Carlene

Excuse me, but that's exactly what you said.... So....you're saying that our approximately 23,000 troops in Afghanistan are merely a "remnant"? Sounds like a bunch of people to me. But I suppose one man's remnant is another man's show of agression. Nevertheless, we have treaties with Japan, Germany, and other nations which allow our presence in their countries - a very different thing than what we are doing in Afghanistan. We are not forcing an occupation on the people of Germany, Japan, etc. We do not meddle in the affairs of their governments whatsoever. And CUBA??? Where have you been living for the last 40 years or so? The only US presence in Cuba is the prison at Guantanamo Bay, which we have occupied for over one hundred years via a lease agreement. Castro's government, by the way, maintains that our presence there is illegal. We have NO contact with the Cubans.

I never said you had called anyone a fool. I was just being a bit proactive, hoping to head off any ugliness before it started. I have been on this forum longer than you, and I have seen these religious threads become soooooo nasty. I just wanted to point out that hatefulness in the name of Jesus is still hateful.

You're right....it does. And I think non-Christians should probably just skip right on by this thread, as you specifically identified it as being "for Christians". But if one or two happen to wander in, I don't think we should be calling them names. It's just not necessary and only gives Christians a bad name. There are some really nice people on this forum who aren't Christian. They believe, in their heart of hearts, that I am a fool because I believe in God. But they are polite enough and civilized enough that they don't say so in their posts. I think we can extend them the same courtesy, don't you?

Thank you, Kitty. I love you, too. Especially your screen name. I used to have a Boo Boo Kitty. I had to change his name from Daffodil after someone pointed out to me that "she" was a boy cat. So I named him "Boo Boo". Every time I tell someone that story, they ask me if the cat was yellow. No....he was solid black. I have no idea what inspired me to name him Daffodil. I was about 9 years old....LOL.

And this would have what to do with my post - the one pointing out that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11? You think Afghanistan is "cleaned up"? That's interesting. My youngest son was just offered 30K MORE than he was paid working in Iraq to go to Afghanistan. They want my kid to sign on for a year, minimum. Working at a US air base. With US servicemen/women. So I'd say we're still in Afghanistan. Have you checked out the biographies of the 9/11 terrorists? Fifteen of the attackers were from Saudi Arabia, two were from the United Arab Emirates, one was from Egypt, and one from Lebanon. NONE were from Iraq .But we never considered invading Saudi Arabia, did we? Maybe because Bush has his head stuck so far up the Saudis' butts, and has for years.

Of course Arab oil-producing countries share in the profits, as well they should. It is, after all, THEIR oil. But Exxon, Mobil, Shell and the rest have posted HUGE profits since Bush took office. Their "share" as middlemen has gone way, way up from what it used to be. So when we start paying $4.00 per gallon for gas, it won't be the Democrats' fault, as you claimed, but the fault of greedy, Republican, big business, oil retailers. You know....the guys Bush doesn't want "burdened" with big corporate income taxes.

Courtney Love makes me throw up. I have to have a towel handy when I watch TV, just in case.

Are you kidding? How about HERE? NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Profits at Exxon Mobil surged 36 percent to a near record $10.4 billion in the second quarter as surging oil prices helped the world's largest publicly traded company soundly beat Wall Street forecasts. The company's profit - which amounts to a cool $1,318 a second - is the second biggest ever reported by a U.S. company, behind only the $10.7 billion Exxon itself earned in the fourth quarter of 2005.

Why is it so hard for you people to understand this one little truism... IRAQ HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH 9/11. NOTHING. ZERO. NADA. Invading Iraq did NOT prevent another terrorist attack. That is faulty logic. It's like saying my neighborhood hasn't experienced any crime since I killed all the ants in my yard, so it must have been the ants who stole my husband's golf clubs out of our garage. I take that back....it's not faulty logic - it's just plain stupid.

You are not a "bad person" for telling me what you believe. If you insist on labeling me a "fool" because I belong to a different (Christian) church than you, or don't share all your church's doctrines, then we would have a problem. I am a Catholic. Catholics are Christians. Catholics are, in fact, the original Christians. I am not anointed by God to convert you to Catholicism and I promise not to try. I also promise not to pass judgment on your beliefs. They are as valid to you as mine are to me, and I respect that. Arguing with people will not convince them that your way is the "right" way. It's a lot like trying to teach a pig to sing.....it doesn't work and annoys the pig.

The infamous Mr P saga continues, believe it or not. Are you ready for the latest installment? Mr P was married on schedule (less than 3 weeks after burying the first Mrs P). Now Mr P has announced that he is going to adopt the new Mrs P's granddaughter (age 17). This girl has lived with her grandmother for a number of years because her mom is a druggie and totally out of the picture. Her dad, however, is still around and has been, not the greatest parent in the world, but not a complete no-show, either. He bought her a car last year, for example, when she got her license. And as soon as she moved in with Mr P and his (then) lover, he came over to meet Mr P and check out his daughter's environment. Anyway, this is supposedly all the granddaughter's idea and she wrote her dad a letter requesting that he give his permission for the adoption (had it notarized and everything.....pretty savvy for a 17 year old, don't you think?). It's pretty obvious to me that these two women (the new Mrs P and her granddaughter) are VERY street-wise. My mother used to say that "there's no fool like an old fool". I'm beginning to believe she was right. I just hope they aren't planning Mr P's demise.

Every year I tell my MIL, who will be 87 this month, that there is no such thing as a bad birthday.

