The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children's TV Public Service Announcement "Nowhere to Hide" depicts a terrorized 10-year-old child hiding in fear of an abusive father.

The PSA can be seen here. In it, the little child hides under his or her bed (as pictured), in a closet, and in other places. The child even hides a teddy bear because the  violent father will destroy it. A child's halting acoustic piano version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" plays in the background. The text of the ad, interspersed with the pictures, reads:

"Where would you hide if you were ten years old?
And your father came home
And he was looking for you
Like he looked for you last night
And the night before that
And the night before that
And what if he was still angry
Very, very, angry
Where would you hide if you were ten years old?"

Fathers and Families, the Massachusetts-based shared parenting organization led by Dr. Ned Holstein, discussed the ad with MSPCC over the past couple days, and Ned asked the leaders of MSPCC to meet with he and I over the issue. I prepared a campaign in support of Fathers and Families but delayed it in order to give the MSPCC a chance to resolve the issue.

To their credit, they did, informing Ned on Tuesday that the ad would be pulled. I commend them for their decision, and also

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This weekend the "Bringing Children and Families Back Together" rally was held at the National Mall in Washington DC. Below are YouTube links to some of the Rally's speeches.

Judge Willie Lipscomb Chief Judge 36th District Court Detroit, Michigan:
Lipscomb's speech--Part I, Part II

Tim McKyer - Three-Time Super Bowl Winner
McKyer's speech

Dr. O. J. Shabazz - Evangelist Harlem Church of Christ, New York, NY
Dr. O. J. Shabazz's speech--Part I, Part II

Carol Rhodes, former FOC Enforcement Officer, author of Friend of the Court, Enemy of the Family
Rhodes' speech

Mike McManus, President of Marriage Savers
No video--the text of McManus' speech can be seen here.

To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.

DC Rally Update: Mike McManus of Marriage Savers Speaks

Background: As I've discussed previously, this weekend the "Bringing Children and Families Back Together" rally is being held at the National Mall in Washington DC. Speakers include Dr. Stephen Baskerville, President of the American Coalition for Fathers and Children, Minister Ronald Smith, Founder of Children Need Both Parents, Robert Looper, Chairman of National African American Coalition for Shared Parenting, and many others.

One of the speakers at the rally was Mike McManus, the founder of Marriage Savers. His group works with troubled couples, and his program is said to have helped save 100,000 marriages over the past couple decades.

I met Michael at the ACFC conference last September, and was very impressed. I had moderated a panel before Michael spoke, and as I noticed him in the audience he looked like a tired, older gentleman. He came up to speak and I thought, "Somebody needs to get this guy some caffeine--fast!" But as soon as he began speaking about saving marriages his eyes lit up, and he gave one of the most impassioned and impressive speeches of the conference.

McManus didn't claim to be an expert on family law, having spent many years preventing couples from coming to family court to begin with. He did, however, endorse shared parenting, and it's an endorsement with a lot of credibility. He also laid out his ideas for putting some limits on no-fault divorce in marriages with minor children, an idea worth exploring.

When I was sitting with him later I told him that he was actually underselling himself--he hadn't saved 100,000 marriages but probably many more, since children of divorce are themselves more likely to divorce. I told him it reminded me of a quote from the Talmud--"He who saves one life in time saves the world."

[Late note: the text of McManus' remarks can be seen here.]

To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.

My latest His Side with Glenn Sacks radio commentary for KLAA AM 830 in Los Angeles concerns the recent domestic violence arrest of  TV broadcaster and former NFL lineman Chad Eaton. To listen to the commentary, click here. To learn more about the story, click here.

His Side with Glenn Sacks radio commentaries are broadcast daily on KLAA AM 830, a 50,000 watt talk station in Los Angeles and Orange County. KLAA AM 830 is owned by Arte Moreno, owner of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. KLAA hosts include Glenn Beck and Michael Savage.

