Carlene

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

I'm all for it! Let's put the "under" back in underwear! By TAWNELL D. HOBBS / The Dallas Morning News A proposal to ban saggy pants in Dallas gained steam Wednesday as City Council members discussed how to deal with the popular clothing trend. Several council members voiced support and asked the city attorney's office to research whether such a rule is enforceable. Dallas school trustee Ron Price recommended the ban at Wednesday's council meeting, following through on a plan he announced Tuesday. Mr. Price wants the city to create an ordinance to allow police to cite people who wear their pants too low. "Too low," he said, allows too much underwear to show. Most of the nine council members who addressed Mr. Price at the meeting said the idea merits discussion. Some said an ordinance was needed, while others felt a public campaign involving the city, schools, parents and the community would be the way to go. Some of the 14 council members said nothing. Two who spoke – Angela Hunt and Gary Griffith – opposed using police to enforce a ban. "I'm not going to be in favor of using police officers to track people whose pants are low," Mr. Griffith said. Mr. Price, dressed in a suit, his usual attire at public meetings, said the effort is aimed not only at children, but also grown men who walk around with their underwear exposed. "We have a problem in our city," Mr. Price said. He ran a slogan by the council that he's given to the initiative: "Pull it up, or pay up."

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?

I VOTED (EARLY) YESTERDAY. DID YOU? PLEASE VOTE. IT IS YOUR SINGLE GREATEST RIGHT UNDER THE CONSTITUTION.

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.

As the daughter of someone who died from complications of Parkinson's Disease, I am FURIOUS with the latest sleaze ball attack of Rush Limbaugh (aka Ann Coulter with a penis). In case you missed it, here is part of the MSNBC story. Possibly worse than making fun of someone's disability is saying that it's imaginary. That is not to mock someone's body, but to challenge a person's guts, integrity, sanity. To Rush Limbaugh on Monday, Michael J. Fox looked like a faker. The actor, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, has done a series of political ads supporting candidates who favor stem cell research, including Maryland Democrat Ben Cardin, who is running against Republican Michael Steele for the Senate seat being vacated by Paul Sarbanes. "He is exaggerating the effects of the disease," Limbaugh told listeners. "He's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act. . . . I watched the video clip of Limbaugh's broadcast and it was more than dirty politics; it was despicable. Fox has testified in front of Congress and very honestly said he was doing so without benefit of his meds so that everyone could see a true picture of PD and what it does to its victims. That took GUTS...something that Limbaugh is sadly lacking. My mother was so embarrassed by her symptoms in the later stages of PD, when meds no longer control the head-bobbing and arm waving, the shaking and torso weaving, she would not leave the house. Michael J Fox showed America the ugly face of Parkinson's Disease, up close and personal. And yes, it DOES look like that...he was not "faking it"; he was not "exaggerating". If there is any justice in this world, Rush Limbaugh will one day see the debilitating and progressive effects of this devastating disease from a different perspective - that of a patient suffering from PD. Congratulations, Rush....even for you, this is a new low.

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!

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.

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.

You are right, of course, in the traditional sense. I think the person who posted that the band was "almost a license to binge and purge" meant that she could eat junk food and then make herself throw it back up again very easily. And you CAN, of course, bring food back up more easily from the pouch than from the true stomach.

You still haven't told us how many perfect children you have raised to adulthood. Are you a mom, or just one of those people who thinks they know how to parent, even though they have zero experience? No offense, hon, but if you don't have children of your own, you don't know jack about raising kids.