Stop support for firms that support Iran

Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons program presents a grave threat to the United States, our allies and to global stability. Already weakened by U.S. and EU sanctions, the combined effects of the financial crisis and lower oil prices will help debilitate Iran’s quest for a nuclear weapon.
One organization, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), has recently launched the Iran Business Registry (IBR), which exposes corporations who continue to conduct business with Iran. I am very concerned that these companies are undermining the work of the international community by allowing the brutal Iranian regime to divert billions of dollars to an illegal and dangerous nuclear program. Short-term economic profits cannot be a justification to circumvent international sanctions designed to thwart Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
It is important to that we raise awareness of this issue. We as Americans must stop doing business with those firms that are underwriting the Iranian economy and ultimately the Iranian nuclear program.

Donald Cutshaw
Greeneville, Tenn.

Cure can be worse
than disease

The cure can sometimes be worse than the disease.
The 1990, my doctor told me that my cholesterol was 273 and my trigylcerides were 882! He prescribed one statin after another, beginning with Mevacor. I’d experience severely aching muscles and other side effects, such as stinging eyes and blurred vision and would stop taking the medication. Soon after I dropped Baycol, I learned it was linked to several deaths and the manufacturer soon took it off the market. I never took another statin.
Later a neurologist told me that a long-term side effect of statins can be peripheral neuropathy. I don’t know whether I took enough statins to aggravate my peripheral neuropathy, but I suppose they might have.
In early 2003, I found some non-prescription products that reduced my cholesterol to 190 and my triglycerides to 224 in seven months – with no apparent side effects. I’ve not had the levels checked recently, but I still use the products and I suspect that I always shall.

Roger M. Clites
Johnson City, Tenn.

Stop cap-and-trade
plan, writer urges

If we want to get this country back on track, we need to put an end to federal legislation that does harm while not achieving any positive goals. That means we need to stop the proposed cap and trade bill being discussed in the U.S. Senate.
Sen. Bob Corker understands this, as he is pushing for a carbon tax in order to address carbon emissions into the environment, rather than the doomed cap and trade plan in the bill that barely passed the House. Even the Congressional Budget Office agrees that the House bill would create “significant” job losses while slowing our economic recovery.
If significant job losses aren’t bad enough, cap and trade has other problems, as well. It is a complex scheme that creates a program ripe for manipulation. I can just imagine the Wall Street types searching for the next market they can manipulate. This would be a dream for them, but a nightmare for the country.
To top it all off, cap and trade won’t do much to help the environment. They’ve already discovered that in Europe. We must learn from others and look for a better solution to the environmental issues we face. I think Sen. Corker is on the right track with the idea of a carbon tax – fair and simple to set up.

Ashley Smith
Columbia, Tenn.