From 2003-2005, His Side with Glenn Sacks ran in a syndicated talk show format in Los Angeles, New York City, Boston, Seattle, and other cities. To listen to show archives, click here.

To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.

Fathers & Families: Advocacy for the Child-Father Bond Fathers & Families is a non-profit organization advocating for the right of every child to have two parents. Called by some a "fathers' rights organization," Fathers & Families is made up of men and women who believe that fathers are an essential part of a child's life and that divorce or separation should not change this. www.FathersandFamilies.org    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

My recent co-authored column, Maine's Adoption of Predominant Aggressor Doctrine in DV Arrests Will Ensnare Innocent Men (Lewiston Sun Journal, 8/5/07), criticizes Maine's LD 1039, a domestic violence bill. Combining with other misguided laws and policies, the bill essentially makes a street cop responding to a 911 call the arbiter of child custody, and of whether the children involved will have their fathers in their futures or not. The bill was recently signed into law in Maine.

Gretchen Ziemer, legislative coordinator for the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence (one of the organizations which pushed LD 1039), and John B. Rogers, director of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy, state the case in  favor of the bill in their column Identifying aggressors brings context to crises (Lewiston Sun Journal, 8/12/07). It's the second half of a point/counterpoint that the Sun Journal published on the issue. My column (linked above) was published the previous Sunday.

The Ziemer/Rogers column appears below, with my comments in italics inserted.

Identifying aggressors brings context to crises
Sunday, August 12, 2007

The complexities of domestic violence cases require policies to help police comprehend abuse situations.

The Maine Criminal Justice Academy, the Maine Department of Public Safety, the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence and Rep. Deb Simpson, D-Auburn, united this past legislative session around LD 1309, a bill adopting police policies and education about proper "predominant aggressor" identification and enforcement.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police defines predominant aggressor as "the person who poses the most serious ongoing threat," while realizing "an injury resulting from...self-defense is neither abuse nor a crime."

[The "person who poses the most serious ongoing threat" is code for "arrest the man." The man, because of his greater size, will almost always be perceived as being the "most serious ongoing threat." The idea that when women hit or abuse men, it's only (or usually) in self-defense has been discredited by research for many years. In reality, most men and women hit in self-defense in about equal numbers, and most blows by either gender are not struck in self-defense.]

Since 1984, mandatory arrest laws have been implemented to punish and deter domestic abuse. The complexity of domestic violence requires a judicial response that encourages police, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, bail commissioners, etc. to understand the context of domestic violence and examine each case individually.

Criminalizing domestic violence with mandatory arrest laws started with the concept batterers wouldn't stop until the community thought of their actions as crimes. Activists also believed criminalization would stigmatize the batterer.

["Criminalizing domestic violence with mandatory arrest laws started with the concept batterers wouldn't stop until the community thought of their actions as crimes" is a big leap. Yes, it is true that having the community think of domestic violence as a "crime" does deter batterers, and this society-wide awareness is one of the many positive things the feminist movement did.

In previous eras, the attitude towards domestic violence tended to be more of the "it's between the two of you, keep it off the street" variety. However, there is a big difference between treating DV as a crime and mandatory arrest.

What mandatory arrest laws often do is create arrests where there has not been a crime. There's a 911 call, the officers are pressured to make an arrest, they're pressured to arrest men ("perps") not women. As a result, many, many innocent men have been thrown into the domestic violence system, and prosecuted because of "No drop" prosecution policies.]

As time passed, the Legislature enacted laws giving officers more arrest authority, victims more protection with bail conditions and protective orders and required police to have better domestic violence policies and training.

[The statement that laws have been "giving officers more arrest authority" is misleading--they've made it easier for officers to make arrests, but they've stripped officers of their authority and discretion to size up a DV situation and make an intelligent decision on it. Instead, hands tied, officers are often forced to arrest men in situations where it is very unclear that they engaged in any violence.]

