Sunday, June 28, 2015

Chris Mackney's Suicide Note

Chris Mackney - The unbelievable true story of murder, corruption, a nasty divorce, legal bullying, and the suicide of a broken man driven crazy by our family court system is a disturbing story but a clear case of how good people are destroyed, quite literally in Mackey's case, by injustice in the court system.  


A Google search for "chris mackney" provides a huge amount of information on his story.  But perhaps the most illuminating thing to read is his heart-wrenching suicide note

A Fathers Suicide Note
I never wanted to speak out about any of this. All I wanted was a fair and reasonable child support, fair and reasonable visitation with my children and be free to move on with my life. The only reason I chose to write a blog and speak out about the abuse was because I thought it would give me some kind of leverage, as I had none.
I made it clear to my ex- wife’s attorney that the family court was not allowing me to change the orders, I had no information about my children and my child support was far beyond my ability to pay.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Same-Sex Marraige



The Supreme Court's decision to affirm the right of same-sex couples to marry in all states is a landmark decision for equality. This is a good thing - I can't help but think that the arguments agaisnt it are almost exactly like the arguments for laws banning interracial marriage, which the Supreme Court struct down as unconstitutional in 1967. 
When all Americans are treated as equal, we are all more free
- President Obama
Yet, in the near term, the ones who will benefit the most are those in the divorce industry as more marriages mean more divorces. Ironically, heterosexual marriages are trending down because of the lack of justice in family court. Same-sex marriages will likely increase the number of marriages due to pent-up demand. Unfortunately, divorces will increase as well. 

My hope is that same-sex divorces will bring to a head the unjust and often criminal practices that are all to prevalent within the divorce system. The irony for those who are so agaisnt same-sex marriage is that it may actually save heterosexual marriage.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Men, Suicide, Divorce And Family Court


One of the tragedies of the reality of divorce is that people who are treated unjustly often run out of options and end up taking their own lives. Most of these are men which is likely solely due to the fact that currently men are more likely to be treating unjustly in divorce cases. In fact men are 9.7 times as more likely to commit suicide after a divorce than women are. But by no means does that mean that only men are treated unjustly. Woman can and are treated unjustly as well and some of them commit suicide too. It is a bad system for all, just worse for men at present.
And if you do not think it affects kids watch this video from Amiee Nicholls who against her will was separated from her dad for many years due to a horrible divorce in the United Kingdom. (where apparently divorce is as bad as in the U.S.)

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Parasitism And The Marriage Strike

Parasitism And The Marriage Strike is a blunt article on the reality of divorce and how it favors women. Although the statistics bear this out, I have always been uncomfortable dwelling on it because the root issue isn't men vs. women, it is the lack of equal justice for all. The means, often criminal as in my case, are just a mechanism that works. In the past, an unethical person might falsely accuse a black person of rape in order to extract money out of him or force him to move. That was a means that worked so it was used. (One could argue it still works) Currently the mechanism used in divorce court is, more often than not, false accusations and fraud against men. These crimes are committed because the system is so institutionally corrupt that the perpetrators know they can get away with their crimes and that they are effective. It is a horrible but that is the reality.

I want to point out a really good comment that was made for the above article.

Hi -- Thank you for writing this with such clarity and wit. I am a woman dating a divorced man, and have witnessed the wreckage of his parasitic ex spouse. I've also read many horrifying stories from divorced fathers / husbands...

For all the men (and women) out there, definitely read up on what happens during/after a divorce, and don't settle for anything less than your equal: equal in values, equal in vision for future, equal in financial matters, equal in work ethic and ambition, equal in expectation, and an equal who will respect and consider you as much as you do them.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Battered Wife Must Pay Abuser Alimony

If there is one thing I have learned writing this blog is that the tragic injustice of my divorce is not at all uncommon. For example, a woman who husband was convicted of felony assault against her is required by the Court to pay him alimony. Like my situation these are the types of stores that one would think are fictitious. Before Spring divorced me I would have thought such stories as of dubious veracity. Yet they are not only true but all too common.

