BJean

Carlene I think the reason we won't see the morning after pill sold over the counter anytime soon is because of the potential side effects, although I do not know that for a fact. Do you know anything about the side effects?

L8BloomR: No problem! I don't understand your opinion, but I respect that it's yours and you believe it.

Jack, listening to Rosie? I don't.

It's definitely a hot issue. If there were no threat of Roe v. Wade being overturned, the issue wouldn't be so hot. I can understand a people's ethics and not believing in women's ability to get an abortion. I can understand why you wouldn't want to have your taxes go to fund a poor woman's abortion. I wish there were some way that some of you could really understand what it means to some women. You can't, so I won't.

Denise:: You didn't ask me, but I'm over 60 and I am on HRT and I've lost 40 lbs. in 6 months post-op.

Jack you are obviously guilty of what you are accusing others of. Or does the fact that you watch BBC make you more Enlightened and less biased than most other Americans? Do you honestly think that Bush has a great plan for improving the United States? He's done nothing but run us into the ground, and that has nothing to do with political bias. It's a fact. We have the dead bodies to prove it.

TOM: Having bum knees myself, I can't imagine how you've managed to move that amount of marble/rock. She's going to be thrilled and proud of you. I just went back and read the first part of this thread about Tina's birthday. I am completely with Carlene on this one... if she says she doesn't want a big deal made out of her birthday, I'll bet she doesn't. Any other birthday that I've had was completely different from my 60th~! I spent the day holed up in my office. I wouldn't answer the phone because I knew it was friends and family wanting to wish me happy birthday. I just couldn't handle it. The shock of turning 60 was almost unbearable for me. My mom died many years ago from cancer, but if she were going through all that at the same time I was turning 60, I can't imagine how I would have coped. I wish I could come up with a sure-fire way for you to make her happy on her birthday, but I am of the opinion that you should play it down and don't say the word "Sixty" anywhere near her! Actually TOM many of my girlfriends are also on antidepressants. There really are some chemical changes that go on - the way all of our hormones are changing in our bodies and I don't just mean sex hormones - all of them. So if Tina is really having trouble coping, get her to a doctor who will listen to her and understand what she's going through and if she needs help with an antidepressant or anti-anxiety pill, do it! It doesn't have to be a long term med, but Tina's bound to be having one of the worst times of her life and there's not a whole lot that anyone can say or do to make that any different. She (and you) just have to live through it. She's going to be very happy with your yard project! She will enjoy it everyday.

TOM: I find it very interesting that you and Tina have a similar relationship/marriage as my DH and I. We couldn't be more opposite I don't think. It definitely does work to make things very strong since where he has weaknesses, I am strong and vice versa. It has been an amazing marriage. From the sound of things, yours is at least as amazing as ours. Maybe even better and stronger. Congratulations! Here's hoping that the reports on Monday will turn out to be very good and you will have spared her the opportunity to freak out. :girl_hug: I'm crossing my fingers for you. It's a little hard to type, but you're worth it.

TOM: I agree completely with your last post. The point you made is exactly why you can't compare Hannity, Limbaugh, Colter, Savage, and their ilk to people like Rosie O'Donnell and Bill Maher, for heaven's sakes! The interesting thing is that so many people today are finding more truth in some left wing comedians' lines about the news than they do in the "real news" reports from the extreme right wing.

TOM: What if you were called upon to service the airplane that was going to be used to whisk all the Bin Ladens back to Saudi Arabia (or wherever) the day after 9/11? What if you thought there was a very good chance that one or all of those people had information leading to Osama's hiding place? What if they were known to have been involved in the financing of 9/11? Would you want to be compelled to service that plane by the government even though it would go against everything you believe in? What if it was your job to service the airplane that was going to drop a nuclear bomb right smack dab in the middle of Iran? Is there ever a scenario where you would be called upon to go against your better judgment or moral values? As far as the gal who became impregnated with an unwanted child, most towns have people with a conscience who would be more than happy to help her get to a doctor who would perform her abortion. If a doctor disagreed morally with my decision to have an abortion, you can bet your sweet life I wouldn't want that dude touching me. As for the pharmasist, what is wrong with someone choosing not to compromise their moral values? Do you honestly think that we're going to have a massive onslaught of people wanting to become pharmasists just so that they can refuse to dispense that drug? As long as a person makes his or her wishes known about his intention not to dispense a drug before he is hired, I believe he has the right to back away from a job that compels him to dispense it as much as I believe that the company can not hire him based on his refusal. The whole thing could wind up back in the Surpreme Court, couldn't it? Well I guess that may be exactly what they're real intentions are. They've pretty well managed to stack the deck in the Supreme Court, so if that happens, my children will finally understand what it is like for there to be back alley abortions and women who do them submerged in a piping hot bathtub with a coat hanger.

