Grim Details Revealed In Belitz Slaying

Prosecutors Say Boy’s Mom Got Caught Disposing Of Body

http://www.ketv.com/news/20082041/detail.html

OMAHA, Neb.–Details of murder charges against Angela Manns in the death of her son, Michael Belitz, 12, were revealed during Manns’ court appearance on Thursday.

“There was a hatchet, a boning knife and goggles on the counter,” said Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine. “Circumstantial evidence tells us there was premeditation in this case.”

He said Manns got caught while she was in the middle of getting rid of her son’s body. He said that when officers found Belitz in her house, he was in a bathtub with duct tape holding his legs and wrists together. Cat litter was covering his decomposing body to help cover the smell.

Kleine said police believe Belitz had been there for up to two weeks.

“I don’t know how anybody can do that to their own children,” said Michael’s father, Lenny Belitz.

He said Manns would drink herself into fits of rage.

“She lost it and she was probably drunk or something,” he said.

A Community Mourns

As a memorial set up near the house where Belitz’s decomposing body was found on Monday continues to grow, even small children are working to pay respects. A 5-year-old named Persia placed a plush duck at the memorial.

“That’s one of her favorite stuffed animals,” said Persia’s uncle, Michael Johnson. “She said, ‘I’m going to miss it,’ but she still wanted to put it down. She just knows that something bad happened to the little boy.”

Belitz just finished sixth grade at Minne Lusa Elementary School. Grief counselors were scheduled to be at the school on Friday to help children cope.

A community candlelight vigil is also planned for 6 p.m. at the school.

How Could This Happen?

Experts said it was an improbable case in which everyone from neighbors to the child welfare system were found lacking.

 “Red flags were all over the place,” said Peg Harriott of the Child Saving Institute.

State officials confirmed that Manns called a child abuse and neglect hot line.

Kleine said that Manns was afraid that something bad would happen to her or her son if she didn’t get help. He said there was no record of abuse, neglect or concern over Michael’s safety.

Harriott said the state was only one of several entities that could have spotted something wrong.

“There’s so much positive going on where systems are working closely together, specifically for domestic violence and child abuse, that it just saddens my heart to know that this family didn’t get what they needed,” Harriott said.

In Lincoln, officials with the Health and Human Services Department declined to go on camera to discuss the case. In a statement, it said, “As a result of this incident, we’ll review our processes to make sure they are working as intended to respond to concerns about a child’s safety and well-being.”

Harriott said the case should give the entire community pause.

“It’s our responsibility to figure out what happened here and how this does not happen to another child,” she said.

She said that she wasn’t sure whether the old Safe Haven Law might have helped in Manns’ situation with her son.

State Sen. Gwen Howard said she’d recently asked the new HHS director to put a priority on seniority and experience in case manager positions. She said that’s helpful in dealing with cases like Manns’.

Help Is Available

Agencies are available for any family in need of help. The Boys Town National Hotline can take calls at 800-448-3000. Families can also call the Child Saving Institute at 866-400-4CSI or Heartland Family Services at 800-523-3666.Copyright 2009 by KETV.com. 

Update: Mother Denied Bond in Son’s Murder

http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/50957632.html

Posted: 1:30 PM Jul 16, 2009

Last Updated: 1:30 PM Jul 16, 2009

Reporter: WOWT

Email Address: sixonline@wowt.com

A Douglas County judge has denied bond for Angela Manns. She is charged with first degree murder in her 12-year-old son’s death.

Michael Belitz was found dead inside their home near 28th and Ida Sunday. Police made the discovery after being called to the home by neighbors due to odors. Police say they saw Manns drive by. They followed her and arrested her some distance away from the home.

The Douglas County Attorney says the body was found in the bath tub. The boy’s wrists and ankles were bound with duct tape.

Don Kleine says the boy had been dead at least two weeks. “It appeared that there were attempts to mask or hide the odor. There was quite a bit of kitty litter that was placed over the body and then bags covering the body,” Kleine said.

“There were also bags, garbage bags that were placed in five gallon buckets in that area of the bathroom and there were tools there that appear to be those that might be used at some point in time to dispose of the remains.”

Those tools, Kleine said, also included a hatchet, a knife and goggles on the bathroom counter.

At this point, Kleine says, he has no reason to believe anyone else was involved in Belitz’s death.

Those close to Belitz tell investigators he and his mother had argued in mid-June. He allegedly wanted to got to a College World Series game, but his mother refused to let him. Kleine says this is the most recent tiff his office knows about between the two, but whether it sparked the violence is unclear.

Due to the state of decomposition, the cause of death has still not been determined.

Channel 6 News has learned his older sister and possibly his mother, Angela Manns, made calls to child protective services concerning Belitz’s welfare.

Neb. agency say suspect asked about foster care

http://www.kcautv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10744863&nav=1kgl

Associated Press – July 17, 2009 2:55 PM ET

Corrected Version

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – An Omaha woman charged in the homicide of her 12-year-old son had called a caseworker in March to ask about placing the boy in foster care.

An official with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services on Friday confirmed the call placed by 46-year-old Angela Manns. Manns was arraigned Thursday in Douglas County Court on a first-degree murder charge in the death of 12-year-old Michael Belitz.

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine says investigators found the boy’s body in a bathtub with his wrists and legs bound together with duct tape.

Health and Human Services says Manns left a message at the end of March asking about foster care and other options. The agency says the caseworker called back and left a message but didn’t hear back from Manns.

Suspect in East Bay toddler’s death pleads not guilty

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_12853685?nclick_check=1

Sophia Kazmi

Valley Times

Posted: 07/16/2009 04:47:28 PM PDT

Updated: 07/17/2009 06:54:57 AM PDT

PLEASANTON — A Livermore woman accused of killing a 23-month-old toddler in her care has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Mary Katherine Downing, 54, appeared in Alameda County Superior Court on Thursday. The toddler, Heaven Hernandez, is the granddaughter of Downing’s fiance.

Downing was arrested in March after the death of the girl.

On March 21, police say Downing called 911 from her home in the 2100 block of Percheron Road to report that the toddler was unresponsive. When police arrived, they noticed the girl had injuries indicating that she may have been abused.

According to court records, the toddler had multiple skull fractures and bruises, blood on the brain, internal bleeding and trauma to her chest when she was taken to Children’s Hospital and Research Center Oakland. She was declared brain-dead March 23 and taken off life-support two days later.

Downing originally told investigators that the girl hurt herself when she fell a few days earlier, but officers did not believe that account because the injuries were not consistent with a fall, according to court records. She later told police she had accidentally dropped the girl once, and then violently shook and dropped the child at least three more times after that.

Heaven also had two untreated bone fractures that were beginning to heal, indicating prior abuse, according to records.

Downing is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on suspicion of murder and assault on a child that led to injury or death.

Emma Puc, who was Heaven’s foster mother, said she has been devastated by the death.

Puc, who lives in San Bernardino, learned just a month ago that Heaven had died.

Puc said she and her husband had wanted to adopt Heaven, who had been taken from her mother at birth.

During the adoption process, Heaven’s biological family was notified, Puc said. And that’s when the girl’s grandfather claimed the baby.

“It’s still like a dream to me,” said Puc. “I keep thinking they will come back and say, ‘We got the wrong little girl’ … I can’t imagine this. I cannot picture this.”

Heaven was born in Riverside County and lived with another woman until she was three months old, when she came to live with Puc’s family.

“She was a happy little girl,” Puc said.

Puc and her husband threw Heaven a huge first birthday party. This year, when the girl’s birthday came around, she and her husband wondered what Heaven’s family was doing for her special day, not knowing the little girl was dead.

The toddler’s first words were “hi, baby,” Puc said, because that is how Puc greeted Heaven each time she picked her up from her crib.

“I keep having dreams and keep hearing her say ‘hi baby,’ Puc said. “It kills me.”

Reach Sophia Kazmi at 925-847-2122 or skazmi@bayareanewsgroup.com.

