Blame the doctor, not the messenger

To the editor:

Dr. Cyriac Chemplavil's rage against the Sunday Review-Journal report "Dr. Desai's rise and fall" is misplaced; he should be furious with Dr. Desai for any resulting stain on the Indian-American community, not the messenger, Review-Journal writer Paul Harasim (Friday letter to the editor).

Moreover, Dr. Chemplavil claims not to have any "personal knowledge of the allegations" against Dr. Desai, but Mr. Harasim provided an objective, in-depth investigation of Dr. Desai's tenure as a Nevadan doctor starkly contrasting Dr. Chemplavil's glowing portrait of the Indian-American.

Worse, though, Dr. Chemplavil proceeds to denigrate those who would disagree with his perspective, insinuating that they are merely xenophobic. Ironically, it was exactly this type of ego that propelled Dr. Desai to seek all-embracing power even while disregarding the safety of tens of thousands of Nevadans seeking medical care. Other doctors and medical personnel were likewise tainted by Dr. Desai's zeal, not Mr. Harasim's.

As for the relevance of Dr. Desai's background and humble start in Las Vegas, his multimillion-dollar home says it all.

Finally, what irks me most about Dr. Chemplavil's rant is that Nevada obviously lost another outstanding doctor when, as Mr. Harasim reported, a gastroenterologist who tried to blow the whistle on Dr. Desai fled the state to safeguard his family ("Former LV doctor details complaints concerning Desai," Sunday). How many others are gone or remaining silent?

So, for me, this isn't about the Indian-American doctor, per se; it is about the corruption of our Board of Medical Examiners and the state's dearth of abundant choices in care and insurance. Dr. Desai took it to a new low.

Patricia Hershwitzky

LAS VEGAS

'Triumph of evil'

To the editor:

The Las Vegas medical community, without any doubts, has scores of highly honorable physicians and other medical professionals. But when the fraudulent activities at Dr. Dipak Desai's Shadow Lane clinic came to light, my first thought was the statement: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for a few good men to do nothing."

Surely, the unethical practices of Dr. Greed had to be an occasional topic of discussion around doctor office water coolers, hospital lounges and informal social gatherings. Yet these 'few good men' in positions of medical authority elected to do nothing.

Robert L. McCaffery

LAS VEGAS

Conservation works

To the editor:

It's deja vu all over again on the Review-Journal editorial page. To call conservation of natural resources by driving slower a "hare-brained scheme" is truly something only a conservative could come up with ("I can't drive 55," July 7). For all the talk of "supply and demand," you are clearly only concerned with the supply end.

It appears that, for you, any solution to any problem must, first and foremost, require no effort or contribution on your part. Better to turn ANWR into an oil field than make you drive a little slower, right?

We all know that driving slower increases mileage and decreases consumption. And, according to the "free market" economics in which you profess to believe, less demand should result in lower prices. To you, that is a "hare-brained scheme"? From what I have seen in Las Vegas, everyone simply slowing down to the existing speed limits would produce a significant savings.

The problems that we face as a nation require that we all do our parts. Your "leave me out of it" approach, unfortunately the apparent motto of the Republican Party, is not what made this nation great, and will not help us to more greatness in the future.

Bart Stone

LAS VEGAS

Time to drill

To the editor:

A member of U.S. House of Representatives has confirmed what everyone in the country already knows: "The taxpayer and the consumer are on their backs, and we sit and do nothing." This is a direct quote from Rep. Rose DeLauro, D-Conn., while questioning Walter Lukken, the chief of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The commodity traders are the current villains, as opposed to "Big Oil" in the eyes of our elected Democratic officials, I suppose.

The Democrats have blamed everyone they can think of, probably even President Bush's dog, Barney, for the high price of oil. They have yet to recognize their role in this problem. The mantra of "we cannot drill our way out of this mess" does not hold water. I suggest that every member of the Senate and the House read the Walter E. Williams column that was published in Thursday's Review-Journal ("Let's drink to the 'greedy speculators' ").

Mr. Williams' article discusses basic economics as it relates to commodities and makes a very strong case for immediate exploration and increased drilling for oil in our country. He contends we can send a very loud and clear message to OPEC that we will not be held hostage to high prices.

Of course the opinions of the environmentalist wackos are more important then the opinions of the majority of Americans.

Jim Horsley

HENDERSON