30 years of abstinence only sexual education and you're shocked by this?!

Lisa Miller had a one page editorial in Newsweek this week about True Love Revolution, a pro-abstinence group at Harvard. The group has recently tempered their language to include not only waiting for marriage to have sex, but also that marriage is defined as "one man, one woman."

Miller writes,

At Harvard, it's sounding a lot like the '70s again. Thanks to the provocations of True Love Revolution, the university's three-year-old pro-abstinence club, brainy women are defending their right to have sex with whomever they want, whenever and however they want.

It seems as if Miller and the people she quotes in her article are horrified and very surprised that these groups exist at Harvard. I wonder what offends them so much. Is it that there are conservatives in Ivy League institutions? Or that women are saying it's okay to not have sex? Are they oh so offended by this conservative rhetoric?

Whatever their reasons or opinions, this is for sure: No one should be surprised these groups exist at schools like Harvard.

Since 1981, the federal government has pushed abstinence only education. And if you think it's only a Republican issue, then think again. Despite a democratic majority in Congress and the fact that the majority of people in America want comprehensive sexual education, year after year, over $170 million is allocated to abstinence only sexual education.

After almost 30 years of abstinence only sexual education, why are people so shocked when groups like this show up in colleges and universities nationwide?

And the better question is why are people so afraid of these groups having a voice at institutions of higher education?

Cats Strike Again!

I woke up at 4:50AM today and was confused about why I had woke up that early. Then I realized that my foster cats have me whipped.

Usually they wake me up around 4:30AM to feed them and I usually do to get them to leave me alone. Last night I fed them a little bit before I went to bed. I suppose my little trick worked.

But as the cats snored at the foot of my bed, I couldn't help but to wonder who were really the ones teaching the lessons.

You Know You've Spent Too Much Time in the South When . . .

It's no surprise I have cultivated a "love/hate" relationship with the South. Having lived here for a year and three months, I can honestly say my opinions have changed quite a bit.

With that being said, here's how I know it's time to take a trip back North (please note: I'm not saying any of these things are "bad" but I am saying they are not thoughts I had before moving here)--

I've considered a gun as a good method of protecting myself...

closely followed by a loud, big, barking dog.

I look forward to seeing military members walking around and even get a little excited.

I say "y'all" and not ironically.

I say "sir" and "ma'am" to strangers.

My driving skills have suffered. I've run more lights than I have in my previous five years of driving.

I watch football and sometimes enjoy it.

I have considered joining the military.

I think 60 degrees is cold.

I love grits. LOVE them.

I have walked underneath the confederate flag flying outside the state house.

I know way more than I ever wanted to know about Mark Sanford.

I have parked on the grass.

I have dressed like a sorority girl.

Hob Knob with the Big Wigs

Names and locations have been changed to protect the innocent and this blogger who does not like to write about her job on her public blog.

Boy: Where are you headed?

Girl: Up to [name of building that is equivalent to a university's "West Wing"].

Boy: Ohhhhhhhhh! Up with the big dogs.

Girl: Yeah, I have a meeting with [university equivalent to Joe Bidden].

Boy: I've never had a meeting with [Joe Bidden].

Girl: Well that's because you're not a poster child . . . yet.

Boy: What are you going to talk about?

Girl: How great I am.

The night I wanted to make pine cone napkin rings

Yesterday I was passing through a typical fit of boredom. I had my pajamas on at 6PM and was watching The X-files and feeling pretty bad about life. Then David recommended that I go to Barnes and Noble and find a new hobby. That could sound like a line one would use when telling someone off, but it was sincere.

That is the best advice I've ever gotten for when I'm bored.

I went and found Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts. That book makes me so excited about making random shit out of pine cones and leaves.

I don't know how she has the power to make people feel excited about such things, but she does. In any case, it was fun to look at, but the book cost $35, which is $10 more than I have in my bank account right now.

So I thought about who would be considered the "Poor Lady's Martha" and went over to the magazine section. I tried to find Martha Stewart Living, but the closest thing I found was some magazine about Halloween that had Martha as a vampire.

Instead I picked up Green Craft magazine, which seemed to make a lot of sense. Making crafty things out of items I already own--perfect! Until I realized the price tag read $14.95! For a magazine?! That is is some sort of injustice that such a magazine would cost almost half of what Martha's book costs. I might as well just save for the book if I'm going to spend $15 on a magazine of all things.

I did end up going home feeling a lot better about life. I felt more imaginative at least. I ended up making things for almost three hours. I started a scrap book last summer for my trip abroad so I worked on that a lot. I have about ten more pages to fill up which shouldn't be hard because I have about 80 pictures from my trip. I think I overloaded some of the first pages I did so I may need to go back and make some adjustments. I think I definitely underestimated how much stuff I had. It looks like a lot in boxes and bags, but once I took it out and cut it all up, it turned out to be a lot less once on paper.
I went to sleep very excited about life. It was a nice feeling.