Some are claiming that this father's actions are over-the-top or even abusive. As a former high school teacher, all I can say is we need a lot more dads like this.

To watch the video, click here.

Knoxville father makes boy wear sign as punishment for using drugs

April 18, 2007
By JOHN HANEY
6 News Anchor/Reporter

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- A father took extreme measures Wednesday to discipline his 14-year-old son, who he claims was abusing drugs.

Because the boy is a minor, 6 News won't reveal his or his father's identity.

The boy was forced to wear a large sandwich board sign that said "I abused & sold drugs," while standing in front of Cedar Bluff Middle School.

"I would like to say that I'm not out here doing this to humiliate my son," the dad said. "I'm doing this because I love him. We do have an extreme drug problem in America, and maybe it's time for extreme measures that parents need to take to monitor this problem that we have."

The man says he recently learned after reading the boy's MySpace page his son was involved with marijuana and

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My longtime readers will remember our successful campaign against "Boys are Stupid" children's products back in 2003-2004. Our protest against the products--which were designed and created by Todd Goldman and his company David & Goliath--gained international media attention and drove the products out of 3,500 stores, 95% of their worldwide distribution.

Dr. Laura discussed the campaign in her book Woman Power: Transform Your Man, Your Marriage, Your Life, and the campaign was covered in Time Magazine, People Magazine, and over 300 newspapers. Afterwards, Bernard Goldberg ripped Todd Goldman in his bestseller 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America, referring to the protests and putting Goldman at #97 on his top 100 list. To learn more, see our campaign page here and read my column Why I Launched the Campaign Against 'Boys are Stupid' Products (Los Angeles Daily News, 2/4/04).

Recently I have been contacted by numerous artists, cartoonists, comic strip artists, and others concerning a scandal over Todd Goldman's alleged plagiarism. [Note--I know absolutely nothing about this type of art]. Goldman is accused of stealing artwork from other artists--centrally Dave Kelly--and using the cartoons on his company's merchandise. Many websites and publications have discussed the alleged plagiarism, including here.

The Goldman camp has responded by saying that Goldman "has mistakenly used the design of another artist in two of his recent paintings." Goldman himself claims, "I made a judgment error and didn't research the background of this particular submission. My intention was not to copy Mr. Kelly. I have never seen his work before and would never intentionally knock-off someone else's idea." Goldman's full media release can be viewed here. The situation is also discussed in Fur flies over squirrel: Sale of plagiarized cartoon unleashes brutal online attack (Las Vegas Sun, 4/12/07).

As bad as this looks, to be fair to Goldman, in some of these cases the line between plagiarism and an honest mistake can be thin. Goldman claims that one of the major designs he is accused of stealing was brought to him by one of his employees and Goldman was unaware that the employee had filched it. Also, according to the Sun:

"Artists and bloggers say Goldman has taken characters from other cartoons. Goldman disputes that, saying that some of the characters in question are his own and have been licensed, and that in the past year he has sent 50 cease-and-desist letters to artists doing knockoffs of his work."

I know nothing about the artistic world, but Goldman's claim here sounds plausible. Goldman also told the Sun, "This is just a bunch of hater artists trying to take me down," and that part of the reaction against him is driven by envy of his success. This claim also seems possible.

I've never had any personal contact with Goldman, outside of our debate on CNBC in 2004, when Goldman seemed rather annoyed with me. However, if he would like to offer his perspective on the plagiarism scandal I will make sure to include it. Input from Dave Kelly or other web artists is also welcome.

At the top of this blog entry and on the next page are several examples of Goldman's alleged plagiarism, as detailed on Dave Kelly's website. In all cases the original design is on the left and the Goldman/David & Goliath design is on the right side. Kelly discusses the issue at length here.

To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.

I Will Be Participating in the New 'Being a Better Dad' Teleseminar Series--Next Teleseminar is Tuesday, May 1

I am partnering with Parental Alienation expert J. Michael Bone, Ph.D., John Curtis, Ph.D., author of The Business of Love, and Debby Hirschhorn Ph.D., author of The Secret Marriage Killer: Eradicating Verbal and Emotional Abuse, in the new Being a Better Dad Teleseminar series.

