Ethics and Religion
The Need For Shared Parenting
Michael McManus, August 19, 2006

Fingerlake Times
Lyons Man Refuses Food, Water
Jim Miller, August 10, 2006
Inmate from Lyons gets feeding tube
By Jim Miller, August 15, 2006

Mens News Daily
A Question of Mack or Murtari
Eric Johnson, August 23, 2006

Post Standard
Jailed Activist Refusing Food
By Jim O'Hara, August 10, 2006
Inmate: I don’t recommend…this.
Protesting child custody laws, John Murtari stopped eating 10 days ago
By Sue Weibezahl, August 12, 3006
Letters in Support
Post Standard, August 22, 2006
Fasting inmate regains 7 lbs.
By Sue Weibezahl, September 9, 2006
Fasting inmate to be subject of film on reforming family court
By Sue Weibezahl, November 17, 2006
The article above was picked up by the Associated Press
Inmate who refuses solid food attracts filmmaker
By Sue Weibezahl, November 19, 2006


Renew America
Uppity men
by Carey Roberts, September 19, 2006


Ethics and Religion

The Need For Shared Parenting
Michael McManus, August 19, 2006

John Murtari, 49, is sitting in a Syracuse jail for two weeks as I write, and has refused to eat or drink to protest  "gross and repeated injustice" by the court system in a custody battle over access to his son, Domenic, 13.

From the state's perspective, he is a deadbeat dad, who owes $60,000 in child support.

However, the initial support level was not based on his income, but the $70,000 he once earned as a software engineer for a defense firm.  When the company filed false reports, he says he blew the whistle and was fired the next day.

Though president of his own software firm, his earnings are half of what he used to make.  The first injustice is that his child support level was set far too high. Second, the court allowed his wife to move to Colorado, in spite of his protest.  She's studying for a third college degree, which she could have pursued in New York State. Why should any court allow a divorced parent to move so far away that child visitation by the parent left behind is almost impossible?

If Domenic visited him, John had to fly to Colorado, pick him up, bring him back, and then return with him to Colorado.  Three round trip tickets cost $1,000 per visit.  But the court would not allow him to deduct that from his child support payments. That's a third injustice.

Fourth, he repeatedly filed for modifications of his child support level, and was denied. He was assigned a public defender who told him, "John, just pay the money.  You'll see your son when he is 18."

John has been paying $50 a month, which is skimpy.  However, he estimates he has spent $60,000 in support of his son, but none of it counts in the court's eyes. In the last seven years, he flew out four times a year for visits, and picked him up for vacations in New York twice a year. "How many of those could I have traded away - and not lost our relationship?" he asks.

So he sits today in debtor's prison, to call attention to the plight of divorced parents denied regular access to their children.  John told me before going to jail that he would not eat or drink and would force the prison to keep him alive with a feeding tube. For ten days the jail refused to do so. His weight dropped from 155 pounds to 127. His blood pressure fell to a dangerous level. 

Stories appeared in local newspapers, and a feeding tube was inserted. He asserts, "This is not suicide wish or hunger strike. My goal is not to hurt myself but to make them expend an uncomfortable amount of effort to keep me in custody."

There has to be a better answer and there is.  It is called "shared parenting," or "joint custody," which is granted in only 16 percent of cases. According to a study by the American Psychological Association, "A major advantage of joint custody may be its ability to address the high rate of current father absence subsequent to divorce. Joint custody has been correlated with increased father involvement."

Second, "Joint custody versus sole maternal custody was associated with adolescent's positive adjustment.  Several studies found that increased and reliable visitation by the noncustodial parent (usually the father) predicted positive adjustment of children."

Feminists oppose joint custody on grounds that child support will be reduced. However, "the consensus of studies" found that "child support is either increased" or not significantly different. A fourth benefit is that there is "decreased re-litigation" with shared parenting, and less conflict between spouses in general.

Thus, research proves what common sense would suggest.  Shared parenting results in greater father involvement, more financial support, less litigation and happier children.

