Article here. Excerpt:

'"Stop paternity fraud" has become the rallying cry for cuckolded men. Child advocates such as D.C. attorney Ron Henry call for child-support reform to prevent innocent men from being turned into "indentured servants" for 18 years. Paternity-fraud victim Carnell Smith, who founded www.paternityfraud.com, offers support and DNA tests to suspicious men. A Utah company, Identigene, markets affordable DNA Paternity Test Kits in Rite-Aid, CVS, Walgreens, Wal-Mart and other stores across the country.

Paternity fraud taps into a deep anger and distress men can feel when faced with a duplicitous woman. At the same time, however, I also have met many men who, when faced with this identical dilemma, considered their options, took a deep breath and became the father to a child who was not their own.
...
Too often, our media focus on the boys who make babies and walk away, and ignores the men who, with full knowledge and free will, quietly shoulder the responsibility, become a partner to the mother and take the father's seat at the table.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'The cafe is the latest project of the Good Shepherd Center for Homeless Women and Children. Over the last 25 years, the organization has provided thousands with food, clothes, housing and counseling, all under the steady hand of Sister Julia Mary Farley, its founder and a saintly sort in local social work circles.

Good Shepherd occupies nearly an entire block in a stretch of town otherwise peppered with cheap motels, union halls and lavanderías. Its latest addition is a $13-million building with 21 transitional apartments -- and this tiny cafe.

The cafe is staffed by 10 women, nine of them mothers, all of them recently homeless, imprisoned or both. There are former addicts, dealers, thieves and old-fashioned down-on-their-lockers -- some of whom have eaten out of garbage cans -- being trained in classic cuisine and, on the best days, learning to love themselves again.'

Article entitled Alec Baldwin: A Promise to Ourselves. Excerpt:

'...“Governance Feminism” was first coined by ... Law Professor Janet Halley. The following is an excerpt from Baldwin’s interview with Professor Suk:

"[Governance Feminism is] the idea that feminism, which once criticized the law from the outside, is today actually in charge in many places in the law — among police, prosecutors, lawmakers, judges, and other legal actors. The feminism that often “governs” today is that strand developed by the legal scholar Catherine MacKinnon and that focuses on the subordination of women by men, particularly in intimate sexual relationships. Her influence on our legal system’s understandings of men and women cannot be overstated. If you talk to police, prosectuors, law-makers, and judges about domestic violence, perhaps they have not read MacKinnon, but they often subscribe to the premise that men subordinate women through sex and violence."

Article here. Excerpt:

'Schools are being urged to increase contact with absent fathers to encourage them to play a greater role in their child's education, it has been reported.

Ministers want fathers who are not living in the family home to be kept informed of their child's progress at school, believing it can improve pupils' well-being and academic performance, particularly among boys, according to The Independent.

A recent Cabinet Office report showed a quarter of children were living in lone parent homes.

Studies show a father's involvement is vital to encouraging boys, in particular, to do better in school.'

Presentation here. Greg obviously put a lot of effort into putting this together. Good work, Greg!

Story here. Excerpt:

"David Cameron today attacked ministers' failure to protect the family after it emerged that couples with children can become more than £5,000 a year better off if they split up or choose to live apart.

A study by the Civitas think-tank shows how millions of working families are missing out on the benefits paid to single parents.

Today the Conservative leader said the report exposed the 'madness' of Government benefits policy and its failure to protect the family."

From Glenn Sacks; article here. Excerpt:

'Fathers & Families Files Lawsuit to Stop New Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines

Several years ago Fathers & Families scored a major victory in Massachusetts, getting child support obligations reduced by an average of 15%. This victory has saved Massachusetts noncustodial parents over $1 billion since 2001.

Unfortunately, now noncustodial parents are under attack, as child support guidelines are being greatly increased.

Fathers and Families has filed suit in Federal District Court in Boston to stop the scheduled January 1 implementation of new Child Support Guidelines. The suit seeks a temporary injunction halting the use of the new guidelines until a full hearing can be held. It will be heard before Judge D.P. Woodlock on Monday, January 5 at 10 AM in courtroom 1.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'When an Oklahoma man’s ex-wife told him she was pregnant, he asked if he was the father.

"She said, ‘Yeah, 100 percent sure you’re the dad,’ so I didn’t question it past that,” the man said.

But that man, who asked to remain anonymous because of pending litigation, says testing shows otherwise. He provided The Oklahoman with a copy of genetic test results dated Nov. 10 from Identigene showing he is not the father. State law, though, compels him to continue paying child support even though he’s not a biological parent — and there are more like him.

