L8BloomR

Elena: Wow... what a story you have to share. Thank you! How easy for us to criticize things around us, while forgetting that we don't really know what true oppression and trouble is. It galls me so much to see our privileged Hollywood actors kissing the butts of Castro and Hugo Chavez, while their own populations are being oppressed and their rights destroyed. As much as we criticize things in this country, we should never forget how lucky we are to live here, in spite of our differences. Thank you again for sharing your story. I love your passion and spunk!

I have had many surgeries, some very intense and scary, including one in which I almost bled to death on the table. I don't remember much about the doctor or the hospitals...but I remember the nurses. I am so thankful that I have had some great nurses. The nurses made all the difference between a good experience and a bad/scary one. Thank you for doing what you do. You should be paid much more....and the doctors should be taking orders from YOU!

Yeah, if you really want to go crazy, check out our local yellowpages.... for things such as "Crystal healers", etc. You would really get an education. And sure, you could move in, but I wouldn't sell your home just yet---you probably wouldn't want to stay here for long! :biggrin1: P.S. But the weather is beautiful!

I have wanted to respond to this before when you have mentioned it, WABB....to tell you how wonderful I think it is that you handle that situation in this way. Whether you pray or just think of how to better assist your patient...well, they are both "Christian" (sorry!) in my mind, and both very loving and helpful. You sound like a wonderful nurse and I would want you on my side in an emergency! Maybe you really SHOULD move to California?? :biggrin1:

I agree, Elena, thank you for the reminder. It gets so easy to lose things in all the media hype. There was even a video recently on Youtube of Al Gore chastising Pres. Bush #1 about not going in and finishing off Saddam because of the dangers his WMD posed to our country. That was in 1992. How soon we forget!

BJean: You know that I feel the same about you and that is why I really do want to understand your point of view. I don't think of you as a rabid, knee-jerk kind of person and I know our "sparring" will end with us both feeling like we got something beneficial from the discussion. Now, I do understand why you would question the accuracy of a study in which your side appears less charitable than the other. But honestly, if the study had come out showing the reverse to be true, do you think you would feel the same suspicion? :confused: That is why I gave the link and the particulars of the person and university doing the study. And I only gave this information because of the previous debate you were having about how Democrats care more about other people than Republicans. Wouldn't you take offense to that, if it were said in reverse? All I am trying to show here is that neither side is evil...both sides think they are the better one or they wouldn't belong to that side! As for Blackwater, I see them as no more than any other company providing an important but sometimes unpleasant service. There are many companies run by former Navy Seals and other military people, I don't see this one as any different. Blackwater contracts with our government, like many other companies do. And from what I have seen from our friend who worked there, they pick the cream of the crop... they weed out the "cowboys" and thrill seekers and send the ones they do keep for intensive training to teach them how to avoid using unnecessary force or violence. Our friend was so impressed with their work ethic and the training. As I said above, I really don't believe the "incident" that happened recently was the fault of the Blackwater guys. They would have no reason to shoot up an intersection unless attacked...they need to get the person in their protection to their destination, not create a dangerous situation. And they do get shot at by insurgents hiding behind civilians...and they are often their primary target. We can debate forever the merits of our military relying on private companies to help them with security, but for now this is what they need and I'm glad they are getting the help. I am not particularly happy with either political party at this time, but I don't see Republicans as being run by the extreme right-wing, just as apparently you don't see yours as being taken over by the far-left! So no matter how much we argue this point, I will not see what you see as I am sure you wouldn't see what I see, either. So we again have to agree to disagree. I would just hope that the inflammatory, "your side is terrible" stuff (not singling you out, many people here do it on both sides) would lessen... One thing I have learned in my old age is that most people are decent and want what is best for others. On both sides. And all areas in between.... Friends? :wave:

Well, here's the problem: You atheists are all living in the wrong state!! Come to California where, I swear, Christians are in the minority and all other beliefs or non-beliefs are exalted! We have Wiccan ceremonies, tree worshippers, crystal and magic shops near where I live and tons of people who still consider themselves "hippies".... what a place for a nice, traditional Christian girl to live, huh? So maybe the problem is not what you believe, but where you live?? :heh:

I agree with you. And Fred Phelps should never call himself a Christian.... he and his followers are the meanest, looniest NON-Christians I have ever seen! What a travesty his "church" is.

I wasn't addressing my comment to you, WABB....it was because of comments like this one.

