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NCP ACTION ALERT!!! NY Shared Parenting bill under attack!!



 
 
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Old March 7th 06, 08:07 AM posted to alt.child-support,alt.mens-rights,alt.support.divorce
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Default NCP ACTION ALERT!!! NY Shared Parenting bill under attack!!

I always wanted to do that.. sound the alert.. heh..

Anyway.. Some serious stuff here folks. I hope you take a few minutes,
read it, make up your own mind and then act accordingly..
--------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.glennsacks.com/enewsletters/enews_3_7_06.htm

Shared Parenting Showdown
March 7, 2006

Shared Parenting Showdown--Your Emails Wanted

New York's Shared Parenting Bill has reached a critical point and we want to
help give the bill a strong push forward.

New York is a battleground state for shared parenting and fatherhood. Family
law has been in the spotlight there, as the New York Matrimonial Commission
has held hearings on family law across the state. The Commission recently
recommended no-fault divorce for New York.

A330, the New York Shared Parenting Bill, is sponsored by the Coalition of
Fathers and Families New York, the New York affiliate of the American
Coalition for Fathers & Children.

What the Bill Would Do

Today joint custody is rare in New York and sole custody for mothers
is the norm. A330 would "require the court to award custody to both parents
in the absence of allegations that shared parenting would be detrimental to
the child." It would place the burden of proof that shared parenting would
be detrimental where it should be--on the parent requesting sole custody.

The bill also establishes an order of preference for custody, the top
preference being joint custody. If the court decides against joint custody,
it must state its reasons.


How to Take Action

The bill is slated to be heard by the New York State Assembly's
Children & Families Committee within a few weeks. Nearly three dozen New
York State Assemblypersons have signed on to the bill as sponsors or
co-sponsors, giving the bill momentum. This momentum will be lost if the
bill dies in committee. That's why I want all of you to write to the
committee members with your support for this bill by clicking here.

According to FAFNY, letters and calls from anywhere in the country
help because they give the bill attention and show the broad national
support for shared parenting. To call the Committee members also, click
here.

Like California, New York is a battleground state for family law
because what happens there has a great impact on the family law of other
states. A victory on A330 would reverberate across the country, aiding in
ways large or small every child of divorce.

I want a letter from every individual on this list, no matter what
state you live in. To write a letter, click here. To call the Committee
members also, click here.

Hearing from so many of you over the past several years, it would be
hard to put into words the amount of pain and misery caused by our current
family law system and its sole custody, win/lose orientation. Now is your
chance to help change the system.


We Can Win

The battle for A330 won't be easy but you have helped win great
victories in the past and can do so here, too. For example, in 2004 we
mobilized over 2,000 people to defeat a California bill which would have
given custodial parents almost unlimited right to move children out of
noncustodial parents' lives.

Last year we helped the California Alliance for Families and Children
push through SB 1082, a bill to help noncustodial parents who serve in the
Armed Forces.

We have had numerous other successes (click here to learn more).
Again, I want all of you to participate by clicking here.


How A330/Shared Parenting Helps Kids

Numerous studies show that shared parenting is what's best for kids.
To cite one, Robert Bauserman, Ph.D, conducted a meta-analysis of 33 studies
between 1982 to 1999 that examined 1,846 sole-custody and 814 joint-custody
children. Bauserman found that "Children in joint custody arrangements had
less behavior and emotional problems, had higher self-esteem, better family
relations and school performance than children in sole custody
arrangements."


Who Opposes A330?

A330 is opposed by the usual suspects--feminists and divorce
attorneys. The New York Chapter of the National Organization for Women and
the National Coalition for Family Justice oppose A330 and instead advocate
de facto automatic sole custody privileges for mothers under the pretense
that it is what's best for children. In reality, what's best for children of
divorce is that we protect their loving bonds with the two most important
people in their lives--their moms and dads. The New York State Matrimonial
Bar Association has also expressed opposition to the bill, though they have
not yet formally opposed it.

Some of you may have noticed a few weeks ago that NY NOW president
Marcia Pappas wrote a column on family law in the New York Times in which
she cited husbands who wanted divorces because dad's "girlfriend is
pregnant." This is typical of the contempt and disregard which feminists
show for divorced dads--are we going to allow them to make our family law?

Again, to participate, click here.


A Long Struggle

New York shared parenting advocates have been waging this fight for a
long time. In 1980, for example, they succeeded in passing a shared
parenting bill similar to this one. Then-Governor Hugh Carey vetoed it. In
2002 I co-authored a column about a previous New York Shared Parenting
bill--Can Abolishing Sole Custody Curb Divorce? (New York Sun, 10/2/02). In
the column we discussed how unfair the current system is to fathers. We
wrote:

"'I walk a tightrope every day, just so I can stay a part of my young
daughter's life,' says Jerry, a 38 year-old engineer from San Diego,
California. 'If I have an argument with my wife, she spreads the divorce
papers out on the living room table and begins to fill them out. There's no
compromising with her--I either accept her decisions or she threatens to
divorce me. If she does, she'll get custody of my little girl and I doubt
she'll even let me see her, much less play an active role in raising her'...

"Both Jerry and his wife know the grim fate that often awaits a
divorcing dad. Courts rarely grant sole custody or even joint physical
custody to fathers, and standard visitation is just a few days a month...

"The problem is that my wife knows that the family court system puts
her in complete control," Jerry says. "She feels she has nothing to lose in
a divorce, so she has no incentive to work our problems out. But I'll lose
the most important thing in the world to me--my little girl."

Again, to participate, click here.


New Edition of Leving's Divorce Magazine Now Online
The second edition of Leving's Divorce Magazine, the new
magazine for the modern divorced men, is now available online with articles
focusing on issues such as men's reproductive rights (or lack thereof),
Parental Alienation Syndrome and child support. Visit now and get a free
subscription.

The Second Wives Club
The Second Wives Club is what women in blended families are
looking for: Remarriage, divorce, child custody, and step parenting
discussed in a solution-oriented, mature, and intelligent way; articles and
news written by thought-provoking experts and journalists; personal accounts
and advice from some of life's most interesting women.
www.SecondWivesClub.com


Divorce Attorneys, Feminists Push Virtual Visitation as a Substitute
for Dad's Parenting Time

The new Associated Press article 'Virtual' visits pushed in several
states (USA Today, 2/28/06) extols the virtues of virtual visitation:

"Divorce put David List and his 2-year-old daughter on opposite sides
of the Atlantic Ocean, and he worried that she would soon forget him.

"She hasn't, though. List's divorce agreement guaranteed him 'virtual
visitation'-- the chance to talk with his daughter through an Internet video
connection -- and he and Ruby Rose, now 5, usually connect at least twice a
week. The chats sustain them in between their in-person visits, which come
only a few times a year.

"'When she gets off the plane, I know what she had for dinner last
night,' said List, 49, of Santa Cruz, Calif. 'She'll run right up to me and
jump in my arms because I know exactly what she's all about.'

"Advocates of virtual visitation want states to spell out in their
laws that judges can make it part of a divorce agreement.

"The benefits go beyond helping parents and children stay close,
supporters argue. They say non-custodial parents are more likely to pay
child support regularly if they can stay in touch, and electronic visits can
help keep children from getting caught up in fights when bickering exes meet
in person.

"Utah made virtual visitation an official option in 2004, and similar
legislation awaits the governor's signature in Wisconsin. Illinois, Missouri
and Virginia lawmakers have introduced proposals, too."

I frankly find all of this happy talk about virtual visitation
appalling. I have no problem with virtual visitation in and of itself--what
I oppose is the way it is commonly used to facilitate damaging post-divorce
move-aways. In my co-authored column No Virtue in Virtual Visitation (Boston
Globe, 7/12/02) we wrote:

"This week's 'virtual visitation' ruling by a Massachusetts court
points to a new and dangerous trend in family law--judges permitting mothers
to move their children hundreds or thousands of miles away from their
fathers, and justifying the separation by ordering Internet video
conferencing as a purported substitute for a father's time with his
children.

