I'm a liberal pagan living in West, Texas. Yes. That West, Texas.

Monday, September 08, 2008

ABSTINENCE-ONLY PROGRAMS IN TEXAS

pant, puff, puff...'crash, bang, clunk'....Those are the sounds being made when I hauled my soap box out of the shed..Yes, folks, it's time for one of Yellowdog's rants...Long over do if you ask me..I thought I'd be able to just bide my time while Forest Gump wandered through the halls of the White House, silently taking slugs from his bottle of Jack, and passing out blind drunk in front of the Presidential portrait of his 'pappy'.
But noooo, them fucking republicans had to go and push all my buttons, and if I don't say SOMETHING I will blow up like a bloated armadillo on the side of Jerry Mashek Drive.
To see 'IhaveavaginaandI'mrunningforthevpjob,what does a vp do anyhow? bitch with her 'abstinence-only' policy makes my ass hurt.
The once great state of Texas spent $17 million last year on its just-say-no approach. What do we get for our money? Federal studies show that 52.9 percent of Texas high school students have had sex, compared with 47.8 percent nationally.
Texas spends more money on abstinence-only sex education than any other state- and has more teen sex than any other state. It's not just Texas...the United States has the highest teen pregnancy rates in the developed world. Two times as much as England, Wales and Canada. Eight times as high as the Netherlands and Japan. In 1996, the U.S. Congress established a federal program to exclusively fund programs teaching abstinence-only sex education.
The law established a stringent eight-point definition of "Abstinence-only education" that required programs to teach that sexual activity outside of marriage is wrong and harmful-for people of any age. There are no federal funded programs to fund comprehensive sex education programs.
Since 1996, more than $1.5 billion in federal and state matching funds have been spent on abstinence-only programs. President Bush has even requested a $28 million increase for abstinence-only programs. States accepting federal funds for abstinence-only programs are required to match these funds. Seventeen states have rejected federal abstinence-only money. (if it ain't working...find something that will work, like passing out condoms.)
Texas leads the nation with the highest teen birth rate and repeat teen birth rate and has the 5th highest teen pregnancy rate. (don't want to sound like a racist, but a lot of these are illegal aliens, and have the data to prove that too..just can't find it.)
Texas law does not require schools to provide sexuality education. If a sexuality education course is taught, it must stress abstinence as the preferred behavior for unmarried persons and teach that condoms and contraceptives are ineffective at disease and pregnancy prevention if instruction on contraceptives are included in the curriculum.
However, abstinence-only sex education classes are not required to present the health benefits of contraceptive and condom use. If a course providing STI education is taught, it must teach abstinence but is not required to provide STI prevention information, such as the use of condoms.
In November 2003, the Texas State Board of Education adopted sex education textbooks that do not discuss contraceptives or condoms, except for their ineffectiveness, and only discuss remaining abstinent until marriage. The books do nothing to help sexually active teens comprehend and deal with the emotions of adolescent sexual activity. These textbooks will be used in Texas schools for the next 10 years.
"Just Say No" Just Doesn't Work
Every year, almost 750,000 girls ages 15-19 become pregnant,11 and young people account for nearly half of the 18.9 million new STI cases each year. A report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in March 2008 revealed 1 in 4 teen girls 15-19 years old has at least one sexually transmitted infection.
According to a recent Mathematica Policy Research study, abstinence-only programs have no effect in reducing teen sexual activity or number of partners. On the other hand, research shows that medically-accurate, comprehensive sex education helps delay initiation of sex, reduce frequency of sex, and increases contraception and condom use.
The vast majority of Americans and parents - 82% - support comprehensive sex education that teaches about both abstinence and other methods of preventing STIs and pregnancy.
So 'Ihaveavaginaandrunningforvp' how's that abstinence only program working for your family? Or should I ask your pregnant daughter?.

fuckme I'll never dance again.

20 comments:

Doralong said...

That dear lady is a classic example of you have to teach it at home.. because those asshats sure as shit won't be backing us up.. My daughter hit 13 and the first conversation was condoms, the pill and being a safe and careful girl. At 16 -without a boyfriend -it embarrasses the shit out of her- but I still keep talking about it..

May the goddess protect us all from the shit storm that's coming..

Doralong said...

Oh my- that was a whole lot of cussing.. sorry! That whole "abstinence only" head in the sand thing tends to push my buttons too.

Rox said...

Bravo Jackie!!!

texlahoma said...

It really makes me mad when anti-abortion rights people are also against the use of condoms, it's insane!

old enough to moan said...

She is no better than the Pope for bascially promoting unsafe sex!
Condoms should be given out freely wherever people meet, young and old!

'Abstinence' makes the heart grow fonder, or the boner longer...