Money alone does not solve social problems

http://www.valleynewsonline.com/viewnews.php?newsid=86306&id=2

by Vincent R. Caravan

It’s no fun being a county legislator, especially if you’re lucky enough to be assigned to the Health and Human Services Committee. That is anything but fun.

The Health and Human Services Committee oversees the Department of Social Services—the department that endured relentless criticism for its handling of the horrible living conditions of a Palermo family’s home and the subsequent death of an 11-year-old child living there.

The child—Erin Maxwell—was undernourished, underweight, unclean and, obviously, fated to live in a filthy environment with cats and cat feces.

Her living conditions apparently were not responsible for her death, however. Her older step-brother has been charged with murder and is awaiting trial.

The deplorable conditions at the Maxwell home in Palermo had been reported to the Department of Social Services numerous times, but no drastic action was taken. Yet, school teachers and unrelated community residents helped Erin with temporary hygiene and nourishment aid.

After her death, the DSS came under attack as being negligent for not removing the girl from her home. The sheriff’s department, State Police, county legislature, and the State of New York conducted separate investigations, as did a special committee from Cornell University. None of the findings laid full blame on the DSS. Yet, many critics demanded the resignation of the DSS commissioner.

Following a recommendation of the Cornell study, the state sent $500,000 to the county legislature to add 16 positions to the DSS staff. The funding will last about two years. After that, the additional staff becomes the expense of the county.

Throwing money at a problem (which New York does quite well) does not always fix a problem. It won’t this time, either. The commissioner must use her best instincts in hiring the most potentially career-minded individuals and oversee them through their probationary period.

We definitely do not want to see another Erin Maxwell case. So, the onus is on the DSS to recognize abuse before it becomes an unmanageable problem. Five hundred thousand dollars will not prevent problems from escalating beyond control; only well-trained, dedicated caseworkers with constant vigilance will.

- Valley News

PLEASE TAKE YOUR TIME WITH THIS VERY IMPORTANT POST

Click this link for Family Court Discussion 

This was a very important discussion on San Francisco-area radio station KGO AM-810 last night on John Rothmann’s show. The sound file above covers the hour that the show was on…you can forward to 5:00 minutes into the file, but don’t go any further…a discussion of a bay-area mom’s domestic violence death is reported on the local news portion and is discussed further in the show.

Along with Kathleen Russell from the Center For Judicial Excellence was Alameda County Supervisor Gail Steele. Please listen to this important show. The show also includes a discussion on Joyce Murphy’s case ( Father got custody; mother’s sex abuse claims vindicated 6 years later when other children come forward).  They also discussed Nancy Lee Grahn’s case too (Public Officials in California Call for Major Changes in Family Law, Use of Parental Alienation Syndrome Soon to Be Outlawed in California….Here’s Hoping!).  It will open your eyes to the corruption in family courts (if you don’t know it personally already).

Also discussed is the State of California investigation that will be conducted into the courts of Marin and Sacramento Counties and the Court Whores who feed at the tough (such as Janelle Burrill of Mothers Interrupted )…also discussed the case of Dr. Stephen Doyne who has a sham certification (The American Board of Nonexistence).

As Ms. Steele and Ms. Russell point out…NOBODY LISTENS TO THE CHILDREN!

Watch these two videos, Family Court Crisis: Our Children at Risk (dad’s too also included):

Part One:

Part Two:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It is a scary realization to know that, at least in the ‘olden days’ of the 1960s, people as nuts as my mother was could actually run day care centers.  I was too young then to realize what, if any, problems arose regarding the children under her care (I don’t believe she abused any of them) or with the children’s parents.  With so many mothers needing to or choosing to work today, how would anyone know if a daycare provider was ‘off their rocker’, potentially dangerous, or actually dangerous?

It is a known fact that particularly with Borderline Personality Disorder the alterations in perception of reality and resulting actions are extremely difficult to recognize and detect — especially from the outside.  This is part of the purpose and goal of my writings, to help us learn more about what makes these people tick so that we can recognize them better.  I believe our improved understanding of personality disorder, depression, bi-polar and other sometimes-hard-to-detect-in-others brain change-mental illnesses is necessary to keep all children safer!

Free Webinar For Parents: Will You Know High-Quality Child Care When You See It?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

]]> http://artweidman.wordpress.com/2009/07/18/master-class-for-therapists/ Sat, 18 Jul 2009 11:44:01 +0000 artweidman http://artweidman.wordpress.com/2009/07/18/master-class-for-therapists/

A new Master Class for Therapists is planned for 2010. This class is designed to teach therapists how to provide Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, which is an evidence-based, effective, and empirically validated treatment.

MASTER CLASS

Dyadic Developmental Therapy
(An attachment-based therapy)

Training for Therapists in the Treatment of Children with Trauma-Attachment Problems

2010

This workshop is for professionals who have a working knowledge of attachment, how it develops, how attachment disorders develop, and a general knowledge of treatment principals and attachment theory.

Early deprivation, neglect, abuse, significant early health problems and hospitalizations, repeated moves, or more than one year in an orphanage can create attachment problems that require specialized treatment. Traditional forms of therapy are ineffective with attachment-disordered children. This workshop will provide the therapist and other professionals with an opportunity to learn and practice effective treatment methods for trauma-attachment disordered children.

Participants are encouraged to bring in videotapes of sessions or to make arrangements to have a family attend a session for a consultation with the therapist and Dr. Becker-Weidman.

Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy is an evidence-based treatment, effective, and empirically validated treatment that is grounded in current thinking and research on the etiology and treatment of Complex Trauma or Developmental Trauma Disorder. Treatment had an educational dimension, designed to help parents understand their child’s attachment disorder: how the child feels and thinks, and the child’s internal psychological dynamics. Second, teaching parents about attachment-facilitating parenting methods and the importance of attunement and responsive, sensitive parenting is essential. Direct work with the parents regarding their own family or origin issues is another componen5t of treatment. Finally, intensive emotional work with the child in a manner consistent with sound treatment principles is vital.

The workshop is led by Dr. Arthur Becker-Weidman, who is certified by the Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy Institute as a certified Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapist, Certified Consultant, and Certified Trainer. This workshop provides training hours that may be used by the participant to meet the required training hours necessary to become a Certified Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapist.

Purpose of Workshop

This workshop is for therapists who want to learn how to treat trauma-attachment disordered children. Participants will learn effective therapy principals for helping traumatized children. Participants will learn:

Initial assessment and treatment planning.

Beginning, middle, and ending phase interventions.

Developing attunement and maintaining attunement.

Practical implications of the relationship between neurobiology and attachment.

Effective therapeutic techniques to use with traumatized and attachment disordered children.

Effective parenting principals.

Participants will have the opportunity to view videotapes of actual therapy sessions with traumatized children that demonstrate therapeutic principals, present their own video tapes or bring in a client for a consultation, and view live therapy sessions.

SCHEDULE

A Six-month 42-hour Master Class.
10:00 am – 5:00 pm, March 27 – August 28, 2010 (3/27, 4/24, 5/22, 6/26, 7/24, 8/28). The schedule may be adjusted if all the participants agree, so contact the office for the most current schedule. Limited to 7 professionals.

OUTLINE

Evaluation & parenting preparation.
First session, beginnings, attunement, and managing resistance.
Neurobiology of interpersonal experience
Middle phase issues & psychodrama
Facilitating parent-child attachment
Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Ending phase issues.

