itchy

If I have an itch I will try not to scratch it until it really bugs me and I crack. I'll have a scratch and hope it goes away, but if it comes back I know I'll scratch it again. Same deal with teenagers and raging hormones. I don't mean I'll scratch them; allow me to explain.

Abstinence. The idea that the best way to have kids learn about sex is to say just don't do it, or don't do it because God says it's naughty. For the love of...well, God...on what planet is that going to work? If I have an itch I'll scratch it sooner or later. If I'm 16 and I have a boner I'm going to want to do something about it, and I'm sorry, wait a decade is simply not an option.

Abstinence will only work for the ugly, the stupid and the distracted. Don' get me wrong, it does have a place. For the ugly and the stupid it provides a way to boost self esteem. You can say you chose abstinence, rather than it chose you, and you'll feel a lot better about yourself. At least you will when you talk to your abstaining mates. The rest of us will simply think you're ugly or stupid.

I guess it would be somewhat harsh to point out the ugly, stupidity of religion? And it would take me a long, long time, what with all the evidence available, so I'll skip that.

Good luck then to Governor Palin, one step away from one step away from US President.

Governor Palin herself has said she opposes funding sexual-education programmes in Alaska and has supported abstinence programmes in schools.

Of course it didn't work with her own daughter, but hey, she may do better with all of America. And her boss will love her for it, according to AP

In 2005, presidential candidate John McCain, who picked Mrs Palin as his running mate, opposed a Senate Democratic proposal that would have spent tens of millions of dollars to pay for pregnancy prevention programmes other than abstinence-only education, including education on emergency contraception such as the morning-after pill

For the record, the US has the one of the "worst" rates of teen pregnancy in the Western World. According to a report by Population Action International, published at the end of last year, there were 44 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19 in the US for 2000-2005. Ho hum. My quotes come from this article on the BBC website.