Lila Rose is the president of Live Action Films and has released a number of undercover sting videos of Planned Parenthood employees coaching girls to cover up for men who are committing statutory rape.

So here it goes -my 2 cents on News Year's Resolution's is to resolve to do it  (set goals)monthly instead of yearly.  Zoom out on your life and evaluate. Now zoom out even further over space and time and ask yourself  if what you are focusing on will really matter 200 yrs from now, or for that matter for all eternity. This is not to say that the little stuff is unimportant. The virtue of self-control that we use to pay our debt down can be the same virtue our children uses to endure and overcome hardship. Think of the ripple effect. Now use your fine focus to examine your life to work on what really matters.  Now rip that list  in half and  the save the second half for next year or next month. Reevaluate monthly instead of yearly, and make sure to add affirmation of others, seek to be joyful,  thankful and more loving to your list. If you fail you can always start again next month, but don't forget to affirm yourself for whatever you accomplished! Do as Mother Teresa did- small things with great love.

Before I go for now, one more post: I'm still pondering this.

On the one hand, I think it's fairly obvious that life in heaven - the vision of God - is a dynamic reality, not a static one. God is (pure) act. Furthermore, I'm very strongly inclined to say about myself what Robert says about himself: "I for one hope that if I die today I'm not stuck at the level of charity I've achieved now! Geesh! Even if purified by purgatorial fire my charity will be pretty puny."

On the other hand, though, I wonder whether the dynamism in question would be best described as further "growth" in charity. Can we be (by God's grace) ready for heaven if there's further growth possible? And maybe - after necessary purification - our charity will turn out to be bigger than it "looks" to us here.

Something to think about as I drive, I guess.

I'm at Kim's - but will be leaving fairly soon, and home by late afternoon (without an injured face this year, I hope). I'll still be pretty busy for a while (work - especially, this week, gearing up for the spring semester, which starts next Monday - and wedding planning), but will do some blogging.

On the other hand, I'm not sure about this statement:

"In eternity, on the contrary, time will be no more; we shall be established forever in the degree of love which we have reached now, in time. If we have attained a high degree of love, we shall be fixed forever in that degree of love and glory; if we possess only a slight degree that is all we shall have throughout eternity. No further progress will be possible when time has ended."

OOO!  OOOOOO! OOOOO!!!  Greg!!  Pick me!!!! (Hand raised, straining to reach out over my desk...)

But not on the resolutions question.  I'm pretty circumspect about resolutions this year.... ;)

Welcome back - and so glad you've had a restful time.  Good thing you showed back up when you did - we're gearing up to send the paparazzi out after Kevin.....

New law would require doctors to give accurate and up-to-date information about the true capabilities of Down's syndrome children. 

Beth Allard was recovering from labor, waiting for a hospital photographer to capture her newborn son's first day in the world, when a pediatrician walked into her room and told Allard her life was ruined.

Allard might have expected as much from a doctor, given what she'd already heard from others in the previous few months: Little Ben, who had tested positive in utero for Down syndrome, would be mute and illiterate, they said; he would spend his life hanging off her, drooling.

The pediatrician was harsher: "You should consider putting him up for adoption," she said. "You're going to end up divorced. Don't even bother having any other children. Didn't you have the option to terminate?" Finally, the pediatrician left, and Allard resumed her wait for the photographer. He never came.

Ben Allard is now 9, and it's hard to understand why doctors were convinced he would be such a burden. He's a friendly, witty kid who's happily enrolled in third grade at a regular school. ...

As technology has advanced, doctors' education about Down syndrome has lagged behind. Allard's tactless pediatrician gave her an outdated book that used the pejorative term "mongoloid." Many doctors seem unaware that early intervention with speech and occupational therapy, combined with medications or corrective heart surgery, has allowed some children to grow up relatively normally, graduating from high school and holding jobs.

Read the whole thing.

Well, its the New Year, and what would the new year be without an obligatory post on how to keep those pesky resolutions?

This article presents some useful hints for making and keeping successful resolutions.  I especially appreciated the opening paragraph...