The treatment presented has demonstrated effectiveness. A follow-up study (see our website) clinically and statistically significant reductions in symptoms of attachment disorder, aggression, anti-social behavior, thought disorders, attention problems, mood, and social relationship dysfunction. Over 80% of the children treated had previously been in treatment on three or more occasions, without any noticeable improvement. Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy produced measurable and stable improvements. Treatment averaged 23 sessions over approximately ten months. (Arthur Becker-Weidman, Ph.D., Child & Adolescent Social Work, vol. 23, pp.137-171, 2006)

Click here for the brochure. www.center4familydevelop.com/2010MasterClass.pdf

Spent a good chunk of the day with Boo.  We scoped out a bead store (I said she could have $2 to spend, and she pretty much looked at every bead in the entire store, settling on a little ladybug and a small tube of green square beads), then had lunch, did a bit of window shopping for school clothes, had ice cream, and came home.  It felt good to just hang out with my Boo.  It was almost a perfect outing, except on the way home she blurted out, for no apparent reason, “No offense, Mom, but your pinky toes are gross.”  Ha!  I had to be all serious about how it’s not very nice to tell someone that part of their body is gross, but really, I was kind of cracking up inside about it.  My pinky toes are kind of weird-looking.

Today I am feeling a large amount of gratitude for my brain.  I like to beat up on my brain a lot and wish for a new one, but I am so incredibly glad for this: I have no desire to perpetrate.  I don’t have to fight any urges to perpetrate.  I don’t have dreams in which I perpetrate.  I’m pretty certain it’s just not something I’m ever going to have to worry about.  I know that most perpetrators were once victims (but it is NOT true that most victims become perpetrators).  I know my SF was abused horribly, and my heart truly breaks for his little boy self.  Same with my mother.

The thing about my SF is that he does not have the capacity for empathy.  He is, by all appearances, a pretty happy and carefree guy.  He has tons and tons of money, so he can buy whatever he wants.  He is successful at his career, and wins sales awards all the time.  I don’t think he has any trouble sleeping at night–in fact, I know he doesn’t.  He usually sleeps out in the living room in front of the t.v. (or at least he used to–I don’t see them anymore and haven’t for about 3 years).  When he wants to have an affair, he has one.  Basically, he does whatever the hell he wants.

He and my mother, in their lives as business owners, are ruthless and immoral, and regularly take advantage of the people who work for them.  They feel no guilt about this; it’s just part of business, they say.  I used to be almost in tears trying to argue with them, get them to see that mistreating an employee is not okay just because the employee is desperate enough for work/money to endure it.  They couldn’t see it.  At some point, I realized that there’s just something too broken in them.  At some point, they could no longer have that part of themselves that can feel empathy be open.  I have to believe it once existed; I have to believe in the children they once were.  I like to believe it still exists.

I don’t hate them or want them dead.  A lot of people react to my story by wanting to kill my SF for the horrible things he did, but oddly, I don’t have that feeling, at least not yet.  I can’t even muster any real anger about it, to be honest.  I get stuck on being sad about whatever must have happened to him to make him the way he is.  He was a little kid, too, and don’t you think he probably had a gun in his mouth?  And isn’t it just luck of the draw that I didn’t end up being like him?

I don’t want him in my life; don’t get me wrong.  I think he should be in jail, and I wish I had evidence to put him there.  But not so he would be hurt, so much as so I could be assured he wouldn’t be hurting anyone else.

It’s weird, I guess.  I’m still afraid enough of him that I worry he’ll come and kill me or hurt my child or god knows what, but I’m not angry with him.  That’s fucked up, I think.  I guess that’s what therapy is for.

Ten-fold rise in forced marriages in just four years

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:45 AM on 02nd July 2009

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1196955/Ten-fold-rise-forced-marriages-just-years.html#

The number of forced marriages has increased more than ten-fold in just four years, government figures have revealed.

More than 770 suspected cases were reported to the Forced Marriage Unit this year, up from 152 in 2005.

If the trend continues, by the end of this year more than 1,540 Britons will have been coerced into a marriage they do not want to enter – an increase of more than 913 per cent.

Coerced: By the end of this year there could be 1,540 Britons who have been forced into marriage

The practice affects mainly young Asian women, with more than a third of cases involving those aged under 18. One in six victims are under 16.

Advisors said they are dealing with hundreds of schoolchildren who have confided to teachers that they fear they will be taken abroad in the summer holidays and forced to marry.

Foreign Office minister Chris Bryant said: ‘It is depressing this practice does still continue, for whatever reason, and as a government we are determined to do everything we can to protect the vulnerable.

‘There is no culture in which this is acceptable in a modern world.’

Government research also published today reveals that local agencies are not doing enough to identify and prevent forced marriage.

New guidelines are to be issued to help police, teachers, social workers and doctors spot potential victims.

“Too little; too late – for some! Just recently I read that forced marriage was a misconception; how quickly the TRUTH will out! Let it be clear that the age of consent in the UK is 16. To marry below that age is illegal. To bed a girl under 16 is rape. If marriage below that age is permitted, or encouraged, by Sharia law then it is a clear example of how Sharia cannot be allowed to exist beside British Common Law. The people who arrange these marriages are accesories in the breaking of these laws – no matter what creed or culture they adhere to! Under 16 it is child abuse. Muslims must be made to toe the line – our line – if they wish to live in the UK. We simply cannot allow concessions when it is the welfare of children at stake. This has to be made clear to the Muslim population. On this issue we must be firm. 1 in 6 victims are under 16! These children deserve better from a civilised society!”-Fitz G

Parents given apology over their baby’s death

A FIVE-MONTH-old baby who died at a Dublin hospital two years ago in what doctors suspected to be a case of shaken baby syndrome was found to have died of natural causes by the Dublin City Coroner’s Court yesterday.

The parents were given an apology by a senior doctor at the hospital.

The coroner’s court heard that Rebecca Whyte died of a rare form of brain haemorrhage, the symptoms of which were in keeping with those associated with shaken baby syndrome.

Rebecca Whyte, Springdale Road, Raheny, Dublin, was admitted to Temple Street Children’s Hospital on August 26th, 2007. She died at the hospital on August 28th. State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy carried out a postmortem examination on August 29th.

Prof Cassidy told the court that the baby appeared well-cared for and well nourished. She found no evidence of injury to the head or other trauma to the infant.

Prof Cassidy told the coroner’s court that the haemorrhage in this case was “far more significant” than would normally be expected in a case of shaken baby syndrome. She said the post-mortem findings were not consistent with shaken baby syndrome and concluded that there may have been an underlying abnormality in this case.

Dr Francesca Brett, consultant neuropathologist at Beaumont Hospital, said the death occurred due to an underlying vascular malformation.

The baby’s father Mark Whyte told the coroner’s court that Rebecca had been “her usual happy self” in the week leading up to her admittance into hospital.

The family had spent the week on holidays in Galway with members of their extended family.

However, after they returned to Dublin on August 26th, Rebecca refused to take her bottle and began to scream. At about 9.30pm, she had “a fit of some sort”. Her parents rang for an ambulance and she was brought to Temple Street Children’s Hospital where she was admitted with queried meningitis.

The inquest heard that the baby had a number of seizures while in hospital. A cranial ultrasound and a lumber puncture were carried out on her.

The day after Rebecca was admitted, Mr Whyte and his wife Suzanne O’Toole were informed by Dr Owen Hensey, a consultant paediatrician that their daughter’s condition was in keeping with shake injuries. Dr Hensey told the coroner’s court that gardaí and social workers were contacted as a matter of protocol because, in his opinion and that of three other clinicians at the hospital, Rebecca’s condition was consistent with shaken baby syndrome.

Dr Bryan Lynch, consultant paediatric neurologist at the hospital, said that it was “appropriate to consider a non-accidental injury due to shaking” in the case.

Dr Hensey denied he had accused Rebecca’s parents of child abuse. However, after he had concluded his evidence, he apologised to Mr Whyte and Ms O’Toole on behalf of himself and the hospital.

Det Sgt Patrick O’Toole, then of Coolock Garda station, told the coroner’s court that Rebecca’s parents and extended family had co-operated fully in the investigation into Rebecca’s death. He said that it was his opinion that he formed an opinion early on in investigation that the baby was well treated and cared for.

The Dublin City Coroner, Dr Brian Farrell recorded death by natural causes.

“There is no evidence of cerebral trauma or “Shaken Baby Syndrome” despite the radiological and clinical findings of subdural haemorrhage and retinal haemorrhages,” Dr Farrell said.

