BJean

DIL is hoping and thinking that it is possibly Disco Night. Ahem. I think the contest is a good idea because the last song that the last American Idol sang and had to adopt as his own first record, sucked eggs.

Whatever the reason for citing some random off the wall book that claims that feminists encouraged women to get pregnant so they could experience abortion, it is repugnant and way over the top. If someone assumes that because people believe that it is a woman's right to make medical or other decisions about her body without government interference, that they endorse abortion at any stage of pregnancy or even just "for the experience" then they are not someone with whom I should be discussing the topic. Because that is someone who is not playing fair and who may as well be shreiking from a rooftop waving a gun and threatening to kill any woman who has an abortion as far as I am concerned. The whole scenario is wacky and extreme and disgusting. For the young (I assume) lady who made the statement that abortion is not going to be made illegal, she is not necessarily correct. It was illegal for many years and there are people who continue to believe it should be illegal. The President's people believe it should be illegal. The two appointees to the Supreme Court that Bush seated believe it should be illegal. Those are the people who have the power to reach that goal. Don't assume that just because women have had to go to extreme lengths to obtain abortions in the past, doesn't mean that we can't revert to that same situation, if the Republicans get their way.

Congratulations DynamoMini!!! Way to go. Sounds like you're well on your way to a more healthy lifestyle. Hope you're feeling fine and you get great results!

You don't own me. You can't get your hands on a baby that I am carrying. The baby can't survive without me as long as I'm carrying it. I'm with Green. It's none of your business. Just because you've decided that it is your job to raise my child doesn't mean that it is the right thing for any of us involved. I could cite examples but I don't believe that it is necessary. We all know the score. Just because you think that you should be able to control my body doesn't make it right. I know how strongly you feel, but there are lots and lots of people who disagree with you. You're wanting your beliefs, that will control my body, to be legislated. I think that is a very bad thing. There have always been abortions and there will always be abortions. I would rather have them performed in a medically safe environment and I do not believe that it is good for our society to tell women that they are going to hell because they choose to have an abortion. Obviously you disagree. Many people do. It all goes back to the importance of voting for people who share your values. It is perfectly okay with me for you to do all the campaigning you want in order to take away womens right to choose, except when it threatens the safety and well being of others. As strongly as you work against a woman's right to choose, I'll be working just as strongly to make sure that they have that right. As for your earlier comments about women getting pregnant so they can experience an abortion, that is right wing nutty. Please post the source or stop saying such a horrible thing. I just don't believe that people are that stupid.

Mark, you stud you. I've met Shaquelle O'neal in person. I am about the height of where his belt buckle is. He wears size 26 and I've often wondered..... My DH wears size 7 EEEE. I can vouch.

I've been there too. My heart goes out to you. It is definitely hardest on the children. But the kids need parents who are happy, whole people. They will benefit from having someone in their lives who has taken charge of her life and they will learn from your strength. I'll be thinking of you.

Well this IS the rants and raves section, isn't it? Just doing my part.

I am completely and utterly disgusted by some of the posts here. It is absolutely not anyone's business what me and my doctor decide is the right and healthy choice for my body. To legislate interference in my medical care (or anyone's) is intrusive and should be illegal and there should be no law passed that requires my doctor or me to do or not do anything with my body!!!!!!!!! One fine example of why this is so extremely frightening is the very thought of someone like gadgetlady making any decision in my life based on her beliefs. Make no mistake about it you all, the anti-choice people are deliriously happy about this turn of events in the Supreme Court. It is the first step in reinstating a legal ban against abortions of any kind. Just exactly what the "decider" had in mind when he appointed those two clowns. What's next? Because I guarantee you it will be another personal right of mine that they will attack and force their parameters for living on me. They may say that you should "turn it over to God" but they don't mean it. They really want us all to turn it over to them. They've appointed themselves as the belief police in this country and watch out folks, they're the only ones who know what's best for everyone. We who have differing beliefs are "evil doers" and need to be saved from ourselves. Wonder if any of these anti-choice people own guns? I know, I know, they're just for target practice. Poppycock. They are instruments of death. I would dearly love to see their faces if and when we leftists manage to ban all their assault rifles and armour piercing bullets and automatic weapons because of the outrage over the events in Blacksburg. Leave my rights alone! Take care of yourself. Don't tell me whether I can smoke or drink (I don't) or chase men (I don't) or decide to have 5 DNR directives (in case one gets misplaced.) Don't tell me that I can't have an abortion when my doctor and I decide that it is the correct medical choice for me. Don't tell me that I HAVE to be put on a respirator, have dialysis, be fed through a tube and kept alive only to prolong my miserable painful life. (Like my father.) Get your own life. Leave mine alone. Move to a country where you are told how to live and be happy and content with it. I'll never be happy with some of you right wingers taking away my personal, medical and other freedoms. Keep it up. You're going to ensure that a Democrat is elected in 2008.