David Levy, an attorney who is President of the Children's Rights Council, reports another great impact of joint custody. States with the greatest amount of joint custody enjoyed a big drop in divorce rates. The six states with the most joint custody are, in order, Montana, Kansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Rhode Island, and Alaska.  The states with the highest decline in  divorce in the 1990s were Alaska, Kansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Montana and Idaho.

Why?

"If a parent knows that he or she will have to interact with the child's other parent while the child is growing up, there is less incentive to divorce," says Levy.

Here's a political issue for this political season.

Candidates for governor or state legislatures: why not fight for more joint custody to support kids and lower divorce rates?


Fingerlake Times

Lyons Man Refuses Food, Water
Jim Miller, August 10, 2006

A Lyons man jailed in Syracuse for failure to pay child support has for 10 days been refusing food and drink in protest of a court system he sees as unjust.

Legally, he's a deadbeat dad: He owes $60,000 in back child support, according to the Onondaga County courts, and is serving a 6-month sentence. But John Murtari considers himself an advocate for parental rights, and friends say he cares deeply about his 13-year-old son, whom his ex-wife moved out of the state after their divorce.

He believes that the family court system isn't always fair to fathers like him.

Murtari says he can't afford the child support payments and that he'd like the thousands of dollars he says he's spent visiting his son taken into account.

"I am not just an ATM machine, and money alone is not support," he wrote to the judge hearing his case.

Judge Bryan Hedges offered him 12 months probation, an offer that still stands, but Murtari instead chose jail time.

"The man is a man of convictions, and you have to admire somebody who's willing to go to jail to get, if you will, publicity for what he perceives to be his cause," Hedges said yesterday. "He wants to make his point, [and] it's a free country. But you're not free to father a child and not pay child support."

Murtari has lost 20 pounds since he was jailed July 31, and he was briefly taken to the emergency room Friday when his heartbeat became irregular, said longtime friend Terri Stoddard. He drank only 20 ounces of water during the first nine days of his sentence, but he planned to have a can of Ensure yesterday to strengthen himself for the possible insertion of a nasal feeding tube today.

Murtari doesn't want to die, said Stoddard, who serves as a spokesperson for A Kid's Right, the group Murtari founded to advocate for family law reform. But he is growing weaker.

Prison officials could not arrange an interview with Murtari before press time, but in his July 28 letter to Hedges asking for a reduced sentence, he outlined his plans.

"Once I report to the jail, I will not cooperate with any processing orders," he wrote. "I will not be rude or resist but just remain passive. I will not eat or drink voluntarily. I expect them to use medical means like an IV to keep me hydrated and fed. … My only fair response to such an unjust sentence is to maximize the amount of effort that must be used to hold me captive."

He objected to being jailed without a jury trial, which family law does not require, and to the court proceedings being held in Onondaga County instead of Wayne County.

On A Kid's Right's Web site, Murtari wrote that he would not accept probation because the probation agreement would require him to make child support payments and obey all laws. Murtari wrote that he drives with a suspended license and that making the child support payments would make it impossible for him to see his son.

Stoddard said Murtari isn't a rich man trying to beat the system but a loving father trying to stay involved with his son's life. She said the amount of child support he's supposed to pay was based on his salary at his old job, twice the amount he now makes.

"He's been paying whatever he can pay every month," she said. "It's just that the amount was never set at a reasonable amount."

But the court system determined that Murtari can afford the child support payments, Hedges said.

Stoddard spoke to Murtari as recently as yesterday. She said he dreams of food and wants the feeding tube inserted.

At the hospital Friday, Murtari was initially told he'd get the tube Monday, Stoddard said. Then another doctor told him that medical personnel would not intervene, and he was sent back to jail.

Jail personnel later told him that eating or not eating was his choice and that they had ethical issues with intervening, Stoddard said.

In an interview yesterday, Dick Carbery, chief of the Onondaga County Justice Center, said Murtari would receive a feeding tube if medically required.

"The only ethical concerns are that it needs to be done when it's medically indicated," he said. "You don't do that because someone is hungry."

Murtari saw a doctor yesterday and was told he'd be getting the tube today, Stoddard said.

"If the doctor tomorrow determines that it's required, then he will," Carbery said yesterday.

