BJean

I'm glad I gave you a forum to post what really went on in the senate on this issue at one time. Because I agree with those senators wholeheartedly. You do not understand why they voted that way and I do not expect you to. You approach this issue with blinders on and with extreme bias. I am just as biased against some people taking away women's fundamental rights to govern their own bodily processes and functions. And since you asked, please understand that I do not believe that every egg that has an initial joining with a sperm is entitled to or even can mature. And that is not always the mother's will - it is God's will as well. And I thank God that some folks who would like to, cannot interject themselves into a woman's body and control her. Btw, I forgot to congratulate Butch for his awesome weight loss! Way to go! This is not an easy job - shedding our overages of poundage - and anyone who can do it deserves our applause and respect - you got mine!

Frogs... reads like CHEESE! Only a few of you will get that. You can tell I'm an oldie at LBT - most of my cheesy comrades have gone by the wayside. plain: it reminds me of that lovely girl who wanted to be like Snow White... but she drifted.

Well Carrie if you don't want children I guess that means that you can't have sex. At least that's how the anti-choice people would have you behave. There are no birth control methods that are 100% - except for abstinence. So there you go. If you don't want kids and you don't believe in abortion, you better never allow yourself to have sex. That means that you must avoid getting raped too. As for Butch - good for you, man. You are absolutely spot on with regard to how women are perceived and treated in this country. Having the government control women by telling them they have no choice is in alignment with our view of women as pieces of meat. There is no law saying that you have to have an abortion if your birth control fails - there should be no law saying that you cannot have an abortion if your birth control fails. Some people would like for us all to believe that every fertilized egg should and can mature into a baby. I disagree that every fertilized should and can mature into a baby. As I have said probably a thousand times before in this thread, this is not something that should be legislated. It is something that each and every person must decide for themselves. I do not believe that it is anyone else's job to save every fertlized egg. People should not have that kind of control over other people. Babies should not be viewed as a comodity. Respect women and this question can take it's proper position in our lives - as a matter between a woman, her God and her doctor. To have it any other way is just plain wrong. It would be equally wrong for certain individuals or the government to intervene in a woman's life by telling her that she could not have a baby unless they said it was acceptible. Why can't you all understand that? I thank God for men like Butch and Senator Obama. They obviously understand this issue much better than many Americans. That is why the anti-choice people have stretched what Senator Obama has said and done to make him out to be a villian on this question. The man is truthful and he has the capacity to understand the entire issue. I certainly do not find any fault in Senator Obama for that. Unlike John McCain who actually has said that he is pro-choice in the past but in order to get the Republican right-wing vote, he claims that he will be a "pro-life" President. That is the only way that fundamentalist Christians (and others who are anti-choice) will vote for him. And it is a basic part of the Republican platform now that the right wingers have taken over the Republican party. They should stop crucifying Senator Obama and start being up-front about what they really have planned for this country. Fat chance... they could never get elected if they did that.

Well Jack, thanks for asking. Btw, I remember reading something that you said a long time ago about figuring out that one egg is plenty - not exactly your words, but you were talking about realizing that one egg for each of you (and your spouse) was totally adequate. Are you still being good and have you reached your goal? I was impressed that you had found that you could and should be satisfied with one egg. I had major surgery on July 7 - totally unexpectedly and all of my restriction was removed. I just got a fill last week and I'm beginning to get my appetite back after all the medications, etc. So I could be doing much better, but I'm feeling healthy at this point and healed from the surgery so life is good. I have not reached my goal but do still plan to. I have been banded 2 years in September. You?

Hey karey. Sorry I've been away from the computer lately. Too much on my plate (so to speak). My weight loss has slowed a lot, but I'm still hoping to make my goal. I was very sorry to hear about your knee surgery. Dang it, girl! If it's not one thing it's two others! I was told a couple of years ago that I need both of my knees replaced. That situation has been instrumental in my weight loss being so difficult. Exercise is a challenge because I can't do anything where I bear my full body weight. So when I lift weights, for instance, I have to be sitting instead of standing. The more weight I lose, the less pain I have to live with in my knees. They say that one pound of weight loss equals 4 pounds of pressure off your knees. So the closer I get to goal the better for me. I refuse to have my knees replaced. I don't know how long I can get away with it, but I hope to never have my knees replaced! I'm hoping that one day they will come up with a much better procedure and better equipment. Right now the replacements are only expected to last around 18 years. That's just not good enough! And the recovery is 6 months. I just can't face it. Your surgery doesn't sound nearly as bad and I hope that it keeps you from having to have replacements for a really long time! Are you sure that you need your behind and arms done? I just feel so sorry for you going through another procedure with all you've had to deal with! Hang in there! Keep us posted. bj

