tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post7428600425784284535..comments2024-02-18T13:53:30.168-08:00Comments on Surgeonsblog: Sad TimesSid Schwabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-18440765400507217822008-02-28T04:37:00.000-08:002008-02-28T04:37:00.000-08:00Dear Anonymous 11:51 19 Feb:I hope your practice i...Dear Anonymous 11:51 19 Feb:<BR/><BR/>I hope your practice is better than your arithmetic. I cannot see where your "quarter of a billion" comes from; the combined populations of Iraq and Afghanistan are only 60 million.DHShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00251680600047999918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-47006526328336624262008-02-23T14:48:00.000-08:002008-02-23T14:48:00.000-08:00Nurse Kre"I don't think the people jumping off the...Nurse K<BR/><BR/>re"I don't think the people jumping off the WTC were equally as impressed with their level of security."<BR/><BR/>One question. Just what does the WTC destruction have to do with Iraq? Please do answer that one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-32732195299716321772008-02-22T15:17:00.000-08:002008-02-22T15:17:00.000-08:00seaspray: hear, hear!seaspray: hear, hear!Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-45775774724737184972008-02-22T14:57:00.000-08:002008-02-22T14:57:00.000-08:00Well this will be a weird comment in that I haven'...Well this will be a weird comment in that I haven't read the post and ever so briefly skimmed the 1st few comments.<BR/><BR/>I am really behind in my blog reading/commenting as my dsl was knocked out by an ice storm and it took 6 days to get the replacement part and now I am personally distracted.<BR/><BR/>As I said...we are at opposite ends of the spectrum and even though I don't agree with some things, I still read. <BR/><BR/>I like you as a person...which comes through in your writing and further evidenced in your congenial manner while interviewed by Dr A.<BR/><BR/>I love your writing and would never stay away because I disagreed with something.<BR/><BR/>I can also appreciate that some people might stay away because of the intense feeling of having their blood boil and so I do think it is a good idea to warn them if they were seeking only medical posts. :)<BR/><BR/>To that I would say turn the channel but come back on another day or you will miss good the stuff you came here for in the first place.<BR/><BR/>How does it go? Sometimes great minds have to agree to disagree. And as long as people are civil...we can all learn from one another.SeaSprayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07906503090688697222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-70990033939870348862008-02-19T12:08:00.000-08:002008-02-19T12:08:00.000-08:00anonymous: I'm glad you like the other stuff. I th...anonymous: I'm glad you like the other stuff. I think it's called the War on Terror (it seems we agree on the stupidity of the name) because Bush wanted a convenient meme by which to anoint himself a self-proclaimed "war president," and as a convenient way to keep us always scared, and to convince people -- you included -- that we need someone like him to keep us safe. It's a war, but not one that will be won with armies. The people whom you dismiss understand much better than he, in my opinion, what it will in fact require to win, and they take the task as seriously as anyone; they just have a clearer eye on what's needed. The war in Iraq -- need I say it again? -- has done exactly the opposite of helping to win that war. Your long-term view is, at this point, the only optimistic one that's left, and I hope it's true. But we'd have gotten then more quickly and in a less devastating way, had we not blundered into the invasion. We may, eventually, be able to put the fire out and to restore and improve the area. Better, however, not to have lit the fire in the first place.Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-89563636109927906962008-02-19T11:51:00.000-08:002008-02-19T11:51:00.000-08:00I am a medical professional; I enjoy your blog. I...I am a medical professional; I enjoy your blog. I disagree with most of your political writing. <BR/><BR/>It is called the War on Terror simply because of political correctness (an invention of the Left) It is a war on jihadists/radical islam. <BR/><BR/>That is the group that attacked us and has been responsible for most of the global terrorism within the past 40years. <BR/><BR/>I voted for Bush 43 twice; I am very disappointed in his performance but that being said given the choice I'd rather have him as POTUS in a time of war than any of the alternatives. <BR/><BR/>I view the conflict in Iraq as a spark that will bring change and force radical Islam into the 21st century. We freed a quarter of a billion men, women and children from two tyrannical regimes (Afganisthan and Iraq)the nationbuilding process in both those countries will take years but will bear fruit. <BR/><BR/>This war will be won on resolve; it will take leaders with same. I'm sorry but I don't see that in Pelosi, Reid, Obama, Clinton, etc.