 |
| "You know thinking makes my head hurt. That ever happen to you?" |
Texas lawmakers cut sex ed from two six-month courses to a single unit of "abstinence only" education. But early indications showed that the program wasn't working. In fact, teens in almost all high school grades were having more sex after undergoing the abstinence only program. By 2007, Texas had the highest teen birth rate in the nation.
Nevertheless, the program continued. By 2009, 94 percent of Texas schools, which at the time were educating more than 3.7 million students, were giving no sex ed whatsoever beyond "abstinence only," a curriculum that includes emphasizing that birth control doesn't work.
Instead of providing fact-based information, the programs use fear and Jesus -- over-emphasizing the risks of sexually transmitted diseases leading to cervical cancer, radical hysterectomy and death, together with Christian morality.
One Texas public school district's sex ed handout is entitled "Things to Look for in a Mate:"
I. How they relate to God
A. Is Jesus their first love?
B. Trying to impress people or serve God?
Another public school district uses this:
Question: "What does the Bible say about sex before marriage/premarital sex?"
Answer: Along with all other kinds of sexual immorality, sex before marriage/premarital sex is repeatedly condemned in Scripture (Acts 15:20; Romans 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:13,18; 7:2; 10:8; 2 Corinthians 12:21; Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 5:3; Colossians 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Jude 7).
The results? Teen pregnancy in Texas went up -- higher than before "abstinence only," and more than 50 percent higher than the national average. Even more troubling was that repeat teen pregnancy went up -- to the point that it, too, led the nation. It turns out that Texas kids thought that "if birth control doesn't work, why use it?"
But none of this seems to matter to Gov. Rick Perry. When confronted with the dismal statistics during an October 15, 2010 televised interview with Texas Tribune reporter Evan Smith, Perry's response was to reaffirm that "abstinence works."
The audience laughed and Smith pointed out the state's abysmal teen pregnancy rate. "It works," insisted Perry. "Maybe it's the way it's being taught, or the way it's being applied out there, but the fact of the matter is it is the best form of -- uh -- to teach our children." Smith asked for a statistic to suggest it works, and Perry replied that "I'm just going to tell you from my own personal life, abstinence works."
Like somebody suggested on an earlier thread, if Palin decides to pass on a Presidential run this time around, Perry has to be on her short list of those to endorse.
Of course we have already seen what a Rick Perry presidency would look like during the eight years that George W. Bush ran this country into the ground. I said once before that a Rick Perry candidacy really concerned me, and it does, but I cannot imagine the American people not getting a raucous case of deja vu every time this poor man's version of Jethro Bodine opened up his mouth.
That alone should be enough to doom his chances.
At least that is the hope I am hanging my hat on.
The schools need to teach sex education as a public heath issue, which it is. STDs, pregnancy, the impact on society when unplanned pregnancies occurr-the effect on the future incomes and emotional development of teen parents and their offspring.
ReplyDeleteThe schools don't need to try to impose religious morality into the equation. Often times, people attempt to find the loophole - it's not "sex" if it is oral sex or anal sex. They still engage in high risk behaviors believing that as long as they have an intact hymen then they are virgins.
I've actually heard "virgins" on talk shows saying that anal sex isn't really sex (of course they view that as 1 man and 1 woman anal sex).
It is not good for society to have females believing that their only worth is their hymen. Or to rush into premature decisions to marry the first guy they ever dated due to their hormones.
So Perry says he can use part of his life to prove abstinence works? Soooooooooo, with whom is he being abstinent from?
ReplyDeletePeople like Perry, Bachmann, Santorum and Caribou Barbie are morons.
Oh, that's just great. Another who-you-gonna-believe-me-or-your-lying-eyes conservative asshole. Put Sarah's water bra on Perry and they could be twins.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised no one sued on the grounds of that handout and course violating the separation of church or state - unless they were afraid of violent backlash in a state where a gun license can validate your right to vote.
ReplyDeleteActually, Perry and Palin make Jethro look like a mensa member.
ReplyDeleteYou can take the word of this old Texan that you DON'T want Rick Perry for YOUR Governor or OUR President.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing scarier than Perry as the GOP nominee is a Perry-Palin ticket. In my less paranoid moments, I've written Palin off as being unable to win the nomination, but Perry seems a possibility. Unfortunately, there are so many people and so many corporatists intent on making President Obama a 1 term president, that with dirty tricks (which started on January 10, 2009) Perry might just win the general election. In that event, I would have to emigrate to China where I'd probably die more quickly from air pollution , but the authoritarianism and religious oppression would be the same and at least I'd be out of my misery sooner.
