Don't know much, all I can offer you is love...

Found this interesting tidbit online this afternoon:

WASHINGTON - Students who participated in sexual abstinence programs were just as likely to have sex a few years later as those who did not, according to a long-awaited study mandated by Congress.
Also, those who attended one of the four abstinence classes reviewed reported having similar numbers of sexual partners as those who did not attend the classes, and they first had sex at about the same age as their control group counterparts — 14 years and nine months, according to Mathematica Policy Research Inc.
The federal government now spends about $176 million annually on abstinence-until-marriage education. Critics have repeatedly said they don’t believe the programs are working, and the study will give them reinforcement.

So we're spending $176 million annually for a program that gives us the same results and when there's no program in place. In other words, we could not spend the money on the program and end up exactly where we are now. So WHY spend the money on the program???

Why not direct it to a comprehensive sex ed program, that includes abstinence, but also includes safe sex education. I understand this issue is not really about money, it's about the kids in our schools. And why should we deny those kids ALL the tools they need to make informed decisions about having sex? Why should we only tell them "Just Say NO!", and then give them nothing else.

To me, its always seemed and easy question and answer. Why tell some kid, "Dont' have sex!" instead of "Don't have sex until you're ready and fully prepared to. And when you are, this is a condom and this is how it may help you save your life, and help an unwanted pregnancy or disease from occuring."

I don't buy the argument that "If they hear about the condoms, if they do, they'll think about sex, think condoms will make them sage and then they'll go have sex." That's like saying, "Let's not tell people about seat belts, cause if we do they'll think seat belts will make them safe, and then they'll go drive recklessly." Neither argument works.

Furthermore, as the study proves, some of the kids in the program are ALREADY ignoring what their taught and having sex anyway. And they're doing so WITHOUT the knowledge and education that a comprehensive program would give them.

Why not give them the information they need to make an informed decision. And why not direct money to programs that help them do that, instead of programs that force them to only have a portion of the knowledge they need to make informed decisions.

POLT Oil: 63.47 (-.42); Gas: 2.78 (+.01)

You know, you Republicans insist that government is depraved for not legislating against what we can see on the newsstands or what we can see in an art exhibit or what we can burn in protest or which sex we're allowed to have sex with or a woman's right to choose. But don't you dare try to regulate this deadly weapon I have concealed on me for that would encroach against my freedom. - Sam Seaborn, The West Wing