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States refusing grants for abstinence education
Only 28 states are still accepting federal funding for "abstinence-only" sexual education. The program is down 40% in just two years.
The abstinence-focused approach has been supported by President George Bush from the beginning of time, as he believes that hiding the facts from kids somehow helps them.
However, scientific research is proving that abstinence-only sex ed simply doesn't work. More kids get pregnant when they don't have adequate information about their own bodies. In fact, the states with the highest rates of teen pregnancy, like Texas, generally support or use some form of abstinence-only education.
More and more people, and states, are realizing that we need to give our kids all the information about sex and their bodies in order to help them make healthy decisions and prevent unplanned pregnancies.
Comprehensive sexual education is becoming increasingly popular and it is being funded by states entirely.
This will be an important issue in the 2008 election, and it has already surfaced. Obama has said that he supports comprehensive sexual education that is age-appropriate beginning in early elementary school and John McCain supports abstinence-only policies.
Here in Texas, it is very unfortunate that we accept the most federal funding for abstinence-only sexual education. This is due in part because our State Board of Education is extremely conservative and asserts its religious views into public policy and because we have representatives like Ron Paul, who support abstinence-only and oppose comprehensive sexual education.
I think this is a good shift, even as a Texan (OMG, he's liberal? can cowboys do that? I wonder what his horse thinks about this....), because I think our kids deserve to know the fats about sex, but what do you think? Only 28 states are still accepting federal funding for "abstinence-only" sexual education. The program is down 40% in just two years.... more -
McCain against Roe v. Wade & Comprehensive Sex-ed
John McCain has a 0% rating from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund because he has consistently voted against women's reproductive rights.
Once again it becomes clear that John McCain's policies are identical to Bush's.
He is opposed to Roe v. Wade and has said that he would like to see it overturned.
He's against Comprehensive Sexual Education and only supports "abstinence-only" education which has been proven to be ineffective and is often tied to bringing religion, and misinformation about sex into the classroom.
He's against making birth control affordable by means of requiring insurance companies to cover it.
Do Americans know enough about John McCain's extreme positions on this critical issues?
Is McCain any different from Bush on reproductive health or a disrespect for the Constitution and the right to privacy?
Take the Bush-McCain challenge and quiz by watching this video and decide for yourself if McCain is really the "maverick" he's cracked up to be.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7Z4dxjRv4g
What do you think?
John McCain has a 0% rating from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund because he has consistently voted against women's reproductive rig... more -
Wasted? Not Me
They dont drink, dont smoke and dont take drugs. Most are under 25. And, strangely, this is not a load of geeks, these are hardcore music fans.
It started with a bunch of punk style bands. Minor Threat wrote this song and a name was given to what would become a movement.
"I'm a person just like you
But I've got better things to do
Than sit around and fuck my head
Hang out with the living dead
Snort white shit up my nose
Pass out at the shows
I've got the straight edge"
They didn't know what they were doing. They just knew they didn't like what was going on around them - and the kids followed in droves.
We meet 3 straight edgers in the UK to find out what its all about and why - at a time when binge drinking and drug use is at an all time high theyve got the straight edge. They dont drink, dont smoke and dont take drugs. Most are under 25. And, strangely, this is not a load of geeks, these are hardcore... more -
Keeping Your Virginity In High School !!!
March 2008
The following email is from an Education Director for an abstinence centered sex-education program taught in a U.S High School
"I am currently in a particularly disordely High School. However, for me it is a breath of fresh air as I feel most comfortable with these students. I do three 10th grade Health classes for 3 days each. I am allowed just 3 ninety minute classes to turn their lives around.
On day one after a brief overview of STDs, one "thug" complained loudly with expletives "what am I going to do if I can't get any (sex) !!!"
At the finish of the third day, he came to me, shook my hand and looked straight at me with a smiling, bright clear face saying. "I thank you so much. You have completely change my head on all this. I am going to be more focused on my goals now."
I smiled, looking into his eyes, saying " You WILL be successful. (I knew at this moment he believed it himself). He was so serious and said he understood, It was as if now, he had received permission to become successful.
