Join — or Start — a Conversation on the Family Court System. Jump in Somewhere!

Believe it or not, I do want feedback. The “contact” form here raises general topics and asks for feedback — and it’s intended for any post (or link) on the entire blog. I am especially interested if someone has a better idea of how to organize or present the material — which wouldn’t require either technology I don’t have (i.e., this is just a wordpress blog, the free kind) or hundreds of volunteer hours I also don’t have, nor do I feel like managing a host of volunteers, unless they are serious about business and have some insight or ideas to bring to the table — and are willing to put some energy into talking about it.

Why we MUST Sort, Select, and Prioritize Who To Hang With. (Why I have, and continue to)..

“He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools….”

Personally — a few years ago, I began to dissociate from on-line support groups of custody-challenged mothers (who, pretty well, fit my profile of what had happened in the court cases, i.e., there’d been some form of violence in the home previously) when I saw that there was no commitment to strategy, or to even identify our collective strengths, needs, or a strategy. I can understand why people are afraid to commit to what they can’t sustain, while also handling court situations — but no strategy and no commitment does not a protest make.

A group which can’t name its priorities is going to be driven by unconscious ones. I found that where uncritical moral support of each other/empathy (obviously helpful in some situations) to ENDURE trauma is important, that hanging with that too long results in (calcified) groupthink. Because the group is not in THINKING mode, strategically that is, they also turn on and and attack people who wish to bring critical analysis into the situation.

And yet, unbelievably, we are dealing with a situation which, nationwide, is extremely dangerous; and, unchecked, is expanding — a system in which people are dying (needlessly). How can one not find the internal resolve to apply some critical thinking, and be willing to take outside information — process it as true or false, relevant or irrelevant –and if it’s RELEVANT — incorporate it, consistently, into something leading towards change?

Taking strategy from others for whom your distress story and warm bodies are someone else’s bread and butter (i.e. print and on-line publications, etc.) and prestige — isn’t an equal enough relationship. But this is where many advocacy nonprofits end up — exploiting the people reporting with them, failing to empower the same people with accurate knowledge that they themselves know, i.e., the “dogs-in-the-manger” policy. I couldn’t believe this initially, but have literally called or spoken personally to enough leadership and asked the direct question — what about this? (Naming welfare reform, the federal incentives, out-come based courts, etc.) — and would draw a blank. Then time would pass, and sometimes, evidence would surface that so and so was conferencing (apart from the BMCC connection, for example) with the contrary side. It’s a mindset.

Perhaps having inhabited courtrooms, or being self-hypnotized with their own professional jargon(s) for so long which, while they’re probably quite stressful, are also paying the bills, certain groups simply don’t notice who’s paying the court’s bills, or who are the lobbyists for special interests, or in short, how those dots are connected.

On the other hand, there are indeed cold, calculating and self-serving individuals around who just don’t give a damn, but are expert at pretending to, which expertise others tolerate out of need. In many ways, this mirrors what might be simply called, an abusive relationship. Not having real alternatives, the tendency to self-delusion is strong. Given real, better alternatives, it can go away pretty fast.

I’m not a Facebook woman; that’s unlikely to happen; except for maybe business reasons. I’m also not much of a Tweeter. My personal time, including thought-time, is valuable.

I like to look things up, understand, and speak about what I see, on critical matters, and in a relatively informed manner. Generally speaking, give me 10-15 minutes (max) on an advocacy blog, and I can tell if it is aware — or unaware — of the general setup of the family courts, and sometimes whether they are being “used” by others to actually hinder the safety of children, and distract from/cloud the issues.

Five years ago, I could not have done that because two few people who knew the basics — had the wherewithal to get these basics out, and publicize it. And I hadn’t yet detoxed from the cults of the legal, DV, (etc.) experts who for some reason, simply don’t bother to mention the most important factors driving the court system. Doing my own lookups put facts in clear relief. Like I continue to say, the cold, clearer waters of “LOOK IT UP” and “CONSIDER THIS” are great detoxifiers. Having two contradictory sets of information from two different sources, then you have to make intelligent choices about one set. It is simply a matter of the will to engage in sort and select, being serious about the goal of getting to the truth.

You have to care about the truth — and about the future (beyond your lifetime, and for other kids, not just your own) — more than you care about personal relationships, social status, and a whole lot else. Then you have to care about communicating that truth to others well enough that they will also understand and (with free will) do something about it. Most people are not into sacrificing much for the truth — because overall, our society thrives on denial. However, sooner or later, you just have to get thirsty for it, and find a way to express the thing. After all, we are still human beings, and words are still for communication — naming things in meaningful ways, really, really counts.

Specialized vocabularies pertaining to things like math, some forms of science (geology, botany, zoology, physics, etc., yes, medicine — all the Latin and Greek-prefix terms — I can understand. That’s specialization. Even these undergo changes). But any private set of groups which attempts to force-feed a different and specialized set of vocabulary for common human relationships and experiences, and seeks to DOMINATE the conversation through force-feeding it to people who are in need of food, protection, housing, or redress for prior injuries (i.e. for torts or crimes) — is just plain wrong.

And AFCC says on its own website, this is the intent (Meyer Elkin, ca. 1975 — look it up! Add to this, the corporation was a state-skipping chameleon with (currently) a Wisconsin street address (not registered at the corporate or charity level IN wisconsin — a chapter of it was recently, but not AFCC itself) — and we’re supposed to follow that leadership??? And fund them???

I think there has to be a better way. My contact form below is seeking some. The “Shine the light on the plight” rhetoric is AS inane (and hazardous to mental integrity) as “Our Broken Courts Initiative” language. Both are seeking power and influence, bypassing public input, more than truth, and for the average person, access to justice. Shining the Light on the Plight, while Obsfuscating and Censoring the Collaborative Causes — isn’t “shining the light,” it’s more like shining the light on people who have already been identified as Deer-in-the-Headlights” and ensuring they stay in that mode.

((the “Our Broken Courts Initiative” website, one of them, admits it is seeking FEDERAL policy changes to FAMILY (regulated at the State and County level). I guess we’re not supposed to notice this is hardly a grassroots movement. Given that it came from one contributor who formerly was head of mental health in the 50s?? at “Kaiser” that’s hardly surprising. … See the post (published, but also being revised) on Private Equity for a different POV….))

