Sunta

I feel like the religious view of it blames the addict. Am I wrong? It concerns me that people keep saying you're "making bad choices" when really, your brain chemistry is working against you and at this point, it is not your fault. People who go to rehab get medicine, counseling, and real help. It concerns me that a church wouldn't be tolerant of "repeat sinners". That is rediculous. Find a church that is more than tolerant and embraces you with open arms. It sounds like all the guilt religion throws out there just isn't working. It's time to try something different. It's so great that you contacted a counselor and you should feel really proud about that. Even though it would be difficult to admit a problem to others, do consider rehab as an option.

I got the impression he was talking about Conservative Christians.

I am only 10 months out, but I figure that's close enough to answer, right? I eat about a cup (but normally don't finish everything on my plate) of whatever I want. Totally normal food. For lunch I just finished about 3/4 cup of tofu with brocolli leftover from my Chinese dinner last night. Thanksgiving I ate turkey, mac and cheese, butternut squash/carrot casserole, mashed potatoes, and two tiny pieces of pie. Since I took about a spoonful of each thing, my plate totalled about a cup of food, and boy did I enjoy it! I have been having a problem with PBing every week, but recently started following some different rules, and today I am 9 days out from my last PB. I drink wine every night with dinner and it greatly alleviates the PBing. For breakfast I stick with a Protein shake because I'm tight, and for lunch I take teeny tiny bites and chew forever. My goal is to reach one month with no PB's. I probably enjoy food more now than before surgery, because I don't feel guilty about eating now!

The best way to combat this addiction is to make the transition into realizing that fast food is extraordinarily disgusting, and barely even food at all. I recommend reading Fast Food Nation, so you can realize how much feces is in the food, for starters. Thinking about the E.coli outbreak at Taco Bell (probably due to the fact that the food has poop in it) is another great thing to think about. Going through the drive-through, you can take note of the gross bitter "old oil" smell too. If you focus in on the actual real taste of the food, you will realize it tastes truly horrible after the first few chews. Once you really focus on this, you will be amazed at how bad it really tastes. Think about the pain in your esophogus it causes because it's not really food in the first place, and won't go down most of the time. (If it goes down well you probably need a fill). Look in the fast food places dumpsters, and see the gross filth they throw away. Prior to surgery, I ate McDonald's at least three times a week, and would do anything for a Burger King chicken sandwich. After surgery, it just hurt to eat any fast food, and I slowly came to all of the realizations above. Now, I stay far, far away and the mere thought grosses me out tremendously. If you can make this transition, you will be cured forever.

Did Sharon say why she was getting the band taken off???

Carlene, Maybe it's mean of me, but every time I think about Michelle Lameroux fainting and Sister Cathleen rushing over with her little bottle of smelling salts dangling from her nun belt, it makes me laugh so hard. A couple of the girls would faint, and one time even a boy. They said the smell made them dizzy and sick. As for me, it didn't bother me that much, I can recall the smell vividly. I also remember I never laughed so hard as when my classmates and I would make fun of Father Gallagher and the hair sprouting out of his ears. I've always been such a bad, naughty girl!

So are some humans/souls less valuable than others? Is a child conceived through consentual incest an inherently lesser person or devalued soul because of it? quote] According to the beginning of this post, only those who are 'dumb', 'idiots', 'less intellectual' or 'too poor' I would like to state that the beginning of the thread had absolutely nothing to do with abortion, people being lesser, or devaluing anyone. The words "idiot", and "dumb" were in reference to a specific thing, which is people not being educated about the environmental concerns we are facing. Why is it that some people on this thread seem absolutely unable to seperate this thought? I was not calling every single religious person "dumb" or "uneducated", I was saying that people who have mass amounts of children are not educated regarding the environment. Now how has that been twisted into "the beginning of this thread says that people who are "dumb", "idiots" and "less educated" are devalued and are lesser people? It's amazing how thoughts and words can be twisted and used completely and utterly out of context!

Oh, BTW Sunta, did you ever think your post would be so popular? Ooooh, well, not to this extent, but I knew it would definitely make some people mad, which I'm fine with. I've always been the rabble-rouser. At Catholic school I would get into screaming fights during religion class over Gay rights, divorce, and other issues. Kids called me a "heretic" and said I would go to hell. Going to Catholic school with all of its repression and wacky rituals (I still remember four hours of Stations of the Cross and the incense that would make my classmates faint from the stench) probably made me the loudmouth liberal I am today.

