Blog Archives

Socialist Media & Elections Circa 2014

4/16/2018

Socialist Media and Elections Worldwide.
Source: Internet. 2018 Shared by HadassahShabnamLal
I found this article I saved in 2014 on what was the middle of the Conundrum Socialist Media Sites & Fake News had been doing since that person who "Ocupied our White House" in 2008. Social media has become a powerful tool for journalists covering elections. It’s given journalists a way to see how politicians and campaign staffers are interacting with voters and sharing news. And it’s helped them find local voters and get a better sense of what their audience wants in election coverage.
As the Republican primary season intensifies, here are 25 tips on how journalists can use Facebook, Twitter, Storify, Google, LinkedIn and other tools to improve coverage leading up to — and on — Election Day. Now its the Democrats attacking Facebook for attempting to be fair.

See how politicians are targeting local voters. In preparation for the Republican straw poll in Iowa, Michele Bachmann’s campaign staffers launched an ad campaign that targeted local Facebook users who had identified themselves as Christian rock fans and Tea Party supporters. Other politicians, including Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, have also put Facebook at the center of their campaign strategies. What’s the effect of these messages? Are supporters responding to them?

See what local voters, Tea Party activists, Occupy Wall Street protesters, etc. are saying about politicians. Use Facebook Search to see what they’re saying and how they’re reacting to new political developments, debates and polls.

Gauge how open/accessible politicians are. Republican State Rep. Justin Amash was one of the first legislators to post all of his votes on his Facebook Fan Page. What does this level of transparency say about a politicians’ willingness to be open with voters?

Identify the most engaged supporters. Facebook has become a great way for candidates to find highly-engaged supporters that they might not have otherwise discovered. Jon Huntsman, for instance, ranks and highlights his most active supporters on Facebook. You can also look at Facebook pages of political causes and groups to find supporters who may be willing to talk to you.

Skim through a politician’s Facebook timeline. Big campaign announcements are sometimes presaged by status updates or other activity. Just days before Rick Perry announced his presidency, he began updating his Facebook bio and interests.

Engage with politically savvy news consumers. Pew found that Facebook users are more politically engaged than other Americans. They’re two and a half times more likely to attend a political event; 57 percent more likely to try persuading others to vote for a particular candidate; and 43 percent more likely to have reported voting (or intent to vote). So, how well is your news site using Facebook? Post links to politics stories on Facebook and pose related questions to your Facebook fans to capture their sentiments and reactions. Also consider live streaming your election night coverage on Facebook, as ABC News did during last year’s midterm elections. (You can also live stream on YouTube, as CBS did last year.)

Twitter

Keep up with politicians. Follow the politicians you cover to see what they’re saying. Does the nature of their tweets change as election night nears? Are they engaging with their followers? Are they dodging criticism, or addressing it? Former State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley uses Twitter to engage in mini political debates. Realize that some politicians have PR folks/ghostwriters tweet for them. Obama and Huntsman, for instance, haven’t always written their own tweets. And make sure the account you’re looking at is a real account and not a spoof.

Follow campaign staffers and political analysts. Campaign staffers often post frank material or teasers, such as “Today was a *great* day!” These types of remarks can offer clues into newsworthy events. Create Twitter lists to help organize their tweets. Setting up a third-party app such as TweetDeck or HootSuite makes it easier to follow tweets throughout the day.

Dig up the past. One of the limitations of Twitter’s built-in search tool is that it doesn’t let you search for tweets from months and years ago. But there are other Twitter search tools that do. Topsy, for instance, lets you search for tweets from as far back as three years ago. To do this, go to Topsy’s advanced search page and where it says “Search a specific type,” click on “tweets.” This tool is good for seeing what politicians tweeted at a particular time in their campaigns.

Identify sources. If you want to learn what people in your local community are tweeting, use Twitter’s Advanced Search function, which lets you search by location. By typing in your location and a key word, you can find related tweets anywhere between 1 mile and 1,000 miles of that location. (There’s an option for choosing the radius.)

