BJean

A lovely, reasonable person stands before me? I can't seeee you.

And we've come full circle again. Either the far right is astoundingly stupid (which they are not) or they are only using these arguments as a front to give this administration a hard time. We all know what they're doing. And I'm pretty sure even their dumbest followers do too.

So there are millions and millions of lifeless embryos having been created but for some reason, perhaps due to a misshapen sperm or malformed egg for instance, and the embryo miscarries instead of develops, but nevertheless has a soul like a fully developed human being has a soul? Pity all those blobs of tissue created from misshapen sperm or deformed eggs that have no chance of actually becoming a baby, but have souls because the Bible tells us that sperma is seed and it is employed metaphorically for a person; and this “seed” (person) commences at “conception." Your logic is flawed. You're saying sperma is seed. But then you must take a leap to suggest that a seed is a person. Because to justify your position that a sperma is a person, you say that in the Bible "seed" (or sperma) is employed metaphorically for a person. Great powers of reasoning and deduction. But I'm glad to know that you and yours haven't "interpreted" the Bible. It's all there for all of us to know. Geez, woman get a grip.

Har! Good one Leigha!

You do take things personally, don't you. I was speaking in general terms about the far right wing. Which I know you do consider yourself a part of. And rightfully so, if we are to go by the words you write. But I am very glad that you admit to at least being indoctrinated by the Bible and your "bible school." Even if you are loathe to admit that it is really religious indoctrination. Other Christian religions use the Bible as their Bible. But not all, in fact not most, of them agree with the way you've interpreted it or the "formula" you've created - FROM YOUR TEACHINGS. I can't help but hold out hope for you. Somewhere inside you I have a feeling there is a reasonable, lovely person just waiting to bust out.

Ain't it the truth! They can't have it both ways. They're as transparent as a glass fishbowl.

I tivo'd Letterman when a woman who is president of her Tea Party was a guest. Letterman was amazingly civil and solicitous toward her. Democrats can do that, I'm proud to say. Unlike those on the Fox network who rant and rave at any guest who doesn't agree with them. One of the things Miss Tea Party starter emphasized was that Americans have demonized business in this country. She said that business is what runs this country and that business provides jobs. And we shouldn't over-regulate them. They should be allowed to make lots of profit because the more profit they make, the more employees they'll have. But she said that we shouldn't have bailed anyone out. The banks and car manufacturers should have just gone out of business. She said other businesses would have just come in and replaced the old businesses and Americans would still have lots of jobs. Of course Letterman, very respectfully said, well if the new car manufacturers are in China, thousands of jobs would be lost forever and more Americans would be out of work than there are now. Plus, aren't the banks paying back the money that we used to bail them out? She had to admit that yes, those things are true. These are the kinds of things that tea baggers don't understand. They spout all the popular right wing ideology, the things that they think make this country strong: big businesses with no regulations on them. But when you confront them with the truth and facts, they have to admit that maybe there is truth to what the Democrats are doing and saying. At least some will admit it. Some just keep ranting and raving with spittle flying out of their mouths and ignorant buzz words running through their fully endoctrinized little heads. Labor unions are a big huge truth. It's easy to assume and rant that labor unions cripple businesses. But the truth is that labor unions work to keep businesses safe and fair to their employees. Something that employers should be doing on their own. But in fact those things might cause their CEOs to get a million or two less in bonuses a year, so in many, many cases they are not fair to employees and they don't always keep the workplace as safe as it needs to be. The corporation arses who continually ignored the welfare of their employees in those West Virginia mines should be made to go down in those shafts everyday for a few of months, under the same conditions their employees had. Breathing the same air, taking the same risks that their dead employees had just to try to eke out a meager existence.

yes, he knows all, sees all, knows every hair on your head, knows what you're thinking, when you've sinned, when you've even thought about sinning... so you better not pout, you better not cry, you better not cry 'cause I'm telling you why... Santa Claus... oops, I mean God, is watching you tonight! Sung to the tune of Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

Hey VB, I'm having mine on the 28th so we'll be going through most of the same stuff around the same time. I don't know about Benadryl. I'd sure ask the doc about it though. Just in case. I have a question for anyone who might know. How long is it usually after surgery before you can take a pill? I am on Wellbutrin and if I don't take it for several days I will get suicidal. And I know this because I had emergency surgery a couple of years ago and after a couple of days without it I just wanted to die. And when I came out of surgery I was begging them to just let me die. That's not me! I'm normally just the opposite... don't you suckers let me die! I asked my doc's assistant and she suggested that I consult the pharmacy and ask if I can crush it. It's a timed-release med so I'm sure you can't crush it effectively. So either I'm going to have to wean myself off of it if I can't take it for more than a couple of days or figure out something else. Does anyone have a clue how soon I can expect to be able to take my happy pills?

