Teen pregnancy, taxes and climate change: Evidence matters
It is one of the great under-reported success stories of our time.
Twenty years ago, roughly 62 out of every 1,000 teen-age American girls were giving birth. Here in Georgia, the numbers were much, much worse. At the time, we had the highest teen-age birth rate in the country, at 126 births per 1,000 teen-age girls, twice as high as the national average.
The good news is that by 2009, the most recent year for which statistics are available, the national teen birth rate had fallen to 39.1 births per 1,000 females, a 37 percent decrease and the lowest rate ever recorded in this country. (It’s still among the highest in the Western world.) Here in Georgia, the decline was even more dramatic. By 2009, the rate of teenage births here had fallen to 47.7 per 1,000, still above the national average but a startling reduction of 62 percent.
That’s a lot of individual lives that have been saved and changed. It’s a lot of money saved for the taxpayer as well. Those improvements have been pretty broadly based as well. As the Centers for Disease Control reports, “During that period, the birth rate decreased 50 percent among black teens, 41 percent among white teens, and 33 percent among Hispanic teens.”
However, the problem has remained more persistent in some areas than others. Texas, for example, has the third-highest teen pregnancy rate in the country. At 60.7 pregnancies per 1,000 teen-aged girls, its rate is more than three times higher than that of Vermont, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, which have the lowest teen pregnancy rates in the country.
In Texas, that means three times more girls at risk of dropping out of high school and never attending college. It means a lot more abortions. It means a lot more children who are being raised by children, often without benefit of a nuclear family. It means premature babies, more low weight babies, more infant mortality and more dependence on government social programs.
In its sex-ed programs in public school, Texas relies upon a curriculum of abstinence-only, an approach that has been shown to be ineffective in multiple studies. Gov. Rick Perry was asked about that fact last year in a televised interview with Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune, who read Perry a question submitted by an audience member:
Here’s a transcript of the relevant exchange:
SMITH: Governor, why does Texas continue with abstinence education programs when they don’t seem to be working? In fact, I think we have the third highest teen pregnancy rate in the country.
PERRY: “Abstinence … works.”
(audience laughter)
SMITH: “But we have the third highest teen pregnancy rate among all states in the country. The questioner’s point is, it doesn’t seem to be working — abstinence education.”
PERRY: “It, it, it works. Maybe it’s the way it’s being taught, or the way it’s being applied out there, but the fact of the matter is it is the best form of — uh — to teach our children.”
SMITH: “Can you give a statistic telling me that it works?”
PERRY: “I’m just going to tell you from my own personal life, abstinence works …”
We’ve seen that attitude in a lot of policy areas. Tax cuts increase government revenue, even though repeated experiments have proved otherwise. Global warming has been revealed as a hoax, even though every investigation of the data has upheld its accuracy (the most recent is here).
And as Perry stubbornly insists, abstinence works.
This is faith and ideology that is immune to evidence. It is the assertion that belief should trump outcome. And as the teen-birth statistics demonstrate, the consequences of elevating faith over fact in the public policy sphere can be tragic.
(As an aside, it’s hard to watch that clip and not be struck by the uncanny similarity in body language and speaking cadence between Perry and former President George W. Bush. It’s actually kind of weird. My wife’s family is from Texas and my brother has lived there for 30 years — it’s not as if every male in the state has those mannerisms.)
– Jay Bookman
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849 comments Add your comment
Don't Forget
August 24th, 2011
10:36 am
GS, you completely missed the point.
Good little liberal
August 24th, 2011
10:37 am
Jay
You seemed to infer that in conservatives states that since the unwed births were higher, that it must be conservatives that were not teaching their children. As I said, it would be interesting, but impossible to prove. I personally think that kids raised in households that support abortion and out of wedlock sex would have more teen pregnancies, but that is an opinion. There is no way to prove it. (Or disprove it)
jm
August 24th, 2011
10:38 am
Jay 10:33 –
no doubt. econ 101….
There will still be a market for unbiased reporting, though it may be pretty small. Bloomberg!
Paddy O
August 24th, 2011
10:38 am
Jay, maaan – 62 out of 100 is NOT 62% – try moving the decimal over – 6.2%
Paddy O
August 24th, 2011
10:38 am
sorry, 62 out of 1000
Paddy O
August 24th, 2011
10:40 am
egads, I must apologize – i misread the stat – sorry, again. this is a bad day thus far.
