This story in the LA Daily News highlights, in my mind, the biggest problem with the child support industry: it is, indeed, an industry. To that end, here's a highlight from the major points of one of the sources in the article: "I think it's a big boost," said Trom, who noted the money will either go to reimburse welfare or directly to families. Reimburse welfare? Interestingly, though, the article does not use the term "deadbeat dad." It uses "deadbeat parent" instead. Is this sensitivity to men from the news staff, or simply political correctness?

I received another Press Release from Attorneys for the Rights of the Child, in which J. Steven Svoboda spoke out criticizing the UN and its Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights for discrimination against men with regard to their stance on genital mutilation. "Svoboda commented that everywhere that FGM occurs, male circumcision also takes place, adding that male circumcision occurs six times for every time FGM occurs. "Some day," Svoboda told the United Nations, "we will come to understand the misguided nature of our attempts to explain why any violation of female genitals is criminal while a comparable, serious, extremely painful, and disfiguring alteration of male genitals is permissible." Attorneys for the Rights of the Child has apparently made circumcision one of their main issues, and I applaud them for their advocacy. The full press release can be read in the "Read More" section below.

I recently discovered that my ISP has stopped blocking port 80 incoming connections, so the current "hack" that has kept this site available can be removed. If the web site acts funny during Sunday and Monday, it will probably be me testing and implementing the changes. If you've been wondering why there is a ":81" in all the URLs, you won't have to wonder much longer - they will disappear in the next day or two.

Glenn Sacks, the only regularly published male columnist in the US who writes about gender issues from a perspective unapologetically sympathetic to men, condemns the savage attacks on men's collegiate athletics in his latest article "Title IX Lawsuits are Endangering Men's College Sports." It was published in the Los Angeles Daily News on Friday, September 7. Readers with comments on the article can write to the Daily News letters section or to Glenn at GlennJSacks@cs.com. Click "Read More" to view the essay.

Like the U.S. and Andrea Yates, Ireland has apparently been dealing with its own "killer mom" stories of late. John Waters in this column in the Irish Times explores the reasons why society may believe that children are more likely to come to harm in the care of their fathers than their mothers.

In a move apparently prompted by a group of 19 (mostly female) prostesters outside NOW's Washington headquarters, the group is backpedaling on its previous statement that it will raise funds for the defense of Andrea Yates, the woman who drowned her five children in the bathtub and is pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. The story in the Washington Times quotes some of the protesters.  "I don't think we should make excuses for murder," said Bishop Imagene Stewart, who represented the African American Women's Clergy Association at the rally. "If we let her get away with this, other women--who are mad at their husbands--will do it too, and just plead insanity." The mostly female group of demonstrators hoisted signs like "Pro-Woman, Pro-Choice, Pro-Drowning?" and "NOW does not speak for me."

J. Steven Svoboda from Attorneys for the Rights of the Child sent in a press release announcing that Sweden has passed a law that will study whether male circumcision is a violation of a child's human rights. The law also set up the foundation for government regulation of male circumcision, and if it is found to be a human rights violation, the Swedish government will have the proper authority to ban the practice. "This marks the first time the circumcision of males under the age of majority has been officially accepted for study by a national government as a human rights issue. Sweden's is the first law in modern times to regulate and restrict the practice of male circumcision." Click "Read More" below to view the entire press release.

rparent writes "This is an opinion piece, but it gives an interesting view of how teen violence stats are reported differently, depending on the victim's gender. Check it out at this link." The article does a great job of unraveling "advocacy research," a concept the general public needs to be aware of.

I feel I have to apologize for the lack of reporting we've done on Clayton Giles' Journey for Kids, an incredible 2,500 mile bike ride a 13 year-old boy is doing to protest the way courts treat children in divorce cases. This young man, who I met briefly in NYC, could very well be doing more to reform the court system than the efforts of several focused father's rights groups. Because he's not an adult yet, his message is being listened to, and his petition has thousands of signatures which he will be presenting to President Bush in the next few days. Click here and take a few minutes to read about Clayton's journey and his dedication to doing something to make a difference.

Anonymous User writes "Here is an interesting article. Lots of information regarding the history of abortion and the ACLU's influence on the issue. One line that caught my attention is attributed to attorney Harriet Pilpel at a 1964 ACLU conference. "She asked: Does it not unconstitutionally deny a woman life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, for example, if despite her wishes and the opinions of concurring doctors she is forced to bear a child she doesn't want and, objectively, shouldn't have?" Why didn't anyone in the ACLU consider replacing the gender in that sentence or making it gender neutral?"

Henry Makow wrote a very thought-provoking article on TooGoodReports.com. In it, he shows how zero-tolerance laws overwhelmed police and take up an enormous proportion of their cases, and how being arrested for the most minor forms of "violence" is hurting men, women, and relationships in general. While I take issue with Makow's comments that homosexuals are leading a conspiracy to destroy heterosexuality, the article does a good job outlining the damage being done to society by attempts to control people's personal behavior and the inevitable consequences of these laws (a police state and reduction of civil liberties).

As if we need any reminder that political correctness is rampant in education these days, this article on Fox News reports that zero tolerance is adversely affecting school systems by tying them too closely to law enforcement. Although the article does not specifically mention gender, one must wonder how many of the students being suspended in these zero tolerance cases are male.

Glenn Sacks e-mailed me to tell me about his new web site. To my knowledge, Sacks is the only regularly published male columnist in the U.S. who writes about gender issues from a perspective unapologetically sympathetic to men and on a wide variety of men's issues. His columns have appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Los Angeles Daily News, The San Francisco Daily Journal, The Salt Lake City Tribune, The Sacramento Business Journal, The Los Angeles Daily Journal, and others (including Mensactivism.org, of course!). Visit his website at www.GlennJSacks.com.

frank h writes "This Washington Times article finally cites an intelligently-done study that concludes that women in the infantry is a bad idea for defense. There are other sources as well." Thanks also to Not PC for sending in this story. It's yet another opinion in the ongoing military debate.

Adam Jones wrote this interesting piece about the slaughter of ethnic-Albanian men in Kosovo. Much is heard around the world about the killing of women because they are women. Jones provides an interesting look at the killing of men and the lack of attention it gets in the media. A broad sample of media commentary is presented to demonstrate that "unworthy" male victims tend to be marginalized or ignored entirely in mass-media coverage. A trio of common marginalization strategies is discussed, and a theoretical framework of "first-order," "second-order," and "third-order" gendering is proposed to clarify the deficit in coverage. This deficit is then contrasted with the attention given to the victimization experiences of "worthy" victims, such as women, children, and the elderly.