Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

internetworkers - Re: [internetworkers] why am I not surprised?

internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Thomas Beckett <thomas AT tbeckett.com>
  • To: "Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/" <internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [internetworkers] why am I not surprised?
  • Date: Thu, 02 Dec 2004 12:54:56 -0500

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Chad Ingham wrote:
| It's important to note that this was not an unbiased bipartisan
| report. It is the result of one congressman with a political agenda
| against teaching abstinence.

And then Chad Ingham wrote:
| But the report does bring to light some objective scientific facts
| that may be incorrect.

So where does "objective scientific facts" become political bias? The
report shows that eleven of the thirteen most widely-used contained
information that was contradicted by "objective scientific facts." The
article didn't give the underlying numbers, but 11/13 of programs taught
to "several million children" still leaves ... several million children
that our federal government lied to about their health.

Used our school systems and our tax dollars to lie to our children.

These "abstinence" programs appear to be serving mainly a political
agenda rather than anything to do with public health.

Thorough education in health and sexuality informs our children of ways
that they could come to harm through sexual behavior. It teaches them
how to avoid that harm.

"Abstinence-only" education, on its face, advocates keeping our children
ignorant of these dangers. And in practice, apparently, abstinence-only
education not only keeps them ignorant but deliberately misinforms them.

If you gave your child a rifle, you would teach him or her about gun
safety, right? Or would you just hand it over with a box of ammo and
say, "Now don't hurt anyone." I assume you would want to keep your
child safe by giving them all the facts.

That's my $0.02 worth for the day. Plus a bonus nickel, looks like.

TaB



|
| Thomas Beckett wrote:
|
| Some Abstinence Programs Mislead Teens, Report Says
|
| By Ceci Connolly
| Washington Post Staff Writer
| Thursday, December 2, 2004; Page A01
|
| 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
| teenagers 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 yesterday, which reviewed the curricula of more than
| a dozen projects aimed at preventing teenage 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
| teenagers 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 A. Waxman (D-Calif.), a critic of the administration who
| has long argued for comprehensive sex education.
|
| Several million children ages 9 to 18 have participated in the more than
| 100 federal abstinence programs since the efforts began in 1999.
| Waxman's staff reviewed the 13 most commonly used curricula -- those
| used by at least five programs apiece.
|
| The report concluded that two of the curricula were accurate but the 11
| others, used by 69 organizations in 25 states, contain unproved claims,
| subjective conclusions or outright falsehoods regarding reproductive
| health, gender traits and when life begins. In some cases, Waxman said
| in an interview, the factual issues were limited to occasional
| misinterpretations of publicly available data; in others, the materials
| pervasively presented subjective opinions as scientific fact.
|
| More >>> http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A26623-2004Dec1
|
| --
| -
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Thomas A. Beckett, JD & MBA Business Law and Consulting
| Western NC - 828-713-1668 Research Triangle - 919-824-5696
| <http://www.tbeckett.com> <thomas AT tbeckett.com>
| This message is digitally signed.
| Verification instructions: <http://www.tbeckett.com/verification.html>
| -
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
Come and play at the InterNetWorkers Web site!
http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/
You are currently subscribed to InterNetWorkers mailing list
To unsubscribe visit
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/internetworkers

| ---
| Come and play at the InterNetWorkers Web site!
| http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/
| You are currently subscribed to InterNetWorkers mailing list
| To unsubscribe visit
| http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/internetworkers



- --
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas A. Beckett, JD & MBA Business Law and Consulting
Western NC - 828-713-1668 Research Triangle - 919-824-5696
<http://www.tbeckett.com> <thomas AT tbeckett.com>
This message is digitally signed.
Verification instructions: <http://www.tbeckett.com/verification.html>
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.2.4 (MingW32)

iD8DBQFBr1bwEMCfelopa1cRAvtqAKDByil2r9DPZcpmbWtyNBJV3sfGDQCgw37M
jrOqu7Q4utYHavOPvXpiLb8=
=J3/l
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page