The seminar is a convenient way for men to learn vital information or gain new skills on being a better dad. Fathers can attend training from the privacy of their own homes via telephone.

A Certificate of Attendance will be awarded to fathers who complete all 4 hours of "Being a Better Dad," and can be used to help show judges, child custody evaluators, mediators, etc., your commitment to co-parenting after divorce or separation, and to being the best dad you can be.

The next Teleseminar is TODAY (Tuesday, May 1 (9 p.m. EDT / 6 p.m. PDT)--to sign up, go to www.beingabetterdad.com.

I love being a dad, but there are times when it can be trying, and parenting during divorce or separation must be 10 or 100 times more difficult. The Being a Better Dad seminars are designed to help. The Being a Better Dad seminars cover:

- The national perspective on the most significant parenting and men's issues of 2007
- How a father can respond to Parental Alienation (where one parent tries to turn a child against the other parent)
- Stopping verbal abuse in marital or post-marital conflict along with winning strategies to raising healthier children
- A new approach to healthy intimate relationships based on business strategies that will actually work in the 21st century especially among dual-income couples

The Teleseminar's presenters are:

J. Michael Bone, Ph.D. is a national expert on Parental Alienation and high conflict divorce. He has been an evaluator, expert witness and educator on Parental Alienation in courts throughout the United States.

Debby Hirschhorn Ph.D. is a marriage and family therapist and the author of The Secret Marriage Killer: Eradicating Verbal and Emotional Abuse and How to Get Your Kids to WANT to Do What YOU Want Them to.

John Curtis, Ph.D. is the author of The Business of Love: 9 Best Practices for Improving the Bottom Line of Your Relationship, a unique book which details a step-by-step approach to apply proven business strategies to a marriage. Curtis and The Business of Love have been covered by the Today Show, the New York Times, Bloomberg Financial and numerous others.

Glenn Sacks is a fathers' advocate and columnist, commentator, blogger and talk show host. His columns appear regularly in US newspapers, he has made hundreds of radio and TV appearances, and is often quoted on fathers' issues in newspapers and magazines.

The next Teleseminar is Tuesday, May 1 (9 p.m. EDT / 6 p.m. PDT)--to sign up, go to www.beingabetterdad.com.

The American Coalition for Fathers and Children The American Coalition for Fathers and Children is dedicated to creating a family law system which promotes equal rights for all parties affected by divorce. Contact the ACFC at 1-800-978-3237 or visit them on the web at www.acfc.org. Parenting Plan Calendar Software Shared Ground (R) is an easy-to-use software program designed for divorced parents to track their parenting plan schedules over many years. Do-it-yourself or let us build your approved parenting plan into a multi-year calendar so that you can print, share, or modify the calendar later. Parents, attorneys, arbitrators and mediators can generate equitable parenting plans, which is especially useful for parents seeking fair division of their children's time. FREE ASSISTANCE TO OUR CLIENTS- $49.95 one-time charge, FREE TRIAL & MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE. Click here for more information. FALSELY ACCUSED IN TEXAS? Domestic Violence. Child Sexual Assault. Child Protective Services Defense. Contact the Law Office of Stuckle & Ferguson www.PaulStuckle.com / falseaccusations@stuckle-ferguson.com

Volvo announced last week that Arnold Worldwide had won the creative portion of its new advertising account. To learn more, see $150 Mil. Volvo Picks Arnold, Nitro (Adweek, 4/23/07).

From the beginning, Arnold was widely reported to be the favorite to win the account, but because of Arnold's track record of making commercials which portray men and fathers negatively, we had asked Volvo not to choose Arnold. Volvo chose Arnold anyway, although to their credit several of their executives did contact us to assure us that their ads would remain friendly to fathers and their families.

The campaign did raise awareness of the problem of advertising's negative depiction of men and fathers within the advertising industry and its media far more than ever before, and I believe this was an important gain. Thanks to all of you who participated in our campaign.