(ir)Rational
August 24th, 2011
10:40 am
Bosch – I agree, I’ve just never seen one (admittedly, I take frequent breaks from the blog, and haven’t been here that long) touting Obama. It is typically all bad. I’m just asking questions. Teen pregnancies are something that definitely needs to be addressed in this country, but I’m not going to pretend I know the answer. Abstinence education didn’t work when I was in high school, and it doesn’t work today. However, abstinence does work, it just isn’t realistic to expect your children to practice it unless you supervise them 24/7.
Now, I’m not sure what y’all mean by gun control, I was taught that gun control was hitting what I was shooting at. Possibly using both hands to control it better.
Oh-well. Who is John Galt?
Don't Tread
August 24th, 2011
10:40 am
Perry = Bush. Who didn’t see THAT coming?
In other news, King Obama has decided to “selectively enforce” some laws and completely make others on his own via Executive Orders.
This is how tyranny gets started.
Stevie Ray
August 24th, 2011
10:40 am
Jay, I’m still from Missouri on the whole global warming thingy. The link you referred to includes two key words that jumped off the page and innuendos between the lines. “Models” and “hypothesis” remain the pure justification in favor of throwing piles of money at this conclusion. Between the lines, climatology as a science ain’t exactly calculus and has no measurable batting average on a historical basis. Checking the motives, I’m also concerned climatology’s recognition as bona fide science skews the opinon playing field as their is money to be made.
Also, I’m wondering how you can compare actual pregnancy data (verifiable) to hypothesis?
WOODSTOCK MIKE
August 24th, 2011
10:40 am
“Well, of the 20 states with the lowest teen birth rates, 18 voted for Obama and two voted for Bush.”
We know that African Americans and Hispanics have the highest teen birth rates. We know that the majority of minorities vote for Democrats because they believe they will be given more handouts. So, we know that people who have been proven to have the highest teen pregnancy rates vote for a Democrat.
Jay
August 24th, 2011
10:41 am
Paddy, my number is accurate.
It was a 62 percent decrease in the rate. There is no mention of the rate being 62 percent.
godless heathen
August 24th, 2011
10:42 am
Adam,
Actually it was the first page of this blog, the 13th comment when Mr. Bosch himself took a slam at the former President Bush.
Bosch
August 24th, 2011
10:43 am
irrational,
Well, for one thing, Jay is the left-wing opinion writer — but as a seasoned blog veteran, I’ve seen plenty of lefties (including Jay) calling out Obama when they disagreed with him.
Adam
August 24th, 2011
10:43 am
Don’t Tread In other news, King Obama has decided to “selectively enforce” some laws, just like his predescessor did, and after a couple of years of enforcing immigration to the MAX with a promise that doing so would lead to talks of immigration reform in Congress.
FYT
Paddy O
August 24th, 2011
10:43 am
question is: how is the pregnancy rate being lowered? less fornication or more abortion? If it is the latter, it is NOT a good solution.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
August 24th, 2011
10:43 am
Since 1996, more than $1.5 billion in federal and state matching funds have been committed to abstinence-only programs(SIECUS, 2006b). Because of the requirement that states match federal funds for abstinence-only programs, state dollars that previously supported comprehensive, medically accurate sexuality education — which includes but is not limited to abstinence education — have been diverted to abstinence-only programs
Paddy O
August 24th, 2011
10:43 am
Jay – yeah, sorry – I saw the 62 out of 100 and thought the 62% reduction number was a reflection of that – read it too quick – again, I am sorry about that.
Jay
August 24th, 2011
10:43 am
So (ir)Rational, I guess yesterday’s blog stating that the Libya outcome is validating Obama’s approach doesn’t count?
Bosch
August 24th, 2011
10:44 am
gh,
Yeah, and where in that post do I equate Bush to being a failure as you wrote?
Answer: no where. Twisting and manipulating does not make your argument sir.
Zedd
August 24th, 2011
10:44 am
Yawn! Is that the best you can come up with Jay? Why no mention of the fact that our president, Homeland Security, and ICE are blatantly ignoring the rule of law in this country to appease the Hispanics and try and secure potential future Democratic votes? For shame!