Ugh. I've read this thread and what disgusts me most are the comments that "this is not about abortion." It is TOTALLY about abortion. From time to time stuff gets thrown in that isn't verbatim about abortion, but if this isn't a discussion on abortion, I don't know what is. Why is everyone so afraid to discuss it for what it is? They know that there will be lots of heat from both sides of the argument. I realize that Bubble says that the argument is all about whether a doctor should be compelled to perform a medical procedure that goes against his moral convictions, and whether a pharmacist should be compelled to dispense a drug that goes against his moral convictions. If that were REALLY the issue, why not just say THAT? Personally I think there is way too much interference today in what Americans can and can't do that should be guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. I don't think that any physician should be compelled to perform a procedure that goes against his values. I don't think that a pharmacist should take a job where he will be expected to dispense a certain drug without disclosing to the employer that he will refuse to dispense a drug if it is against his morals, before he takes the job. It isn't the job of the physician to ensure that a woman be given a drug that causes spontaneous abortion or to perform an abortion procedure even if he's the only doctor in town. The woman who became pregnant, even if by rape, is responsible for seeking help within the community, if possible, or outside the community, if necessary. Just so you know a little more about what I believe: I believe it is every woman's right to be able to make the decision of whether or not to have an abortion or take an abortion inducing drug.

Jack: re: "and the huge group of those who have no interest in who they are and what they may say..." Poppycock. If there was truly a HUGE group who had no interest in them or what they say, they wouldn't have such a public forum in which to speak. This is a capitalistic society baby, and whoever pulls in the money is who gets to be heard. So I'm guessing by their exposure, they're pretty darned popular so the corporate bigwigs put them on the air and the companies are willing to endorse them by spending lots of money on advertisements right before, during and right after their shows. The fact that there are so many people who want to hear them and who do tune in, is significant indeed. If fact if people weren't being influenced by the right wing media, people in this country would be rising up en masse to oust this president and his pack of war mongers.

P.S. Sorry about your mom's BP. We're dealing with that right now with my MIL. She had a stroke right before Christmas, was doing well with re-hab, then had another small stroke, but is doing well again. Not quite able to dress herself completely and take a shower alone, etc., however. The cost of her being in a nursing home/rehabilitation center is astronomical. If she can't go home soon, we're faced with putting her in some kind of assisted living facility. She's seriously p'oed about it. Just wants to go home. She has no problem with speech or mental except for a little bit of short term memory loss. I cannot imagine how I would cope with it if someone suggested that I bring her here to live with me. My heart goes out to you. How the heck did your dog get mange? I didn't know that malady still existed. Is it from an allergy to fleas? We had a neighbor dog about 20 years ago that suffered from it and his was from flea bites. (If my memory serves me right.) Also to relate to your bird story, we have some doves that made a nest right outside my kitchen eating area windows in a planter. She laid 3 eggs and I was looking forward to watching them hatch. Well a hard rain and strong wind came and they all got blown out of the nest and broke in half. Dang it.

Bitter: You (we) have every darned right to be bitter!!!! Is Dan Boren David's son? I remember David Boren. My family used to like him pretty well. At least my teacher sister did (lived near OKC). I've read here at LBT that some of the neo-cons who still love the hell out of Georgie Porgie, don't think Dubya should be taking all the blame for the war in Iraq. They keep posting that a president can't take our country to war all alone and that Congress is also to blame. Is that the kind of thinking that is going on Oklahoma? If you say yes, I'm going to stop feeling so darned homesick!

My nieces and nephews are getting into those drinks so that they can work out harder, run faster, etc. Yeah. Speed freaks!

