370 pages
McGill-Queen’s University Press

“In our culture, it’s fine to say that men are brutes. This book is a welcome antidote.” Globe and Mail “It’s about time! Spreading Misandry is a major achievement in raising awareness of how men are insidiously and indifferently attacked in popular culture.” Everyman: A Men’s Journal “Genuinely intelligent and insightful. Spreading Misandry is provocative and will help point the way toward social harmony.” Donna Laframboise, columnist for The National Post and author of The Princess at the Window:

A New Gender Morality “What makes Spreading Misandry a useful book is that it puts a small spoke in the works of the large and noisy machinery of moral indignation that feminism has succeeded in constructing in academe and the media over the last 20 years.” The Sunday Independent

“This book is absolutely enlightening! Just about any man who is honest with himself already realizes that male bashing is an allowable pastime within out pop culture. Not long ago, I walked into my front room to find my son upset at his favorite cable cartoon channels. He told me glumly that every man on there was stupid or incompetent or evil. I sat down with him, and sure enough, he was right. The big stupid guy looking for a date, but the women all physically assaulted him. The superhero girls saving the stupid city mayor (who has a smart and capable female assistant who really runs the city). The girl crime fighter, with a comic sidekick boy, who repeatedly needs rescuing. Yep, it’s so blatant that a 12 year old could see it!

But how deep is this? Did my son merely fixate on a few anomalous exceptions? This book goes to great length to show just how widespread misandrous (anti-men) expressions have become in our culture, and how we got here. Don’t read this book for yourself, read it for your sons and grandsons. There’s something insidious going on here, and if you care for the young men who will inherit this country, then you need to get alarmed at the world that is being made for them. ” By: Hot One (Suffragette City, USA)

NEWARK, N.J. – It was a globe-trotting romance: a handsome American working as a model in Italy falls in love with a Brazilian beauty studying fashion design in Milan. They marry in 1999, settle in the tony New Jersey shore town of Red Bank, and have a son.

The woman, Bruna Bianchi, took the couple’s son to visit her relatives in Brazil in 2004 but never returned. The boy’s father, David Goldman of Tinton Falls, N.J., has been battling to get his son back ever since.

While the Goldman case has been prominent in recent news coverage, it isn’t the only dramatic custody case being fought across international borders. The U.S. State Department says such parental abductions involving American children are rising. There were more than 1,000 new cases of American children taken by a parent to another country last year , a 35 percent increase over 2007, according to the department.

Source: philly.com

The all men are evil narrative has been dominant in academia and in the media for more than a generation now. Fathers looking for custody of their kids have to climb a wall of hostility before they can even hope of seeing a level playing field. Scroll down to about the 10th comment and read the story of a guy who is getting screwed by the State agency even after showing them court documents that proves they have no right to be prosecuting the case against him.

“Sorry to p*ss on the single mom parade. I am a white male, fighting for custody of a little girl. In our latest court case, child support obligations were removed from me and assessed against the child’s mother. Keep in mind, I have court documents, signed by a judge, stating that my obligations have been met. In order to prevent CSRU from garnishing my pay any further, I had to retain a lawyer and fight with them to the cost of over 500 bucks. All that to contest an 850.00 alleged back support obligation.”

Cedar Rapids – Iowa City Gazette

On Tuesday, Tammy Lee Hodge of Decatur turned herself in on charges of Interference with Child Custody. The charges are related to Hodge’s two nieces disappearance on May 18. Maggie and Monica Akers were returned safely to Hartselle Police three days later.

Police say Hodge helped keep the girls hidden during their disappearance, despite Hartselle Police investigating the girls as supposed runaways.

After her arrest on Tuesday, Hodge was transferred to the Morgan County Jail where she posted a $5,000 bond.

Hartselle Police say they may file more charges in the case.

Watch the video here

If you don’t already know that you’re in a fight for your son’s manhood then maybe this video will shake you up.

The volume of their buzzing reached a new decibel when Lifetime TV announced their intention to air Deadbeat Dads, a reality show in which National Child Support founder Jim Durham travels about the country, lassoing fathers who refuse to pay child support. Originally called “Bad Dads,” the idea was floated — then apparently sunk — at FOX. The only real surprise is that it was never called “POPS.”

