condoms & politics

that guy in Arizona

2014-03-20 11:50:36 PM

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that guy in Arizona

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At first, you may not think that there is a link between condoms and politics, but there is a closer relationship than you might think.

In this morning's Chicago Tribune, there was an article about a pilot program that is an attempt to reduce teen pregnancy in Chicago, which is currently among the highest in the nation. Initially, 2 schools provided free condoms to students who had completed sex education classes, and the program will eventually encompass 24 schools.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-chicago-public-schools-condoms-20140319%2c0%2c171290.story

The United States government, incidentally, is the world's largest donor of condoms. and the majority of the condoms made in America are made in Alabama, which is a very religious red state.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/29/world/29condoms.html?pagewanted=all

Unfortunately, it's extremely difficult to separate politics and religion, and it's also very difficult to separate discussions of sex from either one.

Space doesn't permit printing the full chart, but the top two lines look like this:

teen pregnancy..... religious ...... poverty ...... uninsured ..... red/blue .... obesity ... h.s. grad. rate ... % bachelor degree

Alabama.. 42 ...........48 .............. 47.............. 14.8 .............red .......... 33.........82.1................... 22
Alaska..... 37 ............9 ...............13 ............. 19 ............... red ...........25.7 .....91.4 .................. 26.6

The links below will help you to do some comparisons:

teen pregnancy - lower number is lower rate
http://thenationalcampaign.org/data/landing?state=dc

religious - lower number is less religious
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/02/14/gallup-these-are-the-10-most-and-least-religious-states-in-america/

poverty rates - lower number is less poverty
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_poverty_rate

uninsured rates
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_insurance_coverage_in_the_United_States

obesity rates
http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

red/blue - party carried last 4 Presidential elections
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_states_and_blue_states

educational achievement
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_educational_attainment

The state that has the lowest rate of teen pregnancies (New Hampshire) has a higher "consent age" than most of the country (18) and it also requires comprehensive sex education training, starting in elementary school. If pgr happens to read this, he'll be delighted to know that New Hampshire (the 2nd least religious state) also has the lowest poverty rate in the entire country.

In contrast, Mississippi has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country. It has a "consent age" of 16, and it requires no sex education in its schools. When sex education DOES occur, it focuses on abstinence rather than birth control. In addition, Mississippi has the highest obesity rate in the country, as well as the highest poverty rate. It's also the "most religious" state in the nation.

Mississippi, unfortunately, has other priorities, which are detailed in the link below:

http://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2013/07/lets-talk-about-sex.html

If you are a logical person, you would assume that states that limit access to birth control and abortion (which is precisely what "red states" typically do) will have a higher teen pregnancy rate, and that is EXACTLY what happens. In spite of their best efforts, though, Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, Kansas, and Florida (all of which are either red or red leaning states) are among the top 25 states for abortion rates.

http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/

97 % of the services provided by Planned Parenthood are not abortion-related, but the red states are determined to shut down as many abortion providers as they can. In 2013, 22 different states passed a record high 70 different anti-choice laws. In the entire state of Missouri, there is exactly ONE provider of abortion services, and the Republican-controlled legislature has just introduced 32 different bills that are designed to shut it down. Texas and Mississippi (both of which have very high teen pregnancy rate) have managed to close down a number of abortion provider locations, and Arizona just passed a bill (currently being reviewed by a U.S. District Court) that would limit the use of RU-486.

9 of the 10 states with high teen pregnancy rates (in the top 10) are "red states".

9 of the 10 states that are the most religious are "red states".

9 of the 10 states with the highest poverty rates are "red states".

11 of the 16 states that have uninsured rates over 15% are "red states".

8 of the 12 states that have obesity rates over 30% are "red states".

8 of the 10 states with the lowest high school graduation rate are "red states" (Texas is the worst in the country)

8 of the 10 states that have the lowest % of college graduates are "red states" (West Virginia is the worst here). In contrast, 6 of the 10 states that have the highest percentage of college graduates are blue states.

