Tracy Clark-Florey at Salon's Broadsheet conveys to us a befuddling fact: the Democratic dominated Congress is proposing a $32 million increase in funding to the Community-Based Abstinence Education program. Why would they do this in the face of the overwhelming lack of evidence that abstinence based sex-ed has any redeeming value (it doesn't even promote abstinence!)? Not only are the programs worthless, but in essence they are nothing more than the theft of the people's money to propagate lies and sexual authoritarianism.
There's nothing new in this: just consider the hundreds of millions of dollars given to the Office of National Drug Control Policy to defame pot smokers, without any evidence that their media campaigns actually decrease drug use. But why would Congressional Democrats increase funding for government funded propaganda when it deals with an issue (sex-ed) that so clearly divides them from the Republicans? It seems that Congressional Democrats are seeking to gain supermajority support for their spending bill, in order to over-ride a veto that Bush threatened to use unless the bill was reduced by $10 billion.
While I was unable to find any details about this funding bill (called "Labor-H"), I suspect that there really is room to cut a few billion dollars. I hope that Congress will resist the right-wing propaganda machine, and decide to make an effort to reduce the scope of this bill, then take their case to the people rather than giving in to the President once again.
After all, we do have a massive budget deficit, and it makes no sense to spend money just so that you are free to spend more money.