It seems that these days the definition of conservatism is "an ideology based on making shit up". It would seem that a conservative argument is made, always very emotional and feared laced, then, someone rebuts it for its clear stupidity with some solid hard hitting evidence, then, the conservative comes back with a link to one website that completely lacks any credibility whatsoever… lies.
Lets just talk about sexuality for example. It is safe to say that for whatever reason, conservatives think people shouldn’t have sex until they are married. Because, marriage magically creates a level 8 force field around your penis or vagina, destroying any harmful diseases… it also shields you from lightening bolts from god.
So what does a conservative do? They make up lies about sex to try and make people stop having it.
In 2002, the conservative administration changed the fact sheets on the CDC web site to show that studies on the effectiveness of condoms in preventing the spread of HIV and other STDs were "inconclusive" and that abstinence is the only effective path to sexual health. They also took off a guide on how to use a condom properly, and a list of studies that showed zero rise in sex among teens taught about condoms.
Here are some of the things the conservatives actually spent tax payers money to try and teach kids (warning: this is extremely disturbing). Touching a persons genitals can result in pregnancy, abortion can lead to sterility and suicide, HIV can be spread via sweat and tears, half of all gay male teenagers in the U.S. have tested positive for HIV, a 43-day old fetus is a thinking person (my favorite) ,HIV and other STDs have the magic ability to pass through condoms, and condom use by straight people fail to prevent HIV transmission up to 31% (correct figure: 3%). They also taught that men need admiration and sexual fulfillment while women need financial support, and women who give too much advice to men drive them away.
Source: "Some Abstinence Programs Mislead Teens, Report Says," Washington Post, 12/2/04
Can you believe that? Outright lies to promote an agenda. Thats the conservative way! You know what this reminds me of? A sore loser. Someone has an opinion or a theory, like, teaching kids that sex is bad until marriage will keep them from having sex and babies… then lots of studies come out and say the opposite, so what does the conservative do? They go and change government website fact sheets to show what they want, even if its not true. Despicable childish actions.
For those of you who think that abstinence only education is the right way to go? Well… guess what… you are wrong.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Adolescents who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are more likely to substitute high-risk sexual behaviors that increase the likelihood of transmitting sexually transmitted diseases, according to researchers who studied the sex lives of about 12,000 teens.
88% of teenagers who take virginity pledges eventually have premarital sex (I actually had sex with a girl who took one of those when she was in high school… she said the funny thing was that when she signed the pledge she was already not a virgin) compared to 99% who don’t pledge. Those who do pledge are less likely to use condoms according to a Columbia and Yale university study published in march 2005. The teens taught abstinence only education were four to six times more likely to have oral and anal sex than other virgin teens (Oh Adam would have a fit since he thinks anal sex means homosexuality). Abstinence only educated teens are just as likely to be infected with STDs as their non abstinent-taught friends, but less likely to get tested for STDs or know their STD status.
Source: "Study: Abstinence Pledges May Trigger Risky Sexual Behavior," USA Today 3/18/05
HOUSTON - Abstinence-only sex education programs, a major plank in President George W. Bush’s education plan, have had no impact on teenagers’ behavior in his home state of Texas, according to a new study.
Texas A&M did some research and found that among Texan teens, the number of teens who were sexually active increased after abstinence only education, by 60% in some cases! What did I tell you, creating a taboo around sex makes teens have more sex, and know less about it, which means more STDs and more unwanted pregnancies.
Source: "Teen Sex Increased After Abstinence Programs" Reuters, 2/1/05
Oh well too bad conservative Christians… turns out you’re just wrong about that. Does that stop you? No, of course not. In May 2005, The New Republic reported that "Now conservative Christian groups are preparing to battle a new scourge: Vaccines that could prevent more than 200,000 women from dying of cervical cancer each year". HPV is a known cause of cervical cancer, and the vaccine mentioned is a vaccine for HPV. But Christian conservatives love HPV, because it can spread by just skin to skin contact, no need for intercourse. I think Bridget Mather of the Family Research Council (FRC) who is a powerful Christian lobby summed it up by saying "Young women might see the vaccine as a license to engage in premarital sex". To date, there is no evidence to support that claim, but there is butt loads of evidence to suggest that this vaccine could prevent needless deaths by the thousands. So, will the conservative agenda win out again, at the cost of women’s lives?
"AIDS is the wrath of a just God against homosexuals"
- Jerry Falwell
Remember the sore loser thing I mentioned above? Well, those that didn’t agree with the conservative administrations argument that sex was bad and disgusting unless you were a straight married couple were audited. Non-profit organizations that provided sex education were
"repeatedly investigated by the government, while faith-based groups get a free pass,"
-the Salon
Advocates for Youth (a federal grantee) was audited three times in one year, after 18 years of never being audited. A leaked memo from the government’s National Institutes of Health described the above mentioned organization as "ardent critics of the Bush administration". San Francisco’s STOP AIDS program was also hit with multiple audits. All the programs randomly attacked by the conservative passed the audits perfectly, without a single discrepancy, but a lot of the abstinence only programs were found guilty of misusing government money by courts, but were never audited.
It has always been clear that the conservative agenda is to impose their morals and values onto you, even if their arguments are based in fantasy. Adam and Oatney support lying to people to get their own way. I cannot support this kind of thing, for this is what disasters of the most evil kind are made of.
Conservative may be the death of our freedom, but only if they can get through me first, along with the other millions of human beings who wish to remain free and to remain human beings.
Enjoy.
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I couldn’t understand some parts of this article Conservatives need lies to promote their agendas, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.