This isn’t another item about how and why abstinence-only programs — championed by the Bush administration and conservatives everywhere — don’t work, waste money, mislead young people about reality, and undermine public health. Instead, it’s about Republicans’ reaction to the evidence on abstinence-only programs.
This week, for example, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on the effectiveness of government-sponsored abstinence-only curricula. Not surprisingly, researchers, medical professionals, and scientists in the field explained to lawmakers that the evidence is overwhelming — abstinence-only doesn’t reduce teen pregnancies, doesn’t reduce sexually transmitted diseases, and doesn’t even lead minors to abstain from sex.
So far, so good. Then, of course, committee Republicans piped up.
Republicans said even if some abstinence-only programs do not work, others do, and it would be wrong to end the funding.
Rep. John Duncan, a Tennessee Republican, said that it seems “rather elitist” that people with academic degrees in health think they know better than parents what type of sex education is appropriate. “I don’t think it’s something we should abandon,” he said of abstinence-only funding.
Just a few weeks after the so-called “bittergate” story prompted a media frenzy, the right has already taken to defining “elitism” down — it’s now apparently “elitist” for qualified experts to tell federal officials about available evidence while they consider how to spend federal resources.
As John Cole put it: “Damned elitists with their facts and figures and numbers and statistics and fancy degrees. What do they know about public health that a regular Joe from Tennessee doesn’t?”
No Trackbacks To “Those ‘experts’ and their ‘fancy degrees’“
Hundreds of millions for abstinence education and they forget to get the domain name: I did though.
http://www.abstinenceonly.com
enjoy. (not quite safe for work)
everyone knows that this abstinence-only program does work and
this is how; turn around bend over and squeal like a pig as
your boyfriend/fb sticks it in your ……………….
you don’t have no babies this way, right? lol lol lol
Just like it was “elitist” for china to have all those perfessers and such thinkin they wuz better’n the peasant folk; wull, chareman mao sure shewed ‘em.
That there kultural revolushun and Great Leap Forward sure shewed ‘em.
Oh, the stupid burns!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Elitist”?! Is that what we’re calling the reality-based community now?
Damn us for our truthfulness as opposed to truthiness!
So if I have the right degree that means I know how to raise your child better than you?
Well, stating the obvious regarding the use of the word “elitist”, I have to say that the real problem is the American citizenry on which this kind of blatant stupidity actually works.
I agree with Republicans. Fact-based book learnin’ is bad. The best way to live one’s life is to base every action on an ancient, poorly translated book of parables.
I’ve heard that Osama Bin Laden believes that 2 +2 = 4, maybe we need to stop teaching that to our children. Anything to prevent them from becoming Islamofascists !!
IF WE DUN LEARNS TO REED AND RITE THE TAR-ISTS WILL WIN!
What frightens me is how successful the GOP has been in their well-coordinated branding campaign that utter stupidity is all-American and anyone who aspires to be anything other than a dropout is an elitist.
Elistist defined: see Hillary Clinton in meltdown mode; see Republicans who accuse think they know more about a subject than the experts; see television journalists who ask inane questions.
The intent. Of abstinence. Only education. Is to. Create more. Republicans.
We wouldn’t want to encourage anyone to respect intelligence, scientific data or factual information.
So is ‘elitist’ the new ‘n’ word?
oncall @ 11:
Correction: ….see Republicans who think they know more than the experts tell the experts that the data is worthless.
Or perhaps more appropriately, is ‘elitist’ the new ‘librul’ ??
This is why the GOP works so hard to destroy any non-mythology based education.
daxe @ 9:
That touches on a great point. Conservatism today only accepts the facts as they fall within the boundaries of their narrow political vision. On those issues where reality clashes with their beliefs, all the facts in the world would not sway them; they’ll go down with the ship with some contrived piety that they did what they knew was right.
JasonS @ 12:
And more meat for the war grinder.
CD @ 6:
Um, do sex educators “raise” their students?
So, we’re supposed to “teach the controversy” about evolution lest we get eXpelled! But we can’t teach UNDISPUTED facts about sex?
Ridiculous. Just give the kids the facts. They’re going to get some (highly defective) version of them anyway. Lots of “virgins” these days with VD.
Tell you what. Why don’t we do it the truly scientific way? Just segregate the kids into fact-based sex education and abstinence only and see how many more pregnant teens are in each group? Oh wait, that’s what we’ve been doing with the abstinence-only education for the last 8 years. Case closed.