Jack that is exactly why I do not see any value in debating this issue with you or other Republicans. We do not agree on what we think is right for this country, thus we do not agree on which political candidate is right for this country. I am not trying to convince you of anything. I know better. I only post at LBT for my own enjoyment. I get to say whatever I want and I get to post whatever I believe. It really has nothing whatever to do with you or other posters. I enjoy meeting up with people who see things as I do. Don't you? I don't enjoy bantering (or clever repartee) with people who are just trying to one-up me. On the other hand, if I think someone is being unfair I think it is okay for me to say so. It really doesn't do me a bit of good to argue though. I just find it frustrating. Not all that good for my health. How about yours?

mizzupoodle: Sounds like your man checked out long ago. Don't let him put you on a guilt trip by making threats like that! He obviously has some issues that he's dealing in those counseling sessions. The fact that he's excluding you says pretty much that right now he's only interested in his problems - and is not taking any responsibility for your pain and frustration and doesn't care that you're hurt and confused. You can't get things worked out when you don't even know what the problem is. You should go for counseling on your own too. Seriously. This isn't a pi$$ing contest. You need to survive whatever is coming too. This marriage isn't just about him. And your children deserve both parents. Not just you and not just him. You owe it to them to work through whatever the problems armay be. They deserve a happy mother. If you won't do it for yourself (and you should) then do it for your children. Once things are a little clearer to both of you, then you can work on counseling togther. Sometimes if it is a good counselor, all it takes is one or two sessions. Seriously!

No point in this Democrat arguing with die hard Republicans about our presidential race. Obviously I believe that I know what I am talking about when I endorse Senator Obama's value system or any of his other political positions. He is the first person to come along in decades that I believe has his head on right. (not meaning far right, of course) I fully appreciate him not cowtowing to others like so many politicians in Congress do constantly, in order to appease each other and ensure their piece of the lobbyists' pie. I have already said what I think of him. I've said what I think of McCain. It is pointless to argue with those who believe that voting for McCain is the right thing for this country. In my heart I know that he is not right for this country and if you vote for him and he wins, I hope with all my might that I am wrong about him. I know that I am not wrong about Senator Obama. I am sorry that so many people have enjoyed and embraced the opposition's untrue and misguided attacks on him and his character. If you simply disagree with his politics that is, of course, an entirely different matter. It's a free country - sort of. If you don't count illegal elections in your desire for freedom.

Actually preconditions and unconditional are not the same. But I'm not one to quibble. Uh, well, maybe so... I'll go to the link and see if I interpret what was said in the same way that the McCain camp has. Your last sentence makes me wonder why you even bother participating in a discussion of this sort if you do not think that presidents have any bearing on change in this country. If there have been no changes (that George Bush promised) since the time of Bill Clinton, I'm a monkey's uncle. But if you are saying that the changes candidates promise are different from the changes that they actually affect, then I agree. And I especially agree in the case of George W. Bush. He promised smaller government when he has delivered just the opposite. He promised big tax cuts and what he delivered are little rebates to some of the people. He never promised a rose garden and in that way he certainly delivered.

plain if you don't know it, you aren't paying attention. Jack if you can find a link that shows Senator Obama saying that he endorses meeting with anti-american leaders with no conditions, I would really appreciate you sharing. I've been very attentive to what both candidates have said and never saw him utter such a statement. Please, enlighten me. I don't know how I've missed the fact that Senator Obama has said lies about McCain. I really have been watching everything I can. I'm not saying that he hasn't criticized McCain - there's plenty of that. But I haven't heard any lies or half-truths. And as for Senator Obama's voting and performance record, I completely agree with everything he's done in his limited career (limited compared to the aged McCain's career) and I appreciate nearly everything he would like to see changed. When I learned that he voted against the war in Iraq, I knew that he was an intelligent person who isn't afraid to stand up for his convictions. I appreciated that he stood up for what was right at the time and I appreciate that he continues to move in the direction that I believe this country should be moving in. I believed McCain when he said he wanted to keep this campaign clean. He stood up to the plate when he decried the Swift Boat debacle so I figured he meant what he said. But now the Karl Rove machine has been brought in and this campaign is no better than the ones they ran in the past. Rebublicans should insist on better from their candidates and the men who run their campaigns.

