|
Name: Margaret
|
|
|
GH, I don’t know where you are located, but I doubt you can hang all of those 750,000 unplanned pregnancies on a lack of sex-ed. I’d like to find an American teenager who has never heard of condoms or birth control pills. The important part of sex education is not the biology (which is probably already covered in the health classes you mention) but the whole context of sex: is it just something you just do for recreational pleasure, or is it connected to settling down in a committed relationship. Do you really want some teacher - with who knows what kind of agenda - instructing your child in this regard? This is the PARENT'S prerogative and duty.
While I agree that times have changed, I don’t think the mildly permissive attitude of “we’d rather you didn’t, but if you do…” serves kids very well. As adults we know that, if a girl starts having sex at age 14, she will probably be feeling like a used tissue by the time she is 18 or 19. If she is lucky, she will come away with just the dawning realisation that all those eager adolescent boys were not in love with her, just after her body. If not, she could be carrying some emotional baggage into her adult years, along with an STD or two, and maybe even be “punished” with a baby (no contraceptive is 100% effective). Delegating this momentous decision to her at an age where we would probably veto a tattoo or nose-ring is crazy. Call me idealistic, but I think that instilling one's values (including respect for others), raising a confident child who can resist peer pressure, maintaining adequate supervision, and putting in some level of fear of the consequences, can work at least as well as just giving up and handing out condoms or pills. (My son has known since the age of 12 that if he knocks a girl up, his promised university education is toast, he’ll have to get a job to support the girl and the baby and we'll be doing a world cruise with the money. I’ll bet that gives him at least some cause to pause).
In any case, I am neither religious nor a Palin adherent, I am simply pointing out that I think there is actually a reasonable case for teaching abstinence, at least as an option. Disagree with Sarah Palin if you like, but I don’t see why she should be demonized for her opinion, or why it should be discounted because in one particular case it didn’t work out.
|
|
|
|
Name: General Hypocrisy
|
|
|
Margaret, What I see as the true hypocrisy here is the fact that Sarah Palin is in a position of power and has the ability to influence the laws that affect alot of people. Her moral objective is to preach abstinence only, yet it is something that has failed within her own family. You bring up the millions of other teenage pregnancies and how that is somehow proof that promotion of contraception doesn't work either. The only problem with your argument is that the schools are not promoting contraception thanks to people like Sarah Palin. The schools in my area don't make condoms available to kids, they don't talk to kids about sex and the dangers of unprotected sex. They have a "health" class and spend a few days discussing reproduction and outdated topics from when our grandparents went to school. They are not discussing the real issues that kids are faced with today. They don't help them to understand that while it is ok to say no and not have sex, that sometimes you just might want to and if that is the case, then you NEED to protect yourself and your partner. They need to set these kids down and show them video of women giving birth, pictures of people with STD's and discuss with them how to be prepared, how to use protection and why they need to.
People like Sarah Palin like to ignore the fact that teenagers are having sex. They think they can pray a little harder and tell their kids, just don't do it and all will be good. Bull*hit! WE need to prepare our kids for the dangers of the world and one of those dangers is unprotected sex. I'm not laying this all at the feet of the school system either. Parents need to step up and talk with their kids. Let them know they can ask questions and give them honest answers. Telling little Johny to keep his willy tucked away just doesn't cut it anymore. Because our schools don't discuss these issues with our kids, my wife and I made sure to do it. We talk to our 16 year old daughter openly and honestly about sex. When she turned 14 we gave her a box of condoms and explained that while we would rather she doesn't go running out and use them, if she finds herself in a position where she is going to have sex, then she damn well better have her boyfriend use one.
