Carlene

Bill Clinton came from a truly bizarre, dysfunctional, dirt poor family. His biological father died before he was born and was actually a bigamist. His stepfather, who eventually adopted him, was a violent alcoholic. His half-brother Roger also suffered from alcoholism. Clinton attended public schools in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the 49th ranked state school system in the US. (Arkansas' motto is "thank God for Mississippi".)

Bill Clinton....best looking president in US history.

Mr. P came for a brief visit today. First time I've seen him since he put Mrs P away. I made sure I had someplace I had to go and ducked out shortly after his arrival. I did speak to him - pleasantly. He is having Mrs P moved today to a less expensive facility. I figured this would happen as soon as Medicare opted out, plus he did not expect her to live past the first of the year. What a jerk he has turned out to be.

You are not "disabled" by obesity unless you are so severely overweight that you cannot get out of bed, cannot walk, etc. You are not any more discriminated against than women (still getting paid less for the same work), minorities, and a hundred other "groups". Short people are discriminated against. I need a step-stool to reach the top shelf in the grocery store, but do they provide one? Nooooooooo. I have felt the heartbreak of being fat, too, so I know whereof you speak, but let's don't get so focused on ourselves that we forget what REALLY disabled people contend with on a daily basis, with no chance of recovering from their disability - no Lap Band for MS or CP.

Pay close attention to what these people eat on a regular basis. They have a salad for lunch, not 2 cheeseburgers from McDonald's. They do not eat a lot of bread. They do not snack on sweets between meals. If they drink soft drinks, they choose the diet variety, and they almost never drink alcohol. I used to work for a former model. She was 60 when I met her. She has been thin all her life, but she works at it - even now, in her 70's. When her waitsbands start to get the least bit tight, she cuts back. But she doesn't starve herself. The first thing she does every morning is eat. And she eats 3 meals every day - nothing in between.

Be sure you have a local doctor lined up to do your fills BEFORE you have the surgery. With the Lap Band, after care is EVERYTHING.

TOM has never said, although several have asked. I think it's a subtle reference to "BS".

Not Hanoi.... Haiphong HARBOR. Big difference. Sorry about that. Regardless of why we were there, bombing Haiphong Harbor would have crippled the Viet Cong supply lines.

Cancer cures smoking.

Actually, I meant the reference to "I date smokers", right before you mentioned a husband. Dating anyone before your DH dies from Lung Cancer might be a roadblock to marital happiness. Or not....guess it depends on your husband.

Not sure that smoking is your biggest relationship problem, Big Girl.

A driver is stuck in a traffic jam on US 95 south, just outside of Washington. Nothing is moving north or south. Suddenly a man knocks on his window. The driver rolls down his window and asks, "What happened?" What's the hold up?" "Terrorists have kidnapped George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Condoleza Rice. They are asking for a $100 million ransom. Otherwise, they are going to douse them with gasoline and set them on fire. We are going from car to car, taking up a collection." The driver asks, "About how much is everyone giving?" "About a gallon." Just thought I would inject a little levity. You're right about "worst" being a subjective description. So is "best"....and "most responsible", "most honest", etc. FDR almost let England fall before he (grudgingly) came to her aid. Some would see that as a good thing - others not. Same with Truman and the A bomb. You can't argue with success, and it certainly had the desired effect of ending the war with Japan. I've felt for years that we screwed around in Vietnam and lost countless lives unnecessarily, when we should have bombed Hanoi Harbor and just gotten the bloody thing over with.

No, I think the band makes it somewhat harder to regain the weight, but not hard enough....LOL. I can't eat bread, Pasta, rice, cake, pancakes, the skin on the chicken, etc. And that's a good thing, right? I can't eat large quantities of anything, really, although I can eat way more Cheetos than I wish I could. And too much ice cream. So the band does have SOME impact on your food choices, but not enough to do all the work for you. If you think the whole thing is a done deal once you've reached your goal weight, think again. But the same is true of the bypass. I know as many RNY patients with bands installed over their bypass as I do Lap Band patients revised to RNY. I know RNY patients on Weight Watchers and Lap Banders on WW - just as many of one as the other. There is no magic bullet - except the kind you use to blend your Protein drinks.

But Atheists often do good works too, and it's not out of love for God. It's because they are kind, compassionate, people. Sometimes you're a beacon, even though you don't believe in the power of light.