Anybody know from personal experience if a guy's shoe size is relative to his penis size?

Carlene's right. They all march to the tune of the drummer in their little heads. I learned that the more insistent I was and the bigger deal I made out of it, the more one of my kids used it to exert some control over ME. My advice to you is to have lots of patience. I know it is hard and a very dirty job and no one appreciates what you're doing, especially the kid. But once he gets it in his head that going in the toilet is better, he will surprise you one day.

Am I making this up? I heard something about them singing their own compositions. Naaah, that can't be right. Maybe it is "open" night. I'll ask DIL, she's usually up on everything.

lifelongband: I have heard about no studies regarding weight loss and the incidence of divorce. I doubt very seriously if it could be linked up. I think trouble in a marriage may incentivize someone to lose weight though, especially if in the back of their mind they think they may be out on their own again. I have heard a couple of people here talk about their spouses getting jealous after considerable weight loss, especially if the spouse is overweight and hasn't lost too. But if people are truly in love and on the same path through life, they should only be happy for their wife or husband when they get healthier and more attractive. Jealousy stems from insecurity, but people get insecure for lots of reasons. Insecurity can come from feelings of inadequacy from within, but it can also be caused by the behavior of a loved one. I'm certainly no psychologist, but I've been through a lot. I'd guess that you and your husband have just grown apart and are headed down different paths with different goals than you had several years ago. It happens. The marriage can be saved if at least one person wants to save it and can talk the other into counseling. But if both people have a different direction they want to go in there's very little hope of salvaging the marriage. That's just my own personal experience talking and by no means is it scientific. I am sorry you all are needing to call it quits. I can tell you that it is very difficult for you to keep the friendship that you had. Eventually throughout all the mess of a divorce (even an uncontested one) it is nearly impossible to stay close. I've heard of people being able to pull it off, but in order to separate from someone you've loved, you will think about and talk about the reasons you want a divorce and that eventually leads to hard feelings. If that does happen to you, don't despair too much. In a year or two hopefully you'll both be over the hurt from the separation and divorce so that you really can see each other without harsh feelings. Good luck. You're very young and that's an advantage. You have lots of time left to go wherever your dreams take you.

Yea. You got it! I hope it gives you the results you're looking for. I had a fill several weeks ago and it really slowed me down at mealtime. But unfortunately snacks started being the thing. I'm going to hang in for a while without so much restriction and see how I do. The hunger thing isn't really too bad right now.

L8BloomR: I think we've reached a similar stand off before. I don't believe either of us has a mean bone in our bodies, but we both have strong feelings about politics in this country. I've been told that my emails sound harsh and I do not mean to be harsh. That's a very unattractive quality as far as I'm concerned. But as far as the Republican party is concerned, again I was not talking about all of the people in the Republican party. I was talking about the Republican party's platform and what it stands for. I am totally willing to give it a rest and my body too. I hope you have a good night! :confused:

Bill Clinton moved into the White House with every intention of changing the medical system in this country. He put Hillary in charge of getting all of the requisite studies and people involved. But the Republicans raised holy you-know-what and clearly made the the Clintons political lives miserable until they dropped it like a hot potato. Potatoe for some Republicans. (sorry, cheap shot) The Republicans put a spin on it to make Americans believe that the Clintons wanted socialized medicine. Scared hell out of everyone. Now look where we are. The situation has only worsened. It isn't status quo. And the Republicans continue to tell everyone how horrible socialized medicine is and that the Democrats won't be happy until that's what we have. Politics at its finest.

Comrades!! Cool. :confused::cool:

gonnabe: Dunno what you're asking. I wanted to tell everyone about a scale I bought today. Someone told me about it and she and a group of 3 other women are using it to all lose a certain amount of weight by the end of May. They've been doing it for about 3 weeks and it seems to be working well for all of them. It's called "InnerScan" by Tanita. Got it at Bed Bath & Beyond. It tells you your percent of body fat, percentage of body water, your metabolic age and your bone mass. It estimates the number of calories you can eat in 24 hours to maintain your current weight. So that tells you how many calories you need to eat in order to lose. The water weight thing is good too because you can tell if you are hydrated enough or need to drink more water. I can't wait to start this approach. I figure this might be the thing I need to jump start me back into the losing game. I've been at about the same weight for a long time, in spite of a significant fill. I'll let you know how it is working for me next week.

gonnabethin: you in no way sound out of line. You sound very frustrated and I don't blame you!! Hang in there. It has been my experience that medical office administrative staff and definitely the insurance offices are usually overloaded and anything that isn't stuck right under their noses can easily get pushed aside. Reading about the problems of everyone who has to pay for each adjustment makes me so happy with my circumstances. My fills are all included for 2 years. As many as I need. Of course I paid out the nose initially for it, but everything is so much simpler and there's so much less paperwork. It is so important though that you get what you need for this thing to do its job for you. Do whatever it takes to get the paperwork shoved through. You're being proactive and that's what counts. You shouldn't have to lead everybody by the hand to get your fill tomorrow, but as frustrating as it is, it will be worth it for you. Good luck for tomorrow!

