The American Spectator

Ken Shreve br> Behind Enemy Lines in New England /p>

Thoughtful article, but it leaves out one glaring question: At what point does our medical community come to grips with how they have educated their patients, or in this case, how they have allowed the patient to be used like a rubber doll, passed around while everyone feeds from the patient’s medical problems?

p>And just what would an educated patient want to see changed? Perhaps that answer might be found in the notion of “competition” if my hunch is right. br> — RJP br> Corrales, New Mexico /p>

1. Remember Dr. Bill Frist and Terri Schiavo? Who can forget the current battle over reproductive health issues? And, the Aids epidemic and condom distribution? All are widely believed to be the proper concern of patients and their physicians only. Yet, the current administration, with the blessing of the GOP, has no problem with government bureaucracies intruding into these very private areas of our citizens’ lives. I don’t recall Mr. Lord expressing concern about any of these.

2. Mr. Lord writes: “THE FIRST ISSUE IS capitalism. They don’t like it. The second issue is big government bureaucracies. They are crazy in love with those.” While ostensibly talking about a handful of individuals in this article, anyone who reads Mr. Lord’s articles knows he thinks the same of all liberals and Democrats. This statement is an example of the kind of hyperbolic nonsense that is all too common from both the right and the left. It is possible to be an enthusiastic supporter of capitalism and still recognize that problems exist, some of which can be addressed by government regulation (Security and Exchange Commission) and intervention (Federal Reserve). The health of my portfolio is tied to market forces and the actions of these two government bureaucracies.

p>3. As for bureaucracies, it is true that in too many instances, they have become too big and too inefficient. Also, once created, they never go away. But this does not negate the fact that (1) we need government, (2) we need to pay taxes to support government and (3) government should be efficient and transparent. The current administration has failed miserably on the last two counts. Since the GOP and conservatives hate government so much, they apparently feel no obligation to appoint competent, public minded people to office. Who can forget the most famous among the parade of incompetents in the Bush administration: Brownie? br> — Mike Roush br> North Carolina