Jonathan Horton is the Region 1 Coordinator, Congressional Research Team Leader, Ride4Rights Liaison, and a member of the Social Networking Team with Parental Rights . Org.

Jason Heki chimed in as well from Parental Rights . Org as well. He is another one of the Regional Coordinators that covers a large portion of the midwest, including our state of Michigan as well.

The volunteers from Parental Rights Org discussed the things that other volunteers should be involved with throughout the nation to promote the Parental Rights Amendment, including contacting US Representatives, US Senators, writing letters to your local media, and more. For additional information on House Joint Resolution 42, visit Congressman Hoekstra’s informative site at http://www.parentsrights.us.

Also in this episode we heard from one of the participants [Brian Downs] of the upcoming Equal Parenting Bike Trek, where members from Michigan Family Rights Organizations will be pedaling their bikes from the State of Michigan Capitol (Lansing) all the way to our Nation’s Capitol (Washington DC) to encourage our government to protect the parent-child relationship in divorce, legal separation, and child custody disputes that affect our Nation’s children.

Stay Tuned for more great information on all of these national efforts.

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Americans for Prosperity Michigan Chapter Advisory Board Member Jack Hoogendyk and AFP-Michigan State Director Scott Hagerstrom joined the Get Your Justice Live program Wednesday June 17, 2009 and they brought a multitude of fresh issues to the national audience. Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFP Foundation) are committed to educating citizens about economic policy and mobilizing those citizens as advocates in the public policy process.

Just some of the discussions included right to work legislation, parental rights issues, establishing a limited government, enforcing government transparency (see-through spending), cap and trade policies, center right meetings, and the notion of taxation by citation/government funding.  The consensus seems to be that moving citizens into stronger and better informed advocacy positions will certainly advance a more predictable and transparent government, and our Americans for Prosperity guests certainly enumerated that vision.

Having both of these grassroots enablers on the line at the same time, we were able to discuss the top three federal and state changes needed to roll back government and place citizens back in control of their own destinies. Take a simple hour of your time and arm yourself with critical information to help not only the State of Michigan, but the entire Nation. Bringing jobs, reducing our government bureaucracy, emphasize core principles, and remind our government that the Constitution is a restriction on them not the citizens.

Americans for Prosperity Foundation is committed to educating citizens about economic policy and a return of the federal government to its Constitutional limits. AFP Foundation’s educational programs and analyses help policymakers, the media and individual citizens understand why policies that promote the American enterprise system are the best method to ensuring prosperity for all Americans. To that end, AFP and AFP Foundation supports:

• Cutting taxes and government spending in order to halt the encroachment of government in the economic lives of citizens by fighting proposed tax increases and pointing out evidence of waste, fraud, and abuse.
• Tax and Expenditure Limitations to promote fiscal responsibility.
• Removing unnecessary barriers to entrepreneurship and opportunity by sparking citizen involvement in the regulatory process early on in order to reduce red tape.
• Restoring fairness to our judicial system.

Jack Hoogendyk is certainly no stranger to the political process, In 2002, Jack was elected to the first of his three terms as State Representative, taking another step in his public service commitment. Since then, Jack Hoogendyk has been working to protect taxpayers, strengthen education and defend families. He is not willing to be defined by his surroundings, but rather seeks to influence and inspire. He’s been following in the steps of his father by investing in his family, community and state.

Following some of the resources available, I encourage others to check out Jack Hoogendyk’s Core Principles at http://www.jackformichigan.org, and also peruse both the National Americans for Prosperity Site and the Michigan Chapter of the AFP website. Citizens that are serious about taking a stand against harmful government policies that negatively impact jobs, our families, our property, and our privacy will feel compelled to join AFP.

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Certainly having a unique outlook on the rights and responsibilities of both parents and children, he stated that attorneys that are just fighting for their client’s rights and not the children’s rights “makes his job easier.”

Me personally, I believe that our children derive all of their rights through their parents, but Dean Schreyer and I are closer on our perspectives than it appears. Harry Crouch, President of the National Coalition for Men, also stated to me that “Dean is one of the good guys.” I have to say that I agree and Attorney Dean is welcome back to the show anytime, in fact you can bet on it. Why? Because we have a theory that we are going to work out on the true nature of a contractual relationship between consenting adults that arises from the creation of our children! You definitely won’t want to miss that one!

If you haven’t checked out the site on Parental Rights by Attorney Dean Schreyer, you will want to as the concept and tips are pretty sound. He told me, it isn’t about the design, it’s about the content, and I agree. Here is his site: http://www.parentalrightsinfo.com/, and I have only touched on the tip of the iceberg, so be sure to listen to the episode and voice your comments.

One thing you will notice with Attorney Schreyer’s demeanor is that he isn’t afraid to differentiate between the crazy clients and the sane ones and how they interact with the system.

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Each and every Michigan Representative receives a copy of the “Michigan Legislative Edition” once per month. Submissions for content is due by the 9th of every month for consideration for inclusion in the “Michigan Legislative Edition.” We welcome content from legislators, organizations, and citizens pertaining to pro-family, pro-liberty, and pro-privacy issues. At this time we are not accepting or considering advertisers as we feel it will dilute the clean message for our legislators and their staff.

