Carlene

Priests who molest little boys are just men who have sinned. It has nothing to do with religion, other than the fact that they abused their position as a cleric.

People who cast their vote based on a candidate's name or "cute" quotient should be caned and then rendered incapable of reproducing. (Everyone, check the title of my post before you get out the flame thrower.)

And which version would that be? If you are Protestant, your version of the Bible dates from the mid-1880's. If you are Jewish, it's called the Torah and it is almost 3500 years old. If you are Catholic, the earliest written copy of your Bible is preserved in the British Museum Library in London. It was written around 300 AD. You can argue religion all day long, but you can't argue with history. The first recorded instance of God’s Word being written down, was when the Lord Himself wrote it down in the form of ten commandments on the stone tablets delivered to Moses at the top of Mount Sinai. Biblical scholars believe this occurred between 1,400 BC and 1,500 BC… almost 3,500 years ago. The language used was almost certainly an ancient form of Hebrew, the language of Old Covenant believers. The earliest scripture is generally considered to be the “Pentateuch”, the first five books of the Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy… though there is some scholarly evidence to indicate that the Old Testament Book of Job may actually be the oldest book in the Bible. The Old Testament scriptures were written in ancient Hebrew, a language substantially different than the Hebrew of today. These writings were passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years on scrolls made of animal skin, usually sheep, but sometimes deer or cow. Animals considered “unclean” by the Jews, such as pigs, were of course, never used to make scrolls. When the entire Pentateuch is present on a scroll, it is called a “Torah”. An entire Torah Scroll, if completely unraveled, is over 150 feet long! As most sheep are only about two to three feet long, it took an entire flock of sheep to make just one Torah scroll. The Jewish scribes who painstakingly produced each scroll were perfectionists. If they made even the slightest mistake in copying, such as allowing two letters of a word to touch, they destroyed that entire panel (the last three or four columns of text), and the panel before it, because it had touched the panel with a mistake! While most Christians today would consider this behavior fanatical and even idolatrous (worshiping the scripture, rather than the One who gave it to us), it nevertheless demonstrates the level of faithfulness to accuracy applied to the preservation of God’s Word throughout the first couple of thousand years of Biblical transmission. Hebrew has one thing in common with English: they are both “picture languages”. Their words form a clear picture in your mind. As evidence of this; the first man to ever print the scriptures in English, William Tyndale, once commented that Hebrew was ten times easier to translate into English than any other language. Tyndale would certainly be qualified to make such a statement, as he was so fluent in eight languages, that it was said you would have thought any one of them to be his native tongue. By approximately 500 BC, the 39 Books that make up the Old Testament were completed, and continued to be preserved in Hebrew on scrolls. As we approach the last few centuries before Christ, the Jewish historical books known as the “Apocrypha” were completed, yet they were recorded in Greek rather than Hebrew. By the end of the First Century AD, the New Testament had been completed. It was preserved in Greek on Papyrus, a thin paper-like material made from crushed and flattened stalks of a reed-like plant. The word “Bible” comes from the same Greek root word as “papyrus”. The papyrus sheets were bound, or tied together in a configuration much more similar to modern books than to an elongated scroll. These groupings of papyrus were called a “codex” (plural: “codices”). The oldest copies of the New Testament known to exist today are: The Codex Alexandrius and the Codex Sinaiticus in the British Museum Library in London, and the Codex Vaticanus in the Vatican. They date back to approximately the 300’s AD. In 315 AD, Athenasius, the Bishop of Alexandria, identified the 27 Books which we recognize today as the canon of New Testament scripture. In 382 AD, the early church father Jerome translated the New Testament from its original Greek into Latin. This translation became known as the “Latin Vulgate”, (“Vulgate” meaning “vulgar” or “common”). He put a note next to the Apocrypha Books, stating that he did not know whether or not they were inspired scripture, or just Jewish historical writings which accompanied the Old Testament. The Apocrypha was kept as part of virtually every Bible scribed or printed from these early days until just 120 years ago, in the mid-1880’s, when it was removed from Protestant Bibles. Up until the 1880’s, however, every Christian… Protestant or otherwise… embraced the Apocrypha as part of the Bible, though debate continued as to whether or not the Apocrypha was inspired. There is no truth to the popular myth that there is something “Roman Catholic” about the Apocrypha, which stemmed from the fact that the Roman Catholics kept 12 of the 14 Apocrypha Books in their Bible, as the Protestants removed all of them. No real justification was ever given for the removal of these ancient Jewish writings from before the time of Christ, which had remained untouched and part of every Bible for nearly two thousand years.

In that case, it missed by a long shot. The state of Utah was blackmailed into disavowing polygamy as a condition of granting it statehood.

