Carlene

I did not take offense at Sunta's post. I do not think it was mean-spirited, nor do I believe that religion is without humor. For those who never saw this old chestnut, here is a letter purportedly sent to Dr. Laura, after one of her famous gay-bashing broadcasts. And for those who aren't familiar with Dr. Laura, she is Jewish. Jews follow the Old Testament. Orthodox Jews follow it so closely that they are obliged to "keep kosher", meaning two sets of dishes, two sets of pots and pans, running the dishwasher (empty) between loads of dishes/utensils used for "dairy" and those reserved for meat, and a whole host of other very, very rigorous rules. These people are SERIOUS about following their "bible". I have a friend whose sister is Jewish. That's where I first read the Dr. Laura letter - courtesy of my friend's Jewish sister. Dear Dr. Laura, Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them. a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them? I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her? c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense. d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians? e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself? f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an Abomination (Lev 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? g) Lev 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here? h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev 19:27. How should they die? i) I know from Lev 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves? j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev 24:10-16) Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14) I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging. Your devoted disciple and adoring fan.

John... I understand. It's so hard to know what's "right" in a situation like this. I would visit my friend, take him books - whatever I could do privately to let him know that I still loved him. But I would stop short of doing anything that might impact a juror, reduce his sentence, or would make it appear that I was giving public support to this man. Certainly you could testify that he had a horrible childhood. So have countless other people, and they didn't molest children. His attorney, however, will try and make that evidence - your testimony - into an indictment of Eric's mother and spin the whole thing to try and shift the blame from him to her. That's just wrong. Even though she was nothing but trash, she didn't commit the crimes that Eric is charged with - he did. I hope you can find a way to show Eric that you still love him, but you HATE what he has done and will not raise a finger to lighten his load. This does NOT mean you are judging him. It means that you believe in our judicial system and want him to be judged by trial - not in the newspaper, not by his crappy childhood. I can tell this is eating you up, John. I pray that you will find peace with whatever decision you make.

Me, too Kari... My faith has sustained me thru so many times of sorrow and uncertainty. I truly do not know how anyone survives this life without it.

I have nothing against Strayhorn but I think you're right. I don't think she is electable and I fear that she will split the Democratic vote.

Thank you, Mandy...and I am sorry for Hobbes, too. I also love kitties, as did Sarah. She nursed several motherless kittens (and one orphaned squirrel). I had a long-haired Siamese named Sue Won who lived to be 17 years old. When her health began to fail, I could not bear to put her down. I held Susie in this world way longer than I should have. We did kitty ICU and IVs and she would be better for a while, then we'd bring her home and in a couple of weeks we would have to start all over. She was almost the million dollar kitty! But it was sooooooo hard on me....and on her. I was willing to let Sarah go sooner, rather than later, as long as she could go gently and without pain (or fear).

Sarah and DH about 4 years ago. He was about 265 in this photo - eventually got up to 288....now down to about 213.

A great story for anyone who has ever loved a dog. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5249518974978628334&pr=goog-sl Quinlan is a tiny little town in East Texas. Population 1400.

Praise the Lord! There is intelligent life on earth after all.

If you cite only the New Testament, you won't find the Ten Commandments either. They are part of the Old Testament. The New Testament begins with the gospel of Matthew - long after the days of Moses and the Ten Commandments. I'm not trying to complicate anything. I'm just pointing out that you can't have it both ways. If you throw out the Old Testament, the Ten Commandments get thrown out with it. Many fundamentalists (and I'm not suggesting that you are one of them) like to pick phrases out of the Bible willy nilly, and quote them to reinforce their own particular brand of Christianity. A little from the Old Testament, a bit from the new....kind of like a scripture buffet. I think that's totally unfair...and illogical. Of course I would like to see a world without cheating, lying, abuse, etc. Unfortunately, that world does not exist this side of heaven. Nor could it, by God's own design. We all missed the boat on paradise (damn that Eve!). So now we have to content ourselves with doing the best we can, and that means taking personal responsibility not to cheat, lie, steal, etc. And praying for others, including those who fall short of God's grace. May the peace and love and fellowship of Christ be with you all.