Anyone who sets him or herself up as one who knows everything about God's will and plan is someone whose words cannot be trusted. And the more they proclaim that they have the formula that trumps all other religions and churches, the more they need to learn about humanity, life, peace and happiness. I'm not a genius but these things are obvious to people who have learned that they don't know everything and who are willing to continue to seek enlightenment and knowledge that goes far beyond the endoctrination of conventional religious teachings.

patty: "All (believers and unbelievers) will stand before God and give account for what they have done. They will be judged according to their deeds which are recorded in one of these books." Well this part of what you said makes sense to most people. The part where you say that people are going to heaven, no matter what if they just believe, is wishful thinking - for fanatical religious people.

Well either way, sounds like it's just part of the deal and we can survive it. Guess I'll invest in some GasX this time around. pnw, is your bottom ticker to keep track of the months? Do you expect to reach goal in 6 months? That would be simply amazing.

So it's eliminated eventually? But if that's so I wonder why girldep's doctor told her that it's absorbed? Inquiring minds need to know these things. :-)

Really? Wonder how that actually happens? Where does it go once it is absorbed? I mean into your organs or what? And why isn't it harmful if it isn't eliminated and becomes part of your body? I'm amazed that we can just absorb something like that. Very interesting - I'd really like to understand this better. Especially since there is so much shoulder pain involved.

Yeah the anti-choice folks really do not like Planned Parenthood. They say it's because the people at Planned Parenthood tell women how to go about getting an abortion. But that's really dumb because if a woman wants an abortion she will find a way to get one. But Planned Parenthood counsels on all the contraceptive devices and that's what makes anti-choice folks really mad. They want women to have unplanned pregnancies. They prove it when they lobby against sex ed in schools and the dispensing of condoms at schools.

patty: "It is right there in God's word. It's your choice to believe it or not. I choose to embrace it." Of course you choose to embrace it. It gives you an out for any and everything in this life that you've done that is not right. People like you always like to say: If I'm wrong nothing happens but if I'm right I'm going to heaven and you're not. Nothing happens? Well what if you're wrong? What if you've lived a life believing that you're forgiven of all your sins (like lying to and cheating the government, for instance) and the fact might be that you are NOT forgiven just because you say that you believe in Jesus and accept him as your savior. What if you are wrong? What if it turns out that you've spent a good part of your life thinking that you've been excused of everything. What if it turns out that you have to atone for some of the sins and omissions toward your fellow human beings, like not giving food to someone who is hungry just because they have a cigarette in their hand? What if YOU are wrong? Something does happen. What happens is that you think that good deeds are not necessary to get into heaven and that you do not have to account for the sins you've committed throughout your life. What if your life turns out to have been wasted on proclamations of redemption when in fact you have NOT been the best person you can be?

I do not know one person who is cheating the government (actually cheating me because I pay taxes), not one person. And I have to tell you that I know a lot of people. One of my projects is a women's league that raises money for charity. We come in contact with people who need help all the time. We research thoroughly the organizations and people that we help. Over 20 years I have only known one organization that asked for funding from us that was not worthy. That group refused to go by government guidelines because they didn't want "big brother" breathing down their necks. In other words, they did not want to have to have any oversight over their organization. You can't help but wonder why. So we visited their facility. They were way understaffed, marginally clean and offered nutritionally inferior meals. They are the only ones I've come across that weren't doing good and they weren't even taking money from any government program. And I have a neice who worked for WIC for several years. She counseled young mothers on nutrition and breastfeeding. Some of them were comletely ignorant about both of those things and yet they were bringing babies into the world. You can't tell me that that wasn't a worthwhile thing for WIC to be doing for the small community there and for the good of the future of the United States in the broader view. I can't help it, patty, I feel sorry for you.