LOL....when my kids were little, I used to say, "You shot a bunny!".

I know there are people who do this sort of thing, but outside your own family circle, it probably makes people uncomfortable. I have a daughter-in-law whose sister has a biracial baby. The baby's (white) grandfather calls him "my little niglet". It's their family and if they think it's funny, it's not my place to make an issue of it. Still....I shudder everytime I hear him do that.

pleeeese ,pleeease how do you quote somebody??? Have mercy, anybody???? To quote this you would enclose the above with

Good Point. My DH was a crew chief for AA and it was like working at the United Nations. He had a black guy from Nigeria who complained one night about his assignment, so my DH said, "I could put you on interiors but you'd have to work with Kenneth and he doesn't believe that Lincoln freed the slaves." (Kenneth was anal about interior repairs and had the reputation of not giving anybody a break. He wrote up every tiny little imperfection and made the guys fix them ALL.) The guy from Nigeria complained to the general foreman about DH, claiming that he had made a racial slur. DH apologized. Nigeria guy did not believe he was "sincere", so he nixed it. DH had to literally beg this guy for forgiveness. It was not a joking matter. DH's job was seriously on the line. Had he (Nigeria guy) taken his complaint higher up, it would have been the end of my DH's 35 year career in the airline industry.

Sorry, but that still doesn't make it okay. I might think it would be hilarious to pants you in front of a restaurant full of people but if you, the victim, don't laugh, then it wasn't a joke - it was cruel and demeaning.

If every single one of those young women is satisfied with Imus' apology and does not feel that more drastic punative measures are in order, then I'm satisfied, too. You are right.....they are the only ones who get to judge the depth of hurt, humiliation, etc that resulted from his remark.

I would have been the first to celebrate Mr P's new life/love, if he had not moved the woman into his house the same week he put his wife in a nursing home. Tacky, tacky, tacky. I would have danced at his wedding, if he had waited a bit more than two weeks from the day his wife was buried. Widowed people deserve to be happy. I have been widowed myself - twice. Maybe I just have unreasonably high standards, but I waited until my husbands were actually DEAD before I started dating. But that's just me.

Dr. Smith once told me that HE is very sensitive to fills, so I would have thought he would be more understanding. Your insurance should pay for the scope, no matter who does it, because the issue isn't weight loss, it's esophagus irritation, which is nothing to mess around with. Smith is a general surgeon, by the way - not just a Bariatric doc. I know this because we were in his waiting room and people were talking about how far out they were and pounds lost, etc. My DH decided that one lady was being ignored, so he said to her, "How much have you lost?" She said, "I had my gall bladder removed."

God, I'm older than I thought! I once made a huge issue of a coach who told my 12 year old, "I don't like your f%$#ing attitude." The coach got a written reprimand, which went into his personnel file. Interestingly enough, he apologized to me for his language, but refused to apologize to my kid. He got written up for that, too. I have known people who called their daughters "whores" and "bitches". I can't imagine doing that. My daughter would cry, and she's 34 years old.

South Park is a cartoon. I don't believe that cartoon characters are due the same degree of respect as real people. And I agree that Don Imus is probably not a hate-monger or a racist. That does not make him any less responsible for what comes out of his mouth, however. You simply can't excuse that kind of thing by saying it doesn't count unless it comes from a racist, or an anti-feminist. I am none of those things, either. And I'm pretty funny sometimes, too. Does that mean it's okay for me to post pithy one-liners on LBT, incorporating the "N word" into my remarks? Of course not. And I'm betting I'd get banned in pretty short order, don't you think?

I would not take kindly to being called a "bitch" or a "whore" by anyone. I would not be amused, no matter who made the remark. Call me old fashioned, but if a talk show host went on the air and called me, personally, a whore, I'd want his ass fired, too. But that's just me.

There is a big difference between rappers who refer to ALL women (or even all black women) as whores and Don Imus, who insulted a much, much smaller, much more specific group of people - the women's basketball team of Reutger's University. These are women with names and faces. It would be about the same thing as him calling Condoleeza Rice a "nappy-headed ho". How well do you think that would have gone over?

So did I, Elf.....and your previous post concerns me a bit. I have issues, too and am scheduled to see Dr S on the 18th. I suspect either a slip or a dilated esophagus. Barring one of those, I don't know what to make of it. I've been banded over two years (11/29/04) and have been pleased, overall, until the last 6 or 8 months. I've gone in for two small unfills (didn't see the doc, however) but instead of resolving, it's gotten worse. Did Dr Smith do a swallow study under fluoro for you? Did he suggest a scope by a Gastro? I had a CT scan of my chest and I have Fluid backing up behind my band. That was the radiologist's report - not sure what it means. But I have a hard time believing I have dilated my esophagus, as I cannot eat more than 8 or 10 oz at a time - even chunky Soup is limited to that. My band has always been VERY, VERY touchy. Stress makes it tighten up like crazy. food that doesn't go down easily makes it swell up and hurt. I've always said, do not fight with your band....you will not win. And for me, that has been completely true. I like Dr Smith, but if he doesn't have an answer for me, or doesn't appear to be interested in finding one, I am going to be VERY upset. I have a very irritated esophagus and if my band has to be removed, it's questionable whether I will be a candidate for another one (for fear of causing Barrett's Esophagus). And I doubt my insurance would pay for a revision to another procedure because my BMI is 25. Did Dr. Smith give you any feedback at all?