Kids Don’t Just Need A Father Figure. They Need A Dad
America’s children need both fathers and dads in their lives to grow up strong and healthy.America’s children need both fathers and dads in their lives to grow up strong and healthy.Support School Choice To Save America’s Lost Boys
An Urban Institute study reports significant benefits for male students who participated in EdChoice, Ohio’s school choice voucher program.CO Christian Camp Risks Losing License For Not Letting Trans-Identifying Boys Bunk With Girls
Christian camp IdRaHaJe in Colorado refuses to comply with progressive gender ideology policies and faces potential shutdown.This isn’t just baseball — it’s a rebellion in cowhide
May 31, 1997. I was 9 years old and had just hit my first home run for Tampa Bay Little League. After the game, a parent handed me the ball, and I wrote the date on it. Today, that ball still rests on a shelf in my den — a small monument to childhood and a boyhood milestone.
Last week, my 7-year-old son earned the game ball after his own baseball game. He plays in the same league and on the same field where I hit that home run. Naturally, I placed his ball right next to mine.
After our last game, my fellow coaches and I said what we all knew to be true: We’re not just teaching a sport. We’re raising boys into men — through baseball.
As I set his ball on the shelf, I picked mine up. The handwriting made me laugh — so innocent, with a crossed-out word where I had misspelled something. Suddenly, the memories came rushing back: the smell of the concession stand, the taste of my glove laces from chewing them in the outfield, and the voice of that one dad in the bleachers who never liked an umpire.
Then, something else caught my attention. The two baseballs, separated by 32 years, looked exactly the same. Same color. Same stitching. Same weight. Indistinguishable.
For a few minutes, I just stood there, staring at the two baseballs. In that quiet moment, something struck me: In a world where nearly everything feels up for grabs — values, definitions, identities, expectations, even truth — a baseball almost feels like an act of rebellion.
In a culture obsessed with chasing the next big thing, those two identical balls offered a much-needed reminder: Not everything needs to be reinvented or improved. Some things are worth preserving.
If you’re familiar with my work, you know I take pride in celebrating the things that never go out of style — faith, family, and freedom. I cast shade on what’s trendy and shine a bright light on what’s true, good, and beautiful. When the world wobbles, these values steady the ground beneath us. They hold together not just our personal lives but the country itself.
And let’s be honest. The world feels very wobbly right now.
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Our institutions keep demanding that we reconsider basic truths: that men can become women, that state ideology trumps parental authority, that patriotism poses a threat, that faith offends, and that masculinity is somehow toxic.
Every tradition gets questioned. Every boundary, blurred. Every norm, up for debate.
And yet — there sits the baseball. Quiet. Unchanged. Still exactly where I left it.
That’s not an accident. It points to something deeper, something God has written into the human heart: a longing for the eternal. For stability. For order. For truth that doesn’t shift with the culture.
When I coach my son on the same diamond I played on as a boy, I don’t think about preparing him for the chaos of the world. My job is to anchor him in the things that aren’t chaotic. After our last game, my fellow coaches and I said what we all knew to be true: We’re not just teaching a sport. We’re raising boys into men — through baseball.
We’re teaching them that manhood isn’t a moving target. That marriage is a covenant, not a contract. That freedom comes with responsibility.
Tradition isn’t something to escape. It’s something to inherit, to steward, and to pass on. That’s what fatherhood demands. It’s what citizenship requires. It’s what faith commands.
Despite what modern culture preaches, tradition isn’t about control — it’s about continuity. It’s the through line that links generations, so we don’t get swept away by every cultural trend. Headlines change. They don’t define you.
You’re defined by how you love your family; how you serve your neighbors; how you show up when it’s inconvenient; how you choose courage when convenience would be easier; how you pray when no one’s watching; how you toss the ball around with your kid in the backyard.
The stitching on that baseball never changed; neither did the role of a father; neither did the moral clarity of the gospel; neither did the beauty of a shared meal or the dignity of honest work.
It’s time we return to those things.
In a culture obsessed with change, maybe the wiser path is to focus on what doesn’t. Maybe the real challenge isn’t keeping up with the world — it’s keeping faith with the people and principles that mattered before the world got so loud.
In 1776, North Carolina’s constitution echoed that truth. American founder George Mason wrote, “A frequent recurrence to fundamental principles is absolutely necessary to preserve the blessing of liberty.”
That baseball on the shelf hasn’t changed — neither have the things that matter most.
And I’m holding on tight.
Shocking video: Boys, just 7 and 9 years old, wrestle for loaded gun — and 1 points it at deputies during tense standoff
Newly released video shows two young boys engaging New Mexico deputies in an armed standoff.