Regarding end-of-life issues, it is everyone's personal decision what they do or do not want when it comes to prolonging their life. That why I have a living will and everyone around me knows darn well they better not be giving me anything if I have no quality of life any more. They know how I define "quality of life" and my instructions are clearly stated. I am the only person who gets to decide how I want to live, not the government.

I think having open caskets and taking pictures of people in them are both super weird and gross. But hey, whatever floats your boat I guess. I never understood why corpses are not taboo in our society. To me, a dead body is horrifying and scary and I don't want to be anywhere near it. It's revolting. It's like the most private thing that can happen to someone and the way we parade people around, sometimes with open or glass caskets, is just so gross to me. That being said, whatever helps someone deal with their grief is fine by me. I just don't like being forced to particpate in it. At my Grandfather's funeral, my aunt kept pushing me to go up and look in the casket and I was like "EW!" and sat in the back of the church. Ugh, and the worst is when someone goes by drowning and they have an open casket. This happened to my best friend and to this day I deeply regret having gone up there, as my last vision of her now remains one where her mottled blue and green skin is sagging off the bones of her face. GROSS! I'm sure she would be FURIOUS at her parents for letting people see her in such an unglamorous way, having been very beautiful and stunning in life and proud of it, too. Dead bodies in my opinion should be something private and taboo, and seeing them should be reserved for medical staff. But like I said, it's important for many people and I completely respect that.

Fresh from CNN.com: New York faces all-day rush hour by 2030 POSTED: 11:42 a.m. EST, December 13, 2006 var clickExpire = "01/12/2007"; Story Highlights • New York may not be able to meet electricity, housing needs, experts warn • Packed subways, roads could mean all-day rush hour • New York's status as global city could be challenged, expert warns • Tax vehicles, charge residents for trash, experts recommend Adjust font size: NEW YORK (AP) -- By the year 2030, New York City could have so many people straining its infrastructure that it won't have enough electricity or housing to meet demand, and rush hour traffic will last all day. The city of 8.2 million people must start planning and building now for the expected growth of 1 million more over the next 25 years, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a panel of experts warned. "We now have the freedom to take on the obstacles looming in the city's future and to begin clearing them away before they become rooted in place," Bloomberg said Tuesday. Some of the findings presented Tuesday by a team of city planners, academics, scientists and environmentalists who have spent the past year studying the city's infrastructure and assessing its viability to cope include: • In 25 years, rails and roads will be "crammed beyond capacity" and won't be able to accommodate the swarm of commuters during what is now considered normal rush hour. Lawmakers must act now to not only expand the road network but also to update the subway system, which was built starting in 1901 and still uses signal and switch technology developed before the 1940s. • The city will need thousands more housing units. And it has to be affordable -- already, more than a third of city renters fork over more than half their income for rent, the group said. • Energy demand could exceed supply by as early as 2012, and by 2030 the majority of the city's power plants will be more than 50 years old. The city needs to improve efficiency, use alternative energy sources and modernize its grid, which was built in the 1920s. New York must not only meet the needs of its growing population but has to stay competitive as a global city, said Robert D. Yaro, president of the Regional Plan Association, a nonpartisan planning group. "We can't put our head in the sand," he said. "We know that Shanghai and London and other great world cities that are competing with us are making plans like these and are doing a great job of building new economies and building the infrastructure systems." Suggestions offered by the expert panel included taxing vehicles that drive into Manhattan's most heavily trafficked neighborhoods, called congestion pricing; and charging residents by the pound for the trash they throw out. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Oh shoot, I forgot to say just one thing, and I hope this is not mistaken for me jumping into the argument, but a mission of the "zero population group" I belong to is to spread education about birth control, which I think has the potential to cut down on the need for abortion, expecially in developing countries.

Well I'm sure all of you by now would have guessed that I support a woman's right to choose. That being said, it's not something I want to fight about. I absolutely don't think that arguing with someone who is pro-life would ever, ever in a million years, change their mind. The things I like to argue about are things which I hope would make people think, and maybe do research and maybe make them start recycling, or go ahead and buy that earth-friendly product, or maybe support a local business instead of Walmart. I also argue alot about Gay marriage, because I do think that maybe if people are more educated about it, they might soften their views towards Gays a little bit. But abortion? That belief is just so deeply held, and its opponents so impassioned, that I feel defeated before I even open my mouth to express my points. Therefor, I'm not going to fight about this one, but more power to you who have the gumption! Finally, I wanted to say that although I've had it out with Leatha on another thread (about Gay marriage), I am inspired by her open willingness to disclose so much about her life, and would encourage anyone to be sensitive to those here who are willing to be so open about their personal lives, no matter what the issue. We can all argue, fight even, about "issues", but when it becomes personal we need to step back and take a breath. I'm not admonishing anyone particular of course, but just wanted to say that.

