This Mom’s Message About Vegas Shooting Has Already Been Shared Nearly 60,000 Times

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As talk of the recent Las Vegas mass shooting continues to circulate, there’s one voice that is attempting to speak to parents about the horrific attack so many bore witness to.

Whitney Fleming — author of the Facebook page Playdates on Fridays — has taken it upon herself to tackle the topic of parenting in an age when mass shootings have become an all-too-familiar event.

“There are no safe places anymore, which is every parents’ worst nightmare,” she stated.

She opened her post with the story of 53-year-old Mike McGarry, who shielded his children during the attack, acknowledging the selfless act of love while admitting she will not always be around to shield her own children.

Then, she offered something every parent, and every American, can do today.

“Instead, I will go over — again — what my children should do if they ever encounter gunfire. I will explain to them when they should run, when they should hide, and when they should remain silent. I will prepare them for this world and pray they will never need to use the information.”

Her entire post can be viewed here:

It it, Fleming admits she is “not shocked that the deadliest mass shooting in our country happened last night, and I won’t be shocked when it happens again — because it will.”

However, Fleming did not go over what her political perspective is, or what solutions she would advocate.

“We won’t agree, so nothing will change,” she said, apparently believing that the growing division in the U.S. would prevent any solutions from actually becoming reality.

Yet, many commenters asked for information about what to do during a shooting, to which Fleming responded with her own advice and a link to an article on the subject.

“I have no idea who you are but THIS is beautiful and so so so spot on. Prayers for Vegas and every single soul affected by the event that occurred. I wish and will pray that now more than ever we could just come together as ONE and let our love be stronger than any and all hate in this world,” wrote one commenter.

Fleming added that she will also tell her children “to look for the helpers, because they are always there. I will hope they remember my tips to guide them to safety. And I will encourage them to be kind to everyone they meet, because you never know the heartache they are carrying.

“If only we could clearly see and know how to help those among us that are most damaged inside before they unleash their pain on others,” Fleming wrote.

The post has been shared almost 60,000 times. The roughly 1,700 comments are overwhelmingly supportive.

She concluded her post by trying to remain positive even in the worst situations.

“(W)hen we don’t know what to do … when the world seems to come unhinged, the only thing we can do is try to do good,” Fleming wrote. “Do something — anything — good today. Do it for someone you don’t know. Do it for someone you dislike.”

“Do it for someone because maybe, just maybe, it will stop them from hurting someone else.” (For more from the author of “This Mom’s Message About Vegas Shooting Has Already Been Shared Nearly 60,000 Times” please click HERE)

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U.S. House Will Vote on Banning Late-Term Abortions of Babies Who Feel Pain

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Next week, the U.S. House will vote on banning late-term abortions on babies who can feel pain.

The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act would prohibit abortions on babies older than 20 weeks. It contains rape and incest exceptions. For an abortion to take place, the abortionist must file a medical report with a state or federal agency saying an act of rape or incest conceived the child.

The U.S. House will vote on it on October 3.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2013 there were at least 5,770 late-term abortions on babies older than 20 weeks.

“Next week, I’m bringing legislation to the House floor that will respect the sanctity of life and stop needless suffering,” said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-CA. “The Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act will protect the voiceless, the vulnerable, and the marginalized.” (Read more from “U.S. House Will Vote on Banning Late-Term Abortions of Babies Who Feel Pain” please click HERE)

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New Book Sheds Light on Anti-Trump Agenda in Public Schools and Politicization of the Classroom

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In his newly published book, The Corrupt Classroom, Lance Izumi of the Pacific Research Institute illustrates how the public school classroom has become increasingly politicized, with liberal teachers indoctrinating students with an anti-Trump and leftist agenda.

Izumi makes the case that while many school choice supporters rely on academic school performance data to show that public schools are failing, there are many other equally important reasons to support it.

