Author: James Hollis, Ph.D, "What Matters Most"

"LIVING A MORE CONSIDERED LIFE"

www.jameshollis.net

www.amazon.com

Husband Demands Kidney Back From Wife in Divorce... or 1.5 Million Dollars

Richard Batista can live with his broken heart. He just can't bear his cheating wife living with his healthy kidney.

The Long Island doctor wants the one-time love of his life to pay $1.5 million for the organ he bestowed on her eight years ago in a gift meant to save her life and their foundering marriage.

"There's no deeper pain you can ever express than to be betrayed by the person you devoted your life to," Batista told reporters in Garden City Wednesday.
"I saved her life. But the pain is unbearable."

Batista charged his wife, Dawnell, repaid his gesture by first sleeping with her physical therapist - and then denying him access to their three kids in an increasingly bitter divorce.

Adding to his anguish, Batista insists his decision to donate his kidney in 2001 was in part a failed effort to rescue their troubled relationship.

"My first priority was to save her life," the 49-year-old doctor said. "The second bonus was to turn our marriage around."

Dawnell Batista survived. Their marriage lasted just another four years, with the wife filing for divorce in July 2005.

The once-happy pair met two decades ago when he was a resident and she a training nurse at North Shore Hospital.

They were married in August 1990, celebrating with a lavish Long Island reception, and were soon living in a $1 million Massapequa home.

The couple shared the joy of three daughters, but Dawnell was battling kidney failure and the couple's relationship turned shaky.

Her husband - a surgeon at Nassau University Medical Center - injected her three times a week with medication as part of her health care regime.

Dawnell's health continued to deteriorate. After two transplants failed, her husband volunteered to donate one of his kidneys - and discovered he was a match, a 1-in-700,000 shot.

"I was the first and only one to step to the plate," the doctor recalled. Without his donation, Dawnell faced a long wait: There are 6,748 people awaiting kidneys in New York State, the New York Organ Donor Network says.

Successful surgery followed at a Minnesota hospital on June 28, 2001. Batista said he was looking forward to happier times with his now-healthy bride - but his hopes proved futile.
"Nothing changed," he said.
Dawnell Batista viewed the kidney as a new lease on life, too. She returned to school to earn a master's degree in nursing, and took up karate, her husband said.

After an injury suffered while trying to earn her black belt, she began physical therapy - which evolved into an affair with her therapist, Batista said.

"It put a hole in my heart that still exists," Batista said of his wife's disloyalty. "To this day, I'm a man of pride. To be betrayed that way, humiliated - I can't even began to say."
Dawnell Batista was not at her home Wednesday. Her lawyer did not return a call for comment.

Batista said the ongoing ugliness began on day one of their divorce.
"She slapped me with divorce papers when I was in surgery trying to save another person's life," he fumed.

The case was apparently the first of its kind in New York State. Julia Rivera of the New York Organ Donor Network said she never heard of anything similar.
"This is extraordinary," the spokeswoman said.

Batista insisted his cash-for-kidney claim was a direct result of his wife's behavior. He said he hasn't seen his three daughters - ages 14, 11 and 8 - in months.

"This is my last resort," Batista said. "I didn't want to be in the public eye."

Despite the animosity, Batista insisted he would donate the kidney all over again to his hopefully soon-to-be-ex. He fondly recalls a visit to her room on the day after surgery.

"There was no greater feeling on this planet," he said. "As God is my witness, I felt as if I could put my arm around Jesus Christ. I was walking on a cloud."

Alert! Teenage Pregnancy is On the Increase...

Top 10 Reasons to Talk about Teen Pregnancy and Actions We can Take!

10 Money.
Teen pregnancy costs taxpayers $7 billion annually.


9 You'll be in it alone.
Eight out of 10 teenage boys do not marry their baby's mother.

8 Four out of every 10 girls you know.
That's how many girls become pregnant each year in the United States.

7 Your life.
Teenagers need to be aware that having a baby is a lifetime commitment from which they can never walk away.

6 Pregnancy doesn't discriminate.
Any teen who practice unsafe sex could become a parent, regardless of race or socioeconomic status.

5 Empowerment.
Educating teens about teen pregnancy empowers them to make informed choices about their bodies and their future.

4 Single motherhood.
Young mothers raising babies on their own face specific financial and emotional hardships.

3 Once is not enough.
Teenagers need to be aware that they either need to abstain or use protection every single time.

2 You gotta talk about it.
Candid dialogue about sex and its repercussions makes a difference.

1 Reality.
Babies born to teen mothers can face special health and developmental challenges. Life for teen parents is never the same after their babies are born.

