2.5%teen pregnancy rate in states with comprehensive sex education
6.0%teen pregnancy rate in states with abstinence-only education. source
» So, who’s surprised by this? According to a new CDC study, if you want to prevent teens from getting pregnant, it’s better to educate them about birth control than to yell “DON’T HAVE SEX!” in their faces while pretending there’s no such thing as condoms. The study found that, of the five states with the highest teen pregnancy rates, all require teachers to stress abstinence during sex education. Conversely, states with the lowest teen pregnancy rates have none such requirement. It’s almost as if teenagers are going to have sex regardless of what their teachers tell them!
Over the last few days, we’ve gotten a few e-mails from the online video site Newsy. (Hey guys!) Newsy is a pretty interesting news startup which has a partnership with the smart kids at the University of Missouri. (Read up on the school’s journalism program – which, if you ask us, is how J-Schools should work.) In a lot of ways, Newsy is sort of the video version of SFB – it splices together lots of disparate elements to give you a brief, detailed overview of a full story. (They probably have more startup capital than us, but we’ll let that one go. Heh.) In the clip above, they offer tons of new context with the gay Cub Scout leader who was forced to give up his leadership program. The guy at the center of all this knows how to sell popcorn. And he’s thinking of filing a lawsuit against the organization. We learned all that just from watching the video! Newsy’s pretty cool. source
Juan Williams is heading to Fox News full-time. In a quick turnaround reminiscent of Dave Weigel’s new gigs at MSNBC and Slate, Williams, who’s been on Fox News in a commentator’s role since 1997, reportedly has a new $2 million contract with the network. This added attention should help him transition nicely. But, while we defended his right to make his comments earlier today, it’s good to point out that he’s had a history of making questionable comments on Fox News that bled over into his NPR work – some of which are much harder to defend, considering the work he did for public radio. Some examples:
one Williams said NPR forced him to decline an interview with George W. Bush. “I was stunned by the decision to turn their backs on him and to turn their backs on me.”
two Williams, a regular guest on Bill O’Reilly, often defended the host in cases such as the George Tiller incident: “Let me just say, they’re going after you.”
three He suggested last year that Michelle Obama “has this Stokely-Carmichael-in-a-designer-dress thing going.” Damn. Now that’s a fireable offense, if you ask us. source
We can’t believe it’s already been seven years. On October 21, 2003, Elliott Smith’s life ended. It may have been suicide. It may have been murder. It’s never been clarified, but either way, he’ll be greatly missed. It was a very emotional moment in our own growing-up process, hearing the endless creativity that came from this guy, and we’re still learning stuff from songs like “Between the Bars” and “Twilight.” Want a good way to honor his music and memory? Donate a couple of bucks to the Elliott Smith Memorial Fund, which helps two charities, Outside In (which helps homeless youths in Portland, Oregon, Smith’s hometown) and Free Arts for Abused Children (which is self-explanatory, and has received tons of donations in Smith’s memory over the years). Smith’s death was sad; you can help something good come from his memory. source
I told you what the Chicago Tribune is not. Now let me tell you what it is. It’s reporters, photographers and editors, analysts and designers, and others who help us with the work. Our newspaper is just one part of Tribune Co., and what the corporate bosses do is separate from what we do.
Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass • Making a spirited defense in favor of the Chicago Tribune, that little newspaper created in that building where a frat environment was reportedly fostered among the corporate wing. This is a really class thing to point out. The problem with Tribune is not the paper itself. The management – which occasionally makes awful decisions that affect the paper’s journalism – is the problem here. They bankrupted the company. They took Col. Robert McCormick’s sacred room and played poker games there. All the investigative journalists and reporters working their beat? They weren’t screwing around. Let’s be sure, when we’re ripping on Tribune Corp. for silly business practices, we’re making the distinction. (Thanks Amber Nettles) source
35%the current corporate tax rate in the United States
2.4%the amount Google pays, thanks to fancy accounting source
» How do they do it? Well, the search giant uses income-shifting methods referred to by lawyers as the “Double Irish” and the “Dutch Sandwich,” which sound like endlessly fascinating names for avoiding taxes. It involves a lot of money-shifting between various countries – Ireland, Bermuda, The Netherlands. But the end result saved Google $3.1 billion in taxes in the last three years, which probably helps them afford investing in self-driving cars and stuff.
It’s not a bigoted statement. I said what I meant to say, that it’s an honest experience. … I have a moment of anxiety, of fear, given what happened on 9/11.
NPR news analyst Juan Williams • Defending his comments on Muslims that got him fired from NPR. He made this comment on Fox News today – and he made his earlier comment (that “people who are in Muslim garb” at the airport make him “nervous”) on “The O’Reilly Factor.” NPR has been getting some harsh rebukes from the right about all this, and we’re going to say, they’re deserved to some degree. It’s obvious what he meant – he still has some lingering post-9/11 fears, even if they’re a bit misguided – and we don’t think they were anywhere near as bad as the comments Rick Sanchez made that got him fired. Sure, they were questionable, but how many people share Williams’ opinion on this? If anything, he’s reflecting a view that isn’t uncommon (as proven by the whole “Ground Zero Mosque” drama), even if it is straight-up racial profiling. source
