraid they all fell into what I call the "Motherhood Privilege" trap. It's real, it's out there, and it's frightening.
Motherhood Privilege is the irrational belief that the mother is naturally the best caretaker of a couple's children. Angie didn't need to prove anything to these women. A father on the other hand at the very least would have to have a certified physician's diagnosis and a court order to show that mom has somehow violated the "laws of nature" and therefore shouldn't be the sole decision-maker for the children. But then again, what kind of wife would tell others these lies in the first place?
The answer is obvious but what isn't obvious is the harm these lies have had on the kids. She started out telling them I had "bipolar." No man in his mid-fifties suddenly develops bipolar. Next, she told them that I was a "threat" to them because she said I "abandoned Benny in Nicaragua" and so they were "scared" of me. Really, they are scared of me because of a lie? A real caretaker would try to ease her children's suffering by reaffirming the truth. But if Angie did that, her whole labyrinthine house of cards would come crashing down around her. Such Parental alienation is child abuse.
I know I am fighting a tough battle here. Motherhood Privilege has been the guiding force for divorce courts in the U.S. since the 1970's and is apparently now becoming an agent for spiteful change in Nicaragua. A great summary of the harm this does to our country and our kids is in the book Do Father's Matter? by Paul Raeburn. It is not only a good summary of how we got to this point in the first place but shows newer scientific evidence for the beneficial presence of dads. Taking a father away from his children is bad for men, for the kids, and for society. We seriously have to rethink our attitude.
Calling an agency that breaks up families "Mi Familia" is governmental double-speak. Coincidentally, all of the people who pulled me apart from my own children are women: my ex-wife Angie, Sra. Navarro, court commissioner Danner, and someone I talked with for maybe two minutes in Nicaragua, Jennifer Fay Marshall of the NGO Batahola. I'm afraid they all fell into what I call the "Motherhood Privilege" trap. It's real, it's out there, and it's frightening.
Motherhood Privilege is the irrational belief that the mother is naturally the best caretaker of a couple's children. Angie didn't need to prove anything to these women. A father on the other hand at the very least would have to have a certified physician's diagnosis and a court order to show that mom has somehow violated the "laws of nature" and therefore shouldn't be the sole decision-maker for the children. But then again, what kind of wife would tell others these lies in the first place?
The answer is obvious but what isn't obvious is the harm these lies have had on the kids. She started out telling them I had "bipolar." No man in his mid-fifties suddenly develops bipolar. Next, she told them that I was a "threat" to them because she said I "abandoned Benny in Nicaragua" and so they were "scared" of me. Really, they are scared of me because of a lie? A real caretaker would try to ease her children's suffering by reaffirming the truth. But if Angie did that, her whole labyrinthine house of cards would come crashing down around her. Such Parental alienation is child abuse.
I know I am fighting a tough battle here. Motherhood Privilege has been the guiding force for divorce courts in the U.S. since the 1970's and is apparently now becoming an agent for spiteful change in Nicaragua. A great summary of the harm this does to our country and our kids is in the book Do Father's Matter? by Paul Raeburn. It is not only a good summary of how we got to this point in the first place but shows newer scientific evidence for the beneficial presence of dads. Taking a father away from his children is bad for men, for the kids, and for society. We seriously have to rethink our attitude.
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