If your teen complains, show him this.

 

                                  Teens in Borodianka Ukraine, May 13, 2022.  Washington Post

Mean girls--today and 68 years ago

I just watched a Fox News story on the damage social media is doing to young teen girls and their body images. I used to be a young teen girl who hung out with other teens, caring about every word and piece of gossip. We didn't have social media like Instagram or TikTok (the focus of this story). We didn't have personal phones (most of us were on a party line). We didn't have organized sports (against the law in those days). If we took a photo it was on film and it was 2 weeks to get it developed. We all went to church and almost no one had divorced parents. But we still found all the ways to be mean girls and make snide remarks about bodies and tease anyone who didn't fit the mold or current fashion. Can I get an Amen or am I the only one who remembers "the good old days?"

  

It’s showtime—time to put part timers and teens out of work

The minimum wage is showtime for Democrats. FDR used it in the 1930s to destroy the economy for black communities so they couldn't compete with their own free labor and outbid whites. Very few employers have been paying federal minimum for years, and only 4% of wage earners are paid state minimum. Wal-Mart's minimum is $14.76. Ohio's is $8.70, California $13.00, New York City $15. And right now, with the lockdown, the no job wage is whatever check the government is giving people. Democrats like to trot it out as "caring for the poor" while keeping our economy locked down, and turning a blind eye to the summer of rioting. Nothing helps the poor like a good job, and President Trump showed that with rising wages for low income and minorities.

To keep voters, Democrats need to convince them they are getting something. Part timers and entry level receive minimum, so it doesn't affect that many people--but then the other wages must be moved up, and the employer hires fewer teens and women wanting some part time work.

Minimum Wage Increases May Explain Decline in Teen Employment (journalistsresource.org)

The Unintended Consequences Of Raising Minimum Wage To $15 (forbes.com)

Column: Raising the minimum wage lowers employment for teens and low-skill workers | PBS NewsHour

Netflix suicide series “13 Reasons Why”

Should the entertainment industry be held accountable? The Netflix series examines the suicide of 17 year-old Hannah Baker, who made 13 cassette tapes prior to her death.

"According to a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, United States youth ages 10-17 had a 28.9% increase in suicide rates in young males in the month (April 2017) following the debut of the show."

www.ncregister.com/daily-news/study-finds-nearly-30-spike-in-male-teen-suicide-following-netflix-release?

https://www.phillyvoice.com/netflix-13-reasons-why-teen-suicides-increase-study/

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-news/2019/release-of-13-reasons-why-associated-with-increase-in-youth-suicide-rates.shtml

The entertainment industry, specifically TV and film, is a powerful mind control group whose representatives love to lecture the rest of us on man caused climate change, racism, sexual issues, gun laws, etc., yet are the most consistently violent, abusive, and life threatening force in our lives. It also brought us the MeToo hypocrisy, black performers as servants, criminals and/or dancers, and all the shoot 'em up car chase themes which they now decry as toxic masculinity.

Is Booker buying votes?

"Sen. Cory Booker (D.-N.J.) is proposing a plan—the American Opportunity Accounts Act—that he calculates will provide $46,215 to every 18-year-old in the lowest income bracket by giving them annual subsidies in a federally managed savings account."

This ought to qualify Booker as a Presidential candidate buying votes.

If they are truly low income, and qualify for federal and state benefits, like SNAP, EITC, Section 8, Medicaid, TANF, negative income tax, home energy assistance, school lunch, breakfast and snack, going all the way back to Head Start, SSI, child care, grants and loans for college or trade school, plus about 100 other transfers, $46,000 would probably be a reduction.

Yes, in our era teens all dressed a like

 
We just had prettier clothes in those days. 

So this is transformation of our country

Middle and high school students can’t get a Coca-Cola or a candy bar at 13 Seattle public schools, but they can get a taxpayer-funded intrauterine device (IUD) implanted without their parents’ consent.

School-based health clinics in at least 13 Seattle-area public high schools and middle schools offer long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), including IUDs and hormonal implants, to students in sixth-grade and above at no cost, according to Washington State officials.

Seattle school clinics

So seriously underage girls are being co-opted by the schools.  Does that make the participating public school system and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists which gave this atrocity a green light co-rapists in underage sex? Isn’t that a crime? And what about those poorly trained “clinic” workers who insert them? Isn’t that a violation of a child’s body? 

