Volvo Executives Phoning Protesters

Over the past two weeks Volvo has received 3,000 calls and letters from protesters seeking to convince Volvo to decline Arnold Worldwide's bid for a pending $150 million ad contract because of Arnold Worldwide's track record of making TV commercials which mock and ridicule men. Arnold Worldwide has been the apparent favorite to win the contract. To learn more about our campaign, click here.

Several of my readers have told me that Volvo executives, including Product Communications Manager Dan Johnston, are calling some of the people who sent protest letters. The Volvo executives have been assuring protesters that Volvo will remain a "family-friendly" company and that it is they, not the advertising agency they hire, who will direct the kinds of advertisements they create.

Final presentations for the $150 million Volvo bid are being made on March 20 and 21. I suggest you continue to make Volvo aware of our concerns by sending an email and a fax by clicking here, and also by calling Volvo executives listed here. It is OK if you wrote them last week to write them again this week.

If you do receive a call from a Volvo executive, please be polite and brief. Remember that Volvo has not done anything wrong, and that we bear Volvo no grudge.

An Important Way to Help Our Campaign

Obviously I don't have the resources available to me that a large corporation like Arnold Worldwide has, and the campaigns we run are costly and time consuming. Donations would be very helpful. To donate money to our campaign, click here.

New Adweek column 'Father Knows Best'

To write a Letter to the Editor of Adweek about Father Knows Best (3/12/07), email letterseditor@adweek.com.

Audio is available of my appearance on the nationally syndicated Mike McConnell Show. We discussed the Campaign Against Anti-Male Advertising. To listen, click here.

To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.

When protesters write me, they often tell me of their pet peeve ad. I've listed a few of the common "pet peeve" ads below, sometimes with video. What's your "pet peeve" ad?

#1) The new Sprint commercial where two men play a friendly joke on their female boss, who then assaults both, sending them to the hospital with head wounds.

#2) The Shaw's supermarket commercial where a woman tackles and kicks a man who apparently took her lunch from the office cafeteria.

#3) Capital One's series of TV Commercials for their frequent flyer miles. In each case, dad plans a vacation, everybody's excited, they go to the place and, even though dad says, "Don't worry, daddy's got a plan," the vacation is a total disaster. In the middle of the disaster, dad says, "Isn't this fun?" and mom, exasperated with her stupid husband, says, "We should've switched to Capital One!"

One time dad is going to be eaten by cannibals, in another they're in a crop duster (with an idiot male pilot) and they're going to crash, and in another they're stuck with vagabonds on a train and have to jump when they get to their destination. In one, they go on a romantic holiday which turns out to be in Antarctica.

To read more and to discuss this issue on my blog, click here.

In What's Your 'Pet Peeve' Anti-Male Ad? (Part I) I noted that when protesters write me, they often tell me of their pet peeve ad, and I listed a few of the ads that I hear about often. I've received many responses to it, so it's time to add a few more:

1) The Ikea commercial which says, according to a reader, "How many days does it take to install a new Ikea kitchen? Two days--one to call Ikea and get them to do it, and one to argue with your man about how he's going to screw it up if he tries it himself." My reader notes that the commercial "reinforces the statement 'Your Husband Is An Idiot Child.'"

2) A "lazy husband" commercial for Morris Window & Siding in New Jersey, which, according to Robert in New Jersey, features an announcer saying, "Three Things A Man Won't Do" and gives the following examples: 1) Men Don't Put The Toilet Seat Down (shows a screen capture of a toilet seat up); 2) Men Don't Take Out The Trash (shows a man laying on the couch with a trash bag flung at him); and 3) Men Don't Call Morris Window (shows the wife on the computer looking it up).

3) The Pella windows ad which, according to reader Dan, features "Mom and Intelligent Female Guest discussing great new windows with the blinds between the glass. Looking through the window in the background is Dad, starting the BBQ with a gallon of lighter fluid, starting a bonfire, wrestling on the ground with a hose, tipping over the BBQ, and more. Think of how many BBQ cliches you can come up with and Pella uses them with Dad as the star un-attraction."

To read more and to discuss this issue on my blog, click here. 