In the meantime, members of A Kid's Right and other supporters rallied in Syracuse yesterday.

Members of the group believe that children have a basic right to spend time with both parents, and they advocate the passage of a "Family Rights Act" that would ensure the right to counsel and a jury trial in family court matters. They see Murtari's situation as part of a larger problem with the family court system, which they believe gives preference to mothers and sometimes sets child support unrealistically high.

"This is not a rare case," Stoddard said. "[He's] just the only one willing to take it this far."

Inmate from Lyons gets feeding tube
By Jim Miller, August 15, 2006

The jailed Lyons man who's been refusing food and water is now living off of a nasal feeding tube.
John Murtari is serving a six-month sentence in Onon-daga County for failure to pay $60,000 in back child support, but he considers himself a parents-rights advocate and believes the court system doesn't always treat fathers fairly.

Teri Stoddard, spokesperson for A Kid's Right, a group Murtari founded, said Murtari received the feeding tube Thursday after refusing food and most water for 10 days.

He plans to live off the tube for the rest of his sentence, she said.

Murtari told court officials of his plans to refuse food and water before he went to jail July 31. He said he wanted to protest his sentence and the court system but expected that the jail would use a feeding tube to keep him alive.

Stoddard, who spoke to Murtari yesterday, said his energy level has improved since the tube was inserted. He had lost nearly 30 pounds since beginning his sentence.


Mens News Daily

A Question of Mack or Murtari
Eric Johnson, August 23, 2006

If you’ve never been: forcefully separated from your children, had your wages garnished to satisfy court ordered child support, helplessly watched your child suffer from an ear infection or cold having been prevented by a vindictive ex-spouse from taking them to a doctor, lived on ramen noodles and generic soup, listened to the stories of the ‘new dad’ in mommy’s life, been compelled to work on the only weekend when you get to actually spend time with your kids, refused to answer the door because a friendly cop warned you about the bench warrant for your arrest for failing to pay $5000 a month in alimony (based on a $60K job), etc, etc, etc. this article will ‘make sense.’  If you haven’t lived through this kind of hell, then this will come as a shock. 

For some of us who have lived this nightmare, we have moved on, recovered and rebuilt our lives.  Many times, the children who see the torment of their fathers come to deeply respect and admire their sacrifice; at least that is my story.  My oldest son lives with me; my other three kids may move in soon.  So, this isn’t about me.

Several months ago Darren Mack, a Las Vegas businessman, allegedly killed his wife, Charla Mack and then attempted to kill Family Court Judge Charles ‘Chuck’ Weller later the same morning.  She had left him and with the power of a Weller’s court now threatened to destroy everything he had worked for; his business, his family and his reputation.  It was all crumbling around him and the worst part was that Charla Mack had taken their child.  Darren Mack as a successful entrepreneur was obviously not used to feeling powerless or disenfranchised.  The Judge, Chuck Weller, was not to be spared of Darren Mack’s wrath.  According to one source, Mack was angry over a divorce settlement issued by Judge Weller. In addition to child support capped by state law at $849 per month, Darren Mack was ordered to pay $10,000 per month to help pay household expenses.
As details of these attacks became public, many people in the Father’s Rights community quietly acknowledged they weren’t particularly surprised by something of this nature happening.  After all, in the last few years several men, a retired Connecticut State Trooper Michael L. Bochicchio Jr. and John Allen Muhammad, the infamous Belt Way Sniper, had gone on murderous rampages following some very questionable court rulings against them.  Even though many in the Father’s and Children’s Rights community understood their rage, no one condoned their actions; murder, wanton violence and revenge were not how the movement wishes to be identified.  But still, a lingering frustration and embitterment fills the minds of a vast group of men who have been crushed by these so-called family courts; this type of occasional violence was bound to continue, grow and possibly become organized as a biased and arbitrary judiciary continues its ongoing criminalization of divorced men with children.