ReplyDeleteOT, PA's newish governor has gone on record as declaring that he wants PA to be the new TX. So, you can understand why emigration has been on my mind.
One thing about Perry is that he is a strong campaigner. He has never lost an election. Those of us in Tx know how slick he can be. Even those who would never vote for him have found him likable and charming at times. Talk in Tx is that he will definitely run for Pres. For those who think he might not want to get in Sarah's way, that is wrong. He can be ruthless while smiling and would roll over her and squish her with no regret. Big money and people are behind him and they will make it happen--and I think that is the plan. Plus, Perry is many derogatory things but he isn't stupid enough to want Palin for President.
ReplyDeleteDon't count on his accent to stop him, Gryph. It pretty much comes as goes as required.
ReplyDeleteWe all know how well the last bible thumping governor from Texas worked out for us, huh? Yeah, not so much.
ReplyDeleteHere's what Perry has to worry about:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2011/jun/30/poll-presidential-matchup-obama-would-beat-perry-t/
In his own state, Perry would lose to Obama
Voters need to take a good look at the role of the Texas governor and ask themselves why George W. Bush failed so miserably as president. Then ask themselves if Rick Perry is adequately prepared for the job.
ReplyDeleteMost state governorships are budgets and bully pulpit. In Texas the job is bully pulpit and bumper stickers. More power lies with the lieutenant governor.
I guess it will boil down to what Perry has done prior to being governor. He was a Gore Democrat, but it's not clear what changed him.
His stupidity and highly questionable morals will doom him. I'm sure many Texans would love to see him GONE but would they really wish this creature on the rest of us, our country and the world? Next to Perry, Bush 43 looks sane, clever and reasonable!
ReplyDelete"poor man's version of Jethro Bodine opened up his mouth"
ReplyDeleteHA! Gryph, I love that phrase!
A perfect way to start my morning.
And, yeah, it is truly scary to think this idiot wants to be Prez. The dumbing-down of our country continues.
I wonder if Gov. Perry (see, I use the title when correct to do so) would still hold that view if his daughter became a teenage mom?
ReplyDeleteI really think a Rick Perry administration would be much worse than another Bush administration. He's the kind of guy who will make contraceptives impossible to get (or illegal) and then tell you it's your fault and you're on your own with any babies you might have. As a woman, the "keep women barefoot and pregnant" camp makes me more than a little nervous, and I've definitely kept that in mind when looking at the candidates the GOP is courting. Michele Bachmann, other than the obvious batshit crazy things that come out of her mouth (and her husband's), I believe, buys into the "wives, submit to your husbands" doctrine- so if she were elected, who would really be running the country? It'd be another Palin's Alaska!
Look, I go to church (or used to- now it's basically to keep the parents and grandparents happy when I'm with them during the holidays) and even had a religion minor during undergrad, but I firmly believe in the separation of church and state, especially with these nut jobs who claim all this shit in the name of Christ. With all the real issues facing the world today (wars, the economy, etc), the last thing we need to focus on is what two consenting *adults* do behind closed doors.
Looks like he has something stuck in his back molar.
ReplyDeleteOr is he listening to Sarah Paln speak? And thinking "What the hell is that nitwit saying? I don't understand anything she is talking about."
It would seem that we have one more rung on the ladder we must descend into before the majority of the people, who I think (or hope) are mostly middle of the road thinkers will rise up. We are going into the hateful rhetoric and persecution of the Dark Ages. No one seems to want to rise up and slap down these people and the news media won't because this it titillating and sells papers, gets clicks and ratings. We are being sold down the river by greedy news people who offer us nothing in the way of policy dialog so crazies like Perry not only have a platform, they have a veritable launching pad. Yet another good looking, smooth talking political whore who is as bat-shit crazy as MB and SP
ReplyDeleteLord have mercy, if that happened! Not another inept republican to put the nails in the American coffin. Be afraid be very afraid.
ReplyDeleteHere's a story about Perry that I hope gets out if he runs. Back in 2004, the town of Lubbock, Texas put up a piece of art on overpasses called "Windy Man." It was a face blowing wind, which tied in with area's reputation as being a very windy place.
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo, some Lubbock residents freaked out and said that Windy Man was a "pagan image" and demanded that it be taken down off the overpasses. It got to be such a heated debate that even Rick Perry weighed in as governor - on the side of the people who were screaming that Windy Man was a pagan image.