“Many parents, for example, are rightly concerned about the growing politicization of the classroom,” Izumi explains. “Far from being mere anecdotal incidents—and there are lot of those—political bias is becoming systemic in public school systems and has turned many public schools into indoctrination centers for progressive ideologies and causes.”

For example, the United Educators of San Francisco, a teachers’ union, created an anti-Trump lesson plan and distributed it to 6,000 members. In the lesson plan, Trump was labeled a “racist and sexist man” and included only reports from left-wing sources such as Mother Jones. Teachers were instructed to tell students, “we will keep fighting” and “we must and will fight for justice against an unjust system and an unjust people.”

Izumi also cites the example of Yvette Felarca, a teacher at a middle school in Berkeley, Calif., who is the leader of By Any Means Necessary, which was described as a militant, radical group that uses violence to spread its message. (Read more from “New Book Sheds Light on Anti-Trump Agenda in Public Schools and Politicization of the Classroom” HERE)

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Sex Change Regret: Gender Reversal Surgery Is on the Rise

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Around five years ago, Professor Miroslav Djordjevic, the world-leading genital reconstructive surgeon, received a visit at his Belgrade clinic: a transgender person who had undergone surgery at different clinic to remove male genitalia – and since changed [his] mind.

That was the first time Prof Djordjevic had ever been contacted to perform a so-called gender reassignment “reversal” surgery. Over the next six months, another six people also approached him, similarly wanting to reverse their procedures. They came from countries all over the western world, Britain included, united by an acute sense of regret.

At present, Prof Djordjevic has a further six prospective people in discussions with his clinic about reversals and two currently undergoing the process itself; reattaching the male genitalia is a complex procedure and takes several operations over the course of a year to fully complete (at a cost of some €18,000).

Those wishing to reverse their gender reassignment, Prof Djordjevic says, have spoken to him about experiencing crippling levels of depression following their transition and in some cases even contemplated suicide. “It can be a real disaster to hear these stories,” says the 52-year-old. (Read more from “Sex Change Regret: Gender Reversal Surgery Is on the Rise” HERE)

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Black Conservatives List the Issues Football Players Should Actually Be Protesting Against

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The Daily Caller News Foundation talked to three prominent black conservatives, Christopher Harris of Un-Hyphenated America, Antonia Okafor of the EmPOWERed movement, and singer Joy Villa, about the most serious issues in the black community football players should be shedding light on and what effect the protests have on the country.

“If they really want to protest something in the black community, they need to protest black on black crime. They need to protest the lack of education within their community. They need to protest single moms who are stuck on welfare for generations and keep having kids,” Villa told TheDCNF. “They need to protest that they can be sitting watching TV in their homes and stray bullets from gang violence can come into their home and murder them.”

Okafor also agreed that football players should be addressing issues like poverty in the black community and poor schools that don’t teach students the necessary skills to thrive in college or in the workforce.

“I think there are issues when it comes to the black community, like criminal justice reform. I’m a huge proponent of that. I think that it comes down to over-regulation and government,” Okafor said to TheDCNF, noting that groups like Black Lives Matter advocate for reform but tout people who call for more government. “The protests should be focused on that there is more poverty in the African American community, that a bigger percentage of us are in poverty. I’m living in Baltimore, and I see it everyday. Our schools are failing, and they don’t even know that they’re failing.” (Read more from “Black Conservatives List the Issues Football Players Should Actually Be Protesting Against” HERE)

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Obama Judge Strikes Down Bill That Protects Babies With Down Syndrome

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A federal judge has struck down an Indiana law that would ban abortions sought because of fetal genetic abnormalities, protecting unborn babies from discrimination based on their sex, race or abilities.

According to The Indy Channel, U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt found the law to be “unconstitutional” and granted an order that that would block it from being enforced.

The order stems from a suit filed in April 2016, when Judge Pratt halted the law at the request of Planned Parenthood.

The law itself made Indiana the second state in the U.S. to effectively ban abortions of babies with Down syndrome or another genetic disorder, and also had other “requirements” regarding the abortion process.

