An open letter to Senator Richard Burr

Dear Senator Burr,

Recently I wrote to you encouraging you to support comprehensive sexual education. In response you have informed me that "When teaching out children is it important that we promote safe and health choices..." You then go on to state that it is your belief that "an appropriate abstinence program reinforces these values and allows age appropriate discussion with abstinence promoted as the only option that is 100 percent effective." I could almost believe that you had thought this through until you then went on, "The limitations of contraceptives in protecting against sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancies are also taught in these programs"

In other words you believe that teaching abstinence only and then teaching the negatives about contraception serves the children of the North Carolina. This despite the fact that in 2007, 19,615 girls between ages 15 and 19 got pregnant, (a rate of 63 pregnancies per 1,000 girls), according to statistics from the North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics. Of these 29 percent had been pregnant before. Some research shows that 63 percent of high school seniors said they had had sex.

As if that's not enough reports from the Communicable Disease Branch of the North Carolina Division of Public Health in 2008 showed North Carolinian's under age 19 were diagnosed with 4 news cases of HIV, 46 cases of syphilis, 4203 cases of gonorrhea and wait for it, this is the biggie 14,398 cases of chlamydia.

HPV was not reflected in the data. Mr Burr, in case you are not aware HPV, a sexually transmitted illness is now proven to cause CANCER!

You've been busy though. You spent time opposing the nomination of Kathleen Sibelius as Secretary of Health and Human services, regardless of the fact that we are on the brink of pandemic flu. You voted against expansion of insurance for children saying the expansion was going too far in qualifying people who are "not needy".

You decided to work toward your own personal run on the banks during the banking crisis, with inside information of course. Do you remember calling your wife "Tonight, I want you to go to the ATM machine, and I want you to draw out everything it will let you take. And I want you to tomorrow, and I want you to go Sunday,". According to the Hendersonville Times-News. "I was convinced on Friday night that if you put a plastic card in an ATM machine the last thing you were going to get was cash."

You thought it was good form to try to block the nomination of Tammy Duckworth as an assistant secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs. That seems appropriate, you've not served a day in the military and Ms. Duckworth is an Iraq War vet who lost both of her legs. I mean, you sold lawn equipment for 17 years, I am sure you have much better insight about what veterans need than Ms. Duckworth.

My blog is about cancer and not politics but it has reached a point that you Senator Burr are a cancer. I'm sure you're too busy working on fund raising to read this but I will vote for a pile of hog manure before I vote for you and I don't think I'm alone.

Sincerely,
Katherine B, North Carolina Resident and Voter