What You Can Do

For over 11 years now, I've been asking people and organizations for help. The responses I've received to these requests number in the thousands, and they are always the same: either they can't help, they won't help, they will help but only on their terms (which usually means victimizing us further), they dump me on someone else, they simply don't bother to respond at all, or they respond with even more harassment. In fact, I have actual examples of each of these types of responses to my requests for help already posted on this blog. (I'll let you find them. It won't take you long.)

Recently, however, I received a single response that was unique. It basically said, "I've been reading your blog. Your situation is frightening. The comments people are leaving are awful. What can I do to help you?" There were no conditions or gimmicks with this offer--it was simply one person caring enough about another to share some kind words of support and extend a hand. I was deeply moved.

Unfortunately, at the time I first saw this, I was also very tired and stressed-out from having to deal with several other situations that were not nearly as uplifting. I fired off a quick reply in which I thanked the person and offered up the first couple of suggestions that came to mind.

Later when things were quieter, however, I started to meditate on the frankly miraculous offer I'd received--how it was that one person out of literally thousands had had both enough empathy for us and enough courage (because, realistically, certain aspects of our situation are scary; see for example some of the threats against me in some of the comments elsewhere) to take action. I was and still am humbled and amazed and grateful.

At the same time, I realized I'd done a lousy job of responding to the offer. Because both our specific situation and what I've been learning about the situation in general have been escalating so seriously and so rapidly over the last few years, and also because no other meaningful offers of assistance have come in, I simply haven't taken much time to sit down and reflect about what specific kinds of assistance would be most effective. In fact, the last time I remember doing anything like this was the last time someone else cared enough to actually reach out to me, which was to urge me to start this blog about what was going on here because they believed exposing the truth would probably be the best way for us to get much-needed assistance. This is what eventually let to what you are now reading, although I confess it took me several months to work up enough courage to start it (and I am very much afraid the person who suggested it may have been retaliated against).

Of course I have some definite ideas about ways people can help both us and other victims. Right now, probably the most important and effective thing you can do is to simply tell as many people as possible what is going on here in Central Texas and elsewhere, because knowledge and truth are very powerful agents of change. Spread the word about this blog. Talk to people about the information and the documentation posted here, and make it clear to them as you do so that the criminal and immoral acts being perpetrated are not acceptable in any civilized society, much less in a country where individuals supposedly have basic civil and constitutional rights.

Once people have used this blog to educate themselves on the wrongs being committed, it's essential that they let their elected officials know in no uncertain terms that they 1) are aware of what's going on, and 2) insist it be stopped as quickly as possible. It only takes a few minutes to send an email or a brief letter to the White House, the Office of the Vice President, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the CIA, for example. Specifically, tell them you're aware people's basic rights to privacy, proper legal representation, proper treatment by elected and public officials, protection by (and from!) law enforcement, protection from illegal incarceration and involuntary commitment, and more are being blatantly violated on a wholesale basis here. Make it clear to our governmental leaders that federal surveillance and other equipment MUST be fully accounted for at all times and that misuse of it will not be tolerated. Also make it clear that illegal targeting of individuals for gang/organized stalking, torture, and death is an abomination that cannot be tolerated in America (or anywhere else!). Be sure to let these officials know you are fully aware that right-wing political extremists and international multi-billion-dollar corporations and powerful families are behind this and that you are absolutely opposed to letting them run or influence the government of our country. Finally, let officials know you are aware of the extensive corruption that already exists within law enforcement, the legal/judicial system, and the military and that you also know the media is deliberately concealing the extent of this. NONE of this is acceptable in a supposedly free country, and it has ALREADY reached levels that border on third-world status in the U.S. Then start sending out the same kinds of emails and letters to every media contact and outlet you can think of.

The other critically important things you can do to help in general are to VOTE and VOTE RESPONSIBLY. This means not being lazy: too lazy to go to the polls, too lazy to properly research the candidates, or too lazy to insist on quality candidates. (The corollary to this is that quality candidates must step up and run for office so responsible voters have good choices.) To paraphrase T. R. Fehrenbach, people end up with the kind of government they deserve.

There are also smaller but important things you can do to help on a daily basis. Make truthfulness, morality, ethics, and respect for others high priorities in your life. Don't use, participate in, or tolerate hate speech, prejudice, bullying, harassment, or stalking. According to AC360, about one-third of people who witness these look the other way instead of doing anything to stop them (and I suspect this figure is too low), yet doing nothing has the same result as making a conscious decision to let them continue. Also be aware these are more ADULT problems than children's problems. (Guess where the children learn them??) Finally, do a reality check on your use or misuse of drugs, both illegal and prescription. I'm sure by now you understand that by buying these, you're supporting violence and corruption in Mexico and elsewhere, but please also be aware that you're supporting it in the U.S. as well.

