I am troubled by the editorial, “Tehran showing some welcome signs of desperation” (TNT, 1-11), and the conclusion that President Obama should keep tightening sanctions.

I was in Iran in 2010. Though no “Iran expert,” I noted that the government is brutal and all-powerful, while the people are the friendliest I have ever met, eager to meet Americans.

The sanctions may or may not be effective and could be counter-productive. The aged clerics who rule supreme apparently see no need to comply with Western/American demands. They have their own weapons and could close the Strait of Hormuz.

An Iranian …

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Are we becoming a nation with an attack-dog mentality?

Recently, I saw an obscene anti-Bush sticker on the rear window of an automobile. I have seen pictures and heard comments stating that President Obama is replicating actions taken by Nazi Germany.

These actions, in addition to all the negative comments on the Internet about the leadership of both political parties lead me to say, “Yes, we have become a nation of attack dogs as it relates to national politics.”

There does not appear to be any recognition that the president of the United States, regardless of the …

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A major area of vulnerability in our health care system today is growing drug shortages. This issue has had a significant impact on the care that patients receive, especially in the hospital setting. Many of the drugs are older generics that yield lower profit for the drug companies, but work best.

Shortages have led to treatment delays, increased costs, medication errors, purchase of gray market drugs and substitution with less effective medications.

The most common shortage causes listed on the web site of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are “manufacturing delays” and “increased demand.” Some companies have stopped production …

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President Obama has a mission.

Most of our presidents have had to rise to meet the demands of the office. George Washington, “father of the country”; Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War; Ronald Reagan, the Cold War. If President Obama desired to follow his predecessors, he could have chosen to embrace the Constitution and the exceptionalism of the United States. Instead, he seems to have elected to embrace mediocrity and the belief that our best days are behind us.

So I propose that Barrack Obama has chosen as his mission to be the best person to take our country …

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President Obama echoed the thoughts of millions of Americans when he said, “Just plug the damn hole.” He, as well as the rest of us, knows that for every gallon of oil that spews into the water, the cleanup just gets even harder. What if every attempt that BP tried simply made the hole bigger? What if the company didn’t seem to care?

America is nearing a financial crisis. Our federal government is spending far more than it brings in. Like the BP pipe at the bottom of the Gulf, our government just spews out more debt every day. Instead …

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