Jackson Jambalaya

Kingfish, thank you for addressing this serious problem. Until this issue is truthfully addressed the problems resulting from it will only increase. It is sad that the people in charge that could possibly make some changes happen are hiding their heads in the sand. No one wants to have to deal with the reality.

Are all the pro-lifer's going to adopt these kids and raise them? What is the alternative?

Or better yet, anti-birth controllers are they going to step up?

How about all those anti-sex-ed folks, need a few more kids to raise?

Someone please present some solutions that are based in reality.

1:41PM being holier than thou certainly helped. As Thomas Sowell has said if you want to avoid being poor finish high school, get married, and have children, in that order. What Kingfish is showing is that people need to be able to look at all the problems and not just the polite ones. I would guess that every girl (and babies daddy) here knows how not to get pregnant, but modern society and liberal government will not tell them not to do it.

Long as they can carry an M4 or a shovel, no one at the top will do anything about this.

Good post Kingfish! Of course it's not something we want to talk about, but the more babies you have the more $$$ the check. Who dat babies daddy? Not something the C-L will explore?

Gov. Bryant surely means well with his war on teen pregnancy, but I'd bet all of my meager savings that it will be about as successful as the war on drugs and the war on poverty and other well intentioned government "wars." Until pregnant teens have to face some real hardships, including forcing baby daddy to be identified and start paying, the cycle will continue. If it's profitable and society acts as if it's perfectly normal, the problem will keep getting worse.

I would rephrase "born without fathers" to born to unwed mothers. Every one of those children have fathers. Somewhere.

The overwhelming majority of blacks under the age of 40 have never even been to a wedding. Why on earth would they think of having one now? That'd make as much sense as a bunch of people suddenly deciding they like the idea of circumcision. Marriage is, first and foremost, a cultural construct, and once it disappears from the culture it's never coming back.

Never. Ever. Get used to it.

With out a family it is all a waste

Interesting approach. Encourage them to be families? Mom and Dad struggling to provide for their children, desire a better life for their children and work their rears off to achieve more for their children.

In the wake of unwed pregnancies, I do wonder if a departure from stopping the problem by eliminating it in the first place is misplaced.

Perhaps family counseling instead of sex-ed is more appropriate and, frankly, more American.

Interesting direction if thought out well and action is meaningful.

How about a charter school catering to unwed families with a goal of creating an environment where the families can grow and come together? Involve Moms, Dads, kids and the idea of a family - marriage, support, love, responsibility?

Aw heck, why not just teach home economics at this point? The balance of other skills will emerge as the ideals of hard work, responsibility of raising a family and success of the struggle take root.

Just an idea. Novel, and I know the successes in the community today - Boys & Girls Clubs - and I wonder, why are we sitting back and NOT going in a direction that is positive/meaningful for these children raising children.

I've long advocated implantable birth control in at risk females who request it. It's not sterilization - it can be removed and it expires after a period of time. It's not forced contraception because it only goes to the ones who request it. It would pay for itself many times over in Medicaid and CHP savings. The social pressure on these poor girls to have sex is just too great, and just say no isn't working. Keep them from becoming pregnant and maybe they stay in school. Everybody wins. Bill Billingsley

Kingfish...you're raaaaaacist for pointing this out! You know it's all the white man's fault!

/sarc off

Seriously though, people do what they WANT to do EVERY TIME. There is no desire or "want" to be responsible for one's actions in our current society because we reward bad choices. There is no penalty or "pain" (i.e., shame) for doing the wrong thing. Of course, it's not PC to have a standard to which we hold people and their actions. We don't want to hurt people's feelings.

Abstinence works EVERY TIME IT'S TRIED but for some reason, people think it is not possible to control one's self. We are dooming ourselves for lack of control.

@1:41; Who are 'the anti-birth-controllers? I know some (and am one) who don't think they should have to pay for other folk's birth control. That's not anti-birth-control.

@4:18. I disagree with your admonition. None of the children being discussed has a 'father'. They all have a daddy. A father is something pretty much foreign.

How about doing something like they did in Harrison Co. around the rest of the state?

http://www.wlox.com/story/19838016/harrison-county-youth-court-collaboration-a-success

Bill Billingsley, bravo to you for saying what I have said for years---a temporary, removable (but renewable, indefinitely!) birth control implant is the obvious answer. Of course, the boring, predictable screech "Racist!" could be countered by pointing out that these devices could, and would, be just as available upon request by little White Debbie Debutantes. Bet you'd have some takers in that demographic, too!

Only problem is, the age-old "you can lead a horse to water, but..." thing. Tragically, many of these pregnancies in the poor segment of the population are not actually "unwanted". For whatever misguided reason, they are not as devastated as one of "our" daughters would be. Obviously not, as so many go on to have serial bastards!

Why can't any person who applies for welfare for a child be compelled to name the father? This could be easily proven or disproven by a paternity test. If you spawned it, you pay for it. How hard is that?

Why can't any person who applies for welfare for a child be compelled to name the father? This could be easily proven or disproven by a paternity test. If you spawned it, you pay for it. How hard is that?

mbrookes: because baby mama might not know the name of the sire. i've heard 'some dude who stays at...'