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-66769409155674824542008-02-19T10:36:00.000-08:002008-02-19T10:36:00.000-08:00This post made me cry - everything makes me cry, s...This post made me cry - everything makes me cry, so don't take it personally - but it so wonderful to see an American being passionate about these things that seem so important to me. I won't have a vote in the US election but what happens will affect everyone everywhere and it is heartening to see an American voter who cares so much about things that I believe in also.<BR/><BR/>Personally, I prefer this to the surgery stuff, but that's just me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-40572766795406377412008-02-18T14:13:00.000-08:002008-02-18T14:13:00.000-08:00Thank you Dr. Schwab for writing so eloquently wha...Thank you Dr. Schwab for writing so eloquently what I've been feeling for so long. Don't listen to the naysayers, for we all have a duty as Americans to become involved in the governing of our country - even if that's just by posting insightful and heartfelt political "diatribes" on a medical blog :-)Alpha Femalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13620350717607540155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-21949663296479598052008-02-18T13:19:00.000-08:002008-02-18T13:19:00.000-08:00Remember that John Kennedy upped the ante in Viet ...Remember that John Kennedy upped the ante in Viet Nam, right after the Bay of Pigs failure. I remember vividly his going on TV and apologizing for the B. of P., taking full responsibility. With his untimely death he escaped responsibility for Viet Nam.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-25802361686515882272008-02-18T10:42:00.000-08:002008-02-18T10:42:00.000-08:00Lynn: Newt is a bright and witty and thoughtful gu...Lynn: Newt is a bright and witty and thoughtful guy who very often says things worth thinking about. Were it not for the fact that he is perhaps the single person most associated with the beginning of the "the other side is evil and deserves nothing but derision" brand of politics now so prevalent, I might even consider him a worthy person. But he is. So I don't.<BR/><BR/>You, on the other hand, are surely worthy, even as we disagree.Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-29916407657059124822008-02-18T10:33:00.000-08:002008-02-18T10:33:00.000-08:00Added to say: hey, this is your blog and you have ...Added to say: hey, this is your blog and you have every right to speak your political mind even though this is a medblog. Geez, we are still in America, right?Lynn Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02958402288888144904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-70077742891511914672008-02-18T10:30:00.000-08:002008-02-18T10:30:00.000-08:00Open your mind to the possibility, at least; who k...<I>Open your mind to the possibility, at least; who knows, some day I might even reconsider Reiki!</I><BR/><BR/>Good one, Sid. Actually, I'm not a McCain fan, either. I don't consider myself a Republican, but rather, a conservative. To date, no one floats my boat other than Newt (waiting for tossed snowballs to fling my way). I can't go with any of the Democrats because they aren't conservative. They want to help themselves to more of my hard-earned money in all their entitlement programs.<BR/><BR/>As for Iraq, I believed in the war in the beginning because I used to live there, and in Iran, and in Saudi Arabia. Anyone who believes Saddam didn't spirit his weaponry to Syria isn't facing reality. They have/had every intention of blasting us off the earth. Same goes for Iran. <BR/><BR/>We knew this was going to be a long war, but I don't think Bushy has done right with his decisions. And, he's no conservative.<BR/><BR/>Now, as for the Reiki, y'all come on down and let me melt your synapses sometime.Lynn Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02958402288888144904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-83796012161897133812008-02-18T10:11:00.000-08:002008-02-18T10:11:00.000-08:00I realise that much has already been said on this,...I realise that much has already been said on this, but isn't politics and government supposed to be of the people, by the people, for the people? <BR/><BR/>I'm pretty sure the root origin of the word lies with the Greek for citizen, much as Policeman, and Metropolis. As such, isn't everyone's view not just valid, but a form of expert opinion?