The upshot is that someone ended up vandalizing Windy Man with a hammer and crowbar. Not sure if they ever found out who.
I don't think that Americans would actually vote for Perry over Obama, but I could definitely see a scenario where Republicans rig the election again. Remember, the GOP swept state elections in 2010, and a lot of them are now in positions of power as County Clerks and Secretaries of State: the positions that directly oversee elections on the state and county levels.
ReplyDeleteThat's why it's absolutely critical to get out the vote like we've never done before. It will make it much harder to rig the election.
Ironically, one thing that would practically guarantee Democrats and new voters sweeping to the polls would be a Palin candidacy.
Anon 5:10 am: "Talk in Tx is that he will definitely run for Pres. For those who think he might not want to get in Sarah's way, that is wrong. He can be ruthless while smiling and would roll over her and squish her with no regret."
ReplyDeleteI'll never forget how he yanked her back by her arm in that RGA press conference. He was moving her about like a checker piece: and she let him. She kisses his ass all the time, in fact.
"We are being sold down the river by greedy news people who offer us nothing in the way of policy dialog so crazies like Perry not only have a platform, they have a veritable launching pad."
ReplyDeleteLet's hope what is happening in the Murdoch world is the beginning of breaking up that logjam.
@ 6:34 - I don't think I'd worry too much at this point. All the dems and a lot of the middle of the roaders won't vote for the nutjobs anyway - we're all just waiting to see how low the TeaThUGS will go.
ReplyDeleteWe know we have a great candidate - and it's already decided who that is.
Saving our money, time and effort for when it counts.
The world is a much simpler place when you're religulous or stupid. Or both.
ReplyDeleteI've already had a good taste of this farker for too many years as Govn'r Hair. I do wish he and Sarah would just screw each other and then crawl back under their rocks.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Texas and my brother still lives there. He hates Rick Perry.
ReplyDeleteThis is just more proof that being right wing is a mental illness. You see this constantly, they are incapable of understanding the real-world effects of anything, even when you rub their nose in it. The only thing they can understand in the bumpersticker slogan they've decided to believe in.
ReplyDeleteSo yeah, "abstinence works", just not in the real world, amongst the general population.
But you also have to wonder if this is really their goal anyway, because doesn't the bible say "go forth, be fruitful and multiply"?
I'll bet he's got more than one bastard kid running around AND he probably has syphilis, which ia why he's so effin' insane.
ReplyDeleteWhat has happened in the Texas school system is beyond alarming. The first comment on this makes a very valid point - sex ed does more than teach young people about birth control - how about just simple health issues??
ReplyDeleteTheir attempt, also, to rewrite American history is mind boggling.
My sister lives in Texas and has told me there are MANY just downright ignorant people there who believe anything anyone tells them - if that person is a fundamental Christian. Yuk.
Pat Padrnos
Perry would be disastrous as POTUS!
ReplyDeleteI heard yesterday That Texas is charging for the kids to ride the school bus. First kid over 350.00 and the second kid over 200.00. These nuts are something the earth can only support so many ppl with water and all the garbage they create. They are so unrealistic how will anyone be able to support every preganacy, no one will except the rich. Poor uneducated dirty little children sent out to work for corporations, having sex to make more little children.
ReplyDeleteI fear that, in many respects, Rick Perry is more dangerous than Bush Jr. While both are incompetent but charming enough to sway people to their side, Perry seems hellbent on creating a theocracy. Bush was very religious as well, but seemed to keep some reasonable distance between his religion and his legislation. That could have been due to the fact that Cheney was actually running the country and he never appeared to be that all religious himself.
ReplyDeletePerry, on the other hand, has been supporting legislation that puts his warped version of Christian values into law for everyone. I find that as terrifying as the thought of having a Dominionist like Palin in the White House.
What happen to teaching it under "Health and Hygiene?"
ReplyDeleteThey all are idiots to even think we need their mess in the White House.
He has TONS of shit which makes him unfit to serve as our President.
GoL
@lilly lily--he is listening to the voices in his head. God is telling him what to do next...
ReplyDeleteI've been hearing pretty steady rumors about Perry's sexual preferences. That he's gay.
ReplyDeleteIf this is true, and proof could be presented, would this disqualify him in the eyes of the RW? Because if so, I'm all for "outing" him.
"He was a Gore Democrat, but it's not clear what changed him."