The boys, ages 7 and 9, both handled a loaded handgun — and one of them even pointed it at Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office deputies on Feb. 16
'We know where the children learned the behavior from, and that is being addressed as well.'
The two young boys, seen in the video dressed in "Minecraft" and "Star Wars"-themed pajamas, are standing next to an air-conditioning unit while handling a loaded handgun.
During the nearly seven-minute video, the boys are seen struggling with each other to take control of the gun.
A female voice is heard saying in the drone video, "Put it down, baby. Put it down, babe."
A deputy tells the children, "Just throw it on the ground, bud. Come talk to us. You're not in trouble."
After more than five minutes into the standoff, police fired a warning shot — a non-lethal projectile — near the children, and the boy holding the gun immediately pointed it at officers.
Deputies scream in unison, "Drop it! Drop it!"
The boy who was not holding the gun put his hand up and hid behind the air-conditioning unit.
Police fired another warning shot.
As both boys took cover between the air conditioning unit and a house, a deputy rushed toward the children and wrestled the gun away from the boy, after which other deputies converged on the scene and took the pair into custody.
The sheriff’s office said in a statement, "Utilizing BCSO’s drone program, deputies were able to monitor the situation in real-time, providing critical updates and enhancing situational awareness. This technology allowed deputies to secure the area swiftly and safely, ultimately preventing a potential deadly force encounter with the juveniles."
Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen stated, "I will tell, if it was not for our drone program, we would have probably went in there a little bit more blind and been into a deadly force confrontation pretty quick, and as you can imagine, it would have not gone well with us killing and shooting a 7- and 9-year-old."
Police said the drone program has been "instrumental in providing deputies with additional tools to manage diverse and high-risk situations."
Sheriff Allen said, "This case illustrates the complex intersection of juvenile crime, mental health, and public safety. We are taking important steps to close service gaps and expand our ability to work with juveniles involved in firearms or violent crimes."
Allen added that his department previously had been called to the home at least 50 times due to issues with the boys and their family, according to the Albuquerque Journal.
Allen did note that if the boys were several years older, the department would 'probably be speaking differently and doing it the reverse route.'
BCSO Behavioral Health Unit Clinical Manager Michael Lucero said members of the unit immediately went to the boys' home to assist the family with "numerous issues they’re experiencing" and conducted psychiatric evaluations of the children.
Lucero said the unit is working on getting help for the children and the parent who reportedly has an extensive history of trauma.
The family’s case agent, Danielle Smith, told KRQE-TV, "I don’t know how much I’m able to say, so I’m just gonna leave it very vague, but we know where the children learned the behavior from, and that is being addressed as well."
BCSO Deputy Deanna Aragon said the boys were not arrested, and no charges were filed against the children. She noted that the children have not been removed from the home.
Law enforcement did not divulge where the boys got the gun but said the firearm was seized after the standoff.
Sheriff Allen said the boys “were taught how to use the firearm.”
Police said the case is still under investigation, and the parents could face charges.
“We’re dealing with a 7- and 9-year-old, so now we’re looking at the adult side, how they had the firearm, are they gonna be charged with the Bennie Hargrove law, we’re looking into all of that,” Allen stated.
The Bennie Hargrove law holds adults criminally liable for negligently allowing minors access to firearms.
Allen also pushed back against critics who called for the arrest of the young boys.
"Children are our future, and we know one side is going to say, ‘Lock them in jail.’ They’re 7 and 9 years old. I told you before, numerous times in numerous interviews, that I understand the frontal lobe,” Allen said, referring to children's incomplete brain development.
Allen added, “Arresting people isn’t the only way out of this crisis of juvenile crime. ... You have to look at it from a bunch of different avenues and use the resources you have, and then criminal elements can come later.”
Allen did note that if the boys were several years older, the department would "probably be speaking differently and doing it the reverse route."
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Scientists: Doctors Give Kids ADHD Drugs For Adults’ Convenience
Clearly, schools are a bad environment for a heck of a lot of little boys, if one-quarter have to be medicated just to go there.Let’s Hear It For The Straight White Boys Who Saved Us From Kamala
Kamala Harris, like Hillary Clinton, represented the face of the oppressive, suffocating girl boss regime — and boys were sick of it.Mike Rowe and PBS star expose how American public schools damage boys
“This Old House,” an American institution, has been going strong for 45 years. The series' third host, former commercial banker Kevin O’Connor, is passionate about highlighting the work of professionals in the trades. That shared goal brought him and Mike Rowe together last year for an episode of Rowe’s podcast, “The Way I Heard It,” last year.
