Jane Chastain : Politically Direct

Have you ever wondered why some of the most permissive countries in Europe like Holland, Denmark and France have such low teen pregnancy and abortion rates?In April, I wrote a column that provoked this e-mail:

Does abstinence education really work so well? I wondered because Holland, which does not promote abstinence education, and instead teaches fully and frankly about contraception, has only 12 teenage pregnancies per 1,000 pregnancies, while the U.S. has more than 80 per 1000. … I would be pleased if you could offer me some instances where abstinence has lowered teen pregnancy rates.

These are good questions and they deserve honest answers. However, the research was much harder than I expected because of the bias that exists in the media for abortion and the anything-goes-as-long-as-it-goes-with-a-condom (”safe sex” or “comprehensive”) brand of sex education that is so common in our schools. Read the rest of this entry »

Hillary Clinton wants to put a heath care chicken in every pot. You can buy it anywhere you want. It can be served in a variety of ways. Individuals with health problems and no health coverage (pre-existing conditions) will not be penalized with higher premiums. The best part of all, it will be affordable (virtually free).
All we have to do is repeal the Bush tax cuts.

Is that chicken frying, or do I smell a rat?

What is wrong with this picture? Read the rest of this entry »

Fred Thompson’s presidential campaign has progressed at a glacier-like pace.As the other candidates are hitting their stride, Fred is just climbing into the starting blocks. So, is he indecisive, lazy (as some have claimed) or smart like a fox?

Must he now run at breakneck speed to catch the front-runners at the finish line?

The answer should be obvious by now: Why run when you can cover more ground with a walk.

The real question in my mind is not whether the 65-year-old Thompson is capable of running, but why someone in his position would want to run. Read the rest of this entry »

Mom’s apple pie is an important symbol of America.What is more American than mom’s apple pie? It’s the technology that made it possible for mom to make it and bake it with ease.

It’s not the apple pie that is in the gun sites of this Congress; it is the symbol of what has made America, America – good old American ingenuity. It is that ingenuity that made the United States an industrial world power. Read the rest of this entry »