• Hormonal IUDs (e.g., Mirena®) contains the hormone levonorgestrel, which is a type of progesterone. A hormonal IUD prevents pregnancy in several ways: killing or harming the sperm, making the mucus in the cervix thick so sperm can't reach the uterus, and helping make the uterine lining an unappealing place for a fertilized egg to implant itself. About 2 in 1,000 women become pregnant during the first year of getting a hormonal IUD.
• Copper IUDs (e.g., ParaGard®) consists of copper wire wrapped around the stem portion of the T-shaped device. It can stay in place at least twice as long as a hormonal IUD--for at least a decade. A copper IUD works by causing a woman's uterus and fallopian tubes to produce a fluid that kills sperm. About 6 in 1,000 women become pregnant during the first year of getting a copper IUD.

For as long as they’ve been keeping track more contraceptives for teens means more sex which means more pregnancies which means more abortions or young, unprepared mothers.  But teach chastity?  OH horrors.  That wouldn’t work.  Someone might graduate from high school a virgin, and that would never do.  That’s not progressive; that’s not the Democrat way.  How many of these girls will get counseling on the psychological damage, say, if it’s incest, or an older man leading her to prostitution, or how many will get STDs. How qualified are these staffers who’ve had no training in counseling?

Do you suppose the President has had his daughters fitted with an IUD? He did say a baby is punishment.  But he also has a pretty good security detail to send on their dates.

When the unions raise the cost of fast food, will the poor eat at home?

I wonder how many of the fast food marchers yesterday were actually working for minimum wage or if they are hired by the unions. $15/hour for a teen to learn to wipe tables and sweep the floor? Not going to happen. And if the beginner gets $15, what does the counter person who's been there 3 years get, or the assistant manager? Don't their wages go up too? According to the BLS, 2% are paid minimum, and they are mostly young and part time. The percentage has dropped dramatically in the last 40 years--and maybe that's good, but probably not, since usually a worker’s first job is minimum wage and that's where we learn. I wasn't worth what I was paid at my first job, but it was a learning experience.

Young Women of Faith Bible (NIV)

                        

Recently I received a copy of Zonderkidz’ Bible, “Young Women of Faith Bible” to review (c 2001, 2013 www.zonderkidz.com) For this task, I consulted the three grandmothers in our UALC Bible study group. I’m a little out of touch with the niche market of middle school and high school.  They loved it!  They all thought any young girl or woman would really enjoy the pink illustrations—hearts, butterflies, flowers--the excellent, informative side bars, the use of a journal for personal thoughts, and explanations. It features weekly Bible studies, memory verses and challenges, and “if I were there” questions, as well as the Biblical notes and journal suggestions.  And it has what I would have enjoyed at the target age, a topical index and Biblical maps in color.  If you already use Zondervan’s “Women of Faith Study Bible,” this Bible coordinates with it.

The general editor is Susie Shellenberger, a Christian speaker who has written fifty-two books, and lives in Bethany, Oklahoma with her two mini Schnauzers Obie and Amos. Susie is a former youth pastor, high school teacher, and editor. She loves a lot of color with her Scripture.

Black teen unemployment in Chicago a disgrace

The teen unemployment rate in the U.S. is 21.4%. In 2006 it was 14%. But I saw a man on Dana Loesch show today who said it was 92% for blacks 16-19 in Chicago. That sounded awfully high, so I checked it. Paul McKinley is very unhappy with Obama and believes he has let blacks down.

http://www.blackyouthproject.com/2014/01/92-of-black-male-teens-unemployed-in-chicago-83-nationally/

The study was  released  by the Urban League. Nationwide 17 percent of black males 16-19 had some sort of job; 12 percent in Illinois; just 8 percent in Chicago.

I wonder how raising the minimum wage will help unemployed teens?

Thomas Jefferson High School again

I don’t buy this.  The whole purpose of high school clubs is to learn leadership skills and develop friendships.  There are plenty of clubs which will mingle children of different races and cultures—math club, Spanish club, thespians—but the leader of the black students club should be an African American.  TJHS doesn’t have very many blacks now; don’t dilute their effectiveness and learning opportunities.  And no, I don’t want a guy in charge of young mothers club.

Of the 1,800 students who attended TJ last year, only 34 were black and 42 were Hispanic, school figures show. The overwhelming majority of their classmates were Asian (906) and white (787).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/problem-or-progress-white-student-leads-black-club-at-n-virginia-high-school/2012/04/01/gIQArXXkpS_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines

Full employment at Planned Parenthood guaranteed

The illegitimacy rate for births among teenage girls hovered around five to seven percent for decades, until about 1960. Between 1960 and 1970, it doubled as the birth control pill helped usher in the 'Sexual Revolution.' After 1970, the teenage illegitimacy rate literally exploded as comprehensive sex education programs and school-based clinics were introduced. Currently, the illegitimacy rate among teenage girls is about forty percent.

