From Nashville to Chicago’s South Side, fatherlessness haunts America

On my long walk across America, I took a weekend detour and found myself in Music City, Nashville. Tennessee is my home state, and I’ve always loved coming to Nashville. The neon lights of Broadway, the music pouring out from bars, voices rising spontaneously in song and, of course, those stumbling with too much whiskey in them. 

Yet, for some reason, as I talked to folks I met — from musicians and churchgoers to families and the young — I could sense a certain tension and uncertainty in their voices about the present and the future. Nashville is at a moral crossroads.

The markers of faith are everywhere in Nashville. I passed by countless churches, the crosses standing tall in the sky. Many artists sing of redemption and finding grace. There is still the local, traditional culture that has fueled Nashville for so long. But there is a change, a shift of sorts, happening — the pressure that comes from the larger national culture, influenced by nontraditional and postmodern forces.

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You can hear it in the songs: pop crossovers, party anthems that glorify hookup culture and its excesses, lyrics that chase trends over timeless truths. When I hear, “It’s just a room key / You ain’t gotta lie to me / Can’t you just use me like I’m using you,” it leaves sadness and emptiness in its wake.

I know the consequences of fatherlessness all too well, and that’s why I’ve been walking across America to raise funds for a community center designed to promote family values: education, jobs, courtship, marriage, child-rearing and responsible finances.

I’m not trying to be old-fashioned. Believe me, I’ve heard worse come out of O-Block in Chicago, which is home to drill rap and my church. I get the same feeling of emptiness and soullessness from both pieces of music. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen the consequences for those who live a hookup-culture lifestyle, which never ends well and usually results in an unwanted baby or two. And they then come knocking on my door seeking salvation through Jesus Christ.

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On one of the corners, I fell into conversation with a local songwriter who had recognized me from Fox. He told me the industry is about “what sells.” It has always been that way, but it is more entrenched now due to corporate executives who chase money and clicks over art. 

The songwriter’s friend, a local pastor, said the same thing was happening to families. He told me how his kids, as well as the kids from his church, were being bombarded with ideological messages about their skin color, their gender identity and even about their parents. He felt that their education was being compromised.

Both men were in their mid-20s, and what surprised me was that they had both grown up without fathers. Yep, those warnings we heard about 30 or so years ago are now realities before my eyes. The Black community has long dealt with fatherlessness and has borne that stigma for decades. But it is no secret that fatherlessness has been rising across all races and ethnicities at alarming rates.

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On the South Side of Chicago, far too many kids grow up without dads to guide them and without strong models of manhood rooted in responsibility and faith. The streets fill the void with gangs, revenge and music that glorifies all the wrong things in life — lyrics that I can’t even print here. 

I know the consequences of fatherlessness all too well, and that’s why I’ve been walking across America to raise funds for a community center designed to promote family values: education, jobs, courtship, marriage, child-rearing and responsible finances.

But when you peel back the layers, you will easily see that the causes of fatherlessness are the same everywhere: the breakdown of values and faith. Instant gratification before discipline. 

In Nashville, the decline may be subtler than on the South Side, but there is the same emptiness where purpose should be, the same moral confusion instead of clarity and the same lostness of soul instead of the vivacity of life.

This isn’t just Nashville or Chicago. America is at a crossroads. There are still many Americans living the principled life, as I’ve mentioned in other Rooftop Revelations, but there is still an underbelly, and this problem of fatherlessness isn’t going away anytime soon.

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The good news? Redemption is possible. Those two young men I met — the songwriter and the pastor — found Christ and rebuilt their damaged families on the shared values of God, family and opportunity. 

Nashville can reclaim its soul by doubling down on its faith heritage, letting songs of truth rise above the noise. Chicago can rise by rebuilding fathers, restoring merit and inviting God’s presence back into broken places. And America? We can turn the tide one step, one prayer, one restored life at a time.

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MIKE PENCE: Trump and our incredible military are ending 47 years of Iranian terror

From its inception in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has long engaged in open hostility and violence toward the United States and Israel and has been a malign source of chaos and disorder across the Arab world. 

On Feb. 28, America said “enough is enough.” With the daylight launch of Operation Epic Fury, our country initiated hostilities against the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, but America did not start this war. After 47 years of terrorism and bloodshed, the armed forces of the United States and our ally Israel have combined overwhelming military force to end it.