The purpose is to publicize those legislators in a non-partisan format that will strengthen Michigan and the relationship between Legislators and Citizens. Representative Brian Calley also was a guest on Get Your Justice Live during the month April. You can listen to his positions here: Michigan Rep. Brian Calley: To Introduce A Bill To Protect Parent-Child Relationships.

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What began as a show about Parental Rights, and the need for parental rights to be respected and protected by all, turned into quite an event. We were holding an informal show on Wednesday May 6, 2009 and were then joined by Vince Collins and Robert Pedersen! Vince Collins is the organizer of Ride4Rights, a Parental Rights .Org sponsored event. Robert Pedersen is one of the participants of the Michigan based Equal Parenting Bike Trek. These two gentlemen spoke for the first time together on Get Your Justice Live, although “they recently became face book friends.” Although great distances apart, these two gentlemen, along with many others, are truly making a difference by raising awareness to the issues of Parental Rights and the Parent-Child relationship.

During the second hour of the podcast we simulcasted LIVE the webinar with US Congressman Pete Hoekstra and Home School Legal Defense Association Chairman Mike Farris.  Since founding HSLDA in 1983, Farris has used his extensive experience in both politics and appellate litigation to defend parental rights and help grow the organization to over 80,000 member families. Serving as president of ParentalRights.org, Farris devotes much of his time to meeting with members of Congress and delivering speeches across the country in an effort to raise support for the passage of a parental rights amendment. He is also the founding president and current Chancellor of Patrick Henry College, a Christian institution with the mission of training students through a classical liberal arts curriculum and apprenticeship methodology to impact the world “for Christ and for Liberty.” This programming event was another monumental success and we were able to give additional seats when the conference filled up through our live programming.

We have interviewed US Congressman Pete Hoekstra in the past on Get Your Justice Live, and want to congratulate his championing of the issue of Parental Rights. With now over 80 sponsors of House Joint Resolution 42, the American public and politicians alike can now agree that “parental rights should be respected and protected by all.”

There is a ton of action associated with these events. If you would like to get involved you can sign up to our newsletters at http://budurl.com/gyjlnewsletter and spread the word.

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Nancy Schaefer is president of Eagle Forum of Georgia. She served in the Georgia State Senate for four years. She has been a staunch defender of parents’ rights and will also assume the position of Eagle Forum’s National Chairman of Parents’ Rights. She is president of Family Concerns, Inc. and represented Eagle Forum at the Untied Nations conferences in Beijing, Istanbul, Rome and New York. Nancy Schaefer is well-known for a scathing report titled “The Corrupt Business of Child Protective Services” that was originally released on November 16, 2007 and later updated on September 25, 2008. (Download Available)

State Senator Pam Roach continues to serve in the Washington State Senate for 19 years. In the year 2000, Senator Roach and her son Representative Dan Roach became the first mother/son duo to represent the same district at the same time. Throughout her years of service she has represented the U.S. in East Timor for the International Republican Institute; hosted a radio talk show on KIRO in Seattle; and is founder of an NGO in Honduras among other accomplishments. As Judiciary chair she authored landmark bills on juvenile justice and DUI. Senator Roach chaired the Children and Family Services Committee and continues to advocate for children and parental rights. This year Senator Roach chaired a special legislative committee to shine light on the lack of accountability and trampling of parental rights by the Child Protective Services. She continues to demand accountability within Child Protective Services today.

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You can learn more about Eagle Forum by visiting their website at http://www.eagleforum.org and also find additional resources pertaining to the Pam Roach Report at http://pamroachreport.blogspot.com. By referring your own legislators to these resources, organizations, and interviews you can supplement your own voice and positions about the “Corrupt Business of Child Protective Services” and establish a higher burden of proof on the various state programs before they are able to burgeon your family.

No matter which way you look at it, former Georgia Senator Nancy Schaefer as well as Washington State Senator Pam Roach believe that “Parental Rights Should Be Respected and Protected By All” and the great need for Child Protective Services to come under greater scrutiny of the general public.Please take a listen and spread the word.

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Last night we began our first of six SAVE OUR KIDS episode that is focusing on viable alternatives for the adversarial family court process. Click Play above to listen to the live version of the seminar.

Advocating the use of a technique known as the “Collaborative Law Practice” and in connection with Get Your Justice Live™, Attorney and Author Mike Mastracci has assembled a 6-week course for mediators, psychologists, lawyers, judges, and parents to come together and examine peaceful alternatives to the adversarial court room duals that often occur during child custody proceedings.

Mike was also joined by Ron Ousky from Minnesota to further elaborate on the Collaborative Law Proricess. “Ron Ousky, Collaborative Attorney,Mediator, and Author, is one of the pioneers in Collaborative Practice and has served as President of the first Collaborative Law group in the world. He is also an international leader in the Collaborative Law movement, serving as a board member of the International Association of Collaborative Professionals and as co-chair of the International Public Education Committee. Ron is the founder of DivorceChoice.com and Family Matters, Ltd. and is a trainer, lecturer and author in the area of Collaborative Practice. Ron has been recognized as a Super Lawyer by Minneapolis Magazine and has been selected as one of Minnesota’s top 40 professionals in the areas of alternate dispute resolution.”

