BJean

Btw, Tiff you look gorgeous!

That's a new one on me. Haven't heard of Folicure before. I bought Nioxin shampoo, conditioner and styling spray. No help at all so far. I will try Folicure. Thanks very much for the tip. I'm glad to know that you're getting new growth. It's been awhile since I've been online here and last I heard you were still experiencing a lot of fall out. It's a pretty creepy feeling to have such thin hair.

I'm 7 months out and I agree with several of the others... don't worry! You'll experience more than one stall and if you just hang in there with doing the right thing, you'll have a good loss before you know it. Then you'll feel great and keep losing for a bit and then stall again. It's part of the process. I know it feels crazy when you aren't eating hardly anything compared to pre-surgery but there are these adjustment periods and there's not a lot you can do about it except keep on keeping on. And that pays off, big time. Now if I could just figure out how to get my hair growing again. I thought I was going to escape the dreaded hair loss problem but at exactly 6 months it started falling out and my hair is so thin now I hardly have any. OMG, Tiff does it ever start coming back?

The idea of relegating Lieberman to a cold dark basement is too good for him.

As obnoxious as some of the Republicans are, I wish we had some hard asses out front to not only sell the progressive agenda, but also to shoot down the ideology (read selfishness and greed) of the opposition! I think that most Americans got sick to death of this election and are all ready to move on. But if Democrats don't get some new way to market their people and ideas, they can probably forget it in 2012.

Well said, kartman. Well said. It is absolutely preposterous that we have become such short-sighted and easily incited voters. The tea party, Rush Bimbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and others have created an incredibly negative environment on the conservative side of politics and it has stirred people up into such a frenzy they aren't able to think logically about what supporting that faction really means to them. In theory, they think it means smaller government, lower taxes, free enterprize, jobs, etc. When in fact, it means just the opposite for middle income folks. And the extremely wealthy just keep getting richer and the poor get poorer. The middle class is getting hit harder and harder in their own pocketbooks. Why is it so difficult to understand that giving more tax breaks to the wealthy is completely contrary to cutting the budget deficit? And it makes it much harder on the middle class who wind up having to pick up the slack.

leroys, that's surely the truth. Cleos, we shouldn't be surprised at the election outcome. The one thing that Republicans are good at is winning elections even when it makes no sense that they should. They have (since I've been voting) willing to do and say anything to run down their opponents, even put out lies and swear they're the truth. It's ironic that the party that talks about religion and being Christian and wanting a theocracy, religion taught in schools, In God We Trust on our money, etc., when they've proven that it is the party of the most dishonest, dirty dealing politicians in the country. It's been this way since I can remember. I'm sure you were around when all the Nixon stuff went down. After that expose, they became even sneakier and even more dirty. It shouldn't work for them, year after year like it does. But voters want to elect someone who they think really will do the things that the Republicans talk about. The Democrats just come out with what they think is best for the country and they actually tell Americans what they plan to do. They think that voters are smart enough to understand - and some are. But mostly, Americans want something for nothing. They think that they can get what they need from the government without having to pay for it. They think that the schools are good enough, that medicare and social security should pay for themselves and they latch onto the idea of a government that is just taxing them way too much. And so it goes. It's depressing and even worse, it may get much worse. One way it could get drastically worse is if people keep jumping on the tea party bandwagon and actually allow Sarah Palin to become a serious candidate again. People laugh at the thought, but afterall, she was the actual vice presidential candidate 2 years ago. And the Republicans have shown what they're capable of in an election. They will stop at nothing to be in power.

I listened to one of the newly elected Republicans (actually an incumbent who was re-elected) and when asked what they're going to do now... are they going to go bipartisan and actually work with the president or are they going to continue to try to bring him down and possibly even try to impeach Obama? His response? He said, now we're going to work in a truly bipartisan manner because if we don't get something done now, we will be out the door in 2012. We don't have a choice if we want to get re-elected. We have to improve the country this go 'round. Frankly I found his honesty very refreshing -even though the truth of his comments is very depressing considering what we've put up from people like him over the past 2 years. :eek:

Not only that but we would have some control over the health and safety issues that relate to prostitution. It isn't as if having it be illegal has stopped it, right? So why spend taxpayer dollars to police the felonious activity and horrible health issues that surround the business of prostitution? It's a business that is as old as history itself. By making it illegal we believe we have divorced ourselves from having to think about or solve the problems surrounding the people who participate in this activity. But we are only kidding ourselves. It definitely impacts our lives. So it looks like the only chance we have of really controlling it is to make it legal and put some laws in place to control the aspects of it that wind up having an incredibly negative effect on our society.