Getting to Basic, Clear Understanding That We can Basically Validate

Many issues would probably self-clarify if more of us were trained to (and knew how) “follow the money.” It’s a skill and can be learned; and is grounds for a productive conversation about what’s up in the family courts — and how can individuals organize to communicate the basic elements about it to each others, and choose a strategy to make them better. Can that be done?

In other words, if you had a business, were seeking funding — and that business would be, to change the court systems — what’s the “executive summary,” including the problem, the proposed solution, some FAQs, the whole deal?

Anyone can comment. Writing things up for others (not just blogging the problem, but envisioning the solution) takes more effort.

Whatever you got, start somewhere — perhaps here. How do you think the courts got where they are now? There were roundtables, conferences, technical asisstance, and a lot of talk. The chief difference is, financing it.

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Name the problem. How do you think resources and agenda was obtained to set up a series of “problem-solving courts” if some persuasive writers and talkers didn’t connect to funding to establish them? How do “problem-solving courts” differ from the concept of truth, fact-finding, evidence, and clear standards of right and wrong for a society? How does the concept of United States as a community of wise “Tribal Elders” get overlaid into system which was to be based on a Constitution and principles that flowed from it as expressed in laws?

What about when there is debt related to waging war which needs to be paid off (each time) — how does that affect whether there is any rule of law in effect? These concepts are going to affect the character of any “family courts,” and at some level, have to be understood — not ignored. Again, the Supreme Court is the highest court of appeals, and isn’t supposed to be handling “family matters” — but switch spheres of influence to what’s commonly known as “welfare, social services” and the Social Security Act (funded from the start at least in large part by wage withholding // income taxes) — and it’s a different ballgame. That central pool of distribution (i.e., from the US Treasury) goes out through the different federal AGENCIES (DOE, DOJ, DOL, HHS, etc.) in a series of grants (and contracts) — many of them designed to INFLUENCE individual family relationships; father to mother, to child; this is done in part through the child support system also (HHS/ACF/OCSE). Yes, it is related to the family court system…

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Talk To Me -- but talk about this topic. If you want to sound off for empathy about the worst county, case, judge (etc.) --- ask for a referral website; there are dozens. This is INVESTIGATIVE blogging looking for actual solutions to the (in my opinion) clear and present danger of an increasingly centralized (i.e., fascist) and privatized government, of which the Family and Conciliation Court archipelago is only a part.(required)

Please Geographically Locate (US? State, County) Yourself IF you feel safe doing so.

Please Describe Your Relation to Post/Topic you are commmenting on. Mother Father Step-parent (which?) Adult Child of Prior (custody, kidnapping, etc.) events Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief, etc. Relative on the sidelines Concerned Friend CIVIL SERVANT? On board of a Nonprofit Advocacy Group If so, does it Contract with a Court? Survivor of Domestic Violence CPS-involved Parent (reporting, accused, etc.) If a Parent of minor children-- are you seeing your kids? IF Noncustodial with visitation -- do you have to pay to see them? Misc./Other

Name your " Best of the Web" summary of the Family Court Problems

Say something intelligent or "your own" about this field, or identify a group that says it best, in your opinion.

Check if You Are Willing To: Research a Court System outside your own state Look at Tax Returns of Nonprofits Look Up Bio Blurbs of Court-Connected Individuals (i.e., on private nonprofitss) Spend some time on TAGGS.HHS.Gov Read through old and new AFCC Newsletters (linked herein, plus there are more) and write a few paragraphs on who and what is in them Attempt to Comprehend the "CAFR" factor (Walter Burien, realitybloger.wordpress.com, Carl Hermann, or my "economicbrain.wordpress.com" -- or CAFRmman.com) --- and look some up Locate Jurisdictions (within a state, or in different states) where Conciliation Courts // Conciliation Code exist Do a statewide search for Unified Family Courts and determine philosophical allegiances of presiding judges (and who set them up when) Help Write some Posts here Get out of "Telling My Story" mode and Tell the Story of the History of the Courts Send some FOIAs to get Court-Related Contracts In any jursidiction, get ahold of the listing of "funds" (legitimate) for court-connected costs, and find out what they hold (either on a CAFR, or otherwise) In short -- put in some time to look up and write up these matters

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You are in pro per and up against someone with wealth and an attorney. In retrospect, can you give three points of advice?

(Last text area, if label doesn’t display, suggestion:
“You have an audience with a state legislator. Legislators can’t intervene in custody cases, and don’t discipline judges when they’re acting in their judicial capacity. But they DO approve (or disapprove) budgets, and laws. … You have an unexpected 15 minute audience with your legislator’s chief aide. What would you say, and what material would you leave with them??“

“Doctor, Lawyer, Indian chief” is a catchall phrase meaning, “whoever.”

Those are ideas (some of my descriptors may have exceeded character limits. Make a best guess…). Get out of sideline mode (if you’re there).

If I get some good feedback, I’ll figure out how to post it. Try to step out of the “sideline” complaining mode — and think about “What-if?” you actually had an audience, and some clout. What would you change, and what would you want — that’s fair to the opposite gender parent (assuming noncriminal).

A Stunning Validation by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson: The Assault on Truth, The Origins of Psychoanalysis

is now also a page

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Curiosity and attention to detail paid off this time. Am I obsessive at looking things (and people) up?
Perhaps some are just not curious enough. That act is called gathering data (scanning the horizon) for related information.

Yesterday [@Feb. 2013], it had been my intent simply to present some basic information on the domination of psychology and education as fields of choice for those involved in population management through the courts. BUT — a single woman from Indiana University’s “Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences,” (cf. Kaiser Wilhelm Brain Institute, and there is a connection), well, enough was enough and one thing led to another.

Freud KNEW but he was censored and silenced. It haunted him. Others knew (including Anna Freud) but they also censored. I’m getting tired of all that….

