Because Of Abstinence Education, 60 Percent Of
Young Adults Are Misinformed About Birth Control’s Effectiveness

post from ThinkProgress on 14 May 2012 09:00:05 AM. © ThinkProgress

A new study from the Guttmacher Institute unsurprisingly finds that greater knowledge about contraceptive services is directly correlated to a decrease in young adults’ risky sexual behavior. However, after quizzing a nationally representative sample of 1,800 sexually active Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 on their basic knowledge of contraception methods, Guttmacher reports that “more than half of young men and a quarter of young women received low scores on contraceptive knowledge, and six in 10 underestimated the effectiveness of oral contraceptives.” The study ultimately concluded:

Programs to increase young adults? knowledge about contraceptive methods and use are urgently needed. Given the demonstrated link between method knowledge and contraceptive behaviors, such programs may be useful in addressing risky behavior in this population.

Pervasive misinformation about contraceptives — often leading to higher rates of unintended pregnancies — is one the serious consequences of abstinence-only education programs. Sex education programs that lack comprehensive sexuality information prevent young adults from fully educating themselves about their reproductive health, their contraceptive options, and the best sexual practices to avoid potentially risky behavior.

The Guttmacher study highlights this very educational gap. Although a majority of respondents (69 percent of the women and almost half of the men) agreed that they were “committed to avoiding pregnancy,” they seem to doubt that birth control is an effective means to achieve this goal. 40 percent of respondents said that birth control doesn’t matter because “when it is your time to get pregnant, it will happen.?

It’s especially important to emphasize the need for comprehensive sexual education programs in light of the Obama administration’s recent decision to support an abstinence-only curriculum as part of the Department of Health and Human Services’ list of “pregnancy prevention programs.” Considering that abstinence-only programs have been proven to be less effective at preventing pregnancy, how much more evidence does the Obama administration need to revoke its endorsement of birth control misinformation campaigns?

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On This Day In History May 14

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 14 May 2012 09:00:00 AM. © Docudharma - Front Page

Cross posted from The Stars Hollow GazetteThis is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.Find the past "On This Day in History" here.May 14 is the 134th day of the year (135th in leap years) in[...]

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Cheers and Jeers: Monday

post from Daily Kos on 14 May 2012 08:42:09 AM. © Daily Kos

C&J Banner

From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE?

A Reminder to Republicans

As you're kickin' up your heels and dancin' in the aisles in celebration of your victory over the unwashed gay heathen last week in North Carolina, keep this in mind:

Satan worshippers can still get married. Adulterers can still get married. Atheists can still get married. People who don't give a shit about their children's health, education or well-being can still get married. Communists can still get married. Muslims---yes, those ooogah Boogah scary MUSLIMS---can still get married.

Ax murderers can still get married. Neo-Nazis can still get married. Crack addicts can still get married. Deadbeat dads can still get married. Americans who hate America can still get married. Americans secretly plotting terrorist acts can still get married. Child molesters can still get married. People who can't procreate can still get married. Americans and ferriners can still get married---even French and Arab ferriners!!!

Porn addicts can still get married. Adults who chain-smoke in the car with the windows up while their children are sitting in the back seat can still get married. Prostitutes can still get married. Shoplifters can still get married. People who think the world is flat can still get married. People who have married and divorced a hundred or even a thousand times can still get married. Gold Diggers can still get married. Tax cheats can still get married. Liberals can still get married and---gasp!---make BABY LIBERALS!

And, get this: a gay man and a gay woman can still get married to each other. Which, of course, would make it a totally gay marriage. And totally legal.

But thank God (but not Jesus, who said zilch about gay people) you've passed constitutional amendments in over 30 states designed to keep those tax-paying, time-volunteering, charity-giving, healthy-child-raising, law abiding, church-going, soccer-coaching, monogamous, committed, born-this-way gay couples from being able to go to City Hall and fill out a civil marriage form that requires no religious blessing or test what...so...ever.

Cuz, y'know, if we let them in, who knows where it'll lead.

Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]

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ay

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Why isnt Jamie Dimon the fall guy for JP Morgans
$2 billion loss

post from Where Is The Outrage? on 14 May 2012 08:41:38 AM. © Where Is The Outrage?

Here's what I don't understand - Why is Ina Drew taking the fall for what is basically standard practice at JP Morgan Chase? From Elizabeth Warren: Warren said JP Morgan's $2 billion loss as a result of risky bets since April this showed Wall Street is still taking risky gambles of the kind that crushed

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The Clintons and the Obamas: Being smart and
learning humility

post from Occasional Planet on 14 May 2012 08:02:53 AM. © Occasional Planet

A common stereotype about Ivy League universities as well as other high prestige ones is that the students are arrogant, even snobby. That can make it difficult to establish ?cross-university? friendships and working relationships. This concept could not have been clearer four years ago as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton finished up their battle for [...]Related posts:

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t-and-learning-humility/

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Registered Business Entities Down in Wisconsin at
DFI

post from MAL Contends . . . on 14 May 2012 08:01:10 AM. © MAL Contends . . .

Scott Walker's extravagant promise to create 250,000 jobs and 10,000 new businesses is a broken promise.

Data at the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) show a new loss in business entities registered at DFI. (Umhoefer, MJS)

Business law attorneys advise that the liability shields in business entities that register with the DFI?such as service corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs)?are attractive to the formation of new businesses, thus the statistic of a net loss of new businesses registered at the DFI is a negative sign for Scott Walker grand promise of a new economy "open for business," as coupled with Wisconsin's job loss leading the nation.

Many business entities are registered at DFI for purposes other than the immediate start-up of a new business, such as registering the name of a new entity for future concerns that would not interfere or conflict with existing business interests.