I'll bet just about everyone who comes to Lap Band Talk has a similar story to tell about insurance companies controlling their health care. I've told mine more than once. And I've lived in Canada, one of the countries that has a system that so many Americans scoff at and fear. It was 15 years ago and it was better than what we have - even with their problems. People fear universal type health care for all Americans because they think it's going to cost them more money. The insurance companies love that because they are making countless billions on us believing the fallacies and blown out of proportion negatives about health care reform. Isn't that amazing? Mostly they have no experience with health care in other countries, but they cling to the idea that we have the best system in the world anyway. With all our own personal negative experiences coming out of the insurance run health care industry in America, we still fight change.... Interestingly, if you ask specificially what they're afraid of with this administration's health care plan, they recite the things they've heard that are generated by the insurance and pharmacutical lobbies, like robots.

ardelia, for sure that America has our home grown own brand of terrorists. We just like to put them in a bracket all by themselves. We call them kooks or crazies. We would never admit that the Bible thumping and the hell, fire and brimstone preaching they've heard all their lives has influenced them to have such a religious frenzy built up that they would bring down a building in Oklahoma City. No, for us, it's never about religion. They're just crazies. But for terrorists who also happen to praise Allah and carry a Koran, they're Muslim terrorists who aren't crazy, they're influenced by their religion. So we believe we should fear and shun all Muslims. Sometimes we Americans can be very naive and very ignorant. As for a mosque at ground zero, that's been proven to be an incorrect and inflammatory phrase: "mosque at ground zero." It is basically a non-issue manufactured to throw Americans into a tizzy in an effort to divert the attention away from some of the real issues. It's the kind of thing that helped forge the tea party movement. It's so much easier to jump on a bandwagon of outrage, especially when times are bad, than to work with your opponents to fix very difficult problems.

Yeah, right. This entire thing is very confusing. Right out of left (right?) field. It didn't make much sense in the beginning and it gets even odder as time goes on. :huh2:

I'm about 13 lbs to goal and I'm excited too. I don't know if I will even have a great BMI when I reach it, but the doc says it's the correct goal weight for me. Maybe one day I will be like kartman and get my percentage of fat down below 15%. You're awesome for getting the job done! And for sure you feel great - both physically and mentally.

I didn't use quote marks when I was relating your post on PM. But you're quite right. The word "bitching" was yours. Mine was "ignorant." And as for getting the facts straight, I don't believe you have actually come out yet. Are you a Democrat, a Republican, or what? It makes sense for you to explain yourself since you're the one, from the outset of this little exchange, who was bitching.

Hummingbird! I just saw your ticker!!! You're 5 lbs. from goal, WOW!! I don't mean to highjack the rants thread, but WOW that's fantastic! Good job!

I actually thought I was being quite decent about the whole thing. Then I get a PM accusing me of being an ignorant right wing conservative. I don't understand why someone would think that's okay but to actually say it on a public forum is wrong. dude, if you can't say it in a public forum you probably shouldn't be saying it. And Cleo's and loserbob, Cleo's has just posted something very relevant and important. Let's not allow someone to come on here and de-rail the topic since election day is fast approaching. You all know as well as I do that many of these people refuse to expose themselves to the truth. They just join the tea party and blindly swallow the tea. :blushing:

Atta girl, Cleo's. Keep the political information coming. Even if someone is not a progressive, doesn't think that this administration is trying to get this country on the right track, it is good infomation that you provide. It is important for us to be knowledgeable about both sides of the issues, not just the ones we instantly think we agree with.

You're more than welcome to rant about anything your little heart pleases. But why do I get the feeling that you might not have been uncomfortable with the discussion if the content had aligned more closely with your own political viewpoints? just gotta ask: Why in the world would you be opposed to people discussing their political views? Or their views about marriage? Or their views about getting pregnant? Or husbands cheating? Or religion? We are all in this weight loss boat together but that doesn't mean that we don't have any thoughts about other things going on in our lives. I am really happy that this Lap Band Talk forum allows us to vent our spleen about anything at all. It gives me a "home" where I can come to find a friend no matter what is going on in my day. What's wrong with that? I've been coming here since 2006 when I begain considering the Lap Band Solution. I had my surgery that September. I've been posting ever since. And I gotta tell you that I wouldn't still be coming here if it weren't for the discussions that do not necessarily relate to the lap band. It's an easy move for you - just avoid the threads that do not relate to lap band issues. Then you have nothing to complain about, right? You get what you want and you don't interfere with what other people want. :blushing:

peggycas, I believe you're wrong about that. This is the "Rants & Raves" area of the forum sections offered at Lap Band Talk. It is open for discussions about anything we have on our minds. If you're into politics or marital woes or kids or clothes or anything else, this is the place you can come to rant, rave, dicuss or argue about anything on your mind. If you're uncomfortable with those kinds of open debate, it might be wise to avoid this area altogether and stick to the forums strictly reserved for lap band related issues. You're not a Republican by any chance are you? :-)