I know what you’re thinking: another cheesy, goody-two-shoes article on how I can keep all those goals I’ve set going into 2009. If you abhor such articles (like 10 ways to declutter your bathroom), then keep on reading. I’m like you. Normal.  MORE.

Rachel  I think it's perfectly healthy to not have a girl -tourage. Maybe it's not the norm to have your husband as your best friend but what an improved marriage success rate we would have if it was! I think it is more the norm these days to have distance in our lives but not necessarily a good thing. Not to say having relatives and friends all over the country isn't difficult along with a long commute. But I do think it is pretty common. My theory is the distance we have from not growing up in a closer knit community  of family and friends is what has made all of the reality tv shows so popular. As humans we look to each other to mimic and learn from each other. People just don't spend the time like past generations really being in each others lives and homes due to time and distance constraints. It's unfortunate that reality tv producers can choose to show us what life "really " looks like. Much better choice to connect with a few folks who share our values even if  they are far and it's not often.

A reader writes:

A baby is still fully human, no less than the adult that the baby becomes.

For all you parents who gave your kids a cell phone this Christmas, here's something to consider....

In a new nationwide survey of 1,280 teens and young adults, researchers found that one in five teens are using technology to do what else? Send sexually explicit pictures of themselves to others — either posted online or sent via cell phone. One in five teens and one-third of young adults had said they had send a nude or semi-nude image of themselves to others.

The survey found that nearly half of all teens have received a sexually suggestive message via email, text or IM, and that nearly 40 percent of teens have sent such a message. Most young adults have sent one (59 percent) or received one (64 percent).  MORE

A reader emails:

First, welcome back. I hope wedding planning and such did not interfere with your celebration of Christmas. Even without any wedding stuff, as much as I love to travel back home to be with family and in-laws for Christmas, getting away from my daily routine - weekday Mass, etc. - here always throws a big kink in my spiritual practice. I never seem to get to reading through the beginning of Luke's or John's gospel or John of the Cross's poem on the Incarnation. I hope you are more successful than I.

All of which can act as something of a lead in to the discussion of growth in heaven (1, 2), if I may be permitted to wade into deep waters without a proper flotation device. As you pointed out, heaven cannot be a place of stasis, but at the same time it is a place of perfection and, in a sense, completion. It has seemed to me that our experience of heaven and part of our activity their is tied to the disconnect between our finitude and God's infinitude.

In heaven we shall see God face to face and thus know him as he is, but we are incapable of processing or experiencing that knowledge at once. Thus there will always be more for us to discover, more work to make this knowledge our own. And, if our experience on earth can be any guide, it is hard to imagine that discovery not changing or enlarging us in some way.

I hope that is not too incoherent or error-ridden.

Many thanks for the note (which doesn't seem incoherent or error-ridden). Wedding planning definitely didn't interfere with my celebration of Christmas. I do regret that when I visit Milwaukee (as I did, with Kim, on the 26th-30th; we had Christmas Eve/Day and New Year's Eve/Day at her place near Cleveland), I don't usually make it to weekday Mass. I especially regret when that happens during Christmas. But things are always a bit complicated back home, particularly early in the morning, due largely to my dad's illness (Parkinson's). At least I continue to pray the Office, which helps keep me in touch with the liturgical season.

As to growth in heaven: Again, heaven is a reality both perfect and dynamic. One could also say that the dynamism is such that the vision of God is always (and, indeed, perfectly) new - and also, I suspect, that this vision therefore entails a constant "renewal" of the one who has it. Can one add, though, that this involves "growth" (or "change") - without thereby compromising the perfection of heaven? Again, the arguments that are being made for growth in heaven make some sense to me, but I'm still not sure how to put growth together with the perfection that I take to be proper to heaven.

 Does the thought of giving birth in a foreign country scare you?

We spend more than double per capita on childbirth than other industrialized countries, yet our rates of pre-term birth, newborn death and maternal death rank us dismally in comparison. Last month, the March of Dimes gave the country a "D" on its prematurity report card; California got a "C," but 18 other states and the District of Columbia, where 15.9% of babies are born too early, failed entirely.