Keep Up the Good Fight!
August 24th, 2011
10:45 am
The vast majority of Americans and parents support comprehensive, medically accurate sexuality education. Approximately 82 percent of Americans and 75 percent of parents want their children to receive a variety of information on subjects including contraception and condom use, sexually transmitted infection, sexual orientation, safer sex practices, abortion, communications and coping skills, and the emotional aspects of sexual relationships. Only 36 percent of Americans support abstinence-only educational programs, and 56 percent of Americans do not believe that abstinence-only programs prevent sexually transmitted infections or unintended pregnancies. Given the choice, only one to five percent of parents remove their children from responsible sexuality education courses (Albert, 2004; Bleakley et al., 2006; Guttmacher Institute, 2002; KFF, 2000; Kirby, 1999; Research!America and APHA, 2004).
Recent studies have shown that parental opinions regarding sexuality education are similar within states that teach comprehensive sexuality education and states that mandate abstinence education. A 2007 survey of California parents found that regardless of educational attainment, political or religious affiliation, or place of residence, nearly 90 percent believe their children should have comprehensive sex education in the classroom (Mangaliman, 2007). A 2006 survey of parents in North Carolina — a state that mandates abstinence education — found that 91 percent of parents support sexuality education in the schools, with 89 percent supporting comprehensive sexuality education (Ito et al., 2006).
pat
August 24th, 2011
10:45 am
Well this myth is busted…Imigration, not education is the problem in Texas….Bring on the next liberal talking point.
If you have to omit facts to make a point, your probably don’t have a point….
Adam
August 24th, 2011
10:45 am
godless heathen: Bosch said in his 13th comment: Yes, because we all know that you can just NOT have sex, just like we all know you just STOP breathing…
I am not seeing the Bush swipe.
Bosch
August 24th, 2011
10:45 am
“are blatantly ignoring the rule of law in this country to appease the Hispanics and try and secure potential future Democratic votes?”
Because again, those are false comparisons and can never be proved?
Adam
August 24th, 2011
10:46 am
godless heathen: And as we all know, a sampling of a single blog post is all you need to prove your point
jm
August 24th, 2011
10:46 am
I’m going to chalk declining teen pregnancy up to neither abstinence or education.
It’s really just declining male fertility.
(only 1/2 kidding)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101129111737.htm
pat
August 24th, 2011
10:47 am
A link from planned parenthood really? The largest abortion provider in the nation? I don’t trust the words of murderers. That’s like taking relationship advice from Ted Bundy.
Mighty Righty
August 24th, 2011
10:47 am
Regarding global warming models: Just remember the exact same people who are using computer models to forecast the climate of the entire earth for the next century are the same ones who cannot predict with any certainty where hurricane Irene will land this week. Seriously, can anyone keep a straight face when discussing gobal climate predictions.
DebbieDoRight
August 24th, 2011
10:47 am
(ir): Debbie – thank you very much for adding to my already great mood. Not positive where it came from, but I’m extremely happy this morning. Maybe I should cut back on the Mt. Dew?
Mountain Dew is the Champagne of the south. Recognize!
parents refuse to talk to their children about the dangers of premarital sex (or sex in general). My parents just gave me a book telling me it was evil and left it at that
Did it work?
Granny: And quit glorifying teen moms on “reality” tv and tabloid magazines
I watch Teen Mom religiously!! One of my favorite shows. Since watching TeenMom (on MTV) I’ve found out that I never,ever,ever,ever,ever,EVAH want to have kids. I’m not a teen but that show has been the best teacher of what can happen if you don’t protect yourself EVERY TIME than any of the Sex Ed I got in High School.
TGT
August 24th, 2011
10:47 am
Link to the study I referenced: http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/164/2/152
Jay
August 24th, 2011
10:47 am
Or the post quoting Roubini’s defense of Obama on the economy?
Or the one saying the administration is right to investigate S&P’s rating performance in the Wall Street meltdown, an investigation begun well before S&P’s downgrade of US debt?
Or …. well, I could go on.
Bosch
August 24th, 2011
10:47 am
Bosch
August 24th, 2011
9:34 am
And yes, Perry looks and sounds EXACTLY like Bush. Eeeekkk!!
Adam,
I’m assuming he means that one.
Reading comprehension is not the wingnut forte.