In writing this post, I looked up some personnel. One of them (below), a 2012 AFCC Stanley Cohen awardee, had participated in “The Kinsey Institute.” I looked up one of the other investigators and in a book list ran across: Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson: “Against Therapy: Emotional Tyranny and the Myth of Psychological Healing.” (2012):

In this ground-breaking and highly controversial book, Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson attacks the very foundations of modern psychotherapy from Freud to Jung, from Fritz Perls to Carl Rodgers. With passion and clarity, Against Therapy addresses the profession’s core weaknesses, contending that, since therapy’s aim is to change people, and this is achieved according to therapist’s own notions and prejudices, the psychological process is necessarily corrupt. With a foreword by the eminent British psychologist Dorothy Rowe, this cogent and convincing book has shattering implications.“

Exposing and Prosecuting Judicial Corruption through Common Law Discovery (1997 Interview)

File this Article under What a Difference One Person can Make, if that person:

Has Guts, Will Obtain Evidence, Look at Evidence, and Come to Logical Conclusion regarding Evidence Obtained

Exposing and Prosecuting Judicial Corruption Through Common Law Discovery 1997 interview with Marv Bryer. Can you read 7 pages “for the cause”? And think about it? If given a brief pop-quiz of about 10th grade level on what it’s talking about, how much of the vocabulary or ideas could you remember? Show me in some comments that, as an adult (college grad, high school grad, parent, non parent) you can understand the basic commentary here: What did the person interviewed do? How did he (it’s a he, FYI), obtain evidence? What type of evidence did he find, and from whom ? Was it obtained under “FOIA” requests? What conclusions did he draw about what he found? What type of programs were involved in the bribing of a judges (answer can be a few words, one word, or even an acronym). Does this material have anything (at all) to do with whether or not individual judges, custody evaluators, or attorneys, such as GALs, can or cannot recognize a crafty smart abuser as dangerous to children, or whether they have sat through enough specialized training to tell the good guys from the dangerous guys? (Pls. answer yes, or no). __________________________________________ Note: Guts without Good information is commendable, but not so useful.

Also, this may be the shortest post on record, out of over 500. Appreciate my intent in putting it near the top. Thanks!

“Mother Says” — Words to the Wise for Women in Custody Challenges

[Intro paragraphs -- some of underlines below are hyperlinks. Publ. 12/27/2012; Rev. 2-19-2013]

NOTE: OVERALL THIS BLOG IS FOR BOTH GENDERS, AND TO THE WIDER PUBLIC WHO MAY NOT EVEN BE STRUNG OUT HANDLING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OR SEXUAL ABUSE (OR SIMPLY FINANCIAL DESTRUCTION) CASES IN THE COURT.

Truth, however framed, is offensive, and my blog certainly will offend plenty. However, I am still more interested in systems, and perhaps the mentality of the people that designed them, tolerate them, staff them, and fund them. Society has to have some labels, and designations, to work as do systems. I think different personalities gravitate to certain portions of certain systems — but there are SOME systems which affect almost everyone. So like it or not, their damages have to be discussed; there is no other way to mitigate them.

Overall, it is an appeal for the public to wake up.  To identify and find ways to quit financing institutions within America that undermine justice (as defined in terms of due process, representative government of ANY sort, and oppose over-centralization of power).  Doing this requires identifying and letting go of significant myths on which the economy** — and from there, most social relationships (in fact, from which society) — is based.

Preamble Ramble, What It’s About….(Election Year Update, Oct. 2012)

[This post is "sticky" and stays on top.  New posts are beneath . ..Some additions, March 2013...(As I learn more, it shows up on the blog).

Or see  "The Last Seven Let's Get Honest Posts"  links, on sidebar

See also my other blog Cold,Hard.Fact$]; 

This blog has VALUABLE INSIGHT on the family courts money trail (a trail of tears), and about many crisis intervention groups who are in on it (and hence, won’t blog it), and from some of whom I sought help, solace, or actionable information — and got NONE.  

I have had to ask, WHY would any group which truly wants to save lives withhold relevant information in the amounts of billions (as to the child support system, HHS/OCSE) while feeding less helpful information to their clients?  You should also ask why — where is that money coming from, and why does our government always want to raise taxes when they can’t keep track of what they already collected (MUCH more than is commonly realized) and when a lot of that is simply fed to fraudulent or evanescent corporations that don’t stay registered at the state level?

The information has been out there, for some decades — but undervalued and derailed by deluge of less relevant and less actionable information . I plan to change this, as do others; and I do think the tide is beginning to turn — driven from OUTSIDE the mainstream media, and now getting at least in part, into some parts of it:

ORPHANS: Where The Great Commission meets the Military-Industrial Complex

NOTE: this 3,000wd (you’re welcome!) post is out of sequence — belongs back with the “On the Road to Emmaeus” and “”Christian Social Services: Replenishing the Ranks of the Faithful (Bethany Christian Services posts, ca. Eastertime, 2013.

6723 Whittier, McLean, VA (Always Look Up Street Addresses!!!)**

Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute — 6723 Whittier, McLean, VA (EIN# 542035617; 2002 return, p.6 it’s signed by Kerry M. Hasenbalg, Exec. Dir.)

Association of Former Intelligence Officers, INC. (@ 2009; also see light-pink-background Section below).

Christian Alliance For Orphans –2008 return, 11/09; street address 6723 Whittier, McLean, VA (Treas Scott Hasenbalg)*
(*All officers read from Colorado Springs; interesting…. The link, however is to yet another nonprofit, “Show Hope” (Shaohannah’s Hope) in honor of an young Chinese orphan adopted by Christian contemporary musician Steve Chapman, and inadvertently run over (and killed) in the driveway of their home by one of the teenaged boys… (That “Poundpuplegacy” link is a good one….)
The STREET address of the Board of CAFO (above) i looked up, and it appears to be “Vision Trust International,” EIN# 841397081) (notice the mission statement): The EIN# has a PO Box, but the website shows the same street address as (all) the Directors of Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) above — 3710 Sinton Rd #100, Colorado Springs, 80907

Mission Statement
Our Mission is to develop orphaned and neglected children into mature Christians equipped to live in their own culture. We do this by enabling Christian nationals to meet the physical, educational, emotional and spiritual needs of these children. Statement of Faith
We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible and authoritative Word of God….

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It is indeed a 501(c)3 (I just checked) formed in Colorado 4/16/1997 and apparently mailing in its annual reports regularly.

BUT, I have added an inset (blue-background) table on the top (adds about 2,000 words) to keep it in our (collective) faces about the (collective) assets of the (collective) governments which involve themselves in things like lobbying for international abduction leniency, at the Congressional Level, as a nonprofit 501(c)3, in a street address which was (first location) shared by an Association with former US President George H.W. Bush & Frank Carlucci as Honorary Chairs (i.e., the “AFIO” or “Association of Former Intelligence Officers“–scroll down below the pie chart to see the Board) itself a member of the ICAN (Intelligence Community Associations Network).