"In her ruling, Judge E. Chouteau Merrill awarded a Boston-area woman
sole custody of her three small children, and gave her permission to move
the children 225 miles away. Merrill granted two weekend visits a month to
Paul, the ex-husband and father of the couple's five year-old son and twin
two year-old daughters. The children will be moved to Long Island, New York.

"Paul's standard weekday visitation was replaced by 'virtual visits'
on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 7 p.m. Merrill explained that the
computer conferences are relatively cheap and will allow Paul to read to his
children and help them with their homework...

"Hundreds of thousands of divorced dads like Paul are victims of 'Move
Away Moms' who either do not value their children's relationships with their
fathers, place their own needs above those of their children, or use
geography as a method of driving fathers out of their children's lives. The
misplaced use of virtual visitation as a rationalization for the troubled
consciences of both move away moms and family court judges will exacerbate
the problem."

Virtual visitation is supported by numerous anti-father feminists. For
example, when I appeared on Univision's Aqui y Ahora last year to discuss
post-divorce move-aways, Olga Vives, Action Vice President of the National
Organization for Women, cited virtual visitation as an acceptable substitute
for a noncustodial father's time with his children. To watch the show, click
here.

When I appeared on PBS in Los Angeles discussing the same issue,
feminist law professor Carol Bruch, who authored the mother's brief in the
LaMusga move-away case, made a similar argument. To watch, click here.

(Aqui y Ahora featured the story of Jose Ceballos, one of my readers
whose little son was moved 1,500 miles away against his will. Ceballos had
the best line of the show. He said that as a father he has less rights than
his family dog does because--"the dog can see my son whenever he wants--I
can only see my son when I'm allowed to." I don't have the time to translate
it, but for those of you who speak Spanish, check out the opening interview
with a would-be move-away mom, and the trivial, lame reasons she has for
wanting to move her kids 1,000 miles away from their father. She even
offered the dad $50,000 cash if he allows her to move his children out of
his life and the mean SOB told her he didn't want her money, he wanted his
kids).

In the column we also noted that "virtual visitation opens up endless
opportunities for interference by custodial parents," and since then I've
heard from many noncustodial parents who tell me they've experienced the
problems we discussed in the column.

My position on virtual visitation has often been misunderstood and
misrepresented. For example, when I was interviewed for the article
"Divorced parents visit their kids over the Internet" (Oakland Tribune &
others , 5/3/04), I emphasized to the reporter that I was not opposed to
virtual visitation but only to the way it is used as a tool to facilitate
move-aways. My quote in the article? "'I'm opposed to virtual visitation,'
said Glenn Sacks..."


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.

Lisa Scott Launches RealFamilyLaw.com
Shared Parenting Advocate/Family Law Attorney Lisa Scott has just
launched www.RealFamilyLaw.com to expose the truth about what is happening
in our family law system. Lisa, the all-time leader in appearances on His
Side with Glenn Sacks, says that she was "tired of having her stuff rejected
by elitist bar publications and politically-correct newspapers" and decided
to start her own website. www.RealFamilyLaw.com


New Rap Song Discusses How Young Unwed Fathers Struggle to Be Part of Their
Children's Lives

Young African-American fathers are routinely stereotyped as irresponsible
cads who have abandoned their offspring. While it is certainly true that
there are some men who do not come through for their children or who have
behaved irresponsibly, it is also true that many unwed fathers fight a long,
hard struggle to remain a part of their children's lives. The struggle can
be particularly difficult for young African-American fathers.

A new rap song, "Baby Mama Drama" by J-Shin, powerfully captures these young
men's problems. It discusses many of the challenges facing these men--false
accusations of DV made out of spite, legal bills, siccing the child support
enforcement agency on the father over money mom knows dad has already paid,
and others. Some of the lyrics a

"Let me tell you 'bout my life/it's baby mama drama/all we do is
fight/believe me when I tell you she ain't right/every night I'm on the
phone/would you leave me alone?/My baby's cryin', my baby's is sick, she's
croakin'/I jump in my car and I race to the house--she's jokin'/Girl why
can't you just let it go?"

and also

"I got some papers in the mail just the other day/It was in reference to a
court case I had back in May/when I tell you what it is you won't believe/My
Baby Mama once again been deceivin'/She lied, talkin' about I put my hands
on her/plus I'm months behind on my child support/ I see my baby plus I give
her money every week/so tell me why you treat me like a deadbeat?"

To listen to the song, click here.

I discussed some of these issues in my co-authored column National
Fatherhood Initiative's Ad Campaign Insults African-American Fathers
(Pasadena Star-News & Affiliated Papers, 6/14/04) and also on His Side with
Glenn Sacks at National Fatherhood Initiative Attacks Black Fathers
(4/25/04).

Unfortunately the music video for "Baby Mama Drama" is very disappointing. I
had hoped that perhaps it would be a dramatization of a father's love for
his child. Or (heaven forbid) of the way mothers push fathers out of their
children's lives. Instead it was the usual rap video full of scantily-clad
women with no visible connection to the song's powerful lyrics. I'd like to
think that J-Shin wrote the song sincerely and the record company forced
that ridiculous video on him.


Swimsuit Issue Sparks Domestic Violence

When women are violent, there's always an excuse for it and it's never a big
deal. In the article Swimsuit Issue Sparks Domestic Violence (Wheeling News
Register, 3/4/06), Katie Wilson wrote:

"As the saying goes, there's nothing like the fury of a woman, especially
when she's enraged over the latest copy of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit
edition.

"A city couple was arrested on misdemeanor domestic battery charges last
week. Jeremy A. Robinson, 31, 116 Tomlinson Ave., and his girlfriend, Nicky
N. Graham, 21, of the same address, were arraigned by Magistrate Mark
Kerwood on Feb. 15. They were released on $1,500 bond each that day.

"The fight reportedly began when Robinson received the Sports Illustrated
swimsuit edition in the mail.

"According to the criminal complaint filed by city police Patrolman Keith
McCallen, a fight was reported in the 100 block of Tomlinson Avenue just
before 6 p.m. Feb. 15. On arrival, McCallen spoke with Robinson, who stated
Graham had attacked him because he got the magazine in the mail.

"Graham was found upstairs in the residence, and said they originally began
arguing because Robinson would not get a job.

"McCallen's report states Robinson's shirt was torn and there were scratch
marks on his chest. Graham reportedly stated she did tear his shirt because
his hands were around her neck. Graham also alleged Robinson pushed her
against a wall.

"McCallen's report states when he asked Graham who the aggressor was, she
reportedly said both of them were."

Wilson can be reached at .

Help, Resources for Dads
The National Fathers' Resource Center is a division of Fathers For
Equal Rights, Inc. (FER), located in Dallas, Texas, with offices in both
Dallas and Houston. In existence for over three decades, it has services and
resources for dads nationwide and is one of the largest and most active
fathers' rights organizations in the U.S.
www.fathers4kids.org

The Secrets of Happily Married Men
How can a man achieve a long and happy marriage? If you've been
checking out advice columns or seeing a therapist, you may have been
looking in the wrong place. Despite all the advances in brain technology,
and all of that we have learned about developmental psychology--men and
women are given the same advice about solving problems. But when we ask men
what works for them, we hear a different story.
www.SecretsofMarriedMen.com


Progress on the Male Birth Control Pill

I know as much about biology as I do about ballet but apparently there's
been more progress towards a male birth control pill. The article Slowing
Sperm Down: Two studies shed light on the movement of sperm cells and how to
stop them in their tracks discusses some of the newest findings and
progress.

Women have long complained--with good cause--that they have had to shoulder
an unequal burden in the area of contraception. In my column Do Women Really
Want a Male Birth Control Pill? (Newsday, 4/11/05) I made the point that
this burden also gives women control over one of the most important parts of
any human being's life--reproduction. I explained that this is a control
which some women will not be happy about losing.

