wow!!

he is a tool

But she’s still ignorant for thinking that there is not a problem, or that teens, possibly including her own, are not sexually active and getting STD’s. There is just way too much of this religious-based, head-in-the-sand ignorance about sexuality. Just Say No is a failure. Education IS the answer, ignorance is the problem. Not only does Omaha have one of the highest teen STD rates in the nation, but Nebraska as a whole also has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates, too. So much for that Conservative bible-thumping mantra and ignorance also reflected in much of our elected leaders statewide when it comes to topics such as teen pregnancy, unwed mothers, STD’s, etc.

“All right” is actually two words. But to be clear, I’m not calling anyone “ignorant.” Not after listening to that exchange. Wow.

Mike Boyle has ALWAYS been a blowhard pompus jerk (I have another word for him but I will be nice)!!!
She raised a valid point &, in typical liberal form, he twisted her question to make her out to be a bad person.
He wants to run his mouth to her about not knowing where HER children are, well let’s go back a few years & ask HIM why HIS 2 boys were arrested in 1986 (might have been 85) for soliciting a prostitue???
They were in schoo at Omaha Central with my brother & basically bragged that the reason that they got off was because “their da was the mayor, & they could do whatever they wanted & get away with it”!
Some parent HE was!!!

Just say no is a failure????? You must be Mike Boyle. I f you don’t have sex you can’t get or get someone pregnant you fool or pass on STD’s.

The real problem are lousy liberal Parents that encourage their kids to run to the government for everything. The government is more than happy to get in the way of the parents and how they want to raise their families.

The liberal school system actually encourages frivolous sexual behavior by telling kids how they can get contraceptives and testing for STD,s.
Don’t worry about it kids just go have fun and don’t listen to you stupid parents, what do they know. They just don’t want you to have any fun.

Who cares for you the most your parents or the government. After all its just your parents job to feed you, cloth you, and put a roof over you head.
The woman was mad because its just another way the government can get involved in peoples families. The children belong to their parents, not to the school system and definitely to the government.
God, will Mike Boyle never go away, he has been living off the taxpayers forever.

From the AP Stylebook: all right (adv.) Never alright. Hyphenate only if used colloquially as a compound modifier: He is
an all-right guy.

First, I worked in the medical field for many years…tell me what STD you are going to diagnose AND treat by sending a kid home with a test kit and not telling their parents? Who’s going to follow up with them? Who’s going to re test? What if the kid decides not to be treated? What if the kid has a medical condition or allergy he doesn’t mention? What if the kid lies about his test result? In what universe did politicians take over the medical needs of our kids?

This parental consent law ought to be repealed. What statistics showed the majority of Nebraska parents don’t care about their kids? What stats showed this would specifically reduce STD’s? It’s been the law for quite awhile…so how is it the STD rate didn’t improve? MOST parents know where their kids are but we get these interfering laws passed that are for the minority of parents who are lousy parents. How does that make sense? The city can interfere with ANY kid and automatically assume some politician knows better than the parent? Are we going to start meatless Mondays soon? Require breathalyzers in ALL cars? Punish the majority because of the minority. Slippery slope when Nebraskans let this stuff slide by.

This mom went to a meeting, asked a question and got attacked by Boyle.
He then yelled at her about her own kids. That was way out of line. Nobody attacked him or his kids…and as I recall theres ammo there.
And just for the record, SHE apologized to him first for the way she reacted to his attack on her. (not for her reaction but for the way she reacted when he attacked her family) It was only after being asked if he was going to apologize too that he even considered it. Let’s see…the MOM took the high road and Mr. Boyle had to think about it. Maybe Boyle should quit and let an adult take his position.

EXACTLY!

how many Nebraskans, or Americans even know what a stylebook is?

AMEN

excellent

She had every right to stand up to government’s mentality of “government knows best” effort that would bypass parents knowledge and consent with a medical issue involving their child(ren). To say she was treating this issue lightly is incorrect and to say she has no idea what her children are up to is pompous, presumptuous and arrogant.

Nebraskans need to lance both boils, Mike and Ann. They have been enriching themselves at taxpayer expense for decades and are as corrupt as they come. If Nebraska Watchdog wants to investigate something, how about the Boyles and their influence peddling, etc.???

This exchange is a painful reminder of why one should never feed a troll.

Wow. Somebody actually pins Boyle to the wall. That’s funny.

So what is the next step? Treating STD’s without parents consent?

I don’t buy the argument that providing free kits will stop the behavior that causes the STD’s in the first place. My gut tells me that the child will be relieved they have not contracted a STD and not stop because they think they have dodged a bullet. Further, if the test turns out positive, there is no guarantee that they will seek the parents help.

We cannot legislate our way out of bad parenting. I would rather see the money spent on PSA’s attempting to convince parents to be more involved in their child life. Perhaps showing that the parent will not necessarily react the way the child thinks. Show a positive lets work together to treat and resolve the issue.

What will happen when the grant money runs out? Will the community be any different? Will you have made a difference?

I want to hear the rest of the meeting, before and after this exchange.

While I realize Mike Boyle suffers from a fair amount of hubirus, having worked in customer service situations in the past, you have to remember that he is dealing with people that often cannot be communicated to. That dont see the whole world.
When I worked at a local tv station as a young man, the public called in thinking that the network news anchors were reporting locally rather than from NY, they thought every show was live, etc., etc.

When you deal with people who are unwilling to listen, it is very frustrating and sometimes your going to fall to their level

Sarah, Omaha ranks at the top for a lot of things, and we should consider why that is without just trying to rush through experimental initiatives and laws that end up doing more harm to youth and their families than was ever intended by those who just want to do good.

