Carlene

Funny story, but true. When my daughter-in-law was in high school, she went to the grocery store with her mom to replenish the 'fridge after a nice vacation in Mexico. Her mom had traveler's checks left from the trip and used them to pay for her groceries. My DIL was HORRIFIED. She was afraid people would mistake them for food stamps!

And what would you tell a hungry child? You aren't my problem? I don't care if you live or die? What do you teach your own children about charity? That it's better to give than to receive, or it's every man for himself and if a five year-old doesn't have dinner, who cares? And what of the elderly? Should we kick them off the welfare rolls, too? I am glad to pay the taxes if it helps me sleep better at night.

Of course they aren't all honest. Is that any reason to do away with the program, or give them less per person each month? Trust me, I did not see the best side of all the people I worked with. I had a client who starved her newborn to death. She and her boyfriend were too busy getting drugged up to even ask a food bank for formula, let alone WIC or DHS. I had clients I hated to see walk in the door. They felt sooooooooooo entitled. I had things thrown at me, got called all kinds of names, and even had my life threatened once. None of that made me change my mind about the programs. Because I saw plenty of good come from them, too. And no matter how much I disliked the nasty, pushy, parents, I could never bring myself to take it out on the kids.

I never had a college-level instructor who CARED if I passed or failed. That was the biggest difference between high school and college (for me). Well, that and the dress code.

I think you're cute, Wheetsin.

I want Jon Bon Jovi for Christmas next year.

I like Brendan Fraser, too. But I'd classify him as a "pretty boy". Maybe a pretty boy with a geeky soul. By the way, that pic of him is AWESOME! I'd wash his fig leaf any day.

I have 4 (grown) children, all born in the 70's, plus I am raising a grandchild born in 1992. They all have an amazing number of things in common....attitude sucks, room looks like New Orleans after Katrina, "old" is 35, and more than anything, they just want to fit in. If you are an outstanding student, you "stand out", obviously. They don't want to stand out. They are Lemmings. PS....like everything else, there ARE exceptions to this mindset - like the Goths. But even still, all the Goths look alike, so even they aren't very original.

I am not Protestant....I am Catholic, and Catholics are definitely Christians - in fact, we are the original Christians. We believe that Christ died to redeem our sins, but we still require good works. The Church's philosophy is give of your time, your talent, and your treasure. The Catholic church, by the way, recognizes one baptism and one baptism only. If you join the Catholic church and were baptized in any other Christian faith, you're good to go....they will not re-baptize you. Nor do Methodists. I'm not sure about Lutherans, but my very good friend is President of his congregation and I will ask him. The Baptist church does not recognize any baptism but their own (I think) and certainly none that don't require immersion. I get regular Saturday morning door-knockers, too. One is the same frail, very elderly lady - all dressed up in her Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes - handing out the Watchtower. I am always kind to these people. How can you not be? They are practicing a very important part of their faith, and even though my church does not proselytize (thank God), I feel like it is my Christian duty to help them fulfill that obligation. My SIL and BIL were called on by two Mormon boys one summer (near DC). Mary (my SIL) is a good Catholic girl. She welcomed them, fed them, invited them back again and again. They loved coming over and playing pool with my BIL and the two daughters. But finally, they told her they had to stop coming because they knew in their hearts they couldn't convert them, so they weren't being missionaries any more, they were just two young men having a good time. I thought that was sad. What's wrong with just hanging out with decent people, just for the enjoyment of it? I wish religion didn't take the fun out of everything.

Actually, you stated that a family of 5 received "almost eleven hundred dollars" in food stamps, per month. I don't think $615.00 per month for 1 adult and 4 children (your example) is "enormous" - especially if those kids are teenage boys. It comes out to $1.36 per meal. Can you eat lunch on $1.36?

Missy....I soooo agree, except about the long hair. Brad Pitt's bare butt was the best thing about Troy! And I also think Leo is a little weird looking, but a great actor, nonetheless. Orlando Bloom looks like my son-in-law's brother, so that creeps me out too much to think sexy thoughts about him. And he's kind of scruffy looking. I like those smooth baby cheeks! I'd better get off this thread before someone locks me up for being a dirty old lady!

You know.....we need to form a posse and kidnap BOH and take her off to Vegas for a long weekend. Remember....what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!