Thanks...that was really helpful.

First marriage for him, second for her. My DH says Mrs P is the only woman he (Mr P) has ever known intimately. He married her because he loved her deeply and felt that he would never be happy without her. He was far from a millionaire when he married her. He was an A&P (airline) mechanic for many years. His parents died several years ago and left him lots of money, property, tax-free bonds, stock, etc. They were very frugal people who had worked and saved all their lives. Then he contracted Hepatitis C from a surgical center who had employed a druggie nurse with previous offenses. (What ever happened to background checks?) The nurse was injecting himself with pain killers, then using the needle to refill the bottle with saline. The lawsuit was settled out of court for over a million. Mr P, by the way, is fortunate to have responded well to treatment for the Hep C. He has never developed symptoms and has "cleared" the virus, even though it is still detectable via blood tests.

Oh, if only it were so!!!!!!!!!!!!

This isn't "TOM's version", per say. It may be TOM's collection of commandments, but they all came from the Bible. I think his point was, are they less important because they weren't given to us as a matched set, carved (literally) in stone? Jews recognized a long time ago that placing undo importance on the Ten Commandments, as opposed to other commandments issued by God, was not a good idea, and they no longer refer to them as such. By the way, TOM, I really like your pick for number 10... Malachi 2:1-4: And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart to give glory to my name, ... behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces. I have seen some priests (and TV evangelists) that I would like to see with dung spread upon their faces. Who knows...it might have been a lot better for Tammy Fay's skin than all that makeup!

Trust me, he hasn't gone anywhere. You just aren't reading the right threads.

Parkinson’s is a disease of the central nervous system. PD affects movement, both voluntary and involuntary. Other symptoms may include: Depression Mood disturbances Apathy Impulse control Dementia Memory loss sleep disturbance Impaired vision Dizziness Pain Oily skin Urinary incontinence Constipation Sexual dysfunction

I've wondered the same thing, but my gut feeling is "no". Not unless she (the caregiver) initiated it. Mr P really is a wonderful husband. My DH says that Mrs P is the only woman he has ever been with. He was about 20 years old when they met. It's a real love story. He grew up in NY and joined the Air Force right out of high school (mid 60's and he didn't want to be drafted). He was stationed in AZ. She was a divorcee in her mid 30's. He was smitten from the very first. He spent every minute he could with her, then his enlistment was up. He went back to NY, just as he had promised his parents. He was an only child and they expected him to come work for the family business. But he was miserable. He got on a plane and flew back to AZ. She had no idea he was coming. He took a cab from the airport, straight to her house. She said, "What are you doing here?" He said, "I came to marry you." And he did.

Diane...you are so nice. I'm not always right, but I try to be accurate.

I was trying to be objective. I don't know if it's just me or not. The caregiver has gone from living hand to mouth to having a shot at being a millionaire's girlfriend, so I don't know. Is that motive, or just good fortune?

The wife is 76 and the husband is 62. She is not dying, per say. She has Parkinson's Disease and has broken both hips in the last year, but has just about recovered from those. Her short term memory is often out to lunch. Mr P found his cell phone in the refrigerator one day. And Mrs P once mistook the cedar chest for the toilet, raised the lid and peed on the winter blankets. Other than that, she's fine (LOL). Mr P is a millionaire, but none of it is community property. There is something about the caregiver that sets my antenna off, but maybe it's just me. Mr P loaned her money ($2000) to buy a computer and a digital camera. Six months later they were "stolen", so he gave her money for another. He loaned her the price of a brand new car (her credit is crap). A good bit of money ($400) came up missing from her wallet and she said Mrs P must have taken it, so Mr P replaced the funds. The thing with the cedar chest happened when Mr P was not at home. The caregiver told him about it. She was washing the last of the blankets when he came home. The cell phone went missing, they looked all over for it, then suddenly it appeared in the fridge and it was assumed that Mrs P had put it there. It sounds like the plot of a bad movie, I know. But I can't help wondering....could this be a set up?