Dr Farrell added that he would write to the relevant statutory and other relevant bodies in relation to this case to ensure that a similar situation did not arise in future.

“I will write in a neutral way setting out what happened to baby Rebecca so that something positive may come out of this tragedy,” he said.

“We will try to do better in the future if we can.”

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times

ABUSE.. VICTIM..  How do you spell it?

This Is How I Spell IT……

A = Attack

B = Barbaric

U = Uninvited

S = Surreal

E = Evil

***************

V = Violated

I = Innocent

C = Crushed

T = Taken

I = Inconceivable

M = Mind-altering

***************

I am going to share a few unedited facts or rather thoughts that I am compelled to share. If you are looking for a positive upbeat article, then you had better walk away now. This article will not be the pleasantry that you might be expecting.

Why should I edit, even word my thoughts with any respect or standards, when I am addressing an abuser? This article is being written on behalf of every victim in this world.

My first thought goes out to those parents that marry someone other than your babies mommy/daddy!

Do you watch out for your child?

Do you make sure that the man that you have fallen in lust, love or just married for food and shelter is not raping your child?

Do you listen to your child when she screams out at night through nightmares of being hurt?

Do you even care?

If I sound malicious or angry with my thoughts, you are so correct. I am angry, I am mad as hell, I am even prepared to step out and challenge anyone that allows or ignores abuse.

How many of you readers out there have abused a child?

How many of you readers have lusted a child less than half your age?

How many of you readers have verbally abused your wife?

How many of you readers are right now tabbing another page with pornographic photos of young teens?

How many of you readers are screaming or hitting your child or spouse right now?

How many of you men are sitting in a stripper bar watching a female that could be your daughter or even your granddaughter?

How many of you readers are ignoring the fact that your child is on a computer all alone with a stranger?

How many of you readers are leaving your child alone with a strange babysitter?

How many of you readers are cutting your child down to the lowest level of humiliation?

How many of you readers have taken extreme control of your loved ones to the point that they are afraid to speak?

***************

I am mad, angry, full of vile contempt because of the fact that after all these years and education and what is suppose to be a much more intelligent world with all of this new technology, that the world is even more in stress and abuse than ever.

Yes, sure we have always had pedophiles, abusers, mixed sex, body parts marketing, drug trafficking, religious & political wars, but damn….when does it stop?

When does the abuser realize that what he/she is doing to that child is totally WRONG and SICK!

When does the victim realize that it is not their fault?

When does the abuser finally get to live in a prison of pain, fear, loneliness, scars and hate?

When does the victim get to feel trust, and live a normal, healthy, free, life?

When does this all stop?

The more I get educated, the more I get mad! I do not feel smarter, I feel angrier and I feel embarrassed that I am even part of this human race.

Victims of abuse do not get to go to sleep at night and dream of sweet things…they dream of violation, fear, pain, mistrust, a never ending running away from an unknown perpetrator, they even continue to urinate in their pants.

Victims of abuse cannot enjoy a healthy sex life with their partners because the minute they feel they are finding that place of ecstasy, the face of an abuser invades their world and shatters what should be an intimacy between lovers.

Victims of abuse cannot deliver nor accept hugz of affection in the way they are meant to be.

Victims of abuse live a life of low self-esteem, zero self-acceptance, total self-blame, fear, confusion, and even self-hate.

Victims of abuse cannot have good memories, they cannot locate in their minds enough good memories to override their bad memories.

Victims of abuse never forget their abuser or the violation.

Victims of abuse remain a victim for many years of their lives if not their entire lives.

****************

Do I hate, do I feel anger towards certain humans…you bet I do.

I want all of the victims in this world that read this to stand up and hate hard…get mad…scream loudly..rebel against the crime that stole your innocence.

DO NOT allow this abuse to control your life!

Do not allow the abuser that satisfaction.

Walk away from it…toss it as far as you can.

Never give it the time of day.

Treat it as you would the most nastiest creature, because that is what the abuse is..a nasty creature.

Stomp on it…kill it…CHOOSE to let it go!

Do the one thing that your abuser would and will hate…..Discard It…..park it…..store it in a box in the farthest place you can find……dig a hole in the ground and write his name on it and bury it.

YOU are the only one that can stop your internal abuse now!

For all of you abusers out there….DAMN YOU TO HELL….BURN !!!!

~D~

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The Food Thing has been spiralling out of control for the last couple of months. When I first mentioned it to my therapist, she suggested I keep a food diary. I did that for a few days, but it led to a rather serious meltdown, so I stopped. I just couldn’t cope with my disgustingness staring back at me in black and white every day. Of course, being unable to be “good” and complete my “homework” lead to a whole lot more self-flagellation, but that’s another tale for another time.

I put all that food/diet stuff in the last post in the hope that it would spur me into action, because looking at the food diary, on an average day I was (am) eating something like:

Breakfast:           Rice flakes with soy milk or muesli (doing ok so far)

Rest of the day (in a bizarre lunch-dinner-snack all rolled into one endless graze):

Either a ham and salad sandwich – eaten at about 4pm – and very little else; or… two bread rolls with vegemite and cheese; a meat pie or sausage roll or a big pile of fat from a take away food joint; donuts (usually four, large ones, with icing and sometimes with jam); chocolate (about 250g); perhaps a packet of biscuits … I don’t need to go on. You get the picture.

Some days there are cravings, just as my friend Tampalama described:

“a child who is constantly pulling at your sleeve or tapping you on the shoulder, saying, ‘Hey.  Hey.  Hey.  Look at me.  Pay attention to me.  Hey.  Hey.’” 

The secret pull of the something doughy, the chocolate, the salt or the … whatever.

But some days I go to the supermarket with a list of healthy foods to buy, and come home with a bag full of crap. Most days I’m not even sure how the crap got into the bag, and all the good food got left behind. Sometimes I go to the supermarket and allow myself one treat… but then stop at the bakery on the way home and buy a pile of stuff I had no intention of buying. Often I get home and wonder what the hell I’m doing.

Sometimes I even manage to bring the healthy foods home with me, but they sit in the fridge until they go off, and then I throw them out. I feel so guilty about all that waste. I could feed a small African country on the amount of food I’ve thrown away lately.

I have a strange ritual about supermarkets. There are five different ones within about a 5 to 10 minute drive of my place. I have to go to a different one each time. I’m not entirely sure why, but think it’s possibly because I go most days and if I’m buying crap, I don’t want the check out kid to recognise me from the day before. Silly, huh?

Do I have an eating disorder? May be. Possibly. My therapist doesn’t think so, but I’ll confess I’ve never told her the full truth about my eating. She thinks I’m just being hard on myself or, at worst, merely have a f***ed up relationship with food. She thinks that if I get back to the gym, I’ll start eating properly and start feeling better… which will lead to more eating properly and more feeling better. She might be right, but at the moment I can barely leave the house I’m so repulsed at my appearance, let alone go to the gym!

As my therapy has progressed I’ve started to become more aware of the triggers for the Food Thing. Over and above being generally emotionally wrecked, that is; although these triggers are usually a precursor to emotional wreckage anyway. Things like seeing my father, having a tough therapy session, a stressful day at work. Basically any situation in which I feel I need support (but still don’t know how to get it or how to support or nurture myself).

Perhaps I just hit the nail on the head? Perhaps learning to nurture myself, rather than punishing myself for all of life’s ills will help me get the Food Thing under control again? Perhaps all I need to do is find other ways to nurture myself after these stressful events (and get back to planning my meals a bit more so I’m not tempted to grab something nasty)?

I have a few things I find nurturing, But seriously, these aren’t nearly as satisfying as food after a day with my father, a gruelling therapy session or a whacky day at work.

I confessed to my therapist that I was gaining weight and contemplating ditching the anti-depressants. She wasn’t pleased. When it comes down to it, I think I’d rather be suicidal than fat – how dumb is that?