Analyze politicians’ influence. Appearances can be deceiving. Newt Gingrich has more than 1 million Twitter followers, while Perry has about one-tenth that number. But Perry’s tweets are shared and amplified more often. Tools like Twitalyzer and Klout can help you cut through appearances and give you a better sense of a candidate’s real authority on Twitter.

Analyze politicians’ followers. Use Followerwonk.com or Twiangulate.com to compare the follower bases of two to three accounts (candidates, journalists, committees) and see which ones overlap. Find the few people who follow all of a race’s candidates; they’re probably interested in or knowledgeable about the race. Also, find out which of your own followers follow a candidate and recruit them for help with reporting projects.

Capture voter reaction. How are people reacting to politicians’ tweets, on a local and national level? How are they reacting to the polls? Consider contacting the people who tweeted the most interesting reactions. You can follow up with them on Twitter and ask them to send you a Direct Message with contact information. (If you’re going to include tweets in stories, make sure you double check the accuracy of tweets that include factual information.)

Create visualizations of tweets. Last year, CNN teamed up with Crimson Hexagon and analyzed tweets about the Tea Party as part of its mid-term elections coverage. CNN then created a map showing the reaction. Similarly, The New York Times created a Twitter visualization showing the number of posts about candidates running for governor or the Senate.

Keep a conversation together using a hashtag. Earlier this week, The Atlantic wrote about how politicians are using hashtags as “an ideal way to snark.” Create a hashtag or use one that’s already been created when tweeting links to political stories. (Here are some tips for creating a hashtag.) Hashtags can be especially helpful on Election Day. Last year, The Washington Post asked readers: “Did you vote today? Tell us about your voting experience. Tweet #votemonitor to send us your pictures and stories.” Similarly, The Houston Chronicle asked voters to use the hashtag #houvote to report what they were seeing at the voting booths. The Chronicle then pulled the tweets together using Storify and created a related crowdmap.

Generate ongoing interest in your content. Tweet links to your election coverage and try to start a conversation around it. If you have a lot of ongoing coverage and don’t want to bombard your site’s Twitter followers with it, you could create a separate Twitter account for news about elections. (The Orlando Sentinel created a separate account for its Casey Anthony coverage, and Poynter.org did it for its News of the World coverage.) When setting up a separate account, tweet about it from your site’s main Twitter account. Also, in the “bio” field, include your news sites’ URL and/or its main Twitter handle to show that the account is connected with your site.

Storify

Highlight voters’ reactions/politicians’ posts from various social networks. Storify is a great tool for organizing social media stories because it enables you to pull together Facebook posts and tweets and add context to them. Several news organizations used Storify last year on Election Day to highlight voters’ voices.

Help your audience make sense of the stream of information they’re consuming on social networks. Using Storify, you can help your audience find news that’s relevant to them. The Herald in Everett, Wash., used Storify last year to pull together relevant election night content from its own site and other news sites.

Compare and contrast local politicians’ tweets, Facebook posts. The Washington Post used Storify to compare the tweets of two local mayors in the aftermath of a storm. One mayor used Twitter to post vague bits about plowing in the city, while the other mayor used Twitter to ask residents about their needs.

Additional Tools

Tap into Google. Use Google Trends, Insights for Search, the Google Ngram Viewer and Google Correlate to see what people are searching for and to identify trends in politics. If you have a personal Google+ account, post stories there. (Also good to know: Google has started asking voters to submit their findings via a Google form.)

Experiment with emerging tools like Instagram. Some news organizations — including ABC, NBC and NPR — have been utilizing iPhone photo service Instagram to tell stories. The Washington Post has been posting photos from the campaign trail. I haven’t seen any politicians put Instagram to widespread use, but they may soon.

Use LinkedIn to dig into the backgrounds of candidates and staff members. Many of them use the service and have open profiles that enable you to scan their previous employers, job experience, etc. (Here are some tips.)