Yet, according to the Maine Department of Public Safety, the crime of Domestic Assault, as reported to police, occurs every 96 minutes. (Maine Department of Public Safety, Uniform Crime Report, 2005.) Mandatory arrest was encouraged by most police agencies to help stop the crime, but not as the sole response to domestic violence. Mandatory arrest was meant to work with other means to end domestic violence. Mandatory arrest transformed the justice system response nationally, but with costs. It has led to increased dual arrests and female victims arrested for domestic violence. Numerous studies show the drastic increase in female arrests is not from an increase of women perpetrators, but from women protecting themselves.

[Fair arrest policies would result in far more women being arrested, not less, because now women are able to commit DV largely with impunity. The dominant aggressor doctrine (and LD 1039) shield women who abuse men or engage in mutual violence from being held legally accountable for their actions.]

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

Dr. J Michael Bone, PhD, one of the nation's foremost experts on Parental Alienation, recently sent me this letter notifying me of a new, anti-father Florida law. Bone writes:

"House Bill 77, entitled the 'Keeping Children Safe Act,' is very flawed and will probably be challenged on a constitutional basis. Until this occurs, it has the potential to wreak havoc on many fathers. The bill went into effect on July 15, 2007. The subject of the Bill, as the title suggests, is for the safety of children.  However as we both know these attempts to create legislation for protection also become portals whereby falsely accusing parents can successfully separate children from a parent (typically fathers).

"Here are some of the chilling details.

"Visitation is automatically stopped once a telephone report is made, essentially from any source, alleging sexual abuse.  No questions asked.  The caller also remains anonymous.  Visitation continues to be interrupted, until the court has a hearing about this, at which point, the court may allow visitation to resume.  It sounds to me like there is an implicit presumption of guilt versus one of innocence.  This however is nothing new.

"At the hearing, the accused must prove by clear and convincing evidence (a high legal threshold), that the safety of the child would not be threatened by continued visitation.

"Even if the accused is victorious at the hearing, the court may then permit continued visitation, but it's not required to reinstate the prior schedule.

"At the hearing, the court may rely on evidence that is not admissible in court.  This could mean hearsay, outright lies, you name it.

"If such allegations are made in the first place, the court must then appoint a GAL or an Attorney ad Litem, with special training in the detection of sexual child abuse. First, the law does not specify what kind of training would be required.  However, even if it was substantial training required, we must be reminded that investigation of allegations of sexual abuse is among the most complex and difficult clinical evaluative areas that exists.  Even the most otherwise competent clinician, can and does often bungle this.  We must also keep in mind that there is no accepted psychological instrument that is thought to be reliable in this area.  So, in essence, the court is appointing a lawyer or sometimes just a volunteer that took a GAL course to do the equivalent of psychological brain surgery.

"If that is not enough, subsequent to the original allegations, if the court hears from the child, though any source (read the other parent), that the accused is trying to influence what the child says, then visitation is immediately suspended.  No questions.

"Further, if the child is in therapy, the therapist may be asked to opine about the wisdom of continued visitation.  When we are reminded that, therapists for alienated children most often buy directly into what the alienated child is saying, one can see how this will basically authorize and then protect a therapist from opining about that which they as a therapist should not be opining about at all.  We all know that in alienation cases, the therapist is most often heavily influenced by the alienating parent.

"Obviously,  this new legislation slipped under the radar and is now law in Florida.  The concerns that I have are the obvious ones:  that the purpose of this legislation, to protect children from being sexually abused, is much more likely to have the effect of supporting the process of alienation.  I do believe that this law will be significantly corrected or repealed since it truly does violate certain civil rights, and ignores due process. However we know that this will take considerable time, and until then many fathers will be at great peril of losing their children."
 
The text of the bill can be found here. Its passage "under the radar" is another indicator of the weakness of our movement. We should have a full time legislative associate/lobbyist in Tallahassee who would have picked up on this bill and helped organize opposition to it, like Michael Robinson of the California Alliance for Families and Children recently did with AB 612. To learn more, see Good News: Bill to Make It Harder to Protect Children from Parental Alienation Dies.

