BJean

Sorry Bubble. I did read the entire thread. Did pay attention and get involved. I'm telling you that's how I interpreted it. I understand that you think that I'm being obtuse and straying from the subject matter. It just seemed to me that you were using medical providers rights to open a forum on feelings about related hot button issues. I'm defnitely not wanting to argue any more than you are. By reading your response to TOM's comments, you seem to know the real answer to the question you pose in your thread. You're saying that it's a non-issue by stating that doctors and nurses and pharmacists do not have to do what a patient requests (or tells) them to do. So what's your point?

Bubble: The morning after pill and abortion are very "hot button" words. You can't expect to post them in the middle of your discussion about medical providers and not expect them to enter into the discussion. I understand what your thread was meant to discuss, but to say that it isn't about abortion or the morning after pill isn't correct. If it weren't for the morning after pill and abortion, would you still be discussing the rights of medical providers to participate in a particular procedure or pill to be dispensed? If so, what are they and why didn't you use those things instead of abortion and the morning after pill? It seems that it is because you knew that abortion and the morning after pill are things that will get a lot of attention in any thread. If not that, why not just ask if people think medical providers have the right to refuse to use a procedure they believe goes against their moral code or value system?

Victoriana: That was an awful thing for your MIL to say! If you were as thoughtless as she was, you could save a pair of big girl panties, wrap them up as a nice gift and attach a note that says, Your son just loved to get into these! :bolt:

I really like American Idol. I hope Chris Sligh goes a long way, although he won't win, I'm sure. I like the 5'10" seventeen year old gal. She has soul! Melinda is awesome. She's already a pro, but she won't win, she's missing a neck. Lakisha is very talented but she's working so hard at being professional, she's forgetting her audience. Boy has she improved in the external appearance category!!! Wow. I think the military guy, no hair, has a really interesting and entertaining voice. His bald head, big ears and huge eyes are distracting. He needs help from the crew that has gotten hold of Chris, Melinda and Lakisha. As for Sanjawahiawatha, what a joke. Sometimes I think it would be very funny if the Stern followers would keep him on and the show has to "deal with it" (as Simon likes to say) I am getting a little burned out on all these shows that are cropping up that require call in voting. The two best are AI and Dancing with the Stars (non-stars, that is) But some of this other stuff is downright gratuitous junk that is obviously just trying to cash in on the vote-in millions. Ok I guess for them, but not entertaining for me. :bored :bored :bored :bored :bored :bored :bored

We quoted "Yeah I want my cheesy poofs" for years after he said that!

Personally I am interested in reading people's opinions here. If I want to go to places that support my arguments and post them, that can be done, but I just don't see why I should. All of us have access to a computer.

Yeah Jack, 1441 makes me want to vomit. The crime of a war of aggression is listed in Article 5.1 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (RSICC) as one of the four most serious crimes of concern to the international community, and that it falls within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was addressed earlier by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg following World War II, which called the waging of aggressive war "essentially an evil thing...to initiate a war of aggression...is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole."[1

People shouldn't be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people. Things are certainly upside down in this country.

To those of you who are sick to death of my ranting and raving on this topic, just imagine how sick to death the families are of the men and women who have lost their lives or whose lives have been changed by the physical or mental handicaps they sustained while serving their country. They are the people I owe it to not to back down. They are the ones who deserve every bit of civil disobedience we can muster to buck this system that is in place. They deserve a hellofa lot more than a few rants and raves from the likes of me, but I won't shut up about it. So if you are tired of reading what I have to say, don't bring it up.