Good question. It works it's way through your body like other gas you have in your body. At least I believe that's correct. That's what happened when I got the band. That is one reason why it helps to walk. It helps it move around and on out of your system faster than if you are immobile. Anybody can correct me on this if I am wrong.

Well thank goodness you're here to tell the Pope what he must do to get into heaven. I hope you're corresponding with him as we speak.

lisalu, I'm getting ready to have the revision surgery from band to sleeve and I am hypersensitive about any potentially negative problems with the sleeve surgical procedure. So I am glad that you brought the subject up and got some feedback. Before I got the band, I just read all the positive comments and literature and conveniently ignored the problems one might develop with the band. I don't want to make the same mistake again. I want to be aware of anything that could cause me to eventually regret the surgery. Btw, my mother and my sister both died from breast cancer. I was very worried for several years about developing breast cancer myself. I finally decided that I was wasting a lot of years living in fear. In fact it has been 20 years since my mom died and 17 since my sister died. So I'm glad that I let it go and stopped worrying about breast cancer. Now don't get me wrong, I do get yearly mammograms and I do self-exams on a regular basis, but I just don't think that I am bound to get it because members of my family did. For what it's worth...

patty: "It's not religion that I speak of, for religion is made of man, this is God's truths straight from his word. It is a relationship with him for all eternity after your physical life ends here on earth." It isn't God's word, my dear. God doesn't speak or write - except in people's minds. So it is actually about "faith" in the Bible - and "faith" that God influenced the writings in the Bible. That is a very important distinction.

rodriquez I agree with you about the reality of that last sentence by the person who critiqued the ad. And I really think that they are advertising something that insinuates a lie. It is typical of the anti-choice gang - they'll do anything to heap guilt on a woman who has to deal with an untenable pregnancy. And I totally agree with Leigha - if they were truly concerned about the children who are aborted, they would be working to prevent pregnancies so as to curb abortions. But they WANT women to have babies that they can't take care of and don't want. The anti-choice movement promotes women giving their babies up for adoption. If they weren't about adoption, they would be encouraging women to keep their children, not adopt them out. They would be spending money on seeing to it that these women would be able to take care of the babies. They also want control over women. They like to tell women that they're bad people if they choose to have an abortion. They're even telling women that if they have an abortion, they will never be the same. And they're thinking of babies as a commodity that can change hands with no detrimental effects on the child or the mother. Now THAT's a lie! Like the Republican party has become, the anti-choice movement is disengenuous in their arguments and they will stop at nothing to get their way. But like the Republican party, they have ulterior motives. If they didn't, their arguments and campaign would be completely different.

patty I have an interesting observation to tell you about. I had never paid any attention to your personal info until the other day when I noticed that you're 48. I was frankly very shocked. From the first post of yours that I read, a long time ago, when the real green was still alive, that you were some crabby older woman, probably in her 60s or 70s who was just mad at the world and set in her ways. Someone who thought she knew everything and was unwilling to listen to anyone else or consider any viewpoints that were different from her own. Ever since I saw how old you are when I read one of your posts recently I can't help but think you're just a really, really misguided soul who is fighting every day to justify her life and live down her past transgressions. You've conveniently structured your faith to do just that. You can't allow any differing views to influence you because it would mess with who you were and who you're trying to become. I used to feel sorry for you because you were a crabby old woman but now I just feel sorry for you because I think you're a desperate person. Someone who is striving to find her way but is losing ground every step she takes in the wrong direction. I know this sounds judgemental but I am not trying to judge you. I am simply trying to understand you. It seems I may be starting to figure out where you're coming from.

"BTW, you are so wrong about Christrians." sez patty. I don't clump all Christians together as one and the same. I don't expect you to understand my post. It seems there is no end to what you don't understand. But that's for you to handle. I didn't take you to raise.

Thanks you all! I am sorry that it's interfering with your surgery. And I sure hope no one was hurt! I'm shocked that Yuma realized a 6.9 from the quake. That would be a really big deal in L.A. They're so tightly packed - like sardines. I'm in Texas and quakes are virtually unheard of here. I can't even imagine what it is like to experience one. Hope you don't have any aftershocks! And best of luck to you with your surgery.