L8BloomR: Your initial admonition to me was because I generalized about Republicans. You've done exactly the same thing about Democrats. Read what you've written and you'll see that. Not only have you generalized about Democrats, you've gotten personal. I haven't. You seem to think I have, but I have not. You took what I said personally even though I was talking about what the Republican party stands for, not what L8BloomR stands for. No one here has said that Democrats are saints or that they are without sin. No one is, much less a political party. However there is a big difference in the party platforms (which btw, is as it should be.) We all need choices about how our government is run. But we can't just wish our preferred party stands for certain things when in fact, it doesn't. I won't bother to go find a source for the last Republican platform that was adopted at their convention, but if you want to know what you're really voting for you might want to. Plus, you could refute anything remark I've made if you discover something that is counter to what I've said. But you're arguing about things I did not say plus you seem to be saying that because you disagree with some of the Republican policies personally, that Republicans are what you say they are, not what they really are. Idealism is a nice, comfortable mind-set, but just because Republicans or Democrats are personally good people doesn't make the entire party good or right. However, actions spell it out, and if you vote for a party that undermines the poor and middle class in this country, you shouldn't be criticizing someone who disagrees with their actions. You should work at changing it. It won't be the way you want it just because of your criticism of me. In fact, that seems pretty silly.

Well crap! I was hoping you'd be writing us some upbeat news today. One more hurdle done though. It's a process getting stuff checked out. Our medical situation really sucks. We should pass a law prohibiting doctors from making people wait when they are in such a worried state of mind. My brother waits an unbelievable amount of time for all of his test results. Weeks! He lives in Colorado Springs. We're here for you Boo!!

I thought "Queer as Folk" was an extremely refreshing story line - it seemed honest and it taught me a whole lot about gays and the problems and emotions they have to deal with. It got a tad raunchy sometimes, but it certainly was as much or more interesting to me as watching two chicks make out. We're exposed to that so often that I believe the younger generation of girls is going to grow up thinking that if they DON'T do a little one on one with another girl, there's something wrong with them. I'm the opposite of airwayman. I like men in the same way he likes women. I enjoy looking at them, talking to them, laughing with them and experiencing all manner of personal interaction with them. I'm also like airwayman in that the DH (DW, in his case) is an inhibitor of any of that now, but although he's definitely worth it, I miss knowing lots of guys, and the interaction...:paranoid

Your second post came in before I posted mine. Geez, I rest my case!

I made no assumptions about YOU. You're the one who decided to pigeon hole yourself through my comments. The political party platforms and goals are open to the public. There's no secret about it. Getting mad at me for writing about it here sure isn't going to change a thing. But if you think that the Republican party is interested in making sure that poor people have medical care, you're living in a dream world. Maybe you're one of those people who thinks that Bush is a really good man with nothing but this country's best interest governing his every decision. I don't have a problem whatsoever with what YOU believe in. I was talking about a known Republican party fact. What they say may not necessarily be what they do (of course), but we have to pay lots of attention to what they DO. You are accusing me of using the words "selfish" and "evil." I did not. I also did not speak about any specific individual, including YOU, with regard to Republicans. Why are you protesting so much and attacking me personally? I didn't attack you. I didn't even attack the Republican party. I merely said what I believe to be true about the Republican party's lack of interest in helping poor people. What you do or what your friends do for the well being of others has no absolutely no bearing on the discussion we were having. That Republicans do not support socialized medicine of any kind, and are constantly trying to figure out ways to keep from paying into the welfare system are what I think needed to be pointed out. If it made you personally uncomfortable, stop ranting and raving at me. It isn't my fault the Republican right wingers behave the way they do. Take your argument up with them.

Eddie: Congratulations on your successful relationship and possible engagement to be married!! Let me ask you a question since it's been discussed elsewhere (or maybe even here) about whether Gay people are born that way. You say pretty much that you were (born Gay), but that you tried to deny it and went so far as to lead a "conventional" life for some years. A bandster who posts regularly said that her experience has been that gay people can either abstain from sex altogether or turn their lives into "conventional" and acceptable (by the religious right) ones, if they turn to God and pray and get counseling, etc. I'm pretty sure I read an earlier post of yours that stated you are a Christian, right? So did you try counseling and prayer to overcome your gayness? Because this other poster says it sure can be done successfully and she knows people who have done it. I may have you mixed up with someone else and if I do please ignore my questions. But many of us regular posters took issue with her claims that people can be in God's and the church's good graces if only they'd turn in that direction and get the help they need to turn away from homosexuality.

LRBloom8: All righty then. I guess that means you and your friends all are interested in some kind of socialized medicine? Great!! Spread the word.