Yup. Same old argument. Diplomacy has worked often over the years. When we weren't in war, doncha know. The times we've gone to war stand out much more than the times that we've used negotiations to solve problems. But if you don't want to count them, I can understand that. There are many countries who don't believe in war as an answer. If you don't know that, you just don't want to know it. I can understand why you don't want to acknowledge them and their successful way of life. I think you're wanting to challenge the whole idea of diplomacy because it sounds like you've been listening to, and believing, some of your favorite pundits. Those are buzz words you're using that people who want to justify our aggression use. If we don't want diplomacy to work, it sure won't. This administration never gave it a chance. These are not diplomatic folks that are in power now. They are the people who know the monetary value of war and they are very intent on getting the results that they want by taking our country into war. They are people who believe that if a leader of another country doesn't do what we tell them to, then we have every right to drop our bombs and shock and awe the hell out of them. Shock and awe, buzz words fed to us by crazed people. Kill the hell out of them, massacre the hell out of them, are the words that are much more appropriate and accurate. You tell me... how has this war helped the United States? Why are you so supportive of an action that is so horrendous? What exactly has been gained? How many lives were lost on 9/11? How many lives have been lost as a result of our aggression in the Middle East? Is the Middle East more peaceful as a result of our aggression? Is Iraq really better off? In what way? I say way, not ways, because ridding them of Hussein is one way that some Iraqi people might be better off. I'm not sure there can possibly be other ways that Iraq has benefitted and I'm not even sure that many people would agree today that getting rid of him has been better for most of the Iraqi people. It seems that those people who believe that ridding Iraq of Saddam Hussein by bombing Iraq are people who not only believe in war, but who believe that war is the BEST answer. This discussion or debate is going nowhere. You believe in war. You believe that the United States is justified in killing to accomplish certain goals. I believe in war if we are threatened or attacked by a country. Neither of those components were present the night we went into Baghdad. I can imagine many of you who are pro-war sitting in front of your TVs that night, happy, even smiling, in the thought that we were showing that S.O.B. who's boss. I was in front of my TV aghast and appalled that my country would do such a thing. I couldn't help but cry for us that night. Unfortunately, everything I feared could happen has happened, and worse. I can't believe that there are people who are still defending the actions that Bush committed this country to that night. Even George W. Bush admits that it is a mess and that it was probably not the right thing to have done. But does he want to bring home our troops? No he does not. Do you know why? I don't mean what is the spin they've put out to make us believe it is okay to continue to subject our military and our nation to this hideous atrocity. I mean why are we still so totally involved there even after the admission and the public knowledge of how wrong this thing has gone? The truth? Please for the love of God, the truth!

OMG!!! I forgot about the Weight Gain 4000 episode! Gotta love every bit Cartman does!

Thanks TOM for such a good report. I will keep my fingers crossed that this continues to be the news you get and that you won't be diagnosed with MS. It is great that, even though the day must have been really rough for you, the news is better than what it could have been. I am sure you are exhausted with all the waiting, chasing down the MRI results, etc. Thank goodness you knew somebody who knew somebody or you wouldn't have learned as much as you did. I took Lexapro for a while before the Wellbutrin. At first you may get pretty tired. Most people do and then the tired-ness wears off. For most people. It didn't for me. I wound up practically sleeping all day. That's why I was changed to Wellbutrin. Most people have very good results with Lexapro. Wellbutrin tends to make one a horn dog. :paranoid I'm sure you don't need that. What you have lying in wait for Tina couldn't be neater! Her favorite kind of crab and a lot of difficult yard work that really will make a difference for her. Your plan to take her to dinner on Friday is perfect! You can make her feel special without making it all about the big six-oh. Having the plan for Brooklyn to come on Saturday will be fun for Tina. Now if you can just buy some stock in Lexapro and get some for the whole family.... Just kidding. I'm glad she'll be back with you tomorrow. You both need it. I'll be thinking of you.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean when you say a "candidate who supports gay rights." If by that you mean a candidate who believes that gays should be allowed to marry, I would imagine he is a candidate who cares enough about people that I would consider voting for him. If you are saying that a candidate who "supports abortion" is one who doesn't want to overturn Roe v. Wade, I would probably vote for him. In all honesty, if a candidate was completely against a woman's right to choose to have an abortion, I could never vote for him or her. In fact, I am sure you would find me volunteering at the campaign headquarters of the candidate running against a candidate who is against women's rights. That person is probably also against gay's marrying, and that would also make me want to campaign against him. My candidate would probably also be for doing all we can to extract our troops from Iraq. He or she would also stop cutting budget for the VET hospitals and all of the veteran's benefits. My candidate would be the kind of person who believes in working with other countries, if at all possible, to bring peace to the world. I know many Republicans believe that is an impossible task and that we just need to go whip the ass of as many bad people as we can make bullets for. But lets fact it, that isn't working too well for Bush, now is it?

L8BloomR: In the context of this one thread, I can understand why you thought I over reacted. The same tired argument has been going on for a long time and much has been said by the same people that has either suggested or specifically said that we should support George W. Bush because he is the President. They seem to believe, as some of the very vocal right wing journalists discussed in this thread, that to not support Bush is to be commiting an act of treason. I was at the point when I posted my scarastic remarks, just completely fed up with the ridiculousness of that viewpoint.

Dotofoz: I'm with you! Mr. Hanky was priceless! And Cartman's anal probe just laid me out!:heh: I also liked the one with the Etheropian boy they won with a watch. They found Sally Struthers holed up in the storage place where they keep all the food destined for starving Ethiopians and Sally had been hitting it hard.

Wheet: Didn't you think it was as if one of the LB posters had written the script? I mean I thought much of it went to the core of what we've all been batting back and forth here.

TOM: I've been thinking about you all morning. PM me if you prefer.

