Green Bay Packer games are a very big deal ’round these parts. As a die hard Packer fan, it’s rare for me to miss a game on T.V. The only game I haven’t watched was when we played the Kansas City Chiefs. I listened to it on the radio, however, and that was very exciting. Using my ears to hear each play, and imagining the players making a touchdown was very cool. I now understand why my father prefers to listen to the Brewers games on the radio.
But tonight, the Packers head to Dallas to play the Cowboys and the game is being aired on the NFL Network, a channel our cable company does not offer in it’s lineup. To get the NFL Network, we’d need to subscribe to Direct TV or another satellite company, something we do not plan to do.
Many people are upset about not being able to watch the game. I understand why. I don’t want to miss it either. But I started to laugh when I saw the front page of yesterday’s local newspaper that listed all the local bars that would have the game on T.V.
I was tempted to get a babysitter and head to the nearby bowling alley just to see the game. But then a television channel in Green Bay, Channel 5, bought the rights to the game and, YAY!! We get to watch Green Bay kick some Cowboy butt!
So, yeah…I’m a little excited about this, can you tell?
Sexually Explicit Book Endorsed by Planned Parenthood?
Last month I reviewed Third Base Ain’t What It Used to Be, by Logan Levkoff, a book about teaching our children about sex. I loved Logan’s book because she offers advice and suggestions to parents on how to to talk to their kids about sex according to their values.
I believe Logan’s book is valuable to all parents, even those with strong religious beliefs, because it does not push a political or religious agenda and gives parents the facts and resources they’ll need to answer honestly when their children ask about sex.
Very recently, I was contacted by Michael Hichborn, the media director for American Life League. Michael was contacting pro-life and Catholic bloggers to ask if they would consider posting content and videos intended to shed light on several issues regarding abortion, sex and Planned Parenthood.
Before I agreed to do so, I asked what the content of each video would be, and when he sent the link to the first video I was surprised to learn that Planned Parenthood was endorsing a book titled It’s Perfectly Normal that displays sexually explicit cartoon images on it’s pages. The cover of the book states “for ages 10 and up”.
I played the video and at first thought the book was harmless — until I saw the images, as well as a sentence about masturbation that states, “And some religions call masturbation a sin. But masturbating cannot hurt you.” This statement upsets me because of it’s blatant attack on religion. Planned Parenthood couldn’t find a way to give factual information about masturbation without denouncing religion? If this isn’t a political agenda, I don’t know what is.
Many readers know that I’m an active member of the Catholic church. My beliefs regarding sex and abortion are based on my faith, therefore I personally could never use this book as a reference when talking to my son about sex.
Strip away the religion factor and what’s left is a book that is targeting children who may not be mature enough to understand the content.
This book definitely consists of mature, more adult-themed concepts. I would be extremely upset if this book was used in sexual education classes without parental consent, and even angrier if my son or daughter found this book in the school library. When will Planned Parenthood realize that parents have the right to determine what is best for their minor children?
I understand not all parents are able to discuss sex with their kids. I understand that children will contact others when they have questions they can’t ask their parents. But I feel that these “other persons” have a responsibility to talk to the parents, and let them know what is happening with their children, so they can make the effort to understand and answer their questions.
It’s disgusting to see reports about young girls having abortions without parental consent. It makes me sick that Planned Parenthood will perform an abortion, and not report all cases of statutory rape if they “don’t ask and don’t tell”. Enough is enough. Planned Parenthood has indeed gone too far.
I went to Amazon.com and read some of the book’s reviews by other parents.
JGM wrote:
“I didn’t have to read this book to know that it was far too much for my 11 year old daughter. If you believe that cartoon characters in explicit illustrations including people have missionary sex, oral sex, wearing condoms is appropriate for your age 9-11 year old child, then I would recommend you buy the book. However, if you believe that the subject should be dealt with sensitivity and a bit more seriousness, I would most certainly not recommend this ridiculous book. I returned the book to Amazon.”
V. Christensen wrote:
“This book is well done, but definitely too mature for my eleven year old son. I think it will be a good resource when he starts going through puberty. Not all the views expressed are those of my own, so I will always sit down with my son and go over this book together. There are a lot of graphic illustrations which may be too much for some families. I think it is well put together and can help answer some of those uncomfortable questions kids have. I recommend the book, but it should be accompanied by parental supervision and content awareness.”
QueenBean84 wrote:
“I started reading this book with my 9-year old son. At first I was embarrassed by the pictures and text. My son was perfectly fine! To him, it was just another science book! This books presents sexual information in a way that pre-teens can understand. I feel better knowing that my son got the correct information from me rather than incorrect information from his friends. I could not have done this without this book.”
(I think that if pictures in a book make a parent feel embarrassed, chances are it’s not appropriate to share with children. If I am (as a parent) not comfortable talking about sex to begin with, using a book with explicit information isn’t going to be any better. However, kudos to this mom for getting over her fear.)