To learn more, see Campaign Against Anti-Male Advertising.

To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.

My new co-authored column, Baldwin Not the Only Culprit in Custody Battle with Basinger (San Diego Union-Tribune, 4/27/07), makes the point that while Baldwin's voicemail tirade at his daughter was clearly wrong, we're ignoring the Baldwin-Basinger case's central truth--Kim Basinger's relentless, well-documented Parental Alienation campaign against Baldwin.

The column appears below. To write a Letter to the Editor of the San Diego Union-Tribune regarding the column ("Behind the angry Baldwin verbal attack") (4/27/07), write to letters@uniontrib.com.

Baldwin Not the Only Culprit in Custody Battle with Basinger
By Jeffery M. Leving and Glenn Sacks
San Diego Union-Tribune
April 27, 2007

Alec Baldwin's angry, over-the-top voice-mail tirade at his daughter, Ireland, was clearly wrong. Unfortunately, while we've been wringing our hands over how bad Baldwin is, we're ignoring the case's central truth -- Kim Basinger's well-documented parental alienation campaign against Baldwin.

Parental alienation often arises after a divorce, as one angry, vengeful parent tries to turn the children against the other parent, destroying the loving bonds the children and the target parent once enjoyed. Baldwin claims that his outburst occurred in the context of Basinger alienating Ireland and trying to drive him out of his daughter's life.

This claim appears to have merit. In fact, Basinger's own mother has publicly condemned her behavior. Ann Basinger, Ireland's grandmother, calls Baldwin a "wonderful" parent, and says:

"My heart is sad for Ireland. She's the one that's suffering the most. All this is killing her. I think Kim has tried to alienate Ireland from her father. Alec loves his daughter with all his heart. He really is a family man...I hate what [Kim] is doing."

Journalist Pat Lalama, who has covered the Baldwin-Basinger divorce and custody battle since their break-up seven years ago, recently told CNN:

"In all the years that I have covered celebrities...this was one of the meanest exchanges between two human beings...some of the things that Kim Basinger was demanding, in order to humiliate him, were outrageous...[Baldwin] was provoked by an angry ex, which I'm guessing is probably the case here, [and] he went over the edge."

Earlier this year Baldwin charged that Basinger has: violated his visitation rights; interfered with his phone access to Ireland; and not notified him when she was going to be out of town so Baldwin could care for Ireland himself rather than leaving her with Basinger's baby-sitters.

In court Baldwin produced messages that Basinger gave Ireland before Ireland's visits with Baldwin. The messages, which were printed on candy bar wrappers, implied that Basinger had been mistreated by Baldwin and that Basinger and Ireland are aligned together.

Despite this, Baldwin has made legitimate attempts to placate Basinger in the best interests of their child. In November he even went on "Larry King Live" and praised Basinger, telling King, "I think she's a great mother, yes, a good mom."

In the long run, the apparent decision to leak the tape to the media -- in violation of a court order -- is far more damaging to Ireland than Baldwin's angry tirade. Had the tape not been leaked, Baldwin would have apologized to Ireland, and the incident would have been soon forgotten. Instead, Ireland will be embarrassed by the incident for the rest of her childhood.

One tactic frequently employed by alienating mothers is to try to provoke the father into blowing his top by interfering with his relationship with his children. When he does, mom pretends to be scared of "his awful temper," and gets the father's already limited role in his daughter's life reduced. Baldwin was foolish to play into Basinger's hands.

As the target parent of parental alienation, Baldwin is in a very difficult and painful situation. John Stossel, in his new book Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity: Get Out the Shovel -- Why Everything You Know is Wrong, describes an example of parental alienation he filmed for his TV show:

"We videotaped one such heartbreaking scene. A divorced father went to see his five kids for what he thought would be a full-day visit. He was entitled to that, under court order, and the court also ordered the mother not to discourage the children from spending time with their father. But she clearly had poisoned his children's minds against him. The father just stood outside his ex-wife's house and begged his children, 'Would you like to go out with me today?' 'No,' said one kid after another. Then the mother ordered the kids back into her house.

