Assembly Faxes Overloaded, Committee Members Say 'No Mas'

James Hays of the Coalition of Fathers and Families New York, which is sponsoring the New York Shared Parenting Bill, informed me yesterday that your faxes have completely shut down the fax machines of the 16 members of the Assembly's Children & Families Committee. The committee members have asked us to stop, and we complied immediately.

Five thousand of you have faxed or emailed the committee members in support of A330, the shared parenting bill. FaFNY wants to deliver your letters personally to the committee members this week, and has asked that you continue filling out the letters form.
To write to the committee members with your support for this bill, click here.

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This bill has been locked up in committee for 12 years! The vote on the bill was set for March 28 but has been postponed until April 4. This may be a maneuver designed to allow the bills' opponents--which include the New York Chapter of the National Organization for Women--to make their impact felt. New York is a battleground state for shared parenting and fatherhood. Again, to support the bill, click here.

Sacks, ACFC Debate NOW President on NY Shared Parenting Bill

Mike McCormick and I squared off against Marcia Pappas, president of the New York State Chapter of the National Organization for Women, in a point/counterpoint on A330 in the Albany Times-Union today. McCormick is the Executive Director of the American Coalition for Fathers and Children.

Our column is Shared Parenting Bill Would Help New York's Children of Divorce (Albany Times Union, 3/28/06), published as Supporting the child by order of the court: Family law proposes to keep bonds strong. Pappas' column, in which she called A330 the "worst joint custody bill that the National Organization for Women--New York State has ever seen," is Joint custody bill not in child's interest. 

To write the Times Union, a 100,000 circulation paper in New York's capital, click here.

Albany Times-Union Covers Campaign to Pass A330

The Albany-Times Union covered efforts by FaFNY and its allies to pass A330, the New York Shared Parenting Bill, in Michelle Morgan Bolton's Assembly bill amplifies rift over parents' rights: Shared custody legislation draws praise, heat from followers of divorce struggle (3/22/06).

The article pits John Joel, the Albany County coordinator of FaFNY, and I against the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Lisa Frisch of the Capital District Women's Bar Association.

Frisch said "The parent who's provided a home for the child should be the presumptive custodial parent." The New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence "opposes changes they say would tear children from the world they know best." 

In other words, it is the mother who has "provided a home" for the children. Dad, who works hard to be the primary breadwinner and still manages to spend time with his children at the end of his long workdays, deserves second class status, if that. And somehow spending substantial time with dad after a divorce is "tearing children" from their world.

One of the reasons we will (sooner or later) win shared parenting as the norm in family court is that, with more and more women devoting themselves to careers, the family court norm of "help the primary caregiver/throw away the breadwinner" is increasingly untenable. I switched the genders in my column California NOW Takes Stand Against Working Mothers (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 2/23/04).  It's funny how, once the gender switch is made, all of the feminist arguments in favor of the current sole custody seem so outrageous. In the column I wrote:

"My wife is a successful career woman. She has moved up rapidly in a competitive field, and is advancing her career by attending law school at night. I work out of our home and I do most of the child care. If I decide I don't want her anymore, should I be able to move our kids 2,400 miles away from their mother?

"The California National Organization for Women thinks I should.

"California NOW, the California Women's Law Center, and the dozens of other feminist organizations who recently argued the LaMusga move-away case in the California Supreme Court support granting primary custody to the children's primary caregiver (that's me), and contend that custodial parents should have the presumptive right to move as stated by the Court in its 1996 decision in In re: Marriage of Burgess."

I concluded:

"Of course, there will be no divorce in my home. Even if there were and I had the upper hand, I wouldn't dream of hurting my children by moving them far away from their mother and pushing her to the margins of their lives.

"Yet today hundreds of thousands of fathers have been pushed to the margins of their children's lives because of move-aways. My wife and mothers like her don't deserve to have their children taken from their lives simply because they have pursued careers and supported their families. And if mothers don't deserve to be treated this way, neither do fathers."

