if these limits may, at any time, be passed by those intended to be restrained?"
-- Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison, 1803
What a Bunch of Jack Offs
by Lee
You’re going to be shocked, shocked to read this, but simply telling teenagers “don’t fuck” isn’t a successful means of combating teen sexual issues like pregnancy and STDs, and often teaches kids the polar opposite of what the facts actually are.
Many American youngsters participating in federally funded abstinence-only programs have been taught over the past three years that abortion can lead to sterility and suicide, that half the gay male teenagers in the United States have tested positive for the AIDS virus, and that touching a person’s genitals “can result in pregnancy,” a congressional staff analysis has found.
Those and other assertions are examples of the “false, misleading, or distorted information” in the programs’ teaching materials, said the analysis, released yesterday, which reviewed the curricula of more than a dozen projects aimed at preventing teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease.
In providing nearly $170 million next year to fund groups that teach abstinence only, the Bush administration, with backing from the Republican Congress, is investing heavily in a just-say-no strategy for teenagers and sex. But youngsters taking the courses frequently receive medically inaccurate or misleading information, often in direct contradiction to the findings of government scientists, said the report, by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), a critic of the administration who has long argued for comprehensive sex education.
I’ve said this before in different forms and I’ll say it again here. As a sign of just how completely warped the Bush administration is, they’re forcing me to side with lunatics like Waxman. I despise everything this man stands for, but he makes a hell of a lot more sense than the Onward Christian Soldiers crowd currently dictating the Bush administration’s (ahem) “science” agenda. Here’s some examples of what kids are being taught.
• A 43-day-old fetus is a “thinking person.”
• HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, can be spread via sweat and tears.
• Condoms fail to prevent HIV transmission as often as 31 percent of the time in heterosexual intercourse.
One curriculum, called “Me, My World, My Future,” teaches that women who have an abortion “are more prone to suicide” and that as many as 10 percent of them become sterile. This contradicts the 2001 edition of a standard obstetrics textbook that says fertility is not affected by elective abortion, the Waxman report said.
They might as well say that jerking off will make you grow hair on your palms and go blind. But, all is not lost. Thankfully, though they are adrift in this sea of fundamentalist ignorance and stupidity, kids are still getting the message.
Between 1995 and 2002, U.S. teen pregnancy rates declined by almost one-quarter (24%). The new study examines the data to determine the relative contributions of abstinence and contraceptive use to this decline. According to the analysis, most of the decline (86%) was due to more sexually active teens using contraceptives, using more effective methods (e.g., condoms and birth control pills) and using multiple methods (e.g., the pill together with condoms) in 2002 than in 1995. When broken down by age, delays in sexual activity played a greater role for younger teens aged 15--17 (23% of the decline). Among 18--19-year-olds, the decline in the risk of teen pregnancy was entirely attributable to improved contraceptive use.
“The United States seems to be following the recent patterns in other developed countries where increased availability and use of modern contraceptives and condoms have led to remarkable declines in teen pregnancy,” said Dr. Santelli. “If most of the progress in reducing teen pregnancy rates is due to improved contraceptive use, national policy needs to catch up with those realities.”
See, the problem is that “facts” and “reality” and “science” are all concepts that the Bush administration has no interest in evaluating. Their primary concerns are “dogma” and “ideology” and “fundamentalism.”
Truth be damned.
Comments
Replacing scare tactics with facts makes the little baby Jesus cry.
I heard the report on the radio the other day, it continued with the response of the Bush Administration spokesperson quoted as saying that the study just shows the need to reinforce the message even more strongly, and proved the need for a larger budget for the programs… talk about going down the rabbit hole, I mean, proving the ineffectiveness of the program proves the need for it’s continuance… I love the logic!
This is what we get when we put Evangitards in charge. Religious retards have no place in any scientific endeavors. Hopefully, this will be the last time we make that mistake.
the Bush Administration spokesperson quoted as saying that the study just shows the need to reinforce the message even more strongly, and proved the need for a larger budget for the programs…
They don’t believe in evolution but here we can see de-evolution happening right before our very eyes!
Yeah, like all the “catholic virgins” I dated as a teenager that sucked cock and took it up the ass - the only women I have ever known that brought along their own lube were “virgins”.
News flash for the world - teenagers fuck like bunny rabbits, just like they always have and always will. Telling them they have to “save” their bodies for marriage (most likely a decade or more off) is just stupid. Up until quite recently girls were married off within a year of reaching sexual maturity (back when it happened at 15 and girls got married at 16). Now that happens when they are 12 or younger, but aren’t expected to marry until their late 20’s or later. Do we really expect people to not fuck for 15 to 20 years?