When Children Have Babies!

Babies born in the U.S. to teenage mothers are at risk for long-term problems in many major areas of life, including school failure, poverty, and physical or mental illness. The teenage mothers themselves are also at risk for these problems.

Teenage pregnancy is usually a crisis for the pregnant girl and her family.

Common reactions include anger, guilt, and denial. If the father is young and involved, similar reactions can occur in his family.

Adolescents who become pregnant may not seek proper medical care during their pregnancy, leading to an increased risk for medical complications. Pregnant teenagers require special understanding, medical care, and education--particularly about nutrition, infections, substance abuse, and complications of pregnancy.

They also need to learn that using tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs, can damage the developing fetus. All pregnant teenagers should have medical care beginning early in their pregnancy.

Pregnant teens can have many different emotional reactions:

•some may not want their babies

•some may want them for idealized and unrealistic ways

•others may view the creation of a child as an achievement and not recognize the serious responsibilities

•some may keep a child to please another family member

•some may want a baby to have someone to love, but not recognize the amount of care the baby needs

•depression is also common among pregnant teens many do not anticipate that their adorable baby can also be demanding and sometimes irritating

•some become overwhelmed by guilt, anxiety, and fears about the future

•depression is also common among pregnant teens

There may be times when the pregnant teenager's emotional reactions and mental state will require referral to a qualified mental health professional.

Babies born to teenagers are at risk for neglect and abuse because their young mothers are uncertain about their roles and may be frustrated by the constant demands of caretaking.

Adult parents can help prevent teenage pregnancy through open communication and by providing guidance to their children about sexuality, contraception, and the risks and responsibilities of intimate relationships and pregnancy.

Some teenage girls drop out of school to have their babies and don't return. In this way, pregnant teens lose the opportunity to learn skills necessary for employment and self survival as adults. School classes in family life and sexual education, as well as clinics providing reproductive information and birth control to young people, can also help to prevent an unwanted pregnancy.

If pregnancy occurs, teenagers and their families deserve honest and sensitive counseling about options available to them, from abortion to adoption. Special support systems, including consultation with a child and adolescent psychiatrist when needed, should be available to help the teenager throughout the pregnancy, the birth, and the decision about whether to keep the infant or give it up for adoption.

The United States has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and births in the western industrialized world. Teen pregnancy costs the United States at least $7 billion annually.

Thirty-four percent of young women become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20 -- about 820,000 a year. Eight in ten of these teen pregnancies are unintended and 79 percent are to unmarried teens.

A new federal report released today finds Mississippi now has the nation's highest teen pregnancy rate, displacing Texas and New Mexico for that lamentable title.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says
Mississippi's rate was more than 60 percent higher than the
national average in 2006. The teen pregnancy rate in Texas and New
Mexico was more than 50 percent higher.

The three states have large proportions of black and Hispanic
teenagers - groups that traditionally have higher birth rates,
experts noted.

The lowest teen birth rates continue to be in New England, where
three states have teen birth rates at just half the national
average.


The teen birth rate had declined slowly but steadily from 1991 to 2002 with an overall decline of 30 percent for those aged 15 to 19. These recent declines reverse the 23-percent rise in the teenage birth rate from 1986 to 1991.

The largest decline since 1991 by race was for black women. The birth rate for black teens aged 15 to 19 fell 42 percent between 1991 to 2002. Hispanic teen birth rates declined 20 percent between 1991 and 2002. The rates of both Hispanics and blacks, however, remain higher than for other groups. Hispanic teens now have the highest teenage birth rates.

Most teenagers giving birth before 1980 were married whereas most teens giving birth today are unmarried.

The younger a teenaged girl is when she has sex for the first time, the more likely she is to have had unwanted or non-voluntary sex. Close to four in ten girls who had first intercourse at 13 or 14 report it was either non-voluntary or unwanted.

Teenage Pregnancy Consequences
Teen mothers are less likely to complete high school (only one-third receive a high school diploma) and only 1.5% have a college degree by age 30. Teen mothers are more likely to end up on welfare (nearly 80 percent of unmarried teen mothers end up on welfare).

The children of teenage mothers have lower birth weights, are more likely to perform poorly in school, and are at greater risk of abuse and neglect.

The sons of teen mothers are 13 percent more likely to end up in prison while teen daughters are 22 percent more likely to become teen mothers themselves.

Teen Pregnancy Prevention
The primary reason that teenage girls who have never had intercourse give for abstaining from sex is that having sex would be against their religious or moral values.

