Normally I don't pen my own essays but for this topic, especially as we here in the US are heading now into a major political election season that underscores such matters, I felt this was a good time.

'MRA' stands for "Men's Rights Activist", while "FRA" stands for "Fathers' Rights Activist". It is hard to be one without being the other and for all intents and purposes they mean the same thing. The word "Rights" is represented in both acronyms. (And likewise, "Women's Rights Activist" also has the same word in it.) This word is thrown around all the time not just by activists in this realm but in many others. Indeed, the word "rights" seems to be a very common word when people seek to appeal to an innate sense of or a defined scope of justice.

Article here. Excerpt:

'When will the women of this nation stop accepting "guilt gifts" from the men in their lives who act abusively?

When will we say "enough is enough" and turn a deaf ear to half-hearted, mealy-mouthed apologies that provide poor salve for hateful and hurtful actions and words?

When will we finally deliver the tough love and consequences for improper behavior?

I'm posing these questions in large measure because October is National Domestic Violence Month. Yet, more specifically, I want to shed light on the ugly abuse women have been experiencing in the political arena this election season as well as election cycles past.
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If the Democrats want women to turn out and vote, they need to make some extra efforts to address our needs. Here are ten concrete and measurable steps the DNC can and should immediately take to win women back:

Article here. Excerpt:

'According to the Sydney Morning Herald there is a new breed of man. He is "chivalrous, but not patriarchal. He is well-groomed without being pretentious or dandy. He'll open the door for someone - not because they're female - but because it's a nice thing to do. He doesn't mind meeting his mates at the pub, but he has no qualms inquiring about the riesling." He is the Modern Day Gentleman or MDG for short. A composite of traditional male ruggedness and new age intellectualism that's epitomized, apparently, by comedian Charlie Pickering. And he is completely fabricated for the purposes of this article.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Somewhere in Switzerland on Saturday around 150 men’s rights activists will be gathering at a secret location for the “first international antifeminism meeting”.

Amid plans by feminist activists to hold protests, the venue was changed and the new location kept under wraps until the last minute.
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Addressing the day-long conference will be IGAF founder René Kuhn, and speakers from a German gender policy initiative, the Swiss men’s political party, an interest group for divorced men and European and Swiss men’s and father’s rights groups.

Andersson described it as a “very special” and “historic moment”.

Article here. Excerpt:

Pupils try harder for male teachers, according to an official study.

They make more effort to please them, display greater self-esteem and are more likely to believe they are being treated fairly.

The findings are particularly significant as more than a quarter of primary schools do not have a single male teacher.

With the number of male secondary school teachers also dwindling, it is feared that some youngsters could go throughout their entire education without experiencing the benefits of being taught by a man.

Researchers from Westminster University, the London School of Economics and the graduate business school INSEAD carried out an experiment involving 1,200 pupils aged 12-13 in 29 schools.

Letter here. Excerpt:

'George Miller and Barbara Boxer are running for re-election this year and it is time to reflect on what they have done. I met George Miller once and found him abrasive and two-faced. And I was not surprised when I saw Barbara Boxer pleading for usurping respect on a web feed. Perhaps she would prefer "her highness" instead of senator. The most important matter is that Barbara Boxer and George Miller have unstintingly supported the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) while ignoring the plight of abused men.

Article here, which includes an embedded link to the audio report. Excerpt:

'It’s not easy being an unreconstructed bloke these days. Spare a thought for René Kuhn, former president of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party in Lucerne. He’s the one made headlines a while back for saying Swiss women are frumpy and don’t wear enough make-up.

Now he’s saying feminism is an attack on men’s rights and he’s having to hold a planned anti-feminism meeting in secret. The meeting was due to be held in the canton of Zurich, in Uitikon, but after protests and a paint attack on the town’s community hall this week, the venue pulled out of hosting the meeting. WRS’s Jo Fahy reports:

The anti-feminist meeting’s organisers declined to go on air but confirmed they’ve employed a private security firm and will only inform conference attendees of the event’s new location.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'CALGARY — Just weeks after being charged with sexual assaulting a 15-year-old boy and being ordered to stay away from him, a Calgary school employee allegedly met with the victim, landing her in jail for several weeks.

Now, Calgary police are trying to ensure the school employee — who is in her late 40s — and the teen remain apart. But neither are co-operating.