Link

Physical Activity Levels of High School Students

Healthy People 2020 recommends 60 min. a day 7 days a week of aerobic exercise for teens. What is it now (self reported)?

Nationwide, 15.3% of high school students met the HP 2020 objective for aerobic activity. A higher percentage of male (21.9%) compared with female (8.4%) students? Combined with muscle activity, only about 12% of today's teens meet the HP 2020 objective.

Physical Activity Levels of High School Students—United States, 2010, July 27, 2011, 306 (4): 367 — JAMA

But here's the phrasing you need to look out for--it's where the money is. This will be a cash cow for every city block grant, non-profit community organization and probably even churches. The KEY phrase is "multisector approach." NEPLB. No exercise plan left behind.

These strategies are being included in programs such as the First Lady's Let's Move! campaign, CDC's Communities Putting Prevention to Work program, and the Safe Routes to School program. Additionally, the National Physical Activity Plan identifies the need to use a multisector approach involving schools, communities, families, and the private sector to facilitate integrated approaches to increasing population activity levels. Continued efforts to implement these evidence-based strategies and programs will help to meet the HP 2020 objective target for aerobic activity as well as the targets for muscle-strengthening activity and both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities (once these targets have been set based on findings from the 2011 national YRBS). Public health efforts to improve participation in aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities among U.S. high school students might be most relevant for female students, students in upper grades, and students with obesity.

More signs of late brain maturity--stress from debt

"Researchers [at Ohio State University] found that the more credit card and college loan debt held by young adults aged 18 to 27, the higher their self-esteem and the more they felt like they were in control of their lives. The effect was strongest among those in the lowest economic class.

Only the oldest of those studied – those aged 28 to 34 – began showing signs of stress about the money they owed." Rachel Dwyer

I suspect the researchers should have included in the study the amount of alcohol and drugs these 20-somethings ingested as teen-agers. That's a known factor for destroyed brain cells, or slowing their maturity.

But then, what's Congress' excuse?

Gay teens have riskier behavior

A CDC report released today and carried through AP to many major newspapers is sure to create a flurry of new grant money and programs to 1) create guilt in the non-gay population because the stigma must be their fault, 2) excuse sexual behavior teens know they shouldn't be doing, and 3) pay the salaries of researchers and social workers for many future studies.

Students who report being gay, lesbian or bisexual and students who report having sexual contact only with persons of the same sex or both sexes are more likely than heterosexual students and students who report having sexual contact only with the opposite sex to engage in unhealthy risk behaviors such as tobacco use, alcohol and other drug use, sexual risk behaviors, suicidal behaviors, and violence, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"This report should be a wake-up call for families, schools and communities that we need to do a much better job of supporting these young people. Any effort to promote adolescent health and safety must take into account the additional stressors these youth experience because of their sexual orientation, such as stigma, discrimination, and victimization," said Howell Wechsler, Ed.D, M.P.H, director of CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH). "We are very concerned that these students face such dramatic disparities for so many different health risks."

CDC Media Relations - Press Release: June 6, 2011

The problem with this whole victim excuse is that many straight teens also engage in risky sexual behavior--maybe a lower percentage, but in numbers far higher. How successful have government health programs been in reducing or eliminating that, and is their reason also stigma, victimization and discrimination?

Who's crazy now?

It's OK in a movie to take the Lord's name in vain, which is offensive to probably over half of all movie goers, but a fake, made up conversation by two teenagers can't use the word "gay" as a pejorative ("The social network")? Come on, guys, even gay kids use the term gay that way! Ten years ago they were using "retard" the same way. Look at any slang and it's either incomprehensible so adults won't catch on, or comes via the prisons, or has a sexual connotation. The word JAZZ, after all, originally meant sexual intercourse, as did rock 'n roll, so is that what you're saying each time you use those terms?

Stop treating gay teens like they are a fragile piece of glass. You are sending mixed messages for a political agenda, and it's the kids who will suffer. First of all, you're talking them into being a victim, and you just might be designating someone as gay when he isn't. There are lots of reasons for a teen to have problems, and a few teen-agers do commit suicide for a wide variety of reasons. But not as many as the macho soliders we're sending to Afghanistan and Iraq, and not as many as white men over 60.

