I always thought there was something a little sad about older men having kids. The ultimate mid-life crisis: try to relive youg adulthood with a younger wife and new kids. And they always seem to cease talking about their first families. There age mates boast of college age kids and grandbabies- these older dads might as well have amnesia about their oldest kids. A radio personality in Detroit talks non-stop about what it's like to be a father of a tot, when I know through friends that he's also the grandfather of a tot- whom he never mentions. Perhaps he finds it embarrassing. Not an attractive quality in a person. And then there's the distasteful fact that no older man can marry a younger woman unless he has money, amd younger women don't marry older men who are poor. These truisms probably explain why many people are put off by these May/December couples. I just don't think that it's true at that there is any general approval of old dads.

A vietnam vet, gather of a five year old? How old is this dad, and why can't he afford to move to a decent apartment at his age? Hmmm. There is something strange about this case, and obviously more than what is presented in the post. Unsurprising, giving how acrimonious divorces and child visitation/ custody cases can be. In any case, unfairness to fathers is an excellent example of how feminism can benefit men: no true feminist will ever dispute that responsible, involved dads are best for children and make lives easier for mothers.

I am always disheartened to see how many readers buy the urban myth that innocent men are being put in jail for having relations with willing girls a couple of years younger than they are. Leaving aside the fact that a 20 year old man who has sex with a 15 year old will never have my sympathy, I'm calling bullshit on Eagle's tale of a poor beleaugered photographer going to jail for a year(!) after 'no evidence of child pornogrpahy was found'. Come on. Anyone with common sense, let alone any familiarity at all with the criminal justice system, will find this yarn totally implausible. Sex offenders can take heart: it's still more common for them not to be punished at all then for them to have to suffer the shame of being on a sex registry. Personally, I like sex offender registries. The requirement to register becomes a bargaining chip for plea agreements, and when offenders do register the shame of sexual assault lies where it has belonged all along: with the perpetrarors.

Missing from the ESPN Wilson story: the point of view of the victim. And then there's the little matter of the 17 year old girl who said Wilson raped her the same night, with his friends. As I said, there are always two sides.

I have a job that brings me into contact with the courts and once in a while with accused sex offenders. I have been present at more than a few guilty pleas and trials for sexual offenses. I can say that to a person, the accused sex offenders have always downplayed what actually happened, always say they thought the girl was older or that she wanted it, and public urination is a frequent excuse for indecent exposure. Sometimes the finders of fact agree or the prosecution has no case and the case goes no further. Other times there is a conviction. Obviously I don't know the law in all 50 states and only know a little in my own, but I'm going to guess that public urination doesn't carry a punishment of registering as a sex offender in any of them.

Oh no- you got me started on how much I hate the "girls today are skanks" theme rampant in press and in conversation! And I'm going to start raging about how people seem to adore saying even our little girls look dress sluts. What's more tacky and more ugly than the tackiest and ugliest thing for sale at Limited Too? Saying little girls are prostitots for whatever reason. Leave your classist misogyny behind and give three cheers for modern girlhood. These kids are smarter and bolder than any before them and I'm their biggest cheerleader.

Lindsey Lohan is a very good actress. Watch how she portrayed twins in "The Parent Trap". She nailed the British accent and according to her director was able to remember every little gesture one twin made and repspond to it while portraying the other twin. How old was she- 10? 11? And I defy anyone to see her in 'Mean Girls' and not realize that this young woman has charisma to spare. She might be a little lost, but she's talented.

..that only rejects have to get mail order brides who are desperate enough to leave home and culture to live with a man they barely know. And look at any classified ad section or online dating site- the ads for men seeking women overwhelmingly outnumber the women seeking men. There are many, many lonely men out there. A few of which write creepily bitter letters to feminist blogs...

This story has all the makings of a great dark comedy.

I'm trying to think of a more unethical sexual realtionship than that of a 24 year old man having sex with and impregnating his 15 year old orphaned sister and I can't think of one. First, you have the disparities of power of age and sibling relationship, and then you have the minor child impregnated several times by her brother, and thus put into a very vulnerable position. Women, even very young women, are often made vulnerable to abusive, unequal relationships by motherhood. Very big families and a constant state of impregnantion of women with little educational or finaincial resources are a great way to keep women down.

Children are supposed to be protected by the adults in their lives. Period.

But wouldn't you risk getting a blind, schizophrenic boy?