Now Lifetime TV, a network known for its movies about women being endangered by men, has sunk to a new low - a reality program called "Deadbeat Dads."
In the beginning of gotcha TV, viewers enjoyed watching the police bust down a door and haul away the bad guy on a show like "Cops." That same format migrated over to Animal Planet, where the cops bust down the door and arrest the man who has been starving his dogs or kicking his cats. Now Lifetime is doing the same thing to divorced fathers.
The Lifetime TV program ignores the numbers. More than 90 percent of fathers with joint custody paid the support due, according to a Census Bureau report (Series P-23, No. 173). So deadbeats are in the minority. Also, most so-called deadbeat dads actually are dead broke. Two-thirds of men who fail to make child-support payments earn poverty-level wages, according to the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement. Most of the others are unemployed.
Bruce Walker, executive coordinator at the District Attorneys Council in Oklahoma City, who ran the state's child-support enforcement program for three years and jailed hundreds of fathers for nonpayment, told the Newark Star-Ledger in 2002: "These men are seldom the mythical monsters described by politicians."
"Many times I prosecuted impoverished men," he told the Star-Ledger. "I prosecuted one deadbeat dad who had been hospitalized for malnutrition and another who lived in the bed of a pickup truck."
Nor is it likely that Lifetime will ever show that some fathers simply give money directly to their teenage children because some mothers end up using child-support payments for everything but the child.
Child visitation and child support are tied together, at least in the minds of many fathers. The largest federally funded study of child-support payments was led by Arizona State University researcher Sanford Braver over an eight-year period. Mr. Braver found that fathers with joint custody pay 90.2 percent of all child support ordered. Fathers with visitation rights pay 79.1 percent of all child support ordered. However, fathers with no access or visitation rights to their children pay just 44.5 percent of the court-ordered child support. Much of Mr. Braver's data was backed up in the Census Bureau report (Series P-23, No. 173).
But what about divorced moms who do not allow the father to visit his children, despite court orders allowing him to do so? Another study, "Visitational Interference: A National Study" by J. Annette Vanini and Edward Nichols, found that 77 percent of noncustodial fathers are not able to spend time with their children, as ordered by the court, as a result of "visitation interference" perpetuated by the custodial parent. This would mean that noncompliance with court-ordered visitation is three times the problem of noncompliance with court-ordered child support. In short, lousy moms outnumber deadbeat dads 3-1.
Will Lifetime TV be truthful about how often some mothers end a relationship with the father, take custody of the children and refuse to allow the father access to the children? Indeed, after the age of 40, women initiate more divorces than men.
While sometimes it seems that Lifetime has an anti-male agenda, perhaps it is simply pandering to embittered moms who make up the network's audience. The full tragedy of the collapse of many American families remains untold. It is a worthy subject, but it must be told without ideology; it must be clear-eyed about the myriad ways men and women have failed each other. Such radical honesty would make for compelling television and would be a public service. Pity Lifetime is not daring enough to try it.
This article was crossposted from The Washington Times Editorial Page
Kerry Picket is an online producer with the Washington Times
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Coming soon
May 18, 2009 - 21:06 ET by Joe CamelComing soon, kill all the men channel. Humm, now how will we propogate the species again...stupid people in this world. Why I don't ever watch any of that dribble on TV.
nah
May 19, 2009 - 07:30 ET by RowaneIt'll be "Kill All the WHITE Men, especially conservatives."
Didja
May 18, 2009 - 21:53 ET by serfer62ever notice when the breakup of the traditional family began, the soaring single-mothers and the growing contempt for men begin?
About the same time Feminism extremists demanded equality, the birth of the Practise Husband, the marriage for money (divorce), etc...
What has happened in my
May 18, 2009 - 22:01 ET by bigtimerWhat has happened in my lifetime to men is a crying shame.
Period.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
→ bt
May 18, 2009 - 22:05 ET by Cool ArrowSome of us managed to hoodwink loving women into believing we were worth having around for 32 years.
"I was fighting a war in Iraq!" - Nancy Lugosi
Cool Arrow... ...or
May 18, 2009 - 22:13 ET by bigtimerCool Arrow...
...or MORE!
Thank God.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
Men in Commercials
May 18, 2009 - 22:40 ET by GothampcI'm shocked at how poorly men are portrayed in tv commercials. They are shown as buffoons and utterly clueless. I'm often tempted to start a blog about all the commercials that portray dumb men.