The U.S. ranks 41st among industrialized nations in maternal mortality. And there are unconscionable racial disparities: African American mothers are three times more likely to die in childbirth than white mothers.

In short, we are overspending and under-serving women and families. If the United States is serious about health reform, we need to begin, well, at the beginning. read the complete article

WSJ piece: "Yes, attitudes do make a difference in behavior."

The chain reaction was something out of central casting. A medical journal starts it off by announcing a study comparing teens who take a pledge of virginity until marriage with those who don't. Lo and behold, when they crunch the numbers, they find not much difference between pledgers and nonpledgers: most do not make it to the marriage bed as virgins.

Like a pack of randy 15-year-old boys, the press dives right in. ...

Read the whole thing.

A reader emails:

I thought you might be interested in this story from my alma mater about a possible connection between the body's handling of glutamate and various neurological disorders.

Indeed I am (and I hope that other readers will be too); thanks.

You guys scooped me on the birth beat!!!  But THANKS!!   I was surprised to see the C-section article on the front page of the Washington Post.  Good and important stuff!  Here's a recent press release from Lamaze International on how best practices in maternal and child health care are not being used:

WASHINGTON (January 7, 2009)—Despite best evidence, health care providers continue to perform routine procedures during labor and birth that often are unnecessary and can have harmful results for mothers and babies. The Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) most recent release of birth statistics reveals that the rate of cesarean surgery, for example, is on the rise to 31.1% of all births—50% greater than data from 1996. This information comes on the heels of The Milbank Report’s Evidence-Based Maternity Care, which confirms that beneficial, evidence-based maternity care practices are underused in the U.S. health care system.

Research indicates that routinely used procedures, such as continuous electronic fetal monitoring, labor induction for low-risk women and cesarean surgery, have not improved health outcomes for women and, in fact, can cause harm. In contrast, care practices that support a healthy labor and birth are unavailable to or underused with the majority of women in the United States.

Beneficial care practices outlined by Evidence-Based Maternity Care, a report produced by a collaboration of Childbirth Connection, the Reforming States Group and the Milbank Memorial Fund, could have a positive impact on the quality of maternity care if widely implemented throughout the United States. Suggested practices include to:

• Let labor begin on its own.
  
• Walk, move around, and change positions throughout labor.
  
• Bring a loved one, friend, or doula to support you
  
• Avoid interventions that are not medically necessary
  
• Choose the most comfortable position to give birth and follow your body’s urges to push
  
• Keep your baby with you – it's best for you, your baby and breastfeeding.

“Lamaze is alarmed by the current rate of cesarean surgery, and furthermore, by the overall poor adherence to the beneficial practices outlined above in much of the maternity care systems in the United States,” says Lamaze International President Pam Spry, PhD, CNM, FACNM, LCCE. “We are continuing to work to provide women and care providers with evidence-based information to improve the quality of care.”

Lamaze International has developed six care practice papers that are supported by research studies and represent “gold-standard” maternity care. When adopted, these care practices have a profound effect—instilling confidence in the mother, and facilitating a natural process that results in an active, healthy baby. Each one of the Lamaze care practices is cited in the Evidence-Based Maternity Care report as being underused in the U.S. maternity care system.

Debra Bingham, MS, RN, DrPH(c), Chair of the Lamaze International Institute for Normal Birth says, “As with any drug, we need to be sure that women and their babies receive the right dose of medical interventions. In the United States we are giving too high a dose of cesarean sections and other medical interventions which are causing harm to women and their babies. Yet there are many countries where life saving medical interventions are under dosed which can also cause harm. Every woman and her baby needs and deserves the right dose of medical interventions during childbirth.”

The research is clear, when medically necessary, interventions, such as cesarean surgery, can be lifesaving procedures for both mother and baby, and worth the risks involved. However, in recent years, the rate of cesarean surgeries cause more risks than benefits for mothers and babies. Cesarean surgery is a major abdominal surgery, and carries both short-term risks, such as blood loss, clotting, infection and severe pain, and poses future risks, such as infertility and complications during future pregnancies such as percreta and accreta, which can lead to excessive bleeding, bladder injury, a hysterectomy, and maternal death. Cesarean surgery also increases harm to babies including women giving birth prior to full brain development, breathing problems, surgical injury and difficulties with breastfeeding.