Give the kids the facts.
Abstinence only sure did work at that compound in Texas, didn’t it??
“Rep. John Duncan, a Tennessee Republican, said that it seems “rather elitist” that people with academic degrees in health think they know better than parents . . . ”
Gee, Duncan, you think maybe some of these people with academic degrees in health might also be parents?
What’s all this fuss about? Everybody knows that a shot of bleach or moonshine will take care of any pesky little problem that may develop. The added bonus is that this cure also kills those yucky aids germs, too. Yay.
Needless to say (but I’m sayin it anyway): sarc off
JasonS @ 19:
Teach the controversy! While some people say that having sex can cause pregnancy, others think that R rated movies causes pregnancy.
Its moments like this that make me ashamed to share the same state with these morons. I am so glad I went through puberty during the Clinton administration or I’d have really been in trouble.
Wow - knowledge is elitist to these clowns. No wonder they don’t ‘believe’ in evolution. What’s their motto? “If God wanted me to be smart He would have given me a brain.” Rocks are smarter than these guys.
CD @ 6:
that is not what is being said and you are taking the usual insecure attitude
of being attacked by someone else’s opinion. if you feel fine in what you
teach your children about sex to help protect them, then feel fine. but grow up
maybe have a more mature look that someone else also has the best
interests of your children’s health. no one wants to choke your opinion.
oncall @ 11:
I’m trying to parse the logic of your comment and I’m afraid I’m having no luck. Do you know what elitist means? What does Hillary Clinton have to do with this thread? Do you suffer from HRC tourettes?
I found this about Rep Duncan. His idiotic statement is indefensible, but I think his political stand against the Iraqi war is interesting:
Duncan voted against authorizing the War in Iraq based on opposition to what he believed to be an unnecessary foreign involvement. He also opposed and voted against a June, 2006 House declaration in support of the war.[1] He was one of the most conservative Republicans to do so.[2] The Family Research Council rated him as a 92% or above since 2002[2]and the NRA has rated him in equally positive terms.[2] He is a frequent contributor to Chronicles, a magazine associated with the paleoconservative movement. Duncan and Ron Paul were the only two Republicans to vote against funding for the Iraq War on May 24, 2007.[1] Duncan voted, along with three other Republicans, to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by April 2008 on July 12, 2007.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.....itician%29
People who quote facts are elitest?
Republicans show their stupidity every day.
McCain the Liar @ 30:
Quit showing your elitism by quoting facts about Republicans.
JasonS @ 19:
I don’t remember saying anything about how we should “teach the controversy” about evolution.
Nice red herring though.
CD @ 6:
No. If it gets dangerous enough, there are child protection laws to step in. Parents will always make errors. We shouldn’t nanny them.
Peter G @ 28:
Very easy to answer your questions. a)Yes, I know what elitist means. Do you? b) Prior to my post, somebody mentioned elitist and it reminded me of the time that she called Obama an elitist. She doesn’t understand that she published her tax returns showing an income of over 100 million - hardly a common income, and mostly in the range of the financially elite. She has been in the halls of power for many years and therefore is in the politically elite stratosphere. She envisions herself entitled to be President. We all remember that she was the unquestioned Democratic nominee until Obama began to effectively challenge her. Her elitist self deception was injured and at that point, she decided to use her “kitchen sink” strategy and impugn her Democratic colleague’s qualifications to be President. When she was directly questioned, she had to say three time, “yes”, Obama is qualified to be President. c) no.
Slaw @ 31:
LOL
CD @ 32:
Actually your original argument is the red herring. The argument here is about the expenditure of public funds on educational programs and the effectiveness of those programs not who is going to raise someones child. If you want to use your logic I would ask if an ill-informed religious nutbar should decide what misinformation to give my child?
The swinish cult of anti-intlectualism is no longer a cult it is main stream America.
oncall @ 34:
I think, that, given the subject of this thread and your rambling response the answer to c is most definitely yes.
