A Friend's Reaction to Josh and Brenda Burns's Nightmare -- and a Warning to Good Parents Everywhere

Please note: This article does not go into detail about the nightmare Josh, Brenda, and Naomi Burns have been living for the past 13 months. For the whole story, please visit their website at www.TornFamily.com 

Josh, Brenda, and Naomi Burns

The last year has been a real eye-opener as I've watched my friends, Josh and Brenda Burns, fight to keep their family together following an allegation of child abuse leveled against the couple by Dr. Bethany Mohr, director of the child protection team at University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Josh was convicted and began serving a one-year sentence in the county jail on March 19, 2015.

I would like to share some of the most valuable lessons I've learned by witnessing this horror story. If you have small children or grandchildren, or if someone you care about does, please share this information. It could make all the difference.

Stay away from hospitals that have child abuse specialists on staff. If you take your child to a hospital that has a child abuse specialist on staff, you are running a major risk unless your child ails from something that could not in any way be considered abuse, such as meningitis or pneumonia. For instance, if your child gets a cut that needs stitches or breaks a bone, you are putting your entire family in jeopardy by visiting one of these hospitals. If someone at the hospital decides that your child may have been abused, the specialist will be called in, and most likely, Child Protective Services (CPS) will be called next. You can kiss your life goodbye if that happens. If you don’t have at least $100,000 to fight back (with no guarantee of success), you are out of luck. In case you were unaware, CPS is a branch of the Department of Human Services (DHS).

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” This quote has been going through my head recently because it makes me think about DHS and CPS. The concept of rescuing children who are truly in danger is an honorable one, to be sure. However, since I have been involved with Torn Family, I have heard more and more stories about CPS stealing children from perfectly sound homes and NOT helping children who are truly in need. One recent case in point is the two kids in Detroit who were found in a freezer. Their mother has been charged with their murders. CPS was called twice to their home, and still, these children were abused and murdered. I also know of a woman who has called CPS on her own sister because the younger woman has substance problems and neglects her children as a result. CPS has never responded to those calls. Look up medical kidnapping to find out more about CPS stealing children from perfectly good parents.

Sometimes, innocent people are found guilty. Child abuse is horrific and one incident is one too many. It is my sincere hope that all who intentionally injure society’s most vulnerable – children – be appropriately punished. I will be the first to admit that, in the past, I never really thought twice if someone was found guilty of Shaken Baby Syndrome or something else. I, like a lot of folks, assumed that the judge and jury were correct. Not anymore. I just witnessed Josh’s criminal trial in which one doctor, Bethany Mohr, claimed child abuse while all the other expert witnesses said that Naomi’s injuries could have been caused by any number of things, including her very traumatic birth. There was reasonable doubt THROUGH THE ROOF, and yet the jury was more swayed by the emotional displays of the prosecutor than they were by the solid defense evidence.

What was once considered a solid diagnosis is now being called “junk science.” Norman Guthkelch, a pediatric neurosurgeon, first coined “shaken baby syndrome” (SBS) in 1971, after he decided that proof for such abuse could be determined if the victim displayed a triad of symptoms: subdural hemorrhage, retinal bleeding, and brain swelling. For the last several years, however, members of the medical community have been revisiting and debunking the science behind this diagnosis. Now sometimes referred to as “abusive head trauma” or AHT, it may seem as though some in the medical community are trying to hang on to this diagnosis simply by changing the name, since there is great controversy surrounding SBS. The new film, The Syndrome, by producer Meryl Goldsmith and her cousin, investigative reporter Susan Goldsmith, focuses on a team of doctors who “expose the junk science behind an unprecedented criminal justice crisis.” As mentioned previously, sometimes innocent people are found guilty. Many – but still too few – have been exonerated of child abuse/murder charges thanks to the hard work of those fighting for justice. There are “innocence projects” all over the country that aim to expose injustices and gain exonerations for those wrongfully convicted. For more information, visit The National Registry of Exonerations at https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/about.aspx

The nightmare that Josh and Brenda Burns have been going through is not an isolated incident. Unfortunately, children being removed from their homes for no good reason isn't rare or unusual. All one has to do is look at the news headlines. The government agencies responsible for breaking up families seem to act with impunity, and they also seem to have certain ideas about which children they’d be better off stealing. Remember the two kids whose mother has been charged with their murder after their bodies were discovered in freezer? CPS apparently didn't care about those poor children. Why not? There’s a money trail here, and further serious investigation is imperative.

The secret list of DHS. Did you know that DHS maintains a secret list of people who've been accused of child abuse? In Michigan alone, there are 275,000 names on this child abuse registry. One of those names is Brenda Burns! Since Josh was charged with child abuse, she was charged with failure to protect for leaving Naomi with him for the hour she was out getting her hair cut. She will be unable to get employment in her given field, nursing, as long as her name is on this list, and it is next to impossible to have it removed. Furthermore, DHS is supposed to notify the person in question within 30 days when they put said person’s name on this secret list. The person then has six months to appeal. Brenda found out that her name had been added to this child abuse registry nine months after the fact and after a jury had found her innocent of any abuse or neglect!

