Article here. It so pains me to quote myself as follows (LOL, yeah, right, you guys believe *that*...):

'For a woman, having children without including their father in the equation post-conception has several routes. Artificial insemination is one, but the less expensive routes can still be pursued: have sex with a man/men "casually" and tell them they needn't use condoms because she's using birth control and STDs aren't a concern based on her last visit to the doctor. A less astute man may believe her and become a father without ever knowing it. For financing, she can file for "public assistance", or pursue a child support order, assuming she is ready to tell the father that he is one.

Article here. Excerpt:

'I am currently dealing with several of these great husbands. They are, across the board, respectful, quality, caring, devoted, cherishing, authentic, and supportive guys whose wives have left them for a different kind of man. These once-beloved men make a living, love their kids, help with chores, support aging parents, and support their mate's desires and interests. They believe they've done everything right. They are devastated, confused, disoriented, and heartsick. In a tragic way, they startlingly resemble the disheartened women of the past who were left behind by men who "just wanted something new."

You may think that these women are ruthless and inconsiderate. Those I know are far from that. More often, they still love their husbands as much as they ever did, but in a different way. They tell me how wonderful their men are and how much they respect them. They just don't want to be married to them anymore. Perhaps it would be even more honest to say that they don't want to be yoked to anyone any more. At least in the traditional ways they once embraced as ideal. They feel compassion for their prior mates, but liberated in their new-found right to create a different way of feeling in relationships. In short, they want to live their lives with the privileges men once had.
...

Article here. Excerpt:

'When you first read or hear the words "parental gatekeeping", what do you think about? You may have an image of a parent standing in front of a locked gate, arms crossed with a child on the other side and the other parent trying to get through.

Hold that image.

Parental gatekeeping is not an everyday word intact or separated families use but it has a very real impact and import on child custody cases.

Gatekeeping is simply the act of facilitating or restricting the relationship with a parent and a child. I have found the "facilitative" aspect of it (and the concept of facilitative gatekeeping) a bit of an oxymoron. After all, to facilitate generally means reasonable communication, open access gates and no real need to be a "keeper."

Article here. Excerpt:

'Did alimony kill Robin Williams?

At least in part it sure did. Paying out over $30 million to ex-wives who were allowed to attach themselves to Williams’ bank account like comatose patients on feeding tubes would be enough to make Gandhi angry and depressed.

While states are finally, gradually catching up to the modern age in terms of alimony (now they call it “maintenance” — as in “high maintenance”) the practice of men paying women because they once were married is not just primitive but, yes, sexist.

Yeah, go ahead, call me anti-feminist, call me whatever you want, but the truth is alimony (which is different from child support and fair distribution of assets acquired during the marriage) doesn’t mean the non-working spouse is entitled to live as high as the Kardashians. It’s that concept that is fundamentally anti-feminist.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Article originally appeared in the Newark Star-Ledger - September 6, 2002.
...
In highly publicized raids, federal agents have hauled in 69 "deadbeat dads" from 29 states over the past few weeks, and are still hunting for 33 more. The Bush administration boasts that it is sending a message to deadbeats. However, the high-living deadbeat dad who stiffs his kids is largely a mythical creature.

Arizona State University researcher Sanford Braver, who over an eight year period conducted the largest federally funded study of divorced dads ever done, found that unemployment was the largest factor behind nonpayment of child support, and noted that his findings were "consistent with virtually all past studies on the topic."

According to a US Government Accounting Office survey of custodial mothers who were not receiving the support they were owed, two-thirds of the mothers themselves admitted that their children’s fathers do not pay their child support because they are financially unable to do so.

Most "deadbeat dads" are actually "dead broke," either because they have low-wage jobs, are unemployed, or are deep in arrears on unrealistic and crushing child support obligations. According to Bruce Walker, the Oklahoma District Attorney who ran the state’s child-support enforcement program for three years and jailed hundreds of fathers for nonpayment, these men are "seldom the mythical monsters described by politicians."

"Many times I prosecuted impoverished men," he notes. "I prosecuted one deadbeat dad who had been hospitalized for malnutrition and another who lived in the bed of a pickup truck."

I had a MANN reader inquire via email how MANN felt about current events in Ferguson, Missouri here in the US. He asked about the shooting of unarmed men v. that of unarmed women by police and how police killing unarmed men was much more likely than police killing unarmed women. MANN, being a web site and one with no official editorial positions, cannot collectively render a traditional op-ed on the topic. But yours truly can. :) So with a few supporting additional comments added to the reply I sent the reader a couple days ago, here's my response:

Thanks for asking your question.  Details may vary for different reasons around the world, but it's true police of both sexes are a lot more likely to fire on unarmed men than unarmed women.