Nearly 25 percent of about 3,000 paternity tests conducted by the state Department of Human Services from July 2007 through June ruled out the supposed father as the biological parent. Nationally, that number reaches nearly 30 percent, according to the American Association of Blood Banks.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'His wife stabbed him about 5 years ago. While Leanne Putnam was awaiting her days in court for felony assault, she was awarded sole custody of their 3 children, allegedly by Rockville Superior Court Judge Jonathan J. Kaplan in Connecticut. Abuse of Fathers and their children in courts is not uncommon.

Chris Kennedy then lodged complaints against Judge Kaplan and other judges. The retaliation began, where he would have less, to no access, to his own children. His saga has been going on for about 5 years. After Chris lodged complaints, the charges were dropped against his ex-wife, and Chris Kennedy became the target of an out of control Judge, Jonathan J. Kaplan. Complaints Chris had lodged were put in his “secret, sealed folder” for other judges to see and to likewise help retaliate.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Though the stigma is lessening, men are still far more likely than women to let their depression go untreated. Blame it on Rambo, Brando, or the lure of the martini, but many guys still aren't getting the help they need.

As the traditionally stressful, dark days of winter set in, here are some signs that the guy you love might be suffering from more than a loss in fantasy football.

1. Substance use: Has he been drinking more beer than a pledging freshman? Has his usual dinner cocktail spawned into three? Often, an increase in substance use -- and this includes cigarettes, recreational drugs, and caffeine -- can be a desperate attempt to self-medicate or cover up unpleasant feelings that are gnawing at him.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'The mendacity is especially glaring regarding fathers. "Changes in child-support laws, and a push by fathers for equal time, are transforming the way this generation of ex-spouses raise [sic] their children," claims the carefully worded headline. Yet, Newsweek provides no evidence of any such changes; in fact, it concedes that "Most often, children still end up living primarily with the mother" and that "moms are the official primary residential parent after a divorce in five out of six cases, a number that hasn't changed much since the mid-'90s."

One divorce lawyer claims that "most states have provisions that say gender can't be the determining factor in deciding who is going to be the primary custodial parent," but he does not tell us that such provisions are ignored.

Story here. Excerpt:

'Three young girls were found home alone and apparently abandoned on Christmas Eve, it emerged yesterday. The youngsters had been left with no presents to open and no tree to cheer them up.

While police officers tracked down and arrested their mother on suspicion of neglect, their colleagues organised a whip-round and dashed to the shops before they closed for Christmas to buy some last minute gifts for the girls.

The incident happened in Gorton – the tough district of South Manchester which originally formed the backdrop of the Channel 4 comedy series Shameless.'

Nice change! Article in "Marie Claire" here. Excerpt:

'According to a Penn professor who studies these things, every American man has about a 28 percent chance of being struck by a woman at some point in his life (in related news, the number of girls ages 10 to 17 arrested for aggravated assault has doubled in the last 20 years). And yet no one seems to take the phenomenon that seriously. Maybe it's because men, generally speaking, are bigger and stronger, and we assume there's a real limit to the physical damage women could actually inflict. We don't picture these scuffles resulting in bloody noses and black eyes or a trip to the station house. Furthermore, pop culture has made the idea of a pretty girl whaling on a guy a wacky comedy staple — Angelina Jolie smashing wine bottles over Brad Pitt's head in Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Cameron Diaz coldcocking Edward Burns in The Holiday were both played for laughs. But the reality of getting hit by your girlfriend isn't so sexy or hilarious.'

Story here. This is one to keep an eye on. The issue here is equal treatment under the law. Had the father been the mother, would she be facing these charges? I doubt it. Still, there strikes me as being a strong element of negligence here, unless there are salient facts missing from the story. I am curious to know the more of the circumstances around events. If I get wind of updates or "new news", I'll post, and feel free to submit if you spot anything. Excerpt:

'A father charged with the hypothermic death of his daughter cried and banged his head against a table Monday in a Shoshone courtroom after a judge read out each charge against him.

Robert E. Aragon, 55, is accused of felony injury to a child and second-degree murder, after two of his children tried to walk nearly 10 miles on their own through feet of snow and freezing temperatures on Christmas to see their mom.

Aragon's family says he's a loving father who shouldn't be in jail for the tragedy.
...

Story here. Excerpt:

'Police in Delaware have arrested a woman they say had sex with her teenage daughter's friend.

38-year-old Juli Faunce, a resident of the unit block of Commonwealth Avenue in the Overlook Colony Apartments, has been charged with four counts of rape in the 3rd degree.
...
Police say Faunce had sex with the boy on at least two occasions in November while he was "staying the night" in her apartment.

Faunce later learned that her daughter had also engaged in a sexual relationship with the boy. She called police Sunday to report the teen had forced himself on her daughter, because they say she was unhappy with the news of her daughter's new relationship.

Faunce has been arraigned and released on $40,000 bail. She was ordered to have no contact with the victim and also ordered to not have any teenage boys in her home for any period of time.'