70 miles down the road with 2 adults and six kids crammed in a Buick LeSabre isn't practical, Dan. Especially when the vehicle's old enough that breakdowns aren't beyond the realm of possibility.

You really don't have any idea what it's like for a lot of Americans, Dan. The "solutions" you offer work in urban America, but not always in rural America.



You read it wrong then. Period. If you've read much of my work, I think Lincoln was one of the WORST presidents as far as civil rights, Sean. Just because YOU read out of context doesn't mean I was inconsistent.

I did not "see the light", Sean. I've never wavered on this one. At all.

And while I'm thinking about it, just "how" is this question germaine to the discussion at hand?" I thought that if you were a medical professional you might have a unique insight that the rest of us do not. I.e. working in a workplace where you can be sued for your actions more then once a day, having to constantly adjust your practice to the wishes rather then the needs of your patients, that sort of thing. So how about you just answer yes or no to the question? Are you a doctor, in the medical professional sense, of the word, doctor?

The answer would be no, unless it's mechanical in nature.

"70 miles down the road with 2 adults and six kids crammed in a Buick LeSabre isn't practical, Dan."

So one adult stays home with 5 of the children, the other drives the one needing a checkup to your medical professional of choice. It's a trade-off between whats important to you. There are always excuses but you made the case that there were no options.

I'm not splitting hairs with you here Gid, but there are always options, whether or not they appear practical, what's more important to you? Being asked a question by a stranger they have no business asking? Or seeing a medical professional you trust and commuting the extra distance for that privilege.

"The "solutions" you offer work in urban America, but not always in rural America."

You choose to live in a rural area. Nobody made that choice for you. You choose to not vaccinate your children, nobody made that choice for you. You choose to home school your children. Again nobody made that choice for you. Each choice you, I, anybody makes, has consequences good and bad, intended and unintended.

"You really don't have any idea what it's like for a lot of Americans, Dan."

Do explain what that is supposed to mean beyond being extremely insulting. As a matter of fact, I have been an American all my life, so I don't know what the fuck that is supposed to mean, and how exactly it is I know another group of people better, or Americans any worse then you, or then I, should. Do explain.

I have found that you consistently are changing the issue over and over and over again. From one being of invasion of privacy, to being about what's wrong with society, professionals, government officials, and everybody else in general. That's fine. But I can see little more then excuses and petty wish that things were different then they are. It is precisely because society is what it is, faulted, dangerous, and self-destructive at times, sometimes more often then not, that doctors are asking questions to assess risk factors in confidence with patients.

You don't like it, great, fine. Nor do I, but short of changing society, withdrawing from society, or going on a we-must-change society rampage, making the world perfect for everybody, I'm content to do the best I can, as I believe are you. As I believe are the medical professionals doing their job as their conscience and ethics dictate.

You don't vaccinate your kids, your choice, but also one that the general consensus thinks, puts your children at great risk. As for the homeschooling bit, granted I didn't go through your experience, but I have encountered zealots and people who think it's their way or the highway, as I have said before you will find zealots in all lots of life, but carrying that experience over above it's own weighted measure into everything else i.e. We have become Nazi's, or some such is just lunacy.

Do explain what is so different about living rurally and in a city. Aside from the lack of noise, congestion, traffic, violence, and the excess of manure outside city limits. Do you take it that I have never traveled outside the city limits of Appleton?

Well, this was a fairly interesting thread, till someone decided to monopolize the conversation....

lions

I own a lion. He's only one foot high and he wears a grey and white fur coat as a disguise to throw animal control off the scent. He hasn't tried to eat me, but he does take an occasional exploratory lick, so he may be gearing up.

Blades don't need reloading.

when the zombies come it's probably sharp enough to split their skulls...so I think I'm good to go.

I don't like blades. You have to get in too close. Zombie blood sprays and that can be bad news.

My Doc never wants to talk about guns either. And I hate it when he slips and snaps one of those latex gloves on and tells me to roll over.

The better doc's lead up to it with a little conversation and maybe a glass of wine or two. You should drive a couple hours into a large, sprawling urban center to find one of those.


Personally, I don't own a gun because I'd use it. The prospect of spending the rest of my life in a small grey room (despite not sounding too different from my life anyway) does not appeal to me. Besides, those guys won't even slip on latex before telling you to roll over.

