tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post1715452714033131686..comments2023-11-02T16:07:08.761+03:30Comments on Maureen's Blog: WHAT’S YOUR ILK?Maureenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349710718701701101noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-33806543276803254072009-06-02T06:47:24.727+04:302009-06-02T06:47:24.727+04:30gillette razor bladesbabolat pure driveburberry po...<A HREF="http://www.gillette-razor.com" REL="nofollow">gillette razor blades</A><A HREF="http://www.tennisracketsshop.com" REL="nofollow">babolat pure drive</A><A HREF="http://www.poloshirtsshop.com" REL="nofollow">burberry polo shirt</A><A HREF="http://www.chaussuresportfr.com" REL="nofollow">chaussure puma sparco</A><A HREF="http://www.chaussuresportfr.com" REL="nofollow">chaussures puma fluxion</A><A HREF="http://www.jeanscart.com" REL="nofollow">Womens Jeans</A> <br /><A HREF="http://www.jeanscart.com" REL="nofollow">Blue Jeans</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-13832724952023419132008-09-22T04:52:00.000+03:302008-09-22T04:52:00.000+03:30So I read the previous blog and restrained myself ...So I read the previous blog and restrained myself from commenting as it's such a controversial topic. I grew up in a town where we did receive abstinence only sex education- We had a lot of missionary children as their headquarters was in our district so that played a big role in it. The entire town is extremely conservative. For an example: My mother still calls birth control pills period regulator pills because she refuses to admit that I could be taking them to control my births. Mind you, I'm 22. <BR/><BR/>Any ways- back to the topic at hand. My best friend was pregnant at prom our sophomore year. As you can see it worked out really well. <BR/><BR/>Because students are already exposed to alternative methods of birth control on tv and other sources, it's silly not to tell them more at school, the place they're supposed to be learning how to be a more responsible human being (that may have been cut with No Child Left Behind though). Students need to know all of their options in case they are sexually active just like they need to know all the ways to find the circumference of a circle in math class in case it comes up on the SAT.Lindseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09606135530373389248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-18462493154747173922008-09-21T19:19:00.000+03:302008-09-21T19:19:00.000+03:30Hello!This probably would have been much better fo...Hello!<BR/>This probably would have been much better for your original post, but I didn't get to read it until after reading this one. =/<BR/><BR/>Anyway! You were talking about teaching only abstinence being entirely bogus and I completely agree with you! I think it's ridiculous that parents believe their children will be such little angels that they will never ever know anything about sex unless it's being put into their heads by a group of people who have been taught the facts, etc. This issue is extremely close to me in the fact that I'm part of a high school organization called "Teen PEP", "Teen Prevention Education Program". We basically suggest abstinence, but since we know not all are going to follow, we also teach about condoms, the pill, etc. We've recently been under attack by a parent group in our neighbor who feels apparently the same way as your school did.Just wanted to let you know that your latest blog really put a fight in me to make sure this program stays and respect others opinions about it, while keeping my own. Thanks!<BR/><BR/>Also, if I could have anyone drive to Jersey to help us with our program, it would definitely be you and Libba. <3Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-57214944728068848922008-09-19T17:53:00.000+04:302008-09-19T17:53:00.000+04:30I think I have said this many times, but I'll say ...I think I have said this many times, but I'll say it again. You are my hero. I adore you more than I adore redheaded boys, and I adore them a lot. Not only are you smart and funny and opinionated, you are an author, and you watch movies and silly Youtube videos and you have an inner raccoon.<BR/><BR/>But that's beside the point. I really enjoyed these last two posts. Now, I'm all pro-abstinence, one of those crazy Mormons you hear about who are actually not all that crazy, but anyway--those who choose to have sex in the first place, need to be responsible. A lot of these people are the selfsame people who complain about the nation's debt; they complain about Social Security (all of a sudden my brain told me that's not the program I'm looking for but I think it is), but the fact is, the cousins of the S.S. program are the ones who are helping out teen mothers who ARE DOING THE SAME THINGS THEY ARE DOING.Erinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07455434237098141166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-54265624750014934372008-09-19T16:01:00.000+04:302008-09-19T16:01:00.000+04:30What are 'Let it Snows'?What are 'Let it Snows'?