Goth...right you are...it
May 18, 2009 - 22:55 ET by bigtimerGoth...right you are...it drives me and my other half crazy, you can't help but notice it...and it isn't just there, the sit-coms too...and on and on it goes.
It has been disgraceful.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
BT, my brother and myself
May 19, 2009 - 07:08 ET by HeavyChevyScream at the TV all the time. Even if its a commercial or a show that we never saw before if it involves a father or man opposite a woman or little daughter we can bet our bottom dollar what's going to happen. It's almost like we`re psychic or had an advance reading of the script. YOU JUST KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. Don't even get me started on those"Seasonal" commercial. We all know which ones Valentines,Christmas(Zales and Kay jewelers anyone?) where pops only get acknowledge and is portraied as only half an @$$ when he is plunking large chunks of cash for purty diamonds. Because we all know that dedication, loyalty, love and being there through thick and thin means nothing unless its backed up with some sparkling ICE.
What's this?
May 18, 2009 - 22:56 ET by botgIt's an egg Dad
How does it work?
“The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.” -- Chief Justice John Roberts
That must be the same
May 19, 2009 - 08:29 ET by sherylsimsThat must be the same dude who needs help opening the box of cereal. Poor guy.
I do like the humorous take Carl's Jr. puts on those though... like where the guy puts a whole avocado in the blender and just watches it, and the voiceover says, "Without Carl's Jr. some guys would just starve." (but at least they say some guys...)
But yeah, I have said it before. It is shameful how stupid they make the men in commercials.
Might be that all men want
May 19, 2009 - 07:11 ET by ThisnThatMight be that all men want to emulate our Government leaders -- which is why they are portrayed as dumb, bumbling creatures.
___________________________________
The challenge is to follow a consistent plan despite inconsistent prices - Sarah Palin, State of the State of Alaska speech
I have no problem with the
May 18, 2009 - 22:26 ET by Trix RabbitI have no problem with the law going after deadbeat fathers. If you bring a child into this world, then you'd better be damned sure you take care of it.
But that it's being shown on Lifetime, the "Men are stupid and I hate them" channel makes this all very suspect.
They won't go after the checked-pants country club fathers. They'll go after the worst stereotype they can find: the mullet-headed, toothless rednecks in trailer courts.
For the MSM: In your pomp and all your glory, you're a poorer man than me. As you lick the boots of death born out of fear.
Ian Anderson "Wind up"
"I have no problem with the
May 19, 2009 - 13:18 ET by NL207"I have no problem with the law going after deadbeat fathers."
When the law pursues deadbeat mothers like it pursues deadbeat fathers, we may see some hope of reform.
"They won't go after the checked-pants country club fathers."
Look around you. See who "they" are really going after. You might not know this, but the Federal Government PAYS the states 66 cents for every dollar of child support they collect. You can't collect much child support from a jailbird, drunkard or drug addict. The child support machine targets the 'country club' dads explicitly.
NL207
May 19, 2009 - 14:52 ET by Trix RabbitAgreed. But that it's being "documented" on Lifetime, they will portray all the deadbeat fathers, as you say, as jailbirds, drunkards, or drug addicts.
Yes, they should go after the deadbeat mothers as well. But on Lifetime, that will be a huge stretch.
For the MSM: In your pomp and all your glory, you're a poorer man than me. As you lick the boots of death born out of fear.
Ian Anderson "Wind up"
How about the deadbeat MOMs?
May 18, 2009 - 22:34 ET by fesmanThis drivel sickens me. No wonder I call the Lifetime TV channel the "Victim Network".
This man hate has reached an all time high. Are there dead beat fathers? You betcha.
What about the deadbeat mothers?? I have had custody of my daughter for 11 years, and am owed 13K in back child support.
To make matters worse, my ex wife doesn't work and has recently been approved for disability because she claims to be manic depressant.
She has lied about having cancer, is a convicted felon, and owes 13K in child support. Wonder why Lifetime TV won't do a story on her???
fesman... Heck...send in
May 18, 2009 - 22:49 ET by bigtimerfesman...
Heck...send in a script or something using her bull and see if you can make some $$$...of course making sure they think you are a gal...you might cinch it...I don't think it takes much to qualify to be a movie for Lifetime...as long as you are a woman, and a victim from big bad evil men, along with this corporate/capitalist society.