I think any discussion of the negatives of Christianity should also highlight the positive. Christians have done amazingly good things. They have and continue to bring millions of tons of food to the hungry, housing for the homeless, clothes to the needy, they donate their resources to bring medicine to the sick and and education to the illiterate. They do this all over the world. Many fine organizations and hospitals/clinics have been started by Christians. The people doing these things are not perfect. I'm sure many of them have had ugly moments and have not always said or done nice things. But Christianity demands of its followers that they always seek to improve and become more "Christ-like", and most of the Christians I know, while flawed, do seek to become more loving and charitable. It grieves me to see a whole group judged by the few who aren't doing what they should.

Blackwater is a private security company that supports American interests here and in other countries. There was just a big story about them being involved in a shootout in Iraq in which civilians were killed. Blackwater says its guards came under attack and fired back, the Iraqis say they were fired on unprovoked. The guy I know who worked for Blackwater until recently says there is no way the guards would have fired first. Their first line of duty is to get the person (s) they are protecting safely to their destination. They would not fire on anyone or anything unless absolutely necessary because that would attract attention and delay their goal. Also, he says that because the snipers hide behind innocent people and then fire on them, they try very hard to not shoot into a crowd.

My goodness, BJean... I don't know which thing to address first! How did Blackwater get into this discussion? Where did you get the idea that they would "take over" and make you worship at whatever church they choose? I know someone who worked for Blackwater. They protect VIPs and American interests. They help protect our military on important projects....and they risk their lives. They are NOT affiliated with any church. Where on earth did you HEAR that? This is too bizarre to even debate, sorry. Kind of reminds me of the 9/11 conspiracy theorists. As for all the rest, look.... I suspect that you listen to and are responding to leftist blogs and readings that back up your suspicions and fears. It doesn't make you wrong in my opinion, just skewed in a certain direction. I realize that you obviously think the same of me. I try to read both sides of virtually everything, yet I still see things from a conservative viewpoint. I'm sure you try to see things from both sides, also, but you have a liberal view. We just come at things from a different direction. I don't think Pres. Bush is the worse thing to happen to this country. 9/11 DID change the country and its direction, but I think it is because we ignored a growing problem in the world and then had to take steps to deal with it. Therefore, I can't compare this presidency to any others. This is a different world. During WWII the president censored all anti-American movies and news. It was a time of crisis and he understood that we needed to pull together. Pres. Bush has not done that, yet he gets vilified every day for "destroying our civil rights". No one has ever been able to give me an example of how their personal rights have been destroyed. It has become a catch phrase and a bumper sticker, but with no meat. I do understand how hearing these kinds of similar accusations over and over can get someone worked up, but I just don't see that Bush is the villain you and others make him out to be. There is no point in debating this yet again. You see things from your side, I see them from mine. It just really bothers me that you feel that because someone supports a certain political party they can't be trusted, which is what you said in your previous post. I have to trust that the majority of people, no matter what party, do try to do the right thing.

That is really too bad. There has been corruption in both political parties, including in Florida. Then there is Massachusetts, New Jersey, and many other places that the Democrats have done corrupt things. (I'm from Mass., originally.) John Kennedy's election was bought, if you believe the reports from people who were there. Many, many Democrats have "won" elections from antics by powerful labor unions and the like. Neither party is immune. I became a Republican during the Carter years, not that I thought he was corrupt, just inept. I don't distrust "anyone" just because they are from another political party. Ithink it is better to try to focus on what is good, because no one person or one party is all bad. To me, Clinton was dispicable, and not because of Monica. But I still try to trust Democrats when they attempt to do the right thing, even if I don't like their methods. To distrust an entire party or everyone in it because of an administration you don't like is just sad, IMO.

As I recall, many of the "exit polls" were done earlier in the day, when many working people were not voting. There was some talk about how that might skew things to the left. I don't know and I don't remember all the facts regarding the issue. But I do know that after a gazillion recounts in Florida, done after the election, Bush still won the vote in Florida and the election via the electoral college. I would not take as fact results from any survey done by any interest group or political group. This study (that I linked) on charitable donations of time and money was not done as a partisan or political thing. The man doing it was a liberal at the time but was doing this for a larger, non-partisan project. In his radio interview, he said he was shocked by his findings and continued to research to see if there was some error. His study was very large and varied. I posted the link in answer to your discussion with Metalband on the previous page because I thought it was pertinent. Anyone can choose to believe it or not.

uh..... I think I better not make a comment on THAT.....

