Red View Blue View Podcast

Sex ed curriculum and talking about sex with your kids

In Colorado there is a new sex ed curriculum bill for public schools currently working its way through the legislature and likely to be signed into law in the near future.  The bill is controversial with claims from some Republicans that it is too progressive for various reasons, including how LGBT issues will be taught as part of the new curriculum standards.  Join us as we discuss the bill with our first ever guest:  Alison Macklin, fellow mom and a Vice President at Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.  We discuss the specifics of the bill - including LGBT issues, consent, parental rights and more - and what is the context behind some of the controversial language.  We also discuss how to talk about sex with your kids without making it awkward and embarrassing for everyone involved - Alison wrote a book about it in 2018 called "Making Sense of 'It':  A Guide to Sex for Teens (and Their Parents Too!)".

 

Reference hyperlinks (links may only be accessible on www.redmombluemom.com):

• Buy Alison's book here!
• Text of 2013 Colorado sex ed curriculum bill
• Text of 2019 proposed Colorado sex ed curriculum bill (approved by House 2/19/19)
• Are conservatives making things up about the new bill? (Westword)
• Fact v. Fiction (Denver Post)
• Is the new bill misleading? (Complete Colorado)
• Concerns about impact on parental rights (Complete Colorado)  
• House testimony (Colorado Public Radio)
• Talking to your preschooler about sex (Planned Parenthood)
• Bill passes the Colorado House (Durango Herald)

Jussie Smollett, hate crimes and hoaxes

The Jussie Smollett story has captured the nation...and not in a good way.  What a schmuck.  Join us as we talk about hate crimes and FBI hate crime data, hoaxes, media bias and the only silver lining in the Smollett story as defined by Trevor Noah from The Daily Show.

References:

• This is why Jussie did it: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/were-told-to-expect-hate-crimes-by-trump-supporters-thats-why-jussie-smollett-would-fake-one
• Hate crime hoaxes don't mean hate crimes aren't a problem: https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2019/0228/A-tale-of-two-hate-crimes-a-hoax-unraveled-and-a-plot-foiled
• Real hate crimes on the rise: https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/11/16/fbi-hate-crime-numbers-soar-7106-2017-third-worst-year-start-data-collection
• Are hate crimes related to Trump? https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/11/13/18091646/fbi-hate-crimes-2017
• Why is the Right so furious with the Smollett case: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/02/why-the-right-wing-media-is-so-furious-about-the-jussie-smollett-affair
• CPD Superintendent remarks: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jussie-smollett-case-chicago-police-superintendent-s-full-remarks-n974026
• The perils of “wokeness”: https://thebulwark.com/jussie-smollett-and-the-perils-of-greater-wokeness/
• Hate crimes as part of a culture war: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2019/02/23/an-orchestrated-attack-against-truth-how-clash-over-hate-crimes-has-become-one-more-culture-war/?utm_term=.852318548133
• Boston hate crimes:  https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2019/01/04/hate-crimes-racism-laurel-sampson-ivan-espinoza-madrigal
• Examples of hatred expressed by Trump supporters: https://americasvoice.org/trumphatemap/
• Trump’s era of hate: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2018/11/14/trumps-era-of-hate/?utm_term=.8593da3879ca
• Hate crime hoaxes: https://dailycaller.com/2019/02/18/hoax-hate-crimes-list/
• History of the fake noose: https://triblive.com/opinion/michelle-malkin-handy-history-of-fake-noose/

AOC, climate change and the Green New Deal

AOC and her Green New Deal have been all over the news lately and have been applauded by some on the left while being mocked by many on the right.  Join us as we talk about AOC and her impact on politics, climate change and if it's in fact an emergency as Blue Mom Shelley believes (spoiler alert:  Red Mom Caitlin is not so sure), and some of the specific ideas presented in the Green New Deal.

References:

• IPCC and other reports: https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/; https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-other-greenhouse-gas-emissions; https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
• Global warming is real: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/global-warming-real/
• GND resolution: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/109/text
• What is the GND?: https://www.npr.org/2019/02/07/691997301/rep-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-releases-green-new-deal-outline
• Disputing the "97%" claim: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexepstein/2015/01/06/97-of-climate-scientists-agree-is-100-wrong/#10fc8f5e3f9f
• Problems with the author of “Disputing the 97%”: https://ourworld.unu.edu/en/review-the-moral-case-for-fossil-fuels-really
• Economic feasibility: https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/02/22/opinions/green-new-deal-sachs/index.html
• Is 100% renewable energy even realistic?: https://www.investors.com/politics/commentary/renewable-energy-possible-good-environment/; https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-09-13/scientists-say-25-years-left-fight-climate-change
• Global warming causes severe weather: https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2019/01/30/this-is-why-global-warming-is-responsible-for-freezing-temperatures-across-the-usa/?fbclid=IwAR2A07pdVsWrCIKTaHnGP6PZBbXIz47MS1yKHR7bGngoXx4plbAFkfO3HHQ#7c83a242d8cf
• Global contributions to CO2 emissions: https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2018/07/01/china-emits-more-carbon-dioxide-than-the-u-s-and-eu-combined/#69f73497628c
• AOC hypocrisy?: https://townhall.com/tipsheet/bethbaumann/2019/02/13/report-ocasiocortez-is-living-the-high-life-in-luxury-dc-apartments-n2541463
• Private jets in Davos:https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/davos-2019-private-jets-climate-change-world-economic-forum-summit-attenborough-a8742681.html
• Paris Climate Accord: https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/12/paris-climate-agreement-just-say-no/