This all goes to prove my contention children are nothing but a government plot to infiltrate our homes with highly trained, miniature narcs. Those little pitchers don't just have big ears, they also have two-way wrist communicators ala Dick Tracy. If their government conspiracy doesn't get you, trust me that they're keeping notebooks for a tell-all book. Why do you think they padlock their journals? All you reproducers are screwed! Screwed I tell you!

P.S. Buy my new book, How Bush Is Brainwashing Your Kids To Overthrow Your Household, available next week from lulu.com.

Personally, I don't own a gun because I'd use it. The prospect of spending the rest of my life in a small gray room (despite not sounding too different from my life anyway) does not appeal to me. Besides, those guys won't even slip on latex before telling you to roll over.

That's called "personal" control! I have a friend who says he would never want a CCW permit. When asked why he said, "I'd want to shoot "every" stupid person I saw! And that being the case, I'd NEVER be able to have enough ammo!".

That's called "personal" control! I have a friend who says he would never want a CCW permit. When asked why he said, "I'd want to shoot "every" stupid person I saw! And that being the case, I'd NEVER be able to have enough ammo!".

Like Dirty Harry said, "A man has got to know his own limitations."

Damn straight, Dan. We should just remove all medical care completely from rural areas, those people were stupid enough to move there.

You're right, Dan. We made a horrible mistake moving here. We're finding that out. But when we moved, we had little choice but to move, something you'd have known if you were here and reading my blog at the time. It was that or basically homelessness, because you can't pay $1000 a month rent with a $7 an hour job. It's financially impossible, in case you hadn't noticed. We chose here because it was the most attractive option, and, frankly, the people appeared to be nice when we met them.

I realize you have all the answers, Dan. I realize that if people would just be like you, the world would be perfect. But we're not all like you and you haven't marketed your "be like Dan" course on the Oprah show, so we're a long ways from it. And I realize if I would just do what I'm told and not view myself as an individual with rights, I'd be a lot better off. But until you and your comrades take over the Kremlin...err, I mean White House, you've got no right demanding I conform to your image.

I wasn't trying to be right. I could give a damn about you or your unvaccinated kids man. You or they are not my responsibility, they and you are yours. My whole point of writing was offering a reason a doctor might be inclined to have a privileged conversation with a patient and ask about risk factors including guns in the house.

Where you choose to live is your business. If you don't look into the economics of the area before you move there that's also your business. When you describe moving into a place that is $1000 a month, yet you work a $7 an hour job you are trying to tell me that it is financially impossible. Again I'd point you to who made that determination of financially viability? It was not me nor my "comrades".

When things are impossible they do not also equate to "the most attractive option" or an option at all. I'd like to have a house on the moon, a lot less traffic, plenty of rocks for my geology collection, low gravity, but if I cannot afford to locate myself on the moon, so it's not an "option".

"you've got no right demanding I conform to your image."

It is you who have insulted me at every turn of this discussion. First Nazi, then liberal, then city slicker lately "communist". Did I not state the fact that simply was you choose your own decisions and nobody but you suffers or benefits consequences for that?

Nor have I tried to hold you to some image or level of expectation, only that of a person responsible for their own decisions, thoughts and words written in the public domain.

"But we're not all like you"

Again, explain to me how I am different then you? How is it that I don't know Americans.

You sure are good at labeling me as different. You start inflammatory conversations yet you do not finish them by either providing facts, or explaining yourself. That's fine if you are here to spin yarn, clearly your words of late, have been little more sir.

As I have asked you to stick to the topic and you have repeatedly just wanted to bitch about life. Good for you, maybe you should just take a pen and paper, and write down things you'd like to change. Start with small stuff work up to big things. Cross them off as you make progress and time slips into the future.

Come back and pick up the conversation when you are ready to discuss the topic at hand.

Dan,

The area where we are living isn't that place. When we moved out to Nevada, it wasn't the case. The real estate market literally shot through the market WHILE WE WERE there...A crystal ball would have helped, but, umm, those don't exist.

While we're at it, why don't we chastise those morons who lived in Oklahoma during the dust bowl? Or the idiots in Ireland during the potato famine? I have worked to raise and take care of my family, Dan, something you know NOTHING about, a fact that is GLARINGLY obvious in every one of your posts. Granted, not every decision we've made has been the best, but we do the best with what we have. You are absurd enough to state that because we live in a rural area, we DESERVE substandard health care, and we DESERVE to be isolated from these choices.