Also, I fail to see how Sarah Palin proves herself to be an upstanding moral person because she got married while she was knocked up and her family has been together for 20 years? She presents herself to be morally righteous and a figure that should be listened to on issues such as sex and abstinence and fails to have her own children even listen to her. Her own daughter comes out and says it unrealistic to expect teenagers not to have sex and then goes out on a tour telling other teens that even through she has sex, they shouldn't. Sounds like she is following right in mom's footsteps.
|
|
|
|
Name: Margaret
|
|
|
Kay, I don't reflexively support the Palins, what I am commenting on is the hypocrisy of people who heap venom on them. There are over 750,000 teenage pregnancies in the US every year, yet people jeer at her because her promotion of abstinence didn't work. Well, all the promotion of contraception in schools clearly doesn't "work" either, all those kids are getting pregnant too. And you are an example too....one in three American births is to an unmarried mother, and most people consider this quite normal - some live together for decades without getting married. Do you really believe that every other politician/public figure was a virgin when they got married? Why is she the ONLY one whom you hold to this "moral" standard of being a role model? She got married (before the birth, I believe) and has held the family together for 20+ years, so I think she has been living by the spirit of the family values she promotes.
Actually I think it is the other way around, there is a reflexive (and unnecessarily hostile) bias against her, as illustrated by the post I commented on, where something the disgruntled boyfriend said on TV was instantly taken as the truth and used to trash her as a "moral fake". People even snigger at her kids' names, while very few do so for all the odd names picked by certain celebrities. Bottom line, if this were a debate on the issues I'd probably be against her half the time, but I don't like seeing someone attacked like this for fallacious reasons, and I don't think ANYONE who is not a serial murderer or rapist should be attacked as viciously as she has been.
|
|
|
|
Name: Kay
|
|
|
While I agree that celebrities should not be our primary role models, Sarah Palin is a politician, a governor. There was a time when governors were leaders and role models; people that children could look up to to do what was right.
|
|
|
|
Name: steph
|
|
|
We shouldn't rely on "celebrities" to be role models for our children. We should provide the positive role models by the examples we make and teach our children.
|
|
|
Name: Kay
|
|
|
Margaret, why do you support the Palins in every ethical error they make? Do you think Sarah Palin, who was pregnant when she married, who continued a cycle with a pregnant daughter, is the type of person we need to have in authority? the type of person who can be role model for young women? What do you see in her that most other people do not see? Give me some legitamate reasons.
|
|
|
|
Name: Margaret
|
|
|
Palin has denied that, said it would have happened "over my dead body". Given her Christian beliefs, that's a whole lot more likely than what Levi said.
Way to trash somebody over an unsubstantiated assertion.
|
|
|
|
Name: KAY
|
|
|
Well, well, well. Levi said on the Tyra Banks Show that Sarah Palin allowed Bristol and him to sleep in the same bed overnight. What did she think they were doing? Discussing politics? Praying? What a moral fake she is!
|
|
|
|
Name: reba
|
|
|
I guess I am missing a post, but I don't follow this argument. What is the post that everyone is so upset about?
Oh, by the way, I am sure you have heard Bristol's Baby's Daddy has flown the coup?
|
|
|
|
Name: Margaret
|
|
|
Hey, come on guys, this is a civilized and respectful forum, even if we have differences of opinion. Gotta love R, there are over 750,000 teenage pregnancies a year and one in four have an STD, so all the sex-ed stuff you are promoting doesn't seem to be working too well either. All Sarah Palin said was that she would not support "explicit sex-ed" programs, and I'm sure there are many parents who don't want their elementary-school kids exposed to discussions about bananas and cucumbers.
Let's talk about solutions instead of slamming other people with trashy insults. Everyone talks about rape and incest...the fact is that the number of pregnancies arising from this is miniscule, less than one percent. Most abortions are after-the-fact birth control in the name of convenience, and I think there is a good case for opposing these. Why should the baby be deprived of life just because the mother was irrresponsible? What about partial birth abortions, and even after-birth abortions (as supported by our President), do these babies have no rights? (At that point they ARE self-sustaining).
Getting side-tracked about Iraq doesn't further the abortion debate. People on battlefields aren't necessarily innocent, babies clearly are. Let's stay on topic.