BUT, I have added an inset (blue-background) table (adds about 2,000 words) to keep it in our (collective) faces about the (collective) assets of the (collective) governments which involve themselves in things like lobbying for international abduction leniency, at the Congressional Level, as a nonprofit 501(c)3, in a street address which was (first location) shared by an Association with former US President George H.W. Bush & Frank Carlucci as Honorary Chairs (i.e., the “AFIO” or “Association of Former Intelligence Officers“–scroll down below the pie chart to see the Board) itself a member of the ICAN (Intelligence Community Associations Network).

AND, some plus some detail on the “Military [Intelligence Sector] Complex/AFIO sector” (immediately below, light-pink background) Which brings the post to, double the original size…

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Our History / Board During the 1970s the Intelligence Community was buffeted by a number of leaks and revelations, culminating in the Church and Pike Congressional investigations. CIA officer David Atlee Phillips took early retirement in 1975 to respond to the growing sentiment that the CIA was a “rogue elephant.” As part of this effort, Phillips founded this organization, known then as the Association of Retired Intelligence Officers (ARIO). Although much attacked at the time when many people called for the dismantlement of the CIA, Phillips toured the world to speak out in favor of the need for a strong intelligence community. He was subsequently personally accused of being a participant in the Kennedy and Letelier assassinations. He successfully sued several publications for libel, retractions were issued and monetary damages awarded. Phillips donated some of these proceeds to ARIO for the purpose of creating a legal defense fund for American intelligence officers who felt they were the victims of libel. This defense focus was later moved to a separate group called Charter, which disbanded in the early 1980s, and AFIO’s focus narrowed to public education within its 501(c)3 charter. In 1978 the name of the organization was changed to Association of Former Intelligence Officers to reflect a pool of members who were not necessarily retired, which widened the pool of eligible members and reflects the current dynamic membership. From its inception in Dave Phillips’ living room and a few hundred members in 1975, AFIO has grown to over 5000 members, with 24 active chapters across the United States. A member of the Intelligence Community Associations Network (ICAN) [[scan the listing!***]], AFIO is more than a professional or fraternal organization. Its distinguishing mission is educational…to reach out to the public and explain what intelligence organizations do, and to build a nation-wide constituency for intelligence as a profession. In many ways, AFIO is the public face of the Intelligence Community. [[*** "Yowza!! I just did. I clicked on "USGIF" (US Geospatial Intelligence Foundation," started in 2003. Now, click on their Sustaining Partners (Patrons, Partners, etc.) for dozens of logos of primarily computer, telecommunications-related industries -- MANY of which you will recognize, and some of which I recognize as actually being very active in the OCSE (Child Support) contracts -- as obviously it takes electronics to long-distance digitally track and garnish wages, right?). Besides Google, Microsoft and Boeing, Lockheed, there's Deloitte, Accenture, and many more. And that's just ONE ICAN member, USGIF. ]]

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I’m talking about 6723 Whittier Avenue, McLean, VA. Interesting site… So the original post is below that, if you want to get “right down to business” — you have to scroll past my (or someone else’s, rather) lecture on — we need to stop this insanity…

Another perk to this post — a HOW TO run an advanced search on the Health and Human Services (HHS) public access database (“http://TAGGS.hhs.gov/AdvancedSearch.cfm“) which types of searches can play a starring role in “turning the lights on,” and in this blog. It’s still a research tool.

That HHS database isn’t complete (or accurate), but you can learn alot still from exploring it, including that this agency is putting out an incomplete and inaccurate (intentionally misleading) public statement on what’s being done with our tax money. Or, with the profits generated from the investment platform obtained originally (in good part) things that started in 1913, and escalated “between the (World) Wars in 1933ff)…. That is the big picture. Leadership (including Congress) knows this. Most of us, still don’t, which is no accident. The profits lie in the inside knowledge, and in the knowledge gap.

Private Equity Winds Changing their Tack? Private Equity = Government Policy, … (Errata)

If you just got this post by Twitter or as a wordpress follower, know it wasn’t fully-cooked yet. I was in the process of separating one long into two shorter posts — Looks like “Save Draft” was NOT pressed and “Publish” was.

Some of my published posts my also look half-baked (or too “runny”) but I have a little pride left — and that one was definitely not ready for public. So expect a better version. I’ll change the title some.

I don’t believe I’d even made the main point yet!……

Private Equity Winds Changing their Tack? Private Equity = Government Policy, so Pay Attention!

Unless a lifetime of welfare, begging, or fighting in the courts sounds like fun, I suggest people learn to get a grip (understand), if not from me, from someone better equipped to relate this — about which way the winds are blowing, which is to say, which way the money (income-producing assets, aka “wealth”) is flowing.

We ought to have a post — or a page at a minimum — on the Carlyle Group (a very interesting history), at a minimum at least 150 years of recent history spanning two or three continents (like: United States, Europe (London, Germany, the Netherlands, etc. — and Africa). I got a start on another blog over at:

• Ruthless Giants, Magnificent Philanthropists (Cecil Rhodes, Andre4w Carnegie, Our World Today“
• And John D. Rockefeller
• Fueling, Feeding (and Vaccinating) the World: From Oxford to Harvard to D.C.

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I figure there are different approaches:

Passive — let someone else deal with it, and think about it, and go back to work (thereby contributing to the problem — by contributing to the investment platform which, given a little attention, it’s pretty obvious workers are doing. Which sheds a different understanding on the whole concept of the income tax, the Social Security Act, (social services per se) and a lot more.

Active — jump in, and by doing also get the understanding, and at least improve your personal situation. This should also free up some time for more political activity, which is definitely needed.

ANYHOW — here’s a Pension and Investments on-line that as of 12/27/2010 is reporting on the largest FOUNDATIONS based on their pension holdings, for the year 2009.

What amazes me is that, having done so many lookups, so very many of them have been dumping money into the courts, and promoting marriage and fatherhood, not to mention adoption incentives. I don’t see that any of them are particularly feminist or concerned about violence towards mothers AFTER they separate from abusive fathers…. Here’s that list.

I’m going to talk about #17 in this post. I brought up #5 in a post yesterday (CDRC post) and FYI, Ford, Robert Wood Johnson, Kellog, John d and Catherine T. MacAthur, Lilly (of course0, Rockefeller, Carnegie, Charles Stewart Mott, Cargill (although I forget for what) and others HAVE come up when it comes to family court matters. As has The Tulsa Initiative.

