Dr. Joycelyn Elders' advice to surgeon general nominee

[Blue_Tires]

(ESSENCE) -- ESSENCE.COM: When you were surgeon general, you were outspoken on controversial issues like distributing contraception in high schools and talking about drug legalization. What advice would you give to Dr. Regina Benjamin, if she is confirmed, about how to approach those kinds of issues?

DR. JOCELYN ELDERS: How to approach those issues and keep her job? My advice to Dr. Benjamin is to decide on the issues that you want to go out and work and fight for. But also know that, if there are issues that you feel strongly about, you have every former surgeon general out there -- we organize and we talk -- who can address some of those issues for you. If she feels like it's a really controversial thing, she doesn't always have to take it on herself. She can let one of us take it on.

Another thing that's very important is to always use science-based data to speak out against things, even if they're politically incorrect. That's what the office has always stood for. When everything else drills down, people still believe in the surgeon general.

ESSENCE.COM: Do you think the president is being forceful enough about getting Blue Dog Democrats and Republicans to keep a public option in the bill?

ELDERS: This is probably something I shouldn't say, but I'm always saying that anyway, so one more time won't hurt. The president is really out there knocking his brains out trying to get this through, but I feel he is taking too much of the lead.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/worklife/07/30/what.matters.joycelyn.elders/

[Number23]

1. Great article, Blue!

I was trying to remember what the big controversy was over her tenure as Surgeon General and then I found this:

ESSENCE.COM: Regarding your comment about masturbation at the 1994 UN Conference on AIDS, if you could do it over would you do it differently?

ELDERS: No. That's probably one of the best things I did for this country. I allowed us to talk about sexuality more openly and honestly. We are sexual beings, from birth to death, and we never feel that we can talk about sexual health. You can't be a healthy, well-adjusted human being without a healthy sexuality.

Is that what it was?? For some reason I thought it had something to do with drugs. Oh well, considering this happened in 1993 I'm doing good to remember anything. :)

ETA: Yep, that was the reason for the controversy. Turns out she was fired for that.

In 1994, she was invited to speak at a United Nations conference on AIDS. She was asked whether it would be appropriate to promote masturbation as a means of preventing young people from engaging in riskier forms of sexual activity, and she replied, "I think that it is part of human sexuality, and perhaps it should be taught." This remark caused great controversy and resulted in Elders losing the support of the White House. White House chief of staff Leon Panetta remarked, "There have been too many areas where the President does not agree with her views. This is just one too many."<1> Elders was fired by President Clinton as a result of the controversy in December of 1994. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joycelyn_Elders

Ah, the irony of the Surgeon General being fired for extolling the virtues of masturbation during the Clinton administration. ((hangs head))

[Blue_Tires]

2. yeah, Rush and the RW radio went batshit at the time

they called her the "condom queen"