Brandweek Covers Our Campaign     Brandweek covered our Campaign Against Anti-Male Advertising in Agency Review: Marketers Find Web Gives More Power To The People (3/5/07). The article is OK, except for one central flaw: it focuses on what I've written without ever mentioning that so many people--over 3,000 now--have written or called Volvo to protest. To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.    Anybody Heard/Seen This V8 Commercial? Monica Forest heard me on the radio in Detroit/Windsor and wrote me an interesting letter about V8's latest advertising campaign: "Hi Glenn--Here's another example of a commercial that not only belittles men, but also implies men are so stupid that women can hit them! In a commercial for V8 juice, a husband and wife are in court because every time the husband forgets to eat a vegetable, his wife hits him in the head. After stating their cases to the judge and the man saying he ate oysters, the female judge also hits the man in the head. "It's just another sad example for your cause. This V8 radio commercial that has been playing on WJR in Detroit for a few months. Recently, they replaced it with a less insulting version so I'm not sure if you'll be able to track the original down. Good luck on your campaign." Does anybody have access to the audio (or video) of this commercial? To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.  Discussing Our Campaign on the Radio Glenn discussed the Campaign Against Anti-Male Advertising on the nationally-syndicated show The Business Shrink on March 9. Glenn discussed the Campaign Against Anti-Male Advertising on the Morning News with Charly Butcher on WOWO AM 1190 in Ft. Wayne, Indiana on March 12. Glenn discussed the Campaign Against Anti-Male Advertising on the nationally syndicated Mike McConnell Show on March 7. To listen, click here. Glenn discussed the Campaign Asking Volvo to Reject Bid by the Anti-Male Advertising Agency Arnold Worldwide on Windsor Now with Melanie Deveau on CKLW AM 800 in Detroit/Windsor on March 6. Glenn discussed the Campaign Asking Volvo to Reject Bid by the Anti-Male Advertising Agency Arnold Worldwide on The Ron Smith Show on WBAL in Baltimore on March 5. The Best Interests of the Child How to Save Our Child When We Can't Save our Marriage--New DVD set from Dr. Warren Farrell, foremost expert on children of divorce www.BestInterestofChildren.org New DVD set from Dr. Warren Farrell--The Best Interests of the Child The Best Interests of the Child: How to Save Our Child When We Can't Save our Marriage is a new DVD set from Dr. Warren Farrell, one of the foremost experts on children of divorce. In it he summarizes over 200 studies, and the research is clear: children do far better with near equal exposure to both parents with minimal conditions. The video can be submitted as evidence and Dr. Farrell is available to testify as an expert witness. www.BestInterestofChildren.org Help for Los Angeles/Ventura County Dads Certified Family Law Specialist Peter M. Walzer was one of the key figures in our successful legislative struggle to preserve the LaMusga move-away decision. As Chair of the State Bar of California Family Law Section Executive Committee, Walzer lobbied the state legislature to improve California laws on child support and child custody. He's an American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Fellow who has authored numerous articles on custody issues, business valuation in marital dissolutions and spousal and child support.  www.California-Divorce.com

Background: I've always wondered how child support increases can be called "cost of living adjustments," since child support goes on a percentage of income basis anyway. About 10 years ago in California there was this type of "adjustment," and now a Utah bill is on the Governor's desk awaiting his signature.

As my readers have perhaps surmised, my biggest gripe with child support is not the child support tables, per se, though I think there are problems there, too. My biggest problem is the inflexibility and bureaucratic stupidity of the system.

The system often ruins men because it so unresponsive to men's economic changes, such as layoffs, wage cuts, work-related injuries, an economic downturn, etc. If a man made $70,000 in 1998, often the court will forever hold him to that income, even if he's made only $40,000 a year ever since. Moreover, the federal Bradley Amendment--which prohibits retroactive modifications in child support--means that courts cannot fix these problems, even when they're willing to. The system has created a permanent underclass of child support obligors buried alive in debt. As the Urban League noted recently, this is particularly true of young African-American noncustodial fathers.

Tony Curtis, a Utah fathers' rights advocate, has worked to oppose the Utah child support bill, and wrote to me about it. I suggested he write an op-ed piece on the issue for my readers, and he did--it's called "Utah's Senate Bill 23, An Equal Opportunity Child Support Increase" and is below. He also has contact info. for those wanting to contact Utah Governor Huntsman to oppose the bill.

Utah's Senate Bill 23, An Equal Opportunity Child Support Increase

That's right; this bill will eventually affect everyone. Child support is increasing for all fathers with one, two, or three children. Most fathers with four or more children will also see an increase, though small isolated pockets in the support tables (less than 9% of the values) don't increase.
 
The child support increases are 25% across the board for fathers supporting one child. Most fathers with two children will see a 15-21% rise. But wait, there's more! For existing orders, these increases are in addition to inflation adjustments. Existing orders can't be hi-jacked till 2010, but when that day comes, with wage driven increases of 10-20% on top of the SB23 hike, many will see their support surge by 35-50%.
 