|
|
|
Name: Gotta Love Republicans
|
|
|
@ Mike DeVito - Are you a moron or are you just retarded? I think your parents should have aborted you. Based on your comments, I bet you are republican. I bet you voted for George Bush. Not once, but twice. Funny how republicans can claim to be pro life.. and against aborting a fetus that isn't even capable of self sustained life but are willing to go and start a war in a country that we had no reason to be at war with which killed hundreds of thousands of their citizens. Men women AND CHILDREN that were capable of self sustained life not to mention thousands of American Service men and women for something that probably did more to damage our freedom and security than to preserve it. Maybe you should type less and read more. You might have been capable of seeing that the point behind this page was to show that abstinence ONLY education does not work. Teach your kids about abstinence all you want.. But don't be so brain damaged that you forget to teach them how to protect themselves in the event that they might not listen to you and go have sex. Teach them how important it is to use protection so that in the event they do have sex, they don't get pregnant, or worse.. get a disease. I don't see anywhere on this page saying she should have aborted that child. I just see several places pointing out that abstinence only education is asinine.
|
|
|
|
Name: Mike DeVito
|
|
|
So your message in this article is that birth control works and that abstinence doesn’t - Right? Well, let's look at it this way. If she and her boyfriend did practice abstinence she would not have become pregnant. So abstinence does work if you practice it should be the message.
What you mean to say is that you are for promoting abortion and killing babies and that Mrs. Palin’s family is not for this. Yes, her daughter became pregnant because she did not practice abstinence and your answer to this is to kill the baby quietly so that she need not be burdened by a baby. The only sad part of this article is that it was written in the first place. I am sure that when Obama brings back partial birth abortion your champagne corks will be popping! Hooray lets kill more babies!! What a great time for America!! ProChoice = KillBabies. You fascists are all the same. What did Hitler call his murder of the Jews … ahhh…? “The final solution” that’s right. It sounds much better than mass murder and extermination of an entire race of people. So you can call the killing of babies whatever nice words you want to but it all still = murder!!
|
|
|
|
Name: Joe the Plumber
|
|
|
Who you calling a bastard ?
|
|
|
|
Name: elizabeth
|
|
|
you should be ashamed of yourself you dirty bastard. I wish I could say worse on here. How horrible of yourself to look upon someone taking responsibility as you are.
I hope you reap the rewards of your jackass remarks and vengeful attitude. im sure you have a number of abortions under your belt.
|
|
|
|
Name: Margaret
|
|
|
If you're going to get your facts from unauthorized biographies, there's already one out. It specifically refers to the ultrasound pictures of Sarah's pregnancy. The governor has already slammed the book, so the writers are not exactly her loyal friends.
|
Let eHarmony match you with quality singles looking for a long-term relationship
|
|
Name: Reba
|
|
|
Newsflash, Newsflash....
I have heard in three months a tell-all book written by two members of the McCain election team about Sarah Palin will be published which will indicate that Trig is not her child and that Tripp was never born. Should be interesting to read.
|
|
|
|
Name: kim
|
|
|
Bailout 2008, a poem by David Jeffrey
Like a bloodied warrior,
laying broken and torn.
|
|
|
|
Name: Margaret
|
|
|
As I said before, they can't win. Before the interview they were "hiding", "in isolation", "no pictures of baby therefore he doesn't exist". When they do the interview and pictures, it is "suspicious body language", "hogging", and "baby is only 2 weeks old" - in complete contradiction to the pictures. Look at the pics of the Alfie baby over in the UK and then keep saying with a straight face that Tripp is only one week older than that.
|
|
|
|
Name: Steph
|
|
|
Lots of questions still need to be answered? Hogwash. Bristol needs to do nothing to appease you.
You can't tell how old Tripp is by looking at the video? It's on Fox News' website. There is no way he looks 2 weeks old in the video and he definitely looks closer to 2 months than 2 weeks, that's for sure.
Bristol's body language gives whom more suspicion? Yourself and other doubters? Her body language clearly shows that she loves Tripp and before he was brought into the room, her body language showed that she'd never done a camera interview before.
|
|
|
|
Name: Double Dupe is over
|
|
|
Yep Margaret, both kids out of school left alone to do it again. Leads to the 'surprise'. The lack of details to confirm both birth dates key to deception. Should be easiest to prove birth dates, but not here. Why? Trig birth SP needs to buy more time to sell pregnancy. Tripp birth need to cut time to make timeline viable. Tripp's age 2 weeks? 2 months? I can't tell. Bristol's privacy out the window with last interview. The content of her answers and body language gives us more suspicion. Perhaps that's why Sarah hogs the interview. Lots of questions still need to be answered. Lets see how the Palins handle it.
|
|
|