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Michigan Representative Brian Calley suggests “that so many of the problems that we face, be it in criminal justice system, economy, the education system, and so forth can be traced back, those are all symptoms to problems that really start much earlier in life with the breakdown of the family.” I asked the Representative if bringing children under rule of two parents will improve the economy, he certainly agreed and discussed how he thought it would help in the long-term.

In a report titled Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2005 (Issued August 2007) by Timothy S. Grall, an estimated 13.6 million parents had custody of 21.2 million children under 21 years of age while the other parent “lived somewhere else.” It is important to note that 5 out of 6 of the parents in the report are mothers, leaving approximately 1/5 the remaining single-parent households as headed by the father.

The data supports Michigan Representative Calley’s position on the social ills that are affecting Michigan and other states, as the super majority of the single-parent households are disproportionately single-mother households. According to conservative statistics, claims have been made that fatherless children are 20 times more likely to have behavioral disorders, 9 times more likely to drop out of high school, 10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances, 9 times more likely to end up in state operated institutions, 20 times more likely to end up in prison, as well as some other staggering social ills.

There certainly is room for more research on both motherless and fatherless situations, as both parents certainly provide balance components to the well-being of their children. These statistics on youth suicide certainly make the case that children should have access to both parents:

• “In a study of 146 adolescent friends of 26 adolescent suicide victims, teens living in single-parent families are not only more likely to commit suicide but also more likely to suffer from psychological disorders, when compared to teens living in intact families.” Source: David A. Brent, (et. al.) “Post-traumatic Stress Disorders in Peers of Adolescent Suicide Victims: Predisposing Factors and Phenomenology.” Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 34 (1995): 209-215.
• “Fatherless children are at dramatically greater risk of suicide.” Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics, Survey on Child Health, Washington, D.C., 1993.
• “Three out of four teenage suicides occur in households where a parent has been absent.” Source: Jean Beth Eshtain, “Family Matters: The Plight of America’s Children.” The Christian Century (July 1993): 14-21.
• “A family structure index — a composite index based on the annual rate of children involved in divorce and the percentage of families with children present that are female-headed – is a strong predictor of suicide among young adult and adolescent white males.” Source: Patricia L. McCall and Kenneth C. Land, “Trends in White Male Adolescent, Young-Adult, and Elderly Suicide: Are There Common Underlying Structural Factors?” Social Science Research 23 (1994): 57-81

We will be keeping a close eye on the progress of this legislation, and believe firmly that the parent-child relationship should always be the focus of our laws. As part of this process we will be analyzing the likely savings in reduced caseload and disputes between parents as a result of heightened evidentiary standards, a reduction in false allegations, and other direct savings to the State of Michigan.

Please note that the episode linked herein is a portion of the show, meant to focus on Representative Brian Calley’s position. After circulation the original full episode with listener commentary will be added to the site.

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It is official, we have a Joint Resolution Number of 42. When speaking to Senators and Representatives you may now refer to the Parental Rights Amendment as House Joint Res. 42 or HJR-42.

Be sure to check out the new website sponsored by US Congressman Pete Hoekstra! http://www.parentsrights.us

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Wendy Wright is President of Concerned Women for America (CWA), the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization. Miss Wright promotes legislation and international policies that are beneficial to women and families, briefs congressional and presidential staff on pro-family issues, and trains grassroots activists. She is frequently interviewed in national media on moral, social and political issues. Miss Wright was named among “The 100 Most Powerful Women of Washington” in 2006 by the Washingtonian Magazine. The National Pro-Life Religious Council awarded Wendy for her “continuous leadership in the cause of life.”

Ms. Wendy Wright eloquently discusses Parental Rights, Traditional Family Values, and describes how CWA began as an alternate voice to the radical feminists claiming to be the voice of all the women. Concerned Women for America focuses on a core set of issues, many of which are intricately connected to the Parental Rights issues.

Wendy Wright began as the media coordinator in 1999 for CWA, progressed to policy director focusing on International and Pro Life issues, finally being asked to become President just three years ago.

When discussing the Domestic and International threats to parental rights Ms. Wright  declared that “It is a serious threat” and discusses how the United Nations Convention on Children’s Rights Treaty would be the equivalent of handing over our sovereignty and control of our children to an “unaccountable and unelected committee at the United Nations. Passage of the International Treaty would also allow judges to intervene in domestic cases to tell parents what they can and cannot do when it comes to raising their children.”

A very thorough discussion of the work of the Concerned Women for America, common sense strategies to address the social ills related to bad public policy with our families, and how to address some of the cultural issues that are negatively affecting our Country.

The mission of CWA is to protect and promote Biblical values among all citizens – first through prayer, then education, and finally by influencing our society – thereby reversing the decline in moral values in our nation.

We encourage listeners to visit the Concerned Women for America website and sign up for their action newsletters and participate in their activities.

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