I also noted that the pill will greatly increase men's autonomy and control
over their own lives. I wrote:

"While most women are responsible and want to have children with a willing,
committed partner, studies show that lack of reproductive control can be a
major problem for men today. For example, the National Scruples and Lies
Survey 2004 polled 5,000 women in the United Kingdom for That's Life!
magazine. According to that survey, 42% of women claim they would lie about
contraception in order to get pregnant, regardless of the wishes of their
partners.

"Jo Checkley, the editor of That's Life!, is correct when she says 'to
deliberately get pregnant when your partner doesn't want a baby is playing
Russian roulette with other people's lives.'

"According to research conducted by Joyce Abma of the National Center for
Health Statistics and Linda Piccinino of Cornell University, over a million
American births each year result from pregnancies which men did not
intend...

"...most men realize that it's difficult to remain a part of their
children's lives once the relationship with the children's mother has broken
down, particularly if the children were born outside of marriage. The pill
will help ensure that men only have children in the context that's best for
men--a stable marriage."

Online Support for Men Going Through Divorce
Don't feel isolated, frightened, confused or alone when going through
your divorce. Get the help and support you need without leaving your home
at the Ottawa Divorce Forums. www.OttawaDivorce.com/forum/

BE THE FIRST TO KNOW
The Levine Breaking News E-LERT is Hollywood's premier Breaking News
e-zine sent every day to approximately 100,000 "influencers." Referred to
as "part CNN-part Variety-part Drudge Report"--to sign up, send an email to
.


Who's Paying for Your Next Date?

Rachel Kramer Bussel has some interesting (and objectionable) ruminations on
the all-important question of who should pay for dates in her column Who's
Paying for Your Next Date? Deciphering the tricky triangle of cash, sex, and
romance (Village Voice, 2/24/06). Bussel writes:

"Most women claim the guy should pay, regardless of who asked whom out or
who makes more money. Like it or not, the tradition's a stubborn holdover
from past eras when women couldn't afford to go halfsies. Lauren Henderson,
author of Jane Austen's Guide to Dating, believes paying is a sign of
respect. 'Symbols are important, and a man who can't buy a woman dinner on
their first date is a man who will be emotionally deficient at making a
woman feel cared about'...

"Nearly every dating or etiquette guide weighs in on the topic, and almost
all stick to the same story. Shelly Branch and Sue Callaway, authors of What
Would Jackie Do?, advise that the former first lady would never pick up a
tab until she'd established her date as a serious prospect, as she did with
JFK. As unequal as this system seems, it makes sense; it's almost impossible
to gauge a guy's personality within the span of one date. This simple test
weeds out the cheapskates...

"Where does sex come into play? Guys: If you're looking to get laid, getting
the check is the bare minimum. This doesn't guarantee your way into her bed,
certainly--girls don't want to feel like you're buying their affection."

"It's crass to have to think about money when you're trying to connect with
the potential love of your life, and there's potential for miscommunication
and mistrust. I wish this topic were less volatile and divisive. But until I
win the lottery or meet my soul mate, it's going to be a factor."

As I've noted before in print and on the radio, I don't agree with the above
views. In my column Should Men Still be Expected to Pay for Dates? (St.
Louis Post-Dispatch, 2/14/02) I identified (and debunked) six principal
justifications for expecting men to pay. These a

"Women have to spend more on clothes, shoes, perfume, etc., so it's only
fair that men pay"; "Men make more money than women do for the same job";
"I'm old-fashioned. I expect the man to pay because it's chivalrous";
"Whoever asks for the date should pay"; "If men expect to get something,
they should expect to pay for it"; and "It's just easier this way."

I concluded:

"The obligation of a man to pay can wound a budding relationship by placing
money and one-sided expectations where love and honesty should be. In
addition, its innate unfairness hinders the uneasy rapprochement men and
women are currently negotiating after three decades of gender conflict. In
the long run, abolishing this outmoded social convention will benefit both
men and women. And what's fair is fair."

Not everyone agrees, of course. I was once discussing this issue with
nationally syndicated radio host George Noory at a broadcast by remote from
a mall. A group of women came by and when they heard me pontificating on why
men shouldn't have to pay for dates, several of them raised their hands high
and gave me the thumbs down sign...

We had a debate on this topic on His Side with Glenn Sacks around
Valentine's Day last year--to listen, see Female Dating Expert: 'I've Never
Paid for a Date and I Never Will' (2/13/05). The debate between relationship
expert Athena Navarro, the LA Love Coach, and Marc Rudov, author of The
Man's No-Nonsense Guide to Women, became heated. Witness this exchange:

Athena Navarro: "[women] would consider [Rudov] a feminine wimp and would be
disgusted by the idea of being on date with him."

Marc Rudov: "any man who goes out with a woman who says 'I've never paid for
a date and I never will'--that's a wimp."

Athena Navarro: "Well, I only date smart, successful, handsome men...."


Kids Manipulating Their Parents

One of my daughter's favorite shows is Little House on the Prairie--I have
the DVDs and she and I often watch it together. The other night they had an
episode which dealt with a Typhus plague. When a man's little boy died the
father couldn't accept it and took the boy out into a field and leaned up
against a tree with his boy in his arms, pretending the boy was just asleep.
When Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon) came to check up on them, the father
told Charles that it was wrong for a child to be locked up in school on such
a beautiful day and asked him to tell the schoolteacher that his boy wasn't
coming to school that day.

I actually remembered that scene from watching the show as a child 30 years
ago. At the time I thought the father's actions were inexplicable. Now I
understand completely and, in all honesty, I would probably snap the same
way were I ever in that situation.

My wife and I were so disturbed by it that we started getting very worried
about our son, who was at a boy scout meeting. When he got dropped off we
both rushed to hug him and wouldn't let him go. He thought we were both nuts
but after we explained he understood. Then he said "since you're so glad to
see me, could you make an exception and let me play with my PlayStation
tonight?"

He had lost his PlayStation privileges over a bad grade but immediately saw
opportunity when it knocked. Clever boy. It didn't work, though--as part of
my role as the ever vigilant person put on earth for the sole purpose of
making sure that my son never has any fun, I told him he couldn't.

Christian Author Takes a Stand for Men
Christian writer Paul Coughlin takes aim at what he calls a "cultural
prejudice that shames men for being men in No More Christian Nice Guy: When
Being Nice--Instead of Good--Hurts Men, Women, and Children. The forward was
written by Dr. Laura.
www.nomorechristianniceguy.com.

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

Help for Boston Dads
Boston family law attorney Nick Palermo is a shared custody advocate
who believes that divorced dads are parents, not visitors. The Law Offices
of Nicholas Palermo is a dedicated and committed trial law firm which has
worked to make shared custody for all fit parents the law of the land.
LAW OFFICES OF NICHOLAS PALERMO


Officials Say Woman Made Up Gang Rape Story, Gets Slap on the Wrist

According to the Florida TV report Officials: Woman's Gang Rape Story Is
Bogus:

"The Orange County Sheriff's Office just announced that it has arrested the
woman who claimed she was raped by several men who work at Walt Disney
World. They say the woman made up the story, and that the sex was
consensual....

"On Feb. 26, police responded to a report of an alleged sexual battery
involving multiple suspects...Orange County Sex Crimes Investigator
Detective Phillip Graves has determined that Sunde's account of the incident
was not factual and that the sexual encounters were, in fact, consensual.
The suspects in the alleged attacks were cooperative with the investigation
from its onset to the point of providing a video tape of the incident, which
helped corroborate their account of the incident."

Now the woman who tried to put these men in prison for years if not decades
is facing a charge of.......making a false police report. What a joke. I
prefer the ancient Chinese method of dealing with false claims--if you made
a false claim against someone, the law gives you the penalty that they would
have received had they been found guilty.

As I've mentioned before, false rape accusations are a big problem. I
discussed the issue at length in my co-authored column Research Shows False
Accusations of Rape Common (Los Angeles Daily Journal, San Francisco Daily
Journal, 9/15/04, World Net Daily, 9/18/04) and in my E-Newsletter (click
here and here). We've also covered it on His Side with Glenn Sacks--see
Criminalizing 'Reckless Sex'--Safeguard for Women or New Way to Herd Men
Into Jail? (3/6/05) and Kobe Bryant, Rape Shield Laws, and the False
Accusations Problem (3/21/04).