"What comes through on the tape is the unbridled satisfaction of the mother and the helplessness of the father."

Can any parent reading this honestly say that, were they in this father's shoes, they would never blow their top?

Josh Gonze, one of my most articulate readers, feels that the child support obligations for high income earners is excessive or confiscatory. Gonze, who can be reached at ski505@hotmail.com, writes:

"In a high-income child support case, the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled on April 25, 2007 that the maximum guideline for payments should not be exceeded through extrapolation.

"The state's child support table currently stops at $10,000 of net income monthly while the father earns $23,292. The mother requested that the child support formula be applied to the father's entire net income. The court ruled for the father, saying that without proof that the extra money is for the child's actual needs, child support should not be increased above the $10,000 net income maximum.

"The case of McKittrick v. McKittrick can be accessed at www.sdjudicial.com. Click Supreme Court, Opinions."

The AP article below details the case.

Court: $3,000 Child Support Not Justified
Associated Press
Friday, April 27, 2007

By: Joe Kafka

PIERRE -- The current maximum guideline for child-support payments should not be exceeded unless it can be shown that a child's actual needs and standard of living require it, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The decision comes in a Hughes County divorce case in which Lonnie McKittrick makes roughly 10 times as much as his ex-wife, Wanda McKittrick.

Lonnie McKittrick, whose gross income is $377,000 a year, is the insurance manager in Fischer, Rounds and Associates, the insurance and real estate firm partially owned by Gov. Mike Rounds.

McKittrick's former wife earns about $38,000 annually from Oahe Child Development Center. She also works part-time at Mesaba Aviation.

The couple married in 1988 and divorced in 2004. They have one child, Parker, 14, and the mother has custody.

The boy's father agreed at the time of the divorce to pay $1,000 in monthly child support, $1,000 in monthly alimony for 15 years and most of the child's extracurricular activity expenses. A college fund also was established by the father.

Wanda McKittrick requested increased child support last year after disputes over payment of travel and lodging expenses to attend one of Parker's out-of-town athletic events and expenses that had to do with their son's dog.

After reviewing their incomes, a child-support referee for the court system decided that the father should provide $3,006 in monthly payments for the care of his son. After taxes and a $927 monthly retirement deposit, the man's net take-home pay is $20,868 monthly.

Although the state child-support guidelines have a top net income standard of $10,000 monthly, the referee decided that the father's support payments should be based on a calculation of more than twice the standard income ceiling. Circuit Judge Max Gors agreed, and McKittrick filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court.

McKittrick's child-support should not have been increased by extrapolating his income beyond the $10,000 monthly standard without proof that the extra money is needed for his son's actual needs and standard of living, the justices said in their unanimous decision.

When the state Child Support Commission recommended the $10,000 monthly income ceiling in 1997 for calculating payments owed by noncustodial parents, the panel said economic studies had found that the percentage of income spent on rearing children decreases as income increases.

The commission, which meets every four years, therefore concluded that support payments based on income of more than $10,000 a month should be based on need
and standard of living, the justices noted.

"The commission reviewed the schedule in 2000 and 2005 but recommended no change to the upper level of the schedule," wrote Justice Judith Meierhenry.

"Studies show that the needs of a child do not increase at the same rate that family income increases once the monthly net income reached $10,000," she continued.

Wanda McKittrick presented no evidence to show that her son's needs are not being met or standard of living has changed, the high court stated.

In fact, both parents agreed there had been no diminishment in their son's lifestyle since the divorce, the justices added, reversing the father's $3,006 monthly support payments.

To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.

Help for Midwest Fathers Cordell & Cordell is one of the largest domestic relations firms for men in the Midwest, representing fathers in Missouri, Illinois, Texas, Kansas, Indiana and Georgia. Men who come to Cordell & Cordell know that their interests and the interests of their children will be aggressively championed. www.cordellcordell.com Civil War - A Father's Guide to Winning Child Custody Joseph E. Cordell's Civil War - A Father's Guide to Winning Child Custody  gives fathers clear, easy-to-understand tips on how to achieve the best results possible in a divorce. Comprehensive chapters explain every step of the divorce process, the meaning of legal terms, how courts determine custody, and how to maximize chances of victory at every stage. Cordell is the founder of Cordell & Cordell.  Parental-Alienation-Awareness.com Stop Parental Alienation--a terrible form of Child Abuse. Six states have now officially recognized Parental Alienation Awareness Day. To learn more, go to Parental-Alienation-Awareness.com.