My first indicator was learning that MDRC (formerly Manpower Development Research Corporation), on which Ron Haskins, Isabella Sawhill and some others sit as board members — was formed in 1974 as a cooperative effort between FEDERAL government and PRIVATE agencies. I started reporting on it (particularly its piechart page showing funding) and “outing’ the multiple fatherhood demonstration projects written up in glowing terms (Parents Fair Share) which – from other web sources — were rife with overbilling, and subjected to audits. These foundations are all over the map (geographically) and “like white on rice’ when it comes to matters of controlling individual families’ relationships with their own (or so they thought!) kids!

So, at least read the list, OK?
From:

Pensions&Investments

(Pionline.com article dated 12/27/2010. Merry Christmas)

Largest foundations
Ranked by total assets, in U.S. billions, as of Dec. 31, 2009, unless otherwise noted.

Rank	Foundation	Assets ($Billions)
1	Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation	$33.91
2	Ford Foundation1	$10.37
3	J. Paul Getty Trust2	$9.34
4	The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation	$8.49
5	The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation	$6.87
6	W. K. Kellogg Foundation3	$6.81
7	The David and Lucile Packard Foundation	$5.70
8	The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation	$5.24
9	Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation	$5.20
10	Lilly Endowment Inc.	$5.15
11	The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation	$5.05
12	Tulsa Community Foundation4	$3.80
13	The Rockefeller Foundation	$3.32
14	The Kresge Foundation	$3.13
15	The California Endowment5	$3.08
16	The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust6	$2.67
17	The Annie E. Casey Foundation	$2.64
18	The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation4	$2.52
19	The Duke Endowment	$2.48
20	Carnegie Corporation of New York1	$2.43
21	Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, Inc.	$2.40
22	Margaret A. Cargill Foundation4	$2.12
23	Charles Stewart Mott Foundation	$2.08
24	John S. and James L. Knight Foundation	$2.08
25	Conrad N. Hilton Foundation	$1.98
26	Walton Family Foundation, Inc.4	$1.95
27	Open Society Institute4	$1.93
28	The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Inc.5	$1.77
29	Casey Family Programs4	$1.76
30	Silicon Valley Community Foundation	$1.75
31	The New York Community Trust	$1.74
32	Alfred P. Sloan Foundation	$1.62
33	Kimbell Art Foundation4	$1.61
34	The Annenberg Foundation2	$1.60
35	The Cleveland Foundation4	$1.60
36	The McKnight Foundation4	$1.58
37	The Bloomberg Family Foundation, Inc.4	$1.57
38	Richard King Mellon Foundation4	$1.53
39	Doris Duke Charitable Foundation	$1.53
40	The Chicago Community Trust1	$1.50
41	Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation4	$1.49
42	The James Irvine Foundation	$1.45
43	Houston Endowment Inc.	$1.43
44	The Simons Foundation2	$1.41
45	The Heinz Endowments	$1.37
46	Eli & Edythe Broad Foundation4	$1.35
47	The Wallace Foundation	$1.28
48	The Starr Foundation4	$1.20
49	Daniels Fund	$1.13
50	California Community Foundation7	$1.12

Notes: 1: Data are as of Sept. 30, 2009. 2: Data are as of June 30, 2009. 3: Data are as of Aug. 31, 2009. 4: Data are as of Dec. 31, 2008. 5: Data are as of Feb. 28, 2009. 6: Data are as of March 31, 2009. 7: Data are as of June 30, 2010. Source: The Foundation Center

Believe it or not, I do want feedback. The “contact” form here raises general topics and asks for feedback — and it’s intended for any post (or link) on the entire blog. I am especially interested if someone has a better idea of how to organize or present the material — which wouldn’t require either technology I don’t have (i.e., this is just a wordpress blog, the free kind) or hundreds of volunteer hours I also don’t have, nor do I feel like managing a host of volunteers.

I’m not a facebook person; that’s unlikely to happen. I’m also not much of a Twitterer. I like to look things up, understand, and speak about what I see. In a relatively informed manner. Generally speaking, give me 10-15 minutes (max) on an advocacy blog, and I can tell if they are aware — or unaware — of the general setup of the family courts. Five years ago, I could not have done that because two few people who knew the basics — had the wherewithal to get these basics out, and publicize it. And I hadn’t yet detoxed from the cults of the legal, DV, (etc.) experts who for some reason, simply don’t bother to mention the most important factors driving the court system.

Perhaps having inhabited courtrooms for so long which, while they’re probably quite stressful, are also paying the bills, they simply don’t notice who’s paying the court’s bills, or who are the lobbyists for special interests, or in short, how those dots are connected.

This country is no longer a good place for certain categories of people to be. I am a mother, and did not deserve, nor did my children deserve, what they were forced to witness and experience through their entire childhoods (until and beyond age 18), and they particularly didn’t deserve what occurred AFTER I filed that restraining order about halfway through the process.

I had no other real option than to file; certainly no one offered me housing, or a safe place prior to then — yet that temporary vulnerability was exploited to the max simply because of our collective economic setup, in which crime is rewarded, not restrained, and which requires a constant source of poor or marginalized families (especially with kids) to “justify” further taxation. In other words, people fleeing violence and needing to resort to public welfare probably do NOT have a family support system. Hence, why would welfare, then, try to reconnect the same individuals with family members who either (1) were themselves abusive (very), or (2) who were aware of the abuse, and enabled it, and/or (3) faith communities, ditto?

It really boils down to economics, which are of course connected as well. So, like it or not, we ALL have to understand more than we do, and quit speaking into the air, without understanding what the walls of the room resonate to. As it turns out, a whole lot of private funding drives public policy that builds the rooms we are shouting about court corruption (etc.) in.

Look at a recent Wall Street Journal on how Private Equity Buyout Firms are now Building — Dams — instead:

Private Equity Firms Build Instead of Buy”

(the title is also a link to the article)
May 14, 2013, Wall Street Journal, in “Markets.” See photo:

The private-equity firm Blackstone, branching out from corporate takeovers, built a hydropower dam, above, on the White Nile in Uganda.

BUJAGALI, Uganda—A new dam at the headwaters of the White Nile, nearly 20 years in the making, generates almost half of this East African country’s electricity.

Its owner isn’t a state utility or an energy giant. It is Blackstone Group LP, best known for corporate takeovers.