In striking contrast to these incidents is the case of John Murtari.  Murtari, a well known and respected member of the Equal Parenting movement and founder of ‘A Kid’s Right’ was recently incarcerated for failure to pay almost $60,000 in child support.  His advocates claim that the amount he is ordered to pay is based upon a previous job which produced twice the income of his current employment.  Additionally Murtari himself has been indignant regarding the fact his child, a 13 year old boy, was moved across country by his now ex-wife and that he needs significant financial resources to maintain a long distance relationship with his son. In summation, Murtari did not ask for the divorce, he did not acquiesce to his son being moved across the nation, he did not decide how much he could pay in child support- he was simply handed a bill, based upon the income from an old job and told ‘pay…or else.’  And when he failed to pay, they threw him in jail.  His effort to be a father had literally been criminalized.

But being a man who reputedly has a strong faith and is a committed and loving father, he vowed a resistance of non-violence.  For the first week and a half following his incarceration, he refused food and water.  Even when forced to sit with the other prisoners in the dining hall, he maintained a Military level of discipline and refused to eat.  Finally the authorities moved Murtari to a medical facility, fearing he may actually suffer kidney failure; they inserted Murtari with a feeding tube.  Murtari continues his hunger strike and his supporters continue their vigil, both locally and internationally.  He deals with the hunger and thirst everyday in a protest of conscience to send the message:  a father is more than a meal ticket and his value as a parent is greater than the capacity of his wallet.  He is sadden but determined, shaken but not broken.  He continues on and while he breathes, we hope.

Does a biased and bigoted judiciary and other members of the state and federal governments begin to acknowledge they have needlessly made potentially millions of domestic enemies? Do they admit he and thousand more like him have committed no crime than to attempt to remain a positive presence in their children’s lives? Do they begin to realize their actions have been nothing short of despicable, capricious and arrogant?  Or will they continue their crusade of disenfranchisement, taking home, family and future away from men guilty only of being ‘divorced with children?’

So, now the question: Will they deal fairly with a pacifist hunger striker or run the risk of getting a bullet from a man who has nothing left to lose?  We will wait and see. 

Post Standard

Jailed Activist Refusing Food
By Jim O'Hara, August 10, 2006
A vocal opponent of the state's divorce and custody laws is refusing to eat or drink as a protest in the Onondaga County Justice Center Jail in Syracuse, where he is serving a six-month sentence for not paying child support.

John Murtari, 49, is serving the sentence in the Justice Center instead of the county penitentiary in Jamesville because of the health services available in the downtown facility, according to sheriff's Sgt. John D'Eredita.

"Apparently, he's taken the position he doesn't want to eat or take any fluids," D'Eredita said.

County Family Court Judge Bryan Hedges said Wednesday he sentenced Murtari about a week ago to six months in jail for the willful failure to pay child support.

According to Hedges, he gave Murtari the option of a probationary sentence, but Murtari chose a jail sentence instead.

Murtari is well-known around the courthouse, where he has long protested the system that granted his ex-wife custody of their son following years of legal battles. He also has protested the support orders and the fact his wife moved across the country with their son, now 13.

A former Lysander resident now living in Wayne County, Murtari organized Kids-Right, a national organization that advocates a child's right to both parents.

Hedges said Murtari has chronicled his battle on his Web site - www.akidsright.org - and the recently imposed jail sentence has attracted a lot of attention. The judge said he has received numerous e-mails about the case and his law clerk has been fielding phone calls "from around the country and around the world" about the case.

A small group of supporters gathered Wednesday outside the Onondaga County Courthouse to protest Murtari's jail sentence and to call for changes in the way noncustodial parents are treated by the courts.

"There are far too many criminals on the streets to be filling jail cells with folks who have fallen on hard times," said Kris Titus, of Fathers for Justice in Canada.

Murtari's lawyer Charles Keller said his client is not refusing to pay support, he's simply unable to pay the amount the court has ordered.

Inmate: I don’t recommend…this.
Protesting child custody laws, John Murtari stopped eating 10 days ago
By Sue Weibezahl, August 12, 3006

John Murtari dreams of roasted chicken and a frosty mug of dark beer.

But he's determined not to eat or drink for at least another five months.

Murtari, 49, has been on a hunger strike at the Onondaga County Justice Center jail for the past 10 days.

