Viral Dad Debate, 90s Prices, And Airport Confiscations

If you’ve ever heard someone say a dad is “babysitting” his own kids, this conversation is going to land. We open with a viral take that calls for real shared parenting—no three-page instructions, no lowered expectations—just two capable adults stepping up at home. We talk about why language matters, how trust builds competence, and the small daily systems that make childcare feel equitable rather than transactional.

That theme of responsibility leads us into a nostalgic yet sobering detour: a 1997 grocery receipt that reads like a fairy tale by today’s standards. Dollar snacks, cheap diapers, and bargain strawberries shine a light on how prices have moved and how that movement feels in real life. We connect the dots between inflation you can see on a receipt, the coping strategies families use to stretch budgets, and the ways memory can romanticize the past while still pointing to real shifts in purchasing power.

Finally, we scan the skies with the TSA’s roundup of confiscations: hidden handguns in guitar cases, BB guns buried in luggage linings, stun gun flashlights, and knives disguised inside everyday objects. It’s a reminder that security hinges on training, technology, and attention to detail—and that most of us can avoid drama by packing smart and knowing the rules. Along the way, we pose two questions to you: which everyday item’s price jump shocks you most compared to the late 90s, and have you ever had something taken at a checkpoint?

If the mix of family dynamics, price nostalgia, and airport intrigue sparks your curiosity, stick around and join the conversation. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who loves a good debate, and leave a quick review with your answer to our two questions—it helps more listeners find the show and keeps the dialogue going.

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Thanks for listening! 

Liberty Line each week on Sunday, look for topics on my X file @americanistblog and submit your 1-3 audio opinions to anamericanistblog@gmail.com and you'll be featured on the podcast. 

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Chapters

• 0:29 Warm Welcome And Setup
• 0:47 Viral Take On Dads And Parenting
• 2:15 Personal Story On Shared Parenting
• 2:53 Pivot To Pop Culture And Nostalgia
• 3:35 1997 Grocery Receipt And Prices
• 5:18 Question Of The Day On Inflation
• 5:26 TSA’s Wild Confiscations Roundup
• 9:34 Smuggling Tactics And Odd Finds
• 9:49 Audience Question And Sign Off

