TCS Daily  Democrat Duplicity  By Keith Burgess-Jackson -
September 2, 2003 12:00 AM  How many times have you heard a
Democrat object to abstinence-only sex-education programs? The
objection goes like this: "Teenagers are going to have sex,
whether we like it or not, so if we give them only one message
-- 'Don't have sex' -- we are shirking our responsibility to
them. We should be realistic, flexible, and pragmatic, not
idealistic, rigid, and dogmatic, for there is a great deal at
stake. What we should tell teenagers is that they should abstain
from sex -- but quickly add (as they roll their eyes) that if
they have sex, they should use a condom."   Democrats think this
advice is both coherent (i.e., noncontradictory) and
comprehensible. Republicans complain that it conveys a mixed
message. On the one hand, it discourages teenage sex; but on the
other, it seems to encourage it (wink, wink), or at least
express resignation that it will occur (sigh). Impressionable
teenagers are likely to be confused. Logically,