(ir)Rational
August 24th, 2011
10:48 am
Bosch – I’m not asking why he doesn’t criticize Obama (I’m trying to understand if you’re just having reading comp problems today or what, seriously, said, well typed, with no malice intended). I’m asking why he doesn’t do a blog praising his accomplishments? That’s what I’m curious about. I understand that he isn’t going to do a blog, especially regularly, slamming him. The fact that he has in the past, is one of the few things that keeps me coming back. The regular posters, is the main thing though (sorry Jay). Y’all are just funny (both sides of the aisle).
Oh-well. Who is John Galt?
Zedd
August 24th, 2011
10:48 am
Bosch – Come on dude, it’s happening right under your damn fool nose and yet all you say is those are false comparisons and can never be proved. Another idiot response from the peanut gallery.
JOE C00L
August 24th, 2011
10:48 am
“majority of minorities vote for Democrats because they believe they will be given more handouts.”
Hmmmmm,maybe its because Republicans dont really give a shty about minorities. Once again, it goes back to my point which is, when was the last time you’ve seen a Republican politician in a “minority” community? I’ll wait….
Bosch
August 24th, 2011
10:50 am
irrational,
Well, Jay is here, ask him. But as I’ve written, I’ve seen Jay criticize Obama just like other lefties when they have disagreed with him.
godless heathen
August 24th, 2011
10:50 am
Bosch, your clear implication was:
Perry = failure, Perry = Bush, ergo Bush = failure.
If being only being literal counts, I searched this whole blog and the only time I found “Obama = failure” was in your post.
Don't Forget
August 24th, 2011
10:50 am
Hmmmm, still no conservative willing to step up and talk about how they were abstinate before marriage. Seems like you would have to show at least a few examples of someone who actually WAS abstinate before you would recommend this as a strategy to control teen pregnancy.
DebbieDoRight
August 24th, 2011
10:50 am
Midori: Rush is on his fourth wife, and still can’t get it
rightUp.Fixed your typo
kayaker 71
August 24th, 2011
10:51 am
Rasmussen today….. only 21% of the electorate strongly approve of Bozo…… 44% strongly disapprove. Reported today….. a generic Republican is 5 percentage points ahead of Bozo if the election was held today. 66% still feel that the country is headed in the wrong direction. Only 21% believe that Bozo is handling our economy correctly.
Those pesky statistics just won’t seem to go away. And Bookman posts a thread blaming Perry for all of the little girls in Texas getting pregnant. Are you running out of ammunition, Bookman or is the obvious still alluding you and all of your liberal love fest?
(ir)Rational
August 24th, 2011
10:51 am
Debbie – Mt. Dew is WAY better than Champagne. To answer your question, no, it didn’t work. Didn’t end up with any kids (and I’m not sure that I want any, I’ve always considered pregnancy a STD), but didn’t really practice that whole “abstinence” thing either. I was just smarter than your average idiot and knew that pregnancy = bad, so I took steps to prevent it.
Oh-well. Who is John Galt?
Adam
August 24th, 2011
10:52 am
pat: 10:45a: Glad you feel so proud of yourself having debunked a “liberal lie” by using data that doesn’t say what you think it says. The report mentions both Texas and California as having very high amounts of Hispanics, and yet Texas is the only one of those two with a teen pregnancy problem. It mentions nothing about immigration as a cause of the problem, but presents only data related to how to help prevent teen pregnancies (none of which indicate anything about immigration at all). In fact, its major recommendation is to implement “evidence-based sexual health education
programs”
Nice try though. I love it when cons think they have facts to back them up, but upon examination of said facts, and being ENCOURAGED to read them by the cons, people find something entirely different.
Bosch
August 24th, 2011
10:52 am
“Bosch, your clear implication was:
Perry = failure, Perry = Bush, ergo Bush = failure.
If being only being literal counts, I searched this whole blog and the only time I found “Obama = failure” was in your post.”
No gh, my clear implication was that Perry reminded me alot of Bush in that clip. If you want to project more meaning into what others say, that’s your business, but don’t go putting YOUR words in my mouth sir.
And if you also want to cherry pick what others type, then be careful what you type from now on.
(ir)Rational
August 24th, 2011
10:53 am
Bosch – once again, reading comprehension problems? Nothing to do with him criticizing Obama. I was being completely serious. Good suggestion though.
