Kathleen Parker's column in the Orlando Sentinel describes a campaign by Alabama to crack down on deadbeat dads. Ads were taken out in local newspapers which show pictures of deadbeat parents (only one of them, though, is a woman) with the title: "Lost Dogs: Have You Seen Us?" Although the ads are targeting the worst offenders, they still send a powerfully strong anti-male message, and some father's rights groups are planning lawsuits against the state for violating the civil rights of those depicted by the ads. Stuff like this really makes by blood start to boil. I wonder how many more steps can be taken to "beat dead" fathers who owe child support when absolutely nothing is done to ensure the money is actually spent on the child's needs? It just seems too one-sided.

I've been meaning to post this for a few days now - Trudy Schuett, who has time and time again shown a great deal of compassion and understanding of men's issues, wrote an essay on Themestream about creativity and gender. Her thesis is that the two have no connection, and that people mistakenly believe women are more creative because they give birth. "Creativity comes from the spirit, not from DNA...It's not a chick thing, or a guy thing. In fact, it is precisely the thing that will get us all out of this mess of gender issues, of feminism and masculism and mutual hatred and distrust." Check it out.

Not PC submitted this link to a news report that the Virginia Military Institute now has its first pregnant female cadet, and it has stirred up a lot of controversy. The Naval Academy policy states that "Pregnancy and parenthood impose significant responsibilities and demands upon midshipmen which are incompatible with service as midshipmen" but the woman (who was not identified in the article) was given three options for living quarters to accommodate her needs. Even women who have attended VMI gave disapproval of this situation, and feel she should either leave or be suspended during the pregnancy. One of them said "Cadets can accumulate demerits and wind up suspended essentially for being late for class and not shining their shoes, and yet this woman is far more irresponsible and gets 'almost preferential treatment.'"

Here's some news on how Randy Cunningham and James McDermott have been pushing for an Office of Men's Health, and the idea is gaining momentum as it's also being backed by the National Medical Association. However, as they remind us, "Both Congressmen stressed that the creation of an Office of Men's Health would not impinge on the funding or the status for the Office of Women's Health, which was created in 1990" it's a real shame they have to point this out, as it shows that we can never offer to help men without first deferring to women's concerns.

I'm back - though I could use some sleep. :) The EastSideJournal printed a great story about the way men are systematically ignored in DV awareness campaigns, and points out some of the most prevalent (and false) statistics about DV. From the article: "For years, we have been told that domestic violence is a serious problem: it must not be tolerated in any form and every victim must be believed. Yet, countless victims of domestic violence are ignored by the system, dismissed as liars, and even charged as abusers. These victims have been hit, kicked, punched, bitten, choked, knifed, shot, run over with cars, and even set on fire. They are men."

Kingsley Morse writes, "Jim Whinston [from the National Center for Men] has a pro-father radio show which is now available worldwide on the web via Real Audio. It's at www.kpsu.org from 6 - 7 PM PST on Thursdays." Click here for the direct link to the Real Audio feed.

Tom Smith from the American Union of Men wrote up an interesting essay about Eminem, the rap star whose music is currently incredibly popular but which is also extremely vulgar and thus has caused quite a bit of controversy. Tom has been willing to put aside the prejudices about Eminem that the PC media has created and examined his music, and found a tremendous amount of angst related to men's issues (father loss, his own divorce problems, etc). If you're open minded, Tom's article is sure to introduce you to this rapper in a new light. Click "Read More" below for the complete article...

The National Post printed this story about an organization, the Association for Genital Integrity, which trying to obtain funds to have non-therapeutic male circumcision legally recognized as sexual assault. The argument will rely on an equal protection reasoning, claiming that the current law is discriminatory because it outlaws female genital mutilation but ignores male genital mutilation (circumcision). Some religious groups are concerned about the legal challenge, but it is possible that a religious exemption could be made. Personally, I think the issue at stake is that infant boys have no choice in the matter - if they want to become circumcised when they're old enough to make the decision themselves, that's fine, but I believe they need the choice.

Trudy Schuett submitted this sickening story from TownHall.com. It's about a women who had a history of drug problems and abusing her husband who eventually received custody of her two young boys. Things were stable for a short while until she took off on a cross-country trip with the boys, along the way cutting and abusing the boys in ways that were blatantly obvious to those around her, but she was never reported to the police by people who saw her. I think it's also clear that this story simply could not have happened had the boys been traveling with their father, and it serves as a disturbing wake up call to end the prejudices about women's incapacity for violence. It's also a good time to ask yourself, what would you have done if you had seen this woman and her children in their physical state on a train?

Dave Maupin from the Family Violence Prevention Services program in North Carolina wrote in and wanted to ask for help to fight new domestic violence legislation. The law will effectively shut out FVPS from taking on clients referred to them by the courts - because compliance with the new rules would require them to be approved and monitored by politically motivated domestic violence groups. Click "Read More" below to read his message and information regarding the new legislation which will end up harming men, women, and children seeking to overcome family violence.

This short, fairly superficial transcript from a news program on Australia's ABC network mentions the existence of male rape victims, and the lack of support services for them, but that's about it. There was no comment about what kinds of circumstances male rape occurs (for example, by exposing the high incidence of prison rape), and the woman being interviewed claims that the court system is "patriarchal" and this discourages men from coming forward. So while I wouldn't describe this as progress, it is noteworthy in that something was at least said about male rape, rather than nothing.

Australia's Daily Telegraph reports that a study was done examining why some elderly men kill themselves, and found that large numbers of them were depressed and were not receiving treatment for depression. "Prof Snowdon's research included reading the notes left by 41 per cent of the suicides and interviewing friends and relatives. Many of the suicide notes were angry and most reflected serious depression, he said." No mention was made as to what could be done to help prevent this from happening.

A short blurb in a recent issue of Time magazine caught my attention - in an attempt to increase the number of black male teachers in inner-city schools, three historically black colleges in South Carolina will be offering full tuition scholarships to male students. The catch is they must work for a minimum of four years in the state after they graduate. This sounds like a much needed incentive to get more male role models in public schools as teachers.

The New York Times (free registration required) had an insightful article about making metaphors for the current crisis of on-line privacy issues. Rather than describing it in terms of "Big Brother" (from the novel 1984), Carl Kaplan believes that Kafka's The Trial does a better job explaining the consequences of ignoring the need for privacy standards on-line. It's a good read, and relevant to all readers of Mensactivism.org. To drive the point in a bit further is news that Michigan state is considering a law that will require local ISPs to register their customers' e-mail addresses with a valid phone or credit card number, to ease law enforcement tracking of users based on their activity on-line.

Not PC writes "Erik Bullock, 30, received an automatic sentence of life in prison in addition to a 20 year sentence for hiring others to beat his girlfriend to kill her fetus. She lived, but the "choice" was stillborn. The case was the first brought under Arkansas' Fetal Protection Act. The 1999 law allows murder charges if a fetus in at least the 12th week of gestation dies as a result of a violent crime. The prosecutor described the defendant as a selfish person, but of course, not the mother. DNA TESTS LATER SHOWED THAT BULLOCK WAS NOT THE FATHER OF THE CHOICE, er, child. Click here to read the article." This is yet more disturbing news which attests to the despair and resentment of men who are forced into paternity - and in this case, the child wasn't even his! This is NOT the way to lobby for male reproductive rights, but I feel it's important to report on these kinds of events to force people to see what they might otherwise be able to ignore.