"A 76 year-old Holocaust survivor named Liviu Librescu stood tall, [and] blocked with his own body the doorway to his classroom so his students could jump out of the windows. His students lived, and Librescu died."

Judith Kleinfeld of the Boys Project has an interesting new piece on the courage of Liviu Librescu (pictured), a hero in the recent Virginia Tech massacre. The piece is Blocking the door a character lesson (Anchorage Daily News, 4/27/07). Kleinfeld writes:

"The most important story [of the Virginia Tech massacre] has received virtually no national press coverage at all.

"This is the story of courage, of a 76 year-old Holocaust survivor named Liviu Librescu who stood tall, who blocked with his own body the doorway to his classroom so his students could jump out of the windows.

"His students lived, and Librescu died.

"Blocking the door was an incredible act of goodness, courage, and self-sacrifice. But have you heard this story? I doubt it. And the reasons why tell us a lot about the deficiencies of character education in bringing up children, why so many suffer from 'moral illiteracy.'

"Character education occurs in part through the telling and retelling of stories which celebrate and offer compelling examples of such virtues as courage...

"The tale of blocking the classroom door is a modern version of the classic story of Horatio at the Bridge...

"Once there was a war between the Roman people and the Etruscans who lived on the other side of the Tiber River. The King of the Etruscans raised a great army and marched toward Rome. The city had never been in so great danger.

"All that stopped the Etruscans from destroying Rome was a wooden bridge. If the Etruscan horsemen could get across the bridge, Rome would be lost.

"Now, among the guards at the bridge, there was a brave man named Horatio. When he saw the Etruscans coming on their horses, he called out to the Romans behind him to cut down the bridge, even though he was on the other side and most certainly would die...

"Horatio held back the Etruscans with shield and spear and kept the Etruscan horsemen from crossing the bridge. He died but he saved Rome...

"Moral education is a subtle and complicated enterprise. We teach our children the rules. We also know our children pick up what we do, more than what we say.

"But we also need stories of virtue so that children can see the ideals and our admiration for these ideals, even if we ourselves do not always live up to them.

"We need to hear about the Virginia Tech shooter, but we also need to hear about the hero, Liviu Librescu, who, like Horatio at the bridge, used his own body to bar the door."

To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.

Online Dating Rights Online Dating Rights opposes the new federal International Marriage Broker Regulation Act, which requires Americans who seek to meet foreigners via the internet to have a criminal background check and an intrusive report about intimate details of one's life BEFORE any communication--the first time in US history that such checks have been required. www.onlinedatingrights.com SAMSONLAW--Divorce Lawyers for Michigan Men & Fathers If you're a Michigan man faced with divorce, you need SAMSONLAW on your side--SAMSONLAW defends men. Smart Advocacy Means Stopping Oppression Now. INeedSamson.com Experience the Book that Dares to Scream the Inner Thoughts of Men Drawing upon encounters with both foreign and domestic women, American writer Thomas Ellis offers up The Rantings of a Single Male: Losing Patience with Feminism, Political Correctness... and Basically Everything--a collection of incredible but true stories, satire, and social commentary. Running the gamut from hilarious to tragic, these rants employ dark humor to illuminate the many absurdities of our gender culture. Ellis is unapologetic and unrestrained in his handling of women's history, women's spirituality, gender norming, implants, affirmative action, rape hysteria, pornography, homophobia, and bad dates. Contains adult situations and language. Now in its third printing. On sale through the end of 2006 for $9.95 + shipping from Amazon via direct purchase.

