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Nate Holley is being hailed a hero for his bravery during a school shooting. Is this really what we've come to, America?

Nate Holley is being hailed a hero for his bravery during a school shooting. Is this really what we've come to, America?

Nate Holley is being hailed a hero for his bravery during a school shooting. Is this really what we've come to, America?

Nate Holley walked out of his suburban Colorado school on May 7, 2019, physically unharmed. Two students had opened fire on their STEM School classmates that day, killing one and wounding seven others. It was the 35th U.S. school shooting this school year.

Nate is 12 years old and in the sixth grade. Nate told CNN that when he heard the gunshots he froze. He said a kid in his class cracked a joke before his teacher told them to shut up and hide behind her desk.


Nate said half the kids in his class burst into tears. As the shooters got closer, they were ushered into a closet.

Nate was scared. He put his hand a metal baseball bat in the closet.

Nate said, "I was going to go down fighting, if I was going to go down."

Nate was scared, but brave. Nate was also lucky.

Watch this interview, America. Look at what we've done to our children.

"I was going to go down fighting, if I was going to go down." - 6th grader Nate Holley survived the Colorado school shooting

"I was hiding in the corner, and they were right outside the door. I had my hands on a metal baseball bat, just in case, because I was going to go down fighting, if I was going to go down."6th grader Nate Holley survived the shooting at his school in Colorado.https://cnn.it/2VWkVJa

Posted by CNN on Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Officially, there is no war on American soil. Unofficially, we are training child soldiers in our schools.

When U.S. schools started doing regular active shooter drills, I felt conflicted. I was teaching at a high school when Columbine happened. At that point, school shootings were shocking and such drills were unheard of. Twenty years later, few of us are shocked by anything, and drills are old hat.

Being prepared seems wise, but schools in other developed nations don't regularly train for gunmen to walk into the building and start shooting children. It feels strange for us to be preparing kids to be shot at in a classroom. It feels wrong.

I've written a lot on this topic, but Nate Holley's interview shook me in a whole new way. Not just because of his innocence while describing a terrifying scenario. Not just because his sweet, freckled face shouldn't have to be telling this familiar story.

What shook me was his determination to "go down fighting." His instinct to grab a weapon and face down an attacker. The matter-of-fact way he talked about how he might "go down."

The newest approach to active shooter preparation in schools is telling staff, teachers, and schoolchildren to fight back, if the situation allows for it, with objects—staplers, paper weights, baseball bats.

In classrooms and cafeterias.

Against people with guns.

That only sounds wise and reasonable if we accept the premise that schools are potential war zones, and accept that our children will be soldiers in the fight. We are resigned to training children to fight an unofficial war.

America. Look at us. Look at what we are allowing to happen.

No child should have to play the hero against a shooter in their classroom because adults refuse to act.

When you live in this bizarre reality, it starts to feel normal. Even for those who despise it and are terrified by it, there's a normalcy to the regularity of school shootings. It's no longer if, but when, the next one will occur. When we train kids for it regularly, we've obviously accepted it as a natural possibility, like an earthquake or a tornado or a fire.

But it's not normal. This is not normal.Kids rehearsing school shootings is not normal anywhere in the developed world but here. We don't live in a war-torn nation, yet I'm afraid we are one degree away from training our children to respond to gunfire with gunfire. Is that not the next logical step? What else will we do when it becomes clear that staplers and baseball bats are no match for a semi-automatic arsenal?

Why do we prepare for the inevitability of mass shootings instead of doing everything in our power to prevent them? Naturally, prevention is more complex than simply strengthening gun legislation, but it's a huge piece of the puzzle that so many people want to pretend doesn't exist.

Evidence points to legislation, no matter how many people say that criminals don't follow laws.

We can talk about individual shootings all day long, but policy should be based on data. And the data shows that stronger gun laws correlate to lower gun deaths—not just in other developed countries, but even here in the United States.

Look the CDC's list of gun death rates in each U.S. state, then compare it with the gun laws in each state. Almost without exception, stronger gun laws equal lower gun death rates—and not by a little bit. The states with the highest gun death rates (Alaska, Alabama, Montana, Louisiana, Missouri—all lax gun laws) have more than five times the gun death rates of the states with the lowest (Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Connecticut—all strict gun laws). Follow the links above. Compare for yourself.

We need to stop pretending that our position as an outlier among our peer nations has nothing to do with our guns and gun laws. We need to stop acting like this is a partisan issue. We need to start putting our kids first, as any civilized nation would do.

We need to stop treating our children like would-be soldiers and give them the real childhood they deserve.

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10 anti-holiday recipes that prove the season can be tasty and healthy

Balance out heavy holiday eating with some lighter—but still delicious—fare.

Albertson's

Lighten your calorie load with some delicious, nutritious food between big holiday meals.

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The holiday season has arrived with its cozy vibe, joyous celebrations and inevitable indulgences. From Thanksgiving feasts to Christmas cookie exchanges to Aunt Eva’s irresistible jelly donuts—not to mention leftover Halloween candy still lingering—fall and winter can feel like a non-stop gorge fest.

Total resistance is fairly futile—let’s be real—so it’s helpful to arm yourself with ways to mitigate the effects of eating-all-the-things around the holidays. Serving smaller amounts of rich, celebratory foods and focusing on slowly savoring the taste is one way. Another is to counteract those holiday calorie-bomb meals with some lighter fare in between.