There are two kinds of marriage - civil and religious. The government controls both, however, since they require people to take out a marriage license and in the case of a same sex couple, no license will be issued. And a marriage performed without a license is not legal. I have a problem with this. My church will never perform or recognize same sex marriage, and that's okay. They are a church, not the state. If you want to belong to my church and you are a gay couple, that's just too bad. Go find one that accepts your lifestyle. The government, on the other hand, does not get to interpret the Bible, the Koran, the Torah, or the How To Be A Buddhist Handbook. Neither the state of Texas nor the US government can require that I wear a veil over my face in public, although traditional Muslims may think I should. They can't make me keep a Kosher kitchen, even though conservative Jews might feel that would be a good thing. Before you vote to make religious beliefs into law, remember that yours isn't the only religion around. And the fact that you think yours is the only "right" one is immaterial. Everyone else believes theirs is, too.

We have early voting here, as I assumed most states do. Maybe not? Anyway, early voting started this week.

I am absolutely not against a Democratic governor. I am voting against Rick Perry - whatever that takes. I will vote for whoever leads the polls and isn't Rick Perry - simple as that. My greatest fear is that Strayhorn and Friedman will split the Democratic vote and allow Perry to get re-elected. And that will be a shame...all those votes wasted.

I agree. If two adults want to get married, why should anyone care what gender they are?

A whole new meaning to the phrase "giving her the finger"... Updated: 9:23 a.m. CT Oct 24, 2006 function UpdateTimeStamp(pdt) { var n = document.getElementById("udtD"); if(pdt != '' && n && window.DateTime) { var dt = new DateTime(); pdt = dt.T2D(pdt); if(dt.GetTZ(pdt)) {n.innerHTML = dt.D2S(pdt,((''.toLowerCase()=='false')?false:true));} } } UpdateTimeStamp('632972966162630000'); VIENNA - A Viennese man cut off his ring finger and presented the digit, still holding his wedding band, to his ex-wife after an acrimonious divorce, Austrian news agency APA reported Tuesday. Charged with dangerous harassment and assault for the act, he told a preliminary hearing he did not regret having cut off the finger and had chosen deliberately not to reattached it. “It was an act of breaking free,” the man was quoted as saying. He did not miss his finger, could work well without it and did not plan on getting married again anyway, he said.

I need to clarify one thing. I am not necessarily in favor of stem cell research. My post was not about stem cell research. It was about RL's unwarranted, very personal attack on Michael J Fox, calling him a faker and mocking his symptoms. Even if I agreed with Limbaugh's stand on stem cell research, I would not condone or excuse Monday's broadcast. It was the epitome of bad taste. It was like slurring one's speech in imitation of a stroke victim. It was like putting on blackface and singing "Mammy". It was APPALLING. The man needs to be banned to satellite radio with Howard Stern, where no one cares what you say, as long as you bring in the bucks.

I'm with you....light Miracle Whip. I eat it very, very sparingly, so I doubt it makes much difference. By the way....we have the same surgeon. Isn't he McSweetie?

Rick Perry isn't in bed with big business, and other fairy tales. LONGVIEW -- Gov. Rick Perry predicted that the Texas Legislature will soon be sitting on its largest budget surplus ever, and he said he would like to use some of that money to cut state business taxes before they take effect. During a campaign swing through deep East Texas, Perry said a booming Texas economy has caused the state Treasury to swell from growing sales tax collections, permit fees and other sources of revenue. He predicted the surplus would exceed $8 billion, taking much of the pain out of the appropriations process and making a business tax cut possible. Some insiders suggest the surplus could top $15 billion. "Our budget surplus is going to be so friggin' big," Perry said. "So why not lower the [business] tax rate down to three-fourths of a cent, or a half-cent? ... I'm all for that." The new business tax, part of a sweeping school finance overhaul, takes effect in January 2008. Most businesses will be taxed at a rate of 1 percent. The overhaul was designed to reduce the state's reliance on the property tax to fund schools. Please....even if your family has voted Republican since God was a small child...no matter how much you hate the national Democratic platform...even though you can't stand the thought of a woman (Carole Strayhorn) or a buffoon (Kinky Friedman) in the governor's mansion...if you have a child in public school in the state of Texas and you care two cents about that child's education, PLEASE DON'T VOTE FOR RICK PERRY. Children are NOT IMPORTANT to Rick Perry. He has proven that a thousand times over. He does not care about health care for poor children, or about education for ALL children. And why should he? Perry and his rich buddies educated their kids in private schools. Unless you have the money to do the same, you owe it to your children to vote this jackass out of office. This ad was not paid for by anybody. It is just my opinion.

My band just loves to tease me. One day I can eat something, the next day I can't. Salad is always iffy, so I don't even bother any more. Scrambled eggs, bread, pasta, cake, and anything breaded is off the menu. Mashed potatoes, unless eaten alone and very thin, form a dam and the rest of the meal comes back up. I can eat prime rib, if it's not too well done, but have to be very careful with chicken. No one else's food list will be exactly like yours. And today's list won't be the same as tomorrow's. We Bandsters get up in a whole new food world every day.

That's such a hard rule for most of us to accept. Unfills are scary! I refused to let my GI doc do the scope thing if it meant getting my band unfilled. He said he could use a pedi tube. Good thing...

The placemats came from Big Lots, of all places, as did the hand towel. My mother-in-law is 86 years old and she loves Big Lots. I take her about once a month. There is one next door to a thrift store, so that's her favorite. My MIL cannot pass up a bargain. She has clothes hanging 3 deep on every hanger in her closet, but if it's a bargain, she will still buy it.

It's this one.... Oct, 2006 issue

When my children were growing up they raced bicycles. BMX (bicycle motocross) is not a lot of fun for uninvolved adults. Unless you have a child (or grandchild) racing, or you own a bike shop, there is just no payoff. It's an outside sport - freezing in the winter and hot as hell in the summer. It's expensive....a bike, a set of leathers and a helmet can easily set you back $800 to $1,000. And the "big" races - district, state, and nationals - require very hefty entry fees. There was an older man when we started racing who seemed always to be at the track. Everyone called him "Doc". He had no affiliation with a bike shop, nor did he have a child/grandchild who raced. When I asked what the deal was, everyone told me that "he just loves kids". The first time I saw him kiss a 7 year old boy on the mouth at the finish line, I knew in my heart that he didn't "love" kids....he used them. And I was astounded that no one else seemed to find his behavior questionable. Doc took kids to out of town races, paid all their expenses (including hotel rooms), and called them his "team". I began to suggest to some of those parents that this might not be a good idea. It was rumored thereafter that I was jealous because Doc hadn't "picked up" my kids for his team. We lost some good friends as a result of my suspicions (or "allegations", as they called them). Years later - and after my kids had all outgrown their love of BMX - we heard on the news that a man had been arrested for molesting over a dozen little boys, going back 10 years. It was Doc. I am amazed at what child molesters get by with, in the guise of "friend of the family". If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, chances are it's a duck.

That's a good question. The only people I know who have had an actual diagnosis of "pouch packing" (esophagus dilation or stretching of the pouch) have not mentioned reflux. Reflux, however, is definitely associated with overly tight fills. The treatment is similar. For reflux, a slight unfill is prescribed. For dilated pouch or esophagus, a total unfill and "band rest" is advised, usually for 3 to 6 weeks.

The problem with locking up pedophiles and letting them go again, treatment or no treatment, is that some experts in the field do not believe they can be rehabilitated. And that may be true. Pedophiles are sexually attracted to children - some to boys and some to girls. It's next to impossible to council people into adopting a sexual orientation that just doesn't do it for them. Could you be counseled into lusting after 6 year olds? If you're straight, could you get enough psychotherapy to make you want to have sex with someone of the same gender? So it is with pedophiles. Are they sick, or just "different"? I don't know, but it's clear that society should not take a chance on one of them re-offending, and that means locking them up somewhere FOREVER. That's what I would do if I were queen of the world....one strike and you're OUT. I know that sounds harsh, but I think that to do otherwise is taking a big, big chance, and when these guys fail, it's a child who pays the price. We have to protect the children. Even if we trample on some pervert's civil rights in the process. Of course, it will never happen that way, but that's my opinion. It's free, and worth every cent.

She has the band. I don't know why she didn't correct him. Maybe she lumps them all together in her mind. Maybe she doesn't think the details are important (the details being anything that isn't all about her). Maybe she's just tired of correcting people. If he had paid attention when he read her book, he would know that she didn't have bypass, but maybe she didn't want to come right out and say so. It's probably considered bad form to correct your interviewer on national TV.

I'm not sure, but I think this may be a new low for the Dr. Phil show. It reminds me of that show - can't remember the name of it - where they had a bunch of washed up celebrities sharing a house and bickering, etc. Jerry Springer, but with strangers. It's just so pointless!

There are at least two other threads on this subject. Here is one of them. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=24802

Newsho... Please see my previous post. This thread was started by Libra and we have hijacked it shamelessly. We need to either move this discussion to the Rants and Raves forum or get back on topic.

Mountaindont.... Surely your parents raised you to be courteous, did they not? Please start a new thread in Rants and Raves forum and I will be happy to discuss/debate this with you further, as I'm sure others will be, too.

Here you go, Barb. Glad you liked them.