When I was a teenager, I'd never heard of homosexuality--was probably a sophomore in college before I was even aware of it. That doesn't mean there weren't just as many gay teens in the 50s as there are today. Somehow, they managed to get college degrees, find partners, and succeed in their careers, because I've met them, worked with them, and am now retiring with them. One dear lesbian friend died in a house fire trying to save her pets; her partner was devastated, and she later died in an auto accident. None of this had anything to do with their sexuality; Pauline and Dora were outstanding advocates for young people of any make and model.

Today gay teens have support groups, "young adult" gay themed books in the library, gay movie stars and athletic figures to idolize, web sites to go to, special counselors in their schools, and politicans who are equal opportunity idiots like Barney Frank for a model. If none of this is working, why are we funding these programs?

Please, stop with the urban legends!

Rescue teams reach stranded teen sailor

I've been known to over react where the health and safety of minor children are concerned, but I believe Abby Sunderland's parents/guardians are guilty of neglect and child abuse. Her father compares her adventure and desire to set a world record for "youngest" to teens driving on the interstate. So would he send her cross-country alone driving a semi-truck loaded with explosives? Not a good example, daddy. If as a nation we had the collective balls to raise the legal driving age to 18, we could save 5,000 lives a year. Hard telling how many permanent brain injuries and damaged limbs that would involve. A 16 year old doesn't have a mature brain, and a teen girl, regardless of her athletic ability and sailing experience probably doesn't have the physical strength or body mass to ward off pirates and typhoons.

Rescue teams reach stranded teen sailor - CNN.com

800 U.S. war dead in Afghanistan

Since October 1, 2001. Think about that. That's less than the murder rate in most major American cities (see Forbes, "America's most murderous cities"). It's far below the death rate for teen drivers and passengers (16-20), which is something like 5,000 a year (NHTSA)! If the soldier is your son or daughter, father, husband, brother, then the totals don't matter. But I think war protesters ought to think about totals. The Iraq War protesters extended the war, just like they did during the Vietnam era. It gives courage and resolve to the enemy and makes little difference to the people in government. The Iraq War had the backing of many Democrats in Congress, until they decided there was political capital in changing their minds and blaming Bush saying they were misled. That's an ugly thing to do. Either they are liars or easily intimidated wimps. Maybe both. And now we have a President who doesn't believe in victory, waffles on Afghanistan and has changed his mind on Sudan, endangering every military family and America's security in general. And Democrats are still divided, still trying to blame Bush.

But back to the numbers. Did you know the recession has saved lives? Yes, less driving, fewer deaths. Fewer in 2008 than 2007--down 9.7%--and 2009 will probably drop even more. And motorcycle deaths are increasing--probably some folks trying to save gasoline! And did you know that the decade following 1995 when the speed limits went back up (had been 55 mph), studies show an additional 12,500 people died and about 36,500 injured through 2006, even though overall deaths are going down due to safer cars, more seat belt use, and alcohol crack downs.

So why does the media and special interest groups try to get political mileage out of 800 deaths in 9 years, and pretty much ignore 12,500 deaths in 10 years which resulted from societal pressure and special interests? Are those families grieving less because the white cross is along interstate 70 or Rt. 64 and not in a military cemetery? Also, a new study shows that texting increased the danger of driving by 23.2 times--taking your eyes off the road is a lot more dangerous than talking on a cell phone. So what's up? Why is one story so much more compelling, more political, and yet the carnage is so much worse on the highways? [from "Studies probe US traffic injuries, deaths" by Mike Mitka, JAMA, Sept. 16, 2009, p. 1159-1160 using figures from NHTSA]

Abstinence never fails; condoms do

If it weren't so tragic, it would be funny. President Bush is being blamed for a rise in teen-age pregnancy and STDs. He was roundly criticised on the basis of NO evidence, even back when he was governor of Texas. In his first administration he was ridiculed for his plan. Now that couldn't possibly bias the research, could it? Would you ever hear a pro-chastity program on NPR, or see a report in JAMA advocating it as a way to protect young girls? I think not. I know this for certain; Bush wouldn't be getting the credit in the media if the research had gone the other way. His holding the line on stem cell research saved us from countless years of ethical wrangling, and indirectly led the way for a cheaper, easier, safer method. But he's still being criticized and Obama, the most anti-life, anti-child president ever, given credit.

