Meeting Announcement: Attend This Sunday!

 

Center for Parental Responsibility (CPR)

WEEKLY UPDATE (A Few Highlights): Friday December 19, 2003

 Website: cpr-mn.org       contact: info@cpr-mn.org   voicemail: 651/490-9277

 

To protect our children’s future we need to stop alienating dads today!

“If it is to be, it’s up to me” - Your input and participation is needed for reform

 

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ATTEND NEXT CPR General Meeting THIS Sunday December 21, 2003

from 5-8pm at William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul Minnesota

A MUST ATTEND MEETING TO HEAR an ATTORNEY talk about how to fight: modification, OFP, primary caretaker myth and IV-D government intervention

See below for details.

FREE snacks and FREE Drawing for Christmas presents!

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NEXT CPR GENERAL MEETING: Third Sunday of the Month. Sunday December 21, 2003, from 5pm-8pm at William Mitchell College of Law. The building is on the corner of Victoria and Summit – lots of free parking available on the street. Use the entrance where the flagpole is and you will then be directed to the #230 meeting room. FREE POP, FOOD AND SNACKS ARE PROVIDED. Remember, what ever little food/candy item you can add to the food table is appreciated by all since we meet during the dinner hour. Meeting Agenda:

    1. 5-5:20 registration and find a seat (room can be crowded)
    2. 5:20-5:30 opening, welcome, quick prayer, and announcements
    3. 5:30-6 Guest Speaker: GLENN BRUDER, attorney-at-law (see bio below). He will discuss:

                                                               i.      winning your modification

                                                             ii.      fighting an OFP successfully

                                                            iii.      arguing against the “primary caretaker” myth

                                                           iv.      why IV-D is unconstitutional

    1. 6-7 Update on Issues or group discussion impacting non-custodial parents. Drawing for FREE Christmas gifts.
    2. 7-7:15 pm break – network with each other
    3. 7:15-8 (optional hour) BECOME AN EXPERT IV-D (the root of the problem and how you can make a difference NOW in preparation for this next legislative session. We need people to stay for this hour who want to understand how to communicate the message and get the message across to government elected officials. We need people to volunteer for specific tasks that will be provided.)

 

Your input is always welcome! Your suggestions are appreciated!

Your willingness to take action and do something is needed!

CPR can help give you ideas of what can be done to make a difference!

Attend the meetings to meet other people who have been through what you are going through  - they can provide you ideas to help you prevent mistakes and

learn how to win your battle.

 

·       WHO IS GLENN BRUDER? Glenn Bruder, a lawyer interested in our cause. (Our list of interested attorneys is growing!) A CPR advisor located this attorney for us. Bruder wrote a letter to the editor of the RAKE magazine, responding to the September 2003 article on bias in the system against non-custodial parents regarding, custody, visitation and child support.

o       He has figured out a way to WIN against the county when they come after a dad for a modification upward.

o       He has ALREADY CHALLENGED the IV-D services provided to the mom because it is not means tested and there is no due process and a violation of equal protection because the government is aiding on parent at the expense of another.

o       He can argue successfully against the “primary caretaker” argument for the child, and argue in favor of father involvement.

o       He has WON every OFP charge he has ever challenged. He says judges are catching on that mothers are using this as a way to gain the upper-edge on the custody battle.

o       He will be our GUEST SPEAKER at the CPR General Meeting on Sunday night December 21, 2003. He will be first on the agenda.

 

 

This Week’s Update at a Glance/Summary (see details below)

1)      IV-D Eligibility Bill Rages on! Get on the bandwagon to reform! Understand how IV-D applies to you!

a.       More legislators have heard our message

b.       We need people to communicate the message and talk to: legislators, county commissioners, other interested and affected citizens,

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2)      Miscellaneous Non-Custodial Parent (“NCP”) INFORMATION

a.       Custody Battles

b.       Minnesota Fatherhood and Family Summit – January 16, 2003

 

3)      CPR Members: Individual Case Victories!

a.       We think the pressure against a Ramsey County Referee has made a difference. Learn how to file complaints against your magistrates, referees, and other judicial officers. Your case victory could be next!