Progress in the Media

As John Joel points out, the fact that the point/counterpoint and the news article on A330 were printed is a sign of progress for the movement in New York state. FaFNY has long complained that the Times-Union, a 100,000 circulation newspaper in New York's capital, has a pro-feminist/anti-male slant.  The Times-Union gave PBS's Father-Bashing film Breaking the Silence and the Battered Mothers' Custody Conference in Albany, which plays a large role in the film, sympathetic coverage. However, to their credit, they also printed my co-authored column PBS's Breaking the Silence: Family Law in the Funhouse Mirror on the day the film aired. Bolton's piece and today's point/counterpoint is a further sign that the Times-Union is moving towards balance on these issues.

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 York NOW Defends Mothers' Veto over Fathers' Fatherhood

Pappas wrote a revealing letter to a shared parenting activist explaining her opposition to A330.

(Some of you may have noticed a few weeks ago that 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"--typical of the contempt and disregard feminists show for divorced dads. Some of you may also recall that I debated Pappas on Fox News' Day Side with Linda Vester last year. We discussed comments by a New York judge that family courts are biased in favor of women, which Pappas hotly denied. We invited Marcia to continue our debate on His Side with Glenn Sacks but she declined our invitation).

In opposition to A330 Pappas writes:

"Many women who are victims of domestic violence and women who have had to endure watching their children be abused, would disagree with [the bill].  Many women have said, 'forced joint custody sent my children right into the arms of their abusive father.' We believe that joint custody should be agreed upon by both parties and if one party disagrees, then there is usually a  good reason. A woman who is  victim of violence should not have to be victimized again by the courts. This is what forced joint custody does" (emphasis in original). 

The old domestic violence bugaboo. A330 only applies to fit parents--abused women would get sole custody.

Pappas' views amount to this--if mom wants a dad to remain a dad, fine, but if not, too bad. Feminist family law proponents essentially seek to give mothers veto power over fathers' fatherhood.

Leving's Divorce Magazine
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. 

Parenting Plan Calendar Software
Shared Ground (R) is an easy-to-use custody calendar software program designed for divorced families to track visitation schedules. Includes a built-in percentage calculator, schedule templates, free training and excellent customer assistance.
Parents, attorneys, arbitrators and mediators can generate equitable parenting plans, which is especially useful for parents seeking fair division of their children's time. FREE TRIAL SOFTWARE AVAILABLE by clicking here.

Your Tax Dollars at Work

The New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence's opposition to A330 is a fine example of your tax dollars at work--the coalition receives government funding, probably from the Violence Against Women Act.

One of the things about VAWA which I find the most objectionable is the fact it results in state-funded radical feminist lobbying. Whenever our movement tries to bring fathers and children together, these groups are always among our most vocal and influential opponents.

In California, for example, they opposed AB 1307, the California Shared Parenting Bill, and were instrumental in defeating it last Spring. These groups were also among the leading opponents of Gary LaMusga, a heroic father who fought an eight-year battle all the way up to the California Supreme Court to prevent his two boys from being moved out of state.  To learn more about the LaMusga case, click here.

To learn more about the way VAWA and the domestic violence establishment have distorted reality on domestic violence, see my columns Domestic Violence Treatment Policies Put Abused Women in Harm's Way (Daily Breeze [Los Angeles], 11/7/05) and Domestic Violence Lawsuit Will Help Secure Services for All Abuse Victims (Los Angeles Daily Journal, San Francisco Daily Journal, 12/28/05), and the His Side with Glenn Sacks show Congress to Vote on Renewing Anti-Male Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) (July 3, 2005).

To learn more about how VAWA and the domestic violence establishment have helped encourage anti-male law enforcement policies, see my column Baseball Player's Domestic Violence Arrest Demonstrates How Men are Presumed Guilty in Domestic Disputes (Los Angeles Daily Journal, San Francisco Daily Journal, 8/8/02) and VAWA Renewal Provides Opportunity to Stop Destruction of Innocent Cops' Careers (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, 7/19/05).