Of course, one can say hunting deadbeat dads on Lifetime is no different than going after dog beaters on Animal Planet, blowing up gophers on the Golf Channel, or inviting Richard Simmons on The 700 Club. The audience wants blood. And deadbeat dads are an easy target, MUCH easier than single moms ever were (see: D. Quayle vs. M. Brown, 1992).

NJ Star-Ledger

Under the new laws, parents are required to develop a comprehensive parenting plan that discusses how each parent will be responsible for day-to-day decisions in the child’s life, as well as the more major decisions, such as education and religion. The parenting plan also must come up with a detailed time-sharing schedule, showing which days and which times each parent shall have with the child, including holidays, school breaks and birthdays.

Developing a Sound Parenting Plan

There is no one-size-fits-all parenting plan. Each plan must be developed according to the particular family’s situation. At a minimum, the parenting plan must contain the following provisions:

Time-Sharing Schedule
• Who will have the child at what specific times during each day of the week, weekends and nights?
• How will each holiday, birthday and school break, including summer vacation, be divided?
• What will happen if a parent misses a scheduled day — can the time be rescheduled?
• What type of notice is necessary to make changes in the time-sharing schedule? Is oral notice sufficient, or must it be in writing?

Read the complete article here.

Q. I divorced my husband in 2007. At that time, I wasn’t working and couldn’t care for our two kids so I let them live with my husband and I was required to pay child support.

I recently got a notice from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue claiming I owe about $2,000 in unpaid child support. I went to court to look at my divorce file. There was a worksheet saying I should pay $75 monthly child support. But there was no such order in the divorce agreement.

Since the divorce, my ex-husband has never let me see our kids. Can I get my children back now that I am working and have an apartment for them to live in?

- S.T., Millville

A. The DOR assigns a caseworker to every file. Call your caseworker and ask what paperwork the DOR relies on as a basis for its claim against you. That worksheet does not trump the judgment which makes no order that you pay child support, if I’m understanding you correctly. That means DOR should wipe out all the arrears.

As for your children, if the agreement requires your ex to provide visitation and he’s refused to do so, you can file a complaint for contempt against him. You can also file a complaint seeking to modify the agreement and judgment. Claim that your job and apartment are material changes in circumstances that provide a basis for you to now have primary physical custody of your children.

Serve your husband with the complaint, summons and a motion asking the court to appoint a guardian ad litem to investigate and file a report. At the least, as the first steps, you should get visitation going. That might lead to your eventually getting primary custody of the kids.

Last, because you’ve now got a job, expect the court to order you to start paying child support. If you get primary physical custody of the kids, then your ex will have to pay you child support.

Q. My boyfriend lives in Florida, which is where we’re going to get married and live.

He’s worked for years, has a pension and some stock, and owns a house. I was lucky to sell my house in Massachusetts. I put the good sized net proceeds into my bank account.

Call me unromantic, but what rights do we each have to the other’s property if the marriage doesn’t work out?

- C.J., Abington

A. In the event of a divorce filed in Florida, you’d each retain, as your sole and separate property, that which you now have, plus the appreciation on those assets. So, for example, you’d keep your bank account and any future interest. If you invested that money into real estate or stocks you’d keep any future gains. He’d keep his house and stock, with any future appreciation.

But if after 10 years of marriage, he had 20 years into the pension plan, the marital portion would then be 50 percent. If you then got divorced, you’d be awarded one-half of that 50 percent, or 25 percent. In other words, you’d each get a half share of assets acquired with earnings during the marriage.

Here’s hoping it never comes down to that.

Gerald L. Nissenbaum has been a trial lawyer in Boston since 1967 and concentrates his practice on family law. Any legal advice in this column is general and does not establish a lawyer-client relationship. Send questions to dearjerry@bostonherald.com.

It’s not called the list of deadbeat dads anymore. Of the top five worst evaders, two were women. Did you read any news stories on this?

