Is Risk Management A Modern Fact of Life For Married, and Marriageable, Men?

American men today, face marriage as an enormous risk, greater than at any other time in our history, in my opinion. Considering that a man's assets are in many ways subject to perils parallel to those many businesses face, are there ways to manage, avoid, reduce, or otherwise confront the “divorce risk” that men face today?

Story here. Excerpt:

'And in "Gunpowder & Lead," from her album Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, country firebrand Miranda Lambert makes all that seem downright wussy. She lights a cigarette and lies in wait for an abusive boyfriend with a loaded shotgun at the ready: "His fist is big but my gun's bigger/He'll find out when I pull the trigger."
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One example: 17-year-old Taylor Swift, whose single "Picture to Burn" finds her "sitting here planning my revenge." She gets it this way: "Go ahead and tell your friends I'm obsessive and crazy/I'll tell mine you're gay."'

Yep, a woman who lied about rape is going to jail. But before you get excited about this, she's not actually going to jail for lying about the rape. She just had her probation revoked for a drug related crime. Excerpt:

'The statute of limitations prevented Lummis from being charged with perjury. But on Friday, Lummis, 41, turned herself in after her probation was revoked last week. She will serve a four-year prison term imposed in 1998, when she pleaded guilty to fraudulently attempting to obtain prescription diet pills.'

The New Hampshire Commission on the Status of Men will have a well-known guest speaker during its September meeting. Warren Farrell will be giving a presentation, "The Boy Crisis" and discuss the cultural and academic challenges boys are facing today. The meeting is open to the public, and policy makers and educators are especially encouraged to attend. This is a rare opportunity to hear Warren speak in the Northeast.

The presentation will be held in room 206 of the Legislative Office Building in Concord, NH on Thursday, September 27, 2007 from 1-4 PM. No RSVP is necessary, and again, the public is welcome to attend. Here is a map of the meeting location.

Story here. Excerpt:

'DURHAM, N.C. — A judge has sentenced disgraced prosecutor Mike Nifong to one day in jail for lying to a judge while pursuing the Duke lacrosse rape case.

Nifong was held in criminal contempt of court Friday for lying to a judge when pursuing rape charges against three falsely accused Duke University lacrosse players.

Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III immediately moved to consider a punishment for Nifong, who has already been stripped of his law license and has resigned from office. He faces as many as 30 days in jail and a fine as high as $500.'

He does one whole day in jail. Justice served?

Article here.

The more I read these political [gender] articles, the more I wonder if my 2008 vote has as much value as a woman's. From a political standpoint, how could any man feel differently? Indeed more women tend to vote. Maybe if politicians focused on issues of importance to men, it might motivate them to become voters. The problem is politicians don't know, and don't care what true male issues are. Why should they care? Its politically incorrect to focus on the needs of today's man. Excerpt:

'A smart Republican candidate would be doing Twister moves to deny Democrats those votes. Yet what's extraordinary is that no GOP contender has yet recognized the huge opportunity to redefine "women's" politics for the 21st century. That's a double failing given that the GOP could win modern women by doing little more than tailoring their beliefs in freer markets to the problems women struggle most with today.

Story here, but what is of equal interest is the picture of "the wife" threatening "the husband" with a plate during an argument. So the Daily Mail thought this is a perfectly fine kind of picture to use with this story? Well, at least they are being realistic. Some interesting content though... excerpt:

"There was speculation that high divorce settlements may have dissuaded men from divorce. Spectacular recent cases include those of Beverley Charman, awarded £48 million of her husband John's fortune in May, and Melissa Miller, who won £5 million of her husband Alan's £30 million wealth even though her marriage lasted only three years and there were no children.

But some analysts said that if high settlements had put men off divorce, they would have encouraged women in favour of divorce.

Robert Whelan of the Civitas think tank said: 'High divorce settlements are a reason for men not to get married, not a reason for them to steer clear of divorce.'"

Story here. Excerpt:

'ORLANDO, Fla. - Former astronaut Lisa Nowak can remove an electronic monitoring bracelet from her ankle, a circuit court judge ruled Thursday ahead of her trial for allegedly attacking a romantic rival.

Nowak argued it was expensive, bulky and uncomfortable. Judge Marc L. Lubet said that didn't matter, but Nowak had behaved well enough over the past 7 months to earn release.

The woman Nowak is accused of attacking, Colleen Shipman, argued for the monitoring to stay, saying she still feared Nowak.'

