A different kind of surge

So what will it take for these sex-crazed Republicans to realize that abstinence education doesn't work? If it doesn't work with THEM, it sure as hell isn't going to work with teenagers:

Experts worry nation's on brink of teen sex surge
WASHINGTON -- The long decline in sexual activity among U.S. teenagers, hailed as one of the nation's most important social and public health successes, appears to have stalled.

After decreasing steadily and significantly for more than a decade, the percentage of teenagers having intercourse began to plateau in 2001 and has failed to budge since then, despite the intensified focus in recent years on encouraging sexual abstinence, according to a new analysis of data from a large federal survey.

The halt in the downward trend coincided with an increase in federal spending on programs focused exclusively on encouraging sexual abstinence until marriage, several experts pointed out. Congress is debating funding for such efforts, which receive about $175 million a year in federal money and have come under fire from some quarters for being ineffective.

Funny....the 24/7 coverage of Bill Clinton's blowjob didn't cause teens to have more sex, but being told by a bunch of hypocritical scolds not to do the nasty is having just the opposite effect.

Of course the fact that such programs don't work doesn't faze the sexophobes one bit:

But abstinence proponents argue that, if anything, the data underscore the need for greater emphasis on encouraging youngsters to abstain from sex until marriage.

"We need to increase abstinence education and give more dollars to abstinence education. It is the healthiest program we have for young people," said Leslee Unruh of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse.

Actually, the healthiest program would be one which teaches kids to handle their sexuality responsibly. Pat admonitions to Just Say No won't work with sex any more than they worked with drugs. Ideally, kids wait till they're old enough to handle it. But keeping them in ignorance isn't going to make them do that. These are the people who blamed Bill Clinton for teen sex, but now they're blaming MTV -- because it's THEIR guys who are getting caught with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar.

Conservatives are the first ones to call for spending cuts for programs that they think don't work. This one doesn't. Let's put it to a merciful death.