This article was about a doctor asking a child about guns in her house, Dan, something far beyond the doctor's area of concern. Defend it all you want, but what you are defending is unconscionable, and antithetical to the values on which our nation was established. Period.

I stand up for the things I believe in, Dan, and I do so passionately. As do you, obviously. Why is it wrong when I do it and right when you do it? The answer's pretty clear. Because you have all the answers and anyone who thinks differently is an idiot, right? I've veered no further off topic than you have, Dan. I offered illustrations that supported what KFC was saying, that was all. But you know better, because at twenty something you've really been around the block, right?

Gid you are a really losing it, and your tone of frustration is seeping through. I'm sorry things have been hard for you in life. Join the club of 6 billion people going through something called life.

As you know nothing of my family situation, why don't you stop speaking on it.

I'm further, not "chastise"-ing anybody, just pointing the facts out to you that you have chosen the effects of your situation by the causes. I have also pointed out that there are options in any situation but what you see as options, hardly are as you yourself point them out to others, i.e. living in an area you cannot afford for, longer then you can.

As for what you deserve, fact is if you live rurally, you have to go farther for services, duh? Why do you think people live in cities? I'm sure they enjoy the pollution, traffic, lack of space, lack of green, higher crime rates, yeah all that and services? I mean come on Gid you come accross so childish lately.

If you live outside a city distances for anything are farther, food, water, electricity, cable, garbage, this isn't news it is? No. But it is reality, as for you opinions on me I really wish you would stick to the topic.

"defending is unconscionable"

Let me state again because you missed it the first time, I'm not defending anything, except my statements, which were offering an alternative view on why doctors are asking the question. Again for like the 10th time no you have made this all about "me" "me" "me".

"Because you have all the answers and anyone who thinks differently is an idiot, right?"

Stop acting like one, on the written word in here, and maybe you'll stop feeling like one. I have done nothing to treat you that way.

If your problems are really so severe, seek some help instead of acting like a whiny childish adult in his/her 40's.

I know you were in high school when columbine happened. Which means either you're in about your mid 20's or you flunked a heckuva lot. And I know you're too smart for the latter to be an option. And I also know that there is a lot you DON'T know at 20 something, even when you're sure you do (it's called "been there, done that").

Dan, you are a gnat. This will be my last response to you. You're not worth my attention.

You don't know jack about who I am as a person, you know nothing of who I live with, who I take care of daily, how I grew up, what role guns have played in my history. None of that. Yet you presume to be more knowledgeable then you are. Let me show you where you assumptions have led you.

"I know you were in high school when columbine happened."

Actually upon review I was in my last year of middle school, on a trip back from hearing Colin Powell speak about his Red wagon program and about becoming adults that serve the nation somehow.

I did say it was in high school at one time, but after conferring with some friends the other day about it, we were actually in middle school that April 19/20th.

"I know you're too smart for the latter to be an option."

I flunked Advanced Algebra, and Chemistry I got a D- in. Two things in which I regret, because I was chasing women and working a shift daily at Burger King instead of paying attention to my studies.

It's how I learned about trade-offs.

It would appear that you know very little about me but you sure think you do. Most of what you have suggested already is based upon your perception and assumptions. ASSUMPTIONS THAT ARE INCORRECT. Big surprise.

"I also know that there is a lot you DON'T know at 20 something"

One thing you are right about. I do not know a great deal about a great deal. But I do know that I know a lot more then most my age if that means anything. Of course you would not be the first 40-something to under-estimate me or anyone else of my generation. Sound familiar?

I'm 26, but I have never have proclaimed to know more then you. I am just willing to express my opinion of which I have as much right as you, no doubt you'll agree?

Another thing I know is that this world isn't going to do you or me any favors and will exploit the weak at every availability, just as the laws of nature dictate. You must create your own opportunity and stay positive, accentuate the positive, and turn negatives to your own advantage. Expecting the world to hand those to you freely won't get you anywhere but heartbreak. You also won't find anybody looking out for you except for yourself and your own. The only ones who have the ability to work around that are humans with brains when they foresee that. Animals like deer can't foresee their death from a bullet from a gun. But man can.

Complaining about life is perhaps the worst choice of all. The time it takes to complain does nothing to benefit your situation, whatsoever.

"Dan, you are a gnat. This will be my last response to you. You're not worth my attention."

That's fine.