It's a function of the perceived value of men's lives and the degree the shooter thinks he/she will be held accountable.  The second factor is what is likely to tip the scale more one way vs. another when taking social factors into account.  For example, unarmed men of lower socioeconomic status are more likely to be shot under the same circumstances as men of higher such status (assuming the shooter is drawing this conclusion based on the victim's appearance, clothing, or other info or assumptions), since such men are less likely to have relatives capable of hiring lawyers who can press the issue with the authorities.

Press release here. Excerpt:

'Tuesday the New York Times’ Room for Debate section featured editorials designed to address the question, “Doing Enough to Prevent Rape on Campus?”: http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/08/12/doing-enough-to-prevent-rape-on-campus

If we define “debate” as an intellectually honest attempt to represent all the major perspectives on the issue, the NYT Room for Debate fell short.

Of the six columnists, five represented the points of view of the Professional Victim Advocates who want to embellish on the current approach of campus disciplinary committees passing judgment on messy ‘he-said, she-said’ allegations of sexual assault.

The insurer Sheilas' Wheels in the UK wants women-only roads, called "PinkZones". Apparently male drivers in the UK are creating an unsafe environment for female drivers. I question their statistics as to who is creating the unsafe environment in the UK overall. It says nothing of the extra number of miles (or kilometers) that men drive, who causes the accidents, or how men may be more likely to be convicted of an offense in a biased court system.

Article here. Excerpt:

"Cameron set to announce extension to scheme to help them study unveiled scale of the problem.

Half a million problem families currently costing taxpayers £30billion a year 120,000 families each on average responsible for one police call out a month Prime Minister David Cameron to announce assistance scheme extension

Half a million problem families are costing taxpayers more than £30billion a year, according to a major study which reveals for the first time the true extent of the rise of Britain’s underclass.

Hundreds of thousands of households are causing a serious drain on public resources with ‘off the barometer’ dysfunctional behaviour, according to a Government initiative set up in the wake of the 2011 riots.
...
‘The reality is that in the past the family just hasn’t been central to the way government thinks,’ he will say in a speech.

Story here. Excerpt:

'With blood spattered over his injured face, this is Ronnie Lee on his way to hospital minutes after being glassed in an unprovoked attack by a woman.

Lucky not to lose an eye, the 24-year-old telesales company director needed four stitches following the assault.

But despite his injuries, his assailant, estate agent Yasmin Thomas, 21, walked free from court this week with a suspended sentence – despite notching up her 18th conviction for assault.
...
Yesterday Mr Lee said he was disgusted at the leniency of the sentence, which includes an anger management course.

He said: ‘If it was the other way around and I did that to her, I would be going straight to jail.

‘What happens next time if she does something and it’s life threatening? She could end up killing someone.

‘She’s got 18 convictions already. She’s a danger to herself and others around her.
...
‘Yasmin picked it up and tapped me on the shoulder and gave it to me. I was surprised and handed it back to Richard.

Article here. Excerpt:

'One of the most depressing aspects of Robin Williams’s suicide is that he had all the access, all the best care. Money was not an object. But even with all that, he killed himself. “Robin Williams could pay in cash for anything he needed. Even with that, depression can be a fatal illness,” [Dr.] John Herman said.
...
Ronan reflected on the sad passing of Robin Williams as he lamented the sorry state of mental health care for those who are not rich and famous.

“Our country’s health,” Larry Ronan said, “will never be whole until we insist that mental health be seen along with physical health as fundamental to our overall well-being, and funded as such.”'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Women now make up nearly half of all business travelers in the United States and abroad, and most of them are solo travelers. So it’s no surprise that in recent years, more hotels have been clamoring to offer services catering to women’s needs and preferences.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Supporters of Mireille Miller-Young cite the "cultural legacy of slavery" and even the effects of pregnancy to explain why the feminist studies professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara would accost a teenager spreading a pro-life message on campus.

The pregnant 38-year-old who pleaded no contest to misdemeanor counts of theft, vandalism and battery after stealing and destroying an anti-abortion poster and injuring a a16-year-old activist, says she’s sorry for some of her actions and hopes to “makes amends through community service.”

Received a copy of this lawsuit filing from "John Doe"'s attorney. I redacted dates and places on campus as well as the names of students mentioned. Faculty/staff, however, don't get the same treatment. After all, being part of a kangaroo court is something adults with a few years into the title should know enough to avoid.

Article here. Excerpt:

'As a membership-driven organization, National Parents Organization realizes every individual offers tremendous potential for advancing our mission and increasing awareness of the impact family courts are having on our modern families.

In fact, our greatest ability to make an impact and reform our family court system can be realized simply through the strength in our numbers. Simply joining National Parents Organization, which is free and easy to do online, will give us a louder voice as we advocate collectively for change in communities across the nation.'