Where I've Been....and Where I Plan to Go

It was January 2, 1996.  As I stood on my front steps, holding my now 17 year old son, I was shaking with fear.  Yet again, I had been falsely accused of child abuse and was involved in a surreal stand-off with a sheriff's deputy.  This particular deputy's method of "determining if my children were in danger" involved screaming at me with such vehemence that he was showering me with his saliva.

Yesterday, this same child and I talked about that day 16 years ago.  Fortunately for us, my children were never detained into foster care, or as I have come to call it, kidnapped by the state of Georgia.  I have since made it my life's mission to help other falsely accused families.  I have always tried to do what is right.

Unfortunately, I have let myself get discouraged over the last  year or so- due to both some personal financial troubles and family health issues as well as having been involved in litigation. (Shell v. AFRA, et al)  I have to snap out of it.  If I am brave enough to stand up to a maniacal cop with anger management issues, then I can handle what life is throwing at me now. 

I'm getting my ass back in gear. Stay tuned.

Studies in Contrast

Well, things on the lawsuit front have been quiet lately, but that
isn't stopping "The Chicken Woman" (TCW) from continuing her tirade
while hiding behind an imaginary "friend" while swearing that this
"friend" is 1) real, not imaginary and 2) actually likes her.
She does this in a .pdf file on her - oops her "friend's - website.

Drawing on her superior social skills, TCW calls me a "bleached blond
bimbo."  Well, I am a bleached blond. I am also pretty hot for
a grandmother.  Well, okay, I'm pretty hot compared to
anybody.  Wikipedia defines a "bimbo" as "a woman who is
physically attractive but has a low intelligence or poor education" or
"a woman who acts in a sexually promiscuous manner."
Hmmmm.  How do you spell D-E-F-A-M-A-T-I-O-N?

TCW (or her imaginary "friend") runs on at the mouth for FOUR PAGES
about me. She has nothing really bad to say about me....just playground
insults and innuendo.   And playground insults are
always a sign jealousy, instead of true contempt.  TCW makes
much of the fact that I am fortunate enough to be able to help
others.  I don't announce it when I am able to make someone's
life a little easier, but TCW seems to have made a hobby out of doing
so.

I have an amazing life that TCW can't even begin to wrap her head
around.  Everything I am is everything she's not, and it is
obviously eating at her.  I have a loving, devoted husband who
absolutely adores me.  I have two children who love me and who
are very protective of me. I see my beautiful granddaughter every
day.  I am attractive.  I am well traveled.  I live in a beautiful
house.  I am respected and liked by people involved with
Family Rights.

In other words, it's not pretense if you really have it.  So without further ado.........

This is TCW's house.


Photo via El Paso County, Colorado Tax Assessor


And this is my house:


Photo courtesy William Wiseman

An Open Letter to Paul Watson

I have long admired Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd. Watson wrote an article this past Friday as a response to a news item posted on ChristianNewsWire I was disturbed to read that Watson has such a low opinion towards people of faith. So I have written an open letter to him. I've tried my best to use a gentle tone and to not be my usual bitchy, snarky self. So here goes. Ahem....

Dear Captain Watson:

I am in complete agreement with Sea Shepherd's goals of protecting the oceans and those who live there. My commitment to everyone who inhabits the earth is, for me, an extension of my Christian faith. Granted my beliefs may be considered eclectic, but I do believe. So I have some things to say to you about your negative attitude towards religious people. Here goes:

You are a public figure. There's no escaping that fact. People listen when you speak. Calling the Bible "a silly over-rated book written by a gang of chauvinistic sheep herding thugs in the desert a few thousand years ago" is insulting to the very people of faith who have such potential for providing support for your cause.

Social movements are often begun and supported by people of faith. So it may be in yours and Sea Shepherd's best interests to at least not go out of your way to insult the very people who could be dedicated supporters. Please consider this.

You are right when you say that all of God's creatures are interdependent. And, yes I'm calling all of us "God's creatures." That's my worldview and what guides my actions. I'm not insulting you or what you believe. Please consider treating people of faith with the same respect.