Mine YouTube for campaign videos, fodder. Explore YouTube for official and candid videos of your candidate. All of the major political candidates maintain their own channels, so watch for their ads and videos. Many down-ticket politicians also have a presence (official and otherwise). You may be surprised by what you find.

Keep an eye on location-based apps. Politicians’ activity on apps such as Foursquare can give reporters a window into the kinds of places candidates like to frequent. Also, if you’re on location at a debate or a campaign stop, consider examining Foursquare to see who checks in and what comments they leave. See this Herman Cain check-in.

Host politics-related live chats. The Concord Monitor has invited a local political science professor to some of its politics chats, including one about understanding polls. You can also tap into the knowledge of your staff. The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza answers readers’ politics-related questions in live chats every Friday. If you’re covering a local election, see if you can get the candidates to take part in the chat and answer people’s questions. Here are 10 tips for moderating a successful live chat.

Jeff Sonderman, Rachel Stassen-Berger and Theodore Kim contributed to this report as part of a McCormick Foundation Specialized Reporting Institute on social media and politics. As part of that same training, NewsU will present a “Social Media and 2012 Election Coverage” webinar on Nov. 30 at 2 p.m. Enroll here.
Tags: Political and campaign reporting, Social media

Diamond & Silk Telling Truth CNN Lies Again.

4/16/2018

Diamond & Silk Tell Truth CNN CriminalintonNews Lies Again
© 2018 HadassahShabnamLal
Today (4/16/2018) I saw the most glaring lie yet uttered by CNN (MasterBaiter Media outlet Criminalinton News Network) accuse Diamond and Silk of lying about their censorship by Facebook. Let me tell everyone reading this blog, it is a most certain truth that Conservative Christians esp. Supporters of President Donald J. Trump are consistently #shadowbanned and their posts are not seen as often as Liberals. Robert Croddy who is the founder Trump’s Grassroots Campaign Group of which I am an active member, has repeatedly been placed in FB jail. He is constantly getting put on “timeout” for being a bad, bad boy (meaning he is posting his comments, new posts and videos on too many of the pro-Trump pages which are apparently a breach of their Commie-Unity standards). Apparently Kathy Griffin can post beheaded photos of our President. And Chelsea Handler can insult him and curse him and say demeaning things like telling him to get a thermometer stuck up his A—but Trump supporters dare not even call these women things such as “Big Nosed Ugly Prune Faced Heifers” without getting time out or outright banned for days, treated like children (you stand by the sidelines as everyone posts and you cannot participate). Actually some of these actions are reminiscent of downright “ABUSE”
Now the Liberal News outlets spew their BS, and all the hullaballoo about Cambridge Analytica because they were supposedly for Trump, but let me tell you it’s much worse than that. I believe that FB user data was not just sold, but we were being “profiled and the shadow banning process was beginning” in order for the powers to be to establish their agenda. Suddenly Facebook “Cared” about my “Security” by locking me out and making me give them “proof” of who I was.
It was January 2015 and I was very excited about Israeli Politics. I began sharing my biblical knowledge both prophetically and my reasons for why I was supporting then Benjamin Netanyahu over the opposing candidates. Mind you I had nearly 5,000 friends and many were Israeli Jews as I’m a huge supporter of the Jewish Nation which is our only Democracy and real ally in the Middle East. I had been a Facebook User since 2010. Suddenly on two separate occasions (January 2015 and April 2015) which just happened to be in close timing with the Israeli election I was blocked from using Facebook and suddenly they were concerned about my “Security” WTH? I had to prove who I was. (I recall having seen articles which indicated that there was indeed some snooping going on behind the scenes by the NSA where people would sign in to their FB accounts and be redirected elsewhere! (imagine that under crooked Fake Parasite from Kenya’s regime which “occupied” our White House for 8 long years during which America was decimated militarily, economically and religiously). In my opinion the election of President Donald J. Trump was no small feat as it was an answer to the prayers of a lot of Americans who prayed earnestly for him to be elected. I was twice harassed and forced to provide id (were the other 80 million plus users “forced and harassed” to provide Id’s?) esp. the Liberals who support the opposing candidate whose husband is a Pedophile? I think not.
Now Facebook is a private company for all intense purposes. However, they treated me like I was some sort of illegal (yes they most certainly did). Here is the verbiage and their requirements for proof of who I was because they were “concerned or cared” about my Security. BULLSHIT!
This list is nearly identical to what one has to give the Social Security Office (unless you’re a damn illegal). It’s also more stringent than what is required by the BMV in order to get one’s Driver’s License or Permit.
I could not log on, and I received this request of documents from FB. WE ALL KNOW NOW THAT THIS DATA WAS SOLD TO COMPANIES WORLDWIDE. I AM SURE THERE IS A FILE ON MANY OF US. Diamond and Silk are telling the absolute truth and it’s much worse than you can imagine. They blatantly lied to us and sold our info, id and data. Shame on Facebook for violating our Trust.