So instead of using disposable sanitary napkins that are thrown away and fill our local dumps, maybe some of the women on this board could test out the ones you rinse out instead? If anyone wants the link, I'd be happy to hunt for it. Re-usable pads sounds like a great way to spread infection, such as bacterial vaginosis and yeast. Why would anyone use those when they could use biodegradeable tampons like this: http://www.mamasearth.com/feminine_care.htm or biodegradable diapers like this: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/12/gdiapers_the_ne.php There are plenty of earth-friendly options out there that are neither disgusting nor inconvenient. Or is it just more fun to be snarky about it?

Today: Breakfast: Protein shake Lunch: leftover Chinese peanut chicken and brocolli (about two ounces chicken and two brocolli florets) Dinner: Vegetarian patty with hot sauce, salad, Soup Yesterday: Breakfast: Protein Shake Lunch: 1 cheese stick and a small handful of pretzels Dinner: 1 cup gnocci and one meatball

Hi, I've been PBing about once a week, and have started to notice a trend. If I get a feeling in my stomach that feels like "gnawing" and I get dizzy and I'm starving, then when I eat, I almost always PB, even if I eat slowly and take small bites. The problem is, I can get the gnawing feeling without warning, and I can get it after having eaten a normal meal. For example, I ate a small but normal breakfast just fine last Tuesday, and then, without warning I became ravenously starving a few hours later. I tried to eat some peanut butter crackers, and took small bites and chewed really well, but I PB'd violently anyway. It's like I get a feeling of "if I don't eat right now I'll pass out" and it's almost like my stomach is... convulsing, if that's the right word. It's like my stomach is spasming or something, and I'm sooo hungry I feel faint. I only get the feeling about once a week, and normally, I do just fine with small meals. I am usually full for four hours after a meal, or even five hours, and feel great. I would love to know what causes this feeling and how to stop it, or how to combat PBing. I'm thinking of maybe carrying a liquid protien shake with me in my purse to help stop that ravenous feeling and maybe that would prevent a PB. Any thoughts?

To all the people who live in the country and state that nothing is crowded, etc: The effects of overpopulation are coming to your area, just give it time... Don't worry, I won't say "I told you so", but maybe you could remember this thread and how up in arms some got when that first development rears its gray and ugly head where the woods used to be.

I agree with Cindy on this. I think instead of pointing the finger at others, we need to look at our own lives and what we are doing to ruin the environment. How many of us drive SUV's? Do we all recycle? Do a little research on "global warming" and causes of it. I bet then you would lay off the Duggers. I would never drive an SUV. Yes I recycle and I also work in an office where recycling is mandatory and the entire office uses recycled products and/or environmentally safe products including cleaning supplies, toilet paper, paper, and pens. What causes global warming? People cause global warming. The more people, the more global warming. It's not rocket science I'm talking about. Let's just take one example: Each U.S. car requires nearly one fifth of an acre of paved land for roads and parking space. For every five cars added to the U.S. fleet, an area the size of a football field is covered with asphalt. So, the Duggers alone have caused an area of FOUR FOOTBALL fields to be covered in asphalt, assuming that each of their children will drive a car. More cars mean more emmissions, which mean a bigger hole in the ozone layer. If anyone here is a seafood fan, do be sure to check out the dire predictions for mass seafood shortages in the very near future. I have done my research, and my research tells me that every person contributes to environmental problems. It may not be convenient, and it may not be in keeping with certain religious beliefs, but it's a simple fact. The more people on the earth, the more environmental problems we're going to have. I don't think anyone could debate this. I already see the effects of overpopulation in my daily life: three hour waits at the doctors office, vanishing open spaces, traffic. It doesn't take a scientist to figure out it's because our population just reached 300 million. That's 100 million more people in the United States than there were at around the time I was born in 1970. And I really feel it. 100 million people is alot of people, and the effects of it are dramatic, and real. Maybe it's just me! Maybe no one else around here gets annoyed when they're caught in horrible traffic, have to wait three hours to see their doctor, or are dismayed when the woods behind their house or the farms that surrounded their grandparent's house are destroyed in place of a development. Is it just me? I guess everyone else is just fine with all of these changes. Overcrowding in public places, not being able to get a medical specialist's appointment for three months, not being able to get a bed in a hospital when one is needed, overcrowing in schools, etc etc and so forth. Somehow there seems to be this huge disconnect between our life experiences and realizing it's because people who have large familes are one of the causes of these problems. It's not going to make me popular, but it's the truth.

