Using data from the 2006-2008 California Women’s Health Survey, the researchers studied approximately 3,000 women ages 18 to 44 and discovered that African-American and foreign-born Asian women were at a higher risk than white women of becoming pregnant unintentionally because of the types of contraceptive methods they were using. To come to this conclusion, birth-control method choice was compared to the subjects’ racial, ethnic, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

The research team identified the following contraceptive methods, ranked in descending order of effectiveness: male sterilization, female sterilization, intrauterine devices (IUDs), implants, injectables, vaginal ring, patch, pill, male condoms, other regular methods (i.e., spermicide, natural family planning), emergency contraception only and none. IUDs and hormonal methods were classified as “high-efficacy” and all other methods as “low-efficacy.”

(The report notes that female and male sterilization methods and the IUD have failure rates of less than 1 percent; birth control methods such as the ring, patch and pill have failure rates of 5-9 percent; and condoms have typical failure rates of 17-18 percent. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), condoms can be 98 percent effective if used correctly.)

When controlling for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, the study team found that:

• Blacks, foreign-born Hispanics and foreign-born Asians had lower odds than whites of using “high-efficacy” reversible methods.
• Of all the racial groups, white women were the least likely to report using no contraceptive method during sex (19 percent), while black women were the most likely to report using no method (28 percent).
• Whites were more likely to rely on male sterilization than were other sub-groups, especially foreign-born Asians (16 percent). U.S.-born and foreign-born Asians were less likely to use female sterilization (2 percent and 4 percent, respectively) than were others (8–17 percent).
• U.S.-born Asians were more likely to use the hormonal birth control pill than any other racial group (28 percent); pill use was least common among blacks and foreign-born Hispanics (16-17 percent).
• Condoms were used most among U.S.- and foreign-born Asians (25 percent and 36 percent, respectively) and least among whites (16 percent).
• Overall, 21 percent of women reported not using any contraceptive method. Women were most likely to use the pill (23 percent) or condoms (20 percent), followed by male or female sterilization (10 percent for both) and IUDs (8 percent), followed by injectables (3 percent), the ring (2 percent) and the patch (1 percent).

Ethnic disparities were not found, however, in the use of IUDs, the report found.

The data also revealed that differences in income level also accounted for contraceptive method choice.

• Women in the highest income category were more likely to rely on male sterilization (15 percent vs. 2–6 percent in lower income groups) or the pill (26 percent vs. 17–18 percent) and less likely to report not using any contraception (19 percent vs. 23–26 percent).
• High school graduates were more likely than non-high school graduates to report not using any birth control (21 percent vs. 25 percent).
• IUD and condom use differed little by income or educational level.

National studies, such as a recent Guttmacher Institute report, on unintended pregnancies among American women, have found disparities among socioeconomic group, but the California study suggests that other factors influence what type of woman uses (or does not use) a certain kind of birth control method.

Based on the findings, the researchers identified a need for further research of birth-control use among various minority groups, coupled with intervention programs that target minority groups at high risk for unintended pregnancy.

“Our study underscores the need for improved understanding of contraceptive behavior among minority women,” the researchers write. “Other potential influences on differences in contraceptive use by racial, ethnic and income characteristics include client knowledge of contraceptives and values regarding method choice. … Asian women are of particular interest because of the relative lack of reproductive health information on this population and their relatively low rates of use of high-efficacy methods.”

Tipton is reportedly holding up $24 million in Federal Transit Administration funding for the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority’s Veloci-RFTA project because he wants to trim $15,000 for wifi on the bus system. Colorado Democratic Sens. Mark Udall, Michael Bennet and Rep. Jared Polis (CD2) recently fired off a letter to the FTA requesting release of the funds in time for the short construction season in the mountains, and Tipton declined to sign on.

A nonpartisan nonprofit called Taxpayers for Common Sense was scheduled to hold a press conference this morning in downtown Grand Junction – a Republican stronghold and epicenter of energy production in Tipton’s Western Slope district – to “call on Representative Tipton to end subsidies to big oil companies.”

The group will launch a newspaper ad campaign and tout its new report (pdf), “Subsidy Gusher: Taxpayers stuck with massive subsidies while oil and gas profits soar,” which shows the top oil and gas companies reaping more than $16 billion in tax breaks and subsidies over the next five years.

“In a time of jaw-dropping deficits, taxpayers are being forced to line the pockets of Big Oil while they rake in massive profits,” said Steve Ellis, Vice President of Taxpayers for Common Sense. “Oil and gas companies should pay their fair share.”