"Expensive, bulky, and uncomfortable." So is an adult-sized diaper but that didn't stop her from wearing one all the way until she got to her destination, right?

Story here. Excerpt:

'Disgraced former prosecutor Mike Nifong pleaded not guilty Thursday to criminal contempt charges stemming from his failure to turn over complete DNA testing results during the now-discredited Duke lacrosse rape case

If found in contempt, Nifong could face up to 30 days in jail and a fine of up to $500.

As Durham County district attorney, Nifong led the investigation into a woman's allegations that she was raped at a 2006 lacrosse team party where she was hired as a stripper. He won indictments against three lacrosse players, but eventually recused himself from the case, and state prosecutors dropped all remaining charges, saying the players were innocent victims of a "tragic rush to accuse."'

Story here. Excerpt:

'DURHAM - The specter of massive civil lawsuits has stopped the work of a special committee probing the Durham Police Department's handling of the Duke lacrosse case.

The city's liability insurance provider said continued investigation by the committee could provide ammunition for a civil lawsuit by superstar lawyers.

City officials released a statement Monday saying that the committee is in "a holding pattern" until its attorneys meet next week with the counsel hired by the former lacrosse players falsely accused of rape by an escort dancer hired for a team party in March 2006.'

Those of you who haven't done any cross-country cycling (including myself- longest I have ever cycled is 2 or 3 miles!) should read this to get an idea of it-- and also the huge risk and sacrifice these guys took on. Excerpt:

'Looking back at those 5 days I realize that there is nothing you can do to totally prepare for the hell Robb and I put our bodies through. We experienced several accidents which we have the scars to prove, but worse of all I suffered a heat stroke which was a horrible experience to say the least. It was so bad that several members of the Equal Parenting Bike Trek Chase Vehicle Crew debated over calling an ambulance. A couple of the accidents, if they would have gone differently, could have killed Robb and I. We reached a maximum speed of 54 mph on bicycles in the mountains of Pennsylvania! ... Hitting a single piece of road debris at this speed would have thrown us from the bicycle and most likely killed us instantly.'

Essay here. Excerpt:

'Valuable time is often wasted in the commentariat, in studies and in hearings bean-counting the percentages of women on corporate boards, in Hollywood studios, higher education, Congress and on op-ed pages. Number disparities can often be explained not by discrimination but by free choice, something liberal feminists claim to be fans of. Many women reading this column may be just as good or much better at writing or opinion-making than any man or woman they're reading or watching on talking-heads shows tonight. But maybe they chose to raise kids instead of taking that slot on Fox News or getting that editing job or starting that blog site. Choice happens.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., could become president of the United States. But she's not going to win by trying to guilt men into it, by arguing that her election is a civil-rights movement in itself. She'll become commander-in-chief if she commands on the campaign trail, tackling the war, health care and education. She won't win by playing gender games.'

Should this story come as a shock to anyone? Excerpt:

'Former astronaut Lisa Nowak is pursuing a temporary insanity defense on charges that she assaulted and tried to kidnap a romantic rival, according to a court document released Tuesday.

Nowak suffered from major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, insomnia and "brief psychotic disorder with marked stressors," defense attorney Donald Lykkebak wrote. He said the already-petite woman had also recently lost 15 percent of her body weight and struggled with "marital separation."'

Article here. Excerpt:

'A Mesa woman was arrested Saturday after she threw rocks at her boyfriend because he did not defend her in an argument with neighbors, according to police.
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Sandoval was upset that Howe did not take her side in the argument and threw rocks at him as he held their 9-month-old baby, according to witnesses.

Howe was struck by the rocks, but no one was injured. Sandoval admitted to drinking 10 beers and a few shots of alcohol that day, police said.'

Remember this?

RAF typist who hurt thumb is awarded eight times more than soldier who lost leg

It gets even worse.

Worst injured soldier ever to survive is awarded less than RAF typist with a sore thumb

Ben Parkinson volunteered to serve his country on the Afghan front line - and paid a terrible price. Excerpt:

'The young paratrooper suffered a total of 37 terrible injuries when he was blown up by a landmine.

He lost both his legs and sustained grievous damage to his spine, skull, pelvis, hands, spleen and ribcage, leaving him in a coma for months.

Incredibly, 23-year-old Ben is still alive almost a year later - according to his doctors the most badly-injured soldier ever to survive.