My therapist suggested I talk to my doctor, so I did. I took a positive step and went to the doc. She was very supportive and seemed to understand that I was freaking out about the Weight Thing. She suggested appetite suppressants but you can’t take those with anti-depressants, so we’re trying a new anti-depressant instead. She was wonderfully encouraging; she said that if this doesn’t work then there’ll be something else we can try. “We’ll find the solution,” she said. So good of her and seriously not the reaction I was expecting. Just doing something makes me feel a little better, but we’ll see how long it lasts.

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Please be a voice for the children today. If you find it difficult to read child abuse cases, THEN DON’T! But please support our efforts to end crimes against children by subscribing to receive our 2-4 Action Alerts a month. You will receive District Attorney contact information for specific child abuse cases as they occur. Simply copy and paste the sample email we provide, asking the prosecuting attorney to pursue maximum sentencing in each case. Not until we all rise up and say no more and by asking for tougher sentencing, will this epidemic in America end. Please take a quick minute each time you get an alert and help the children. It is each and every adult’s responsibility to protect ALL children, not just our own.
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Portage, Wisconsin
Abuse, Murder, Child Abductee Found in Home
By Silvia Acevedo, Jenn Rourke & AP
6-16-09

The woman, whose body was found buried in a yard after officers investigating a child abduction case, appears to have been strangled. She also appeared to have sustained numerous injuries suggesting she was physically abused, the Columbia County medical examiner said Saturday. Medical examiner Marc T. Playman commented after an autopsy by Dr. Mark Witeck, a forensic pathologist.

Police also found an 11-year-old boy at the home who was malnourished and had been severely tortured. Playman said the woman, whose body was found Friday, was believed to have been the boy’s 37-year-old mother, but he was awaiting fingerprint and possibly DNA analysis to make a positive determination. The body was found after the woman’s children — the 11-year-old boy and a 15-year-old daughter — told police she went missing around Memorial Day. The daughter said, after lengthy questioning, that her mother might have been buried. A cadaver dog helped authorities locate the burial spot. According to police, four adults, including the woman who died, and five children had lived at the home since February. Before that, the group lived in many states, including Florida, Tennessee, Maine and Colorado, and had stayed in motels in the Wisconsin Dells area. Police were originally called to the home Thursday afternoon on a report from Florida that an abducted 2-year-old girl could be living there with her mother. Authorities found six people: two women, the 15-year-old girl and three young girls. The 2-year-old abducted from Lake County, Florida, a 1-year-old and a 3-month-old girl were believed to be the daughters of one of the women. Police Chief Ken Manthey said the women gave false information about their identities and were taken to the police department with the children. Investigators then learned a boy was still at the residence, and officers found him locked in a closet and covered with severe burns. Police Lt. Mark Hahn said the boy had been tortured and burned with scalding water as punishment for failing to clean, and he also appeared to have been regularly locked in a closet. “The diagnosis is definite abuse, definite serial child torture, profound malnutrition of a child consistent with chronic medical neglect,” one investigator said. The boy was taken to University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison. He is listed in guarded condition and will likely face a long recovery. The three small girls were placed in protective custody. Authorities said the boy had been tortured; sprayed with boiling water, whipped with electrical cords and nearly starved. His condition resembles pictures of those coming out of concentration camps at the end of World War II, Columbia County District Attorney Jane Kohlwey said. “It’s horrible what we’re seeing,” she said.

Police arrested the two women in the house on suspicion of obstruction of justice and physical abuse of a child. They were identified, as Candace Clark, 23, and Michaela Clerc, 20. Clark is believed to be the mother of the three small children. For images of those arrested, the house and the young abducted child, see story at: http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/45566877.html

Sample Letter:

District Attorney Jane Kohlwey:
Email: jane.kohlwey@da.wi.gov@da.wi.gove

Dear Prosecutor Kohlwey,

I would like to thank you for your public service and ask you to ensure a speedy trial with no games allowed, get a private attorney to represent these children ’s rights pro-bono and allow them to testify in this case in order to obtain maximum sentencing against the three defendant’s Clark, Clerc and Sisk for the brutal torture of this 11 year old boy, the murder of his mother and abduction of the little girl, Courtney Clark who clearly displays some type of neglect or abuse.

Four CHILDREN DIE EACH DAY in America from abuse. There are nearly 3 million abuse cases reported each year BUT, the Department of Justice says the number is actually 3 times higher, nearer to 9 million, as MOST go unreported. Please set an example for the rest of the country that you will not tolerate child abuse of any kind and that you will net let the defense team play their usual games in getting charges reduced to nothing. Americans want zero tolerance and all child abusers/murderers placed behind bars for good.

Thank you for your service,

(Name)
(Email) (see note below)

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RECENT CASES since January, 2009:

These are certainly NOT ALL of the cases, only those CWAV have found.
July-09, 8 year old put in choke hold and shot point blank in temple-Chesnee, SC
June-09, 2 yr old Jada Justice beaten, burned, buried in concrete-Lake County, IN
June-09, 2 yr old shaken, dies-Coshocton County, OH
June-09, 8 mo old raped, beaten by boyfriend, dies-LA
June-09, Mother put feces in 3 yr old’s IV at hospital, FL
June-09, 3 yr old raped, Jacksonville, FL
June-09, 4 middle school students sodomize 12 year with broom stick-FLA
May-09, two children thrown from bridge by mother-4 yr old dies-Portland, OR.
May-09, 22 mo old dies, dad arrested, abused when a few mos old-Jacksonville,FL
May-09, 5 week old dies, mother arrested, her 4 mo old died last 11-08.Palatka, FL
May-09, 3 mo old thrown from car-dies-Tampa, FL-Defendant-Richard McTear
May-09, 5 yr old missing, found dead in concrete-MI.
May-09, 3 yr old buried in playground sand-Albuquerque, NM
May-09, 17 mo old dies-blunt force head trauma-Savannah, GA
May-09, 6 mo old dies-alcohol poisoning-PA
9 yr old disabled child found dead in storage unit-Flint, MI
3 children severely abused-CA
10 mo dies – MO
8 year old murdered – CA

2 yr old beaten, raped, dies-MO
11 mo beaten, dies – SC
4 mo old, beaten, fractured skull-vertabrae-MA
16 yr old raped by stepfather, police Chief – NC
2 children sold for cash and bird-LA
2 mo old – 6 mo old molested, babysitting service – IN
3 mo old dies, father arrested – TX
3 year old, scalded-20 surgeries, 11 mos in hospital – MD
8 week old, severe brain damage, IN
5 mo old put in clothes dryer, dies – LA
6 week old broken bones, beaten IN
2 yr old beaten, scalded, dies – CO
2 yr old dead – Atlanta, GA
2yr old raped murdered – Murray, KY
2 yr old murdered – Enterprise, OR
4 mo old dies – Bingham County, UT
16 mo old dies – Deerfield, IL
6 mo old murdered by mother & boyfriend-Dallas, TX
11 mo old beaten to death – IN
4 children ages 17 mos – 13 abused and raped – NY
20 mo old beaten to death – NY
3 yr old beaten and placed in scalding hot water – LA
foster children’s mass grave found in Marianna, Fla
13 yr old murdered by Adopted father – TX
6 mo old beaten and murdered Greenvill, NC
3 year old beaten and raped – UT
17 mo old beaten with fractured & broken bones – TN
6 year old tortured – Wheeling, WV
4 year old dies from starvation – Miss
2 year old raped and murdered – Lexington, KY

5 week old beating-dies-FLA

NOTE TO ADVOCATE: DO NOT LIST YOUR CITY AND STATE IF YOU DO NOT LIVE IN THE STATE THE CRIME OCCURRED. SOME ELECTED OFFICIALS DO NOT CARE OF YOUR OPINION IF YOU DO NOT RESIDE IN THEIR JURISDICTION. BUT PLEASE LIST YOUR NAME AND EMAIL. THANK YOU.