I wasn't able to find a state by state analysis of which states had the highest FOX "news" viewership, but it's worth noting that FOX is the most influential in Montana, Texas, and Mississippi, all of which are red states.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/22/americas-most-influential-news-outlet-study_n_1373690.html

In the movie Animal House, Dean Vernon Wormer criticizes "Bluto" Blutarsky (John Belushi) for being "fat, drunk, and stupid". To their credit, the red states only fall into 2 out of 3 of those categories (fat and stupid). The vast majority of the "drunkest states in America" are blue states. pgr will be delighted to know that New Hampshire is officially the drunkest state in the nation.

http://www.mainstreet.com/slideshow/lifestyle/drunkest-states-america

In case you're wondering, Utah is the LEAST DRUNK state in the nation. Since the Mormons (58% of the population of the state) don't use tobacco, alcohol, coffee, tea, or illegal drugs, that's not much of a surprise.

http://www.mormon.org/faq/law-of-health

Comments ?

TJ

2014-03-21 12:18:27 AM

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TJ

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Very interesting. My first thought was about the condoms made in Alabama. I thought, being a pro-life state...... maybe they may not do their job - stopping pregnancy. I'm not surprised about the demographics. Red states are for the very rich and the very poor. Probably not much of a middle class.
Good info. Thanks.

AmcmurryFreedom

2014-03-21 12:37:20 AM

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AmcmurryFreedom

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Thanks Arizona, I needed a bit of fresh air, those statistics are very interesting. So, is there any truth in from a summary that, "being RED will get you Dead?" Just having some fun! Red is a color of cars that get a high percentage of accidents. Red is the color of that makes that Bull in the field chase you. I always wondered why we have Blue blood and that when exposed to oxygen the blood turns red. I know this doesn't have anything to do with your Condoms & Politics report, but we can have fun with the color "Red".

RanmaMOJ

2014-03-21 01:04:38 AM

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RanmaMOJ

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The only real issue I have with them doing that is that they are in essence encouraging kids to break the law. The age of consent in Illinois is 17, so handing them out to those under 17 is in essence telling them it is okay to have sex as long as you do it safely, despite state law...

pr

2014-03-21 06:32:37 AM

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pr

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Finally, NH does something worth being proud of!

As for distributing condoms to underage kids - wake up Ranma just because something is legal or illegal doesn't mean it's good or bad, it only means (especially in this case) that a bunch of religious idealogs decided to force their values on others. the same anti-abortion fools that oppose abortion and birth control see nothing wrong with allowing a pregnant woman to die or killing abortion doctors and are fine with the abandoning children as soon as they are born.

johnnycee

2014-03-21 09:29:27 AM

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johnnycee

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If sex weren't so glorified in all types of media and Entertainment venues and if being a pregnant teen wasn't precursor of heroism for overcoming a stacked deck, maybe the need for condoms for teens under the age of consent would not be needed, girls do make mistakes and abortions is not the only answer, perhaps if the boys would be held responsible when they start earning a wage and if the girls won't name the fathers ,unless of course, they were raped and didn't know their attacker, then their benefits should be curtailed , but allowing the freedom of being irresponsible by dispensing condoms for free will not close the gap between immorality and being moral.

TJ

2014-03-21 11:02:28 AM

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TJ

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johnny,
Do you remember being 17 ? Hormones were raging. Plus not a lot of mature judgment. You said "girls do make mistakes"..... I don't think a girl ever got pregnant unless there was a boy involved so the situation is not gender specific. I agree boys who father a child should be held financially responsible. Hopefully emotionally responsible as well. I think the urge to have sex is strong and always will be. It would be nice if these kids had great morals but they're too young to see the bigger picture. That's why I agree condoms should be available. Not handed out but made available for the kids who think not only about pregnancy but HIV as well. Especially in red states.

