Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Ronald Reagan's Greatest Speech...just a little over a minute (thats all it took !!!) ...plus a few tidbits to keep you informed

You've all heard some of Ronald Reagan's great speeches...in fact one was so great it is now known as The Speech.   This little voluble speech needs no introduction...probably should be nominated for The Greatest Speech...ever! ~ Storm'n Norm'n
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The Speech...
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Now here's a novel idea...    

Our United States Constitution has its genesis in the English's Magna Carta but do we have the wherewithall (that's 'guts' to some of you) to stand up like those people of long ago who literally ganged up on the king and gave him an ultimatum...an ulitmatum from whence our freedoms and basic property rights were derived.  Well what goes around comes around and it looks as if the English are about to do it again...check this video out... (from YouTube)

Roger Hayes appeared in Court knowingly the Birkenhead judge Michael Peake would commit treason to hide the corruption going on in our courts. The BBC was there and all you will see from them on this monumental occasion was a brief piece on the Birkenhead local news n their website.

THEY Don't want you to know the court system has been proven to be corrupt. The freemen in court attempted to arrest the judge and the police arrested him, they clearly don't know the Law.

The court was then seized on behalf of the people, it was very peaceful and marked a president for the people, if you want to educate yourself on how you are being deceived then visit and join the sites below ;-

http://www.tpuc.org
http://www.ukblive.com
http://www.ukcolumn.org
http://www.lawfulrebellion.org
http://www.thebcgroup.org.uk

It's time to WAKE UP for the sake of your children and future generations ..... Peace

Think we could do likewise here?

Monday, June 20, 2011

Weiner, Hillary, and the Muslim connection

"...in order for "worldwide Islamic domination to succeed, every method and path is acceptable, including lying to people"
Tell me this isn't a conspiracy... 
You must move in the arteries of the system without anyone noticing your existence until you reach all the power centers ... until the conditions are ripe, they [the followers] must continue like this. If they do something prematurely, the world will crush our heads, and Muslims will suffer everywhere, like in the tragedies in Algeria, like in 1982 [in] Syria ... like in the yearly disasters and tragedies in Egypt. The time is not yet right. You must wait for the time when you are complete and conditions are ripe, until we can shoulder the entire world and carry it ... You must wait until such time as you have gotten all the state power, until you have brought to your side all the power of the constitutional institutions in Turkey ... Until that time, any step taken would be too early—like breaking an egg without waiting the full forty days for it to hatch. It would be like killing the chick inside. The work to be done is [in] confronting the world. Now, I have expressed my feelings and thoughts to you all—in confidence ... trusting your loyalty and secrecy. I know that when you leave here—[just] as you discard your empty juice boxes, you must discard the thoughts and the feelings that I expressed here.  ~ Fethullah Gulen

Source for the following: American Thinker

The Muslim Brotherhood and Weiner
By Eileen F. Toplansky

Far more disturbing than the salacious details of Weiner's dalliances is the fact that apparently his mother-in-law is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Furthermore, Huma Abedin's brother, Hassan, "is listed as a fellow and partner with a number of Muslim Brotherhood members." Hassan works at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS) at Oxford University. The Egyptian Al-Azhar University, well-known for a curriculum that encourages extremism and terrorism, is active in establishing links with OCIS.

How is it that the Western media, with its hourly analyses of Weiner, missed this salient point, yet Arab news sources revealed this connection? Walid Shoebat, formerly with the PLO, explains that Saleha Mahmoud Abedin, a professor in Saudi Arabia "belongs to the Sunni movement's women's division known as the Muslim Sisterhood." During the recent uprising in Egypt, which resulted in Mubarak's removal, "a special women's unit within the Muslim Brotherhood served as 'mules' to deliver messages and acted as messengers for the terrorist group."

The Muslim Sisterhood is also known as the International Women's Organization (IWO) and members are located "across 16 different countries." Its goal is to "work at all levels in accordance with the message of the Brotherhood." The Muslim Brotherhood's goal is Islamic world domination and "it is now public knowledge that nearly every major Muslim organization in the United States is actually controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood or a derivative organization. Consequently, most of the Muslim-American groups of any prominence in America are now known to be, as a matter of fact, hostile to the United States and its Constitution."

This chart on page four of the Domestic Intelligence Briefing by Mark Hass shows the FBI - Identified Terror Networks connected to the Muslim Brotherhood in North America.

Which should now raise even greater concerns since Huma Abedin-Weiner is the deputy chief of staff to Hillary Clinton, the United States Secretary of State. Did any vetting occur by Clinton's people concerning Huma Abedin, her brother Hassan, or her mother Saleha Mahmoud Abedin, and any connections with known Islamists, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood?

But then again, would it have troubled Mrs. Clinton? After all, during her husband's time as President, she warmly embraced Suha Arafat the wife of Yasser Arafat, arch-terrorist, right after a speech during which Suha Arafat falsely accused Israel of poisoning the Palestinian water supply.

Huma's brother has "worked with Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal on a program of "spreading Islam to the west." More intriguing is the fact that the Abedin family left Michigan for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, around 1977, which is the same year that the Muslim Sisterhood was formed.

Couple this with the Clinton family playing a key role in promoting Fethullah Gulen who has worked assiduously to overthrow Turkey's secular government. Gulen, who currently resides in Pennsylvania, has told his followers that in order for "worldwide Islamic domination to succeed, every method and path is acceptable, including lying to people."

In March of this year, the FBI was investigating the more than 120 charter schools in the United States that are linked to Gulen's movement. These schools, funded with millions of taxpayer dollars, promote Gulen's worldview that is both anti-Israel and anti-America. In fact, in 2010 it was reported that Bill Gates had given almost 11 million dollars to the Cosmos Foundation, which is a Gulen enterprise.

Moreover, one needs to question why Huma Abedin, a member of a family of devout Muslims, would ever marry a Jewish Congressman -- in a ceremony officiated by Bill Clinton. Sharia law clearly forbids Muslims from marrying non-believers, so what does this portend?

Furthermore, when Huma Abedin accompanied Hillary Clinton to the Dar El-Hekma women's college in Saudi Arabia, where Huma's mother is co-founder and vice dean, it was reported that "Hillary explained that Huma holds an important and sensitive position in her office." Where was the scrutiny?

Why are so many at the highest levels of American government ignoring the methodology of Islamists like Gulen, who has declared that the best way to seize power is to lie in wait "with the patience of a spider" in order to "wait for people to get caught in the web"? Is Clinton so naïve?

Thus, Huma Abedin's position with Clinton in the State Department, as well as her marriage to Representative Weiner, has given her enormous exposure "to state secrets and access to the inner workings of Congress."

This would be unsettling enough if it were not also for Obama's latest appointee. The 44th president has just appointed Azizah al-Hibri to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Al-Hibri believes that sharia law is superior to American law. Yet, al-Hibri is only one of the pro-sharia adherents that Obama has placed in influential positions since he became president. Dalia Mogahed was one of the earliest appointees and as Nonie Darwish has written, "[t]he empowerment of Radical Islam under the Obama administration" is extremely disturbing.

Last year, Obama appointed two devout Muslims to Homeland Security. Obama's record concerning Islamic terror was alarming from the beginning of his term and it has only become more entrenched. Congressman Keith Ellison aka Keith Hakim, who converted to Islam, is already in place in Congress. His connections to CAIR are troubling.

Is the Weiner scandal really covering up a far more disturbing scenario whereby jihadists continue to infiltrate and influence American universities, military installations, homeland security, even local police forces, all while the press ignores the steady encroachment of these radicals who seek to overturn and destroy America?

The disgraceful indifference by the general press to Weiner's in-laws and their connections to the Muslim Brotherhood keeps eroding America's ability to rout those who wish to see her destroyed.

Fethullah Gulen has exhorted his followers to "move in the arteries of the system without anyone noticing [their] existence until [they] reach all the power centers...until the conditions are ripe..." Can America continue to close its eyes to this deliberate hibernation strategy of our enemies?
Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com.
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Then there'e this from Romantic Poet's WebLog

Weiner’s In-Laws and the Secret Muslim Brotherhood Connections Revealed

by Walid Shoebat and Ben Barrack, FloydReports.com

Weiner’s In-Laws and the Secret Muslim Brotherhood Connections Revealed

June 15, 2011


Was Huma Abedin, the wife of Anthony Weiner and the Deputy Chief of Staff to Hillary Clinton, unaware that her mother was reported as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood? Is it possible she does not know that her brother is tied to the Brotherhood’s radical leadership? Did Western media miss what has been revealed in several Arab newspapers, which has remained secret in American government circles?
Al-Liwa Al-Arabi (translated here) claims to have leaked an extensive list of members of the Brotherhood’s secret women’s division, which is known alternately as the Muslim Sisterhood or the International Women’s Organization (IWO). This detailed list was partially published by Al Jazeera and several other major Arab newspapers. And it included Huma’s mother, Saleha Abedin.
Egypt’s Al-Dostor revealed that the Sisterhood included 63 International members that span 16 different countries; it’s also confirmed by the Arab Centre for Research and Studies, headed by researcher Abdul Rahim Ali.

Big Man on Campus

Neither Huma nor any major Western media outlet even mention what is common knowledge in the Arab world. Yet, Arab sources have confirmed that Huma Abedin has a brother named Hassan Abedin who works at Oxford University. Oxford University, which has long been infiltrated by Islamists who founded the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS), lists Huma’s brother as a fellow and partners with a number of Muslim Brotherhood members on the Board, including al-Qaeda associate Omar Naseef and the notorious Muslim Brotherhood leader SheikhYoussef Qaradawi; both have been listed as OCIS Trustees. Naseef continues to serve as Board Chairman.
In 2009, Qaradawi’s role within Oxford and the Muslim Brotherhood was championed by the notorious Sheikh Rached Ghannouchi of Al-Nahda – a Muslim Brotherhood affiliate now active in Tunisia. OCIS has even presented an award for great scholarly achievement to Brotherhood member Shaykh Abd Al-Fattah Abu Gudda, whose personal history goes back to the Brotherhood’s founder, Hasan al-Banna.
Even the Sunday Times acknowledges that the cradle of Islamic Jihad – Al-Azhar University – actively attempts to establish links with OCIS, where Huma’s brother serves.
Was Huma unaware of all this as she accompanied Hillary Clinton to the Dar El-Hekma women’s college in Saudi Arabia? Huma’s mother is the co-founder and a Vice Dean at the college and an active missionary on issues regarding Muslim women. The “Women’s Division” can be found at the Muslim Brotherhood’s official website; an excerpt from its goal, translated from Arabic, states:
The Womens Organization’s goal in accordance with the Muslim Brotherhood rules, is to gain and acquire a unified global perception in every nation in the world regarding the position of women, and the necessity of advocacy work at all levels in accordance with the message of the Brotherhood as written in Women in Muslim Society, and the rearing of women throughout the different stages of life.
True to this cause, another member listed as belonging to the Sisterhood mentioned by Al Jazeera is Suheir Qureshi. She spoke alongside Huma’s mother, Saleha Abedin as well as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was brought in due to her connection with Huma. All three women spoke on issues of women in Muslim society. An Arabic news report of what happened during Hillary’s visit stated:
Suheir Qureshi spoke of how elated she was of Hillary’s historic visit…Saleha Abedin spoke after Suheir Qureshi and beamed in the presence of Secretary Clinton. Saleha’s speech preceded the former First Lady’s. Then Hillary stood. She donned a broad smile as she approached the podium… Clinton started with a strong word and she spent a long time complimenting Dr. Saleha Abedin regarding her daughter. Hillary explained that Huma holds an important and sensitive position in her office. She ended her speech by speaking of Saleha Abedin’s daughter (Huma), that a person must be happy if mentioned in a positive light but there is no happiness that equals the compliment given to children in front of a parent.
It is sacrilege in Islam for Huma’s mother to accept the reality that her daughter is married to a Jew. Yet, neither Saleha nor Huma’s brother Hassan have denounced her marriage to Weiner, although it is considered null and void by some of the highest authorities on Islamic Shari’arulings. [emphasis added]
Huma’s brother has been key in furthering the Islamic agenda and has worked with Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal on a program of “spreading Islam to the West.” A detailed report from 2007 shows that Naseef was identified as the likely force behind the Abedin family’s departure from Kalamazoo, Michigan, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia circa 1977 – the same year that the Muslim Sisterhood was established.

Will Bill and Hillary Sponsor Huma’s Political Future?

In 2008, Dr. Mumen Muhammad wrote about why Huma vowed to stay with Hillary even if the latter were to lose the presidential nomination to Obama:
Abedin assures in press releases of her continuance on the path with Hillary Clinton, even if Clinton failed as a candidate. The candidate’s aids and other influential figures in the Democratic Party assure that they do not disregard Abedin running for election or taking her position in the political arena with the help in successive political administrations of the Clinton family itself.
Indeed, the “Clinton family” played a key role in promoting the extremely powerful Turkish imam and notorious Islamist conspirator Fethullah Gülen, as he fled Turkey for the United States after being accused of attempting to overthrow Turkey’s secular government, a charge over which he was indicted in 2000. (The charges were later dismissed.) In 2008, the former president heaped praise on Gülen, giving him a clean slate. Gülen is given refuge and has even had his sermons aired on Turkish television, during which he explained to his followers how to best seize power from the Turkish government:
You must move in the arteries of the system without anyone noticing your existence until you reach all the power centers… until the conditions are ripe… Until that time, any step taken would be too early – like breaking an egg without waiting the full forty days for it to hatch. It would be like killing the chick inside.
Gülen expressed this sentiment differently in another sermon:
The philosophy of our service is that we open a house somewhere and, with the patience of a spider, we lay our web to wait for people to get caught in the web; and we teach those who do.
Serving with Huma’s brother as an Oxford Centre Trustee is Turkey’s president – Abdullah Gül.He considers himself a follower of Fethullah Gülen (Gülenist) according to Wikileaks.

Islamic Radicals: They’re Comin’ to America

Strangely, Hillary Clinton signed a document less than one month prior to her trip to Saudi Arabia with Huma that lifted the ban on Tariq Ramadan, allowing him entry into the United States. Ramadan is the grandson of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hasan al-Banna and has ties to Islamic terrorist groups.[emphasis added]
Huma Abedin’s charm, family connections and access to highly sensitive state secrets (as Hillary has admitted), can have significant consequences. What absolutely must be known is if our distinguished public servants were made aware of all these ties to potential enemies of the State.

LINK

***by Walid Shoebat and Ben Barrack****

Related Link:

Read by clicking on blue link letters below

Al-Jazeera has fans in Obama W.H.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

"The rule of law is gone, replaced by the policies, procedures and protocols..." as one man burns!

I suppose that if I told you I onced walked to the top of Mount Monadnock that you might read a few lines about how one can see the skyscrapers in Boston some sixty-plus miles to the southeast.   But if I asked you to read fifteen pages of a dead man's thoughts just prior to his self-immolation you would probably rather go for the walk up the mountain.  Well that's exactly what I'm asking you to do...read!  You can always walk up the mountain some other day for this is a time of contemplation.  The story takes place in Keene, New Hampshire (not far from Mt. Monadnock) and should have made national headlines...but it didn't.  It's more than just a story but a thesis worthy of the scrutiny of one of those tenured academics that approve/disapprove of one's master's degree.  Centered somewhat on the subject of domestic violence the author moves into the political arena and basically tells us 'the system' is broke and although you may not approve of his tactics, suggests ways we can fix it.  In any event we should all agree that it (the system) indeed needs some 'fixin'.  I should also point out...and you will discover as you read...that an enormous amount of research went into this dissertation.  ~ Norman E. Hooben
"...death is not the worst of evil"
NH MAN BURNS SELF AT COURTHOUSE IN PROTEST

A New Hampshire man burned himself to death today in front of a courthouse. The specific reasons are individual to him, regarding a domestic violence arrest and prosecution. But the larger reason he killed himself is that he says the system no longer follows the Rule of Law. Once you read past the details, he gives a fascinating analysis of the system. He argues for a complete takedown of the Federal Government and starting over from scratch.
He may be an example of what is to come - people throwing themselves violently up against the system in order to bring it down.
It's fifteen pages. Longer than Joe Stack's. But much shorter than the Obamacare bill.]
Here is the link:
http://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/last-statement-sent-to-sentinel-from-self-immolation-victim/article_cd181c8e-983b-11e0-a559-001cc4c03286.html
Editor’s note: On Thursday morning, June 16, The Sentinel received a “last statement” via mail from a man who insinuated that he planned to set himself on fire in front of the Cheshire County Court House, and an explanation of why he intended to do so. Through further reporting, The Sentinel is confident this is from the victim of Wednesday afternoon’s fire, although police have not yet received confirmation of his identity. The 15-page statement is printed in full, except for two redacted items: The names of the man’s mother and his three children. Details will be posted as they become available.

Last Statement
by Tom Ball

A man walks up to the main door of the Keene N.H. County Courthouse, douses himself with gasoline and lights a match. And everyone wants to know why.  Apparently the old general was right. Death is not the worst of evil.