 

 

 

 

ENCOURAGEMENT-HOPE-STRENGTH

“ … Fear not, for you will not be put to shame … whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall … no weapon that is fashioned against you shall prosper, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment … seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon him while He is near … for He will abundantly pardon … for ‘the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than yours … so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 54 and 55

 

 

 

 

CPR Continues to Challenge Title IV-D (Government Child Support Collections and Enforcement)

 

·       WHY IV-D IS IMPORTANT: IV-D reform is the best way to make the greatest change for the greatest number of people to ease the pressure of the draconian system that disengages fit fathers and prevents them from participating in the lives of their children. IV-D government services are provided solely and only to the custodial parent, and that is why you feel like your rights are being trampled on – because they are! It’s you against the entire bureaucracy. IV-D services are why you feel like you are being treated like a criminal – because the IV-D system was set up for criminals – it was set up to locate and prosecute fathers who had abandoned their families resulting in the child’s dependence on public assistance. Now ALL NCP’s are erroneously and involuntarily “welcomed” into the child support system (just as another class of people were “welcomed” into the “camps” of the 1930’s). The NCP’s are treated with the same prosecutorial fervor as all criminals, regardless of the circumstance, regardless of the fact there is no compelling state interest, and regardless of how involved you are as a non-custodial parent, and regardless of need for the prosecutorial methods. Because you carry the “label” of non-custodial parent, you are treated like a criminal that must be emotionally, financially, mentally beaten to submission. CPR is fighting to change this unnecessary government intrusion and the violations of your constitutional rights as a parent: equal protection of the law, due process, and your right to parent apply to you!

 

·       REMINDER: The IV-D Strategy Committee is now meeting every Thursday night. The meetings take place at 2935 Costa Lane, Little Canada, MN, from 6:45pm – 8pm, or whenever we get done. Next meeting January 8, 2003. Email or call for questions at info@cpr-mn.org or 651/490-9277, if you want to participate in overall strategy. Anyone interested in making the passage of HF1031/SF974 (IV-D eligibility standards) a priority is invited to attend and help strategize and plan. Updates will be provided and volunteers will be recruited for specific activities, at the Sunday night general meetings from 7-8pm. Attend the CPR General Meeting and find out what specific action item you might be able to assist with.

 

·       NEW INFORMATION: COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. The Ramsey County Truth-in-Taxation Meeting was a great opportunity to present the excessive unnecessary government intrusion under IV-D. The presentation was heard by citizens in the audience, and the entire board of commissioners was in attendance as well as the St Paul School Board and the St. Paul City Council. Many people heard the message. We are in the process of contact with Washington County Commissioners. We need to see more commissioners from all counties to hear the message – can you get an appointment with your county commissioner, and CPR will attend with you?

 

·       NEW INFORMATION: LEGISLATIVE MEETINGS. Thanks to two CPR members (BJ and JB), who called their Minnesota Senators, we were able to meet with Senator Richard Cohen and Senator Mady Reiter and provide an overview of the IV-D program and why it should be cut to comply with federal eligibility standards. We also met with Senator Julianne Ortman. All three legislators supported the goal to reform the IV-D system and all three showed support for our bill.

 

·       REMINDER: You can OPT OUT of the IV-D program with a 1301 d exception objection letter – that letter continues to be updated. A CPR research aid has produced a wealth of new information to back up this valid option to protect your rights as a parent. Much additional research has been located, reinforcing the validity of the 1301 d objection, which will finally renew your constitutionally protected voice in the process.

 

 

Miscellaneous Non-Custodial Parent INFORMATION

 

·        NEW INFORMATION We are working on a custody brochure. Many non-custodial parents should never have been given that label or relegated to a “lower class” of parent. There is plenty of case law and constitutional law to show that every parent (unless there is evidence - not accusations - of harm, abuse, or neglect) should get 50% custody at least. We need to create a conclusive brochure for pro se litigants. We are looking for someone to help do the research and write the basic brochure on how to “not lose” custody, but retain joint legal custody and joint physical custody.