Incidentally, my column on false rape accusations has become a favorite for
Sacks bashers on several feminist websites. It's quite a
phenomenon--sometimes there are 50 or 100 comments criticizing my column
without anyone actually stopping to read the column they're criticizing.


Glenn Receives 'Order of Merit' from Dads/Moms of Michigan

Dads of Michigan and Moms of Michigan have awarded me the "Order of Merit"
for 2005 for "reflecting the time-tested principles and ideals committed to
ensuring preservation of family values and that both parents are involved in
their children's lives." The groups are the Michigan affiliates of the
American Coalition for Fathers and Children and they both do good work and
fight the good fight.

4TRUTH IDENTITY: The Leader in Fast, Accurate DNA Tests
If you're looking for a paternity test, Paternity Fraud crusader
Carnell Smith's 4TRUTH IDENTITY offers guaranteed, 100% accurate
identification services in virtually every U.S. state and in several
countries. Call (404) 289-3321or click here.

The Rantings of a Single Male: Losing Patience with Feminism,
Political Correctness... and Basically Everything describes the rise of
feminism from the mid '70s to the present, through Ellis' personal
experiences and is loaded with outrageous stories.

Legal Help for Fathers
If you live in Los Angeles, Riverside or Orange counties and
you're facing a divorce, separation, or a child custody issue, the law firm
of Oddenino & Gaule can help.



Child Abductor Demands That Military Dad Post $100,000 to See His Own Son

Out of the endless injustices our family law system has visited upon
children and the fathers they love and need, few match the story of Gary S.
and his son. In my column The Betrayal of the Military Father (Los Angeles
Daily News, 5/4/03) I wrote:

"When Gary, a San Diego-based US Navy SEAL, was deployed in Afghanistan in
the wake of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, he never
dreamed that his service to his country would cost him his little son.
Gary's son was not taken from him by a terrorist or a kidnapper. This
17-year Navy veteran with an unblemished military and civilian record was
effectively stripped of his right to be a father by a California court.

"Gary's story is not an unusual one. Under the Uniform Child Custody
Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, if a parent takes a child to a new state,
that new state becomes the child's presumptive residence after six months.
Because a normal military deployment is six months or more, if an unhappily
married military spouse moves to another state while the other spouse is
deployed, by the time the deployed spouse returns the child's residence has
already been switched. Since courts lean heavily in favor of a child's
primary caregiver when determining custody, the spouse who moved the child
is virtually certain to gain custody through the divorce proceedings in that
new state.

"Because of the strict restrictions on travel by active military personnel,
the cost of legal representation, and the financial hardships created by
child support and spousal support obligations, it is very difficult for
returning service personnel to fight for their parental rights in another
state. Many struggle even to see their children, much less remain a
meaningful part of their lives, and the bond between the children and their
noncustodial parent is often broken for years, if not permanently.

"Gary has not been able to see his son, who now lives abroad, in nearly nine
months. When he calls he can sometimes hear the three year-old ask 'when
daddy come?' and 'where's daddy?' in the background but he is often
prevented from speaking with him...

"Gary has lost nearly $100,000 so far fighting for his son and may soon be
forced to declare bankruptcy, which in turn will destroy the top secret
security clearance he needs for his job. Worse yet is the emotional
devastation wrought by his separation from his son and the knowledge that he
may never see him again. He says:

"'My love for my son cannot simply be brushed aside as the courts seem to
believe it can. I can remember holding my little son's hand like it was
yesterday. I can remember his cry. I hear it every time I hear another child
crying.'

"'Sometimes I wonder what I risked my life [in Afghanistan] for. I went to
fight for freedom but what freedom and what rights mean anything if a man
doesn't have the right to be a father to his own child?'

Gary's former wife abducted his son to Israel while Gary was in Afghanistan
in November of 2001. Last year a California court admitted that it erred in
allowing this injustice to occur and in permitting the jurisdiction for the
case to be moved to Israel. In the three years since, Gary has waged a long,
hard battle to be allowed to visit his son and have his son visit him in the
US.

Gary has repeatedly received excellent reviews from all relevant evaluators,
psychologists, and social workers. His ex-wife's father is very wealthy and
has used his fortune to finance his daughter's attempts to eliminate Gary
from his son's life. Gary has had to finance everything--including trips to
Israel at $5,000 each--out of his Navy SEAL salary.

Last May an Israeli judge agreed that Gary's son should visit him in the US
for Christmas. The ex-wife protested and demanded a new psychological
evaluation, which the judge granted. The evaluation came back firmly on
Gary's side. Those familiar with our family court system already know what
I'm about to write--the mom didn't allow the visit anyway.

Now Gary is fighting to have his son spend two weeks with him over this
coming summer. The ex-wife is demanding that Gary put up $100,000 bond for
the visit, knowing that Gary has nothing close to that amount of money. (One
of the reasons he doesn't is that for many years he paid $2,150 a month in
"child support" to his ex-wife to help finance her abduction of his son). In
a classic case of psychological projection, the woman who abducted the child
wants Gary to post the money so--guess what--Gary won't keep the boy in the
U.S.

Mom is also demanding that she be allowed to come to the US to be with her
son while the boy is visiting his father (so she can interfere and alienate)
and (of course) is demanding that Gary pay for it. Gary is having to fight
all of this out on limited funds in Israeli courts in a language (Hebrew) he
doesn't speak.

Gary lost his son while he was risking his life to help wipe out Al Qaeda,
the enemy of both the U.S. and Israel. Yet neither the US nor Israel has
lifted a finger to help reunite Gary with the son who loves him and needs
him. Thanks, soldier...


One Positive Thing

One positive thing has come out of this tragedy--after I wrote about Gary in
the Los Angeles Daily News, California State Senator Bill Morrow was so
outraged by my column that he began working with Sacramento lobbyist Mike
Robinson and the California Alliance for Families and Children to help
military dads. The result was SB 1082. The bill helps military dads, though
the original language to help abduction cases like Gary's did not make it
through. Schwarzenegger signed the bill in August, and its success helped
give impetus to a Michigan bill to help military parents with their custody
issues.


Learn More about Gary's Case

Gary has appeared on His Side with Glenn Sacks twice--Two Years into Iraq
War, Little Has Been Done to Protect the Rights of Military Fathers
(3/13/05) and A Hero's Service Costs Him His Right to be a Father (4/6/03).
To read "Sean's Song," the Navy lullaby Gary wrote and used to sing to his
little son, click here. If you'd like to write to Gary, click here.


Hero Fathers

Last Father's Day I introduced the term "hero father" to refer to fathers
like Gary in my co-authored column Not the Era of the Deadbeat Dad but the
Era of the Hero Father (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, 6/19/05). We wrote:

"Fatherhood has changed dramatically in the era of divorce and out of
wedlock births, and much attention has been paid to two unfortunate products
of this era--the absent father and the deadbeat dad. However, there is
another type of father this era has produced, one which has received very
little attention--the hero father.

"According to the Children's Rights Council, a Washington-based advocacy
group, more than five million American children each year have their access
to their noncustodial parents interfered with or blocked by custodial
parents. Behind that statistic are legions of heroic divorced or separated
fathers who fight a long, hard but generally unrecognized battle to remain a
meaningful part of the lives of the children who love them and need them...

"Over the past several decades the love and devotion of millions of fathers
has been tested in ways few in previous generations experienced. This
Father's Day, let's honor the hero father."

Other Hero Fathers I've discussed include: David Chick, Gary LaMusga, Jolly
Stansby, Ron Davis, Edgar P., John Brumbaugh, and Benoit Leroux. I also
discussed the Hero Father last year on Father's Day on His Side with Glenn
Sacks--to listen, click here.