The following is literally cut and pasted from Facebook after they harassed me and locked me out for simply supporting Bibi Netanyahu during the Israeli elections.
During the Trump elections, my posts were not seen by as large a number of people. I was trolled by the CAPTCHA monkeys each time I tried to “share” a pro-Trump post or article, other times I could not even share the articles. I was treated with suspicion as a bot. In addition they also made it more difficult and cumbersome by increasing the steps to share a pro-Trump article or post. Same can’t be said of the opposing candidate. The list which follows in my opinion places Facebook in a category as a “Public Service Company” as they have violated the public’s interest and gathered huge caches of data and exploited it along with harassing and exploiting unknowing Facebook Users. Now while others including terrorists who operate under assumed names, I cannot even change my name as Facebook has me on restrictions, rest assured even when I do choose to change my name, I will not notify them. In fact I may even delete them. They’re losing money left and right, what was once free is now called a “boost” whereas people used to have hundreds of followers “like or share their posts” now they can “pay” for them to be see (boosted). Nice of them to have given me 3 Options don’t you think?
FB Document List

Please provide identification that displays the name you’re confirming. Learn more about why we require ID verification and the different types of ID we accept below.

What types of ID does Facebook accept?

You can confirm your identity in 1 of 3 ways. When submitting documentation, please cover up any personal information we don't need to verify your identity (ex: credit card number, Social Security number). We encrypt people’s connections to Facebook by default, including IDs you send to us. We delete your ID information after verification is complete.

Option 1

We will accept any government-issued ID that contains your name and date of birth.
Examples include:

Birth certificate
Driver’s license
Passport
Marriage certificate
Official name change paperwork
Personal or vehicle insurance card
Non-driver's government ID (ex: disability, SNAP card, national ID card)
Green card, residence permit or immigration papers
Voter ID card

Option 2

You can provide two different forms of ID from the following list (ex: a bank statement and a library card, but not two bank statements). The names on your IDs must match each other, and one of the IDs must include a photo or date of birth that matches the information on your profile.

Below are some examples of IDs we'll accept:
Bank statement
Bus card
Check
Credit card
Employment verification
Library card
Mail
Magazine subscription stub
Medical record
Membership ID (ex: pension card, union membership, work ID, professional ID)
Paycheck stub
Permit
School card
School record
Social Security card
Utility bill
Yearbook photo (actual scan or photograph of the page in your yearbook)

Option 3

If you don’t have an ID that shows your authentic name as well as your photo or date of birth, you can provide two forms of ID from Option 2 above, and then provide a government ID that includes a date of birth or photo that matches the information on your profile. We won't add the name or other information from the government ID to your account.

Bottom of Form
How do I upload my ID to Facebook?
To upload a copy of your ID:
Take your ID and cover up any confidential information (ex: your license or passport number)
Scan or take a picture of your ID
Make sure you can clearly see your name, birthday and photo
Save the photo to your computer
Go back to the contact form, click Upload and select the file containing your IDMore info

Why am I being asked to upload an ID?
We take your security very seriously, so before we can provide you with any information about this account or give you access to it, we need to make sure it belongs to you.
More info
What happens to my ID after I upload it?
After we resolve your issue, we'll permanently delete your ID from our servers.

