There’s also Uncle Fred, who already has four kids, Uncle Theron, who is potty training, Uncle Avery, who is the barber, Uncle Christian, Uncle Bobby, Uncle Tonio, and Uncle Cedric, not to mention Hall’s dad, Papa.
“This village”—yes, indeed!—”has my back, too,” Hall writes. “I can show my sons that asking for help is a strength, not a weakness.”
Like Mr. Hall, the public relations adviser Brad Todd He dedicates his Father’s Day celebration to a less traditional figure: his grandpa.
Todd was quick to explain that he learned from his father as an adult, but many of his special lessons were passed down from previous generations. One particularly touching memory for Todd is learning to bake bread under the tutelage of his grandfather: “Stir until the dough clings to the fork, but no more.” His special tip for cornbread was, “Stir until the dough clings to the fork, but no more.”
Todd peppers this confection with the liberating realization that, although his grandfather was a saint, he was not perfect: “If we do not see the weaknesses of our idols,” he writes, “we may miss their humanity.”
But before you head into Father’s Day, remember that today is still a holiday. Forgot? Think about it. Flag Day is often looked down upon by staff, and increasingly so. Between the adoption of the U.S. flag on June 14, 1777, and today, Flag Day has become uncomfortably synonymous with support for Donald Trump.
Rick Reilly“I’m not easily startled,” he writes, “but I was astounded” when he discovered this for himself. The other day, an American flag fluttering on the back of his beach bike elicited a cry of “Go Trump!”, followed immediately by more vitriol from a passing MAGA counterprotester. Total hijacking.
Rick writes that this connection is ironic considering “Trump doesn’t care about the flag any more than he cares about being a Republican; he cares about how he looks holding the flag.”
So Rick wants the country to reintroduce the flag: “The more we fly it on our porches, in our cars, and yes, on our bikes, the less it will look like Trump had Betsy Ross sew a flag for us.”
Luckily, we still have the uncorrupted trappings of patriotism: fireworks, bunting and, above all, hot dogs.
Sports journalist Will Leach Leach was devastated to learn that Joey Chestnut, the greatest competitive dog destroyer of all time, would be unable to compete in this summer’s Coney Island tournament due to contractual issues. “Chestnut, who won his first title at age 23 and has only lost once in his 40s, is unique in American sports, or any sports for that matter,” Leach wrote.
I devoured Leach’s praise, which took us back to the beginnings of Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest (first won by a 400-pound truck driver in 1967), then to its revival by renegade Takeru Kobayashi, and finally to Chestnut’s record-setting days.
But don’t cry too much over your beer (or pitcher of water to soak your bread in): After Will’s column was published, Netflix promised its own Labor Day showdown between Chestnut and Kobayashi. You’d better come on an empty stomach.
from Fareed Zakaria It’s a column about how Europe continues to fall further and further behind the “economic power” of the United States. (Consider the UK to be no exception; if the UK were a country, it would surely rank 51st in per capita income.)
The problem, Fareed diagnoses, is that “Europe remains a collection of countries pretending to have a unified approach to markets, defense, etc.” In reality, he writes, “entrepreneurs struggle to navigate 27 different markets with different regulations, authorities, standards and requirements.”
Fareed says the solution to Europe’s problems “can be summed up in one line.” European politicians know this, but it’s just one line most voters don’t want to hear.
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday that anti-abortion plaintiffs lacked standing to sue, upholding access to the abortion drug mifepristone.
“A breather” Ruth Marcus “This latest opinion gives the impression that the Court “hoped the whole issue would go away…so that we could do the important work of dismantling the regulatory state.”
But after that respite, pro-abortion advocates must prepare to take on the real threat to the abortion pill: Donald Trump himself. Ruth explains how as president, Trump was able to completely sidestep the courts and get rid of mifepristone.
Gene Robinson He’s keeping a close eye on new fronts in what he calls the “war on women.” The Southern Baptist Convention’s condemnation of IVF this week shows how militant the Religious Right remains determined to assert its will, regardless of what the majority believes.
Chaser: Dana Milbank I’ve noticed that Trump has been spending a lot of time lately fantasizing about his own downfall, and honestly, you have no idea how tough things have been for him lately.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been invited to address parliament. Josh Rogin He says the technology could be used to interfere in US politics (even more than before) and damage relations between the two countries.
- Catherine Rampell Republicans are writing that they are running a great campaign against President Biden in 2022. Unfortunately for them, much of the evidence to support their claims has evaporated in the two years since!
- The British dominate American journalism, and they dominate British journalism too. Erik Wemple I will report.
It’s a goodbye. It’s a haiku. It’s… “goodbye.”
Dad hugging his wife with his arms around her
Spread throughout the village
Plus! Here’s a rhyming Friday bye-ku (Fri-ku!) from reader Ray M.
“I have done nothing wrong.”
At least that was his only song.
Have a newsworthy haiku of your own? Please send by e-mailIf you have any questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to contact us. Have a great weekend!