Contrary to popular belief, eating “light” doesn’t have to be tasteless, boring or unsatisfying. And contrary to common practice, meals don’t have to fill an entire plate—especially when we’re trying to balance out heavy holiday eating.

It is possible to enjoy the bounties of the season while maintaining a healthy balance. Whether you prefer to eat low-carb or plant-based or gluten-free or everything under the sun, we’ve got you covered with these 10 easy, low-calorie meals from across the dietary spectrum.

Each of these recipes has less than 600 calories (most a lot less) per serving and can be made in less than 30 minutes. And Albertsons has made it easy to find O Organics® ingredients you can put right in your shopping cart to make prepping these meals even simpler.

Enjoy!

eggs and green veggies in a skillet, plate of baconNot quite green eggs and ham, but closeAlbertsons

Breakfast Skillet of Greens, Eggs & Ham

273 calories | 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 (5 oz) pkg baby spinach

2 eggs

1 clove garlic

4 slices prosciutto

1/2 medium yellow onion

1 medium zucchini squash

1/8 cup butter, unsalted

1 pinch crushed red pepper

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

bow of cauliflower ham saladGet your cauliflower power on.Albertsons

Creamy Cauliflower Salad with Ham, Celery & Dill

345 calories | 20 minutes

1/2 medium head cauliflower

1 stick celery

1/4 small bunch fresh dill

8 oz. ham steak, boneless

1/2 shallot

1/4 tspblack pepper

1/4 tsp curry powder

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp garlic powder

3 Tbsp mayonnaise

1/8 tsp paprika

2 tsp red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

tofu on skewers on a plate with coleslawPlant-based food fan? This combo looks yums. Albertsons

Grilled Chili Tofu Skewers with Ranch Cabbage, Apple & Cucumber Slaw

568 calories | 20 minutes

1 avocado

1/2 English cucumber

1 (12 oz.) package extra firm tofu

1 Granny Smith apple

3 Tbsp (45 ml) Ranch dressing

1/2 (14 oz bag) shredded cabbage (coleslaw mix)

2 tsp chili powder

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

frittata in a cast iron skilletSometimes you just gotta frittata.Albertsons

Bell Pepper, Olive & Sun-Dried Tomato Frittata with Parmesan

513 calories | 25 minutes

6 eggs

1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted

2 oz Parmesan cheese

1 red bell pepper

1/2 medium red onion

8 sundried tomatoes, oil-packed

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp salt

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

plate with slices of grilled chicken and a caprese saladCaprese, if you please.Albertsons

Balsamic Grilled Chicken with Classic Caprese Salad

509 calories | 25 minutes

3/4 lb chicken breasts, boneless skinless

1/2 small pkg fresh basil

1/2 (8 oz pkg) fresh mozzarella cheese

1 clove garlic

3 tomatoes

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

4 3/4 pinches black pepper

1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

3/4 tsp salt

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

four stuffed mushrooms on a plateThese mushrooms look positively poppable.Albertsons

Warm Goat Cheese, Parmesan & Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Mushrooms

187 calories | 35 minutes

1/2 lb cremini mushrooms

1 clove garlic

1/2 (4 oz) log goat cheese

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

2 sundried tomatoes, oil-packed

1 1/4 pinches crushed red pepper

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp Italian seasoning

2 pinches salt

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

plate with open English muffin with goat cheese and sliced baby tomatoes on topMove over, avocado toast. English muffin pizzas have arrived.Albertsons

English Muffin Pizzas with Basil Pesto, Goat Cheese & Tomatoes

327 calories | 10 minutes

3 Tbsp (45 ml) basil pesto

2 English muffins

1/2 (4 oz) log goat cheese

1/2 pint grape tomatoes

3/4 pinch black pepper

2 pinches salt

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

pita pocket on a plate filled with veggies, meat and cheeseThis pita pocket packs a colorful punch.Albertsons

Warm Pita Pocket with Turkey, Cheddar, Roasted Red Peppers & Parsley

313 calories | 20 minutes

1/4 (8 oz) block cheddar cheese

1/2 bunch Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

4 oz oven roasted turkey breast, sliced

1/2 (12 oz) jar roasted red bell peppers

1 whole grain pita

3/4 pinch black pepper

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp mayonnaise

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

plate with toast smeared with avocado and topped with prosciuttoDid we say, "Move over, avocado toast?" What we meant was "Throw some prosciutto on it!" Albertsons

Avocado Toast with Crispy Prosciutto

283 calories | 10 minutes

1 avocado

2 slices prosciutto

2 slices whole grain bread

1 5/8 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp onion powder

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

bowl of chili with cheese and green onions on topVegetarian chili with a fall twistAlbertsons

Black Bean & Pumpkin Chili with Cheddar

444 calories | 30 minutes

2 (15 oz can) black beans

1/2 (8 oz ) block cheddar cheese

2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes

2 cloves garlic

2 green bell peppers

1 small bunch green onions (scallions)

1 (15 oz) can pure pumpkin purée

1 medium yellow onion

1/2 tsp black pepper

5 7/8 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp cumin, ground

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp virgin coconut oil

Find full instructions and shopping list here.

For more delicious and nutritious recipes, visit albertsons.com/recipes.

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