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Save as JPEGs, if possible. You may attach up to 3 files.
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April 16th, 2018

4/16/2018

Beheaded Brothers
An Ode to my Christian Brothers
© 2015 HadassahShabnamLal
(www.HadassahShabnamLal.com)

The real men are on their knees

A position of humility to YHWH you see

They were sons, fathers, husbands and brothers

The world looks on in sadness

As we watch the utter madness

Their blood runs free

A symbol of Christianity you see (1John 5:8)

Through the rivers and the seas

Until their souls are avenged by Him who sees (Rev. 19:2)

The Spirit bears witness (1 John 5:6)

Water mixed with blood

They died a martyr’s death

Beheaded for their faith in Messiah (Rev. 20:4)

Their souls live on forever

Until the day vengeance you see

Barbarians they are marching

But there is one who is watching

On a White Horse He’s coming (Rev. 6:2)

To avenge the deaths of His Saints (Rev. 19:11)

Until then let’s all be praying

Warring and hoping and saying

Oh, Lord come quickly

My Mother (Ami) and I

4/10/2018

My Ami (Mom) and I
© 2016 Hadassah Shabnam Lal
It had been a week or two since I saw her
That Ami (Mom) of mine, I saw her today
Sometimes we sit and talk; other times, there’s silence
She teaches me some cooking skill; and tells me a story or two
She tells me of times not long ago
When they had no electricity or running water
But they got thru anyhow
The women dressed like ladies
And the boys behaved like gents
It was a much simpler time; than what we have today
I looked at her beautiful face
And wondered about the memories held in her dark eyes
Once she was a beautiful young maiden
Full of happiness, anticipation and joy
Lately she has looked saddened and frail
I started to leave, but she didn’t want me to go
She undoes her hair; asking me instead rub oil on her scalp
I take the oil and massage her scalp as she smiles
Hot tears burn my eyes; wondering all the while
Why she asks me her daughter to do this favor of all
She always asks me paint her nails
And rub her feet with lotion and Love
These are little rituals we share, my heart tugs me hard
Am I making some cherished memories with her?
So we can both carry on and laugh
Like a daughter to a mother; like a mother to a son
I see the one who bore me getting old before my eyes
I see the one I bore; growing up before my eyes
My life is so bittersweet at times
All too soon these moments are here and then they are gone
Like the wind whispering in my ear
She was here, and now she’s gone
Tears of sorrow burn my eyes as my heart gains another hole
This one will never heal, even when I’m old…

The Gas Attack

4/9/2018

My Story of War
Hadassah Shabnam Lal (c) 4/2018
Many of you may not know this, but I came to America as a young child. When I was a little girl in Pakistan I witnessed the War between India and Pakistan. I will never forget having to flee from Lahore to the village of Martinpur. We were subject to "Blackouts" at night. Once the sun went down, it was lights out (total darkness except for the moonlight). I recall hearing MiG jet fighters shooting bullets at each other (you could literally hear the metal clang as bullets ricocheted off each other). I also recall seeing bodies scattered at a bombing on a railway station. Seeing the photos of the latest attack on innocent Syrian civilians touched my heart and actually triggered very horrid memories. I am so thankful to America and more importantly to my father and mother who brought us to America in hopes of giving us better futures as Christians. Considering the fact that persecution of Christians has reached an all time high worldwide and is now occurring in some parts of America as the Judaeo-Christian foundations are attacked, I am quite upset. Let me add however, regardless of one's religion or ethnicity we are children of God Almighty. We are citizens of this great planet Earth. There is a God in heaven and He sees all the suffering that many innocent people all over the world endure at the hands of the real enemy of God's children and that is Satan, HaShatan, or Shatan. May your heart be touched by this poem and let's all unite to pray that the true evil behind these deeds is found and justice is served even though we cannot bring back the lives that were lost or heal the hurts and PTSD of the victims.

