LinkedInMyra Spearman has sent you a message.Date: 3/31/2009Subject: CALL TO ACTION - PLEASE FORWARDHello Everyone: Today, I spoke with Illinois State Representative, Robert Pritchard. He is a long time proponent of abating domestic and family abuse. He needs to hear from everyone. I asked him to author legislation called, "Duncan and Jack Law" which would only allow "Supervised Visits" to non-custodial parents who have either1). Violated Orders of Protection and/or2). Received a Guilty Conviction stemming from domestic and or family violence.Before ordering visitation, a judge needs to make sure that there was no abuse in the home. If abuse is determined, the non-custodial parent should either be granted Supervised Visitation or No Visitation Previlidges at all. Please email him and let him know that you're in support of this legislation or similiar legislation.bob@pritchardstaterep.comIf you have something better to add please feel free... anything helps...Duncan and Jack are the 2 little children that lost their lives this week at the hand of their father. You can read the story at:http://www.chicagotribune.com/ news/local/chi-missing-boys-dead-31-...Below is a copy of the letter I sent to the Illinois Rep. I'm going to be sending it to NYS as well.There's not a Congressman, Senator, etc... that should say no to this.Dear Sir:I am creator and administrator of the web community Please Help Missing Children.http://helpthesechildren.ning.com/Sir, the loss of Jack and Duncan Connolly is beyond tragic. The actions of the law enforcement involved in this case was a detriment that led to their deaths. They did not take seriously the severity of their father's condition, nor did they act on the information they were given. The Amber Alert for the boys was far from long enough. This should NOT have happened. Had there been a law in effect designed to PROTECT our children in the event of a mentally ill parent, the deaths of Jack and Duncan may have been prevented.PLEASE author legislation called, "Duncan and Jack Law" which would only allow "Supervised Visits" to non-custodial parents who have either1). Violated Orders of Protection and/or2). Received a Guilty Conviction stemming from domestic and or family violence.Before ordering visitation, a judge needs to make sure that there was no abuse in the home. If abuse is determined, the non-custodial parent should either be granted Supervised Visitation or No Visitation Previlidges at all.Someone that may be a strong supporter of this would be Congressman Gary Miller.SincerelyKathryn ComstockAdministratorPlease Help Missing Children
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Diane Tikacs, a former neighbor of the Connolly family when they lived in Algonquin, signs a poster for Duncan Connolly at a memorial in the northwest suburb. The boys were killed by their father who then took his own life. (Tribune photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo / March 30, 2009)
BATTERED EXAMINING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
2 boys found dead; mom rips the courtsAfter 3-week search, boys are found dead with their dad in central Illinois; mother decries system that OKd unsupervised visitsBy Jo Napolitano, Carolyn Starks and Joel Hood | Tribune reportersMarch 31, 2009
Amy Leichtenberg worried this day would come, and she begged the judicial system to prevent it.
In court documents dating back to 2005, she detailed her estranged husband's threats against her family and fought unsuccessfully to keep him from having unsupervised visits with their two sons. Michael Connolly violated the orders of protection against him six times, police records said, and he often vowed to kill himself rather than be separated from the boys.
Connolly, 40, disappeared with Duncan, 9, and Jack, 7, on March 8, prompting a nationwide search. Their bodies were discovered Sunday near a Christmas tree farm in a remote area of Putnam County.
Police described the deaths as a double homicide and a suicide, but released few details about the killings. The boys' bodies were found in the back seat of their father's 1991 Dodge Dynasty, while Connolly's body was discovered about 60 yards away.Leichtenberg declined to comment Monday, but she issued a statement lashing out at the judicial system that allowed Connolly unsupervised visits.
"No parent should have to bury their babies," she said. "Duncan and Jack, Mommy loves you to the heavens and back.
"I feel that the judicial system failed me," she said. "I pray that the courts listen to the warnings from other parents like me."
Though Connolly and Leichtenberg lived in northwest suburban Algonquin for several years, much of their bitter custody battle took place in LeRoy, a small town near Bloomington where Leichtenberg moved with the boys after ending her marriage. She received orders of protection against Connolly there, including a current order, barring him from contact with her.