To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.

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"I am a single mother [and] I work in a male-dominated environment and I see so many good fathers who want to spend more time with their children...Their entire paychecks go to pay their 'child support' while I bring them left over food for lunch as opposed to seeing them eat Top Ramen Noodles...again...their reward is to listen to their children's mothers' complain...that they are 'forced to do it all alone.'"

Dear Glenn:

I am a single mother and my 12 year old son has never met his father.  He has always known the truth in regard to this with age appropriate guidance.  I am engaged to a man with a 4 year-old daughter.  He was never married to her and due to financial issues they have never sought custodial resolution from the court system.  They have seen what kind of strain this has done to friends and family and it often hurts more than it helps.  I believe I know why many of these "dead beat" dads exist.

I have noticed through the years that young women (18 - 30+ years old) utilize their child support for everything EXCEPT the child.  I have seen time and again women spend this money on clothes, new cars, jewelry, and other frivolous purchases.

I work in a male-dominated environment and I see so many good fathers who want to spend more time with their children and would gladly take full financial and custodial responsibility if given the option.  Some of these men have more than one child.  Their entire paychecks go to pay their "child support" while I bring them left over food for lunch as opposed to seeing them eat Top Ramen Noodles... again.  These men go to work, come home, and pay child support.  This sounds like a miserable existence to me and their reward is to listen to their children's' mother complain about what a strain it is on her to HAVE to take the children to the doctor, miss work because the child is ill, and many other parental responsibilities that they are "forced to do alone."  All the while she has left the motor running in her brand new car while her 7th boyfriend in a year is blaring the radio.  This father would love nothing more than to pick his children up from daycare every evening and take them to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner, but they can't. 

I am a disgusted SINGLE MOTHER and I am tired of watching these good fathers suffer for loving their children.  They'd rather have their children full time and get $0.00 to take care of them. These men are not ATM Machines... they're fathers and should be treated as such.

Shirley

To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.

This weekend the "Bringing Children and Families Back Together" rally was held at the National Mall in Washington DC. Last week I asked Jennifer Kuhn, a men's and fathers' activist, to write me an eyewitness account of the rally. What she sent me is below.

Jen is critical of the rally--I'd also be happy to post eyewitness accounts from people who were at the rally and who viewed it more positively.

"Glenn,

"Dave and I and the boys went down to Washington DC yesterday. We talked with two people who were at the Congress last month, then sat down to watch the speakers. There were maybe 100-250 people there, it was hard to tell with all the tourists there. There were four information booths with 1-2 groups at each one, and a signup booth, as well as the central stage with the quilt displayed.

"The first person to speak made a very distinct separation between the rally and F4J. He said that the people who did that disruptive action yesterday had nothing to do with the rally. He then said that this rally had nothing to do with fathers' rights. It was about noncustodial parents and their families. Everyone there applauded. I was so disgusted that after listening to one other speaker (the woman who made the quilt who also did not mention fathers) we left. The fact is that their dismissal of Jolly and Mike was uncalled for and separated the two occurrences which could have made more press for both with careful acknowledgement.

"To see the organizers of this rally divide and dismiss some very important contributors to this movement, and dismiss half the movement itself made me very angry. He could have said the movement was 'not just about fathers rights' which would include them and others, but he dismissed them altogether."

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

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This weekend the "Bringing Children and Families Back Together" rally was held at the National Mall in Washington DC. Last week I asked Jennifer Kuhn, a men's and fathers' activist, to write me an eyewitness account of the rally. Jen is critical of the rally, and her report is posted. Below, Robert Pedersen, a rally supporter and participant, responds to Jennifer.