To learn more about how VAWA and the domestic violence establishment have helped create and fund policies which violate men's constitutional rights, see my co-authored column Letterman Case Shows Problems with Restraining Orders (Albuquerque Tribune, 1/17/06) and the His Side with Glenn Sacks  shows Restraining Orders: Saviors of Abused Women or Child Custody Tactic? (2/27/05),  Father Spends 3 Months in Jail for Returning Phone Call (9/7/03),  and Liz Taylor's Son-in-Law Says Taylor, Daughter Kidnapped His Two Year-Old Son (4/11/04). 

Tree House Solutions
As with the tree house of childhood, parents as well as children need a place of refuge and support to "see above" and to navigate what has been termed "high conflict" divorce. Tree House Solutions, LLC is a growing and evolving resource that is designed to meet both the emotional and the informational needs of parents who are going through divorce, as well as those who are divorced but still experience challenges in shared parenting with their former spouses.
www.treehousesolutions.org.

Are You Really the Father?
Find out the underlying flaws in the DNA paternity testing system and learn how a man with results in the 90%, 95% or even 99% positive range may not be the father. Learn what most lawyers and judges don't know about paternity testing.
www.paternitytestflaw.com.

FOX News Covers Campaign to Pass New York Shared Parenting Bill

FOX News columnist Wendy McElroy covered the campaign to pass A330 in her recent column Societal Shift in Role of Fathers (FOX News, 3/21/06). McElroy accurately called the upcoming vote on the bill an "important moment...in the general trend toward recognizing the societal importance and legal rights of fathers."

McElroy also provides interesting commentary on several other current fatherhood issues, including paternity fraud, child support reform, and the February California Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Yana. 

Wendy writes that  the "Brown decision effectively reverses the 2004 LaMusga v. LaMusga ruling." I think that's too strong. In my co-authored column California Supreme Court Takes Step Backward on Children's Rights (Daily Breeze [Los Angeles], 2/9/06), family law attorney Jeff Leving and I wrote:

"The California Supreme Court took a step backward on children's rights Thursday by issuing a ruling that will make it more difficult for children of divorce to retain the loving bonds they share with both parents. In Brown vs. Yana the court ruled that Anthony Yana, who was trying to prevent his then 12 year-old son from being moved from San Luis Obispo to Las Vegas, did not merit an evidentiary hearing on how the move will affect his son. The decision creates another hurdle for noncustodial parents who are trying to prevent their children from being moved out of their lives...

"The underlying problem is that in California the legal presumption on relocations points in the wrong direction. If a parent wants to move a child far away, he or she should bear the burden of showing that the move is not detrimental to the child. In this way many frivolous, selfish, or vindictive moves would be restricted, while still allowing for legitimate ones, such as in cases of abuse, dire economic need or when noncustodial parents show little interest in their children.

"Brown vs. Yana is not an outrageous ruling, and Yana had harmed his case with slipshod legal work and erratic behavior. The decision is, however, sadly illustrative of a common mentality in family law which places a custodial parent's convenience above a child's love for his mother and father."

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

Learn About the 3 Forces That Make Men Weak, 'Nice,' and Passive
Paul Coughlin, author of No More Christian Nice Guy: When Being Nice--Instead of Good--Hurts Men, Women, and Children, takes aim at a cultural prejudice against men, a dangerous caricature of gentle Jesus meek and mild, and explains how passive people think and how they are made, not born. Says Dr. Laura, who wrote the forward, "This is a fabulous book. It's so clever, I think it will jump-start you guys--Christian or otherwise." Join the Good Guy Rebellion and start a better life today. Visit www.christianniceguy.com

Glenn Appears on FOX News' Big Story Primetime

I discussed the controversy over business executives entertaining clients at strip clubs on FOX News' Big Story Primetime on March 25. I debated feminist Columbia University professor Kristal Brent Zook--to learn more about the controversy, see Should business execs meet at strip clubs? (USA Today, 3/22/06) and also click here. 