As far as specifically helping my children and me, we STILL need proper legal help and representation. I've been constantly searching for this for eleven years now without success and have in fact been cheated and conned horribly by more attorneys than I can count. My ex-husband openly brags that he and his associates can either "get to" any attorney I try to hire or bankrupt me with excessive legal fees, since our adversaries have unlimited legal and financial resources, so I've been advised to seek pro bono help but have been unable to find this. The legal situation my children and I are currently facing is dire, and the way we are being denied proper representation is a blatant violation of our civil rights, but the DOJ has repeatedly refused to do anything. We also need relief from the gang stalking, illegal surveillance, and financial crimes committed against us on a daily basis.

As more issues emerge, I'll try to add them to this post, so you might want to check here periodically. For example, I could use some assistance from a legitimate investigator somewhere in trying to identify who was using an older blue sedan (a Ford, I think?) with Texas plates DXH-192 [note: plates around here do not always match the vehicle they're on] that was parked directly in front of the fire hydrant by our driveway when I came back from walking my dog last night. It was still there several hours later when trespassers from it were running repeatedly across our front yard yelling in the dark and a red car I've seen parked at my ex-husband's office many times drove down in our yard with its headlights off. These people all ran for their vehicles and sped off when my oldest child and I finally decided to go out and film them prior to calling the police, even though the police never do anything.

The Fireplug Incident

A few months after my divorce was finalized, city workers began installing a new water line across our front yard next to the street. At the time, my property was just outside the city limits, but there had been talk for several years about the city annexing our area, so I assumed the new pipe installation was related to that. (We have our own well and septic system.)

My children and I were surprised when the work began on our property, since we'd never been notified about it by anyone. We were even more surprised when we saw what looked like a large pipe sticking up out of the ground and covered with black plastic that was put in by the street in our front yard almost directly opposite our front door. We assumed this was for hook-ups to city water and sewer, should we ever want them, and I also assumed it would eventually be made more cosmetically acceptable.

Imagine our shock one day when the city workers finally removed the black plastic covering to reveal a bright red fire hydrant in the center of our front yard! Our house has two stories and sits on a hillside below the level of the street, so every view from the front of our house now looked out onto this hydrant. It was an eyesore we'd never been consulted about, and it seriously devalued our house and property. There was only one possible reason for its installation in that way and in that position: harassment. My kids and I were livid.

I immediately fired off the letter to the city shown here. A few days later, I received a reply from the mayor saying the city had notified my ex-husband about the work and asked him to tell us (even though they were well aware my ex- didn't live here anymore and no longer owned the property).

The mayor apologized to us. He said he'd personally driven by our house and agreed the hydrant's placement was offensive. He assured us the city would relocate the hydrant as soon as possible, and within a few days, it was moved a short distance down the street--still on our property, but out-of-sight from the front of our house. However, small protruding pipes and a rectangular metal cover were left behind in the spot where the hydrant had been, and they are still clearly visible in the middle of our front yard today (marking where the hydrant was originally installed).

I am also posting a copy of a letter I received from my ex-husband in 2003 that discusses this incident. In this letter, my ex- agrees that the original location of the hydrant was harassment. The "outlot" he refers to is his property bordering mine which did not have its agricultural exemption questioned when mine did, even though my property was clearly being used for agricultural purposes and his clearly was not.

While I'm posting my ex-husband's letter here to help document "the fireplug incident", it is also important for readers to go back a few posts and consider it along with the documents posted under "Chronologic Order". This letter is a good example of what I meant in the earlier post when I said my ex- would not give me copies of the documentation of agricultural use of our land I knew he had. Here you can see how he skirts the issue in various ways without ever actually providing me with what I'd asked him for (and what he knew I really needed).

Notice also that my ex- is aware I haven't been able to obtain legal representation and that he tries to sent me to one of his father's law partners. Although I didn't know it at the time, the particular family he talks about this lawyer representing just happens to own a large parcel of land near ours and also happens to own the major construction company employing the owner of the property to the west of us, the sme man who also happens to be a civil engineer, a pilot, the husband of a local doctor, and a school board member (as well as a close associate of my ex-husband's).

More Campaigns

Here I'm sharing copies of two rather strange letters to the editor published in the 2006 Kerrville Daily Times. They both pertain to the campaign for Kerr County judge that was going on at the time. I have no knowledge of anything these letters refer to (but I'd love to find out!). I'm especially interested in knowing if the lawyer who represented me in my divorce is one of the other attorneys referred to.

Also, I have heard that one of the candidates discussed in these letters might have ties to one of the lawyers involved in our case. (I'll let you figure out which one.)

The Coach

A local high school coach and science teacher is currently facing charges related to an alleged inappropriate relationship with an underage student, but relatively few people around here seem shocked or surprised by this. Most folks in our area are aware that this man is rumored to have been having inappropriate relationships with multiple young female students for years. In fact, I remember hearing rumors about this man getting a high school girl pregnant 9 or 10 years ago--and the young woman in question does have a child that age--but, like most things scandalous around here, it was hushed up.