Connolly, an unemployed pharmaceutical salesman, violated the order six times but was only charged with four misdemeanors between July 2006 and October 2007, McLean County State's Atty. William Yoder said. He met with Connolly for an hour a few months ago at Connolly's request and believed him to be "unbalanced," Yoder said.
He declined to discuss his office's specific involvement in the custody battle.
"This was a tragic event," Yoder said. "This had the worst possible outcome."
Police began a search for Connolly and the boys three weeks ago when he failed to return them after a scheduled visit. McLean Sheriff Mike Emery conceded there was a delay in the Amber Alert about the abduction, saying the department's initial attempt did not meet all of the criteria required for the notification. Pressed to discuss the delay, the sheriff said he would not criticize the investigation.
At LeRoy Elementary School, where Duncan was in 3rd grade and Jack was in 2nd, the brothers' desks had been left untouched since their disappearance. Blue and green ribbons, the boys' favorite colors, were tied to trees, and parents taped pictures of the missing brothers inside their car windshields.
"In small towns something like this affects the whole town, not just one pocket or one neighborhood," LeRoy Supt. Gary Tipsord said. "We had prepared for a lot of different outcomes, but I don't think any of us expected this."
Putnam County authorities discovered Connolly's car about 5 p.m. Sunday near a Christmas tree farm about 8 miles south of Hennepin. Police say they do not know of any connection between the family and the secluded site.
Police would not say how long the bodies had been there, if they suffered obvious injuries or whether a weapon was recovered.
Connolly's aunt, Joyce Connolly, said his family rarely saw him after the couple separated.
"I feel sorry for Michael," she said. "I know that sounds terrible, but he must have been so tormented."
Court records and police accounts portray Connolly as an abusive husband who tried to force Leichtenberg to stay in their marriage. He threatened to cut open her and her parents and once told Jack that he would find "a younger, prettier, nicer mama," according to court documents.
When Connolly sensed Leichtenberg was about to leave him in 2006, she said he pressured her to sign a paper giving him custody of the boys if they divorced. He also demanded his wife make a videotape in which she claimed to abuse her sons, Leichtenberg said. It's not clear she did either.
"He went into a rage again and told me if I didn't get home he would kill me. I went home, and he told me if I ever take his boys again he would hunt me down and kill me and my parents and cut us open," Amy Leichtenberg wrote in her petition for an emergency order of protection in July 2005 in McHenry County Circuit Court.
Neighbors realized something was wrong with the couple's marriage shortly after they moved into their Algonquin neighborhood in 2003. Friends described Connolly as "controlling" and "manipulative" toward his wife and sons. Leichtenberg often would use neighbors' telephones to call her parents because her husband didn't like her speaking with them.
"She could never live a normal life," former next-door neighbor Jim Gerardi said. "That's the sad part about it, because he was watching every single move she made."
While Connolly was out of town on a business trip in 2006, neighbors said they helped Leichtenberg pack her car, and she and the kids sought refuge at a domestic violence shelter.
Leichtenberg filed for divorce in May 2006 in McHenry Circuit Court. In her petition, she described hundreds of harassing phone messages her husband left for her and her family.
In the messages, Connolly outlined stipulations for the divorce: He wanted visitation with his sons alone and one day a week with Amy alone and promised not to hurt them, court documents said.
Leichtenberg withdrew the petition without explanation in December 2006. She returned to the family's home in Algonquin, but neighbors said she hid inside the house and rarely socialized after the reconciliation.
The couple separated again a short time later, and Leichtenberg moved to LeRoy, where a bitter custody battle ignited. She wrote in court documents in April 2007 that he had called her home and her cell at least 18 times.
In a Tribune interview after the boys disappeared, Leichtenberg said Connolly was granted unsupervised visitation rights in December. She said she begged the McLean judge to deny the request.
"All Michael would do is file his own motions, and the judge was basically tired of him and gave him what he wanted."
Tribune reporters Andrew L. Wang and Stacy St. Clair contributed to this report.