TOM: The answer to your last two questions is a resounding YES! I know this because I have read all the political threads here and I know exactly what we need to do. We need to shut up and back our president whether he is right or wrong. Even when he and his people admit that they were wrong in going to war because Hussein was hiding WMD, because like everyone was telling them, there were no hidden WMDs, we still need to state unequivocally that Bush was right for going to war. We need to support our president for holding people who haven't been charged with any crime. We need to support our president when we learn that he has been involved in influencing the Attorney General to fire anyone who goes against anything the president wants. We need to support our president when he abuses the power that he talked the Congress into giving him. We need to support the president in all matters. There are no exceptions. ALL of Bush's decisions are worthwhile, worthy of our admiration and praise because he is a good Christian and he has this country's best interests at heart. Yeah, and I have a great little piece of land I'd like to sell them in Florida.:heh:

I read a list of stuff that they say you'll need and I went out and bought it all. I didn't need any of those things. If you have a person who's available and can run to the store for you if you need something, you might not even worry about it too much before hand. I did stock up on clear liquid type food and the soft stuff to follow. I ate Cream of Chicken Soup mostly, after I started the protein shakes. For some reason it tasted fabulous! My doctor sent me home with an anti-nausea drug - soppositories, actually - because he said that you don't want to throw up, and they stay good in your refrigerator for a year. Haven't had to use one, but at about 8 days out from surgery I did need something for constipation which is supposedly pretty normal. Don't mean to give you more information than you want, but I didn't use an oral remedy for that, if you know what I mean. You will probably experience some bloating, but nothing horrendous. Please keep us posted! Good luck!

I've heard about "Enemy of the State" and seen parts of it. Thanks for reminding me of it. I look to see when it is on next and this time I'll try to TIVO it. We really like movies and can understand the underlying social commentary of some movies like the Walberg one. I don't enjoy the blood and guts, but I like seeing the human side through the actors and their scripts.

Far out! Grandpa's can be real nutz sometimes! My dad used to try to get my son to say, "I'm a horse at last" when he was learning to talk. You can imagine how it came out! :embarassed: Boo Boo Kitty: If my dad had given my kids coffee, I'd tell him that he had to buy them a small decaf latte or a hot chocolate instead of real coffee. Otherwise, I'd make him go sit in a corner all by himself! :heh:

BOH: When I do things like that I start thinking that I really am my chronological age. Most of the time I'm in denial. :help:

DynamoMini: My DH was home with me the day after surgery when I came home from the hospital. I was glad because if I needed anything, like water or lunch (jello, I think) he fixed it for me. However, I was up pretty much after that. I was sore and didn't stand up very straight, had trouble finding a comfortable position to sleep (I'm used to sleeping on my side), and I did have left shoulder pain. That was troublesome, but the more I was upright and walking, the less that was a problem. The doctor sent home pain medication with me, but I'd heard that it was constipating so I never used it. Not once. And I'm usually one to take advantage of pain meds. I just didn't really need it. I think you can reasonably expect to be uncomfortable for several days, but not in mega pain, as with a midline incision. The only way you'll understand is to go through it. I read many people here advise that walking is the best thing for the shoulder pain. So I got up and walked around the house as often as I felt like it. But at the end of week one, I woke up one morning without any shoulder pain. You'll be fine!

Denise: I lost 7 lbs. prior to surgery on the high protein and protein shake diets. After that, I lost about 3 to 4 lbs a week for a while. The last two months (of my 6 since surgery), I only lost about half a pound a week. I got a fill last week and now I feel like I am losing some again. I think I didn't have enough restriction plus I am sure I hit a plateau where my body didn't want to lose and wanted to urge me to put the pounds that I'd lost back on. That's what my body expected because that's what I've done in the past so many times. I am pretty sure that my subconscious was sabbotaging me too. I didn't have faith in the band and my ability to keep the weight off. Now that I am beginning to lose again, I am emotionally and physically hardly hungry at all again. YEA!!! That's what I've been hoping for. The dietician has told me repeatedly that at some point I will finally realize that I am not going to regain the weight and that I will continue to lose. She follows so many banded people and from what she's told me, what I just went through for the past couple of months, is very common.

This afternoon the DH and I went to Mark Walberg's new flick, "The Shooter" and it should be required viewing for a lot of people who post here. Nah, not really, afterall it is a movie, not a documentary. But it is amazing how relevant it is specifically to the political discussions and thoughts people post about the war here at LBT. If you're in denial about Bush and Co., you will make all kinds of excuses about how it is an exaggerated version of what goes on in Washington, D.C. In my humble opinion, based on my experience and exposure to politics, it offers up more truth than fiction.