UPDATE: It was not just Conservatives who disagreed with spending millions on ‘preparation’.
No sooner has an outbreak of the flu hit the United States, than the purely partisan Washington insiders have begun to use the blame game. Is it election season already? Oh, wait, in this new administration the campaign is never ending. We have virtually NO ONE running our health care program (thus requiring the DHS to hold down the fort, a scary notion for sure), our president is out playing golf and illegals are streaming across the border.
I ask you. If it can be cited that those who opposed the porkulus money for pandemic preparation are to blame and they are vilified because of it, can we also point at those who oppose illegal immigration and the securing of our borders as being equally wrong? I mean, I know that some of the carriers were from those who visited Mexico and then returned, but how many cases will develop as the Mexican population begins streaming northward in an effort to escape the outbreak?
Can we, for once, put down the blame stick and just do what is RIGHT for the country?
The revolution is at hand. Will you be a leader or a follower?
Vets On The Watch 
They have to be politically correct, so it’s to blame everyone other than government. I’m sure the end result will be a way to spin this to blame the Bush administration. We’ll find out that Bush has some voodoo power or something really cool that we should be scared of and have to keep pointing all our problems to those him.
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Hi Retired,
My father is a Navy veteran (from the four-stacker “Roper”, 1944-45). As ship’s physician, he had to clean up what was left after engine debris from a crashing kamikaze plane disemboweled a seaman off Okinawa. He is a staunch supporter of the U.S. Constitution, but his views on issue details are largely at 180 degrees from yours. You would probably regard him as a liberal extremist, which only means that being a veteran probably has no necessary correlation with any set of political opinions.
However, I’m actually here to point out that you are quite correct to point out that, so far, those Americans who have acquired the new H1N1 influenza virus infection have either visited Mexico recently or been in contact with someone who did. There is no evidence at this time that anyone in the U.S. (or Canada) has acquired the infection from someone “streaming across the border.” I’m also unaware of any evidence suggesting that Mexican citizens are more likely to attempt a border crossing today than they were, say, two months ago. Suggesting that Mexican citizens might soon be “streaming northward” to escape the outbreak, when everyone knows that the virus is already here in the U.S., is simply scare talk, and I think you know that.
You should also know, if you don’t already, that if this novel H1N1 flu strain turns out to be readily transmissible from human to human, then those American citizens who acquired the infection in Mexico have more than likely passed it on to substantial numbers of non-travelers already. At this point, supposing that Mexican citizens are somehow more likely to transmit the virus than American citizens is simply unscientific. We just don’t know. We do know that a substantial, but undetermined, number of Mexicans have died of this disease, but no American citizens.
Finding out why that is so, and how many mild and unreported cases have occurred in Mexico, are crucial epidemiological issues at this time. Well-trained scientists *already working* at the CDC, the Pan American Health Organization, and the World Health Organization are on the case. In addition, federal, state, and local public health officials already have pandemic influenza outbreak plans in place and have even conducted dry-run exercises, in anticipation of a major flu epidemic in this country. These people have been working for your protection for a number of years now. I know these people (I volunteer in our local Medical Reserve Unit), and I can tell you that protecting your health is what they care most about, not politics.
I also know that nothing would disrupt flu outbreak control plans more than public panic. The current situation is fluid, uncertain, and evolving as more data become available. What’s needed is not hot rhetoric and axe-grinding, but cool-headed monitoring and evaluation. I’m sure you learned how to do the latter while in the Navy. My father did.
I knew it was only a matter of time before some disease would affect us from over the Southern Border. I was thinking more along TB because usually once a year, there is a case of TB brought over into San Antonio. Illegals do not vaccinate and we allow them to flow across. We have one suburb of San Antonio closing their entire school district because of Swine Flu and one high school in our district. These schools are 20 miles or so from my house.
Jonathan,
If your father is still around, thank him for his service. As well, you are correct in saying that military service has little to do with a person’s politics.
As to the point of Mexicans streaming north, again you are correct in your comment that there is no proof. I was merely making an observation.
TO be honest, this ‘pandemic’ is small, comparatively. I expect it to get a bit worse, but with everyone on the lookout I think more people will err on the side of caution and get to the doctor at the first sign.
However, what if Mexico gets really bad? After all, they have had 100+ deaths and the supposed 1600 cases has been said to be way under projection. Even so, if it gets worse and folks begin to leave the region, the logical direction is North.
I am in no way saying they WILL, but logic dictates that, even though the flu is here, we have a 100% recovery. Our medicine is better. So, knowing that we will not refuse any emergency care, if sick people can make it they logically will hit the road to the USA.
Anyway, great points, and I thank you for your comment.
No they are not going to do the right thing.
Our schools are closed down now until May 11th.
Regarding the “scare talk” about Mexicans streaming across the border to escape the swine flu….don’t be surprised when it happens. Just remember that not only will they want to escape the swine flu, they will also want our free medical treatment available to them, as well as a free “path to citizenship” that Obama will be announcing in the upcoming month. I think the two combined will be plenty reason to see a huge influx of new illegals. And I will be one of the working poor supporting them with my taxes.
Isn’t it strange that the administration is advising us to avoid unnecessary travel to Mexico, but will not take any measures to keep people coming here from Mexico? They won’t even suspend flights coming in from Mexico.
As for Obama’s remark about “closing the barn door”, we have no barn door.
We don’t need no stinking barn door, we got the Obama, and he will talk everywhere and all the time until something else comes up.
Have faith, the Obama is on the watch.
Just to correct a mispiarehenspon in FLu Mask’s comment antivirals such as Tamiflu are currently still effective against the novel H1N1 (swine) virus, although they are not effective against many current strains of seasonal flu. Given the rapid mutation of RNA viruses, this situation may change over time.Anybody considering the use of a protective mask would do well to consider . They are useful in certain circumstances against aerosol droplets (produced by coughs and sneezes), but the very small size of airborne flu virions limits their effectiveness. This gives some key information on the airborne propagation of viruses. Droplet nucleii of the size which penetrate most masks can travel 160 feet(!) or more. (Thanks to the for bringing this presentation to my attention.)This is one reason why attempts to control the spread of flu are generally impractical and ineffective. (Another is that people start spreading flu before they develop any symptoms so any precautions taken are too late to be effective.)