I am due in court the end of the month. The ex-wife lawyer wants me jailed for back child support. The amount ranges from $2,200. to $3,000. depending on who you ask. Not big money after being separated over ten years and unemployed for the last two. But I do owe it. If I show up for court without the money and the lawyer say jail, then the judge will have the bailiff take me into custody. There really are no surprises on how the system works once you know how it actually works. And it does not work anything like they taught you in high school history or civics class.
I could have made a phone call or two and borrowed the money. But I am done being bullied for being a man. I cannot believe these people in Washington are so stupid to think they can govern Americans with an iron fist. Twenty-five years ago, the federal government declared war on men. It is time now to see how committed they are to their cause. It is time, boys, to give them a taste of war.
There are two kinds of bureaucrats you need to know; the ones that say and the ones that do. The bridge between them is something I call The Second Set of Books. I have some figures of the success of their labors. You and I are in these numbers, as well as our spouses and children. But first let me tell you how I ended up in this rabbit hole.
My story starts with the infamous slapping incident of April 2001. While putting my four year old daughter to bed, she began licking my hand. After giving her three verbal warnings I slapped her. She got a cut lip. My wife asked me to leave to calm things down.
When I returned hours later, my wife said the police were by and said I could not stay there that night. The next day the police came by my work and arrested me, booked me, and then returned me to work. Later on Peter, the parts manager, asked me if I and the old lady would be able to work this out. I told him no. I could not figure out why she had called the police. And bail condition prevented me from asking her. So I no longer trusted her judgment.
After six months of me not lifting a finger to save this marriage, she filed for divorce. Almost two years after the incident, I was talking with her on the phone. She told me that night she had called a mental health provider we had for one of the kids. Wendy, the counselor told my then wife that if she did not call the police on me, then she too would be arrested.
Suddenly, everything made sense. She is the type that believes that people in authority actually know what they are talking about. If both she and I were arrested, what would happen to our three children, ages 7,4 and 1? They would end up in State custody. So my wife called the police on her husband to protect the children. And who was she protecting the kids from? Not her husband, the father of these children. She was protecting them from the State of New Hampshire.  This country is run by idiots.
The police sergeant Freyer screwed this up from the get go. When I got the Court Complaint form the box was checked that said Domestic Violence Related. I could not believe that slapping your child was domestic violence. So I looked up the law. Minor custodial children are exempted. Apparently, 93% of American parents still spank, slap or pinch their children. To this day I still wonder if Freyer would have made this arrest if it had been the mother that had slapped the child.
Labeling someone’s action as domestic violence in American in the 21st century is akin to labeling someone a Jew in Germany in the 1930′s. The entire legal weight of the state is coming down on him. But I consider myself lucky. My family was destroyed. But that poor bastard in Germany had his family literally annihilated.
Arrests are mandatory for the police in New Hampshire for domestic violence. That is not law. That is police department policy. Laws come from the Legislature and the Governor’s office together. God only knows where these policies come from. The State’s Attorney General also has a mandatory arrest protocol for domestic violence. I call these policies, procedures and protocols The Second Set of Books. You never cover the Second Set of Books your junior year in high school. That because we are not suppose to have a Second Set of Books. This is America-we have the rule of law.
I am a regular guy, a coffee and cheeseburger type of fellow. As remarkable as my life has been, I figure that what happens to me must be happening to others as well. I was 48 years old when I got arrested here for my first time. So I went looking for the arrest numbers for domestic violence, this new group that I had unwilling joined. I could not find anything. So I wrote the U.S. Dept. of Justice in Washington. They wrote back that they did not keep track of domestic violence arrests. The FBI keeps track of all other crimes. How come not domestic violence? I thought some low level clerk was blowing me off.
At the time, I had mailing addresses in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts. So I wrote to all six Congressional offices, the two Senators from each state and the two Congressman. They like doing favors for constituents hoping you will favorably remember their name in the voting booth. All six offices reported back the same thing. They do not know how many arrests for domestic violence have been made. I immediately knew something was wrong. And I also knew this was not going to be good.
Improvise, adapt and overcome. The Army teaches that to every soldier it trains. They say that no battle plan survives the first five minutes of combat. So your people on the ground had better be able to think for themselves. Taking casualties in war is just an occupational hazard. Taking casualties and not accomplishing your mission is a disaster. After 21 years of Army service, I am pretty good at improvising.
The first thing I found was a study not of domestic violence arrests but of domestic violence injuries for 18 unnamed states and the D.C. in the year 2000. In the study 51% of the injuries were ‘no injuries’. So I knew I had a study of police reports. Who else but a police officer would record no injuries? I populated that out to the 50 states and came up with 874,000 arrest in the year 2000.
I had originally populated the number back to 1994 when the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was enacted into law. I would later find out these arrests stated with the U.S. Attorney General’s Task Force of Domestic Violence ten years earlier in 1984. As individual states data became available for various years and states, I would incorporated in to my informal study. The number I have now in 2011 is 36 million adults have been arrested for domestic violence. I have a gut feeling this number could be as high as 55 million. But I only have data to 36 million. So 36 million it stays. And there is a really cool trick you can do once you have this number. You can find out how many American men. women and children ended up homeless because of these arrests.
Most of the domestic violence statistics I have seen break down with 75% male and 25% female being arrested. So I am going to used the male pronoun for the one arrested spouse and the female pronoun for the victim spouse. That should make the domestic violence feminists ecstatic-man bad, woman good. But that is okay because that is probably the last nice thing I am going to do for them today.
When then a man is arrested for domestic violence, one of two things can happen. If they are only dating and have separate apartments, then he can head home. But if they are living together, then this fellow has a real problem. Bail conditions and then a possible protective or restraining order prevent him from being with her. So he needs to find a new place to live, at least until the charges are resolved. The King of his Castle is no longer allowed into his castle. A feminist name Pence who wrote that was absolutely giddy at that outcome. So he can get his own place if he has enough money. Or he can move in with his mother, his sister or another relative. He might have a girl friend who would let him stay with her. And if none of this is possible, well then I guess he is sleeping in his car down by the river.
If he has minor children, money will soon turn into an issue. Most men I know do not mind paying child support. They want their kids to have food on their plates, clothes on their backs, and a roof over their heads. But it does stress that man’s finances. Child support is usually 33% of the man’s gross income. Withholding for taxes, social security and health insurance can range up to 28% of his gross paycheck. So a man making $500 a week gross has only $825 monthly left over after withholding and child support. That is not enough money for an apartment here in Central Massachusetts. That does not include other expenses like heating, electric, gas, groceries, telephone, cable, car payment and car insurance. So he is in a financial hole. Estimates of homeless men run 82% to 94%. I am going to round that down to 80%.
After the King has left his castle, his wife runs into a problem. She was use to getting his whole paycheck for the household. Now she get a third for child support. Figure they both work and made the same money, her budget went from 100% down to 66%. If she was running the house on $3,045. a month when the King was home, now without him she only has $2,220. Most households in America cannot withstand a 27% hit on the household account. She’ll juggle the bills but eventually most wives figure out that they can pay all the smaller bills if they just does not pay the big bill. That would be the rent or the mortgage. So six to nine months after the King is out of the castle, the Queen, the Princes and the Princesses are also on the street. Domestic violence feminists state that 50% of victim spouses of domestic violence end up homeless at some time in their lives.
The last group of homeless from these arrests are children. The domestic violence feminists state that 70% of domestic violence couple have children. So 50% female times 70% children equals 35%. But children is plural. So we will double to 70%.
(Odd isn’t it? They know that 50% of victim spouses end up homeless and that 70% of them have children. How can they know the percentages when they do not know how many total arrests were made? Those people at the U.S. Justice Dept. cannot even pull off a credible cover-up. )
Men are 0.8, women are 0.5, and children are 0.7 for a grand total of 2.0 homeless Americans for every domestic violence arrest. Multiply that by 36 million and you get 72 million men, women and children ending up homeless at some point in their lives over the last 25 years because of these domestic violence arrests.
That is a really large number even by Washington standards. That is almost 25% of the entire population of the U.S. using 2010 census figures. Which begs the question did these homeless people contribute to this latest economic meltdown, or did they cause it? Because if they did cause it then the recovery will not be measure in months or years but in decades.
Some of the boys in the Father’s Movement think Congress might have shot themselves in the foot over this one. Personally, I think they shot themselves some place anatomically higher. No wonder the Speaker of the House is always crying. The Dummies on the Potomac.
Twenty-five years ago the federal government start pushing these arrests on state’s legal systems. Now, we have an economy on the rope. They have thrown a huge amount of money at banks, big business and local and states government. And we are still in the mud. But no economist either at the Treasury Dept., Federal Reserve, universities or think tanks are even looking at the impact of all these broken families. If that 36 million arrest is correct, then 72 million men and women, have been throw out of the middle class into subsistence living. Or is the number 55 million and 110 million? No one knows and no one is even looking. But why should look? According to the Attorney General, we do not know how many arrests we have made.
And if the Tea Party is any indication, insurrection is brewing in the land. Just a coincident? Not likely. This is what happens when the government wipes out the middle class.
The idea for these arrests came from something called the Minneapolis Police Experiment (MPE) of 1981-82. In the experiment police offices were given pads with one of three words written on them; counsel, send or arrest. Counsel meant the officer was to try to mediate the couple’s spat. Send was to send one of the spouses out of the house for eight hours as a cooling off period. Arrest was arrest one of the two spouses. The officer was to do as the top paper on the pad said to do. The experiment was set up by the Police Foundation and Lawrence W. Sherman was the lead researcher. The results show counseling resulted in a future assault in 24% cases, send was 19%, and the arrest option resulted in a future assault in only 10% of the cases. Perhaps a cheap way of cutting down future domestic violence.
In 1984 The U. S. Attorney General’s Task Force of Domestic Violence recommended arrest as the primary weapon in domestic violence assault. Lawrence W. Sherman recommend not using the arrests because the MPE was just one study and it could be wrong. They ignored him. And by 1992, 93% of the police departments in the nation had adopted some form of mandatory arrest in domestic violence cases.
But by 1992 five more addition studies similar to the MPE became available. Lawrence W. Sherman reviewed all five studies. Then once again he wrote that the police should not use arrest. In two of the five studies, they found the same result as they did in the MPE, that an arrest cut down the odds of a future assault. But in the other three studies an arrest actually increase the odds of a future assault. So arresting someone in a domestic violence situation to cut down on future assaults did not work any better than just flipping a coin. I do not know if Lawrence W. Sherman is still alive. But fortunately he wrote a book call Policing Domestic Violence that was published in 1992.
So we have 800,000 American police officers arresting one in every six adults in the country and throwing 25% of the men, women and children out on the streets in an effort to enforce a policy that they knew did not work back in1992. And I had always assumed that you needed a man to really screw something up. Oh well, there goes another glass ceiling.
Why would they push an arrest policy that does not work? There are two schools of thought on the reason why. The first comes from Lawrence W. Sherman. He calls it the Law of Just Desserts. Revenge for slights and offenses, real or imagined. I am sure there are some that would argue that women are not vengeful. But what is that old saying? Hell hath no fury…..
The second idea comes from the mother of the second wave of feminism. I do speak of the brilliant Betty Friedan. In the Epilogue Chapter of the 20th Anniversary Edition of her book The Feminine Mystique, Betty relayed why she resigned as the first president of the National Organization of Women in 1970. Betty wrote that she, “was unable to openly fight the man haters and unwilling to front for them any more…” So man hating bigots no only existed 40 years ago, they were also grabbing power. Now Washington is funding them. Makes you wonder what bigots they will fund next. Maybe the Klan?
Feminists had always claimed that when women took over, we would have a kinder, gentler, more nurturing world. After 36 million arrests and 72 million evictions what we got was Joe Stalin.
The third wave of feminists do not like to call themselves feminists. The word feminist could be perceived as gender oppression. These third wave of whatever-we-call-you got that right The treachery of our legal system over the last 25 years may end up giving all feminists a bad name. Which would make us as bigoted as the man-hating feminists who got us into this mess to begin with.
So let us talk about those bureaucrats that do. These are the ones that actually carry out the evil deeds. I like call them the do-bies.
Any one swept up into legal mess is usually astonished at what they see. They cannot believe what the police, prosecutors and judges are doing. It is so blatantly wrong. Well, I can assure you that everything they do is logical and by the book. The confusion you have with them is you both are using different sets of books. You are using the old First Set of Books- the Constitution, the general laws or statutes and the court ruling sometime call Common Law. They are using the newer Second Set of Books. That is the collection of the policy, procedures and protocols. Once you know what set of books everyone is using, then everything they do looks logical and upright. And do not bother trying to argue with me that there is no Second Set of Books. I have my own copies at home. Or at least a good hunk of the important part of it.
I got my Second Set of Books when I sued the Jaffrey NH police department. Under the discovery rule, I write them with the material I wanted and it would arrive in the mail a few weeks later. I got the Police Academy Training Manual. I got the Department’s Policy and Procedure Manual. I got the no-drop protocol that the attorney general sent to all his or her prosecutors. I even got the domestic violence protocols for the court system, one hundred pages worth. Once you read it the material, then you will know what the police, prosecutors and judges will do. They are completely predictable once you know what set of books they are using.
The police academy training manual states that an arrest in a domestic violence call is the preferred response. They cite the Minneapolis Police Experiment (MPE) as its justification. But the author of the MPE, Lawrence Sherman, said do not use arrest because five follow up studies show that it did not work. The would be a violation of the 4th Amendment in the First Set of Books against unreasonable search and seizure. Then there is that whole issue of whether the police have the right to arrest for any reason other than they believe a crime was committed.
The Jaffrey Police Department Policy and Procedures Manual states that if a wife says she does not want her husband arrested, the police are to ignore her, arrest the husband, and get with the prosecutor to see what they can work out. In other words, make the arrest and then see if you can Mickey Mouse it. The wife is eligible for spousal immunity. If she invokes it, then no statement she mades, written or oral, are admissible because she cannot be cross examined about it under oath. ( Did you say that? What did you mean when you said that?) With no statements the police have no probable cause in most cases to make an arrest. Also a violation of the 4th amendment in the First Set of Books.
The actor Nickolas Cage was drunk in New Orleans with his wife. Everyone else is drunk in New Orleans, so why should Nick be any different. He and his wife were arguing over which house the rented for their stay. Nick grab his wife’s arm and started to lead her to his house. The police arrested Nick for domestic violence. His wife was stunned. That was not domestic violence. “Nothing we can do,” the police explained to her. “Just following orders.”
That is an accurate explanation for victims, even if they do not think of themselves as victims. The police have a zero tolerance towards any physical contact. Things might get worse in the future is the feminist logical for this present iron fist approach to domestic relations. I would have to agree with them. After all the arrests, poverty, homelessness and misery, I can assure you-things are going to get worse.
But that nothing we can do, just following orders the officers explain always sounds so timid and lame. The police need to punch their explanation up a bit, make it more authoritarian. And there is a quick, low cost way of doing it. The police officers only need to say it in its original German.
The state Constitution in NH said the prosecutors job is to promote justice. The Attorney Generals protocols said that domestic violence case are no-drop cases. (Unless, of course, they take the Deal. Continue the case for a year, go to counseling, and everything falls off the books after the year. They did after all find some way of getting rid of all these cases.)
The Attorney General can hire, fire, layoff, promote, demote, commend or award bonuses. The constitution is some old, quaint, dusty document up in the Statehouse some where. So which one do you think is going to get obeyed?
Prosecutors are funny. Some, maybe most, have egos the size of Cape Cod. But of the three, police, prosecutor and judges, prosecutors have the least protection. Micheal Nifong, the prosecutor in the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case, was fired, disbarred, convicted of a crime, and actually jailed for trying to enforce the no-drop prosecution protocol for sexual assault in the Duke case.
The prosecutor in my criminal case fared a little better. I filed a complaint with his boss for summoning my two daughters, ages 7 and 4, to court. I had already conceded that the facts were not in dispute. The trial would be about the law. No witness were need much less a couple of toddlers. He still summoned them. (The Second Set of Books tells the prosecutors to get a sympathetic face in front of the judge or jury. What’s more sympathetic than toddlers.) The prosecutor could not refute my allegation because I enclosed a copy of the trial transcript. I had to pay for the transcript. When the prosecutor read it, he gave his two weeks notice and then blew town. That transcript was the best $46 I had ever spent in this life.
There is a name for what happens when a bureaucrat is destroyed by the First Set of Books for attempting to enforce the Second Set of Books. It is called the Abu Ghraib Syndrome. The people within the law enforcement community no longer seem to know the difference between the law, with its checks and balances, and the policies, procedure and protocols that constitute The Second Set of Books. In some cases you do not even know who wrote the policy, procedure or protocol. It could have been the local high school gym teacher for all anyone knows. Many of these bureaucrats are eventually going to learn the different between the First and the Second Set of Books. And my guess is that many of them are going to learn it the hard way. Because the only checks and balances in The Second Set of Books is The First Set of Books.
Judges routinely use our children as bargaining chips. Get the adult into counseling, continue the case for a year, and then drop it. This will open up the docket for the new arrests coming in next week. These judges that use our children are not honorable. Which is why I never use the term ‘Your Honor’ any more. I just call them judge.
Alex Baldwin, the actor, wrote that you have never seen a coward until you have seen a Los Angeles County judge. I call my judges-Sullivan, Arnold and even Runyon-cowards, too. When I first started observing them, nothing made sense. Arnold was completely infuriated when he was maneuvered into ruling not guilty. He verbally went up and down me so many times I lost count. What was the big deal? If I was not guilty just say and then we could all go home. But that was back in the days before I knew about The Second Set of Books.
I lost visitation with my two daughters when I got arrested. One was the victim-the other was the witness. After a not guilty, I expected to get visitation with my girls. But the divorce judge, Sullivan, decreed that counseling was in order and they would decide when we would reunite. I told the judge that the decision on whether these two girls had a father or a fatherless childhood was not leaving this courthouse. There would be a couple of reason for that decision.
First, by then I knew of the Second Set of Books. As much as I had prayed for the return of my children, I knew that this counseling might get thrown in the way. Judges are addicted to counseling like a meth-head is addict to crystal meth. Sullivan wrote in the divorce decree that he envision only one or two meetings with the counselor. There is no counseling done in the first meeting or two. It is intake-who’s the players and what are the issues. But Sullivan was not interested in counseling. He merely wanted to unload the decision out of habit. And if we do not shut them down now, they will be doing it to our kids in twenty years from now when they have little ones running around the house.
Second, just exactly where does the buck stop with our legal system? Police have to make an arrest. The prosecutor has to pursue the case. Judges now also walk a away without rendering a verdict, and passing the buck does not constitute a decision. Can those mental health counselors slide the decision over to someone else? Just where does this end? Who is responsible? Who is accountable?
The mental health crowd is the third reason I said no. Some people think they are geniuses with their Masters and PH D’s. Others think they are so wacky that they call them fruit loops. Well, I have a third name for them. Suckers. They did not get hired for their medical ability. They got these because they were willing to take these cases off the judge’s hands. Which has done nothing for the credibility for their profession. We are not here to help-we are here to unload. And they created a liability that did not previously existed. If a judge releases a defendant and he goes kills someone, that judge or the judiciary cannot be sued. But a mental health worker, and their employer certainly can be held liable. Our judiciary is now using the mental health field like a ten dollar whore.
I sued Monadnock Family Services to make them go away. I told their lawyer Byron that they were a legitimate target for men. We settled for no money. They would have nothing to do with this reconciliation. The counselor was released. And they would no longer get involved in any domestic violence cases.
Every time we ended back in court over whatever squabbles, I would ask Judge Sullivan for my children back. The decision belong to the counselors he would tell me. But he knew he had screwed up. I could see it in his face. But he would not fix it. He would not step out of that box those domestic violence/sexual assault advocates had built for him. After five years, he retired to a part time position at the Littleton courthouse 120 miles away.
So when guys like Alex Baldwin and I call judges cowards, we have legitimate reasons for doing so. It is not good for judges to be called coward. It is unlikely that it is good for the rest of us.
I do not claim to have all The Second Set of Book. I know of one book that I do not have. And I would have love to read that one. That would be the seminar that the domestic violence and sexual assault advocates put on periodically for legal personnel including judges. These advocates are camped outside every state, not federal, courthouse in America. The U.S. Dept of Justice provides 50-100% of their funding depending on the program. They have three day seminars at resorts where everything is paid for except the liquor. Judges in NH are ordered to attend. Neither Sullivan or Arnold would confirm or deny they had attended. They actually said nothing. It must be like the Masons where they will not say anything about the organization until you show them the secret hand sign.
Supreme Court Judge Louis Brandeis once wrote that the best description of a judge is the impartial guardian of the rule of law. How does three days of wine, women and song contribute to impartiality? It does not. So it should not have been any surprise that they would not answer me. After all, they were not on trial. I was. But they are going to be. They were suppose to protect to rule of law not collaborate in its demise. They have failed miserably.
A guardian ad litem is an attorney appointed for a child. The attorney solely represents the child. I got one when I was first separated to get a neutral pair of eyes and ears on the family. I was disappointed in his findings.
A few years later, another guardian was appointed for one of the kids. A regular report filed with the Court painted me as some sort violent psychopath. I thought that was uncalled for seeing as we had never met. It start a flurry of nasty letters between until we both came to the conclusion that this was not about us. We ended on a friendly note.
