The evidence suggests that many abstinence-only programs have little impact on teenage sexual behavior, just as their critics long insisted. But most sex education programs of any kind have an ambiguous effect, at best, on whether and how teens have sex. The abstinence-based courses that social conservatives champion produce unimpressive results — but so do the contraceptive-oriented programs that liberals tend to favor.

[...]

What is taught in the classroom is vastly less important than the matrix of family, culture and economics: the values parents impart and the example that they set, the friends teenagers make and the activities they join, and the cross-cutting effects of wealth, health and self-esteem.

But the point I really wanted to highlight, and one I find incredibly frustrating, is this:

None of this renders the abstinence-versus-contraception debate pointless. But we should understand it more as a battle over community values than as an argument about public policy. Luker describes it, aptly, as a conflict between the “naturalist” and “sacralist” approaches to sex — between parents in Berkeley, say, who don’t want their kids being taught that premarital intercourse is something to feel ashamed about and parents in Alabama who don’t want their kids being lectured about the health benefits of masturbation.

The debate might be less rancorous if the naturalists and sacralists didn’t have to fight it out in Washington. This is the real problem with federal financing for abstinence-based education: It drags the national government into a debate that should remain intensely local.

We federalize the culture wars all the time, of course — from Roe v. Wade to the Defense of Marriage Act. But it’s a polarizing habit, and well worth kicking.

This strikes me as one of the epic failures of conservatism or the Right writ large.  Power continues to flow to Washington and the federal government. Issues are increasingly nationalized and local control lost or subverted.

It is a language and, to use a problematic word, framing issue that has enormous repercussions. It is not just about how much government spends but who does the spending and how those decisions get made.  DC bureaucracies and national politicians fight this battle and it loses all of its connectivity to local communities and their mores and values.

We seem to send conservatives to DC and get back compromised politicians. And the answer is send different conservatives or citizen legislators or term limits or something else. There was a brief period where devolution was bandied about but all to brief and with little impact beyond some block grants.

No, as with everything else the cultural battle is happening in DC. Lobbyists and consultants are employed to sway the budget battles and then go after the grants and handouts. And we act as if there is only one solution to addressing the issues and so the arguments get heated when millions of dollars are at stake; not to mention the perception of the clash of worldviews – which literally become world views when the battle shifts the UN.

I think no matter where you come down on the sex ed question Douthat’s conclusion is a good one:

America’s competing visions of sexuality — permissive and traditional, naturalist and sacralist — have been in conflict since the 1960s. They’ll probably be in conflict for generations yet to come.

I don’t have a solution but the problem is very real and troubling to me.

But as long as they are, it shouldn’t be Washington’s job to choose between them.

But again the Steelers settled for field goals on key possessions and looked outmatched in the second half. Minus a number of critical penalties and a dropped touchdown the Steelers likely lose that game.

But I will take it.  The Steelers remain in the playoff hunt.

It comes down to beating Miami and then hoping the Bengals and Patriots win even with nothing on the line. Here is a scenario where the Steelers make it (you can change it to see how various scenarios play out).

Things are more precarious thanks to the, in my opinion, stupid way the Colts pissed away the chance for a perfect season by giving the lackluster Jets new life by sitting Peyton Manning and other key starters.

But if Cincinnati beats the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets! And the Patriots beat the Texans then the Steelers are in (provided they win as well). Normally you would say the odds are good but the Texans and Jets are playing for a playoff spot and their opponents are playing for nothing. That makes me very nervous. But the Steelers put themselves in this position so that’s life.

In some ways it doesn’t matter. If the Steelers win their last three games and finish 9-7 but miss the playoffs it will be disappointing for sure. But with two Super Bowls in four years it is hard to get irate about 9-7.

On the other hand, it would be interesting to see the Steelers in the playoffs with a healthy Troy Palamalu.  They are an experienced group and are very familiar with all the teams they might face. Be nice to have a chance to get hot and make another Super Bowl run.

In reality, the way the defense is playing I can’t see the Steelers getting to the Super Bowl against teams like New England, Indy and San Diego (picture Randy Moss and Wes Welker wrecking havoc in the secondary in the Wild Card game for example).

But we live to fight another day at this point. And as I said above, I will take it.

Was it disturbing that the defense was clearly incapable of stopping the Packers and Coach Tomlin knew that and hence his decision to try an onside kick? Yes, it was.  Troy Polomalu’s absence is a killer in the middle of the secondary and big plays happen there with tragic regularity.