Nebraska is second in the nation for removing children from their families for so-called “neglect,” too. And the percentage of black children who live in poverty in Omaha ranks NUMBER ONE in the nation. That’s right.

And Ms. Ward is a mother who is raising children through poverty, so she knows all too well what these sort of statistics mean.

But she also knows that government officials are all too happy to quickly come in to take over by labeling her children and her as a mother – using stereotypes and correlative logic to make policies and laws under a false shroud of “doing good” that actually makes all families (and especially poor minority families) even more vulnerable to harmful interventions by over-powerful government agencies.

Asking questions is not only a good thing to do, it’s essential.

This mother never said there wasn’t a problem with STDs. It’s disingenuous to implicate her for things she didn’t mean and didn’t say and then argue your own point. She said nothing about “just say no.” She said nothing about the value of education to help kids prevent STDs. She is not a conservative or “bible-thumping,” but ignorance certainly comes in all forms of arrogant and self-righteous assumptions about the motivations of those who speak out as concerned citizens for a variety of reasons.

It should be conceivable to you that this is actually a very caring and involved mother who also is concerned about the rush to push parents aside by presuming that kids are always better off trusting government officials to do the right thing with sensitive private information.

She’s acting responsibly by asking questions, and we should support that sort of discussion, rather than blindly accepting that everything will just work out as you want it to.

That very well may be. But there are many other realities, too – like the fact that the state makes a very poor parent. It is dangerous to begin from the assumption that government can do better, care better, and react better to situations involving children than parents and families do and can.

The mom didn’t argue any of these issues, anyway. She asked questions about this particular initiative that seems to have lots of unanswered parts to it, which responsible citizens – and parents – should want answers to before blindly going along. Do YOU know the details of this program?

Heck, I guess I could start anything I want and just paste a label on it that sounds good, and I’ll get all sorts of support. Unless only government officials get to do that….

This is likely true, David, that Mr. Boyle’s frustration has some sympathetic basis. But so does this mother’s frustration. To suggest that Mr. Boyle’s opinion and consideration of this initiative is either more informed or less riddled with conflict of interest, etc., than a mother whose family may be directly (and possibly adversely) affected by practices that push her aside and get to her children’s privacy, is a dangerous notion.

Moreover, the rights and responsibilities of citizens to be actively involved with overseeing and contributing to considerations of government decisions should be encouraged, even if officials disagree with what is being expressed.

Within most concerned comments are relevant issues that are worthy of thought.

Also relevant questions, which I believe should be answered before we – as Douglas County citizens – should just go along. What happens if a test comes back positive? Who gets that information? Is there any scenario where other government officials would be privy to this sensitive information? What if the youth tested is below the legal age for sexual activity? Would CPS or juvenile officials find justification to assume control over that family and youth?

These may not be questions that concern some people, but I advocate for families who are dragged through juvenile court and the horrors that are called “child protection” and “services.” I think the question of privacy is very important.

The state is a terrible parent, much like too many biological parents. If the home family unit has great relationships/communications, the child would have little trouble talking to their parents about problems and mistakes, hopefully before they are made.
Unfortunately excessive work, drugs, low self esteem, some religious dogma, mental illness, etc., etc., etc., makes state intervention necessary.

How many people do you know who never had sex except after they were married and then only with that one person – never had sex as a teen or youngster or got divorced and picked up a new sexual partner?

I’m very conservative and have many friends but I don’t think any of them were pure except for in their marriage.

Except it isn’t a government knows best situation.

This is an option, not a government take over.

It is far better to have multiple options rather than the myopic ideas you are pushing.

” I f you don’t have sex you can’t get or get someone pregnant you fool or pass on STD’s.”

Every state that pushes only abstinence has had HUGE increases in pregnancy.

You are naive if you think teaching them that means that is what they are going to do.

You have to have other options and teach them ALL the ways to be safe and prevent STDs.

It isn’t government intervention. It is an option for those kids that wouldn’t do a thing otherwise.

This isn’t a government take over or government saying it knows best. that is a completely false characterization, and I suspect dishonest one presented by these parents trying to hide they are just being close minded about sex and STD education.

Not sure what you mean by that; whether parents think the worst or the best. Parents know what their kids do…what parents don’t do is admit it out loud. I am just going to go by my experience which is moms do talk about this. And moms know if it looks like trouble it likely is. For example, I do know plenty of parents who KNOW their minor kids drink. Some parents think its a right of passage, some don’t. Whatever way they react to it they do know their kids are drinking. Parents look the other way until something bad happens: MIP, DUI, or worse. It’s selective memory not unconsciousness that the parents exhibit no matter if it is drugs, sex or alcohol.

I can assure you that I’m not close-minded about sex and STDs, so somehow your argument should be framed differently to include my own concerns.

That Nebraska already finds many ways to not only violate privacy of families, but also is quick to mischaracterize parents and children (and even use subjective and limited information to remove children from their homes), it is not an exaggerated worry parents have about “initiatives” that find ways to connect with our children, collect bodily samples, test them in a lab, and then …. ?

This may be great in theory (who doesn’t want to address the problems with STDs?), but theory doesn’t always lead to reality. Also, after the 1000 “free” kits paid for by Blue Cross/Blue Shield, then who pays for the program? Certainly Blue Cross/Blue Shield isn’t just investing in this out of the goodness of their hearts.

And if Douglas County taxpayers are going to be picking up this ongoing bill, then don’t we have a right to question the details ahead of time?

next time I buy gas I’ll ask the guy working at the register, that’s where journalists usually seem to find employment, anymore LOL