Finally, An Expert Opinion
This just in, from AgapePress:
I'm glad an expert finally spoke up about what's healthy, putting those phonies at the American Medical Association in their place.
Abstinence Clearinghouse president Leslee Unruh says some guides to puberty that the American Medical Association (AMA) is promoting are too graphic for their intended audiences.
For instance, the book titled Girl's Guide to Becoming a Teen and the corresponding Boys Guide give information on the transition into adolescence; however, Unruh says there's no reason for these books to include explicit discussions of oral sex or language that "normalizes" homosexuality.
"We look at the guides and say parents need to, first of all, be the primary sex educators of their children," the Abstinence Clearinghouse spokeswoman notes. "And we don't believe that graphic imagery, with all the new data that has been given with the brain research, is a healthy way of looking at your child's sexuality," she adds.
I'm glad an expert finally spoke up about what's healthy, putting those phonies at the American Medical Association in their place.
posted by JimK at 11:37 AM
11 Comments:
http://tinyurl.com/os37o
Anne
Thanks for the link Anne...
Now to the link,
The center also provides so-called "abortion recovery counseling," despite the fact that research studies indicate that emotional responses to legally induced abortion are largely positive, and that emotional problems resulting from abortion are rare and less frequent than those following childbirth.
Now could it be that PP dropped the ball, or that such research does not exist? Inquiring Minds want to know!
Now this is SHOCKING!
From PP "bio" profile on Leslee Unruh,
Unruh has even bragged that her daughter saved her first kiss for marriage.
Goodness gracious! That's terrible! There ought to be a law against such sexually repressive parenting.
Ok, so I am being a tad sarcastic...and yes, I do think it is a little over the top...but which would I rather have as a daughter, if I could only choose one extreme or another? Would I rather have an uptight "Sunday School Virgin" or a "Saturday Night Whore" (or Slut, you choose)???
Well, Lenny Bruce, may he rest in peace, would probably prefer the later...but as a parent, I would prefer the former.
Now this is interesting...at the end of the hit piece on Unruh, the following is disclosed:
Myra Batchelder is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn, NY.
Well, she might now be a "freelance writer" but when she attended the conference called Facing Facts: The Truth about Teen Pregnancy in New York City and What Adults Can Do About It. Apparently Ms. Batchelder attended representing SIECUS...
Oh, and then there is this,
Program and Administrative Staff
Myra Batchelder
Program Associate, Economic Opportunity Program
Prior to joining Demos in July 2005, Myra was the Community Advocacy Manager at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), where she worked on community advocacy and public policy issues. Before working at SIECUS, she held a one-year research fellowship at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) in Washington, DC. Myra currently serves on the Board of Directors for a state pro-choice organization. During college, she interned at The Century Foundation, Steps to End Family Violence, and ran a summer youth employment program at the Gratiot Technical Education Center (a Michigan Works! one-stop). Myra holds a B.A. in Political Science and Public Policy from Sarah Lawrence College.
which is found here,
http://www.demos.org/page7.cfm
which casts a shadow of doubt over her status as a "freelance writer", keeping in mind that the piece she did on Leslee Unruh was posted May 11, 2006.
IMNSHO, I think writers have an obligation to disclose conflicts of interests, as well as information that would have a bearing on understanding where they are coming from on any given issue.
Am I surprised? No, not really...
Orin, are you criticizing this writer for having an interest in the topic? Did you think "freelance" meant "naive?"
You don't really think this is a "conflict of interest" for a writer, do you, that they prefer one side or the other on an issue?
Next you can feign shock that Planned Parenthood has a bias on the issue of abortion.
JimK
Jim writes,
Orin, are you criticizing this writer for having an interest in the topic? Did you think "freelance" meant "naive?"
No, not at all...freelance suggests independent...a description of this writer that I don't think is entirely accurate.
You don't really think this is a "conflict of interest" for a writer, do you, that they prefer one side or the other on an issue?
No, I expect every writer to arrive at an issue from a particular perspective, even Myra Batchelder. Indeed, I welcome differing POV's (one of my favorites on NPR is Daniel Schorr, Senior News Analyst, and a alumnus of Nixon's Enemies List). What I do not like are incomplete descriptions like this,
Myra Batchelder is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn, NY.
instead of this,
Prior to joining Demos in July 2005, Myra was the Community Advocacy Manager at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), where she worked on community advocacy and public policy issues. Before working at SIECUS, she held a one-year research fellowship at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) in Washington, DC. Myra currently serves on the Board of Directors for a state pro-choice organization. During college, she interned at The Century Foundation, Steps to End Family Violence, and ran a summer youth employment program at the Gratiot Technical Education Center (a Michigan Works! one-stop). Myra holds a B.A. in Political Science and Public Policy from Sarah Lawrence College.
