A national correspondent for the CHICAGO TRIBUNE recently (May 19th) objected strongly to President Bush�s stand. Evan Osnos, who is stationed in New York, headlined his article, "BUSH VS. THE WORLD ON SEX." One of the President�s positions to which the writer strongly objected was "...that �family� should refer only to marriage between a man and a woman. ..." He also disagreed with Mr. Bush�s assertion that "abstinence is the only sure way of avoiding sexually transmitted disease, premature pregnancy, and the social and personal difficulties attendant to non-marital sexual activity." Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson represented the President�s position to the leaders from 180 countries.

"Delegates," the story stated, "expressed frustration that the Bush stance, opposing abortion and promoting abstinence, has virtually no connection to everything most of the world body has agreed on in these matters during the past eight years. Moreover, they pointed out that the U.S. and Somalia are the only countries in the world that have not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child."

The writer did note that, "The Bush delegation did not stand alone. Its position on abortion and sex education drew cheers from Iran, Iraq, Sudan and other Islamic nations, as well as the Vatican." Breaking ranks were some of "America�s more usual allies in Europe, Asia, and most of Latin America and Africa." One very prominent turncoat was Nelson Mandela, which did not surprise anyone with an IQ over 30!

One senior State Department official who participated in the session rejected criticism of the U.S. negotiating posture and accused other countries of putting policies ahead of children�s best interests. "We�re trying," he said, "to get real protections for children. A lot of what was going on in the negotiations in New York was focusing on rhetoric."

If sessions such as this continue, they will begin to separate the men from the boys, the women from the girls and get a good look at what else is out there!