i tried abstinence and ended up with herpes

so 'the teacher' has kindly pointed out what my conscience has been telling me for some time, which is that i really need to get off my ass and write another blog post. its just that recently the only things in the news have been hillary-obama and spitzer-kristen. and i really can't stand the thought of adding any more to either of those conversations. so i was at a loss. but here is a little thought for you to ponder while i wait for the news to start reporting news again:

a recent new york times article announced that 1 in 4 teenage girls now has an STD. needless to say, that number for black girls is significantly higher - more like 1 in 2. The article quotes Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards as saying that "the national policy of promoting abstinence-only programs is a $1.5 billion failure, and teenage girls are paying the real price." truth. i think when people talk about politics in this country, its almost like they actually legitimately think its a game. who's going to win, and what kind of strategies are they going to use, and what plays are they going to make, etc. etc. except that some of those 'plays' are things like Bush's abstinence-only nonsense. Sure, the next president could (and should) change that, but the damage is done. bad policies have real and serious impacts that can't just be erased, and this one is particularly bad. And of course this article didn't even mention the promotion of abstinence-only based education to countries we give money for AIDS relief to - what kind of damage has THAT done, and how easy will THAT be to fix? when you're talking about things like taxes, one presidential term might not ruin toooo many lives. but when you're talking about public health, it can be a matter of life and death. and thats kind of scary.

so wouldn't it be nice if the newspapers and news channels were spending a little less time talking about spitzer's fuck-up and a little more time talking about the future of his health care agenda? just a thought.


p.s. good to know you're keeping up with us all the way from mississippi. we miss you over here on the east coast.

a smidgen of gayness

Well more like a smidgen of a post (yeah, I know, I'm slackin' on my updates, but at least Kaya's rockin' it out around these i-parts). Anyway, for those of you who know.. and I guess also for those of you who don't- my hometown is in the great ole state of Ohio (an obligatory "go Bucks!" has to be inserted here) and I'm currently visiting to see family and take care of some things, like doctor's visits since recent grads who haven't started work yet don't really have health coverage. Anyway, as I was at the doctor filling out my new-patient paperwork, I came across some questions, a choice sampling of which is below:

Do you have HIV/AIDS?
Do you have HIV/AIDS high-risk behaviors such as homosexuality, heterosexuality with multiple sex partners, shared IV/drug usage?

...Word? I wasn't aware that homosexuality was a scientifically proven risk factor for contracting HIV, I thought unprotected sex (which conveniently not mentioned in their list) was a little more risky. Additionally, this seemed to be a highly Lutheran practice, which was awkward for any promiscuous gays that might need medical care.
Just sayin.'