BJean

Looks like Hillary took Texas. I haven't seen the news, just a couple of friends' emails. I voted, then later opted out of the caucus meeting, which was not really smart. But I was tired after being at work all day. You notice I didn't say, "after working all day." That would have been deceiving since I spent part of my work day posting at LBT. Over the course of political campaigning in Texas, I had 4 phone messages from the Clinton camp. Personal messages (recorded) from Bill & Hillary, a Clinton get out the vote message, and a poll from the Clintons. I had one message from Obama yesterday. I went online to locate my polling place and there was, at the top, a web address from Obama for locating your polling place - which was brilliant - except that it didn't work. One of my Florida friends emailed me this AM and said that Rush Limbaugh hopes that Hillary wins because she'll be easy to beat after 4 years of her struggling to change everything the Republicans have done in the past 2 terms. He says there's no way in the world that the Republicans can win this one. That to me, goes to the thought that Hillary sold out to get the presidency. Remember her vote to give G.W. the power to bomb Iraq without advance Congressional approval? There have been other things, but that is the one that steams me the most. I used to be a Hillary supporter because I thought she would always stay true to her stated convictions. I should have known better when she and Bill folded under the Repblican pressure in the beginning of Bill's term. They never fought the Republicans like I thought they should. It feels like Republicans have a stranglehold on the voting process in our country. Remember the voting machines fiasco? Thing those things were ever corrected? Well, like I said just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean that they aren't out to get you. :thumbup:

wjbluv: When I first began reading and posting at LBT, I had an experience similar to what you seem to be having here. I felt misunderstood and that people were being incredibly rude to me. A lot of what I felt and thought then turned out to be my own paranoia. On this forum, we are anonymous (unless we choose to reveal real names). We don't have to be careful about how we word what we're trying to say here. But I do not think that most people here, including me, have been trying to give you a hard time. I'm with the previous poster who mentioned that this thread was started by someone who was feeling victimized and resented having to eat the way the band causes us to eat. Somehow that person's posts and yours became intertwined in our minds. They were so similar in some ways. Then you added the part about losing 3 of your closest people. We definitely are a compassionate group and know that losing even one person who is close to us, is a very difficult thing to endure. But the thing we know the best and are used to speaking to here at LBT is the band. So that's why I believe we homed in on your problems with the band. It isn't that your losses are insignificant. If you are having shoulder pain and abdominal pain and are so uncomfortable that you've had to have all restriction removed, you need medical care. You have to put your body first, above and beyond your job, school or anything else. If you have an eroded band, or a slipped band or an enlarged esophogus, these are very serious complications that won't go away by talking about them or just getting the restriction removed. You didn't ask for my advice but I'm givin' it anyway: seek help from a live medical professional right away. After that, get some grief counseling. laurend: thanks. You are tres' cool!

WestCoast: I completely agree. What we should be enforcing is some kind of classes in parenting skills before children are born. gadget: The signing thing is great! This has become very popular and it really works! On the other hand, many parents are too quick to fly off the handle and hit their kids. Some parents are too lazy to use intelligent alternatives. All too often, parents who were beaten as children have become child abusers as adults. Child abuse is way too common in the U.S. That's the "spanking" we need to stop. Education is the best way that I know to do that.

karey: Controlled breathing exercises for about 5 minutes and then some nice, smooth stretching exercises will help. You have to clear your mind of all the stuff that surounds you and concentrate totally on relaxation. After your stretching, untense your muscles, one by one. Then do the deep breathing again. Think about your wellness from head to toe. If you concentrate on getting a cold too much, you'll bring one to you. Be totally positive, YOU'RE WORTH DEVOTING THIS TIME TO - COMPLETELY! Gh0st: Interesting! I bought the Bugg at 24 Hour Fitness. They didn't tell me about the deal. But I also didn't ask. It was less expensive through them than it would have been online. I paid less than $400 for both pieces.

I had a terrible experience once with a Seventh Day Adventist couple who were going door to door with their little 4 year old girl. It has always been my policy to politely turn people away at the door when they were peddling their stuff. If it was religious in nature, I explained that my beliefs were private and not something I discussed with strangers. (I had been innundated with extremely presistent LDS'ers in Arizona and I thought they knew every trick in the book until I met these Seventh Day Adventists.) I nicely explained this to the couple with the little girl, who had her arm extended and a pamphlet in her hand reaching toward me when I opened the door. As they argued their case, she never wavered. The poor little thing was trained to just stand there with her little arm extended until some seemingly religion-deprived homeowner took the pamphlet. I never did take the pamphlet (which would have been a complete waste of their material and a tree) and she never did drop her arm over the long minutes that they tried to convince me that I should discuss their religion and accept their reading material. Even after I told them I was Catholic and had plenty of reading material of my own she stood there, arm extended. As far as I was concerned what they were doing to that sweet little girl, was criminal! I wanted to take my broom and chase that couple down the street and invite the little girl in for milk and Cookies and to play with my daughter.