Arnold Worldwide Portrays Black Man as Fool in New Fidelity Ad

In this Fidelity commercial, Arnold Worldwide portrays a middle-aged black man as a clueless fool. Fortunately there is someone in the ad who is smart and can correct him--anybody have any idea who that person might be?

To watch the video click here or watch below.

To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.

Thanks to www.fathersandhusbands.org.

Paul McCartney--Abuser or Loving Father? Heather Mills Keeps Changing Her Mind "Heather Mills has implied that her estranged husband Sir Paul McCartney is an 'aggressive father.'"--BANG Media International, 4/27/07 "I have never spoken badly about my husband. I never will -- he is the father of my child."--Heather Mills, Telegraph [U.K.], 3/17/07 "Heather Mills has explosively struck back at her estranged husband Paul McCartney, accusing him of violently attacking her throughout their doomed relationship. Ms. Mills has claimed former Beatle Sir Paul tried to choke her...Court documents lodged by lawyers for Ms. Mills as part of the celebrity couple's divorce battle also claim that Sir Paul...grabbed Ms. Mills by the neck during a row and pushed her over a coffee table...She alleges [Paul] broke the bowl of [a] glass from its stem and lunged at her, cutting her below the elbow."--Daily Telegraph, 10/19/06 To read more and to discuss this issue on my blog, click here. The Business of Love 50% of 1st marriages fail, the rate of marriage has declined 48% in 40 years, single households now outnumber married households...if there ever was a time for a radical, new approach to marriage, it's NOW. The Business of Love, by Dr. John Curtis, an organizational development consultant and former marriage counselor, is the first book to show how to take the same "best practices" that build successful businesses and apply them to an intimate relationship. Learn more at www.TheBusinessofLove.org. 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 Did Jailed "Girls Gone Wild" Founder Get Raw Deal? I haven't followed the saga of "Girls Gone Wild" video empire founder Joe Francis (pictured, right), but Matt, a reader, says Francis is getting a raw deal. The story is 'Girls Gone Wild' founder gets jail time  (Associated Press, 4/23/07). Matt writes: "I think it's a classic case of legal misandry, personally. Let's break it down. The girls in question: "Lied about their ages to enter a drinking establishment where they knew GGW was going to be shooting. (GGW rents the club for the night. They don't just show up and start handing out shirts.) "*Showed fake IDs and signed waivers. "*Probably consumed alcohol. "*Sued GGW, even though they signed waivers releasing the use of their images. Joe Francis: "*Inadvertently taped underage women and sold the videos. "*Is losing a large amount of money due to court costs and having to remove and replace any videos featuring the girls that may have been sold, not to mention the settlements he's going to have to pay. "*Is going to spend a month in prison because he lost his temper (understandably) over losing a frivolous lawsuit. "The reaction I've seen most is that he's a smut-peddling sleazebag who deserves what he got. From my point of view, he was conducting business as usual and was taken advantage of. Last I heard, being a smut-peddling sleazebag wasn't against the law, so why is he being punished and they aren't?" To read more and to discuss this issue on my blog, click here. New DVD set from Dr. Warren Farrell--The Best Interests of the Child In this new DVD set from Dr. Warren Farrell, one of the foremost experts on children of divorce, he summarizes over 200 studies, and finds that 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: Last month Ohio's Butler County Child Support Enforcement Agency launched a highly-publicized new campaign which puts mug shots of the County's "Most Wanted Deadbeat Parents" on pizza boxes. The idea was the brainchild of Agency Executive Director Cynthia Brown.

I debated Brown on FOX News' nationally-syndicated Morning Show with Mike and Juliet--to watch the debate, click here. To learn more about the story, see my co-authored column Ohio Pizza Box/'Deadbeat Dad' Campaign Unfairly Stigmatizes Fathers (Cincinnati Post, 4/2/07), or click here.

I have long pointed out that the "Most Wanted Deadbeat Parent' lists put out by many states and district attorneys are filled almost exclusively with low-income men. During my debate with Butler County Child Support Enforcement Agency Executive Director Cynthia Brown (pictured right), I detailed the occupations of the men on her pizza box "Wanted" poster, all of whom were blue collar workers.