Passionate people really can make a difference. I have no idea what someone with no support system would do if they had to engage in a legal battle the magnitude of Josh and Brenda Burns’s. Right off the bat, their legal team estimated that it would cost at least $100,000 to defend them and no less than six months. Those estimates were actually on the low side. Josh and Brenda fortunately have good friends who, in turn, rallied their good friends. The outpouring of support for this family has been so tremendous that it has garnered not only local media attention, but national as well. Brenda and her lawyer, Elizabeth Warner, will tell their story to four million viewers on the Dr. Phil show on April 29, 2015. Currently, Josh is working on his appeal from jail with lawyers who specialize in these types of cases. It is unlikely, however, that it will be heard before he completes his sentence.

When Josh is finally a free man, he has vowed, as have his supporters, to fight for justice for families caught in similar predicaments. To join the fight or for more information about the Burns family’s ongoing nightmare, please visit www.TornFamily.com.  Please donate to help them, if you are able. Any amount is greatly appreciated. Instructions for donating can be found on the website.

The Dark Truth About Planned Parenthood: What Livingston Daily Didn't Tell You

You, the public, have a right to know what I am about to tell you. Please read and spread the word.

Just three short weeks after the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus published an editorial entitled “Livingston Daily seeks truth, serves the public,” in which they outlined basic journalism standards that they promise to abide by, they published an article by reporter Abby Welsh entitled “Planned Parenthood brings in new advocacy group.” The problem with the Planned Parenthood article is that it was one-sided, only making positive comments about the abortion giant, and not giving any room for comments from the prolife community. There was never a follow-up article, and my repeated requests to the paper, asking if and when they would publish my letter to the editor, were ignored. The contents of that letter are presented later in this article.

Before anyone thinks I’m complaining for no reason, it should be noted that just last year, when this same paper ran an article about Dr. Anthony Levatino’s keynote address to a packed auditorium during Pregnancy Help Clinic’s annual fundraiser, they made sure to get a quote from Planned Parenthood. The paper’s decision to present only one side of Planned Parenthood in Ms. Welsh’s April 1, 2015 article, and their apparent refusal to print my letter, leaves me with no choice but to publish its contents here.

Planned Parenthood was founded by a racist and eugenicist, Margaret Sanger, whose desire was to eliminate as many blacks, Jews, handicapped, and poor people as possible. She strongly advocated the use of abortion for these eugenic goals as well as population control. According to their own 2013-2014 annual report, Planned Parenthood was responsible for 327,653 abortions in 2013, making this wicked empire the biggest provider of abortions in the United States. They also received $541 million of taxpayers’ hard-earned money, according to their 2012-2013 annual report.

Furthermore, Planned Parenthood knowingly and willingly aids and abets child sex traffickers, as Live Action has proved in their undercover videos. Here is a link to seven undercover videos that prove this: http://liveaction.org/traffick/

Finally, abortion hasn’t helped humankind in any way. We have become accustomed to this culture of death, and we are no better for it. In abortion, the baby dies a usually very violent and painful death, sometimes torn limb from limb, and the mother is left to deal with the fact that she murdered her own child. A lot of women don’t easily “recover” from that, which is one of the reasons there are so many groups around the country now to help them. Our local Pregnancy Help Clinic has Abortion Aftercare groups for just this reason. They also assist with adoption. Call Pregnancy Help Clinic for more information at 810.494.5433 or visit their website at http://www.pregnancyhelpclinic.com/61.html

Here is a link to the one-sided Planned Parenthood article: http://www.livingstondaily.com/story/news/health/2015/04/01/planned-parenthood-organization/70781430/ and a link to the editorial outlining the journalism standards the paper promised to abide by: http://www.livingstondaily.com/story/opinion/editorials/2015/03/08/livingston-ethics-standards/24520687/

Help for Homeschool Burnout: How to Prevent and Alleviate It

Click here to be redirected to the article on The Old Schoolhouse website: Help for Homeschool Burnout

Protest Obama This Saturday in Detroit

Pro-life activists will gather at Wayne State University on Saturday, Nov. 1, beginning at 5:00 p.m. to protest President Barack Obama, recognized by many as “the most pro-abortion president in the history of the United States,” according to Monica Miller, director of Citizens for a Pro-life Society.

The president will be in Detroit for the Democratic Party rally, primarily to show support for senate candidate and fellow abortion supporter, Gary Peters.

Protestors will gather in front of Wayne State’s Matthaei Physical Education Center, 5101 John C. Lodge, Detroit, beginning at 5:00 p.m. in advance of the 6:00 p.m. Democratic Rally. The president is expected to address the crowd at about 7:00 p.m.

The Written Word: Make This School Year Great

The Written Word: Make This School Year Great: Here we go again. Another school year is about to start, so it’s a fitting time to ask ourselves how we --parents, teachers, and students -...

