This makes me sick.
Ok, I'm as much of a hypochondriac as anyone, but this is just ridiculous:
Various conservative radio talk show hosts and other pundits have been saying, without any apparent basis in fact, that illegal immigrants are responsible for the introduction of swine flu (or, as Michael Savage called it, "human swine avian flu") into the United States, possibly in concert with Muslim extremist groups as a terrorist attack. Not that this is surprising. Conservative radio talk show hosts blame illegal immigrants and Muslim extremists for everything from the depression recession to global warming (or would, if they believed in the recession or global warming).
What's really depressing is that the news today reported not one, but two cases of schools prohibiting handshakes at sporting events and graduations, to prevent the risk of flu infection. Life imitates satire.
Just to put this in context, to date at the time of this writing, seventeen people have died from this flu. According to ABC News, the average time that these patients waited before going to see a doctor (among Mexican patients) was seven days; those who became ill but recovered waited an average of three days. Going to a doctor if you get sick appears to substantially increases your chance of survival. Still not surprising.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Church continues to prohibit the use of condoms and tells people in AIDS-ravaged African nations that they can make the problem worse. Still like a dystopian nightmare.
Various conservative radio talk show hosts and other pundits have been saying, without any apparent basis in fact, that illegal immigrants are responsible for the introduction of swine flu (or, as Michael Savage called it, "human swine avian flu") into the United States, possibly in concert with Muslim extremist groups as a terrorist attack. Not that this is surprising. Conservative radio talk show hosts blame illegal immigrants and Muslim extremists for everything from the depression recession to global warming (or would, if they believed in the recession or global warming).
What's really depressing is that the news today reported not one, but two cases of schools prohibiting handshakes at sporting events and graduations, to prevent the risk of flu infection. Life imitates satire.
Just to put this in context, to date at the time of this writing, seventeen people have died from this flu. According to ABC News, the average time that these patients waited before going to see a doctor (among Mexican patients) was seven days; those who became ill but recovered waited an average of three days. Going to a doctor if you get sick appears to substantially increases your chance of survival. Still not surprising.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Church continues to prohibit the use of condoms and tells people in AIDS-ravaged African nations that they can make the problem worse. Still like a dystopian nightmare.