AmcmurryFreedom

2014-03-21 11:38:53 AM

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Dispensing condoms and glorifying sex to our youth on the media circles plays a great part into supporting prostitution and human trafficking, I liked PGR's comment on states supporting condom dispensing but people forget about the child that may be borne from a sexual act. They also forget about the young mother and her ordeal of laboring through the birth of this child. It's mostly Her fault as social jerks announce, but no, the young man or adult that committed his gene pool to the birth, not much is said. I liked the comment about making the man more responsible.

Of the many links I provided on prostitution, slavery and human trafficking, there was a lot of evidence of baby pooling by groups to add to the child slavery business. To think that children, more accurate...babies, are being borne to mothers reared from prostitution and human trafficking so that it may continue the circle in a corrupt and organized crime environment. Take this as it is, it makes perfect business sense and organized crime in the sex industry is a multi-billion dollar enterprise. Yes, states and society forget about the babies. They do not want to support health initiatives for free care, but they will hand out the condoms for free and with free sex education. It appears that maybe the state politicians may be lobbied with huge sums of money to support the sex industry. I haven't found a connection on political influence from the sex industry, but I bet some group has it on the internet as a resource. Where there's money there's greed and acts supporting anti-humanity corrupting society.

I can't make a claim that Red States by their agendas unknowingly support human trafficking, but if they continue to deny health care and think passing out condoms will stop pregnancies, than just maybe a methodical look into this is warranted. I do believe there is a connection in all forms of organized crime into out political system......that's a no brainer. Please look into those links posted on the Prostitution and Human Trafficking threads and you will find the sources on baby pooling into the sex industry.............a horrific moment in our society. There's also sources identifying human organs removed and sold on the black market from these children borne from the sex industry.

So it begs to answer the questions on the anti-abortion groups that remove the clinics and abortion options to a mother, is this a Red State's desire to push more children into the criminal element, because they will not support health initiatives or educational opportunities to support this child into a productive and healthy America. Why do Red states do this? Supporting health and education are great streets to travel into improving America, better than passing out free condoms and denying health and rights of women and children. This Red agenda only supports more criminal activity and anti-social behaviors polluting a better America.

RanmaMOJ

2014-03-21 11:44:05 AM

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PGR, I wasn't commenting on whether the age of consent was good or bad (Personally I think its an arbitrary age thought up by politicians who care more about their jobs than what makes sense... Wait, that last part is all politicians...) I was merely commenting on the fact that by actively handing out condoms they could easily be seen as endorsing underage sex, which is illegal if the person is below 17 in Illinois. They base the age of consent laws on a number of factors, including what I would call 'assumed maturity', thinking that if you are a certain age you are mature enough to make certain decisions. This ignores the fact that people mature mentally at different rates. Fact is I'm not opposed to them handing out the condoms (although I think a better option is to make them available for free rather than hand them out, simply to cut off the people accusing them of advocating underage sex) With all the STD's going around and the teen pregnancy rate being what it is, providing condoms makes sense. (As long as assholes a guy in Nova Scotia, Canada don't pierce them. I agree with the court in the case there, and feel similar rulings should be made against women who claim to be on birth control but aren't... http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-26488425 )

johnnycee

2014-03-21 12:56:57 PM

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johnnycee

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TJ Wrote: johnny,
Do you remember being 17 ? Hormones were raging. Plus not a lot of mature judgment. You said "girls do make mistakes"..... I don't think a girl ever got pregnant unless there was a boy involved so the situation is not gender specific. I agree boys who father a child should be held financially responsible. Hopefully emotionally responsible as well. I think the urge to have sex is strong and always will be. It would be nice if these kids had great morals but they're too young to see the bigger picture. That's why I agree condoms should be available. Not handed out but made available for the kids who think not only about pregnancy but HIV as well. Especially in red states.