Already, he said, he has lost more than 25 pounds, dropping from 155 to 127 pounds, his blood pressure is low, and he has experienced tremors and dry heaves.

On Thursday, medical staff at the jail inserted a feeding tube into his right nostril.

On Friday morning, he had his first meal - a can of Ensure, which will be his breakfast, lunch and dinner from now until he either decides to eat or gets released, he said in an interview Friday at the jail.

Although he has had sips of water to prevent dehydration and keep his kidneys functioning, he has refused all other food.

Murtari was sentenced last week to six months in jail for not paying child support.

He owes more than $60,000 and believes divorced parents don't get a fair shake from the justice system.

"This is not a suicide mission," Murtari said. "I'm just not going to cooperate with an unjust system and I will continue this until I am a free person."

Murtari, looking pale and gaunt and occasionally fighting back tears, called himself a "prisoner of conscience" who has made it his mission to bring attention to the plight of non- custodial parents.

"Believe me, it's very, very scary," he said. "I have to take it one day at a time. I don't want to make this sound easy and I don't recommend people do this. There've been a few times when I was ready to break down."

He was sentenced July 31 by Onondaga County Family Court Judge Bryan Hedges, who was prepared to give Murtari probation, but Murtari chose jail instead.

Murtari, formerly of Lysander, who now lives in Wayne County, is being held in the jail's infirmary so medical staff can check on him regularly, said Sgt. Joe Powlina.

"Food is always available and we do evaluations three or four times a day," he said, "but we won't force-feed."

Letters in Support
Post Standard, August 22, 2006

The world is watching

To the Editor:

I have followed John Murtari's campaign to be a loving father to his child for several years now. He is a man of exemplary behaviour ethics and morals.

The appalling treatment and abuse of John and his child by the American authorities is being watched in disbelief around the world.

This is by no means an individual case, either. If the truth were known, millions of children are being abused in the United States by family law. This is mirrored by most feminized countries in the world.

Syracuse, the world is watching American justice. Land of the free? (Until you want to be a father to your child!)

Dave Ellison
Former International Coordinator of Fathers 4 Justice
Warrington, England

Applause for Murtari and coverage of parental custody fairness issue

To the Editor:

I want to thank The Post-Standard for raising its readers' awareness by publishing the article on Aug. 10 about jailed activist John Murtari.

Whether John survives the six months imposed upon him or not, as he lost 18 pounds in the first eight days and is diabetic, he will be remembered as a hero among activists for simply equal rights and fairness where the custody and care of parent's children are concerned, and the equality of those affected parents.

What is happening in this country is criminal. The government is leading the way to the social destruction of the family. John has laid his life on the line to bring bureaucrats out of their half-conscious minds.

Robert Gartner
Houston, Texas

Shared parenting in divorce cases is the best solution for the children

To the Editor:

My heart goes out to that man on a hunger strike in Syracuse. There are a multitude of injustices in the child-support industry, and John Murtari is the victim of many.

Regardless if both parents are fit, courts routinely assign primary custody to one, usually the mother. Regardless if both parents work, courts usually order fathers to pay child support.

And it goes without saying that the "winner" in custody cases gets the child - and child support. But the father is not the only loser in such court action. Kids lose loving dads in practically every custody decision.

Many believe the assumption that the mothers get the kids in custody cases may account for many divorces. They could be right. More than 65 percent of divorce cases are filed by women.

Laws need to be changed to start off with a presumption of 50/50 shared parenting. Then, if a mom or dad doesn't want their share, they can pay child support. Fifty-fifty shared parenting is true child support.

Don Mathis
Sherman, Texas

Must you be a rich lobbyist to talk with Clinton on custody issue?

To the Editor:

Your story about John Murati, although very good, could have been better. I am especially surprised that his elected offical will not discuss the issue with him.

Instead, Hillary Clinton tried to have him charged with stalking because he left messages to her written in chalk outside of her office. If anyone is a crackpot, it is Hillary.

One of the reasons I write to you is that this story is of course of interest far and wide. I am in California and following this story very carefully.

