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Reader Comment of the Day
Tweet Share on Facebook November 7, 2008 Comment (2)Mr. Obama should follow President Lincoln's example and surround himself with his enemies. He should choose Democrats and Republicans to fill his cabinet.
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Reader Comment of the Day
Tweet Share on Facebook November 6, 2008 Comment (1)I have always been of the opinion that once the election has been decided, that we come together as Americans and support our President. Too often in recent years, this office has faced far too much ridicule and disrespect.
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Schools' Success Stories
Tweet Share on Facebook November 5, 2008 Comment (1)I thoroughly enjoyed your coverage on school reform in "An Education Evolution" [October 27]. Reading about reformers like Washington, D.C., Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee inspired hope that America's public schools system can, in fact, provide an internationally competitive education. Though I attend one of the best public school districts in the nation, we can certainly do better. Given the financial crisis and national budget deficits, it follows that school funding will not increase. The problem, however, isn't lack of funding. It's lack of efficiency. It takes more leaders like Rhee with the courage to fire school officials, negotiate with unions, and reorganize the system to raise the standard of America's public schools.
Mason Yu
Age 17
Irvine, Calif.Kudos to Michelle Rhee in Washington, D.C., and the staff of the Brownsville, Texas, schools for their attitudes, commitment, and effort ["A Texas-Size Success"]. Their work helps students tremendously but is not the silver bullet we would like it to be. The issues are far broader and more complex than can be solved by schools alone. The Brownsville article indicated that Hispanic and low-income students "outscored their statewide counterparts at all grade levels in math and reading in the elementary grades." It is important that we do not grab on to the easy, comfortable, simplistic idea that families and societies can leave educational achievement to schools; children would be the ultimate losers.
Tom Morris
Orlando -
Economic Problem Solvers
Tweet Share on Facebook November 5, 2008 CommentMortimer B. Zuckerman's editorial that the government must do something to avoid a recession is wrong ["Avoiding a Deep Recession," October 27]. The best thing government can do is stay the hell out of it. Of course, this will never happen because there has never been a politician who can see further than the next election. There has never been a congressional aide who has not wanted to protect himself by giving short-term advice. We have a classic example of a bunch of venal nincompoops coming out with nonsolutions and the country paying for them. Americans have been amazingly successful in solving their problems when government doesn't step in and screw it up. We should give it a try; it has worked before and it will work again.
James R. Doty
Bakersfield, Calif.Zuckerman catches the real key point of whether or not the next president is going to be successful. In the last paragraph of his editorial he states: "The new administration has to draft the best of our national talent to shape and manage these new policies." None of the candidates seems to espouse that the people they get to surround them will be the key to our country's political, economic, and moral survival. Hopefully, the country will re-emerge as a respected nation around the world and have a leader that others will want to emulate.
Bob Schieck
Antioch, Ill. -
Curbing the Spread of AIDS
Tweet Share on Facebook November 5, 2008 CommentThe article on the rapid spread of HIV among heterosexual women, especially black women was frightening ["The Black Woman's Burden: an Epidemic of HIV," October 13-20]. Education, as pointed out, is the best way to curb the spread of this disease. Unfortunately, the misnomer "safe sex" has no doubt contributed to the epidemic because sex using a condom is not "safe," but merely "safer." When condoms are used properly and are used every time, they reduce the spread of HIV by 80 percent. This means that even with perfect condom use, over time there is a risk of contracting the virus that causes AIDS. When condoms are not properly or not always used, obviously the risk is much higher. The only true "safe sex" is that between two monogamous people. You do your readers a great service and contribute to the prevention of HIV/AIDS by making this distinction.
Kathleen Fenton, M.D.
Managua, Nicaragua -
Oil Exploration Irony
Tweet Share on Facebook November 5, 2008 Comment (1)After reading "The Race for the Arctic" [October 13-20], I had to laugh at the irony of the whole thing. We are seeing the effects of global warming worsening every year, yet we still just don't get it. The burning of fossil fuels is part of what's causing the ice in the Arctic to melt. We can't wait to drill for more oil. With an already tense relationship with Russia, we now have to butt heads in a new part of the world? In a time when everyone is talking about reducing our dependence on foreign oil, we should be looking at how we can reduce our dependence on oil as a whole. Instead of salivating at the thought of more oil in our backyard, we should see the warning signs such as the ice melt as a wake up call to free ourselves from the addiction to fossil fuels.
Chad Inman
San Jose, Calif."The Race for the Arctic" concerned me. A new era of oil and gas exploration, new shipping routes, mining opportunities, diamonds, and gold sound like a "divide and conquer" strategy for the war on the environment, the one war we seem to be winning.
Richard Devens
Center Sandwich, N.H. -
The Burden of Payment
Tweet Share on Facebook November 5, 2008 CommentIn "Is Healthcare Armageddon Next?" [October 13-20], Dr. Bernadine Healy mentioned that single payer healthcare was not a feasible option. How do you come to this conclusion? According to the 2008 World Health Organization report, the United States spends 15.2 percent on healthcare as a percentage of GDP, by far the highest of the industrialized countries in the world. The next closest is Switzerland at 11.4 percent. Insurance corporations here rely on patients to miss details so that they can deny care, thus increasing profits. Implementing a single payer system would greatly reduce the huge cost burden of insurance companies, which could provide more resources for actual health services.
Tim Wolff
Royal Oak, Mich.I have an M.B.A. and an undergraduate business degree but still fail to see why a drug company needs to charge my insurance company $222 for one inhaler. My co-pay is $30 per inhaler. Does the drug company really need to charge that amount to stay in business and make a profit? Certainly it has recouped costs to bring this drug to market in the years it has been available. No wonder our healthcare system is in shambles. My husband pays $3,200 a year in premiums for our health insurance, and my drug co-pays cost me about $600 per year on top of that premium. I can't imagine what I would be paying for this inhaler and the other two medicines I take if we didn't have insurance.
Peg Adams
Mesa, Ariz. -
Reader Comment of the Day
Tweet Share on Facebook November 5, 2008 CommentAs a veteran of this great country, I now know that I fought for a reason. I am so thankful that Obama has begun to unite this country as we were united as soldiers in Iraq.
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Reader Comment of the Day
Tweet Share on Facebook November 3, 2008 Comment (1)Whoever goes to the White House will have a huge job and a great deal of stress. I do not envy him.