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<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-missing-boys-dead-31-mar31,0,3316104.story?page=2">http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-missing-boys-dead-31-m...</a>
Internanational Human Rights Court Affirms A Failure TO Protect
Mother’s File International Complaint Against United States, violation human rights of abused www.StopFamilyViolence.org MOTHERS FILE INTERNATIONAL COMPLAINT AGAINST UNITED STATES Mother's day complaint claims United States courts violate human rights of abused women and children. NEW YORK, On May 11, just before Mother's Day weekend, ten mothers, one victimized child, now an adult, leading national and state organizations filed a complaint against the United States with the Inter American Commission on Human Rights. The case claims that U.S. courts, by frequently awarding child custody to abusers and child molesters, has failed to protect the life, liberties, security and other human rights of abused mothers and their children. "For more than 30 years U.S. judges have given custody or unsupervised visitation of children to abusers and molesters putting the children directly at risk," says Dianne Post, an international attorney who authored the petition. "These horrendous human rights violations have been brought to the attention of family court systems, and state and federal governments, to no avail. We turn now to international courts to protect the rights and safety of US children." The complaint details several cases with ..ed medical evidence of child sexual abuse, yet in each instance the abusing father was given full custody of the children he abused. Several of the mothers were jailed by the courts because of their persistent efforts to protect their children from abuse, several were ordered not to speak of the abuse and not to report abuse to authorities. Every mother was denied contact with her child for some period of time though none was ever proven to have harmed them. "My life was completely shattered apart on that day and my childhood was destroyed," said Jeff Hoverson, the adult child petitioner, about the day a family court judge ordered sheriff deputies to deliver him into the custody of his abuser. "It was as if I was just kidnapped. I was torn from everything I knew....I was made into a possession rather than a child." Hoverson endured years of trauma and fear living in his father's home before escaping and returning to his mother at age 17. He is haunted by years of feeling helpless to prevent his father's night-time visits to his sisters' bedrooms. "The cases in this petition represent the proverbial tip of the iceberg," says Irene Weiser, executive director of the online organization Stop Family Violence. "We are contacted by an average of three protective mothers each week who have lost custody to child abusing fathers. This is a nationwide crisis of enormous proportion." "The lives of thousands of children and mothers have been irreparably harmed by family courts across our nation," says Joyanna Silberg, Ph.D., executive vice-president of The Leadership Council on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence, another national organizations supporting the petition. "The years of trauma and psychological abuse because of the courts' failings result in lasting emotional damage to the children they are supposed to protect." Studies of gender bias in the courts, conducted in the 1980's and 90's, found disturbing trends of courts minimizing or excusing men's violence against women, and favoring the abusers. In 1990 the United States Congress passed a resolution recommending the prohibition of giving joint or sole custody to abusers. Seventeen years later, the practice continues unabated. Ten years ago today, leading national organizations were joined by members of Congress in a protest in Washington D.C. to again raise awareness about the problems in family courts. Today, petitioners say, the problem is systemic and widespread in family law courts across the nation. The petition seeks a finding from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that the U.S. has violated the Declaration of the Rights and Responsibilities of Man and the Charter of the Organization of American States and a statement of the steps that the U.S. must take to comply with its human rights obligations in regards to battered women and children in child custody cases. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights was created in 1959 and is expressly authorized to examine allegations of human rights violations by members of the Organization of American States, which include the United States. It also carries out on-site visits to observe the general human rights situations in all 35 member states of the Organization of American States and to investigate specific allegations of violations of Inter-American human rights treaties. Its charge is to promote the observance and the defense of human rights in the Americas. Dianne Post, a 1980 graduate of the University of Wisconsin law school, has worked on issues of gender based violence since 1976. In addition to private practice and legal aid, she has taught legal classes and been a consultant working or living in Russia, Cambodia, Hungary and some dozen other countries. She is currently in Vladivostok, Russia. In addition to The Leadership Council on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence, other national organizations supporting the international lawsuit include: National Organization for Women and the NOW Foundation, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Justice For Children, National Family Court Watch Project, Legal Momentum, Family Violence Prevention Fund, National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, Domestic Violence Report, Sidran Traumatic Stress Institute, and the National Center on Sexual and Domestic Violence. The petition is supported by many state organizations as well. In December 2005, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a petition against the United States with the Inter American Commission on Human Rights for their failure to protect Jessica Gonzales' three children from their abusive father, who murdered them. Their petition, the first of its kind, asserted that domestic violence victims have the right to be protected by the state from the violent acts of their abusers. For additional information, contact: Irene Weiser, Stop Family Violence iw@stopfamilyviolence.org 607-539-6856 The petition and supporting ..action is available on the Stop Family Violence website on: www.StopFamilyViolence.org View the petition at: http://www.StopFamilyViolence.org/468
Tags: abuse, child, civil, constitutional, discrimination, domestic, human, rights, violence
Tags: abuse, abuses, child, civil, constitutional, discrimination, domestic, human, rights, violence
I come from a deeply rooted American family. I am a direct descendant of William Williams, the delegate from Connecticut who was one of the signers of the Declaration of independence, and also the son-in-law of John Trumbull, George Washington's right-hand-man. As such, I am raised with complete awareness of our Civil Rights as a citizen of the United States. That being said, I would like to bring up America's Failed War on Drugs. I believe a comedian by the name of Bill Hicks said it right: "It is not a War on Drugs, it is a War on Personal Freedom."