Ah, the orange oil... I know it well. My husband thought it was totally cool and would get mad when I would flush without calling him in to see it. (Yes, he's gross). If you'd like to pee orange oil out of your a**, then Xenical is for you! It is the reason I stopped taking it, and also, weight loss is minimal, at best. If you work the band the right way, you definitely don't need Xenical.

Here are some misconceptions/comments I've run into: "So once you lose all your weight, you'll just have it removed and you'll be all done!" "Oooh, it goes around the outside of your stomach, right?" "So every time they adjust the band, you have surgery?" "So, what are you allowed to eat?" "You can't have any sugar, right?" "Oh no! I know three people who died getting that!" (they're talking about the RNY of course) "I heard people don't lose weight with that" "My cousin/co-worker/friend had that same surgery you had" (but actually they mean that person had the RNY) "Can I see the port?" "So the port is sticking out of your skin?" "Is your stomach still there?" "Do they leave your stomach in your body or remove it?" "Three people I work with had the RNY instead and they are doing fantastic. They lost all their weight within six months!" And my favorite: "How can you sleep with that thing squeezing your stomach all night?" HAHAHA!

Just to clarify..You do know it's not all Christians right...There are so people that fit every stereotype w/every religion. We don't even know that those people @ the airport were even Christian. They could be any religion. People do put up Christmas trees that aren't Christian. Oh yes, yes absolutely, not "all" Christians. Just "some". I realize there are decent and loving Christians out there. My best friend, for one example. We were shopping in an antique store together and the proprieter was going on and on about refusing to say "Happy holidays" to anyone and would only say "Merry Christmas" and how dare the Jews try and ruin Christmas, etc. and I was very offended. We both put our purchases down and walked out. Regarding that issue, both me and my husband are fine if people say "Merry Christmas" to us, but we wish that "Happy holidays" would be added too. It's just so much more inclusive of everyone. I don't quite understand why a store would choose to use an exclusive greeting when they could choose to use an inclusive one, or to say both together, which would also be more inclusive of everyone's faiths. Anyway, my point was that my friend, who is a devout Christian, also thinks that store greetings should be more inclusive, and neither of us felt welcome in that store because of the owner's offensive statements.

Walmart is evil. I would never set foot in there in a million years. That being said, I do not blame people like yourself at all for shopping there. I fully and completely understand that the finances (in this case lack of health insurance) make it impossible not to. I appreciate the fact that you recognize that Walmart's program will put local, sustainable mom-and-pop shops out of business. At the same time, I don't want my comments to make you feel bad or guilty about shopping there. When it comes down to it, we do what we have to do to survive. I encourage everyone with health insurance, or who can otherwise afford to shop elsewhere, to do so. Maybe you could use Walmart for your prescriptions but shop elsewhere for all of your other needs (?) Even that would be helping. For example, don't pick up that toothpaste you need there just because you're there for medicine, but instead go down the street to the locally owned pharmacy. The real issue is our country's healthcare system. Maybe if we get a Dem into office in 2008 we can find a small amount of relief...

Actually, someone tried to make the airport put up a menorah, in addition to the trees. It wasn't a complaint about the trees themselves. Instead of simply putting up the menorah, the airport took down all the trees: Yes, because we all know how sweet and nice Christians are to the Jews all the time. God forbid they should also be represented with a symbol of their faith along with Christmas trees. But now when it's portrayed, everyone will say "the Jewish people forced us to take our trees down! Whine whine cry cry!" Without mentioning it's because the Christians refused to put up a menorah. I am continually shocked at the mistreatment of people of other faiths at the hands of Christians, but I shouldn't be, since it is rampant all over the country. It's just like that statue. Could I ask the fundamentalists here a question? And be honest! Do you truly respect other's religions and think everyone has a right to be represented equally in our nation? (ie, symbols of other faiths being displayed during the holiday season), or do you secretly, deep down, think everyone should abandon their religions and embrace Christianity since it's the "one true/real" religion, and therefor those other symbols should not be allowed to stand next to Christian ones? Do you really want a theocracy?