But as one indicator among many, the DFI data does nothing to promote Walker's making good on his promises.

Turns out targeting the working class, local communities and education is not the boon for business that Walker says.

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ities-down-in.html

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Mitt Romney's untraditional grandson

post from US Politics | AMERICAblog News on 14 May 2012 08:00:32 AM. © US Politics | AMERICAblog News

I can't swear to know every word in the Book of Mormon, but I'm pretty sure that when Mitt Romney spouted off the other day about his reverence for the 3,000 year old definition of marriage, nowhere in that definition did it include a man, his wife, and the unnamed other woman who gave birth to their twin sons.(Well, actually, the only place you would find multiple women mothering the...

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Morning CheckUp: May 14, 2012

post from ThinkProgress on 14 May 2012 08:00:04 AM. © ThinkProgress

Advocates warn automatic cuts would hit medical research: “Automatic federal spending cuts set to take effect in January would threaten U.S. leadership in the field of medical research, risk the spread of disease and delay treatments for patients, a report warned. Advocates with Research!America argued that sacrificing research investments for deficit reduction would also be a bad economic move.” [The Hill]

Nations embrace global coverage: “Even as Americans debate whether President Obama’s health-care law and its promise of guaranteed health coverage should be scrapped, many far less affluent nations are moving in the opposite direction to provide medical insurance to all citizens. China, after years of underfunding health care, is on track to complete a three-year, $124 billion initiative projected to cover more than 90 percent of its population.” [Seattle Times]

GOP state officials stall on health insurance marketplaces: “In about two dozen states across the country, the insurance marketplaces at the heart of the 2010 health-care law remain in limbo, with Republican governors or lawmakers who oppose the statute refusing to act until the Supreme Court decides its constitutionality.” [Washington Post]

Maine budget cuts target Medicaid: “Tens of thousands of Mainers will be affected when the Legislature votes on a plan to slash spending on Medicaid and a slew of other health care programs to close an $83 million budget gap.” [AP]

House GOP works with Romney on health care: “House Republican leaders are quietly working with Mitt Romney?s campaign to fashion a unified GOP health care platform to replace President Obama?s health law, according to lawmakers involved in the effort.” [Washington Times]

International AIDS conference to meet in U.S.: “This July, a shadow that Jesse Helms cast over HIV policy will be dramatically lifted. The enormous International AIDS Conference will meet in the United States for the first time in more than 20 years, ending a boycott that protested a policy the late North Carolina Republican senator pushed into law.” [Politico]

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http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/05/14/483401/morning-checkup-may-14-2012/

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May 14 News: Nuclear Plant In Georgia May Cost
$900 Million More Than Estimated, Says Southern Company

A round-up of the top climate and energy news. Please post other links below.

The flagship project of a hoped-for but not-yet-realized ?nuclear renaissance,? the Vogtle 3 and 4 reactors under construction near Augusta, Ga., may cost about $900 million more than had been estimated, the Southern Company said in a filing this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission. [New York Times]

In the foothills of the Andes, in the Sierra Piura region of Peru, the problems faced by coffee farmers are clear. [Guardian]

Although farmers know better than ever how to grow food, global warming may indirectly affect our diet by diminishing the amount of available nutrients. [Jerusalem Post]

Are you and your neighbors breathing healthy air? The American Lung Association has released their State Of The Air 2012 report, detailing cities with the least and most air pollution in America. Each city is ranked by ozone pollution, short-term particle pollution, and year-long particle pollution. [Huffington Post]

Coastal erosion, a natural effect of Matunuck?s direct exposure to the elements in an area prone to sand-sucking northeasters, has shrunk parts of the beach to less than a dozen feet during high tide, not only imperiling seafront structures like the Ocean Mist but also threatening the only road that residents can use to get in and out of here, as well as the water line beneath it that serves over 1,600 customers. [New York Times]

A decade at war has made Marines mean on the battlefield. Now to get lean, the Corps is becoming Green. Marines have become exceedingly lethal, but all that deadly precision comes with a heavy burden ? a lot of fuel and extra batteries to carry, said Col. Bob Charette, director of Marine Corps Expeditionary Energy Office. [Jacksonville Daily News]

B.C. Premier Christy Clark is prepared to alter her government?s strict climate-change targets to pave the way for her plan to create a liquefied natural gas industry in the province. [Globe and Mail]

A recent study on the distribution of 11,000 marine species in relation to water temperature supports that the current human-induced climate change has huge consequences for our marine ecosystems. And a 15°C change is not even necessary. [Business Mirror]

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http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/05/14/483413/nuclear-plant-in-georgia-may-c
ost-900-million-more-than-estimated-says-southern-company/

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Justiceline: May 14, 2012

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

Welcome to Justiceline, ThinkProgress Justice?s morning round-up of the latest legal news and developments. Remember to follow us on Twitter at @TPJustice

Texas’ all-Republican state supreme court is so pro-business that two of its justices are facing Republican primary challengers who think the court needs to stop handing down so many corporate-friendly decisions.
If you want a window into what the world would look like under the Republican vision of “religious liberty,” where religious groups can immunize their members from the law simply by objecting to it, check out this case: where a pastor advised his followers to beat their children with large wooden dowels.
The ACLU of Indiana is challenging a state law that prohibits non-religious organizations from performing marriage ceremonies.
Libraries in three states have banned the racy bestseller 50 Shades of Grey, prompting the publisher to object on First Amendment grounds.
And, finally, just read this op-ed, which describes just how far the still-segregated schools where I once taught in the Mississippi Delta are from achieving anything resembling minimal adequacy.

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/05/14/483433/justiceline-may-14-2012/

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