House Bill 1337 included in its non-discrimination ban the requirement to have aborted or miscarried bodies “cremated or buried and another requirement that abortionists who have hospital admitting privileges renew them annually.”

However, Pratt argues this law, particularly the inability to abort due to a genetic abnormality, goes against a woman’s right to her body.

“The lack of authority supporting the state’s position likely stems from the fact that it is contrary to the core legal rights on which a woman’s right to choose to terminate her pregnancy prior to viability are predicated,” Pratt wrote.

According to Courthouse News, she also “struck down another provision dictating how the remains of a fetus are to be handled” on the grounds that they should “be treated the same way under law as the remains of a deceased person.”

Abortion is one of the most common medical procedures performed in America every year. Elective abortions allow that procedure to dictate whether a baby with a disability will, or will not be, welcomed into this world.

As Good Housekeeping suggests, “two-thirds of pregnancies undergo prenatal testing as early as 11 weeks,” so women have more of a choice as to whether they will end the pregnancy. It further adds, in the specific case of disabilities, “most choose to terminate.”

It also acknowledges that from 1995 to 2011, “roughly 67 to 85 percent of pregnancies with a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome were aborted.”

“As a result, elective pregnancy terminations have meant 30 percent fewer babies were born with Down syndrome in the U.S.,” according to a 2015 study.

Yet life expectancy of people with Down Syndrome has increased — quite dramatically — from 1960 when, on average, they would live to be only about 10 years old.

By 2007, persons with Down syndrome lived (on average) to be about 47 years old.

Yet, Pratt, who has a history of siding with the abortion lobby, insists this law violates a woman’s right to free choice, and many others agree with her.

“Every person deserves the right to make their own personal decisions about abortion. There is no medical basis for these restrictions,” said Christie Gillespie, President and CEO of PPINK.

Pro-lifers strongly disagree.

“We are deeply disappointed that Planned Parenthood can discriminate against unborn children and target them for abortion,” said Mike Fichter, President and CEO of Indiana Right to Life and one of the many voices against Pratt’s decision.

“It’s a shame that Planned Parenthood cares more about their bottom line than recognizing the worth of children with Down syndrome,” he said.

“We urge Attorney General Curtis Hill to appeal.”

It is not clear yet if the state will, in fact, appeal Pratt’s ruling. (For more from the author of “Obama Judge Strikes Down Bill That Protects Babies With Down Syndrome” please click HERE)

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Kaepernick Donated $25k to Group Honoring Convicted Cop Killer

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Colin Kaepernick’s $25,000 donation to a charitable group honoring a convicted cop killer has been revealed.

Kaepernick’s foundation made the donation to Chicago-based Assata’s Daughter’s, named after former Black Liberation Army member Assata Shakur, in April as part of a $1million charitable pledge.

Shakur was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1973 shooting death of New Jersey state trooper Werner Foerster and sentenced to life in prison, but staged a daring jailbreak and now lives as a fugitive in Cuba.

Kaepernick, who is well known for his protests against police during the national anthem as a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, made the donation as part of his pledge to donate $100,000 a month for 10 months to ‘organizations working in oppressed communities’. (Read more from “Kaepernick Donated $25k to Group Honoring Convicted Cop Killer” HERE)

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Texas School District Will Permit Students to Kneel During Anthem

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While some high schools and colleges across the U.S. are beginning to ban kneeling during the national anthem following the NFL protests from last weekend, the Frisco School District in Texas is tacitly encouraging students to protest (arguably even inviting them to do so).

In an email directive, Frisco Independent School District coaches have been told not to stop any students from kneeling. If students choose to kneel before the game, “they may do so without repercussion,” states a copy of the note provided to CR by a member of the Frisco ISD community.

While some high schools and colleges across the U.S. are beginning to ban kneeling during the national anthem following the NFL protests from last weekend, the Frisco School District in Texas is tacitly encouraging students to protest (arguably even inviting them to do so).

