Jane Spies of the National Family Justice Association caught Maze in an interesting contradiction. In the column Maze says the woman referred to above whom he helped was not on his published deadbeat list. Yet in this interview on National Public Radio on August 3 Maze spoke of the same woman, and said she "saw her name in the newspaper" and contacted him. In other words, Maze admits that the woman was too poor to pay her child support, but he nevertheless publicly humiliated her by publishing her name and address.

In the article we also criticized Maze for erroneously listing innocent people. For example, Maze listed James H. Frazier as a deadbeat who owes $57,000, but gave out the current home address of James R. Frazier.  James R. Frazier and his wife Bertha have been erroneously targeted by enforcement officials before, and have spent years fighting to straighten out the error. The agency had previously acknowledged its mistake--and then went and published the erroneous information anyway. Maze writes:

"...Leving and Sacks are simply wrong. There is no James R. Frazier on the child support insert. Since the list's publication, we are pursuing him. WAVE 3 was given this information but chose not to mention it in the story the authors viewed."

So Maze says that even though they put James R. Frazier's address on their list next to the name James H. Frazier, there's no harm done because they listed James H. Frazier, not James R. Frazier. A hell of a defense--as if anybody cares what the middle initials are once the first and last names are identical and match the man's home address.

Even more remarkably, Maze apparently still has not corrected the error. As of 10/1/05 Maze's 1,000 "deadbeats" list still lists James H. Frazier as a deadbeat--at 4212 Grand Avenue, James R. Frazier's address!

Our column was based on this news report from WAVE3 TV in Louisville, Kentucky. Maze does have one point--the paragraph in our article discussing this case was a little confusing (my fault, not Jeff Leving's), and I have changed it to make it more clear.

Maze brags that his program has been a success, saying that it "has resulted in 434 payments of $48,717.85." In other words, the rich, high living playboy deadbeats he tracked down coughed up a whopping $112 per payment.

Maze also criticizes us for "confusing custody and child-support issues," noting that "the child support obligation is separate from questions of custody and visitation." Of course we're aware of this and never asserted otherwise. We instead pointed out that because visitation orders are poorly enforced, fathers often have to struggle to see their children and this has an effect on child support.

If you have an opinion about Maze's column you can write a Letter to the Editor by clicking here.

Child Support Agency Harasses Grieving Father

Just like James R. Frazier, Levine fought it and, even though he also got a letter saying that it had all been straightened out, the child support bureaucracy still pursued him. Read the story and see the video here.

When in Trouble, Blame a Man

Army Pfc. Lynndie England has been sentenced to three years behind bars for her role in detainee abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.  England claimed she participated in the abuse only because she was trying to please her soldier-boyfriend.

I've written before about the "blame a man" strategy frequently employed by women who are trying to escape justice. An excellent example was Colorado forest ranger-turned-arsonist Terry Barton. To learn more, see my column Colorado Arsonist Terry Barton's Smart Strategy: When in Trouble, Blame a Man (Cybercast News Service, 7/3/02).

Over the past week parts of Los Angeles have been surrounded and assaulted by raging fires. My house has been covered in ash and surrounded by smoke, and for a while it looked as if we would be forced to evacuate. It is only the heroic work of firemen which has prevented the fire from destroying much of the Valley.

In the media men are constantly depicted as lazy or irresponsible and it's always the poor, downtrodden ladies who have to hold things together. However, whenever there's a natural disaster or even a planned attack like 9/11 it becomes quite obvious that our society is largely held together by the men of the working class--the men who do the most demanding and most dangerous jobs. It's not just firemen but also construction workers and tradesmen, paramedics, heavy equipment operators, lumberjacks, rescue workers, Hazmat teams, sailors, longshoremen, police, pilots, and others.

As some of you know, I've worked as a carpenter and a construction worker, and some of my columns discuss the hazards that working class men often face and the sacrifices that they make. Men comprise 95% of all work-related deaths and disabling injuries in the US and I've laws been amazed at just how little recognition society generally affords them.

To learn more, see my columns Hate My Father?  No Ma'am! (World Net Daily, 4/8/02) and The Price of Fatherhood--a Father's Reply to Ann Crittenden's 'Mothers' Manifesto' (Los Angeles Daily Journal, San Francisco Daily Journal, 1/10/02), as well as my co-authored column Indiana Woman's 'Housework Strike': Maybe It's Husbands Who Should Strike (Gary Post-Tribune, 11/8/02).

Jeff Leving, Taron James Quoted on Paternity Fraud in the New York Times Magazine

Family law attorney Jeff Leving, my frequent co-author on fathers' issues, is quoted extensively in the New York Times Magazine piece Painless Paternity Tests, but the Truth May Hurt (10/2/05). Also quoted is Taron James, founder of Veterans Fighting Paternity Fraud.

Jeff and I wrote a column about this case a couple years ago--see Defrauded Veterans Have Mixed Emotions on Veterans Day (Daily Breeze [Los Angeles], 11/11/03). Over the summer His Side was filmed and I was interviewed for a recent Fox special about James and his case. To watch, click here.

The New York Times piece also discusses the Amber Frey paternity fraud case which I wrote about in last week's enewsletter.

