Abby’s advice for sex at age 13? Use better birth control!

On Wednesday, October 24th, Dear Abby posted a letter from a 15 year old girl who had a miscarriage.  Abby advises:

Because the birth control you were using didn't prevent your pregnancy, you should ask a health care provider for advice about avoiding another unplanned pregnancy in the future. A staff member at your local Planned Parenthood health center or other clinic, or your own physician, can discuss all of your options and help you get the birth control you need.

What kind of advice is that?  Nowhere does she talk about the fact that 13 or 15 year olds should not be having sex, or admonish her at all for having sex outside of marriage, or even for having sex at such a young age.  The proper advice is, yes, to grieve, but to seek to repair your relationship with your parents and to stop having sex until marriage in order to avoid the physical, intellectual, emotional, social, plus moral and spiritual consequences of sexual relationships outside of marriage.

Position of the Presidential Candidates on Social Issues:

	OBAMA	ROMNEY
Abstinence-centered sex education	????*	FOR
Same Sex Marriage	FOR	AGAINST
Taxpayer Funding of Abortion	FOR	AGAINST
School Choice and Vouchers	AGAINST	FOR
*President Obama cut all funding (Providing $0 of funding) for already-funded 5 yr grants for abstinence-centered programs totaling over $100 million. in fiscal 2010. Obama says 'And what I have consistently talked about is to take a comprehensive approach where we focus on abstinence, where we are teaching the sacredness of sexuality to our children. But we also recognize the importance of good medical care for women, that we’re also recognizing the importance of age-appropriate education to reduce risks. I do believe that contraception has to be part of that education process.' Romney says: 'We have sex education in our schools. Let's also have abstinence education in our schools. Marriage and two parent families are fundamental to the development of children and to our success as a culture. We cannot afford to shrink from the timeless, priceless principles of human experience."

Angela McCaskill warning

Maryland voters will face the question of whether to vote for or against question 6 On Novmeber 6th, 2012.   Voters will be well advised to pay attention to the case of Gallaudet University associate provost of diversity and inclusion, Angela McCaskill.  Ms. McCaskill simply signed the petition to put Question 6 on the ballot in Maryland.  For that she was put on administrative leave from her job.  Two lesbian faculty members decided that it was inappropriate for her to serve as chief diversity officer and wrote a letter to Gallaudent Univesity president T. Alan Hurwitz.

Here in Washington DC I have had a similar experience.  In 2007, I was circulating a petition to remove the inclusion of language describing same sex relationships as normal in the revision of the DC Public Schools Health Education Standards.  (find out more about this here  Former DC Public School officials Richard Nyankori and Chad Ferguson called me in for a private, off the record meeting.  They stated that I was free to circulate the petition, but that if I did our HIV and pregnancy prevention and relationship intelligence program would not be welcome in DC Public Schools.   Nyankori and Ferguson also asked me what my position is on Same Sex Marriage.   I refused to answer, stating that it had nothing to do with our  program.  However, Nyankori and Ferguson made it clear that those not in favor of same sex "marriage' would not be welcome in DC Public Schools.  So much for "inclusion" and "diversity".

Legalization of same sex "marriage" in Maryland will have far reaching consequences.  Many of those who simply contributed to the campaign opposing legalization of same sex "marriage" in California were blacklisted and forced to resign from their jobs.  Check this blog.  Those who think that the push to legalize same sex marriage is just about allowing same sex couples to be "married" would do well to learn from the examples above.  Your personal and religious freedoms are at stake. Be sure to vote AGAINST Question 6 in order to preserve traditional marriage in Maryland as the union of one man and one woman.  Do not be fooled. A FOR vote is a vote to legalize same-sex marriage so you will want to make sure you vote AGAINST Question 6.

DC’s value-less sex education

So today I pull my van up to a parking lot near 5th St. and D St. NE to make a grocery delivery for Urban Grocery at 3:30 p.m.  There I see a group of two girls and three boys from Stuart-Hobson Middle School between the apartment building and a fence covered with ivy.  “Pull up” says one boy.  “We did that” says the other as they swagger off.  One of the girls lingers while apparently pulling her pants up. 

This is the expected end result of Washington, DC’s value less sex education.  Sex is good, just use a condom (although at least 30% do not).  No values, no idea of when you are supposed to have sex (i.e., when you are married).  Sexual exploration is good, per David Catania’s (in)famous sex education report.

And there is the small pamphlet that ninth grade high school students receive from DCPS “Going to get it on? Gotta put it on”. Click here to see the pamphlet: (warning, it shows how to put a condom on.)  Youth are tested for syphilis and gonorrhea after peeing in a cup.  All this without any parental notification or consent. 

Wake up DC parents.  If you want the best future for your children, get involved.  Be aware of what your children are being taught in school.  Ask and demand to see all sex education materials.  Invite Urban Life Training to give a free parent presentation to your Parent-Teacher association.  Urban Life Training raises youth leaders to develop good character and teach about healthy sexuality.  Click here to see the school and community-based presentations that Urban Life Training gives.

