Surprise, Surprise....Abstinence Only Sex Ed Doesnt' Work

Surprise, surprise! According to a recent study released today, teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are just as likely to have premarital sex as those who do not promise abstinence. The only difference, those teens that pledge not to have sex are significantly less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control when they do. "Taking a pledge doesn't seem to make any difference at all in any sexual behavior," said Janet E. Rosenbaum of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, whose report appears in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics. "But it does seem to make a difference in condom use and other forms of birth control that is quite striking."

As much as parents or educators or whoever hope kids don't have premarital sex, fact of the matter is they do! We are sexual beings! Sex is one of the strongest driving forces in humans. I know there are some people that are not driven by sex for whatever reason (medication decreasing the libido, a painful past sexual experience, etc), but as long as humans have been in existence, sex is a very strong motive for their behavior.

So for those who think abstinence-only education must be the rule in schools, hopefully this study will help shed some light on our educators and politicians: kids need to know the facts, all the facts! Teens need to be given total insight to contraceptives available, the possible negative side effects of sexual behavior, and condoms need to be made available wherever possible for teens!

A Face Only A Mother (Or Grandfather) Could Love

I'm not a REAL dog lover, but here's my new Granddog, Caesar. Ain't he cute?!

Today's The Day

OMG!! IT has finally happened! Half a Century! Damn, I'm old! "Old as Mold." "It's the BIG one!" "If you were a horse, they'd shoot you!" "If you were a car, you'd be an antique!" "Over the Hill!" These were just some of the sayings that waited my return from lunch the other day at work. To my surprise, the clerical staff got me! I thought because I'd be off on my actual birthday, I would be spared the tradition that has awaited staff in my office for a few years now: the "trashing" of the office/cubicle with the announcement of "THE BIG ONE!"

But it was inevitable. And as I always have heard, "Age is just a number." Believe me, most days I don't feel 50! On some I feel 150! However, most times I feel pretty damned good! Thank God I don't look 50!

50 years of learning! Patience has been one of them! I got a new computer about 2 weeks ago, and guess what? It's still sitting right here next to me in the box! In my earlier years, I would have torn the thing open and thrown it together, cursing and screaming the whole time because it wasn't fitting together just right! Not this year! I will probably set the computer up tomorrow, taking my time, reading the directions, and hopefully making the entire process much simpler and easier. Besides, I needed a new computer desk for this one too. So before I even attempt to take it out of the box, everything needs to be ready. I will be setting up a wireless Internet system also, so I have to do it right this time!

"Don't sweat the small stuff!" That's another thing I've learned over the past years. Life is too short to be worrying about the little stuff that happens. Sh** happens and there's nothing we can do about it anyway, so why let it bother us? It is what it is! Move on and leave it behind. There's too much important stuff happening to sweat the small stuff. The trick is to learn what is the small stuff and what is the big stuff. Everyday I run into people or situations that help me realize the difference between the small and big stuff. Someone battling cancer; that's a BIG thing! Someone who can't walk; that's another BIG thing! Someone who's house just burned down and all their belongings were inside; that's a BIG thing! Whether or not I'm going to get to the party on time; that's a very very small thing! What will I eat for dinner tonight; another small thing! See, it's not that hard to distinguish BIG from small.

Now that I am 50, I guess I can start to say whatever I want. I can tell people what I am really thinking! Nah! I won't be ignorant with people, but I am 50, so I'll do what makes me happy! Just watch out next 50 years!

From My Home To Yours

M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S ! ! !

One More Interesting Point From Rick Warren

One other interesting point made by Rick Warren on Dateline NBC:

Ann Cury: You said that God says in the Bible that a man and a woman should cling to each other for life, but it does not say that a marriage is only between a man and a woman. In fact the Bible says that King Solomon had 700 wives. Leviticus speaks of homosexuality as being a sin, but also orders the death penalty for eating fish that had fins and getting a tattoo.
Rick Warren: The people that make that argument don't understand there are three kind kinds of law in the Bible that are very different. There's civil law, which is for the nation of Israel. There's ceremonial law, which is for the Jewish priesthood. And there is moral law, which is for everybody. The laws about eating fish and stuff, those are civil and ceremonial laws for Israel. No Christian follows those.