I've tried to send ya'll a note 3 times and for some reason it keeps dumping my posts. Please know I appreciate your comments to me. And I'll try again tomorrow! I lost 1 lb. last week. I'm feeling like I probably need to go ahead and get some restriction put back in! bj

In fact, a good example of what I'm talking about is found at the bottom of this thread. It is a question that asks: "Is it okay to Unconditionally meet with anti-American Foreign leaders?" Yes____ or No____ Paid for by John McCain for President. Now exactly when did Senator Obama suggest that it is okay for anyone to meet "UNCONDITIONALLY" with Anti-American Foreign leaders????? The honest answer is: He never has suggested or said that AT ALL! He said that he believes that it is in the best interests of the United States of America to meet with any and all heads of state of foreign countries... but he also said that we should not meet unconditionally with anti-American leaders. Of course he said it much better than I just did, but does this stop the Republicans or John McCain specifically from suggesting that Senator Obama thinks it is okay for a president to meet with foreign enemies of the United States? No. They go right ahead and ignore the truth and ignore what Senator Obama actually said and believes, and continue to lead people down the path of painting Senator Obama with a tainted brush. Republicans can't win without their dirty tricks. They proved it with Richard Nixon and have continued to prove it in every presidential (and many local) races since then. They believe that they are right about bombing Iraq. The fact is that they were and are wrong. They suggest that Senator Obama is wrong for wanting to get us out of Iraq. They have tried to paint that truth with the worst possible scenario - saying that Senator Obama would sell our troops down the river and leave a job undone by pulling out troops too rapidly. Lies, half-truths, ugly innuendo. That's what this race is about now and I for one, am sick to death of it.

In the matter of this race for the presidency, vacuous as a definition for experience is an interesting observation on your part, Jack. Especially since you go on to demean Senator Obama's experience in the same post. I believe experience is an important commodity in most jobs. However you sure can't count on experience to be the most important component for job qualification. For instance John McCain has lots of experience but his intellect is lacking. Senator Obama, on the other hand, is a brilliant man and has an awesome value system - one that McCain obviously lacks. In this particular race I believe that intelligence trumps experience. I am so sick of McCain's glomming onto the usual Republican tactic of saying anything and everything, real or imagined, honest and dishonest, just hoping that some of it sticks. Some of it always sticks, of course, and that's exactly how Republicans get elected in this country. They refuse to stick to the actual issues and much prefer to get all ugly and personal. It has been particularly ugly and dishonest over the past 3 weeks or so. I know why people choose to believe the lies and half-truths that they hear their candidate say, but for the life of me I can't understand how they can sleep at night when they put a guy like that in office.

I have an amazingly good whey protein mix that I use with skim milk for breakfast about 2 or 3 days a week. I get it from the doctor although I think I could probably buy it online for a lot less. It's very convenient to get it from him and I don't pay shipping. Without the milk it's 24 gms of protein and of course there's some protein in the milk. It's like drinking chocolate milk but not quite as chocolaty - but just as good. I could get creative and pump it up, but it is such a quick way to have breakfast, I don't bother. It's called: Peak Nutrition. Bioengineered Ion-Exchange whey protein. Located at Syracuse, NE. Absolutely the best tasting supplement I've ever had and I've had lots and lots. I wish I had some of your OCD, although not all. I am going to keep you in mind and use you for inspiration for keeping up with my food and drink journal! Is your notebook small so that you can carry it with you?

Two things that I'm sickntired of lately!!! 1) phone calls to my cell phone where someone leaves messages for some unknown person to call them back "right away." I finally got tired of just deleting them and called to find out what it was about. They were collection agencies (so they said) and had my number with someone else's name. AAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH! 2) I'm home recuperating from major, life threatening surgery and my phone rings 2 or 3 times a day for 4 days in a row. When I pick up, there's no one there. Same phone number with an "unknown" identity on my caller ID. Finally I picked it up and there was someone on the line. It was a nurse employed by my Health Insurance Company. No, she wasn't calling to see how I was after surgery. She had no idea that I'd been in the hospital. She was calling because she's a nurse who is employed by the insurance company to offer free advice and answer health-related questions. It was infuriating. After a very stupid conversation, where she kept asking if I have any questions she could help me with, I finally asked her something about the drugs they gave me at the hospital and she answered, "I have no idea." Good grief. It could drive a sober person to drink. I asked to be taken out of the "program" and that they never call me again. Well, they've only called once since then. I guess that's a start.:biggrin::angry_smile::biggrin::angry_smile:

U agree 100% too! Well said, OUSooner!