Rowe and O’Connor traded stories about hosting and the experiences their "B-level" stardom has afforded them, including appearances on another PBS staple, "Sesame Street." They also discussed their respective charitable foundations: Generation Next, which helps form apprentices and gives them small roles on "This Old House," and Mike Rowe Works.
We need to end the DEI-driven bias against boys and young men that permeates every level of public education.
O’Connor recounted a deep history of “This Old House.” It is a must-listen for any fan of the show, especially his recollection of a 1979 helicopter shot involving Bob Villa.
342: Apple Juice and Saltines with Kevin O'Connor
The most profound part of the interview came when the conversation shifted to the lack of shop classes in 21st-century high schools, leading to a discussion about how the modern education system is failing young men.
O’Connor believes the lack of male role models plays a significant role in why boys and young men are being left behind. “If you look at the evolution of schooling in America, there used to be a lot of male teachers,” he said. “I think in the ’70s, half or more than half of high school teachers were men. Today, 75% of teachers are women.”
He went on to explain why this is a concern: “That’s not necessarily a bad thing in itself, but if young men are looking for role models, it’s different when they get guidance from an older man who’s successful and can talk about things that are more masculine.”
At this point in the conversation, Rowe jumped in and asked O’Connor, “As someone with a show on PBS, and you’re still allowed to say all of this? That’s awesome.”
O’Connor joked, “No one listens to your podcast though, Mike, right? This isn’t going anywhere, is it?” He then quickly and powerfully listed what he sees as the consequences of the current status quo.
[Boys] have been put aside, downgraded. They have been damaged in terms of their reputation. And then if you look at the health of young men, I’d say it’s not great. You know, they struggle more than women. They graduate in lower numbers; they go on to college in lower numbers. They're the victims of depression and suicide and incarceration in higher numbers.
And, to me, it's like there’s gotta be some sort of a connection between those things when we’ve said traditional masculine jobs, careers are secondary, they’re no good. And then we’re surprised when young men come out of high school or college lost and confused and then we suffer the ill effects of those things. And I think shop class is just one of those things.
On these points, O’Connor is absolutely right. As a society, we are failing young men. Starting in elementary school, they are labeled as disruptive, toxic, and responsible for society’s problems, essentially made to feel worthless. Prevailing educational theories claim no difference exists between males and females, leaving young men of all races behind.
O’Connor is also right about the suicide rate among young men. The rate for those aged 15-24 jumped by more than 50% from 2001 to 2021. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, "In 2022, men died by suicide 3.85 times more than women.”
The labor force participation rate among prime working-age men (25-54) continues to decline rapidly. A Bipartisan Policy Center-Artemis survey conducted earlier this year found that 57% of men who have stopped looking for work cite physical and mental health issues as the reason.
Studies also support O’Connor’s assertion that young men graduate high school at lower rates than young women. A Brookings Institution study of the 2017-2018 rates confirmed that this holds true in every state.
What needs to be done to address this? First, we need to end the DEI-driven bias against boys and young men that permeates every level of public education. Second, we need to train teachers, who are predominantly female, on how to effectively engage with boys and young men.
O’Connor emphasized this point with a story about his son’s experience at school. He shared how a female teacher sent every boy in his son’s class to the principal’s office because she couldn’t manage them.
O’Connor later met up with the principal and said, “Listen, you got a boy problem. You know, when the solution by a teacher is just send all the boys away, then you've got somebody who doesn’t understand boys because they’re a pain in the butt, but they are who they are, and the solution can't be stick ’em in a corner or detain them or move them away.”
The future of the nation relies on strong men. It’s far past time that we demand our public education system develops them.
Style for mini-men: How to dress little boys
Last week, I wrote about the joy of dressing little girls; this one's for the boys.
The basic principles remain: If Kate Middleton wouldn’t choose it for her George, it’s probably not the best choice. That said, there’s no need to spend a fortune. It’s very easy to find classic silhouettes at affordable stores like the Children’s Place and secondhand stores like Once Upon a Child.
I think part of what makes Catherine’s decision-making so prudent is the ever-present thought of the future: These children will lead the Western world someday.
I wonder how my own decision-making about my kids (in every area) would improve if I more intentionally remembered the promise etched on my children’s hearts the day they were baptized, which is just as real: These children are future members of God’s kingdom.
They deserve to dress with beauty and dignity. Matching their socks is not the most important thing in the world, and it’s certainly not a moral issue, but it’s something I like to do. Maybe you do too.
Jon Jons/smocking
These are the male counterpart to the smocked bishop dress I mentioned for the girls. They are a lot like overalls but are usually a light, cotton fabric and smocked and embroidered across the chest.
