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Obama should say it:
The enemy is al-Qaida
In the Harry Potter series of children’s books, the main character – Harry – is one of the very few characters evincing the courage to explicitly name the evil they battle: Voldemort.
In real life, it seems that several members of President Obama’s administration show reluctance to explicitly name what we’re battling: Islamofacsist terrorists such as al-Qaida.
Obama and his minions could learn something from Harry Potter – namely, that to properly fight evil, it first helps to fully recognize what that evil is.
Mark Kalinowski
New York, N.Y.
More doctors needed
to handle health crisis
Re the Feb. 28 article, “Rise of nurse practitioners in Arizona alarms some M.Ds:”
A shortage of physicians in this country threatens patients’ access to health care and is a problem we must address. But suggesting that nurse practitioners can fill the role of physicians is not the answer.
We also are in the midst of a nursing shortage that will make it difficult to provide all the nursing care that patients need. These medical professional shortages are particularly troubling as the baby boomers age, increasing the need for care.
Advanced practice nurses serve a vital role on the health care delivery team, but the care provided by a physician with extensive education and training cannot be replaced.
To ensure there are enough physicians to care for those who need them, the American Medical Association continues to advocate for medical education reforms such as increasing medical school class sizes and funding for additional residency slots to train physicians in needed specialties and geographic regions.
To keep existing physicians in practice, we need permanent Medicare payment and managed care reforms.
We need strategies in place to increase and preserve the ranks of practicing nurses and physicians so that patients can access appropriate health care.
Edward L. Langston, M.D.
board member
American Medical Association
Chicago
Attack on Arpaio cited
an ill-informed group
Re the March 2 editorial, “Sheriff Joe’s circus costly and ineffective, study finds”:
You cite a study done by Justice Strategies, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based organization that has two people on its staff to condemn Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
What, may I ask do, Brooklyn lawyers know about Arizona’s immigration issues?
The argument against Sheriff Joe is seriously compromised by using a group located thousands of miles away from Arizona.
Couldn’t you have cited someone closer to home?
Joe Guzzardi
Bradfordwoods, Pa.
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