I have mixed emotions about the issue. On one hand, I believe that taking clients to strip clubs lacks taste and is not particularly gentlemanly. On the other hand, as I pointed out on FOX, this is not driven by what businesses want, but instead by what their clients want. If a business feels that taking a client to a strip club will help close the deal, I defend their right to conduct their business as they see fit without government interference and feminist moralizing.

Also, there's a big difference between a company entertaining its clients at a strip club and a company specifically excluding its female employees from entertaining clients at a strip club. Most strip clubs don't exclude women.

I also question the belief that strip clubs are offensive to women. In some ways they are, but in others they're more degrading to men than to women. In a strip club a man is of no sexual value, and must pay for the privilege of female company. The women are of value, the men aren't--that's degrading to men.

Has Your Career Been Impacted by Custody Issues?
After empowering people's careers for over 20 year, I was duly initiated into family law just like you--through a 30 month, $520,000 custody suit.  From corporate transitions to home-based business options, know that there is a way for you to shake the financial shackles and experience a "no limits" career.  More than ever, your kids now need a free and available parent.  Be there for them... and for yourself.  Darrell W. Gurney, www.CareerGuy.com

Responsible, Intelligent, Insightful Help for Men from a Woman Who Can Think Like One
Therapist Shari Schreiber, M.A. addresses gender issues in her male-friendly Forum, such as: sex, making your marriage work, online dating, men blackmailed into marriage/fatherhood, dangerous/Borderline disordered women, weight issues and MUCH more.

Glenn Discusses LaFave Case on 700 WLW in Cincinnati

I discussed the Debra LaFave case on the Scott Sloan Show on 700 WLW in Cincinnati on March 23. I pointed to the obvious gender bias in the case, and the disparate treatment of male and female offenders.

I cited a five-year study by a Kansas State University professor who found that male teachers are likely to get 15 to 20 years in prison for sexual relations with students, whereas female teachers usually are placed on probation or go to prison for one to three years. I also quoted the head of the National District Attorneys Association, who said:

"There is no question it's more likely that as a case winds its way through the court, in more cases the woman is going to get probation, whereas the man, under the same circumstances, is going to get prison."

We also discussed the danger that if a woman became pregnant from the statutory rape of a boy, the boy would likely be on the hook for 18 years of child support. I noted that in 2004 a Michigan appeals court ruled that a man who had conceived a child with an adult when he was 14 must pay her child support. Though the court acknowledged that the sex act which produced the child was probably a crime under state law, they decided that the case should be resolved "without regard to the fault of either of the parents."

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 MLasst@LCOonline.com.

Dad-Bashing Divorce Attorney Protests Too Much Over Attacks by Sackson Horde

Last week I wrote about Michael E. Young, Esq., the author of The Art of Divorce, who was unhappy over my co-authored column Kansas License Bill Unfair to Noncustodial Parents (Wichita Eagle, 3/8/06). Young retorted in Driver's License Bill is Not Unfair to Noncustodial Parents as follows:

"Attorney Jeffrey Leving and columnist Glenn Sacks contend that a Kansas bill that will take away driver's licenses from 'deadbeat parents' who owe more than $500 in support arrearages is 'unfair' because it disproportionately affects the poor.

"However, they ignore that many parents below the poverty line have the money to pay support but spend it instead on different priorities. Time and again, funds that should go to child support are spent instead on $60 hairstylist bills, $90 premium cable TV bills, $100 in new clothes, $300 for a New Year's Eve bash, $1,000 for a weekend trip to Las Vegas, a new car, etc. by the 'poor.'"

I noted:

"I guess Young is smarter than I am--I didn't realize that the roofers, maintenance men and day laborers who populate the 'Top 10 Most Wanted Deadbeat Parents' lists put out by most states were spending $60 on hair stylists."

Young also wrote:

"Rich or poor, the duty to support one's children exists. Leving and Sacks miss the boat by carving out an exception based on income."