A Father's Race to Reach the Hospital Where His Daughter Lay Dying

Part of our movement's problem is that some people don't seem to take
fathers' love for their children very seriously. This is a result of several
factors, including: the small minority of fathers who really don't care
about their children; the claims of vindictive mothers who try to push
fathers out of their children's lives; societal disregard for men's
sentiments on such issues; and misguided feminists' misportrayals of fathers
as uncaring and irresponsible.

I recently read a telling commentary on this issue--a father's
heart-wrenching account of the hours after his daughter was fatally injured
in an auto accident. It was written by Jim Bouton, a star pitcher for the
New York Yankees during the 1960s who wrote the controversial mega-best
seller Ball Four. I've always admired Bouton, and I interviewed him for a
business magazine I was working for when I was in my early 20s.

Ball Four was written in 1969 but every decade Bouton has added a new
epilogue--Ball Five, Ball Six and then, in 1999, Ball Four: The Final Pitch.
Bouton's 31 year-old daughter Laurie was killed in a car crash in 1997--here
is Bouton's account of his desperate attempt to reach the hospital where his
daughter laid dying. Good luck trying to read it without a tear welling up
in your eye.

My father always said the worst part of seeing your kids grow up was the
thought of them driving cars around God knows where. Bouton's story is every
parent's worst nightmare, and it reminded me of something my father told me
when I was 18 and had gone away for my freshman year of college. My mother
and father received a call at 3 in the morning telling them that my uncle
died. My father later told me "When the phone rang at that hour and I found
out your uncle had died I was happy--I thought it was you."

DadsDivorce.com informs fathers about their rights during divorce
litigation while providing them with concrete, practical resources to get
results in the courtroom. DadsDivorce.com is a popular meeting place for
fathers facing divorce.

Congressional Candidate Takes Strong Stand for Noncustodial Parents'
Rights
In 2004 Libertarian presidential candidate Michael Badnarik had a
strong noncustodial parents' rights platform. Badnarik is clearly aware of
and sensitive to the basic problems fathers today face, particularly the
sole custody norm and the denigration of noncustodial parents to "second
class parent" status. Badnarik is running for Congress in 2006--to learn
more, go to www.badnarik.org.

The Dakapa Handbook
Tom Whelan's The Dakapa Handbook is the story of how a father's love
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them together. Order the book here.


Sackson Horde Bombards Sacks-bashing Salon Blogger

Last week I mentioned midway through the enewsletter that prominent
left-wing Salon blogger World O'Crap criticized my co-authored column
Letterman Case Shows Problems with Restraining Orders (Albuquerque Tribune,
1/17/06), saying that I "can't actually write, although he tries really
hard" and that I "hate women."

My column had made the point that the Letterman case "demonstrates a much
larger though rarely discussed problem--it is far too easy to get a
restraining order based on a false allegation...Many if not most domestic
violence restraining orders are simply tactical maneuvers designed to gain
advantage in high stakes family law proceedings."

Apparently some of my readers didn't take too kindly to World O'Crap's Sacks
bashing. Dripping with sarcasm, World O'Crap writes:

"It seems that I wronged a great American a few days ago when I poked fun at
Glenn Sacks...[I've been] flooded with emails telling me...that I am a jerk
for having wronged Glenn Sacks, who is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most
infallible human being they've ever known in their lives."

What's interesting is that there was all this furor and I had no idea that
anybody had even written to this blogger until I stumbled upon the blog
several days later. I guess the Horde has my back--thanks...

To write to World O'Crap, email or click here.


World O'Crap, Gender Politics and Partisan Politics

The discussion on World O'Crap is an interesting illustration of the way
gender politics overlaps with partisan politics. I've long criticized the
Democrats for needlessly alienating the male vote and driving men out of the
party. In my column Michael Moore, You Used to Be My Hero (Fredericksburg
Free Lance-Star, 2/8/04) I discussed my original admiration for Moo

"Back in the days of your pro-worker documentary Roger & Me (1989), I was
working construction at a power plant in the South and you were the one
public figure who seemed to speak for working men. The one who questioned
the right of a business to take what it wants from a community and then pull
out in search of cheaper labor, leaving a trail of unemployment and broken
lives behind. The one who opposed union busting and corporate plunder.

"Spending every day hanging by my hook belt off the side of a rebar skeleton
50 feet up in the air, my life seemed to be out of a Michael Moore
documentary..."

After listening to years of Moore's relentless man-bashing (which I detail
in the article) I came to the following conclusion:

"More importantly, is it any wonder that men, including working class men,
spurn the political party you shill for? According to a recently released
ABC/Washington Post poll, white men (pardon me, Michael, stupid white men)
preferred Bush over an unnamed Democrat in 2004 by a staggering 33 points.

"...the biggest reason men have turned away from your party is simple--why
should men support a party which doesn't support them? Why go to a party
nobody invited you to? Why go where you're clearly not welcome?

"Michael, it saddens me that the beleaguered men at that power plant have
lost a valuable friend and gained one more enemy. It saddens me to watch you
and your party marginalize yourselves and slowly commit political suicide by
spitting on those who once admired and supported you. And when your party
gets trounced among male voters in 2004, I know what explanation you'll
give. In fact, you've already written it in Stupid White Men: 'men are just
not as smart as women.'"


My Daughter's Schoolyard Story

When I picked up my second grade daughter from school the other day she
announced she was "crying a lot today." This is unusual, since my daughter
is an extremely happy, energetic child. I asked her what happened and she
said:

"I had a fight with my friend Daniela. She wanted my place in line and
started screaming at me over and over. I cried about it during recess and I
was crying about it at lunch, too. Then Daniela came over and apologized.
She said she has been very upset lately. She says her parents got divorced,
she doesn't get to see her dad much anymore and she misses her mom because
she has to work. She says she's very sad."

No comment.

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Female-to-English Dictionary
Dr. Shoveen goes behind the words that women use to reveal their
hidden meanings and thought processes.


Impact of Fathers on Teenage Girls' Sexual Activity: Texas Sociologist,
Chris Rock Weigh In

Brad Wilcox of the Institute for American Values posted the entry Dads' Love
Equals Girls Virginity on the Family Scholars Blog. Wilcox writes:

"Mark Regnerus, a sociologist at the University of Texas, finds that teenage
girls who have high-quality relationships with their fathers are
significantly more likely to remain virgins, in an article published this
month in the Journal of Family Issues. Teenage boys' sexual activity, by
contrast, was not affected by the quality of the relationship with their
father. Mother-child relationships did not affect either boys' or girls'
sexual activity. I guess those father-daughter dances really do pay off.

"His sample is teenagers with both their biological parents in the home. I'd
hazard a guess that the results would have been even stronger had he
included children in stepfamilies and single-parent families...

"Bottom line: Dads appear to matter more than mothers in promoting the
virginity of teenage girls."

It reminds me of a Chris Rock routine. He's pushing his daughter in the baby
stroller and realizes that "I'm the man in her life...everything that
happens between her and men the rest of her life is going to be colored by
what happens between us." To listen, click here (warning--explicit
language).


Before We All Go Jumping Into Bed Together...

This story--Roseland Council president runs for Legislature--has been
getting a lot of play on men's and fathers' websites and elists, and many
are applauding. According to the article:

"Town Council president Dorothy Snyder doesn't like a bill that would have
forced out officeholders who are behind in child support - including her
husband - so she is running against the state lawmaker who proposed it.

"State Rep. Ryan Dvorak's bill would have required officeholders who are
more than $15,000 in arrears to give up their offices. The Democrat said he
still supports the measure, which was never given a committee hearing in the
General Assembly.

"He said the idea was inspired by David Snyder - Dorothy Snyder's husband
and a Roseland councilman - who in November owed more than $90,000 in child
support, his ex-wife, Julianne Mayfield, told the South Bend Tribune...

"Dorothy Snyder has filed her candidacy for the Democratic nomination in
Dvorak's northern Indiana District 8...She said she wants to run because she
is troubled over treatment of noncustodial parents in Indiana.