Well, perhaps by chance or perhaps because she was annoyed by me, Brown has finally, finally found a guy with a decent job who's behind on his child support--Dwight D. Heisler, an attorney. According to the article Attorney's Law License Suspended Over Child Support (WCPO, 4/26/07):

"If you don't pay, you can't practice. That's the message from Butler County's Child Support Enforcement Agency to a local attorney who owes back child support. The agency was behind the push to have Dwight D. Heisler's law license suspended. It's director says Heisler owed $3,900 as of the end of 2006. The group has aggressively gone after non-paying parents by putting their pictures on pizza boxes and having driver licenses suspended. Now it plans to go after personal property."

This is not to say that Butler County's action is necessarily correct--Heisler may be legitimately unable to pay, too. His business could have gone bad, he could have been asked to pay too much, and he might be financially wiped out from the divorce. We don't know if he was given a fair custody arrangement, or if that arrangement is being honored by his ex. But at least Brown finally, finally found a "deadbeat" with a decent job and an education--congrats, Cindy...

To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.

"My own mother doesn't have a phone number to call my daughter. My ex-wife would take my daughter to her home town and take my daughter all around to see all her mother's family except her own mother because my ex-wife has a ceaseless feud with her mother. And my ex-mother-in- law, who I am still friendly with would call me on the phone and start sobbing and say, 'What do you think you and I have done to deserve to be treated like this?'...

"I was given my daughter [when Basinger went out of town] I had two blissful weeks with my daughter...The mother comes home and the phone gets turned off and I don't speak to the child again for 10 days. And what you learn in parental alienation is that affection for the alienated parent or loyalty to the alienated parent is portrayed as betrayal of the custodial parent..."

To watch Alec Baldwin's recent interview on ABC's The View, click here. Baldwin starts off slow but gets going pretty well.

To read more, including the show transcript, and to discuss this issue on my blog, click here.

"He's very much of a tortured father who feels alienated from his own child. When he was doing Broadway he flew out one day a week. He's trying to connect to this kid. (Basinger) defies a lot of court orders for him to visit the child, which I think is making him crazy...All the things that Kim asked him to do, he did. He went to anger management...[but Basinger] defied all the court orders...It affects his soul."--Rosie O'Donnell, 4/23/07

Rosie Defends Baldwin's Angry Outburst

CBS, 4/23/07

Rosie O'Donnell defended Alec Baldwin, who landed in hot water last week when an angry message he left for his daughter was released to the public.

"I have to admit I have cursed at my kids sometimes," O'Donnell said on "The View" Monday. She reenacted what she might say to one of her children, which prompted applause and laughs from the audience.

The voice mail Baldwin left for his 12-year-old daughter, Ireland, was released by the Web site TMZ last week and was splashed all over the Web and television. In it the "30 Rock" star called his daughter a "thoughtless little pig."

Baldwin and his ex-wife, actress Kim Basinger, have been in a contentious battle over custody for several years.

"After hearing it, tears welled up in my eyes thinking what that girl had to hear," O'Donnell's co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck said on the show Monday.

"He's very much of a tortured father who feels alienated from his own child," O'Donnell said of Baldwin. "When he was doing Broadway he flew out one day a week. He's trying to connect to this kid."

"(Basinger) defies a lot of court orders for him to visit the child, which I think is making him crazy," O'Donnell continued. "Not that that's an excuse." Read the rest of this entry »

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

Actress Bijou Phillips, whose sister Chynna is married to Billy Baldwin, Alec Baldwin's brother, says:

"[Baldwin] is a really great guy. I'm proud to have him in my family. I have 100 percent faith in him as a father. There's two sides to every story... Alec's a really great guy and he's a really good father."