I hate Lifetime...always have for years now.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
I saw a statistic a few
May 19, 2009 - 06:57 ET by Tom PaineI saw a statistic a few years ago that about 40% of mother who owed child support were in arrears. Also about 70% of divorces are initiated by women, usually for such reasons as "I'm just not happy anymore..." And don't even get me started on how fathers are portrayed as idiots on television. I mean, everyone knows that an aerospace engineer is incapable of understading how to turn on the diswasher, right.
Don't get me started on
May 19, 2009 - 07:30 ET by motherbeltDon't get me started on commercials. The one that really galls me is the one where the guy eats a big lunch and falls asleep at his desk, then ends up in the boss's office with "Loser" written on his forehead in permanent marker by the woman he is vying for a promotion with.
Can you imagine reversing the roles in that?
Or the one where all the guys are looking out the window while the lone woman on the team is at her computer working and solves the problem????
OK, I'm done. For now. LOL
I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson
How about the time all the men that landed on the Moon
May 19, 2009 - 12:45 ET by upcountrywaterwere white!
That happened, right?
We have come a long way baby.
Reagan VS 0bama
Along with all of the geeks
May 19, 2009 - 14:29 ET by Tom PaineAlong with all of the geeks with the white shirts and skinny ties in Mission Control who safely brought Apollo 13 from certain disaster to a safe return to earth. They were there for one reason – they were very good at their jobs. If Mission Control had been inhabited with the affirmative action mindset that exists today, Apollo 13 and the astronauts’ bodies would still be orbiting the earth as a permanent memorial.
Investigation
May 18, 2009 - 22:48 ET by GothampcA strong journalist should do some investigation work on child support.
My brother ran into a problem once. His child support was taken out of his paycheck before he ever got his money. His daughter lives in a different state than he does. Somewhere between the payroll deduction and the states transferring the money, someone wasn't doing their job. Every paystub recorded the deduction, but his daughter's mother wasn't getting the payments so she filed a complaint. He got into a big mess and had to go to court with his paystubs. The problem was in transferring the money between states. I wonder how many "deadbeat dads" have fallen into this trap.
I don't have much problem with this
May 18, 2009 - 23:39 ET by tcm22Unless Lifetime is attempting to paint all divorced dads as deadbeats, I don't have a problem with this. If there are guys skipping out on court-mandated child support and they refuse to pay, then I have no problem calling them out on TV and draggin them away. They are no different then the guys who jump bail and get dragged down for failing to appear in court.
I concur that popular culture and it's agent in the mainstream media have worked to marginalize fatherhood and the male role in family life. That said, deadbeat dads (and lets face it, they do exist) do little to help counteract that theme. While I can certainly wish that Lifetime would be more supportive of the family and the role of fathers, I don't expect them to pursue that type of programming. If we conservatives stand for upholding the rule of law and promoting the role of fathers, advocating on behalf of deadbeat dads certainly isn't going to support the cause.
conception for compensation
May 19, 2009 - 00:12 ET by LoosMooseFirst she goes to the doctor to find out when her fertility is highest, and obtain any substance to help improve the chances of conception. Then lies that it is medically impossible for her to become pregnant. Then you find out 2 weeks later, "I'm pregnant, I want money." along with the names of her two previous kids both by different fathers. You do the DNA test and get the bad news. Go before the judge and he sets your support payments and tells you that if your job changes (airline pilot) and you go to a lower paying job, he is going to tell you to get a second job. You pay $200,000 in support which she receives TAX FREE, the three kids (she averages $170,000 PER child, about $36,000 a year TAX free, a half million TAX free) are raised by her parents until sent to a boarding school) and she is living in Boca Raton lining up #4 at the Country Club.
The Male never has any choice, and few rights.
Fathers Group in Ausin consoles you by showing you the REALLY high priced cases, nurses that have bagged 3-4 surgeons and are knocking down better than a quarter million a year TAX free. There is no rule/law/statute to insure that the child receives a penny of the money.
Actually
May 19, 2009 - 09:31 ET by sherylsimsWhile the scenario you describe is awful, there is a brief window of time when the man DOES have a choice. It is just that some men don't make the right choice when faced with that "opportunity".
yes this really happens
May 20, 2009 - 00:53 ET by LoosMooseYES this really happens.
You *are* correct, there is a window of opportunity here and abstinance or vasectomy are the only conditions which will save you. But you think you are dealing with someone that:
Cares about you and wants a relationship
You didn't know will provide defective or faulty condoms if you insist on one even though it's impossible for her to become pregnant.