Telecia: I am so sorry about your beloved cat. What a sad story and what a shock for you to lose him so suddenly. I know some people who won't have another pet because losing one is so painful, but I think they add so much to life that the pain of loss is less than the joy they bring while with us. I hope the memories you have will help comfort you in your loss. Diva: Your Yorkie is so adorable! No wonder he owns you! Green: Actually, I love cats and am sure yours is as sweet as can be. At least for a cat..... Marjon: No WAY!!

You mean..... cats can be nice???

"They" are correct!! But lately, with our 3 dogs, I am beginning to think that the "servant" label fits there, also! :eek

I agree, she needs counseling. As I see it, she didn't do anything wrong (beyond getting pregnant); she was a minor and had to do what her mother told her. I do think this illustrates the point that for many people, abortions do have consequences. The mother was trying to protect her daughter from them, but just denying or "getting rid of" the physical aspects of the problem did not take away the emotion damage.

Great post, Elena! :clap2: I like the way you stated this and I agree completely!

The reason so many people don't wholeheartedly buy all of the 9/11 Commission's findings is because some of the people involved told how they were muzzled...and because Jamie Gorlick, (who was the person responsible for putting a wall between the FBI and the CIA making it impossible for them to share info during the Clinton years) was the head of the Commission, and because information pertinent to what Clinton knew about terrorist threats and what he did about it was destroyed by Sandy Berger and therefore not able to be included. There were large gaps in this commission's available information and many Republicans (and a few Democrats) claimed there was information deliberately left out. If you were on this side of the political spectrum, you would be suspicious of the final report, too, I think.

Laurend: Who has called you a "bad American"? I haven't seen it but maybe I missed that post. I think what happens here is that if someone doesn't agree with someone else's posted opinion, their response comes across as disagreement with the person themselves. We are all guilty of it. But I haven't seen anyone call anyone else here "unpatriotic". In fact, I see more of a "you are an idiot for thinking that" kind of post here, which is mean but which has nothing to do with patriotism. Personally, I wish we could just stick to stating our own opinions instead of throwing stones at others, but then, that is just me....

Why wouldn't I give Al Gore any credence on this subject? He was a senator and privy to intelligence...he saw Saddam as a threat and so did most of our government, including Clinton when president and most of the Congress. During Clinton's years in office, Saddam grew stronger and more threatening. Clinton gave many speeches about the danger he posed. To suggest, as some here are doing, that we knew Iraq was no threat and that we attacked them for no reason is ludicrous. Just because they were not responsible for 9/11 did not make them less a threat. They were trying to attain nuclear weapons, they had used chemical weapons in the past, they were paying the families of suicide bombers, they were meeting with terrorists who had al-qaida ties, and there are some who believe Saddam was allowing terrorist training camps to flourish. If you were in charge of keeping a country safe, saw several horrendous attacks against that country both within and outside of it, and then had someone like Saddam defying 17 U.N. resolutions in its Quest to become a bigger threat to the world, couldn't you see that the need to get rid of that threat before it got bigger might be a necessity? I can't second guess Bush and I wouldn't have if it had been Clinton. We are not in the loop and don't know all the information they saw. And it is so easy to criticize something when using hind site.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJTzKPBQZ94]YouTube - Al Gore claims 1,400 terrorists in Iraq prior to Gulf War[/ame] For anyone who is interested, this link is a video of Al Gore in 1992 berating George H.W. Bush for not taking out Saddam Hussein during the Gulf War. In his remarks on the Senate floor, he claimed there were over 1400 terrorists working from Iraq to harm our country and he goes into great detail about Saddam's WMD. Dennis Miller's take on why the Iraq war is helpful to our fight against terrorism is that Iraq is like "a giant salt lick in the Middle East." It brings out the terrorists to one central location where we can fight them. Since they don't come from one country and they don't wear uniforms, this is the best way to find and get to them. It is an interesting (and unique) way to look at it, I think.

Chris: Thank you for sharing your beliefs and also thank you (as well as some others here) for being willing to serve your country. You are all heroes! My son is currently in Afghanistan and he sees the difference we are making there. Hopefully Iraq will turn out better than it appears at this point in time. cj ole: I appreciated the long article you posted. I am old enough to remember when society was more like that. It did seem like a more moral time, though not perfect. I enjoyed remembering! Thank you for posting.