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I’ll start with the good news:  I believe I have found a good therapist to work with.  I gave her the address for this blog, so I feel goofy posting about her, but she’s very nice, and I felt comfortable with her, and she has loads of experience working with DID.  It was nice to be able to jump right in with talking about parts.  I feel like we covered a lot of ground in just one hour, and I have a good feeling about her in general. It’s a huge, huge relief to feel like I once again have that outlet for all of this junk.

The hard part of the day is partly a backlash from feeling good about therapy again.  The last time I felt good about therapy, well, you know where that ended up.  I don’t want to project that experience onto this one, and I will work hard to not do that.  It’s not fair to distrust one person because of another person’s incompetence or discomfort or whatever.  I think the problem is less with that, though, than with worrying that there is some flaw deep within me that caused my ex-therapist to eventually detest me.  Like I made her be mean to me or something.  Which I know you are thinking is not true, but how do you know?  You weren’t there!

So, anyway, I cried a bit today about all of that, but it wasn’t the sort of crying that leaves you feeling better.  It just made me feel more empty or something.

Another thing that is possibly triggering me is a very random thing.  I was “friended” on facebook yesterday by a girl I went to summer camp with for two summers–one when I was 8, the other when I was 12.  This was a Baptist Bible camp that my grandmother volunteered at (as a nurse)–in rural NC, mostly attended by poor kids, very focused on religion.  Since I was raised atheist, it was a very awkward experience in that regard, but this girl was kind to me and we were friends.

The first summer that I went, this girl’s older brother (I’ll call him Ed), who was a few years older than my sister, had a crush on my sister (then about 13).  When I went back at age 12, Ed was a counselor at the camp (he was 18), and he sought me out because he remembered my sister from that summer years before.  Now, things get a bit fuzzy.  We had some sort of campfire thing out in the woods, and he wanted to be my “date” for it.  He kept bringing me roasted marshmallows and generally being nice to me.  I should say here that, at age 12, I was pretty much a total wallflower and was scared of my own shadow.  I would have been desperate for any attention from anybody, and I’m sure I liked it at that level.  My response to my abuse was to fold up as tightly as I could and be as invisible as possible, but on the rare occasions that people seemed to see me anyway, I soaked it up.

Then he asked if he could kiss me.  I said, “No!  I’m 12 and you’re 18.”  I can’t remember exactly what followed–I know he argued about how it wasn’t a big deal that we were so far apart in age.  I knew that it wasn’t right.  I didn’t have any desire at all to kiss him.  I wanted the marshmallows and the special attention, but kissing?  No way.

The next memory I have is of walking into a different part of the woods with him.  Then I disappear.

Fast forward several years.  I’m a freshman in high school, and I guess Ed and I have exchanged a few letters along the way–not a lot, because I would remember that, but I do remember him sending me a bookmark with my name on it.  He was in the Army at that point.  Anyway, at some point, he writes that he wants to come visit me while he is in town for something Army-related.  I ignore the letter and forget about it.

I’m at basketball practice after school.  The gym has a sort of balcony area where people can watch games, and I look up mid-shot, and there’s Ed.  Suddenly I remember the letter he sent.  Oh shit.  This must be the weekend he mentioned.  And how did he know where my school was?

I go up after practice and say hello to him.  He says he showed up at the house and my mom sent him to pick me up at school.  Now I’m really thinking oh shit.  My mom is going to KILL me.  (Keep in my mind that, while my mother would recognize his name potentially, she has never met this man, who is now 21 years old and showing interest in her 15-year-old daughter.)  His car is white.  He drives me home.  My mom pulls me aside and hisses that he can stay for the weekend, but he is MY responsibility.  I am in over my head, to say the least.

All weekend, he flirts with my neighbor friend M, who is about 13.  He keeps wanting her to sit in his lap.  I don’t know if anything happens with me and him.  I can’t remember and frankly don’t want to.  My mom seethes all weekend.  I think SF is out of town because I don’t remember him being there.  Ed sleeps across the hall from my room, in the room that was mine when my sister still lived at home.  I keep my door locked.

So anyway, Ed’s sister has friended me on facebook, and I accepted, and she sent me about 5 messages (via the email thing on facebook), and I’m thinking, what have I done?  Because I don’t really know her and never really did, but I want to be polite because she never did anything wrong, but it’s a trigger because I associate her with Ed.  And Ed is not really a significant part of my past, but he’s not a pretty part of it, either.  So. . .GAH.

Tell it to the Skies by Erica James

Tell it to the Skies is a sensational novel which takes you on a journey you will never, ever forget.

“Suddenly in the middle of a crowded Venice street, Lydia glimpses a face that takes her back to England, back to her childhood and to a dreadful secret she believed she had banished to the past.

As children, Lydia and her sister were sent to live with grandparents they had never even met. It was a cruel and loveless new world for them, and it forced Lydia to grow up fast. She learned to keep secrets and trust sparingly, and through it all she was shadowed by guilt and grief.

Then, as an adult, the beautiful city of Venice gave Lydia peace, fulfilment and even love. But in a single moment a stranger’s face forces her to revisit the past she has been hiding from for the last twenty-eight years…”

This book is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. From the start I was absorbed in the unique tale of Lydia as she copes with loss no person, let alone child, should have to face. She learns about responsibility and hatred and cruelty and harshness, without the basic love most of us can’t live without.

As she grows up she becomes involved in a beautiful friendship, one of the only saviours to her life. Yet the plot continues to twist, turn and leave you astounded at the events.

The characters are all exceptionally well written reaching depths that make them entirely believable. As the reader you will shake with fear at the mere mention of Lydia’s grandparents, and sigh in love of her dear friend Noah. No character is left as a shallow person simply written to thicken the plot.

The setting is well explored, using simple household names to zap you back to the 60s and 70s, this novel could very well been seen as mildly nostalgic on top of intense, romantic, tragic, angersome, mystery and crime…

This book is so very gripping, as anger consumes the reader, as well as love, pity, anxiety, and all the emotions Lydia goes through. It really does change how you view the world.

One of the most controversial topics in this book is the power of religion and how it affects the followers of it, and if this power, which drives people to do diabolical things, is the total opposite of what it preaches.

In conclusion…read this book!

KJ
theBookGirl

2009-07-16 07:24

Arkansas – A woman who says she was a child bride of evangelist Tony Alamo told jurors on Wednesday that the minister had so many partners that he had to schedule when he would have sex with them.

The woman, now 30, said she was a third-generation Alamo follower into adulthood – until the Arkansas-based pastor took an 8-year-old as his latest bride. At one point, the woman said, Alamo told her graphically how he fondled the girl as she held a stuffed animal – and she raised concerns about his actions.

“He told me to shut up and that I shouldn’t question what ‘the Lord told me to do,”‘ the woman said.

Federal prosecutors accuse Alamo, 74, of transporting five girls across state lines for sex between 1994 and 2005. The woman who testified on Wednesday said she travelled to California, Tennessee and West Virginia when she was underage to be available to Alamo.

Defence lawyers said in their opening statement on Tuesday that girls crisscrossed the country while working for the ministry. Chores for a “bona fide religious group” were not a federal offence, they said.

On the stand on Wednesday, the 30-year-old woman said she was married to Alamo at age 15 after he rejected a request from a boy her same age to marry her. She said Alamo told her family that the Lord had told him to take her as his wife, and that she feared her she and her relatives would be shunned if she did not submit.

Vatican-led conspiracy

“We didn’t have anywhere to go,” said the woman, whose parents and grandparents were also Alamo followers.

After she agreed, the witness said, Alamo took her hand asked if she would take him as her lawfully wedded husband. He kissed her on the forehead and, three days later, had sex with her for the first time.

The “marriage” took place at Alamo’s compound but was not formally registered with the state. The Associated Press generally does not identify alleged victims of sex crimes.

Defence lawyers say the government has targeted the ministry for prosecution and Alamo says the trial is part of a Vatican-led conspiracy against him. “This investigation, this prosecution was fuelled by prejudice the government and law enforcement have against Tony Alamo’s church because of its practices,” said Don Ervin, who is leading Alamo’s defence team.