The Supreme Court's decision about campaign funding has certainly proven to reap what everyone feared. Who knows where all the money comes from! I do know that an anti-government ad that is running in one northern state (in a local election) is the same ad with the same photos running in a southern state (in a local election) and only the names have been changed. That kind of machinery is really hard to beat. And if we don't get out and vote to reject the lies, the misinformation and the control they seem to have over us, then we're in a heap of trouble, Vern.

Purrfect! The cartoonist has hit the nail on the head with this one.

Why should it surprise us that foreign countries are literally invested in our elections? We certainly have gotten ourselves involved in other governments' leadership. We've taught some of them everything they know about meddling. Don't you think?

I am totally unaware of the Chamber of Commerce's actions in this. It is shocking. I am often surprised at the sources of money behind the most outrageous political campaigns. But not always. Usually you just have to follow the money trail and learn that all the bellyaching people do about America becoming "socialist" and "marxist" is steeped in the lies that are perpetrated by the richest among us. When are people going to stop, look and listen and figure it out? When are they going to question what they're being told? I know they make things sound like if you don't believe that paying taxes is completely socialist then you're probably on welfare. Do we really have to watch the country come crashing down on our heads before we figure out what's happening? We bailed out the banks and those lousy stinking arses are refusing to make loans to regular Americans who can afford to buy houses. They're manipulating the housing market so they can continue to keep their money in their greedy little pockets. Look around people... before you go out and vote, you better be darned sure that you know what you're getting!

And I think you SHOULD fear for our future! My husband shares some of the sentiment that you exhibit, tmx000. But what neither of you and so many other middle class folks seem to be unwilling to admit is that allowing the wealthy to go unchecked and operate pretty much as they darned well please hasn't worked for this country. We are suffering not because we taxed the wealthy, but we're in a jam because we didn't. We spent money that we didn't have on a Godless, inexplicable war, to the tune of sometimes over a billion a WEEK! And it didn't help you and me, it added big time to the wealth of some of the wealthiest companies and individual Americans. People died!!! Lots of people died. And it is obscene what we've done in the middle east. Just as obscene as what we did in Vietnam. Actually even more so because we had Vietnam as an example. That's the America that Fox News and Rush Limbaugh and people like my husband believe IS America at its' finest. Ronald Reagan and other "great" Republicans think that taxing the wealthy harms the economy. So the Republicans do all they can to insure that the wealthy in America get huge tax breaks and they even go so far as to give breaks and incentives to the corporations that they make their enormous wealth from. This is in the guise that the working class, middle America and the poor will benefit from the wealthy being wealthy because they will employ Americans and buy American and keep you and me in good stead. Unfortunately it has been proven over and over for decades now, that most of the wealthy that we're talking are who benefits from all this - not you, not me, not my husband. And certainly NOT America at large. When we the people stop caring about the quality of life for all Americans, stop working toward the common good, stop caring whether ALL our children are educated, and become greedy like the wealthiest among us, then we are doomed because at some point SOMEBODY has to care about these things and take care of them if we are going to continue to be the best country in the world to live in. Right now, because of all the greed that has been perpetrated on us, unless we Americans are wealthy, we are hurting. And if you think that is what makes America great, and if you think that is what allows you to be able to afford to send your own children to school, you're sadly mistaken.

kat, the tea party people and the ultra right wing of the Republican party have managed to work people up into a frenzy about the government. They are irrational in some cases and won't listen to the facts. They are already ready to shoot from the lip just like the nutjobs they listen to on so many different media fronts. Everytime I turn on the radio I get some other ya-hoo spouting the extremist rethoric. Who do you think is paying for it? Can you spell Rupert Murdoch? He and the extremely wealthy other greedy ba$tards who stand to continue to lose the sweet deal they had with Bush in office, that's who. Granny down the street who listens to it isn't paying for it. Neither is Joe the Plumber. And neither of them stand to gain a thing from voting Republican. But they will because they have drunk the kool-aide. It's a very sad state of affairs in America this coming election day.