TOM: In your first post about this you wrote "Muscular" Sclerosis. Did you mean Multiple Sclerosis? Anytime someone in a doctor's office says a word like cancer, or multiple sclerosis, or alzheimers or any other possibly life altering disease, it is jars you to your very core. The very idea that there is a chance that your life could change dramatically or could even be shortened is a huge concept to have to deal with. I've have had to deal with this several times in my life. Once for myself, the others with loved ones (and one very, very precious loved one). What I know for sure is that for a lot of people, getting the news in baby steps is much more bearable. Someone asked if Tina knows you went for the tests. If she did not, you might tell her something like: the doctor thinks my imbalance problem could be something we need to figure out by process of elimination. So he wants to give me lots of tests to rule out anything bad. Then depending on when she is planning to be back with you, give it to her in very short, non scary bits, especially if she's still in N.Y. If Tina is anything like me, she will sense that you are concerned and she will want to know more, in fact demand it, and she deserves to know what you (actually both of you) might be up against. I think it will be up to you to sort of set the bar for how alarmed you both feel. If you appear to not be too worried, she will probably be less worried and be calmer. If you can focus on any positive possibilities, that should help both of you. Let me ask you this, if the shoe were on the other foot, and Tina was in Fla and you were in N.Y. and she was undergoing tests, would you think it would be better for her to wait until you got home for her to tell you all about it? Would you want her to wait until after your birthday? Or would you rather she would share it with you and rely on you for moral support? You're the only one who can answer that question, and the input you got from your son is the next best thing. If I know you, you've already explored everything available on the subject of demyelinaton and MS, muscular or multiple, on the 'net and you've got a pretty good idea of what your worst case scenario is, as well as the best case. You know that there's a whole lot that plays into recovery or remission when it comes to illness and treatment. Much of it has to do with how you handle it. I have lots of faith in you and your ability to keep a positive outlook. You have a great sense of humor and although it might be hard to stay upbeat when you are worried, being depressed doesn't improve your prognosis, no matter what it is. Oh geez, listen to me... I'm on Wellbutrin! I can say positively though, if you need an antidepressant, don't hesitate to take one! Please, please keep us posted. You know we will all be thinking about you and wondering how you are and what you've found out! I wish I could give you a big strong bear hug, but for now this will have to do. :girl_hug:

karey: I think Weight Watchers works for some people. For chonically overweight or obese people who have been that way for a long time, I don't think it or any of the other calorie restrictive diets work - not without some help. Otherwise why would so many of us go on them, lose weight, go off the diet, regain the weight, go on them, lose weight, go off them, regain the weight, etc? Even Weight Watchers is a place that for most people it only works as long as you're going to the meetings, counting points or calories, and all just according to their plan. We need a way to change our habits for life. If it was as simple as a diet, most of us would have been able to do it. With the Lap Band, we still have to do careful planning of meals and be aware of what we put in our mouths. It is just a tool, and we still have to do the work ourselves, but it is a tool that helps us all the way. I know you must be really happy with your band Karey because you've had fabulous success. Just remember that it is YOU who did the work!

Yeah I want some cheesy poofs! What about the episode where they reveal who Cartman's dad is?

:heh: :heh: :heh: :heh: :heh: Yeah, Tom!

Gosh, thanks TOM. I can't believe I actually told it. My DH doesn't even know about it. Not something to bring up in everyday conversation, you know? Anyway, thanks a bunch for being supportive about me blurting it out. Right back at you!

One of the very first episodes continues to be at the top of my list: The one where Cartman has the outerspace antenna implanted in his ass. Oh geez, that entire episode is hilarious! The second fav is the one about fecalfelia and the Christmas Poo. Today I met with a CPA who I swear in an hour said, "um kay?" fifty-three times!

On a much brighter side to the story, my hero, the attorney who ran for public office, lost the race but I did go to work for him! He wound up doing phenominally well and wound up arguing a case before the Supreme Court. I have no idea what happened to either of the other two guys. I do know that Paul never really dated Rebecca after that. Although let's face it, they were made for each other.

You're telling me! I don't know why I thought about that incident. I had pushed it back for years! I was so humiliated and embarrassed and horrified that I never spoke of it again. I felt pretty hard toward my roommate too. We parted ways soon after that. I could hardly look at her. Now I find myself telling about it in this public forum. CRAZY! But thanks for allowing it. It felt good somehow to actually face it.

Jacqui: Amen! I don't live in Australia, but I can sure sympathize! I don't get all the shouting about Krispy Kreme donuts. They are fat balls. As for Starbucks, well, er, mind your own business. The damn stuff is addictive and I can't help myself.

Backing up just a bit. I bought "The Passion of the Christ" because I wanted to be able to watch it without having to listen to comments of other theatre goers. I am so sorry I spent that money and contributed to lining the pockets of Mel Gibson. That movie should be just what TOM suggested it should be, rated XXX!!! That was the most disgusting display of gratutious violence I have ever experienced. It was dispicable. There was scene after scene of flesh flying everywhere from the whips. If a man were to be whipped and beaten the way that Jesus was in that movie, he would never have made it to the mountain to be nailed to the Cross. NEVER! It reminded me of some of the Sam Peckinpah movies where people were shot 50 times and got up to shoot back some more. There was more bloodshed from one man than a man has blood in his entire body. Lets face it. That crap sells tickets. If it didn't, why would movie makers depict violence that way? I am sure that many fanatical Christians were inwardly pleased to see Jesus treated that way in the movie. Somehow they hoped it would make non-believers feel guilty. I am sure there were more reasons why extremeists enjoyed that movie. I think that God would be completely disgusted by it and ashamed of Mel Gibson for using the story of Jesus to sell tickets by showing that kind of gore. He's obviously done it to make money and to shock and shame people. It was utterly revolting.