Then a young "couple" came up to me. The young man is a virgin who was so ecstatic from the first day. "I KNEW IT" because he knew abstinence was best but was being ridiculed for being a virgin.
He recently began a relationship with a little latina with many piercings. She came up to me with him and sincerely asked. "How do I become a second virgin ?"
INCREDIBLE !!!! Usually young people think."Oh, I have been saving my virginity and now I will give it up to this person." The opposite happened!
She knew that if she wanted such a fine young man, she had to rise to his standard!
March 2008 ... more -
Dancing for abstinence
Purity Balls? First came dinner, then the covenant, then dancing.
Purity Balls are attended by fathers and their daughters to show the father's support for their daughters to remain abstinent until marriage. Unlike other Purity Balls, at this one the fathers take an oath not the daughters. The fathers promise “before God to cover my daughter as her authority and protection in the area of purity.” The fathers also sign a purity pledge.
Studies suggest that a close relationship between a father and daughter can reduce risk of sexual activity at a young age, and prevent teen pregnancy.
More at the source...
Purity Balls? First came dinner, then the covenant, then dancing. ... more -
Daughters Pledge Celibacy To Dad At Annual Purity Balls
During the past several years the abstinence movement has become popular with young Americans. Among some teens and young adults , however, maintaining chastity has taken on a whole new meaning. Increasingly more young women are pledging their virginity to their fathers at wedding-like "purity" balls , where presents are exchanged and contracts are signed. This begs the question; when does a father's interest in his daughter's sex-life go from caring to creepy? During the past several years the abstinence movement has become popular with young Americans. Among some teens and young adults , h... more
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Has US abstinence policy failed? uhhh, yeah, what do you think?
US lawmakers are investigating whether to cut government funding for health education programmes that promote sexual abstinence until marriage.
What kind of out dated idea is it to promote and fund a program that young people didn't even believe in the early 1950's?
The goverment funds this stuff??
One in Four teenage girls has an STD, it's about time somebody restructured that whole department..... US lawmakers are investigating whether to cut government funding for health education programmes that promote sexual abstinence until ... more -
Sex Ed. Reduces Teen Pregnancy
Teens who have the MOST information about sex will make the BEST decisions. A study of 1,700 teenagers found that students who had the most sex education classes are less likely to be impregnated or to impregnate someone than students who had no sex education classes or abstinence classes. Teens who have the MOST information about sex will make the BEST decisions. A study of 1,700 teenagers found that students who had th... more
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Ivy League push for abstinence
There's been a recent push on Ivy League campuses for abstinence until marriage. This agenda is being pushed under the cloak of feminism. The idea that a man can only intellectually respect a woman when she withholds sex is not only anti-feminist, but anti-male. There's been a recent push on Ivy League campuses for abstinence until marriage. This agenda is being pushed under the cloak of femini... more
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George Michael cross-examined about sex, promiscuity and abstinence
The Daily Mantra would like to applaud pop star George Michael for his appearance on Eli Stone, (which stars Johnny Lee Miller as a lawyer with a higher calling in the title role). In the past, the publicity shy singer/songwriter has even refused to promote his own records, so when he stepped into the limelight for a cameo appearance on last week's installment of the hit ABC spiritually-charged legal drama, we knew it was for reasons beyond mere music and ticket sales, for Michael is a man who knows how to use his fame wisely.
In the episode in question, Stone represents a girl who was expelled from school for protesting about its abstinence-only sex education program by playing Michael's 1987 hit "I Want Your Sex" over the speaker system during assembly. In the show, Michael comes to her rescue, and funds her legal challenge to the expulsion; In reality, the singer used the high-profile TV appearance to challenge America's hypocritical, and highly misleading, policy of abstinence only 'sex education.'
"An abstinence only 'sex education' program is an oxymoron," said Michael from the witness box. "Abstinence can only be a choice if you have all the facts." One fact that's glaringly absent from such programs is that condom use is an effective option to protect against both pregnancy and disease. The silence is deafening, not just in our schools, but in the third world, where the poorest people on our planet have paid dearly, many with their lives, thanks to the deadly combination of AIDs and our no-sex dogma, which comes hands-in-hand with all U.S. government-funded sexual health programs.