The Gas Attack
© April 8, 2018 Hadassah Shabnam Lal (Pakistani Christian)
www.hadassahshabnamlal.com

The attack came suddenly; Deep in the night
Families huddled in darkness; As death crept in silently and heartless
Babies were held tight in a loving mother’s arms
Wives were held protectively in a husband’s embrace
Children are gasping as they struggle to breathe
Parents died alongside holding them trying to protect, crying to breathe
How could Nazi-like monsters perform such dastardly deeds?
No one deserves such an ugly fate
Sadly they live in a war torn region that is filled with violence, rage and hate
They were mere victims of an insidious game;
No one knows, who is to really blame
Was it a leader or a rebel or someone more insidious than even that?
Playing mind games of chance using civilians as a pawn in a sick political game
Syria is war torn, Damascus has become a heap
Can someone please help stop this madness? This utterly foolish game!
There are innocent people caught in the crosshairs
Who had nowhere to go, and escape

Why I Left an Abusive Marriage

4/2/2018

Why I Left an Abusive Marriage “My Story of Hope”
by Hadassah Shabnam Lal © 2013

Many of you who are my friends out here (and some of you I have the honor of knowing personally) have inboxed and messaged me to tell me your stories of triumph over abuse. I want to share some insight and information so that I can bring a bit of “hope” to some of you out there who are struggling in torrid, awful, marriages and staying out fear and ridicule. There are others of you out there (yes more women than men; but men too) let’s keep it balanced here, women abuse too and sometimes physically too (I know of several cases). I have often pondered why there is so much abuse. Is it because people have now become more aware of it? Or is it because so many out there, including those of us in ministry are choosing to exit abusive controlling spouses because we realize the erroneous teachings of the modern-day De-Judaized gentile (goyim) teachings rooted more in the Roman-Greco mindset rather than the merciful Hebraic mindset. Man-made doctrines also feed the fuel of keeping people in abusive marriages. Sadly it may be a combination of both. Life is too short to live in the hell of an Abusive marriage.

Early marriage.
I married my son’s dad when I was not even 21. I look back and realize I married him for all of the wrong reasons. I grew up in a very sheltered and amazingly Christian home, he was the product of the broken home and of the streets. He smoked and drank, I did neither and still don’t. Although I don’t believe that it is a sin to have an occasional glass of wine, or a few beers, I ain’t preachy even though I have a Masters in Ministry and am highly educated now. I had no idea of what an alcoholic was because I was never around it. It turned out, he was an alcoholic and it took me having my son, to bring things to light. My son was 3 when I left his abusive father, and 5 when I left for good. My son actually gave me the impetus I needed to leave. It began by just creeping in. Once I became a mom, things changed. I began to finally wakeup and make note of his erratic behavior. He would drink in the evenings, go out, come home at 11:30 or so and wake my son, or my son would not go to sleep until daddy got home. Then there were the “anger rages, the put-downs, the neglect (my son and I both), and the paranoid behavior. By the way, your spouse does not need to be an alcoholic to exhibit abusive behavior. They may be the “nice” sweet person in public and a hellish mean, rage filled, accusatory person with a tongue of fire to you. Emotional abuse is just as bad as physical, although most victims suffer both.