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-20219871931768072122008-09-19T16:00:00.000+04:302008-09-19T16:00:00.000+04:30Maureen,The last two posts have been so amazing! I...Maureen,<BR/>The last two posts have been so amazing! I completely agree- some of the ways schools treat the topic is so ridiculous, that it's practically setting us up to fail! I mean, it's not like staying away from that topic is going to keep us from making mistakes. We'll make mistakes either way. But if they're teaching us, at least we'll know how to stay clear of things like teen pregnancy!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-50041205036179771652008-09-19T04:16:00.000+04:302008-09-19T04:16:00.000+04:30strong subjects. But I cant help agreeing with you...strong subjects. But I cant help agreeing with you. Abstinence only teaching is ridiculous. What does that solve? err nothing. If teenagers want to have sex they will, abstinense teaching will do nothing. Even if you say sex is evil and if you do it you'll go to hell and burn there for all eternity! (insert evil laugh here)it wont do anything. if you eduacate a teenager about sex they will be less likley to have sex, and if they do they will probably use a condom or some sort of birth control. and i also think parents need to talk to their kids more about it, its an unsettling subject but its important. Sorry about all the grammar errors im writing all this in a rush.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-54939169748904287812008-09-19T03:54:00.000+04:302008-09-19T03:54:00.000+04:30I have put off commenting, but now I cannot help m...I have put off commenting, but now I cannot help myself: <A HREF="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/zits.asp?date=20080918" REL="nofollow">Ilk!</A>K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04012105882916164857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-6949593168808352802008-09-19T01:01:00.000+04:302008-09-19T01:01:00.000+04:30Oh one last thing, I, stupidly, started to read th...Oh one last thing, I, stupidly, started to read the rape kits comment above me and remembered something - oh yeah, I'm studying to be a forensic chemist with a specialty in genetics. In other words, rape kits are what I do. Read up on them before you judge Palin too harshly, she tried to bill the insurance not the people themselves. I'm not saying she was right by any means, but rather make sure you know how expensive and ridiculously extensive the testing can be before you say the state needs to pay for every penny of it, especially considering our national financial situation.beautifulmiragehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14493045610887053931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-48201345889612586872008-09-19T00:57:00.000+04:302008-09-19T00:57:00.000+04:30I read this post and the other, Free Bristol Palin...I read this post and the other, Free Bristol Palin, and surprise surprise, the first comment was about catholic doctrine. I immediately stopped reading comments then and there simply because I am tired of my entire religion being blamed for things like teen pregnancy. Not that it was actually catholic bashing, but that's often how those things degrade... back to my point, as far as the catholic church goes - I was raised by one very strict catholic and a father who preferred to simply not go up against my mother in the religion department, so he pretty much said nothing except that boys like boobs (and other such comments). And despite her religious zealously, she bought me birth control when I was thinking of sex and even took out the banana and showed me what to do with a condom. My priest explained it to me best when he said that catholic religious doctrine takes a very long time to change. It was written in an era when there was no birth control, the biggest form was pull out if you think its "that time." So in general, especially since women had no rights, it wasn't a good idea to have sex. Under no circumstances was that intended to mean don't talk about sex. That's an issue that has evolved with our current political climate. Which leads me to the part where I agree with you whole heartedly that Bristol's situation sucks hardcore. She's being forced into a decision by her mother's political agenda and I personally would not blame her one bit if she tried to go off the map for the rest of her pregnancy, if only to be allowed to breathe.beautifulmiragehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14493045610887053931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-19665453731061631972008-09-18T19:28:00.000+04:302008-09-18T19:28:00.000+04:30i love your ilk :)i love your ilk :)zeezeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13556392415115132486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-37636287887596118822008-09-18T11:42:00.000+04:302008-09-18T11:42:00.000+04:30This is unrelated(as I have already said my piece....This is unrelated(as I have already said my piece.) But I have now read all your blogs....I think. I have gone through every month and read every single one I saw. And they were all fantastic. <BR/><BR/>(Im hoping I didnt miss one becasue I started with the most recent ones and then went wait...this doesnt make sense. So I went back and read from the beginning. I hope I didnt get to some blogs that I had read and missed a big section in the recent ones, if that makes sense)<BR/><BR/>But I digress. I loved every single one of your blogs. Im excited for more.