"'My concern is about the civil rights of noncustodial parents and the
destructive effect of demonizing any group of people which is not good for
children of divorce, and it is not good for families in Indiana,' she said."

I love seeing a candidate run for noncustodial parents' rights. However, the
men's and fathers' websites and elists promoting Dorothy Snyder have ignored
the fact that her husband owes $90,000 in back child support. I beg to
differ--I think it is appropriate to ask why the father is so far behind.

It would be wrong to assume--as most people, including feminists and
chivalrous males will do--that David Snyder is a deadbeat who abandoned his
kids. This is unfair--as I've written on numerous occasions, many so-called
"deadbeat" parents are instead simply dead broke. In my co-authored column
Virginia Declares War on Deadbroke Dads (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, 8/30/05),
I wrote:

"A laborer. A cashier. A carnival hired hand. A construction worker. All
with children. Are they the featured men and women in a newspaper article
about hard times in the state of Virginia? The hopefuls for a local job
training program? The applicants for emergency relief? No--they are the
'deadbeat parents' who top the list of Virginia's 'Most Wanted' for falling
behind on child support. These three men and one woman together somehow owe
well over a quarter of a million dollars in back child support.

"Virginia's Division of Child Support Enforcement is stepping up its
campaign against low income non-custodial parents like these by publishing
newspaper ads with their photos and mug-shot-like listings of their height,
weight, home city, and amount owed. Officials have justified these
humiliating tactics by their contention that Virginia's unpaid child support
currently totals $2.1 billion. This claim is extremely misleading.

"Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement data shows that two-thirds of
those who owe child support nationwide earned less than $10,000 in the
previous year. According to the largest federally funded study of divorced
fathers ever conducted, unemployment, not willful neglect, is the largest
cause of failure to pay child support...

"The driving force behind child support arrearages is not bad parents, but
instead rigid child support systems which are mulishly impervious to the
economic realities noncustodial parents face, such as layoffs, wage cuts,
and work-related injuries. According to the Urban Institute, less than one
in 20 non-custodial parents who suffer substantial income drops are able to
get courts to reduce their child support payments. In such cases, the
amounts owed mount quickly, as do interest and penalties.

"Compounding the problem is the fact that the federal Bradley amendment bars
judges from retroactively forgiving child support arrearages, even when they
determine that the arrearage occurred through no fault of the obligor...

"The top 'wanted parents' lists put out by most states are almost
exclusively comprised of poor and working class men who do low wage and
often seasonal work, and who owe fantastic sums of money which they could
never hope to pay off. A person with a college degree--not to mention an
accountant, lawyer, businessman or banker--is a rare find on these lists.
The pot of child support gold which Virginia officials profess they'll find
if they get tough on deadbeats simply does not exist."

However, at the same time, it would also be wrong to assume that David
Snyder is simply a victim of the system. There are fathers who behave
irresponsibly towards their children, and he might be one of them. I'd like
a little more information before we all go jumping into bed together.

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Militant Grandmas Fight for Shared Parenting
Three Sides to Every Story is an organization set up by militant
grandma Bessie Hudgins to help fathers stay in their children's lives after
divorce.


Did Andrea Yates Kill Her Kids Because Russell Yates Wouldn't Allow Her to
Put Them in Day Care?

According to the Associated Press:

"Andrea Yates once advised a fellow inmate that she could escape prosecution
by pretending to be mentally ill and persuading a psychiatrist she suffered
from serious disorders, according to court documents filed Thursday by
prosecutors.

"Felicia Doe, who spent four days in a jail block with Yates in 2002, told
prosecutors last year that Yates instructed her not to eat, not to speak
properly and not to be friendly or open in front of people if she wanted to
'beat her case.'

"Yates, who is awaiting a new trial in the drowning of her young children,
allegedly told Doe that if she could get the jail psychiatrist on her side,
they could testify to her mental health, and they couldn't prosecute her if
she was sick, according to the documents, which describe interviews with
witnesses who could be called during Yates' trial...

"Doe, who could not be reached for comment, also told prosecutors that Yates
disclosed details of the slayings, explaining that she locked a door so her
oldest son, 7-year-old Noah, could not escape the house and describing him
as crying so hard he vomited.

"'She hit his head against the bathtub several times in an effort to
incapacitate him,' Doe told prosecutors.

"Another inmate, Lynnette Licantino, told prosecutors Yates said her
children 'were just too much' and that her husband at the time, Russell
Yates, would not let her put them in day care."

The defense disputes Roe's allegations. I don't know what to make of
them--I've always been skeptical of the testimony of cellmates or jailhouse
informants, and I'm not sure if this testimony is any better.

For me, the saddest part of this case was this: while a couple of the boys
were being drowned, they continued to try to fight their way to the surface
of the bathtub and kept saying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The little boys' only
understanding of why their mother could do something like this to them was
that they had done something wrong. In their last living moments they
struggled to apologize.

In the aftermath of the decision Russell Yates was widely blamed for the
murders. I appeared on numerous radio shows in Texas at the time defending
Russell and often felt afterwards as if I were defending a murderer instead
of a guy who's only "crime" was having a mentally-disturbed wife and not
knowing what to do about it. The strange religious beliefs which both
Russell and Andrea shared also contributed to their problems.

At the time I wrote the only opinion column to appear in a major US
publication which defended Yates--In Defense of a Flawed but Decent Russell
Yates (Houston Chronicle, 3/11/02). I was drawn to the Yates case through
personal experience. I've never discussed this publicly, but many years ago
I lived with a mentally ill woman to whom I was engaged to be married. I
know a little about the confusion, denial, frustration and heartache that
Russell Yates must have experienced. It's a world of shadows, where nothing
works and everything you do is wrong. My experience was a trauma, his was
worse than any nightmare. In the column I wrote:

""It's a shame that there's no law that can give Russell Yates his due,'
writes syndicated columnist Debra Saunders. 'Russell Yates ought to be
locked up instead of his wife,' says writer Cindy Hasz. Creators Syndicate's
Froma Harrop sneers that he probably 'misses the obedient drudge who bore
and raised his five children more than the five children.' Harsh words for
Russell Yates have come from many others, particularly former O. J. Simpson
prosecutor Marcia Clark.

"What these and others forget is that it's hard to make the right decision
when you don't have a lot of options. According to Andrea Yates' brother,
Andrew Kennedy, Russell Yates 'did his best....He trusted the doctors and he
did everything they said to do. He made sure she took her medication.'

"Psychiatrist Mohammed Saeed took Yates off the drug Haldol on June 4.
Russell Yates, worried about his wife, brought her back to Dr. Saeed on June
18. The doctor said he saw no sign of psychosis and sent her home.

"Two days later, she killed their five children.

"Instead of using 20-20 hindsight, let's look at the situation as it must
have appeared to Russell Yates before June 20. Mental illness is difficult
for untrained people to cope with and to comprehend. Dr. Saeed had indicated
that he believed that Andrea Yates was getting better, and Andrea herself
has testified that she told nobody, not even her husband, about the 'voices
in her head.' While Russell surely had doubts about leaving the kids with
her, he didn't have a lot of choices. He couldn't quit his job to care for
the kids--somebody had to put food on the table. Ending the home-schooling,
a violation of both of their beliefs, might have been a severe blow to his
fragile wife's self-esteem, perhaps pushing her over the edge.

"Instead, Russell made the one move he needed to make--he had his mother
come in to watch the kids every day. He generally left for work at 9 am and
his mother arrived at 10 am, and he thought he had the situation under
control...

"He also attributed much of his wife's distress to the death of her father
in March of last year. And he no doubt was in some denial, as people who are
trapped in difficult situations often are. As he walked out the door to go
to work on June 20, should he really have expected that his wife was waiting
for him to leave so she could kill their children?"