I agreed that regardless of income, parents have a duty to support their children, though that support also very much includes the emotional support which divorced dads so often aren't allowed to give. But I'm not "carving out an exception based on income"--child support is supposed to be based on income. The issue with many so-called "deadbeats" is not that they won't pay but that they are being asked to pay amounts which are well beyond what's affordable with their incomes. And when they are unable to pay, the system cripples them further by seizing their driver's licenses, jailing them, etc."

After being deluged with angry letters and blog entries from my readers, Young now protests that he never, ever meant fathers, but only noncustodial parents with child support obligations. In fact, he claims to have no idea how that mean Glenn Sacks ever got the idea--the idea!--that he could ever have been focusing his comments towards dads, not moms. Young wrote:

"Mr. Sacks totally ignores that my post was entirely gender neutral, applying to both mothers and fathers. Instead, he misconstrues it as an attack on fathers and proceeds to trash it based on that assumption...Since the article was discussing expenditures by parents of either gender, Sacks has built up a straw man to knock it down."

Counselor, you protest too much...

Also, I did not oppose Young's comments because they were aimed at dads, I protested them because they were unfair to noncustodial parents. One of my readers was also kind enough to point out on Young's blog the following:

"I don't see that Sacks is trying to make this solely a father issue, [though largely it is fathers that pay child support] as evidenced by this quote from Sacks: "Dads aren't the only ones affected, since noncustodial mothers in the child support system are significantly more likely to be in arrears than fathers. Like many 'deadbeat dads,' most of these mothers never walked out on their children, but instead were made into delinquents by the rigidity and unrealistic expectations of the system.'"

To share your opinion of this issue on Young's blog, click here. To write to Young, click here.

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

Are You a Slacker Husband?

My recent co-authored column, Are American Husbands Slackers? was also picked up by the Tallahassee Democrat, LewRockwell.com and Cybercast News Service. Since my column came out in the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star last week I've heard from many of you who work hard for your families and who are annoyed by the "lazy husband" myth. If you feel the same way, feel free to let the Tallahassee Democrat, LewRockwell.com, and CNS News know how you feel.

To write to the Tallahassee Democrat regarding American husbands are hardly slackers (3/23/06), click on letters@tallahassee.com. To write to LewRockwell.com, regarding Are American Husbands Slackers? (3/22/06), click on lew@lewrockwell.com. To write to CNS News regarding Are American Husbands Slackers?, click on letters@cnsnews.com

The column discusses the assertions being made in the wake of Betty Friedan's death that while career opportunities have opened up for women, these careers are being undermined by women's disproportionate household obligations. The column looks at the relevant research to determine whether men are doing their fair share in their households.  Family law attorney Jeff Leving and I wrote:

"Feminists' persistent criticism of men has combined with women's traditional expectations of their husbands to place men in a double bind. A man may be a devoted caretaker of his children or a talented cook, but if he is unable to provide for his family, he is not respected. Yet when a man works long hours to fulfill the breadwinner role which he is still expected to perform, he is blamed for not contributing as much at home as his wife does."

Time for Family Fun Without the Burning Sun
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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 US state and in several countries. Call (404) 289-3321or click here.

Are You a High Earner Paying Child Support?

Family law reform activist Josh Gonze is looking for high-earners who are paying child support. He says his state has no ceiling on child support and that he is "searching for published legal precedent where a court placed a limit on child support on the grounds that the statute produces excessively high child support." Those interested can respond to Gonze at reformfamilylaw@hotmail.com.

Help for Men Struggling with Relationships, Depression, Anger or Anxiety
The Men's Center Los Angeles offers individual, couple, family and group counseling with a focus on men's issues. Call them at (818) 348-9302 or go to MensCenterLosAngeles.com 

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.

Glenn Quoted, Misquoted by Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service

I was quoted (and misquoted) in the Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service article Women outdo men in graduations, which appeared in the Orlando Sentinel, the San Jose Mercury News, and other newspapers last week. The article says:

"Women are smarter than men.

"That's one possible conclusion you can draw from a study released Wednesday by UCF's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport.

