Speaking of flip-flops

What you need to believe in order to be a Republican today:

Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.

Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is Communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.

A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but
multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.

The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, then demand their cooperation and money.

Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.

HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.

Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but
creationism should be taught in schools.

A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable
offense. A president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.

Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.

The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business.

Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.

You support states' rights, which means Attorney General John Ashcroft can tell states what local voter initiatives they have the right to adopt.

What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant.

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How did that irony get lost on you, Genny?

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Aghh...where do I start? I look at every one and shake my head.

Okay, I'll respond to one for now:

If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

Yes, because I OBVIOUSLY believe THAT'S true, it's like bleeping bad words on songs stop ALL children from cursing.

I think that the condoms being offered in school, in a way, promotes sex between adolescents, saying that it's all okay, just slip on a condom first. I don't think that it makes sense at all.

Yes, many teens will just go and buy condoms, but make them do that and maybe have to think about it first. There are some teens that are like "ehh..maybe I should, and maybe I shouldn't", and the fact that they can grab a condom on the way to their next class helps them answer the question too quickly, with a "oh, what the hell."

OE: Thanks, Rathnait. :) Karen Ziemba is my favorite actress- I loved her in Much Ado About Nothing.

Updated On: 8/2/04 at 01:19 PM

I don't want to put words in his mouth, but I don't think Zola's saying that all people voting for Bush (or all Republicans) feel that way. He's just talking about Bush administration opinions, and the ideas of many prominent Republican opinion-makers.

One day I want to see a study of the STD and teen pregnancy rates in high schools with and without condoms and with and without full sex ed, with controls for socioeconomics, etc.

And if you never change your mind about anything, you haven't learned from your mistakes. Or you're refusing to acknowledge you ever made mistakes at all. Either way is folly.

Updated On: 8/2/04 at 02:42 PM

i liked it beter when flip flops used to be called thongs before the a** floss came along and stole that word.

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I still think flip-flops are sandals no matter how many time the Fox News Republizombies repeat it about Kerry.

that's true, i don't think of kerry's positions as flip flops, but only 'cuz he made them at waffle hut !

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LG--the kids who need condoms offered to them are not kids who will walk into an Eckerds or a Duane Reade and buy them. They are the kids who do not think THEY can get HIV and will certainly not get pregnant.

There are girls in high school who LITERALLY do not know how they got pregnant. I think some education in the schools couldn't hurt.

And, how the irony of Zola's post missed you is STUNNING, yet not too surprising.

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I would place it on Conservatives--who happen to mostly be Republican. And, who Republicans have lined up as their base.

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Lady G., you are welcome to object to 14 year olds having sex, but I assure you that while you are objecting, they are f**king. I think that a responsible public policy has to deal with that reality.

These kids are doing it, and they need to be armed with both real information and actual tools to prevent unwanted pregnancies and the spread of std's. You can support educcation and condom availabiity without "liking" kids having sex--console yourself with simple conservative economics--it's less expensive for society to pay for health teachers and Trojanz than to deal with all those unwanted pregnancies and std's.

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This is an intertesting issue. I agree with Zola. LG, I think that 14 yr olds are too young too.
Where I grew up...it was a small town where EVERYONE knew EVERYONE else and the "kids" were embaressed to buy condoms, becasue then EVERYONE would know they were having sex. I was too scared to have sex when I was that age, because my mother would have KILLED ME DEAD to quote her if I got someone pregnant. (Alas, I was already going thru other issues, so THAT wasnt going to happen!) My class had 250 kids in it and by the time we graduated about 25 to 30 girls had been or were pregnant.

Bottom line....kids are going to have sex....period. At least tell them, "Dont do it and here is why. And if you are, use these, because this is why"!

If I had the power....I would have every kid starting in the 7th grade, 1. go to an AIDS ward and 2. witness a teenage girl giving birth. That would scare them h*ll and they MIGHT keep their pants on.

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But Namo, some people don't like the idea of teenagers having sex. Let's just close our eyes and wish we were back in Stepford.

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I love people who just fantasize away and come up with this vision of orgiastic high school sex clinics. Condoms are a part of wellness... and if Guene REALLY thinks that teens need "encouragement" to desire sex and that they don't have enough raging hormones already telling their brains and bodies what to do, it just reveals one more thing she doesn't know about the topic.

Young people's bodies are developing much faster nowadays, with some physicians reporting young girls first menstruation as young as nine years old. There are some who hypothesize that it's due to growth hormones in the nation's food supply. These are young people with adult things happening in their bodies.

But for Guene, it's just about rational thought and decision making. It's not about drives. I would really recommend, Guene, that you think of the sex drive like the drive to eat food or breathe. Maybe then you will get an inkling of what you are talking about with such an air of expertise.

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