wjbuv: My post was not directed at you - only at the original post! You sound as if you are completely at odds with your band. I doubt if you can expect to be successful if you resent having the band. I have battled depression for many years. I was holed up in my house, watching TV all day and eating and feeling sorry for myself. One of my neighbors recognized that I was that depressed and she insisted that I go to Curves with her one day. I resisted for a week or so until she promised me that we'd go to lunch afterwards. I didn't even have any work out clothes. That was the beginning of getting me back in the world of the living. I went for a check up, got put on blood pressure and cholesterol medications and he put me on an anti-depressant because he observed my depression, not because I asked for it. As for the control issues you're facing, make no mistake, YOU are in control of what happens to your body. NOT THE BAND. At best, the band is simply a tool that you can work with for weight loss success. Or at its' worst, the band is an encumbrance to your long-time confortable way of eating and it is making you depressed because the band wants you to give up that careless lifestyle and quit eating so much food. Yeah, the band makes you uncomfortable, you have gas, you have bloating, and you have pain if you don't eat FOR the band instead of against it. That's really the point of having the band. If you have actual depression (not just that you've hit a low spot for a short period of time), you probably need some kind of chemical for the depression and some kind of psychologist-type therapy. You can't be expected to pull yourself out of it when it is something that is biological and/or chemical causing an imbalance in your brain. I hope you will seek help and get somebody who is really good at recognizing depression and knows what to do to help you. I would consider keeping the band, if I were you, until I got the depression straighted out. But if you absolutely HATE having the band, by all means have it removed. Just think long and hard about who you are and where you'll be if you give up on it. You are certainly not the first person, and won't be the last, who was unhappy with the performance of the band and disappointed in how they feel with the band. But you ARE in control of everything in your life... IF you choose to be. It's easy to feel like a victim! That's one reason why people here have little patience with someone who blames the band for how they feel. We've learned that if we want health and a slimmer body, it's up to us, not the band. We know that if we don't want gas, bloating, bulging port and all the rest, we have to stop eating so much and we have to start moving more. Good luck to you in your decision making. It is all up to you. Whether its' keep the band, or get rid of the band, get control of your life. You're the only one who can. :thumbup:

Karey: Hope everything goes really well and it's all you're hoping it will be!! You've been so great at getting yourself in shape for this! I know you'll be happy when it's overwith and I know you'll get super results. Btw, I bought the Body Bugg, finally! I've got to get online and get it working. We've been snowed under at work and will be today, but I'm setting aside time tomorrow to get it up and running. Also wanted to tell you that having my DH on Medifast (and I do it too, although not 100%) is helping us a lot. I'm losing slowly, but I'm losing, so I'm happy! Best of luck to you Karey!! Thanks for the suggestion of the Bugg.

I used to feel guilty if I wasn't pleasant to telemarkerters because some of my son's friends worked as telemarkers. Finally it dawned on me that the more time I spent with them on the phone, the less time they have to actually sell somebody. Recently I heard that if you answer and there's silence and you know the switching thing is moving along the line of calls, you can press the # button 6 to 8 times and it will foul up their system and automatically delete you from the call list. I have no idea if it works but I've been doing it. They definitely do use "private" and "unknown" to get past your caller ID these days. Everytime I'm caught off guard and answer, I kick myself. In my Mom's day, the Arthur Murry studios (and other dance companies) called constantly. She told them that she only had one leg and she found that they wouldn't call back. She did this for fun with any number of solicitors - like with car sales, she'd claim to be blind. They'd shut right up when they heard her sad story. It was lots of fun for her and she considered it a challenge to come up with something creative with every phone solicitation call. She was a fun little gal, yes she was! I tried to make her proud. When they start asking questions, I say... "oh I don't give information out over the phone, but I want to tell you about my children." If you go on ad naseum, they'll interrupt you and try to tell you why they're calling. They hang up very quickly after deciding you're a nutcase. If instead, when they ask the first question you respond by asking them if they'd like to hear about your children, dog, grocery list, or whatever, they will tell you "no" and at that point, you can tell them that you aren't interested in what they have to say either and it's your phone. :eek: When you are real busy and accidentally pick up one of these calls, the most effective and quickest response is to ask them to do what someone else here suggested, tell them to put you on their DNC list. They HAVE to do it.

I'm guilty - here I am again! I still think it is someone's idea of a joke. Silly prankster stuff. Liking the attention, giggling everytime we post. :eek:

Okay. Thank's for the info!

