Tired_Old_Man

Judge a person not by their words, but by their actions. On a forum, actions are not words, but how the words are used.

Could you be a little more precise? How much weight did you lose last week compared to the week before? Or last month compared to the month before? Maybe you should suggest to your doctor that he gives you less than his customary 3 cc's for a first fill. The first fill is a shot in the dark. After the first fill, a doctor and patient can judge what the next fill should be more accurately.

Lets play a game called "Who can turn the other Cheek first?"

Amen sister!!

I am a Christian. But I believe that God controls nothing but the weather. I believe God gave us free-will. If we have a Lap-Band or are about to get one, it is our decisions which brought us to this point. If you are an atheist or agnostic, or If you are a Muslim or Jew or Buddhist, etc, or if you are White, Black, Asian, other, or US citizen, British, Mexican, whatever, or male or female or Gay, Liberal, Conservative or libertarian, I will try to help you without putting my religion into it. My free will is to follow the golden-rule. I will help you as I would want you to help me even if you never help me. I may need help occasionally, but because I am one of the oldest and most senior Lap-Banded members, I tend to offer help much more than I need it. I fill not offer you political or religious advice when you have a Lap-Band related question, or a question about cars, planes, computers, home repair, finances, legal questions or any other topic that I have worldly knowledge about. I do not have friends here. I write, during the threads, to a group of fellow members and take them at their word or whatever their writings lead me to believe about them. I would give the person here who PM's against me and calls me names during heated debate on threads, mouth to mouth resuscitation if I met them and they were in danger of dying. Why? Because it is the Christian thing to do. I follow the ways of Jesus by example, not by praising him while acting unchristian. Nobody here (or anywhere else) should put down another person's god. But when people are put down when they espouse their beliefs about God, it is not their God being put down, it is not God-Bashing, it is someone telling you that you are wrong in the way you are acting or doing things. They may be wrong and you may be right, or vice-versa, but it is not God being put down or bashed, it is you or your ideas. I hope it is your ideas being attacked and not you, but it should never be God and from what I have seen here at other forums, it is very seldom God who is actually attacked. And when it is done, it is out of shortsightedness.

T.O.M. What is this supposed to mean TOM, it sounds like a tired old statement and an offensive one I may add:( wheeler- another proud aussie I was referring to Botany Bay. I had read that as a way of building up the colony's population, people convicted of crimes in England were given the option of emmigrating to Australia rather than serving their sentence in England. No offense intended.

I meant he does not want his children killing each other. Wasn't that another commandment?

What is the first commandment? There is but one God. All three groups believe that. The Christians believe that the "One God" has three sub-parts. Either way, no one will know until they are dead, if they should have believed in the whole God that the Jews and Muslims believe in or that same God with the 3 sub-parts. Either way, that God does not believe in killing his children and WE ARE ALL HIS CHILDREN. If anything, the Christians should be the last to condemn the other two groups, for it was Jesus who spent the most time preaching love, forgiveness and compassion, something that too many of the people who claim to follow his teachings seem to forget.

There was no attack directed at you. My tone is aggressive because I am tired of hearing people being told that they don't meassure up. People who break the law should be dealth with. People who plot killings and terrorist attacks deserve harsh penalties, but people who happen to be the same color skin, or read the same holy book, or come from the same part of the world as the lawbreakers, do not deserve to be singled out. Where is the disgust at the singing group know as "Prussian Blue"? Where were the calls for the profiling of white males with crew cuts after the Oklahoma City terrorist attack? This country has few traditions unless you want to count slavery, lynchings and oppression of non-whites. Yes, I am angry. I am angry because people find it too easy to scape-goat and to give away the rights of every group of people but their own.

In the Old Testament, God Promised Abraham that his children would be given Canan (which became Israel). Abraham had two children. One is the father of the Jews and the other the father of the Muslims. Christians are descendents from the Jews. So we are all one big family. By the way, we are all Iraqi-Americans. If you believe the Bible, our ancestors, Adam and Eve, both came from the garden of Eden, which is in Iraq.

One minute people are complaining about following the law and the next people must follow tradition. So should Japanese people have to convert to Christianity when they immigrate to the USA? A few months ago, US citizens were horrified when they heard of a person in Afghanistan who converted from Islam to Christianity and was facing the death penality for it. Condoleezza Rice said that it was not democracy. But it was Democracy. A democratically elected government passed that law. And even if they hadn't passed the law, shouldn't that man have followed the tradition of Afghanistan? Does everyone have to be a clone to live in the USA?

