The Benefits of Botox
U.S. News has done wonders enlightening readers by describing the drug Botox ["Beyond Wrinkles," January 22]. It is a revelation to know that doctors are using it to treat everything from Parkinson's to writer's cramp. Perhaps the toxic properties of Botox will be shown to help kill cancer cells also.
WILSON A. SOLANKI
Niagara Falls, N.Y.
The greatest challenge often posed to physicians is not a lack of new treatment options but frustrations with insurance companies' refusing to cover these treatments. Obviously, without insurance coverage, treatments of medical problems with Botox are out of reach for the majority of working Americans. Despite scientific evidence, insurance companies' decisions to cover treatments like Botox seem arbitrary and variable. Medical decisions should be made by the patient and doctor, not by an intermediary.
PRAMIT S. MALHOTRA, M.D.
Jackson, Mich.
Cosmetic botox is relatively new to all physicians and has revolutionized cosmetic medicine ["Smoothing the Fault Lines"]. Plastic surgeons received no Botox training in residency until recently, and many others took a "weekend" course. The doctor who injects Botox or filler should be experienced at the procedure no matter his field.
EVERETT MARC LAUTIN, M.D.
New York
I have wanted to tell some of our most famous actors and actresses that by erasing lines and wrinkles, having cheek and chin implants, or whatever else, they are no longer recognizable. They may think Botox is OK, but who wants a 50-year-old actor or actress with no character lines trying to look 20?
BLANCHE GIBBS
Beaumont, Texas
Iraq History Lesson
"4th and Long" [January 22] described President Bush's latest maneuver in the Iraq counterinsurgency as a "last-ditch gamble." Opponents cry too little, too late. Oh, really? Just how long should it take to quell an insurgency in a hostile land thousands of miles away? History tells us that small wars usually take several years to figure out. Resolution requires a minimum of 10 to 15 years and then, only with persistence, perseverance, adapting tactics, and iron will. With all due respect to our elected leaders and even many generals, they are either ignorant of this history or have chosen to ignore it for political purposes. I recommend they study the Philippine Insurrection, Huk Rebellion, and Malayan Emergency. If we abandon Iraq, the price will be paid in innocent blood.
GEOFFREY F. WEISS
South Riding, Va.
The buildup and execution of the unnecessary pre-emptive war in Iraq has been going on for four years. Not once during this time has President Bush or his expert neocon advisers taken a proposal for troop force to the nation for approval. Why now? The only thing I can think of is that Bush finally has decided that this is a failed venture, that the history of secular turmoil in Iraq is repeating itself, and he is looking for a scapegoat. And it looks as if the Democrats are foolish enough to play into his hands instead of letting enlightened Republicans put an end to it.
ED SANDERS
Nashville
Weighing Organic Costs
After reading your interview, "A Plateful of Myths" [January 22], I believe Barry Glassner is quite wrong about organic food costing more. It costs millions of taxpayer dollars to clean up the toxic chemicals that poison our drinking water. It costs millions to build extra schools and hire special teachers for our growing number of autistic and other health-handicapped children. It costs more in healthcare for everybody, including the obese. On a worldwide list of nations' health, the World Health Organization lists the United States as No. 37 out of 191 countries. I suggest reading It's a Long Road to a Tomato: Tales of an Organic Farmer Who Quit the Big City for the (Not So) Simple Life by Keith Stewart and Empty Harvest by Bernard Jensen and Mark Anderson, written many years ago but sadly ignored.
HELENE K. WRIGHT
Newburgh, N.Y.
Mean Street Blues
"The New Math on Crime" [January 15] fails to list Washington, D.C. The only mention was that murders in D.C. decreased by 27 in 2006 from 2005. Austin was listed as having only a total of 20 murders in 2006. The 20 cities listed had a total of 4,152 in 2006. This number is about 35 percent more than the 3,084 combat deaths in Iraq in four years. Why aren't the 16,000 to 17,000 murders a year in the United States mentioned?
JOSEPH P. CARRIGAN
Fairfax, Va.
The old math is simple. The funding for former President Clinton's plan to hire 100,000 street police officers has been cut by President Bush. New math, old math, or any way you count it, the 100,00 additional police officers would help cut crime in our country.
NANCY DELLE FEMINE
Cape Elizabeth, Maine
Doubting Danforth
Former Sen. John Danforth theorized that "Christian right" voters and others "decided that they didn't like Republicans, because we appear to be mean-spirited and angry and hard-edged" [The Values Divide," January 15]. I am an independent voter and frustrated with the Republican Party for abandoning its core values: smaller government, reduced spending, and strong moral character and integrity. If standing up for moral principles, expecting personal responsibility from all Americans, and respecting a culture of life is "mean-spirited and angry and hard-edged," then I'm guilty. By the way, I believe Danforth should review the number of parishes/dioceses that are considering a break with the Episcopal Church. He appears to be oblivious to reality.
COL. PHILIP E. GLENN, USAF (RET.)
Fulton, Mo.
Intrigued as I was by the interview with Senator Danforth, I was troubled by his notion that the Republican Party need only make an inclusive correction and be back in the good graces of the people. An elected state representative from Maine, I could not make that correction and opted out of the Republican Party in the middle of my first term. There were two issues. One was my vote on a nonbinding referendum in 2003, asking the president to exhaust all avenues of diplomacy before going into Iraq. I was the sole Republican to vote in favor of the referendum. The second issue was failure of fiscal integrity-tax cuts for the wealthy at the expense of the great middle class and record deficits. These are violations of core Republican principles. I ran again as a Democrat and won handily in the 2004 presidential election year. I also am a theologian and Baptist minister. The conflict of conscience I experienced over the merger of the Republican Party with the Christian right prompted me to write McChurched: 300 Million Served and Still Hungry, on the doctrinal and theological implications of this phenomenon.