Regarding the article, that's a quote from someone else, and I wasn't presenting it as fact, but just trying to illustrate that many people do take the statue seriously and are deeply offended by it, since the question was raised "is it really that serious?" But whether or not he said that or he didn't, one thing I know for sure is that our founding fathers definitely were escaping what they viewed as religious persecution, or the inability to practice their own religion. I highly doubt they would condone a statue which demands the entire population of the United States throw down all other beliefs and follow an official US religion, since that's the very reason they left in the first place! With regard to the Duggars using paper plates, I would refer back to my earlier (albiet inflammatory) statement regarding "dumb idiots". Seriously, when the water supply runs out, people like them are the ones to blame. I think it's more convenient and less terrifying to bury their heads in the sand and deny or just not think about something like losing our water supply, but it is coming. In addition to being highly socially irresponsible, that family seems extremely creepy. The kind of family who seems so nice on the outside but in the back of your mins you're always wondering what really goes on behind closed doors. Three bedrooms??? For 20 children??? I think any mental health expert, Christian or not, would agree that's highly inappropriate. Gross. Thank God I wasn't born into that weirdo family.

Or in this thread the Statue of Liberty holding a cross. Who's it hurting? I probably wouldn't have done it or donated towards to the fun, but who cares? Is it really that serious? Yes. It's really that serious. I'm deeply concerned over the political clout fundamentalist groups are gaining on a daily basis. I'm deeply concerned that the president of the US is a born-again Christian who lets his religious beliefs influence our legislature. The entire world except for us views the war in Iraq as a religious war. Did you know that? Think they could be right? I find it all really scary, but I refuse to be afraid. I won't be intimidated by the fundamentalist groups out there who flex their political muscles at every turn. It's really easy for Christians to say "don't be so serious", because they are Christian. The statue doesn't deeply offend, hurt, and scare them like it does people of other faiths. Tell me honestly, what do you think would happen if that statue was erected holding the Quran? Seriously. What do you think would happen? Do you think people would be upset? Just a little? Do you even think fundamentalists would allow it to stand? Do you think they would be frightened by it? Would they think it was a bastardization of a symbol of the United States? Since I don't seem to be doing a good job explaining how the statue makes me feel, let me let others speak for me. Here are some comments I found on the internet regarding the statue and why it's offensive: (these are all quotes from other people, and are much more eloquent than anything I could write): "To put the end on this debate though, I offer this piece of evidence. George Washington, the Father of our country, and John Adams (Second President of the USA) CLEARLY stated in the 1796 Treaty of Tripoli, “The Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian Religion.” "The one major fallacy in your comment is that the American government was not founded on ‘Christian’ values. Some of the founding fathers where not Christian and most abhored organized religion in general. America’s founders were intellects. Modern American fundamentalist Christianity is nothing short of anti-intellectual. Thus modern fundamentalist Christianity is in opposition to what this country’s government was founded on." "This just makes me sick. Literaly I am sick to my stomach just reading about this abomination. I feel sorry for those who must live in the area. I hope those who want to can get out. What a terible backwards thing to do. On top of that... what an amazing ignorance of history. The people who do things like this scare me." "Retro-viral drugs, which are extremely effective against the strain of the AIDS virus currently ravaging the African continent, cost $1 per person per day. $260,000 would provide one year of treatment to approximately 712 people. If this church had given $260,000 to battle the AIDS pandemic in Africa, the media would have noticed, and the world would have "seen their good works and [taken seriously] the Father in Heaven." Instead they squandered $260,000 of God’s money, the media noticed, the world laughed and justifiably continued to dismiss the message of Christ because of the stupidity of the message bearers." "Give me your paycheck, your allowance, Your hard earned money yearning to be wasted, The crisp cash of your teeming wallet. Send these, the ignorant, tempest-tost to me, I lift my offering plate beside the church door!" These are the words that came to mind when I saw this ghastly Christian monstrasity. This 72ft, quarter-million dollar freak show is compliments of the World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church in Memphis. But they couldn’t have done it alone. All of this money came from their 12,000 members in the community who apparently couldn’t find a better use for it like poverty, drug abuse, etc. But never fear, Pastor Alton R. Williams faced the 72-foot statue and blessed the city of Memphis against disease, crime, intolerance and poverty." "The first time I saw this I honestly thought it was a joke. Not only do these people disgust me, the downright scare me. Why not take that quarter MILLION and actually do something positive with it?" "What is bothering us so much about it?!? It’s an explicit expression of the desire of American fundamentalists to make Christianity the official religion of America. It’s an endorsement of a theocracy over democracy. Since it is an blatant and obvious example of religious extremism." "The statue of LIBERTY being turned into a religious symbol for a specific religion is INtolorance not tolorance. I respect their right to free speach. But I also have the right to be offended and that is an offensive display. Its completely contrary to the concept of liberty. Its also amazing how ignorant this group is of history."