At a Court hearing later on I approached him. I asked him if he had had any domestic violence training. He said yes, that it was required to become certified as a guardian ad litem. Another chapter for The Second Set of Books that I never managed to acquire.. So men, if you were thinking about getting a guardian ad litem for an unbiased assessment, then you should ask for the domestic violence material that certified the guardian. And do not worry that you are not sure what you are looking for. It will stand right out.
There are more sections of The Second Set of Books. Medical personnel are supposed to report suspected domestic violence. The college professor Angela Davis has a story of a Latino couple in California getting in trouble feeding the dog his liver for dinner. Mental health employees are also required. Think of Wendy threatening our kids with foster care. Teachers, day care providers, the list just goes on and on. The East German secret police, the Stazi, had 25% of the population on record as informers. The United States is not that high yet, but we are still growing.
These people-police, prosecutors and judges-are suppose to protect us. They are checks and balances to prevent injustice. That is why we spend so much money of police training. But if the police screw it up, the prosecutor can catch it. If the prosecutor misses it then the judge can step in to fix it. But if all three have been compromised, then what does one need to do to get justice? Go to the appeals court or the Supreme Court? That seem a little ridiculous particularly when the zero tolerance has arrests for something as trivial as touching.
On one hand we have the law. On the other hand we have what we are really going to do-the policies, procedures and protocols. The rule of law is dead. Now we have 50 states with legal systems as good as any third world banana republic. Men are demonized and the women and children end up as suffering as well.
So boys, we need to start burning down police stations and courthouses. The Second Set of Books originated in Washington. But the dirty deeds are being carried out by our local police, prosecutors and judges. These are the people we pay good money to protect us and our families. And what do we get for our tax money? Collaborators who are no different than the Vichy of France or the Quislings of Norway during the Second World War. All because they go along to get along. They are an embarrassment, the whole lot of them. And they need to be held accountable. So burn them out.
In the last 25 years they have arrested one in six adults in this country and forced 25% of the men, women and children into homelessness. In 50 years it will be one in three adults arrested and 50% of the men, women and children ending up homeless. Most of our kids will live to the age of 68 years old. As bad as it was for you, your children will have twice the odds of it happening to them.
Some of you will say that 50% homelessness sounds absurd. But 25% is absurd and that is already here. There is no evidence that the police, courts, or government is planning to do anything different in the immediate future. And they will not do anything different until we make it so uncomfortable that they must change. Bureaucracy at its worst. So burn them out. This is too important to be using that touchy-feeling coaching that is so popular with business these days. You need to flatten them, like Wile E. Coyote. They need to be taught never to replace the rule of law. BURN-THEM-OUT!
Most of the police stations built in New England over the last 20 years are stone or brick. Fortunately, the roofs are still wood. The advantage of fire on the roof is that it is above the sprinklers. But even the sprinklers going off work to our advantage. There is no way they can work in a building with six inches of water. And I am certain we will disrupt their momentum once they start working out of a FEMA trailers. If they still do not get the message, then burn down the trailers.
The easiest way of burning a building is with the Molotov cocktail. It was invented by the Finns when the Soviets invaded in 1939. You fill a bottle with gasoline and stuff a rag in the end for a wick. You light the wick and throw bottle, It shatters on impact spraying gas everywhere and the wick ignites the gas. Simple, readily available, and effective. And only two things to remember.
First, use a glass bottle. Thinner glass is better than thicker glass. You want it to shatter on impact. When I was teaching a kid at the high school on the West Side Worcester, MA. threw a Molotov cocktail into his school. Fortunately, he used a plastic bottle. It burned about three square inches of carpeting. I had to laugh when I said to myself, “Thank God for dumb kids.”
Second, you need to tie the rag to the bottle. Nothing worse that throwing a Molotov cocktail, landing where you wanted it, and having it shatter perfectly. Then you noticed the wick had fallen out on the way to the target. No wick-no fire.
Some of these building will have brick faces and metal roofs. Just break a window and throw the Molotov cocktail inside. Carpets, furniture, computer plastic, even paint on the walls will burn. It is okay if the sprinkler goes off. I wonder if you can get hip waders over a gun belt?
We had a kid in my hometown that burned down the old junior high school. He walked up to the front door one night with a can of lighter fluid. The applicator on the end squirts the lighter fluid out. He squirted under the door and along the seams and lit a match. The kid took out the entire old part of the building. Why are kids so competent when it is something they should not be doing?
There will be some casualties in this war. Some killed, some wounded, some captured. Some of them will be theirs. Some of the casualties will be ours.
Now, nobody wants to get killed. But let us look at your life. You are broke after paying child support. She and the kids are not doing any better. None of you are middle class any more. You have no say in the kids education, their health treatment, you may not even have visitation with your sons and daughters. And everything you thought you knew to be true-the rule of law, the sanctity of the of the family, the belief that government was there to nurture your brood-all turned out to be a lie. Face it boys, we are no longer fathers. We are just piggy banks.
So you are not losing anything by picking up the Molotov cocktail. It may be too late for us. But without something changing, your kids will have double the odds of it happening to them. That will knock them out of the middle class again, providing they ever get back in. And their kids, your grandchildren, will end up damaged goods before it is over. So it is okay to run. You just need to turn around and run at them. They are no way as imposing as they seem. They only do what they do for a paycheck.
Television would make us believe that people get arrested because of fingerprints, DNA, facial recognition, and instruments that can tell where a substance was made and here is the local distributors. It is Hollywood crap. Most of the people in prison are there for one key reason. They could not keep their mouths shut. They told someone. That someone told others. The cops hear it and start looking at them for a suspect. That how it works in real life.
This need to confess seems to be primeval. Just human nature. But if you cannot keep a secret, do not expect the one you tell to keep their mouth shut. There is only three people I know for certain they will keep their mouths shut. That would be Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
I only managed to get the main door of the Cheshire County Courthouse in Keene, NH. I would appreciate it if some of you boys would finish the job for me. They harmed my children. The place is evil. So take it out
Some where along the line I picked up the crazy notion that it is better to be dead as a free man than to live as a serf. The government needs to be a little more careful about what they teach in our schools.
And bring a can of spray paint to these fires. Paint the word COLLABORATORS ( two L’s with an S on the end) on the building before you burn it. Maybe we can shame them back to the rule of law. And we do want the police to know exactly who burned the building. Then the police can start interviewing the usually suspects, all 36 million of us.
We have covered the do-bies. Now let us look at the bureaucrats that say-ers.
The Second Set of Books originated in Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) which is part of the United States Department of Justice. Some of these policies, procedures and protocol were developed locally. But the local results would be sent up to OVW and, if approved, would disperse it out to all 50 states. They are smart, clever, bigoted and able to lie as well as any politician that ever called Washington home. In other words, they have now become Washington insiders.
But what makes them so uniques is their anger towards men, any man. They are so twisted in their hatred of men that they are positively scary. And it is not what they are doing to men that makes them frightening. You would expect that. No, it is what they are doing to the women and children that makes them so twisted.
When the Pentagon drops a bomb on innocent civilians the military calls it Collateral Damage. It sounds better than, “Yeah, we killed a bunch of women and children.” Those poor, innocent, stupid civilians have always been caught in the middle since the time we were fighting with rocks.. Your wife and kids are Collateral Damage in the war against you, the man in the family. For 25 years these feminists at OVAW have been willing to sacrifice the women and children to get you. And they cannot claim ignorance about what they are doing. Under the VAWA the federal government is funding at least 1,800 homeless shelters. As long as the Office for Violence Against Women exists in the U.S. Department Justice , no American man, women or child will be safe in their own home.
If you ask these feminists why are the shelters all full, they will not say because of all the arrests. The shelters are full because of men. But they knew from the beginning that this was not man bad-woman good thing. The year was 1976. Two things would happen that year.
First, someone at the U.S. Dept of Justice decided to count the dead bodies. In 1975 there were 1522 women killed in domestic violence. And for men killed in 1975? The dead for men was 1506. Statistically equal a friend tells me so.
If you had asked me before the study, I would have assumed that women were getting the worst of it. But I would be looking at it by genders. What I should have been looking at was species, homo-sapiens, human beings. Men are human-women are human. Being the same species you would expect the same results from both genders. And that is exactly what the dead bodies told us.
The second thing that happened in 1976 was the first domestic violence survey was released. It was so new the time that they called it family violence. Murray Straus of UNH and Richard Gellars from a school in RI were the researchers. They did not find two perpetrators of domestic violence, but three. Men initiated violence 25.7% of the time: women 25.2%, and the other 49.1% was the two going after each at the same time. These two people going after each other at the same time is well recognized in law. The law in NH calls that mutual combat. Men are human. Women are human. And once again we found both genders acting the same manner.
So how did we end up with the theory of man bad-woman good that the government at all levels is using? The feminist writer Susan Brownmiller wrote In Our Time that,” the way you get funding and church donations is to talk about the pure victims. If you talk about the impurity of the victim, the sympathy vanishes.” If women get to be good then men get what is left-bad. Man bad-woman good was originally a funding raising technique. After 35 years, it has turned into official government dogma at all levels, from the local cop on the beat to the White House. Men need to be punished, restrained and retrained. Your wives and children are, unfortunately, just collateral damage in this effort to punish men. So you were not dreaming it. There really is a government pogrom against men.
When a man batters or kills, there is no excuse. When a woman commits the same act, there is nothing but excuses. Simple though inaccurate. But there is one redeeming aspect to men being demonized. Now we men can act like devils. And we do not even need to apologize for it. Men are going to start acting just like they made us out to be. As an old high school semi-punk I can assure you boys of one thing. This is going to be fun. You guys are going to end up laughing like hyenas.
The money funded under the VAWA is split in two when it leaves the Treasury. Part goes the Health and Human Services for fund these domestic violence homeless shelters. If that 36 million number is correct, and it is all that we have, then the 1.44 million arrests a year will be made producing 2.88 million homeless Americans each year. Women and children constitute 60% of these homeless people, 1.7 million Americans a year. Shutting down these shelters would be cruel. What would these women and children do then? Go live under a bridge. No, we are stuck with these shelters for a while. But there is one thing that Congress needs to fix when they fund them again.
These shelters do not allow men on the property let alone inside the residences. Why is it against the law to use federal money on organizations that discriminate against black, Jews, gays or even women but it is okay to do so against men? Men contributed half that tax money. Eight years ago a man in California fled with his children after the police warned him to get out after they had arrested the wife and mother. None of the shelters would take him and the kids in because he was a man. I wonder if this would survive a legal gender discrimination challenge in a federal court?
A society without men is freakier than a world without blacks or Jews. That is not to say blacks or Jews are any less worthy. It just that there are more men in the world than blacks or Jews even if you combined them. If these feminist had to deal with men on a regular basis, then maybe the country would not be in the pickle we are in now.
There is a third reason to end this discrimination, something of a more practical nature. Apparently, some women like to have sex with men. But men are barred from the property. Suddenly, that 15 year boy two doors down starts looking real good. It might even be fun breaking in this new meat. So this woman driven into insolvency by the push for domestic violence arrests now finds herself charged as a pedophile because someone barred men from her world. With domestic violence advocates as friends, who needs enemies.
This shelters came up with a novel approach to fixing the pedophile problem. Male children over the age of thirteen are barred from staying there. Too troublesome. The family broke up when the father was thrown out of the house. Now a second break up is happening with the teenage boys. Perhaps a relative has one bed available. Maybe the family of a high school friend would take him in their home. If neither option works then that is okay. He can move in with his father. Then they will both be sleeping in the car down by the river.
Children of these parents also suffer. They used to have their own bedroom in a safe town with good schools. First they have a shelter, then Section 8 public housing. An urban school. Maybe good-maybe not. Kids learn how to be tough in an urban environment. The kids might go bad or they could come out just fine. But there will be no clunky car as a teenager. There will be no saving fund for college. There will be no monetary gift to use as a down payment for a starter home. This tradition of the older generation giving the younger generation a financial leg up has been ruin due to the older generation’s lack of money. Financially, the older generation is merely treading water. It will take generations after these present two generations to repair the economic damage to these families.
So we are stuck with funding these shelters for a while. These women and children have no place left to go. Some of you guys may think that these feminist caused the problem and then created the solution. But homeless shelters are not a solution. They are just barely a band aid.
The remaining money under VAWA goes to the United States Department of Justice for the Office of Violence Against Women (OVW). As long as OVW exists then the government is at war with men. As long as there is a pogrom against men, then women and children are going to end up as collateral damage. So there is no need for discussion about OVW going. The only thing we need to figure out is which of the two ways we can use to get rid of them-the easy way or the hard way.
And boys, do not try to burn down Washington’s Dept. of Justice Building in an effort to get rid of the Office of Violence Against Women. Their offices are over at N Street.
The easy way is using Congress. The VAWA comes up for funding every five to seven years. Next time it comes up, Congress votes no and everyone at the OVW gets a pink slip in late September. Nice and simple except nothing is simple in Washington. We, the people out here in the sticks, do not always know what the dynamics are in Washington. There might be one method of getting Congress on course. Have Congress demand that the Attorney General get, and release the arrests figures. Or have the President order it. He is usually fearless after he makes up his mind. And this is too large and too well known to continue the Washington plausible deniable routine. Then they will know how much trouble they are in because of these arrests.
There are 220 million adults 18 or older in this country of both sexes. If my figure of 36 million is correct, then that is 16.4% of the adults have been arrested. It could be as high as 55 million or 25%. It might be as low as 22 million or 10%. Whatever the number there are two things that Congress should know. First, is the fellow who discovered the arrests in Minneapolis back in 1992 said do not use it because it does not work. And second, the people arrested now constitute a Fifth Column here in the United States. Our loyalty to Washington is gone. But what did these genuises on the Potomac expect? They have harmed our children. If they think Al Qaeda is a pain in the ass, wait to they see what Americans can do once their fuse is lit.
I am certain the Attorney General will sit for months on the request for the number of domestic violence arrests. Then he will explain that they do not readily have the number and that some sort of Manhattan Project effort will be needed in time and money. Nonsense. When Washington started these arrests in 1984 over 6.3 personal computers were sold here in the U.S. That figure does not include all the mini’s, midi’s and mainframe computers sold that year. There is no way they can pretend that this data does not exist in electronic storage. A request to Ohio for the arrests 1984-2010 would tie up a state clerk for an hour, including their 15 minute coffee break. Time for the truth boys and girls. Because this is not going away.
The hard way is more time consuming, cost more money and is full of headaches. Because the only way of removing a department from the federal government without the consent of Congress is to take out the entire federal government.
The first time I heard that, I said that is ridiculous. We cannot run this country without a federal government. But we will replace the old government with something new and improved. The new government would honor the debts incurred by the old government. There are a lot of useful reasons for starting with a clean slate.
The bipartisan debt commission released their recommendation for cleaning up the $14 trillion we have borrowed over the years. Convention wisdom has it that Congress has no stomach for any of the recommendations.
But a new government could install those recommendation on day one. Three years later, most Americans will not remember that anything is different. The old government laid off its employees when it closed. The new government is hiring. But instead of 65,000 employees at the Dept. of Education, the new government is only hiring 45,000. Instead of an average federal wage of $70,000 a year, the new average will be $52,000. The new government will have to write a tax code. Everyone pays 15% with no deductions. How many IRS employees could you get rid of if there were no more deductions? Any thing is possible with a new government.
Normally over-throwing a elected government is considered treason. Treason is punishable by death here in the United States. But there is one way of over throwing the government. That is through the ballot box. Then it is not treason but democracy. Allegedly, Washington is in favor of democracy, particularly if their candidate wins.
There is no legal mechanism in the Constitution or the Federal code of the United States for dissolving the government of the United States. So that is what we need first. Congress would need to write it. We get them to do it through the ballot initiative.
A ballot initiative is when enough registered voters sign a petition to get a question on the ballot for the next election. The following would be a sample of what the question would look like in New Hampshire.
That all elected representatives from the state of New Hampshire to both houses of the United States Congress are to propose and advance a bill that would set up a legal mechanism to dissolve the United States government should the people decide to do so in a general election by a simple majority.
If this initiative passes in all 50 states then Congress will be stuck. They will have to write the law to dissolve. If they do not I suspect within ten years they will be standing in a stairwell at the British or French embassy with a suitcase in hand waiting to get to a rooftop helicopter. I doubt if they will be thinking about the humiliation of being thrown out of the country. They will be far too busy worrying about what will happen if the mob gets their hands on them.
Washington has not got a friend in the world. Even the British and Israelis loath them now. Kind of a bad time to be losing domestic support. And what they done over the last 25 years? They have wiped out the middle class pandering to a special interest group of bigots. And in typical Washington fashion, they did not even know they did it.
This Ivy League inbreeding in Washington has produced an elite that knows what best. Everyone else-husbands, wives, police officers, prosecutors, judges, attorney generals and guardian ad litems-are to shut up and do what they are told. The rule of law is gone, replaced by the policies, procedures and protocols of The Second Set of Books. Which means the federal government will be going shortly. For the government being unable to deliver the rule of law is like an auto mechanic who claims he does not know how to change the engine oil. A certain minimum competency is required. So it looks like the parents of the Washington elite were right. One can be too smart for their own good.
Betty Friedan wrote that the feminist revolution, like any revolution, would have its excesses. Losing the rule of law is too great to call it a mere excess. It is a catastrophe. It is the heart, mind and soul between the people and their government. These feelings of betrayal by losing it may be permanent. I have 21 years of Army service going back to the Vietnam War. My loyalty to the government should be a given. It is gone. I am certain it will never return regardless of how long I might have lived.
It was another woman that lead us in to this decision to clean house inside the beltway. Something she taught us fifty years ago. You simply look at those folks in Washington and then ask yourself the old Ann Landers question, “Am I better off with them, or without them? Are my children better off with them, or without them?” They are sinking like stones.
Washington, DC was chose as the capital because it was the geographical center or the old Colonies. Today, the geographical center of the country is just west of St. Louis Missouri. The new government can set the capital anywhere in the United States it wants. Imagine how many rodents, insects and parasites they could lose by moving 1500 miles west.
Whether you replace the federal government or not, men are still going to need a legal defense center for men. Something like the NAACP used to get black people their rights. The only checks and balances in the Second Set of Books is the First Set of Books. Which means lawsuits. Now I know you guys are broke. Some of you have had your wives and kids thrown into homelessness. So I completely understand when you tell me that you are broke. But if everyone who has been arrested throws in $10.00 a year then the legal defense center will have a war chest of $360 million. You can buy a whole bunch of lawsuit with that kind of money.
The Ball family has been supplying sergeants to the Army since at least the Revolutionary War. Elijah served as a sergeant in Cushing’s Regiment at the Battle of Bennington. His commanding officer was a general from NH with a name of John Stark. General Start was a clever warrior. He was responsible for the bulk of the heavy casualties the British suffer at their victory at Bunker Hill. His orderly, fighting withdrawal allowed the other units on the hill to not only retreat but collect their wounded on the way out.
General Stark would repeat this performance on three hill tops outside the village of Bennington VT one hot August day in 1777. At the end of the battle, the British lost over 900 men killed or captured. The Colonists suffered 30 dead. Two months later, the depleted British army would surrender at Saratoga. That victory at Saratoga would bring the French into the war. John Stark was the most competent general this country ever produced. For that reason alone his men loved him.
But as brilliant as he was on the battlefield, General Stark would become even more famous for something he said. In 1809 the veterans of Bennington decided to have one last reunion. A delegation called on the General with his invitation. But the General was old and frail. He could not attend. But he did send a message, “You tell the boys I said live free or die. That death is not the worst of evil.” Since 1945 the State of New Hampshire has stamped Live Free or Die on every pen, coffee mug, license plate and highway sign that they have gotten their hands on.
I think the General and his sergeant would be please that his words have elevated from the novelties and bric-a-brac to something more dignified like a courthouse door. Neither of them would give a second thought to the mess left over after the fire was extinguished. War has always been a grim business. Civil wars are usually worse.
But they would be trouble by the new enemy. Oh, they understood when a government betrays it people. They took up arms against the super power of their day to get relief for their grievances. But the enemy we face now is the government that these men birthed at places like Bennington, Saratoga and Bunker Hill. Government is no different than the food in a refrigerator. Given enough time both will go bad.
The smartest person I knew in this life was my mother. Perhaps that is true of all of us. Maybe I just got lucky. She was a nurse by trade. She worked in a time when Western medicine made that final transition from butchery to science. But it would not be her nursing skills that made her extraordinary. No, it would be this one incredible knack she had that I had only modest success at mimicking in my life. If she had something important to say to you, she would say and then never mention it again. She would talk about it if you raised the issue. But she never mentioned it twice on her own. And, oddly, you always heard her.
But she did have one favorite saying. I must have heard in a thousand times in the eighteen years I lived under her roof. It always came at the end of the conversation as she peeled away to see if it was time for Perry Mason or Lawrence Welk. She would turn her head to the side, and over her shoulder she would say, “And the only thing you really have in this world is your family.” Now, thanks to the United States Government, neither we nor our children have that.
. I have three things to say to my children. First, Daddy loves you. Second, you are my three most favorite people in the world. And last, that you are to stick together no matter how old you get or how far apart you live. Because it is like Grandma always said. The only thing you really have in this world is your family.