In an email directive, Frisco Independent School District coaches have been told not to stop any students from kneeling. If students choose to kneel before the game, “they may do so without repercussion,” states a copy of the note provided to CR by a member of the Frisco ISD community.

The point of this letter is ostensibly to provide “guidance” to school coaches, to help navigate around potential trouble. Its defenders will claim the district is in no way encouraging students to protest the national anthem.

But what is the purpose of sending this directive where there was no indication students were planning a protest? In sending this letter (which countless coaches have undoubtedly shared with their teams), the school preemptively declared there will be no consequences for a protest that wasn’t happening. By doing this, the school is actually inviting such a protest.

It’s like saying, “By the way, kids, if you want to protest during the anthem, you won’t be punished.” “We aren’t protesting.” “OK, but if you do, we won’t punish you.”

Don’t be surprised if Frisco ISD athletes start kneeling during the national anthem now that the school essentially gave them the all-clear. (For more from the author of “Texas School District Will Permit Students to Kneel During Anthem” please click HERE)

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Gym Teacher Arrested After Allegedly Choking Students With Jump Rope

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A gym teacher in Fresno, Calif. has been arrested after he allegedly tied a jump rope around students’ necks to “discipline” them, Fox 26 reported.

Authorities arrived at Herndon Barstow Elementary on Thursday afternoon after the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office received a report that students had been injured, reports said.

Upon investigation, police learned that Peter Samhammer, 64, a physical education teacher at the school, had attempted to punish students by choking them with a jump rope during class on the playground, Fox 26 said.

Samhammer allegedly tied the jump rope around students’ necks and would tighten it before releasing them.

The students were all between ages 9 and 11, according to the sheriff’s office. (Read more from “Gym Teacher Arrested After Allegedly Choking Students With Jump Rope” HERE)

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The Human Costs of the World Hugh Hefner Created

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Sometimes it’s appropriate to speak ill of the dead.

Playboy founder Hugh Hefner died Wednesday, aged 91. But his work of mainstreaming porn will likely live on—and continue to hurt men and women—for many years to come.

Playboy helped usher in an era of porn addiction, decreased happiness, and strained relationships between men and women.

Porn did of course exist before Hefner, and the internet—a technological innovation Hefner had nothing to do with—greatly accelerated the use of porn.

But what Hefner did was to bring porn out of the shadows, to make it something that could be discussed openly and without shame. Decades before the characters on “Friends” were cracking jokes about porn use, Hefner planted the seeds by creating Playboy magazine.

This article from ABC News shows how revolutionary Playboy was:

In 1953, a time when states could legally ban contraceptives, when the word ‘pregnant’ was not allowed on ‘I Love Lucy,’ Hefner published the first issue of Playboy, featuring naked photos of Marilyn Monroe (taken years earlier) and an editorial promise of ‘humor, sophistication and spice.’

…

Within a year, circulation neared 200,000. Within five years, it had topped 1 million.

By the 1970s, the magazine had more than 7 million readers and had inspired such raunchier imitations as Penthouse and Hustler.

Porn, proponents say, is just a harmless foray into fantasy. That might have been credible in 1953.

But now, 64 years after Playboy was launched, it’s clear that’s just not the case—and there are real human costs to our society’s porn addiction.

Thirty-eight percent of heterosexual men and nearly 7 percent of heterosexual women admit to viewing porn in the past six days, according to data in University of Texas at Austin sociology professor Mark Regnerus’ new book “Cheap Sex.”

Viewing porn can definitely have consequences for real-life behavior. One interviewee Regnerus spoke to, a 24-year-old name Jonathan from Austin, Texas, said of porn use during relationships: “It’s just an unfulfilling cycle. It’s stressful … you become dissatisfied sexually with the person you’re with. How can you not?”

Another interviewee, 27-year-old Alyssa from Milwaukee, said, “I can see in myself the effect that watching porn has had on me.”

