Dep't. of Told You So: California teen births hit a record low

By GottaLaff

Here it comes, a king size portion of told you so:

Births to teen mothers in California reached a record low in 2008, according to new figures released Monday by the state Department of Public Health.

About 35 babies were born that year for every 1,000 teen females, nearly two fewer babies than the 2007 rate.

"This is absolutely phenomenal," said Norman Constantine, a senior scientist at the Oakland-based Public Health Institute and a clinical professor at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. "It's almost unbelievable at a time when the national rate continues to go up." [...]

The numbers also reveal a steep decline in the Latina teen birth rate. While figures for African Americans, whites, Asians and Pacific Islanders gradually declined between 2006 and 2008, the rate among Latina teens fell from 65 in 2006 to 56.9 in 2008.

Why the big fat "I told you so"? you may be asking. Because for years it's been drummed into our heads that the abstinence only policy was the single most effective way to reduce teen pregnancy. That's what conservatives insist is the way, the only way, to accomplish numbers like these.

Right?

Weaver attributed the improvement to state-supported teen-pregnancy prevention efforts, including family planning programs, comprehensive sex education and reproductive health services. [...]

Experts also lauded California for never having accepted federal dollars tied to abstinence-only funding. Weaver referred to California's approach as "abstinence plus."

Told you so.

Study: Focus on abstinence in sex-ed classes can delay sexual activity

By GottaLaff

Before we get all wee-wee'd up, there seems to be a difference or two between this study and the programs brought to us by BushCo:

Sex education classes that focus on encouraging children to remain abstinent can convince a significant proportion to delay sexual activity, researchers reported Monday in a landmark study that could have major implications for the nation's embattled efforts to protect young people against unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

In the first carefully designed study to evaluate the controversial approach to sex ed, researchers found that only about a third of 6th and 7th graders who went through sessions focused on abstinence started having sex in the next two years. In contrast, nearly half of students who got other classes, including those that included information about contraception, became sexually active.[...]

The new study is the first to evaluate an abstinence program using a carefully "controlled" design that compared it directly to alternative strategies -- considered the highest level of scientific evidence. [...]

Even long-time critics of the approach praised the new study, saying it provided strong evidence that such programs can work and may deserve taxpayer support. [...]

Several critics of abstinence-only approach argued that the curriculum tested was not representative of most abstinence programs. It did not take on a moralistic tone as many abstinence programs do. Most notably, the sessions encouraged children to delay sex until they are ready, not necessarily until they were married, did not portray sex outside of marriage as never appropriate or disparage condoms.

"There is no data in this study to support the 'abstain-until marriage' programs, which research proved ineffective during the Bush administration," said James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth.[...]

The new study involved 662 African-American students who were randomly assigned to go through one of five programs: An eight-hour curriculum that encouraged them to delay having sex; an eight-hour program focused on teaching safe sex; an eight- or 12-hour program that did both; or an eight-hour program focused on teaching the youngsters other ways to be healthy, such as eating well and exercising.

Nobody ever said abstinence was a bad thing. Forcing it exclusively, on the other hand...

Abstinence only never made much sense to me. This particular study seems to put it all into context and provides some leeway and common sense.

Plus, this is only one study. As credible as it may be, one study is not exactly definitive. And why were only African American students involved? More research, please.

Palin's latest Facebook entry: Don't ask

By GottaLaff


UPDATE (H/t: Dr. President), looks like Barbie got her wish.

Original story:

Wowzers, boys and girls, look who's back! That's two days in a row!

My stars and garters, Barbie must be exhausted from ordering Fakey McGhostWriter around:

Women’s Rights groups, like NOW, commendably call out advertisers and networks for airing sexist and demeaning portrayals of women that lead to young women’s diminished self-esteem and acceptance of roles as mere sexed-up objects.

Speaking of mere sexed-up objects...

I guess those don't count.

What a ridiculous situation they’re getting themselves into now with their protest of CBS airing a pro-life ad during the upcoming Super Bowl game. The ad will feature Heisman trophy winner Tim Tebow and his mom, and they’ll speak to the sanctity of life and the beautiful potential within every innocent child as Mrs. Tebow acknowledges her choice to give Tim life, despite less than ideal circumstances. Messages like this empower women! This speaks to the strength and commitment and nurturing spirit within women. The message says everything positive and nothing negative about the power of women – and life. Evidently, some women’s rights groups like NOW do not like that message.

Socialist fascist gay commie abortionists are like that.

NOW is looking at the pro-life issue backwards. Women should be reminded that they are strong enough and smart enough to make decisions that allow for career and educational opportunities while still giving their babies a chance at life. In my own home*, my daughter Bristol has also been challenged by pro-abortion “women’s rights” groups who don’t agree with her decision to have her baby, nor do they like the abstinence message which she articulated as her personal commitment.

Well, there was that issue of hypocrisy... Oops, did Barbie McFakeBlogger forget about that?

