Email to PBS Atlanta - BOMBARD THEM AND AVDERTISERS!!!

[Kent]

I sent following letter to:

General Comments & Television Programming Schedule - Karen Bell - [email protected]

Viewer and Member Services - Amanda Harris - [email protected]

and all advertisers listed below.

Dear PBS,

Monday night October 31st, you are planning to air a film entitled "Breaking the Silence, Children's Stories". This film denigrates divorcing fathers with it's bald-faced assertion that in "75% of cases in which fathers contest custody, fathers have a history of being batterers".

The flaws in this film are as numerous as they are flagrant:

The film paints a false picture of a world in which the only abusive parents are fathers, ignoring the fact that far more children are abused and killed by their mothers than by their fathers (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services)
http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/statsinfo/nis3.cfm#perpetratorBirth * (see below)
http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cb/publications/cm03/figure4_2.htm
http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=38709 ** (see below)

The film misleads the viewer by failing to explain that psychiatrists who've called Parental Alienation Syndrome "junk science" don't mean that parental alienation doesn't happen, but rather that it's not an officially recognized mental illness. (http://www.mediaradar.org/mr_breaking_the_science.php#pas)
Any degreed custody evaluator and family law attorney will attest that PAS truely exists, and is practiced by many (mainly) custodial parents.

The program makes a number of very serious accusations against fathers without allowing the accused to defend themselves.
A detailed analysis of the flawed logic and biased "research" this PBS program is based on can be found at http://www.mediaradar.org/mr_breaking_the_science.php.

Public Broadcasting Service and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are funded out of our tax dollars and your advertisers, and have a responsibility not to disseminate bias. The CPB's own Code of Ethics (http://www.cpb.org/aboutcpb/cpbethicsguide.pdf) requires employees to "avoid any conduct that might result in the loss of public confidence in CPB's programs and activities ... or might reasonably give the appearance of ... the compromise or loss of complete impartiality of judgment and action."

Being a divorced father and the primary custodian of a now 10 year old boy, I take offense to your decision to air a program showing such bias and false information.

I strongly urge you to revise your programming choice, and to not air this piece of fiction. Or, reschedule the airing of this program, followed by a rebuttal opportunity program.

With kind regards,

Kent
[address & phone number]

Cc:      Dara Khosrowshahi, Chief Executive Officer, Expedia, Inc.
      Bill Ruckelshaus, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Planning, Expedia, Inc. [email protected]
      Barry Diller, Chairman and CEO, IAC/InterActiveCorp, Chairman, Expedia, Inc.
      Marketing Dept. Cuisinart  [email protected]
      James Jennes, Cheif Executive Officer, Kelloggs, Inc. [email protected]
      Jim Morris, Founder and Senior Partner of Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP [email protected]
      Joseph Manning, Founder and Senior Partner of Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP  [email protected]
      Arthur Martin, Founder and Senior Partner of Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP  [email protected]



* http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/statsinfo/nis3.cfm#perpetratorBirth
Children were somewhat more likely to be maltreated by female perpetrators than by males: 65 percent of the maltreated children had been maltreated by a female, whereas 54 percent had been maltreated by a male. Of children who were maltreated by their birth parents, the majority (75%) were maltreated by their mothers and a sizable minority (46%) were maltreated by their fathers (some children were maltreated by both parents).
Abused children presented a different pattern in connection with the sex of their perpetrators than did the neglected children. Children were more often neglected by female perpetrators (87% by females versus 43% by males).



** http://www.ncvc.org/ncvc/main.aspx?dbName=DocumentViewer&DocumentID=38709
Approximately 40 percent of child victims were maltreated solely by their
mothers; another 19 percent were maltreated solely by their fathers; 18
percent were abused by both parents. Child victims abused by a non-parental
perpetrator accounted for 13 percent of the total.

Children abused by someone other than a parent were 16 percent less likely
to experience recurrence than children who were abused by their mother.

The most significant predictor of whether a battered woman will physically
abuse her child is having been physically abused by her own mother-not being
battered by her partner.

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[FIRM]

I have been writing a lot, too.  There are lots of different ways to approach this when dealing with others.  I like what you have done.

The main thing, I believe, as always (unless dealing with radical feminists), is to maintain an aurora of calmness, firmness (no pun intended) and correctness without backing down.

The numbers, quantitative analysis, studies and the list goes on and on proves beyond a reasonable doubt that we are being attacked for our gender and certainly not any viable and recognized scientific studies.

In just a few months, we can get "radical" with demonstrations and etc. (when FIRM's TV will be there to tape it and present it on the internet for the world to see...).

Below is my response to a representative that obviously, does not have a clue...

I could send the guy literally millions of pages to show why he is ignorant.  Instead, I choose to question the guy:

Just because you think that the VAWA is gender neutral, does not mean that it is.

Have you investigated the complaints from men that are denied service and/or laughed at for making such a claim?

Have you investigated the literature presented and distributed by the VAWA that makes all males the bad guy and all females the "victim?"