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Business Journal Discusses Glenn's Column on the 'Daddy Tax'

The Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal did a cover story based on the
central idea behind my column "The Price of Fatherhood--a Father's Reply to
Ann Crittenden's 'Mothers' Manifesto' (Los Angeles Daily Journal, San
Francisco Daily Journal, 1/10/02). In Dave Gardner's piece Forget the 'mommy
track,' men pay a heavy 'daddy tax' as primary breadwinners (2/23/06) he
writes:

"Glenn Sacks is among the voices addressing the volatility of
employment-related gender issues. He cites Ann Crittenden's recent feminist
classic The Price of Motherhood: Why Motherhood is the Most Important -and
Least Valued-Job in America, as a source of ideas worth debating.
Crittenden's book identifies a 'mommy tax,' which is being paid by many
working women. This toll includes reduced job opportunities, lower salaries
for mothers and a lack of appreciation.

"Sacks is among those who believe men also are quietly suffering through
payment of a 'daddy tax'...According to Sacks, American men work the longest
hours in the industrialized world, and account for 90 percent of overtime.
This devotion to professional duty has created lost opportunities for family
involvement, with complex emotional repercussions."

There was one part of the article which I could do without:

"Mary Bogart, owner of Bogart Engineering in Moscow, a civil engineering
firm, comments that traditional roles played by men and women are now
becoming intermixed.

"'As women, we have expected to do a balancing act and make sacrifices for
the well being of our children, while men have traditionally focused on
their work,' says Bogart.

"'But, men are now becoming more aware of the connection between their
presence at home and the well-being of their family. You'd have to be in a
cave not to see this happening.'"

In reality, men have always made sacrifices for their families, often equal
or more to those made by women. When men work long hours at stressful or
hazardous jobs in order to support their families, this isn't "men focusing
on their work"--it's men focusing on their families.

To write to Elizabeth Zygmunt, the editor of the Northeast Pennsylvania
Business Journal, about the issues discussed in Forget the 'mommy track,'
men pay a heavy 'daddy tax' as primary breadwinners, email
.

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Summers Pushed Out of Harvard Job

Lawrence Summers has been ousted as president of Harvard University after
creating a huge controversy last year in attempting to explain why Harvard
has few women math and science PhDs. To learn more, see Harvard Guessing
Game to Replace Summers Brings Up Mostly Women (Bloomberg, 2/22/06).

At the time of the controversy last year, I wrote:

"Harvard president Lawrence Summers is currently being mauled by outraged
feminists over his speculations as to why there are more male PhDs in math
and science than females. Yet few eyebrows were raised when U.K. Member of
Parliament Barry Sheerman recently disparaged efforts to address the boy
crisis in education by saying 'women are brighter than men...the brightest
kids are coming through and they happen to be women.' Can one imagine the
furor if a British MP or an American senator said 'men are brighter than
women?'

"I also believe that the debate over Summers' remarks has been misframed.
I'm no expert on math or science--in fact, I must surreptitiously study my
12 year-old son's math book in order to be able to help him with his
homework. As a former high school teacher I would offer the uninformed guess
that if you took 100 of my History or Journalism students and gave them a
math test and then added up the scores, the overall male and female averages
would be about the same.

"However, when discussing the number of PhDs in math and science at Harvard,
the relevant question is not 'do males and females do equally well at math?'
but instead 'which gender tends to congregate at the very top one half of
one percent in math?'

"On most standardized tests men and women score equally overall, but the
score distribution is tighter for women and wider for men. In other words,
there are more male geniuses and more male idiots. Thus Summers has a
point--because the distribution of male abilities is wider than that of
females, it makes sense that the top one-half of one percent might be mostly
male.

"Summers also speculated that part of the reason for the disparity is the
enormous time commitment needed from Math and Engineering PhDs, and that
fewer women than men are willing to spend their 20s and 30s buried under a
70 or 80 hour workweek. This also seems like a reasonable supposition.

"It is also noteworthy that an academic's tepid remarks on women have set
off an international media storm, yet males are continually disparaged and
criticized in academia with hardly a protest. To learn more about how
Woman's Studies have turned our universities into hostile environments for
our young men, see my columns: Why Males Don't Go to College (She Thinks,
11/13/02); Hate My Father? No Ma'am! (World Net Daily, 4/8/02); New Study
Finds Myths, Misrepresentations in Women's Studies Textbooks (Cybercast News
Service, 4/1/02); The Best Valentine's Day Gift for College Students: Gender
Reconciliation (She Thinks, 2/13/03); and the His Side shows Poisoning
Valentine's Day (2/1/04) and Former Women's Studies Professor Daphne Patai
Slams Academic Feminism (7/6/03)."

Best Wishes,
Glenn Sacks
GlennSacks.com
HisSide.com







  #2  
Old March 7th 06, 08:18 AM posted to alt.child-support,alt.mens-rights,alt.support.divorce
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default NCP ACTION ALERT!!! NY Shared Parenting bill under attack!!

Sorry about the information overload in the first post - there are times
when I just wanna shoot my mouse.. Occasionally it loves to grab way more
then is needed at times. This was one of them... Below is a "corrected
copy" so ya don't have to wade through it all...

--------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.glennsacks.com/enewsletters/enews_3_7_06.htm

Shared Parenting Showdown
March 7, 2006

Shared Parenting Showdown--Your Emails Wanted

New York's Shared Parenting Bill has reached a critical point and we want to
help give the bill a strong push forward.

New York is a battleground state for shared parenting and fatherhood. Family
law has been in the spotlight there, as the New York Matrimonial Commission
has held hearings on family law across the state. The Commission recently
recommended no-fault divorce for New York.

A330, the New York Shared Parenting Bill, is sponsored by the Coalition of
Fathers and Families New York, the New York affiliate of the American
Coalition for Fathers & Children.


What the Bill Would Do

Today joint custody is rare in New York and sole custody for mothers
is the norm. A330 would "require the court to award custody to both parents
in the absence of allegations that shared parenting would be detrimental to
the child." It would place the burden of proof that shared parenting would
be detrimental where it should be--on the parent requesting sole custody.

The bill also establishes an order of preference for custody, the top
preference being joint custody. If the court decides against joint custody,
it must state its reasons.


How to Take Action

The bill is slated to be heard by the New York State Assembly's
Children & Families Committee within a few weeks. Nearly three dozen New
York State Assemblypersons have signed on to the bill as sponsors or
co-sponsors, giving the bill momentum. This momentum will be lost if the
bill dies in committee. That's why I want all of you to write to the
committee members with your support for this bill.

According to FAFNY, letters and calls from anywhere in the country
help because they give the bill attention and show the broad national
support for shared parenting.

Like California, New York is a battleground state for family law
because what happens there has a great impact on the family law of other
states. A victory on A330 would reverberate across the country, aiding in
ways large or small every child of divorce.

I want a letter from every individual on this list, no matter what
state you live in.

Hearing from so many of you over the past several years, it would be
hard to put into words the amount of pain and misery caused by our current
family law system and its sole custody, win/lose orientation. Now is your
chance to help change the system.


We Can Win

The battle for A330 won't be easy but you have helped win great
victories in the past and can do so here, too. For example, in 2004 we
mobilized over 2,000 people to defeat a California bill which would have
given custodial parents almost unlimited right to move children out of
noncustodial parents' lives.

Last year we helped the California Alliance for Families and Children
push through SB 1082, a bill to help noncustodial parents who serve in the
Armed Forces. We have had numerous other successes.


How A330/Shared Parenting Helps Kids

Numerous studies show that shared parenting is what's best for kids.
To cite one, Robert Bauserman, Ph.D, conducted a meta-analysis of 33 studies
between 1982 to 1999 that examined 1,846 sole-custody and 814 joint-custody
children. Bauserman found that "Children in joint custody arrangements had
less behavior and emotional problems, had higher self-esteem, better family
relations and school performance than children in sole custody
arrangements."


Who Opposes A330?

A330 is opposed by the usual suspects--feminists and divorce
attorneys. The New York Chapter of the National Organization for Women and
the National Coalition for Family Justice oppose A330 and instead advocate
de facto automatic sole custody privileges for mothers under the pretense
that it is what's best for children. In reality, what's best for children of
divorce is that we protect their loving bonds with the two most important
people in their lives--their moms and dads. The New York State Matrimonial
Bar Association has also expressed opposition to the bill, though they have
not yet formally opposed it.