NOW could gain ground and credibility with everyday Americans, thus allowing their pro-women message to be heard by more than just their ardent supporters, if they made wiser decisions regarding which battles to pick. They should call attention to and embrace the Tebow’s message, instead of covertly and overtly disrespecting what Mrs. Tebow, Bristol, and millions of other women have chosen to do (in less than ideal circumstances).

My message to these groups who are inexplicably offended by a pro-woman, pro-child, pro-life message airing during the Super Bowl: please concentrate on empowering women, help with efforts to prevent unexpected pregnancies, stay consistent with your message that for too long women have been made to feel like sex objects in our “modern” culture and that we can expect better in 2010.

See above photos. Oh, and Fakey McBlogSchmutz? Empowering women includes not allowing men (and women) to make decisions about their own bodies for them.

For someone who's not into government sticking its nose into everyone's bee's wax, you sure do have difficulty processing that.

Empowerment also works better when women have the right to privacy.

Oh, one more thing. Abortion is legal.

But don’t let your double standard glare so vividly as to undo some of the good to which you could contribute.

And CBS: just do the right thing. Don’t cave. Have the backbone to run the ad.

To the Tebows: thank you. America is listening. We appreciate you.

Politicizing is so much a part of Lippy McBarbSchmutz that she even has to extend it to the Super Bowl.

How do you solve a problem like Sarah?

*Before I forget, let me remind you what Levi Johnston said about Barbie McLipSchmutz's fine parenting skills:

The Palin house was much different from what many people expect of a normal family, even before she was nominated for vice president. There wasn’t much parenting in that house. Sarah doesn’t cook, Todd doesn’t cook—the kids would do it all themselves: cook, clean, do the laundry, and get ready for school. Most of the time Bristol would help her youngest sister with her homework, and I’d barbecue chicken or steak on the grill.

Even before Palin became John McCain’s running mate, she seemed worried about what a grandchild would do to her political career. According to Johnston, she had a plan for how to handle her daughter’s unexpected pregnancy.

Sarah told me she had a great idea: we would keep it a secret—nobody would know that Bristol was pregnant. She told me that once Bristol had the baby she and Todd would adopt him. That way, she said, Bristol and I didn’t have to worry about anything. Sarah kept mentioning this plan. She was nagging—she wouldn’t give up. She would say, “So, are you gonna let me adopt him?” We both kept telling her we were definitely not going to let her adopt the baby. I think Sarah wanted to make Bristol look good, and she didn’t want people to know that her 17-year-old daughter was going to have a kid.

After the campaign, Johnston watched Palin turn into a different person. The result back home in Alaska was a woman ready to turn in elected office for money.

I can't wait for the next Ghosty McBlogLips post.

Christian Right, Bush and Abstinence Education to Blame for Rising Teen Pregnancy

By GottaLaff

Boy Georgie's insistence on abstinence-only leads to rising teen pregnancy; preachers of family values cover up C Street Frat infidelities; abstinence preacher Sarah Palin showcases daughter who gives birth to out-of wedlock baby; anti-marriage-equality pitchmen Larry Craig, Mark Foley, et al. are "not gay" ... etc., etc., etc.:

This latest report from the Centers for Disease Control confirms it. All that talk of creationism and abstinence-only education set us back behind our global competitors such as India and China in terms of young Americans' scientific education. It also set us back in terms of fighting unwed teen pregnancy and spread of sexually-transmitted diseases. As the Guardian reports:

Teenage pregnancies and syphilis have risen sharply among a generation of American school girls who were urged to avoid sex before marriage under George Bush's evangelically-driven education policy, according to a new report by the US's major public health body

...According to the CDC, birth rates among teenagers aged 15 or older had been in decline since 1991 but are up sharply in more than half of American states since 2005. The study also revealed that the number of teenage females with syphilis has risen by nearly half after a significant decrease while a two-decade fall in the gonorrhea infection rate is being reversed. The number of Aids cases in adolescent boys has nearly doubled.

While we're at it let's not forget something that is rarely addressed in mainstream media. The Christian Right is playing a part in increasing unwed motherhood. By urging single young women not to use birth control (because they shouldn't have sex until they're married) and not to have abortions if they become pregnant, they play a large but so-far unrecognized role in the dramatic and sad rise in unwed motherhood in the U.S. [...] [P]reaching abstinence until marriage along with stigmatizing abortion is also a factor and should be credited as such.

The preceding public service announcement was brought to you by:

Sarah Palin Lashes Out at Levi Johnston for Sex Talk on "Tyra"

By GottaLaff

Good lord, the Palin family is everywhere these days, aren't they? It's time for yet another episode of Shooty McMouthOff Does It Again:

After taking about sex on The Tyra Banks Show, Johnston – the 18-year-old father of Bristol Palin's baby – was hit with a blistering response from Bristol's mother, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

"Bristol did not even know Levi was going on the show. We're disappointed that Levi and his family, in a quest for fame, attention, and fortune, are engaging in flat-out lies, gross exaggeration, and even distortion of their relationship," says the statement from the Palin family rep.