I don't know how many schools implemented "chastity" as a policy (to receive federal tax money), but since that's hard to do, I'm guessing darn few did it with much enthusiasm. It would be like me instructing children in tennis. Every organization, union and association even remotely connected with education were lambasting him on this one (or anything), from the beginning of his career in politics. Perhaps he should have gone the route of another President (OSU). Gee's daughter got a lot of publicity for forcing Wal-Mart to carry Plan B--her fame got her an appointment to the Obama medical team. Although she didn't rise as high as the Alabama MD (Regina Benjamin) running the free clinic. Accessibility to birth control and quicky abortions only increases risk taking among teens, that's been shown countless times, it doesn't decrease it; and none of that removes the risk of an STD. Or emotional trauma or abuse.

Whatever was spent on chastity programs (which I'm guessing looked like the anti-alcohol programs we got in the 50s), it couldn't come close to the trillions in the entertainment field pointing the other direction. Glamorizing trashy, female-demeaning sex in entertainment, gaming and crotch grabbing videos and music is all the rage. However, can blame that on the President? Every method to clean up movies and TV has failed (remember when Tipper Gore led a crusade?) since Frank Sinatra crooned and Elvis thrust his pelvis on the Ed Sullivan Show. Teenagers and old ladies fainted, but for different reasons. In fact, those entreprenuers making the big bucks trafficking in women, teen girls and young boys may be libertarians when it comes to personal values, and Democrats in the voting booth where they can fight regulation. In 2006 the Democrats even pledged a "family values" direction, because they thought it was working for the Republicans.

The current generation of parents of teens has done a reversal of the parenting styles of previous groups--from the 50s-80s. Now, the style is "be best friends," and welcome them home instead of tough love when there's misbehavior. We've got the helicopter parents. Do they say NO to anything? Are they remembering their own youth of the 70s and 80s? What have they communicated? Probably much more than the President or the schools or the churches.

No way to know, of course. Terrorism, the threat of STDs that kill, a long war, a consumer culture out of control just may create an "oh, well" mentality in kids. And let's not discount meaningless technology fads that include e-mailing sexy photos, parents who disrupt children's lives with divorce, recouple, and live together to save on rent. But in the heat of the moment with the hormones raging, I truly doubt that any teen thought to ask, "I wonder if President Bush will be disappointed?."

"Kristi Hamrick, a spokeswoman for American Values, which describes itself as a supporter of traditional marriage and "against liberal education and cultural forces", said the abstinence message is overwhelmed by a culture obsessed with sex.

"It is ridiculous to say that a programme we nominally invest in has failed when it fails to overcome the most sexualised culture in world history. Education that emphasises abstinence as the best option for teens makes up a minuscule part of overall sex education in the United States," she said.

"In every other area of public policy - food, drugs, alcohol - we tell children what is the best choice. It seems very bizarre that the sex education establishment rejects the idea that we should talk to kids about what is best for them. We don't take vodka to drivers education because children will drink and drive."

Air travel has never been safer, but . . .

We can count on more regulations. It is a tragedy that 50 people died in last week's crash near Buffalo, NY. And yet thousands die every year on the highways. . . many because we don't have the will to raise the legal driving age even two years. Auto collisions are the leading cause of death among teens, killing about 4,000 a year. And it isn't just teens. Any person in a car with a teen driver is in much more danger than from birds sucked into airplane engines or ice on the wings. If we did nothing else but forbid teen drivers to have passengers, thousands of lives could be saved. Do those families not grieve? Are those people less important than people who boarded a commuter plane?

"The AAA Foundation analysis shows that from 1995 through 2004 crashes involving 15, 16, and 17-year-old drivers claimed the lives of 30,917 people nationwide, of which only 11,177 (36.2%) were the teen drivers themselves. The remaining 19,740 (63.6%) included 9,847 passengers of the teen drivers, 7,477 occupants of other vehicles operated by drivers at least 18 years of age, 2,323 non-motorists. The analysis also shows that 12,413 of these fatalities occurred in single vehicle crashes involving only the vehicle operated by the teenage driver.

In 1999, 16- and 17-year-old teens driving with no passengers were involved in 1.6 accidents per 10,000 trips, yet the rate rises to 2.3 accidents with one passenger, 3.3 accidents with two passengers, and sharply rises to 6.3 accidents with three or more passengers in the car." More statistics on teen drivers here.

During the last ice storm a teenager wrecked his dad's new red sports car by slamming into the light pole at our condo entrance (it's a 35 mph street but I'm guessing from the damage he was speeding). I think the car was totaled, and it was weeks before the red pieces were cleaned up because the snow plows had buried much of the debris. I hope daddy has learned a lesson, because fortunately the boy survived without serious injuries. The car can be replaced; the child can't be. He will live to drive again--much wiser I hope.