<BR/><BR/>Or am I being too British? (See Bongi's comment)<BR/><BR/>"Politicks is the science of good sense, applied to public affairs, and, as those are forever changing, what is wisdom to-day would be folly and perhaps, ruin to-morrow. Politicks is not a science so properly as a business. It cannot have fixed principles, from which a wise man would never swerve, unless the inconstancy of men's view of interest and the capriciousness of the tempers could be fixed." [Fisher Ames (1758–1808)]<BR/><BR/>Slainte<BR/><BR/>SAlex Stokerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05645998228285420107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-34678511007385071642008-02-18T09:22:00.000-08:002008-02-18T09:22:00.000-08:00jb: thanks. I don't think I'll live long enough to...jb: thanks. I don't think I'll live long enough to witness the judgment of history; but it seems impossible that a president who ran up trillions of dollars of debt and left it for the next generations, and who embarked on a war for a variety of ever-changing reasons that upset the balance of power in the Middle East in favor of Iran and Syria will be regarded favorably. If things eventually work out over there it will be in spite of, not because of the misadventure. It'd be like giving credit to a person who started a forest fire that led to better fire control, after burning a million acres. But I've appreciated your comments. It's a weird and discouraging world.Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-57624772527266373502008-02-18T06:43:00.000-08:002008-02-18T06:43:00.000-08:00Sid Wrote: If you were a bunch of guys living in a...Sid Wrote: If you were a bunch of guys living in a cave, who had no army, no means on their own to take down this country, wouldn't it be perfect to sucker us into an endless war, depleting our military, our treasure, and our standing in the world, while providing them with a steady stream of recruits? <BR/><BR/>That's exactly how they brought down Russia or have we already forgotten the Russian-Afghan war that was covertly funded by America. Sure it led to what now seems to be the temporary downfall of Communism but it also put the Taliban in power in Afghanistan.<BR/><BR/>Sadly America is responsible for it's current place in Global politics and for creating many more of the same terrorists we want so desperately to fight. It's going to take a lot of work to fix it.<BR/><BR/>PS it's your blog, write what you want. Although I don't think you need to see those words from me.<BR/><BR/>Regardsmark's tailshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08097539019772913051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-13568931654902598732008-02-18T06:35:00.000-08:002008-02-18T06:35:00.000-08:00Sid, your interpretation of my comment regarding y...Sid, your interpretation of my comment regarding your possible audience loss is 100% correct. Like it or not, this country is pretty evenly divided on its view of Bush as either the worse president ever, or one whom history will treat a lot more kindly than present day comments suggest (if you don't think that's possible, check out what was said about Harry Truman when he was president). I'm in the latter group- I think that a lot of things that Pres. Bush has done were bad, but I think overall he will prove to be a force for good, and I shudder to think where we would be today if Gore, Kerry, or Clinton (any Clinton) were in the Oval Office today. My opinion. Some of your correspondents will think I'm an idiot and skip over this and any of my future posts. Not a problem. It is a problem, in my view, if some of <I>your</I> readers think that you are a Code Pink/Cindy Sheehan/Michael Moore type nutjob because of your political posts, and skip over your terrific surgery writings.<BR/><BR/>I'm going to let this thread go now. Just wanted to clear that up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-9027055108528627122008-02-17T21:37:00.000-08:002008-02-17T21:37:00.000-08:00Thanks for sending me your previous posts. I had ...Thanks for sending me your previous posts. I had no intentions of sending the thread into the wrong direction. I've been reading/researching since I put the kids to bed. I feel like I have some better answers. I still have a couple of weeks to go over all the information.<BR/><BR/>Sorry that you had a "depressing mood" but hope that you see the beauty within our country. My hometown, Allen Co. KY lost 4 people to the recent tornadoes. Macon Co. Tn (13 died, 300 homes destroyed) is just across the line or as we say "spitting distance". (no hillbilly jokes!!) The land, homes, livestock, are gone but not the spirit of the community. No politician brought that out. It was the people who brought hope to those who had none. Put that in your pocket to brighten your tomorrow.<BR/><BR/>Good night.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-21522548693471167082008-02-17T21:04:00.000-08:002008-02-17T21:04:00.000-08:00FWIW, my interpretation of jb's "surgery will be t...FWIW, my interpretation of jb's "surgery will be the worse for it" comment was actually complimentary: he was, I think, saying that it would be too bad if I lost readership because the surgery aspects of the blog are good for the profession. But maybe not.Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-70434509178048468432008-02-17T20:55:00.000-08:002008-02-17T20:55:00.000-08:00I think there is something fundamentally wrong wit...I think there is something fundamentally wrong with the "leave it to the experts" model of social discourse: it is undemocratic.