Here are some of the comments related to this story...

  • Harvard Law posted at 9:42 pm on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    Harvard LawPosts: 1
    I use this screen name because I want the educated elite who believe that Sgt. 1st Class Ball was crazy to know that I have their "pedigree". I also have an MA and graduated near the top of my class from one of the top five engineering schools in the country.I say these things not because they are particularly important to me, but because when you try to marginalize my views as those of an uneducated lout, you'll know that I fit your paradigm for "educated".
    When you study survival, you learn that there are many people in survival situations who have a great chance of surviving...yet they do not. Why is that so? They lose hope. Hope has brought POWs in the Hanoi Hilton through years of torture and solitary confinement. But when people lose hope...like Sgt. 1st Class Ball...they consider crazy options that would not ordinarily be rationally considered. But the desperation Sgt. 1st Class Ball felt does not mean that the points he made about a perverse and unjust system are invalid.
    Today is Father's Day...yet American culture has spent years degrading men in general, and fathers in particular. Sgt. 1st Class Ball finally lost hope that the most important value in his life...family...was gone forever. And speaking from experience, both personally and professionally, few prosecutors care enough to dismiss DV charges. The multi-billion dollar DV lobby is too powerful, and all DAs lust above all in getting re-elected. Male scalps on the wall...just or not...show that a DA is doing "something".
    After experiencing troubles similar to Sgt. 1st Class Ball, I chose to fight the system, both legally and through the public media. Because of my "pedigree", I could call press conferences, and the press showed up. But every time I made that threat, and the bullying system (cops, DAs) backed down, I thought: "What happens to poor black, hispanic, or white fathers who cannot call press conferences and beat the system at its own game?" Well, you just read what happens to those men. Most lose their children...the most important people in the world to them...and some lose hope...like Sgt. 1st Class Ball.
    I'm part Indian, so the old adage: "Don't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his moccasins" has special meaning to me. If you trust the "system"...cool...then you're ignorant of it, or you're a part of the injustice, and have a vested stake in the injustice continuing. If you REALLY want to know the truth, seek out those who have experienced this injustice like Sgt. 1st Class Ball. Get BOTH sides of the story, divorced from a one-dimensional view of the inherent brutality of men as presented by those who have a vested interest in propagating the status quo. It's my overall experience that the DV lobby's current adage is: "If a woman says it, it's true. If a man says it, it's subject to the rules of evidence." Common sense tells us that cannot be true. And if common sense does not prevail...and soon...there will be a lot more men like Sgt. 1st Class Ball without hope leaving their children with an indelible memory that lasts for the rest of their lives.
    Rest in peace, Sgt. 1st Class Ball. Thank you for your dedicated service to both our Nation and your children. I'm sorry that you lost hope.
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  • Paisley posted at 9:21 pm on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    PaisleyPosts: 26
    The words of General John Stark, and similarly those of Sir Patrick Henry, were spoken in the context of a looming battle. Spoken to urge men to die fighting for freedom, not to offer the option of abandoning the fight and choosing death.
  • JustDoingMyJob posted at 9:04 pm on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    JustDoingMyJobPosts: 1
    RIP Tom Ball as you died for a noble cause which was for a family to stay together. There is a reason that spouses are not compelled to testify against one another. See what happened when his wife was compelled? His analogy of Nazi Germany was appropriate. The guards at Aushwitz and Dachau said they were just doing there job but that did not make it right. "What God has joined together let no man put asunder." He gave his life in an effort to improve the lives of millions of families even though he knew it was too late for his own. The exact goal our government states when killing people all over the world. But then it's okay, right? You may disagree with his method but you are a moron if disagree with his purpose or think he is wrong about the war on men. Affirmative action is another one. Tom Ball was too much of a man to walk away with his tail between his legs. Live Free or Die!
  • FreeRDead posted at 8:08 pm on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    FreeRDeadPosts: 2
    How typical is it, a liberal seeking to deny the people the whole truth? They contrive their own realities and seek to foist them upon us under government force.
    They are the enemies of God, Mankind and the people of this nation.
  • sarum posted at 7:32 pm on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    sarumPosts: 1
    I get it Tom Ball. We also marginalized Joe Stack, who flew his own plane just to be sure that his accomplishments would not permit the MSM to dismiss his final act as that of a demented brain instead of the highly educated and versatile man that he was. Tom Ball makes many very valid points that are not just germane to his specific situation. Yes I am disheartened by how many don't "get it." We need to agree if we are to fix the problems and they are legion.
  • East coast liberal posted at 7:24 pm on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    East coast liberalPosts: 61
    2006 there were 158 suicides in NH
    2006 there were 34,598 suicides in the USA (the whole Viet Nam war there were 50,000 deaths)
    Most of these individuals were mentally sick individuals.
    Most of those Individuals left notes.
    Will the local and national papers start printing all these? I hope not.
    The world is a better place without Mr Ball. He advocated burning down police stations and courthouses and possibly killing hundreds of innocent people.
    I am sure that the fire that consumed his body is now consuming his sole and rightfully so.
  • FreeRDead posted at 5:58 pm on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    FreeRDeadPosts: 2
    I’m really surprised by some of these responses. I’m shocked that some of you cannot understand Mr. Ball’s statement or act.
    Some of you see this as a waste of life, crazy and twisted. For those of you who see it this way, let me ask this; what does “Live Free or Die” mean? Is it some quaint statement of a long passed soldier’s motivation for taking up arms against his own government? Or does it have any relevance in this age?
    “Live Free” – is, of course, how we are supposed to live in the United States. But what does freedom mean. It’s something I’m afraid only an increasing minority there in the North East understand, and even less embrace. It means I choose for me, not some stranger in Washington deciding for me. It means that I choose how to correct my children, whether or not I wear a seatbelt, if I will buy Health Care Insurance, If I leave home when my wife and I are not getting along, how I save up for my own retirement, if I choose to own a firearm and I could write all night all of the choices.
    “Or Die” is pretty simple. Your motto is a reminder that is better for a man to be free than to just live, that death is preferable to having someone else decide for you. That any other condition, desirable or otherwise, is the existence of sheep and not men. That to be mankind, freedom is necessary – like air, food or water. The creation of this nation is this fundamental truth placed into action.
    Tom Ball here, is living (and dying) your motto. Tom Ball’s children were taken from him. However wise and preventive this may seem to some of you, it was unequivocally, a subversion of his choice and liberty. He was no victim, nor does he make a claim to be here. He is exercising the choice that John Stark gave you in 1809. If you cannot understand this, I will go so far as to comment that you do not understand this nation or its creation. I tell you that John Stark and many others rose up against the mightiest power on earth for far less offense than the State of New Hampshire is guilty of in the matter of the People vs. Tom Ball.
    He is also trying to light a match. He is attempting to fire the first shots. To remind us all, that injustice does not go unchecked. He reminds us that the government is wrong and is injuring the governed, and that the tolerance of the governed is beginning to reach its limit.
    My children live in Massachusetts, and I live in New Mexico. Do you think that I left my children of my own volition? Or is it more likely that to afford the Commonwealth’s nutty idea of supporting my children, I was forced to leave them? For those of you who think it’s the former, then I would say France or North Korea would be a better place for you. For those of you who guessed the latter, then you guessed right. How I support my children – if at all – is my choice, for good or for Ill. No government of men has the right to decide that for me. Which means – that for me, and millions others, we are not free. I work a job, or I get picked up by federal Marshalls, and dragged off to a Massachusetts gulag. For those of you who do not understand what a gulag is, that means that I work or go to jail. That makes me a slave. For those of you saying “Well that’s how it should be” then please admit that it is OK to enslave people, just so long as it is for a good reason. (Supporting children in this case) This has implications. It means that children will prosper or suffer their parent’s good or bad choices. This is the condition of mankind. Anything else, is a subversion of nature, and will lead to suffering on a global scale, just as Tom Ball has less than eloquently indicated, and the facts and statistics now show.
    For the good people of New Hampshire, I am sorry that you have lost a son and the father of children. I am sorry to his family, my prayers are with them. Tom Ball had something to repeat. Something John Stark tried to tell you 200 years ago. Remember it, quickly, before it is too late.
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  • freud posted at 5:15 pm on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    freudPosts: 1
    This guy was a sicko, obvious from his own writing. He did everyone a favor by turning his anger in on himself. I am sad for his children, but they will be better off without this kind of father. Their mother did the right thing. The newspaper did the right thing. No adult has the right to physically assault a child in his/her care. No child needs a father like this.
  • Sam Whittemore posted at 4:24 pm on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    Sam WhittemorePosts: 2
    Main take-away for me. Don't EVER get involved with the government. Don't ever call 911. There is no justice for regular people in this country and the law, codes and policies are not there to serve or protect you; but to make you always guilty of something so you can be taken away on whim. As Tom Baugh said, Starve the Monkeys.
    They can legally lie to you without consequence; but if you lie to them you can be incarcerated. They can make regulations affecting their investments; but you will be jailed for trading on inside information. They can legally assault or kill you, and if they do it by mistake, they rarely suffer a consequence. You try that and see what happens to you.
    Minimize your taxable activities, barter instead of by, grow instead of buy, hoard gold and silver instead of investing in corps(a great strategy the last 10 years), don't trust the government in any way, and treat it with contempt as they do you. Count on yourself, your family, your church and your friends. Never trust Revenuers. Hit them where it counts, peacefully, in the pocketbook.
  • Michael Major posted at 3:55 pm on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    Michael MajorPosts: 1
    The Sentinel made an honourable decision to break with mainstream media protocols and publish Tom Ball's story in his own words. Had the Sentinel taken any other initial approach it would have commodified his death and life and translated his experience from a personal illustration of how civil rights are undermined into yet another instance of drive-by reality media voyeurism.
    Tom's story should compell us to examine the extent to which we have allowed PR legitimized social marketing initiatives to supplant our civil rights and our presumption of innocence before the law.
    Social marketing is the method by which our culture is driven to rapidly embrace and change our values and these social marketing initiatives may be as benign as discouraging litter, drunk driving or cigarette smoking or as deeply pervasive and pernicious as the extended military war on drugs or the presumption that men approve of and are inclined to use violence in their relationships with women and children.
    Tom is right, we have allowed the Constitution and expectation of justice to be supplanted with extensive arbitrary administrative authority which is reconstructing american democractic institutions, our communities and ultimately our families and selves as political subjects rather than american citizens.
    The trajectory of this political change from citizen to subject is not confined to the United States, or North America, it is a US led worldwide initiative and a it is a consequence of incremental globalization.
    Perhaps Tom's story of his experience will become a turning-point in public citizen awareness of just how pervasive and completely hostile to citizenship and justice this process has become.
    Thank-you to the Sentinel for allowing Tom to tell his story and thank-you for allowing the story to stand as a sentinel for all of us who would advance civil and human rights. Michael\\
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  • blastocyte posted at 3:35 pm on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    blastocytePosts: 1
    If Tom Ball had spent half as much time as he did fighting, confronting and conspiring against "the man" at working toward showing everyone who was concerned about the welfare of his children that he was working to become a better person this would have ended differently. And most likely much sooner.
    There is a growing trend amongst people who consider themselves conservative and more American than the rest of us to prove that they are right no mater what it costs them or this country. They strive to do it their way, to make you see that their logic is better, their manipulation of the numbers is just and that the end result of their hard work being nothing is obviously a conspiracy.
    To compare Tom Ball to Martin Luther King Jr. or Ghandi is tragic and insulting. Neither of those great MEN fought for themselves. They fought for the good of men, women and children that they would never know. Though neither was perfect, in the end when their influence was greatest, they condemned violence. They espoused involvement and compassion in the pursuit of justice. They offered hope not anger.
    Whether or not the outcome was good, the officers who arrested Mr Ball were trying to do what Mr. Ball claims he was doing, protect his children. Right or wrong in their assessment they put themselves in the single most difficult and dangerous situation an officer can be in, a domestic violence call! That is not a conspiracy it is an act of kindness.
    Though the structure and process in custody and child abuse cases may be flawed, even greatly so, the whole point in the end is to protect the innocent from harm. Harm comes in many forms, including the hateful discontent of growing up in a home where parents are always fighting against the machine.
    None of us knows if his story is accurate. For sure I know that he mathematics are not accurate, his use of statistics in inconsistent, inaccurate and self-serving, and his logic is massively flawed.
    While his death may be tragic, his situation may have been of his own creation. And his total disrespect for the magnitude of Jewish genocide and anti-black sentiment in America as secondary to masculinity is disgusting; we are all human first.
    Our success and failure as a people is global We as a civilization work together to create and solve problems. Putting your gender in front of another persons race is arrogant and selfish. In this world you are far more likely to be attacked either verbally or physically for being black or Jewish than for being a man. To argue otherwise is to ignore reality.
    While you are feeling sorry for Mr. Ball think for a minute if you would put your 2 year old daughter in his care while he writing an essay about killing people to make a point and then in fact doing it? Would you want this man to teach your kids about community and family? Would you want him to reprimand your son or daughter for anything.? Could you trust him to do that with the patience and deference your kids deserve....everyone is looking at him and at the system. But imagine if you were the judge looking at a man with all this anger making demands on you to give him what is rightfully his and think..."would I hand my little angel over to that man?"
    Honestly, I would not...and I would fight to change a system that would. His view of women and the world is skewed and selfish.
    Yes, men pay for more than women in this world. It is funny that the people with the greatest amount of money are actually called upon to use it. The disproportionate division of wealth and income is undeniable.
    And the fact that after a divorce the actual and relative wealth of men and women still GREATLY favors men, even amongst the working class is real and documented, BY MEN. By default that means that the woman charged with caring for the children (that she supposedly stole from her husband) does so with LESS MONEY. Yet women are around 80% less likely to commit an egregiously violent act in rebellion against the system or their ex-partner.
    Though I feel some small amount of compassion for someone so disturbed, I find it hard to believe that some many of you are willing to forgive or applaud this behavior, this self pitying attitude or to buy into this dogma.
    The flat reality is that Tom Ball is asking angry (not transgressed or marginalized or abused) men to destroy America, to burn public buildings which we will of course rebuild and pay for again. He is asking you to kill the innocent. He is asking you to act from a place of smallness and to make us all less human.
    It is fine to be angry. But it is unproductive to act out of anger. No one wants to compromise with someone who is threatening or combative. If the system is broken become a positive part of the call for change. Do more than vote, spend more than money. Invest of yourself of your time and make yourself heard in a productive way, not a demanding one.
    The funny thing about Americans is that we almost NEVER say no to people who ask for our help. If someone makes themselves vulnerable to us we almost always do what we can to be of use. Think about the times in your life when someone stopped to help you on a dark road at night because you were stranded, or a stranger bought your son a subway ticket to get him home before curfew, or someone mailed your wallet back to you with all your IDs in it. You've probably done something like this yourself!
    Imagine if Tom Ball went to the D.A . and said..."it appears that I really screwed up, but I love my children, want them to know this and to have a father and a good role model in their lives. How can I fix this, with your help? How can we work together to make this right?" Do you really think anyone would not try to work with that man...honestly?
    If you want to test this buy and return the same item a few times. Try returning it angry and outraged and again by saying "I hope you can help me I am at a loss?" Seriously, try it.
    The reality is no one gives into demands by choice and tone is everything...we want to want to help you, not have to help you...getting what you want from your country, the courts and your partner is about making them want to help you...life is that simple!
    A number of people have questioned what we are doing to drive men to this kind of behavior. Be clear in what you are saying. There is no change in the rates amongst men of color or women, only white men. The reality that as we all become more equal and less wealthy SOME white men are not choosing to accept this gracefully or change it positively.
    No matter what happens to you, you have a choice whether or not to give in to rage, anger and darkness. To imply that the responsibility is less than our own is to rob us of what we say that we fight for as Americans...the right to choose our destiny, our freedom. To kill is always a choice, and rarely the right one!
    I am lucky. I had the greatest dad in world. He was kind. He was patient. He spent time with me. He admitted when he was wrong. He pointed out times when he was unable to be the man he wished he could be, and hoped that my brother and I would find the courage and strength to rise above his failures. He loved us unconditionally and forgave us without debt. He never raised his voice or his hand to our mother. He encouraged us to be who we are and be proud. He was a good honest working class man. He always made it clear that no matter what the problem you probably could not solving it by yelling or fighting. He was very conservative, old school conservative. He was not concerned about what someone else had or was getting, he was concerned about how he was living his life and role model that he was to be for us.
    On this father's day I am grateful to my dad for being a real man, for cherishing our mother and for always putting us first even when it hurt him to do so. On this Father's Day I hope that more men realize that they have the power to change the way things are in their lives for the better without violence, hate and anarchy.
    I hope that those of you failed by the system find a better path to your chosen destination. Life, love and forgiveness are all you need to be happy and build a rich life and I hope that you find all three.
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  • al posted at 3:34 pm on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    alPosts: 2
    florida: the problem is that a lot of people are responding to the comments on this site which have gotten way out of hand.... and not directly referring to Mr. Ball's statement. He was upset with the government, but radical extremists have moved onto this site to blame all the world's woes on the feminist movement. Thank you, ForkYou for your comments. Like I said before...the mental health system is lacking. It is apparent from reading the posts.
  • TomBallClassmate posted at 3:26 pm on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    TomBallClassmatePosts: 1
    I was a high school classmate of Tom Ball. We weren't friends, and in fact I didn't know him then or any time since. But I certainly didn't know him by reputation as one of the bullies or abusers that I'm sure most of us can recall from our high school days. Just another anonymous face in a class of around 400, like me.
    So I won't assume - even with the evidence he presents against himself in his writing - that he was a bad man or a bad father - or an abuser, as the term is commonly known. I do think, having been a parent myself, that striking a 4-year-old child in any way to draw blood is excessive. I think he knew that was wrong, too. However ... to progress in fairly short order from a too-hard slap on the face to arrest, dissolution of the family, restraining and protective orders and the rest of the mess he encountered in his slide down the rabbit hole does indicate that there's a problem with the system, doesn't it?
    I think his writeup of the Second Set of Books is pretty damning, even if you do support a strong response to family violence. This strong? From a slap on the face to a public spectacle suicide? Until someone shows me that Tom was certifiably insane prior to this evidence (that some will use to make that case), or a habitual abuser whose wife finally reached a breaking point, I have to think that this is a case of far too much "cure" being worse than the disease.
    I certainly don't advocate for family violence! I've just gotten Father's Day greetings from both of my adult children, with whom I share a wonderful relationship. My son named his firstborn after me last year. Even so, I've spanked both of my kids. If I had ever drawn blood while attempting to correct them I'd have been aghast - but I wouldn't have expected arrest, divorce, bankruptcy and a desperate suicide (as an alternative to jail) to be a likely or expected result of that.
    TamiStainfield, I thank you for the single best response that I read in this thread. (Some were effectively unreadable.)
    Thanks also to the Sentinel. I'm sure it was a difficult decision to print the letter; I think it was absolutely correct. Regardless of the more extreme portions, I hope it stays, because the valid criticisms of Second Set of Books and no-thought-required policies and procedures must certainly be discussed, and not just after the fact by parents (both fathers and mothers) and children whose lives have been similarly wrecked.
    Obviously, Tom Ball had flaws. That's evident in his own writing about himself, and in the end he chose for this story. But did his flaws merit all that led up to that end? Unless he was truly evil to his family, I think not. No one has painted him as any kind of serial abuser. Should a man lose his family - and his life - over one slap?
    I think our "cures" for family violence have likely become worse than the problem that we're trying to cure. Hopefully, rather than burn down the police stations and courts, we can address both the problem and the "problem of the cure" rationally and intelligently, and come to some better understandings.
    Peace to Tom and his family.
    Chris Nelson
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  • Watcher posted at 2:31 pm on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    WatcherPosts: 1
    Tom Ball made his decision. After reading the 15 pages I can see why. He clearly believed that "there is no remedy" for this nation. The 310 million people who live on this geography is no longer "America", and any of the myths that the people once bought into are either already dead or they are dying.
    There IS NO "American Dream".. it was propaganda desseminated by the "politicians' who ARE the government to serve their own long-term agenda.
    Tom Ball made a hard decision to leave this experience, rather than "to be further beaten down", which is what his perception was of him becoming the victim of the "system". He was correct when he stated that this "system" does not "protect" anybody. They sell the sheep the propaganda of "we are from the government and we are here to help/save/keep you safe". All of which proves to be fabrication of the most egredious sort.
    Blessings on Tom Ball, I salute his bravery in taking the road he believed to be best.
  • robyn b holmes posted at 1:52 pm on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    robyn b holmesPosts: 1
    so because he chose to deal with his family as he was taught to by your military services,that makes his plight any less concerning?
    his whole point is how the police are putting their nose where it doesnt belong. sure he should have been referred to counseling. sure he could clearly benefit from not having been trained to be a heartless killing machine. but america is stupid enough to believe all these boogey man stories and send your men to war to become desensitized like this.
    than theres the issue of mandatory arrests. the system is skewed to womens benefit and it is hurting society. sorry that you didnt clue in to what this guy has endured and the hypocrisy that the system has treated him with.
    i agree that hitting a kid is wrong, i dont even spank mine.
    but this guy was at his ropes end,he didnt beat his child he slapped her once (a lil too hard) . thats it. he stated flat out that he told her 3 times THAN disciplined her. too hard? yes for sure. but thats absolutely no reason for the system to step in and destroy his home / family / and life.
    im going through similar things(never been violent no history of it, and just cuz she says there was , i was deprived of my son for a month despite being his primary caregiver.) right now and if it werent for my knowledge of the law i would have already given up because the cards are stacked again ALL guys.
    and its so clear. even the cops are cavalier about it.
    they know their buddies wont be arresting them for a domestic.
    everyone is entitled to their opinion and this may be just mine.
    but i dont think it is. i think even a lot of women are aware of how unfair the system is. some will say "suck it up". others think its just whining. others just want to take advantage of it and take the men for all they are worth because they are just two faced conniving deceitful people like that.
    im sure men would be just as fast to do it if we had a system that complied with our every claim and allegation.

