The Forum apparently has very, very low standards for submitted letters.

They can't be serious with this crap, can they?

On Saturday, the Fargo-Moorhead Forum's editorial staff apparently decided it was a good idea to publish "The real war is against men," a letter to the editor written by Hawley, Minnesota resident Michael Ross.

All you really need to know about the letter is encapsulated in the first sentence, which reads like this: "Men have ruled every civilization since the beginning of time and always will."

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Says a coauthor: "Modern women are increasingly forced to make tough choices such as choosing briefcase over baby."

A new study coauthored by two University of Minnesota scholars finds that straight women devote more time and energy to their careers when they aren't focused on dating.

The career-over-dudes phenomenon manifests itself in two ways, researchers found: For all women, when dating prospects look bleak; and at all times, for women who have low self-esteem and don't view themselves as desirable to men.

It's an interesting finding, if not all that surprising. After all, the other obvious alternative for sexually frustrated ladies is to simply try harder at dating -- and we all know that can lead down some dark, regrettable roads.

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Kalichari was convicted of a lesser charge last week.

Hopefully this will ease some tension at the Kalicharan family gatherings.

Parbati Kalicharan has been found not guilty of stabbing her granddaughter in the ear with a kitchen knife last fall over a dispute that arose while the two constructed a puzzle.

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Image courtesy of eyeliam on Flickr

​ A Minnesota woman spent $80K to adopt three babies from Guatemala -- but the girls never came.

Suann Hibbs, a flight attendant with Northwest Airlines, fell in love with three little girls from Guatemala and wanted to adopt them. But unethical behavior by a local adoption agency -- A Family Journey -- swindled her out of nearly $80K. Hillstrom's Edina home is still packed with toys and clothes for the girls. The girls are believed to be living in Guatemala with their grandmother.

The story is told in the Strib's Sunday special and is well worth the read. It's one of the Strib's special pieces -- in the Sunday paper only -- so pick up a copy from yesterday and settle in.

Photo by The Real Estreya on Flickr

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Photo: Rmolnar7 / Flicker

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The Twin Cities area ranks high in yet another national survey--this one on the best cities in America for working mothers. The metro came in third on a list compiled by Forbes.com's ForbesWoman site, trailing only New York and Austin, Texas.

The website evaluated 50 U.S. cities on 11 criteria, including women's incomes, cost of living, the ratio of pediatricians to population, the number of daycare and preschool facilities, and parent satisfaction with local schools.

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Photo by timtom.ch

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Nothing says "I love you" like a gift that points out a person's most embarrassing flaws. At least that's what Kleinert's tried to tell us in a classic press release that arrived in our inbox yesterday.

We know it's tough to market "sweat-proof" shirts, but is Father's Day really the best time to let the father in your life know you're quite annoyed by his stained pits? Whether it's sweat proof, stink free, or splash resistant, we've collected a few gifts for Father's Day that will surely make you No. 1 in his heart.

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BBC News has polled male readers about the events that make them cry.

I won't lie to you, a lot of these are pretty standard, and hence lame. You have your weddings, your kid moments, blah blah blah. But then you stumble upon items like this ...

18. "Being told by the girl that you love that she wants you dead."

... and you're hooked.

Full disclosure: I'm a soft touch, so I can't even bear to make fun of the guy who cries at Cool Runnings. There are also men who cry at bagpipes (I do, too, just for very different reasons). A plurality of opinions are in play, so another highlight is: "Realising the entire universe is interconnected in mind-boggling ways." (My pal Danny is making a shirt with the words "Shut Up, Hippie" on it just for people like this.)

The one you'll really want to read is after the jump, though.

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For my first fourth in these fair parts, I want to get my explosions on. Being the newcomer, I polled a host of locals for watch sites and came up with the following five.

Agree? Disagree? Got a different suggestion? Feel free to sound off in the comments. For now, here are five suggestions:

FIVE PLACES TO WATCH FIREWORKS

Photo by Ward Rubrecht

1. On a boat on White Bear Lake
If you own a boat already, you're golden. If not, there are rental places. While you'll pay a pretty penny, the fireworks are more likely to be pretty.

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