OK, I know, this is not MR-related, really. It's just that we do know what university Larry Summers used to run, until they chased him out for daring to suggest that maybe there are inherent general capacities and proclivities associated with gender and these ought to be considered when looking at differences in students' interest in certain subjects.

That thought-crime was enough to get him tossed out of the school. So now one of the most bloated, wasteful, uber-PC institutions of our time must *gasp* face the reality of money (oh, that dirty word!) and how they actually need someone to work for a living in order for them to afford the luxury of sitting around all day talking about how the evil patriarchy is striving to oppress them day in and day out. Gosh, life just ain't fair! Excerpt:

'BOSTON (AP) - Harvard University is considering spending cuts because the economic slowdown may reduce federal grants and the school's substantial endowment, President Drew Faust said Monday.

Story here. Only the man is named, interestingly enough. The woman was "bailed" while the man was not? Excerpt:

'A couple have been arrested for allegedly having sex in a crowded train carriage.

Other passengers en route from Liverpool to London appear to have sat in embarrassed silence as the 41-year-old woman allegedly committed a sex act on her male partner.'

Action Item here. Excerpt:

"Over the past two weeks Dallas Area Rapid Transit & Dallas authorities have received over 7,500 calls & letters from our supporters protesting the anti-father domestic violence ads depicted above.

We've done very well bringing media attention and sympathy to our cause, particularly given the presidential election. Our campaign has been covered by CNN, The Associated Press, CBS, FOX, the Dallas Morning News, and numerous radio shows--see the "News" column to the right. However, we're looking to build more media pressure.
We want you to write the media and urge them to cover our campaign. To send a letter to several dozen important media outlets, click here.

We also want you to call Dallas radio stations and urge them to cover our protest. Below we have listed the information for a dozen relevant Greater Dallas radio stations--call them by clicking here."

On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama and Joe Biden will be the president and vice-president. What does that mean for our Fix VAWA Now! effort?

While Joe Biden is the architect of the Violence Against Women Act, VAWA Reform is not a Republican or Democrat issue. VAWA is at best ineffective, and at worst, it’s harmful to victims of violence and it breaks up families. Can any politician, Democrat or Republican, turn a cold shoulder to these hard truths?

As soon as possible, please work toward establishing channels of communication with the winners of your local, state, and national elections – even if you voted for their opponent! Find areas of common ground and invite them to be a true champion for victims of violence.

With your help, we can fix VAWA. Let's get to work.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Date of RADAR Release: November 10, 2008

Want to improve the chance that they'll pay attention to your
letter? Click here.

Story here. Excerpt:

'LINCOLN, Neb. - A 17-year-old boy left by his mother at an Omaha hospital is the 30th child abandoned under Nebraska's safe-haven law, state officials said.

The boy from the Omaha area was left at Creighton University Medical Center on Monday morning, said Todd Landry, director of children and family services for the Department of Health and Human Services.

The state was still investigating the case and additional details were not available, he said.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Summary: Jim Quinn cited as evidence of "the chickification of schools, the feminization of society, and the war on masculinity" the story of a teacher who reportedly informed the school principal and campus police that a picture of a vampire one of her students had drawn might contain gang symbols. Quinn added that "the goal of the public school system -- the feminists in the public school system -- is to make male behavior illegal, a crime."

Article here. Excerpt:

'Feminism has very little to do with equality between the genders, and it also has very little to do with the rights of women.

First and foremost, feminism is about various groups seeking to acquire power and money, and to build huge self-serving empires in which millions - literally millions - of people nowadays have a vested interest - a vested interest that is, in fact, highly detrimental to those societies in which these people operate.

To see how their game is played, I just want you to imagine a society - a somewhat idealised society - wherein the women are happy to spend their days being closely associated with their homes and their children, while the young men and the fathers are reasonably happy to troop off to the workplace - wherever this might be.'

Blog entry here. Excerpt:

'Let me start off by saying that the post MRA Infestation and Glenn Sacks Worshipers was a response to my disgust with the commentary on a post I wrote entitled, MRA Glenn Sacks Applies Pressure to Domestic Violence Shelter. I wrote the infestation post in great anger and it caused me to use language that was unacceptable.

As much as I find your hate and your positions vile, I had no right to dehumanize another human being by calling you cockroaches, and for this I apologize.
...
I will never agree that your movement is anything other than an attempt to maintain white male, heterosexist, abelist, racist privilege, but a reduction in our common humanity was not necessary to make that point.
...
Once again let me state for the record that I find your positions vile but reducing your humanity was wrong.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'SENECA FALLS — Tuesday’s national election results were good news to Eleanor Smeal, former president of the National Organization for Women.

