Story covered here. Excerpt:

"Shelly Barreras says sometimes you have to do whatever it takes, in a peaceful way, to get results, especially when you’re dealing with government.

New Mexico Governor Richardson has apparently reneged on a promise to help the Barreras family recover $15,000 collected by the state as child support from Steve Barreras, for a child that never existed.

At half-past four Thursday morning Barreras climbed a ladder to her perch above I-40 to hang a large banner. Emergency vehicles and crews from three television stations arrived and the roads were closed."

Story found here. A man who was convicted of rape in 1992 was released when DNA testing cleared his name. The police labs refused to test him at the time. The woman in charge of the testing apparently has a record of doing this.

Story here. Excerpt:

"Dads are doing a lot more nurturing," said Kevin Krippner, a licensed clinical psychologist with Twin Cities Behavioral Health in Normal. "You never used to see changing tables in the men's room."

"When dads are involved, the payoffs are big, with research showing it can boost kids' grades, improve behavior and increase the chances they'll be involved in extracurricular activities. And the role modeling benefits the next generation."

Story here. Excerpt:

"Defense attorneys argued that Waremburg was insane at the time -- in part because of the emotional stress of having to raise the girl alone. She tried to commit suicide when she understood what she'd done, they said."

"The child, who is now 5 years old, has since fully recovered and is living with her father."

Story here. Excerpt:

"Steven Garth, defending, said that after struggling to cope with losing custody of her daughter she became increasingly concerned for the girl's welfare"

"A psychiatrist said she was suffering from a "depressive disorder" as a result of her lack of contact with the child."

"This is one of the most difficult cases I have ever had to deal with," he said. "It is difficult because on the one hand you are an intelligent woman, you have no previous convictions and you pleaded guilty at the very first opportunity."

Article here. Excerpt:

"Seating men as though they were sexual predators is a vicious and discriminatory practice that has no basis in fact or logic. Indeed, if the illogic of the policy were consistently spun out, it would mean 'women and children only' flights and the restricted seating of men at theaters or concerts."

"The policy harms children in a more subtle manner; they may no longer trust men per se enough to ask for help when they need it. They may hesitate to approach a policeman or fireman who are, after all, still men. That is the message airlines are sending to children. And how is that message being heard by the boys who will grow into men?"

"Stop segregating children from men!"

Alec Baldwin does a good job of discussing the short end men get in "family court", and does it on Larry King no less! The transcript is here, starting about a quarter of the way down the page. Excerpt:

'And I've seen many, many men, in particular, who they gave up. I'd be sitting in the first class cabin of a plane, I'd be in a bar, I'd be in a restaurant, I'd be somewhere, I'd be in a line at the baseball game, and I became kind of, you know, a lightning rod for this issue and men would come up to me and say, you know, I fought and fought and fought and I spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and countless, you know, units of my own psychic energy on this whole thing and then I finally quit and I would be heartbroken. I didn't quit.'

Story here.

Things are looking very positive for this woman accused of murder. She'll have the usual mental illness and domestic violence claim as an excuse.

"A 22-year-old Hartford woman described by her attorney as having a history of mental health problems was placed on suicide watch Monday as she was formally charged with stabbing her three young sons."

"Public defender Laila Haswell said Ortiz has a history of mental health problems and has been a victim of domestic violence. The latter claim generated an angry reaction from several women who were ordered to leave the courtroom."

Story here.

Apparently the husband claims the woman was "depressed" prior to the murders. She'll probably end up in a mental hospital playing ping-pong and checkers with Andrea Yates.

"A woman accused of strangling her four young children was charged with murder Wednesday, a day after hundreds of people attended the youngsters’ funeral"

"Gonzalo Lopez, father of the two oldest children, has said Alvarez was depressed after losing her job and had been hospitalized for several days."

Story here. Excerpt:

"In the circumstances of this case, treating Mr. Stopps the same as these women would actually result in an adverse consequences for these women," the tribunal wrote, saying that Stopps had the option of using other coed gyms."

"The gym is part of a fitness chain that has 40,000 women members. Of its 300 employees only four are men -- one of whom is the company's president and founder."

Story here.

Initially charged with first-degree felony murder she pleaded guilty in September to second-degree felony manslaughter. Is it just me, or did she almost get away with murder (5 years?)

"Her attorney, Ronald Nichols, urged the judge to be lenient because Vickie Ruiz was under the impression that the .22-caliber handgun could not kill a person."

"She blamed alcohol for her rash actions, but then continued to party with friends, including a boyfriend, and seemed overly interested in how much insurance money she would get, her daughter told the judge. "To this day, she is still causing heartache and distress," Sherry Ruiz said."

The Truth and Consequences campaign involved a high-intensity, coordinated nationwide effort that involved 62 organizations over a 21-week period. The campaign ran from June 19 to November 17, 2006.

The campaign was designed to reach political candidates, the media, professionals who work in the DV field, the public at large, and other groups. It is conservatively estimated that over 2 million persons were reached during the course of the campaign.

The theme of the campaign, Truth and Consequences: Election 2006, was designed to highlight the urgent need for elected officials and the American public to understand the truth about domestic violence, and to appreciate the harmful consequences of biased domestic violence laws on American families and children.

The campaign also included a “mini-campaign” regarding the United Nations’ Study on Violence Against Women.

Particularly strong efforts were mounted in California, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, and North Carolina. Campaign activities included the following:

Story here.

File it under "Draft Watch 2007". The previous introduced bill (back in 2005) stipulated an abolishment of the male-only draft and military-only assignment of duties in favor of a "National Service" program wherein people of both sexes would be subject to induction and assignment to military or "other occupations". Guess we'll just have to see what January brings. My guess is it will be the same, with of course the unspoken, tacit assumption that it will be men moved into military/combat roles with women moved into something else, possibly domestic law enforcement or related.

Story here.

"A mother accused of killing her twin sons has postpartum depression and should be released from jail to receive treatment, her attorney told a judge."

"Mothers do not go around killing their children. You know that. She needs help," attorney Steve Davis told the judge. Davis said White can't get the treatment she needs in jail."

Story here.

"Boys who are victims of female sex offenders, though, seem to receive less sympathy from friends, family and the public, who often look at having sex with an older woman as a conquest."

"Maston added that the male victims often think, "'(Am I) going to be in trouble? And, because they are the male, 'Is there something wrong with me?' 'Are they going to complain because they didn't like it?'"

"Often, young victims of these offenders do have difficulties, (including) depression, suicide attempts, drug use," Lewis said. "Those are things that can happen."