things i think

This article in Salon, Last two days to tell the FDA: Emergency contraception is a no-brainer!, made me think of a long, good discussion I had with a friend yesterday. The basic gist of the convo was that America as a whole is vastly undereducated when it comes to anything related to sex, and even our bodies in general. It's a sad statement, but a very real one.

While the article is focused purely on emergency contraception, it (and the pages it links to) brings up the bigger issues of abortion, contraception, and sex ed. Yesterday, we pretty much agreed that if more people, especially at a young age, were educated about sex, their contraception choices, and both male and female bodies we wouldn't have the problems with teen pregnancy, our astonishingly high infant mortality rate and even the incredible number of people living in poverty.

A big money quote from the linked Boston Globe article pretty much sums up the current situtation:

Aren't the youngest precisely those who should be most protected from pregnancy? Or do we still think that motherhood should be the punishment for sex?

It's a sad thing to realize that many probably do feel that those having sex outside of marriage should be punished, and that they deserve whatever they get. It's difficult to think about, but there are many who do not realize when sex can lead to pregnancy, their options to protect themselves, or even how to use their protection properly (e.g. that vitamins and antibiotics can cancel out the effects of birthcontrol, etc).

If we're going to insist on keeping people in the dark, we're going to have to accept that we will still have people getting pregnant (and let's not forget passing STDs, but that's another issue entirely). Just because we teach children about sex doesn't mean they're going to run home and start fucking like bunnies. As a part of sex education should be alternatives to sex, but even without these I doubt many more will have sex than those currently.

Long story short, we need to remove the stick up our ass that the prudish "moral majority" has placed there. We need to open the doors, break down the barriers to information, and let people (especially teenagers) know about themselves and their options. If we can do this, we'll reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies, which will help reduce the number of young girls who are forced to drop out to have a child and thereby placed at a lower station in life than they could otherwise reached.

With more information people make smarter choices. By sheltering our children (and even ourselves) in this way, we're only hurting ourselves and our future.

so on my way to work this morning i pass the mega-church down the street, and notice their sign out in front is advertising their "children's harvest festival" for tonight... which just cracks me up, and irritates me at the same time.

first off, it would seem that it's not ok to celebrate halloween there because apparently that's just bad. must be some of those "it's satan's holiday" people. which, honestly, if they cared that much about worshipping satan they might wanna look into how much in pop culture and their religion (but not necessarily their faith) comes from pagan origins.

secondly, it upsets me that because of their willful ignorance, they're going to pass their beliefs down to their children in this manner. halloween is now just a fun time to let loose and do something different. it's been approriated by corporate america and is no longer centered around whatever pagan beginning it had. these people really just need to learn to relax and live a little.

Doonesbury@Slate - Daily Dose

Free American broadband! Another interesting and informative article over at Salon. Who knew that our broadband prices were so, so much higher than those in other countries? Also some bits, that I actually had heard about, that talk about how big corporate is trying to block community broadband services.

I also find the FCC's definition of success completely amazing. "Instead of counting the number of subscribers in a particular area, the FCC considers an entire ZIP code as 'covered' if at least one person living in that area has a broadband connection. This allows the FCC to make misleading boasts about how broadband coverage reaches 99 percent of the country." Yeah, that makes complete sense to me... not.

It's also incredibly amazing that I find myself agreeing with Justice Scalia's side in the Brand-X case. He said in his dissent, "When all is said and done, after all the regulatory cant has been translated, and the smoke of regulatory expertise has blown away, it remains perfectly clear that someone who sells cable-modem service is 'offering' telecommunications."

Much more in the article, so I'll stop copy-pasting it here and just say go read it.

lil' markie. i'm not sure what disturbs me most, that this was made or that this guy's site is actually serious about these records...

update: lil markie's lj!!!!1

very interesting article at salon... calls into question the current administration's (and the right-wing in general) use of Jesus in campaigning and their message in general. makes some very good points about how they aren't really acting very Christian in the actions or with their policies. just a couple big quotes here:

The American Christian right has hijacked Jesus Christ. It has made him into a brand, a logo, a bumper sticker. It celebrates his suffering on the cross, but largely neglects what he had to say.

which rings especially true to me since all i see driving around are cars and SUVs plastered with countless Jesus-fish, magnetic messages and Biblical bumper stickers. just makes me sick. i'm not religious at all, but i still know that's not what being a Christian means. Christ taught that those who stand on the corner praying to show how faithful they are often are less so than someone who quietly helps others asking nothing in return, and suggesting a true follower would pray in the closet where no one would see.(Matthew 6:1-6) i'm not saying those with these public displays are violating some christian law, it just seems odd and hypocritical.

It's a twisted, schizophrenic form of religion that mirrors the most reactionary form of Islam. (Not by chance, both the Christian right and conservative Muslims are at odds with women's rights, and fiercely homophobic.)

nicely drawn comparison of the right to the Islamic extremists they are against, although many of their views align.

plenty more in the actual article, so go check it out. definitely worth the time spent reading through its brief two pages.

pyramid.JPG i'm not sure where this came from, but it's pretty funny (and yet sadly true) if you ask me.

Hey, I've got a crazy idea...

operation eden. truly harrowing images. and the storeis with each, just brings katrina back fresh into the mind. the stories may have dwindled in the press, but they're still very much going on.

The Talent Show: Fire and Brimstone funny headline / photo juxtaposition