It takes a tough guy to surrender

Senator Kerry opposed the Levin amendment because it didn't set a date certain for U.S. troops to flee from Iraq. "It's the same program as the president," Kerry complains to Anderson Cooper. "What is the difference?" Kerry wants us to know that it takes strength to abandon a people seeking to be free after decades of despotism. "I believe you have to have a tough policy that actually gets the job done." None of this namby-pamby "kind of like surrender but not quite" stuff for the ever-heroic Jon de Kerrie, who in his free time enjoys windsurfing and going for manicures. No, what we need is a tough policy of full-boar capitulation, a run away plan with teeth. "The only way to hold people accountable is to force them to stand up." This mind-numbing bromide comes from man whose comrades in arms say he acquired a Purple Heart for a self-inflicted butt injury caused by rice pellets.

As the Earth burns

Climate scientists Michael Mann, Raymond Bradley and Malcolm Hughes have concluded that the Northern Hemisphere is the warmest it has been in 2,000 years. So the only thing left — a minor detail, as it were — is for Al Gore to demonstrate how, exactly, humans caused that through CO2 emissions during the lifetime of Jesus. Also how the species (and the home planet) managed to make it through that particular heat wave. We did survive, right? We're here, do I have that correct?

Dan (would) Rather (be) King

Dan Rather's departure from CBS is sad — in the same sense as John Kerry's posture of inflated self worth, sad like Bill Clinton's ongoing quest to prove his relevance. Sad, as in pathetic. Rather is a guy who made himself famous getting tossed around by Texas hurricanes, dueling with a beleagured Richard Nixon, getting mugged, and uttering "folk wisdom" distinguishable from plain non sequiturs: "If a frog had pockets, he'd carry a handgun!" Rather will be remembered chiefly for his disgraceful role in attempting to pass off apparently forged documents purporting to prove that George W. Bush failed to obey an order to submit to a physical examination. Lately, Rather has been seen slinking around Manhattan bars, nursing a glass of milk and muttering about how he's an Edward R. Murrow kind of guy. Rather leaves CBS complaining that they gave him an office but no stories to cover. (All together now: Wah-wah-wah!) Gotta love this jem: “There will always be a part of Dan Rather at CBS News,” said Sean McManus, CBS News president. Yep, the tradition of reporters cloaking their liberal ideology as "news" will live on at CBS, Bob Schieffer, torch-bearer-in-chief.

See, they just can't help it

The victims of Katrina can't be blamed for spending federal relief money on wild nights at strip clubs. This because government spending programs invite abuse, by their very nature, says the LA Times. Actually, they're right about that — but still, how about holding people accountable? We dare not do that, because it "comes perilously close to blaming the victim." Besides, we're talking about New Orleans. Let the good times roll!

Fathers are awesome

"We've reached an odd place in Western history when a case has to be made for fatherhood, but here we are." So begins Kathleen Parker in an excellent essay about the importance of dads. "Fathers are awesome," she enthuses. But are fathers really necessary? Here's a quick overview of what father absence looks like today in the U.S.:

...The 30 percent of children who live apart from their fathers will account for 63 percent of teen suicides, 70 percent of juveniles in state-operated institutions, 71 percent of high-school dropouts, 75 percent of children in chemical-abuse centers, 80 percent of rapists, 85 percent of youths in prison, and 85 percent of children who exhibit behavioral disorders. In addition, 90 percent of homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes. In fact, children born to unwed mothers are 10 times more likely to live in poverty as children with fathers in the home.

A few members of Congress — fortunately, only eight — couldn't care less. The House passed a resolution this week to commemorate Father's Day. It passed overwhelmingly (407 yeas, 8 present, 17 not voting). Eight members voted only "present," neither "for" nor "against." All are outspoken opponents of most bills affirming the importance of family. To say the same thing, all are regular supporters of any legislation endorsed by the feminist establishment. Read the resolution and ask yourself what kind of mental and spiritual pathology makes it impossible for a member of Congress to shout out yes to these themes:

Summary: H.Res. 318 resolves that the House of Representatives commends the millions of fathers who serve as wonderful, caring parents for their children and calls on fathers across the Nation to use Father's Day to reconnect and rededicate themselves to their children's lives, to spend Father's Day with their children, and to express their love and support for their children. The bill urges men to understand the level of responsibility fathering a child requires, especially in the encouragement of the moral, academic, and spiritual development of children and encourages active involvement of fathers in the rearing and development of their children, including the devotion of time, energy, and resources.