Some of you may have noticed a few weeks ago that NY NOW president
Marcia Pappas wrote a column on family law in the New York Times in which
she cited husbands who wanted divorces because dad's "girlfriend is
pregnant." This is typical of the contempt and disregard which feminists
show for divorced dads--are we going to allow them to make our family law?


A Long Struggle

New York shared parenting advocates have been waging this fight for a
long time. In 1980, for example, they succeeded in passing a shared
parenting bill similar to this one. Then-Governor Hugh Carey vetoed it. In
2002 I co-authored a column about a previous New York Shared Parenting
bill--Can Abolishing Sole Custody Curb Divorce? (New York Sun, 10/2/02). In
the column we discussed how unfair the current system is to fathers. We
wrote:

"'I walk a tightrope every day, just so I can stay a part of my young
daughter's life,' says Jerry, a 38 year-old engineer from San Diego,
California. 'If I have an argument with my wife, she spreads the divorce
papers out on the living room table and begins to fill them out. There's no
compromising with her--I either accept her decisions or she threatens to
divorce me. If she does, she'll get custody of my little girl and I doubt
she'll even let me see her, much less play an active role in raising her'...

"Both Jerry and his wife know the grim fate that often awaits a
divorcing dad. Courts rarely grant sole custody or even joint physical
custody to fathers, and standard visitation is just a few days a month...

"The problem is that my wife knows that the family court system puts
her in complete control," Jerry says. "She feels she has nothing to lose in
a divorce, so she has no incentive to work our problems out. But I'll lose
the most important thing in the world to me--my little girl."


  #3  
Old March 7th 06, 11:53 AM posted to alt.child-support,alt.mens-rights,alt.support.divorce
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default NCP ACTION ALERT!!! NY Shared Parenting bill under attack!!


"Dusty" wrote in

Numerous studies show that shared parenting is what's best for kids.



Isn't it sad that Studies are needed to state the obvious?



  #4  
Old March 8th 06, 02:26 AM posted to alt.child-support,alt.mens-rights,alt.support.divorce
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default NCP ACTION ALERT!!! NY Shared Parenting bill under attack!!


Dusty,

Any idea where, exactly, we should send letters or e-mails to?

- Ron ^*^


Dusty wrote:

Sorry about the information overload in the first post - there are times
when I just wanna shoot my mouse.. Occasionally it loves to grab way more
then is needed at times. This was one of them... Below is a "corrected
copy" so ya don't have to wade through it all...

--------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.glennsacks.com/enewsletters/enews_3_7_06.htm

Shared Parenting Showdown
March 7, 2006

Shared Parenting Showdown--Your Emails Wanted

New York's Shared Parenting Bill has reached a critical point and we want to
help give the bill a strong push forward.

New York is a battleground state for shared parenting and fatherhood. Family
law has been in the spotlight there, as the New York Matrimonial Commission
has held hearings on family law across the state. The Commission recently
recommended no-fault divorce for New York.

A330, the New York Shared Parenting Bill, is sponsored by the Coalition of
Fathers and Families New York, the New York affiliate of the American
Coalition for Fathers & Children.


What the Bill Would Do

Today joint custody is rare in New York and sole custody for mothers
is the norm. A330 would "require the court to award custody to both parents
in the absence of allegations that shared parenting would be detrimental to
the child." It would place the burden of proof that shared parenting would
be detrimental where it should be--on the parent requesting sole custody.

The bill also establishes an order of preference for custody, the top
preference being joint custody. If the court decides against joint custody,
it must state its reasons.


How to Take Action

The bill is slated to be heard by the New York State Assembly's
Children & Families Committee within a few weeks. Nearly three dozen New
York State Assemblypersons have signed on to the bill as sponsors or
co-sponsors, giving the bill momentum. This momentum will be lost if the
bill dies in committee. That's why I want all of you to write to the
committee members with your support for this bill.

According to FAFNY, letters and calls from anywhere in the country
help because they give the bill attention and show the broad national
support for shared parenting.

Like California, New York is a battleground state for family law
because what happens there has a great impact on the family law of other
states. A victory on A330 would reverberate across the country, aiding in
ways large or small every child of divorce.

I want a letter from every individual on this list, no matter what
state you live in.

Hearing from so many of you over the past several years, it would be
hard to put into words the amount of pain and misery caused by our current
family law system and its sole custody, win/lose orientation. Now is your
chance to help change the system.


We Can Win

The battle for A330 won't be easy but you have helped win great
victories in the past and can do so here, too. For example, in 2004 we
mobilized over 2,000 people to defeat a California bill which would have
given custodial parents almost unlimited right to move children out of
noncustodial parents' lives.

Last year we helped the California Alliance for Families and Children
push through SB 1082, a bill to help noncustodial parents who serve in the
Armed Forces. We have had numerous other successes.


How A330/Shared Parenting Helps Kids

Numerous studies show that shared parenting is what's best for kids.
To cite one, Robert Bauserman, Ph.D, conducted a meta-analysis of 33 studies
between 1982 to 1999 that examined 1,846 sole-custody and 814 joint-custody
children. Bauserman found that "Children in joint custody arrangements had
less behavior and emotional problems, had higher self-esteem, better family
relations and school performance than children in sole custody
arrangements."


Who Opposes A330?

A330 is opposed by the usual suspects--feminists and divorce
attorneys. The New York Chapter of the National Organization for Women and
the National Coalition for Family Justice oppose A330 and instead advocate
de facto automatic sole custody privileges for mothers under the pretense
that it is what's best for children. In reality, what's best for children of
divorce is that we protect their loving bonds with the two most important
people in their lives--their moms and dads. The New York State Matrimonial
Bar Association has also expressed opposition to the bill, though they have
not yet formally opposed it.

Some of you may have noticed a few weeks ago that NY NOW president
Marcia Pappas wrote a column on family law in the New York Times in which
she cited husbands who wanted divorces because dad's "girlfriend is
pregnant." This is typical of the contempt and disregard which feminists
show for divorced dads--are we going to allow them to make our family law?


A Long Struggle

New York shared parenting advocates have been waging this fight for a
long time. In 1980, for example, they succeeded in passing a shared
parenting bill similar to this one. Then-Governor Hugh Carey vetoed it. In
2002 I co-authored a column about a previous New York Shared Parenting
bill--Can Abolishing Sole Custody Curb Divorce? (New York Sun, 10/2/02). In
the column we discussed how unfair the current system is to fathers. We
wrote:

"'I walk a tightrope every day, just so I can stay a part of my young
daughter's life,' says Jerry, a 38 year-old engineer from San Diego,
California. 'If I have an argument with my wife, she spreads the divorce
papers out on the living room table and begins to fill them out. There's no
compromising with her--I either accept her decisions or she threatens to
divorce me. If she does, she'll get custody of my little girl and I doubt
she'll even let me see her, much less play an active role in raising her'...

"Both Jerry and his wife know the grim fate that often awaits a
divorcing dad. Courts rarely grant sole custody or even joint physical
custody to fathers, and standard visitation is just a few days a month...

"The problem is that my wife knows that the family court system puts
her in complete control," Jerry says. "She feels she has nothing to lose in
a divorce, so she has no incentive to work our problems out. But I'll lose
the most important thing in the world to me--my little girl."



  #5  
Old March 8th 06, 07:45 AM posted to alt.child-support,alt.mens-rights,alt.support.divorce
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default NCP ACTION ALERT!!! NY Shared Parenting bill under attack!!

"Werebat" wrote in message
news:SoqPf.135358$0G.99647@dukeread10...

Dusty,

Any idea where, exactly, we should send letters or e-mails to?

- Ron ^*^


Yup. Use the link below, reread the article and you'll see the hyperlinks
embeded within it.

http://www.glennsacks.com/enewsletters/enews_3_7_06.htm



 




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