What is the reasoning behind the rate hike? Several reasons have been offered, such as inflation, outdated or non-existent economics, low support amounts, comparisons with neighboring states, and the poverty of mothers.
 
The inflation argument is ludicrous, unless you also sign up for increasing income tax percentage as inflation increases. Since 1994 the Consumer Price Index has risen 32%. Should we increase our income tax rate by 32% to keep pace? Child support tables work just like tax tables, as wages increase the required payment goes up.

To read the rest of Tony's op-ed, and to discuss this issue on my blog, click here. Tony can be reached at tonyanncurtis@yahoo.com.

Parental Alienation Awareness Organization Launches Parental Alienation Awareness Day-2007

Renowned speaker, television guest, researcher, and author of 'Jeopardy in the Courtroom', Dr. Stephen Ceci, will be the featured guest.  Dr. Ceci will be joined by other giants in the field.

Continuing Education hours for professionals and discount prices for parents will be offered.

PAAO is launching a Governor's Campaign as part of Parental Alienation Awareness Day in the hopes of getting as many governors as possible to issue Proclamations declaring April 25^th as Parental Alienation Awareness Day.  PAAO is hoping to get Parental Alienation recognized on a state-wide level.

PAAO is urging everyone to participate, in some way, to commemorate April 25^th, Parental Alienation Awareness Day. Let's get NOTICED and ensure the right of every child to give and receive all of the love they deserve.

Contact:
Sarvy Emo
Tel: 416-840-5654
Fax: 866-232-8134
info@parental-alienation-awareness.com
http://www.parental-alienation-awareness.com

Jane Ridley's great New York Daily News article Why are stepmoms always the target? explores an important topic in divorce--the way angry women will not only turn their children against their fathers, but also poison children against their fathers' new wives or partners.

(By the way, before you think "of course she's mad--he left her for a younger model," remember that the vast majority of divorces involving children are initiated by women, not men, and that alleged adultery is a factor in a decided minority of these divorces. Also, remember that the rates of adultery between men and women are fairly close, though men still offend more than women. Second wives often wonder why their husbands' ex-wives are so mad that he got together with them--after all, the ex-wife didn't want him and dumped him, why shouldn't he move on?)

Ridley writes:

"Andrew Giuliani has a 'little problem' with Judith Nathan. When Andrew Giuliani fired his very public shot at his father's third wife, revealing that there was a 'little problem' between them, Judith Nathan wasn't the only woman who felt the impact. Hundreds of thousands of stepmothers recoiled...At a time when increasing numbers of marriages in America end in divorce and 'blended family' has become the politically correct term for fractured households, Giuliani Jr.'s outburst resounded nationwide. Nathan, who took a hit for the team, has maintained a dignified silence. But her fellow easy targets are up in arms

"Heather, a 56-year-old media analyst from Queens, knows all about the injustice of being a second wife. Her stepdaughter resented her so much, she banned her from her wedding even though Heather had been with her father for 10 years. 'She threw a fit and said: 'Don't you dare show up!,' " recalls Heather. 'It was very upsetting and nearly tore my husband and I apartThere is so much bitterness, and children can be incredibly selfish'...

"'The most common complaint is: 'They don't know me well enough to hate me as much as they do," observes New York author Jane Isay, whose relationships book Walking on Eggshells will be published on March 22.

"Kim, 48, despaired when her oldest stepchild, Anna, now 27, refused to speak to her. 'She lived in our home for a few months and was just horrible,' says the self-employed businesswoman. 'We would go to church, and when I sat next to her, she would literally turn her back on me.' Anna wouldn't allow Kim to attend her graduation ceremony and seemed to gloat when her father made the three-day trip alone...

"Both Isay and Katz have encountered mothers who have 'groomed' their children, encouraging them to dislike the new family member. Others take advantage of torn loyalties and act insulted if the children spend time with their father and the 'other' woman.

"'Many children see it as a betrayal if they get along with their stepmother,' says Katz."

The man caught 'in the middle'

The article also gives some attention to a subject which merits much more consideration--the man caught in the middle. Feminists often assert that a world run by women would be a peaceful place. I've maintained that given the way women fight amongst themselves--first wives vs. second wives, mother vs. daughter, daughter-in-law vs. mother-in-law, and sister-in-law vs. sister-in-law--if women ran the world, the world would be a heap of irradiated rubble. According to Ridley:

"As for the father who feels like monkey in the middle, his only option is to side with his wife.