Make This School Year Great

Here we go again. Another school year is about to start, so it’s a fitting time to ask ourselves how we --parents, teachers, and students -- can make this a great and productive year. Everyone has a stake in the education of the children of this country because these youngsters are our future voters, employees, and employers.

Parents need to realize that their children’s education is ultimately their responsibility, no matter how or where this education is taking place. Even if your children have wonderful, caring teachers, these same educators have many more students that they are also responsible for, so there is only so much time they can devote to each child. It is imperative that parents understand educational milestones and check their children’s progress regularly and frequently. My sister-in-law, a New York public school teacher, said that if a child doesn’t learn to read by third grade, he or she is basically considered a lost cause. This should never happen. Parents need to be aware of what their children should know and when, and if there’s a problem, they need to address it sooner rather than later. Advocate for your child and make yourself known in the school. Be prepared to speak up if there’s a problem, and stay informed by reading communications from the teacher or other school personnel. Check your child’s homework frequently to make sure all is well.

Teachers, especially those in public schools, have a lot of restrictions placed upon them by the federal government, and unfortunately must dedicate a lot of time to bureaucratic matters rather than actually teaching. This is a real problem, and the children of this country are getting short-changed as a result. Great teachers everywhere need to remember their calling, take matters into their own hands as much as is humanly possible, and get back to imparting real knowledge that will actually educate children and make the United States competitive again. They need to spend time every day reading great works of literature, helping their students analyze what has been read. Analytical thinking hasn’t really been a focus of teaching in the public schools for years, which is one of our country’s biggest problems. Teachers are being forced to spend way too much time preparing their students for the next standardized test because successful outcomes means more money. A long-term view is what is needed instead in order for the U.S. to regain its competitive edge.

Finally, students need to internalize the fact that they are in school for their benefit, not anyone else’s. Many young people don’t take their education seriously until sometime in high school when they realize that there’s a relationship between their performance and their future. Those who realize it sooner are at an obvious advantage. As parents and educators, we need to try to get them to understand this. They are not in school for our benefit. It is their future that is on the line. So, if any students are reading this, remember that you won’t ever regret working hard in school. If you don’t work hard, however, you will likely be sorry later, and your path in life may be much more difficult as a result.

Here’s hoping for a great school year for everyone – parents, teacher, and students. Let’s give it our best.

If You're Pro-Life, Then Vote That Way

Last week, I and several hundred other people had the privilege of hearing the testimony of Dr. Anthony Levatino, a gynecologist and obstetrician who performed more than 1,200 abortions before something happened that made him stop. He, and his wife, Ceil, were the keynote speakers at Pregnancy Help Clinic’s annual Celebration of Life fundraiser on April 3, 2014 at Brighton Nazarene Church in Brighton, Michigan. While the testimony was gripping and difficult to hear – especially the details of how abortions are performed – the most important point of the speech had to do with politics.

Dr. Levatino stated that when he and his wife spoke at a prolife meeting shortly after President Obama’s inauguration, he asked those in the crowd if they had voted for him. More than half raised their hands. This stunned last week’s gathering, most of whom are well aware that the current president is not only the most Biblically-hostile leader this country has ever had, but he is also the most radically pro-abortion, even to the point that he has no problem leaving a baby who survives one to die, naked, cold, and alone, in a utility room.

So, why would so many who call themselves pro-life and Christian vote for a pro-abortion candidate? This is the great conundrum. If this were Nazi Germany, what would have been more important than ending the slaughter of the Jews? Nothing. In America alone, more than 56 million babies have been killed by abortion – almost ten times the number of Jews slaughtered by the Nazis. Why, then, is this issue not the most important one on the ballot for those who call themselves Christian and prolife? It should be – and needs to be. All the other issues that people raise to try to defend their pro-choice position (such as how will women who are unprepared for a baby care for it, etc.) can and should be handled by those in the Church, pregnancy help clinics, and the community at large. The main point here, though, is that all of the issues that people raise do not in any way detract from the fact that it is wrong to destroy innocent human life. That is the bottom line.

It is eye-opening to hear the testimony of someone who has been on the other side. When Dr. Levatino and his wife had been married for only a couple years, they discovered that they were unable to conceive and had been told by a fertility specialist that it was highly unlikely they ever would. They adopted a little girl, Heather, who was tragically killed by a car in front of their house in the mid-80s. Suddenly, Dr. Levatino’s perspective changed and the harsh fact that he was “killing someone’s son or daughter” dawned on him in an eye-opening, life-changing way. He stopped doing abortions. He also became a Christian and now, in addition to his medical work, he travels the country speaking about the horrors of abortion and the urgent need to end this modern-day holocaust.

Wake up, Christians! Wake up, prolife voters! Remember that those who are prochoice would most likely never consider voting for a prolife candidate. Why, then, would you ever vote for someone diametrically opposed to your view? Know where the candidates stand on this crucial issue and vote in such a way that you won’t be ashamed later when you face God: Defend the unborn because they cannot defend themselves.

For Dr. Levatino’s full testimony, visit this link: https://www.priestsforlife.org/testimonies/1127-testimony-of-dr-anthony-levatino---former-abortion-provider