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So what, it's okay now? This won't kill her campaign? It's a PRIVATE matter?

Why is it that the completely false rumour about Obama being a Muslim turned so many people off, but when an extremely conservative, pro-life and extremely pro abstinence vp has news like this, nothing happens?

I hope the media have a field day with this, because the way they treat "political scandals" is not fair.

And personally, I still believe there is something fishy about Palin's fifth child, the one with down syndrome.

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Private matters such as this do not matter in politics. First of all Palin herself did not do anything wrong. Her teenage daughter did something wrong, she made a mistake. What's the big deal?  

Whether Obama is Muslim or not is very important because obviously your religion affects your beliefs.

Post edited at 8:18 pm on Sep. 1, 2008 by Assaultrifle

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I believe her daughter is the living proof that abstinence -only education does not really work...

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Agreed to some extent, although it's hard to say what exactly Palin taught her own daughter about sex and birth control, if she did at all.  I find that often times people who support abstinence only sex ed simply teach their kids about condoms and how the pull out method isn't exactly an effective means of birth control themselves later.  Palin may have done this, or she may not have.  I wouldn't know - can't say I know a great deal about strangers' personal lives.

Moreover, right now nobody can even say whether Palin's kid even did have unprotected sex or not with any real certainty.  It's hardly as if birth control of various types are 100% effective and that accidents with condoms and everything don't happen.  Or whether Palin's daughter knew about all this but just said screw it, took the risk of unprotected sex, and got pregnant anyway (I find that happens a fair bit, too, when things start getting heated, you find out that neither one of you has a condom, and you don't want to make the 20 minute trip to Rite Aid).

Too many assumptions must be made, in my honest opinion, and it's largely irrelevent to the national election, and that's why it ought to be left out of the picture.

Post edited at 9:50 pm on Sep. 1, 2008 by Bud2400

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although it's hard to say what exactly Palin taught her own daughter about sex and birth control, if she did at all.

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It's hardly as if birth control of various types are 100% effective and that accidents with condoms and everything don't happen.

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Or whether Palin's daughter knew about all this but just said screw it, took the risk of unprotected sex, and got pregnant anyway

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 Too many assumptions must be made, in my honest opinion, and it's largely irrelevent to the national election, and that's why it ought to be left out of the picture.

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True but you would think she would start the teaching at home wouldn't you?

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You'd think so, but who knows.  She may very well have.  Although I gotta say, I personally think that abstinence only education is a load of crap.  It's well intentioned, but it certainly doesn't stop any teens from having sex.  Besides, I see birth control as an essential part of sex ed regardless as it's simply something you need to know about.

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I do agree with you here. I just thought she is certainly the living proof that such methods are not effective.

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Yeah, I feel inclined to agree, though you'd really have to know more about how and what exactly she taught her kids about all that to really be able to say anything definite.

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Then of course you can always simply explain that condoms and birth control exist, yet still push abstinence as the only 100% form of birth control. Also, abstinence doesn't always mean to wait until you're married, but until you're in a committed relationship with someone that you trust to raise children with, especially considering how many couples refuse to marry these days no matter how many decades they have been together.

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Well, I mean teach more than just how they exist, but exactly how they work, how to use each method, etc., but stressing that abstinence is the only 100% form of birth control is pretty valid and ought to be obvious.

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Well of course to explain their existance you'd have to cover the basics of how they function.

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Oh, I dunno.  To say what you advocated would be something more like, "yeah, condoms, birth control pills, spermicide, etc. are methods of birth control that usually ensures that you won't get pregnant or AIDS (at least for condoms), but abstinence is the only 100% foolproof method to not getting pregnant."  Perhaps it's just a misinterpretation, but merely listing them and stating that they exist only goes so far (as you seem to know).  Giving them equal attention to abstinence while explaining that absitnence is the only 100% foolproof method against getting pregnant is what I'd advocate.

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Giving them equal attention to abstinence while explaining that absitnence is the only 100% foolproof method against getting pregnant is what I'd advocate.

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I wouldn't even say give them equal attention, but that sex is something to be shared between a committed partner. Then go into some detail about how if you are going to make the choice to have sex with someone that you feel comfortable having children with, but don't wish to have those children in the immediate future to look into contraceptives.

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I'd agree with that, too.  Thing is, morals are a little more difficult to teach.  You could easily show why it's more practical to reserve sex with only those whom you're comfortable with the possibility of having children with, but I doubt anyone would listen to that or any morals you try to teach them either (I remember always starting to zone out whenever my teachers started adding personal anecdotes and opinions to their lessons back in high school ).  Hence why I think it's just simply better to teach people how each different contraceptive works while advocating the abstinence is the best possible method of birth control and get the basics down, and let them go from there.

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The problem is that many times the schools are being used as instruments of moral and social teaching because of the fact that the parents refuse to do their damn jobs.

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Very true, although I think it's more effective to teach morals and the like earlier in life, like in primary school, than instead of when you're taking a high school health class.  Then again, I also think teaching kids about what sex is and where babies come from as early as the 1st grade isn't a big deal either and ought to be done.  The earlier people learn about these issues and the morals that surrounds them, the more ingrained what they learned will be when they hit puberty and actually start putting it all into practice.