But that the Steelers came up with the plays they needed to win helps take the pain away from knowing the defense just isn’t up to its usual standards.

The Steelers playoff scenario as I understand it below.

I think this is an accurate explanation of the way the Steelers can make the playoffs:

1) Steelers win out, going 9-7
2) Ravens lose to the Steelers and win their other two, going 9-7.
3) Dolphins lose to the Steelers, going 9-7 (or worse).
4) Jets lose at least two of their last three (ATL, @IND, CIN), going 8-8.
5) Jaguars lose at least one of their last two (@NE, @CLE), going 8-8.
6) Tennessee and Houston each lose at least one more (both play Miami), going 8-8.
7) Denver loses at least two of their last three (OAK, @PHI, KC), going 9-7.

To figure out the #5 seed, you’d compare Baltimore, Miami and Denver. All three would have conference records of 7-5, so it goes to common opponents (NE, PIT, IND, SD). Miami has a record of 1-4 against those four teams, and Baltimore and Denver would each be 2-3. So you drop Miami, and Baltimore gets the top spot because Baltimore beat Denver head-to-head.

To figure out the #6 seed, you’d compare Miami, Pittsburgh and Denver. Pittsburgh will have won head-to-head against both teams, so they would get the last playoff spot.

This is not a slam dunk but it is certainly possible:

• Jets lost to Atlanta so all we need is a loss to either Indy or Cinci.
• Denver lost to Oakland and has a tough game against Philly.
• New England will play a big role as they play the Jags and Texans. I will be rooting for the Pats.
• The Titans have a tough game against a surging Chargers team.

If all the 7-7 teams lose one except for the Steelers that leaves the Ravens and Broncos. If Steelers tie with Ravens they lose thanks to division record. If they tie with Broncos they win because of head to head. But I think it all three tie at 9-7 then the Steelers and Ravens would win because they both beat Denver.

But first things first.  The Steelers have to beat the Ravens!

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There is no other word to describe a team that was supposed to be fighting for its playoff life and the right to defend its Super Bowl title, yet was thoroughly outplayed by the 1-11 Browns, an opponent that — quoting safety Ryan Clark now — “even a bad Pittsburgh Steelers team should be able to beat every time.”

There is no other word to describe a team that has lost five games in a row, including three to the worst that the NFL has to offer — the Browns, the Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs.

There is no other word to describe a team that, by all indications, has quit on the Rooneys, Tomlin, their fans and — most egregiously — themselves.

Losers.

– Ron Cook

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This strikes me as unhelpful and ultimately dangerous and counter productive:

The Gospel of Luke records that, as he was dying on the cross, Jesus showed his boundless mercy by praying for his killers this way: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

Not so fast, say contributors to the Conservative Bible Project.

The project, an online effort to create a Bible suitable for contemporary conservative sensibilities, claims Jesus’ quote is a disputed addition abetted by liberal biblical scholars, even if it appears in some form in almost every translation of the Bible.

The project’s authors argue that contemporary scholars have inserted liberal views and ahistorical passages into the Bible, turning Jesus into little more than a well-meaning social worker with a store of watered-down platitudes.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

There are of course cultural issues involved in Bible translations; and there is a debate to be had about how the translation and interpretation of the Bible has been warped and misused – on both sides – by political ideology over the years.

But bringing the political labels Liberal and Conservative into a debate about Bible translation, and adding it to the larger culture war, strikes me as very bad idea and one that takes away from the focus of faith rather than adding to it.

Tony Woodlief is worth quoting:

Did Jesus really ask the Father to forgive his persecutors, these people ask, or is that just another distortion from the Vast Left-Wing Hippy-Homo-Commie Conspiracy?

It’s funny how from the beginning, the people who claim to love God most zealously are the ones who get most upset about His loving unsavory types. I think rather than worrying over whether the sins of others will be forgiven, and over who is in and who is out of the Salvation Club, we ought to think more on the state of our own sorry souls, and meditate especially on the promise that the forgiveness we receive will be measured out according to the forgiveness we have offered others.

And so in that spirit, may God have mercy on these people who take it upon themselves to stand outside the one holy catholic and apostolic Church and rewrite the content and meaning of Holy Scriptures.

Amen.

Against Wisconsin, Michigan essentially followed the same script that’s resulted in its current 1-6 stretch.  A couple of sparkling defensive plays, followed by a second half filled with miscues and missed assignments. When the spread offense looks like it’s starting to click, it stalls and a tight game turns on a dime.

Either the Ohio State game will be a legendary upset or it will put this season out of its misery.  At least that is something.