Furthermore I didn't include:
You are responsible for the childs health insurance for the same period of time, if you don't pay it/provide it, you are liable for the same arrest/punishment as for failure to provide support. You do NOT however have ANY say in the selection of the doctor, facility, treatment, cost, medication, location etc.
You can be nailed for "back support" up to and including the DATE of conception. Yes you read that correctly.
That really happens???
May 19, 2009 - 09:39 ET by taterThat really happens??? Man if guys knew that scenerio...that would really be a good form of birth control.
Which it's always better to wait until you're married before you get to know a lady in that way. You can weed out the golddiggers when you are using your brain and keep the good ones.
www.theholyrosary.org
"There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we can not resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary." -Sister Lucia
Deadbeat moms?
May 20, 2009 - 00:19 ET by fesmanWhat about deadbeat mothers? Why can't the term deadbeat PARENTS be used instead of FATHER and/or MOTHER?
Liberal Thinking: America is
May 19, 2009 - 01:23 ET by mostlymoderateLiberal Thinking:
America is evil
Caucasian's are oppressors
Men are scum
Therefore, if you are an American-white-male, you are royally screwed.
The stories I could tell ...
May 19, 2009 - 04:08 ET by crosspatchbut won't.
The mother of my children was mentally ill but brilliant. A champion at debate in college, a journalist by trade, but very sick. Before she died she exploited every angle there was at prejudice against fathers, so far as taking the children to another state where mothers had an even greater advantage.
The system is set up against fathers. Single sole parent fathers have no resources to draw upon. What "babysitting exchange" wants a man in their group? None of them. Single parenting resources are all configured for mothers. Dads have no resources. You are automatically a potential pedophile or something if you attempt to join a "mom's club" ... there are no dad's clubs.
Being a single sole parent dad is probably the hardest job there is.
Well I have one
May 19, 2009 - 07:15 ET by general companyMy SIL has a Daughter who's mother has left the state with the child. This woman has successfully had the "child support" increased and while gone, lied about every arranged visit. My SIL has traveled a thousand miles only to have the local police turn him away at the front door. He has had the local judicial system snub him at every turn, and ours has proven to be ineffective. Meanwhile he hasn't seen her in over 3yrs now. Just a few months ago he quit making his CS payments. He loves his child very much, has never hurt her or her mother, and simply cannot understand why they let her get away with this. In truth we are all at a loss?
My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
I'm in a reverse situation...
May 19, 2009 - 09:12 ET by MortimerI'm a single dad of two, son & daughter. Have been single since 1992. I have never recieved a dime from her. Yes, we struggled for a while, due to everything being based on there being two of us, to support and raise these children. She had other things she had to do, I suppose...
This Saturday morning, my son graduated from college. As my son was getting ready for the 'walk', his mom & new husband show up, pitching a show of how proud she is and how happy he has made her. My son treats her with undue respect, for he is MY son.
After the event, with no gift, card or anything of the sort offered, his mother states she would like to take us all out for lunch (her new husband, #4, nods in approval), then my son states, "Well mom, you were not there during the times I really needed you to be, and now I'm afraid I really don't need your help, so no, I'll be going to lunch with Dad & sis"..... My daughter, tugging on my jacket sleeve says "lets go"(with that glare-stare, only a young woman can do).... I have never been so proud!
When I look back at all of the problems, and disappointments my children had been through, growing up without a real mom, I can't seem to wish it had been any other way.... I am very proud of them both! (my daughter starts college in the fall)
Nulla Vestigia Retrorsum
Shining Example
May 19, 2009 - 10:02 ET by UtherpendI envy you having two children who seem to be more stable and better prepared for the world ahead of them. Congrats and good job, you made this country better by your efforts.
"For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security."
Re: shining example...
May 19, 2009 - 13:17 ET by MortimerUltherpend,
Thank-you... I'm an Oldschool Dad. I never gave greif nor would I take it. There is Right & Wrong, and not much in between. Not too strict, not smothering, but aware of what is going on in thier lives. Not trying to be thier freind, just be thier Dad. The hardest thing is keeping them trusting, talking, and beleiving in you. (harder than it sounds, now-a-days with all the outside influences)
I bet if you would have said that about me six years ago, in front of my kids, they would think you a foolish old person.
They are well adjusted...NOW... (if you have kids in the 12-17 range, you know what I mean)
It's was tough, at times, thanks again for the kind words.
