Bruton Smith loses in attempt to take away Pocono dates

LONG POND, Pa. -- Pocono Raceway is safe, for right now.

The Mattioli family said that Pocono Raceway is "not for sale", effectively ending any chance that the evil Bruton Smith has at buying the race track and taking away its dates. I applaud them for rejecting Mr. Smith's proposal to buy the track. We all know that he is desperate to put the (Sparta) Kentucky Speedway on the Sprint Cup schedule next year, even after being told by NASCAR that there was a zero percent chance of that happening.

For those who don't know Mr. Smith, he is the guy responsible for Rockingham, N.C. losing its NASCAR dates and, with a lawsuit from Kentucky Speedway's former owner, the loss of the Pepsi Southern 500 at Darlington.

Myth of "domestic violence happen to only a few men" is destroyed

SEATTLE -- Domestic violence is happening to men. Problem is, they are hiding the scars they received from their abusive wives, just like women who hid the scars they received from their abusive husbands nearly 15 years ago.

Here are the five myths most commonly noted about abused men:

Myth 1: Few men experience domestic violence. Many do. In-depth phone interviews with over 400 randomly sampled adult male Group Health patients surprised Dr. Reid and his colleagues: 5% had experienced domestic violence in the past year, 10% in the past five years, and 29% over their lifetimes. The researchers defined domestic violence to include nonphysical abuse—threats, chronic disparaging remarks, or controlling behavior—as well as physical abuse: slapping, hitting, kicking, or forced sex.

Myth 2: Abuse of men has no serious effects. The researchers found domestic violence is associated with serious, long-term effects on men’s mental health. Women are more likely than men to experience more severe physical abuse, said Dr. Reid. “But even nonphysical abuse——can do lasting damage.” Depressive symptoms were nearly three times as common in older men who had experienced abuse than in those who hadn’t, with much more severe depression in the men who had been abused physically.

Myth 3: Abused men don’t stay, because they’re free to leave. In fact, men may stay for years with their abusive partners. “We know that many women may have trouble leaving abusive relationships, especially if they’re caring for young children and not working outside the home,” said Dr. Reid. “We were surprised to find that most men in abusive relationships also stay, through multiple episodes, for years.”

Myth 4: Domestic violence affects only poor people. The study actually showed it to be an equal-opportunity scourge. “As we found in our previous research with women experiencing domestic violence, this is a common problem affecting people in all walks of life,” said Dr. Reid. “Our patients at Group Health have health insurance and easy access to health care, and their employment rate and average income, education level, and age are higher than those of the rest of the U.S. population.”

Myth 5: Ignoring it will make it go away. Not so. “We doctors hardly ever ask our male patients about being abused—and they seldom tell us,” said Dr. Reid. “Many abused men feel ashamed because of societal expectations for men to be tough and in control.” Younger men were twice as likely as men age 55 or older to report recent abuse. “That may be because older men are even more reluctant to talk about it,” he added.

While this study certainly didn't downplay the epidemic of violence aginst women, it did make this official. Violence against men is a feminist issue.

Destroying the "domestic violence happens to only a few men" myth is another major victory in less than a week. Earlier, the American Association of University Women destroyed the "boy crisis" myth that we heard about for so long, the pdf can be found here.

Hopefully, we will be able to destroy all myths that are being put out there by those who have an agenda.

Ashley Harkleroad will pose for Playboy

PARIS -- After being routed by fellow American Serena Williams, Ashley Harkleroa announced that she will be posing for Playboy. Via Huffington Post.