I thought I would give everyone an update on the "status" of the New Hampshire Commission on the Status of Men. While the commission will consist of seven members, with one spot reserved for a member from the NH University system, there have been a lot of applicants for the commission (possibly two dozen or so). The names of those nominated by Governor Shaheen will be released on August 14, at which time the governor's council will invite feedback from the public on the nominees. The final approval of the commission nominees will take place two or more weeks later. The public feedback period will be a critical time when NH residents can show support for candidates they believe are pro-male, and discourage the appointment of those who may be applying in order to sabotage the commission's goals.

The Child Support Enforcement Act, introduced last week by House Policy Chairman Christopher Cox (R-CA) and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), is the latest salvo in the war against "deadbeat dads." Thompson and Sacks will explain how the bill lies upon a foundation of illusions, and will discuss their upcoming column "Child Support Enforcement Act Substitutes Political Grandstanding for Leadership" on their MND radio show. The show will air tonight (7/23/02) at 6PM PST and repeat hourly for 24 hours. Previous shows are archived and available. To listen, or for more information, click here.

bledso submitted this ESPN story and writes "Why is this man being arrested? Why is his girlfriend going free? If the roles had been reversed and he was throwing things in the apartment and refusing to leave, he would likely be arrested on some sort of "presenting a physical threat" charge. What if she were a large woman or trained in the martial arts and was able to remove him from the apartment as he bit her, then drag him to the elevator, and send him to the lobby? Would she not be cheered as a "strong woman"? Yet the man is arrested and virtually convicted in the press, and therefore, by much of the public. Men deserve the right to defend themselves and their environment just as much as women do, it's time we actually see that reflected in both law enforcement and the media."

The web site for Matthew Fitzgerald's book Sex-Ploytation has changed, and the new site can be found here. The book is an interesting continuation/variation of Esther Vilar's The Manipulated Man, so if you enjoyed that book, be sure to check out this one.

Bad News for fathers in Australia - it appears that secret paternity testing is to become a
criminal offence. Yep, that's right: if you're a man who wants to know, you'll soon be a
criminal unless you do it "their way". What is their way? According to
this article,
the rumored recommendations are: "FORCE fathers to get the mother's consent to do a test. MAKE it illegal to
steal DNA for a test. ORDER mandatory counselling for families seeking a test. IMPOSE a code
of practice for private testing laboratories." I guess it's like the old saying, the
truth will set you free, I imagine that's why they want to keep the nearest man ignorant?

Mark writes "According to a Vancouver Sun article, a book club specifically for men is now being established at the Vancouver Public Library. The title, "Reading group closes the book on allowing women" is unfortunate as it appears to place a negative spin on the subject, but given mens' typically lower academic performances than women these days this club is both welcome and needed."

Mark Thundercloud writes "Everyone should keep an eye on a new TV show that is about to debut, called "SHE-SPIES". Though I've only seen the previews, this thing looks like yet another "women being sadistically violent towards men" shows. If it's anything like it's predecessors, you can be sure it will feature tons of women beating up men, grabbing and kicking testicles, as well as the "men put in S&M type bondage by the women", scenarios, that is becomeing more and more frequent in TV and movies these days. It premires saturday July, 20 2002, on NBC. I'm not sure of the exact time. Be forewarned, they are cloaking this with the lable that it is a "spoof," so any criticism will be hard pressed to stick."

Ray sent in an interesting essay for men's activists to consider: "I have been surfing the net for some time searching for the reasons for the unprovoked physical batterings, the sexual discrimination, the false police report(s), the hatred that I and other men have experienced. The decade of the 90's saw a great escalation of all of the above for many men, not only in America, but throughout the world. I have seen with my own eyes the change from a time when a query on the subject of domestic violence brought only responses from the virulent radical feminists to a time when the truth about the actual statistical dimensions of domestic violence are begining to be known (we're still not seeing the complete/real story). I am witnessing a time when slowly, more and more web sites are popping up like hunted animals, cautiously sticking their heads out of their holes lest some savage predator seize on them and rip ther entrails out. Such is the nature of the territory surrounding the truth about the issues the "MEN'S MOVEMENT" struggles just to cope with day by day." Read More to continue...

Equalitarian62 sent us a link to this message on the Men's Health America mailing list, which announces that the Men's Health Act has been introduced in the Senate. "This exciting development means that a bill to establish an Office of Men's Health has been introduced in both chambers of Congress. The Senate version of the Men's Health Act was assigned bill number S. 2616, and has now been referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions ("HELP") for further consideration. The Senate bill matches H.R. 632, which was introduced in the House of Representatives last year. If you never got the chance to write to your legislators in support of the MHA, now's a great time to do so!

Tom Parker's extensive resource of men's issues information, known as the ManRights Reference Desk, has moved to a new address. Check it out here and I'd recommend bookmarking it - there's a lot of stuff to keep one reading!

In my latest order for a batch of Mensactivism.org bumper stickers, I also purchased a very small quantity (20) of a different sticker, which has a message that I feel is important and related to men's rights (esp. with regard to the falsely accused). The sticker reads, "America Means Civil Liberties: Patriotism is Defending Them." You can see exactly what they look like here. There is no ad for MANN on the sticker, and I'm selling them for $4 each. I know they're not cheap but they're not cheap to buy in such low quantities. If you'd like one please e-mail me at scott@mensactivism.org for more info.

Tony writes "Here is a recent article in a peer reviewed journal that examines the targeted murder of males in Rwanda. [note: this article is available in the free sample issue (same title as subject heading) offered at the site. registration is required but free.] I will let the introduction speak for itself, "The aspect of gender in the Rwandan genocide is perhaps more extraordinarily intricate and multifaceted than in any genocide in history. The claim is a bold one, but it can be sustained by considering the combination of factors specfic to the events in Rwanda between April and July, 1994: the enormous stress that traditional gender roles, especially masculine ones,
were under when the genocide erupted; the prominence of women in perpetrating the genocide (a historically unprecedented
feature, in terms of the scale and directness of the involvement); the bluntness of the genocidaires’ appeals to gendered expectations and aspirations, again including women as active agents of the slaughter;" In the conclusion, the author and editor of the magazine confront feminists with their lack of attention on male victims. This article not only shows the atrocities that are occurring around the world against men but also I believe shows that male issues and rights are slowly gaining worldwide attention."

I apologize for announcing this so late, I wasn't sure if I'd have other commitments tonight. I'd like to try to revive the MANN on-line chats again, and will be holding one this evening starting at 9:30 PM EST in the MANN chat room. Join us and talk about whatever you like, there's no formal topic for discussion this evening. I would also like to hear from anyone who would like to volunteer to coordinate and host the chats.

John S. sent us this link to a press release regarding a new bill in congress - the Child Support Enforcement Act. The bill would allow custodial parents to deduct unpaid portions of child support, and for delinquent parents to add the unpaid support into their income. As John writes, "Child support is not tax deductible in the first place so all of the man's income is already taxed. Are they proposing adding it on again for clear double taxation? I don't get it." I'm sure John is not alone with this sentiment.

Mark Thundercloud writes "Progressive Insurance has now edited its anti-male commercial. It now leaves out all the other forms of torture inflicted on the ex-boyfriend/husband by the ex-girlfriend/wife except the part where she uses the pliers on his genitals! This is obviously an in-your-face response to show contempt for those of us who have contacted Progressive to voice our objections and to show their contempt of men in general! So... What do we do now?" Update: Links to view the ad in RealVideo format can be found in the comments section. See comments #16 and #17, in particular.