 

Have you investigated how many shelters there are for men?

 

Have you studied the facts that show that women instigate and create physical harm slightly more than men do?

 

Have you investigated why we are dealing with a multi-billion dollar business commonly known as VAWA for less than 1% of the population and sacrificing Constitutional rights in the process?

 

Just why are we supporting an "act" that by name alone, excludes men?

 

If you need help in finding the information to the above questions, let me know.  I will be glad to lead you in the right direction...

 

Sincerely,

 

Eric Ericson

Fathers' Integrity & Rights Movement (FIRM)

 

//www.FIRMncp.com

 

Equality is not a difficult concept...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: MikeMichaud, Rep [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, October 28, 2005 9:39 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: A message from Congressman Michael H. Michaud

 

Thank you for contacting me regarding the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).  I appreciate hearing from you.

Given your concerns, you may be interested to know that the most current VAWA reauthorization measure, which is expected to pass this year, specifically states that there will be no gender discrimination in any of its programs.  In addition to the reauthorization, current VAWA policies apply to all victims of domestic violence, irrespective of gender.  Nothing in current law denies services, programs, funding or assistance to male victims of violence.  In fact, because men experience sexual assault at a higher rate than domestic violence, the most recent reauthorization language actually improves services to men by expanding the existing VAWA's sexual assault programs.  Please be assured that I will keep your thoughtful views in mind as related issues continue through the legislative process.

Thank you again for sharing your views with me.  In addition, I also provide occasional email updates on a range of issues affecting people in Maine.  If you would like to receive this information, please visit my website at http://michaud.house.gov/email_newsletter.asp and sign up for my email newsletter. I appreciate the opportunity to represent you.

 

With warmest regards,

Michael  Michaud
Member of Congress

 

[Kent]

Thank you for sharing your comments regarding Breaking the Silence: Children's
Stories.  I have passed your comments along to our Program Director.  In know
way are we airing this program to bash fathers, the program is about the effect
of domestic violence on children.  Below are  comments from
the Producer and Director of the program.

Producer / Director comments
The stories profiled in the documentary represent a statistically small but
serious problem in our family court system. Custody is not disputed in 90
percent of divorce cases. Those situations may not be pleasant or completely
amicable, but the cases are settled and both parties come to an
agreement. However, in the other 10 percent, where custody is bitterly disputed
in the courts, several studies have found that a majority of these cases have a
history of domestic violence. While the mother is sometimes responsible for the
violence, she is more often the victim. And, in these
particular cases, studies have shown that fathers are more likely to gain
custody. We are very sorry if these statistics were misunderstood to represent a
 blanket statement that 75 percent of men who want shared custody are domestic
batterers. This is obviously untrue and not what the documentary
stated.
Breaking the Silence: Children’s Stories is not an anti-father film. Many want
to transform the issues raised as a "men vs. women" issue, but the film is about
 children. Our intent was to give a voice to the children who in all cases are
the victims and to provoke a debate about the inadequacies of
family courts when it comes to these issues. In our view, a child’s right to
protection from harm must trump a parent’s right to visitation. Our objective
was to show that too many children are unprotected by the family court system.
While we do believe there are cases of false allegations of abuse and/or
violence, experts we spoke to and studies we reviewed indicate that false
accusations are a very small percentage of these cases.
We thank you for your interest and concern about this very difficult subject.
Sincerely,
Dominique Lasseur
, Producer
Catherine Tatge, Director

Karen Bell
Programming Associate
WPBA 30
740 Bismark Road, NE
Atlanta, GA 30324
678.686.0330
[email protected]

[MYSONSDAD]

Pretty much what I got from Lasseur and Tatge. The corporate office has informed them how to reply to negative responses. Funny how they can not read statistics that are slapping them in the face.

I notice they do not mention PAS. They are transparent.

Go to HELP STOP PAS. Dr. Sommer and a few others were allowed to broadcast another view thru a PBS station in Texas. It aired last Friday. They are asking for support to get  this broadcast  available thru the HELP STOP PAS website. They need our support on this.

[email protected]

You can also ask for a written transcript of the show.

More of us should be hitting the advertisers. Good thought on your part!

[determined]

I requested a written transcript of the show, but I doubt that I will get it.  

I am taking it to the CPB, my congressman, both of my senators, and to any advertisers that will listen.  I have yet to determine what approach will be successful and thus am merely staking a position early for what I suspect will amount to a battle that will take a long time, and will probably be a frustrating one.  

[determined]

To target "Social Studies" teachers of middle school students, PBS is providing this posting as an educational program:

http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/previews/archives/20051016.shtm


I really don't understand how I am expected to ignore this.

[MYSONSDAD]

"Children learn what they live"

[determined]

While I have been sending polite emails of protest to PBS, WGBH, CPB, and their advertisers, PBS has been busy at a far more insidious level.  To target "Social Studies" teachers of middle school students, PBS is providing this posting as an educational program:

http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/previews/archives/20051016.shtm

[MYSONSDAD]

"Children learn what they live"