LeighaMason

When I speak of the Constitution I speak of it in its entirety including amendments (and supreme court interpretations of those amendments). Separation of church and state is a descriptive term for the first amendment Establishment clause. (If you say "first amendment Establishment clause" most people don't know what you are talking about) Its like calling a cotton tipped swab a tip, it just makes naming of the thing easier. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits the establishment of a national religion by the Congress or the preference of one religion over another, non-religion over religion, or religion over non-religion. Can you please point out in the following letter where Jefferson said the "wall" was one directional? January 1, 1802 Gentlemen, The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist Association, give me the highest satisfaction. My duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, and in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing. Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between church and State. [italics added] Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties. I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection and blessing of the common Father and Creator of man, and tender you for yourselves and your religious association, assurances of my high respect and esteem. Thomas Jefferson President of the United States ( letter copy and pasted from Wikipedia) As far as your "we were founded as a christian nation" theory goes... In 1797, the United States Senate ratified a treaty with Tripoli that stated in Article 11: ... the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; ...[35] Supporters of the separation of church and state believe this article confirms that the government of the United States was specifically intended to be religiously neutral, and that Article VI, clause 2 of the United States Constitution renders it "the supreme Law of the Land". (Copy and paste from Wikipedia)

Welcome Anne, Amy and Bree. It will be nice to have some newbies! Betsy, My stepson lives in Bloomington, he just ran in a 5K there and did it in 17.27 finished 3rd overall and 1st in his age group. I am going to use this for inspiration to try and start running. I have always said in the past I would only run if a dog were chasing me and it had to be a BIG dog. Karen --174 WTG! Bob--I just saw another thread where a woman called you Mike! Whats with the aliases? OK here is another strange story of my lap band transformation saga.... I usually go meet with a group of friends to have drinks 1 or 2 times a week (drinking alcohol not required). There are usually 8-10 of us there on Mon and/or Wen night. They start getting there about 4:30 and stay till 6:30 or so, we argue about politics, gripe about things a work etc. I didn't get to go last week because of work but when I went yesterday, then I only stayed for an hour because all I could think about is what I could be doing instead of sitting in a bar. :wub: So I went home and raked (part of) the yard. (Great exercise by the way.) I am wondering if my priorities are changing that much or if maybe I was just in some funky mood because of the time change/spring weather.

Patty, You either have to be either for separation of church and state or against it you cant be both. This is what confuses me about the Republicans platform, if you believe and support the constitution you can not include "God" in the schools (ANY God + State supported Schools= Combined church and state). Separation of church and state is what guarantees your right to be a Christian no matter what the current government leaning is. It is too dangerous to set a precedent of ANY religion being accepted into the state, history has shown that official religions of the government change and this is why we must protect our freedom of religion by total separation. So maybe it God who wants separation from the schools to protect our rights to worship him? I cant think of where it is, but I know the bible states that it is the parents responsibility to teach their kids about the bible. And teaching actual historical facts is not indoctrinating. Omitting actual historical facts to support your position is.

I have a new conspiracy theory, they make you drink the shakes so that when you start eating you will think the new diet is wonderful......hmm..... You can do it! Try unjury chicken Soup flavor Protein. It saved me.

Never ask the car salesman which car to buy!:thumbup: But in my opinion the band works best for people with portion control issues. It will not help with junk food eating, grazing or sweets.

Betsy your new pic is so pretty!

Have you tried spaghetti squash? To use with the spaghetti sauce?

When you eat too fast or too much or too big of a bite, your mouth starts making this really thick saliva to help get the food down. PBing is when this food comes back up, productive burp.

Unjury Chicken Soup flavor protein, mix it with warm water, 90 calories, 21g protein. Buy a single pack and see if it works for you instead of sweet drinks. They also have an unflavored version but I haven't tried it.