Other reasons cited include desire to avoid pregnancy, fear of contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD), and not having met the appropriate partner. Three of four girls and over half of boys report that girls who have sex do so because their boyfriends want them to.

Teenagers who have strong emotional attachments to their parents are much less likely to become sexually active at an early age and less likely to have a teen pregnancy.

Most people say teens should remain abstinent but should have access to contraception. Ninety-four percent of adults in the United States-and 91 percent of teenagers-think it important that school-aged children and teenagers be given a strong message from society that they should abstain from sex until they are out of high school.

Seventy-eight percent of adults also think that sexually active teenagers should have access to contraception to prevent teen pregnancy.

Contraceptive use among sexually active teens has increased but remains inconsistent. Three-quarters of teens use some method of contraception (usually a condom) the first time they have sex. A sexually active teen who does not use contraception has a 90 percent chance of teen pregnancy within one year.

Parents rate high among many adolescents as trustworthy and preferred information sources on birth control. One in two teens say they "trust" their parents most for reliable and complete information about birth control, only 12 percent say a friend.

Teens who have been raised by both parents (biological or adoptive) from birth, have lower probabilities of having sex than youths who grew up in any other family situation. At age 16, 22 percent of girls from intact families and 44 percent of other girls have had sex at least once. Similarly, teens from intact, two-parent families are less likely to give birth in their teens than girls from other family backgrounds.

Teen Pregnancy information obtained from The National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy


www.teenpregnancy.com
www.aacap.org
(American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)

You Tube Clips of Teen Mothers:

Amanda Ireland attended the school with the teens who started the "Pregnancy Pact"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnHSnlhZ2ZA

Riyonna Cooper was pregnant at 16 with her first child. She is now 30 years old and has (9) children - 4 Girls and 5 Boys by 4 different fathers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUWbelIlohM&NR=1

"A Bitter Divorce and Loss of Job" - The Root Problem for the "Santa Claus Killer"

9 People Dead: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus who opened fire on a Christmas Eve party at the home of his ex-wife's family was planning to flee to Canada, police said yesterday, as a ninth body was recovered from the charred wreckage of the massacre.

Police said Bruce Pardo, 45, was found with $17,000 taped to his body and a plane ticket to Canada after he killed himself following his murderous assault on the home of his former in-laws in the Los Angeles suburb of Covina.

The unemployed aerospace engineer burst into the property armed with four pistols shortly before midnight Wednesday and sprayed guests with bullets before the house erupted in flames.

An 8-year-old girl who had opened the door to Pardo was shot in the face, but survived. Yesterday, police released harrowing 911 calls apparently made by the girl's mother immediately after the incident.
"We need someone immediately. My daughter's been shot. She was shot in the face," the woman said, with the anguished high-pitched wailing of a child clearly audible in the background.

Pardo had recently gone through a bitter divorce with his wife, but there were no further clues as to what might have triggered the murderous rampage.

The 6-foot-3-inch, 250 pound Pardo had no criminal record and nothing in his personal history to suggest a predisposition to violence, police said. Friends from a church Pardo attended regularly expressed disbelief.

"He was just the nicest guy," said Jan Detanna, who worked with Pardo as an usher at the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church.

Covina police chief Kim Raney told reporters Pardo had bought a ticket to Canada leaving early Christmas morning, but scrapped plans to go on the run after suffering third-degree burns in the house blaze that melted parts of his Santa Claus costume to his body, Raney said.

"All indications are he intended to commit the crime, flee the country and, it appears, he didn't anticipate injuring himself to the point where, obviously, he took his own life," Raney said.

Police said Pardo had arrived at the house with what appeared to be a homemade flamethrower comprised of two canisters, one containing oxygen or carbon dioxide, the other a high-octane racing fuel.
However police believe the device exploded sooner than Pardo intended, leaving him with serious burn injuries.

Hours after the rampage, Pardo killed himself with a single shot to the head at his brother's home in Sylmar, approximately 40 kilometres away.

Police revealed that the car used by Pardo in the attack, found outside his brother's home, had been rigged with a booby trap to be be triggered when officers attempted to move his discarded Santa Claus suit.

The car burst into flames as bomb disposal experts attempted to deactivate the advice. No officers were hurt in the explosion.
Authorities have yet to publicly identify those killed by Pardo, but local media reported the victim's ex-wife and in-laws were among the dead.

Los Angeles County Coroner's Office assistant chief Ed Winter said none of the nine bodies recovered from the crime scene were identifiable.

