Some students of human nature believe that, because our ancestors could only survive as a species human through a constant awareness of danger, we are endowed with an inherent need to be in a "state of fear" about something or other, even if the objective danger is neither existential nor widespread. It's certainly true that political movements often encourage a state of fear to enhance their image of indispensability.

Feminism is the reigning orthodoxy of our era, and for feminists, men (almost invariably white heterosexual men) are a favourite target for fear mongering. Short film/ads make excellent promotional vehicles for ideas and attitudes. I wrote about the now-infamous, feminism-inspired Gillette short film in these pages last week, a semi-humorous riff on the corporate cynicism behind its conception. But I knew my off-the-cuff riposte had not really addressed my deeper concerns about it, so the film continued to nag at me.

It reminded me of another social-messaging film I had seen and written about. In 2012, to mark the annual commemoration of the 1989 Montreal Polytechnic massacre of 14 women engineering students, the Canadian Women's Foundation put out a short but effective little film addressing the problem of male violence-in particular sexual violence-against women. To me it symbolized what I most dislike about feminists' marketing campaigns: their utter contempt for men, and their willingness to distort evidence in order to demonize them while creating an unnecessary state of fear in women.

A 3-year-old boy found alive two days he went missing was "meant to survive" as he endured heavy rains and cold temperatures by himself in the woods, the local sheriff said.

"What he survived out there -- temperatures in the 20s, low 20s, the rain, the downpour that almost put our search on a standstill," Craven County Sheriff Chip Hughes told ABC New Bern affiliate WCTI Friday morning. "This kid, he's strong. He was meant to survive. He's a survivor."

Casey Hathaway was found Thursday night after he went missing Tuesday in wooded Craven County, North Carolina.

Casey is in good condition and resting, Dr. Nicole Check of the CarolinaEast Medical Center said Friday morning.

Facebook orchestrated a multiyear effort that duped children and their parents out of money, in some cases hundreds or even thousands of dollars, and then often refused to give the money back, according to court documents unsealed tonight in response to a Reveal legal action.

The records are part of a class-action lawsuit focused on how Facebook targeted children in an effort to expand revenue for online games, such as Angry Birds, PetVille and Ninja Saga.

The more than 135 pages of unsealed documents, which include internal Facebook memos, secret strategies and employee emails, paint a troubling picture of how the social media giant conducted business.

Facebook encouraged game developers to let children spend money without their parents' permission - something the social media giant called "friendly fraud" - in an effort to maximize revenues, according to a document detailing the company's game strategy.

Sometimes the children did not even know they were spending money, according to another internal Facebook report. Facebook employees knew this. Their own reports showed underage users did not realize their parents' credit cards were connected to their Facebook accounts and they were spending real money in the games, according to the unsealed documents.

For years, the company ignored warnings from its own employees that it was bamboozling children.

Under normal circumstances-e.g. in a time when the American Psychological Association (APA) has not released guidelines questioning whether norms associated with "traditional masculinity" (e.g. stoicism) are harmful to the mental health of men, and a shaving commercial is not being run that criticizes "toxic masculinity"-I would be reluctant to publicly share a story of personal adversity that, as a sometime aficionado of existentialist philosophy, I know I must ultimately face alone.

But in the spirit of opening up, here goes.

I have brain cancer. Not the kind that killed John McCain, Ted Kennedy, or Beau Biden. At least not yet. I am afflicted with a low-grade glioma (specifically, a grade-2 infiltrative astrocytoma). My neurosurgeon informs me that experts do not distinguish between benign and malignant brain tumors. Instead, they distinguish between low-grade and high-grade tumors, the point being that all brain tumors naturally progress to death. There is no cure. High-grade simply gets you there faster. In the words of one study, "all low grade gliomas eventually progress to high grade glioma and death." In short, barring some unforeseen circumstance like a plane crash or another mortal illness, I will die of brain cancer. It's only a matter of time, unless researchers suddenly discover a cure. It could be one year. Two years. Five years. Twenty years. But according to this study, the average life span of someone with a low-grade glioma is seven years.

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute has now gone full circle: It announced that it has voted to give its human rights award to Angela Davis after all!

The Institute originally decided to give the scholar and activist the Fred Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award last December. Then on January 4, reportedly under pressure from Jewish groups because of Davis's support for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) targeting Israel, the Institute voted to rescind the award and cancel the gala at which she was to be honored. It had no idea what was coming. The institute suffered a nationwide onslaught of criticism for its cowardice, as well as outrage from the Birmingham city council and school board and mayor. Three board members of the BCRI resigned, and the institute apologized for "missteps" on January 14. Meanwhile, plans were announced for Davis to receive an honor from her native city on the same day as the canceled BCRI gala.

Well, today the last shoe dropped. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute announced that it voted - evidently a week or ten days ago - to "reaffirm Dr. Davis as the recipient" of the Fred Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award.

"Dr. Davis was immediately thereafter personally invited to reaccept the award."

An Israeli teengaer was charged with manslaughter on Thursday by the state's prosecutors for his involvement in a stoning attack on a car in the occupied West Bank that ultimately led to the death of Aisha al-Rawbi, a 47-year-old Palestinian woman.

Other charges listed in the indictment include aggravated stone throwing at a moving vehicle and intentional sabotage of a vehicle, according to The Times of Israel, which reported that each charge qualified as being executed "in the context of a terrorist act." If convicted, the unidentified minor could face up to 20 years in prison.