ReplyDelete$
That's what changed him. He knew he'd make more being a R than a D in any state, especially TX.
He promised the people of Texas that if was elected Governor one more time, he wouldn't run for President in 2012.
ReplyDeleteAs the great Molly Ivins once said (about Shrub), "When somebody from Texas says don't vote for this Texan, you should pay attention."
This Texan is tellin' ya: Don't vote for this Texan.
I've lived in texas and still have family there, and I can 120% GUARANTEE that Rick Perry is a certifiable lunatic. Although not as stupid as Chimpy, but in the LOON department, this clown makes Cheeeeeney look like a grade school teacher....
ReplyDeleteI thought he was closeted. Can a closeted gay be elected? As long as he doesn't come out of the closet?
ReplyDelete"I'm just going to tell you from my own personal life, abstinence works."
ReplyDeleteYEAH, A$$HOLE, it works and is 100% effective IF YOU ARE ABSTINENT!!!
If people are that ignorant to vote him in then our country is truly screwed. ALL over an INTELLEGENT black man trying to fix what the last Texas idiot did.
ReplyDelete@10:38
ReplyDeleteA closeted President? We've been there, done that; not a new thing.
From wikipedia"
"For fifteen years in Washington, D.C., before his presidency, Buchanan lived with his close friend, Alabama Senator William Rufus King. King became Vice President under Franklin Pierce. He became ill and died shortly after Pierce's inauguration, four years before Buchanan became President. Buchanan's and King's close relationship prompted Andrew Jackson to call King "Miss Nancy" and "Aunt Fancy", while Aaron V. Brown spoke of the two as "Buchanan and his wife." Some of the contemporary press also speculated about Buchanan's and King's relationship. The two men's nieces destroyed their uncles' correspondence, leaving some questions about their relationship; but the length and intimacy of surviving letters illustrate "the affection of a special friendship", and Buchanan wrote of his "communion" with his housemate. In May 1844, during one of King's absences that resulted from King's appointment as minister to France, Buchanan wrote to a Mrs. Roosevelt, "I am now 'solitary and alone', having no companion in the house with me. I have gone a wooing to several gentlemen, but have not succeeded with any one of them."
Kind of like J. Edgar Hoover and Clyde Tolson.
The truth is, Washington and politics has just as many gay people (probably more) as any other place in this great country.
I hear people calling him a "dream candidate". I wish they would wake up to reality.
ReplyDeleteWhorehouse Perry was technically correct.
ReplyDeleteAbstinence does work.
It's the practice of abstinence that doesn't work.
Practice, practice practice until you get it right.
Isn't that what we teach in school?
Rick Perry is a chimp who mustn't be allowed within 1000 miles of the white house.We are all under assault by these right wing nut jobs and as Americans have to stop them before they pull all of us down the drain with them.They have already made serious inroads into our freedoms.They must be stopped it is imperative.
ReplyDeletePerry is a male version of Sarah Palin, he's influenced the texas textbook issue, snaked his way around holding a prayer meeting, the man is just plain sick. Kind of remind me of Blagovich, but with less hair product and even less brains.
ReplyDeleteThe abstinance education in public schools is truly frightening, and the statistics proove it's an epic failure, but yet he stands behind it 100 percent.
I really hope he doesn't make his way on the ticket, it's already crowded with these wingnuts and increases the odds that one of them may win the ticket, but lose to Obama handily.
Ricky and Sarah would be a match made in hell. Ricky is a grifter too, he is coming to San Angelo, but not just anyone can see him.
ReplyDeleteWhat: Reception with Gov. Rick Perry
When: Tuesday; private host committee reception from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and a general reception from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Where: Bentwood Country Club, 2111 Clubhouse Lane
Host committee levels:
Host — $5,000
Sponsor — $2,500
Patron — $1,000*
Guest — $500
Friend — $250 (per couple)
* Minimum for photo opportunity with Perry
Reservations will be taken until Tuesday.
Funny thing is for the most part no one in town is interested in going to see him. He has damaged our state so bad that we are right up there with AZ as being the laughing stock of the nation. It's a shame because we have a lot of good people and things going on here.
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2011/jul/22/perry-to-appear-at-local-event/?partner=popular
Yes, abstinence works! If we all abstain from voting for him, Rick Perry will not be President. I know it's hard, but with God's help, we can do it!
ReplyDeleteAbstinance works when you are so sexually unappealing and undesirable that no one will give you the option to not violate your moral code.
ReplyDelete