I admit, I didn't realize there are three types of law, civil, ceremonial, and moral, mentioned in the Bible. I'm glad Rick cleared that up for me. So, even though God pronounced all three laws,
Christians such as Rick Warren get to choose which ones are for them and which are not! It's nice to have a faith that in reality lets me choose what I want to do and what I don't want to do.

Wrong Choice, Barack!

I have not yet weighed in on the Rick Warren/Barack Obama Presidential Inauguration controversy. I wanted to hear a bit more of what Pastor Rick Warren had to say. But now that I have watched his interview with Ann Curry on Dateline NBC, I too must say, "WRONG CHOICE, BARACK!"

Rick Warren is just another pastor preying on the fears and misfortunes of the people to make his "cause" grow. Feel good, don't fear:

Ann Curry: Recently he's been offering encouragement on an issue that's on Americans minds this Christmas season— the economic crisis.
Rick Warren: 365 times in the Bible is a phrase used: "Fear not."
Ann Curry: How can people not be afraid, reverend?
Rick Warren: It takes me back to the first Christmas. Mary and Joseph had these exact same problems. They didn't have housing. There was no room at the inn. They had travel problems. It was financially a tough time. They weren't wealthy. They were poor.
Ann Curry: It's a lesson Warren's been teaching on the true meaning of the holiday, and he's turned it into a new book, "The Purpose of Christmas."

Rick Warren has it wrong on being gay, and opposes gay marriage:

Ann Curry: If science finds that this is biological, indisputably, not something that can be explained in any other way except that people are born to be gay, would you change your position?
Rick Warren: The reason why is because it doesn't matter to me. If it's biological, we'll be glad to know. We all have biological predispositions. Some people struggle with anger. And other people say, "I don't struggle with anger, but I sure struggle with fear." Some people say, "Oh, I don't struggle with this. I struggle with being shy."
Ann Curry: You're saying if it's part of your biology, it's your job to struggle against it if, in fact, it's the wrong--

Then, the part that really disturbs me:

Rick Warren: Well, here what I'm saying. I've had many gay friends tell me, "Well, Rick, why shouldn't I have multiple sexual partners? It's the natural thing to do." Well, just because it seems natural doesn't mean it's best for you or society. I'm naturally inclined to have sex with every beautiful woman I see. But that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. And why should I reign in my natural impulses and you say, "Well, because I have natural impulses towards the same sex, I shouldn't have to reign them in." Well, I disagree. I think that's part of maturity. I think it's part of delayed gratification. I think it's part of character.
Rick Warren: God said in Genesis 1, a man and woman should cling to each other for life. Now I'm in favor of human rights for everybody...everybody. I'm against redefining marriage historically 5,000 years... because then it'll be re-defined. What if it's between a brother and a sister?

Pastor Warren, NOT EVERY GAY MAN OR WOMAN has multiple sexual partners! It's as you said, no different than any straight man (or woman) wanting sex with alot of different people. What does one have to do with the other? What does wanting multiple sexual partners have to do with wanting to dedicate your life to one single person through MARRIAGE? Pastor Warren equates being gay with being promiscuous! NOT TRUE, Pastor!

I have said it before, I'll say it again, and I'll probably say it another few hundred times: Marriage has already be changed and redefined throughout history.

Barack Obama: DO NOT LET RICK WARREN GIVE THAT INVOCATION!

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Is Time Flying Or What?

Is it just me or is this year flying by? I don't know where November went! One day it was Halloween, then boom, it's December! December 8th already! Only a little over 2 weeks left until Christmas, and I'm no where near ready! But.....it's coming whether or not I'm ready! So....HAPPY HOLIDAYS everyone!