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Archives for 04/15/2007 - 04/15/2007

Sunday, April 15, 2007

The Definition of Insanity

Posted by on April 15 at 12:16 PM

A congressional study has found that abstinence education is “ineffective,” which is a polite way of saying that the federal government is wasting $176 million a year on a program that doesn’t work. Children subjected to abstinence education have the same number of sex partners as children that are not; they also lose their virginity—oh, the horror—at roughly the same age (14.9 years old) as children that are not subjected to abstinence education.

So it doesn’t work, this abstinence education crap. So what’s the remedy? Why, more abstinence education of course!

Bush administration officials cautioned against drawing sweeping conclusions from the study…. Officials said one lesson they learned from the study was that the abstinence message should be reinforced in subsequent years.

“This report confirms that these interventions are not like vaccines,” said Harry Wilson, associate commissioner of the Family and Youth Services Bureau at the federal Administration for Children and Families. “You can’t expect one dose in middle school, or a small dose, to be protective all throughout the youth’s high school career.”

Because, hey, if we keep doing the same thing eventually we’ll come up with a different result, right?

Right?

Because we wouldn’t want to take that $176 million and spend it on something useful—something like, say, mental health care for Iraq war vets. Let’s try to see that $176 million through the eyes of Bush administration official: Even if it only saves one precious hymen, it’s money well-spent.

Today in Stranger Suggests

Posted by on April 15 at 10:01 AM

Modest Mouse

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(MUSIC) Pigeage à pied is the age-old winemaking technique whereby barefoot youths climb into a vat of ripened grapes and squish the fruit to render its juice for fermenting. For 14 years, Isaac Brock has used a similar process with Modest Mouse, cramming musical influences through the cracked filter of his imagination and stomping heavily. The band’s most recent vintage, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, should be quickly uncorked. (Paramount, 911 Pine St, 467-5510. 8 pm, $32.50, all ages.) JONATHAN ZWICKEL

Donnie Davies Gets His Ass Kicked By A Girl!

Posted by on April 15 at 9:33 AM

Move over, Donnie Davies! Here comes Sandy Belle:

Fake country music videos have officially surpassed babies wearing wigs as my favorite contemporary art form. Thank you, MetaFilter.

The Morning News

Posted by on April 15 at 8:19 AM

McCain: GOP candidate Sees no Plan B for Iraq. Wait—did anyone see a Plan A?

Oh, Right… Plan A: Four car bombs explode in surge-protected Baghdad, killing 37. Two British helicopters crash near Baghdad, killing two.

Hearts and Minds: If you can’t win em… splatter ‘em all over the place. Probe finds that US soldiers shot 40 Afghan civilians after a suicide bombing in a village near Jalalabad last month.

This Is What Fascism Looks Like: Hundreds of protesters arrested, beaten in Putin’s Russia. But how could this happen? George W. Bush looked into his heart and pronounced him a good man!

You Want Fries With That? Fat gene discovered by scientists.

What’s Killing Off Bees? It might be your cell phone.

The Devil Himself: Karl Rove visits Seattle… in an effort to somehow cheer up local Republicans.

I Blame Don Imus: Hawaii’s Don Ho dead at 76.