Jay – why no (or more?) columns praising Obama’s accomplishments? Just curious.
Oh-well. Who is John Galt?
Bosch
August 24th, 2011
10:54 am
Adam,
pat seems to have some kind of disorder that what he posts actually contradicts his ideas. Weird.
Granny Godzilla
August 24th, 2011
10:54 am
DDR
I can understand how yu an adult female could feel about Teen Mom…
but think about it from the point of a teen girl….longing for her 15 minutes of fame and ending up with a lifetime or responsibility.
ALSO, love for you to re-think motherhood – you’d be wonderful.
Stevie Ray
August 24th, 2011
10:54 am
Jay, you are spot on about S&P. It is clear that they either didn’t understand CDO’s et al or simply succombed to the pressure from paying customers to overlook the composition of the pools of mortgages. Ergo, the velocity of the real estate market’s demise was certainly influenced by favorable ratings of otherwise “junk”.
I do agree that US credit rating deserved a hit if no simply for the fact that we had to borrow money to continue to finance our lifestyle. If you believe the worst case, we had to borrow money to avoid defaulting on our obligations on borrowed money. Kinda comical don’t you agree?
willydoit?
August 24th, 2011
10:54 am
Abstinence?? Telling teenagers to just say no to sex would be like telling Jay Bookman he can no longer write opinion pieces!
DebbieDoRight
August 24th, 2011
10:55 am
Pat 10:25 a.m. Regarding Latina Pregnancies in Texas: It’s an immigration problem, not an education problem…
Quick question – how do you know that every Latina that gets pregnant is an immigrant and NOT a US Citizen? Just asking….
Mighty Righty
August 24th, 2011
10:56 am
If our government quit paying researchers to prove the existence of global warming and instead paid them to prove global cooling, they would find an abundance of evidence supporting the theory of cooling. You get what you pay for.
willydoit?
August 24th, 2011
10:56 am
DebbieDoRight 10:55
How will we know they are a citizen…we’re not allowed to ask????
Libertarian
August 24th, 2011
10:58 am
Technically speaking, abstinence “works.” Only problem is that very few teenagers these days practice abstinence.
Stevie Ray
August 24th, 2011
10:58 am
IrRational, John Gault reference, as far as referring to the fact that on most current issues do not enjoy the support of solid evidence for either side. I must say however, that my favorite character of Rand’s is Howard Rourke. Perhaps we should blow up this DC thing that has evolved which now is being fueled by motives never contemplated…..
(ir)Rational
August 24th, 2011
10:59 am
I would say that Latina and African American and redneck pregnancies are a cultural issue. If it appears (at least) acceptable in your culture for a 15 or 16 year old girl to get pregnant, then what is going to stop you. Without any data to back this up, I would bet that the lowest teen pregnancy rates in the US are among middle/upper class Asians. Who has time to get pregnant when you have a schedule for every second of your day? Like I said, no actual data, but if you think about it, it makes sense.
Oh-well. Who is John Galt?
ByteMe
August 24th, 2011
11:00 am
So this must be the “Texas Miracle” we keep hearing about. 3rd highest underage birth rate. What else has been so great about the Texas Miracle?
5th highest homicide rate per 100,000 population.
highest property crime rate per 100,000 population.
13th highest STD rate per 100,000 population.
10th highest percent of children living below the poverty line in the past 12 months (that line is about $22K per year for a family of 4, by the way).
8th highest percent of people over 65 living below poverty level in past 12 months (yes, let’s make them all pay for their own healthcare!).
8th highest drunk driving accident incidence.
It’s a MIRACLE!!
(ir)Rational
August 24th, 2011
11:00 am
Stevie Ray – Howard Roark is an awesome character. Made all the more awesome by the fact that he is an architect.
Oh-well. Who is John Galt?
Adam
August 24th, 2011
11:00 am
godless heathen: Perry = failure, Perry = Bush, ergo Bush = failure.
That would be a logical fallacy.
Thomas
August 24th, 2011
11:01 am
Hmmmmm,maybe its because Republicans dont really give a shty about minorities. Once again, it goes back to my point which is, when was the last time you’ve seen a Republican politician in a “minority” community? I’ll wait….