         read more (about 14 more lines)
  • dragonfly posted at 1:09 pm on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    dragonflyPosts: 2
    Wow some of you of the feminine gender have really ,missed the whole point here. What he did had NOTHING to do with females. It is scary to think that some how none of you comprehended what you read in his letter. He was making a STATEMENT about the corrupt justice system that is in place now across the country. Wake the FK up and re read what he wrote. BTW Happy Fathers Day to ALL!
  • forkyou posted at 11:41 am on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    forkyouPosts: 2
    First sentence from the wiki about feminism: Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending EQUAL political, economic, and social rights and EQUAL opportunities for women [emphasis is mine] What jake77 is describing is "radical feminism" which is fringe group similar to fundamentalist Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc. It is NOT however the idea that women are superior to men and these people/groups are not the norm when it comes to feminist groups. Most true feminists like to distance themselves from radical feminism just as most real Christians distance themselves from Westboro Baptist Church or most real Muslims distance themselves from Al-Quaeda. There are things that feminist groups in the past have done that aren't good for the cause of equal rights and they are talked about in women's studies class, but most men don't take those classes. Before men decide what feminism is they should read what moderate feminists (the norm) have said and see what is taught in women's studies classes.
  • Texasgene posted at 11:08 am on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    TexasgenePosts: 3
    What if everything you've been told about women in America is wrong? What if what your college professors taught you - along with television, movies, books, magazine articles, and even news reports - have all been lies or distortions?
  • Texasgene posted at 10:53 am on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    TexasgenePosts: 3
    Serena, Hate filled females like You,,, Your The Narcissistic, you twisted deranged,
    man hater!!
  • Texasgene posted at 10:43 am on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    TexasgenePosts: 3
    Al, Happy Fathers Day: Malachi 4 5 "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. 6And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction."[c]
    Mistake #1 We are looking at the bigger picture. It starts with the Feminist movement. At one time women where treated wrong, But now, Its Out of Balance,
    Example, In The beginning Elizabeth Cady Staton & Susan B. Anthony.. Two men hating (jezebels) who took there hatred for the " Father" to an extreme. Al, they hated there fathers, and they transferred there hate on men, and spread the poison on other women, crying the victim, when they had an agenda, of destroying all respect , authority for men. Remember from the beginning, Eve was Deceived, but Not Adam... The wicked is used is divorce courts, lawyers, to destroy men, but By Faith God Is Rasing up men to over come This wickedness, and Stop The Fatherless Generation!!!
  • al posted at 8:36 am on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    alPosts: 2
    I agree with Maxine and fork you. You folks are missing the bigger picture in your haste to defend Mr. Ball. It appears the mental health system failed him. It is disconcerting to see the hatred for women in these posts. Women did not cause his problem. As far as equal rights are concerned, we still have a long way to go. There is still a huge gap in the workplace. Women still are under compensated for the work they do in comparison to men. Please don't make this about gender. I think there are some valid concerns about our legal system and those who feel motivated to affect change should take them into consideration. Remember, the medium is the message...so I don't recommend torching yourself as an appropriate way to change public opinion.
  • East coast liberal posted at 6:36 am on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    East coast liberalPosts: 61
    God bless Mr Ball? I don't think so. He committed a sin against God and against his children. Someone actual had the audacity to put a cross with his name and stating "loving father" in front of the courthouse. A loving father would never do this to his kids.
    I hope the State bills his estate, if there is any, for the costs incurred for cleaning up his remains and the damage done to the courthouse.
  • Jake77 posted at 2:32 am on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    Jake77Posts: 4
    Forkyou: You are absolutely not a man. There is a debate among gender scientists as to whether you constitute a woman, or whether you are in fact a third gender, like a Chinese court eunuch.
    Thank heaven I do not have children, and am not married to a treacherous American woman like "Maxine" or "East Coast Liberal" here. Thank heaven the USA is now in the final stages of its collapse, and may we all punish those who have brought our country to this state and rebuild something more reasonable on its ashes. Let's remember the deceased, just one of the millions of destroyed, enslaved men who are denied even the most basic civil rights by this evil structure. Let us also remember these cruel, evil people who are mocking this poor man's death, and let us never, ever forgive them.
  • Jake77 posted at 2:30 am on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    Jake77Posts: 4
    Feminism is not about equal rights, it is about destroying families and the lives of little children. The family court system is not about justice. It is a scam by attorneys who all work together behind the scenes, with their pals the judges and police, to liquidate family property, encourage fighting, and steal every dime from both parties, ruining lives and childhoods in the process.
  • forkyou posted at 12:28 am on Sun, Jun 19, 2011.

    forkyouPosts: 2
    Everyone seems to be missing the big picture. This man SLAPPED HIS 4 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER and thought nothing was wrong with that. 3 verbal warnings and then a slap to the face is perfectly acceptable. If you believe this, you're just as psychotic as him. I don't get this talk about Men's Rights either and I'm a man. What ever happened to equal rights? That's what feminism is all about. Equal rights in the workplace and in society for women AND men. Sometimes a man's voice is lost in domestic violence cases, that is correct, but this is not one of those cases. This man was paranoid, delusional, and abusive.
  • MC posted at 9:55 pm on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    MCPosts: 1
    @maxine
    "WOW! Now, I've heard everything...the poor enslaved males are vicitms...and they are victimized by WOMEN. Gotta say...if you men kept it in your pants to begin with, you wouldn't have this problem. Blaming women for their abuse is like blaming an umbrealla for rain. Holy cow!"
    Maxine, you painted yourself and all women as the eternal victim right here. Apparently even sexual intercourse is entirely the man's fault. Girls don't have intercourse, they just have it done to them, according to you. The responsibility is always the mans. Convenient when you never want to deal with consequences of your own actions.
    If a woman gets pregnant. She doesn't need to take responsibility. Don't want to be a mother? "Abortion, yay choice!" "Adoption, hurray." Don't want to be a father? You have no choice, no rights. You will pay child support and play your role as father, it's your responsibility.
    A woman wants to break her marriage vows? "By all means do so. Here's half his stuff, you get to keep the children, and ooo, I think alimony too! Don't worry, we'll say it's for the kids "
    A man wants to break his marriage vows? "Don't worry, we'll kick you out and barely let you see your children, but you'll still have to support your "wife" cause it's "til death does YOU part," not her silly "
    The men in western society have always had more responsibility, more work, more death. They weren't prancing in meadows, sipping wine, and reading poetry while their female slaves were out in fields, war zones, factories, mines, construction sites, working.
    What's yours is hers, and what's hers is hers. That's the law as it stands. Western women ignore all their privileges and love playing victim, men are resources. Nothing will be their fault in their eyes, their responsibility.
    Men can die for them as the Titanic sinks into the ocean, and they'll still see themselves as the eternal victim.
    read more (about 14 more lines)
  • dragonfly posted at 9:07 pm on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    dragonflyPosts: 2
    Wake Up America! First off huge Kudo's to the Sentinel for publishing this man's story. As hard as it may seem for many who may have never walked into a court room for what ever reason our Constitutional right's have been robbed by the elite. You all have become serf's and do not even realize the severity that will ensue with this statement. many in the US are tired, poor and just plain FED UP with the system and unfortunately are having to take drastic measures to get the point across. I will say Mr. Ball died a patriot for you. This is not about a deadbeat dad or some greedy female it's about the system and the corrupt government that has it hands around everyones neck. When you have retired astronauts becoming ex-pats like Brian O'Leary there is good reasons WHY! Lat year a man flew a plane into an IRS building. WHY? All I can say is God Bless Mr. Ball & his family. May his actions not be taken lightly or in vain. His action was desperate but the motive had reason... it's up to the PEOPLE to not let this death go without merit or substance. You have the right to correct the many wrongs that are happening all over this Country. God help us ALL!
  • judgemencu posted at 7:59 pm on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    judgemencuPosts: 1
    I too hope this man did not die in vain. I am 100% against suicide and believe it to be a cowardly act, however this Man is clearly a Hero in my eyes. This Man gave his own life in hopes to make a difference, to make a statement to just how painful it is to have your children used as bait to gain profit and control. For anyone to judge this Man has certainly been fortunate to have never walked in this Mans shoes, and to those of us who have not been so fortunate know all to well the devastation that comes from our corrupt system. May God be with him and his family, and to all other family's who are being emotionally tormented and scared for life due to the root of all evil... MONEY!!!
  • kokoman posted at 7:42 pm on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    kokomanPosts: 1
    @ Double Guitar
    You obviously don't understand what TOM BALL was trying to say. When you get a little older and experienced you will fully comprehend the message in this letter.
    Some maxim are more guidelines than practical rules.
  • PayedShillsOrPartOfSystem posted at 4:47 pm on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    PayedShillsOrPartOfSystemPosts: 3
    Double Guitars, that is a classic mentality of the sheep having taught you to be one of them, the now other new other sheep.
    Nobody has to accept injustice in any form. Just because you were taught life is not fair does not mean people with actual backbone, courage and a sense of what is right have to equally as well as you have been taught to.
  • Double Guitars posted at 4:14 pm on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    Double GuitarsPosts: 14
    The comments on here implying that men are victims are simply ridiculous. As a young man, I was taught to take responsibility for my actions, because life is not fair and I can only control my self and my own actions, no matter what. The simple truth is that Mr. Ball was not coerced into this action, no person or organization did this to him. Everyday, people face far worse circumstances and do not commit suicide. To say that the courts are the cause of any suicide is to ignore the simple fact that taking one's life is a choice and not a sentence. As someone who has struggled with addiction and alcoholism (now long sober), I know that no other person or entity can force me to act - my actions are completely my own. And for those actions, I am solely responsible.
    I am saddened at the calls for further violence. It is cowardly and weak to call for "incidents" to take out other human beings.
  • Eximio posted at 3:38 pm on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    EximioPosts: 1
    The act of this man, his in depth research and statement, and the publication of such in this newspaper, give me hope. A very small ray of hope barely peaking through the storm clouds on a sea of desolation.
    I am sorry for this man. I am sorry for his children. I am sorry that in the fight against tyranny extreme actions are required to draw attention.
    What this man describes in his statement is entirely accurate. Getting angry with the newspaper for publishing it can only come from one of two sources. The first, of course, is ignorance. The second is from the people populating the very system, and benefiting in terms of money and power from its operation, that this man describes with great accuracy.
    I have not suffered to the degree that this man did. But have seen the beast. I have studied the beast. I know the beast exists. I know who created. I know who benefits from it. And I know who suffers its horribly sadistic nature.
    Fight the good fight. That is what we are put on this Earth to do. You are not alone, even the mainstream media would like for you think that you are. A growing number of us have seen the beast, studied the beast, understand what the beast does. And we are fighting the beast along side you.
    read more (about 2 more lines)
  • rowdyroddy posted at 2:39 pm on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    rowdyroddyPosts: 1

    Whenever I hear about these kinds of stories, I wonder why the one who has committed to taking his own life doesn't take one of these corrupt judges with him.
    Since there is no accountability whatsoever in our court system, an occasional "incident" would be something to motivate these judges to behave.
    Many say that they would have killed Hitler if they had the chance. How is Hitler any different from the corrupt judges who are defying the law to destroy families for profit in this country?
    What is going on in this country behind closed courtroom doors, which the mainstream media refuses to report on, would shock the general public.
  • quiact posted at 1:37 pm on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    quiactPosts: 1
    http://www.henrymakow.com/my_fight_with_the_domestic_vio.html
  • KingCast posted at 1:10 pm on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    KingCastPosts: 1
    Wow. is right.
    Obviously the triggering event was questionable but I will tell you this: Much of this is finance-driven. Once they have their financial hooks in you they will bury you while they collect all kinds of money because of your case.
    It's crazy out there, ask me how I know.... here's my press conference video from six (6) years ago at that very spot, all charges against me dismissed. Bill Albrecht was a cockroach prosecutor all the way.
    http://christopher-king.blogspot.com/2011/06/nh-cheshire-courthouse-kingcast.html
    18 JUNE 2011
    NH Cheshire Courthouse: KingCast PressConference from the scene of Tom Ball suicide by fire.
  • skipjackk posted at 11:20 am on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    skipjackkPosts: 1
    First, I feel bad for what this guy went through and he is right about a lot of it. BUT, to kill yourself cuz you're bitter and to leave your children with that is the act of a selfish loser! He has accomplished nothing. His war is over and nothing will change. He wanted to end it and found a way to blame others. I can't imagine what it's like to lose so much, my kids mean everything. BUT, every time I did get to see them would make it worth living. Again, I feel for him, but this is mostly the ramblings of a whiner that just gave up. Sorry, but there are better ways to deal with things. The funny thing is, he was a real $%#@. Why did he hit his 4 year old daughter? What kind of $%#@ does that and for such a stupid reason? He was destined to beat his kids for worse offenses down the line. I think we got lucky losing this guy, just another self-righteous batterer. I think it's funny how a newspaper won't let me write what I feel. So much for freedom of speech. This is a newspaper and the word I was trying to use wasn't even profane. I'm glad I don't read this paper, not very good anyway
  • brontis posted at 10:02 am on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    brontisPosts: 2
    Why are soooo many people sooooo concerned about your publishing of the suicide letter? Logic alone shows that there must be something very threatening to provoke such a impassioned request for CENSORSHIP.
    The Sentinel has MOST DEFINITELY done the right thing by publishing the letter. However, it is with sadness that I recognize that the Sentinel will at some point (sooner rather later) remove the letter from this web site. The powers-that-be that are so threatened by Tom Ball's REVELATIONS wield an immense amount of power. You can consider it merely 'political correctness', but if you have followed this issue -- our nation's War on Fatherhood -- you already know this socio-political disease is terminal condition.
    I applaud the Sentinel for publishing the letter, and you will continue to deserve praise for JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY until such time as you bow down to the dark forces demanding this REVELATION be scrubbed from the public's sight before any more people wake up.
    Thank you, Sentinel.
  • Toomanyfakeconservatives posted at 9:46 am on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    ToomanyfakeconservativesPosts: 2
    If this happened in Tunisia, it would be an international story and cause ripples around the globe, but here in the homeland this story is already getting buried. The lack of national coverage for this tragedy is appalling!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • greentruck posted at 8:35 am on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    greentruckPosts: 1
    Please, Sentinel, read the following recommendations for reporting on suicide. No doubt this man brings to light serious flaws and inequities in an imperfect system, but would you have published his letter if he had not killed himself? Could you possibly have been less sensational and chose instead to do a constructive in-depth investigative piece on domestic violence?
    http://reportingonsuicide.org/
  • maxine posted at 7:05 am on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    maxinePosts: 14
    @Family Law Attorney: You know so little and assume to know so much. I've been trapped in a broken system in my life, too. No attorney, court, sheriff, preacher, teacher or any other public service was available in the days when my mother needed help. We hid in our car from the man who had a gun. We were displaced, not the raging veteran...who stood vigil over his domain. The pendulum of justice and child protective services may have swung a little far since then but it will come back to the middle as advocates for justice work to make changes. No, Family Law Attorney, I'm not a predator. I could have turned out like Mr. Ball, I suppose. My ex could have turned out like Mr. Ball, as well. We were lucky, though.
    Our courts, mental health services and family support programs are underfunded and understaffed. Don't blame the systems. We as a society are responsible for their success or failure. I apologize if I offended anyone for my comments about men "keeping it in their pants". It wasn't appropriate in the context of the bigger story here. I may go back and read the "manifesto" so I might understand this poor person's plight. But, one thing is certain...these comment sections are about as useful as the paper they are printed on....oh, that's right...there is no paper. Back to my "digital diet".
  • PayedShillsOrPartOfSystem posted at 4:53 am on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    PayedShillsOrPartOfSystemPosts: 3
    Jesse, that is because the system and mass media brainwash everyone to all be on the same page, whether ir be watching Britney Spears, what is Khloe up to, how is Paris doing or Sadaam has nukes.
    Everyone needs to remember to always think for themselves. Especially when he/she knows that they themselves have automatically arrived at a conclusion when their "gut" tells them all is not at face value.
    A building falling down all by itself is not face value. Building 7. 9/11
  • Jesse posted at 4:37 am on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    JessePosts: 1
    One of the basic problems with our society is that the desire to punish has run wild. We throw people in prison for years for the tiniest of offenses. Recently a woman was sentenced to ten years in prison in Oklahoma for selling a small amount of marijuana to an undercover police officer. Ten years! Our sentencing practices are so absurd that they'd be hilarious if they weren't so horrifying.
    A closely related problem is that our brains seem to shut off at the very mention of certain things. Pedophilia, for instance. I'm convinced that there is a large number of Americans who would form lynch parties and hunt down anyone accused of being a pedophile if the government so much as hinted that it would look the other way. No matter that pedophilia itself is a condition, not a behavior, and that actual child rapists are extremely rare, probably even among pedophiles. Which brings me to my next point.
    There doesn't seem to be any attempt to view certain crimes as continuums. If someone says that they were battered, most reasonable people immediately want to know the specifics of what actually happened. Battery can mean anything from a shove to a savage beating with an aluminum bat. But it seems that crimes such as rape and child abuse aren't perceived this way. Rape is always more serious than a shove, but it also exists on a continuum.
    Let's say that two adults go out on a date and get drunk. While they're sitting in the car at the end of the night, they begin to make out. The man pulls out a condom and puts it on. The woman seems a bit reluctant, but she goes with the flow. After a couple of thrusts, she says, "Wait, wait. Let's slow down." He is caught up in the moment, and doesn't stop. He continues for another 30 seconds or so before ejaculating prematurely. He says, "What did you say?" She mutters something and leaves.
    This is clearly rape. She told him to stop, and he didn't.
    Now consider a different scenario. A woman is walking to her car in a convenience store parking lot late at night. A man wearing a mask comes up behind her and grabs her by the arms. There is a violent struggle, and he forces her into an alley. He tears her clothes off and viciously rapes her without using protection. He nearly breaks one of her wrists in his efforts to keep her from resisting. She is left lying in a pool of her own blood until an ambulance comes.
    The problem is that we seem to be either unwilling or unable to differentiate between the two crimes. It's taboo to suggest a lighter sentence for the first offender, because he's a rapist, and all rapists are filthy animals that should be tortured and killed. There's no nuance, at least in the mind of the public. The law might treat the first offender less harshly, but not to a proportionate degree, and the average citizen doesn't seem to want to differentiate between the two at all.
    So when I read a comment which can be summed up as, "He struck a child; this is irredeemable; nothing he says can possibly have any value; he can die for all I care", it frightens me. The guy slapped the kid one time, and he probably didn't slap her very hard. Sometimes when you get hit near the mouth you bleed a lot even if you weren't hit very hard, because one of your teeth strikes the inside of your cheek. If he had hit her hard he would have done real damage to her given her age.
    I know I sound callous, but my whole point is that we have to keep things in perspective and we have to keep our cool when we're doling out punishments. This guy did not have a history of violence. He did not injure the girl. He knew that slapping her was wrong. He didn't strike her out of sadism, but frustration. And he hadn't hit her before in four years. So we can't throw him in the same category as sadists who systematically crush their children's psyches or loose cannons who can't control their tempers and regularly hurt their children. Can't we evaluate the situation in a level-headed manner?
    Apparently we can't. Our frontal lobes shut down and we go into clenched-jaw, righteous-wrath mode. "Kill the beast! Kill the beast! Kill the beast!"

    read more (about 37 more lines)
  • 69sidewinder69 posted at 3:59 am on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    69sidewinder69Posts: 1
    I'm completely supportive of this man, although I don't encourage his method (setting himself on fire). He wanted to draw attention to an abusive system that is meant to punish and destroy. And now I understand, more than you could ever know.
    I recently had 2 kids born 5 weeks apart to 2 different mothers. When I went for child support on the first child (I haven't gone for the second child yet) the child support administrator gave the first mother 50% of my income.
    "I'm going to be homeless!" I yelled at her and her assistant.
    They smiled with glee. That was their intent.
    This is about a Hate Movement in control of the Family Court system in the United States of America and nothing more than a full blown Civil Rights movement will change it. Or a revolution.
  • PayedShillsOrPartOfSystem posted at 3:40 am on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    PayedShillsOrPartOfSystemPosts: 3
    The only people supportive to this man's demise as too his family's, are what is contained within my screen name.
    I too have been through things such as setups and extreme hardships because of the system he has so perfectly described.
    There are some good people within the system. All must recognize the difference between and behave accordingly.
    If everyone recognizes how they play this foul political game to "divide and conquer", then those "commenters" can be ignored and the true discussions on how to remedy this problem can ensue.
    Pay the shills or part-of-systemers no mind. Respect the good ones within the system.
  • Sick Of It All posted at 3:25 am on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    Sick Of It AllPosts: 1
    I hope this man did not die in vain. You don't have to experience the amount of suffering this man has suffered to know that a lot of what he is stating in this letter is true. The information is out there. Most people can't ever seem to find the time to research and educate themselves till something bad happens to them. Mr. Ball, God bless him, didn't even scratch the surface of the of this corrupt system of government, not only here in the US, but everywhere in the world. I'm with you Mr. Ball. And just an FYI, I am female. And I agree with Mr. Ball 100%.
  • Wowwowow posted at 12:18 am on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    WowwowowPosts: 1
    Yeah, to reiterate the first response, WOW! (My heart actually skipped a few beats!)
    But I have a little more to say...
    Having had grown up in a terribly voilent domestic situation (many years ago), there
    were days I prayed for intervention. And today I had a yearly physical and in the
    doctors office I noticed clearly posted signs (more than one) offering intervention
    services for anyone who "has been hit, threatened or is afraid". I thought to
    myself: "Gee, it would have been great if these services were available 40 years ago"
    . So I'm not knocking social services.
    Next, I think the Sentinel made a gutsy move publishing this guys story. Some here
    may think it was for fun or profit. I don't. I believe the editors thought this guy had a legit
    story and I happen to agree, for now. Was this guy truly driven to desperation?
    I cant help but to recall a 60 Minutes peice a few months ago about a Middle-eastern
    man who set himself ablaze out of protest because he felt he was being bullied by
    a corrupt system. That, the story claimed, was the spark that ignited rampant revolution.
    What happened in Keene is no doubt a copy. This man wants a revolution. But there are other things to consider here. Did Mr Ball have a voilent history or a history of
    mental illness? Or was hitting his child a single regrettable act? Was Mr Ball, in fact
    steamrolled by an entrnched and severely corrupted judicial system? His statement, if
    it has merit, would seem to support his final desperate act. There is no doubt. This
    story is huge. We have not heard the last of this one. At the least, there will be a novel.
    At most, it presents a prophecy that is very, very unnerving. Stay tuned...

    read more (about 7 more lines)
  • Dave Ridley posted at 12:06 am on Sat, Jun 18, 2011.

