Teen pregnancy prevention campaign shocked by striking numbers

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy held a briefing on “Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Teen Pregnancy.” Delegate Donna M. Christensen (United States Virgin Islands) said that although teen pregnancy rates have consistently gone down, too many young women are still getting pregnant, preventing them from reaching their full potential.

Sarah S. Brown, the Chief Executive Officer for the National Campaign said that huge progress was made against teen pregnancy in the 1990s, but the steady decline may have stagnated, and possibly reversed. Also, the numbers of teen pregnancies by race are very disproportionate. Brown said that 32 percent of Latina teens, 24 percent of African-American teens, and 21 percent of Native American teens are mothers by their 20th birthdays, while only 11 percent of their Caucasian peers become mothers. Alvaro Simmons, the Chief Operating Officer at Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care said that teen pregnancy must be put on the public health agenda and gain the status of the obesity epidemic in health issues.

Obama: Wright's comments contradict everything I've done in my life

Presidential candidate Barack Obama responded to the "objectionable and offensive" comments made by his pastor the Rev. Jeremiah Wright earlier this week at the National Press Club. Obama said he was "appalled" by the Reverend's statements and that he "had enough" of the minister who acted "disrespectfully" toward him by not only making incendiary, hateful comments, but by claiming that the Senator's opposition to them was just "political posturing," as well.

Obama fully rejected everything the Reverend said, and claimed Wright had become someone the Senator claimed he had not seen during his time at Wright's church. Obama said the relationship between himself and the Reverend was now "severely strained," and that he was "saddened and disappointed" by the pastor who married him and his wife and baptized his children. Obama delivered an emotional speech, doing everything in his power to condemn and distance himself from the "ridiculous" Reverend.

Obama said Wright's comments were an "insult" to his campaign. Also, Obama said that the people of Wright's church were "good people," and that the impact of the Reverend's comments will ultimately be decided by the results of the fast approaching Indiana and North Carolina primaries.

Obama's outright denouncement of the pastor was passionate, and occasionally anger filled. The Senator was noticeably hurt by Wright's comments, as he did everything in his power to explain that he now fully opposes the Reverend, a much more emphatic cry of disapproval than Obama gave in Philadelphia following Wright's initial incendiary remarks.

Senator McCain delivers enthusiastic address at Associated Press luncheon

Presidential hopeful John McCain (R-AZ) spoke at the Associated Press Annual Meeting today, answering a wide variety of questions concerning everything from his relationship with the press to his stances on the war and ideas about restoring the sagging American economy.

McCain talked about how he hoped to build a strong relationship with the press, who he said often misinterpret his statements. Regarding the Shield Law, McCain said he felt the public should know what goes on behind "closed doors" by government officials, but at the same time laws and courts should outline what information can and cannot be released. Speaking to a group of reporters obviously concerned about such free- speech issues, the Senator said anything that could potentially allow Islamic radicals to have an advantage against us should be questioned.


McCain was asked if he thought one of his democratic opponents, Senator Barack Obama, was an "elitist." McCain responded by saying that he did not know Obama well enough to make such an assessment, but that the Senator's viewpoints are "fundamentally different" than his and not necessarily correct.

On the topic of America's economic situation, McCain was asked if he thought America was in a recession. McCain said he "certainly thought so," but that he was not concerned with terminology- he all he needed to know that "Americans are hurting," and that something has to be done to repair our economy. Describing himself as a "Teddy Roosevelt Republican" McCain explained that he thought there was a "role for the government" in business.

McCain said he would be "bothered" if he received votes based solely on the color of his skin, being that Obama is black. McCain emphasized that he would win voters over with his stances on critical issues, and did not feel he would lose voters due to his age.

Obama Campaign Responds to Geraldine Ferraro in a Press Conference Call

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky hosted a press conference call to address recent comments made by Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro (D-NY 9) that “If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position … And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.” Campaign representatives criticized the Clinton campaign for failing to distance itself from the comments and denounce such divisive sentiments. They claimed that campaign leadership comes from the very top, and hold Sen. Clinton responsible for accepting this kind of behavior asking “Is she serious about policing the tone of this campaign?” The whole affair was described as a continuation of the kind of detrimental “tear-each-other-down” politics against which they are striving, said Obama surrogates. Calls were also made for Ferraro to be censured and removed from her positions within the Clinton campaign.

Center for American Progress (CAP) holds discussion on popular book about the lack of class mobility

Today at CAP, a discussion was held on “All Things Being Equal,” a new book composed of eight original essays well versed in class mobility that is “half critique, half road-map-for-the-future.” Featured panelists were Jared Bernstein, Senior Economist at the Economic Policy Institute; Brian Smedley, Research Dierctor and a co-founder of The Opportunity Agenda; and Margery Turner, Director of the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Center, all of whom contributed to the book.

The discussion centered mainly on health care disparity issues between people of different race and gender. One of the more important points was noted in the discussion by Mr. Bernstein, which was that inequality in health care is a barrier to opportunity for many Americans. This inequality occurs even when insurance status among people are the same. The most interesting point made was that African-Americans, Latino-Americans, and Native Americans, are less likely to receive relatively routine treatments, “such as beta-blockers following a heart attack,” than their white counterparts of similar class status. In addition to this, minorities are more likely to receive negative treatments, “such as amputation of a limb.” What is quite important to note is that all of these studies control for differences such as insurance status and income. Therefore, all of these disparities are due solely to race.