Even though it may not look like it or feel like it, you are making progress.
Continue working towards progress instead of perfection.
Nothing or no no one is perfect.
Just keep taking steps.
Keep making those phone calls.
Continue following your plan.
Remain focused on your goal.
Do what you have to do right now to get to the next level.
Complete every task.
Keep every promise and commitment.
Don't look back.
Let no one weaken your walk of faith and determination.
Remain teachable.
Place yourself in a blessing position by associating with people on-the-grow.
Talk with teachers.
Walk with winners.
Climb with champions.
Study successful people.
Something great is about to happen for you!
Start giving thanks right now before you can even see the outward manisfestation of your prayers and desires.
Everything you do from this day forward will take you further away or closer to your potential for successful living.
-by Dr. Jewel Diamond Taylor, Motivational Speaker & Author
Al Gore recently endorsed Obama, and one of the numerous points he touched upon was the involvement of young Americans in this country's political process for the first time. Young is subject to definition, however this campaign has brought me into the fold of the political process for the first time.
Why have I not participated in this democracy before?
Not because I'm lazy, not because I don't care, not because I'm uninformed, not because I lack the intelligence to understand the process. The reason I have opted out of our system is because for years I have been of the solid belief that our democracy has failed, that the sad remnants are nothing more that a puppet show for the dumbed down non-questioning masses that have become sheeple; following blindly what they are told to believe.
Have I lost my woeful outlook for this country; my belief that we are one election away from tyranny and dictatorship? NO. I have, however, found a spark, a twinkling light in the gloom of our government. One beacon shinning in the distance. I have symbolized Obama and his campaign to the early lighthouses, warning naval ships of hazardous terrain, while instilling them with the resolving hope that soon the trip through rough seas will be over.
Sadly seeing Ron Paul recede from the presidential race has left me to put all of my faith in Obama's platform. I believe that Obama's election and succession to the presidential office is the last hope this country has to stave off the next and most horrific war...... The second American revolution. If this country fails to unite and recognize the injustice done to it's citizens in sheer blatancy of the founding fathers morality; the country will be irreparably divided. Their are too many factions that will have lost all faith in our system and will be unable to tolerate 4 more years of this rape of lady justice and human liberties.
Put the word out, build the movement! Do not let Bush get the opportunity to create a situation abroad that will allow him the unjust but insane legal right to call continuity of government (COG), directive 51. Whatever you want to call it, we must act now and seat Obama before the youngest and greatest government system crumbles under the seduction of power and corruption.
I don't care if our next president is...
I DO care that our next president is...
I feel Senator Obama best fits my picture of the candidate I want in the White House, and he is the first candidate in YEARS to actually inspire me and give hope for our future.
One of my strongest passions is to one day see more American jobs return stateside. If Obama is elected I can honestly say this will happen. In order to make this happen, America needs to realize Obama has his sites set on helping the common American and not helping large conglomerates gain a quick buck. Helping to retain jobs within the U.S is a complex task that seem damaging toward these companies immediate finacial futures,but the long term effects will far outweigh the negative. No longer will Americans be forced to peel away the "Made in China" sticker off of every item they purchase at their local Mega-Ultra Mart, they can once again take pride in the fact that they have bought a product that was made in their own country with the pride of a hard working American. Once more and more companies decide to keep their jobs in the United States, other organizations will follow suite and what we will witness from there is a pattern of companies who realize that America needs American workers not Chinese or Indian's that are allowed to thrive in the hollowed out exoskeletons of once glorious American companies.