Morality and Christianity are not synonymous. An Atheist can absolutely be a moral person. Morality means doing the right thing. You can, of course, do the right thing, or the charitable thing, without being a Christian. Lots of good people aren't Christians. On the other hand, Christians don't always do the right thing, and real Christians know that better than anyone. The incentive to be a good Christian is hard to explain. The closest I can get is that nothing makes you feel as good about yourself as doing a kindness for someone else. There was a little story in our local paper at Christmas about a doctor who was shocked a few years ago to learn that two of his patients were homeless children, living in a cardboard box. It was Christmas time, so he bought a few toys and set out on icy streets to find the girls. They were more overjoyed than any two children he had ever seen. When he got home, the food from Christmas dinner was all gone, his own children had scattered to play with their new toys and the company had left for home. His wife offered to fix him a sandwich and told him how sorry she was that his Christmas had been spoiled. "Spoiled?", he said, "I've just had the best Christmas of my whole life." The doctor has been playing Santa every year since then to children who live on the streets - not out of sympathy, but because it makes HIM so happy. Like virtue, the emulation of Christ is its own reward.

Oh, I like this one! And it might actually make sense! How many women have you known that went out to a bar dressed in a tank top and low-slung jeans that showed their butt cleavage, then complained because some drunk pinched them on the ass? Come on, girls! If it walks like a duck and dresses like a duck and wiggles its butt like a duck, then every cowboy with half a six-pack under his belt is gonna try and touch your quacker. Can you blame him?

If you go up to most people at a church and ask them if they are GOOD Christians, most will say, "I try to be", or "I hope so". At least that's what the people I go to church with would say....even my priest. I'm guessing that by this, you mean some people may claim not to be good Christians, while deep down they believe they really are. The point of this would be what???? I think you can be a mediocre Christian and still go to heaven. In fact, I'm counting on it.

No, Green. They are soooooo not going to get it.

I've been fat and I've been thin....and everything in between. I wouldn't choose fat if it came with a million dollars.

No we don't. We think we are true believers, but most of us know we fall short of being Christ-like, which is the real definition of a Christian.

Let me tell you about a true Christian. I am reading a biography called Prison Angel. It is the story of Mary Clarke, a well-to-do white woman, who grew up in Beverly Hills, was married twice, and raised seven children in comfortable circumstances. Then, at the age of fifty, she experienced a calling to serve God so strong that it led her to literally sew her own habit and move to one of the most infamous penitentiaries in Mexico in order to help the inmates there, even though she spoke no Spanish and had no particular ties to the Hispanic community. Now eighty years old, Mother Antonia, as she is known, is considered by many to be a living saint, someone who has walked directly into the middle of prison riots and gunfire to save lives. By all accounts, there isn’t anything she wouldn’t do for her “beloved hijos” (sons), and she has given everything to them, unconditionally, for nearly thirty years. To this day, she lives in a small cell, unequipped with either heat or hot water, alongside drug addicts, murderers, and the poor. This woman's story humbles me to the core. She has inspired thousands of "good Christians" to be what she is - the image of Christ on Earth. Allow me to quote a passage from the book... Mother Antonia took Sam one day to Tijuana's red-light zone, where she goes regularly to check on the prostitutes. They found one woman laid up in bed with terrible sores on her feet from an infection. Mother Antonia wanted to take her to the doctor, but she couldn't walk. So Sam, the smartly-dressed, silver-haired pastor from one of America's richest counties [Orange County, CA], leaned over and scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the doctor's office. As he walked past the Tijuana cantinas with a sick prostitute in his arms, he never felt more needed. I wish I had a fraction of Mother Antonia's devotion.

I almost went nuts looking for your original post about Truman and the "unnecessary" atomic bomb so I could reply. Are you deliberately trying to confuse an old lady?

It's what Southwest Airlines uses to distinguish passengers required to purchase two seats. They abbreviate it to "POS". The ticket counter people give a heads-up to the gate attendants by saying, "POS coming your way". I loved that show (Airline)!

Okay....fair enough. But who gets your vote for the worst president in US history? And if you say Bill Clinton, because he got a BJ in the oval office, then I'm just gonna have to send the men with those little white jackets - the ones with the cute wrap-around sleeves - over to your house.

Thank you, Debbie. I really appreciate all the compliments, especially since I just had a birthday on Christmas Eve and am feeling soooooooooooo old! My DH couldn't wait to be eligible for "senior citizen" discounts. Trust me, I can wait. I'd rather pay full price any day. But to answer your question....it's taken some effort to maintain, but it's not been as bad as you might think. The trick is to NOT kid yourself. If you gain 5 pounds, they will shortly be followed by 15 more unless you make some changes. I had to stop buying Cheetos. I just can't have them in the house because I am helpless in the presence of crunchy Cheetos. I will eat the whole bag in a day, or two, if I'm really trying to be good...ha! The band will not make all your food choices for you. It makes some....I can't eat bread any more, and bread had a LOT to do with my weight. But ice cream and chocolate (and Cheetos) will still go down easily and in large quantities. So if you want ice cream, drive to the ice cream shop and buy a single dip. Do not buy a half gallon and bring it home, or you will eat that one and end up buying another. Soon you will realize just how much we have in common with alcoholics and drug users!