As Operation Epic Fury unfolds, there is much credit to go around. But first, President Donald Trump should be commended for taking decisive action to end decades of violence against American soldiers, our bases in the region and our cherished ally Israel. His willingness to strike at precisely the moment when the ayatollah and some 40 senior Iranian officials and commanders were assembled and most vulnerable was a master stroke.

And the president’s willingness to ignore the growing voices of isolationism echoing from the fringes of Republican ranks, unleashing the most powerful military in the world, not just in this time, but last year in Operation Midnight Hammer, striking a devastating blow to Iran’s nuclear program, was deeply admirable.

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Of course, the most credit goes to the men and women of America’s armed forces serving at this very hour in harm’s way. From the outset of hostilities, American service members deployed in Operation Epic Fury have performed with the utmost courage and professionalism. They deserve the admiration of every American and should remain daily in our prayers.

Thanks to coordinated efforts of the American, Israeli and Gulf nations’ militaries, the Iranian military has already been seriously degraded, its leadership scattered or killed and its ability to project force both inside and outside the region neutered. Today, the Iranian navy sits at the bottom of the ocean, air superiority has been established over the skies of Iran and their capacity to launch missiles and wreak mayhem across the Middle East has been dramatically diminished.

While partisans on the progressive left and the isolationist right have been quick to question the president’s decision to launch Operation Epic Fury, I believe that two historic objectives are finally within reach as a result of the courage of our military and our commander in chief’s decisive leadership.

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First, the punishing air campaign against the security infrastructure and ballistic missiles of the Iranian regime could well put regime change within reach. Within days or weeks, the Iranian regime may be incapable of projecting force even against its own people, thereby allowing the long-suffering Iranian people the chance to rise up and retake their freedom, making America, Israel and the world more secure.

Second, Operation Epic Fury has the potential to reestablish the deterrence squandered by President Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Weakness arouses evil. It’s no secret that America’s weakness on the world stage under the Biden administration set the stage for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and for Hamas’s brutal attack on Israel on October 7th, financed and approved by the mullahs in Tehran.

With nearly flawless execution of Operation Epic Fury, our armed forces have sent a deafening message of America’s military might echoing across the Arab World and in the halls of power in Moscow and Beijing. As Putin continues to wage his merciless war against Ukraine and China’s President Xi Jinping and the People’s Liberation Army continue to menace Taiwan, the overwhelming force displayed by the combined forces of the United States could well give them pause concerning plans for future military aggression.

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America’s objective is not conquest; it never has been. It is the safety and security of the American people, our allies and a region that has endured decades of violence at the hands of the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.

Across the Arab world, there has been a growing recognition that the mullahs are not merely wayward brothers, but foes and a serious threat that must be addressed. A free and liberated Iran creates an opportunity to restore balance across the region and strengthen cooperation among nations that share an interest in peace and prosperity, not sowing regional anarchy. The Abraham Accords may have just been the beginning of a new era of peace and cooperation across the Arab world. 

Today, the Iranian navy sits at the bottom of the ocean, air superiority has been established over the skies of Iran and their capacity to launch missiles and wreak mayhem across the Middle East has been dramatically diminished.

America is at war and history teaches that such moments require resolve. After the liberation of Kuwait in 1991, the United States chose not to finish the job and confront an Iraqi regime that had thrust the region into chaos. Within a decade, American forces returned.

Today, the United States is taking action to cut out the heart of terrorism in the Middle East. With the courage of our armed forces and sustained leadership from Washington, Tel Aviv and our growing list of regional allies, the ability of the Iranian regime to threaten its neighbors and oppress its people can be permanently degraded if not destroyed. But America must see this fight through.

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To end the threat of the Iranian regime and restore America’s credibility as the arsenal of democracy and the leader of the free world, America must finish this fight once and for all.

None of this will come without sacrifice and Operation Epic Fury has already claimed the last full measure of devotion from seven brave Americans. As a parent and in-law of active duty service members, we know the pride but not the heartache of the families of our heroic fallen. Every American should carry these precious families in our prayers and assure them that their loved one’s names will be enshrined in the hearts of a grateful nation forever.

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For 47 years, the tyrants of Iran have waged a campaign of terror against the United States, Israel and the aspirations of the Iranian people. Bringing that era to a close will not only strengthen American security but will also open the door to a future in which the people of Iran are finally free to reclaim the promise of their proud and ancient nation from the grip of tyranny. 