Amber Frey Commits Paternity Fraud, Gloria Allred Makes Excuses

During the Scott Peterson murder trial, Amber Frey was called the conscience of the courtroom, an angel who helped bring a despicable murderer to justice. But for Anthony Flores, she's a liar who assassinated his character, emotionally abused him, and damaged his career.

According to the New York Daily News article Man Amber hit for child support told he's not daddy after all (9/20/05):

"More than four years after Frey swore that a 29-year-old Fresno, Calif., man fathered her first child, and she nailed him for child support, a DNA test says it isn't so.

"Hairstylist Anthony Flores is off the hook for [child support]...after a genetic test showed a local nightclub owner is actually the 4-year-old girl's daddy.

"'Amber Frey belongs on one of those Maury Povich Who's my baby's daddy? shows,' Flores' lawyer Glenn Wilson said yesterday. Flores said he feels 'foolish' and 'betrayed.'"

"'She was very convincing when she told me I was the only person who could be the father. ... I want an apology.'"

"Court Commissioner Nancy Staggs ordered the county to stop collecting support from Flores...Frey took Flores to court for support and when he fell behind at times, the state took away his driver's license. Frey also called him 'a deadbeat dad' in interviews.

"Flores, who still calls the child 'my daughter,' fought for visitation with the child. When Frey refused, Wilson says he notified the court he planned to seek a paternity test.

"Anthony is hurt and stunned by this," Wilson says. "He still refers to the child as 'my daughter.' And his mother thought she had a grandchild. They were lied to."

Flores was publicly humiliated, had his driver's license seized, was forced to pay child support, and was also denied a role in the life of "his" daughter by Frey. What will Frey's punishment be for her perjury, emotional abuse, and use of the state against an innocent man? Nothing, of course. As I've said before, in family law punishments and court orders are for men--women need not be concerned with them.

However, there is the possibility for a happy ending here. Frey has made a bundle off of her bestselling book Witness: For the Prosecution of Scott Peterson. I hope Flores sues her for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress and Amber is forced to write him a big, fat check.

It should be noted that had this case occurred a couple years ago, Flores would not have been able to successfully fight Frey, and would have been on the hook for 18 years of child support for a child who is not his. A decade long struggle by California activists resulted in two big wins for paternity fraud victims last year--AB 252 and the Navarro decision.

Among those deserving credit for this are the California Alliance for Families and Children, the American Coalition for Fathers and Children, the National Coalition of Free Men Los Angeles, Veterans Fighting Paternity Fraud, paternity fraud victim/crusaders Bert Riddick and Carnell Smith, former Assemblyman Rod Wright and his chief of staff San Diorio, and countless others. To learn more about paternity fraud, see my column Paternity Fraud Victims Need Justice (Los Angeles Daily News, 3/15/02), and my co-authored columns Preserving Paternity Fraud (Orange County Register, 10/3/02) and Defrauded Veterans Have Mixed Emotions on Veterans Day (Daily Breeze [Los Angeles], 11/11/03).

Gloria Allred: Some Trains Are Never Late

Not surprisingly, feminist attorney Gloria Allred, Frey's lawyer, defended Frey's behavior and returned the blame to the child's (non) father. She said:

"Only after the results of a recent DNA test taken by the true biological father did Amber realize that Mr. Flores was not the father of her child. To the best of Amber's knowledge, Mr. Flores did not [take a test] and... he needs to take responsibility for his failure to do so."

In other words, Frey is not responsible for lying and claiming that Flores was the father, or not at least acknowledging that Flores might not be the father. However, Flores is at fault for (allegedly) not taking a DNA test fast enough to suit poor Amber. I'll say one thing for Allred--she's consistent. Whenever there's a problem, she always blames the man. Some trains are never late...

To hear Gloria's appearances on His Side, see Gloria Allred vs. LaMusga's Attorney on Move-Aways (5/16/04) and Is Parental Alienation Syndrome a Fathers' Rights Hoax? (6/27/04).

The Peterson Trial and the 'Fatal Fathers' Myth

I had little interest in the Scott Peterson trial, etc. except to fight the anti-male "Fatal Fathers" mythology surrounding it. To learn more, see my columns 'Fatal Fathers' Myth Promoted in Wake of Peterson, Hacking Cases (Daily Breeze [Los Angeles], 9/17/04) and New Report on Maternal Homicide Crisis: Myth-Making and Manbashing (Lexington Herald-Leader, 1/3/05).

A Special Father & Son Reunion

Clarence Stovall, a reader in Wylie, Texas, read my column Are Boys Really Better off Without Fathers? (San Francisco Chronicle, 8/31/05, Seattle Post Intelligencer, 9/6/05) and wrote:

"Not that the importance of a father needs validation, but I wish the 'Maverick Mother' author could see this father and son reunion."

The reunion between 12 year-old Arnold and his father occurs about 5:30 into the tape--click here and wait for it, it's worth it. I have a son that age and if you can watch it with dry eyes you're better than I am. Also see Dramatic Video: Young Katrina survivor reunited with his Dad. 

The dad had helped his son and his mother get to higher ground so they could survive the flood and get out of New Orleans. Arnold and his grandmother were unsure whether the father survived because he was one of the last to leave the city. The reunion in the video occurred soon after the boy and grandma learned that dad was still alive.

Best Wishes,
Glenn Sacks
GlennSacks.com
HisSide.com
 

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