mindsquirt

Look, I know no one wants to get serious for one second, but I have nothing else to talk about, so this is something I can share.

After reading about the Avian Bird Flu in my last edition of Newsweek and hearing multiple news broadcasts I think we are in for a world of hurt. I tried not to panic at first b/c i thought it might not be hype, but i am convinced we are in trouble.

Let me explain why by braking up the pros and cons:

bad news:
there is no history of ever preventing a pandemic.

One company makes most of the antiviral, which is patented. Long story short, we ain't getting any for a long time.

it has a 50% mortality rate.*

it is a mutation of the 1918 spanish flu, which killed more people than any pandemic in recorded history (20-40 million).

it eats away at your lung tissue until you suffocate.

there are not enough ventilators or even hospitals in this country to meet our needs if this really gets out of hand.

Not only do we not have the capablilty of making enough innoculations for the US, the inoculation is based off the spanish flu, so it might not work.

Al-quada will probably take credit for it.

Good news:
*the 50% mortality rate is badly skewed b/c those are only reported cases. Some survivors most assuradly went undetected. but 50% after being hospitalized is still bad.

It really puts in perspective that cold you had last winter

Cooper should be okay.

I just saved a bundle on my car insurance.



"Is it time to panic?" you might be asking.

why yes, yes it is.

It is a good time to be a hermit, i know that much.

In a desperate attempt to do what little I can as a citizen, I wrote my senators. This is way democracy is supposed to work folks, so I urge you to do the same. If you are living in Indiana, below are the links to fidn the emails of Senator Bayh and Lugar. you really have no room to bitch about it when it happens if you are doing nothing about it now. especially something this simple that should take less than 10 minutes.

http://lugar.senate.gov/
http://bayh.senate.gov/WebMail1.htm


here is my note(sans my name, which i included one the real copy), please feel free to read it and borrow from it if you like.

Dear Mr. Lugar,

Thank you for representing Indiana.

I am writing you to please urge the senate into doing something about the Avian bird Flu that will be upon us very shortly. I am sure that you are privy to the details of this virus, and the ramifications of it reaching the United States. Can temporary labs be subsidized with federal funds (perhaps NIH funds) to help the production of innoculations and antivirals such as tamaflu?

Please do not attempt to placate me by telling me the United States is/will be prepared for an epidemic. If there is anything that this current adminstration has shown me, is that it has absolutely no foresight. Case in point, overwhelming insurgency/lack of pullout strategy in Iraq, and the delayed fedral response to Katrina.

Truly,