Tony, I lost my cherry when I was about 13, the girl I still remember her very well, she was older about 15/16, and she demanded and supplied what was known back then as a rubber before we "did it", hormonal rage is not an excuse or a reason for irresponsible behavior. Boys were taught at a early age that if they were to sow their seeds as it were, there would be no consequences to their actions as a matter of fact his conquest(s) allowed him to held in awe from his peers, girls on the other hand were a completely different story with horrible consequences for her even if there were no pregnancy involved, so ,yes back then the girl made the "mistake " not the boy, it was left up to the parents and the rest of the family to instill a certain moral fiber in their children, giving out condoms to children with for the most part low self esteem is a receipt for disaster, those kids who engage in this behavior do not think about AIDs let alone HIV, it's the act itself is what concerns them and the needed results, such as a form of acceptance, either by their peer group or the boy/girl who they are enamored with for the moment, again poor moral judgment, no condom will prevent poor judgment just deny the consequence.

TJ

2014-03-21 02:35:30 PM

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statutory_rape

As parents we can hope to stop the consequences. Having both sons and a daughter, I see the double standard to that old fashion type of thinking. What you call a conquest, others call statutory rape. Admittedly, most are guilty of that in their distant past. Kansas has a relaxed form of this law.

Dutch

2014-03-21 03:45:42 PM

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I guess in the "red" States way too many unwanted kids; thanks to the churches. No wonder crime is higher as well. Sorry to say Republicans and their churches are the cause. So why vote for them? No wonder the Koch brothers sing hallejuja!!!

johnnycee

2014-03-21 04:15:16 PM

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Dutch Wrote: I guess in the "red" States way too many unwanted kids; thanks to the churches. No wonder crime is higher as well. Sorry to say Republicans and their churches are the cause. So why vote for them? No wonder the Koch brothers sing hallejuja!!!

There are plenty of Democratic church's as well as Republicans, but these church's do not cause the birthrate to go up, most of these church's preach a type of abstinence and responsible parenting, when people go against their church's teachings it is not the fault of the church but the fault of peer pressure brought about the constant changing of society's morals , most people do what's right as long as the results don't affect their daily living but if doing the right thing is a real challenge and will affect their daily lives in a critical way, they will seek and take a much easier route, even if its against the church's teachings, this issue is a very personal one and it transcends politics although some will use politics as the reason for their choice.

eternal flame

2014-03-22 07:09:31 AM

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Condom --- What's a condom? ---- Oh, it's what is offered at the first proposal of sex.
Hmmm ------ oh, I get it, -- what they offer you before sex. --- Aha! -- A condominium.

that guy in Arizona

2014-03-22 01:50:52 PM

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that guy in Arizona

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eternal flame:

In an attempt not to stray too far from topic, I'll just add that condom, with just a few minor changes, can become conundrum. One of the definitions is "a logical postulation that evades resolution, an intricate and difficult problem", which pretty much sums up how Congress works today. As a result, the Congressional approval rating is now 13%. which is UP from a rating of 9% in November.

One of the areas of comparison that I mentioned in my original post on this thread was how religious the various states were. Louisiana is rated as the 4th most religious state, which may explain why Representative Thomas Carmody recently introduced a bill to make the state's oldest state-owned Bible the official book of the state:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/21/thomas-carmody-bible-louisiana_n_5008056.html

Apart from the fact that the Founding Fathers went to great pains to separate Church and State, one of the problems in recognizing the Bible as the state book is that it is FULL of contradictions. I covered 10 of them in one of my posts a while back (http://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2010/09/bible-told-me-so.html ) but the link below will take you to 101 more:

http://www.amazon.com/101-Myths-Bible-Invented-Biblical/dp/1570718423

Many Republicans today (especially the Tea Party adherents) believe that the Republican Party is more religious than the Democratic Party. In my book, cutting off cancer treatments for poor women in Wisconsin is just the latest example of Republicans not living up to Biblical explanations.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/14/wisconsin-obamacare_n_4964376.html

If you'd like to read a few more of my thoughts on why the Democratic Party is actually the more religious of the two, click on the link below:

http://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2012/09/one-nation-under-god_12.html

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condoms and politics