I hate to think what would happen to both you and my son, a high school student in the 80s, in today's environment. So easy after the fact to profile the killer. Quiet, studious, very smart - that's sure scary. I fear for the controls that will be placed on students in the future, rather than dealing with the real problem which is the availability of guns. A student film or script raises the red flag, but a similar movie created by a professional can be a big hit in theaters.

So many people being interviewed talk about the killer being insane. Insanity is a defense to prosecution. What would they be saying if he were alive and in custody? He would not be considered insane, but a menace who knew the difference between right and wrong and proceeded to kill.

Re the "alien" in society, whether s/he be dark skinned or from a foreign country, the American society needs to change. Instead of putting up barriers to immigration or marginalizing blacks,the society must become colorblind and integrated. The integration is not the obligation of the minority person, but rather, the white majority.

It's the guns, stupid. (I don't mean you, the author) I'm an American living in Mexico and here only the outlaws have guns. How about a "strict construction" of the constitution when it comes to the 2nd Amendment? Guns for a militia, not for "protection". Actually, I could do without the militia exception also.

Fred Thompson is quoted as saying "I don't know if a 'cure' is ever the operative word when you're talking about cancer, frankly". He is said to have lymphoma and there are numerous types of lymphoma. I have a non-hodgekins lymphoma and have been told that there is no cure. Just the happy report that you can live with it with treatment until something else kills you (also mentioned in the article). I also had a remission after very successful chemotherapy.(It was high grade, stage 4, with a prognosis of 6 months, before the chemo) It lasted three years. Then one full year needed for preparation for a bone marrow transplant, the transplant and the time needed to regain strength (from actually sometimes having to crawl) and then radiation. My oncologist said he wouldn't put me thru this if he didn't believe a "cure" was possible. But the statistics just aren't there yet. Should a person who has lymphoma, in remission or otherwise, be serving as president, s/he could be looking at a long term inability to fulfill the duties of the office.

It is certainly a sign of the times that people are living longer and appearing vigorous even during chemo. I was so "vigorous" during chemo I had to take drugs to help me sleep. I would have stayed up all nite working. The country sure is looking "happy face" on the people who have disclosed incredibly severe diagnoses. And I wish everyone with metastasized and other cancers all the best and hope for their eventual recovery.

The article quoted someone saying "as long as the candidate looks vigorous and acts vigorous, I don't think cancer will be a problem". Maybe not a problem in getting elected, but it's still a medical problem. One should seriously consider the situation. The fact that in the past we couldn't know if someone had cancer, or we were concerned that a candidate who had had a heart attack might not be able to serve as president, is not an excuse to believe that appearance is everything. When it comes to cancer, attitude is very important to recovery. A positive attitude helps immeasurably but that is not the same thing as a candidate being in good health when elected. Illness isn't fair. It's not fair that Christoper Reeve's wife died from lung cancer after not smoking and after his horrible suffering, but it happened. It's not fair that maybe one's health would disqualify him/her from serving. It's just what happens.

Right now there is a debate about privacy of medical records and there is a great fear of the mentally disabled, or insane. Rather than control guns, VA is attempting to invade the privacy of persons court ordered to have psychiatric treatment. It has interested me that the fear of the insane, or even those who are experiencing depression and get treatment, is at such a heightened level. (Had the V.Tech shooter lived you wouldn't here all this talk about his insanity, that would be a defense. He would just be an evil person)

I mention the issue of insanity and mental disability only to compare it with the now "rose colored glasses" attitude toward cancer. Maybe that's because we all might get cancer, but you don't "catch" mental illness. Us (possible cancer sufferers) vs. Them (the insane).

Medicine is making huge strides. In 1978 my 35 yr old husband died of leukemia after taking the same drugs I took, but in modified amounts in 1999. Amazing. The same drug that brought about my remission, killed him. They didn't know how much was too much. They had no choice. He was such a young man and so sick. But I don't think, like was mentioned in the article that cancer has become like diabetes. It isn't really under control. Something else may kill you before the cancer, but if it has metastasized, it is going to eventually keep spreading.

If you doubt me, read some pamphlet from the Leukemia Society. I did, in my doctor's office. My husband was given one by a social worker when nobody was with him. Terrible. Grim. Scary. (unless they have made it more positive since 1999)I'll never read another.

We all want to minimize that which scares us. But lets remember that cancer isn't diabetes, it is more serious (tho diabetes is very serious). If you doubt it's seriousness, look at the numbers, it's amazing that so many of the candidates have suffered.