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Soldiers Have It Bad When It Comes To Alimony

Soldiers often do not even have the theoretical possibility that alimony to an ex-spouse will end should he or she remarry or obtain a position with a higher income. 1982 Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act (USFSPA) provides states with the authority to treat non-disability military retirement pay as property which is a bad in itself but doubly outrageous because military retirement isn't like civilian retirement. In the military, retirement is not full retirement but switching to reserve status. You still have an obligation to serve the country.


Wow - The government can take the pension of someone who served the country for years and continues to do so in retirement and give it to an ex-spouse even if the ex-spouse remarries and makes far more money than the soldier. That is disgraceful.

Monday, June 8, 2015

Relative Damage

One thing I really dislike about what happened to me in my divorce is that it makes me a bit self-centered when it come to pity. On NPR this morning I head a story about a lawsuit agaisnt Taishan, a Chinese drywall company that has been accused of manufacturing and selling a product that emits toxic gases.

In the story a man states that he lost $90,000 in home equity because of the issue. I lost two houses, hundred of thousands of dollars and am forced to work the rest of my life for Spring. The couple in the story lost money due to a defective product. I lost money and continue to do so every day due to due clearly criminal actions.

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Steve Hitner's Guide to Changing the Law

Steve Hitner, the driving force behind the successful effort to reform alimony in Massachusetts and now is a consultant at the National Parents Organization, has published a how-to guide on changing the law.
  1. You need horror stories.
  2. You need a website.
  3. You need a dedicated leader.
  4. You need a book of evidence showing the problem.
  5. You need an angel in the media.
  6. You need an angel in the legislature.
  7. You need an “evil” person or group as an adversary.
  8. You need credible victims who will share their situation with the media.
  9. You need second spouses (wives) and women who do not want to become second spouses to tell their stories.
  10. You will need money!
I'll admit this is a bit depressing to me. I am the type of person that has always believed that the laws of our country were basically just. The reality, at least when it come to divorce, is that the barriers to achieving justice, what the system is supposed to guarantee us, are simply incredible. I understand that there are bad laws such as those involving family law as well as bad lawyers and judges but I never realized just how corrupt the system was. How else can you explain Spring receiving massive permanent alimony even after taking most the joint assets from the marriage, after a custody evaluator ruled that parenting during the marriage was joint, joint custody after the marriage, an employment evaluation stating she could make just as much money as me and absolute evidence of criminal fraud? Not to mention that the children would have categorically stated that she committed perjury in her testimony and affidavits if only they were asked.

How did this happen? Like any other form of corruption whether it be voter disenfranchisement or bribes at FIFA, it is all about power and money and usually both. I just cannot imagine that these people are so deluded that they do not realize they are acting criminally and in an immoral manner. Maybe the true nature of evil isn't knowing that you are doing wrong, it is deluding yourself that you are not when you are.

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

More on CalAlimonyReform.org

CBS Los Angeles ran a story about Steve Clark and his mission to reform alimony in California. I posted about his site CalAlimonyReform.org last week.  It is nice to see that Clark and his organization is getting some press. As usual the comments are most enlightening. And sadly most discouraging. How a society can operate in not only such an unjust manner but an inconsistent manner is beyond belief.

Monday, June 1, 2015

Institutional Corruption at FIFA

Seven officials of The FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) were recently arrested in Zurich Switzerland as a result of a U.S. initiated action. According to a statement released by the United States Department of Justice, FIFA was engaged in a, "24-year scheme to enrich themselves through the corruption of international soccer."

FIFA has been widely known as institutionally corrupt but no one dared do anything about it lest they risk it affecting their national football (soccer in the U.S.) teams. Ironically, despite the growing popularity of soccer int he Unites States. we are still somewhat second rate so the Department of Justice was not intimidated. That and the fact that our new Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, was investigating FIFA in her prior position as US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

Jon Stewart's take on the FIFA scandal:


It took over 20 years but it is nice to see that an institutionally corrupt organization is finally being reigned in. However, the negative impact of FIFA corruption is minor compared to corruption in the divorce industry. After all with FIFA we are talking about entertainment. Bribery involves where World Cup will be played, advertising rights, and embezzlement. In Family Law Court, people's lives are ruined and children hurt, People like me end up being ordered to work until death for the benefit of criminals. Often corrupt decision lead to suicides by the those treated unjustly. When will blatant corruption within the divorce system be addressed?