    Dave RidleyPosts: 1
    Bunch of folks here eager to cast the first stone on a once-private individual. The lot of you are without sin, I assume.
  • Family Law Attorney posted at 11:37 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    Family Law AttorneyPosts: 2
    Maxine--
    We admire and respect people like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, M. Ghandi and Tom Ball because, although they were (objectively speaking) victimized, they refused to wear the mantle of victimhood. Indeed, these saints gave the lives to right social wrongs and injustice. I wonder: for what greater good are you willing to sacrifice your life?
    I've read all three of your posts. I agree with the posters who perceive you as a predatory victim. That is, someone who pretends to be a victim but who is in fact a predator. I know you, perhaps better than you know yourself. I deal with "Maxines" every day. Perhaps you have nothing but contempt for real victims because you are too busy abusing.
    I don't buy that your relationship with your children's father is as great as you portray it. Why don't you call him and ask him to comment on your comments. I'd like to hear his side of your divorce story.
    Like other posters I, too, find your comments to be mean-spirited and boring, judgmental and self-righteous, unintentionally revealing and hateful. Your back-pedaling isn't convincing. Maybe it's time for you to log off. People may mistake you for a troll.
    Glad to hear the family court system worked so well for you (a woman), but then you fit the stereotype that the system favors--women.
    Strange, isn't it? Tom Ball self-immolated today and you have managed to turn a significant amount of blog space attention on you. Did you know Tom well or is your hate habitual and universal to all men?
    Didn't one poster call you a narcissist? And didn't another one suggest the world doesn't revolve around you? Hum.
    Tell me, what will it take for you to stop trying to upstage Tom Ball's tragic death with your self-serving, holier-than-thou, self-hating comments?
    read more (about 12 more lines)
  • IAmScotto posted at 10:25 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    IAmScottoPosts: 1
    What reputable news organization publishes the suicide note of a private citizen? What ethically bereft person or persons greenlit that indefensible decision? Most news organizations don't even report suicides of private citizens to discourage copycats.
    What precedent does this set? Does the next person who sets himself on fire in public get his 15 page manifesto published now? How about the next person? And the next?
  • maxine posted at 10:16 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    maxinePosts: 14
    Hired Mind..My comments were made about all the angry posters on this site...not about Mr. Ball. There are women who are caught in the same kind of struggles that Mr. Ball experienced. I know women who, because they don't have good attorneys are fighting for visitation and paying child support for their children. I hate the victim talk. I don't care if it's a woman or a man. VICTIM THIS, VICTIM THAT. I just don't buy it. As adults, no matter what gender, we take the hand we are dealt and make the best of it. Time to grow up and move on. Yeah, I'm divorced, but my ex and I have a very positive relationship and made sure it was healthy for the sake of our children. Early on in the divorce process we agreed that our problem was our relationship with each other and that our children shouldn't have to suffer the consequences. I chose to work full time and go to school instead of going on welfare because I didn't want my children to be "wards of the state" for any reason. Some people...men and women.... choose another path. No more "somebody done somebody wrong songs". I'm not a horrible person at all. In fact, I'm a loving and forgiving individual. I'm just sick of everybody crying in their beer...men and women.
  • spudranger posted at 9:09 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    spudrangerPosts: 1
    God bless you, Mr. Ball. I believe I understand why you went out the way you did. As you said, it is better to die free than live as a slave to the system that is determined to enslave you. Congratulations! on your wins against prosecutors, judges and family court employees.
    I lost access to my sons because of "parental alienation", where my ex accused me of domestic violence, making-up any lie she could think of. I would prove to the court that she was lie-ing, but the court would believe her (Ex., She swore under penalty of perjury that I stood naked in the kitchen, masturbating, while watching porn on the computer. But I only have one computer which is a desktop and located in the bedroom which is not visible from the kitchen. She had no way of knowing if what she wrote was true because we are divorced, but the court believed her).
    I wish you were still alive, there is a bunch of stuff I could learn from you.
    I would comment further, but I have read >50% of the comments posted and conclude that the the average IQ of these posters is not much above room temperature (BUT THEIR FEELINGS ARE VERY EVIDENT! So much for logic playing a part). There are some exceptions, both men and women, which I am grateful to see.
    read more (1 more line)
  • ed_eskimo posted at 8:32 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    ed_eskimoPosts: 1
    I want to thank The Sentinel for putting up Mr. Tom Ball's Last Words. I think that there is alot of truth there and Justice and Law Enforcement need to take a good hard look at what they are doing to many fathers in this country. And as Mr. Ball mentioned "Just following orders" translates into "Nur Befehle befolgt" in German. Men are not a tough as we are made out to be - thank god.
  • East coast liberal posted at 7:55 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    East coast liberalPosts: 61
    Arty
    I went through the divorce. I went to court many times. I lost every time.. I lost my house and all my possessions. I had to pay over 70% of my take-home pay in alimony and chid support payments. I lived in a tent at a state park. I got a second job cleaning houses. I made my payments. I did not blame my ex-wife. I did not blame my kids.. I did not blame the court. I did not blame the government..I did not kill myself.
    I realized there was a end. In 20 years the payments ended. My kids were then free to see me. I remarried. I have a wonderful wife. I am glad to be alive. My kids still have a father.
    Ps don't blame the military. I enlisted. I served from 68-72 and spent 13 months in a naval hospital recovering from wounds.Again, I did not blame my government.
  • TaxiManSteve posted at 7:41 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    TaxiManStevePosts: 40
    Wow... So little here about the long-suffering wife's point-of-view. I'm sure she had one.... And I suspect it would differ substantially from the letter Tom Ball sent to the papers. The children too probably have view points worth considering.
    Tom Ball's final statement is not the end of this... There are other stories that need to be told.
    ----SWL
  • SC00TERkim posted at 7:16 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    SC00TERkimPosts: 1
    I'm still in this trap. This man was right on.
    While I don't agree with ever hitting a child in the face; having the state come in and destroy a family, "for the good of the children" because a good father lost his cool on one occasion is outrageously STUPID!
    This is a very well written essay about only one of the tools being used in the DELIBERATE DESTRUCTION OF FAMILY AND THE MIDDLE CLASS.
    It is "God's Chosen" who are behind this madness. The sooner they are removed from the planet, the better!
    My children and I were the victims of domestic violence. All it took was a $50,000 bribe for an Alabama judge to send my 3 kids back to their "rightful owner". The woman, no matter what her mental state or violent past they always get custody.
    I was granted visitation in court; however; the mother successfully maneuvered the childrens location on visiting day so I could never see them.
    I took her to court. The judge refused to jail her for contempt even though I had always paid my child support on time, every month. In fact: I actually got a check back from the state because I had overpaid my obligation.
    I have not seen my children for 15 years now. They are strangers to me now.
    I have accepted the fact that I will never see them again. I have stopped looking.
    Because of the burden of child support: I have been homeless for the past 13 years.
    I now choose that lifestyle because I am free of the further burden of paying taxes to a system so utterly corrupt that a fire storm is the only viable option that would correct this fascist police state.
    It's kind of cool actually: those dumb shits are now losing money on me! Choose homelessness and discover how much freedom there is when you no longer have anything they can rob you of. When enough of us discover the "New Amerikan Dream" and the thought we really don't have anything left to lose any longer, even more fuses will be lighted!
    I am also a Viet-Nam vet who was awarded the Bronze Star for "going above and beyond". I risked my life to defend THIS??? PHUCK 'EM ALL
    My fuse has been lit for a very long time.
    The best plan in taking our country back is to take out the enforcers first! The other cowards will flee rather quickly. IMHO
    read more (about 14 more lines)
  • iUnderstand posted at 7:09 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    iUnderstandPosts: 4
    Let's remember Tom Ball this Sunday on Father's Day - Pass it on
  • HiredMind posted at 6:46 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    HiredMindPosts: 1
    Just wanted to thank Maxine for proving this guy right, by being exactly the completely unfeeling, hate-filled women that he's talking about.
    Someone was driven to the point of setting himself on FIRE, and you use it as an occasion to bash him. I don't think I've ever seen a more heartless comment in my entire life. You are a horrible person, and you know it.
  • VoiceOfBobgt posted at 6:23 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    VoiceOfBobgtPosts: 1
    Let us never forget the 16 of June
    When a man burned to death on the lawn around Noon
    His tears boiling for his children three
    His search for justice so that they would be free
    The elite, these cowards, forced his hand to the flame
    Their callous depravity never causing them shame
    For they padded their wallets and their conceiences wained
    And their rulings by decree only increased the pain
    A family of soldiers who bravly fought wars
    Their honor questioned by Judges and whores
    Not by me, for I know the pain of Tom Ball
    Of shouting, of crying, noone hearing my call
    Let us never forget the 16 of June
    When a man burned to death on the lawn around Noon
  • Arty posted at 6:18 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    ArtyPosts: 4
    To Maxine, you wrote: ".I think the tone of many of you posters is violent and full of rage."
    No Maxine, you are the one filled with rage and hate. Stop blaming others for your own failures and your own hatred and your own narcissism. Memo to you: the world does not revolve around you.
  • Arty posted at 6:15 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    ArtyPosts: 4
    To Zaaap (whatever): you wrote: "As far as I can see the ONLY thing this guy did right was to commit suicide BEFORE he killed his wife/kids/co-workers. Too often it's the other way around. As to the rest of you members of the "He-man woman haters" club, aka, "Father's Rights" activists -- man up, grow a pair, and stop whining."
    Well, sounds to me like YOU are the one that's whining, name calling, and full of hate. Look in the mirror and face your own ugliness.
  • Arty posted at 6:12 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    ArtyPosts: 4
    To Maxine, Yes I too have now heard everything. How does it feel to carry around so much hatred? So typical of the hating liberal woman! You are a blatant hypocrite.
  • Arty posted at 6:10 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    ArtyPosts: 4
    To "East coast liberal"... rereading your words I'm convinced you are insane. I can only hope you suffer something far worse.
  • TamiStainfield posted at 6:09 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    TamiStainfieldPosts: 15
    A story of an imperfect man being judge by those who are void of compassion. Has this movement to ideal perfection created a safer and more loving society? The growing number of daily stories documenting how United States men are reaching these extreme levels of violence and despair seems odd. Thus one most question how are mental health professionals, government officials, lawyers, judges and home land security behaviors, strategies and theories influencing or contributing to creating these extreme levels of rage.
    No human is free of error or blame; however when the evidence supports that a growing number of men are being pushed to the point of violence. One must ask what in our society is causing men to murder or kill themselves at such alarming rates?
    Attorneys, judges, police, FBI, homeland security, and mental health workers who appear to be contributing to enraging vulnerable men and then justifying their actions through arguing we have made your communities safer – I say stop your God complex.
    May you rest in peace Mr. Ball, a human being who was terrorized, supported by the evidence that you burnt yourself to death. May this community reach out and show compassion to those who are suffering.
    Tami Stainfield
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  • maxine posted at 5:19 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    maxinePosts: 14
    WOW! Now, I've heard everything...the poor enslaved males are vicitms...and they are victimized by WOMEN. Gotta say...if you men kept it in your pants to begin with, you wouldn't have this problem. Blaming women for their abuse is like blaming an umbrealla for rain. Holy cow!
  • Family Law Attorney posted at 5:16 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    Family Law AttorneyPosts: 2
    THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF PEOPLE COMMENTING ON THIS STORY: THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN CONSUMERS OF THE HIGHLY DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY COURT SYSTEM AND THOSE WHO HAVE NOT. THOSE WHO HAVE NOT ARE NAIVE AND IGNORANT AND THEIR COMMENTS MUST BE TAKEN WITH A GRAIN OF SALT AND A HEAPING TABLESPOON OF TOLERANCE. JUST WAIT. THEIR TURN IS COMING.
    THOSE OF US WHOSE LIVES AND FAMILIES FOR THREE GENERATIONS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED BY THE HIGHLY DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY COURT SYSTEM KNOW THE TRUTH OF THIS MAN'S CALL TO ARMS. THE MOST PRECIOUS POSSESSIONS ANY MAN WILL EVER HAVE ARE HIS CHILDREN. "DADDY LOVES YOU." TRUER WORDS WERE NEVER SPOKEN.
    IF THE STATE CAN TAKE AWAY YOUR CHILDREN WITHOUT CAUSE (AS IT DOES EVERY DAY TO 1,000's OF FATHERS), WHAT RIGHTS CAN'T THE STATE TAKE AWAY? AND WHAT OTHER RIGHTS ARE WORTH HAVING?
    THIS MAN SERVED IN VIET NAM. HE SAW EVENING NEWS BROADCAST OF THE BUDDHIST MONK WHO SELF-IMMOLATED OUTSIDE THE TEMPLE IN SAIGON AS A PROTEST AGAINST THE CRIMES THE U.S. WAS COMMITTING AGAINST THE VIETNAMESE PEOPLE. THAT MONK HELPED END THE WAR. THIS AS-YET NAMELESS FATHER'S COURAGEOUS ACT WAS SIMILARLY MOTIVATED: TO RESTORE THE RULE OF LAW AND TO END THE SYSTEMATIC SUBJUGATION OF MEN.
    WHETHER YOU WANT TO SEE THE TRUTH OR NOT, THE TRUTH IS APPARENT: THIS MAN SELF-IMMOLATED (WHICH MEAN SELF-SACRIFICED BY BURNING HIMSELF TO DEATH) TO SERVE AS A BEACON AND RALLYING POINT FOR THOSE 36,000,0000 FATHERS WHOSE LIVES, FAMILIES, BUSINESSES AND WORLDS HAVE BEEN SYSTEMATICALLY DESTROYED BY THE STATE.
    I AM FOR FOR THIS MAN AND HIS CAUSE--AND OUR CHILDREN.
    MAY I LIVE TO SEE THE SECOND REVOLUTION.
    read more (about 13 more lines)
  • judicialinjustice posted at 3:31 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    judicialinjusticePosts: 2
    Very Good ..iunderstood. Adulty is grounds for fault which you have to prove in NH. She must be uninformed and not educated.
    I totally understand why Tom did this as he was sick of trying to fight a losing battle. I am heading to supreme court.... wish me luck
  • iUnderstand posted at 2:57 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    iUnderstandPosts: 4
    Maybe if the economy was a little better or if there was not a preferred response arrest policy, this good man would still be alive.
    What is Tyrone Jenkins problem. Could Tyrone be an alias for someone from Jane Doe to use to express her Schadenfreude?
    But her tasteless provocative banter is demonstrative of how desensitized society is to the challenges of being a divorced father.
  • Jake77 posted at 2:55 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    Jake77Posts: 4
    This man's biggest mistake was trusting in a system which was out to get him from the start. I can only thank my lucky stars that I am not married and have no children. America is truly a tyranny and American women are pretty much worthless. Fortunately, America is now collapsing (mostly because of feminism and being populated by dittohead people like "East Coast Liberal" here) and the entire world will be glad to see it go. Tom Ball should have waited a few years.
    American women are incredibly easy, and a man can get his needs met without marrying them. They are also toxic, for the most part. There is no reason to marry in a society that makes men slaves the minute they sign the marriage contract. Let us all learn from this horrible example. Men are truly on their own, and as such they owe no one anything. Not women, and certainly not this disgusting country which treats us with such contempt. Google MGTOW for more on this emerging movement.
    Peace to Tom Ball.
  • judicialinjustice posted at 2:17 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    judicialinjusticePosts: 2
    I too am caught up in a broken system. Divorced 7 years ago and had my children stripped from me with absolutely no abuse ! She was committing adultry and was found not guilty and then awarded the children. I am self employed and the court awarded her the gross amounts from my business....not the net. So they are saying I have no business exspenses. I am forced to close down my shop as I cannot afford to pay all that child support. Her total household income is over $200,000 ! I just got a notice that my drivers license is being revoked and I am at the end of my rope !
  • Zaaaap posted at 2:00 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    ZaaaapPosts: 15
    @ mevose "I have been saying for years that the most discriminated against group in this country is the average American male. And if you are both male and White, ALL of the decks are stacked against you."
    Oh, you poor, poor man. I'm so sorry life in America has treated you so badly. Maybe you should go home to mommy. She'll make it all better.
    xoxo
    Zap
  • mevose posted at 1:33 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    mevosePosts: 49
    I have been saying for years that the most discriminated against group in this country is the average American male. And if you are both male and White, ALL of the decks are stacked against you.
    But society has been allowed to deteriorate to the point that this is somehow seen as "right".
    I knew a man once that was so raped by the courts for child support that he was forced to supplement his 50/hr. a week income by selling illegal substances. He finally decided that it was just not worth it and blew his brains out.
    Men always get the short end in ANY dispute with a woman, no matter what the truth of the matter might be.
  • Zaaaap posted at 1:20 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    ZaaaapPosts: 15
    As far as I can see the ONLY thing this guy did right was to commit suicide BEFORE he killed his wife/kids/co-workers. Too often it's the other way around.
    As to the rest of you members of the "He-man woman haters" club, aka, "Father's Rights" activists -- man up, grow a pair, and stop whining. Life isn't fair. Courts aren't fair. Cripes, you're nothing but a bunch of babies who absolutely refuse to take responsibility for your own actions. Battering women and children is wrong under any circumstances. Angry and violent is no way to go through life. Get help.
    xoxo
    Zap
  • Zoe'sMOM posted at 12:04 pm on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    Zoe'sMOMPosts: 2
    I think the ONE thing people can agree on here, is to keep families out of courts as much as possible. No one agrees that: 1.) IT is ever okay to hit a four year old. 2.) That anyone should have to pay so much in child support that they themselves can't survive. The courts tend to make an already damaged situation irreversibly broken. Then there is the grey area: While I don't agree that any identifiable information should have been published, because this man's name implicates his children, in a VERY small town: I do think it raised the issue of suicide awareness. There are different kinds of suicide, obviously, and each sends a message. There is the lost and desperate, mentally ill person, suffering from chronic depression, who goes into the woods with a gun. There is the person who takes a whole bottle of pills, but then makes a phone call (a rescue factor--not fully committed to the idea of death, or the finality) And then there is an ANGRY suicide. This was angry, a statement. That is a fact. When was the last time you read of someone lighting themselves on fire? Buddhist monks protesting the Vietnam War?? This man did not choose and easy route to go. And for those of you that are arguing over the man's sanity: Just because you can be articulate, and write a fifteen page manifesto, does not mean you are not suffering from some form of mental illness. This is NOT to discredit this man, in the least---Just to say he WAS suffering.
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  • justagirl posted at 11:40 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    justagirlPosts: 1
    There is so much I want to say here.
    I remember a time, not so long ago, that women had respect for their husbands, since he WAS the sole bread winner and provided a home and food and clothing for his family. Women signed their names as Mrs. John Smith. People didn't get divorced. Children had both parents. Children didn't commit crimes either. I must admit, I think the policies and laws that have been set forth due to pressure from feminist groups has contributed to the demise of what a normal family should be.
    This guy has been pushed too far. It happens. I am by far, no psychiatrist and therefore will not speculate as others have. I do know this. Sometimes you have to do something drastic to be heard. I guarantee, there are thousands of other men (if not more) who have been sodomized by the legal system over much less. A woman can simply claim to have been hit and the cops show up and take him away.
    I am a woman, so I can say this honestly... we are by far NOT innocent. I have seen many women provoke men to the point where these women should be toothless. These same men, walk away whilst the women continue to badger and antagonize the guy who is trying to avoid punching her lights out.
    Fine he screwed up and slapped his child a bit harder then he probably meant to. Destroying a man's life over a mistake is horrible. That mistake should have been either forgiven or not forgiven by his FAMILY. Not by bureaucratic bullshit that has been invading our families homes. Back in the day, if you slapped your wife, her brother or father (or both) would show up and make sure you remembered never to do it again. Now you lose everything. God bless America!
    read more (about 7 more lines)
  • iUnderstand posted at 11:37 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    iUnderstandPosts: 4
    I knew Tom Ball. He was a kind and gentle person. He supported other divorced fathers. He was a Sargent - he was a leader.
    His story about the "mandatory" arrest preferred response is typical. Anytime that the cops get called about a family situation someone will be arrested and that someone will be a man no matter what the circumstances. It leads to the disintegration of the relationship with wife or partner, and sends what may have been a reparable relationship careening off a cliff.
    At the end of the day, its all in a days work for the cops and judges who have no more remorse than the Nurenberg defendants. "They were only following orders" right?
    Cops and judges murdered a good man.
  • f28rank posted at 11:28 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    f28rankPosts: 1
    Thank you so much for publishing this letter. Most new organizations would take the "this guy is crazy and we should report this to the police first," approach. The fact that you treat him as a person and actually show his side of the story is outrageously commendable and actually gives me a little hope for the future. I thought journalists and/or publications with integrity were a thing of the past.
    This article should be published by national syndications and the public should be made aware of this well-detailed account of how wrong our system is. It truly opened my mind quite a bit. Everyone knows "the system" is messed up, but nobody really knows why. His understandable anti-feminist approach and general negative outlook retract some credibility in certain areas, but this "Second Book" is exactly what's wrong with our country, and a HUGE part of why we're in such a miserable state right now.
  • maxine posted at 11:14 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    maxinePosts: 14
    It is indeed a very sad situation. There is so much extremism in these comments. That, to me, is the root of the problem. I don't think we can blame the courts, the lawyers, the police, the wife or DCYF for this man's troubles. There are flaws in systems, for sure, but overall, I think they do a good job for most of us.
    Then there's violence. Violence is violence no matter how you couch it. Abusing anyone...our husbands, our wives or children...not okay...I think the tone of many of you posters is violent and full of rage. I hope you find peace somehow and can accept the past for what it was and move on. Acceptance is the answer.
  • DeserveLiberty posted at 10:59 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    DeserveLibertyPosts: 4
    My apologies for not being able to fit my post into the confines of this system. Just trying to share how "child protective" services have assaulted my family, our well-being, and our liberty. The "system" is designed to presume guilt, therefore there is much suffering among the innocent, and their families, at the brutal hands of government.
  • NH_Native posted at 10:56 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    NH_NativePosts: 28
    Sad, but the only comment I can share is what my grandfather told me years ago:
    "Only a fool confuses the law for justice."
    Aside that, I believe the Sentinel will publish anything, regardless of who they hurt, regardless of any real in depth understanding, and regardless of any decent respect for the honor of a corpse's children, for money. Period. Like it or not, that's what they are.
  • DeserveLiberty posted at 10:53 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    DeserveLibertyPosts: 4
    (...continued)
    Two minutes of research on the internet can determine that I share a first and last name with an ex-felon who has lived in the same general area. One more minute of internet research can show that the accusing woman and the ex-felon had an on-again, off-again shack-up relationship. The difference in the middle name, along with a lack of any other correlation between the two individuals, would indicate to anyone interested in justice, that further research was warranted prior to commanding me to appear. However, due process is no longer required within the machinery of "our" government.
    To defend myself and my family for minding our own business, I had to hire an attorney to interface with the state agency. It took no less than three official communications to the state, having done the simple I.D. research for them, to get the state agency to acknowledge that I was not the man. Of course, the eventual response from the state agency included their statement of non-liability because the "claim" was initiated in another state.
    To hold "the system" and child support industry accountable for their knowingly reckless wielding of the power of "law," I would have had to initiate a lawsuit in the other state, where the woman filed her "claim." This would have been an undertaking that is beyond my means to bankroll, unless I were to put my own family in the poor-house --- but then again, that seems to be exactly what they want to bring about.
    (continued...)
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  • DeserveLiberty posted at 10:51 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    DeserveLibertyPosts: 4
    (...continued)
    Within the 1st Class letter mail, there was a summons addressed to me, commanding me to report to a county office to provide a DNA sample. It further directed that I bring with me all of my financial information (pay-check stubs, bank accounts, investments, etc.) Why? Because a woman had provided my name and address to a state agency, in a state on the other side of the country, and told them that I was the father of her illegitimate child.
    Previously, I had never heard of this woman. Yet, because we have allowed the state to destroy the foundations of natural society and become the salvation for the rescue of others from their own poor personal choices, this random woman has the ability to spread the destruction of her choices into MY family.
    The state is MORE than happy to take charge and "solve" the problems that it has largely precipitated. There is an entire tax-supported industry in place to manage the destruction of families. Employees of the industry even maintain lobbying organizations in order to further expand their business and exempt it from reasonable accountability.
    (continued...)
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  • Working_Man posted at 10:47 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    Working_ManPosts: 1
    Child support system needs a fair overhaul, for sure. BUT, this guy sounds a bit like an American Taliban, a "My wife and kids are my property, I should be able to slap any of them around a bit," kind of guy. Never comes right out and says it, but several of his statements hint at it. By his own statements about smacking his 4-year old around, he sounds kind of out-of-control. And that was his version...kind of makes you wonder what really happened? Just one more in a growing crowd of losers who can't accept personal responsibility...it's everyone else's fault. I hope the landscaping wasn't hurt too, in his selfish act.
  • randomhatred posted at 10:43 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    randomhatredPosts: 1
    That's an awful lot of writing just to try and defend slapping a 4 year old girl so hard she bleeds. I didn't read it all but the gist was clear... it's everybody's fault but his. First it was his daughter's fault for licking his hand. Then it was his wife's fault for calling the police. Then it was the counselor for telling his wife to call the police. Then it was the police for arresting him and then the courts. When is the responsibility ever his?
    Funny how the vast majority of us here in Keene and the rest of the country have absolutely no problems getting along in life, don't get arrested all the time, and somehow manage to avoid getting shafted by the courts. Maybe it's because we take responsibility for our actions.
  • DeserveLiberty posted at 10:34 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    DeserveLibertyPosts: 4
    Individuals, and particularly white males, who endeavor to tend to their own needs, the needs of the families, and desire to make their own way through life are being continually pushed into a corner. The ruling class is at war with the individual and the ruling class is at war with the idea of a free society.
    Families are the cornerstone of natural society and therefore the natural family is a target of the ruling class. There are very many laws and "policies" in place that effectively threaten, dismantle, and destroy families (all in the name of "helping" them). There are laws, policies, and perverse ideas in place among the "experts" that weaken families by impeding the transfer of moral, ethical and family-affirming principles from one generation to the next. And, there is a huge, grotesque machine in operation that is constantly ready to further infect a slightly injured family, or even infect fully intact and healthy families, with the disease of government "assistance."
    Example:
    I am a "straight arrow" husband, father, churchman, etc. Not long ago, in the presence of my wife and two teenage sons, I was opening that day's mail delivered to our home. Within the 1st Class letter mail, there was a summons addressed to me, commanding me to report to a county office to provide a DNA sample. It further directed that I bring with me all of my financial information (pay-check stubs, bank accounts, investments, etc.) Why? Because a woman had provided my name and address to a state agency, in a state on the other side of the country, and told them that I was the father of her illegitimate child.
    Previously, I had never heard of this woman. Yet, because we have allowed the state to destroy the foundations of natural society and become the salvation for the rescue of others from their own poor personal choices, this random woman has the ability to spread the destruction of her choices into MY family.
    The state is MORE than happy to take charge and "solve" the problems that it has largely precipitated. There is an entire tax-supported industry in place to manage the destruction of families. Employees of the industry even maintain lobbying organizations in order to further expand their business and exempt it from reasonable accountability.
    Two minutes of research on the internet can determine that I share a first and last name with an ex-felon who has lived in the same general area. One more minute of internet research can show that the accusing woman and the ex-felon had an on-again, off-again shack-up relationship. The difference in the middle name, along with a lack of any other correlation between the two individuals, would indicate to anyone interested in justice, that further research was warranted prior to commanding me to appear. However, due process is no longer required within the macinery of "our" government.
    To defend myself and my family for minding our own business, I had to hire an attorney to interface with the state agency. It took no less than three official communications to the state, having done the simple I.D. research for them, to get the state agency to acknowledge that I was not the man. Of course, the eventual response from the state agency included their statement of non-liability because the "claim" was initiated in another state.
    To hold "the system" and child support industry accountable for their knowingly reckless wielding of the power of "law," I would have had to initiate a lawsuit in the other state, where the woman filed her "claim." This would have been an undertaking that is beyond my means to bankroll, unless I were to put my own family in the poor-house --- but then again, that seems to be exactly what they want to bring about.
    The U.S. constitution was written specifically to protect the individual from the incursions of government into our lives. This ideal is no longer in place because some people have desired that the role of government is to care for their personal needs and desires, solve every problem that they cause for themselves, and have "someone else" pay the bill. That is a gross perversion of the idea of government for a free society.
    Perhaps we can try to get back to the idea.
    It has been said (by a socialist-leaning president) that if you vote for freedom, you are likely to lose, but if you vote for slavery, you most certainly will "win."
    It is tragic that this man took his own life in this way. Perhaps it is not as tragic as what we have allowed "The Land of The Free and The Home of The Brave" to become.
    read more (about 42 more lines)
  • TaxiManSteve posted at 10:22 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    TaxiManStevePosts: 40
    The Sentinel was correct for posting Tom Ball's letter...
    Look at the fruitful discussion we are having here. Important issues are being raised in our community because of the posting.
    ---SWL
    Free speech, people.... If you don't like it, don't read it.
  • BillsCatz posted at 10:17 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    BillsCatzPosts: 1
    What a pile of rationalizations and rambling to try to say it wasn't really his fault at all. The whole tale starts and stops at one point -- he slapped a four year old kid so hard she bled over something silly. A completely uncalled-for assault on a child set his whole 'poor me!' life in motion. Don't let all the other jabbering distort the point, dude smashed a four year old and life went rapidly downhill from there, period. Yes, he did it and everything that follows was a result of his action.
    No, child support often isn't fair or even rational. A friend of mine had live in a rented room and give up most of his monthly pay to catch up on back child support while his wife worked full time at a good job and his daughter got ready for college. Fair? Yeah, it's in the dictionary between 'fat' and 'flame.'
    Skip all the psychobabble. Dude was a kid hitter and got what he got.
  • Oh_Fudge posted at 10:13 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    Oh_FudgePosts: 4
    I do hope that all the judges, lawmakers, lawyers and feminazis are real proud of their work today, creat a system that takes a guy on the edge and then push him off.
    His blood is on your hands, and all the soap in the world won't wash it off.
    How many more innocent lives will be lost before there is real reform in our Family Kanagroo Court System? The bodies are piling up, so is the body of evidence against your failed policies and facist laws.
  • Help is available posted at 9:51 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    Help is availablePosts: 1
    To the family and friends of this man and to those who witnessed or first responders who responded to the scene and to the community I offer condolences to each of you on this tragic death. Suicide is a complex issue and we who are left behind try to rationally figure out why someone did this. The reality is that there may not be a rational reason and often the person who ended their life was not thinking clearly.
    In this speicif situation, obviously there are many people who have difficult custody issues and feel they were not treated fairly by the courts – most choose other methods for coping with their frustrations and anger.
    For those who are left behind, the pain and anguish friends and family may feel after a suicide death can at times seem unbearable. Sometimes it can lead to people thinking about killing themselves. It will be really important in the days, weeks and months ahead that you support and watch out for each other and if you are worried about someone that you share your concern and make sure that person gets help. Warning signs for suicide include: Talking about suicide or death, hopelessness, anger, isolation, increased drug/alcohol use and mood changes. If you are feeling suicidal or worried about someone who may be suicidal call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273 TALK (8255). Samaritans of Keene provides an anonymous befriending line at (603) 357-5505 for people contemplating suicide or for individuals who have lost a loved one to suicide. The National Alliance On Mental Illness (NAMI NH) has a website www.naminh.org with information on mental illness and suicide prevention and supports for people bereauved by suicide including newsletters, support groups, links etc. Monadnock Family Services 603.357.4400 provides crisis counseling and assessment. Effective treatment is available. If you are having thoughts about suicide or worried about someone else please call for help.
    read more (about 7 more lines)
  • TheRyck posted at 9:12 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    TheRyckPosts: 1
    Hoping we can all learn from this unfortunate incident. With proper counseling and professional care, maybe this disturbed man could have made a more meaningful change to the legal system he despised. There are people out there who have been dealt poorer hands but have found a way to accept their own faults and commit themselves to improving the system.
    Our court system is far from perfect but for every man who has experienced similar injustices, there are probably two or three deadbeats out there who have abandoned their fatherly duties altogether. If these deadbeats would pay their due, maybe the courts could back off a little.
    And it’s funny to me that most critics of the "feminist court system" rarely hold accountable the wives. It’s always the big bad government. What about the crazy woman YOU married who perpetuates the court's so-called feminist agenda?
    Stop being a victim.
  • Weeha posted at 8:52 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    WeehaPosts: 1
    Do you really think that the government wants laws to be observed?
    They want laws to be broken.
    You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against.
    This is not the age for beautiful gestures.
    The politicians are after power and they mean it.
    They know the real trick, and you'd better get wise to it.
    There is no way to rule innocent men.
    The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals.
    Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them.
    One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.
    Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens?
    What's there in that for anyone?
    But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted!
    Then you create a nation of law-breakers and you can cash in on their guilt.
    Now, that's the system, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much more independent and free.
    (With apologies to Ayn Rand)
    read more (about 2 more lines)
  • liberaldisease posted at 8:22 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    liberaldiseasePosts: 2
    newsjunkieal, have you met all of the members of the men's advocate group? Do you know them all personally to make such a judgement? I love how you take the actions of one person that belong to a group and then apply his beliefs to everybody within the group he belongs to. Clearly you have an agenda here, what could it be? I do not agree with what this man did and his call for violence, I know many police officers, and quite a few would come on here and back up what this man has to say. They know they are participating in a game that is anti-male. So if the police themselves know that this is bogus, what could possibly be your agenda in slamming a support group for fathers that have been sucked into the court system? So now you've labeled them all as abusers. Do you work for the DCF? That is their tactic. Instead of promoting the liberaldisease, why don't you do some research? Start with a federal judge, I'm stunned that CNN even let this appear on their website but it was published. http://articles.cnn.com/2009-07-02/living/sears.family.divorce_1_no-fault-divorce-tommy-marriage?_s=PM:LIVING
  • blulazries posted at 6:28 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    blulazriesPosts: 4
    Newsjunkieal and Eastcoastlibera l-- you two really need to get a clue and stop reading between the lines and collecting only what you want to hear.
    Brontis -- Your joking right - be facetious ?? !!
    To all -- so many good comments. Not all that surprising that so many can relate to this as it is something very real going on in Family Courts everyday throughout the US. Together we need to make a change !
  • pwtlake posted at 5:07 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    pwtlakePosts: 1
    Consider the facts: he suggested extreme violence (he especially seemed to have a thing for fire) but I when it came down to it, his violence (at least on the physical level) was directed at himself. Nonetheless, immolation of human being is an incredibly violent act, even if you are your own victim. And what legacy does he leave his children? Suicide, especially in this form, is the last resort of thwarted rage.
    So, he overreacted? An understatement. But it doesn't mean we can ignore what he said. In my own court experience (as a juror, twice) it was possible to get the impression that judges are guided more by legal precedent and court convenience than a desire for justice per se. Less accountability that way (the judge can always point to precedent) and it makes it easier to mass process cases.
    However the man died, he was talking about something important. We are morally required to listen.
  • Felesar posted at 4:20 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    FelesarPosts: 1
    What a brilliantly written manifesto. Right on point on so many levels. Sadly, too much of it is true. I've been part of the legal system over child support. It's a mess. "Friend of the Court" isn't that at all. It's more aptly referred to as "Friend of the C**t." May not be the case everywhere, but that sure has been my experience with it.
    I do not agree with the "BURN IT DOWN" sentiment attached so blatantly to all of this, but I do feel for the author. As a vet, as someone who has been in the system battling, as someone who is placed under a different set of rules based on the fact that I am a man, as someone diagnosed with PTSD from serving my country... I certainly can see how he was pushed over the edge.
    Don't burn it down. You can't win with domestic terrorism in today's global setting. The only way to win is to play the game, jump through the hoops, and go above and beyond to show the courts, the counselors, the social workers, and everyone else that you take initiative and got help you "needed" to get "better."
    Otherwise, this will only continue to get worse.
    Thoughts and prayers go out to the author of this beautiful manifesto. Godspeed, comrade.
  • essensiemich posted at 3:28 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    essensiemichPosts: 1
    If a woman can't afford to support her children she gets multiple levels of aid and assistance. If a man can't afford to support his children he is sent to jail for life.
    A man will remain in jail forever until he pays everything he owes AND while he is in jail the payments keep going up. If he can't pay, he will stay in jail for life.
    If somebody robs a bank or kills someone they will go to jail for some amount of time and be free again. If a man can't pay his child support he will go to jail forever and never be free again.
    He will lose his passport, his drivers license, all professional licenses etc. which further makes it impossible to earn the money to pay, and of course he will never see his children and they will have lost their father.
    Over 3 million American men are in jail right now - for life - because they can't pay the child support that they owe and have no way of ever being able to pay it.
    And the reason the government says it is doing this.. For the kids.
    This man is absolutely correct, the system is insane. A new documentary came out last week about these horrors of the anti-family court system and was screened for an Academy Award. It is called 'Support' : System Down' and is at least available on Amazon. It took six years to make but my bet is that you will never see it mentioned in the mainstream media.
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  • sad posted at 2:42 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    sadPosts: 4
    @ John R: Thanks for the reply. The posting is confusing, it appears to start in 1945. Does this claim that the letter was plagiarized from someone else's writing? At an age of 58, Ball would not have been alive when this letter began. However, the entire web page is sketchy.
  • John R posted at 2:09 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    John RPosts: 3
    @sad
    http://apathyonline.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/thomasmystory.pdf
    The first quote is on page 13.
    The second quote is on page 19.
  • sad posted at 1:53 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    sadPosts: 4
    @ John R: For the sake of discussion, where did you get this quote?
  • John R posted at 1:23 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    John RPosts: 3
    “With the wiggling and squirming an agitated child can have when being restrained a bruised neck was well within possibilities.”
    “She kept licking. I flopped my right hand, the one she was licking, three times as a slap. I stood up and turned to face her bed. She rolled on her stomach. Then she belched out a mouthful of blood.
    I was surprised by the volume that Melissa spat out. As a medic, I knew there were no major arteries or veins in the area. I squatted down and pulled her upper lip up to find the wound. There was a cut on the nside of the upper lip, left side about half an inch about the edge of the mouth. I looked for other wounds. There was none. So where did all this blood come from?
    Then I remembered She looks like my mother, Jane. I look like my mother, Jane. I usually salivate a lot. I have had dentists tease me about trying to drown them. She looks like me. She has the same mouth, the same saliva gland system. Her mouthful was not blood. It was blood tinged saliva. Still made a mess.”
    –Thomas James Ball
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  • John R posted at 1:10 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    John RPosts: 3
    He admitted he slapped a 4 year old child hard enough to draw blood. That wasn't a wild accusation, it was his own words.
    He's not a victim; he is a self identified perpetrator of violence against a child.
    @ "A voice for men", your desire to commit violence upon others for their words is telling. Be an internet tough guy all day long but realize this situation resulted when an adult man decided that striking a 4 year child was the solution. Do men hit children?
  • LeonardH posted at 12:56 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    LeonardHPosts: 1
    The clearest explanation EVER of who and what CPS is-
    AGENDA- http://agendadocumentary.com
    It is beyond time to recognize who and what CPS is, and declare total, complete WAR against them. CPS people are at the root of the EVIL that has worked so long to overthrow America.
    Leonard Henderson, co-founder
    American Family Rights Association
    http://familyrights.us
    Until Every Child Comes Home ©
    The Voice of America's Families ©
  • westell posted at 12:38 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    westellPosts: 1
    This was a suicide.
  • A Voice for Men posted at 12:12 am on Fri, Jun 17, 2011.

