Saturday, April 14, 2007
Failure of "Abstinence Only" Policy
Hypocrites, Prayers and Cold Showers * Mr. Wolfowitz in Stormy Waters
Not many will be surprised by conclusion of a national study about sex and teenagers. The "abstinence only" program was another pipe dream of conservative Christian groups embraced by the president who had, in his own words, committed "youthful indiscretions". It does not work. It never did. But don't expect them to stop the claptrap. To them "condom" is a dirty word; they are opposed to comprehensive sex education. Washington Post: "A long-awaited national study has concluded that abstinence-only sex education, a cornerstone of the Bush administration's social agenda, does not keep teenagers from having sex. Neither does it increase or decrease the likelihood that if they do have sex, they will use a condom."
"Comprehensive education means teaching about abstinence and a myriad of other topics," said spokeswoman Martha Kempner. Among them, she said: "contraception, critical thinking, one's own values and the values of your family and your religious community. "Abstinence-only was an experiment and it failed." |
Spit on the Comb, Paul Wolfowitz
A stalwart of the team that gave us the war in Iraq is in a scandal. Paul Wolfowitz, who became president of the World Bank two years ago, is facing calls for resignation because of his role in awarding a huge pay raise for his girlfriend. After reading about it, a friend commented: "Doesn't it kill you that it's always these damn self-righteous right wingers like him and Gingrich, to name just two, who are so quick to attack others for their ethics when their integrity is no better?"
- World Bank President Paul D. Wolfowitz personally dictated the terms under which the bank gave what it called his "domestic partner" substantial pay raises and promotions in exchange for temporarily leaving her job there during his tenure, according to documents released by the bank's executive board yesterday.