I'm sorry that you think we are all just "animals." I believe that all God's creatures, including people, have souls and a divine spark inside. Even if there was no extinction crisis afoot, I would still be in favor of saving individuals. To my way of thinking, seeing individuals instead of only species, is a Christ-like view of the world. And my goal as a human being is to do my best to be Christ-like. That goal is a valid one, and people like me are not deserving of ridicule. Moving on....

You call religious and spiritual beliefs "biblical fantasies of a monkey God figure in the sky." Then you basically call God a dumb-ass: "he certainly has not demonstrated much expertise in stewardship considering the mass extinction of species we are presently responsible for." The stewardship issue is due to the sinful nature of human beings. It's not God's fault we're irresponsible and destructive.

I'm not asking you to suddenly find Jesus. All I'm asking is that you refrain from purposefully insulting those of us who have. You say you don't worship whales. Neither do I. But we both want to help them. Please don't make enemies out of Christians just for the sake of feeling superior to us.

Sincerely,

Dorothy Kernaghan-Baez




Tags: Dorothy Kernaghan-Baez, AFRA, family rights, twitter, cyber-dissident, tarot cards, psychic, DFACS, Georgia, politics, Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd

2010???

Well, we're into 2010 and I had decided last fall that this year was going to be "The Year of Dorothy." As in I plan to simplify my life, really take stock of what is important to me....yada yada yada. I've put others first for so long that I'm looking forward to indulging myself a little.

So, I found myself looking at various predictions for this year, and according to my source, Yemaya will be in charge this year, and guess what? I am a child of Yemaya!

So, it seems like everything is on track for the "Year of Dorothy." My granddaughter is due in April - I look forward to having a "Minnie Me" to play with. My children are healthy. Spiritually, I'm in a good place. I'm finally organized and the house runs smoothly. (Damn, can you imagine?) I'm planning a web based sort of half reality series half mockumentary series, along with some other projects that I'm keeping to myself for the time being.

I don't make New Year's resolutions - instead I set goals and plan projects. So, ahem: I want to improve my Spanish and learn a little Chinese. I want to ride a mechanical bull. I want to finally finish my second book. I want to do some renovations on my greenhouse. I want to build an aviary for my pigeon. I want to (maybe) get my nose pierced. I want to expend the same effort making myself happy that I spend making others happy.

Off to the races!

a ChildProtectionReform groups post

Over the years, many have tried to "bring everyone together." It never seems to work.

I've been part of this movement since before there really was a movement. I've heard and seen it all.

My take? We should focus on our states and our local areas. Granted, there is a national problem and federal laws and funding to deal with. Believe me, I get that. But it's only one piece of the puzzle.

I believe it is extremely important to work on changing attitudes of the general public at the state and local level. I believe it is extremely important to work on those elected officials and non-profit managers who control our state and local funding streams. Here in Georgia, even though we have a state government directed system (as opposed to say, North Carolina which has a county directed system) DFACS (CPS) gets various funding and other support from local governments. Even more is given by local charities. THIS IS WHERE WE NEED TO POINT OUR EFFORT, in my opinion.

If significant numbers of us focus our efforts this way, our work will lead to changes all over the country. Changes are already happening in Georgia. I'd love to see changes happen everywhere.

So, how exactly do we do this? We write timely letters to the editor, we respond to local news stories touching on CPS, we write to our local lawmakers, we offer concrete help to victim families who are close to us geographically.

Of course there will be people who won't do any of these things. And there are going to be people who will. For example, if a group member posts a sample letter to the editor, the majority of members won't bother to personalize and send it. But some will.

Let's at least expect "some."

--------------------------
Thanking you in advance,
(Mrs.) Dorothy Kernaghan-Baez
http://www.dorothybaez.com
http://psychicsoundoff.blogspot.com
http://www.familyrights.us

Georgia Family Rights, Inc.
http://www.georgiafamilyrights.com
811 Aumond Place East
Augusta, Georgia 30909
Phone 706-533-6522
Fax 706-736-4832
Email dorothybaez@yahoo.com

I am not an attorney and I do not give or pretend to give legal advice. I merely relate strategies I learned in the past that have worked for families. I provide information and help for free and do not expect to receive any form of payment or reward on this side of heaven.