 

·        NEW INFORMATION A new group called ACES (Association for Children for Enforcement of Support) has come to town. Be on alert – it’s a group that wants to make oppression against non-custodial parents even worse. Website: childsupport-aces.org. It sounds like an organization that believes “money” is the only thing that father’s are worth.

 

·        NEW INFORMATION CPR visited Frances Eugene Giberson, who was charged with felony non-support, extradited from Las Vegas Nevada, splashed all over the newspapers and CNN as a “deadbeat,” and is in the Sherburne County Jail. He is in jail for arrears on two adult children who have never been needy. He had an unsuccessful job venture, and couldn’t afford his child support. He got behind on his support because of imputed income. They took away his professional law license because of his child support arrears, so he couldn’t make the money, but the child support system still expected him to pay the money as if he had his license. He now has two young children (age 2 and 8) who are at home with his second wife and now have no emotional support or financial support. So the older children have more of a right to a support from their father than the younger children?! Write him and show your empathy and support: 13880 Hwy 10, Elk River, MN 55330. Mail him information you think might be helpful.

 

 

 

Upcoming Meetings and Events and Needs

 

·        SEE ABOVE for details on CPR general meeting THIS Sunday December 21, 2003 from 5-8pm

 

·        SEE the website for COURT WATCH. CPR attended several hearings with non-custodial parents. It makes a difference if there are other people in the courtroom. Attend every court watch you can. Let us know when your court date is, and we will announce it on the website, so others can attend and support you. The benefit of attending other people’s hearings is that is makes you  more comfortable in the courtroom so your case isn’t so intimidating. It also puts the magistrate, referee, or judge on notice that other people are witnessing what is going on.

 

 

CPR Member Success: Non-Custodial Parent’s Individual Victories

Keep working with CPR, and networking with other members and this could be you!

 

·       Non-custodial dad (J.J.) got a group of NCPs together to fight the bias and egregious family court decisions by a Ramsey County Referee. The goal was the removal of this Referee.  Much progress has been made. Stay tuned for this rest of this story – filing complaints against the judicial officers can make a difference!

 

 

 

FOR THE ACTIVIST: if you want to do something to help the cause; if you want to know “how do I get involved?”  The problems in family law are bigger than any one of us can handle, but if we work together we can make a difference. Email CPR (info@cpr-mn.org) to request a list of what you can do. This list will soon be on the website.

 

LET US KNOW HOW WE CAN HELP YOU. WE ARE A 100% VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION. WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO HELP YOU and your SPECIFIC SITUATION, BUT WE MUST WORK AS A TEAM TO HELP EACH OTHER.

 

SPECIAL THANKS: 3 financial donations came in this last week, from people supporting our efforts. THANKS.

 

SPECIAL NOTE:

PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL ALONG TO ANY NON-CUSTODIAL PARENT (or anyone else who is concerned for the non-custodial parent and the impact on the fractured family, such as: second wife, grandparents, girlfriends, employers, etc).

WE are EAGER to add the names of all citizens who are AFFECTED OR INTERESTED IN HELPING TO REFORM FAMILY LAW AND ANY NON-CUSTODIAL PARENT NEEDING ASSISTANCE IN THEIR FAMILY LAW CASE.

WE WELCOME YOUR PARTICIPATION AND WE NEED ALL INTERESTED NAMES so AS A CONCERNED CITIZEN we can ORGANIZE AND MOBILIZE (like Martin Luther King Jr did!) to prove to legislators that this issue matters to their constituents, and TO ACHIEVE THE GRASS ROOTS PUSH needed to DRIVE the MUCH NEEDED Family Law REFORM. Please forward names to CPR of other citizens interested in these issues. We want to add them to our list to keep people informed and show legislators there is a LONG list of effected and interested people in Minnesota.

ADDITIONAL NOTE to unsubscribe: You are receiving this email from CPR-MN because you have indicated interest in the group, or have attended a like-function where someone met you and thought you would be interested. If you would like to discontinue receiving these emails, please reply with "unsubscribe" in the email subject and your name will be removed from our list immediately. CPR-MN holds their membership information as very private information and will only use information for internal and informational purposes.