The private-equity firm built the dam with partners and has a contract with energy-hungry Uganda to sell it power at rates that ensure profits for Blackstone for years to come.

The project, fraught with holdups that included a pirate hijacking and rituals to appease spirits before flooding an island, has little in common with the debt-fueled billion-dollar buyouts Blackstone helped popularize.

But the firm and its rivals increasingly are moving beyond the buyout playbook in search of other, sometimes unfamiliar sources of profit: drilling for oil in Oklahoma, building tract homes in North Dakota or shipping gasoline on the high seas.

What does private equity have to do with family courts, child protection, or anything else?
Well, guess where I heard about Blackstone (let alone Carlyle, another formerly Private Equity firm)?

Annie E. Casey Foundation. Here’s a fancy (visually clear, graphics, color, well-designed) January 2012 publication (just found) on an “AECF.org” (Annie E. Casey Foundation) website. It’s called “Skin In The Game” regarding Arizonans and put out by Children’s Advocacy Alliance (Board membership at the very back page).

Up front (about page 2) it quotes a billionaire founder of private equity Blackstone Group as saying Arizonans don’t have enough “skin in the game” — and this brochure is countering that, I gather in opposition to a movement for a flat tax to replace the graduated income tax. The general tone is Annie E. Casey is going to speak up for the poor people against this billionaire’s unfair mindset, from The Blackstone Group. Take a look: Page 3 is the Blackstone quote, look at a few other pages from this “Children’s Advocacy Alliance” of Arizona.

Annie E. Casey and its Foundation is all over the family court arena (especially when it comes to foster care and promoting responsible fatherhood). I have a topic over at Scranton Political Times on some of their involvements. They are a major philanthropy.

Look at how AECF makes ITS income: — here’s its 1999 tax return

:

http://207.153.189.83/EINS/521951681/521951681_1999_00006659.pdf
As you can see from the URL, for the record, EIN# 52-1951681.
Annie E. Casey Foundation, INC. is a Private Exempt Foundation based in Baltimore, and its “FMV” of all assets at the end of this year (cash basis, not accrual) shows as $3.6 billion: that’s $3,626,229,530. (that,s about 14 years ago…. Wonder what it is in 2013!).

“The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private charitable organization, dedicated to helping build better futures for disadvantaged children in the United States. It was established in 1948 by Jim Casey, one of the founders of UPS, and his siblings, who named the Foundation in honor of their mother.”

This doesn’t need major contributions, but got over $1 million in 1999; however the primary income seems to come from these categories:

$2,267,309 = Interest on Savings and Temporary Cash Investments:
$50,208,214 = Dividends and interest from SECURITIES.
$69,875,572 = Net gain (or loss) from sale of assets not on line 10 (which is, net income from sales)
Not too bad. Now, after all the income, the EXPENSES. Compensation of officers & directors — very moderate. Employees, about $5 million. Add in pension plan, legal fees, travel/conferences (guess on what? A lot of things involving foster care, or “models for change” demonstration projects, i.e., let’s practice on an entire STATE), printing and publication, professional fees, and “other” ($7+million), they also gave away (CONTRIBUTIONS/GRANTS) Over $103 million.

Resulting in a net loss (which this foundation obviously could afford!) of – $3.09 million.
(In general — start reading some of these grants). Its 5 employees (President, VP, etc.) are VERY well paid, as well as contractors. They are active in the following states (in 1999):

Connecticut – Delaware – Maine – Maryland — Massachusetts – New Hampshire – New York – Pennsylvania — Rhode Island – Texas – Virginia – Washington – Washington, D.C.

What areas do we think they might be active in? (well, follow the grants) — here’s an indication:
(Search Results, first of several pages) Responsible Fatherhood/Healthy Marriage studies at AECF.

Statement 6 (of the tax return) lists the eight-five (85) (3 pages worth) of grantees (including “Bar Association of San Diego” and several others in a variety of states; a Center for Policy Studies (which one, TBA). This appears to be around $103 million total; it has influence!)

Many of these grants are to an organization which is a Fiscal Agent for a specific initiative. Therefore, this foundation is directly funding certain initiatives, which wouldn’t be known to the general public, unless they read those tax returns.

For example, grants about 75-79 (roughly speaking) were to the Tides Foundation (known as a LARGE progressive, umbrella funding source for other causes, and fiscal agent for plenty of groups — in San Francisco). For example, if you’ve heard of “Stop Family Violence” (Irene Weiser), some years back it was more active — that’s a Tides Project.

Grantee #78 — Tides Center (which is in San Francisco)
Fiscal agent for “Social Policy Action Network” (which is in DC)
Grant 98.166 — $20K and $100K (1998, 1999)
Provide Assistance to the Fathers and Families Initiative.

or, Grantee #74 — Tate George Dreamshot Foundation
99 Pratt Street #624, Hartford, CT
Grant 99.2044
Support for the “Dads Do Make a Difference” project — $10,000

So what difference is $10K going to make? Well, who knows, but here’s the testimony of the co-founder of the “Tate George Dreamshot Foundation” — a single mother — testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee on “Dads Do Make a Difference (r)” (please notice, it’s a trademark)! On the importance of fatherhood involvement. Suppose I looked up just this ONE grantee, the $10,000 donated from AECF, through which AECF gets to support “Dads Do Make A Difference” (notably, the Casey fortune was made in UPS from a family which lost its Dad)…

Statement of Lisa A. Nkonoki, Co-Founder and Executive Director
Tate George Dreamshot Foundation, Newington, Connecticut
Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Human Resources
of the House Committee on Ways and Means

Hearing on Fatherhood
April 27, 1999

Dads Do Make A Difference is a positive movement with a message. Working with Dads and kids is a transformative, and sometimes eye-opening experience. Most importantly, it?s an opportunity to capture or recapture something we all have in common…a father. One of the ?DDMAD? missions being, to increase the positive interactions of dads and other positive males and kids.

Many of us are blessed to share the experience with a dad, and still far to many of us share a common void, a lifetime scar from the lack of having that father involved in our lives for a variety of reasons. In many cases, nothing will replace or erase the pain, which often times is far too great for many of us to bear. Studies clearly show the positive impact that an involved father has on his children whether they live in the same household or not, when it comes to education and self esteem. However, when this is not an option, we also know through the DDMAD Project, being able to talk about it, and realizing that you are not alone, and sharing other like experiences can be healthy, and hopefully will help us to positively move forward, leaving any negative feelings, or embarrassment behind and finally being at peace with our place, and those who put us here on this planet.

