Roswell Daily Record
LETTERS
Preserving state’s beauty
Dear Editor: President Obama recently visited our neck of the woods to talk about domestic energy production, in light of the rallying cries to drill for more oil. It’s worth noting, however, that increasing drilling will not decrease the price of gasoline. Moreover, what Obama did not mention, but should be underscored, is that using our public lands for energy development does not diminish the importance of also protecting special landscapes in New Mexico. First, we need to clear up some confusion. Gasoline prices are determined by a global market and driven by Wall Street speculators and oil companies, so an increase in production at home does not have an impact on the price of a barrel of oil. The Associated Press found that there is no statistical correlation in domestic drilling and gas prices over 36 years. In fact, since February 2009, domestic drilling has increased 15 percent, and gas prices have risen by $1.51 a gallon in the same time frame. Second — and New Mexicans are on record agreeing with me about this, according to a recent Colorado College poll — we can have a strong economy and protect landscapes that are important to our communities. Places such as White Sands National Monument and Carlsbad Caverns National Park are what make the Land of Enchantment precisely what it is — a state known for its rich landscapes and breathtaking scenery. We and our neighbors in southern New Mexico have seen great economic benefits from nearby protected areas. In 2009 alone, visitors to Carlsbad Caverns National Park spent $23 million in
Tanner
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bined, we spend nearly $1 trillion per year on anti-poverty or means-tested programs that do more to promote a permanent underclass than to eliminate poverty. But the modern welfare state is much more than programs for the poor. It includes middle-class welfare, such as Social Security and Medicare, which are the real drivers of our future national insolvency. We think of Medicaid as health care for the poor, but as much as two-thirds of Medicaid spending goes to pay for long-term care such as nursing homes for the elderly, much of it for middleclass people sheltering assets. And the modern welfare state also includes corporate welfare, the military-industrial complex, and others living off the taxpayer’s dime. The Export-Import Bank is as much welfare as TANF. This is the road we are now on. The welfare state started with small programs targeted toward a small number of genuinely needy people. But as politicians figured out the electoral benefits of expanding programs and people realized they could let others work on their behalf, those programs grew until the point at which, today, every problem in society prompts calls for government action, response or funding. At the same time, as Gover nor Christie also noted, this implicitly tells people, “stop dreaming, stop striving.” We demonize those who do succeed,
Harvard
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drome,” a group of risk factors that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, including a large waist and high triglycerides (a type of blood fat). Some experts consider NAFLD a symptom of metabolic syndrome. The leading theory about NAFLD is that it’s a result of metabolic changes driven by insulin resistance. More fat stays in the liver, accumulating in tiny sacs in the liver cells. In its simplest form, NAFLD is just fat in the liver cells. This condition is called steatosis. While steatosis is not normal, it causes no symptoms and by itself is usually harmless. However, 5 percent to 20 percent of people with steatosis will develop a more serious form of NAFLD called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH. In NASH, the fattened cells cause inflammation, swelling and cell death. We don’t know the cause of this more serious, inflammatory form of NAFLD or who is most likely to develop it, but it is not simply related to the amount of fat in the liver cells. NASH is usually a relatively stable condition with few symptoms. Most people don’t know they have it unless it shows up during a blood test or imaging procedure performed for other reasons. But unlike steatosis, NASH is not harmless. In some people, it progresses slowly, over years to decades, sometimes causing vague complaints, such as fatigue, discomfort in the upper right abdomen or an overall sense of being unwell. Underlying these complaints may be a cascade of serious damage to the liver that culminates in massive scarring and impaired liver function called cirrhosis, the most advanced stage of NAFLD. Cir-
OPINION II the surrounding communities, supporting 433 jobs in the area. Visitors to White Sands National Monument generated $16 million and supported 275 jobs. Roswell is the largest city on the path most traveled between Carlsbad and Albuquerque, so I know that we have benefited from tourists eating in our restaurants, staying in our hotels and enjoying our museums, not to mention visiting Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge. New Mexico is ripe with other places that need protection. The day before President Obama visited our state, more than 150 community leaders, business owners, elected officials and other citizens attended an event in Las Cruces to celebrate many natural and cultural resources on public lands located in nearby Doña Ana County. This event included a call to protect some of the public lands in the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks region. This designation would bring additional tourists, retirees and businesses to southern New Mexico, supporting additional jobs and bolstering our economy. New Mexico has played an important role in making our nation a net petroleum exporter, and we are also a leader in creating new jobs and businesses in renewable energy. This is not mutually exclusive with protecting our natural and cultural heritage on our public lands in parks and monuments. We hope that future visits by President Obama to New Mexico will help celebrate this heritage, our ability to pass it along to our children and grandchildren, and the role it plays in building and sustaining a diverse New Mexican economy that includes a healthy tourism sector. Priscilla Ramirez Albuquerque Formerly of Roswell damning them as part of the evil “1 percent.” This is the real danger of the welfare state. It’s not that it will bankrupt us — though it will. It is that it slowly and insidiously destroys our national character, saps our will to be great, and makes us content with the way things are rather than how they could be. We have seen where this road ends. As Gov. Christie warns, it “will not just bankrupt us financially, it will bankrupt us morally.” Biblical exegesis tells us that the Israelites needed to wander for 40 years in the desert after being released from bondage in Egypt because they couldn’t begin to build a new nation until a new generation grew up that hadn’t been raised in bondage. Those raised in slavery were not trained to think for themselves; they had become dependent on their masters to provide for them. Indeed, when they encountered hardships, many cried for a retur n to bondage. Just look to Europe today. The welfare states of Europe are imploding, collapsing under the weight of promises that can no longer be met. Their citizens riot in the streets at the prospect that their government benefits might be reduced. If anyone wants to know what this next election is really about, Gov. Christie just told us. Michael Tanner is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and author of “Leviathan on the Right: How Big-Government Conservatism Brought Down the Republican Revolution.” rhosis is irreversible and can lead to liver failure or cancer. NASH is most closely associated with obesity, Type 2 diabetes and hyperlipidemia (high blood levels of triglycerides or cholesterol) — conditions that, along with hypertension, constitute metabolic syndrome. But not everyone with obesity, Type 2 diabetes and abnormal lipids has NASH. And some people with NASH have none of these risk factors. This suggests that genes and other factors play a role. There’s no cure for fatty liver disease or NASH. Treatment is aimed at reducing or preventing further fatty buildup and addressing underlying risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes and hyperlipidemia. Lifestyle changes such as weight loss and a healthy diet can help. You may also want to talk to your doctor about medications to lower blood sugar and cholesterol and vitamin E supplements. Although there is some evidence that these measures may help, it’s far too early to recommend any for routine treatment of fatty liver disease. And perhaps it goes without saying, but to be clear on the issue of alcohol: People with NASH should not drink at all. And people with simple fatty liver — that is, steatosis — should at the very least minimize their alcohol consumption. It also makes sense to avoid exposure to other liver toxins and to get immunizations against hepatitis B and A. But the most important measure of all is slow, steady weight loss — and that requires a balanced, calorie-restricted diet along with regular exercise. It’s another example of how healthful lifestyle choices actually improve health. (Submit questions to harvard_adviser@hms.harvard.edu.)
Saturday, April 21, 2012
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