Sometimes we hear or read things that move us in special ways. Today, I watched a video clip with music by Andrea Bocelli, with comments and images about fatherhood. The entire piece is moving, but what moved me the most was something at the end of the video. It states.....Fatherhood is an InstitutionWe must Defend it!Think about it. Would you defend your father? Would your father defend you. The answer is of course. My father fought in World War II to defend all families in the United States. He understood the importance of fatherhood, raised his large family of children working two jobs to feed and protect us. And he was rewarded - by losing custody of his children in divorce. As a father that has also lost custody of my children of divorce, I often wonder if things would be this way if my father had fought harder for custody, if he had waged war on the divorce industry, if he had left a different legacy for me and my children and grand children.Yet, I have a new perspective. This is our War! It is our battle now to carry on the American Tradition that our fathers started by fighting for freedom and democracy. It is our responsibility to stand up and fight for our own freedom, and for the right to be parents to our own children, with a government that is designed to defent that freedom, not take it away.It's time we all stand up and question why this institution of Fatherhood is being destroyed. It's time to take politicians that don't understand it's importance out of office. It's time to pick up a megaphone and yell in the street - no more, we must defend our fathers. It's time to organize and make a committment of both time and money to create changes in each and every state to ensure that the Institution of Fatherhood, and the Institution of Motherhood, remain important aspects of all families, with equal access to the children, equal opportunity to educate and love our children, and equal protection under our laws.Please take a moment to watch this compelling video clip. Enjoy the music of Andrea Bocelli, and reflect on what is important to you, and all families. Invest yourself in making change!Watch the video clip by clicking on more...........

It happens thousands of time each day in the US. Some parent is convicted of Divorced and sentenced to the usual punishment - every other weekend with their children, child support payments that raise the standard of living for the custodial parent, and impoverish the non-custodial parent that must somehow still provide a home for their children during that every important visitation It's an outrage when it happens. Sadly, most fiamilies in the US don't understand the devastation until they have gone through it and it is too late.But here is the big question - where do they go after this shock to their system as sunk in? Do they just go on with life living with it, figuring they've received their punishment for being married to the other person and accept their lumps? Do they just move on and try to forget about it?In any given state there are hundreds of thousands of non-custodial parents that are not getting adequate time with their kids. It's an insult to the American value system, its way of life, its family structure. Yet, it is so quiet. Not hardly a roar from the countless victims of this shamefull disease we call divorce.And there is the problem. As a father or mother that has gone through this divorce, who has moved on and risen above it to make life better in the future, you are ignoring one small detail. Things are changing, and your children that you love so much are going to go through the same pain should they ever get divorced. And, coming from a divorced family, their chances are pretty good that they will get divorced. Imagine if your father had fought to make changes in the system - would they be so bad today for you and your children.No, this is not a fight about yourself. This is a fight about your children! Your grandchildren! Will you let them down, or will you stand up and fight for your rights, and the rights of your children like you have never fought before! Will you consistently tell your elected officials that they can not violate your rights to be a parent any longer? Will you attend meetings when you aren't with your kids and help to bring about change. Will you make that $10 donation to a worthy cause that is fighting for your rights?States are organizing, and getting better prepared to take on this fight. www.CRISPE.ORG (http://www.crispe.org/) is a great example, the Shared Parenting Bike Trek of 2007 was a great example, the online petition at www.WashingtonSharedParenting.com (http://www.washingtonsharedparenting.com/) is another great example. Meetup.com has meetings all over the US for divorced paretents, shared parenting advocates, and fathers rights advocates.Here is something to think about. You should have your kids 50% of the time, we agree, there is no argument. But you don't! So, what are you doing with all those extra hours? Working? Playing? Watching TV? Or dedicating them to improving the chances for your kids and other non-custodial parents by dedicating those lost hours to your kids. Is it asking too much to dedicate even 1/10 of those hours to your kids. Or maybe you need to work to make ends meet. Work an extra hour a month and donate the earnings to a shared parenting organization that is fighting for your rights when you don't have time to do the same. President Reagan asked that everyone donate time or money to improve their community. We are asking the same of every non-custodial parent. Come out of the woodwork, donate time or money to help children everywhere, and your possibly your own grandchildren one day.

Fathers 4 Justice Leaves It's First Mark in the U.S.On Friday, August 17th, two members of the British Fathers 4 Justice, in co-operation with the Fathers 4 Justice US held their first peaceful protest in Washington DC at the Lincoln Memorial. It's incredible that three days later not one word of it has made it on any national news programs, yet this video on Utube has skyrocketed with over 1,300 visits to the video clip.Also incredible is to hear the police yelling for everyone to stop taking photos of the protestors and to not pay atttention to them . Again, these protests are peaceful, climbing the Lincoln Memorial to hang a large banner. It was an incredible first showing for Fathers 4 Justice. See the video clips by clicking more.....

Australian courts get it! Their Country gets it! The United States family courts not only don't get it, but they purposefully ignore local laws to create their own form of justice. We are talking about child support payments being forced upon men who are not the parent of the children they are paying support for. In Australiea, mothers are now being forced to pay back ten's of thousands of dollars in child support they received fraudulently. They are being held accountable for their fraud!It happens all over the country, a woman goes to court asking for child support for an illegitimate child, naming a father who hasn't been proven to be the father. This happens because the Title IV-D funding the States receive stat that a father must be named, or the mother loses benefits. When benefits for free-loaders are about to be lost, they have no problem putting the name of a father down - right or wrong. The next step is to get that father into court, and when they can't find him, they mail it to an address where they have been told he lives, right or wrong. When there is no response, a default order is placed naming him the father, and the collectons begin. The process, which totally lacks due process is the result of a money grab by the States for Federal Funds under Title IV-D.Australia's Government is beginning to use due process, and protect the rights of its citizens. It is going after mothers who falsely imprison a man for 18 years of child support for a child that is not his. Imagine if we could rely on the same from our own courts. Imagine if we had real due process. Imagine in our States weren't in the business to earn revenue from the feds by doing child support collections, and instead looked after the best interest of all citizens.Read the article from Australia that describes their new process (http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24632911-952,00.html). It's a great story.I recently read a story out of Washington where Prosecutors were disappointed (http://washingtonsharedparenting.com/?p=342) that a father that had been proven not to be the father of a child was not going to have to pay child support. In other words, these calous theives didn't care if it was the correct father, as long as they had someone paying the child support for 18 years, they were upset that the wrong man who was going to pay it was no longer on the hook. You would think they would have been thrilled that justice was served, after all they are supposed to be members of our hired government, hired to protect the innocent. Instead, they don't care how innocent you are, as long as you pay the child support bill they need paid so this mother can get back on welfare.The thing here is that a child may never know their real father. The gross negligence of this mother picking anyone to ensure they continue to collect from the government, potentially keeps a child from knowing their true identity, and the father that could make a difference in their life.So, as we go into 2009 with the author of the biased Violence Against Women's Act as our new Vic-President, and a new President who's only claim to families was to scold fathers for not being responsible, we can only wonder how things will worsen for fathers, and non-custodial parents. Can anyone really see it improving? Certainly not, unless everyone gets involved in writing lettes, blogging, leaving comments on blogs, telling neighbors about the issues families deal with or anything else to help our cause, things will only worse for all of us........