disclaimer writes "The Hefty trash bag ad bashing men is back on the air for another run. I saw the 'men are trash' Hefty ad on the evening of Tuesday, March 5th on CBS. Even though we wrote letters of complaint about the commercial, it appears that Hefty didn't listen. I thought that those who wrote Hefty should know that Hefty has turned a deaf ear to us." Perhaps they need another reminder?

ronn sent us this link to an editorial by Mike LaSalle of Men's News Daily. LaSalle feels that "International Women's Day," March 8, has been co-opted by radical feminists to pursue their agenda and that a counterbalance is needed - an International Men's Day. LaSalle announces that this weekend, MND will restore some balance to the rampant statistical manipulations and misinformation that radical feminists have used to advance their agenda on days such as International Women's Day. Keep an eye on Mike's site.

In tonight's Mensactivism.org on-line chat we will discuss identity politics, which holds that only members of a particular group, such as women, can understand issues of importance to that group. (For an overview and critique of this political tactic, see Wendy McElroy's recent Foxnews.com column.) Join us at 9:30 PM EST tonight (3/6) in the MANN chat room.

Neil Steyskal sent us this Boston Globe editorial and writes "The Yates case is a good platform for pointing out the post-divorce psychosis that affects many men. Maybe creating this new term will raise the consciousness of reporters who find excuses for women's violence, but not for men's. In this column, Ellen Goodman comes close to recognizing this pattern." I almost fell of my chair when I read this editorial from Goodman. I've known her to be a misandrist belittler of men's rights in the Globe for as long as I can remember.

CJ submitted this story and writes "It's a slippery slope in MA for people accused of domestic violence. It is now a felony for aggravated assault, which sounds like a good idea, but in MA there are so many laws that view domestic issues in a 'a priori' (before the facts) manner that I feel that this is one step closer to martial law and will be used as new weapon to wreck havoc with men's freedom. Jane Swift is shameless in her attempts to stay in office... how long now before a shove turns into aggravated assault is in the eye of the vindictive family courts that are over-run with radical feminists."

SJones writes "Berlin is opening the first battered men's shelter in Germany. I found the article in Yahoo! Oddly Enough, which shows what they think of violence against men and men's issues in general. The article is here." The "Oddly Enough" section is reserved for "fringe" news stories, and it does say a lot about the public perception of abused men that this story was placed in this section.

This article in the Washington Post reports that a federal judge has struck down the U.S. Army's equal opportunity policy, which appears to have promoted women and minorities at the expense of white male officers. The Army's written direction to promotion boards that urges them to consider the "past personal or institutional discrimination" faced by women and minorities is unconstitutional because the policy does not order the board also to consider possible discrimination against white men, the judge found. This sounds like an important victory for Lt. Col. Raymond Saunders, who has fought this battle for the past three years.

Wendy McElroy's latest Fox News column explores the core problem many of us see with mainstream feminism: "you're not a woman, so you just can't understand." McElroy examines identity politics in all activism, and points out that men and women, although different, do have common ground, and each should value the opinion of the other, The parallel in feminism is that, although a man does not experience womanhood, he nevertheless understands injustice. Depending on his life experiences, a man may empathize with a rape victim more deeply than many women do. Moreover, like the doctor, men can have perspectives on "women's issues" which are valuable precisely because they are different. And "womanhood" is not so fragile as to be damaged by listening to the opinions of men.

Glenn Sacks wrote a great piece on shared parenting in support of a proposed Tennessee bill that would make shared physical custody the default for divorcing parents. "Advocates of the bill emphasize that it will lower the divorce rate, since parents won't be rewarded by the courts for being the first one to terminate a struggling relationship. In addition, they say, it encourages cooperation and even reconciliation because each parent knows that, barring proof of abuse, they will not be able to drive the other parent out of their children's lives." I hope activists in TN are organizing well in support of this bill, which will help many fathers, but most of all, children.

Here we go again, jumping straight in the fray of hypocrisy and heresy on the subject of Andrea Yates. At least this article points out the double standards involved, although she wants Russell Yates imprisoned as well (can anybody say fall guy?), but I think you people can read between the lines. While the article is questionable in places, it looks like the Andrea Yates story will be making debate for quite some time.

Since the questions are starting to roll in about the comment moderation system, which is in the process of being enabled, I'd like to direct people to some documentation about the system. Unfortunately, I don't have the time this week to rewrite the docs and make them specific to this site, so instead I will point you to Slashdot's Comments and Moderation FAQ. It's long and complex, but worth reading. I'm sure people will still have questions, so feel free to ask them under this story, and I'll do my best to answer them.

warble writes "Why it takes a woman to get this kind of ruling is beyond me. See the ruling at this press release. I am dumbfounded that a woman is able to get these guidelines proven to be illegal while men's cries were largely ignored. It is stunning and demonstrates how biased and cruel the judicial system is in its treatment of men. This challenge cannot possibly be the first challenge to the oppressive and illegal requirements of the child support laws throughout the U.S." While I understand the double standard at work here, I think we should still celebrate this ruling as a great step forward.

Another woman is being let off easy after committing the murder of her two infants, according to this story from Nashville's WSMV NBC affiliate. Her excuse is not postpartum depression, but another "rare" form of mental illness. Similarly, an "angry" Cincinnatti woman will not be indicted on assault charges after she shot a man in the groin. The man was alleged to have assaulted her son, but had not yet been tried or convicted. The grand jury cited "emotional distress" as their excuse for not indicting her. And, in a final act of judicial hypocrisy, an 8-year-old Ann Arbor boy has been charged with felonious assault for pointing a toy gun at his classmates.

Anonymous User sent us this story from the Boston Globe and writes "Poor Jane Swift is playing the "gender card" claiming that powerful men are trying to undermine her next run for MA Governor. She knows that the Massachusetts press will eat this ploy up and and cast doubt on any man that runs against her now. Shameless... The poll at the end of the article shows that she has very low voter support. Maybe she should stick with the issues..." I do hope MA voters will show Swift and others that this kind of politics will not be supported.

dominic7 sent us this BBC article and writes "[This is] interesting. It's frustrating to keep on seeing study after study prove that the inclusion of fathers in their children's upbringing is important, yet see these studies ignored by the "powers that be"." One notable thing about this article is that it also acknowledged that even divorced dads have an important impact on their children's educational success, something I wish many family court judges would take note of.