The Darkest Hour

Not mine although sometimes I feel I am close. The subject refers to the movie, The Darkest Hour, which came out late last year. The movie is about Winston Churchill's accent to Prime Minster of the United Kingdom in 1940, the rapidly deteriorating war situation, and Churchill's struggles to inspire the country to continue the war effort rather than negotiate peace with the Nazis. Gary Oldman's performance as Churchill won him the Academy Award for Best Actor.

If it were not for Churchill's relentless pursuit of justice, our world would be a very different place than it is today.

Yet it was not easy for Churchill. He had doubts as to the best course of action. He made many tactical changes but he never wavered from his goal of justice.  He know the Nazis were brutal and barbaric. He knew no further negotiation with them was possible.

Like many if not most people, I take bits of movies, songs, books, poems, and quotes and relate them to my own life. It is remarkable that Winston Churchill's incredible leadership in defeating the Nazis could inspire me in my battles agaisnt crime and injustice with the family court system. But it does. It really does.

Never Surrender to the those who commit crimes agaisnt the innocent. Never Surrender to those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of others.  Never Surrender to those who kill or cause to be killed people, including children, who have done nothing wrong.

See the movie if you have not. It may just inspire you as well.

Before We Were Yours

I am about 90% of the way through the novel Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate.  Although the story is fictional,  it tells the all too real story of several victims of the Tennessee Children Home Society run by Geogia Tann which, under the guise of an adoption agency, operated a human trafficking ring where children were stolen, abused and sold off often without either the biological or adoptive parents knowledge. Many children died and some more than likely murdered in cold blood.

Tann got away with her crimes from the 1920's until 1950. She died before she was brought to justice. During much of time she operated she was a well known and respected member of society. Eleanor Roosevelt even praised her for her work. If she only knew.

How was Tann able to operate her criminal and repugnant racket for so long? Corruption. She paid off many people in law enforcement and the judiciary to turn a blind eye to her activities.

Sound familiar? Nelly Wince and others who operate criminally in the family law today are the modern day Geogia Tanns. They use and often abuse children to achieve money and power.  Friends in the system are able to not only protect them but even reward their criminal activities.

We have not eliminated bad people from society - they just migrate to areas where they can best succeed. Today the easiest, safest and most lucrative place to commit crime is in family court.

Can Alimony as a Concept Ever Change?

Men's Divorce asks: Can Alimony as a Concept Ever Change?

Alimony is an odd, anachronistic, and generally misogynist concept. It is based on the idea that men are required to take care of women because women lack the intelligence to support themselves. The clearest demonstration of this is that alimony ends the moment a woman remarries. The reasoning is that now she has a new man to take care of her. Truly bizarre.

A rational could be made for alimony in the days when women were not allowed to work at income generating jobs but that day is long past.

Even without alimony, Spring was able take half the assets accumulated during the marriage despite not having contributed anything to accumulating them. And it isn't like she was the primary parent during the marriage. According to the custody evaluator she was at best a joint parent. According to me far less so. On top of that she never used one dime of her income to benefit the children.

I could go on an on, as I often have, about how Spring forced me to pay over $100,000 in legal costs, the blatant crimes she committed in family court, and crushing permanent alimony I have to pay until I die. The point is that alimony is not just usually unfair, it often ordered to reward criminal actions. The result of all this  unethical and criminal activity? Innocents victimized, suicides, depression, violence, more crime and quite often the death of innocents.

One Needs Vision

One Needs Vision To Reduce Suffering

I know what the suffering is. I have experience the result of a family law system that does not operate by rule of law. So have my children.  I  know that this causes suffering and even death for many people. Every day. Although  I  have undeniable evidence of immorality and criminal actions, but like evidence of wrongdoing in a Nazi concentration camp, this does little good, and often great harm, due to the prevalent and institutional nature of the corruption.

So what is the vision I need to change the system? More legal challenges? Public exposure? Shaming? I wish the path was clear.

Man Is Free The Moment He Wishes To Be

One of my favorite quotes by the eminently quotable Voltaire is:

 

I have been bullied, harassed, abused, stolen from, and lied to by Spring. I have seen, and have absolute evidence of, corruption by lawyers, judges, the Lawyers Office of Professional Responsibility and the County Attorney's office.  I have been condemned to work the rest of my life to reward criminals. I have been in all practically prevented from ever marrying or even living with the girl I stated dating a couple years after Spring left me.

I am not free. Maybe it is time I decide to be.