For more information on the Six Care Practices that Support Normal Birth, finding a health care provider and how to give birth with confidence, visit www.lamaze.org.

Rachel,

I'd add another phrase to the list: "raised Catholic." That usually seems to mean something like "doesn't have a clue about Catholicism."

I'm not sure about having "icon" on the "banished" list, though. If that word goes, then what am I going to call the Eastern Christian images of Christ, the Mother of God, Sts. Athanasius and Cyril, and St. Basil the Great that I have in my home?

A reader emailed yesterday:

Fr. Richard Neuhaus was hospitalized with a new cancer a week ago. K-Lo reports this afternoon that the situation has taken a very serious downturn. She includes a nice excerpt from the book he wrote about his near death experience 10 years ago, As I Lay Dying.

And he emailed again just now, just as I was in the process of posting the above:

Fr. Neuhaus has died.

Requiscat in pace.

Amen.

Interesting news item.

Though I played outside a fair amount, and got glasses (for nearsightedness in one eye, and, at the time, farsightedness in the other) when I was 12.

A reader emails word of this: "Obama Makes Lawyer for Terri Schiavo's Husband Third-Ranking Justice Official"

And while it's on my mind, here, from the NRLC's Dave Andrusko, is the latest on the case of the Massachusetts girl who, like Terri, was supposedly in a "vegetative state" with no hope of recovery, and who almost met the same fate as Terri did: "Justice for Haleigh Poutre Does Not Mitigate the Tragedy"

Not unrelated to the article Gina posted, here's one from today's WP: "Early Repeat C-Sections Increase Risks, Study Finds: Babies More Likely to Have Breathing, Blood Complications"

The common practice of scheduling a Caesarean section a little early to make childbirth more convenient sharply increases the risk that babies will be born with potentially serious complications, according to the first large-scale study to examine the dangers.

The study of more than 24,000 full-term infants found that those delivered at 37 weeks to mothers who had elective repeat C-sections were about twice as likely as newborns delivered at the recommended 39 weeks to experience breathing problems, bloodstream infections and other complications. Babies born at 38 weeks were 50 percent more likely to have problems; the risk was about 20 percent higher just a few days early. ...

Robert, you concluded your last post on the topic by saying: "A baby is still fully human, no less than the adult that the baby becomes."

Does this help much in making your case? A baby is indeed fully human - but has a baby come as close to the perfection of a human being as has an adult? Isn't the growth of a baby to adulthood, one type of example of "the kind of change from imperfection to perfection that we might associate with growth here" - and to which "growth" in heaven would only be analogous?

As for whether there is something in heaven analogous to what we recognize here as growth - as to whether there's something that could be simultaneously growth and already-present perfection - and also as to whether it's necessary to think that something like this happens in heaven (rather than thinking that once we're there, we've simply fully arrived) - I'm still pondering.

Seriously!  Unknown to many of us a ruling on used materials directed for children is coming out on February 1st.

Effective February 10th, in the United States, the sale of
all children's books (books intended for children ages 12 and under) is to be PROHIBITED. Every single book printed prior to the ruling is affected, whether new or used. New books in production are required to include a "lead-free" certification and will be the only books that are legal to offer for sale.

What does this mean to the family? 

For homeschooling families, curriculum fairs across the country will be cancelled as book vendors scramble to figure out how to comply with the new ruling. Complete book inventories will have to be destroyed -- the ruling even prohibits giving away the books!  Local thrift stores will be hard hit -- most will likely have to close their doors -- yes, even Goodwill and Salvation Army.

For every family - clothing, toys and books -- even CDs and DVDs are included in the ruling. Thrift stores will no longer be able to accept or process anything (including clothing) that would be intended for a child.