Alamo previously served four years in prison on a tax evasion charge after the IRS said he owed $7.9m. Prosecutors allege that some girls were brought to Alamo for sex while he was awaiting the 1994 trial.

Wednesday’s first witness said how often Alamo would schedule sex with his female followers varied on where he was and how many were with him when he was travelling. When Alamo was arrested in Arizona last September to face the sex-crime charges, federal agents said he had several women travelling with him, none of whom were minors.

If convicted in the current trial, Alamo faces 10 years in prison and a $250 000 fine on each count. He is being held without bond until the end of his trial.

- SAPA

Little Rock, Arkansas – FBI agents arrested evangelist and convicted tax evader Tony Alamo at an Arizona motel on Thursday, alleging days after raiding the Arkansas headquarters of his ministry that he took minors across state lines for sexual purposes.

Alamo was staying at a hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona, when arrested, said FBI spokesperson Steve Frazier in Little Rock. The religious leader – who began his career as a California street preacher in 1966 – was scheduled for a federal court appearance on Friday in Flagstaff.

Alamo is suspected of violating the Mann Act, which prohibits taking children across state lines for illegal purposes. Frazier described those purposes as “sexual activity”.

Several women were travelling with Alamo when he was arrested, but no minors were with him, police said. Authorities did not say when minors were taken across state lines or which states were involved, but Alamo has ministries in California and Arkansas.

Federal agents and Arkansas state police had raided the headquarters of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries in tiny Fouke, Arkansas on Saturday and removed six girls ages 10 to 17. They sought evidence that children there had been molested or filmed having sex.

Prosecutors sought Alamo’s arrest after interviewing the girls this week, but Frazier would not disclose what the children said.

The Southern Poverty Law Centre, which tracks hate groups, describes the ministry as a cult. Alamo’s church rails against homosexuals, Roman Catholics and the government, and Alamo has preached that girls are fit for marriage once they are sexually mature.

“Consent is puberty,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press last week from a telephone registered in the Los Angeles area while agents raided the compound. He denied any involvement with pornography.

Controversial and flamboyant figure

An Arkansas judge has hearings set for Friday and Monday on whether the state Department of Human Services can keep custody of the six girls. The girls will attend the hearings.

FBI agents and police in Arizona arrested Alamo as he was leaving the Little America Hotel, which is along Interstate 40, Frazier said. It wasn’t known where Alamo was headed when he was picked up.

Alamo and his late wife Susan were street preachers in Los Angeles before forming a commune near Saugus, California. Susan Alamo died of cancer in 1982; Alamo claimed she would be resurrected and kept her body on display for six months while followers prayed.

Alamo was convicted of tax-related charges in 1994 and served four years in prison after the IRS said he owed the government $7.9m. Prosecutors in that case argued that Alamo was a flight risk and a polygamist who preyed on married women and girls in his congregation.

Since establishing his ministries in Arkansas, Alamo has been a controversial and flamboyant figure in the state. Snapshots often show him wearing large dark sunglasses, and he recently said he is legally blind.

In his autobiography, My Life, former President Bill Clinton, an Arkansas native, described Alamo as “Roy Orbison on speed”.

Clinton recalled travelling in 1975 to see Dolly Parton sing at Alamo’s compound in the town of Alma. Remembering the fiasco after Susan Alamo’s death, Clinton wrote: “A couple of years later, he got involved with a younger woman. Lo and behold, God spoke to him again and told him Susan wasn’t coming back after all, so he took her out of the glass box and buried her.”

FBI documents identified Alamo by his birth name, Bernie Lazar Hoffman, and said he turned 74 the day of the raid. Alamo has said he was born Jewish but converted to Christianity.

- AP

You get new shoes, red ones with white laces.  One day, sitting in the backseat of the car in the garage, everyone else gone inside already, you learn to tie them yourself.  You shout out your joy, but nobody hears.  But that’s okay.  You untie them and do it again and again.

When you make the bed in the morning, you arrange your stuffed animals around the edges, like a wall of comfort, or a shield.  Maybe it will work this time.

You learn to be a piece of paper, folded and folded until it’s just a tight square.  If you opened up, all the black would spill out, but you’re good at staying folded.

You learn to not talk.  To disappear.  You learn to be the kid whose name the teacher keeps forgetting, even in March, April, here comes the end of the year and what is your name again?

Books.  You learn to feel.  Not for yourself–that’s too dangerous–but for the orphan girl in the woods, fevered, waiting for rescue.  You cry and cry when the man comes to take her home, and he and his wife and son nurse her back to health, adopt her.

There’s a hill on your street that’s perfect for biking.  The ride up is a struggle–you have to hop off the bike about halfway and push, and you wonder every time if it’s really worth it.  The sweat starts to soak the back of your t-shirt, trickles down your sides, runs into your eyes.  But then you’re there, and you glance quickly for cars then start pedaling.  Start flying.  The wind.  Oh, the wind.  This is what it means to be alive.

Outside, alone, exploring in the woods behind the house or flying down the big hill, the folded paper lifts.  Just a little on the corner, a tiny flap letting in a sliver of light.  You hold your breath for the flow of black sludge, but it holds.  It’s captured in the center, surrounded by layers of deadness.  Sometimes it beats like a tiny heart.

Michael Jackson's three extremely adorable and rarely seen children at their father's memorial service.

According to Jackson family biographer, Ian Halperin, family patriarch Joe Jackson wants to organize Michael’s three children into a singing trio known as the Jackson 3.  Former manager of the Jackson 5, Joe Jackson (Michael’s father) already has a world tour in mind for the three children—Prince Michael (12), Paris (11), and Prince Michael II aka “Blanket” (7). (Full story)

Is it just me or is anyone else feeling the urge to punch Joe Jackson in the face and yell, “Joe Jackson, you leave those kids alone”?  It can’t just be me.

First of all, Michael’s three children are in a fragile state—they just lost their father.  Getting ready for a world tour isn’t generally part of a grief recovery plan, ya know?

Second, after hearing Michael and La Toya’s stories about how Jackson was an abusive father who mocked his children, is Joe Jackson really fit to be around these kids, much less managing their careers?

Third, Michael had stated repeatedly that his childhood was ripped away from him as he performed before sold-out auditoriums when all he really wanted to do was climb on the jungle gym like normal kids.  Why, then, would Michael want to subject his children to a lifestyle that made him famous, but also tore him up?  He did put masks on their faces when he went out in public to shield them from the public eye.

No doubt Joe Jackson doesn’t see his grandchildren as children, merely as money-makers to continue the Jackson family legacy.  Using kids to make money…in other countries, they call it child slavery.  In the United States, they call it the entertainment business.  OK, that was a little harsh because some kids really do want to be singers, dancers, Disney Channel stars. For these kids—Prince Michael, Paris, and Blanket—it seems sick to consider a career when the family is still arguing where to bury their father’s body.

Let the Jacksons bury their dead and Joe Jackson, you leave those kids alone.

I’ve been reading up on psychological disorders since I was in high school.  In my health class they went over psychology a bit and I was hooked.  It wasn’t just because I was interested; though, I was also trying to figure myself out.  I couldn’t remember my childhood like others could.  Sometimes, no matter how wonderful things were, I still wanted to die.  I didn’t feel like I belonged anywhere.  Actually I didn’t even feel human.  Sometimes I didn’t even feel real.  I thought surely I must have some psychological disorder that could be treated.  I just had to find it. 

It wouldn’t have mattered though.  My parents were poor to begin with, and, even if they had had the money to send me to the therapy I actually really needed, my father didn’t believe in therapy.  There wasn’t a psychological problem that couldn’t be fixed with a firm beating as far as he was concerned.  So I searched in secret. 

I’ve gone through schizophrenia, clinical depression, manic depression, bi-polar disorder, antisocial disorder, borderline personality disorder, and even dissociative identity disorder.  Lets just say my head is pretty messed up.  Sometimes it’s so bad that I wonder if I wouldn’t have been messed up without the help of my parent’s reality warping techniques and their vile ‘friends’.  No point in wondering however. 

