MANN received this submission anonymously. While we normally don't publish such lengthy pieces, especially if submitted anonymously, this one is just too well-written and timely not to publish. It also reads like it was written as a letter to a government official and so it has content others may find useful. Big thanks to whomever submitted it!

"I am a long-time Army Family Member, being both the daughter of a retired Sergeant First Class, and the spouse of an Active Duty Sergeant First Class, and the sister-in-law of two retired soldiers, in addition to both my brothers serving in the Army; the Army has been the only life I have led. I am proud of the sacrifice that my family has made for the Army and this grateful nation and as such I have dedicated my time to volunteering to honor the life of public service that has been bestowed upon me. It is on behalf of this and other proud servicemen and women that I compose this letter with a serious concern for the soldiers’ and their families.

Item here. Excerpt:

'Last Friday, in one of its first actions of the 111th Congress, the House of Representatives passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act. Although the bills purport to ensure equal pay for men and women, in truth they are a stimulus package for trial lawyers and liberal/feminist special-interest groups.

Story here.

'ST. CLOUD, Minn. — A St. Cloud woman is in jail after police say she tried to set her boyfriend on fire using a lighter and air freshener.

Investigators say the 49-year-old woman is accused of pouring fingernail polish remover on the victim and the blanket covering him, then trying to light him on fire.

The victim was able to take the air freshener from the woman. Police say she then hit him on the back of the head and bit him several times. As the man tried to call police, the woman allegedly ripped the phone cord out of the wall.

The woman is in the Stearns County Jail on suspicion of domestic assault and interfering with a 911 call.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'"We are seeing a substantial increase in cases . . . challenging the custody of military parents and the return of custody when they come back from mobilization or deployment, compared to virtually none 10 years ago," said Mark E. Sullivan, a retired Army Reserve judge advocate who practices family law in North Carolina. The increase has been greatest in states with large military populations, such as Virginia and Texas, he added.

Female troops may be particularly at risk, because mothers are more likely to have custody of children after a divorce. "For them to go away for 15 to 18 months, it opens the door to these challenges," said A.J. Balbo, Greer's attorney and a former Army judge advocate.
...
Diaz gained temporary custody of his daughter, Talia, in February 2002 because her mother was unfit, Diaz said. But when he deployed to Iraq with his engineer battalion in April 2003, he had to delegate joint custody to his mother and Talia's mother. When he came back, Talia's mother refused to return the child.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'The recent lawsuit by a female high school basketball player who was injured scrimmaging against males has caused area coaches to take notice, but not make changes.

Girls basketball teams at Ross, Lakota West and Madison are among those who regularly practice against boys, but their sessions are structured and the boys are scrutinized.

"It's not like we're just grabbing anyone out of the hallway and saying, 'Come play against our girls,' " Madison coach John Rossi Jr. said. "Most of these guys are friends with the girls, and they're all good-character, straight-A type of kids, and we let them know we're not interested in seeing what the heck you can do."'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Locker-room humor about the case involving an Abington boy who police say was raped by a female teacher may be good for a laugh in some circles.

But such banter threatens to perpetuate the misguided idea that boys involved are not victims.

Christine McCallum, 29, stands accused of having a 21-month relationship with a boy, starting when he was 13 and involving up to 300 sexual encounters.

She pleaded innocent Friday to seven counts of statutory child rape.

While most people recognize the violation of trust and potential emotional damage inherent in such a crime, others – and you’ll find plenty – see it as a welcome rite of passage.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'I have represented many sex discrimination victims. I have won their cases. After 20 years of such efforts, I know a victim when I see one. Let me tell you something: Lilly Ledbetter is no victim. When Ledbetter issued, I reserved judgment as I wished to actually read the opinion first, something knee-jerk liberals rarely do. They are so politically motivated to cry foul that the actual legal merits of the case are of no concern to them.
...
Here’s another fact ignored in the political rhetoric. Ledbetter, for unexplained reasons, abandoned an Equal Pay Act claim asserted in her suit. The Equal Pay Act does not contain Title VII’s filing limitations, nor does it require plaintiffs to prove intent. It was a much better claim, easier to prove, and it was timely. After abandoning it on appeal, Ledbetter essentially tried to squeeze the EPA claim into Title VII’s framework and she justly failed in the effort.

