An Anonymous User sent in a Foster's article about an elementary school teacher who was accused of "improperly touching" one of his 11 year-old students, who he apparently had frequent contact with outside of class, as she lived a few houses down from him. I read an update on this story which I can't find on Foster's site which said that the judge declared a mistrial and the accused teacher cannot be tried again. Note that there were never any formal sexual harassment or assault charges filed against the man, nor is it ever clear that the girl once told him she felt uncomfortable with any of his physical contact. Still, I have to wonder how much common sense the guy has making any physical contact at all with his students, especially in this day and age. Update: The news story of the mistrial can be read here.

Anonymous User writes "Admittedly, [this is] not the most important topic we'll ever discuss here. This article in the Bangor [Maine] Daily News reviews a Bangor judge's odd belief that a public nudity law might only apply to men. Aside from interest generated by the weirdness factor, no one else seems to think the judge is making sense."

Neil Steyskal writes "It appears that sex with more partners increases the risk of [prostate] cancer. However the quantity of sex with one parter, or alone, does not increase risk." The story is here This Spectator article was apparently generated after an anti-pornography advocate wrote to the paper hinting that increased sexual activity among men has led to an increase in prostate cancer.

Marc writes, "The LA Times printed my article addressing male victims of domestic violence. They left out the Fiebert
bibliography and a few other things, but it’s still progress. I’m working on getting them to do a story on the topic in the near future, and it looks promising. But meanwhile there may be responses that misleadingly attack my facts and figures, so a few positive responses sent to letters@latimes.com would be nice. Thanks!"

The LA Times printed Shawn Larsen's letter regarding the Times recent article which spoke of abuse of women and children but ignored men. Thanks to Neil Steyskal for this submission, and thanks to the rest of you who wrote the LA Times. Scott's update: Shawn Larsen himself wrote in to tell us about this success. Great work, Shawn!

Neil Steyskal submitted this story from USA Today about a group of college wrestling advocates who are taking the Education Department to task (in court) over the destruction of men's sports by Title IX. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, alleges that the Education Department's interpretation of the law has wrongly prompted colleges to bring their athletic programs into compliance by eliminating men's teams and scholarships. An Anonymous User also submitted this story from jsonline.com.

Thomas writes "This article describes the recent refusal by the US Supreme Court to hear the case of a man forced to pay child support for children born by his then-wife as a result of her cheating on him. For now, at least, this all-too-common, monstrous injustice must be fought on a state-by-state basis." Ouch. This is a major loss for the cause of men's reproductive rights.

This Sunday's (1/20) joint MANN/iFeminists.com chat will be on whether the law is morally responsible for the suicides of fathers who seem to be arbitrarily denied access to their children. The recent protest/suicide of Derrick Miller has temporarily, at least, brought some attention to this problem. What should be done? What are also the implications for the children, the women, society? Join us at 9:00 PM EST at the iFeminists.com chat room.

Neil Steyskal sent us Cathy Young's latest column in Reason magazine. In it, Young makes some important observations about rape shield laws, and the problem of achieving justice when potentially important and relevant evidence is barred from the courtroom. She argues that rape shield laws were enacted when there were abusive practices involving prejudice against the alleged victim, but now the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction.

JimBWarrior has announced a recent merger between his group, Family Oriented Men, and the International Men's Network. As such, they have a new web site, which can be seen here. I think it's great to see more co-operation between groups in the men's movement. As more people work together, our effectiveness increases.

Calls from angry divorced fathers flooded KABC Los Angeles radio phone lines during Glenn Sacks' two-hour appearance on the Al Rantel Show Thursday night. Glenn and Al discussed Glenn's column on the dramatic courthouse suicide of distraught San Diego father Derrick Miller, and the discrimination which men routinely face in family court.
To listen to the full show (minus news and commercials), go to Glenn's website at GlennJSacks.com. To contact KABC's Al Rantel with comments, e-mail him at Alrantel@aol.com. To contact Glenn Sacks, e-mail him at GlennJSacks@cs.com.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation recently released an action alert including information about two proposals that have implications for fathers. The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators is recommending that driver's licenses be modified to be used as a National ID card, and are promoting a Driver Record Information Verification System, which would track all sorts of personal data on people to be shared by state and federal agencies. This centralized database will be certain to track fathers and child support payers, if not immediately than in the future. Click here for contact info for the AAMVA, a sample letter, and more background info.

Thomas writes "Colorado Majority Whip Bill Sinclair has proposed a bill that, if passed, will eliminate some of the gross injustices of the family law juggernaut. To see a summary of the bill, click here. Unfortunately, you'll then have to scroll down and use the link to "House Bill 02-1190" [Due to frames]. The bill requires a presumption of equally shared parenting, to be overruled only in extenuating circumstances. It also contains a clause for - get this - a change in primary custody if the non-custodial parent is victimized by a false allegation on the part of the custodial parent. In addition, it increases the standard for certain allegations from the vague and much abused "preponderance of evidence" to a more stringent "clear and convincing.""

If turn-about is fair play, then this article on AskMen.com is playing fairest of them all. Challenging the common feminist-perpetuated notion that "men are pigs," Curt Smith points out the ways in which women, in general, are just as swine-like. I want people to better understand that men and women are more alike than they think when it comes to sex and sins of the flesh. Oink, oink!

The Men's Health America campaign to lobby the media to include news about the brutalization of Afghan men is about to enter phase II. A special thanks to everyone who participated in the first phase, it was a great success, and many letters were published in leading newspapers around the world. Click Read More for an announcement about phase II.