You know, there is nothing wrong with telling kids that abstinence is the best policy.....and it is.
however we live in a society that is hyper sexualized and a abstinence only approach is just ignorant.
How is abstinence the “best” policy?
I see it as contrary to human nature, and therefore unrealistic. Since it sets people up to fail, it does harm when preached at people who will end up involving a lot of their self image in it.
Have you ever met people that lost their virginity late in life relative to most people? They have issues, and usually a lot of them.
It also keeps people ignorant of information they need to know since it so frequently comes pre-packaged with christian indoctrination.
Seriously, I fail to see how my not banging dozens of women between the times I was in committed relationships would have been a good thing. I kept myself free of diseases & children while enjoying myself greatly. Didn’t hear any complaints from the women I was fucking, either.
Wow, Seattle, you’re just a “fucking machine”, aren’t you.
Have you ever met people that lost their virginity late in life relative to most people? They have issues, and usually a lot of them.
Just curious - what is “late in life” to you? 17?
Just what are those issues they have? Do tell.
You know, there is nothing wrong with telling kids that abstinence is the best policy.....and it is.
I’m not sure I agree. Obviously, below a certain age, sex is simply out of the question. However, in the later teens, it becomes a very real possibility. That’s just the reality of the world. What effect does stating abstinence as the best policy have?
Beyond 18, are we still saying abstinence is the best policy? Now we’re moving into “saving it for marriage” territory which I think is total BS.
I think we have a enough evidence to support arming teens with the facts. I’m just not prepared to say that abstinence is the “best policy”. Call it what it is. You can’t get and STD or get pregnant if you abstain. That’s a fact.
How is abstinence the “best” policy?
It is proven 100% effective in preventing unwanted pregnancies as well as vastly reducing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
I see it as contrary to human nature, and therefore unrealistic.
I don’t think even the strictest abstinence only policy says never have sex. Rather, they say wait - not forever, but rather until you are in a long term committed relationaship where you know about and care about the health of your partner (i.e. marriage).
Have you ever met people that lost their virginity late in life relative to most people?
You mean like my wife and I. Yeah, we don’t have the issues that many who lost their virginity early in life seem to have, but then that is anecdotal evidence, I guess - same as yours though.
It also keeps people ignorant of information they need to know since it so frequently comes pre-packaged with christian indoctrination.
Here, I agree with you. And to make it clear - I am not in favor of “abstinence only” programs. I feel that abstinence should be taught as the best, most effective method of preventing pregnancy and the spread of STDs, but certainly not the only method. Other methods, such as condom use, should also be taught, but the risks associated with every method should also be fully disclosed.
Seriously, I fail to see how my not banging dozens of women between the times I was in committed relationships would have been a good thing. I kept myself free of diseases & children while enjoying myself greatly. Didn’t hear any complaints from the women I was fucking, either.
You took a risk with your own health (as well as with the health of the women you had sex with). The fact that your risk taking did not result in any unwanted pregnancies or in your catching an STD does not mean that risk was not there. You may have reduced the risks of promiscuous sex, but you did not eliminate it. That is like playing roulette and covering numbers 1-35 with your bets. The odds are very good that you won’t lose any money, but once in a rare while the little white ball will roll into that 36th spot and then you lose. You took a small risk and you didn’t get burned, but you cannot extrapolate that to every single sexual encounter that anyone will have.
I’ll go on record as saying saving yourself for marriage is a bad idea.
I’ll go on record as saying saving yourself for marriage is a bad idea.
Care to share your reasoning with us?
I’ll go on record as saying saving yourself for marriage is a bad idea.
Care to share your reasoning with us?
Please do.
Lee, the links you provided only go to the article discussing the reduction in the teen pregnancy rate and the factors that went into that reduction. Did you have links to the other material you quoted above?
Ya, I think having sex as a part of a few monogamous relationships prior to marriage is beneficial.
Clearly this is not an absolute as there are a lot of people who met their spouse fairly young and have had a great marriage having only had one sex partnet their whole lives.
However, there’s a matter of compatibility (physical, emotional, etc...) that you can confirm before you get married. Also, the other sexual relationships give you an opportunity discover do’s and dont’s of a sexual relationship or just relationships in general. Then there’s the purely physical component.
Anyway, there’s obviously more than one way it can work. I just think that with a modicum of responsibility, people can improve the character necessary for sustaining a good marriage if they play the field a little. I think it helped me a bit.
However, there’s a matter of compatibility (physical, emotional, etc...) that you can confirm before you get married.