And that would be a victory not only for America, but for the cause of liberty itself.

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JONATHAN TURLEY: Sanders’ wealth tax dangles checks while torching the Constitution

“Enough is enough.” With those words, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders launched a push to impose a 5% annual wealth tax on America’s billionaires. With Rep. Ro Khanna, the legislation, “Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act,” echoes the growing “eat-the-rich” mantra on the left — seeking to replicate a disastrous push in California that has led to an exodus from that state and an estimated loss of $2 trillion in taxable assets.

It is also flagrantly unconstitutional.

Under the plan, Congress would target 938 billionaires to tap them for $4.4 trillion. That money would then be redistributed as a $3,000 direct payment to every man, woman and child in a household making $150,000 or less — $12,000 for a family of four.

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The timing of the move is telling. Not only is it calculated before the midterm elections, in which the Democrats hope to retake power, but it follows the push by California Democrats and unions to impose a similar wealth tax in that state.

The practical problem is that the wealthy, like their wealth, are mobile. As a result, many are fleeing California. So now Khanna is joining with the nation’s leading Democratic Socialists to ensure there is nowhere to hide in the United States. For billionaires in California, they could be double-tapped for 10% of their wealth.

It has long been the dream of the far left. Years ago, Warren delighted Democratic voters in her run for the presidency by telling the rich she was coming after “your Rembrandts, your stock portfolio, your diamonds and your yachts.” In one debate, she dramatically rubbed her hands together after saying she would take some of the wealth of fellow candidate John Delaney, a self-made millionaire.

In my new book, Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American RevolutionI discuss the growing threat of “economic factionalism” as politicians fuel rage against the wealthy based on the false premise that they are not “paying their fair share.” While there are good-faith arguments for adjusting tax burdens to address budget demands, the top 1% pays more taxes than the bottom 90% combined.

There is little reason to believe that a wealth tax targeting billionaires will not, if upheld, be later extended to lower tax brackets, starting with multimillionaires. That is the signature of economic factionalism, which feeds an insatiable appetite for greater wealth seizure.

The Sanders-Khanna plan is notable in its express commitment to direct wealth redistribution. It also explains why the left has made the packing of the Supreme Court a priority. As Harvard professor Michael Klarman explained years ago, the radical agenda to change the system to guarantee Republicans “will never win another election” requires control of the Supreme Court to uphold such measures.

The problem is that the Constitution bars the implementation of such a federal wealth tax. When the 16th Amendment was ratified, it allowed for federal income taxes, and only income taxes: “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.”

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The effort to expand federal taxation beyond income taxes will require either a constitutional amendment or an enabling, packed Court.

Nevertheless, these politicians will continue to dangle wealth distribution before voters. They will demonize figures like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk for their wealth while ignoring that these same figures are wealth and job creators, driving our economic growth. Instead, Sanders declared that “Billionaires cannot have it all.”

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The irony of Rep. Khanna turning on his own constituents in Silicon Valley underscores the appeal of wealth-redistribution campaigns. He is turning the very heart of his state’s economic growth as state deficits and out-of-state migration increase.

For Sanders, the legislation is a key moment to advance his long-standing socialist agenda. He declared the beginning of the end of “unprecedented income and wealth inequality” in the United States through such redistribution. The stated objective of erasing wealth inequality highlights how this is just the start and the end of wealth taxation.

As discussed in Rage and the Republic, none of this is new. Countries like France previously targeted the wealthy, triggering an exodus of taxpayers and their businesses from the country. It had to reverse its policy as the economy collapsed.

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Of course, many young people have no memory of such failures in the 20th Century. Instead, they are drawn to the very same soundbites used in France and Great Britain before disastrous experiments with socialism. With no experience with socialist economies, figures like socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani can entice voters to “the warmth of collectivism.”

There are legitimate concerns over the glaring and growing wealth gap in the United States. However, a wealth tax is neither a constitutional nor a practical way of addressing the problem.

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LIZ PEEK: Iran war could become the achievement that ensures Trump’s legacy

Democrats and their media enablers are doing everything possible to turn the American people against the war in Iran. They deny the rationale for attacking Tehran, they pretend that President Barack Obama’s nuke deal was anything but appeasement of a bloodthirsty anti-U.S. regime, and they have alarmed Americans that we face a devastating “energy crisis” because of President Donald Trump’s “war of choice.”