Easily proven facts about Mr. Murtari's background make him not only a person to not to be dismissed, but a person to be respected.

I look forward to your continued coverage on this issue. I would be especially interested in what Hillary has to say. Do you have to be a multimillion-dollar lobbyist or a reporter who will only report favorable viewpoints for her to speak?

George Kenner
La Mesa, Calif.

Fasting inmate regains 7 lbs.
By Sue Weibezahl, September 9, 2006

A jail inmate on a fast for more than a month is still on a feeding tube but has gained some weight, he said this week.

John Murtari, 49, was sentenced July 31 for not paying child support and has refused to eat since.

He dropped more than 25 pounds the first two weeks but gained about 7 pounds since a feeding tube was inserted Aug. 10, according to Murtari and jail officials.

"I'm still not taking any solid food, but I have a little juice and broth at mealtimes," Murtari said.

He also gets eight 250-calorie breakfast drinks through the tube each day. "I feel much more normal now. I'm more alert. My energy level is good, and things have stabilized," he said.

Murtari owes more than $60,000 to his ex-wife and said he can't afford to pay because the child support figure was calculated based on an income far higher than what he now earns.

Murtari hopes his decision to refuse food brings attention to noncustodial parents, many of whom he says do not get a fair shake from the court system.

Originally housed at Jamesville penitentiary, Murtari was moved to the Justice Center jail in Syracuse because of its medical unit and proximity to local hospitals. He is now being held in the jail infirmary.

Jail officials have stopped trying to persuade him to eat, Murtari said, because, "They understand the depth of my resolve. It takes quite a bit of conviction to take it so far that your vitals are affected, but I'm very comfortable with this. I have no regrets at all."

Richard Carbery, chief of the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office custody division, said jail officials never spent much time trying to get Murtari to eat.

"Our procedure is to bring them the tray," Carbery said. "We don't harangue them like you do with a kid, 'Hey, eat your peas.' These people are adults."

With time off for good behavior, Murtari is expected to be released in December.

Fasting inmate to be subject of film on reforming family court
By Sue Weibezahl, November 17, 2006

The Associated Press

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — An inmate who has been fasting for more than 100 days to protest his sentence for failing to pay child support will be featured in a documentary.

John Murtari, 50, is serving six months at the Justice Center jail and has not eaten since he was incarcerated July 31. On Thursday, Angelo Lobo, a San Diego-based producer, interviewed Murtari for a documentary on people who have been affected by family court decisions and are advocating for reform.

Murtari is given breakfast drinks through a feeding tube inserted Aug. 10 and his weight is stable, Sgt. Joe Powlina said.

Murtari owes more than $60,000 to his ex-wife. He has said he can't afford to pay because the support was calculated using an income he no longer has. He is the founder of AKidsRight.org, which criticizes the child support system.

Lobo's movie, "Support System Down," will include interviews with 38 people.

Inmate who refuses solid food attracts filmmaker
By Sue Weibezahl, November 19, 2006

An inmate at the Onondaga County Justice Center jail who has been refusing solid food for more than 100 days will soon be a subject in a documentary film.

Jail officials allowed a San Diego-based producer, Angelo Lobo, and his film crew to interview John Murtari, 50, on Thursday at the jail.

Murtari, who was sentenced to six months for not paying child support, has not eaten since he was incarcerated July 31.

He receives breakfast drinks through a feeding tube inserted Aug. 10 and his weight is stable, Sgt. Joe Powlina said.

Murtari owes more than $60,000 to his ex-wife. He has said he can't afford to pay because the support was calculated using an income he no longer has. He is the founder of AKids Right.org, which details what Murtari maintains are flaws with the child support system involving both custodial and noncustodial parents.

Lobo's movie, "Support System Down," will include interviews with 38 people who have been personally affected by Family Court decisions and are advocating reform.

Murtari is scheduled to be released Dec. 1, Powlina said.

A cousin will pick him up at the jail and take him on a "restaurant hopping" tour of Onondaga County. His first stop will be for chocolate ice cream to ease him into solid foods again.

After that? "Baby back ribs are sounding good," Murtari said. "Actually, everything looks good at this point."