Now that everyone has put me in my place and told me about the wicked Koran or Qur'an and it's wicked teachings, I wonder how many here have read the Qur'an? No, I am not asking how many know how to use google to get a isolated quote here and there, but actually read it from cover to cover? I have. I am a Christian. It is not the Bible that caused the inquisiton and the Salem witch hunts or the killing of innocent civilians in Iraq. And it was not the Qur'an which caused 911 or the bombing of the USS Cole. Those acts were accomplished by people who think that their God is better. Allah is Arabic for God.

I was previously a moderator at another forum and it is one of the most thankless (non-paying) jobs one could imagine. About the only thing worse is a Union shop Steward. Maybe one day, the moderators will, with the permission of the person who runs this site, just shut the whole thing down for a while. When the children can't play with their toys, they tend to appreciate them more. I hope not because this site is important for people who have lapbands.

The original Australians were sent to Australia as a way of avoiding prison. Many of the people who settled the US were seeking religious freedom. Should the US now restrict religious freedom? There is a lot of difference between the history and background of the US society and Australian society. Muslims believe in the same God as the Christians (and Jews) believe in. In is the Christians (and Jews) who are unaware of that (in many cases). English is not the national language of the USA. The USA has no national language. It is almost funny when you hear people living in San Diego or San Francisco or Arizona or Florida complaining about English not being the USA's national language. Maybe if the USA hadn't stolen all the land (previously named by the Spanish who settled it), we would not need to have this debate. Maybe if we circulate this enough many US citizens fed up with their perceived problems will find the backbone to move to Australia.

From what I know about the "Eye for an Eye" quotation, it is 180 degrees misunderstood. The verse is not saying that the victim must get an eye in return for the eye taken from him, but instead, the victim should not seek more than an eye for the eye taken from him. It is not permission for vengence, but restraint on the level of vengence. Sort of turning the other cheek. When Jesus said to turn the other cheek, he was referring to the cheek on the face, though some people when feeling insulted tend to show another cheek.:faint:

We all bring our baggage with us. I may have read into the opening post things that were not there. To paraphrase Dickens, I find that PM's are the best at times and the worst at times. PM's are great to apologize or to clear the air. They are fine for sharing a point that might cause the forum to erupt. BUT They are the bane of many a forum because of the plotting that goes on. I am a relative newcomer at LapBandTalk.com, but I have been around. A relative of mine who is a staunch conservative and BuSh lover, introduced me a forum for PC problems. When non-PC related threads starting interferring with the PC questions and answers, an Off-Topic section or SandBox (similar to the LBT's lounge) was added and I became a vibrant poster there. After a while many members starting PM'ing me with suggestions and warnings about other members looking to do me harm. At the same time, some of those same members were PM'ing my relative (No one knew we were related) with similar lines. They were stirring the pot between a leader of the conservative faction and a leader of the liberal faction. Things got so out of hand that it didn't matter what the topic was, within 3 replies on any thread, A was calling Z names, Y was calling B names... I left the forum because exchanges of ideas where no longer taking place. I have posted three times there in the last 2 years. I start a thread with a long post on something that I consider important and then leave. Getting back to the grist of my post here. I hope the members of this forum can learn to live and let live. I don't know much about the old wounds here, but I do know we live in a society with a lot of open wounds. I hope to be able to contribute to the main purpose of this forum and will help whenever and whoever I can.

Wheetsin, I am sorry if I have caused you any pain. If my inclination is correct, you have probably gotten at least a few PM's about me. Yes, I do debate and yes, what I write can be more to the point than some would like, but I think I have stayed within the guide-lines. I have been called names, but have not called anyone a name. I think that we must all realize that the internet is international and that rah-rah USA is not everybody's opinion. My thoughts are uniquely mine, but I will always be open to a PM if I step over the line in the opinion of any moderator, or if I encroach too closely to the line. In the USA, certain things are taken for granted. I do not believe in nationalism, so just because 99% of the members are USA citizens and 98% think something is true, it doesn't make it true. All of us have a right to our opinions. What has made the USA different than all the countries of the world has been that (while the majority rules) the minority have the right to be heard. Before I destroy this thread, I pledge never to insult or call anyone a name and to be civil at all times. I will however feel free to comment on any topic of interest to me whether my opinion is popular or not. If the moderators want me to go because they feel that I am causing them too much grief, then I will leave. I hope my forthrightness does not cause an affront to anyone here, but that's how I see it.