I know I didn’t.

Granted, I’m more sensitive to this matter.

Until a few months ago, I was a single father with full custody of my son.

While this often made me an anomaly at school functions, soccer games and child birthday parties, it gave me a unique perspective on how this world treats men who want to be involved in their children’s lives.

Let’s just say it is not very positive.

When my son was taken from me across state lines, there was no help; certainly not from the law.

In the tradition of the American and Texan spirit, I went and got him on my own.

After we returned, I sought some assistance to get him in day care and make sure he had food.

Imagine my shock when a state-appointed worker told me that she would not help me with my child, but if the mother came in they would help her.

The last words out of her mouth stung in a way that I could not imagine.

“That boy needs to be with his mother,” she said.

Eleven years ago, single dads were unusual. According to the last census, it is a quickly growing demographic. At last check, Texas had about 16,000 fathers who have sole custody of their children.

This leads to a few questions: Why haven’t we heard more about this? Why is a man who wants to have a relationship with his children looked upon as an awful thing?

From my experience, I have encountered hostility from women for my choice in life. It almost seems like my existence damages the myth that children are better off with their mothers. I won’t go as far as to say that there is an underground conspiracy to keep men from being active participants with their offspring, but there certainly is a one-sided perspective to the situation.

Being a single father has many obstacles. We have to work twice as hard just to get custody of our children. Even an unfit mother gets the benefit of the doubt.

Teachers, generally being female, want to talk to the mother when they call or when I go to open house.

I admit I do get a kick out of telling them I am the mother.

This isn’t to say that one parent is ever better than two, but maybe it is time to re-examine what men can do when their children are involved.

I am evidence that we can surprise you when given the chance.
Chris Taylor of Keller is a member of the Star-Telegram’s 2009 Community Columnist Panel. theraven1836@yahoo.com

That impression is wrong.

There is such a thing as the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act. In fact, there are two of them. One was created in 1968 and one was created in 1997. They are not the same.

What is a Uniform Law?

[Source: Cornell Legal Institute]
The phrase “Uniform Laws” can be misleading. Upon approval by the National Conference a Uniform Law is not law anywhere in the United States. It is simply a legislative proposal addressed to fifty state legislatures. During the history of the Conference, roughly half its proposals have not been adopted by a single state. (Examples include the Uniform Construction Lien Act (1987), the Uniform Franchise and Business Opportunities Act (1987), the Uniform Putative and Unknown Fathers Act (1988).) In addition, most of those that have enjoyed reasonable success have fallen way short of the goal of adoption by all or even a majority of the states. Furthermore, the versions of the “Uniform Laws” passed by the states are rarely uniform. Variations occur at the outset since prior law or other special local conditions lead states to make changes; rarely do states adopt Uniform Laws verbatim. A second source of variance is the Conference itself. Having adopted a successful Uniform Law, the Commissioners are prompted, just as true legislators are, to revised it from time to time in the light of changing conditions and policies. This results in multiple versions of some Uniform Laws, and unless and until the states that adopted an earlier version enact the Commissioners’ revisions in multiple versions in effect in the states. There are, for example, at least two versions of the Uniform Probate Code in force in the states, the original code and 1989-1990 revisions which some states have not adopted and others have adopted only in part. In short, uniformity has proven an illusive goal.

Your state may have adopted all or part of the 1968 version or the 1997 version or neither version at all. This link to the Cornell Legal Institute shows which states have adopted at least some parts of which version of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act.

You can use the additional links to research the law for each state. A better choice. Or least a more readable and understandable choice is the CHILD CUSTODY STATE LAWS (2009 Edition) There is a new 15 to 17 page report for each of the 50 states and DC. All State Laws concerning: (1) CUSTODY, (2) VISITATION, and (3) CHILD SUPPORT are covered. There is no complicated legal language. Everything is written clearly and concisely for men and women involved in child custody issues. Each Report discusses the State Laws, with emphasis on how these laws pertain to you. “Frequently Asked Questions” are included for each section—these are answers to questions from men and women just like you. AVAILABLE: All 50 states and DC.