Philalethes writes "Most of the stories posted on MANN document the insanity of our times, but few consider the background: how did we get here, and why? This article is not an in-depth analysis, but it's a good start, and raises some serious questions worth considering: Today men are accountable for their behavior. Women are not. The lack of accountability, seldom clearly recognized, is the bedrock of much of today's feminist misbehavior, influence, and politics."

New Hampshire Representative David Bickford, a sponsor of HB 587, to establish a Commission on the Status of Men, had a superb article printed in Foster's Daily Democrat today, which can be read here. Rep. Bickford outlines many of the problems facing NH men and the institutional bias we've been dealing with for many years. It's an excellent overview of what we've been trying to educate people about in promoting this bill.

jaxom submitted this disturbing story and writes "A federal appelate court ruling allows judges to consider "a woman's
desperation" as a mitigating factor in severe domestic violence.
This case involves an estranged wife using the children as bait; "She
told him her van had broken down, stranding her and their two
daughters, and asked him to pick up the girls."
When he arrives, she starts shooting; "When he got out of his car and
ducked into the bushes, she searched him out with her headlights and
shot him again. She hit him in the head with the gun several times
before he hit her in the face and escaped."
Because a gun was involved, the wife was sentenced to five years. But
for the actual behavior, battery and attempted murder, the wife
received a sentence of ONE DAY.
The U.S. District Judge's decision was based on "her depression and
desperate fear that her husband would take away the children in their
impending divorce.""

As this article reports, in a recent UK court decision, a father lost custody of his children even though he had been the stay at home parent. Rather than considering the actual roles the parents had played in raising the children, in handing down the decision Lord Justice Thorpe stated that the court could not ignore the "realities" of the "very different" traditional functions of men and women. This sends a strong message to prospective and current fathers.

SJones writes "A recent study found that the most popular weedkiller in the United States turns male frogs into female frogs. The effects on humans has not been studied, but amphibians are considered particularly important in that they show effects before mammals. The story is here." I'm sure I'm not alone in being concerned about the fact that a lot of the chemicals used in agriculture today seem to disrupt hormonal balances in living things. Note: According to this Fox News article, the study appears to be junk science.

As Richard Henn sat by his 6-year-old son's hospital bedside recently, police entered and put him under arrest for "failing to protect" his son from the boy's step-mother, a former sheriff's deputy who body-slammed the child so hard he went into convulsions. This story in the Denver Post reveals that Henn was actually in another room, giving his 4-month-old daughter a bath when he heard the commotion. In court documents, Richard Henn told investigators he heard Kevin's body hitting the floor and said his wife threw the boy down. Gail Henn apologized to Kevin as he lay unconscious and convulsing on the floor, according to police statements. The couple had argued in the past about physical punishment, the father told police. Henn's bond was set at $20,000. Same as his wife, who is currently out of jail on that amount.

Harrack Balramsingh writes "The International Men’s Day Committee is calling on organizations and individuals around the world to join with them in celebrating International Men’s Day (IMD) on November 19. The objectives of celebrating an International Men's Day include improving gender relations, promoting gender equality, producing responsible males and highlighting positive male role models. The IMD first started in Trinidad and Tobago in 1999. It is hoped that the day would eventually be recognized worldwide. Please join with us in observing this Men’s Day."

warble writes "California legislators were flooded with paternity fraud victims in a public hearing on April 16, 2002. The story can be found here . Despite the fact that some committee members tried to kill the bill using "...questioning from a couple of the Assembly members, the bill emerged from the hearing alive and well. The committee decided it needed more time to study the bill, and postponed the hearing for two weeks." This bill is a no-brainer. Anybody who opposes the bill is clearly against men's rights. This turnout demonstrates the growing influence and power of the men’s movement. Good job!"

Anonymous User writes "Mallard Fillmore (a syndicated comic strip that runs in the Boston Globe) ran a series of comic strips that address the abuse of Ritalin on boys in grade school. The strip calls the problem "NEBS" (Normal Eight year old Boy Syndrome). The importance of this strip is that it reaches a large audience of people who may be unaware of this issue."

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's estranged wife wants $1 million per year to support herself and her two children. But... That's about $950,000 more than Giuliani is willing to pay. Giuliani, 57, now pays a court-ordered $1,800 a month and half of all the living expenses for television journalist Donna Hanover and the children. He has offered to double that amount, Raoul Felder, Giuliani's attorney, said at a divorce hearing Tuesday.

nosecow writes "[Chuck] Finley files divorce papers against Tawny Kitaen, stating he is "fearful that (Kitaen)...will harm herself or will harm others, including me or including my children". The complete article appears here on espn.com." Kitaen is alleged to have kicked Finley, scratched him, and twisted his ear while they were driving home from dinner recently. Police noticed Finley's scars and arrested Kitaen on abuse charges. Finley has obtained temporary custody of his children.

Syndicated misandrist Maureen Dowd recently wrote that men's "intimidation" by high-powered modern women is the reason for a rise in the childless rate for 35-year-old career women. Apparently, we men are to blame for both baby booms (raging hormones) and baby busts (intimidation by powerful women). In this column, men's issues columnist Glenn Sacks takes Dowd to task on those theories, providing evidence that the career woman's childless rate is a result of her own choices, and that women (like men) cannot have their cake and eat it, too.

This fact sheet on the Centers for Disease Control Web site tackles an issue persistently in the front of my mind: the prevention of suicide, especially by the young white males who are most likely to commit it. Many of us have seen this CDC fact sheet before, but because of the significant lack of study the issue of male suicide receives from the medical profession--and the fact that men are four times more likely than women to successfully commit it--I thought it was worth posting here. Also, a good beginning resource for male sufferers of depression may be found on this site, the work of our friend Steve Imparl.

Well, folks, it's been months upon months since I announced my effort to pull together an anthology of "masculist" literature, commentary, and art. I am saddened to announce that the project appears to now be officially dead. I have been unable to generate enough interest among men's activists for submissions to fill an entire volume, although the submissions I did receive were of very high quality. At one point, I even had a couple of celebrity authors in the mix. Although this project is dead (unless someone else wants to take it up as their own), I do have another one in the works which may generate more interest, or at least will come closer to actual manifestation. :) I appreciate the work of all those who submitted, and I am sorry I can't be the one to get them into print.

In an encouraging show of support, people from the Seacoast area of NH and beyond bombarded Foster's Daily Democrat with letters supporting the proposed Men's Commission and taking the editor writer to task for slamming the commission. Their efforts can be seen here. Kudos to everyone who had their letter printed, and to anyone else who wrote in but wasn't recognized.