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Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Program

By Jeralyn, Section Social Justice
Posted on Sat Oct 01, 2005 at 11:17:56 AM EST
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A good read: Writer Leonce Gaiter of Bourbon Street:

Bennett's comments reminded me of a seminar I attended in LA years ago. The seminar was arranged by right wing freak David Horowitz....One of the speakers was Bill Bennett's wife, Elayne, discussing her Best Friends Foundation, which teaches abstinence education in the DC public schools.

She stood there, this white, bleach-blonde, faux Stepford horror, talking about teaching young black adolescent girls the joys of not f**king, and I couldn't help wonder what other lessons she taught as well. Here she was, the white woman come to save the colored girls from their racial predisposition toward moral looseness. The Great White Mother, preaching abstinence-only to girls who need to know the benefits of delaying sex until intellectual maturity, but who also desperately need to know how to protect themselves now -- should they choose otherwise.

I wondered why it was so important to this woman that these black girls not f**k? If she were interested in preventing teen pregnancies to help guarantee these girls a better life, she would add contraceptive education to her mix. But she doesn't do that. She preaches a doctrine sure to fail among a significant number of teenage girls--and she chooses to preach it to black ones. Why?

Update: Max Blumenthal at HuffPo has more on Bennett's wife's program and Bennett's defense of it.

< Bennett's Logic Train Derails | I want to know why....? >

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    Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Program | 18 comments (18 topical)
    Re: Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Progr (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:33 PM EST
    I was checking this organization out last night and noticed the Heinz Foundation gave a good-sized grant to them. Could this be Theresa Kerry?

    Re: Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Progr (none / 0) (#2)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:33 PM EST
    gwg-the Heinz Foundation gave the Best Friends Foundation $1,000. in 1998. It is the smallest donation that they gave that year. The largest was for $250,000 to the Rocky Mountain Institute and $150,000 to the Environmental Defense. The small donation to Best Friends seems a total anomaly. linked text

    Re: Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Progr (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:34 PM EST
    And the teen aged girls who follow her advice will NOT get pregnant I'll bet.

    Re: Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Progr (none / 0) (#4)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:34 PM EST
    tomd-duh, you sure know your stuff. I 'll bet you people in a coma are not able to rollerskate.

    Re: Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Progr (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:34 PM EST
    "tomd-duh, you sure know your stuff. I 'll bet you people in a coma are not able to rollerskate."...You are quite right squeaky, and I wouldn't buy them any. Mrs Bennett's message was right on target. What does roller skating and comas have to do with it?

    Re: Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Progr (none / 0) (#6)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:34 PM EST
    tomd-Just trying to win a few bets just like you. I am trying to learn how the right winds up with all the money, and am guessing it is bets like the one you propised. I will try a new one: Bet you that the teens who are only taught to abstain from sex or burn in hell have 100 times more unwanted pregnancies than teens who learn about birth control, safe sex, and general stuff about their changing bodies. Gosh the only problem is that they will burn in hell everlasting. But if they confess and do penance doesn't that erase the sin so they can go to heaven. I hear that is what hit men do after a murder, confess and the sin is cleansed. Father Ritter taught abstinence and all his teens got aids and pregnant without having sex or doing drugs. Maybe that is why he tied them up and got kinky.

    Re: Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Progr (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:34 PM EST
    I don't know about this. In my experience with teenagers, the more you tell them not to do something, the more they go sneaking around behind your back to do it. Plus there's a new survey out: They've discovered over half of American teenagers have engaged in oral sex between ages 15-19. I wonder how that fits in with the virtuous Bennett's ideals.

    Re: Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Progr (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:34 PM EST
    Sid Jr. criticize Bennett and his (uninvolved in the current manufactured scandal wife) "White Saviors", and I'm sure TL would agree. Isn't there a bit of White Saviorhood in their complaints about other White Saviors?

    Re: Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Progr (none / 0) (#9)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:34 PM EST
    bmb-wtf are you suggesting? That pointing out someone's racism is being racist? Or you trying to provoke people check out your site because your post is so incoherent? The thing people do to generate traffic...perhaps writing something intelligible would help.

    Re: Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Progr (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:34 PM EST
    You know what I think? I think Elayne Bennett's success stories, you know those teenage girls she helped, the ones who didn't get pregnant, I think it all depends on what is is.

    Re: Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Progr (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:34 PM EST
    "uninvolved in the current manufactured scandal wife" Oh, she is involved because these two didn't get married until Bill was 38 and Elayne was 32. Are we supposed to believe that these two leaders of virtue had sex for the first time at these midlife ages? And if this is true, do we really want these two held up as leaders? 32 and 38 years gone by without sex? Is this the United States of America? Maybe you, but not me. I say teach kids about consequences and responsibilities of making love, not abstinence. For crying out loud! You're only young once.

    Re: Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Progr (none / 0) (#12)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:34 PM EST
    It occurs to me there a good chance that Bill Bennetts mother, and Elayne Bennetts mother, both tried abstinence. Look what it got us... Maybe Blll's "right", and there is some justification for forcible abortion?

    Re: Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Progr (none / 0) (#13)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:36 PM EST
    Bill Bennett's wife might have a modicum of credibility if she were to do the following: 1. advocate eternal abstinence; 2. refuse to mate with her own husband.

    Re: Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Progr (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:36 PM EST
    so, is it that a black girl would be too stupid to understand such a message? would Mrs. Bennett have to don blackface to teach the lesson in the leftist universe or should she just contribute to Planned Parenthood so the young black girls would be able to get abortions? the racial condescension of the left is laughable.

    Re: Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Progr (none / 0) (#15)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:36 PM EST
    Char- Both Bennet and his wife are certified racists. Here is a bit from a comment I made on the NOLA looting post to help you see how racist they are : Bennet:
    "I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce corruption in the news, entertainment and financial industries, you could -- if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every [jewish baby] in this country, and your [white collar] crime rate rate would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your [white collar] crime rate would go down."
    Now how does that feel? Does my slight edit of Bennet's racist remark help you to see how horrible it was. Remember the remark is only theoretical and qualified as reprehensible. The only nonsense is your color blindness and total lack of empathy, You would be scary if you were not so dim.

    Re: Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Progr (none / 0) (#16)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:36 PM EST
    People can only speak from experience, and obviously being married to bill bennett is it's own Abstinence-Only Program;-)

    Re: Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Progr (none / 0) (#17)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:37 PM EST
    Teach teenagers not to have sex, ha, ha! Next it will be pious lectures to the Hudson River about how water ought not to flow downhill.

    Re: Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Progr (none / 0) (#18)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:04:37 PM EST
    Using abstinence only programs to prevent pregnancy and disease work about as well as using leeches to treat the flu. Will puritanism ever die? Actually, if Bennett was a virgin till 38 that would explain a lot of the bitterness and idiocy. He had jizz backed up to his brain!

    Bill Bennett: His Wife's Abstinence-Only Program | 18 comments (18 topical)