"In these four months, you come out with an appreciation of the simple things, like freedom - things people take for granted," he said. "And now I am so looking forward to just sitting down and enjoying a simple meal. I don't think that feeling will go away for a long time."

Renew America

Uppity men

Carey Roberts
September 19, 2006


Let's face it, we've been snookered.

They promised gender liberation, now we're becoming dependents of the Nanny State. They averred no fancy for special treatment, now we have affirmative action. They said they only wanted to give women a voice, now we've got speech codes. They claimed to be for gender equality, now boys are struggling just to keep up in school.

Why has it taken so long for us to catch on?

One of the tacit rules of the New Gender Order is that the opinions of men don't count. "If white men were not complaining, it would be an indication we weren't succeeding and making the inroads that we are" was the remarkable admission once made by the most influential media mogul in the country, Arthur Sulzberger, Jr, owner and publisher of the New York Times.

Author Warren Farrell calls it the "lace curtain," the invisible hand of editorial censorship that throttles the First Amendment rights of half our nation's population.

It's like we claimed to be engaged in free and open debate, all the while holding one of the parties gagged, blind-folded, and hog-tied. Or if men were allowed to speak, it was made perfectly clear that they not say anything that might force the delicate gals to resort to smelling salts — remember l'affaire of Larry Summers?

But three weeks ago something snapped.

Michael Noer at Forbes.com wrote a column called "Don't Marry Career Women." It was an advice column for eligible businessmen thinking about making the plunge.

Predictably, the ladies reacted with well-rehearsed outrage, forcing Forbes to run a counterpoint by Elizabeth Corcoran, "Don't Marry a Lazy Man." [www.forbes.com/2006/08/23/Marriage-Careers-Divorce_cx_mn_land.html]

True, some of Noer's facts could be disputed. Maybe he didn't qualify his statements enough.

But Noer's article struck a deep chord with hard-working men whose liberated wives had come to look askance at anything that might remotely be called housework. And it resonated with the average Joes who put in long hours on the factory line, only to come home and learn that he was a member of the male oppressor class.

This time there would be no "Button up that lip, little man!" Within hours the Internet was buzzing over Noer's apostasy as thousands of men spoke out at Forbes.com, FreeRepublic.com, and other sites. All of a sudden, full-throated debate became fashionable.

Remember this line? "I'm as mad as hell and I won't take it anymore!" That rant won Peter Finch an Oscar for his role in the movie Network.

That pretty well sums up the attitude of many men and women who have become disgusted with feminist-driven, government-enforced intervention into the personal matters of private citizens.

For years, women like Christina Hoff Sommers, Wendy McElroy, Cathy Young, and Phyllis Schlafly have been speaking out against government intrusion disguised as female emancipation. Now their protest is ringing through the land.

Take Doug Richardson of Detroit. He was forced to pay more than $80,000 in child support, even after paternity tests proved the child was not his. Now he's waging a one-man campaign to expose the swindle and bring the malefactors to justice.

In North Dakota, Mitch Sanderson got fed up with the raw deal that fathers were getting in divorce court. So he started up the North Dakota Shared Parenting Initiative. Then he quit his day job and combed every hamlet and town in the state to get the required 13,000 signatures to land his shared custody bill on the November ballot.

Some guys are willing to put everything on the line.

Like John Murtari of Onondaga County, NY. Murtari owes more than $60,000 in child support, an amount he couldn't pay because the figure was calculated based on an income far higher than what he now earns. On July 31 he was sentenced to jail, triggering a hunger strike that caused him to lose 29 pounds in just nine days. As of this writing his situation remains precarious.

April 19, 1775, a rag-tag group of Minutemen waited in muffled silence at the Old North Bridge in Concord, Mass. Within minutes they were engulfed in a desperate fire-fight with the British regulars.

Soon the smoke cleared. That shot heard 'round the world marked the first battle of the American Revolutionary War. It was the first hard-fought step to freedom from government oppression.

Over 230 years later, state-sponsored tyranny has re-appeared in our midst. And once again, a group of uppity men are willing to risk their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor in the defense of justice and family.

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