Proving myself as susceptible to the media’s favorite dangled carrot as the general population, I couldn’t help but click on William Saletan’s article on Slate, "@$$ Backwards." He bent over backwards to note the glaring absence of the statistics on anal sex in other media discussion of last week’s sexual survey released by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Citing articles in the Washington Post and Boston Herald as examples, that mouthed off on the rates of oral sex among our younger generation that the survey details, Mr. Saletan questions why the more dangerous increase in rates for anal sex do not scrunch their panties as well. Although a few papers did include the statistics on anal sex with the other raw numbers from the survey, only one newspaper in the whole world (Bergen County, NJ) takes on this meaty subject at length.

Here are the statistics he cites from that survey and his comments:

"For males, the proportion who have had anal sex with a female increases from 4.6 percent at age 15 to 34 percent at ages 22–24; for females, the proportion who have had anal sex with a male increases from 2.4 percent at age 15 to 32 percent at age 22–24." One in three women admits to having had anal sex by age 24. By ages 25 to 44, the percentages rise to 40 for men and 35 for women. And that's not counting the 3.7 percent of men aged 15 to 44 who've had anal sex with other men.

The last time major national surveys asked about this practice, in the early 1990s, only 20 percent of men aged 20 to 39 said they'd had anal sex with a woman in the preceding 10 years. Only 26 percent of men aged 18 to 59 said they'd ever done so. In the first survey, the 10-year limit excluded half the sexual career of half the sample, but that isn't enough to explain a doubling in the percentage saying yes. In the second survey, according to the current report, the inclusion of men aged 46 to 59 might have diluted the sample with "cohorts that were less likely to have had anal sex." But that's the point: Newer cohorts are more likely to have tried it.

Why does this matter? Because anal sex is far more dangerous than oral sex. According to data released earlier this year by the Centers for Disease Control, the probability of HIV acquisition by the receptive partner in unprotected oral sex with an HIV carrier is one per 10,000 acts. In vaginal sex, it's 10 per 10,000 acts. In anal sex, it's 50 per 10,000 acts. Do the math. Oral sex is 10 times safer than vaginal sex. Anal sex is five times more dangerous than vaginal sex and 50 times more dangerous than oral sex.

Funny thing, just as the described acts are "poler opposites," the statistics seem to provide opposing views as well. Most discussion, not surprising from the bias of the liberal media, claim abstinence-only programs led to oral sex making headway among our youth. Yet, somehow I do not picture the typical student in those programs leaving class thinking, "Interesting, maybe I’ll just take it up the backside instead!" Thus, you don’t see mention of the ugly statistics on the dirtier deed in the media.

And crazy thing, the hard numbers do not stand up under close scrutiny of the slobbering liberals’ spew – half of teen boys had oral sex in 1995 (girls were not asked in that survey), the same percentage as found in this survey. What did change unquestionably was the percentages of teens engaging in intercourse – 39% fewer teen males and 21% fewer females from ten years ago.

It’s obvious that the liberals are just going to have to try harder. They may have to get down on their knees and beg, or scrub floors on their hands and knees as they wrestle with this bone of contention. Most folks have still not memorized the mantra of their cravin’ idols, Mr. & Mrs. (sic) Clinton, that "It’s not Sex!" My suggestion: the Clintons should divorce, Hillary should strap herself on to Nancy Pelosi and Bill could hook up with Screamin’ Howard Dean and let him earn that nickname the hard way. ’08 could be remembered as the "Year of the KY Candidacy."

For the record, this author is not speaking with tongue in cheek - but I have no doubt that will be the next big fad.

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