Why is it that Republicans are quick to fcuk up another country but will not allow people outside of marriage to fcuk one another?

yellowdoggranny said...

doralong:that's exactly how i feel..and the cuss words are welcome here..did you forget where you were?..haha
tex:and what cracks me up is they're all for the death penalty..maybe the mother that gave birth to that unwanted baby, that grew up in an abusive home wouldn't have grown up to be a serial killer and need executing...
oetm:ooh, don't even get me started on the pope and the catholic church...sigh* who knows what makes the republcans tick..they just scare the fuck out of me..

joy said...

Sarah is just plain creepy. I hate to see these "religious" people get any sort of power. They're more into control than spirituality. She considers contraception equivalent to abortion. She is opposed to all abortions -- even in cases of rape, incest and a threat to the woman's life. She tried to get books removed from libraries when she first got elected governor. Sold an airplane on ebay? not true. Opposed the bridge to nowhere? not true. Talk about pushing buttons...she's got all mine pushed too!

Wendy said...

Jackie, I love you.
hahaha.
I made the exact same crack about her own knocked up daughter et al at another forum yesterday.

Can I mention that one of the books on the banned listed is Silent Spring by Rachel Carson which talks about the detriment brought by using DDT?

LostInColor said...

This all just makes my blood boil.

Raspootin said...

I could start ranting but it will raise my blood pressure.
Well maybe just a little rant will do me good, you know not leaving it all bottled up inside…

Fucking Republican Party.

What the fuck were they thinking when they gave the VP nomination to Palin?

Well lets hope it all fucks up in their face and people go out and fucking vote for Obama.

Wow I have not had a case of diarrhea potty mouth like that in ages!

I think my system feels cleansed:)

Heidi said...

It's hopeless, Yellowdog. I think I'm ready to throw the towel in. McCain is overtaking Obama in the polls (although I am very skeptical of those polls, but it does seem like everyone thinks Palin's the cat's meow.) After everything's that happened the past 8 years, those hardest hit still haven't learned a f@cking thing. I have to really bite my tongue from saying too much. The RNC proved that freedom of speech and expression is out the door, especially if these two get in. It's getting to the point where you can really only talk about horse$hit during this election season, out of fear of what might happen to you.

yellowdoggranny said...

sageand joy:saw on tv that more women think she is not a good choice for vp than men..maybe there is hope for us after all.
wendy;old expression..people who live in glass houses, shouldn't throw stones.
lic and raspootin;she sure does push the buttons of democratic women..thank the goddess for that.
billy:you make my day
rudegirl:i am praying like crazy that the people won't be fooled by them 2 assholes..go out and vote

whimsical brainpan said...

I think your label says it all.

Nit Wit said...

Anyone stupid enough to pick her as a running mate has just shown the world how incompetent he really is.
I've been busy working and taking care of the Grandkids. My oldest daughter is now in a neck and neck race with her sister for the nickname Airhead. Though if she keeps saying she's done with the son of a bitch she has lived with for the last 3 years and then stay there anyway she'll earn the name Stupid Bitch from me. The 14 and 12 year old Grandkids are a lot smarter. They refuse to live there and even said so to the Human Services people.
Well you asked where I’ve been… :P

Unknown said...

don't give up hope! get out there and make some phone calls! barackobama.com has all the tools you need to do your part... we can NOT let these crazy fundies in office! we might as well go live in afghanistan!

KrisMrsBBradley said...

The more I hear about Palin, the more I simply detest her. Her and her abstinence programs, her support of aerial shooting of wolves, her attempts at banning library books, her use of her office to fire people she just doesn't like.

Most of all, her shouting from the roofs that she will represent the special needs parent. How? Is she going to ask the people who've been watching her kid since he was born and she went back to work 3 days later?

Gah!

Allan said...

Don't leave out Alaska's great strides in curbing sex crimes- they have a per capita incidence of rape that is twice the national average!

I hope a meteor hits Earth.
A big one.
Soon.

Anonymous said...

We had the condom talk with our son when he hit 13 and also impessed uponm him how strongly antichoice most girls here are.

Gadfly said...

Yeah, that always works.

"Hey, you! Young, curious, eager and horny person -- don't fuck!"

Throughout history -- that has worked so well -- as long as there is some hideous torture and death awaiting those who transgress.

Apart from that, you know, it just doesn't ever fucking work.

Who would have thought?

o_O

TheWayfarer said...

The religionists are not going to like this (grins menacingly), but I have to come down in favor of some sort of sex-ed, leaning heavily on the biological and STD angles to get the point across to the little know-it-alls that there are consequences if you - pardon the pun - "fuck up".
I don't care.
Yes, it is your body, and therefore, YES...you are responsible for what you do with it.
Since I'm a capitol-L Libertarian, I also am pro-choice...ON EVERYTHING. Limiting options is our surest way to self-destruction, along with government being allowed to "pick up the pieces":
It sends the wrong message to folks that you can make a wreck of your own life and those of others, and never have to pay for it yourself because the nanny-schtaat will do it for you.
That goes especially for corporate CEOs...No more handouts from "King George the Nothingth"!