No more library sales. Libraries will not be permitted to give
away or sell book donations. It is unsure yet, however, how
the libraries' shelves themselves will be impacted (the ruling
doesn't explicitly mention "loaning" books, just selling or
giving them away). The key word, however, is "distribution" --
libraries may well be required to destroy books from their shelves.

(The ruling that originally passed was about toys, but the EPA has since made a statement that clothing, books and media are included in "children's toys".)

Just how serious is this new law?

Amazon.com has already notified all vendors of their need to comply.  No book can be sold at the Amazon site that was printed prior to compliance. And the "compliance" must be coordinated at the manufacturing stage. At the time of this article there is no clause to be able to grandfather-in older books or even rare out-of-print books. It can cost between $500 and $1500 to test a book for lead.

The punishment for selling a book after February 10th? Up to $100,000 and 5 years in jail. And yes, it is a felony charge. For selling a SINGLE book.

So what can you do to help save your local used bookstore that sells children's books? Or that homeschool curriculum business?
Or your EBay business selling children's items?

ACT NOW before the quickly approaching deadlines:

1) Email or call the CPSIA - the office of the CPSC ombudsman at
888-531-9070. http://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/newleg.aspx

Comments on Component Parts Testing accepted through January 30,
2009. Or email: Sec102ComponentPartsTesting@cpsc.gov

2) Contact your local representatives. For their contact informa- tion, just enter your zip code.
http://capwiz.com/americanapparel/dbq/officials/

3) Make your voice heard by voting on this issue! The top 3 in
each category will be presented to President-elect Obama.
http://change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia

4) Sign the petition.
http://ipetitions.com/petition/economicimpactsofCPSIA/index.html

5) Spread the word! Forward this article. Send an email. Write
about this on your blog. Tell others about this issue and
encourage them to do the same.

For the complete story, read the following links:
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html

Consumer Product Safety Commission Summaries on Legislation Index page for Children's Products Containing Lead; Lead Paint Rule and other rulings
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/legislation.html#summaries

Office of the General Counsel FAQ on retroactive inventory requirements -- The use of forward effective dates appears to force current inventories to adhere to the ruling on February 10th, 2009
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/summaries/101briefhtml

This Sunday, our annual celebration of the birth and manifestation of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ concludes with the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Our Mass readings include St. Mark's account of the Baptism of Jesus. St. John the Baptist testifies that Jesus is mightier than John; John is not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of Jesus' sandals; John has baptized with water, but Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit. And yet, the very next thing we hear is that Jesus came and was baptized, in the water of the Jordan, by John. How can it be that the one who is mightier, whose sandals John is not worthy to touch, who will baptize with a greater Baptism, is nonetheless baptized by John with a lesser Baptism?

Rather than asking "how" this can be, we might perhaps profitably begin by asking "why" Jesus accepts and undergoes this Baptism. And we might begin answering this question by referring to the words of the Creed: "For us men and for our salvation." Jesus' Baptism is part of his saving mission. Indeed, Jesus' Baptism is part of his institution of saving, sacramental Baptism in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus' Baptism sanctifies the waters with which we then receive this greater and saving Baptism, this Baptism in which the Spirit, Son, and Father are at work.

Jesus' Baptism is thus an expression of his saving might. And yet, his acceptance of Baptism by John in the Jordan is likewise - in anticipation of the Cross - an act of humility. It is the humility of the Son's obedience to the saving mission he has received from the Father. It is humility for our sake.

This, of course, tells us something about what the consequences of Baptism need to be in our own lives. When we have been baptized, in the Holy Spirit, into the Son, we need to accept and live the humility of the Son. Indeed, we need to follow Christ to Jerusalem; we need to take up our crosses and follow him to Calvary. Baptism puts Christ's saving might to work in us; as in his life, so also in ours, this might needs to be expressed in humility and even suffering. We have many opportunities for such humility and suffering in relationships of love with God and of mercy with all our neighbors. In this way - and only in this way - do we cooperate with God's plan for our own salvation and for that of others.

On this feast, at the end of this Christmas season, may God grant us a renewal of his baptismal graces in us, and especially a renewal of the virtue of humility.