<BR/><BR/>Just thought Id share! = DNightDrivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11434453484547655850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-18423428344727825032008-09-17T21:46:00.000+04:302008-09-17T21:46:00.000+04:30Anonymous, I'm curious what it is that has made yo...Anonymous, I'm curious what it is that has made you feel small and stupid. Seeing as both can do a number on your self esteem, I'd like to help where I can. But on to your grievances.<BR/>I don't view this as the Republican party's fault necessarily, but Sarah Palin's treatment of her daughter in this instance worries me. It shows callousness to an extreme, that she is denying her own daughter the chance to decide what's right for her body. There is no leniency for circumstance, as is also evidenced by her stance against allowing abortions even for victims of rape and charging them to pay for their own rape kits.<BR/>If it's Bristol Palin's decision to keep her baby, that is fine. But we have no way to know that. Her mothers politics are so strong that we have no ability to know what her own opinion is. I would feel much better if Sarah Palin had simply said that her daughters decision was her own, and that while she may not agree with it -if Bristol had decided to give it up- but that she had a right to decide the fate of her own body. This is not to say that I think all teen pregnancies should end in abortions. My mother had one when she was in college and had been raped and beaten by her ex boyfriend. She's told me about it. It is a horrible decision to have to make and not one to be made lightly, but for that very reason it should be the mother who makes it, not any form of government legislation.<BR/>The Republican party is not any different from how I've always viewed it. I worry about Sarah Palin alone, who represents a form of Feminism that is so contrary to everything I feel that it frightens me. She represents a female type whom is only welcomed into power so long as she is still desirable, a.k.a., as long as men can feel that they still have power over her. <BR/>Do women vote for John McCain or George Bush because they can imagine being in a relationship with them? Not that I've heard of. And yet, there are men who have come out and said that they will vote for Palin because they feel comfortable with her, because they can imagine sleeping with her. I fear not the Republican party, but the sentiments she seems to encourage and pass as politically correct.<BR/><BR/>Pelosi in 2012.Maria D'Isidorohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02308332807256261942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-72747816542252138502008-09-17T08:11:00.000+04:302008-09-17T08:11:00.000+04:30I believe in your standpoints, I mean this will no...I believe in your standpoints, I mean this will not go away, ever. Yuo can't just shut it in a dark closet and forget it. <BR/><BR/>I think that, for anything big, if you know the consequences and fully know what you're getting in to, then why not.<BR/><BR/>And as a side note, I would totally go to one of your Sex Education classes because they would be the most hilarious time. Anywhere with you and Libba Bray would be the most fun time of the year.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-59658830291017190182008-09-17T07:12:00.000+04:302008-09-17T07:12:00.000+04:30This may be a little off topic but why do people t...This may be a little off topic but why do people think that the covers of your books have slutty girls on them? Apparently wearing tank tops and jeans make you slutty?? Well, I guess I'm slutty. The cover that comes close to slutty is Girl at Sea and I still don't think that's slutty. It's the summer! You're allowed to wear shorts.<BR/>....maybe it's because three of the girls are showing a slit of belly? Maybe they just have long torsos...as a girl with a long torso I have been known to show a little slit of belly. That does not make me slutty. <BR/>I would just like you to know that your covers are not slutty and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise!!Malhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07515226931828773503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-79551585757227280432008-09-17T01:59:00.000+04:302008-09-17T01:59:00.000+04:30I don't understand. Sure, Bristol Palin's choice ...I don't understand. Sure, Bristol Palin's choice was influenced by her mom. But then, if I were to get pregnant, my choices would be influenced by my parents. Just like anyone else's choices. <BR/><BR/>I feel sorry for her because now she's in the public eye. But how is that the Republican ticket's fault as people seem to be making it out to be? They picked her mother for vice-president. The media is doing the rest.<BR/><BR/>You and Libba Bray seem to have the unique talent of making me feel incredibly small and stupid.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-52003872602082311792008-09-15T22:56:00.000+04:302008-09-15T22:56:00.000+04:30I almost got in trouble for passing out greeting c...I almost got in trouble for passing out greeting cards with condoms during Christmas at school. They ley me off because I was *only* giving them to the people I ate lunch with. So it was all a *joke*. Hardy har har. <BR/><BR/>I know I have helped some of my friens in the sex education department just by telling them how exactly sex works, because all they know is abstinence. But I also like to scare them with horrific stories about syphilis and ghonorrhea and chlamidya and HIV and AIDS and...I know alot.