Carlene

I have a great band doctor, but he's in Ft Worth. He may operate at SCOR in Richardson, though. I know he used to. His name is Adam Smith and he is banded himself.

Yeah, I remember reading about your problems and frustration with your originial guy. I meant when you were looking for a new doctor - before you settled on the one in Dallas - did you ask Dr. Smith if he would take you on? It seems like he would be much closer. Charlie is fine. Virginia has had some problems lately. She is seeing a neuro guy to try and figure out why she has issues with her balance. She also had to have surgery recently to remove a hot spot on her thyroid.

Babs... Did you ask Dr. Smith if he would take you on as a patient? I know that he accepted Charlie Collins after his band surgeon stopped taking his insurance.

Ann Coulter is the Howard Stern of Politics. She says a lot of things for "shock value", no doubt about that. Democrats love to hate her. Republicans cringe when she is at her worst, like her attack on the 9/11 widows, but they love the fact that she enjoys so much exposure. Still, I think a lot of Republicans are embarrassed by Ann Coulter - especially those in office. I don't imagine that she gets a lot of invitations to dinner on the hill. And I agree...she gets a lot more air time than she would otherwise, because of her looks. I don't watch Fox as a rule. I think Bill O'Reilly is a pompus ass and every time I surf by, he seems to be the talking head on screen.

Nude is one thing....crotch shots are something else altogether! I agree...the Mods deserve a day off.

I know the one you are talking about, Susan. YIKES! It definitely needs to be removed ASAP!

I wake up in a new world everyday. Sometimes chicken does better, and sometimes beef. My band likes to keep me guessing.

I am REALLY surprised that you found Dr. Smith to be arrogant. I have always seen a very different side of him. In fact, I thought he was more good-ole-country-boy. I almost cracked up when I went for my first fill and he said, "Climb up here and pull down your britches." When Dr. S stopped doing fills in his office, and I found out that the Specialty Surgery Ctr does not take my insurance, I wrote him a letter because I can't afford the hospital co-pay each time I need a fill (about $600). He called me and said, "We are in this together and I WILL find a place that takes your insurance that doesn't charge and arm and a leg....and he did." I know of at least one person who was banded by someone else and Dr. Smith took him on as a patient, but his surgery was not done in Mexico. If I remember correctly, the guy's original doc stopped taking his insurance.

First of all, we didn't TRY to secede from the Union - we DID secede. The North won the war and forced us back into the Union. I guess we've been pissed off ever since. :heh: Seriously, it isn't that we are still fighting the Civil War. Most of us have only a vague idea of what THAT was about anyway. (No, it wasn't all about slavery.) Southerners are proud of their heritage, proud of their "rebel spirit" and their "give 'em hell" attitude. It's who we are. In some places (schools, for example) that was personified by flying the Confederate Battle Flag (the "Stars and Bars", not the Confederate States flag, the "Southern cross"). My friend Sue graduated from South Cleveland High School in the '60's. They were known as the Rebels and their symbol was the Rebel flag, by the way, so it wasn't just us redneck Southern rabble-rousers who were guilty of waving the flag. Anyway, at some point the flags became an issue. Most of them were taken down, in deference to African Americans who might be offended by any symbol of the Confederacy. In Texas we boast about all the flags that have flown over our great state - six, in all (France, Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the USA, and the Confederate States of America). You don't see the flags of France or Spain very much, but a lot of people display the Mexican flag. There are, after all, a lot of Hispanics in Texas. And I'm okay with that, even though there was much blood shed in winning our independence from Mexico. Our martyrs are Crockett and Travis and Bowie - men who were executed at the battle of the Alamo. But no one has ever, as far as I know, raised a ruckus about anyone flying, wearing, or otherwise displaying the Mexican flag. Heritage does not equal hatred. I just wanted to point that out, in defense of Texans in particular and Southerners in general.

Actually, TOM, we prefer "the war of Northern agression". :heh:

I think (I could be wrong here) that TOM's point was that people who speak different languages cannot effectively communicate with one another. And people who speak different forms of the SAME language (as in his "bad" means "good" example) can't, either - especially when they don't realize they aren't speaking the same language. It doesn't matter so much hangin' out on the corner of the 'hood, but in other places (work...maybe the OR, God forbid), it can cause HUGE problems - maybe even dangerous situations. And I am most certainly not implying that you are full of hot air, except to the extent that all of us are who sit and opine but do nothing to effect changes in our belief system. My opinion is no more (or less) valuable than yours. MY point was that if you feel passionately about diversity in language (or anything else), you need to DO SOMETHING to educate people, enlighten them - whatever, and Bill Cosby HAS. Join a movement to adopt Ebonics (or Gullah, or Hip Hop, or Valley Girl speak) as an honest to God dialect of the English language. Propose that your school district teach it. Teach it to your kids. Own your opinions, don't just argue for the sake of argument. (Not that I have done any of those things myself, mind you. I'm just saying that it's easy to spout rhetoric. Words are cheap...actions speak louder.) And while we are on the subject, let me also say that I do NOT see why I should have to "press one for English". Why can't those recordings just say, "Call 1-800-SPANISH if you no habla English"? Sorry, but I think diversity has run amok.

With great regularity the question pops up on every Lap Band forum: to tell, or not to tell. Many people are afraid that if they share with friends, family and co-workers, they will be barraged later with uncomfortable questions, speculation, etc. You might be, but there are ways to handle "nosy people". It occurred to me last night that WLS isn't the only personal question people seem to have a vested interest in. My stepson and daughter-in-law have triplets. They are 5 years old now, but especially when they were babies, they attracted a lot of attention - and a lot of questions. The first thing anyone seemed to want to know was, "Are they natural, or did you do fertility treatments"? My DIL was always somewhat offended by that. First of all, there was the insinuation that her children might not be "natural". If they WERE the result of medical technology/intervention, did that make them unnatural? Secondly, she was appalled that anyone would ask a complete stranger such a personal question. It was, she said, like going up to an obviously pregnant woman that you had never seen before and demanding to know, "Was this an accident, or did you plan to become pregnant?" (Good point...score one for the DIL.) The triplets now have a little sister. No one, my DIL points out, has ever asked her if Emma was the result of fertility treatments. Because there is only one of her, people assume that she was conceived in the conventional way, although there are plenty of IVF pregnancies that result in only one baby. I have 4 children. One of them is adopted. Because the youngest one is my only daughter, people often "guessed" that Christa was the adopted child. I suppose the reasoning was that I had 3 boys, then adopted a little girl. People who knew I had one adopted child would ask me if I could not have more (after the first three), or if I was just afraid it would be another boy. My point (yes, I do have a point here) is that those who have had WLS are not alone in feeling that people in general need a lesson in common courtesy. I think the very best come back, when someone asks you a question that you don't want to answer, is "Why do you want to know?". You can also rely on a failing memory and say something very vague like, "I don't really know", or "I have no idea". I used this once when someone asked me (in front of my children), "Isn't one of your kids adopted?". I didn't want to say "That's really none of your business", so I replied, "Yes, but I forget which one." My advice, for what it's worth, is if you do take people into your confidence (and you often find support in some of the most unexpected places, believe me), don't let them make you regret it later. Control the information you want "out there" and hide the rest - especially the details. Don't tell people what you can and can't eat. Just say, "I'm not on a diet, although some days my band likes to show me who's boss". Don't tell people how much weight you've lost, or expect to lose. Just say, "It's not supposed to come off quickly. The Lap Band promotes a gradual, healthy weight loss". If they demand to know a number, tell them you only weigh once a month, at the doctor's office. And be very vague..."I don't know, but my clothes are fitting better". I have lost 97 pounds. People who haven't seen me in a long time notice this, of course. Their first question is ALWAYS "what did you do to lose all the weight"? I tell them I had Lap Band surgery and I have not had one single negative comment. When people are presented with it after the fact, what CAN they say..."It was a bad idea"? Obviously, it wasn't.

I replied to your post that Cosby was "a comedian" by pointing out that he is more than just a comic. He has put his money where his mouth, and his heart, are. He has given his time, his talent, and his treasure to the cause of young black people. How many people do you know who have donated any of those things to the furtherance of Ebonics as a language? So, yes...I do think that when you back your opinion with activism and money, it means something. Faith without good works is as dead as a body without breath, to quote the book of James. And opinion without commitment is pretty much just hot air.

Bill Cosby is much more than a comedian. That is somewhat like saying that Bill Gates works with computers. Cosby has worked tirelessly for years to further the cause of young Afro Americans. He was the first major entertainer to cancel an appearance in Cincinnati after a boycott was called in response to the 2001 Cincinnati Riots. His support of this cause encouraged other stars to follow. Cosby has been critical of what he sees as the African-American community's acceptance of fatherless single parent households, high crime rates, and high illiteracy rates. He encouraged a more proactive effort from African-Americans to reduce those problems. He expanded upon his remarks in San Jose, CA during an event to promote the Read-2-Lead Classic. Cosby was the impetus for the formation of ARISE Detroit! when, in a Jan 13, 2005, speech at Wayne County Community College he challenged black Detroit's to stop blaming white people for problems they could solve themselves. "It's not what they're doing to us. It's what we're not doing," the entertainer told the audience of nearly 2,000 people. A little more than a year later, ARISE Detroit! was formed to address this issue. In addition he has personally donated millions of dollars to social, civic, and artistic endeavors, including: one million to the US National Slavery Museum, one million to the National Arts Centre, and 20 million to Spelman College. To Bill Cosby and many others who genuinely care about the future of young black people, this IS about race. Eubonics is about race. How many non-black people do you know who use Eubonics as a form of communication? To elevate bastardized English to the status of "a potential English dialect that should be recognized as a valid language" would do untold harm to the very ones who speak it. They just don't have sense enough to recognize that, but Cosby does. And to make matters worse, Eubonics has now become so infused with Hip Hop jargon that the two are virtually the same "language". And I personally find that appalling because Hip Hop is disgustingly anti-feminine, anti-authority, and pro-violence. How can anyone possibly promote a so-called language that never refers to women as anything more than a "ho" or a bitch? I'm sorry, but I don't take "she one fine bitch" as a compliment - ever.

A portion of Bill Cosby's Address at the NAACP's Gala to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education Ladies and gentlemen, listen to these people. They are showing you what’s wrong. People putting their clothes on backwards. Isn’t that a sign of something going on wrong? Are you not paying attention? People with their hat on backwards, pants down around the crack. Isn’t that a sign of something or are you waiting for Jesus to pull his pants up? Isn’t it a sign of something when she’s got her dress all the way up to the crack -- and got all kinds of needles and things going through her body. What part of Africa did this come from? We are not Africans. Those people are not Africans; they don’t know a damned thing about Africa. With names like Shaniqua, Shaligua, Mohammed and all that crap and all of them are in jail. (When we give these kinds names to our children, we give them the strength and inspiration in the meaning of those names. What’s the point of giving them strong names if there is not parenting and values backing it up). Brown versus the Board of Education is no longer the white person’s problem. We’ve got to take the neighborhood back. We’ve got to go in there. Just forget telling your child to go to the Peace Corps. It’s right around the corner. It’s standing on the corner. It can’t speak English. It doesn’t want to speak English. I can’t even talk the way these people talk. “Why you ain’t where you is go, ra.” I don’t know who these people are. And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. Then I heard the father talk. This is all in the house. You used to talk a certain way on the corner and you got into the house and switched to English. Everybody knows it’s important to speak English except these knuckleheads. You can’t land a plane with, “Why you ain’t…” You can’t be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth. There is no Bible that has that kind of language. Where did these people get the idea that they’re moving ahead on this. Well, they know they’re not; they’re just hanging out in the same place, five or six generations sitting in the projects when you’re just supposed to stay there long enough to get a job and move out.

Me, too. You did pick up on that, didn't you?

Wiki calls Ebonics a dialect. Not everyone would agree, however. From the much-publicized school board debate... (CNN) -- So far it's little more than a vague idea, but a proposal by a California school board last week to recognize Black English as a second language has already sparked a firestorm of debate. "I am incensed," said poet Maya Angelou, who recited one of her poems at President Clinton's inauguration. "The very idea that African-American language is a language separate and apart can be very threatening, because it can encourage young men and women not to learn standard English." The Rev. Jesse Jackson also blasted the proposal, which was announced Wednesday by the California School Board to officially recognize Black English, also know as Ebonics, a term combining "ebony" and "phonics." "While we are fighting in California trying to extend affirmative action and fighting to teach our children so they become more qualified for jobs, in Oakland some madness has erupted over making slang talk a second language," Jackson said in a statement. "You don't have to go to school to learn to talk garbage," he said.

As much as it pains me to say this...both parties are guilty of cover-ups and hypocrisy and dirty politics in general.

You don't think adultery is bad? How about sexual harrassment, (Arnold, for instance)? I think it's okay to say those things are bad. They ARE bad. It's wrong to do those things. That "consenting adult" crap is just that...crap. Just because two adults consent to something does not make it any less bad.

We aren't used to that from you. Warn us next time, okay?

Here you go....I sure hope your boy has a strong stomach! CAKE INGREDIENTS: 1 box spice or German chocolate cake mix 1 box of white cake mix 1 package white sandwich cookies 1 large package vanilla instant pudding mix A few drops green food coloring 12 small Tootsie Rolls or equivalent SERVING "DISHES AND UTENSILS" 1 NEW cat-litter box 1 NEW cat-litter box liner 1 NEW pooper scooper 1) Prepare and bak e cake mixes, according to directions, in any size pan. Prepare pudding and chill. Crumble cookies in small batches in blender or food processor. Add a few drops of green food coloring to 1 cup of cookie crumbs. Mix with a fork or shake in a jar. Set aside. 2) When cakes are at room temperature, crumble them into a large bowl. Toss with half of the remaining cookie crumbs and enough pudding to make the mixture moist but not soggy. Place liner in litter box and pour in mixture. 3) Unwrap 3 Tootsie Rolls and heat in a microwave until soft and pliable. Shape the blunt ends into slightly curved points. Repeat with three more rolls. Bury the rolls decoratively in the cake mixture. Sprinkle remaining white cookie crumbs over the mixture, then scatter green crumbs lightly over top. 4) Heat 5 more Tootsie Rolls until almost melted. Scrape them on top of the cake and sprinkle with crumbs from the litter box. Heat the remaining Tootsie Roll until pliable and hang it over the edge of the box. Place box on a sheet of newspaper and serve with scooper. Enjoy! "Kitty Litter Cake"

She said "in office", TOM. That would indicate that she meant elected officials.

More famous quotes from Ann Coulter. "[Clinton] masturbates in the sinks."---Rivera Live 8/2/99 "God gave us the earth. We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees. God said, 'Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It's yours.'"---Hannity & Colmes, 6/20/01 The "backbone of the Democratic Party" is a "typical fat, implacable welfare recipient"---syndicated column 10/29/99 To a disabled Vietnam vet: "People like you caused us to lose that war."---MSNBC "Women like Pamela Harriman and Patricia Duff are basically Anna Nicole Smith from the waist down. Let's just call it for what it is. They're whores."---Salon.com 11/16/00 Juan Gonzales is "Cuba's answer to Joey Buttafuoco," a "miscreant," "sperm-donor," and a "poor man's Hugh Hefner."---Rivera Live 5/1/00 On Princess Diana's death: "Her children knew she's sleeping with all these men. That just seems to me, it's the definition of 'not a good mother.' ... Is everyone just saying here that it's okay to ostentatiously have premarital sex in front of your children?"..."[Diana is] an ordinary and pathetic and confessional - I've never had bulimia! I've never had an affair! I've never had a divorce! So I don't think she's better than I am."---MSNBC 9/12/97 "I think there should be a literacy test and a poll tax for people to vote."---Hannity & Colmes, 8/17/99 "I think [women] should be armed but should not [be allowed to] vote."---Politically Incorrect, 2/26/01 "If you don't hate Clinton and the people who labored to keep him in office, you don't love your country."---George, 7/99 "We're now at the point that it's beyond whether or not this guy is a horny hick. I really think it's a question of his mental stability. He really could be a lunatic. I think it is a rational question for Americans to ask whether their president is insane."---Equal Time "It's enough [to be impeached] for the president to be a pervert."---The Case Against Bill Clinton, Coulter's 1998 book. "Clinton is in love with the erect penis."---This Evening with Judith Regan, Fox News Channel 2/6/00 "I think we had enough laws about the turn-of-the-century. We don't need any more." Asked how far back would she go to repeal laws, she replied, "Well, before the New Deal...[The Emancipation Proclamation] would be a good start."---Politically Incorrect 5/7/97 "If they have the one innocent person who has ever to be put to death this century out of over 7,000, you probably will get a good movie deal out of it."---MSNBC 7/27/97 "If those kids had been carrying guns they would have gunned down this one [child] gunman. ... Don't pray. Learn to use guns."---Politically Incorrect, 12/18/97 "The presumption of innocence only means you don't go right to jail."---Hannity & Colmes 8/24/01 "I have to say I'm all for public flogging. One type of criminal that a public humiliation might work particularly well with are the juvenile delinquents, a lot of whom consider it a badge of honor to be sent to juvenile detention. And it might not be such a cool thing in the 'hood to be flogged publicly."---MSNBC 3/22/97 "Originally, I was the only female with long blonde hair. Now, they all have long blonde hair."---CapitolHillBlue.com 6/6/00 "I am emboldened by my looks to say things Republican men wouldn't."---TV Guide 8/97 "Let's say I go out every night, I meet a guy and have sex with him. Good for me. I'm not married."---Rivera Live 6/7/00 "Anorexics never have boyfriends. ... That's one way to know you don't have anorexia, if you have a boyfriend."---Politically Incorrect 7/21/97 "I think [Whitewater]'s going to prevent the First Lady from running for Senate."---Rivera Live 3/12/99 "My track record is pretty good on predictions."---Rivera Live 12/8/98 "The thing I like about Bush is I think he hates liberals."---Washington Post 8/1/00 On Rep. Christopher Shays (d-CT) in deciding whether to run against him as a Libertarian candidate: "I really want to hurt him. I want him to feel pain."---Hartford Courant 6/25/99 "The swing voters---I like to refer to them as the idiot voters because they don't have set philosophical principles. You're either a liberal or you're a conservative if you have an IQ above a toaster. "---Beyond the News, Fox News Channel, 6/4/00 "My libertarian friends are probably getting a little upset now but I think that's because they never appreciate the benefits of local fascism."---MSNBC 2/8/97 "You want to be careful not to become just a blowhard."---Washington Post 10/16/98 She also wrote, in a syndicated column on September 12, that in responding to terrorists "we should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity." Nice lady, huh? Very big on "family values", too.

I will settle for seeing him out of office...the sooner, the better. Oh, and his buddy Rick Perry, too.

Ann Coulter is a lunatic. This is an example...her attack (in print) on the 9/11 widows. "These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by grief-arazzis. These self-obsessed women seemed genuinely unaware that 9/11 was an attack on our nation and acted as if the terrorist attacks happened only to them. ... I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much ... the Democrat ratpack gals endorsed John Kerry for president ... cutting campaign commercials... how do we know their husbands weren't planning to divorce these harpies? Now that their shelf life is dwindling, they'd better hurry up and appear in Playboy." Even the Republicans weren't comfortable with Coulter's nasty assessment of these women, dubbed by her "The Jersey Girls", whose only crime was that some of them endorsed Kerry for president. Personally, I'm glad as hell she's not a Democrat!