2012 Feb 6 |
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http://www.theatlanticright.com/2009/10/25/obama-declares-national-emergency/
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Obama ‘has declared H1N1 swine flu a national emergency, clearing the way for his health chief to give hospitals wider leeway in how they handle a possible surge of new patients,’ the Washington Post reports. ‘The president granted Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius the power to lift some federal regulations for medical providers, including allowing hospitals to set up off-site facilities to increase the number of available beds and protect patients who are not infected.’

Although victims of this flu should be treated well, of course, declaring a national emergency because of it, is over-the-top. This flu isn’t much more dangerous than the normal flu, according to experts. So why the obsession? There’s just one reason for that, I believe; governments in the U.S. and abroad (because they are doing the same thing in Europe) use the swine flu as a distraction. They want voters to stop focusing on whatever it is the government does (wrong). “Don’t worry about the economy, you could die if we don’t do something!

Sadly for Obama, at least, the strategy doesn’t work. Nobody is falling for it.

So, instead of obsessing over a disease that isn’t that dangerous, let’s talk politics.

  1. Posted by gandolph
    | Quote | Trackback | Link #104381
    gandolph For a look at how many cases of swine flu have been recorded/estimated in the US/world, check out: http://www.peterdolph.com/2009/10/how-many-swine-flu-cases-are-there.html
  2. Posted by Andy
    | Quote | Trackback | Link #104401
    Andy I don't believe the Swine Flu is a 'National Emergency', and I only think this will draw more panic among the public. Seems more like a distraction to keep attention from all the other problems that don't seem to be on their way to being fixed anytime soon.
  3. Posted by 4 ch DVR digital recorder
    | Quote | Trackback | Link #104410
    4 ch DVR digital recorder I don’t believe the Swine Flu is a ‘National Emergency’, and I only think this will draw more panic among the public.
  4. Posted by CStanley
    | Quote | Trackback | Link #104487
    CStanley I disagree. The term "national emergency" probably should be changed, because basically it only refers a procedural move to help coordinate efforts on the national level with state and local officials. It's routinely done prior to ANY potential emergency (usually, though not necessarily, weather related emergencies like impending storms, floods, or fires.) If the administration was all over the airwaves talking this up, then I might agree about the 'distraction' charge (they certainly could use a distraction around now!) If anything, there's a bit of political maneuvering simply because the public health system so far is lagging behind in its response (not having nearly enough vaccine produced at this point) and they're almost sure to be worried about this potentially becoming a 'Katrina' for President Obama. That doesn't mean its incorrect to put the procedure into operation that will help coordinate efforts to handle the public health issues that may develop over the next few weeks to months. If they didn't do so, they'd rightly be raked over the coals for it if the worst case scenario develops, so they shouldn't be criticized for doing whatever possible now to prevent that.
  5. Posted by Interested
    | Quote | Trackback | Link #104552
    Interested True CS. What makes it puzzling though is this is anything but a surprise. We've known about it for the better part of a year. While I'm sure the pharmaceutical companies sped along as fast as they can given it is competing with seasonal flu vaccine - The WH knew about this for quite some time - and I'm sure they've been active in it all along and there's been plenty of time to move all necessary coordination into action. I also don't think it is for political gain - but it does sound - amateurish.
  6. Michael Merritt While I don't approve of scaremongering, there appears to actually be some necessity for this move. While I don't know if H1N1 has been confirmed as the cause yet, one school in my state had 40% of its students out last Friday. And even though the common consensus appears to be that H1N1 is no worse than the usual flu, it does appear to be spreading at least somewhat quickly. As CS says, here is a situation where preparing now is better than having a "heck of a job, Brownie" scenario later.
  7. Pingback | Link #104999
    Obama declares national emergency « Political News Room [...] Obama ‘has declared H1N1 swine flu a national emergency, clearing the way for his health chief to give hospitals wider leeway in how they handle a possible surge of new patients,’ the Washington Post reports. ‘The president granted Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius the power to lift some federal regulations for medical providers, including allowing hospitals to set up off-site facilities to increase the number of available beds and protect patients who are notSource: PoliGazette RSS Feed [...]