Turns out Ms. Nkonoki is also a founding member of “Women in Fatherhood Inc.” (which took some HHS grants) also a heavily Annie E. Casey connected organization (nonprofit), and not your typical single mother, given media experience and Congressional connections:

“Who is Lisa Nkonoki?“
Lisa has an incredible resume! By the age of 18, she had worked in her grandfather’s fish market; produced and co-hosted a television show, What About Women; was a press intern on Capitol Hill for a Connecticut Congressman; worked in radio management as a media trainee; and ventured to Hollywood to work with legendary producer Norman Lear on his hit television shows behind the scenes.
 
Lisa is regarded as the first single mom in the country to start, advocate, and cheer on a positive program for dads.
Lisa’s testimony in front of a congressional committee back in April 1999, was a catalyst in the now thriving Fatherhood Movement across the country.

Her “Dads Do Make A Difference”  Program has provided direct service to more than 10,000 dads and families in CT and beyond, creating awareness as well as a national movement. She is also the founding member of  “Women in Fatherhood,” fighting for fairness for families in court, and has served as a consultant around key fatherhood issues for the Annie E Casey Foundation.

Tate George, turns out, had the confidence to take that 16-footer dreamshot in 1990, despite having been terribly burdened (raised by a single mother), somehow looks like he came out OK — although he’s separated from his wife:

Archive: Taking His Best Shot In The Business Arena Ex-UConn Hero Tate George Still Pursuing Dreams
September 28, 1999|By PATRICIA SEREMET, The Hartford Courant
Every blue and white-blooded UConn fan remembers the shot.

NCAA game, March 22, 1990, at The Meadowlands. One second left on the clock, UConn down by one.

Freshman Scott Burrell throws the ball full court to senior captain Tate George. He makes a 16-foot turnaround jumper from the right corner to give UConn a 71-70 win over Clemson and advance UConn to the final 8.

“It’s Late, It’s Tate, It’s Great,” read The Courant’s front-page headline the next day. UConn went on to lose to Duke that year, but the shot was immortalized — locally anyhow — as the dream shot.

In the huddle, George said, he wasn’t supposed to be the man to take it. But he felt confident enough, he said, that he whispered “give it to me” to Burrell, who was a freshman and obeyed. As he pursues life as an entrepreneur, where “nothing but net” means profits, not points, George still sees himself as the “go-to” guy.

It’s almost 10 years since that shot. Hardly a day goes by that somebody doesn’t make a comment to him about it, or tell where they were when it went in.

So what’s Tate’s fate since that famous date?

Weighing 230, George has packed only 10 pounds onto his 6-foot-5 frame since playing in the pros. He lives in Farmington, and plays ball regularly with “a bunch of lawyers, doctors, and frustrated athletes” at St. Joseph College, and at Storrs with the UConn team in practice. He lifts weights in repetition, alternating chest, back, arms, legs. 

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George isn’t crying. In fact, as he dined on salmon in a mango salsa sauce at The Savannah one recent afternoon, he looked pretty happy.

He also looked really happy the night that UConn beat Duke in the Final Four. He was a commentator for Channel 3, kissed sportscaster Joe Tessitore, lit up a cigar, and sang “Heaven Must Be Like This,” a song his mother used to play on the record player back in Jersey.

He enjoyed it. In fact, he’s been a basketball commentator for ESPN International with his English voice over games in 152 countries.

But he doesn’t see himself doing TV and radio commentary full time.

“I have so many other aspirations,” George said. “I don’t want to get pigeon-holed.”

He keeps up with the Tate George Dream Shot Foundation, which he started in 1992 with Lisa Nkonoki to encourage young people to pursue their dreams. One of its most notable programs is “Dads Do Make a Difference,” which encourages young men, particularly fathers, to be positive role models by sponsoring dads-and-kids events.

“I grew up in a single-parent home,” George said. “Kids need positive males in their life, even if they’re not their father. God bless women. But boys can’t be men unless they see one.”

Although he is separated from his wife of five years, George said he is devoted to his two daughters, Jasmine, 9, and Alexys, 4.

The tax return is over 700 -pages long, as it describes the grants individually….

Almost every “veteran” of the family and conciliation courts,* who has had to either pay, or attempt to collect (or both) child support, or file anything related to safety (of self or child), or defend against being filed against — is going to have something to say. We all have our experiences, and viewpoints on those experiences.

What I am looking for is not just the experiences (often they are bad), or the stories — but how these stories assemble into identifiable patterns, which can connect the dots without leaving out 75% of the picture.

*many who are also veterans of the US military, or children of veterans of wars.

This long overdue contact form is intended to start conversations; hopefully intelligent ones (seeking information and understanding is intelligent behavior; contributing to others understanding IF you have processed some of what you’re contributing is also intelligent behavior). Joining a cult because the cult has press coverage — probably is not.

Looking at tax returns is.

I am a system, conceptual thinker (sorry, goes with the territory) who also can and will want to look at details to see if the patterns of the details prove or disprove the larger concept I have of the system.

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TIME is LIFE (LIFE consists of TIME which goes by). Going through certain kinds of hell (good description) and pain (very good description) does teach you some things, one of which is, the importance of judgment, another which is the importance of understanding the larger (political, governmental, judicial, cultural) etc. environment we are in. I was in an abusive marriage, and got out (sort of) — but was a complete novice towards the court system, other than the value judgment — screwed up, deaf dumb and blind to ongoing risk.

I found that experiential and anecdotal learning wasn’t enough. I also learned that knowing the vocabulary of domestic violence (as helpful as that was a leverage to decide to get OUT) was not enough. The vocabulary and understanding I would’ve liked earlier — was the understanding of the Conciliation Courts (overall) and of the Welfare-Reform-Transformation which included among its clothing, the swishing robes and coat-tails of healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood funding. In other words, Liz Richards, Cindy Ross, and Marv Byer — who ALL wrote about some of this — were not enough.

CDRC and Friends: Ever Wonder How All that Mediation, Alternate Dispute Resolution, etc. got passed?

