by TChris

Promises are easier to make than they are to keep. That's particularly true when the promise is to remain abstinent. Teens who make the pledge often start searching for loopholes, and that, according to a new study, explains why they are just as likely to acquire sexually transmitted diseases as are other teens.

The latest study, published in the April issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, found that teens pledging virginity until marriage are more likely to have oral and anal sex than other teens who have not had intercourse. That behavior, however, "puts you at risk," said Hannah Brueckner, assistant professor of sociology at Yale and one of the study's authors.

The pledging group was also less likely to use condoms during their first sexual experience or get tested for STDs, the study found.

Of course, if teens were taught about safe sex options in addition to the benefits of abstinence, they'd be less at risk -- but that doesn't matter to the "abstinence only" crowd. An earlier report questioning the value of "abstinence only" education is discussed here.

by TChris

Acts of violence against judges are an affront to the judiciary, but this federal judge makes the case that turning courthouses into prison camps isn't the solution.

[O]ne nation under guard is not the answer. Tying judicial security to the war on terrorism risks destroying the very institution we seek to defend.

The answer, instead, is to "create a sensible state of elevated awareness throughout the judiciary - not only about the need for better security but about the specific nature of the risk." As Judge Kane learned from experience, the answer is not to arm judges.

Carrying a gun made me look at everyone with an attitude that made fairness and impartiality impossible. This, in the end, is too high a price to pay for judicial security: it cannot come at the cost of justice.

Bump and Update: Midnight, Friday: Supreme Court has denied House of Representatives request to reinsert Terri's feeding tube.

Update: Abstract Appeal is following the legal developments in the case. [Via Crooks and Liars.]

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Original Post

Terri Schiavo will be dead within seven to ten days. Her feeding tube has been removed.

I just wish she had left clearer instructions so it could be known that this was her choice. It's too bad the final decision has to be left up to judges who didn't know her before her injury, and who rule based upon their view of the credibility of a spouse vs. the parents. Her parents and siblings have my sympathy.

But I also think that the last minute attempt at personalized legislation by Republicans to keep her alive was a slimy move. This was not a case of assisted suicide. It's a question of an individual's right to determine whether or not to continue treatment. We all should have a right to die.

Here's a wrap-up of Thursday's trial testimony.

Friday was motions day. The Judge denied a defense request for a mistrial because a former housekeeper mentioned the 1993 accuser's name on the stand.

The defense will be allowed to attack the current accuser's credibility by exploring a false accusation that he made against comedian George Lopez. Tha accuser claimed Lopez stole $300 from him and demanded the comedian return the money.

The Judge also set a hearing on March 28 to decide whether the testimony of the 1993 accuser will be allowed into evidence against Jackson. The prosecution is also seeking to admit accusations from other accusers around that time.

Here are the pertinent California Evidence Rules:

How low can you go? How about bringing your 80 year old mother along on your Socical Security Road Show to reassure seniors that their social security benefits are safe.

Too bad most seniors don't have the Bushco family fortune behind them so they too won't suffer when it turns out to be a lie.

Wal-Mart gets off cheap, if you ask me, in the federal investigation of its abuse of immigrant workers. It has agreed to pay $11 million to settle the allegations. No criminal charges will be filed. Its total sales for last year were $288.2 billion.

In two separate investigations, authorities uncovered the cases of an estimated 345 illegal immigrants contracted as janitors at Wal-Mart stores. Many of the workers worked seven days or nights a week without overtime pay or injury compensation, attorneys said. Those who worked nights were often locked in the store until the morning.

Wal-Mart's troubles began in 2001.

Yes, there are jobs in blogging. Via Steve Rubel and Micro Persuasion:

Want to get paid for thinking about blogging? There are plenty of blogging related jobs available via indeed.com. And there's even a feed to keep track of them.

[hat tip Daily Pundit.]

Atlanta police admit a number of heavy duty mistakes in the search for alleged courthouse shooter Brian Nichols.

How the suspect was able to slip out of an area that was swarming with police and clogged with traffic is a question that has puzzled observers and embarrassed law enforcement for the past week.

Valuable time and resources were lost because police were searching the roads most of the day for a green Honda allegedly stolen by the suspect during his escape, Pennington admitted. The car was found late that night in the very garage from where it had been taken. The garage had not been searched.

Understatement of the year:

"We should have gone through the entire building," Pennington said at a news conference in Atlanta on Friday.

In addition,

Bump and Update: Former Governor John Rowland got a kiss from the Judge today at his sentencing. The Judge sentenced him to 1 year and 1 day , which means it's a ten month (and change) sentence. Federal good time is 54 days a year, and kicks in after a year is served. Many judges will give the defendant a one year sentence (instead of a year and a day) so that he or she has to serve the whole year.

Rowland's plea agreement had his lawyers calculating the sentence at 15 to 21 months. The Government asked for 37 to 46 months, saying he lied to a probation officer and tried to hide a retirement account. The Judge agreed with the defense that the account was not hidden. The Judge also recommended the institution Rowland asked for in Massachussetts.

Judge Dorsey said he believed the sentence was in keeping with federal guidelines, and that he took into consideration Rowland's record of public service. Dorsey, 73, who was appointed to the bench by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, summed up Rowland's crime before delivering the sentence.

Update: Peter G. points out in comments that if you add the four months of house arrest to the ten months (and change) in jail, you almost get the 15 months which was the bottom of the guideline range in the plea agreement.

Monday will be Bush and Beauprez day in Colorado when the President brings his traveling social security road show to Denver. Progress Now has scheduled some alternative events.

Please also join Colorado Progressive Coalition, AFL-CIO and the Colorado Alliance for Retired Americans on Monday, March 21, 2005 at 12 noon for a protest at the Colorado State Capitol's West Steps (200 East Colfax Avenue, Denver).

Tickets are free for the Bush event.

PICK UP TICKETS TODAY - FRIDAY, MARCH 18TH beginning at 12:00 noon (bring photo ID)
Where: Congressman Bob Beauprez's Office
4251 Kipling Street, STE 370
Phone: 303-940-5821

When: the road show is this Monday, March 21st
Doors open at 2:30pm
Where: Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum
7711 East Academy Boulevard, Lowry

Abe Fortas in 1968.

That four-day talkathon in September 1968 has largely been forgotten. But some Senate Democrats want to bring it back to mind to counter a key Republican attack against their stalling tactics that have blocked confirmation votes for several of President Bush's most conservative judicial nominees. The GOP claim, asserted in speeches, articles and interviews, is that filibusters against judicial nominees are unprecedented.

Not so.

Former Attorney General John Ashcroft has a new job - teaching at a Christian university.

He'll be a part-time professor at a Christian university run by television evangelist Pat Robertson. Ashcroft, 62, will begin teaching a one-week course on "leadership in times of crisis" on April 4 at Regent University in Virginia Beach. Jay Sekulow, a Regent University trustee, said the former attorney general will teach a two-week version of the same course during the college's summer, fall and spring semesters beginning this year. Ashcroft also will lecture on national security law.