A child is born and rescued and the child rescued me.
All I knew was that I loved my son more than anyone and did not wish to raise him in hell on earth. I would go to work, confide in my two co-workers about my abusive situation; they helped me to see things in a new light by telling me to go to an AA meeting. I had never heard of such a thing. I went to one after his abuse became even more unbearable after my first attempt at leaving him. He became more abusive and threatened to take my son to Mexico and yes he had guns. Abusers will generally become threatening and controlling once they realize that they have been “found out.” Thus the second time I left him, I had the police in tow, a restraining order (make sure you get one against your abuser); and stayed in hiding for a few days. Get a good lawyer (you’ll need one) and pray for a fair judge (thank God I got one). It was a thought out process the second time, and I did not react but plan. All I knew was that my son did not deserve to be in an alcoholic home (although his father many times violated the judges orders and drank in his presence; I was merciful and did not turn his father in). My dreams and reality were in major conflict. My dream of a family and home were in crumbles because the reality was that I was married to an anger addict, a verbally emotionally alcoholic and a man who was a pathetic excuse of a husband and even more a pathetic excuse of a father. I did not want that type of future or life for my son. Thus, I chose to be a statistic of divorce; thank God and divorced him. I had allowed my values of love, peace and nurturing to overtake my dreams of a “family life that was never going to happen.” Most abusers are predators who prey on nice kind loving individuals.That change I made helped to make me a strong woman of God. I could not afford to be trapped for so long, because two years had passed since my first attempt and I was feeling like I was going to die, and my 5 year old child needed one sane, strong parent to raise him and the task fell on me. Gone was my fear of what other people would say and what our closed knit Pakistani Christian community would say, I had a child to raise and it was not about me. Besides these people were not feeding or clothing my son and I or my family for that matter, oh the shame and the guilt people will place upon you, just for their own agendas. I was trapped like a rat, and so was my son, I had to get out.

A plan
Thus, I sat down and wrote my losses and gains. I had been chronicling my abuse in a journal for a year at the advice of a counselor (that was before we had iphones where you can record the latest anger cussing rage, or a drunken stupor of a spouse) and post it on Youtube to share with the world, lol. I strongly encourage abuse victims to do this.

Immediate Casualties and pain.
My son would and did have a rough time because he was only five. Initially I knew that it would cause my son pain as he would not see daddy every day but most of the time, his father would eat dinner and then go to the bars anyway neglect & abuse often go hand in hand. I was home with my son every day alone after work as his dad went carousing. However, children are wise beyond their years and generally resilient, more so than adults. I did however catch a lot of hell from the in-laws. My brother told me it was about time I left the ahole. My nieces and nephews on his side lauded my decision. Lol. I was the one who had a rough time, but I had already planned it this time, so it was not bad. I came in with the cops (they took all of his guns due to threats), I took a few clothes, had safely fled with my son. He did not see it coming. Plan your exit.

Short-term casualties and pain
My son would have a rough time for a short while, my family would be ticked and ashamed, but in a few months of 8 to a year; it would pass. Reality would set in, and there were a few boxing matches ahead. Like when we had the final hearing about the dissolution (he kept getting continuances hoping I would come to my senses). I had come to my senses finally that’s why I left him. The courts would handle the issues of dividing our assets (we really didn’t have any) except for the most precious asset (our son). But I was at peace, no more fights, no more put-downs, no more raging anger episodes, no more cutting with his “evil eye” and no more threats. His day in court was truly one of triumph for me as he had some hot shot lawyer question me on the stand about seeking psychiatric counseling. To which I replied to the judge (“yes your honor, I did seek counseling in order to figure out how to deal with him in his rages when he drinks, he has a drinking problem” to which the judge shouted; ‘COUNSEL IN MY CHAMBERS NOW’); Yes I won that round and so did my son, as for the longest time, his alcoholic father was awarded only supervised visitation.

The long-term casualties and pain.
There have been some, he was very angry and mean and still is (they rarely change). He has not changed nor grown, but I am the one who has changed and grown. I returned to college shortly after our divorce and obtained my two college degrees which includes a Masters in Ministry Leadership & a BSM in Business. He married a woman who is a smoker, a drinker and cusses like a sailor (yes they are a match made in hell). My son has grown up to be an amazing godly young man because I had to be both a mom and dad to him often. I actually have restoration with my ex-in-laws as the nieces and nephews still love me and adore me, seriously. They call me tia Shab. You will be surprised at how much insight people looking from the outside in will have about your situation, especially when one spouse bullies the other, or abuses them. Some dynamics are not easily missed.