    A Voice for MenPosts: 1
    When I look at the callousness in some of these comments, callousness that comes close to matching that of the family court system that drives so many untold men to suicide, it makes me want to grab each and every one of you by the scruff of the neck and shove your smug faces into that man's charred carcass.
    This was not a suicide, it was a state sanctioned murder. Wake up, people. The problem is not men like Tom Ball. The problem is the family courts who trample them, and the ignorant, indifferent public who stands by saying nothing while it all happens.
  • kath posted at 11:55 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    kathPosts: 1
    "The people within the law enforcement community no longer seem to know the difference between the law, with its checks and balances, and the policies, procedure and protocols that constitute The Second Set of Books. In some cases you do not even know who wrote the policy, procedure or protocol. It could have been the local high school gym teacher for all anyone knows.."
    Ball goes into a lot of things here that are hard to follow but he is right about the above quote. I'm just a regular lady, not involved much in the court system in NH. Last year I listened to someone tell me about their experience in our local courthouse(Derry) . I could not understand what happened so I just told her to go look up the RSA (state law) pertaining to it and would you believe, they told her the exact opposite of what the law was and kicked her out and closed. They close at 4pm
    It was the exact opposite of the law, no room for misinterpretation and it was not an obscure law at all, not in any way. What gross, arrogant, blatant incompetence-and I'm someone who bends over backwards in their favor, giving them the benefit of the doubt, or at least I used to be. So I'll give that benefit to people like this Ball fellow now, What a shame.... it is so sad he felt like this was the only way he would be heard.
    I can't agree with his call to violence and it just takes away from his other points and gives people grounds to just dismiss those. Hopefully we can figure out something better and longer lasting for the future generations, I mean, has what he has done helped his kids? Are they really better of without him? When they are grown up will they feel this way? Our dusty old state constitution does say that we can throw off ineffective governments, he should have lived to fight that fight even if he would be fighting from a van down by the river, his kids would still have him and isn't that the most important thing? He's not alone, come on..at two separate events for presidential candidates I attended last week, people asked about the treatment of fathers in the family courts...two different times..
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  • sad posted at 11:54 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    sadPosts: 4
    @newsjunkieal: Aside from this guy, which activists actually advocate such actions? We need names so we can weed them out. It truly should be in the interests of the child, not the parent.
  • newsjunkieal posted at 11:35 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    newsjunkiealPosts: 5
    As long as any of these activists continue on the path of encouraging people to kill women, lawyers, judges, law enforcement officers, and bomb justice system buildings, I will not support them in any way.
  • newsjunkieal posted at 11:33 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    newsjunkiealPosts: 5
    As long as any of these activists continue on the path of encouraging people to kill women, lawyers, judges, law enforcement officers, and bomb justice system buildings, I will not support them in any way.
  • verylonelymom posted at 11:30 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    verylonelymomPosts: 1
    Something needs to be done about the child support system in this country! I am at the other end, having lost my children to my abuser. He had mega money for court whores and lawyers, I did not. If a mother has PROVEN and acknowledged abuse, acknowledged by the court even, often the abuser will end up with sole custody of the children (this is a national problem). Imagine having to pay your abuser a major portion of your income. Now I am unemployed and in a wheelchair and I suspect he will push for prison for me, even though he has gotten away with not letting me see the children for two and a half years. There are many abused mothers in this horrible situation.
  • sad posted at 11:21 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    sadPosts: 4
    My heart goes out to this man and his survivors.
    I do not condone his actions or views.
    When I saw the headline I suspected it was related to family law, which turned out to be correct.
    I live in Texas and can relate to this man's frustrations. I have been involved in a custody case involving easily proven false allegations. Combined there has been nearly 140K spent. I am in the second year of my divorce and have filed three motions for visitation with my daughter based on eyewitnesses, the mother's own testimony and the testimony of the court appointed psychologist... All three motions were denied by the judge... Additionally, the court appointed amicus did not interview witnesses having knowledge of the child's welfare which is contrary to our state laws. The court appointed psychologist did not, as requested, interview witnesses having knowledge of the mother's behavior. Despite not interviewing any witnesses, the court appointed psychologist stated that he had no concerns with me having an expanded visitation order (roughly 50/50) but that the child should remain in the mother's 'primary' care; which entitles her to child support. The mother's earning capacity is equal to or better than mine.
    I have two other girls, whom I have raised from infants on my own, and who are members of the National Honor Society (based on academics), active in sports and well adjusted. Yet, due to the mother rescheduling and the judge refusing to hear motions, I cannot get my case in front of a judge or jury.
    Ironically, the mentality of protecting the female is hurting four other females; the two older sisters, the younger daughter, and the grandmother whom is dependent on my income. I have been employed for over 20 years with the same aerospace company and earn a respectable living. Now in order to pay my monthly bills (which includes child support that is nearly 8x what it cost to support the older sisters; individually), I have to withdraw from my retirement... which incurs IRS penalties. It is a matter of time before the well runs dry.
    The people who profit are the lawyers and so called medical professionals. The children and other dependents lose in the thrash. The judge would prefer not to deal with such a case.
    I truly believe our family law system and our government, needs to be overhauled.
    Again, my sympathy goes out to this man and his surviving family.
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  • brontis posted at 11:15 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    brontisPosts: 2
    Hey folks, don't bother to read this. 'newsjunkieal' is right (for some reason this editor won't let me type the name). They shouldn't have printed this letter. Nothing going on here. Go about your daily business. There's nothing to be concerned about. Feminists don't hate men, they're just pointing the way to a better society. The Fathers Rights men are just a bunch of brutes who are angry that they can't batter their wives any more. Don't bother reading this man's story. I'm sure he made up all those details. Who could possibly believe that the stuff he described actually happens in the real world? Right, I mean, you'd have to be an extremely gullible, conspiracy theorist type to believe this Fathers Rights stuff. Yeah, don't bother reading this. Go about you day. Nothing of interest here.
  • newsjunkieal posted at 11:01 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    newsjunkiealPosts: 5
    liberaldisease, Father's Rights and Men's Rights Activist do NOT represent most men. So NO, men aren't inherently bad and not many people believe they are. Most men don't commit or get arrested for, or convicted of, domestic violence, and most men don't lose access to their children. Most men are good people. This man isn't representative of most men. The Father's Rights and Men's Rights Activists, at their cores, hate women and are not much more than male supremacist groups.
  • JackB posted at 10:51 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    JackBPosts: 1
    Slapping a four year old is obviously a sign of a problem. There really was something wrong in that household but in typical government fashion you see that the State did nothing to solve the problem and everything to exacerbate and profit from it instead.
  • moose123 posted at 10:47 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    moose123Posts: 4
    "I could not believe that slapping your child was domestic violence."
    Slapping a defenseless 4 year old so hard she bleeds is violence. It's also child abuse. If you're a man you don't get this concept, then don't have children.
  • moose123 posted at 10:39 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    moose123Posts: 4
    This woman hater took no responsibility for himself or his actions. He smacks his 4 year old child in the mouth and has zero regret about it and makes no attempt to examine himself. Then he goes on a rambling diatribe about how men have it so bad, then wraps it up with some platitude about family that, given his actions, he clearly doesn't actually believe. Give me a break.