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:15

Well, hello and good morning, everyone. Happy Monday. I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I know I did. I had a great, fantastic weekend. It was great. Okay. Let's get right to it, shall we? Uh let's go over here. Let's see. Okay, yeah, we're gonna do this one first. New York Post. Mom's brutally honest take on men's parenting skills sparks viral debate. Prove me wrong. Well, let's see what she has to say. And I've read some of it, and I think I'm going to agree with her. A woman's honest take on dads should know how to care for their kids without a list of instructions from mom has sparked important discussion about gender roles. Lisa Coarner posted a video in which the Arizona resident shared unpopular opinion about parental responsibility, and it clearly struck a nerve with many. Okay, first of all, whenever you post something that says unpopular opinion, it usually isn't. So you're not being catch kitschy or cute or anything or different. Your unpopular opinion is not that unpopular. In a TikTok video with over three million views, an unbothered courner is seen eating dumplings with overlay text that reads, This might sting a little bit, but it has to be said. Your husband should be able to take care of your kids on his own without you needing to leave a three-page instruction manual or stressing over their health. Prove me wrong in the comments. And well, I have to agree with her. So see, it's not that unpopular. If they're not helping to take care of their own children when home, it's fair to ask, what are these men doing? I'm not going to finish reading this story because uh I have my own opinions. I remember one time after we I was a brand new parent and I was going out with a girlfriend, and the girlfriend came over to pick me up, and she said to my husband, she said, Oh, it's nice of you to babysit the kids while Carol goes out. And my husband said, I prefer to call it parenting. And I was like, Good for you. So yes, don't just trust your husbands. If you you married him enough, you should be trusting him to take care of both y'all's children. They're not your children, mother. They're both of y'all's children. Okay, I need to move on. Next topic here coming up. All right, let's see what's next up on the agenda here. Um, so the Golden Globes were last night. I had no idea they were on. I don't watch that kind of show anymore. But on my feed here, I did not realize that Amy Maddock and Ed Harris were married. I had no idea. All right. Grocery store receipt from 1997 reveals just how cheap American life used to be. And it makes me sick to my stomach, this person says. No, in 1997, I had a one-year-old and pretty much a two-year-old. My kids were born in 95 and 96. So there you go. Grocery store, here we go. A grocery store receipt from 1997 shows just I already said that. TikTok user Zoe Dipple shared the shockingly low cost and a viral video after a family member found the proof of purchase in a box of mementos. Look, if you got a receipt from 1997, I'm sure it's all faded.$155 for all of this, one of the Dipple's relatives remarked after holding up the lengthy receipt from Texas Chain HEB dated June 20th, 1997. Oh my gosh, that is a lot. All for$155. That's a lot of stuff, Dipple declared as she started to sort through$122 items and read the prices out loud. The receipt revealed that little Debbie Brownies cost$1.09. Dan and yogurt was just$0.50 and a loaf of bread was wrung up for$1.26. I don't know about that. Meanwhile, Gerber baby food jars were$55 each, while a jumble pack of Pamper diapers cost$12.99. Today a jar of some baby food is$1.57. While Pampers are$30. Good heavens. The receipt additionally shows that a one pound of carton of strawberries was$1.89. Today they're$3.97. If you'd like to go finish reading all of that, you can do so. Maybe that might be the question of the day. What do you remember from back in the late 90s that you cost that would you bought something that today, if you bought it, was outrageously overly priced? Laundry detergent. What is something that milk, what is something that has gone way, way, way up that you could buy really cheap in the in the 90s? That is the question of the day. Alright. Moving on. Let's see, what do we have here? TSA reveals the wildest items they confiscated in 2025. Is this what I think it is? Uh-oh. Despite TSA's best ever effort, excuse me, excuse me, to prevent flyers from smuggling bizarre items in their carry-on luggage, there will always be a deluge of travelers who think they are immune to the rules. Of course. Airports might have recently tightened security measures with real ID requirement and a biometric facial scanning technology to make the screening process more secure. But last year of officers still witnessed travelers attempting to sneak everything from BB guns to ninja weapons through TSA checkpoints. And the lengths and lies travelers will to go to to conceal forbidden items are baffling. This is gonna be good. I think that's what shakes things up a bit when you're seeing not just the passenger having something in a bag, but they are really deliberately doing a lot of work to hide things. Gabrielle Connor Finley, a TSA officer based out of Newark Liberty International Airport, told the post, I think that's what makes it more interesting, and the fact that we can actually find it more challenging. As a warning to prospective smugglers, the have you ever seen that show To Catch a Smuggler? I think it's on I don't know what channel it's on, travel network, I don't know, history network. I don't know what channel it's on, but oh I am just hooked on that. Whenever it comes on, I just stop whatever I'm doing, I just sit down and watch it. It's fascinating. As a warning to prospective smugglers, the post rounded up some of the most bizarre items passengers have attempted to sneak into airports around the country in 2025. Killing me softly with song. In October of last year, TSA officer discovered a handgun hidden in a guitar case, like something out of the 1995 action flick Desperado. Clearly, the officers are paying really good attention, and yeah, I'm super proud of that. We are well trained, we are really alert, and we care on top of it all. Alright, so let's see, a real shoot case. Uh-huh. Okay, so speaking of sir, speaking of gun toting running schemes, late June TSA officer identified a high-threat item during an X-ray screen and flagged it to the Port Authority Police. A subsequent bag examiner revealed that the item was concealed, BB gun that had been cleverly hidden in the lining of the flyer's luggage. That's how some of these drug people do it too. They try to put it in the lining of the suitcase. You got the Death Stars, which I guess are some kind of ninja tool. I don't know. And then you've got what is that? A shocking find. A TSA um was stunned after busting a passenger attempting to sneak an artfully concealed flashlight taser through security in mid-September. Police confirmed that the item was indeed a stun gun, whereupon it was surrendered. Okay, they need to write this better. Just give me the list of things that you found. A real sharp look. Some confiscated items resembled something out of KGB spy movie in July. An officer at BWI detected an incognito knife hidden in a belt buckle. Hmm, interesting. A real haircutter. Oh, look at this. Wow, now this is freaking clever. A n it looks like a comb, like a wide-tooth comb with a handle, but you take the comb part off and it reveals a knife. That is clever. Wow, I'm surprised that you even found that one. And then, of course, you got your flight capsules. Let's see what's in here. Guns and knives weren't the only head scratching items flagged by TSA. In December, they spotted drugs that a passenger had hidden in a paper towel inside their shoe. Okay, whatever. Big deal. Um I thought this was gonna be wilder, but it's really not that crazy. It's not that unusual. Whatever. Have you ever had to have any this is a second question of the day when flying? Have you ever had anything confiscated? Probably, it's probably gonna be some kind of liquid that was too big to take. So, anyway, I have not because I followed the rules. Okay. We need to. That's it. That's all I've got for you today. Happy Monday. Thanks for listening. Bye.