Damning Data

The data are rolling in, and the results are conclusive: abstinence-focused sex education doesn't work. A recent study shows that teens who pledge abstinence are just as likely as non-pledgers to have sex, and less likely to use contraceptive methods when they do so. The US has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the industrialized world, and roughly 1 in 3 sexually active girls get pregnant in their teenage years. We simply have not been giving young people the set of tools they need to take care of themselves and ensure that they don't face unwanted pregnancy.

The policies that led to this situation were formulated during the Bush years and were guided by ideology rather than reason. Take a look at the states with the highest pregnancy rates, along with who they supported in the 2000 and 2004 elections.

1	Nevada	Bush	Bush
2	Arizona	Bush	Bush
3	Mississippi	Bush	Bush
4	New Mexico	Gore	Bush
5	Texas	Bush	Bush
6	Florida	Bush	Bush
7	California	Gore	Kerry
8	Georgia	Bush	Bush
9	North Carolina	Bush	Bush
10	Arkansas	Bush	Bush

The correlation between conservatism and teen pregnancy is due to the fact that conservatives are enamored of poor policies rooted in religious dogma rather than sound social science.

The really maddening part of this is the denial conservatives have regarding the source of the problem. We've spent $1.5B over the last 8 years on abstinence education programs, during which time teenage pregnancy rates started to rise, and their response to the data is to argue for more abstinence-focused education. Like many conservative policies, they've hooked a pithy catch-phrase to the push, claiming that abstinence is the only form of birth control that is 100% effective because you can't get pregnant when you abstain. What they don't say is that it is the least effective approach when used improperly.

My favorite definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results. Oh, those crazy conservatives!

Again at Starbucks

I've decided it would be fun (and maybe good for me) to find some humor in the refined orders that I mentioned in my last post. I may write a quick post now and then when I notice eccentric orders at various eating and drinking establishments. I think they point to a need for control rather than being about how things taste (can people really taste whether the milk mixture below is correct or whether there are 2 vs. 2 1/2 pumps of hazelnut syrup in a drink?)

Today's order by a slightly disheveled man at the Starbucks at 23rd street and 8th avenue:
Grande decaf extra-hot semi-dry cappuccino with half whole milk and half 2%.
He then asked if this was the first one that the barista had made today. :-)