<BR/><BR/>I bristled this morning because I perceived (correctly or not) the suggestion that surgery might be better off if it stayed out of politics. <BR/><BR/>Well, maybe that's true as far as it goes. I guess I don't know.<BR/><BR/>But whatever the effect on surgery, <I>all of us</I> will surely be worse off if surgeons stay out of politics. Surgeons, like university professors, judges, lawyers, etc., represent the minds of our culture. It is as senseless to pigeonhole them into their profession as it would be to refuse to use the fire extinguisher in the hall because the fire is in the kitchen. (Okay, sloppy metaphor. Sorry.) The point is that asking surgeons to check their tongue on politics is a a waste of intellectual energy that is likely to hurt all of us in the long run. <BR/><BR/>I grew up in rural Idaho, where poor rural voters turned out for Bush in droves. They have no clue that his policies are part of the reason they hurt so much. And they are not likely to come around on their own -- someone has to show 'em. Now, who is that going to be if everyone keeps their nose in their work?<BR/><BR/>I politely submit that talking politics and taking an, ethical, human line like Dr. Schwab has done here is the<I> most</I> professional thing a person can do. Workers in the trades go to work for a wage, and leave their work behind them at 5:00 PM. The professions link their work to the greater well being of a the community as a whole. I know that sounds like hokey BS, but that is the fundamental distinction between, say practicing medicine and selling Band-Aids, or practicing law and filing motions, or teaching and instructing. It is the distinction between a profession and a trade. It would be a far greater disservice to the profession of surgery if Dr. Schwab or any other surgeon were to reduce it to a trade by declining to mix his life with his work.<BR/><BR/>The suggestion that Dr. Schwab may do a disservice to his profession when he mixers his medicine and politics has it backwards. Dr. Schwab is only a professional in the true sense to the degree he does precisely that. <BR/><BR/>That's just my humble, young, ill advised and likely idealistic two cents. But I don't WANT to get my political advice from the experts or the pundits or the informed sources. Or, at least I don't want to get all of it there. I also want -- need, even -- to hear someone say, "last time I saw this happen was . . . " or, "This reminds me of when . . ." or, "I've been bothered by this for 30 years, and here is why . . ." or whatever. I don't think I am unusual in that respect. <BR/><BR/>So, rock on, Dr. Schwab. This week, Monday is the weekend too, you know!Patrick Bageanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17385399679860682725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-58112938618886071072008-02-17T20:28:00.000-08:002008-02-17T20:28:00.000-08:00alison: how impressive to have a grandfather who w...alison: how impressive to have a grandfather who was a US Senator, especially in that era, and willing to vote for the voting rights act. My brother was Senate page, in about 1960, for Richard Neuberger, a moderate Democrat from Oregon. Maybe he knew your grandfather. In those times, as you know, there was actual collegiality among them all, and members of both parties who worked in cooperation with each other: Javits, Dirksen, Goldwater, Neuberger; nearly all of them, really. Could it happen again? One can hope. But probably not.Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-17770710077272789502008-02-17T20:24:00.000-08:002008-02-17T20:24:00.000-08:00Sid:Another excellent post. I don't get jb's comm...Sid:<BR/><BR/>Another excellent post. I don't get jb's comments about how this somehow diminishes your medical postings. One of the reasons I keep coming back is because you speak on things other than just medical. You are insightful, well thought, and to piggyback on Graham, I appreciate your gay supportive views (which have little to do with you being a surgeon). jb, perhaps a less myopic view of your own would expand your own horizons. I don't think you'll bw losing your audience. <BR/>Thank you for your thoughts, your words, and for being the man of your convictions that you are, and for saying it like it is.gay CME guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05817474200268605557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-9034900525247530872008-02-17T20:17:00.000-08:002008-02-17T20:17:00.000-08:00My grandfather's chief of staff from his US Senate...My grandfather's chief of staff from his US Senate days, at Grandpa's funeral, quoted what the chief of staff of another Senator had said to him: "You're lucky: you always know how your guy is going to vote. By his conscience. My guy hides in the closet till he sees how things are swinging so that he'll always vote on the winning side." (My grandfather was a Republican who voted for the Civil Rights Voting Act of 1964, with conviction that it was the right thing to do, and was widely denounced for it at the time in his party. History has a way of clearing the view over time...)