"Jennifer Kuhn should have stayed longer at this historic event and it is clear that her 'eye witness' account only included the opening portion of the rally.  The number of people present for the rally as cited by Jennifer is inaccurate at best.   I am sure that there will be various accounts on this rally each with their own personal slant.  Many wanted this rally to be a failure, however if it proved one thing it is that for the first time numerous organizations came together united to end the current state of madness.  Many who are 'fathers' rights leaders' who profit from the current state of madness wanted this rally to fail.  Many so called 'leaders' which people blindly follow did not donate a single penny to this rally or the Equal Parenting Bike Trek.  Yet they want you to buy their DVDs and their services.

"Ronald Smith had an obligation to differentiate between the action by Fathers4Justice and the Family Preservation Rally.  Not doing so could have cause the park service to pull the permit on the Family Preservation Rally.  After Ronald Smith stated what he HAD to do, I did not see the Fathers4Justice people walk away from the Family Preservation Rally in protest of Ron's comments!  In fact, they were some of Ron's strongest supporters."

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

This past weekend the "Bringing Children and Families Back Together" rally was held at the National Mall in Washington DC. John Murtari, a New York shared parenting activist, wrote an eyewitness account of the rally. He also posted over two dozen pictures of the rally.

To read Murtari's account, click here.

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Feminist bloggers have been vociferously protesting the case of Cassandra Hernandez (pictured). This is how the case is described in Air Force Charges Victim in Her Own Rape from the blog Feministing.com:

"Hernandez was at a party, where she was drinking. She says that three male airman raped her. She went to the hospital and filed a report accusing her attackers. Due to stress and harsh interrogation tactics by the Air Force, she eventually refused to testify against the airmen.

"The Air Force then charged her with underage drinking...and, along with her three attackers, 'indecent acts'...So. The woman was raped. By three men. She reported her rape. She was harassed by her superiors, to the point where she became too afraid to testify. The Air Force took this as meaning that the sex was therefore consensual (which isn't what it means at all), and charged her in the case of her own rape...The three alleged attackers were offered sexual assault immunity to testify against Hernandez on the indecent acts charge...Hernandez is writing to her [legislators] and her Governor...in a desperate plea to end this madness. Once you finish throwing up, crying, breaking things, etc., I strongly suggest that you write, too."

I was surprised and disturbed by the case. I've done much work on the problem of false rape accusations, and I wondered whether the feminist portrayal of the case is accurate. I asked one of my most intelligent and astute readers, Stan Eads, to review the information in the case. I did not ask him to find reasons why the feminists are wrong--I told him, "what you find is what you find."

Stanton researched the issue and has come to the conclusion that the feminists have a legitimate cause for protest here. Based on his research, I think the facts surrounding the alleged rape are murky, and that the feminists may well be correct. Printed below is Stan's description of the case, and below that the Associated Press story on it. A more detailed story can also be found here.

from Stan Eads:

In the Cassandra Hernandez case, a female airman at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina claims to have been raped by three cadets after drinking at a party on or near the base. The charges were taken seriously enough that one of the three alleged rapists was initially charged with the crime. The woman later declined to testify against the cadets, however, resulting in the charges being dropped. It's at this point that things get a bit strange. The four airmen, including the original accuser, were all charged with committing indecent acts, according to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and she with an additional count of underage drinking. Claiming that the sex was consensual, the three men pleaded guilty and were given minor penalties, but the woman admitted only to underage drinking, and thus faces a court-martial on the indecent acts charge. And the cadets whom she accused were granted immunity from the sexual assault charge in exchange for testimony against the woman.

The feminist blogs, of course, are righteously presenting this as a case of patriarchy doing its standard thing against women...