From Bijou Phillips Defends Baldwin (FemaleFirst.co.uk, 4/24/07)

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In my February blog post Maybe THIS Is Why Athletes Are Cynical About Fans I chastised the many sportswriters and fans who had been slamming New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez. I wrote:

"I've always been amazed at the way sports fans decide that a particular player is a bum, or lazy, or underachieving, or 'gutless,' or whatever, and, based on zero evidence, start booing and harassing him....Baseball's current whipping boy is Alex Rodriguez...Rodriguez is labeled a 'choker' because his performance in the playoffs the past couple years has been poor--ignoring the fact that all players will sometimes have poor performances in a selected handful of games, particularly against top pitching...A-Rod gets dissed and harassed for no good reason, yet the first time he doesn't feel like signing autographs or is cranky with reporters, all anybody will talk about is what an ungrateful jerk he turned out to be."

Last week I commented on the blog that "now A-Rod's getting his revenge--he's blasted 12 homers in his first 62 at bats and has a good shot to break the all-time April homerun record. He is also a good candidate to break the all-time homerun record."

One reader pointed out a similar, and actually far more egregious case of an athlete receiving this kind of mistreatment--the tragic story of Houston Astros pitcher JR Richard (pictured above), one of the best pitchers in baseball during the late 1970s. The reader wrote:

"The classic example of this occurred many years ago in Houston. J.R. Richard was a great pitcher for the Astros for many years. He was 6′8″ with long arms and legs, had a fastball in the high 90s and a devastating slider and curve. He routinely pitched over 200 innings a year and struck out over 200 batters. He was a workhorse for mostly bad teams.

"Finally, he was selected to the All-Star team and was chosen to be the starting pitcher for the National League that year. Strangely though, in his two starts prior to the All-Star game, J.R. left the game in the middle innings complaining of being tired. Fans and Houston sports writers piled on him claiming that he was dogging it because he had just signed a big contract the previous off-season.

"J.R. pitched the first three innings of the All-Star game giving up no runs and striking out 4. Within three days, he had collapsed on the practice field due to a series of strokes which his tiredness had foretold. He never pitched again and the Houston sports writers never apologized for questioning the commitment of the man who had done so much for the Astros."

To learn more about what happened to Richard, see the Sporting News' article The tragedy of J.R. Richard: A story seldom told.

To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.

A nice piece by Carey Roberts (pictured) at www.MensNewsDaily.com on the Duke rape fiasco. Roberts writes:

"'Outrageous' is the word that comes to mind that describes what happened to the Duke Three, accused of gang-raping Crystal Gail Mangum during the early morning hours of March 14, 2006.

"Our country was founded on the principles of rule of law and the presumption of innocence. But what we witnessed in Durham, North Carolina over the last year had little to do with the even-handed pursuit of justice. Except for the absence of ropes and gasoline, it resembled a small-town lynch mob.

"Shame on Michael Nifong who, lacking eyewitness accounts, forensic proof, or DNA evidence, violated a long list of due process procedures. Nifong botched the photo line-up, turned his back on a disconfirming report of the examining nurse, ignored the fact that the accuser repeatedly changed her story, downplayed Mangum's unsavory occupational activities, prejudiced the jury pool by publicly referring to the players as a 'bunch of hooligans,' pandered to voters to secure his November re-election, and intentionally withheld exculpatory DNA evidence from a key report -- and that's only a partial listing.

"When the books are closed on this case, history will recount the role played by Duke University president Richard Brodhead. It was Brodhead who incoherently remarked, 'if they didn't do it, whatever they did is bad enough,' and fueled the hysteria by canceling the rest of the team's season and suspending two of the players from the university.

"People will long wonder why the 'Group of 88′ professors printed a defamatory letter on April 6 proclaiming that certain unnamed students 'know themselves to be the objects of racism and sexism ...regardless of the results of the police investigation.'

"Regrettable, too, were the actions of Duke professor Houston Baker, who openly indulged in sexism and racism, denouncing the 'drunken white male privilege loosed amongst us' and calling the players 'scummy white males.'

"And hopefully one day we can forget the specter of the Take Back the Night mobs who chanted death threats, eventually forcing one of the defendants to move out of his home."

Read the full article here.

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Family law attorney Jeff Leving discussed the Baldwin case on MSNBC this week. I was surprised and pleased to see that the host and all three guests were pretty fair and sympathetic to Baldwin.

To watch the video, click here.

To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.