The AIDS issue is very close to Michael's heart. Michael's lover, Anselmo Feleppa, died of an AIDS-related cerebral hemorrhage in March 1993. "I Want Your Sex" was released in 1987, when Michael was still firmly in the closet (the singer came out to his parents shortly after Feleppa's death, and to the public in 1998). To dispel misconceptions about the anti-promiscuity but pro-sex song, which was banned by many radio stations due to its explicit lyrics, Michael recorded a prologue for the video in which he stated "this song is not about casual sex." During one of the scenes in the steamy video, which featured celebrity make-up artist Kathy Jeung, Michael is seen writing "explore monogamy" on her body in lipstick.
"It was inspired by a relationship. Like most of my work it was autobiographical," said Michael in response to a question posed by Stone's boss and trial colleague Jordan Wethersby (played by Victor Gaber) during cross-examination about the origins of the song. When asked if the song encouraged promiscuity, Michael responded by saying, "It's just the opposite. Ironically I wrote the song about abstinence and I was very much in love with someone at the time."
"When I wrote it we were in year six of the AIDS crises, a crisis that Ronald Reagan did not even address publicly until there were over 21,000 people dead, and what the government is doing right now, funding federal programs that tell children that condoms don't work, is killing people all over again."
To quote Mr. Wethersby, "Thank you, Mr. Michael." We rest our case. How many more of us will be caught 'praying for time' with HIV-infected loved ones before the state gets the church-infected dogma out our publicly-funded education programs and lets pragmatism take its course.
http://www.dailymantra.com
The Daily Mantra would like to applaud pop star George Michael for his appearance on Eli Stone, (which stars Johnny Lee Miller as a la... more -
Church pushes sex challenge
Ybor City, FL - - Head pastor, Rev. Paul Wirth, of Relevant Church poses a month long sex challenge to married members of the congregation - - 30 straight days of sex, or no sex at all. Wirth 'delivered the challenge to the married couples, citing the statistics: About half of all marriages end in divorce.'
I think it's wrong to assume that frequent sex = fixing your marriage. ...Should the church meddle in what goes on in the bedroom? Ybor City, FL - - Head pastor, Rev. Paul Wirth, of Relevant Church poses a month long sex challenge to married members of the congrega... more -
THE SITES ARE BACK!
Dear current,
As I have gotten no response to my last letter, I am now writing you a followup letter. This one is going to be as good as the last one, jus wait and see, but it's probably going to have a lot of spelling errors. Actually it won't because my sites are down so I'm writing this on word instead of in an email. You guys need to check out the Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job because it is hilarious. You should definitely show clips of that show instead of the stupid Rambo series. I know that Rambo has a political message behind it but that shit just isn't funny or clever or even original. Honestly I really think it's the worst pod you guys show regularly. The nocturnal transmission idea was interesting, but it really didn't hold my attention. I did like that it was actually night time though. My roommates and I don't believe that the stratus sphere or whatever is a real place, we're pretty sure it's just a couple rooms and a backdrop. But who knows whats real and what isn't. Drugs fuck your mind up. Speaking of, the pod about medicinal marijuana was pretty amazing but it made me feel pretty anxious about the fact that we only smoke shitty weed. Not shitty but certainly not medicinal. I've been paying a lot of attention lately to the way you guys organize the pods you show and I think I've got it figured out. Random and Riveting is a pretty good segment, and You Found Us just seems so warm and comforting. We wonder how you guys want the viewers to watch current. I mean obviously you want a lot of viewers all of the time, but I don't think most people watch current the way we do. When we first found this channel, we didn't change the channel for at least a month. But you guys have added the new at 11 or whatever so I guess you are expecting regular viewers. Its 4:13 in the morning right now, which means that I am 7 minutes away from when I finished my letter last time. Shit is pretty weird right now. Things are always weird when I write to you guys. You know, I don't really like the pod about avoiding credit card debt, but I think it's a good thing that you guys show it. Most people are stupid and will get like a million dollars in credit card debt. I do like that you guys don't shove abstinence shit down our throats though. There is a commercial that is funded by or promoting like, Coalition for Amazing Robot-like Families or some shit, and its all like abstinence is the way to go, and it makes me want to go out and have unprotected sex with strangers. In fact, that commercial makes me so angry that it almost prompted me to do just that, but I didn't. I left before it got that far. don't ever show that commercial ever, please.Alright so this letter really has no actual feedback for you guys, so I'm sorry for that, but you guys didn't answer my last letter, and I told you guys I would keep writing if you didn't answer. So please answer this time. It's nice to know that there is a real world out there.
from the bottom of my heart,
Meghan Reints
PS. We still love joe and you still shouldn't censor him.