Author Lori Johnson's Debut Novel!: "After the Dance"

"AFTER THE DANCE"
by Lori Johnson

Faye Abrahams is a thirtysomething woman faced with an important decision. Should she A) abandon her "hit it and quit it" credo and take up with Carl, the divorced father of three who appears intent on slow dancing his way into her heart? Or, should she go with option B) and give her childhood sweetheart, Venard, aka Scoobie, a chance to prove he's truly the changed man his newfound spirituality and success as a corporate chef suggests? Further complicating Faye's choice is the sudden unraveling of a secret from her past that she has long kept from everyone . . .

www.lorijohnsonbooks.com
www.amazon.com

The First Family of Illinois: The Blagojevichs!

The Democrat appeared in court Tuesday afternoon to hear federal corruption charges against him and was released on $4,500 bail.

"He's sad, surprised and innocent," Blagojevich attorney Sheldon Sorosky told reporters Tuesday night.

Early Tuesday, FBI agents arrested Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, on charges that the governor attempted to sell or trade President-elect Barack Obama's former Senate seat in exchange for financial benefits for the governor and his wife, Patti.

Meanwhile, state lawmakers said they are preparing to take from the governor his power to fill the vacant Senate seat. Otherwise, Blagojevich -- despite the charges he faces -- could still move to nominate anyone he chooses for Obama's replacement.
Jay Stewart, executive director of Chicago's Better Government Association, said Blagojevich retains the right to fill the Senate vacancy until he's out of office, which won't happen unless he quits or is removed by impeachment.
The government had bugged the governor's campaign office, placed a tap on his home phone and listened to the governor talk about wanting possible deals, said U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.

According to the affidavit, Blagojevich was recorded saying of the Senate seat: "I've got this thing and it's [expletive] golden and uh, uh, I'm not just giving it up for [expletive] nothing."

"Gov. Blagojevich has taken us to a new low," Fitzgerald said Tuesday. "This conduct would make Lincoln roll over in his grave."

Both Blagojevich and Harris were charged with a count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and a count of solicitation of bribery, authorities said.
The 76-page affidavit, which describe Blagojevich's actions as a "crime spree," alleges that the governor often weighed the option of appointing himself to the Senate seat.

He said he was "stuck" at governor and might have access to more resources as a senator than as a governor, the affidavit said. A Senate seat also could help him remake his image ahead of a possible presidential run in 2016. "If ... they're not going to offer anything of any value, then I might just take it," he said in one conversation.

Obama reacted at a news conference Tuesday.
"Obviously, like the rest of the people of Illinois, I am saddened and sobered by the news that came out of the U.S. attorney's office today," he said. "But as this is an ongoing investigation involving the governor, I don't think it would be appropriate for me to comment on the issue at this time."

Obama said he had no contact with the governor or his office about the Senate seat. "I was not aware of what was happening," he added.
At times, Blagojevich discussed obtaining a substantial salary for himself at a nonprofit group or an organization affiliated with labor unions as well as placing his wife on paid corporate boards, where she might make as much as $150,000 a year, the government said.

During one recorded conversation, Blagojevich said he needed to consider his family and said he was financially hurting, the affidavit said.

"I want to make money," Blagojevich said, according to the affidavit.

The intercepted phone calls also caught the governor and Harris discussing the possibility of the Tribune Co.'s obtaining assistance from the Illinois Finance Authority in efforts to sell the Chicago Cubs and the financing or sale of Wrigley Field, the government said. The company owns the Chicago Tribune, the Cubs and Wrigley Field.

Tribune announced Monday that it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Blagojevich allegedly directed Harris to tell Tribune officials that state assistance would be withheld unless members of the Chicago Tribune's editorial board were fired. The Illinois governor saw them as "driving discussion of his possible impeachment," the affidavit said.

"Our recommendation is fire all those [expletive] people, get 'em the [expletive] out of there and get us some editorial support," the governor allegedly said in one phone call.

Federal authorities also allege the governor and Harris schemed with others -- including convicted real estate developer Antoin "Tony" Rezko -- to obtain financial benefits for himself, his family and others, including his campaign committee, Friends of Blagojevich.

Reports from the Chicago Tribune last week said federal authorities were investigating the governor and were secretly taping his conversations -- with the help of his former congressional chief of staff, John Wyem.

"I don't believe there's any cloud that hangs over me," Blagojevich told WLS-TV in Chicago on Monday as he responded to the reports of wiretapping. "I think there's nothing but sunshine hanging over me."