“We believed the relationship wasn’t going to end contrary to charges being laid,” said acting staff Sgt. Mark Hatchette, adding it was the victim’s family who contacted police about the relationship.

“We are doing our due diligence and that’s all we can do. We put specific conditions in place to protect victims and then we follow up.”

Police say the woman, who was an employee with the Calgary Board of Education, was charged in late July with sexual assault, sexual interference with a young person and sexual interference by a person in authority.'

Via email:

In preparation for our upcoming Stop Mandatory Arrest campaign, SAVE has compiled a listing of the citations of the laws in the 21 states with mandatory arrest: http://www.saveservices.org/what-are-the-state-laws-that-mandate-arrest-for-dv-assault/

We also encourage you to check this page out in preparation for your state legislature’s upcoming session in early 2011, so you can prepare your plan of action. For more information about SAVE’s upcoming campaign, visit: http://www.saveservices.org/protect-victims-stop-mandatory-arrest/

Article here. When governments seek to "outlaw homosexuality", the vast majority of those persecuted are men. Societies of all kinds seem much less threatened by female homosexuality than male, even while male homosexuality is more often discussed in public forums. The persecution of men because of their sexuality is just another form of persecuting men, plain and simple. In this case, the penalty for being gay isn't just prison for some period of time, or a fine, or just public censure, but death. Excerpt:

'Gay Ugandans have faced a fortnight of attacks and intimidation, say human rights campaigners, after a local newspaper published a list of the country's "top 100 homosexuals". As well as naming gay Ugandans – complete with photographs and addresses – Rolling Stone newspaper also claimed that a deadly disease was attacking homosexuals in Uganda, and said that gays were recruiting one million children by raiding schools.

Article here. Excerpt:

'There is no doubt that this story is absolutely appalling and quite sad. The natural reaction is to ask how a mother could be so evil to kill her baby over a video game? But it can’t be just that simple. While I do not condone her behavior, what jumped out at me was that this woman must have been experiencing some severe postpartum depression. I am not excusing her actions but postpartum depression is real and often underestimated.

Women are expected to be all exuberant and glowing with the birth of their new baby but sometimes reality come crashing down on new moms. While they truly love their babies, sleep deprivation, hormonal fluctuations, or painful breastfeeding can trigger unpleasant feelings and hopelessness.

Article here. Noting like politics to make everyone just wee less than true to their stated cause(s)... but NOW fairly excels at it! Excerpt:

'Following gossip website Gawker’s publication of an anonymous story alleging a one-night encounter between the author and Republican senatorial candidate for Delaware Christine O’Donnell, the National Organization for Women has refused comment. “We’re going to pass on this one,” Mai Shiozaki told The Examiner. I asked if this is generally a topic they try to stay away from. “Thanks, we’re passing.”

NOW played a prominent role in demanding Anita Hill’s charges against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas “be heard in a public forum.” But that was politically convenient — after all, one of NOW’s “important missions” is “fighting the right wing.”

Press release here. Excerpt:

'WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Domestic Violence experts are criticizing President Obama's pre-election unveiling of a new domestic violence initiative, saying the effort represents a concoction of unproven strategies that betray the needs of women.

The Obama plan will promote wider use of restraining orders -- but research shows such orders are flatly ineffective in preventing future violence: http://www.saveservices.org/downloads/Why-DV-Programs-Fail-to-Stop-Abuse

Via email:

All –

The President has unveiled a new domestic violence program that is transparently designed to sway the upcoming November 2 election. WE MUST ACT NOW.

On Thursday and Friday, Oct. 28-29, we are asking you to telephone your Senators and Representative in Washington DC at 1-202-224-3121 and deliver this simple message: “Stop playing politics with Domestic Violence. Speak out against President Obama’s untested DV plan. We need abuse prevention programs that are based on sound science, and do not ignore half of all abuse victims.”

Don’t call just once. Call several times, spacing your calls about an hour apart.

Full article here. Excerpt:

'A Jacksonville mother charged with shaking her baby to death has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

Alexandra V. Tobias, 22, was arrested after the January death of 3-month-old Dylan Lee Edmondson. She told investigators she became angry because the baby was crying while she was playing a computer game called FarmVille on the Facebook social-networking website.

Tobias entered her plea Wednesday before Circuit Judge Adrian G. Soud. A second-degree murder charge is punishable by up to life in prison.'