IncredibleTulkas writes "It seems Progressive.com is still at it with their "voodoo doll" commercials, which portray a woman torturing a man for fun.
Apparently this is considered "humorous" despite the fact that the man is always in the receiving end-- or, more accurately, BECAUSE of this fact; the message is clearly that, the image of a man torturing a woman is considered horrendous, while the image of a woman torturing a man is hilarious.
Although Progressive.com has apparently toned down the ads from former portrayals of genital mutilation (I'm not sure since I refused to dignify the new commercial by watching it to completion), Progressive.com's simple history of misandry makes even the appearance of impropriety to be as unacceptable as Lorena Bobbit selling steak knives. Furthermore, the violent misandry portrayed in this commercial is unacceptable on its own."

warble writes "It pleases my to announce that California Senator Roy Ashburn has agreed to carry a bill crafted and proposed by NCFM, LA. For political reasons, this bill will focus on obtaining relief for the victims of default paternity judgments.

It is based on proven language that has taken years to develop and extends the efforts of Roderick Wright and Stan Dorio who have been so helpful in establishing a foundation on this issue.

Paternity fraud from default judgments is a major problem in California. For example, in L.A. County 79% of all paternity judgments are default judgments. As a consequence, California has a 120% paternity rate because more fathers are being assigned to children than were actually born. This means that we have many cases where two fathers are legally assigned to pay child support. An example of this is the Yvette and Chaka Kee family. They are victims of the actions of a fraud mom that has two fathers assigned to her child. Naturally, the corrupt and dishonest opposition supports this practice.

This bill promises, if passed, to grant relief to the poor and many families that suffer from the effects of paternity fraud. The proposed bill also allows for the recovery of damages in civil court where there is actual provable fraud on the part of the mother. NCFM, LA notes that there is no state that has such provisions as a matter of law.

Finally, NCFM-LA, CAPF, ACFC, NCFC, and others will be participating in a Paternity Board sponsored by Governor Davis to draft recommendations on the future laws relating to paternity fraud.

I'd also like to thank Roderick Wright, Stan Dorio, Dianna Thompson, Carnell Smith, Marc A., Taron James, and all those that wrote the letters when requested to petition the California Legislature for support of our proposed language. Obtaining support could not have been accomplished without everybody coming together as a team. This proves that we can make a difference when we work together as a team

Warble"

Bill Kuhl writes "Hey guys. Wendy McElroy of ifeminists.com just published an article of mine. It's about a "mini-protest" I performed at a performance of the Vagina Monologues a couple years ago. I thought it was especially appropriate now cause during Valentines (or V-day as the feminists are calling it) there will be many performances of the Monologues to coincide with V-day, to generate contempt instead of love for men. If you just go to the first page of Wendy's site it's on the right side,"My Monologues Mini-Protest." I think you'll like it."

Hunsvotti writes "Bold new idea, or just arranged marriage done right? John, like many of us, read the writing on the wall. He knew that the odds were in favor of any marriage he might join ending in a messy divorce. You know what happens next - the separation of his progeny from one or the other parent. (Most likely him, not that he actually says it.) And yet, he wanted to be a father. So he entered into a relationship of convenience with a career-minded woman who wanted to be a weekend mom while still maintaining a career. They were never in love, and they never got married - thus sparing their 11-year-old son, Stefan, from the trauma of marital disputes and eventual divorce. Both parents are interested in Stefan, just not in each other, and each pursues their own romantic interests. Is this a viable new way, or are fathers like John cruising for potentially nasty custody battles?"

Lee in Tennessee writes "I'm not sure of the laws regarding rehabilitative alimony in other states, but in Tennessee, there is no legislature that ceases this type of alimony, even when an ex-spouse lives with someone of the opposite sex, or remarries. I am not a man myself, but rather a woman that is married to a very good man that, at present, even though his ex-wife has remarried, is paying her rehabilitative alimony. I have sat through more court hearings with him than imaginable, because every time she even senses he has gotten a raise, regardless of how much, my husband is drug back into court again. I have come to the definite conclusion that in no way are the laws fair or equal in regard to men, in fact, I have come to refer to rehabilitative alimony only as "the rape of man". How can courts and judges allow women to continually destroy men financially, even after they remarry, without some protection for the man. My husband's income, even before child support and alimony, is not rich, but substantial, around $45,000.00/year. He's not even left with a third of that after he pays his ex-wife. As for the child we have together, that, according to the Tennessee courts, is my responsibility, but yet, his ex-wife's husband does not have to take any responsibility in providing for them, because they can live off of what my husband's paying them. I would love to know what can be done to change Tennessee legislation regarding alimony, particularly this kind, not only for my family, but for the other men in Tennessee that I know are experiencing the same kind of "rape"." Coincidentally, I'm just about to post an article on this very subject, so stay tuned to this website.