Holey Moley MimIN!!! Your photo is amazing! You are one gorgeous babe! Great job all the way around. Keep knocking them dead... I'm sure you are slaying them wherever you go. Congrats! karey: I lost another pound this last week. So I am down 11 since we started this thread. Another 9 in order to make the goal I set. I'm motivated more than ever. Today the doc said I shouldn't get any restriction yet. I have another appt. in 12 days. Maybe a small fill then. So far, I haven't really needed it. He also told me I can swim (as long as I don't do any belly busters - isn't he the funny one). I didn't ask him about free weights because I'm not supposed to lift more than 10 pounds for another 2 weeks. So I think I'm gonna go back to 3 lb. weights and it should be all right. jjsmiles: Today they (doctor & dietician) decided that I am not drinking enough water or eating enough protein. They want me to get 100 grams of protein a day!! Sheesh. Anyway, I agreed to journal everything. Everything I take in, everyday. I know I'll probably find out that I am not getting as much water and protein as I'd been telling myself. Are you journaling online or just on paper? Don't feel bad about the cake. I did a dumb thing and rewarded myself for the 11 lbs. - which is really dumb if you reward yourself with food, which I did - anyway I shared a hot fudge sundae at the Cheesecake Factory tonight with my DH and interestingly, I feel like crap for the first time in weeks. :biggrin: The good thing is that it has made me more aware of how lousy eating carbs and especially ice cream, makes me feel. :biggrin: Blotation big time. Back on the wagon and back to feeling better! :thumbup:

kat that loveseat sounds suweet! That's a great idea. I'm gonna try to talk my DH into that. His recliner is about to bite the dust and mine isn't that comfortable. If we could share a throw and cuddle in the winter, it would be super cool! Thanks for the idear. Elizabeth Hasselbeck is a freak without warning.

OUSooner, that's an awesome photo!!! I remember your photo from many months ago. Congratulations!!!! You must feel great!

kissyjean: Since you are from Illinois, perhaps you have some information about Senator Obama that I haven't heard. I would be very interested in knowing what it is that makes you anti-Senator Obama. I do not understand, for the life of me, how serving in a war or being a POW and suffering disabling injuries can possibly qualify a person for being president. It may underscore your belief that he is a man of honor, which is a great quality for a president to have. So in that way, I understand your point. I see why his adopting a handicapped child is something to be admired. But there's a lot of baggage that has come with his marriage and his service on the hill that is not attractive. None the least of which are his numerous prounouncements of a particular direction he believes in wholeheartedly, only for him to recant that statement and go in a completely different direction later - sometimes even just days later. He has accused Senator Obama of flip flopping but I have not found that to be true in nearly every case where he made the accusation. He has perfected the art of spin, which I am sure he learned over his many long years of dealing with the press. And we voters are very quick to buy into the spin without seriously checking out the truth. I believe we do that because it is not only convincing on the surface, but we WANT to believe anything that our candidate says. So we not only believe it, we repeat it, we revel in it and we applaud the man for saying it. We should be ashamed for blindly accepting things that we know are hateful, dishonest and blatantly disrespectful to either candidate. One of these men is likely to be our next president. We should be as respectful of the candidates running for the office as we think everyone should be of the president himself. If we were smart, we would stick to the real issues. Sometimes that's just too much work for us Americans. We don't want to give it that much time or energy. I once thought I could support John McCain, but that was long before I learned what the man is really made of. He is not what he promises to be and I feel that I know what I would be getting if he won the election. That is why I would never vote for him. I respect his service to this country. My heart goes out to him regarding his torture at the hands of his captors. But he's a desperate man and desperate men are capable of bad things. Listen closely to what he says about Senator Obama. Watch the Republican way of winning elections and if you can look past what you see and you can endorse their activities, then more power to you. I've been around a long time and I just hate what elections have become in this country. All that being said, I am sincerely interested in any information you can provide that makes you dislike the idea of Senator Obama being our next president.

You are obviously conservative and probably Republicans. Of course you want to defend your president. It is completely understandable. But you must understand that many of us (I'd guess at least 50% of Americans) totally disagree that 9/11 actually had anything at all to do with our shock and awe invasion of Iraq. And each and every rationale that you list only add fire to the fire in our bellies about this administration's lack of honesty, their disregard for the Constitution, the environment, our military personnel, and their unbelievable greed. To our way of thinking, the atrocities that this administration has committed are far, far more embarrassing and worse than the former president's sexual indiscretions. And thousands have died because of this president. Thousands! This administration did all they could to cloak the war in Iraq with the robe of the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. They kept us living in utter terror with their constantly changing levels of threat and constant reminders of how vulnerable the United States is. They used it until it finally became embarrassing to the White House. His latest fiasco was his big pronouncement that he endorses off-shore drilling for oil. And to underscore that statement of brilliance, the oil prices dropped that day. And you still think that this president isn't a pawn in this game? A game that you and me and most middle class Americans are paying for. It is beyond me how you and I can be living in the same country and have such polar opposite beliefs about what has happened to this country over the past 7.5 years. But we do, and those differences and our ability to voice our thoughts and beliefs is what makes this country stronger than most other countries. I do hope that you will agree (even if we think George W. Bush is absolutely the worst president at least in recent history) that we need to elect a new president who will actually be an good example to Americans and the rest of the world and who will be strong enough and intelligent enough to lead us out of this disasterous mess that we are in.

georgebals, you got that right!! The thing that is just nuts is that in the U.S., at least, they don't even have to be smart and have some style about them. We have some of the most lackluster people in our government these days and it sucks. It wasn't always this bad. There are degrees of badness and this is the baddest. You can quote me. :wink2:

It's funny how weight loss for me starts at the top and works its way down, whereas gaining is just the opposite. When I gain, it shows in my upper thighs and butt first and it takes a long time for it to effect my face and boobs and upper body. Now that I'm losing again, my face is getting very lean and bras are looser and the buns still look big as ever. Do you gain and lose that way karey? How are you doing today? I didn't ask about your perforated stomach and what that meant to your overall health. I was told that if my colon had perforated, it would have undoubtedly killed me. I'm sure your tummy isn't as much of a threat to your overall health though, especially if there's no necrotic tissue dumping into your innards. I've been guilty of kind of overdoing it the past couple of days. How about you? I know when I'm doing too much because my lower back and kidney area start hurting. At that point I have to sit or lie down until it's better. Do you experience anything like that? As for the general public here, I gotta say that without any fill I am enjoying drinking more Water. The restriction of drinking 15 minutes before a meal and 2 hours after really slowed my water intake down and I'm enjoying the stuff all the time. Anybody else have that situation or do you go ahead and drink water whenever you want to?

karey you're sounding stronger. Great! You have a fantastic support team - that's why we have kids I guess! You've done such a great job of loving and nurturing them and now they're anxious to take care of you. I'm very happy with my support team too, but I'll bet my daughter wishes I'd had a couple more kids. :biggrin: I'm sure she's pretty tired of having to do her jobs and mine too. She's been amazing. Sure helped my DH to have her support as well. I am glad that you were able to get a new band. When my stuff first started happening and I learned the kind of surgery I was facing, I figured I should have it taken out. But my LB doc was my surgeon for this too and he assured me that there was no reason for him to remove the band. Whew! It's been 3 weeks since the surgery and now I'm looking forward to getting a small fill. I hadn't realized how much I depend on my band and the way it keeps me in check. I've been eating bread, and had one muffin, none of which I had been able to eat for over a year. I realize now that I really didn't miss them and was doing just fine without that stuff. Congratulations on your first walk - the stroller probably made a good balance and something to lean on a little if you got tired. Thank goodness you were already in such good shape! That should really help you bounce back quicker. Good job of keeping the faith in the band. You're doing great, karey!

Hi luluc! Thanks, I've missed reading yours as well. I am definitely on the mend. In fact, it is going better than I thought it would. In another couple of weeks, I might enter a marathon. Well, that's a slight exaggeration maybe, but I might walk around a block! I've missed stirring up trouble. I hope you're taking care of things for me!