I'msorrywhat? Who exactly is in a quest for fame, attention, and fortune, engages in flat-out lies, gross exaggeration, and even distortion? Pot. Kettle. Hypocrite. See: 2008 Election, Presidential.

"Bristol's focus will remain on raising Tripp, completing her education, and advocating abstinence," the statement continues.

::Scree-e-e-eching halt:: Huh? Bristol advocates abstinence? We already know she doesn't practice it, but didn't she say the opposite... in a video... the video in which she says...

The 18-year-old, who got pregnant at 17 and had a baby in December, said in a televised interview that the abstinence her mother preaches is 'not realistic at all'.

Um, Shooty? Do you even know your daughter? Ahem: Sarah, this is Bristol. Bristol, Sarah. Sarah, Bristol got pregnant out of wedlock. She has a baby. She thinks abstinence is unrealistic. Now by all means, continue:

"It is unfortunate that Levi finds it more appealing to exploit his previous relationship with Bristol than to contribute to the well being of the child."

"The child"? That's what she calls her grandson Tripp? "The child"?

The statement ends, saying, "Bristol realizes now that she made a mistake in her relationship and is the one taking responsibility for their actions."

Harrumph.

In the show airing April 6, Johnston tells Tyra Banks that he believes Sarah Palin knew he and Bristol, 18, were having sex when they lived under her roof. "I'm pretty sure she probably knew. Moms are pretty smart," Johnston says.

Apparently not Bristol's mom.

US births break record; 40 pct out-of-wedlock

Now I'm not an expert by any means, but two thing stand out about this. First, it doesn't really seem like Mr Bush's Abstinence Only program worked all that well, and secondly, look at the dip during the 90's. That would indicate a reduction in all pregnancies including unwed/teen ones. How 'bout them apples?

ATLANTA – Remember the baby boom? No, not the one after World War II. More babies were born in the United States in 2007 than any other year in the nation's history — and a wedding band made increasingly little difference in the matter. The 4,317,119 births, reported by federal researchers Wednesday, topped a record first set in 1957 at the height of the baby boom.

Behind the number is both good and bad news. While it shows the U.S. population is more than replacing itself, a healthy trend, the teen birth rate was up for a second year in a row.

The birth rate rose slightly for women of all ages, and births to unwed mothers reached an all-time high of about 40 percent, continuing a trend that started years ago. More than three-quarters of these women were 20 or older.

(snip)

Meanwhile, U.S. abortions dropped to their lowest levels in decades, according to other reports. Some have attributed the abortion decline to better use of contraceptives, but other experts have wondered if the rise in births might indicate a failure in proper use of contraceptives. Some earlier studies have shown declining availability of abortions.

Bristol Palin says mother Sarah's views on no sex before marriage are 'unrealistic'

Oh ungrateful spawn. Mummy's going to have to hunt you down from a helicopter now....

Her conservative mother has advocated that schools teach teenagers to abstain from sex before marriage but Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol says that's unrealistic.

The 18-year-old, who got pregnant at 17 and had a baby in December, said in a televised interview that the abstinence her mother preaches is 'not realistic at all'.
And in the interview with Fox News last night, she denied that her mother's anti-abortion views were the reason she went ahead with the pregnancy.

'It was my choice to have the baby. It doesn't matter what my mum's views are on it. It was my decision.'

VIDEO: “Having sex before you are married is just like juggling machetes!”

By GottaLaff


Holy mother of whomever it is people refer to, check this out:

Derek Dye, [is] a “comedic juggler” who uses his skills to teach middle school children abstinence-only policies. Dye tells children lines such as, “Having sex before you are married is just like juggling machetes!” and “Sex before marriage will destroy all of your life’s dreams!” As Amplify Your Voice explains:

Thanks to George W. Bush and a complicit Congress, we currently spend $1.5 billion a year to fund abstinence-only until marriage sex education in our public schools. And yes, that money goes to people like Derek Dye, as he is employed by the Elizabeth New Life Center that received a $800,000 CBAE grant in 2007 to promote abstinence until marriage. His qualifications? A “Bachelor of Fun Arts” from Barnum Bailey Clown College, and an abstinence educator certification that can be purchased for $50.

(via TAPPED)

All my life's dreams, up in smoke. Had I only known! I hadn't realized that my fulfilling and successful careers weren't what I thought they were, and the money I've earned didn't exist.

I wish I'd had my eyes opened by the juggler to what I've always thought was a really good marriage. What a revelation to realize that Mr. Laffy and I have had a miserable life together with our amazing kids in a house located in a swell neighborhood.

Had I only had a clown to advise me about premarital sex being the equivalent of tossing around very sharp objects that could kill or maim me, I would have avoided all those intimate moments of love and affection!

My dreams and aspirations have hereby been retroactively shattered.