"'When my husband went to his daughter's wedding without me, I was shattered,' confesses Heather. 'I told him he may as well stay with his old family and not come back.'

"The relationship survived after he said he would never leave her out of family gatherings again, but it was a close call.

"'The guy will be pulled in different directions,' says Isay. 'But you need him fighting in your corner.'

"At least Rudy Giuliani has taken his rightful place next to Judith.

"'My wife is a loving and caring mother and stepmother,' he announced. 'She's done everything she can.'"

A few thoughts:

1) I applaud Rudy Giuliani's stance against his vindictive ex and the children upon whom she's had such a malignant influence.

2) Misguided feminists assert that the sordid stories above and Parental Alienation don't exist--PA is just a "scam" put forth by the fathers' rights movement, as Helen Grieco, Executive Director of the California National Organization for Women, recently said. Misguided feminists assert that what's really happening is that mom is right to be mad because the men really have been abusive physically and/or emotionally, have mistreated or molested the children, etc. (To learn more about this, see my critique of the Feminist Family Law Movement Shockome Syndrome).

I would ask this question--are the stepmoms above also physically and emotionally abusive? Are they molesters? If not, then it's logical to assume that when fathers are on the receiving end of these types of vicious tactics, they (usually) are also decent, loving parents.

3) I commend Jane Ridley for this fine article--to write to her, go to JRidley@edit.nydailynews.com. To write a Letter to the Editor of the New York Daily News about Why are stepmoms always the target?, go to voicers@edit.nydailynews.com. 

To read more and discuss this issue on my blog, click here.
 

The English story Boys launch appeal in dad's memory (3/9/07) is a nice departure from the usual post-divorce cesspool. I commend Irene, a divorced English mother of two, for respecting the bonds her two sons shared with their late father. According to the story:

"Two teenage boys whose father was swept to his death by a freak wave are launching an appeal in his memory.

"Less than a week ago Coventry man Stephen Tickell died with his partner, Patricia Evans, when they were caught by a massive surge of water as they stood holding hands on a harbour wall in Cornwall.

"The devastating news of his death was broken to his sons, Grant, aged 15, and Shane, 13, on Monday.

"As they prepare for his funeral, the two youngsters, with their mum Irene, who was separated from their dad, are launching the fund to try to prevent similar tragedies.

To read more and discuss this issue on my blog, click here.
 

Lately we've discussed the way female criminals are treated with kid gloves by the media and/or the judicial system. Some examples include Lisa Nowak and Clara Harris. In both cases the women committed or attempted to commit terrible crimes, and their actions were largely excused by the media and the public because they're women. In both cases, the women were perceived to have been brokenhearted because of failed relationships with men.

Harris and particularly Nowak remind me of the Terry Barton case. Anybody remember Terry Barton? She's the Colorado Forest Service worker who intentionally set a forest fire which destroyed over 100,000 acres and led to the deaths of five firemen in June of 2002. Barton tried to pin her crime on a male camper, and later said she did it because her estranged husband sent her a mean letter. At the time I wrote a column about it called Colorado Arsonist Terry Barton's Smart Strategy: When in Trouble, Blame a Man (CNS News, 7/3/02).

An amazing thing--five firemen died fighting the Hayman fire, yet practically every news story about Barton, her trials, sentence, etc., never even mentions this. For example, the story Barton Gets 12 Years For Hayman Fire mentions all of the following:

1) District Judge Edward Colt feels bad about having to sentence Barton to prison.

2) U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch rejected a federal government request that Barton pay restitution for the enormous damage she caused because he "didn't want to sentence her to a life of poverty."

3) The fire caused $30 million in damage, burned over 135,000 acres and destroyed 133 homes and one business.

Nowhere is it mentioned in this story that five firemen died fighting the blaze.

Then Barton had the gall to say, "I am still, to this day, trying to forgive myself because an emotional act of me burning a letter has destroyed everything I have cared and loved for my entire life," as if the real problem here is that Barton has lost "everything."

For the record, the five firemen who died fighting the Hayman fire Barton set were Zach Zigich, Retah Shirley, Jacob Martindale, Danial Rama, and Bart Bailey. They all died on 6/21/02, and are listed in the memorial to fallen firefighters on the Wildland Firefighter Foundation's website.

To read more and to discuss this issue on my blog, click here.

"Our pastor makes all the husbands get down on one knee and beg their wives to forgive them for being such bad husbands and fathers."

