Political Battles

There is not-so-happy news to report from the father-daughter politico front.

To begin, Florida mayor Stacy Ritter has apparently pissed off her daddy big time. Ed Portner, 84, was so irked at his daughter's politics that he took to drink and waving a gun around, assualt and burgling his daughter's home. Portner, who is currently out on $25,000 bail, pledges to continue his campaign for mayor a town near his daughter's .... and despite her having already endorsed her father's opponent, the incumbent, even before his latest rampage.

While Portner is understandably down, perhaps he might take some solace for the even more uncomfortable position of Filipino father Marino Morales, the incumbent mayor of Mabalacat, Pampanga. Morales daughter Marjorie not only disagrees with his politics she is actually running against him, despite dad's prayers to the contrary.

That daddy-daughter thing can be tricky. Perhaps it's only fair to blame the mums?

Baby Daddy, Baby

We're a bit late to the party on talking up this idea that seeing "baby daddy" in the headline can only mean scandal. It's particularly enticing for short articles referring to Hollywood hunks. This is not to suggest that there can't be scandal when a headline includes the more traditional "baby's daddy," as in "I'm That Baby's Daddy: Priest" (all about the looming custody battle between Catholic priest David Dueppen and his stripper baby mama). It's just that there's much more ring to saying BD, for example, than for the equal in meaning "baby father."

Adopt Me, If You Can

Much of fatherhood is wending one's way through the gray areas. Among the places with the thickest fog is the island nation of Adoption.

Sometimes it is hard to even get to find the place as was the case of Alabaman Andrew Scott. The 20-year-old may have lost his child because he didn't put his name on a state registry claiming fatherhood within 30 days of the birth to his one-time partner of the baby boy. That he didn't know he was the father until after the deadline has proven — so far according to state courts — no excuse. His son now lives with adoptive parents a couple uncrossable miles away.

While Scott is fighting for his day in court, he might take some inspiration from South Africa's Jose Williams, who fought and won the right to his daughter's custody almost 2 years after his ex-partner offered her for adoption — approximately two months prior to going into labor.

He might also be happy to hear that an Irish court overturned the adoption of a man's 8-year-old by his ex-partner's new husband, when he had never been informed that it was even in the works. (Of course, one man's happiness can be another father's regret ... what's a not-even-step-dad to want and do?)

To the dads above who might miss out on their kids by not being married, it woudl seem that the "piece of paper" would be the key to being named father. In truth, even that is no guarantee. For example, two New York dads are currently fighting in a U.S. Appeals court against the state of Louisiana because, although married to each other, only one of them can be officially listed as the father of the child they are adopting out of the Bayou.

Admittedly, the best interests of the child should be premiere over those of the adult, but at least from the cursory review above, it does not seem to always be the GPS a father can use getting to and finding his way around the land of Adoption.

Picking Flicks

There may well be a looming box office battle between "dad is a doofus" and "dad is divine." New Line Cinema is trying to bring to life a sequel to "National Lampoon's" Vacation. The new film, likely featuring Chevy Chase as dork deluxe dad Clark Griswold, will focus on how the next new generation of Griswold father wanders cluelessly about. Against, that image of fathers, songstress Beyonce Knowles has begun talking up a movie masterpiece based on the life of papa Matty, the man who has guided her career from Houston to Hollywood (with at least one alleged controversial sidetrip for himself).

Odds on who wins between in the cine battle between doofus and divine?

Parodaddying

Dreams change. Few dads dreamed as boys of their days changing diapers and sitting in the stands watching their kids play out what they wish to be doing.

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far away and long ago (i.e., prior to having a combined five kids) Scott Coane, 34, and brother Craig, 38, — self-proclaimed juke box heroes — dreamed of being 80s hair-rock stars. Now the Orinda, Calif., duo have found a new vision of life fulfillment, "parodying" adult hits by adding kidcentric lyrics. They're unlikely to outparody Nina Yankovic's dad Al [Earlier: Double Daddy Dare], but there are certainly worse ways for fathers to change than living out dreams of lipsyncing on the playground.

Book It, Baby

Certain things just are. And some of those things are more than enough to give pause. For example, Charlotte Hornets star Chris Paul is the father of 4-month-old Chris Paul II and first time author, with the kids' book Long Shot: Never Too Small to Dream. Biologically correct, but somewhat paternally unsettling, the babe took ninth months from conception to delivery while the 32-page book took two years.

We'll Get to "Kidnapping" by School Week 16

As sweet as it is that Oak Grove Primary School kindergarten has a whole week devoted to a "Date with Dad," it is a bit worrisome that the class is scheduled to only master one letter a week (DwithD is the fourth, "D," week of school). Are these Mississippi kids no tgoing to be able to spell and use in a sentence the word "dumb" until the 21st week when it's "U's" turn to be mastered?

Unfortunately, fathers coming to school and being a special part of their childrens' lives is something Tennessean Christopher Savoie can currently only dream about. He frets in a Japanese jail while prosecutors work out what the punishment should be for attempted kidnapping of his own children (assuming he actually did). It's a bit complex, but he's married in the US to a woman who is not his ex-wife/mother-of-his-children, but still technically wed to the Japanese woman who claims full custody and tried to cut him out of his son and daughter's life by hieing with them back to her native land of the rising sun (n.b, for Oak Grove Primary: it's "u" not "o").

Coming Attractions

Not that unusual but worth noting: dads are all over the movies. Front and center in the main frame and coming soon to a theater near you.

Currently rolling out is "The Boys are Back," the tear-stained saga of a father who loses his wife to cancer and gains the lessons to be learned by bringing up two kids on his own. Working together for the first time are stunt father and son John and Jorel Reynolds. The two have been shooting the next "Narnia" film on location in Australia. And also currently in production is "Due Date," the tale of Robert Downey Jr. (a real-life father of one) needing to find a partner to get him home in time for the birth of his baby.

Now the dilemma for every movie going pop is whether hanging out in the dark for a couple hours of staring at the screen is going to help him escape his troubles or highlight them.