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-81783439669778391312008-09-15T11:06:00.000+04:302008-09-15T11:06:00.000+04:30Seeing as I really should be doing homework for th...Seeing as I really should be doing homework for the five classes I've got tomorrow and am not going to finish any of it anyways, I just wanted to stick up my little flag and give a little wave to you for being so awesome. I don't like politicians or bureacracies, and political machines of any kind make me ill. I'm glad of the two unwed teen pregnancies that resulted in your awesomeness, and hope that other people can wrap their heads around the idea that pro-choice doesn't mean pro-abortion. Just a choice, which, I think, is our well-deserved right. After all, plenty of men have made some pretty screwed up choices in the past, and most of those ended in whole populations destroyed. <BR/>Life throws a lot at you. Sometimes we need that little bit of control, even if we never plan to take advantage of it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-49960569550400100522008-09-15T10:06:00.000+04:302008-09-15T10:06:00.000+04:30i think my stance on abortion was stolen by obama,...i think my stance on abortion was stolen by obama, as i've been saying this for years - we may all not agree on abortion, but we all want less abortions to be even needed. <BR/><BR/>but this isn't about that, this is about sex ed. <BR/><BR/>i went to catholic school until college. my k-12 school was attached to the church where junipero serra is buried. it's the seat of the bishop. we went to mass every sunday, and as a school, every month. during lent, we did literal stations of the cross every friday, and we held corpus christi mass outside - kneeling on really yucky cobblestone. my school/church was so big, the last pope came to visit and said mass there (he touched my hand!) and it was awesome. <BR/><BR/>and we had a class called "religion and family life" from 4th grade on. in it, we talked about sex. yup. in sixth grade, we spent about a month on how our reproductive systems work and condoms were brought in - to show us how tiny those little spermy-dudes are. my most scarring homework ever was in fourth grade, when we had to talk to our parents about pre-marital sex. i was a late bloomer, i didn't hit puberty til high school, so this was way above me. and instead of "no sex until marriage, missy!", i got "well, when you're in a healthy relationship with respect and honesty, sex can feel really good . . ." and i'm like, NO, DAD, NO, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!! but i think the fact that sex was a topic that wasn't taboo in the family so early on was INFINITELY awesome. <BR/><BR/>then i go to an all girls catholic school. again with the church business. again with nuns running around. sophomore year we have "human development" where we answer questions like "what is a clitoris and what does it do?" and ms. zimmer and ms. bremmer did the condom on banana thing. and the stuff we read in english was certainly steeped in sex - you can't read the classics, really, without it being there. (<I>the bluest eye</I> sticks out a lot, as does <I>house of the spirits</I> - which has the weird s&m count in it, not to mention the number of rapes in that book.)<BR/><BR/>but we were always told - abstinence is the only 100% guarantee. we were told to respect our bodies. we also weren't told to be afraid of it, or that we were going to go to hell if we did. <BR/><BR/>i think this is largely because the nuns, in their infinite wisdom, knew that by making something taboo, you only increase interest in it. if you know everything (or a whole lot) about something, it removes the mystery and the rebelliousness of the act. <BR/><BR/>my graduating class had 66 students. a third of us are married now, three have kids, and the majority of us are still in school/building fitness empires/not ready to settle down yet. but we all have healthy views on sex and the responsibility that goes along with it. <BR/><BR/>i didn't have sex until i was 22, and it was a decision i didn't take lightly. but we are sexual creatures (my sex education continued at my all women's college where we had "sex week" every year, full of seminars on safe sex, sex with same sex partners, s&m, fantasy, what to do if . . ., AND how to masturbate - complete with visits from the toys in babeland store. <BR/><BR/>so, all that is to say: religion and comprehensive sex-ed CAN go hand-in-hand - quite nicely, in fact. we need to stop with the fear-mongering in all aspects of our social spheres, because it always backfires. <BR/><BR/>i'm voting democrat this year for a lot of reasons (my hometown is pretty republican and small, so when it got out that i interned not only with feinstein but HILLARY, i was quite the town spectacle) - but mostly, this year, i'm voting because i'm tired of someone telling me i should vote a certain way because of fear. i've had enough of that. sept. 11 was a terrible, terrible day for me, and i'm just really now getting over all of it. i'm tired of being afraid of anyone who doesn't look like me, or having sex, or my own church, or what happens if i get knocked up after getting raped. i'm tired of being afraid of being judged because i take psychiatric meds, that the world hates me because i'm american, that if i say certain things, i'm clearly not a feminist. <BR/><BR/>i'm done with fear in the political rhetoric. fear does not bring change or progress. it brings fight or flight - none of which require actual thought. <BR/><BR/>and to bristol - i'm so sorry, honey. i wish you weren't a prop in the political machine right now, and i hope you somehow manage to be yourself, happily.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-85841054747505779482008-09-15T06:35:00.000+04:302008-09-15T06:35:00.000+04:30I feel bad for Bristol Palin...So I'll start off b...I feel bad for Bristol Palin...<BR/>So I'll start off by saying that I'm not fond of abortion. It's not something I would ever consider, but other people can do what they want. Whatever. That's cool with me. <BR/>But what if Bristol wanted to have an abortion? That poor girl. The headlines that would spawn would be epic. <BR/>I think we should give her a hug. She probably needs one.Breezeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00883006905568705787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-46262030035152098272008-09-14T19:25:00.000+04:302008-09-14T19:25:00.000+04:30Though sex ed with MJ and Libba is so boss, there ...Though sex ed with MJ and Libba is so boss, there are no words. :D<BR/>You MUST come to Baltimore. You have no choice. :DDDMaria D'Isidorohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02308332807256261942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-1706673580293615552008-09-14T19:23:00.000+04:302008-09-14T19:23:00.000+04:30I agree to a possibly unreasonable extent. My frie...I agree to a possibly unreasonable extent. My friend first had sex when she was 16 and that was fine with her. The earth did not open and swallow her up, she didn't get pregnant -thank you sex ed- , she did not even get coal in her stocking for Christmas. We are 19 now, and I have still not had sex. This is also just fine. I'm not saving myself for marriage or anything so decided as that because I don't know who I'll meet and how I'll feel about them. I like keeping my options open. Obviously, I have not found anyone who sets my hormones to jumping yet. But thankfully, because I've had several years of very comprehensive sex education, and been lucky enough to have a mother who doesn't get squeamish when I start asking tough questions, I'll know how to be safe when that person comes along. In essence, sex ed provides the helmet and knee pads as you ride that bicycle called sex. You CAN ride without them, but if you fall, there's nothing there to keep you from getting cut or bruised.<BR/>-Maria DMaria D'Isidorohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02308332807256261942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-47765360104701465272008-09-14T19:00:00.000+04:302008-09-14T19:00:00.000+04:30Wow. Intense. You handle these kinds of things rea...Wow. Intense. You handle these kinds of things really well, Maureen. I would never know what to say about stuff like this. I'd be all, "Erm...danish, anyone?" and run away as fast as I could. Props to you, though.Plucky the Dragonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02938366293595361536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-43339116565311158172008-09-14T16:13:00.000+04:302008-09-14T16:13:00.000+04:30I agree with almost everything you said. I just f...I agree with almost everything you said. I just found out yesterday that one of my friends from the catholic school I went to had a baby. I can almost guarantee you that she wasn't well informed about birth control. We had sex-ed at school, but they never told us anything about birth control. <BR/><BR/>Although I don't think that not being informed it the only reason so many girls are getting pregnant. My parents' friends' daughter said that her friends made a pact to all get pregnant. I don't think that those girls realize that it will change their lives.<BR/><BR/>It's not just private schools that don't tell you the facts, though. At my public high school, we don't have a sex ed class. I do remember my gym teacher telling us to use condoms and birth control, but no one ever really told us about it. I definitely think this is a problem. You can't even walk through the hallways at my school without seeing a pregnant girl.<BR/><BR/>I really hope schools start to offer real sex ed classes, before to many more girls get pregnant.Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03629867738824103449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20580332.post-48515146530817810702008-09-14T09:01:00.000+04:302008-09-14T09:01:00.000+04:30I'm 36. They gave us the health talk in 5th grade...I'm 36. They gave us the health talk in 5th grade. When I moved in 9th grade they had sex ed that your parents had to sign permission for. I moved again and never got to take the class. (We moved because we were getting a house built not because of the class.) Well the last school waited until the end of senior year to teach sex ed. By that time lots of girls were already knocked-up. All the kids wondered why they waited so late.<BR/><BR/>Oh yeah, I have that watch problem too.Melodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09136222564933396828noreply@blogger.com