Very inspring! Story here (.pdf file). Excerpt:

'Charlotte, NC - 70 year old grandmother, Sheila Peltzer, will climb Africa's tallest peak, 19,200' Mount Kilimanjaro raising awareness for Shared Parenting and Familial Dysautonomia. Peltzer, departing January 21, 2009, will make the ten day trek up the western route where sub zero summit temperatures are expected.
...
Tim McKyer adds; "I'm involved with Sheila to help shine a spotlight on the family courts. At one time my children lived with me and were doing well. Now I have limited access to them and they are falling behind in school and having other problems. The courts are handicapping my kids unnecessarily. What my kids are being subjected to at the hands of the court is beyond absurd."'

Video here. I realize Ann Coulter is extremely controversial, but she makes some logical observations about motherhood and fatherhood. Notice how the audience roars with applause when Elisabeth Hasselbeck insinuates fathers are not taking responsibility.

I found this piece of misandry about Joan Rivers' new book "Men Are Stupid... And They Like Big Boobs" on NPR.

If this woman was ever funny in the past, she isn't any more. The title of her book has put me off. I tried to listen to the online interview Scott Simon did with her, but was turned off by the way the book was portrayed in a cute manner, when the title obviously wasn't cute.

Hey, how about a book titled "Women Are Stupid...And They Like Big Paychecks." Or bad boys.

Story here. Excerpt:

'A WOMAN who killed a toddler by smashing her 4x4 into his pushchair was jailed for seven years yesterday.

Suicidal Katie Gutierrez-Perez, 40, had swallowed sleeping pills, cider and wine after bailiffs snatched her home and business — but was driving to hospital after a change of heart.

She lost control of her Toyota Hilux outside a school and mounted the pavement, catapulting mum Tina Woods, 31, through the air before pinning her 15-month-old son Finlay’s buggy against a gatepost.

Finlay died of head injuries. After mother-of-two Gutierrez-Perez was pulled from the vehicle she shrugged and asked: “Have I hurt someone, then?”

Minutes earlier she had been warned not to drive by a DVLA inspector, who saw the 4x4 was uninsured and smelled alcohol.'

Today RADAR launches a new campaign "Violence Against Women Act: OUT OF CONTROL" The campaign will highlight that despite spending billions of dollars over the last decade, VAWA-funded programs lack accountability and effectiveness, and are destroying families. Case in point are the advertisements that were run on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit last Fall that featured messages promoting harmful and false stereotypes.

During the next few months our campaign will highlight how the Violence Against Women Act has gone out of control. We will be asking you to help get out the word to your elected representatives and the media how the Violence Against Women Act is out of control, as well as how to reform VAWA.

Successfully reforming VAWA depends on your participation. Last year we have succeeded in stopping four out-of-control bills: I-VAWA, ABA earmarks, gun confiscation, and a House resolution. Please familiarize yourself with how the Violence Against Women Act is "Out Of Control" at http://www.mediaradar.org/how_is_vawa_out_of_control.php

See editorial here. The misandry inflicted upon fathers and men seems to be finally hitting the mainstream media with more regularity. A well written editorial on last weeks article on forcing a man to pay child support even though he was not the biological father.

Once again I urge you to read the comments after the editorial that are for the most part polite well thought out arguments against the current judical and societal systems that inflicts pain and hardships on men and fathers.

One such example:

Ontario family law has been predicated o Odium Paternus -- Hatred of fathers. It is truly disgusting, and has the unbridled support of sociopaths and psychopaths who use these laws to extort, coerce and steal funds from fathers and good natured people.

Read it to believe it, here. Excerpt:

Story here. Excerpt:

'Mr. Soucia was a thief: more precisely he stole a credit card. And, as a result, he was prosecuted “under the ‘Sex Offender Management and Treatment Act’.” How’s that!!

What gave the low-life prosecutor, aptly named James Conboy, the excuse was that the young man used the stolen credit to hire some strippers. In the logical world of Mr. Conboy: “If you commit a burglary and your goal is because of your own sexual gratification, it’s a sexually motivated felony.”

I sincerely doubt that Soucia broke into a house to rob it just to get his jollies. I doubt that the reason he robbed the house was so he could hire a stripper. And, even if he wanted to hire a stripper, to call this sort of theft a “sex offense” is absolutely ridiculous. Either Mr. Conboy is incredibly moronic or incredibly power-hungry. Either way he is a threat to the decent people in his county.'