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

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What Happens When You Put a Macho Basketball Star on Estrogen? In the movie John Tucker Must Die, three high school girls are being two-timed (three-timed?) by the school's basketball star. The three, including Beth (played by Sophia Bush, pictured), decide to get their revenge on Tucker by trying to humiliate him. Tucker is clever, though, and a smooth operator, and he always seems to land on his feet no matter what they do. I'm not much for female "revenge" movies in general. I dispute the idea that women as a whole are mistreated by men, and I dislike the belief held by some women that they (or womankind as a whole) deserve to get "revenge." Still, it is a funny movie, and the best parts are the way Tucker outmaneuvers his female assailants. In this clip from the film, the three girls have replaced Tucker's normal supplement powder with Estrogen, and he takes a ton of the stuff. The way he behaves afterwards is interesting, and certainly nothing like I've ever seen a female in my life act... To watch the "John Tucker on Estrogen" scene, click here. To discuss this issue on my blog, click here. 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 If Your IQ Is Less than 50, This Might Have Fooled You I was informed Friday that an opponent of the fatherhood movement has been posting a clumsy forgery, purportedly from me, slamming the ACFC, Mike McCormick, and the DC Rally. The post--sent from "glen_sackes@yahoo.com" and posted to the Fathers 4 Justice yahoo group--can be found below. If your IQ is less than 50, you might've been fooled by it. ----- Original Message ----- From: glen_sackes To: Fathers-4-Justice@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, August 17, 2007 8:11 AM Subject: [Fathers-4-Justice] Why Did The Fathers Movement Fail = THE ACFC IS WHY Look who is trying to suck up all the air at the DC Ralley - The ACFC. This is the most do nothing bunch of nobody's - If they had not bribed stephen baskerville they would have nothing at all. Know Me and my kids are in a worst place today than when they took over ten years ago. Mike Mcormick is the biggest bunch of nothing - everything he has been involved in has bombed - he is nothing but talk and tries to take credit for everyone elses hard word. Then when cornered he lies. DUMP THE ACFC - They have betrayed more fathers and their children than crooked lawyers. They have been around for ten years doing nothing but collecting money from people and in the words of McCor dick - We are not really very big or powerful we have only been able to create that illusion - Dump Mike Mcormick. Dump Mike Mcormick Dump Mike Mcormick Dump Mike Mcormick Dump Mike Mcormick Dump Mike Mcormick The ACFC is a bunch of are jerks - Dave Roberts just goes along and lets his butt buddy McCormick screw everyone over. DUMP THE ACFC - CLOSE THEM DOWN!!! They have done nothing but ride on everyone elses efforts - DUMP THE ACFC DUMP THE ACFC DUMP THE ACFC DUMP THE ACFC DUMP THE ACFC DUMP THE ACFC DUMP THE ACFC DUMP THE ACFC DUMP THE ACFC DUMP THE ACFC DUMP THE ACFC DUMP THE ACFC DUMP THE ACFC DUMP THE ACFC DUMP THE ACFC To discuss this issue on my blog, click here. Dr. Warren Farrell's Shared Parenting Evidence Kit--What You Need to Win Shared Physical Custody Dr. Warren Farrell, a top expert on children of divorce now offers a complete evidence kit to help you win shared custody.  The DVDs, audio CD and electronic files summarize the best scientific research available collected over decades.  Scientific research has proven that children do far better with near equal time with both parents with minimal conditions.  This video set was developed to educate parents, judges, lawyers, psychologists and other divorce professionals. Most judges are doing exactly what is worst for children with sole-custody.  Submitted as evidence this will maximize your chances. Divorce Reform groups call(508) 381-1450 to use as fundraiser. www.BestInterestofChildren.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

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"I think it sends a terrible message about the criminal justice system, that you can commit a homicide and literally get away with it. Justice was definitely not served here. You had a preacher, who by all accounts was loved in his community, who was shot in the back while he slept.

"You have a woman who says she was abused with absolutely no history, no shred of evidence....battered women who really are battered have to look at this and say this is a total miscarriage of justice...

"At the trial, she took out a pair of high heels and she said, 'This is how I was abused. He made me wear these heels when we were intimate with each other.' That's not abuse. This is ridiculous."--Former judge and prosecutor Jeanine Pirro, on the Today Show

On the Today Show, former judge and prosecutor Jeanine Pirro, condemned the criminal justice system for its kid gloves treatment of husband-killer Mary Winkler. She noted how "strange" it was that during the sentencing the judge talked about "days" as opposed to "years" in a homicide case. Mary Winkler shot Matthew Winkler (pictured) in the back and allowed him to bleed to death for 20 minutes.

