Palin

[NoHall]

FCOL - with all the problems in the world is there ANYONE out there who actually WANTS our government to preach abstinence????

Again - families and church and organizations can step to the plate - and government should stay out of trying to define values - especially when they are one set of narrow values trying to be rammed down the throat of an increasingly diverse population.

Spend the money and time and resources on what counts - any of you recently read about the HUGE number of schools having to make hard decisions about cost cutting (laying off teachers, shortening the school week, cutting back on print material, electives, field trips, etc...) - the number of homeless children because of the mortgage mess, rising fuel and food costs is staggering (and I could go on and on) - education is severely lacking in many parts of the country - America no longer competes with other nations (lucky that they make up a lot of ground in colleges and universities but then again, many people do not go on to higher education)....but, no, we are still going to talk about sexuality????

I, for one, am not talking about the government or schools preaching abstinence. I'm still talking about individuals.

And it would be nice if the baby (pardon the expression) were not thrown out with the bathwater. I recently heard a story about a school which had to take a van-load (as in a half dozen boys) to the health department because they had a party in the school balcony with a girl who had syphilis. Do you think the parents of either the boys or the girl were actually preaching safe sex? ("Here, honey. This is a condom. Next time you and 5 of your friend decide to make sweet love to some girl at the same time, don't forget to use it.")

Birth control pills prevent unwanted pregnancies. Condoms prevent disease. The toxic amounts of hormones that float in a kid's brain often short-circuit his/her ability to remember to use protection. (Heck. I can't even get my boys to remember to bring their pencil...homework...shoes...brains...) A little bit of abstinence lodged in the back of his brain may come in handy in conjunction with other precautions.

From the article TFT posted:
The fact is, regardless of what you will hear over the next few days, Bristol's pregnancy is not a legitimate political issue. Sarah Palin is a longterm member of a group called Feminists for Life, which is not opposed to birth control. So you probably can't tag her for consigning young people to unwanted pregnancies.

 

[Jdarg]

I, for one, am not talking about the government or schools preaching abstinence. I'm still talking about individuals.

And it would be nice if the baby (pardon the expression) were not thrown out with the bathwater. I recently heard a story about a school which had to take a van-load (as in a half dozen boys) to the health department because they had a party in the school balcony with a girl who had syphilis. Do you think the parents of either the boys or the girl were actually preaching safe sex? ("Here, honey. This is a condom. Next time you and 5 of your friend decide to make sweet love to some girl at the same time, don't forget to use it.")

Birth control pills prevent unwanted pregnancies. Condoms prevent disease. The toxic amounts of hormones that float in a kid's brain often short-circuit his/her ability to remember to use protection. (Heck. I can't even get my boys to remember to bring their pencil...homework...shoes...brains...) A little bit of abstinence lodged in the back of his brain may come in handy in conjunction with other precautions.

And we are back to assuming that all kids have parents who will teach their kids at home about all the aspects of becoming sexually active - physically and emotionally and safely. Individuals are not doing this enough anymore. As a society, we can't count on that anymore- the only place that kids can be taught with a chance that they might "get it" is at school. Teaching them abstinence only is a pregnancy waiting to happen- they most likely will have sex at some point, and they better know how to prevent pregnancy and STDs. Learning about these things go hand and hand with teaching the morals and values part.

 

[NoHall]

And we are back to assuming that all kids have parents who will teach their kids at home about all the aspects of becoming sexually active - physically and emotionally and safely. Individuals are not doing this enough anymore. As a society, we can't count on that anymore- the only place that kids can be taught with a chance that they might "get it" is at school. Teaching them abstinence only is a pregnancy waiting to happen- they most likely will have sex at some point, and they better know how to prevent pregnancy and STDs. Learning about these things go hand and hand with teaching the morals and values part.

And I'm not saying it should be taught alone. I hope that if I send my kid to drivers ed they will teach him defensive driving, seat belt use, and not to drive so darned fast, hoping that when the latter of the three slips out of his brain the former two will save his life.

(I think we're actually saying the same thing. )

 

[Camp Creek Kid]

Wasilla ain't Washington, or maybe even Walla Walla.

I found this story to be very interesting and touching. From Time magazine:

In Wasilla, Pregnancy Was No Secret

Good Article.

This thread has gotten way too long for me to keep up with it. I just wanted to add one thing. Some people on this board and many people elsewhere are critical of Sarah Palin because they think she has shown poor judgment about running with McCain because it will be hard on her family (i.e., putting Bristol in the spotlight and spending time away from a special needs newborn). However, I see this campaign as an incredible opportunity for this family to travel throughout the country meeting people and learning from them. It is an incredible opportunity for the children to learn how the political system works and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for their mother. In my opinion, the benefits of running for Vice President, far outweigh the hardships that the family may face. And should she and McCain win, well that opportunity goes without saying. So I think she has shown good judgment in deciding to go for it despite the challenges that she knew she would face because I think she is doing what is best for her family and I think most of us would do the same if we had the opportunity.

 

[Miss Kitty]

Does Bristol have a father?

 

[NoHall]

Being cleared by your doctor is usually 4-6 weeks. My SIL went back to work at 4 weeks with both her kids. It was prior to a doctor's clearance. Families are hard. No one's saying anything about them being easy.

I'm pretty sure that my friend went back about 10 days after this last one was born--by C section!

But she only works one day a week as a family therapist, so she's sitting.

 

[Bob]

From where I stand, I'm seeing a 44 year old governor having a 5th child[birth defect known], and her 17 year old is 5 months pregnant. Am I to suspend my judgment and conclude that running for VP should be her first priority? Fame before family? America is truly Casino Nation.

 

[Bob]

1. The education system has better things to do than to teach sex education other than the health aspects of unprotected sex and the huge responsibility that children are.
2. The parents are responsible to educate their children on the moral issues.
3. Anyone who thinks that a certain percentage of teenagers are not going to be controled by their hormones, no matter who their parents are and how hard their parents try to prevent something from happening, is crazy.
4. Gov. Pallin's family issues are not fodder for a political race, the fodder should be the ideas of both sides. Our job as voters is to educate ourselves on each candidate's views and vote for the one who most closely mirrors our own.
5. The left wing idiots who put the story out that Gov. Pallin's baby is actually her daughter's deserve a special place in H***.

after hearing the candidates views with the talk....do you use your eyes and watch the walk

 

[organicmama]

I'm pretty sure that my friend went back about 10 days after this last one was born--by C section!

But she only works one day a week as a family therapist, so she's sitting.

1 day a week is one thing. A full-blown 24 hour/day responsibilty is another.

 

[Ocean Lover]

Does Bristol have a father?

Good point.