I so enjoy picking out Jon Jons (and bishop dresses) with my kids’ favorite motifs. The girls have some with ballerinas, and my George has trucks, for example.
Another great part of these that I forgot to mention: Because they’re cotton, they wash very well! Dawn dish soap is my favorite degreaser and stain removal product. Just rub some in and let it set. Good as new, even for the most boisterous boys!
See: Pleats and Stitches, Feltman Brothers
Socks: Navy, white, or printed
I love calf-length or knee-length socks on boys. For boat shoes and boys’ Mary Janes, especially in the summer, they aren’t totally necessary, but I definitely don’t dress them for church, for example, without socks.
If you go for a patterned sock, make sure the rest of what he’s wearing isn’t too busy in the patterns and that the colors or motifs match.
See: Jeffries’ Socks
Shoes
For shoes for little boys, consider loafers, boat shoes, Oxford boots, or, again, Mary Janes. Oxfords are the most formal and cumbersome option here, but each go very well with Jon Jons, khakis, and the rest. I avoid suede because it simply isn’t resilient enough for my kids. Always match shoes and belts. You can’t go wrong with brown.
Shirts
As I type this, I realize it’s basically a guide for mini-men. There is nothing I like seeing my husband in more than a classic button-down. White, light blue, and stripes all work fabulously. For babies, the buttons may be too annoying, in which case you can find shirts with a Peter Pan collar, linked below.
Aim for cotton in various weights according to the season. Oxford shirts are made of thicker cotton than more formal dress shirts but still look sharp. They work extremely well in the cooler months.
See: Old Navy, The Children’s Place, Little English
Blazers
This is a Southern staple. I remember the day my brother was fitted for his first blazer at 8 years old. Dark navy with brass buttons is the move. I know some as young as 3 who show up to church in their blazer and khakis. Just delightful.
There’s no real need to tailor a 3-year-old’s blazer unless they have strange proportions. Try Poshmark for high-end brands at a discount.
See: J. Crew, Izod, Vineyard Vines
Pants: Chinos
Another classic. Needs no explanation. I love bright colors for the spring and summer. Anything will go with a navy blue blazer, but khakis are standard.
See: Vineyard Vines, Ralph Lauren, The Children’s Place
Sweaters
A winter essential that will make your Christmas card feel catalog-worthy. Baby boys in sweaters make my heart melt.
See: Ralph Lauren, Trotters, Kiel James Patrick
Ties
Is there anything more adorable than a baby in a bow tie? This is another area where I love to include family symbols or motifs that conform to the kids’ personalities. These are the things that end up in memory boxes and passed down to grandchildren. For that reason, I say buy the nice one. Clip-ons and pre-tied are just fine.
I know it’s the age of fashionable minimalism, but sometimes things are more meaningful than we can imagine. When our babies outgrow us, it’s nice to have tangible memories. Legacy lives in these little things; it’s even nicer to pass them on.
See: Land’s End, Izod
'Midwit' writers of ‘The Boys’ just took WOKE to a new level
Amazon Prime’s “The Boys” has always been “woke,” but the latest season took the meaning of the word to an entirely new level.
“‘The Boys’ has really always been ‘woke’ since its first season,” Lauren Chen explains. “It’s only now, in its later seasons, particularly seasons three and four, that I found the wokeness is becoming really just too much.”
Chen points to one scene in particular that took it one step too far.
“There was a scene that was so stupid, so poorly written,” Chen says. The scene featured Victoria Newman, a Latina politician with super powers, and the newest character Sage, a black woman, whose entire presence in the show “is so frustrating.”
“Her entire premise is that she is the smartest person alive, but here’s the thing. That’s a problem because the writers for this show are not that smart. So, the question is, how do you portray the smartest person in the world when you are a certifiable midwit?” Chen asks.
The writers came up with a solution to this midwit condition they have by telling “the audience that she is smart, that Sage is smart, many, many times.”
In this particular scene, Newman and Sage are attending what appears to be a right-wing political gathering full of old white billionaires. The pair are scheming to get these billionaires on board with Newman as president, and Newman complains that she had “abortion mansplained” to her by a man who “refuses to be alone with any woman who’s not his wife.”
Not only is Chen disturbed by the abortion comment, the entire scheme is childish and not reflective of the “smartest person in the world.”
“Something that Sage in her infinite wisdom has concocted, but it’s like, well, obviously if you’re trying to seize political power, doesn’t it make sense to get other people who have power on board with your cause?” Chen says.
“That’s not some grandmaster strategy, that’s just literally the bare minimum you would expect to do if you are trying to do a soft coup. This is not genius-level stuff. I’ve literally seen women’s book clubs with more intricate political backstabbing and intrigue than this show,” she adds.
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