Carlene

The only person I ever knew personally who had a late term abortion (she was about 7 months, but lied to the doctor about the date of her last period) chose to terminate the pregnancy because she and the baby-daddy broke up. She had what is commonly called a "salting out" procedure, which is pretty gruesome, but not as bad as the partial birth abortion. I worked with the woman but totally lost all respect for her after the abortion fiasco. Sorry, but I just cannot agree that getting dumped by your boyfriend is a good enough reason to terminate a 7 month pregnancy. I think she did it just for spite, because he wanted her to have the child and let him raise it.

Dogs have owners....cats have staff.

You don't have to feel guilty. Who knew? But not seeing the movie won't change the reality. It really is tragic....and for what, some shiny rocks?

"We have some experience with late terminations... about 10,000 patients between 24 and 36 weeks and something like 800 fetal anomalies between 26 and 36 weeks in the past 5 years." From a speech given by George R. Tiller at the National Abortion Federation Annual Meeting on April 2-4, 1995 in New Orleans, LA "This baby looks pretty good." Tiller comments on the picture of a baby he aborted. THE WICHITA EAGLE, October 7, 1997 Note that the doctor himself referred to the aborted fetus as "this BABY". "In our organization we have made the decision that in situations of fetal abnormality, the woman is the patient and the fetus is the problem." From Tiller's 1996 video "Fetal Indications Terminations of Pregnancy". This video is distributed through ob/gyn and genetics counselors to advertise his late-term abortions for babies with defects. "I know that the fetus is alive during the process most of the time because I can see fetal heartbeat on the ultrasound." Under oath in 1997, LeRoy Carhart talks about abortion prior to his employment with Tiller. This is found on the MTTU website. "We're not asking for the right to suck the brains out of every child that walks down the street. We need to continue to offer safe abortions to women who need them to be done." LeRoy Carhart - one of Tiller's abortionists, OMAHA WORLD HERALD, January 26, 2001 As far as the technical aspects of these tragic situations are concerned, the woman should have the option of deciding how SHE wishes to end her baby's life early. George Tiller on a website blog October 7, 1998. Carhart said at least once a month, an entire fetus is expelled from the mother during a D&E he is performing. "The fetuses are alive at the time of delivery," he said. There is a heartbeat "very frequently." Carhart - one of Tiller's abortionists - admits that babies frequently are born alive during abortions. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, April 1, 2004, "Doctor: Law Would Outlaw Many Abortions"

Just an FYI for anyone who might need a passport anytime soon.....don't hold your breath. I applied for mine and DGD's the last week of March, when they said it would take 10 weeks. They just now are showing up on the website where you can track your app. When I finally got thru to a real person at their toll free number, she told me not to count on seeing them before July or August. My friends paid extra ($60 each) for expedited service and applied the same time I did. They were booked to leave tomorrow for Mexico. They were first told the passports would be here the end of April. No show. Then mid-May. Still did not arrive. Many frantic phone calls later, they were promised them by yesterday. Guaranteed. Not to worry. Guess what? No passports. So.........if you plan on traveling internationally this summer, and you don't already have a passport, just know that it's going to take longer than you thought - and longer than those people who promise "expedited service" will tell you. By the way, my friends were NOT reimbursed the $60.

After watching the movie, Blood Diamond, I swore I would never buy another diamond again.

A new R&R thread....."Masturbation". I guess we should restrain ourselves, though. Alex is not gonna be pleased if we start stirring that pot again.

Sadly, you are mistaken. From the web site of infamous abortionist George Tiller Late Abortion Care Elective Abortion Counseling & Consultation | Procedure At Women's Health Care Services, we specialize in "late" abortion care. We are able to perform elective abortions to the time in the pregnancy when the fetus is viable. Viability is not a set point in time. Viability is determined by the attending physician and is based on sonogram results, physical examination and last menstrual period date (if known). Our telephone counselors will ask you a number of medical questions to determine if you are eligible for an elective abortion. If you have visited another clinic or physician, we will ask for the results from a recent ultrasound. Kansas law allows for post-viability abortion procedures when continuing the pregnancy is detrimental to the pregnant woman's health. Each person's circumstances are reviewed on a case-by-base basis. Please call so that we can discuss admission criteria with you.

One more bit of advice (or two). Before you buy, consider how you will be using the machine. Will you travel with it? If so, take weight/size into consideration and pass on the big screen, dual DVD drives, etc. Less is not always more. Get one with a fast chip and plenty of RAM. Buy the extended warranty. I know it's a lot of money, but today I am taking my almost 3 year old HP back to Best Buy and they are replacing the battery (the second most expensive part of the whole package, after the screen) for FREE. It's not dead - just doesn't hold a charge the way it should any more. Again, I say take a trusted geek with you, or get one to help you order online.

I was the only daughter of a woman who loved jewelry, and I've had 3 husbands with limited imaginations. So I have a lot of nice jewelry. I wear 3 or 4 rings all the time. My girlfriend (from Rochester) calls it "Texas gauche"...LOL I have diamond rings, emeralds, fire opal, blue topaz (my birthstone), and amethyst. I also have several gold chains and pendants, charms, etc. with rubies and other stones, and a diamond and gold bracelet. I have a 14 K gold watch because base metal breaks me out. But I would wear CZs in a heartbeat if they were in a quality setting that I liked. I love big, gaudy earrings!

Lila... You are aspirating - also known as reflux. You aren't likely to choke, but it is not good. It can cause aspiration pneumonia, as you are sucking the stomach contents into your lungs. A partial un-fill is needed. And yes, it has happened to me.

What are these things? Are they new? Do they have a particular function?

The Dell site is a good suggestion. You can customize it and get exactly what you want/need. Enlist the help of someone who is a bit more computer savy than yourself. Any 15 year old nerd should do nicely.

They come in strawberry, too. Get a box of each....let us know which one you like best.

Are you nuts???? The price of mouse tongues is ridiculous - worse than gasoline. A whole pound would be soooooooo extravagant.

My husband worked 3rd shift almost his whole career. His bedtime was around 8 AM. He learned to live in a world where everyone else conducts business during the hours he was asleep. Your neighbor needs to get over himself.

Rhonda... I live in the Metroplex, too and Dr Smith performed my surgery. Go back and talk to him. He's super nice and a Bandster himself. He really wants you to succeed. What about RL support? Dr S has support group meetings at his office and there is a Yahoo group that meets regularly, all over the place. I go to the one in Arlington, third Thurs of each month. Come join us!

Everything is relative (no pun intended). My brother has been married 6 times to 5 different women (one was foolish enough to marry him twice). Number three was very young and I felt sorry for her, so I tried to warn her. It didn't work.....just made her mad. Made him mad, too. And her mother. Turns out I was right, of course. I guess it never occurred to them that I knew him a lot better than she did. Not only can you not fix stupid......evidently you can't fix the determination to screw up one's life, either.

vanilla yogurt Cheerios.....YUM

Sometimes they do. Just be sure they sterilize the equipment between procedures - especially if they do the colonoscopy first. LOL

Boy, the authorities sure know how to take the fun out of everything, don't they?

Weight Watchers is the best way. They will help keep you motivated and on track.

I donate to a lot of charities, and sometimes feel like they could find a better way to show their gratitude than to call me and ask for more! This really pisses me off! Just send me something in the mail and I will most likely send you a check back. But you don't need to send me things....like return address labels with my name on them. Really, you don't. Just this past week I received a Rosary, a religious medal (St Anthony), a feathered thing (dream catcher?), and a nice doggy blanket (from the Humane Society). Oh....and a Mass card. Somebody at food for the Poor is saying Mass for me. How nice. I wonder if that's their job....saying Mass for all the people who donate money to FFTP.

Big Spanish olives are okay.....I used to drink the juice when I was a kid. But black, ripe olives are the bomb!

My grandmother made her own dill pickles, from pickles (cucumbers?) she grew in her own garden. They were wonderful. She put them up in big glass jars and you could see the spices in the brine, plus each jar contained several stalks of dill. I loved to fish those dill stalks out and suck on them.