There is nothing that makes a person more stubborn, uncompromising and sure of himself than to "Know he is right" about "the one true God". I have met people with opposite beliefs who each "Knew that he was right". Impossible!! Both Bin Laden and BuSh are quick to envoke the name of God, when in my opinion, God would want none of his children killing each other. I do not know I am right. But I know at least someone is wrong and I think that there are a lot more people who are wrong that want to admit it.

The hold the [CTRL] key down and hit [C], put the cursor where you want my name to go and hold the [CTRL] key down and hit [V] method works for copying almost anything and almost anywhere on a Windows PC or in any program (application) on a Windows PC. On a Mac, you use the "Apple Key" instead of the [CTRL] key. The method can be used to copy a file or a block of text from one place to another. To save time writing this post, I went to the post that I had written earlier and placed my mouse pointer to the left of the word "hold", then I held down the left mouse botton and dragged the mouse pointer until I was to the right of "[V]" and then let go of the pointer. Then I did to what I wanted to copy "hold the [CTRL] key down and hit [C], put the cursor where you want my name to go and hold the [CTRL] key down and hit [V]" just the first part and after hitting the reply button, I put my mouse pointer into where those words were needed in this reply box and held the [CTRL] key down and hit [V].

And these kinds of restaurants have nothing to do with the epidemic of obesity in the USA? Whenever the US lifestyle (and business model) is incorporated into a foreign country, the incidence of heart disease, diabetes and obesity rises. Many people blame obesity on genetic or emotional problems. Did the genetic makeup of people in these foreign lands change when the US lifestyle was embraced? Don't other countries have people with emotional problems? Did the people in the countries that embraced the US lifestyle just delope emotional problems after they imported McDonalds? NO, I do not believe that Buffets need to give Bariactric surgery patients discounts. (In fact I half-jokingly stated above that they should charge us extra to help us control ourselves.) But restaurants, in their competition to increase business by offering more and more quantity (often with less and less quality), did help many of us to become over-eaters and obese.

You must have a very big microwave oven.:scalesno:

I had just read the "Thread Killers" thread just before I wrote my reply 3 posts above this. In the "Thread killers" thread, there was much discussion and a lot of complaining about members who quote other members to refute the quote. I know that I sometimes ("often" some would say) do that, so I refrained from doing it in the post above. The member I was responding to (and I forgot who it was) then removed her post, leaving mine to possibly appear non-sensible or at least irrelevant. Since it is a statement of truth, I will leave it as is.

Please call me TOM. The T_O_M was tongue in cheek or T_I_C.

If anybody calls me TOM, I will come to your house and huff and puff and blow your house down, unless it is made of brick. Am I that scary that people are afraid to call me TOM without asking? Maybe, I should insist on T_O_M. TOM is fine. The only ones not allowed to call me TOM are my nieces and nephews. I realize many of you have not figured out yet that you could highlight my name, hold the [CTRL] key down and hit [C], put the cursor where you want my name to go and hold the [CTRL] key down and hit [V]. Call me anything but "late for dinner" is what I used to say, but since becoming a member of many forums, I now say, "call me anything but stupid, anti-american, anti-christian, @#$?!%, or any other insult you can think of rather than to refute my point." I think I have a good sense of humor and only my head is thicker than my skin. I sometimes put my foot into my mouth, but the good Lord blessed me with a mouth and shoe which are both the same size. Sometimes also, without seeing my face, hearing my tone of voice or seeing my body language, it is easy to misinterpret my meaning. 90% of communication is non-verbal, they say. (Who is "they" by the way?)

School Teacher Arrested! At New York's Kennedy airport today, an individual later discovered to be a public school teacher was arrested trying to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a set square, a slide rule, and a calculator. At a morning press conference, the attorney general said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-gebra movement. He is being charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction. "Al-gebra is a fearsome cult," a Justice Department spokesman said. "They desire average solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in a search for absolute value. They use secret code names like 'x' and 'y' and refer to themselves as 'unknowns', but we have determined they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country. As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, 'there are 3 sides to every triangle'." When asked to comment on the arrest, President Bush said, "If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes".