Nothing really new about this article on teenage abstinence (thanks to my friend Jane for the link) -- weird, though, that it's in the "women" section of The Guardian -- but I did like this passage:
"You don't realise what you are doing until everything has changed," says 16-year-old John Wagster, peering earnestly through round glasses as he explains his decision to embrace chastity. "You are having oral sex, and you don't realise it's wrong. It's like eating Pringles. Once you start, you can't stop."But that's not the best part, though. Here it is:
...the Bush administration which has allocated $117m (£74m) for abstinence-only education for teenagers this year, and hopes to raise it to $135m.The Silver Ring Thing folks "received $700,000 (£443,000) from the US government, the largest such grant awarded." Participants -- said to be "gift-wrapped by God" (I wish I was making that phrase up, but I'm not) apparently take a pledge of abstinence and wear a $12 silver ring, which they flush down the toilet out of dishonor if they falter and accidentally have sex somewhere along the line. (Which they apparently do, and they're "one-third less likely than non-pledgers to use contraceptives.")
'On your wedding day you give the ring to your husband or wife and say, "I waited for you, let's get it on", [the SRT leader] tells the audience. Then he leads a short prayer, asking the teens to take Jesus into their lives.Maybe they can wear these rings instead... (Absolutely not safe for work, but I know you're going to click on the link anyway.)
But I really shouldn't criticize the Bush government's faith-based policies (even though that $700,000 could have been used to maybe buy more chairs for my students, some of who have to sit on the damn floor) -- maybe the last thing I want is to be branded a traitor (thanks to my friend Jeff for the link):
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Monday opposition to the U.S. President was encouraging Washington's enemies and hindering his 'war against terrorism'.Posted by the wily filipino at September 8, 2003 11:55 AM...
He said if Washington's enemies believed Bush might waver or his opponents prevail, that could increase support for their activities.
"They take heart in that and that leads to more money going into these activities or that leads to more recruits or that leads to more encouragement or that leads to more staying power..."