None of it is true.

Over the weekend, Democrat Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said on Fox News that Trump had failed to make the case that Iran posed an “imminent threat” to the U.S., implying that he saw no such threat. He also said Trump had picked “the wrong time” to carry out the mission.

The Virginia senator made those remarks the very same week that a Pakistani assassin paid by the mullahs in Tehran was convicted of attempting to murder Trump. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, who hired the would-be killer, had apparently targeted not only Trump, but other U.S. officials, including former President Joe Biden and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. For those potential victims, Iran posed an imminent threat. 

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It isn’t the first time the mullahs have sent spies to the U.S. to arrange the murder of Trump and others, like former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Thankfully, those attempts have been foiled. Were we supposed to simply wait until Tehran took down a leading U.S. politician before hitting back? These were not rogue agents; they were hired by Iranian officials, making the country a legitimate target. 

Warner expressed concern about Iran’s store of ballistic missiles, which he contended would be difficult to eradicate. Does the senator imagine those weapons would be easier to eliminate as the stockpiles grew? Would it be safer to wait until Tehran developed intercontinental missiles which could strike the U.S.?

As Iran has fomented terror and attacks against the U.S. and Israel over the past 47 years, taking Americans hostage, arranging the murder of hundreds of G.I.s, what would have been the perfect time to fight back? For Democrats, including Biden and Obama, that time would never come.

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They prefer appeasement or, worse, imagine that a bloodthirsty regime that is content to slaughter its own citizens and routinely chants “Death to America” is only kidding. Obama and Biden seemed to believe that, given the proper incentives, Iran would forsake its terror mission and become a neutral partner. That’s like imagining a rattlesnake could become cuddly, if only fed enough Puppy Chow.

Obama, acting on his naïveté in 2015, famously oversaw the creation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a multi-nation agreement that was supposed to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Few saw the pact as a serious deterrent, given the loose verification requirements and permissions to continue enriching uranium for “peaceful” purposes. (For a major oil producer!)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Congress at the time, urging members to reject the agreement, noting that as part of the deal the U.S. and others would lift sanctions and funnel funds to Iran, which would go to building a nuclear stockpile and spreading terror. 

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Trump extricated the U.S. from the JCPOA in 2018. At the time, former Minnesota Republican Sen. Norm Coleman correctly summed up the deal, writing it “gave Iran a clear path to a nuclear weapon in 2025; no inspection of military sites and free rein for its nefarious deeds in the region — with over $100 billion to pay for it all!”  

Some Democrats continue to assert, like former Obama national security aide Ben Rhodes, that there was no need to confront Iran, because the JCPOA prevented the mullahs from building a nuclear weapon. This is straight-up baloney. Even the U.N. atomic watchdog, the IAEA, charged with ensuring Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA, finally admitted last year what everyone suspected — that Iran had cheated for years and not met the deal’s requirements. 

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, who hired the would-be killer, had apparently targeted not only Trump, but other U.S. officials, including former President Joe Biden and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. 

That body passed a resolution declaring that Iran was “not complying with its obligations regarding nuclear non-proliferation.” The IAEA said they could not guarantee that Iran’s program was “exclusively peaceful” and confessed that Tehran had hidden evidence of its enrichment program. 

In addition to arguing the merits of the war with Iran, Democrats are screaming that the conflict is bringing on an “energy crisis.” That is false. While tankers are piling up at the Strait of Hormuz, the world is enduring a temporary oil price surge. 

Iran’s blockage of the strait has caused Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar to shut in some production, since they have no place to store the oil. Given the supremacy of U.S. and allied airpower, it is unlikely this situation will endure. Once tankers start to pass through the Strait, oil prices will quickly plummet.

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Democrats’ opposition and criticism are falling flat. A new Rasmussen poll shows a majority of the country supports the attack on Iran. Democrats are hopeful that Trump’s “war of choice,” will hang like an albatross around GOP necks as we approach the midterm elections this fall. What will prove them wrong? Success, and common sense. 

Warner and many of his colleagues deny the solemn intonations of former presidents, including Obama and Biden, that Iran could not be permitted to acquire a nuclear weapon. Americans understand there was realistically only one way to stop them, and Trump had the guts to take that path.