I came across an article that I may have bookmarked from a past blog entry from one of the other blog contributers, but what the heck, if it's good, it's good twice.

The article refers to the testosterone driven active nature of boys and I found it enjoyable.  With the recent move that we have made from one house into another, my boys have had a lot of opportunities to get out their energy with moving boxes, furniture and their special treasures (aka, junk that should have been secretly disposed of without their knowing prior to the move that they would have never missed and is now just cluttering our new home).

However, since we have gotten a bit settled, my boys have become a little more wily and with my desire for a nice, quiet, peaceful home, the two have mixed like oil and water.  I think I needed a reminder of the nature of boys and the need to give them some good options to get out their gusto.  This article was a good, and fun, reminder ... http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110010215

Now that I've settled my wife down.  CPSC has clarified what is required under the new laws concerning lead in children's products.  There is no need for resellers to certify that a children's product is lead free.  While a reseller can be prosecuted for selling products containing lead, lead in books and clothing is a rarity and lead in electronics may be on circuit boards inside the product and not exposed to children for ingestion. 

Remember this is reaction from Congress (Barbara Boxer and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee) and subsequent rules from CPSC came from lead found in toys and jewelry from China. 

Lastly, elevated blood lead levels are a concern for anyone but it is of particular concern for children aged 6 and under, including those in utero.  Serious neurological damage can be done from exposure to lead.  This is the reasoning behind the law is to protect the children; however this was a reaction, perhaps an overreaction, to a incident that took the country by surprise.

Thrift stores and used booksellers are not going to go out of business because of this law and would only be prosecuted if they are careless.  CSPC's website is set up so anyone can check for recalled products.  The products can be queried by country of origin, manufacturer, product, etc.   Please read the press release below.   

NEWS from CPSC

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

CPSC Clarifies Requirements of New Children’s Product Safety Laws Taking Effect in February
Guidance Intended for Resellers of Children’s Products, Thrift and Consignment Stores

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In February 2009, new requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) take effect. Manufacturers, importers and retailers are expected to comply with the new Congressionally-mandated laws. Beginning February 10, 2009, children’s products cannot be sold if they contain more than 600 parts per million (ppm) total lead. Certain children’s products manufactured on or after February 10, 2009 cannot be sold if they contain more than 0.1% of certain specific phthalates or if they fail to meet new mandatory standards for toys.

Under the new law, children’s products with more than 600 ppm total lead cannot lawfully be sold in the United States on or after February 10, 2009, even if they were manufactured before that date. The total lead limit drops to 300 ppm on August 14, 2009.

The new law requires that domestic manufacturers and importers certify that children’s products made after February 10 meet all the new safety standards and the lead ban. Sellers of used children’s products, such as thrift stores and consignment stores, are not required to certify that those products meet the new lead limits, phthalates standard or new toy standards.

The new safety law does not require resellers to test children’s products in inventory for compliance with the lead limit before they are sold. However, resellers cannot sell children’s products that exceed the lead limit and therefore should avoid products that are likely to have lead content, unless they have testing or other information to indicate the products being sold have less than the new limit. Those resellers that do sell products in violation of the new limits could face civil and/or criminal penalties.

When the CPSIA was signed into law on August 14, 2008, it became unlawful to sell recalled products. All resellers should check the CPSC Web site (www.cpsc.gov) for information on recalled products before taking into inventory or selling a product. The selling of recalled products also could carry civil and/or criminal penalties.

While CPSC expects every company to comply fully with the new laws resellers should pay special attention to certain product categories. Among these are recalled children’s products, particularly cribs and play yards; children’s products that may contain lead, such as children’s jewelry and painted wooden or metal toys; flimsily made toys that are easily breakable into small parts; toys that lack the required age warnings; and dolls and stuffed toys that have buttons, eyes, noses or other small parts that are not securely fastened and could present a choking hazard for young children.

The agency has underway a number of rulemaking proposals intended to provide guidance on the new lead limit requirements. Please visit the CPSC website at www.cpsc.gov for more information.

If you have been watching any news outlets over the past few weeks you might have heard the rally cry that 'chastity pledges don't work', 'promise kids break them as easily as non-promise kids', etc., etc.

Maggie Gallagher has reprinted the following column from the WSJ that puts the study and its results in better focus.  In the end - consider having such a conversation, ceremony or other such 'moment' with your teen. 

Like a Virgin: The Press Takes on Teenage Sex
Wall Street Journal
Bill McGurn
January 6, 2009

The chain reaction was something out of central casting. A medical journal starts it off by announcing a study comparing teens who take a pledge of virginity until marriage with those who don't. Lo and behold, when they crunch the numbers, they find not much difference between pledgers and nonpledgers: most do not make it to the marriage bed as virgins.

Like a pack of randy 15-year-old boys, the press dives right in.

"Virginity Pledges Don't Stop Teen Sex," screams CBS News. "Virginity pledges don't mean much," adds CNN. "Study questions virginity pledges," says the Chicago Tribune. "Premarital Abstinence Pledges Ineffective, Study Finds," heralds the Washington Post. "Virginity Pledges Fail to Trump Teen Lust in Look at Older Data," reports Bloomberg. And on it goes.

In other words, teens will be teens, and moms or dads who believe that concepts such as restraint or morality have any application today are living in a dream world. Typical was the lead for the CBS News story: "Teenagers who take virginity pledges are no less sexually active than other teens, according to a new study."

Here's the rub: It just isn't true.

In fact, the only way the study's author, Janet Elise Rosenbaum of Johns Hopkins University, could reach such results was by comparing teens who take a virginity pledge with a very small subset of other teens: those who are just as religious and conservative as the pledge-takers. The study is called "Patient Teenagers? A Comparison of the Sexual Behavior of Virginity Pledgers and Matched Nonpledgers," and it was published in the Jan. 1 edition of Pediatrics.

The first to notice something lost in the translation was Dr. Bernadine Healy, the former head of both the Red Cross and the National Institutes of Health. Today she serves as health editor for U.S. News & World Report. And in her dispatch on this study, Dr. Healy pointed out that "virginity pledging teens were considerably more conservative in their overall sexual behaviors than teens in general -- a fact that many media reports have missed cold."

What Dr. Healy was getting at is that the pledge itself is not what distinguishes these kids from most other teenagers. The real difference is their more conservative and religious home and social environment. As she notes, when you compare both groups in this study with teens at large, the behavioral differences are striking. Here are just a few:

- These teens generally have less risky sex, i.e., fewer sexual partners.

- These teens are less likely to have a teenage pregnancy, or to have friends who use drugs.

- These teens have less premarital vaginal sex.

- When these teens lose their virginity they tend to do so at age 21 -- compared to 17 for the typical American teen.

- And very much overlooked, one out of four of these teens do in fact keep the pledge to remain chaste -- amid much cheap ridicule and just about zero support outside their homes or churches.

Let's put this another way. The real headline from this study is this: "Religious Teens Differ Little in Sexual Behavior Whether or Not They Take a Pledge."

Now, whatever the shock that might occasion at CBS or the Washington Post, it comes as no surprise to parents. Most parents appreciate that a pledge of virginity -- a one-time event that might be made at an emotional moment in a teen's life -- is not some talisman that will magically shield their sons and daughters from the strong and normal desires that grow as they discover their sexuality. What these parents hope to do is direct these desires in a way that recognizes sex as a great gift, which in the right circumstances fosters genuine intimacy between a man and a woman and at its freest offers the possibility of new life.

This is not the prevailing view, of course. And these parents know it. Far from conformists living in a comfortable world where their beliefs are never challenged, these families live in an environment where most everything that is popular -- television, the movies, the Internet -- encourages children to grow up as quickly as possible while adults remain locked in perpetual adolescence.

Nor do these families believe their children are better than other kids. Unlike the majority of health experts and their supporters in the press, however, they don't believe that the proper use of the condom is the be all and end all. For these parents, the good news here is that the striking behavioral differences between the average American teen and the two teen groups in this study show that homes and families still exert a powerful influence.

That, alas, is not something you're likely to read in the headlines. For when it comes to challenging the conventional wisdom on issues of sexuality, the American media suddenly become as coy as a cloistered virgin.

A reader emails:

There is a fascinating article in the Boston Globe that ties in a good number of ideas discussed on the blog. The article discusses recent research into how our surroundings affect mental function. Basically cities are horrible for our brain: the loud, unpredictable noises; crowded streets; city grids; and bevy of beckoning shops are extraordinarily taxing on the brain, making people less able to focus, less able to resist temptation, more quick-tempered, etc. The good news is that a short walk in a park, or even just looking at pictures of nature, are highly restorative.

I just wanted to post the notes I used for today's radio program.  I hope these offer some help to you.  AND if you have hints that work really great for your family OR have questions please send them along.  I think we often think what we do isn't so special and doesn't everyone do it but as I learned w/ Lisa not everyone knew that making a shopping list from what is on sale is a good idea :-) - 

Today's radio program:

You may not be able to control your mortgage, your car payment, insurance and other regular money outlays but you can control a good many other items sucking the dollars out of your check book and now is a good time - a necessary time to do it!

First - make sure you have the lowest possible rates on all the above - yes, it will take time on the phone to make sure but it is worth it if you begin saving $25 or more a month in fees, etc.

 Make a list of what you can control including -

Credit card purchases - remember the days of our grandparents when everything was in cash.  Now many of us may have gone to all credit because of the ‘bonuses’ airline miles, free shipping, etc. but study after study has proven that we do spend more than we intend when the plastic comes out so does the savings really add up.  Wondering if it will - put them aside for just three months and see what happens. 

Gas - now the price is down dramatically but don’t use that as reason to go back to driving crazy - three or four poorly planned trips instead of one really packed trip of errands.  Pretend it is still $3.00 a gallon and send the extra money you were spending to pay off your credit card debt.

Groceries - the biggest expenditure in most large families outside of housing.  Many experts say it should be approx. 13% of your income.  Figure out what that is and if you are close to that.  If you are way over it may be realistic due to your family size or it may be due to what you are buying!! 

Are you buying all name brands and never cut a coupon?  Are you shopping at the ‘best’ store in town or the cheapest? Do you ever buy in bulk if available?  One recent study stated that if you just buy Cheerios and batteries at a big buy store you can save over $300 dollars year. 

Here’s a few hints -

Take a look at the grocery fliers from your town over the weekend.  See who has the best prices and if it isn’t your store commit to checking it out over this month.  It will take some getting used to but if you can save money it is worth it. 

 Make sure you are creating your menus from what is on sale and not the other way around.  Plan the pork roast when it is on sale and not when it is over $4 a lb.

 Take a good look at what your family is eating and see if the diet needs some tweaking.  Add some meatless meals knowing it is both healthier and cheaper.  Stop buying soda and sugary sweets knowing both your wallet and waistline will appreciate it!

 Make plan of what to buy and when.  Most family budgets have high and low marks throughout the month.  Take advantage of those.  Don’t plan on buying a lot of groceries from the same paycheck that needs to pay the mortgage.  For us, one paycheck a month (usually the last one) comes when no other bills are due.  This gives us more flexibility to make additional purchases if a great sale pops up.  If it doesn’t, I will set aside that extra $20-30 for the next week and see if chicken arrives at under $2.00/lb.

 Buy bulk just one a month if you have one available and be brutal.  Go in with a plan, know exactly what you need and with the knowledge that what you are getting is actually cheaper.  If you need to, make a list of what you think you want from the warehouse -  paper goods such as toilet paper, peanut butter, cereal - make note of the price at the warehouse and then check it with your store.  I keep a list of our key items in my purse and if my local grocery store has it cheaper - and it sometimes does - I take advantage.  Resist what you don't need or have on your list - such as those wonderful white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.  Don't let BJ's become the $300 store.  Know what you plan on spending and stick with it!  (It is hard tho' I'll admit)

 You can cut your grocery budget without starving your family.  Again, what it takes is a bit of time and effort but at the end of the month if you have an extra $50-100 dollars in your account you will be grateful you did!!