(information found at the Demos website, where she now appears to be employed.)
A highly relevant piece of information to have included would have been her work for SIECUS.
WHY SHOULD THIS MATTER? Good question. It should matter because this is the standard that right-wing conservatives are held to, and rightly so. So, why should the standard be any different for someone on the left-wing liberal side??? Jim, wouldn't you consider it wrong for a Medical Doctor to not disclose that he was a board member of PFOX?
Jim writes,
Next you can feign shock that Planned Parenthood has a bias on the issue of abortion.
No, not really (lol!)...but I did have the local Culture of Death, Inc. representative...err, I mean the Public Relations Rep. for Planned Parenthood claim just the other day (in an email), that they provide "ALL of their reproductive health care options in a safe, non-biased way." Non-biased? Yeah, right...while I know that is his job to "sell" such a line, I need to be a (dare I say?...ok, I will) discriminating consumer.
"WHY SHOULD THIS MATTER? Good question. It should matter because this is the standard that right-wing conservatives are held to, and rightly so. So, why should the standard be any different for someone on the left-wing liberal side???"
Hear, hear. Orin has uncovered classic TTF (twist the facts) strategy. Bernard Goldberg, former correspondent for CBS who worked with the now disgraced Dan Rather, made this point in his book a few years ago. He became frustrated because whenever a Democratic lawyer was interviewed, he was described as a "legal scholar" but when Republican lawyer were interviewed, they were described as "conservative spokesmen".
"Freelance" just means the person is not hired on a regular basis by this publication. All freelance writers have 1.a past and 2.an opinion.
Please note, once the convulsions settle down, that this is Planned Parenthood newsletter we're talking about here.
Anybody who is surprised and shocked to find that a writer for this newsletter has worked for a government-sponsored sex-education organization, a nonprofit that helps the poor, and/or a pro-choice organization, is either pulling our leg or is naive to the point of delusion.
I'm dying to see how you guys twist this into pity for the poor rightwingers. Hey, this could be as bad as the conspiracy by the New York Times travel section to tell al Qaeda where Cheney and Rumsfeld live!
JimK
Orin's joints are cracking from all the "stretching" he is doing as of late.
Jeff
Anonymous writes,
Hear, hear. Orin has uncovered classic TTF (twist the facts) strategy. Bernard Goldberg, former correspondent for CBS who worked with the now disgraced Dan Rather, made this point in his book a few years ago. He became frustrated because whenever a Democratic lawyer was interviewed, he was described as a "legal scholar" but when Republican lawyer were interviewed, they were described as "conservative spokesmen".
Thank you Anonymous. I spoke (by phone) once some years ago with Mr. Goldberg (I had called and left a message, a compliment on a CBS news piece he had done...it was balanced, imagine that!). He struck me as a gentleman and a news professional committed to presenting the news, rather than spinning it. Still, I fear he may have become a bit of a right-wing crank of late...
Jim writes,
"Freelance" just means the person is not hired on a regular basis by this publication. All freelance writers have 1.a past and 2.an opinion.
So then, you would apply this same standard to those on the other end of the political spectrum? I used an example of a MD that would weigh in against the sexual orientation content of the MCPS curriculum. What would you think of a professional, such as this doctor if they did not disclose that they were also affiliated with a so-called ex-gay group?
Please note, once the convulsions settle down, that this is Planned Parenthood newsletter we're talking about here.
I don't know about anyone else...but I am not suffering from any "convulsions". I simply want to see the same standard apply to all...don't you?
Anybody who is surprised and shocked to find that a writer for this newsletter has worked for a government-sponsored sex-education organization, a nonprofit that helps the poor, and/or a pro-choice organization, is either pulling our leg or is naive to the point of delusion.
I am not shocked or surprised (certainly not by the fact that she attended and graduated from a notoriously liberal college)...and no, I am not pulling anyone's leg and I am hardly naive about these matters. I understand that individuals like Ms. Batchelder will likely over her professional life will go from one group (like SIECUS) to another (like Demos) because they share a similar weltanshuanng.
I'm dying to see how you guys twist this into pity for the poor rightwingers. Hey, this could be as bad as the conspiracy by the New York Times travel section to tell al Qaeda where Cheney and Rumsfeld live!
And your point?
Orin,
This is a Planned Parenthood newsletter, and guess what, the freelance writer they hired is sympathetic to Planned Parenthood's mission. This is like if AgapePress failed to mention that an author belonged to a church.
In fact, it's exactly like that. Get over it.
I'm afraid the right has used up its quota for crying wolf. Poor little us, the liberal press is picking on us. Sorry, nobody over here is falling for it.
JimK
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