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Democrats are afraid that the U.S. will win this war, that Iran will be forced to repudiate its reign of terror, and that President Trump’s legacy will include a remarkable transformation of the world’s most troublesome region — which began with the Abraham Accords during his first term. Imagine a prosperous, growing Middle East; imagine Gaza being rebuilt without the oppression of its people by Iran-backed Hamas.

Americans should cheer for success, for the Iranian people, for the world and for the U.S.

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MORNING GLORY: The military needs money from Congress to finish off Iran

On “One Nation with Brian Kilmeade,” Brian posed a key question to me: Would Congress pass a supplemental appropriation to cover the costs of the battle with Iran?

It should, but that doesn’t mean it will. The Democrats have collapsed into a defeatist, demoralized group of elected officials held together (when at all) by their hatred of President Trump.

It is hard to imagine the Congressional Democrats voting to supply the money necessary to actually win a decisive victory over Iran. Since President Obama ordered pallets of cash and precious metals worth $1.7 billion sent to Ayatollah Khamenei in January 2016 as part of the 2015 “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action” (“JCPOA”), Democrats have been all about funding our enemy, not our troops.

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Four members of the House Democrats, and one Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, voted with the Republicans last week to block an attempt to fetter President Trump’s powers as commander in chief pursuant to the “War Powers Act.” That Act of Congress is unconstitutional, but a collision over it was avoided because Republicans control the Congress at least until January 2027.

What cannot be avoided is the need to resupply the mighty American military with the money to replenish its weaponry. Three routes are available to the Congressional Republicans.

First, it would be usual order in the days when Democrats supported the military and made vows to stop Iran by force if necessary, to pass a “supplemental” appropriation. This would simply be put before Congress at the request from Secretary Pete Hegseth for funding needed that was not anticipated in the 2026 regular appropriation. As the administration earnestly pursued diplomacy with Iran, the cost of the current battle was not provided for in last year’s budget. Democrats would not, however, provide the 60 votes needed in the Senate to push this forward.

Second, the Appropriations Committees of both the Senate and the House — ably led by Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma — could simply accelerate the regular appropriations process, but that takes most of the year. It is, however, also an election year. It is hard to imagine Democrats cooperating with Republicans before the November vote as they’d rather criticize everything the president and our troops accomplish than fund it and thereby acknowledge how extraordinary has been their overwhelming assault on the means for the Islamic Republic of Iran to project power.

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There is a third path: A second reconciliation process. This is the somewhat obscure budgeting process provided for by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. Under its rules, simple majorities of the House and Senate may pass bills having to do with an agreed-upon budget.

“Reconciliation” was used to pass the Working Families Tax Cut of 2025 (otherwise known as the “One, Big Beautiful Bill.”) That was a big lift for the Senate and House Republicans because it included so many working parts as well as near unanimity among the GOP on the whole package as the majority was so narrow in the House. But, after months and months of negotiations and careful drafting by every committee involved with the final language coming from the Appropriations Committee, the “Big Beauty” did indeed pass.

The GOP House majority has narrowed further since then and until the battle with Iran began, few if any Republicans could see a second “reconciliation” working out in 2026.

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Now, however, a second reconciliation has to be on the table. The military’s need is urgent and so too is the need for the public to understand how vast the differences between the parties when it comes to protecting the national security of the United States.

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So it is time for the Budget Committees to agree on a topline that holds steady the 2026 funding levels (or reduces where appropriate and agreeable to both chambers) but to also include within the 2027 budget both the amount of billions a supplemental would provide as well as the regular appropriation for the military and then the massive additional funding President Trump has been calling for: an additional $500 billion for defense which will fund Golden Dome, the Golden Fleet and the new generation of weaponry needed desperately in this new era of war.

Reconciliation need not take all year. Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune should gather the caucuses they lead, lay out the need and press for an expedited and focused reconciliation process.

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Putting such a vote before both chambers will not only provide the funds needed to win the war and maintain our defenses and deterrence, it will also separate the members of both chambers who believe in victory from the defeatists and the appeasers. No more powerful data point can be provided to the electorate come November than a list of those who supported the troops and those who did not.

Reconciliation 2.0 is the way to go. Let’s see if the GOP seizes the opportunity.

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