    "Daddy loves you." Yeah well, your kind of "love" is the kind the world needs a lot less of. And real men find a way to sort out themselves and their lives in the face of difficult circumstances. They don't throw a tantrum and then leave their children fatherless.
  • liberaldisease posted at 10:38 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    liberaldiseasePosts: 2
    newsjunkieal, you're a real class act posting anti Father's Rights propaganda 3 days before Father's Day. Men are inherently bad right? My brother is a police officer and they forced he and his fellow officers to attend these anti-male classes and they all walked out together. Trying to compare cases from a rare few individuals to millions of American men caught in this system is just sick.
  • newsjunkieal posted at 10:02 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    newsjunkiealPosts: 5
    I suppose the Father's Rights and Men's Rights Activists will add this guy's name to their list of heros...like Darren Mack who shot a family court judge and killed his wife; Raoul Moat who shot a cop in the face, shot his ex-girlfriend and shot and killed her new boyfriend; and mass murderer Marc Lepine who killed a bunch of women.
  • Jake77 posted at 9:56 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    Jake77Posts: 4
    This tragedy happened because men are not considered citizens any longer. Men have no rights to see their children, and men are viciously discriminated against in court. The only proper response for young men is never to marry or have kids with any American woman. Marriage has become slavery, a ticket to have your children kidnapped and for you to go to jail if you don't want to work your tail off and live in a cardboard box somewhere. I feel sorry for this man's children, the real victims of liberalism, feminism, and other forms of hate filled bigotry and extremism which have destroyed the fabric of this society.
  • newsjunkieal posted at 9:50 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    newsjunkiealPosts: 5
    Some members of the Father's Rights and Men's Rights Movement, many of them convicted batterers, have long been warning us on their blogs that women, cops, judges will be dying over their arrests and the consequences of them. This is a step in that direction from this Father's Rights Activist.
  • opinion posted at 8:52 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    opinionPosts: 1
    This man in my book died a martre. he describes a too simular situation i am going through currently. His death while tragic hopefully raises awareness of a truely corrupted system that in no way puts a child or childrens best intrests into the equasion for justice . I personnaly just returned from his place of his final stand and prayed for his children and that his sacrifice does not go unnoticed and without investigation into his claims, I predict a follow up story conjured by this system stating that he was a mentaly ill man on the edge and we will see the same system that pushed him to the breaking point .. will defend itself .
  • East coast liberal posted at 8:31 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    East coast liberalPosts: 61
    I did read it over and over.
    I agree with the writer the Sentinel should never have printed it.
    Read where this sick individual gives instructions and how to burn down police buildings. Read how he encourages others to finish his work by burning down the Court House.
    Would the Sentinel ever have printed this letter if he had blown his brains out in a car?I doubt it. They did it for the purient interests of their readers.
  • Serena posted at 7:59 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    SerenaPosts: 1
    His 15 minutes of fame. Pure narcissim.
  • PCLEMSC posted at 7:15 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    PCLEMSCPosts: 1
    He tells a story many of us fathers have had to endure, and he tells it quite well. Credit him with educating himself about the issues and the mechanics of how they play out. What he does not say is that the state and it's courts benefit from collecting child support from the disenfranchised father. The state is paid by the federal gov't, and the courts are paid by the child support collection agency. The payoff is in the millions, tens, and hundreds of millions of dollars, depending on the population of the state in question. It's highly illegal, as it constitutes bribery, violation of the constitution, and multiple violations of the Judicial code of conduct., but also very profitable. The domestic violence industry involvement is only part of the equation. In essence, the courts created the reasons why this victimized father burned himself to death, then profited by their actions. To get an idea of just how many divorce industry hangers-on profit, read Dr. Stephen Baskerville's book, "TAKEN INTO CUSTODY". The only unanswered question is why so FEW men (10,000/yr) commit suicide under these circumstances. Perhaps it's because they love their children too much to leave them.
  • Common sense posted at 6:58 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    Common sensePosts: 1
    Not going to debate the the right or wrong of this suicide, but having been through the child support issues in this state, the rules and litigation is an absolute joke.
    The lack of common sense used for these rulings were designed for one reason only to keep you in court longer, fighting longer, benefit lawyers make more money, and the kids suffer more, end up with welfare services, keeping that system alive. We as the people need to look for the underlining reasons for these circumstances, and remember when your voting, this guy is correct on this corrupt, idiotic system.......
  • condor68 posted at 6:42 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    condor68Posts: 2
    Estimates are there are 330 suicides per month due to what family courts do to people. It is not the divorce; it is the impossible child support orders, required even when someone is unemployed, the $78,000 legal bill from the divorce and custody battle (U.S. avg. according to The Wall Street Journal) and a shameless money collection system that drives people into bankruptcy, hiding and worse. Mass. "child support" is two to three times what other states order and there is no rational basis for it. Many people are ordered to pay 100% or even 300% of their actual income. Lawyers make these laws to generate income for lawyers. Like Senator Cynthia Creem who has 6 divorce lawyers in her family and is singlehandedly stopping divorce law reform to save parents and children from this abuse. This is just another murder on their list. Lawyers want custody battles and the state gets federal monies through the Social Security Title IVd program. This is essentially a six figure bribe to ever y state and every divorce judge to separate dad from their children. This program pays all 50 states BILLIONS annually to drive fathers out of their children lives. When a judge orders sole custody they make a SIX FUGURE sum for their judicial system and the state. This is the dirty little secret of the child support industry machine. It kills 10 people per day currently. Tom Ball was just another statistic to them. These people are EVIL. See: www.FathersUnite.org and www.BestInterestOfChildren.org. We have known that sole custody is child abuse for over 15 years now. It is a plain scientific fact. Yet the state judicial system will not change because the money from fighting custody battles would go away with equal parenting rights. Please call you state senator and representative and express your disgust.
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  • blulazries posted at 6:18 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    blulazriesPosts: 4
    I have lived what this man went through in the NH Family Courts. I went 7 years without my children based on false allegations by my Xwife and have accumulated almost 20 acquittals and or dismissals of her charges. False allegations are a real problem in the courts. Judges and cops want to protect the women and children yet they also know how women- and even men have used false allegations as a tool to get custody of their children. The courts and the cops know it's going on and it's job security for them all. What this man did was due to no lack of courage. He simply came to the end of his rope, got tired of hanging on and let go. I put my frustration to work for me by becoming an advocate for Parental Rights. You can find me on FB under the same screen name as above.
  • TaxiManSteve posted at 5:44 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    TaxiManStevePosts: 40
    An eye-opener... Like some of what we saw in Wikileaks ...
    This fellow.... I would like to see a follow-up feature on him and what brought about this horrific turn of events.
    ---SWL
  • AimeWJr posted at 5:24 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    AimeWJrPosts: 3
    ncavanaughnerrcom and Iman Azol understand, why don’t the rest of you? (I didn’t say agree, just understanding would do.) Please read all 15 pages before you comment on this. His kids are listening…
  • AimeWJr posted at 5:19 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    AimeWJrPosts: 3
    A few of you folks who commented here seemed to have gotten it; but for you that think this guys is misguided or outright crazy, I find it hard to believe that you read it all the way through; and everybody in the state and country should read this all the way through. Give his statement and sacrifice at least that much dignity.
    I was partially caught up in this meat grinder back in 2003 and it took me till 2006 to get a semblance of my life back and I didn’t hit anybody! My lawyer was amazed that a restraining order was issued based of what my wife wrote to get it. (She was afraid of me? That’s against the law?) It was a lie anyway as she finally had to admit in court. My lawyer (a female, for what that’s worth; and it was worth a lot) was also amazed that I was exonerated in court; she said that almost never happened! Now how in the world could that almost never happen? Everybody6 accused gets arrested but nobody is innocent? Tom Ball is right about his ‘Second Set of Books’ is why that happens.
    Every man, and all the women hurt by these procedures as well should read this a few times and should spread it around to all his/her friends and family. Women should be thinking twice (or more) before ‘siccing’ the cops on her husband, especially if they have kids. He better be a monster because she and her kids will be ravished by the system as well, just as Tom Bell states.
    I wrote my congressmen at the time, only to discover that one of them was bragging about his role in passing the Defense of Women Act and being a active participant in all this. He is gone now so there’s no point in my looking up who he was, just see who was representing Nashua (whichever district that’s in) up in Washington and you’ll know who he is. Tom is also right when he says that these people actually think they’re doing good things with this. After all, they don’t have time to dig deeply into every measure they support, do they? What are they being paid for? Why do they have a staff?
    Washington is no longer for the people, by the people, or of the people. They are a small cadre of elitists with the resources to get elected; and they seek power above anything else. We are, indeed, little more than piggy banks to support their pet projects, usually to the benefit of another small cadre of elitist that care nothing whatsoever about us. If you don’t believe hat, tell us what they do ‘for the people’ that hasn’t exploded, chock full of so-called, unintended consequences. Please, I’d love to know.
    I’m not ready to start burning things but something better happen pretty soon or that could change really easily. I person with terminal cancer hasn’t much to lose now, does he?
    read more (about 15 more lines)
  • Double Guitars posted at 5:08 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    Double GuitarsPosts: 14
    Very sad. These are the words of someone completely incapable of taking responsibility for their own actions. He even makes it sounds like his daughter's fault for being slapped, after all he warned her three times.
  • PabloKoh posted at 5:04 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    PabloKohPosts: 1
    Serious ill? He sounded pretty sane to me, but then again I am not a court appointed mental health worker. He believed his whole family was victimized by the government and activist driven policies, which I may add he makes a pretty convincing argument and sheds some light on the system. He did not resort to deadly violence, unlike many fathers previously. For that I thank him.
  • michcat50 posted at 4:30 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    michcat50Posts: 9
    All I get from this is the rambling of a seriously ill person who was at the end what he was accusing the government of being, a coward. Now he is dead and his poor kids have to live with this for the rest of their lives especially the one that simply licked him? And he slaps her for doing it and has the nerve to come off as the injured party? I think once the shock wears off, his family needs to forget about him entirely. I was abused by my mother and she never ever got arrested for it as when I was a kid parents could discipline their kids any way they saw fit and mine had a penchant for using what ever was handy like boards, belts, and she broke my tail bone with a cast iron skillet, it never healed right, I suffer from acute RA and that is the area first affected, as she never took me to a doctor as they would have figured out she was beating on me and her BFF was the doc's secretary? God how would that look? At 15, I split and never lived under her roof again and she is now dead and I barely felt a thing because she really hurt me usually on a daily basis. Had this guy not spent so much time acting like an idiot on his soap box, he might have been able to have a relationship with his kids and him moaning about paying child support, sounds to me he was refusing to pay unless he could call all the shots. IMO, the judges were smart in keeping his kids away from him because clearly, he was not fit to be a parent. And I am sure he thought before he flipped the match he will be the martyr for all fathers wrongly accused or dead beat dads and all he is now in a crispy critter and proved nothing that he spewing about. And I am sure he also thought that he will show that ex-wife what she done to him, made him burn himself up? God, I hope this poor woman does not blame herself as none of this is her fault and it sure as heck not the kid's fault and my heart goes out to them big time.
    read more (about 6 more lines)
  • Zoe'sMOM posted at 4:24 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    Zoe'sMOMPosts: 2
    SHAME on this paper for printing this article with this man's last name. His MINOR children still live in this area, clearly, and will have access to this. If it were so crucial and sensational, and a paper-selling must then at least have the decency to remove ALL identifying information. This man's first and LAST name are in here. Do you wonder if his children will read this and blame themselves? I bet they will.
    How this man died, his choice of death, was the absolute extreme--the angriest, most painful and public way to die. Aren't we reinforcing this by publishing a tirade--one in which he blasts mental health care professionals---a profession that might have been able to help him if he had given us a chance. We are NOT all the same.
    I feel terrible that this man felt he couldn't beat the "system". In some major ways he is right. Child support is incredibly high, as is the cost of living. We would ALL be better off if we could handle our families, whether they are together, or splitting up, OUT of court as much as possibly--so that we can treat each other like human beings. My heart goes out to his children.
  • East coast liberal posted at 4:24 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    East coast liberalPosts: 61
    Iman
    Putting a gun in your mouth, jumping off a bridge, swallowing a bunch of pills, or setting yourself on fire is the act of a coward NOT of a real man that is willing to face adversity. Obviously, you have not a clue on the devastating effects that suicide has on the family.
  • Iman Azol posted at 4:06 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    Iman AzolPosts: 1
    Dan: If he'd followed your advice, he'd have been arrested for sexual abuse because his daughter licked him.
    East coast pansy: If he followed your advice, his children would have to live not knowing what happened or why, or believing he abandoned them.
    Obviously, neither of you two cowards are going to take up the fight. Go watch your TV, or play a Facebook game. All is well, citizen.
  • ncavanaughnerrcom posted at 3:43 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    ncavanaughnerrcomPosts: 1
    He sums up what I have thought to be true about the hatred towards men and fathers. The things I have seen my female friends do to their spouses and ex-husbands has disgusted me. Men are treated like second class citizens by many women and they justify it by saying they've been held back, mistreated, and so on. So instead of changing it positively, they're doing to men what they feel has been done to them (if not personally then to women they know). Many women wield the law over their husbands and ex-husbands like a sword, and are willing to use it for even the most minor of offenses. Two wrongs don't make a right and this leaves men feeling dejected and hurting, children without fathers (and sometimes neither parent), and women who are miserable because they can't find a "good man."
    It is unfortunate that he felt the only route out he had was to set himself on fire. His words need to be heard by many more. My own reading and research shows that he's not that far off on the numbers. I like the concept of "The Second Set of Books." It is an excellent term for the policies and procedures that have nothing to do with what the law says. His point about the middle class disappearing because of these domestic issues is an interesting one and I think if there was some research done, you'd find he isn't far off on its impact on the economy and middle class way of life.
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  • Dan posted at 3:17 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    DanPosts: 13
    I think I can boil this whole thing down to what my mother used to say, "No Hitting!"
    Violence expressed led to this man's problems with the law. He had many interesting points but the bottom line, boys, is "No Hitting".
    I raised two fine citizens without ever having to resort to spanking, slapping, or punching them.
    As far as I am concerned this man was the architect of his own demise.
    My heart goes out to his family.
  • hec_yayouknowme posted at 2:37 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    hec_yayouknowmePosts: 2
    WOW. That is all i can say. WOW.
  • East coast liberal posted at 2:25 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    East coast liberalPosts: 61
    So sad.
    I went through a nasty divorce where my ex-wife was awarded over 60% of my take-home pay. Many times I felt down but never this desperate. His children will have to live with this for the rest of their lives. So unfair of him. He should have just taken a long walk in the woods and disappeared.
  • Anonymouse posted at 1:57 pm on Thu, Jun 16, 2011.

    AnonymousePosts: 43
    Wow.