Write the DC Council about the South Capitol Street Tragedy Memorial Act

   The South Capitol Street Memorial Act of 2011 will create an intrusive government bureaucracy and will ask teachers to take on an extra workload to do mental health evaluations. 
We need more family strengthening and less government intrusion.  The inability of the District's Youth and Rehabilitative Services Agency as well as the Child and Family Services Agency to properly care for those under their respective jurisdictions should give us pause in creating yet another government bureaucracy.
   Also, with a budget shortfall, how can this monstrous bureaucracy be funded?
This bill should be killed now, and more effort given to supporting community based education to prevent risky behavior among our youth.  Studies show that behaviors such as being suspended from school are related to other risky behaviors, such as sex outside of marriage.  A character based, abstinence affirming sexual health education alternative to the condom based approach now used in DC would be a good place to start in reducing risky behavior among DC youth. 

Use the ULTRA Teen Choice email tool to contact all DC Councilmembers, key staff, and Mayor Gray.

The South Capitol Street Tragedy Memorial Act of 2011 is bad legislation

Through the promotion of same sex marriage and sexual exploration of all kinds through the David Catania sponsored sexual health report , Catania promotes the weakening of families.   Now Catania wants even early head start pre-schoolers up to 12th grade students evaluated for mental health issues (as if they don’t have enough to do already).  School teachers and the DC Government should not be asked to step in to replace the role of parents.
The fact that the outside of marriage birth rate in DC is 55 per cent, and in Wards 7 and 8 is 85 per cent has a severe effect on crime and violence.  Even in crime-ridden neighborhoods, 90 percent of youth who grow up in safe, stable two parent homes do not get involved in delinquent behavior.  This statistic should inform us that we need to create policies that encourage parenting within two parent families.  We should not attempt to supplant the role of parents with a mental health bureaucracy.  And especially not with a bureaucracy that does not honor the role of parents, self control, and sexual abstinence,  as evidenced by Catanias sexual health report.
Anytime the government gets involved, there is a loss of personal freedom.  Look at the absolute mess at the DC Child and Family Services Agency, which has been under Court ordered supervision for years.   Also look at the mess at the Catania overseen department of health, where $5.8 million  were funneled to convicted drug kingpin Cornell Jones  who was supposedly renovating the property at 2127 Queens Chapel Rd. NE to be a job training center.  However, at the same time a liquor license was reserved for the same property, which is now the Stadium (strip) Club, as reported in the Washington Times.  This is a great example of why we should not entrust the care of our children to the government bureaucracy set up by Mr. Catania..    This bill is a bad idea and needs to be killed NOW!  Call your Councilmenber and all the at Large Councilmenbers as well as Catania’s office to tell them that you want programs funded that strengthen families by promoting childbearing within two parent families and sexual abstinence before marriage, and that you do not want the government to take over your role as a parent.  Delinquency is clearly linked to family breakdown.  Youth who grow up without a father in the home are much more likely to be involved in delinquent behavior.  Yet Catania’s bill does not address the crucial issue of encouraging childbearing after marriage.  The two parent family is the best structure to support the healthy growth and development of children. 
It is not surprising that Catania does not support the strengthening of the two parent family,  since he is the one who introduced and promoted the same sex “marriage” bill in DC.   The DC Council should promote what I call the Bill Cosby formula for success in life;  1) Graduate from high school, have children after you marry and don’t marry before age 20.  Those who do all of these things have an eight percent chance of living in poverty.  Those that do none of these things have a 79 percent chance of living in poverty. 
This means children also need to be taught to abstain from sex before marriage.  Yet Catania’s sexual health report promotes sexual exploration, and under Catania oversight, the department of Health pushes condoms but does not spend anything to encourage abstinence.
Call and emal your Councilmembers now (click here for phone numbers and emails) and tell them that you will parent your children, not the DC government and Mr. Catania. 

Mayor Gray denies responsibility for South Capitol Street Murders

Mayor Gray, through a spokesperson as reported in the Washington Times on June 24, said the District Government “Bears no responsibility in her (Brishnell Jones) death.  As such, the Office of the Attorney General, at the appropriate time, will move to dismiss this action”.  This was in response to the lawsuit filed by Nardyne Jefferies, Brishnell’s mother.

I think that the mayor has a lot of gall to have that position.  The District routinely lets dangerous criminals out on the streets prematurely.  Sanquan Carter, the person who started the chain of retribution, was wanted for armed carjacking.  Why was he released?  Why are violent youth routinely housed together with less serious offenders at DC facilities, such as the New Beginnings correction facility in Laurel.  Frequently, youth there have been out of control as well, as evidenced by the recent guard beating and escape. 

Yes, the DC government has to take responsibility for its role in the death of Brishnell, and many other DC residents.  Dangerous criminals need to be behind bars, regardless of their age.  Those who wish to be reformed should have that chance.  Unfortunately, the DC department of Youth and Rehabilitative Services has not sufficiently distinguished between different types of offenders, and DC law has frequently allowed criminals who commit serious crimes with weapons to go free.  DC code needs to be tightened, and its enforcement increased, to protect all DC citizens.  Criminals or ex convicts do not have any “right” to reek havoc and terror on our community.  Ms. Jefferies is right to file her lawsuit, and her resounding victory will send  a clear message to the DC Council and agencies to protect all citizens and to reevaluate and reform the practices of the DC juvenile justice system.