<BR/><BR/>I've thought of that staffer's quote many times of late. Obama was willing to vote his conscience and vote against expanding the war to Iraq, voting by what he felt was right, no matter what it appeared at the time that it might cost him personally.<BR/><BR/>I guess I'm answering anonymous at 11:28.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-25687153009443819352008-02-17T17:45:00.000-08:002008-02-17T17:45:00.000-08:00jb: well, look how easy it was to express your opi...jb: well, look how easy it was to express your opinion, and well. Sorta like me. I don't buy the "credibility" issue: if people distrust my surgical posts because I'm a liberal, well, that would be strange indeed. <BR/><BR/>As to the stretched military, it's the generals who say so, including the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs. As to cost: in today's dollars, only WWII was higher, per several charts I've seen. As to our standing in the world (I realize some don't care, but I think it's crucial) you only have to listen to other world leaders, international polls, etc. And it ain't just the NYT that says the economy is in rough shape: surely you agree with that. <BR/><BR/>I was wholly in favor of the Afganistan war, and horrified when we left it half done to go where there was no threat. The "liberation" was the easy part. The havoc wreaked will require generations to fix. And the idea that we're just running up debt to pay for the war is a disaster in the making . Made.<BR/><BR/>The cave-dwellers haven't fooled me: I realize the threat. They fooled George Bush, by getting him to take his eye off the ball and getting tied up forever in a way that only helps them. And they were living in caves long before the US military showed up. They are, evidently, totally safe there. <BR/><BR/>Expertise? None, I suppose, other than being a very engaged voter who reads politics voraciously, from many points of view. Books, magazines, newspapers, internet. You didn't touch any of my nerves, nor in any way offended me: I'm happy to have the discussion, even if I don't change any minds.Sid Schwabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14182853083503404098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-59853592448813362702008-02-17T16:57:00.000-08:002008-02-17T16:57:00.000-08:00Sid-It seemed I touched a nerve with my Grundoc qu...Sid-<BR/>It seemed I touched a nerve with my Grundoc quote. Good.<BR/>My concern is that you are a gifted surgeon, and a gifted writer. When you write about surgery, you make my life easier, and better, because you teach me about my craft, and you teach civilians about it also, in a way that I wish that I could. For that I thank you, and admire you, and fervently hope that you continue.<BR/>When you stray into politics, you are doing something that you have every right to do, as I stated in my earlier post. For what may be selfish reason, I wish that you wouldn't. You are getting into an area where your expertise, however well validated by other posters, is minimal. While it may get you a short term warm feeling due to the "attaboys" from people who agree with you, it damages your credibility among many who, unlike me, may incorrectly assume that your veracity in things surgical parallels your expertise in political matters.<BR/>You have accepted the NY Times version of reality- military stretched beyond capacity, destroyed economy, the whole ChimpyCheneyBushHalliburton end of the world as we know it. From my perspective, when a bunch of folks proclaim that they want to destroy us, I'm happy to take it to them. It hasn't been done perfectly, but it has been done damn well, liberating two nations out of totalitarianism in the process. Our losses and costs, while high, have been lower than any other similar activity in the history of the world. If you don't shudder when you read the rantings of the anti-American and anti-Semitic trash that comes out of the enemy, it's because, like many of the people on the hard left, you believe that history began last week. It didn't. It didn't even begin in the 1930s, but that is a good place to start. They want to do the same thing to us. Don't let the cave dwellers fool you. The only reason that some of them are in the caves is that the US military keeps them there. They have other plans for us. Never again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30499448.post-32299175384532041382008-02-17T15:51:00.000-08:002008-02-17T15:51:00.000-08:00http://origin.barackobama.com/issues/You're great,...http://origin.barackobama.com/issues/<BR/><BR/>You're great, Dr. Schwab, and on a side note, my step father in law is on his second tour of duty in Iraq.Justine Johnston Hemmestadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16173113744180112355noreply@blogger.com