If you want to examine the OLDEST form of the Bible (including the New Testament), then yes. I don't want to start a debate with anyone over whose Bible is the "correct" version. I have nothing against non-Catholics. All Christians are our offspring. And as in secular families, they may not want to claim us, but that doesn't change the face of history. In the infancy of Christianity, there were no Baptists, Methodists, Church of Christ, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, etc. All those came much, much later. "Christian" - as in feed-them-to-the-lions - meant the Catholic church...the "one holy and apostolic church". (Notice the quotation marks...that means it's a quote, not a statement.) The Orthodox church is the second oldest Christian denomination, although it has since split into numerous factions. The word "orthodox" means traditional. The word "catholic" means universal. Many protestant denominations (Lutheran, Methodist....I'm not sure who else) still recite the Apostles Creed, which says, in part, "I believe in the Holy Catholic Church", only they don't capitalize the "c" in Catholic. I think religious history is fascinating. And, of course, I think Catholic history is particularly so. I am aware of all the dark moments in the Church's history. (The Spanish Inquisition was not our finest hour.) Regretably, mortals have stained the pages of Catholic history, but that doesn't make the church less holy. It makes those men less holy, but not the church.

I'd change gastros. Mine is sooooo great. I was his first LB patient, too. In fact, I forgot to mention the band and when he encountered my port in the midst of the exam, he jumped about 4 feet. I was supposed to have a scope and said I didn't want to be unfilled for it, so my GI guy said he would use a pedi tube. How great is that?

How awful for everyone. However, having been widowed myself (twice), I think I'm entitled to say that cheating with your best friend's husband is gutless and beneath contempt. If you have endured great pain yourself, why on earth would you deliberately visit it upon someone you supposedly care about? The "friend" is getting a faithless husband....just exactly what she deserves.

Well...that's just it. I sort of have been in his shoes. Before I was married to DH, I was married to a man who developed non-alcoholic liver disease. I took care of him until the day he died. In fact, he died in my arms, on our 25th wedding anniversary. The last 8 years of our marriage was sexless, due to the liver disease. I was in my early 40's, so this was not exactly what I had signed on for. But I did sign the contract (the marriage license), and I lived up to it 100%. I did not use LDH's (Late Dear Husband's) poor health as an excuse to commit adultery. Nor do I think anyone else should. I'm sorry. I think it's wrong. So don't ask me. Which brings us to the next problem. Mr P is truly a nice man, and I do want to be his friend. But I am terrified, because he IS such a nice man, that at some point he will ask us, "Do you think what I'm doing is a terrible thing?" My DH would KILL me if I said "yes". My conscience would kill me if I said "no".

NO....the word "apocrypha" simply means questionable, or some would say not divinely inspired, in the context of religious works. The King James version of the Bible is an example of so-called apocrypha being deleted from the Bible. The KJV was first published in 1611. The version most widely used today was adopted in the mid 1880's. The Catholic Bible has 80 books, as did the Protestant Bible at one time. There is widely held misconception that Catholics do not read the Bible and do not revere it as the word of God. Not so. The Catholic Church is well aware that the Bible is not one book, delivered to us by God, all nicely bound in leather. It is a collection of writings, recollections, stories, observances and songs from many sources - handed down in many languages and pieced together over quite a long time. The Catholic Church holds the four gospels to be absolutely sacred. We believe that the remainder of the Bible is scripturally sound, but we also recognize that something may have been lost in the translation.

I don't think Carole and Kinky's supporters have yet come to terms with the fact that neither is likely to win. Everyone loves an underdog. Texas is a two party state. That's a fact, no matter how much anyone might love to see Grandma or Goofy in the governor's mansion.