Oil and gas industry officials claim the tax breaks are legitimate business deductions enjoyed by every business in America, but few of those companies are reaping the massive profits oil and gas companies are pulling in with prices topping $4 a gallon in many parts of the country.

The U.S. Senate Tuesday rejected the Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act of 2011, which would have ended the subsidies and tax breaks. Both Bennet and Udall voted for the act, which passed by a simple majority but did not get the 60 votes necessary to survive a filibuster.

Asked to comment on the Taxpayers for Common Sense campaign targeting Tipton and to provide his position on attempts to end the subsidies and tax breaks, a spokesman did not respond. Instead, the Colorado Independent received this statement from Tyler Q. Houlton, regional press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee:

“These misleading ads were bought and paid for by Washington special interests with no ties to Colorado, but with many ties to liberal elites. Hard-working Colorado families have suffered from skyrocketing gas prices due to the refusal of President Obama and Congressional Democrats to put forth an energy plan that reduces our dependence on foreign oil, expands domestic energy production, and creates and keeps jobs here in America.”

U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton

The nonprofit Checks and Balances Project claims more than $21 billion in taxpayer dollars would have stopped flowing to big oil companies over the next decade had the Senate passed the measure. The group also cites polling showing nearly three-quarters of Americans favor ending the subsidies given that the top five oil and gas companies made a combined $32 billion in profits in the first quarter of this year alone.

Tipton continues to hammer on the need for increased domestic production, especially in his district.

“Families and business owners are hurting because of the skyrocketing gas prices that are hampering job creation and threatening economic recovery,” Tipton recently told a gathering of Club 20 members in Washington. The lobbying organization represents business interests on Colorado’s Western Slope. “We must revisit the excessive regulations that have stifled energy production in our country, put an end to the Obama Administration’s defacto drilling moratoriums, and ensure multiple use of our public lands.”

However, conservation groups and the U.S. Interior Department say oil and gas companies are under-utilizing leases that have already been granted for drilling on public lands in the United States.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, a former Colorado senator, testified Tuesday before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (pdf) that the department is working to better facilitate the development of oil and gas on both the Outer Continental Shelf and on the nation’s public lands.

“The administration is committed to promoting safe and responsible domestic oil and gas production as part of a broad energy strategy that will protect consumers and reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” Salazar said. “Rising gas prices are putting an added strain on American families, and while there are no quick fixes to the problem, there are steps that we can take to secure America’s energy future.”

The release of “Walk a Mile in Their Shoes” was timed with a special-needs-centric anti-bullying campaign launched Wednesday on Capitol Hill.

The report was sponsored by Best Buddies, the Special Olympics, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), California Superintendent of Schools Tom Torlakson and Robin Sinkhorn, mother of “Glee” star Lauren Potter, who has Down syndrome and has recently received bullying messages on her Facebook page, according to CNN.

Highlights from the AbilityPath report:

• In 2009 researchers found that only 10 studies had been conducted in the U.S. on bullying and developmental disabilities, but all studies demonstrated that children with disabilities were two to three times more likely to be victims of bullying than their non-disabled peers. They also found that the bullying experienced by these children was chronic in nature often directly related to their disabilities.
• A 2009 Massachusetts Advocates for Children survey of 400 parents of children with autism in the state found that 88 percent of autistic children have been bullied at school verbally and/or physically.
• 43 percent of special needs students (ages 6-17) said they were bullied compared to 32 percent of non-special needs students
• 65 percent of parents of children with Asperger’s syndrome reported their students had been victimized by peers “in some way” within the last year
• 47 percent of parents reported their children had been hit by peers or sibling
• 9 percent of special needs students were attacked by a gang and hurt in their “private parts”
• 12 percent of special needs parents said their child had never been invited to a birthday party
• 6 percent of special needs students reported almost always being picked last for teams
• 3 percent of special needs students said they ate lunch alone every day

Check out more stats from the here (PDF).

Speier, Sinkhorn and Potter testified before Congress in support of a new bill that would require schools receiving federal funding to report the number of bullying incidents and whether the victims are children with special needs.

Here’s a Fox 9 News video showing “Glee” actress Lauren Potter testifying before Congress on her experience with bullying in school:

School bullying has been on Congress’ agenda lately. Last week, the Obama administration held the first anti-bullying conference at the White House following a recent spate of high-profile teen suicides that stemmed from bullying in school. At the conference Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) introduced the Student Non-Discrimination Act, which would ban discrimination in public schools against LGBT students.

