A four-man and three-woman Wisconsin high court in this story from Excite News has banned a man from having any more children while he is on probation for not paying $25,000 in child support. The decision was split along gender lines. The three female justices said that the ban denied the man his basic human (and Constitutional) right to father a child. The four male justices said the ban forced the man "to consider responsibility." The female justices and the man's lawyer expressed concern that such action could lead to the trampling of the rights of men who cannot afford child support.

A new issue of the DesertLight Journal is out, with information about Clayton Giles' journey across Candada and the U.S. to protest the way family courts treat children, and a new masculist literature e-mail list, among other things. Check it out at this link, and thanks to Trudy Schuett for her efforts!

Michael Kramer sent me a link to this transcript of an MSNBC Dateline program about baby abandonment and the legislation which is making it legal (for mothers) in many states. Michael wrote an insightful response to the program and his letter can be read by clicking Read More below. As he said to me, "The madness not only continues, it worsens daily, something straight out of Kafka. If you're a male in today's America, you best start running."

Marc Angelucci writes "John Smith sent this article from the LA Times to me. Take a look at the bigotry this columnist expresses about entrapping men: "I wish every Okinawan woman dating an American military man would implant in his brain the thought or fear that she might send him to jail." This author comes from miles away in Cardiff, California. The LA Times will print her bigotry but they refuse to print things from men's activists who live right here in LA. You can write the editor at letters@latimes.com."

Remember, our weekly on-line chat will begin tonight at 9:30 PM Eastern Time. You can join the chat at this page. While we welcome all kinds of discussion in the chat room, tonight's main topic will be the way men are portrayed in the media. We're looking to put together a page on Mensactivism.org that tracks anti-male companies that abuse or defame men in commercials. Readers would then be able to see a list of companies that they might consider boycotting or writing to in protest.

Episode two has been released of the Men's Hour, a streaming audio program which discusses men's rights issues, particularly in the UK. An interview with Len Miskulin, the father who went on a very severe hunger strike for 63 days, is included, as well as a man who was put in prison for giving his child a birthday present. RealAudio and Windows Media formats are available.

This story on Excite News heralds the end of Ford Motor Co's 2000 grading scale policy, which was introduced in an effort by Ford executives to get rid of the older white males populating the majority of management positions at the company. The policy became the target of several age, sex, and race discrimination lawsuits (the story labels the lawsuits "reverse discrimination" lawsuits because the people filing them are white males).

This AP article describes how France has finally ended its military draft, and is releasing all men from service who were conscripted. Like the U.S., any man of 18 years old was eligible to be drafted. Unfortunately, it is not the sexism of the draft which brought about its demise, but France's feeling that it was simply no longer a military necessity (because of volunteerism and the lack of a serious national threat).

This article on Excite News is a bit frightening because, as the scientist quoted in the article states, it opens up an "ethical can of worms." Scientists in Australia believe they've found a way to fertilize eggs from cells from any part of the body, not just from male sperm (in mice). Scientists argue that this means infertile males may now have their own biological offspring (as can lesbian couples). Right now, they're predicting more problems than successes. Australia and other countries currently have a ban on this type of experimentation with human eggs.

Chad sent in this article from the UK Guardian. It's about a 48 year-old man who is suing for a part of his late mother's estate. His mother, who sexually abused him when he was a child, left him completely out of her will. Raymond Marks claims he has experienced disorders including bulimia due to the abuse, and was the only child in his family.

This short article on Excite news describes how Madonna has taken what she started with her "What It Feels Like For a Girl" video and continued it on her "Drowned World" tour. At one point in the show, she shoots a man "who has been harassing her" with a rifle. For those who haven't seen the video, it features Madonna and an elderly woman recklessly driving a stolen car, which they then use to run over, kill, and injure men on the streets.

frank h writes "As a follow-up to the Glenn Sacks item posted July 6, here's a piece from the NY Post on a related topic. When will the judges understand that just because a man CAN beat his wife in a fight doesn't mean he WILL."

The Men's Health America list sent out this interesting message which shows how the United States Department of Defense is sponsoring prostate cancer research. More info can be found on this fact sheet.

Without running the Andrea Yates story in the ground (mother who killed her five children by drowing them in a bathtub), this commentary from the Iowa State Daily in plain-English states what I think many men are probably thinking right now. If the father had been the perpetrator, he would've already been convicted: both in the mind of the public, and especially in the press. The press seems ominously sympathetic to Andrea Yates, though, because of her claims that post-partum depression made her do it. Check the author's stats on that in this piece.

Tim Campbell posted the following to the newsgroup soc.men, which I thought would be relevant to readers here: "The Men's Helpline is organized and run by men in the Guelph, Ontario, Canada area, with various backgrounds and experiences. We share a common interest in helping ourselves and others with problems. Our Mission is: to provide a telephone help line for men, to provide an open support group for all men, to invite discussion among men about the issues that we face, and to provide a Web-based presence, as well as resource links to other sites." Their web site can be found here.