This time, the girl's mother insisted on pressing charges against the coach. Rather than supporting the victim and her mother, however, the community has responded with a no-holds-barred smear campaign against them. My youngest child was shocked earlier this year when another teacher at the high school (one my child particularly respected and admired) stood up in front of their class during class time and gave the students a lecture on how the whole affair was the 16-year-old female student's fault because she had deliberately led the coach on. This teacher also told students it was essential that they not discuss the matter with anyone outside of school "because they might be reporters". Within the school, my youngest heard numerous students and faculty members blaming the girl and making rude/crude remarks about her morals and character. My kids and I had some frank discussions together about what it means to be a 16-year-old student compared to an adult teacher with teenaged children of his own and why there are laws against such relationships.

Recently I discovered the smear campaign against the student and her mother also extends to the Internet and is very aggressive. Someone is getting numerous locals to write ugly and disturbing comments, particularly about the girl, all over various social networking and discussion sites--see Topix, for example.

As I and a few others have tried to point out on these sites, it doesn't even matter what the student is or isn't and did or did not do. Age-wise, she was still a minor at the time, and the teacher was both older and in a position of trust with regard to her. (As my kids and I discussed and agreed, there are good reasons why these relationships are against the law!) To slander, libel, and defame this student in order to try and cover up the wrongful actions and immoral conduct of a supposedly respected adult member of the community is utterly despicable.

This type of "cover up at all costs" mentality is nothing new here, though; indeed, it appears to be ingrained to the point of being an automatic defense mechanism among locals. Even before I moved here in 1986, I remember hearing people talk with shocking nonchalance about a very prominent local man whose job gave him unlimited access to children of all ages in a position of particular trust who was said to be abusing boys in the community and had apparently been doing so for years despite numerous complaints. This man was eventually arrested in another town for propositioning an undercover officer in a park restroom, but he received only a fine. He was forced to retire, but despite knowing his history, this community continues to this day to allow the man essentially unlimited contact with children, even to the point of allowing him to accompany students on overnight school trips. This man has probably been knowingly allowed easy access to children within the community for over 50 years!--locals seem to think that it's better to victimize innocent children than have the scandal of having to deal with him properly.

I suspect at this point, you're probably noticing similarities to what is currently going on within the Catholic church and of course you're right to a point, but there are also important differences to consider. Both entities have had a "cover up at all costs" mentality regarding sexual abuse and inappropriate sexual relationships and contact between minors and adults in positions of trust, but within the Catholic church, I believe in most cases only individuals close to each incident of abuse plus a few higher-ups knew what was going on. Here entire generations of young people are growing up knowing that their communities put a higher value on silence and hiding the truth than they do on protecting innocent children. Anyone exhibiting empathy for victims or outrage at the enabling of continued victimization is looked upon as weak, accused of not acting for the common good, and ostracized and ridiculed rather than being commended--a dysfunctional "peer pressure system" for grown-ups and kids alike. It's little wonder, then, that other types of victims (domestic abuse, violence, crime, and more) are also openly treated badly by these communities and that such behaviour is actually regarded by most as normal and acceptable.

Recently I came across two prime examples of community attitudes toward young people here that were both published in the same newspaper, both written by adults in positions of trust with regard to students, and both written as letters expressly addressed to students within our community. The author of one of these letters is a local teacher. The other author is the wife of a prominent community member and co-chaired our most recent "Project Graduation". Both letters are long, rambling, and repetitious statements of how wonderful our children are and how much our community loves its young people no matter what they do. Putting these messages into the overall context here, our kids are being told they are loved unconditionally yet are not worthy of protection from predators and that they will actually end up being persecuted if (heaven forbid!) they are victimized.

Before I end this post, there are a couple of additional pieces of information my non-local followers should have regarding the coach who initiated the post. The wife of the coach facing charges happens to be a high-level administrator at a different school within the same district. Their own teenaged daughter died in a car crash after the charges were filed against her father.

Update, 10/10: The San Antonio Express-News reports that new sexual assault charges have just been filed against this same coach in Gillespie County. The article does not contain any information on the nature of these charges or give any victim information, which is strange.








Update:



A further update:

You Learn Something Every Day

My kids and I were channel-surfing the other night and came across a show about an Austin couple who'd been awarded $32 million in a toxic mold case a few years back. My kids reminded me that they'd received strange letters from their paternal grandfather (hand-written) around the same time that appeared to have been written solely to help justify a toxic mold claim their grandfather said he'd made with his insurance company that had resulted in his doing some extensive remodeling to his house he and his wife had actually been talking about wanting to do for years. My kids say they still have these letters, so we're going to find them and check the dates.
My children have quite a collection of these strange hand-written letters from their grandfather. When they turned 16, their grandfather gave them each a check for $5,000.00 and a weird letter telling them about how money was the most important thing in the world (which we thought strange coming from someone who'd taught a Sunday School class for years and never missed church on Sunday).
Between the strange wording of the letters my children were sent about the supreme importance of money in life and the size of the Austin couple's award in their court case, we wonder if insurance companies might also be victims of organized crime??