Very good,
May 19, 2009 - 15:42 ET by general companyThis is my SIL's fear, that one day his Daughter will ask him "where were you when I needed you". I mean he cant even think about her without getting emotional. It has cost him 10's of thousands of dollars, he has had 2 attorney's quit him, and the one he currently has told him to quit making CS payments in hopes she will take him to court, a local court. But we have been here before, last time they raised his child support, made her promise to make the child available for visitation. Well he paid and she told lie after lie, to the local police, to my SIL, to the Grandparents, to the court. But our biggest fear, is she wont even respond to the missing payments, then what?
I went with him the last time (about a year ago) his ex suggested he may see her. We drove 2 days, she lived in a dump, her new boy freind looked like pond scum. She had asked us to call when we thought we were about 1hr away. When we arrived the local police were there, because she claimed we threaten her and the child. She screamed at my SIL "you will never see her again" at the top of her lungs, over and over again. My SIL had seen this act before, he was calm and furious, he did all the right things, said all the right words. I even took video of the whole damd thing, still nothing. Men have no rights, when it comes to caring for children. My SIL has been a model parent to my Grandkids, he cares for my Daughter everyway he can, but still cant see his daughter? Whats worse, is nobody but him and our family seem to care.
My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
Great story
May 20, 2009 - 00:24 ET by fesmanLOVE your story. It really is true when the kids grow up, they know who took care of them, who loved them, and who sacrificed so they could have the things they wanted, desired, and deserved.
MAJOR kudos to you for being such a great father and raising two wonderful kids that will undoubtedly become positive contributors to society.
You, sir, are my hero!!
Expected
May 19, 2009 - 06:54 ET by Blogger Guy00001This is to be expected from a network that makes its living by repeating the official feminist man-hating line.
"In the beginning of gotcha
May 19, 2009 - 07:29 ET by Rowane"In the beginning of gotcha TV, viewers enjoyed watching the police bust
down a door and haul away the bad guy on a show like "Cops." That same
format migrated over to Animal Planet, where the cops bust down the
door and arrest the man who has been starving his dogs or kicking his
cats. Now Lifetime is doing the same thing to divorced fathers."
...And soon you'll be able to watch the Obama Youth busting down doors and arresting dissenters.
LIfetime blows
May 19, 2009 - 07:55 ET by Six String SpiffI REFUSE to speak to any woman who watches this tripe.
Television for women... Yeah only if your the kind of woman that is looking for better ways to dispose of your husband.
Let's see here... Stab him. Burn him. Vacuum up his ashes. Drive to lake (or ocean and empty ashes into lake with knife.
Then you'll be FREE!!
Islamic Religious Services Will Be Held at the Firing Range At 0800 Daily.
poor guys
May 19, 2009 - 08:58 ET by ginagwen7I wonder how many of those fathers are the victim (yes, I said victim) of no-fault divorce? It is so sad that women, driven by emotion, and prodded by the feminist regime, tear their families apart because they "aren't happy." Women feel they are entitled to happiness. But marriage is hard work and love is, for the most part a choice. And if their husband's aren't the picture of perfection, which no human is, they kick them to the curb and yank their children away from them and confiscate their paychecks. And most likely, the husband has no defense, no recourse, no second chance. I think its awful that the courts favor women in divorce and child custody, no matter what kind of mother they are.
The L Word
May 19, 2009 - 10:06 ET by UtherpendMy current live in watches this channel every chance she gets. I point out to her on a daily basis how they portray all men as either murders, rapists, drug addicts, abusers, pedophiles or adulterers and don't show any positive aspects of men. She normally responds that most men are, needless to say I don't watch TV with her.
"For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security."
"In the beginning of gotcha
May 19, 2009 - 11:30 ET by Chris Norman"In the beginning of gotcha TV, viewers enjoyed watching the police bust down a door and haul away the bad guy on a show like "Cops.""
I used to enjoy watching "Cops" too, but now I find it pretty depressing. I feel like a voyeur, watching human misery. I just get watching all these shows based on human failure- maybe it makes one feel better about one's self or something?
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
Just Divorced Dads?
May 19, 2009 - 13:10 ET by AZTech2020Lifetime beats up on ALL men! All the time. We call it the "Man-Hater Channel" in our house!
There is another reason why
May 19, 2009 - 14:56 ET by balboaThere is another reason why Lifetime's programming follows the same pattern: It pays. They've found women love these movies, this programming, and advertisers are willing to pay for those eyes.