I am going to go off topic for a second - Bush hates Americans !!! (especially those that don’t support him !) Please take a look at War Made Easy and you can witness all those pundits that now sometimes offer a meager criticism of Bush and this terrible war, in order to get an idea that maybe it’s time we drove these people out of the media. I do not support CNN, Fox (sic), NBC, CBS, ABC, etc - as the recent news that military analysts lied to us… LET ME REPEAT THAT - THEY LIED FOR THEIR OWN BENEFIT !!! They benefited from their analyzes, which were FALSE ! Now, if I am a doctor that operates on the wrong side of the brain, or maybe an engineer that builds a collapsible bridge, or a clown that kills people accidentally, chances are I will be out of a job. However, in this administration and for that matter, let’s be honest, politicians in general, get to be wrong all the time. I enjoy the concept of term limits for everyone. Get in, do some good if you can and then get out. If you suck, you will be quickly exposed and thrown out of office. I work hard for very little money. Bush gets to stay in office for 8 years, take like 520 days off - preposterous - and then make a killing on speaking tours. So you are averse to having sex being discussed… what exactly are you obfuscated about ?!#?! Please tell me, because religion has nothing to do with policy - it should be kept separate ! For the love of Christ, stop teaching kids about abstinence, especially when our administration lies to us every day about these Wars, their policies abroad and especially at home. $4/gal… he didn’t know ! Where did you hear that ? It’s like Rudy not knowing how much milk costs… These people have become detached from reality. Wars are evil. Terrorists are evil (duh ?!#$%). Has terrorism been around for a long time ? uh, yeah. Why is there never a coherent strategy of the war presented on television ? I see these experts paint these portraits of war like it’s a poem about life - I want specifics. Tell me what the population breakdowns are - who is who. Oh, and the fact that journalists (those that remain are not making a killing like Friedman - fly Pie fly) are unable to go where they please is a testament to the nuanced propaganda campaign this administration is willing to continue unleashing on us. I remember reading the french and british press prior to the assault on the people of Baghdad, and I… my blood boils at the despicable bullshit that passes as governing in these times. During Clinton Fox was afraid of presidential powers and now during Bush they praise it (make up your minds !!!), but please don’t call your brand of television reporting, because it’s propaganda ! Pure and simple.
My prose would be a bunch of exclamation points, but I need to at least bring a coherent message to the board, as I want to connect other people that are as mesmerized at the continuing smokescreen that is the Bush presidency. Why do we believe in parties anyway ? Republicans and Democrats. Many earmarks between the both of them. The whole concept of change is fundamental to the next steps we take as a country and Obama would certainly provide a testament that the general populace is ready to put racist tendencies behind it, as it would for Hillary - is America ready for a woman president ? is America ready for a black president ? Who are these mongols on television that get paid thousands ???#!$@ I cannot get over these questions ? I love non-fiction and this garbage is reserved for the books by Safire, Coulter and Hannity, where the bibliography is as thin as the ice of Boston in June. Come on !
The people I speak with are as confounded by the circus that is currently unfolding in our media about the political race for presidency. I wonder, though, can bringing us this much bullshit coverage be good for business ? I understand that these media companies are beholden to sponsors, but wouldn’t we all benefit from being better informed. To have people still believe that Saddam had ties to Al Quaeda ? Puh-lease !
What is wrong with educating kids about sex ? Are you afraid that it will force them to put two and two together that daddy is sleeping with mommy #2 ? Wow ! Sex is just sex ! It’s not evil ! It’s natural. And how about the fact that scientists are being stifled ! Man, I am out. Good night. Love your neighbor and find out more about the views that you don’t share, stop being offended !
There is an explosion in STDs among high school girls….. cause and effect
Einstein was a elitist - why do we need him? Our militias could have taken on the Japanese and Germans
Pasteur was an elitist - why boil anything before consuming it?
Is our society on a downward slide of know knowthing ness, amazing corpulence and the inability to provide food, shleter and health care for ourselves and out children. How quickly we are falling.
Peter G @ 38:
I see a common thread, in how people react to facts not in their favor, like statistics and delegate counts. Like abstinence-only advocates, Hillary knows what is best for America. She will fight like a lioness against her party itself, tooth and claw, even intentionally misspeak, to make right. By turning to an elite body of super-delegates.
Yes, like how those doctors are always so scientific when they examine them. How dare they!
LibertyLover @ 20:
Already been done.
My wife’s idiot evangelical cousin, has seven holier-than-thou kids who were home schooled to protect them from the “evils of non-christianity.” The three oldest girls all had babies out of wedlock by age 20, and the boy joined the army to stay out of jail. Yet, they rationalize everything in some sort of totally irrational way.
This is also the same woman who barely graduated high school, and yet I have seen here “lecture” professionals with advanced degrees about intelligent design. As if the very fact of her existence isn’t overwhelming proof against any type of intelligent design.
I bet you would never guess they are staunch, authoritarian republicans. And unfortunately, they vote!
Peter G @ 36: