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Gadget, I keep waiting and waiting for the outcry, as Obama's socialist tendencies are uncovered, but.......silence. Either people are apathetic, or stupid (or like the appeal of a socialist government, I guess).

Welcome Meme! Whatcha need help with??

He'd better pay 'em now, before Obama gets in the white house...

Jaime, with all due respect, that old cliche' is meaningless. There is always a way if the person has the determination. I do agree with you in that I think it is important to try and break the cycle of generational welfare. Even kids in the poorest homes in America today have a shot at college education. It just seems that many of these poor don't know that they do, because welfare is all they've ever known (as Katrina revealed in NO....3 and 4 generations of joblessness and welfare....in that situation, having multiple children and getting on welfare is the norm, akin to a family "tradition"). We do need to get the message out that ANYbody can do college if they want. Here, (at least for the State Universities, not so much the private ones) the tuition is the cheapest part of getting an education. It's the "room & board" that'll cripple ya. Yikes. That's a little higher interest than I had to pay for my student loans.

I read that book. I thought it was a little overrated. The very idea that a hidden "code", if you will, could be in a bottle of syrup is a little fantastic.

I disagree. I'm completely hung up on How I met your mother!! LOL....It's always the womans's fault!! Seriously, I was trying to say that, IMO, it's more about the jealous person than about the "other" (spouse, SO, BF/GF, co-worker, etc). Did I miss the pics of "Mr. Fanny"?!? Nerd. Susan, That is EXACTLY my situation. Work internet is so much faster that I put in 90% of my LBT time Mon. - Thurs. night. Ebony, I'm glad somebody here is a "fashionista"......because most of the time all I wear is scrubs. Hang in there, Slim. It will get better. You can do it!! I'm quite a lot Indian....and you've offended me!! Where's the political correctness, Donna?!? lol. And I thought "aboriginal" was interchangable with "indiginous" when it came to describing a population?? I'm no anthropologist, so that could be totally, totally wrong, though! Me too! The tallest (and biggest) member of my family is my dad. He's 5'10 & 170 lbs (my wife is taller than my dad!!!!). My mother and sister hover around the 5'2 / very small mark. Aren't Genetics nutty?!? And She....I took your point about posting / taking down pics. That seems pretty sensible. I also kinda wish I had taken more to be able to document my weight loss.

Hells yeah! Count me as part of the "flyover militia"!!

I've always found that jealousy is born of low self esteem. I was never jealous....until an ex GF kinda screwed me up for a bit. It took awhile to re-do my head.

I don't think it's naive at all. Everybody has to choose. I worked while I was going to college (to pay for college). Guess what? It made me appreciate it more that one of those rich kids who have it all paid for. And hey, If you're doing it with all those obstacles, why can't everybody else? Sure it sucks to work and go to school and have to take care of kids, etc.....but the fact is that you're doing it. So....is your gripe that some people can't go to college, or that it's not easy for them to go to college?

Let go of the past, Fanny. That's not you anymore, so quit carrying that burden around.

Ok Fanny, you can be my market tester, lol

I'm waiting for folks to start quoting the Hollywood elite with stuff like " If (insert Obama or McCain here) wins, I'm leaving America and moving to (insert locale here)". I'm not certain if we can ever be truly unified. Much more than republican / democrat, I think the division is conservative / liberal (not counting the rabid extremists on either side). I would hope that we could put aside some things for the good of America.

Nope. I'm wearing chaps w/ clown shoes. I'm romantic like that. On a weirdly telling serious note, I'm considering posting some shirtless shots, or something. I don't really look good right now, but as I was wandering through the "before & after" pics, I saw that some people posted some really honest, gutsy pics.....On one hand, the documentation / progression would be cool. On the other hand, there is a very active Texarkana support group on site, and I'm certainly uncomfortable "putting it all out there". This summer, my family went to the "Great Wolf Lodge", a resort-type of place that has indoor / outdoor water slides. The check-in process is so slow that they give you a pager when it's time to register.....and you can swim and waterslide while you wait. So naturally (through a long and boring set of circumstances I won't go into), my oldest son and I end up waiting in the huge lobby, with hundreds of people, while we are shirtless and in our swimming trunks (and uh.....yeah. We were the only shirtless people there). We were both like "WTF? It feels like we are on a nude beach". So I guess I'm kinda modest like that. So I guess we'll see if I have the testicular fortitude to do shirtless pics.

Hey, the fact that UltraConservatives favor the Amish sex ed plan was supposed to secret! How'd that leak out? PS- yeah, I trashed the Amish....they won't be reading this anyway. Nerd.:biggrin: The way I heard it, every time he went down to Wall Street, they would make fun of his last name...Reduced to tears, he often fled to avoid further public humiliation.

What a butthole! Not just a guy, Mac......The guy... Awwwww, Fanny in love....how sweet. No sarcasm this time. Good for you, Fanny. Wow...there's quite a difference between Playboy and Shut up and blow me. Nudity.....well, I wouldn't go out of my way to show it to my kids, but I wouldn't freak if they saw some boobs in a movie. Pornography, however, is something totally different. Must...fight...urge....to...make...crude comment. I bet a dozen. Because I will personally start 10. Slim, as a dedicated, lifelong boob guy, I weep alongside you...You have my condolences. I love, love, LOVE my HS reunions. Of course, I went to a very small school. I have several HS folks on my MySpace. Of course, only geeks use facebook, right, SNT??

Why the irony? Nobody is exempt from having "child embarassment" issues. I know preachers' kids who are sooooo wild that they scare me. I know a police officer whose child recently got arrested for theft. Just being preggers.....heck, she's going to marry the baby daddy, and they won't live off welfare...from my view she's gold!!

Yup, you're being a big baby!! lol...... Seriously, you've been kicking ass!! My one recommendation (and I don't know your workout routine, so you might already be doing this) is to maybe add a little bit of strength training in with your walking. If you can add muscle, you'll pump up your metabolism and burn more calories at rest.....but don't give up on the walking, either!!! You have to find a balance between the two.

That's a well thought out and very articulate response, Fanny. I knew there were a few folks on here that I disagree with politically, but can offer an intelligent discourse!! Socialism works very well for other countries....that's cool. It's just not what America is. You can make a successful arguement that, in a sense, America tends to "eat our poor". Yet, no matter how poor the citizen, there is an opportunity to make life better. One just has to work hard. Yes, the poorer the citizen, the harder they have to work to improve their lot....and that's not totally fair....but it is a very American tenet that anybody determined enough can have a good life.

That's precisely my point, Mac. I personally do not want America to move towards the more socialistic European model (Note to my Aussie friends here - not meant as as an insult). I remain befuddled that Americans are ok with this....I think it's 50% greed (Hells yeah, give me money for nothing, mama government) and 50% vengence (let's take those rich bastards down a notch). It sounds cliche', but there's a tiny voice that's telling me once we start down that slippery path, it's going to be twice as easy for the government to start taking over key industries: Energy, Banking, Healthcare, Media, etc, until we are a totally socialist country. Or maybe I'm just paranoid from smoking the ganja...

That'll help ensure the tummy heals, though. Also, the all-liquid diet sure makes the mushies taste better....

Well, I think we know compared to most here, I'm a virtual golden god. I know for a fact that my quick wit, angelic face, and sculpted body make me popular. How do I know all this? My mother tells me every night...

I will admit that I don't watch the view very often (no, seriously!!). But from the clips I've seen (on such reputable shows as The Factor, and The Soup) Whoopi is far from balanced. When John McCain was on, Whoopia asked him if would appoint a strict constitutionalist to the supreme court. Then Whoopi asked if she should be worried about being a slave again. What a dumb-ass. I wonder if Whoopi knows that the only (and it's pretty nebulous) constitutional provision for slavery was that it couldn't be outlawed until, something like, 1808 (help me out here history buffs and constitutional lawyers). I know I'm kind of an idiot, but some Hollywood celebrities crack me up when they try to be all politically intellectual...

Did you name him "Voldemort"? :smile:

This should be on a greeting card. This is now my 2nd favorite poem.....right behind the limerick about the man from Nantuckett.

Why am I "so out of touch"? Because my opinion differs from yours? Because I question Obama's European-ish tax policy? And why are the attacks getting a little more personal, lowbmier? I suspect it's because you are having trouble putting together a coherent, logical arguement. I have yet to read anything but "think outside the box" and how "out of touch" I am.