But, what Ginger Parker wrote really struck me:
“When I was about 5 as a little girl I was playing at another kid’s house. That other kid was 5 years older and MUCH larger than me. She told me that she wanted to show me something and that it was a secret. I was excited about a “secret” and wanted to see. She led me into her room and closed and locked the door behind her. Her room was cluttered like any kids room and she pulled a book from underneath some small blankets on the floor. It was a book with cartoon pictures inside. They were cartoon drawings of boys and girls similar to the ones in this book. Some of those pictures included vague sexual activities. As a child I was curious about the book and in awe of what it showed. I was too young to understand all the words and I do not remember much of what I did understand. I remember reading the word sex, but that is the only one that I can confirm.
While viewing the book she said “I have an idea. Let’s try these!” and pointed to a man and a woman having sex in missionary position and another photo of a girl having oral sex performed by another man. I told her that I did not want to try those and that they did not make me feel comfortable.
Unfortunately the whole event is something that I remember in great detail to this day (21 years later). I will not go into great detail, but I was forced to perform those actions, among others shown in the book. To this day I can remember the smells and tastes and the physical pain as I was being hit and my hair pulled when not complying and to put me where she wanted me to be. I remember the weight of her body as she forced herself down upon me so hard that I could not get away or even move.
I had not put much thought into the incident in my adult years. I remember it, but did not feel the pain… until I saw this book. It is books like these that portray sex to children in such a way that they want to explore it aggressively for themselves. And if they cannot find cooperative partners they will make one. It could be the neighbor’s boy, it could be their sister, or their cousin. You may say, “No, not my child.”, but I believe that children will do very bad things sometimes because they don’t understand it. In this books case it would be condoned and therefore it might be ok to go farther because the people in the pictures were doing it.”
I understand that many people will have different opinions. Below is the video from the American Life League, as well as a copy of the press release.
American Life League releases video report on children’s sex book
WASHINGTON, D.C. · November 19, 2007 / PRNewswire / – “Parents need to know what Planned Parenthood has in store for their children and this report is an excellent starting point,” said Jim Sedlak, vice president of American Life League. “The book ‘It’s Perfectly Normal’ is obscene and offensive to Christians.”
American Life League’s second video report exposes the contents of the book “It’s Perfectly Normal.” Recently, a Washington State Prison rejected a fundraising letter that included censored images from the book for being “sexually explicit” and “obscene.”
American Life League released the report as a part of its continuing effort to educate the public on Planned Parenthood’s activities.
“This video report is just the beginning,” said Sedlak. “We will continue to use this new media to expose the nation’s largest abortion chain and we call on Christians across the nation to join us in putting a stop to tax payer funds for Planned Parenthood.”
For the truth about Planned Parenthood, check out these related links:
If you’d like to see what Planned Parenthood has to say about this book, you can find an interview with the author here.
I strongly recommend Logan Levkoff’s book, Third Base Ain’t What It Used to Be, if you’re looking for a resource to use when talking to your children about sex.
This post is intended to pass on the message that Planned Parenthood has gone too far with the endorsement of the book It’s Perfectly Normal. There are some great services that Planned Parenthood health centers provide, such as high-quality gynecological care, STI/STD testing and treatment, and pregnancy testing, and I believe that women are entitled to these services if they are unable to find them elsewhere.
However, I do not support abortion, distributing birth control pills to minors or the offering of emergency contraception. I understand, and accept, that not all persons reading this post will agree with my beliefs; please consider the nature of your comments before posting.
I’ve missed two NaBlo posting days. I have to say that this year was much more difficult. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been busier or if I’ve just become lazier. Maybe a combination of both.
Yesterday’s second Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful. Although, I have to admit the turkey wasn’t up to par with my expectations. I mean, everyone loved it and complimented my cooking skills, but I thought it could be better. My mother tells me, “We are our own worst critics!”
She’s probably right. But why does a dish always taste better when someone else makes it?
…because I’m frantically cleaning the house for “Turkey Day Number Two”. We do this every year, it seems.
We have “The Holiday” at my mother’s on Thanksgiving Day and then the Sunday after, I cook another turkey (that usually outdoes the one my sister makes on “The Day”), as well as my famous Bacon-Leek Mashed potatoes (the recipe will follow, I promise), stuffing, green been casserole, and raspberry cheesecake. Basically, I slave in the kitchen all day while everyone else watches football and drinks beer.
And you’ll understand how messed up I am. I thought today was Friday. I was telling my husband I have two more days off from work and he laughed at me. Then he said, “Actually, tomorrow is Sunday.”
Holy shit. It is Saturday, today!
I’m going to be one tired woman tomorrow. Might as well crack open another bottle of wine. Is it wrong to clean the house while I’m half in the bag?
Dana began her Mom career in 2004 with the birth of her first son, Dawson, aka The Doodlebug, and little brother, Owen, was born in 2009. She spends her days putting out fires, climbing mountains and chasing monsters. More About Dana.
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