“I know,” she added, “that I feel a little bit sexier when I’m having sex like a porn star … porn sex is not, like I said, not romantic, and it’s not, like, it’s not slow. It’s not seductive, it’s much more about um, like the thrusting and the grunting than the touching and the sighing, you know. The gentle loving aspect is not hot.”

Regnerus’ data also shows a correlation (hardly shocking) between frequency of masturbation and porn viewing, suggested increase porn use spurs more frequent masturbation.

That’s unfortunate: “The Relationships in America survey data reveal that those who masturbated recently were less likely to be happy with life in general—and less happy with their current romantic relationship—than those who had not,” writes Regnerus.

There’s also evidence that porn use can become compulsive, perhaps even addictive. In other words, porn isn’t just viewed by men or women deciding it’d be fun—it’s people feeling driven to do so.

A 2010 report, “The Social Costs of Pornography,” by the Witherspoon Institute, a conservative research center in Princeton, New Jersey, found that “internet pornography does evoke in some users those behaviors that clinical and psychological literature calls ‘addiction,’ just as in the cases of addiction to alcohol, nicotine, and other substances. The addiction to pornography can even become ‘compulsive,’ meaning that it continues despite negative consequences to a person’s functioning in his or her work or relationships.”

Personal accounts bear this out as well. In 2016, Time reported on Alexander Rhodes, the nonreligious man behind a crudely named site and movement to encourage men to stop watching porn.

Rhodes, who first saw porn at 11, quickly began viewing porn with greater frequency. “By the time he was 14, he says, he was pleasuring himself to porn 10 times a day. ‘That’s not an exaggeration,’ he insists. ‘That, and play video games, was all I did,’” wrote Time’s Belinda Luscombe.

And once again, porn didn’t stay on the computer or in the fantasy world, but extended to Rhodes’ relationship with a girl, as Time reported:

In his late teens, when he got a girlfriend, things did not go well. ‘I really hurt her [emotionally],’ says Rhodes. ‘I thought it was normal to fantasize about porn while having sex with another person.’ If he stopped thinking about porn to focus on the girl, his body lost interest, he says.

Rhodes isn’t alone. Isaac Abel (a pen name) wrote in liberal website Salon in 2013 about the effects of his porn habits.

Like Rhodes, Abel started watching porn at a young age. He also started watching more and more extreme porn, including rape and cartoon porn. And it affected his real-life relationships:

I starting seeing a young woman regularly, and some confluence of alcohol, weed, no condom, and the trust, comfort, and affection I felt with her allowed me to start enjoying sex—to an extent. I wouldn’t acknowledge it, but the majority of nights I had ‘good sex’ I was intoxicated. And, what’s worse, I was fantasizing about porn during sex.

It was a dissociative, alienating, almost inhuman task to close my eyes while having sex with someone I really cared about and imagine having sex with someone else or recall a deviant video from the archives of my youth that I was ashamed of even then.

Is this really happiness?

In an interview with Vanity Fair in 2010, Hefner, who recounted he grew up in a home without “a lot of love or emotion,” said “the key to my life [was] the need to feel loved.”

Asked who had broken his heart, Hefner responded:

The first girl I married … I was very naïve. When she told me before we married that she’d had an affair while I was in the Army, it was probably the most devastating experience of my life. It doomed us from the start.

But I think it gave me permission to live the life I’ve lived.

And yet, even if Hefner was sincerely motivated in his work by “the need to feel loved,” he created a new world that championed lust over love.

The legacy of Playboy is men fantasizing about other women while they are with the women they actually love; it’s women preferring porn sex to romantic sex; it’s a surge in people having solo sex or masturbating; and it’s people struggling with addictive behavior.

None of that qualifies as the kind of dream anyone would swoon about.

But it’s what we’ve got. Thanks for nothing, Hef. (For more from the author of “The Human Costs of the World Hugh Hefner Created” please click HERE)

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