I’ve given up on diagnosing myself.  Every ‘diagnosis’ fits at the right time.  I think I just want the label so there is something to fix.  There is no fixing my childhood.  I can’t go back and knock my parents upside the head and tell them that leaving their kids with the people they got their cocaine from might be a bad idea.  Somehow it’s got to be accepted without being acceptable. 

Also, I think self diagnosis is dangerous.  It’s kind of a love affair.  One looks until they find the one that fits them best and then they usually take on the remaining symptoms.  That’s just my opinion though.  I don’t mean to offend anyone who is sure of their mental status.  Personally I wouldn’t even give myself a ‘sane’ diagnosis.  I just am.

“I don’t suffer from insanity I enjoy every minute of it.” ~unknown

photo credit:  yahoo search

Today my blog is dedicated to another dear friend and fellow author – Julia Barrett. Today her book CARA is released with Cerridwen Press. Cara isn’t your typical romance story. While it has romance in it, it also has scenes of abuse, child abuse and rape. These scenes are tastefully done and only enhance the story.  

You see, CARA is based on true events. While it may be hard to believe such acts could take place, the truth is, they do – every day. Ms. Barrett has decided to donate 25% of her earnings to special battered woman charities in her area to aid in the resources available to these women.  Purchasing CARA couldn’t get any better. You not only will you help battered women, you get a great read. Why not grab your copy today!

Buy link:  http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-7222-47-cara.aspx

Here is a blurb and excerpt. At the bottom you’ll also find a link to a review. This book is a must read!

Blurb:  Cara’s life has been one nightmare after another. She grows to adulthood blaming herself for everything that’s happened. She believes her safest path is to keep other people at a distance, especially men.
 
James, a young doctor who is aware of Cara’s history, is determined to break 
through her barriers, enter her world and love her. Cara cautiously allows him in and returns his love, only to watch her new world of happiness, a world she never genuinely trusted, come crashing down. She turns from James and runs far away in an attempt to reinvent herself. She discovers she’s run out of the frying pan and straight into the fire. Now Cara must fight for her survival. No one, not even her beloved James, can rescue her. Cara must believe in herself or perish.
 
Reader Advisory: Includes scenes of domestic violence, child abuse and rape.
 
Excerpt:  
 
By reading any further, you are stating that you are at least 18 years of age. 
If you are under the age of 18, it is necessary to exit this site.
 
An Excerpt From: CARA
 
Copyright © JULIA BARRETT, 2009
 
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.
 
Cara finished her phone calls and left the office early. She had a full 
afternoon of classes and she wanted some studio time. There was a face she 
needed to paint. A man’s face. James’ face. She hadn’t been able to get him out of her mind since she’d walked out of the conference room. She was hoping if she put him on paper she could gain some perspective. Some distance. Maybe she could look at him with clinical detachment like she did everyone she painted. She clearly recognized the immediate attraction she’d felt. She’d seen the same interest in his eyes. She also recognized the danger. What if she acted on her attraction? What if she opened herself up and he crushed her? What if he saw what she tried so hard to hide? That she was tainted. Dirty. What if she exposed herself to him, dropped her defenses and he rejected her? Cara didn’t know if she could survive that. Not with James. Anyone but James.
 
What had happened with Randy had been awful but she’d gotten past it, at least to the extent that she could. It was what she’d come to expect from men—no more, no less. Fortunately after that night, Randy had kept his distance. Besides, she’d completely stopped using drugs and last she’d heard, he’d moved to Omaha. Cara hadn’t told the police the truth about what happened. It would be too humiliating and she didn’t want her mother to have to deal with any fallout for her sake. Her mother had been through enough. Cara had simply said she’d been at a party and must have fallen, that she didn’t remember much. The two officers had looked at her skeptically but out of respect for her late father, they hadn’t pursued the matter any further.
 
James was another animal altogether. Cara cared what he thought of her. She 
cared deeply. He was a good man. He was intelligent, articulate, courageous and determined. He was almost overwhelmingly beautiful in an utterly intimidating masculine way. But she also remembered very clearly how kind he was. How gently he’d treated her. How respectful and how trustworthy he was. Cara wasn’t certain she deserved a man’s kindness or respect. Though she tried to pretend otherwise, her head was filled with slurs like slut and crazy, words she’d heard her high school classmates use when they referred to her.
 
Cara’s heart pounded as she ran up the stairs to her apartment. She hoped to God she wasn’t about to have an anxiety attack. She called up her trigger word and a semi-hysterical laugh escaped her. James in the flesh. The laughter seemed to help. In a hurry, she kicked off her shoes and tossed her skirt and blouse on the bed. She pulled on her favorite old faded jeans with the holes in the knees and the rip in the back pocket. When she slipped the paint-splattered white tee shirt over her head, her hair fell out of the twist, so she shook out the remaining pins and left it down. She grabbed her flip-flops and her backpack. She headed back down the stairs and ran across the green grass barefoot. She slid into her flip-flops when she hit Market Street and walked briskly down the hill toward the bridge that led to the art building. She didn’t want to be late for her art history class. They were discussing portrait painting during the Reformation. The current artist under discussion was Hans Holbein, one of the portrait painters to the court of Henry VIII and Cara had volunteered to research his miniature of 
Anne of Cleves. She had a brief presentation to make today.
 
She hurried to class, tuning out her surroundings as she mentally reviewed her material. Preoccupied, in the middle of the pedestrian bridge, she unexpectedly banged into a hard body. Cara landed on her backside with a whomp and her pack tumbled off her shoulder. Two strong hands reached down and lifted her to her feet.
 
“Sorry,” she mumbled apologetically, looking for her pack, “I wasn’t watching 
where I was going.”
 
“No problem,” came a familiar voice.
 
Cara’s head spun around and she looked up into James’ face. He was grinning from ear to ear.
 
“I like your hair down,” he said, tucking a long auburn curl behind her ear. “It makes you look like you.”
 
Cara tried to remember to breathe. She could feel herself blushing again. Just that slight brush of his fingers made the side of her face tingle.
 
“What-what are you doing here?”
 
“Well, nice to see you too,” James replied with a laugh. “I was checking out the student art exhibit.”
 
“No… You weren’t… You didn’t…”
 
“Yeah, I did. Why? Something wrong with that?”
 
“No. It’s just that…” Cara stared at him.
 
“It’s just what? That it’s your work? Is that what you’re trying to say?” He 
laughed again. “You weren’t this tongue-tied this morning. Is it me?” James 
looked directly into her wide eyes. “You’re staring at me. Do I have dirt on my face or something?” That got a smile out of her. Cara had a lovely smile.
 
“No, it’s just that I’m-I’m sort of shy about my work. It’s pretty personal and other than when I speak to my professors, I try not to listen to comments about it.”
 
“You could say that I guess,” said James thoughtfully. “You could also say it’s pretty damn beautiful stuff. I was blown away.”
 
Cara looked pleased. “You saw the entire exhibit?”
 
“Yeah, I did. And I kept this.” He pulled the folded poster out of his back 
pocket and showed her.
 
This time Cara laughed. “Thank you,” she said.
 
James could hear the warmth in her voice. It felt like a caress. Careful, he 
told himself. He could get caught up in the sound of her very quickly. They 
stood there silently for a moment, just looking at each other.
 
 
The link to the Book Wenches review:
http://www.bookwenches.com/july09reviews.htm

Title: Safeguarding Children – A review of arrangements in the NHS for safeguarding children

The Skinny: Review of child safeguarding in the NHS from the Care Quality Commission based on a detailed survey of 392 NHS trusts.  It finds that a majority of organisations had the right people and systems to help protect children.  However  it   highlights worrying shortfalls in the numbers of staff up to date with mandatory training, designed to help them identify and respond to concerns across the NHS, as well as those dealing with children routinely, such as GPs and those in A&E, paediatric and sexual health services.

Publisher: Care Quality Commission

Published: 16/07/2009

Size of Document: 40p