Saturday, December 04, 2004
Abstinence, Bush Family Style
Normally I wouldn't blog about Jenna and Barbara Bush. I don't see a reason to comment on their private lives. However, the following is much more about "Bush Family Values" and government policy on abstinence than what the twins do or don't do sexually. My apologies to the twins. From AmericaBlog:
I reread Joe's post below about Bush's abstinence kick, and alongside Bush's attacks on gays, his desire to outlaw sodomy, etc., it got me wondering why we don't demand more answers about the sex lives of first daughters Jenna and Barbara. Such as:And why would we ask such questions? In a recent study of some thirteen abstinence-only programs, it was found that only 2 gave factually accurate information. The others had some really inaccurate info. From a Detroit News reprint of a Washington Post article:
1. Have they, do they now, or do they plan ever to partake in sodomy (blow jobs, anal sex, cunnilingus, etc)?
2. Have they, do they, and will they, practice abstinence until they get married?
3. Do they avoid using condoms during intercourse because they're not fool-proof?
4. Has President Bush done everything he can to urge his daughters not to commit sodomy, engage in sex at all until marriage, and not use condoms (since they're apparently so bad)?
5. And finally, I do hope the Bush Twins attend church each Sunday, right? Can we see the log?
Many American youngsters participating in federally funded, abstinence-only programs have been taught over the past three years that abortion can lead to sterility and suicide, that half the gay male teen-agers in the United States have tested positive for the AIDS virus, and that touching a person's genitals "can result in pregnancy," a congressional staff analysis has found.
Those and other assertions are examples of the "false, misleading, or distorted information" in the programs' teaching materials, said the analysis released Wednesday, which reviewed the curricula of more than a dozen popular projects aimed at preventing teen-age pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease.
In providing nearly $170 million next year to fund groups that teach abstinence only, the Bush administration, with backing from the Republican Congress, is investing heavily in a just-say-no strategy for teen-agers and sex. But youngsters taking the courses frequently receive medically inaccurate or misleading information, often in direct contradiction to the findings of government scientists, said the report by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., an administration critic who has long argued for comprehensive sex education.