Hope for my readers
You can delude yourself into thinking that you love that person, even though you don’t. Your pride will keep you in a Shit Hole and sometimes you die from it. Often love is not enough (provided you know the real meaning of God’s love, not some psychotic bully or even one posing as a Christian who hits you and cusses you in private while parading around like a celebrity and sweetheart in public). Some of the most psychotic sociopaths and abusers I have encountered are in church leadership positions, and not always men. Pretenses only last for so long. You have to sometimes make a life choice that fits your values of sanity, self-respect and self-preservation and achievement of your God given anointing and goals. Happiness is important but your sanity even more so, and if you have children, then they should come first and foremost as part of your decision to leave a miserable and abusive life. Your children deserve a healthy, sane and strong parent. I know that if a person gets married for the wrong reasons (most of us who made that mistake as young ones when you don’t know your ass from your face); it will catch up with you. You can deliberately choose to make a choice to walk through the painful transition of leaving something that is not working or worse yet, slowly killing you and will invariably make you and your children sick. Abuse causes all sorts of illnesses and sometimes the abusers will kill themselves and their victims. You can only “pretend for so long to love somebody” but you might be doing a disservice to them and worse yet to yourself. The moment of truth hit me in the face with the help of my few friends and co-workers. The De-Judaized church folks failed me miserably as they kept insisting I stay with him for the sake of our son (see section below by Danni Moss on divorce). It was for the sake of my son and self-preservation that I left. It was not easy, but I have dignity, self respect and no shame that I did what was right. You see divorce was allowed in the OT for a lot of reasons and not just adultery. God does not want his children to live in abuse that is why our divorce laws are rooted in Judaic laws of giving provision to your ex-wife. My ex only paid a ridiculous 360 a month from the time our son was 5 until he turned 18, there was no alimony paid at all. While I grappled with the stigma attached to divorce, I have also come to terms with the importance and the triumph that my life is now because of my decision. We are more than conquerors and God does not want his children to be the subject of abuse, be it women, men and children. We must have hope and give ourselves and our children hope in a world that is full of chaos, and sorrow by standing strong and being strong and weighing our decisions when choosing to exit a marriage that is killing us or has the propensity to kill us and destroy us. Sometimes we must fail at something so we can succeed at life and often God will allow our failures to become our triumphs. That is where our Hope is.

Biblical implications
According to Danni Moss
http://dannimoss.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/what-the-bible-says-about-divorce-ii/
What does the Bible say about divorce, in the Old Testament? The only OT passage to define and quantify the “rules” for divorce is Deut. 24:1-4.
When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife.
And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife;
Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. Go What does the Bible say about divorce, in the Old Testament? The only OT passage to define and quantify the “rules” for divorce is Deut. 24:1-4.When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife.
And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife;
Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
God allowed divorce and established parameters for it. Mark 10:5 says God allowed divorce because of the hardness of their hearts – we’ll get into that in more depth later. But first, I just want to dig into this passage to see what God said about divorce.
Basically, the reasons for a man getting divorced were open-ended. If his wife displeased him, he could divorce her. However, it doesn’t seem likely that men were not abandoning their wives before this time.
The biggest thing this accomplished, I think, is found in the second half of verse one. If his wife displeased him, the husband could not just abandon his wife. He had to give her a bill of divorcement and send her out of his house. He could not keep her and use her as a slave. He could not abandon her without protection or provision. He had to give her a bill of divorcement.
Prior to God establishing guidelines for divorce, women who were being mistreated had no recourse. In a culture where women were chattel, a woman who did not have the protection and provision of a man was free game. She would be taken and used by whomever wanted her. She had no way to feed, clothe or house herself other than to sell herself.
Once the husband had divorced his wife, she was free to remarry (verse 2). There was no negative implications toward her, no charges of adultery. She was free to remarry. This was for her protection. Divorce was allowed to protect the victims.
The only limitation given in God’s original rules for divorce was that the husband and wife married first could not remarry each other if either of them married someone else. According to this passage, this – remarriage of two people who had subsequently married others – was an abomination to God; not divorce and not remarriage.

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