It happens about as many times Dems out give charitably the Repubs- rarely to never.
One has to love the political “gotchas”
cosby smith
August 24th, 2011
11:01 am
What else can you expect from Jay..hunt for any and everything to discredit a Republican. Fair and Balanced. Perhpas a change in society could help..like get the government off the role of the parent and hold everyone accountable. Look into these births and I bet the greatest percentage are from those on the government take and many have multiple births. Yep, it is the Republicans fault and the government should pay / reward women to have kids. yea right Jay!
Adam
August 24th, 2011
11:02 am
Also godless heathen, the reason you can’t find “Obama” in relation to failure on this blog is because the people who hate him refuse to use his real name. Try searching “Bozo” or “Odumba”
Bosch
August 24th, 2011
11:02 am
irrational,
I have to say I agree with you 10:59 — a friend of mine who grew up in the sticks of Alabama told me once (and I’ve had others who grew up in poor minority neighborhoods as well tell me this) — “what else was there to do?”
Thomas
August 24th, 2011
11:03 am
Until we have Pres willing to sacrifice his or herself and come out with a comprensive plan that includes energy, illegal immigration, gov’t spending including healthcare we will all simply waste our time squeezing a balloon
Bosch
August 24th, 2011
11:03 am
“That would be a logical fallacy.”
Adam,
Or better known as the core of wingnut logic.
godless heathen
August 24th, 2011
11:03 am
Well Adam, in your spare time why don’t you go back through the past 5 years of Jay’s blogs and tabulate the number of times that Bush is blamed for bad things and the number of times that Obama is blamed. Get back to us with the results.
Stevie Ray
August 24th, 2011
11:03 am
irRational, don’t forget our pal Howard was also a demolitions specialist…literally and figuratively….sometimes you need to destroy what you created if original value is compromised….Perhaps we should start by outsourcing congress to India and blowing up K Street (figuratively of course for the sensors)…
(ir)Rational
August 24th, 2011
11:04 am
cosby smith – It isn’t Jay’s job to be fair or balanced. He writes an opinion blog, and doesn’t present himself as a reporter in this arena, therefore he is expected to give his opinion.
Oh-well. Who is John Galt?
Kamchak
August 24th, 2011
11:04 am
A link from planned parenthood really? The largest abortion provider in the nation? I don’t trust the words of murderers. That’s like taking relationship advice from Ted Bundy.
This crap?
Again?
“Murder” is a legal definition.
Abortion is not illegal.
I can understand that you don’t like abortion, but using made up definitions to post hyperbole is just puerile.
N-GA
August 24th, 2011
11:04 am
I didn’t read every post so this may have been mentioned already.
Listen to the transcript of Perry with your eyes closed. What do you hear?
It’s the voice of George Bush!!!!!
Paddy O
August 24th, 2011
11:05 am
RE global warming: It is highly possible that our pumping tons of exhaust from factories all over the world is causing a problem with our atmosphere. However, determining the direct formula and causal connection is problematic. Also, the fact that we have such a poor track record of simple 24 hours weather forecasts indicates there are other factors at work that we don’t know or fail to recognize.
Bosch
August 24th, 2011
11:05 am
Off topic, but yes, Glen Beck has gone insane:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/24/glenn-beck-in-israel-restoring-courage-and-armageddon.html
DebbieDoRight
August 24th, 2011
11:05 am
Generations: Peoples lack of will power does not mean a concept doesn’t work. If they don’t have the will power to not have sex
Unfortuantely sex is a physical need — God put the urge for us to have sex because he knew that would be the only way to keep the species up. I mean when you think about it, without sex, why would a woman, who spent 25 hours in labor, EVER have sex again?
I knowWhat plan on teen pregnancy has worked? It went back up in 2006! The biggest way to get kids to not get pregnant is explain in detail the consequences of having a baby as a teen. explain how hard it will be and hopefully that will motivate them enough to make the right decision.
I’m in BBBS and that’s what I do for my “Littles” — I take them once a month (maybe a little less) to a teen shelter that houses pregnant homeless teens. I let that become their “reality series”.
MR: Earlier you were jealous of Sara Palin and now Rush
I’m jealous of Sara ’cause she’s sooo smart, and Rush because he’s such a fine specimen of manhood that I wish he was mine.
HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA sorry — I couldn’t help it — I was trying so hard to NOT laugh while I typed that!
Paddy O
August 24th, 2011
11:06 am
kamchak – prior to the civil war, slavery was legal – using it as a crutch to validate immoral behavior is pretty pathetic – if you were in GA in 1860 – how many slaves would you own, based on your faulty logic?
Mighty Righty
August 24th, 2011
11:07 am
Jay, I give credit to Obama for the apparent Libyan success. The proof is in the puding. He gets credit for the assasination of Bin Laden as well. Can’t think of anything else though.
Adam
August 24th, 2011
11:07 am
Until we have Pres willing to sacrifice his or herself and come out with a comprensive plan that includes energy, illegal immigration, gov’t spending including healthcare we will all simply waste our time squeezing a balloon
Jeez. I was at least expecting the cons to WAIT until Obama released his jobs plan to suddenly claim jobs weren’t important, it was something else (moving the goal posts). Guess they’re starting early.
Adam
August 24th, 2011
11:08 am
godless heathen: Well Adam, in your spare time why don’t you go back through the past 5 years of Jay’s blogs and tabulate the number of times that Bush is blamed for bad things and the number of times that Obama is blamed. Get back to us with the results.
If I had that kind of spare time, and access to the database, I would certainly do that.
(ir)Rational
August 24th, 2011
11:08 am
Bosch – Can’t remember the study, but something I read once, they lowered the pregnancy rate (not just teen but across the board) in certain parts of Africa and Asia simply by putting a TV in the community center and providing them with satellite. Where I grew up, there wasn’t anything else to do, and there were a lot of pregnant girls in my high school.
Stevie Ray – Couldn’t agree more, but it is only the people that have gone awry in DC, the buildings are beautiful, lets keep them. Well, I’m sure I could find a few that I wouldn’t mind destroying, but for the most part, they’re worth keeping.
Oh-well. Who is John Galt?
Keep Up the Good Fight!
August 24th, 2011
11:08 am
Bosch…gone insane? Wasn’t he already insane?
Kam, its also funny how those who are unable to distinguish between murder and lawful actions are also unable to discern that a website with posted footnotes to the supporting studies for the information there is not dismissed merely because of the irrate illogical rant of nonsubstance.
Mighty Righty
August 24th, 2011
11:09 am
DebbieDoRight
August 24th, 2011
11:05 am
Confession is good for the soul.
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
August 24th, 2011
11:09 am
Listen to the transcript of Perry with your eyes closed. What do you hear?
It’s the voice of George Bush!!!!!
Well, you’re right as rain. I’m in heaven! This proves there’s a God! They can take their two-term limit and shove it. I’m getting My President back.
Bosch
August 24th, 2011
11:09 am
Debbie,
My nieces grew up in a community where babies were like fashion accessories. I can not believe at least one of them did not get pregnant just because it was the thing to do. The problem I saw was that the parents did not make their daughter/son responsible for the upbringing, they took over the responsibilities themselves. The girls would have a baby one day and be at the football game the next Friday night!
(ir)Rational
August 24th, 2011
11:10 am
Bosch – really? Glen Beck has GONE insane? Don’t you mean he was always insane?
Oh-well. Who is John Galt?
pat
August 24th, 2011
11:10 am
Well Adam, that’s because while the actual number of hispanics are more in CA they account for less of the population than they do in TX. The numbers are clear. 58% of the teen pregnancies in TX are hispanics, most of which are here illegally. That is the fact…You remove that 58%, and TX acually has one of the lowest rates in the country.
Illegal immigration has skwed the number in TX.
Do you really want talk about CA, with the 2nd highest unemploument in the nation, one of the highest taxest rates and the mass exodus of business from the state, really? The state is on the verge of economic collapse, it’s representatives are corrupt, I could go on and on.
Kamchak
August 24th, 2011
11:10 am
…if you were in GA in 1860 – how many slaves would you own, based on your faulty logic?
Zero,
Another episode of one word answers to a simple(ton’s) question.
Adam
August 24th, 2011
11:10 am
Paddy O: RE global warming: It is highly possible that our pumping tons of exhaust from factories all over the world is causing a problem with our atmosphere. However, determining the direct formula and causal connection is problematic. Also, the fact that we have such a poor track record of simple 24 hours weather forecasts indicates there are other factors at work that we don’t know or fail to recognize.