WE DEMAND JOE MARATHON OR AT LEAST HALF HOUR.
Dear current, ... more -
New Flesh Eating Bacteria Attacking Gay Men
A new drug resistant form of MRSA bacteria is showing up in alarming numbers in gay men in San Fransisco and Boston. Anal intercourse and other skin to skin contact will transfer the disease. It is just a matter of time before this is a national epidemic effecting the entire population. In other words THIS IS NOT A GAY DISEASE. Like most outbreaks, the gay population usually experiences them first. Symptoms are, "causing abscesses and infection in the buttocks and genital area." 19,000 people died from MRSA in 2005 according to the CDC. The best prevention is a thorough scrubbing following skin to skin contact with other people.
For a more graphic images of MRSA symptoms, follow this link: http://www.ronjones.org/Weblinks/MRSA-Photos.html A new drug resistant form of MRSA bacteria is showing up in alarming numbers in gay men in San Fransisco and Boston. Anal intercourse... more -
Average Age Of Virginity Loss By Country
This list supposedly breaks down which countries have the highest and lowest average age of virginty loss. There's a few surprises on here... What do you think influence these local trends and what does a low average age say about a western country such as Iceland or Sweden? This list supposedly breaks down which countries have the highest and lowest average age of virginty loss. There's a few surprises on ... more
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Abstinence-only sex education is working, NOT!
WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 ? The birth rate among teenagers 15 to 19 in the United States rose 3 percent in 2006, according to a report issued Wednesday, the first such increase since 1991. The finding surprised scholars and fueled a debate about whether the Bush administration?s abstinence-only sexual education efforts are working.
The federal government spends $176 million annually on such programs. But a landmark study recently failed to demonstrate that they have any effect on delaying sexual activity among teenagers, and some studies suggest that they may actually increase pregnancy rates.
http://hs.riverdale.k12.or.us/~hfinnert/exhib_06/caroli...
WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 ? The birth rate among teenagers 15 to 19 in the United States rose 3 percent in 2006, according to a report issued... more -
Teen births on the rise
It jumped 3% from 2005 - 2006. Those abstinence-only programs are really working!
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Losing Virginity Later Linked to Sexual Problems
Those who have sex later, particularly men, seem to experience more sexual dysfunction
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Most '08 Candidates Support Abstinence Education
It's mostly the Ridiculous Right, but a few Dems are lining up to cock-block the whole nation.
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The Nasty Nasty
What should they teach in sex ed class - abstinence, contraception or both? Joe gets to the bottom of things in his own educational video and snags a guest appearance by Bino White. What should they teach in sex ed class - abstinence, contraception or both? Joe gets to the bottom of things in his own educational vi... more
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Cancer Vaccine Will put your girls at risk!
I had to post this because I find it infuriating and hilarious at the same time. I don't understand the logic - don't get a vaccine that may help prevent the epidemic of HPV from spreading to your daughter because - gasp! - she shouldn't be having sex before marriage? Hey, Ultra Teen Choice people? 1952 called, they want their sexual values back.
This is the "Ultra Teen Choice" mission statement:
"ULTRA Teen Choice is a youth empowerment program that guides youth toward the formation of two parent families and positive character development by emphasizing the benefits of abstinence from drugs, alcohol, and sex before marriage. We serve schools, community based and faith based organizations."
So, I guess drugs and booze are okay once you're married?
Never mind the fact that most girls are having sex in their teens now, let's just focus instead on the wondrous properties of abstinence, and to hell with those other sluts.
Whack, on every level. I had to post this because I find it infuriating and hilarious at the same time. I don't understand the logic - don't get a vaccine th... more
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Abstinence
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Abstinence