Immigration Policy

Immigration has been a hot issue in recent months, including debate between Congress and President Trump about border security that ultimately led to a government shutdown.  Is a wall immoral as some of the left have claimed?  How do people even immigrate legally to the U.S.?  Do Republicans/conservatives have a racist undertone when talking about immigration? 

References:

• Is the wall immoral? http://thefederalist.com/2019/01/08/why-is-a-border-wall-immoral/; https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/10/get-rid-borders-completely/409501/
• Diversity visa program: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/diversity-visa-program-entry/dv-2018-selected-entrants.html
• Immigration by the numbers: https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/government-shutdown-trump-border-wall-2/
• Analysis of Feb 2019 border proposal: https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/border-wall-trump-budget-deal/
• Environmental impact: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/01/how-trump-us-mexico-border-wall-could-impact-environment-wildlife-water/
• Eminent domain: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/01/donald-trump-eminent-domain-border-wall-emergency/
• Visa overstays: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/visa-overstays-outpaced-illegal-border-crossings-in-2017-dhs
• Employers, E-Verify, and Trump’s Hiring of Illegals: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/trump-is-very-weak-on-this-one-popular-way-to-curb-illegal-immigration/2018/05/22/adf5f85e-399b-11e8-acd5-35eac230e514_story.html?utm_term=.0f6c80d5b331; https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/02/08/trump-once-advocated-huge-financial-penalty-those-employing-undocumented-immigrants/
• Americans killed by illegal immigrants:https://www.conservativereview.com/news/the-media-never-cares-when-americans-are-killed-by-illegal-immigrants/
• Immigrants and crime: https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2019/01/03/locking-your-house-not-like-locking-border/qH6OTRoIbs0Ord05k8QSlO/story.html; https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/06/19/two-charts-demolish-the-notion-that-immigrants-here-illegally-commit-more-crime/?utm_term=.7018bc5e1fbc
• Economics of illegal immigration: https://www.cfr.org/report/economic-logic-illegal-immigration; https://immigrationforum.org/article/fact-sheet-immigrants-and-public-benefits/

Abortion legislation in NY and VA

The recent success of the 2019 Reproductive Health Act in NY and the proposed (although failed) late term abortion legislation in VA have caused celebration on the left and outrage on the right.  We discuss the specifics of the law and our perspectives on abortion, including is abortion ultimately a religious issue?

Episode references:

• Diana Foster study: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1363/4521013
• Guttmacher Institute: https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/overview-abortion-laws
• Lozier Institute: https://lozierinstitute.org/the-reality-of-late-term-abortion-procedures/
• Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tarahaelle/2016/10/20/no-late-term-abortions-dont-rip-babies-out-of-wombs-but-they-are-needed/#6dbc29da5cf8
• National Review: https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/truth-about-late-term-abortions/ 
• Vox.com: https://www.vox.com/2018/3/22/17143454/trump-ohio-heartbeat-bill-abortion-ban-mississippi
• The Federalist: http://thefederalist.com/2019/02/05/democrats-cant-talk-honestly-about-abortion

Toxic Masculinity

Toxic masculinity is all over the news lately, including the Gillette razors ad and the new guidelines from the American Psychological Association on how therapists can help men/boys.  Is toxic masculinity really a thing?  And if so, how is it impacting how we parent our kids, especially boys?

Episode references:

• Gillette ad:  https://youtu.be/xsYKb3T13Wk
• APA guidelines summary:  https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/01/ce-corner
• NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/opinion/apa-guidelines-men-boys.html
• The Federalist: http://thefederalist.com/2019/01/17/gillettes-toxic-masculinity-ad-accidentally-makes-case-patriarchy/
• Vox.com: https://www.vox.com/first-person/2019/1/22/18188776/toxic-masculinity-gillette-ad-apa-guidelines
• Townhall.com: https://townhall.com/columnists/rachelalexander/2019/02/04/toxic-masculinity-is-misnamed-n2540743
• The Onion (parody): https://local.theonion.com/woman-didn-t-know-progress-on-toxic-masculinity-would-t-1831869468