This is a combination of what I took OUT of “Flipping Cause and Effect” post — when the website I was reviewing brought up “Jay Folberg” as Dean of USF Law. I knew he had more connections than this, and looked up my previous posts on the CDRC (California Dispute Resolution Council), which became the “Unified Voice” of all these dispute resolution professionals — unbelievable how they stepped into line once it (apparently) becamse clear someone was going to help them set up a nice pyramid? scheme using public funds, as satellites to the county courthouses, etc.

This has links to two earlier September, 2012 posts (herein), some more AFCC newsletters (1993, 1997– put also as links on the side) and I learned that William and Flora Hewett Foundation have been very nicely supportive of AFCC and CDRC.

I also learned that these guys figured someone was going to sue them, because they planned ahead for liability insurance for the profession. All in all, it’s a very interesting set of information — and possibly demonstrates how lobbying happens, in the court systems.

It shows the use of the nonprofits (and foundations, whether private, or large ones funding nonprofits), coalitions of nonprofits conferencing together — all that — it shows how they get their business accomplished.

Public service may be a collateral effect, but I doubt is the primary purpose. These are people who have invented and protected their own profession, with advance planning. AFCC professionals ARE involved, and you have to look at some tax returns. Tell a friend…. Thanks!

Flipping Cause and Effect: AFCC Rhetoric in Action: Got Custody Killings? Blame it on the Bad Language.

This post is for a brief (ha, ha, ha, right?) teaching point. I’ve never met, heard speak, or spoken to this particular woman (mediator, custody & divorce lawyer, AFCC member) and could’ve picked another individual for an example based on their website. However, it’s not every day one sees something so “AFCC” openly suggesting that because mayhem (murder) correlates to custody battles, the real problem is the word “custody,” which should be abolished, and then goes immediately into quoting AFCC (The California Chapter)’s public declaration that the treatment of children IN the courts is a public health crisis — and therefore, the overloaded judges and courts need more resources…

I have been advising parents (in particular) to figure out WHO in the lobbying, rules-of-court-changing, profession-inventing, task-force-chairing State by State Supreme Court (or thereabouts) legal/judicial powerhouses — has AFCC affiliations, or at least has drunk that Kool-aid. As a handle, it’s definitely an indicator. Many symptoms accompany membership. When a certain panorama of symptoms show up (this particular post has most of them, like idiocy) then the diagnosis “AFCC” is probably pretty accurate, whether or not it’s on the website already as a nametag.

The same Association (loosely speaking, given how inconsistent are the incorporation records) appears to unilaterally taken credit for the basic formation of family and conciliation courts to start with, which in other places (on other website), they call positive, innovative, problem-solving, and all things healthy. Talk about flipping cause and effect, and dodging accountability!!! We’re in it deep. Taken at face value, these people (at least the rank and file) are insane, illogical, and evasive, and have a casual disregard for the truth, or even attempting (for the public at large) to connect what they say to it.

Possibly some have been hypnotized or entranced by the hypnotic allure of power, or by some of the leadership with known connections to practicing the art of confusion and hypnosis itself i.e., the Milton H. Erickson crowd. (read at least first three paragraphs of this “Cliff notes” to the topic. Here’s just one paragraph:

For hypnotic rapport to become established you must appear rational and sensible most of the time. Then when you do become confusing they will work harder at focusing because they will logically assume it’s them missing some meaning that ought to be clear, and if they focus hard enough they will get it. Confusion as a technique should be used wisely and sparingly. You wouldn’t want to become known as ’that person who just talks gibberish!’

Same idea behind “Moses and the burning bush.” First, you get their attention. It’s not a new concept…Also, like Moses, once he turned and started listening, his life went through what looks like some rapid? and radical changes. From JHOM:
Theophany at the Burning Bush (by Nahum Sarna)

While tending his flocks in the desolate wilderness, Moses arrived at Horeb, the “mountain of God.” Here he suddenly beheld an awesome spectacle that defied nature’s laws and all human experience. A bush was all aflame yet remained intact, unaffected by the fire. Given its non-material, formless, mysterious and luminous characteristics, it is understandable that fire is frequently used in descriptions of the manifestation of the Divine Presence. [1]

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. . .
Overcome with irresistible fascination at the astonishing scene, yet now profoundly sensible of the divine potency with which the place is charged, Moses’ attention shifts from the visual to the aural. The sight of the Burning Bush fades away and is not mentioned again. Its place is taken by the Divine Voice. Here, too, a transformation takes place. The imperious Voice, commanding and admonishing, gives way to softer tones of pathos, concern, and tidings of liberation.

The parallel here is quite loose. What Moses saw (according to the story), and what I saw are quite different — but definitely gripping: HOW can this (level of illogic) exist?? WHY is our society putting up with so much of this influence, unnoticed, but powerful, throughout our own court system, which we pay for? Who charmed whom into insensibility? I mean, sometimes, you gotta just ask WHY.

What I’m going to show, posted (presumably written?) by an “Orange County Mediator, Divorce and Custody Lawyer” today IS gibberish if language has meaning, and if history (of the development of our conciliation and family court system) exists. However, in a cause-less and irresponsible world of the eternal “now” (except when gloriously relating a mythological past of heroic exploits) — I guess ANYthing goes. And as such, an ethereal (rarely consistently “incorporated”) Association (that calls itself “AFCC” for the most part) has a set of followers who have never seen it in the flesh, most likely, and are spreading fabulous stories of what it can do — if only more tributes would come in, and competition (such as other languages symbolizing “OLD” belief systems, like the kind that actually have a right and wrong encoded into the criminal law, with consequences attached — not just therapy, plus more therapy, plus more problem-solving courts…..)…

And it got my attention — yes, I was “caught” by the sheer audacity of the irrationality of it. Note: Abusers can do the same thing. They talk out of both sides of their mouth immediately after an incident, or when confronted on an incident, and cannot or will not be pinned down to the truth.

Flipping Cause and Effect (Footnotes to 5/15/2013 post)

This post is an off-ramp to too much commentary, as I watched in stunned incredulity, an AFCC professional (a.k.a. a custody and divorce lawyer and mediator)stumbling around the language of logic and attempting to piece together a semblance of it.

Hey, my blog — it humors me to say all this. There’s no real intention to organize or structure it. I took it off the original post will leave a footprint (link) there. That’s it.

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This was taken out of the introductory section.

Regarding “the art of confusion” — it’s a real technique taught by therapists and psychoanalysts to put people into a trance; particularly people who are intellectually resistant to the concept of “going under” and like to believe they are in cognitive control of their own minds (I must admit, a desirable state in general).