Prior to Thursday's announcement, Israeli media reported on Wednesday that investigators had found DNA samples that were linked to the minor, who is a student at the Pri Haaretz seminary in the settlement of Rehelim.

Today in liberal hypocrisy news, Norwegian billionaire Gunhild Stordalen, who is behind a campaign to save the planet by reducing meat consumption, is being criticized for recently buying a £20 million private jet and regularly using it to fly to exotic destinations around the world.

As many of Elon Musk's critics have also pointed out, pollution created by air travel is a major contributor to global warming.

Christopher Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs told the Mirror:

"The hypocrisy of this is breathtaking. This is a campaign telling ordinary people they should be eating less than half a rasher of bacon per day for the sake of the environment, while the patron is flying people around the world in private jets creating one enormous carbon footprint.

This is a classic case of do as I say not as I do. Militant environmentalists can't resist the chance to tell people how to live their lives and demonise everyday items of food."

Students at Lewis and Clark College's Graduate School of Education can take a course in spring 2019 that will teach them to combat toxic masculinity in the classroom.

The course, which is intended for educators, will encourage participants to "analyze the effects of toxic masculinity and how they play out in our classrooms, communities, and lives," according to the course description. Participants will walk away from the course with "a lesson plan based on an idea or strategy presented during sessions, and will return to their classrooms with strategies to combat toxic masculinity."

Students can receive one semester hour by taking part in the course.

The course will be taught by Chris Kelly and Jayme Causey. Causey is a 2016 graduate of nearby Portland State University and of the Lewis and Clark College Graduate School of Education Oregon Writing Project. He has also presented workshops at the Northwest Teaching for Social Justice Conference in both 2017 and 2018.

To the left, a MAGA hat isn't a head cover; it's a badge of evil...

The last few years have seen a dangerous shift in America's cultural climate, especially when it comes to the expression of political beliefs. In the past, Americans could engage in heated debates over the issues while still maintaining a semblance of civility. But now, political discourse has been turned on its head, and it is unlikely that the nation will see a return to normalcy anytime soon.

The days when individuals could communicate their political leanings without fear of reprisal have morphed into an environment in which an article of clothing can invite attacks so vicious that lives can be upended. The story of the Covington High School students who became targets of a rabid left-leaning media mob is only the latest in a series of occurrences that demonstrate what can happen to a person for simply wearing a "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) baseball cap.

Political Expression Has Become Dangerous

Since President Trump began his campaign, progressives in the media have homed in on his supporters, smearing them as ignorant bigots who are working to build an American Third Reich. As a result, those who voted for the president have been subject to harassment and, in some cases, violence.

Last year, a Texas 16-year-old was accosted in a restaurant for wearing a MAGA hat. A 30-year-old man verbally assaulted the young fellow, ripped the hat from his head, and threw his soda into the teenager's face. In 2017, a New York man was denied service at a bar because he sported the infamous red cap.

It is also important to remember the numerous instances in which far-leftist protesters showed up at conservative rallies to physically assault the participants. The left has managed to take an act of political expression and use it as a weapon against those who oppose progressive ideas. To the wearer of the MAGA hat, they are simply expressing support for a political movement. To the progressive left, it is an identifier, a way to pinpoint evil.

How Did This Happen?

Many individuals, both on the left and the right, have contributed to the tense political atmosphere America is experiencing today. But it is evident that the primary culprit is the establishment media, whose members have sown division and resentment through their biased reporting, and the majority of Americans are aware of the role the press has played in pitting one group against the other. A recent study revealed that people believe that the media is more divisive than President Trump, who is constantly maligned for his aggressive rhetoric.

The Fourth Estate has used its various platforms to treat conservatives as if they are both ignorant and evil. Instead of portraying right-leaning Americans as individuals who simply disagree with progressives, they have chosen to launch a malicious campaign. Several outlets have attracted clicks and views by using extremely loaded language to describe President Trump and his supporters; comparisons to dictators like Hitler have become almost commonplace in the reportage of the most popular news outlets.
It is for this reason that many on the far left do not see an article of clothing when confronted with a MAGA hat; they see a symbol of oppression. Some have likened the cap to the swastika or white hood. Many of those on the left who are portraying conservatives as fascists are fully aware that their accusations are inaccurate. Put simply, they are lying.

However, because of the influence of the media, there is a significant number who truly believe they are opposing oppression when they attack people for wearing the wrong headgear. For this reason, they can easily justify implementing a nationwide smear campaign against high school students who committed the sin of wearing a MAGA hat. It is why they have no problem with doxing or even assaulting Americans who support the president.

The only solution to this problem is for reasonable people on both sides to call out those who dehumanize anyone with differing political beliefs. But it is individuals on the far left who are going to extremes to harm conservatives, and this will persist as long as they are allowed to do so without being checked by their own.

The Mexican government said Friday the United States plans to return 20 migrants per day to Mexico as they await an answer to their U.S. asylum claims.

Roberto Velasco, the spokesman for Mexico's Foreign Relations Department said "the Mexican government doesn't agree with this unilateral move," but will accept the migrants under certain conditions.

Velasco said the first 20 migrants would be returned at the San Ysidro crossing, across from Tijuana, "in the next few hours." He said all are Central Americans and all apparently had temporary visas in Mexico.

That suggests they may have been part of last year's migrant caravans, given that many were given such visas.