Responses to my 4/24 letter to the editor

On April 24, The Augusta Chronicle published a letter to the editor that I had written. This letter had 43 web comments. There is one particular comment that I am going to address here.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/042408/let_196159.shtml

The images we have all seen of the families involved in the Texas polygamy case are disturbing. It doesn't matter where one's opinion lies -- the whole situation is simply disturbing.

I would not agree to live in a plural marriage, no matter how often my husband jokes about finding another wife. But I do believe that people should be able to choose their lifestyles. I am strongly in favor of changing our marriage laws to provide gays and lesbians the chance to marry. In my mind, polygamy is not all that different as long as the marriage partners are consenting adults.

Unfortunately, at issue in the Texas case is not only freedom of association, but accusations that children are forced into arranged marriages. It is interesting to note that Child Protective Services in Texas decided that accusations of teen girls being forced to marry justified the detention of more than 400 children, some of them infants . According to CPS' own information, 90 percent of the children detained were in no imminent danger. It is for this reason that I'm crying "foul."

Over the past decade, I have seen some extraordinary silliness in CPS cases, usually perpetrated on families who are ill-equipped to fight back. If you stand by and say nothing as multiple families are torn apart, then you may find yourself on the receiving end of the same bitter medicine with no one to speak out for you.

Dorothy Kernaghan-Baez, Augusta

From the Thursday, April 24, 2008 edition of the Augusta Chronicle

And here is the comment with my responses.

Mrs Baez: For YOUR information, ANY TIME ONE CHILD IN THE HOME IS SUBJECTED TO SEXUAL EXPLOITATION, ALL OF THE CHILDREN ARE, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE MOTHER WILL NOT PROTECT HER CHILD.

At this point, no abuse has been proven in court. Child Protective Services (CPS) are using the "risk of harm" argument as justification for detaining all of the children.

Also, I disagree with your basic premise that all children are sexually abused just because a sibling is.

If you remove the victim and leave the others in the home, then there is a new victim. (The caps are for emphasis, not shouting).

As I stated above I disagree with your basic premise.

The Texas authorities have acted in the best interest of the children and have not only legally, but rightfully, removed any potential victim.

Actually, it is not lawful to remove a "potential" victim. Federal law requires that "reasonable efforts" (Congress's words, not mine) be made before detaining a child away from his or her home. Reasonable efforts must also be made to make it possible for a detained child to be released.

The reason the "parents" are lying is because they know and understand that they have broken the laws regarding overt sexual behavior towards a child.

Where have the parents lied?

Those "men" are nothing more than perverted pedophiles who, if living in any other city or town, would have been arrested and prosecuted. The men who fathered these children have left the area in order to circumvent the law. Arizona and Colorado would do well by raiding those FLDS compounds.

Then how do you explain the presence of all those men still at the ranch?

Also, are you saying that anyone who has sexual relations with a girl under the age of 18 is a pedophile? Young people have sex all the time, often VERY casually. It seems to me like you're taking a single kumquat and trying to split it in half and then call it an apple and an orange.


How would you like it if your 13 year old was impregnated by your pastor because he believed he is "spiritually authorized by God?" Some of these children are now products of incest, which is also against the law.l Imagine the medical problems they will develop in the future.

I don't think my just turned fourteen year old would sit still long enough for anybody to impregnate him.

Seriously, we are talking about arranged marriages as part of an alternative lifestyle. Sure, I'd take issue about ANYBODY being forced into any marriage. But as far as I understand the situation in Texas, we don't know for sure that this is the case.

Time will tell.

Posted by mable8 on Thu Apr 24, 2008 1:20 PM

Tags: Dorothy Kernaghan-Baez, AFRA, family rights, twitter, cyber-dissident, tarot cards, psychic, DFACS, Georgia, politics, Texas, polygamy, CPS

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