Story - I was very prudish (surprise, surprise), when I was young. I was upset when I found out that my best friend/college roommate was sleeping with her boyfriend. They both told me it was necessary, to be sure they were “compatible”.
Long story short - their marriage lasted one year. Mine is still strong 33 years later.
Also, the other sexual relationships give you an opportunity discover do’s and dont’s of a sexual relationship or just relationships in general.
Those can be worked out in a marriage as well.
I said it wasn’t an absolute. It’s also just an opinion. I haven’t done any studies or research.
I’m glad you’ve had a successful marriage though. You’re right. Things can be worked through.
I should also say that if you base your compatibility solely off the sex, you’re asking for trouble.
I mean, proving the ineffectiveness of the program proves the need for it’s continuance… I love the logic!
Liberals have been using it for years for everything from Soviet-style schools to welfare.
I am not in favor of “abstinence only” programs. I feel that abstinence should be taught as the best, most effective method of preventing pregnancy and the spread of STDs, but certainly not the only method. Other methods, such as condom use, should also be taught, but the risks associated with every method should also be fully disclosed.
They are. All the programs from, say, Planned Parenthood, teach that absitence is the only method that works 100%. it’s called ABC method. And it teaches a layered defense against disease and unwanted pregnancy. Abstinence, trust and condoms. i.e, don’t have sex; if you do, only have sex with a trusted partner; if you do, use a condom.
It’s very effective. Unlike absitence-only education. You should Penn & teller’s Bullshit! episode on absitence (assuming you’re not offended by nudity and profanity).
I guess no one read my Post bast and it is…
what this post is about teens, and i feel abstinence is teh best policy, even tough it is not realistic to expect them to stick to it…
Banging every piece of meat that comes along is just NOT a good idea…
THIS is what should be teach in school… oh wait.. not THIS should be taught at home… WTF do we let a GOVERNMENT school teach our children this?They are. All the programs from, say, Planned Parenthood, teach that absitence is the only method that works 100%. it’s called ABC method. And it teaches a layered defense against disease and unwanted pregnancy. Abstinence, trust and condoms. i.e, don’t have sex; if you do, only have sex with a trusted partner; if you do, use a condom.
it’s called ABC method.
Wasn’t ABC how Uganda drastically curbed the spread of HIV?
(assuming you’re not offended by nudity and profanity)
On the contrary…
WTF do we let a GOVERNMENT school teach our children this?
Because Lee is a big fan of the nanny state. He can’t stand knowing that Jehovah Witnesses, Bible Students or Amish folk aren’t being force-taught his value system. <grin>
Listen folks, it takes a whole school cycle (12 years… maybe more) to see if there was any progress brought by a solution to a problem. Where is the data in the article from 2003 to the present? Last I read about this topic 2 weeks ago, using up-2-date data, results were inconclusive about the safe-sex or abstinence approach. Why? Because it takes years to see the benfits.
For goodness flying fuck! If we all drive hybrids tomorrow would global warming stop tomorrow? No. Fucking no. For people on this site to champion science, many of you sure don’t like monitoring the experiments currently in progress.
Just curious - what is “late in life” to you? 17?
I’d settle for say, over 25, but I know women in their mid 40’s that haven’t had a cock yet.
Just what are those issues they have? Do tell.
Let’s start off with the most prevalent - inability to establish a meaningful relationship, or hell, any relationship, because of the whole “sex thing”.
“Fucking Machine” - I have been called a “world class pervert” numerous times.....
The fact that your risk taking did not result in any unwanted pregnancies or in your catching an STD does not mean that risk was not there
You also run a risk of slipping in the shower and killing yourself, quite a good one too. I still take showers.
Screening of sex partners coupled with rigorous use of condoms, chemicals, and a vasectomy will greatly minimize the chance of catching an STD or knocking anyone up. Of course, all they want to do now is tell you how “unreliable” condoms are without pointing out just what a boon they are.
A little common sense will save most people from a lot of worry. While my sex life is considered something of a statistical anomaly, it just goes to show that screwing around a lot doesn’t automatically lead to unwanted babies, AIDS, herpes, or the clap. I happen to know a lot of people who managed to get into all sorts of trouble with a lot fewer partners, but they didn’t use any damned sense. Drunken sex in the back of a car with a total stranger and no condoms is just fucking stupid.
WHEN THE WHORE MOANS
You might as well forget all the phony preachments after puberty- it’s just a matter of time. Try to get some education on the subject
before you take the fall.
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There’s also the fact that with the Internet kids can actually get a lot more actual facts. Just one more reason I will be glad when Bush is gone.