I've often complained about anti-male bias among Christian conservatives, supposedly defenders of fatherhood and families. Christian writer Paul Coughlin, author of No More Christian Nice Guy: When Being Nice--Instead of Good--Hurts Men, Women, and Children, is one of the few Christian writers willing to take the Christian establishment to task for this. In his co-authored follow-up book Married but Not Engaged he has an interesting segment which deals with this, which is excerpted below:

Married but Not Engaged
By Paul & Sandy Coughlin

Recently, on TBN, a female host told a stage full of family men, sitting next to their wives, that one reason men don't communicate as effectively as women is that they "are a little brain dead." Clearly she has an inaccurate grasp of how testosterone, specifically, influences brain activity. However, if a male host said women's brains don't function right, you can bet you'd have heard a protest and perhaps an apology. Dehumanizing prejudice against men is so pervasive that her cutting remark was accompanied not by correction but by laughter.

On Father's Day, at your church, are husbands and fathers honored and encouraged, or is the theme more about their male quirkiness and their goofy habits? Are they celebrated? Praised? Told that they matter, that they're irreplaceable?

After reading Paul's article on Crosswalk.com en d "Pastors, Don't Use Mother's Day to Bash Dads," a reader wrote, "Your article was so wonderful and encouraging to us fathers. We no longer go to church on Mother's Day or Father's Day because of what is said about men." But it was mostly women who thanked him. "Thank you for your timely article. I couldn't agree more. It's about time someone gave Christian men the support they need."

Numerous men have told Paul that they no longer want to go to church on Mother's Day because they're herded into one all-inclusive category--deadbeat, or thereabouts--and told how insufficient and inadequate they are. One recalls, "Our pastor makes all the husbands get down on one knee and beg their wives to forgive them for being such bad husbands and fathers."

Many have been shamed in church for years with the unbiblical idea that women are more moral and spiritual, that men are intrinsically less so, simply by being male. They have also been given the ridiculous message that if there is anything wrong with their marriage, it's up to the man to fix it, and if the problem persists, it's his fault because he has been unable and/or unwilling to be the spiritual leader of his home. One popular Christian counselor claims that in more than thirty years of counseling, he has never seen a marriage problem where the husband didn't bear most if not all of the responsibility!

To read more and to discuss this issue on my blog, click here. 

Parental Alienation expert Karen Wagner, M.Ed. of Wagner Consulting Services has written an interesting new article in which she imagines divorce as a chess game. Wagner, who does good work helping fathers get back into their children's lives in the face of alienation attempts, asserts that just as chess could be described as "attack the king," divorce is often a "game" of "attack the father." The "pawns" often sacrificed to attack the father are, of course, the kids. Wagner writes:

"Imagine a child in the front line, just as the pawns are set out, in front of the key power pieces, i.e. the king, or father, and the queen, or mother...My first observation must be to point out the cruelty and inappropriateness of setting the child out as the first line of both defense and offense, to be manipulated by the very people that should be protecting them.

"The game of chess can also be called 'Attack the King' and statistically it is usually the fathers that get attacked in the game of divorce...The king on a chessboard has limited movement, one square at a time and as many fathers will attest, they also find themselves thwarted and limited as to where and when they can make a move.

"The queen on the other hand, enjoys a wide range of movement, just as the mother in family court is often afforded a larger scope of options than the father. Some of the moves that the queen makes have a devastating effect on the chessboard because of her virtually uncompromised power to move anywhere she wants. In the divorce game, mothers are very powerful when the court grants protective orders, supervised or limited visitation and child support orders."

To read Karen's full article and discuss this issue on my blog, click here.
 

Help for Michigan Dads
Michigan family law attorney Mindy L. Hitchcock has experience fighting for noncustodial parents against Michigan's abusive FOC. Her holistic approach to divorce gets results for her clients while avoiding the scorched earth approach to law that leaves families emotionally and financially devastated. Lady4Justice.com

The LaMusga Company
The LaMusga Company provides customized solutions to assist individuals and business owners in reaching their financial goals. The LaMusga Company is committed to helping you accomplish your long-term financial objectives. LaMusgaCo.com

File Taxes Online with  Professional Help
MENstax.com allows you to file your taxes, check your refund status, and have your return reviewed by an experienced tax professional--all online.

How Does Sex Discrimination Affect Men and Boys?
The National Coalition of Free Men Los Angeles is a non-profit educational & civil rights organization that looks at the ways sex discrimination affects men and boys. NCFM-LA helps provide men a unified voice on important political and social issues. www.NCFMLA.org