The US response to the swine flu outbreak in Mexico has been less than stellar. In fact, when it comes to the protection of American lives and the US economy, the Obama administration has clearly decided that being politically correct is more important than fulfilling their constitutional obligations to protect the lives and property of US citizens. And the government is now attempting to explain away its inaction by baffling us all with BS.
Depending upon which reports you listen to, anywhere from 1,600 to 1,900 Mexican citizens have come down with the Swine Flu. As of the time of this writing, 146 of them had died. That’s a mortality rate approaching 10%. What is not in doubt is that scientists around the world seem to be in agreement that this Swine Flu variant has the potential to become a global pandemic.
Given the fact that Mexico sits at our southern border, you might think that the federal government would want to limit non-vital traffic flowing over the border. But that has not happened. Instead, the State Department’s anemic response has been to issue a travel warning to anyone traveling to or from Mexico. In addition to this, the Department of Homeland Security – an oxymoron in itself – has said that it has implemented a “passive” monitoring program at the border. Specifically, customs agents at the border are supposed to be looking for people who show flu symptoms and then quarantine those people.
But what about people who are infected but who don’t show any signs of the disease yet? Well, they are apparently free to come and go as they please; infecting anyone they come in contact with.
To get an idea of the stupidity involved in the decision to leave the border open, you only need to turn on your evening news. On tonight’s CBS Evening News, there were multiple videos showing people crossing from Mexico into the US wearing surgical masks. But according to our government, there is nothing to worry about.
The rest of the world doesn’t quite see it that way though. Yesterday, European Health Minister Andorra Vassiliou warned EU citizens against travel to Mexico and the US. Yes, you read that correctly. She told reporters "they should avoid traveling to Mexico or the United States of America unless it is very urgent for them." Apparently the Europeans consider the fact that the US is not willing to limit travel to Mexico as sufficient threat that they don’t want their citizens coming here.
That kind of a warning by the EU could very easily have a negative impact on the economy and US jobs. If you have a job that is dependent upon overseas travelers, you could be at risk. People involved in the hotel industry, tourism, airlines, car rental… and the list goes on… could all have fewer clients, and as a result face layoffs.
All of this is completely unnecessary. There is no reason that commercial goods can’t continue to cross the border as usual while limiting discretionary cross-border travel. But this might upset certain people and we can’t have that. So the Obama administration will protect us all with its “passive” program for as long as they can. But if that program fails, you’re on your own. Now that’s “change” that can kill you!
byJim Malmberg
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