Dan Lynch writes "Here is an article(just click on BBC and Gender Feminsim) written by Melanie Philips who takes the BBC to task in regards to new segments that are appearing in coming weeks. Melanie points out many of the atrocities that the BBC perpetuate for the myths of domestic violence. How monopoly networks can maintain status quo and politically demonize men wholesale. Another Journalist (Jennie Bristow) points out the flaws of 'Hitting Home' campaign in her article"A Licence to Indoctrinate". With the indoctrination tactics and the fearmongering designed to make us suspicious of our partners. She alludes that the government is trying to invade our homes. Which is something I blatently state."

SJones writes "A male state senator in Iowa has proposed a Commission on the Status of Men to balance the female supremacist Commission on the Status of Womyn. In the article a female supremacist legislator is given more space for her harassment of him than his proposal receives. And the fact that a Commission for Womyn already exists is also conveniently left out of the biased article. The article is posted in Oddly Enough News rather than in the real news as a final kick in the crotch to all men everywhere. Nevertheless, the article is posted and can be found here.

We need to do whatever we can to support this Iowa state senator in his efforts to obtain some equality for men. He is going to need whatever we can give him in standing up to the feminist political machine."

Boy Genteel writes "I found this piece from a columnist at UC-Santa Barbara that endorsed domestic violence towards males as a way to heighten later sexual pleasure. Below is my angry letter to the newspaper.

"Beth Van Dyke is a sexist hypocrite. In her November 13 column, she suggested that couples should get into arguments and shouting matches so that they could later have rough "make-up sex".

She specifically condemned the act of a man smacking a woman around "like an inflatable doll", but she proved earlier that she has zero credibility, as she outright endorsed the act of a woman slapping a man"...

"NO ONE, big or small, female or male, should tolerate being physically assaulted. It appears that Beth Van Dyke sorely needs to learn that members of the male gender are also not to be treated like inflatable dolls."

Now do your worst, mensactivism gang!

bg"

Dan Lynch writes "To draw political comics based on men's issues. I can come up with the writing and the ideas but would need someone to draw them. It would be a good idea for email campaigns as well as to be held on file on some web site. Obviously there is no money, its all volunteer, but; it will be a good , quick and easy way to get points across hopefully in an interesting and humorous fashion."

I will host this week's MANN chat, Wednesday night (2/19),
starting at 9:30 PM Eastern Time, at the href="http://www.mensactivism.org/chat.shtml">usual location. The
topic for this chat will be "Attacking Misandry on Campus."   In a
recent essay, href="http://www.glennjsacks.com">Glenn Sacks artfully described
some of the problems college men face on campus.  Those problems
are rooted in misandry and happen not just on college and university
campuses, but in elementary schools and high schools as well.
 From labeling young boys as "proto-rapists" and "proto-harassers"
to inviting notorious man-hating women to speak at graduation
ceremonies, misandry is alive and well in the academy.  Wanna do
something about it?  Join us at tonight's MANN chat to discuss
strategies for dealing with misandry on campus.  See you there!

Men's Issues columnist Glenn Sacks blasts college misandry in his latest piece "The Best Valentine's Day Gift for College Students: Gender Reconciliation." In it he vivdly describes what he calls "modern collegiate America's darkest hour"--misandrist feminist Catherine MacKinnon's Yale commencement address.

Dan Lynch writes "It is my opinion that the men's movement should know everything it can about the media and how it works. A quote from an article I came across " If it's not on television, it never happened. Out of sight, out of mind."(May explain the voicelessness of men's issues). Now this article, about a 10 minute read, may not have identical opinions to everyone, but the framework of what the author is saying stands true. The Author shows the bass work of how television can develope mass opinions and how those opinions can translate into formalized thought control. Men feel more and more they are being reduced to a wallet or a slave in the menial sence. Their civil liberties being shortchanged. I think this article is certianly up for debate and a must read. "Jack Kerouac once noted," remarks the author, "while walking down a residential street at night, glancing into living rooms lit by the gray glare of television sets, that we have become a world of people "thinking the same thoughts at the same time."""

Anonymous User writes "BBC reports that the "Indian Supreme Court has ruled that anyone who inflicts fatal injuries to the testicles should face first-degree murder charges."

Serge"

Steve writes "This is a column I wrote for the Daily Orange, the college newspaper of Syracuse University. It is about the negative aspects of V-Day, the anti-male propaganda holiday originated by Eve Ensler that takes place on Valentine's Day at college campuses all across the country. "V-Day" is a misguided attempt to empower women through hateful statistics that furthers the men-as-abusers stereotype." Free registration is required to read.

Anonymous writes "A Boston Globe article addresses some positive health news for men: men are apparently living longer, and the gender gap among living senior citizens is narrowing. However, the article seems to more or less ignore the main reason to celebrate this news - namely, that men are living longer. Instead, it almost exclusively discusses the ways in which this would clearly benefit women. Great! If you are male, social "scientists" will celebrate your longevity - but only if doing so helps and assists your wife. Thanks for the concern! We've all heard it already - it's best not to be too much of a burden. (FYI, this article is very reminiscent of past articles that I have seen regardig the dearth of men on cellege campuses, focusing exclusively on how this reduces the "qualified" dating pool of men available for -you guessed it - women!) Here is the article. The author can be reached here: dembner@globe.com"