That almost pain in my chest is my "don't take another bite or else!" signal from my band. It is the signal that I am full. If I listen to this signal and stop right there: Almost pain (tightness) goes away in 1-2 min. If I don't listen to this signal and take: One more small bite I get sliming. One more big bite I get sliming + PBing.

Rita, Yes when I am consuming a very low calorie count I am cold. When I get my calories back up around 1000 I am not so cold. I just sit around under my blanket, wear a sweater at all times and have several pair of super thick socks that I wear when I have my shoes off. Sorry to tell you this, however, I promise the being cold in exchange for being thinner is a great trade. :thumbup:

After a fill my fill nurse has me drink liquids for the remainder of that day and the next day. After that I start with soft foods that I know I handle well and then reintroduce others slowly. Have you had your first fill yet?

My stomach makes so much noise my 15 year old son goes "GOOD ONE MOM!" If you can impress a 15 year old boy with your stomach noises you are really doing something. I have had constant gurgle in my lower stomach every since my surgery, I also have a lovely increase in burping and farting. (My little old lady southern grandmother would be so proud) However, I think its a fair trade for what the band does for me.

We have a lab he would be in the pool more than me. I cant keep him out of my little plastic pond. :thumbup:

Elfie I figured out the facebook thing, but I forgot to ask what time are we suppose to be there for dinner?

Good morning everyone! Well my son came home last night, so I guess I made it through the first date! I had no idea how hard that was going to be. My son is a great kid and his girlfriend is a very responsible girl, I have no idea what I think is going to happen to them, they both make good decisions, its not like they are going to go drinking or something, shesh, I am so overprotective. :thumbup: Cocoa--Have a safe trip, NO is so cool. Bob--I am jealous of your pool. Do your dogs get in it? Elfie--I am a techno idiot, I cant figure out how to send a facebook message or friend request to you, my name is Leigha Cockerham Bobbitt-Haeger please friend request me if you will... HB--The bowling sounds fun, the last time I went I remember being really sore in my buttocks! (for the accent think Tom Hanks in Forest Gump) But it was a lot of fun. Betsy-- Who is Preston? Christy-- You have an only son like me, do you find yourself to be overprotective as well? Karen--How is the restriction going?

I had the lap band to control my hunger. I am overweight not based on bad food choices but on the amount of food I could eat. I could eat a full plate of food and still be hungry. I did not graze, drink sodas or eat many sweets. But I estimate that I would eat 2000 or so calories per meal, 4 or 5 cups of food at a time. The band makes this physically impossible for me. I can eat about 1 cup of food and then if I continue I have pain. I get full quickly and I am not hungry for about 3-4 hours. If I wait too long to eat I do get very hungry in a way that can not be satisfied and I will be hungry for the rest of the day the only cure for this is to go to sleep at night and the next day my hunger is reset. But if I follow my plan of 3 small meals, and 2 small snacks I am not hungry other than the "its time to eat" sensation which is completely different than my pre-band "I'M HUNGRY!".

I don't think she is jealous I think she is scared she is going to lose her "position". Some women (OK people) use their size as their identifier. I am the "skinny one", "I am the one who can control my weight", therefor I am "in control". Now if you lose weight and you get smaller than her, she is going to have to really go to extremes to be the "skinny one" without the help of the band. This makes your weight loss very threatening to her. Remember when someone says something mean, its usually more about them than it is about you.

There is another danger with the shakes that I fell into, I can use them as total meal replacements. I was drinking the EAS 110 cal "shakes" for nutrition when I was too tight, after my slight unfill I continued on them using them as a meal. So I was using them for breakfast and lunch and keeping my calories down around 500-700. Now I only use them for a snack to hold back the hunger until I can make a "real" meal.

Before I had my machine I would sit straight up in bed and suck in a huge breath of air.(it scared the crap out of my husband) now I don't even snore. I don't have insurance anymore so I didn't do another study but I feel much better now. I actually sleep better now than I did with the cpap.

Now that I have lost weight my apnea is cured! I sold my cpap at a garage sale!