I forgot to mention that my panties are actually quite small now. Part of that I attribute to the fact that I don't "sit on the computer all day". I walk an average of 20 miles per week. And I am signing up for some great classes at the local community college - Line Dancing, Swim Fitness, and Dancercize. It's a huge value. If you are 55 (or older) you can take as many non-credit courses as you like for one $20.00 fee.

I do not try and "discount" people, nor do I attempt to "dumb" them (whatever that means). I simply have a huge problem with people who post outrageous "facts" with no documentation to back them up. That, to me, is irresponsible. I would think that a person doing graduate work would appreciate that far more than the average person. None of my profs would ever have let me get by with that.

Paris Hilton?????? Three words for you, Saul..... WEAR A CONDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, but I LOVE pretty boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pretty boys with clean shaven faces....WOW!

That is absolutely true. Unfortunately, there is no perfect system. But is that a good enough reason to pull the rug out from under the truly needy people - and there are MANY? Should we stop giving food stamps to everyone because some people abuse the program? Remember that 80% of the people nationwide who receive food stamps are children. Personally, I do not want to be responsible for voting that a child should go to bed hungry - not one single child. I would rather feed 10 who don't qualify.

Children in the projects do not necessarily have weight issues because their families are being "overpaid" via food stamp benefits. Children in poor environments are often overweight because carbs (tortillas, bread, pasta, potatoes) are cheaper than protein and they help stretch the family's food budget. Medicaid, like Medicare and most private insurance, will pay for surgery that is deemed "medically necessary". Medicaid patients who have WLS have to meet the same criteria as everyone else. And there are, please remember, people on this board whose surgery was paid for by Medicaid. Only your remarks aren't directed at THEM, right? Only those "other" people on Medicaid. But all that aside, would you really trade your life for a free bypass surgery and 20 years in the projects? I wouldn't.

First of all, DC is not in Virginia. It is certainly nearby, but residents of DC do not qualify for benefits from the state of VA. (Incidentally, my DH's brother lived in Old Town until very recently and I have been there many times. Can't get much richer than that. But it's in Alexandria, VA - not DC.) Secondly, state guidelines for food stamp benefits are not county-by-county. They are the same for everyone who lives in the state. I, too, worked in social services for many years. I know that some parts of the state - any state - are far, far "richer" than others. I also know that people sell EBT cards, but that has no bearing on the state's proviso for food stamp beneficiaries. Please post your "sheet of eligible services", along with the source, and I will gladly apologize for my error. In the meantime I will see if I can find a source for my data, other than Virginia Interfaith. By the way, what do you have against them, exactly?

I would like to see some documentation regarding those figures. Big Girl lives, I believe, in Virginia, where food stamp benefits average 95 cents per person, per meal. For a family of 5 that would be less than $500.00 per month. I got the following information from the Virginia Interfaith web site. In addition, the VA Dept of Human Services says that only 54% of the state's residents eligible for food stamps actually receive benefits. · Last year, 488,481 Virginians used food stamps to buy food every month. That amounts to 6.5 percent of the people in Virginia. · Virginia food stamp households receive, on average, 0.95 cents per person per meal in food stamp benefits. This modest amount is crucial to financially pressed families. · The Food Stamp Program pumped $499,708,150 into the Virginia economy last year, benefiting farmers, grocers, and small businesses throughout the state. · About 80 percent of food stamp benefits go to households with children, many of them in working families. Most of the rest go to households containing elderly people or people with disabilities. In Texas, food stamp benefits average approximately $150.00 per person, per month.

I received a similar PM, although I did not feel that any apology was due me (only WonderKidsMom). I'm not sure I'm buying the "just thinking of her safety" excuse, though. Twelve step programs are all about support, first of all, and Persistance (sic) was NOT supportive. Secondly, it would have been much more productive to PM a note to Wonder saying, "Call me. I am concerned about you." Flaming the poor woman for posting was a very poor way to "protect" her.

Waaaaaay too much information, Sunta.....LOL

No kidding.....who would choose to be part of a persecuted minority?

Nobody else votes for Jimmy Spader? Come on....how can you not love that face?

I always said if I were sick, I could look at Robert Redford and get well. My all time favorite movie is Out of Africa, but every time I see it, I am so jealous, I want to KILL Meryl Streep.