To learn more, watch the Today Show video here or see the article below. Also, see my recent blog post Murderess Mary Winkler Walks.

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

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One wonders if Amazon.com, Alibris, Waterstone's (UK), and others would proudly market a book describing how men can torture, stalk, and/or emotionally abuse their ex-wives.

The author, a vindictive, twice-divorced woman who writes under the pen name "Nomo Wenie," writes:

"I no longer advocate the actual dismemberment of a man. Not that they don't deserve it, and not because society wouldn't benefit from it, but rather because no man is worth going to jail over a misdemeanor (or in this case a miss-da-wiener). However, often the mere threat of castration can place proper fear and respect for you in the heart of a deserving man."

Another example of the ways our culture promotes the idea that women somehow are owed their "revenge" against men. Can you imagine trying to co-parent your kids after a divorce with this woman?

To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.

As I've discussed many times, the "predominant aggressor doctrine" is an attempt by feminist domestic violence advocates to coerce police to arrest men and only men in domestic violence situations, and to shield abusive women from being held accountable for their violence. Research establishes that women are at least as likely as men to abuse their intimate partners, and a third of domestic violence injuries are sustained by men.

Under the predominant aggressor doctrine, when police officers respond to a domestic disturbance call, they are instructed not to focus on who attacked whom and who inflicted the injuries, but instead consider different factors which will almost always weigh against men. These factors include: comparable size; comparable strength; the person allegedly least likely to be afraid; who has access to or control of family resources (i.e., who makes more money); and others. Given these factors, it is very difficult for officers to arrest female offenders.

Ohio's preferred arrest law encourages officers to make arrests in domestic violence situations. In the article Domestic violence law has unintended results (Mount Vernon News, 8/14/07), feminist domestic violence advocates are unhappy that the new law has increased domestic violence arrests...for women. The standard feminist apologia for the women arrested is: the women really were the victims, not the perps; women don't commit domestic violence, only men do; and the police officers need more...um, "training," so they can learn to look past the evidence and arrest only men.

The lengths to which they stretch this are often comic. For example, feminist domestic violence advocate Mary Hendrickson says:

"Women who are charged are usually victims. The easiest way to explain it is when police respond to a call of domestic violence ... they will arrest what they see. And if he has scratches and she doesn't have bruises yet from where he socked her then [the police] are going to arrest her because they can see evidence on him. This is happening nationally; it's almost 40 to 50 percent. Women who are truly the victims are being arrested."

Huh? He "socks" her and she has no marks?

The article continues:

"Hendrickson said that of all female offenders arrested for domestic violence in Knox County, 80 to 90 percent are themselves victims of domestic violence...

"Sheryl Landis, a counselor at the shelter, said most injuries to men in an incident are caused when the real victim is merely trying to defend herself.

"'It's usually when they're trying to get away from the person that's attacking them [when scratches occur],' said Landis.

"'Sometimes it's retaliation when the woman has been a victim of abuse for a long period of time,' said Hendrickson. 'If she sees a clear window and retaliates, it is usually because she has been a victim for most of her adult life.'

"According to staff at New Directions, although the preferred arrest law may diffuse a situation for the night or weekend while one party is in jail, officers end up leaving children with the abuser while the mother goes to jail."

Actually, research clearly establishes that most DV by either gender is not committed in self-defense, and women employ greater use of weapons and the element of surprise to help balance the scales in domestic conflict.

Read the full article here. To learn more about problems with the domestic violence system, click here.

To discuss this issue on my blog, click here.

[Note: If you or someone you love is being abused, the Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men and Women provides crisis intervention and support services to victims of domestic violence and their families.]
 

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

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