The daily quotes from the report demonstrating how D.C.’s efforts to combat AIDS have slowed for the first time since 2005, while nonprofit DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice says the city has been doing poorly at illness-data tracking and managing grants to AIDS-aid groups. Last month PreventionWorks!, the district’s largest supplier of clean needles for more than 12 years, closed down, due to delays in city funds, dwindling private donations and a high turnover rate of managers, according to the Post.

A closing statement from the DC Appleseed board of directors said:

“Washington, DC has the highest rate of new AIDS cases in the country with an estimated 1 in 20 residents living with HIV. The CDC estimates that injection drug use has directly and indirectly accounted for more than one-third of AIDS cases in the United States. Over the past decade, PreventionWorks! has evolved from a needle exchange organization into a critical part of the District of Columbia’s HIV prevention strategy.”

According to the Post, DC Appleseed blames former Mayor Adrian M. Fenty for dropping the ball toward the end of his term and tasks Mayor Vincent C. Gray with resuming the fight against AIDS. The mayor is scheduled to hold a news conference today before the 27-member commission on HIV/AIDS-prevention he appointed two weeks ago, of which he is also the chair.

The report isn’t pretty. It points to “failures and missed indications of hazard,” “insufficient checks and balances” on safety and a “lack of a suitable approach for anticipating and managing the inherent risks.”

Though The Wall Street Journal had a story on the report today, I thought I’d pull out some key points.

• “The failures and missed indications of hazard were not isolated events during the preparation of the Macondo well for temporary abandonment. Numerous decisions to proceed toward abandonment despite indications of hazard, such as the results of repeated negative-pressure tests, suggest an insufficient consideration of risk and a lack of operating discipline. The decisions also raise questions about the adequacy of operating knowledge on the part of key personnel.”
• “Available evidence suggests there were insufficient checks and balances for decisions involving both the schedule to complete well abandonment procedures and considerations for well safety.”
• “The various failures mentioned in this report indicate the lack of a suitable approach for anticipating and managing the inherent risks, uncertainties, and dangers associated with deepwater drilling operations and a failure to learn from previous near misses.”

The interim report was conducted by the Committee on the Analysis of Causes of the Deepwater Horizon Explosion, Fire, and Oil Spill to Identify Measures to Prevent Similar Accidents in the Future. The report was commissioned by the Interior Department.

In a statement, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar praised the report:

Their independent, science-based analysis of what went wrong in the lead up to the blowout will help guide our continuing efforts to raise the bar for safety and oversight of offshore oil and gas operations, and will be of assistance to other ongoing investigations.  I look forward to receiving the team’s final report and to the additional insight and recommendations they will be providing us over the coming months.

Now, this would be almost humorous, but those of us who have a little age on us, like I do, can think back to the Clinton administration and can remember how many times when anybody ever criticized the Clinton administration you would hear the First Lady then and now Secretary of State say, “Well, it’s all a plot by those right-wing extremists, those right-wing extremist organizations.” President Bill Clinton would say, “Well, they don’t agree with my party and with what we’re saying here, but it’s really the people you’re hearing from who are right-wing extremists.” They label talk show hosts as right-wing extremists. All this fear was generated about right-wing extremists. Now we’re not even six months into the Obama administration, and the people who are supposed to be protecting our homeland are warning us against right-wing extremists.

Later, Carter compared the president to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

If you are first classifying people who disagree with you as terrorists, or dangerous, then the next step is dealing with those people. The next step may be, we’ll read headlines like this, “Venezuelan Government arrests Chavez opponent.” “Equatorial Guinea: Arrest and torture of political opponents.” “Zimbabwe arrests opposition leaders.” “Britain tells Pakistan Government don’t arrest political opponents.” “Obama administration issues warning over right-wing extremists.” What is the next headline going to say?

This stuff doesn’t read that well with the benefit of hindsight.

The release is expected later today at 4:30 p.m. EST. Taking at face value the transition team’s assertion that the U.S. attorney’s office requested the release be delayed so as not to interfere with the ongoing investigation, we can forgive the transition for waiting until today to unveil the report, which it says has been ready for a week.

However, the report will come out late in the afternoon before Christmas eve — which essentially amounts to a two-day holiday, when news consumption tends to drop dramatically. Despite all accounts suggesting there is nothing juicy in the report, the timing gives the appearance that there is something to hide.

It would have been nice to see the report first thing this morning, so it could be examined and digested today, before the holiday. Following eight years of the Bush administration, in which secrecy and late-Friday/holiday information dumps were the M.O., one very easy way for President-elect Barack Obama to signal the end of those bad old days would be to release information, good or bad, without regard to the ebb and flow of the news cycle.