STAN MOODY
Manchester, Maine
In my view, Danforth was out of touch on almost every comment. He missed the point on Terri Schiavo. Nobody threw anything "overboard . . . at the bidding of religious activists." I don't believe "wedge issues" caused people to vote against anything. To the contrary. This country is looking for strong leadership on diverse issues. I do agree, however, with Danforth's statement that politicians "want to be elected." He should have added: irrespective of morals, integrity, or conscience. Danforth's comments on the Episcopal Church made me wonder if he belongs to a church or a social club.
JACK BRADY
West Covina, Calif.
Patriots, Pride, Pain
Thank you for your article "Vermont's War" [January 22]. As a seventh-generation Vermonter, I know that when our country has called, Vermonters have responded since the days of Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys. Although I don't personally know the families involved, I feel that I do because Vermont is such a small state and our local media have done a great job of highlighting them. My thoughts and prayers are with the families in their time of loss.
BILL EDDY
South Burlington, Vt.
Yes, the war we instigated with Iraq has taken a toll on Vermonters, as well as thousands of others in our country and countless Iraqis. While I feel the pain of the families and friends of our slain soldiers, I don't believe the best way to honor their memories is to continue having a military presence in Iraq. The war was a mistaken venture in the first place, and the American people were lied to regarding our government's reasons for entering Iraq. While leaving will certainly not produce results that we wish to see and very well may engender more violence in the region, staying is not an option either. I recognize that watching Iraq descend further into civil war and the destabilization of the gulf region is painful for the families of the soldiers who gave their lives. But I cannot believe families of the dead would want more soldiers to participate in some misguided effort to ensure lives were not sacrificed for naught. There is no good reason to prolong the suffering and destroy the lives of more families.
ANITA KELMAN
West Brookfield, Vt.
Thank you for this well-written article. It showed the good state of Vermont's people today remain as loyal to the armed services of the United States as they have been since the first months of the American Revolutionary War. What I do have a concern about was your description of Vermont being a liberal state, seemingly because of the influence of its Democratic Party. Vermonters are not just Democratic or liberal in political persuasion. Vermonters are some of the most ardent, true patriots this country could ever hope to have.
DANIEL KENNEDY
Seattle
Military Medal Awards
U.S. military medals are not won by service members as mentioned in "Third Time's the Charm, Unless You're Being Sent to Iraq" [White House Week, January 22]. There is no competition between soldiers or sailors to win medals. Military medals and ribbons are awards. They are bestowed upon the deserving soldier or sailor.
PAUL M. WILLIAMS
Rochester, N.Y.
Promise or Payback?
Some of former President Gerald Ford's "shared" purpose with his Congress might help the current Democrats and Republicans produce a solution in Iraq ["One Last Chance," January 15]. It seems particularly ironic, however, that Editor Brian Duffy's words should also describe what is needed in Iraq: "But wouldn't it be so much finer if, at this time of critical change and challenge, our elected leaders could somehow ignore the long-ingrained penchant for payback and partisanship and find a way to set us on a more promising and responsible course." Perhaps the two countries are not so different.
RICHARD S. BLAKE
East Falmouth, Mass.
Let me see if I understand "One Last Chance." For more than a decade, the Republicans ran the show. And like a herd of wild elephants, they trampled over everything that got in their way, never once thinking about reaching out to the other side, let alone listening to opposing views. And now that the Democrats are in office, the first thing they should do is to throw a lifeline to the downtrodden Republicans? I'm for making amends with Republicans after impeachment and war crime trials.
LESLIE N. HERSCHLER
Garden Grove, Calif.
Young Cancer Spouses
Thank you for your article about young adult cancer ["Cancer's Orphan Generation," January 15]. It is an important subject that so many people know little about. I would like to draw attention to the devastation of the young spouses and children of the young adults with cancer. I was only 27 years old when my husband, Mark, was diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma. Since he was otherwise young and fit, he was given a punishing chemotherapy regimen that was expected to get him into remission. During his treatment, I desperately searched for support groups. Like Heidi Adams in the story, either I found nothing, or I was surrounded by people my parents' and grandparents' ages. They could not identify with my fear that I would never have my husband's children, my struggles as the primary caregiver, or my fear that my 28-year-old husband would die. Mark died less than a year after diagnosis, leaving me devastated and exhausted. As a result of the dearth of appropriate support groups, I founded an online group for young cancer spouses: YoungCancerSpouses (www.youngcancerspouses.org), a nonprofit group dedicated to helping young cancer spouses feel less alone. Young spouses and children of cancer patients and victims are also devastated by the disease and must not be forgotten.
KAREN SCHLOWSKY-FISCHER
Hoboken, N.J.
Corrections:
Norwich University is located in Northfield, Vt., not Norwich as reported in "Vermont's War" [January 22].
"Making It Stick" [Executive Edition, January 29-February 5] should have reported that Robert Atkins died from complications of a head injury resulting from a fall, not from a heart attack.
The photo caption accompanying "The Birth of America" [January 29-February 5] on Page 48 should have identified the Jamestown Settlement as a living-history museum offering year-round historical interpretation of life in early 17th-century Virginia. This year's 400th anniversary will be commemorated with special events and programs at Jamestown Settlement and at Historic Jamestowne, the site of America's first permanent English settlement. James Fort, pictured on Page 52, is part of Historic Jamestowne. Photos on Pages 50, 54, and 55, used to illustrate themes, were taken at the Jamestown Settlement.
This story appears in the February 12, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.