Whatever. I’m done arguing with armchair scientists. Believe what you want, and get left in the dust when it’s more and more proven. Just like with each iteration of Obama proving his citizenship, and when the church believed the sun moves, not the earth, because the bible says so.
Gator Joe
August 24th, 2011
11:11 am
Jay,
Gov. Perry and other politicians of his ilk say what makes their uninformed, ill informed, unreasoning supporters feel better, though their “ideas” do little else. What is most disturbing about Perry, is that he actually believes the nonsense he brings forth in speeches and interviews. Anyway, as a Democrat, and President Obama supporter, I’m happy he’s in the race.
ragnar danneskjold
August 24th, 2011
11:11 am
A thoughtful essay that explains cogently why Texas has the strongest economy among the 50. “Lack of a nanny state.”
Bosch
August 24th, 2011
11:13 am
irrational,
I remember one time Johnny Carson joking around about how many kids he was responsible for – i.e. how many kids were conceived while his TV show was on.
Adam
August 24th, 2011
11:13 am
pat: most of which are here illegally.
You know, I read the article, and didn’t see that assertion. Could you please point me to where it says that. Thanks in advance.
Do you really want talk about CA, with the 2nd highest unemploument in the nation, one of the highest taxest rates and the mass exodus of business from the state, really?
No, I don’t want to talk about an argument that you just brought up as a means to support a completely unrelated argument that you are finding hard to back up on its own merits, thanks.
Bosch
August 24th, 2011
11:13 am
irrational/Keep,
Did y’all READ that article? It’s really freaky!
Paddy O
August 24th, 2011
11:14 am
feminism & moral relativism – key guides to young women fornicating.
Adam
August 24th, 2011
11:14 am
getalife: So, is it okay to call cons retards now?
No, but you can call them less smart than you
Paulo977
August 24th, 2011
11:14 am
Bosch
“what else was there to do?”
Great response !
Bosch
August 24th, 2011
11:15 am
“Zero,
Another episode of one word answers to a simple(ton’s) question.”
Not me man, I’d have thousands! I am, after all, a lazy, do nothing liberal!
Libertarian
August 24th, 2011
11:15 am
In theory, I don’t necessarily think its the job of schools to teach kids about sex, other than from a biological standpoint of how it works (sperm, egg, etc.) But, in practicality, there are so many parents who are not involved and who do a poor job of actually being parents….so, from a practical standpoint, I think schools should be giving out condoms and teaching kids about them since parents won’t.
Paddy O
August 24th, 2011
11:15 am
and the arrogant liberals keep crying for relevency. ostriches with asinine idealism.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
August 24th, 2011
11:15 am
Somehow the continued funding of abstinence only education is now as basis for a claim of the “lack of nanny state” and thus the conclusion that the teaching failure results in the strongest economy…
Did you follow the logic or did you get lost at the donut shop?
Kamchak
August 24th, 2011
11:15 am
The numbers are clear. 58% of the teen pregnancies in TX are hispanics, most of which are here illegally. That is the fact…
And we know those Hispanics are illegal ’cause when those babies come out they all have a birthmark that says anclaje bebé.
(ir)Rational
August 24th, 2011
11:15 am
Bosch – I try to stay away from stuff he writes. Makes me feel like I’m just an amateur paranoid, and that I don’t have enough guns. Oh, and it makes me want to wear a tinfoil hat and hang out in my concrete bunker. Seriously.
Oh-well. Who is John Galt?
JOE C00L
August 24th, 2011
11:16 am
“It happens about as many times Dems out give charitably the Repubs- rarely to never.”
Again, had nothing to do with the statement. SOOO according to your statement Thomas, the Republicans would rather throw money at it?? Wait…..i thought the Dems did that. Confused…NOT
kayaker 71
August 24th, 2011
11:16 am
We can’t have the jobs plan yet….. Bozo is still on vacation. I’m sure that all of those unemployed out there understand. They are probably sitting on the edge of their chair awaiting the Annointed One’s next failed proposal. Let’s throw money at it. That oughta do it. How bout another 8B? The first one worked so well. HE spent 8B at a time when the unemployment rate was 8%. Was supposed to create 2M jobs. Fell a little short, there, Bozo.