Anyone ever know of a woman who was unable to get a much, much needed abortion, who committed suicide? I do. I didn't watch the video because I probably do not have the stomach for it.

L8BloomR: You're cool and I respect your approach. Makes me feel that you have a fair and kindly spirit when you post things.

Living in Texas makes me think you might have a "hitch in your gitalong." :thumbup: Sorry, I know it isn't funny.

I had a bad kidney infection. I thought that was the extent of it, but actually I also had "Shingles". Now that was something that I definitely couldn't walk off or take Tylenol for. I haven't been able to get a fill because they told me that I could get the Shingles inside my body. Egad!! I can't imagine how bad that could be. The breakout of the rash is fading and I expect it to be gone by next week. I hope. One of the women who goes to the same doctor as I, had the kind of chronic left side pain that you're describing. They couldn't find anything wrong. But the pain was very real and eventually she began to gain weight a little bit at a time. She went in and had the Band removed and got the Sleeve. The last I heard, she's doing very well. I don't know if they ever discovered what the left side pain was from.

Staking political signs on private property without permission is a great way to ensure a vote for the opposition

Have any of you been to Alaska recently? Anyone want to guess what many of the folks up there generally think about global warming? Maybe all those melting glaciers are actually causing the snow in Iran, or wherever. I'm no expert but it makes sense doesn't it? For the record, I live in one of those locations mentioned as having an unseasonably cold winter and I must say, au contrare mi amigos. :thumbup:

smatyas: Not to worry. You can vote for Ralph Nader.

*** I really do appreciate your post L8RBloom. I think you are willing to give me the benefit of the doubt when I sound mean. You can't imagine how much your post meant to me.**** I am very, very impressed with the tone and content of West Coast Fat Guy's posts! You are one cool cat as Green would say!

Jodie, you never cease to amaze and entertain me. Btw, you must be doing well and are enjoying a healthy pregnancy. Good for you!

If you don't believe that this debate has much to do with Democratic vs. Republican alignment, why don't we take a poll here and see exactly who of us believes that global warming is a non-issue vs. those who believe it potentially an important issue? You Republicans here sure do hate me don't you? Or is it still not personal? I can't believe little ole' me can rile some of you up so much. I say what I think because we aren't in the same room. If we were across the table from each other, I wouldn't dare.

Whoo-hoo!!! Right on, Kat!!! I vote for your Dad! with you as VP. I think things often get way out of hang during discussions just because of political leanings - not due to the pros and cons of the real question at hand. Your point about what's wrong with living as if it were a problem is cool and one I wholly support. But the thing is, corporations do not want that. Big business will be hurt in the pocketbook if we do that. That's what all the shouting is about. That's what all the misdirection to Al Gore is all about. Republicans are experts at misdirecting our attention to a person or behavior that is not relevant to the real question. That's why they're so good at winning political races - in spite of their performance in office.

The question I originally posed was why do so many Republicans believe that Al Gore invented the term and theory of "global warming"? If you don't believe that, then ignore the question. If you do believe that, why do you? To me, it's like behaving as if Bill Clinton invented hanky panky in the White House. Thank you so much West Coast Fat Guy. It is easy to post items that are political propaganda and pass them off as the gospel. It is always great to have someone saavy enough to reveal the other side of the claim. No matter which side of the political debate we're on. Of course at Rants & Raves, it is often just about opinion. Or beliefs. That's what makes it important to have points on both sides of the question represented when "research" is posted. Otherwise one poster may feel ganged up on. Not that much fun, eh?

Fair enough, Elenation.

Hi Tommy! Haven't seen one of your posts in a long time. Glad to know you're still alive and kicking.

Kat: You said that SO much better than I. Thank you so much because that's exactly how I feel and it clearly demonstrates how one can dislike the message but not blame the messenger. You always come through, Kat, and I've always thought you are really sharp and that you must have a heart of Gold! Elenation, obviously the tone of my posts irritates you, as well as the message. That's too bad because I honestly do not post what I do to irritate you or insinuate that you are a bad person because we have differing viewpoints, politically. I know that sometimes my posts sound harsh, and believe it or not, you're not the first person to point that out to me. By way of explanation, I will tell you that I am almost always at work, pressed for time, when I get on LBT. So I'm not as careful with my wording as I probably should be - at least if I were here to make friends and have people think I'm a sweet person. Fact is, I enjoy the debate a whole lot on lots of different topics and lots of different threads at LBT. I learn a lot. I learned something from your post about Dr. Gray, in fact. But I can differentiate between someone's politics and the individual who is posting. If someone makes it personal, and they are accusatory and insulting to the individual who made the post, that's a whole 'nuther thing in my books. If I irritate you so much, please ignore me! But you don't irritate me, so I probably won't ignore your posts.