Are You My Mother?

When I flew to Virginia to guard a polling place for Election Day, the woman in the seat next to me turned out to be flying to West Palm Beach to do the same thing. We chatted about our work and support for Obama, and then conversation turned to McCain and Palin. At one point she leaned in and said conspiratorially "I do not believe that is her baby." And I knew immediately what she was talking about, and I agreed with her. Once you've read the whole story, you may agree with us, too.

This post from the blog Palin's Deceptions lays out the case that Sarah Palin's child Trig is not hers. It lays out in detail the absurd story Palin told about having her water break in Texas, giving a speech, taking two four-hour flights with a two-hour layover, then driving by car to her hometown hospital. At the same time she supposedly had this baby, her 16-year-old daughter had moved in with Palin's sister and missed five months of school, supposedly because she had mono. I've had mono, and known kids who had mono. No one I've ever known with mono ever missed more than a week of school. I think that kid missed five months of school because she was pregnant and had a baby. And Palin thought she would get away with lying and saying it was her kid.

You can make up your own mind, but I'm convinced that the story is a lie.

Headline of the Day: In A Stunning Development, Telling Horny Teenagers To Save It For Jesus Proves Ineffective

The state of Nebraska features this brochure on its DHHS page
From Blue Texan at firedoglake. Who'd a thunk it?

From the AP article that inspired the post:

In a troubling reversal, the nation's teen birth rate rose for the first time in 15 years, surprising government health officials and reviving the bitter debate about abstinence-only sex education.

The birth rate had been dropping since its peak in 1991, although the decline had slowed in recent years. On Wednesday, government statisticians said it rose 3 percent from 2005 to 2006.

The reason for the increase is not clear, and federal health officials said it might be a one-year statistical blip, not the beginning of a new upward trend.

However, some experts said they have been expecting a jump. They blamed it on increased federal funding for abstinence-only health education that doesn't teach teens how to use condoms and other contraception.

Some key sexually transmitted disease rates have been rising, including syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. The rising teen pregnancy rate is part of the same phenomenon, said Dr. Carol Hogue, an Emory University professor of maternal and child health.

"It's not rocket science," she said.

Kids are going to have sex. Give them real education about safe sex and birth control. Stop pretending that the world is a giant Ozzie and Harriet episode.