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CDC report: syphilis resurgence among gay men a “major public health concern”

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Breitbart reports on a new CDC study.

Excerpt:

The sometimes-deadly disease syphilis is exploding in the United States, with most of the increase since 1995 among men who have sex with men (MSM), according to a new report from the Atlanta-based Center for Disease Control (CDC).

As recently as 2000, researchers believed the total elimination of syphilis was within reach. The recent dramatic increases in infections, coupled with the observation that syphilis closely tracks with other diseases like AIDS, have the medical and scientific community deeply concerned. The CDC report considers “the increase in syphilis among MSM is a major public health concern.”

According to the report, “During 2005-2013, the number of primary and secondary syphilis cases reported each year in the United States nearly doubled, from 8,724 to 16,663; the annual rate increased from 2.9 to 5.3 cases per 100,000 population.”

The report also says that “men contributed an increasing proportion of cases, accounting for 91.1% of all primary and secondary syphilis cases in 2013.” Most of the increases came from men who have sex with men, which were responsible for 77% of cases in 2009 but 83.9% in 2012, what the report calls “the vast majority of male… syphilis cases.”

The report warns that the numbers in the new report are likely far less than the true number because only 34 states and the District of Columbia fully report sex of sex partners.

The report raises a particular concern about what it calls “co-infection rates.” “There are reported rates of 50%-70% HIV co-infection among MSM infected with primary or secondary syphilis…”

I really recommend reading that whole post, there are some really striking pieces of data in it.

When we are discussing what to promote and what to disagree with, this CDC data should be on the table. And remember, the closer we move to the single-payer system desired by the political left, the more people who don’t engage in risky behaviors will be taxed to pay for those that do choose to engage in risky behaviors. It’s fine for those who are not ambitious, but if you expect to earn enough to support a family, then you might find it’s much harder than it used to be before we were celebrating things the sexual revolution, which goes far beyond the problems the CDC outlined, into the costs of no-fault divorce, fatherlessness, etc.

We really ought not be celebrating the homosexual lifestyle / orientation. We should be treating this like smoking or obesity, if we really cared about the health of people with these same-sex attractions. It’s possible to express disagreement and to tell the truth about risks and consequences without hurting anyone’s feelings. I like to know what will happen to me if I make certain choices. It’s good to have the facts before you decide what to do.

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New CDC study: children raised by mom and dad experience fewer traumatic events

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From Christian Post.

Excerpt:

Children who are not raised by both of their biological mother and father are more likely to have experienced traumatic events, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Children in foster care had, by far, the worst outcomes. Those raised by one biological family member and those living with relatives fell between those with two biological parents and no biological parents. Adopted children were not included in the sample.

The study looked at nine adverse experiences: 1) divorce or separation of parents or guardians, 2) death of a parent or guardian, 3) incarceration of a parent or guardian, 4) lived with someone who was mentally ill, suicidal or severely depressed, 5) lived with someone who had an alcohol or drug problem, 6) witnessed violence in the household, 7) was the victim of violence or witnessed violence in the neighborhood, 8) suffered racial discrimination, and 9) caregiver had often found it hard to get by on the family’s income.

Seventy percent of children raised by their biological mother and father had no adverse family experiences compared to only 21.7 percent of those raised by one biological parent and 18.7 percent of those raised by no biological parents.

[…]The data comes from the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children’s Health, a nationally representative phone survey of households with children. 95,677 interviews were conducted for the survey.

There seems to be a conflict in our society now between the traditionalists, who favor chastity, courtship and natural marriage, and the “anything goes” secular relativists. The secular relativists seem to be winning, but at what cost? The data seems to be pretty clear – when you lift moral restrictions on the sexual behaviors of adults, then children suffer. We should be more articulate in saying how children are affected whenever these discussions come up.

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NFL player fined and banned from team activities for disapproving of homosexuality

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From the Miami Herald.

Excerpt:

The Dolphins swiftly and publicly reprimanded Don Jones late Sunday for his Twitter remarks critical of Michael Sam, fining him and barring him from team activities until he undergoes sensitivity training.

In a statement released by the team, Jones apologized for tweeting “omg” and “horrible” after seeing Sam sharing a celebratory kiss with his partner on national TV Saturday evening. Sam had just been drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round, becoming the first openly gay player selected by an NFL team.

[…]Although the Dolphins did not disclose the amount of the fine, the fact that they made the punishment public was significant. Dolphins coach Joe Philbin rarely discusses internal discipline with reporters but made it a point to condemn Jones’ words on official team letterhead Sunday night.“We were disappointed to read Don’s tweets during the NFL Draft,” Philbin said. “They were inappropriate and unacceptable, and we regret the negative impact these comments had on such an important weekend for the NFL. We met with Don [Sunday] about respect, discrimination and judgment. These comments are not consistent with the values and standards of our program. We will continue to emphasize and educate our players that these statements will not be tolerated.”

So, if you are Tim Tebow, everyone can insult you and make fun of you for being a Christian and for being chaste before marriage. But if you’re gay, then no one can even disagree with you on sexual issues.

This is why I have an alias. I am very conscious of the fact that the way I earn a living is something that the other side would love to take away from me. If anyone who did not tolerate my statements on certain controversial issues ever found out who I was or where I worked, I’d be out of a job. I am happy to say what I think about controversial issues, (not with tweets, but by citing studies), while I can still do it. But I have no doubt that the secular left will one day make it their business to find out who disagrees with them on matters like sexual ethics, and make sure we are properly corrected about our bad ideas. They seem to have tremendous difficulty letting other people have different views than they do, and not punishing them for those different views. “These statements will not be tolerated” the coach says.