I have no idea if this is intended to help women receiving money from the Child Support Agency, or men paying the organization, but this UK Times article (courtesy of IHF) reports that the compensation amount paid to victims of clerical mistakes made by the CSA should be increased from 250 to 1,000 pounds. This sounds like some sort of accountability system, but is it? I'm not sure, but it seems like interesting news.

This article from Newsday attempts to dispel myths about battered men. I almost sense a tone of restraint from the article's message, but perhaps it will be more effective in that people might be more willing to accept the message. Any recognition of DV against men is worthwhile. Here's a good quote: "In many ways, it is much
more difficult for the male victim of domestic violence because of the special stigma that
attaches to being a battered man...Abused men also find it difficult to get
out of violent relationships because they fear losing custody or even visitation with
their children...they must often deal with ridicule as well as lack of understanding."

Fredoneverything had a good opinion article on the current state of education - and, as you could guess, Fred's got a bone to pick with it. His recommendations are great common sense observations, though he seems to think that women are the ones fit to be teachers (but fathers, he also says, should offer assistance and guidance from home). Fred's generally a very pro-male commentator, so I felt this was appropriate to post considering the awareness of the educational problems boys face.

What? You haven't heard? There's going to be a public demonstration in support of male reproductive rights on Capitol Hill this Saturday. So pack a lunch, bring a sign or two, and head out to D.C.! For more details click here. Mensactivism.org will be reporting live updates from the event, so if you absolutely can't make it, check this site frequently on Saturday the 26th!

Here's a woman who certainly has some insight into the situation the men are in today: Heather Roscoe. In her recent article for SpinTech magazine, she outlines the catch-22 situation that men are in today, the contradictory expectations of men in modern society, and the fact that many women aren't entirely happy with taking on their new freedoms when they have to deal with the responsibilities which accompany them.

George writes "I found this editorial by Christina Hoff-Sommers at the Washington Post site. It was apparently sparked by an op-ed piece done by David Sadker criticizing her book The War Against Boys. A lot of the information she includes in this article comes straight from her book. She talks about the reality of boys' underachievement in schools in the US and the efforts of 'gender experts' like Sadker and organizations such as NOW to oppose any initiative to remedy this growing imbalance. She expresses hope that increased social awareness of the fallacies promoted by 'die-hard girl partisans' will begin to reverse this unfortunate trend. It's encouraging to see that major news media sources seem to be giving her a fair share of the airtime. Click here for the link."

Canoe printed an interesting story by a woman who confronts the double standards of when men and women kill. Her main example is the recent murder-suicide of Suzanne Killinger-Johnson and her infant son. From the article: "We're more willing to blame him and exonerate her because of another myth: that when women kill, they have a "good" reason, even if we don't understand it. The corollary is that when men kill, they're just being selfish jerks." Thanks to Rand for submitting this news article.

The American Coalition for Fathers and Children recently did a survey on people paying child support. The statistics they found were eye-opening, to say the least. Read on for the results of the survey, soon to be published through the University of California at Berkeley.

You asked for it, you got it - Dr. Warren Farrell has responded to the interview questions, and I would like to apologize for the delay - there was a bit of a mix-up in getting Warren's e-mail, and it's not his fault that it took so long. So, without further ado, click on "Read More..." to see his responses to the questions that were selected for the interview.

Charles Walbridge wrote in with some good strategies to deal with anti-male jokes in the workplace and elsewhere. I like his ideas, and I think this would be a great topic to start a message board discussion on. How have you dealt with male bashing jokes in public? Take a moment to let everyone know on the message board for this story. Click "Read More..." to read Charles' submission and post your own comments.

Robert Cunningham wrote in to tell me about this story from the Australian newspaper SMH. It discusses the reasons that women initiate divorce more, and talks about increasing the use of joint custody as a way to lower the divorce rate. From the article: "Susan Holmes has spent 18 years working with separating couples and believes there are some who can be helped to put their marriages back on track. She finds that when couples are presented with the notion of shared parenting, rather than sole custody, power battles are reduced and there are more opportunities for talk and possible reconciliation." It's a good news report with some very useful statistical data.

I found two interesting stories that analyze the recent New York court ruling that parents had to administer the drug Ritalin to their son despite their claims that the boy was suffering side effects. The first story from the New York Law Journal and looks at it from a legal perspective, i.e. how the rights of parents to raise their children as they see fit is affected by this. The second is from The Liberator and examines how the epidemic of Ritalin use is encouraged by schools and why it should be stopped.

Rand submitted this Toronto News story about Prof. Asher, the Men's Studies professor who was forced out of his job due to political pressures from school administration at Dawson College. I've heard from at least one other men's issues teacher at a college that this action has already had a chilling effect on him. I would like to see this become a major case to expose to what degree higher academia is against intellectual freedom and honesty.

Jason Hanson has made up some bumper stickers and buttons for the Choice for Men demonstration that will be happening on August 26. If you'd like to show your support for men's reproductive rights, even if you won't be attending the demonstration, please contact Jason for information on how to order a button or bumper sticker. You can see a picture of what they look like at this link. Update: Jason has told me that buttons are $1 each and bumper stickers are $2 each, which includes shipping. Jason's address can be found by clicking on "Read More..." below, but I'd still recommend e-mailing him first to check for availability.

USAToday printed this story about research which shows that a man with a wife who works full time has a 25% greater chance of being in worse health than a husband whose wife doesn't work full-time. The amount that men work, however, does not affect his wife's health, unless he is unemployed. I posted this story not to encourage women to "stay at home", but for men to realize how dependent we are on women for maintaining our own health. It's something to think about.