"The study, which examined the graduation rates for teams headed to the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments, shows that women's basketball players do far better academically than men's basketball players.

"Ninety-five percent of the women's teams graduated half of their players. Only 64 percent of the men's teams did the same."

The article quotes and paraphrases me as follows:

"Even [Sacks] acknowledges that the male basketball players should take their classwork more seriously.

"Most of the guys hope for or expect a multimillion-dollar NBA payday after they leave school. Therefore, they spend more time on basketball than schoolwork.

"Then there's something else: what Sacks calls the 'Bill Buckner Syndrome,' the desire not to screw up on the court. Sacks said that male basketball players are more likely to work harder on their games than women because men generally play in front of larger audiences.

"'If one of these male players screw up in a major way, you'll screw up in front of millions of people,' Sacks said. 'That'll get you to focus on your game in a major way.'"

In the interview I gave several reasons for the women's better academic performance among top athletes. For one, there's simple economics. In general, economics dictates human behavior. While it would be nice if the student-athletes focused on their studies instead of sports, a top male college basketball player is not far away from earning millions of dollars as an NBA player. Many others are close enough to think they will, and others have at least an outside shot. In this situation, it makes economic sense to focus on basketball, not school. One can always go back and take Western Civ. or Biology, but opportunities to become a professional athlete are precious and rare.

It is true that some of the top women players will go on to the WNBA, where they'll make some money. However, it's nothing like the future earning potential that the men have.

Another reason is distractions. Male athletes are heroes who receive press attention and adulation. Because there is less interest in women's sports, women athletes receive far less.

And of course, there's the issue of attention from the opposite sex. I doubt that being an accomplished athlete does much to effect a college woman's chance of attracting members of the opposite sex. It's not difficult for college-age women anyway.

On the other hand, for young men and their voracious sex drives, the girls are a huge distraction. And it's not hard for a young athlete to figure out that it's the athletes, not the good students, who get the girls.

I also pointed out to the reporter that there's probably more competition for the men's athletic slots. I would imagine that the starting center for a major men's college basketball team has had to beat out more competition than the starting center for the women's team.

I also believe the "Bill Buckner" factor--the fear of being embarrassed in front of millions of people in a highly publicized, televised athletic competition--also spurs athletes to do their best.

(Bill Buckner was the Red Sox first baseman who let a groundball go through his legs in the 6th game of the 1986 World Series against the Mets, allowing the Mets to win the game and, a day later, the series. Buckner has always been the standard for "goat." I'd feel sorry for him, except that throughout his career he was always badly overrated, so I always viewed his series humiliation as simply evening things out).

Glenn Misquoted?

When the reporter contacted me and explained that the story was about male athletes not doing as well in school as their female counterparts, I said "and you've contacted me because you know I'm a knee jerk defender of men who will make excuses for their behavior, no matter how stupid, lazy or inexcusable." Obviously I was joking. So the reporter wrote "Glenn Sacks calls himself 'a knee-jerk defender of men,'" and now it's in major newspapers like I was serious. Sigh...

I suppose it's another example of my oft-stated axiom for dealing with media--expect little, and don't be surprised when you get even less.

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

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

College Athletics

One of the biggest concerns for male college athletes is the feminist-inspired interpretation of Title IX that has led to the destruction of hundreds of men's athletic teams. In my column Title IX Lawsuits are Endangering Men's College Sports (Los Angeles Daily News, 9/7/01) I wrote:

"In one of UCLA's proudest moments, UCLA-trained swimmers and gymnasts dominated the 1984 Summer Olympics. Half of the gold-medal winning men's gymnastic team were Bruins. Yet, despite producing 22 Olympic swimming competitors and dozens of world-class gymnasts, these UCLA men's teams were eliminated less than a decade later. In fact, over the past five years more than 350 men's collegiate athletic teams have been eliminated nationwide, and the number of men's gymnastics teams has fallen from 200 to just 21. What happened?

