It’s a good sign that the president seems to see the real threat this could pose to the country and basic civil order. I’m leery of using the military to deal with it, though. Maybe it’s useful to have that option available so we don’t have some kind of paralysis as we did with Katrina. Stockpiling sufficient amounts of Tamiflu and other means to ameliorate those infected might help. It’s also a good idea to stock up on canned goods and other survival items in case the worst happens and you end up in a quarantined area. Still the president is reassuring that he is on top of this. Or at least he says he is:
I take this issue very seriously, and I appreciate you bringing it to our attention. The people of the country ought to rest assured that we’re doing everything we can: We’re watching it, we’re careful, we’re in communications with the world. I’m not predicting an outbreak; I’m just suggesting to you that we better be thinking about it. And we are. And we’re more than thinking about it; we’re trying to put plans in place, and one of the plans — back to where your original question came — was, if we need to take some significant action, how best to do so. And I think the President ought to have all options on the table to understand what the consequences are, but — all assets on the table — not options — assets on the table to be able to deal with something this significant.
Notice also that Bush has been reading about the 1918 pandemic. I’ve thrown enough criticism his way lately. Time for some praise on this potentailly catastrophic scenario.
LINGUISTS UPDATE: The complete total of Arabic and Farsi linguists dismissed by the Pentagon from 1998 to 2004 because they were gay is 26.
The Dish 