John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

Next week there will be retrospective articles on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Nuclear Age. Its the 75th Anniversary.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Hiroshima by John Hersey.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

At Purdue Univ., lower level Physics is taught in three sections. The Lecture is taught by a Full Professor, "Recitation" sections to discuss problems are normally taught by grad students, and Lab sections are also normally taught by grad students, but my Recitation section for the second course was taught by a Full Professor, let's call him 'Prof X'. Sometimes he was very good, sometimes he was very bad, and a few times we found a note telling us that the section was cancelled. We eventually figured out that he was an alcoholic. Later, when I was in grad school, I got a summer internship at Los Alamos; I had to make the arrangements in January to give the FBI time to complete a security check - a main part of it was determining if anything in my behavior left me open to being blackmailed - so you can imagine my surprise when I saw 'Prof X' wandering down the hall at Los Alamos one day. I made a bee-line to my supervisor's office and blurted out "I just saw 'Prof X' - he's a 'falling down drunk'". My supervisor explained that the Manhattan Project had no staff at first, so they borrowed the "brightest and best" from various institutions. 'Prof X' had been one of those, and he became an alcoholic when he saw how the bombs were used; Purdue and Los Alamos had reached an agreement to find work for him until he reached age 65 - the people at Los Alamos knew about his situation and would never trust him with any real secrets.

Salomj9850

Years ago I had a coworker who was a recovering alcoholic. He was in the Army during the Vietnam war. He was a military Chaplin. While in the Army job consisted of going to the homes of the next of kin and informing them of the loss of their loved ones. After three years in the job he suffered a breakdown, began drinking and was discharged.

DAN Phillips Loc: Graysville, GA

We were all victims of that war, in one way or another.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

We will never know the extent of damage to mankind that was caused by WWII. With the many millions of lives lost, there were surely people killed that could have advanced technology and biology. Just think, the person who would have someday found the cure for cancer or many other ailments perhaps was lost. I know there were advances made in medicine like the way to handle amputations and antibiotics and after the war we were able to harness nuclear energy but we will never know if the advances will outweigh the potential we lost.

BigDen Loc: Alberta, Canada

Just like abortions.

Daryls Loc: Waco, TX

Almost an estimated 100 million died in both world wars! That is a huge drop in the human population from 1914 - 1945. Where would the world be now without the wars and if they all lived?

Daryl

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I think he's referring to the bomb, rather than the book.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

You are right on that count also. And how often do these abortion clinics explain that a good percentage of women whom have the procedure suffer from guilt and reduced esteem for the rest of their lives! If I were in charge, I would not do away with Planned Parenthood, I would increase funding but drastically alter their charter and mission. They would not be abortion clinics although they would still be able to do that as well. I grew up in a church that only recognized abortion based on rape, incest, or if the life of the mother was threatened. I break with that but not entirely. I believe to a great extent that abortion is a moral issue and not a political one. I believe a viable human is one that could live outside the womb without extraneous measures (I say extraneous measures because, let's face it, a human could almost be grown from a petri dish these days). Those individuals deserve protection no less than the mother or any other person on earth. This would leave open the ability for first trimester abortions. Why allow any? Because I would not want to once again send the young women of our country into the back allies of our cities to have abortions done with coat hangers, or to have them go to Mexico or other foreign countries where care is questionable. In addition to offering the abortion option, the clinic would be required to counsel before and after an abortion, neonatal services both before and after a child is born, and to coordinate with adoption agencies that would allow payment for adoptions that would not exceed the price of whatever medical procedures would be required (in other words – no selling of babies!). These clinics would be closely monitored and any not complying with freely offering counseling, neonatal care, and adoption services would be de-funded and closed down.

fantom Loc: Colorado

Are you suggesting the wars were a good thing, or that we should have another one?

Bear123 Loc: Wild & Wonderful West Virginia

However, abortions are where the money is for Planned Parenthood.

fantom Loc: Colorado

Yes, and in the sale of body parts... and your tax dollars are subsidizing them.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

And my proposal would do away with a lot of that nonsense! Planned Parenthood isn't going away so forget any tax savings that would come from that -- but if we could redirect it's mission for the good I don't have a problem keeping it.

Daryls Loc: Waco, TX

No Fantom. I am suggesting that wars, like abortions, disease, famine, etc., also kill off humans that might have provided extremely beneficial results IF they had lived to do so. Death is simply a fact of life for humanity and we will never know what "could have been".

Daryl