Smeal, now head of the Feminist Majority organization in Arlington, Va., spoke Saturday at the New York State NOW convention in Seneca Falls.
...
Smeal said President-Elect Obama’s policy committee has some excellent members, including several very strong feminists with a knowledge of the issues.

She said with the Obama-Biden team in the White House and bigger Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress, feminists should “think big,’’ despite the conventional wisdom that a more centrist, bi-partisan approach is being advocated by many in light of the serious problems the country faces.
...
The delegates were also asked to sign a reaffirmation of the Declaration of Sentiments , a product of the first women’s rights convention conducted in Seneca Falls in July 1848.

Story here. Excerpt:

'NORWALK - Although a jury found Mary Ann Langley guilty of killing her husband by throwing gasoline on him and lighting him on fire, she could still inherit his $1.2 million estate, family members and attorneys said.

This turn of events was made possible by a jury of eight women and four men who did not convict Langley of murder two weeks ago after a seven-day trial at state Superior Court in Stamford. The jury was unable to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Mary Ann Langley intended to kill her husband by throwing the gasoline on him, and instead found her guilty of intentional first-degree manslaughter in the December 2006 death of her husband, James, 55.
...
"I don't think it is right. If you kill someone, why should you profit?" said Willie Langley, James' brother and executor of his estate. "I think if you pour gasoline on someone, you meant to kill them anyway, but (the prosecution) couldn't prove that."'

Story here. Excerpt:

'In addition to the changes he will enact on the professional level, Obama's approach to governing can be expected to have some indirect impacts in college sports. Coaches, athletes and administrators in a number of so-called minor sports, such as wrestling, have long been wary that their sports will be eliminated to meet the equality of gender requirements of Title IX, and they cannot be happy about Obama's election. With President Bush in the White House and Dennis Hastert, a former wrestling coach, serving as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, participants in those sports had some hope that Title IX requirements might be diluted.

Bush and his staff looked hard at Title IX and the possibility of enacting changes in the regulations of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that govern Title IX, but they backed away as opposition to any changes grew.

Obama, the father of two daughters, might not be sympathetic to those hoping to lessen the impact of Title IX.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'RADAR (Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting), a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's domestic violence laws, says false allegations of domestic violence have become widespread. In fact, according to a RADAR report, at least one million restraining orders are issued each year in which violence is not even alleged.

There is no other court in the land where the penalty for perjury does not exist - you can lie and not be punished for it, but actually be rewarded for it. There is no other court where you are presumed guilty until proven innocent. And for non-custodial parents...especially fathers...going through a divorce...and the never-ending litany of custody issues and all the rest that goes with it...it can feel like eternal damnation.'

Essay here. Excerpt:

'So, where are the cries for men’s gender equity?

Author and family therapist Michael Gurian argued in 2005 that “there is no big network that protects the needs of boys” and also commented that “if we create a generation of men who aren’t getting an education, that’s bad for women.”

It seems that the voices speaking up today for men’s equality in college admissions and college athletics are few, and it seems that they are speaking against a much louder voice of media images and traditional notions that say being male means not needing someone else to fight for you.

In reality, many of these problems start before college. The average male faces a dangerous statistic that says he will drop out or lose motivation during his early academic career. No wonder the competition among women in college admissions grows ever harsher, while most men merely follow their ambitions and boost the all-important gender ratio.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'In 2004, 16 percent of elementary teachers in U.S. public schools were men, according to federal data. It’s also the norm in Washington: One male per six women elementary teachers.

In Clark County’s largest school districts, the ratio is more like 1-to-10.
...
So, what does this mean for elementary schoolchildren? Does it affect performance or discipline — for boys or girls?

Education professionals in Washington cannot cite studies that definitively link a dearth of male teachers to poor outcomes. But they agree the disparity can’t be good, and say they see pupils’ hunger for male role models.

“I’m not so sure it isn’t close to a crisis,” said Michael Henniger, associate dean of the Woodring College of Education at Western Washington University in Bellingham. Along with Central Washington University, WWU is the state’s top producer of new teachers.'

This story on the BBC site shows proof of what we've all been saying for ages - that males (and boys) are constantly being portrayed as 'bad' in our culture. Quote:

"Negative images of boys are making people less willing to adopt them, a national adoption agency has said. The British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) said that at one of its "hard-to-place" agencies, 63% of cases were boys.
...
The BAAF is concerned that people are put off adopting boys by constant negative portrayals in the media. An ICM poll for the BAAF found more than half of those asked felt boys were portrayed in an overly negative light.
...

The poll found 53% of the people surveyed said they felt the media portrayed boys in an overly negative way. Men felt this more than women, with 55% of men agreeing, compared to 50% of women.'

Related: Adoptive parents believe boys are 'too much trouble'. Excerpt: