Pregnancy issue isn't black/white - or Brown

Did you have coffe or tea, with Susan Reimer?
She attacks Palin's qualifications, her decision to have
special needs baby, while you attack Palin because her
daughter is pregnant.
Did it ever occur to you that no matter how moral or loving
a parent can be, that children go down their own road?
Parents can preach and teach from now until thd end of
time, but teenagers and hormons dorn't listen. Eneryone
should thank God that this young woman has the love and
support of her family, and I for one wish her nothing but the
best, the road ahead is going to be bumpy.
Pattie
Glen Burnie, MD

Why Dan Quayle ever used Murphy Brown as any kind of social measurement is beyond me. How stupid is it to use a fictional character as an indicator of social norms? Family values are family decisions, not governmental. Parents need to be responsible to educate their children on values. At some point the children will be free thinking enough to decide if they agree with those values. All this discussion about Gov. Palin's daughter is such a waste of time. It is the family's issue, not ours. The only problem I have with the right to free speech is that too many people elect to exercise that right without first exercising their brains. Like my dad used to say, "Engage brain before opening mouth."

Margie wrote:

<quoted text>
You didn't seem to mind when draft-dodging, alcoholic, coke snorting GWB was running for office.

Draft Dodging? Only if you believe the FAKED DAN BLATHER documents

Alcoholic? Yep. We're all human and make mistakes. But if he was a (D) after his name, that would never be brought up, would it Ted Kennedy?

Coke snorting? Have any sources? Of course, that doesn't matter to someone like you, does it?

Stop spreading lies and innuendo (if you know what that means) and deal with something called FACTS.

What galls me is that the same people saying, "Oh, it's okay, they're showing family values, we're Christians, let's show her love and support" are the exact same ones who would excoriate her, call her all kinds of names, point the finger at bad parenting, and declare that her pregnancy makes her father unfit for the White House, etc, if the girl's last name were Obama. Double standard much??

Arnhead wrote:

<quoted text>
Draft Dodging? Only if you believe the FAKED DAN BLATHER documents
Alcoholic? Yep. We're all human and make mistakes. But if he was a (D) after his name, that would never be brought up, would it Ted Kennedy?
Coke snorting? Have any sources? Of course, that doesn't matter to someone like you, does it?
Stop spreading lies and innuendo (if you know what that means) and deal with something called FACTS.

You're the one that brought it up, dear.

And, yes, draft dodging. Having your rich daddy get your a nice cushy state-side assignment of playing soldier while all the poor boys had to die for the old men's useless war is draft dodging. Real man standing by their convictions and go to war if they support it so much. They don't let others die for them.

I bet there would be plenty of criticism if Chelsea Clinton had gotten pregnant (even now). And the right-wing pundits would surely trash her parents in the process. Hillary would be blamed for ignoring her family and being too politically ambitious to be a good mother. Why the double standard? I've also heard Bill O'Reilly condemning Hollywood types for pregnancies out of wedlock. Bristol is pregnant and not married. But he won't be saying a word against the Palins.

Fake-Name-Guy wrote:

This would be a complete non-issue if Palin weren't a supporter of "abstinence only" sex ed policies. But she is, so it's a case of the stork coming home to roost.
Abstinence works.

Well, I have a teenager and I have to tell you that at his age he is totally against any thing that I think is right. Do I love him any less because he doesn't believe the way I do? NOPE! Your teenage years are when you are trying to figure out who you are...independent of your parents. I guess what I'm trying to say is that Palin can believe that abstinence is the way...obviously her teenage daughter chose to not agree...does that make Palin wrong...maybe but does any of this have anything to do with how well she can run a country...doubtful.

sciencelady wrote:

Again it would be a non issue if the mother were not such suppoter of abstinence. Had she not so vehemently opposed sex education in the school system in her domain, I really believe there would not have been such an uproar. But what about underage drinking, I understand there pictures of this same daughter and her friends on the web drinking. But we know that in the grand scheme of things, the lack of morality and family values, only apply to certain groups of people(mainly minorities).

Oh here we go...pulling out the race issue.

Mt Washington wrote:

What galls me is that the same people saying, "Oh, it's okay, they're showing family values, we're Christians, let's show her love and support" are the exact same ones who would excoriate her, call her all kinds of names, point the finger at bad parenting, and declare that her pregnancy makes her father unfit for the White House, etc, if the girl's last name were Obama. Double standard much??

I don't hear anyone using the fact that Obama was born out of wedlock as a disqualifying incident for president...same thing...different party

Margie wrote:

<quoted text>
You're the one that brought it up, dear.
And, yes, draft dodging. Having your rich daddy get your a nice cushy state-side assignment of playing soldier while all the poor boys had to die for the old men's useless war is draft dodging. Real man standing by their convictions and go to war if they support it so much. They don't let others die for them.

Now by your definition anyone that stayed state-side and "played soldier" should be classified as a draft dodger. My father was one of those "play soldiers" but his daddy didn't buy him anything. His parents were divorced and my dad was the only son but he enlisted and just never was sent overseas. Better to have served than spent those years hiding out in Canada...like so many others.

joanna wrote:

I bet there would be plenty of criticism if Chelsea Clinton had gotten pregnant (even now). And the right-wing pundits would surely trash her parents in the process. Hillary would be blamed for ignoring her family and being too politically ambitious to be a good mother. Why the double standard? I've also heard Bill O'Reilly condemning Hollywood types for pregnancies out of wedlock. Bristol is pregnant and not married. But he won't be saying a word against the Palins.

Oh like the liberal media bashing the Bush girls for their underage drinking?

As a parent and a 40 yr old reformed teenager I wonder how many of you blame Sarah Palin for the decisions of 17 year old Bristol Palin? Do you hold Al Gore to the same standard for his son's substance abuse issues? Should Al have taught his son how to responsibly engage in drug use? In both cases the answer is NO. I have yet to meet any young adult who has abided by all the advice and guidance of their parents. Equally, I have yet to meet anyone who does not regret heeding a great degree of parental advice. Like it or not, abstinence is the only 100% effective method of birth control. Time and again, children learn that other methods are not fool-proof or have other unhealthy consequences. Likewise, many young adults and children who choose to become active disregard other types of advice and end up in the same situation. Adult activities have adult consequences. What matters is how individuals face these consequences. You can argue that this line of thinking is not realistic. Perhaps not in a world consumed by the need for immediate gratification. On the other hand, the 60's generation has sure proven that "love" is not free - i.e. divorce rates, decline of the family unit, STD's, neglected children.

I wish these 2 young adults all the luck in the world. The decision to raise a child is one of the toughest commitments one can make.

HMMM

Again you have proved my point of making irrational statments that make no sense. Can you please find the part were I said t.v. is to blame for all the worlds problems and parental supervision and guidance has nothing to do with it please that is blown so far out of proportion it is ridiculus it doesn't have to be either or it can be both. Unfortunatly whether you think you do or not you do not have full control of what your kids see on t.v. if it is on t.v chances are some point they will see it. There are friends houses there is when you run to store for 15 min it can happen anytime. I know I can't watch t.v. in front of my kids because all of the sudden a commercial will come on were someones calling someone else a bitch. Where does the responibility of people in general to protect children esspecially ones that are not taken care of properly or is not our job to care about others only ourselves. Just because something is the way it is doesn't mean it should be that way it is our job to point out when things are done poorly. Thats not called blaming thats called protecting my children because like you said thats my job and obviously no one else cares about what there exposed to.

Margie wrote:

<quoted text>
You didn't seem to mind when draft-dodging, alcoholic, coke snorting GWB was running for office.

GWB did serve in the military ( the National Gaurd) Clinton is the one who dodged serving in the military. He is the one who "Loathed the military". He also smoked pot. But I'm sure you voted for him.

Well said. Here we agree.

Murphy Brown wound up leaving her baby alone with a creepy painer

I suppose this writer is one of the girlfriends Susan Reimer wrote about.

A creepy painter.

Joe Biden -5 draft deferrments and finally a phathom asthma problem to dodge the draft.

I still don't understand why Republicans like Palin are pushing abstinence-only. It makes them look like hypocritical fools.

Palin was not a virgin until marriage. Instead, at 24 she got pregnant AND THEN eloped the father. And now her daughter is following in her footsteps. And this is a nice well-to-do white family. If abstinence didn't work for them, how is it going to work for latch-key inner city teens?

Southern Gal wrote:

<quoted text>I don't hear anyone using the fact that Obama was born out of wedlock as a disqualifying incident for president...same thing...different party

It's not Democrats that demonize people for having children out of wedlock, dear. It's not Democrats that hate contraception and sex ed. It's not Democrats that make their daughters sign abstinence pledges and wear chastity rings. It's Republicans that do all those things and then can't even stand by their own "values". Poor Republicans the point hurts them so much, they just keep ignoring it.