"These athletic programs were not felled by mismanagement, drugs, or rules violations. They were destroyed by something far more dangerous than a triple full twist off the parallel bars or a reverse three and a half somersaults dive. They were destroyed by Title IX.

"Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 barred sex discrimination in any educational program or activity which receives federal funding. In the decades since, women's athletics have burgeoned in high schools and colleges. Title IX was and remains an important and laudable victory for the women's movement.

"More recently, however, misguided feminist lawsuits and political lobbying have changed Title IX from a vehicle to open up opportunities for women to a scorched earth policy whereby the destruction of men's athletics has become an acceptable substitute for strengthening women's athletics."

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.

Concerned about Financial Issues in Your Divorce?
If you're concerned about financial issues in your divorce, contact Jim DiGabriele of DiGabriele, McNulty & Co by email here or at 973-243-2600. 

War Veterans Return Home To Custody Battles

I've covered the custody problems faced by deployed service personnel on many occasions. According to this piece on KMBC TV in Kansas City:

"Two local women are fighting to get their children back after serving their country overseas, KMBC's Bev Chapman reported.

"When Dena Stephenson went off to war, her 6-year-old daughter, Kristina, went to stay with her father. Stephenson followed the military's Family Care Plan, which gave temporary power of attorney and guardianship of her child.

"'Once I came back from deployment, naturally, my child wanted to be with me nonstop,' Stephenson said.

"Stephenson said she was supposed to get Kristina back when she returned home, but now the girl's father is asking for 50-50 custody.

"'I don't agree with that as a parenting plan. I don't think it's healthy for the child and I've already missed a year of her life,' Stephenson said. 'It hurts me that he's trying to do this, and in the long run, I think it's going to hurt her, too.'

"Regina Ellis is going through a similar experience. She was deployed overseas for a year, and she also followed the Family Care Plan. Now that she's back, Ellis has lost custody of her son, Trevor.

"This month, her ex-husband gained full-time custody, and Ellis said she sees Trevor only every other weekend.

"'It's not just us and it's not just the Army and it's not just females -- this is military-wide, and it hurts,' Ellis said."

I often hear from deployed servicemembers--some of them female--who are facing these problems, and I sympathize. In this case, however, I sympathize with only one of the two ladies involved. In the case of Regina Ellis, where her ex-husband has won sole custody of their son and she can only see him every other weekend, I think it's an outrageous injustice.

In the Dena Stephenson case, however, I see no injustice except the one she is trying to perpetrate against her ex-husband. Her ex-husband parented their 6 year-old daughter full-time while Stephenson was away, and now that she has returned he has offered her 50-50 custody. She should recognize that this is best for the child, and acknowledge how fair and reasonable her ex-husband is being. Instead she  is demanding sole custody and, playing the victim, says "It hurts me that he's trying to do this." In other words, he's been raising their daughter full-time but now that the child's "real" parent is back the girl's bond with her father is of little or no import. As for dad, he can kiss his parenthood goodbye and settle for the every other weekend visitation shaft.

I wish I could set up two legal assistance funds here---one for Regina Ellis, the other for Dena Stephenson's ex-husband.

To learn more about this issue, see my co-authored column Laws Must Protect the Rights of Military Dads  (Army Times, Marine Corps Times, 3/28/05), and listen to the His Side with Glenn Sacks show Two Years into Iraq War, Little Has Been Done to Protect the Rights of Military Fathers (3/13/05).

To read about recent legislative victories for military parents in California and Michigan, click here and here. 

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Man-Bashing on College Campuses

A reader sent me this clip from "The Family Guy" which illustrates the man-bashing and anti-male hysteria prevalent on our college campuses today. To watch, click here.

I detailed my sentiments about the way male college students are treated in my column Why Males Don't Go to College (She Thinks, 11/13/02). I also criticized "feminist academics [female and male] who poured their derision upon college men, knowing that their students could not effectively fight back," and "timid male professors who were so content with their own careers that they were perfectly willing to allow 18 year-old boys to be beat up on rather than jeopardize their own comfort by speaking out."