He added, "By the way, I should say if anyone wants to tape my conversations, go right ahead, feel free to do it. I appreciate anybody who wants to tape me openly."
Fitzgerald said the case required "unusual measures" because of actions Blagojevich was expected to take soon, including filling the vacant Senate seat. "There were a lot of things going on that were imminent," he said.
"We were in the middle of a corruption crime spree, and we wanted to stop it," Fitzgerald said.

At a news conference Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said he wants the state Legislature to act quickly to pass a law setting up a special election to fill Obama's seat to prevent Blagojevich from making an appointment.
"No appointment by this governor under these circumstances could produce a credible replacement," Durbin said.

Fitzgerald said Blagojevich was looking to pull $8 million in funding for a children's hospital after the hospital's chief executive officer did not give a $50,000 contribution to the governor's campaign.

Also, Fitzgerald said, it was expected that Blagojevich would soon sign into law a bill that would direct a percentage of casino revenue to the horse racing industry -- a bill supported by someone who contributed $100,000.

"To let that bill be signed, to me, would be very, very troubling," Fitzgerald said.
The governor's office said the allegations "do nothing to impact the services, duties or function of the state."

"Our state will continue to ensure health, safety and economic stability for the citizens of Illinois."

Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn said the governor should use a provision in the Illinois Constitution that allows him to step down but not necessarily to resign. "I recommend to the governor to realize ... that he cannot carry out his responsibilities of office today, and he should, in my opinion, step aside."
Quinn, a Democrat, said under the provision, a determination can be made later as to whether he can return to office.

Quinn said he had not spoken to Blagojevich at length since summer 2007.
Blagojevich, who turns 52 on Wednesday, is in his second four-year term as Illinois governor. His term ends in January 2011.

He served as a U.S. congressman for Illinois' 5th Congressional District from 1997 until 2003, according to his online biography.
He and his wife have two daughters.

The state's last governor, George Ryan, was convicted in April 2006 on racketeering and fraud charges.

Ryan reported to a federal prison in Wisconsin in November 2007 to serve a 6½-year sentence. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court said it would not hear an appeal from Ryan.

CHILDREN OF INCARCERATED PARENTS...

Shekinah Prison Ministries

Doris Riley, Co-Founder
Board Chair

My Story

At the age of 18 months, my father was unjustly removed from my life; as a result my childhood was spent in poverty, living in the backwoods of Arkansas. My mother was left with two very small children; myself only 18 months, my brother three years old and she was 4 months pregnant with another child.

Although we were able to visit my father in prison, the visits were infrequent because my mother could not drive nor had the financial means to pay others to take us. I remember vividly as a little girl becoming familiar with the routine of visitation within a jail. Often my brothers and I were faced with mockery from the other children at school and the shame of our father's confinement in prison.

There were many, many challenges that we faced as a family just because we were left behind. It seemed no one cared or understood the affects of losing our father. How he was suddenly snatched from the lives of his wife and three small children and how a mother in her twenties without a high school education had to be the sole provider for her family. I thank God today that He was faithful to take care of us and we survived.

In 2004 one of my brothers (the one my mom was pregnant with) was incarcerated and left behind a 2 year old daughter, and two sons 9 and 17 years old. When this occurred my husband and I began to assist my brother's family financially, emotionally, and with much prayer. We also provided the children with gifts during the Christmas season.

This incident triggered the memory of my childhood and my heart began to feel the pain and feelings of abandonment of children all over this country. After much research, I was shocked and appalled at the high percentage of children who are left behind. My husband Joseph and I felt impressed of God to help the many children all over this country who have a mom or dad incarcerated.

Shekinah Prison Ministries' Staff

Joseph & Doris Riley, Founders

Joseph Riley, President

Konstance Riley, Account Executive

Sonia Morris, Regional Service Coordinator


Mission

Shekinah Prison Ministries is a non-profit organization that assists children/families of those incarcerated nationally. We serve as an emergency support to the children and families through out the year and provide gifts during the holiday season. Our goal is to be a support to families who suddenly find themselves as sole caregivers of children related to an incarcerated spouse or parent.

What We Do

We are dedicated to establishing a relationship with families of those incarcerated to provide support and to connect them with needed resources of survival as a family. Shekinah Prison Ministries specialize in minimizing the impact of incarceration to the families that are left behind. Services offered:

• Assistance with clothing and school supplies
• Emergency Financial Assistance
• Gifts during the Holiday Season
• Training: Anger Management, Financial Management & Drama Classes
• Resource Referral

BECOME A VOLUNTEER!
MAKE A DONATION...

P. O. Box 278
Olive Branch, MS 38654
United States
ph: 901-848-2914
fax: 662-504-4234
www.shekinahprisonministries.org
shekinahprisonministries@yahoo.com