TB Patient ID'd as (Trial) Lawyer

Brietbart ^ | 31 May 07 | GREG BLUESTEIN

[Volunteer]

You may be correct.

But, even I would know not to get on an airplane if I was diagnosed with TB and I am not exactly House, M.D.

I also think that the Father-in-law who "just happens" to work for CDC on TB is too odd. Something isn't right here.

[zerosix]

"He's a great guy. Gregarious," said Pam Hood, a former neighbor. "He's a wonderful guy. Just a very, very pleasant man."

Trial Lawyer goes into a bar after losing a particular tough case, slams down his brief case and screams at the top of his lungs, "All lawyers are a bunch of lying, cheating, unethical, bloodsuckers!"

A man down at the end of the bar screams back, "I deeply resent those remarks." Trial lawyer shouts back, "So you're a lawyer, huh."

Man screams back, "No, I'm a lying, cheating, unethical bloodsucker!"

[VOA]

Well, to be fair, he was flagged as being on the “no fly list”
and he wasn’t flying.

Maybe I jumped to conclusions; I thought the flagging was over
a report of his TB status.

I guess terrorists just have to do a lot more driving and
a lot less flying!

[GovernmentShrinker]

Yep. I think the CDC is 1) trying to cover its tracks, 2) overreacting wildly now, as part of its efforts to obscure its previous underreaction. This poor guy is little more than a pawn in the whole thing. The father in law is obviously quite knowledgeable about this stuff, and wasn’t alarmed enough about his daughter running off on a honeymoon with this guy to sound the alarm and try to stop that from happening. Translation: the guy’s potential for transmission is very, very, very, very low (as in the people who sat next to him on the planes should be more worried about getting hit by lightning on a sunny day), and when he left on the trip there was even less reason to be alarmed, since his TB strain had not yet been identified as an “extensively resistant” type.

[Jonah Johansen]

Cooksey works in the CDC’s mycobacteriology laboratory branch.
Am I the only one the least bit curious about the coincidence?

No more of a coincidence than the bloody glove behind OJ’s house.

[GovernmentShrinker]

I agree. It’s a slow news week. Media (and audiences) needed a break from the daily routine of “3 more Americans blown up in Iraq” and “Presidential candidate X uttered soundbite Y”. I ride the NYC subway to and from work every day, and I expect I’m a lot more likely to have caught some super-duper TB strain from that, than any of the people who sat near this guy on one plane ride. For crying out loud, his new wife doesn’t even test positive!

[livius]

Actually, he was on a border or entry-point watch list as well. I guess they weren’t exactly on their toes on the Canadian border (where, IIRC, there’ve been slip-ups before).

[slowhandluke]

It's also possible that his story is true and they weren't stressing not traveling since they didn't know what strain he had.

Are there are any mild forms of TB? I would not want the person next to me on a plane to have an ordinary cold, much less TB of any kind.

[weegee]

They say he came back to the US from Canada because he thought he could be seen sooner by doctors.

Doesn’t speak well of national healthscare.

[Raycpa]

Possible scenario:

Dad is infected and infects his daughter.

Daughter infects her new finance.

[FormerACLUmember]

Only the most vicious type of sociopath would knowingly, consciously expose and infect potentially hundreds of people to incurable, deadly Tuberculosis in the closed environment of an airplane and elsewhere.

A John Edwards trial lawyer. A cold hearted monster hidden beneath an orthodontic smile and designer clothes.

[Ramius]

As I understand it, he was put on the “no fly” list because of his TB. Likely done, I suppose, when the CDC tracked him to Rome and told him not to fly.

That’s when he flew against orders (the no-fly list is just for the U.S. and I don’t suppose that foreign airlines use it.) to Prague and then to Montreal. Then he drove into the U.S.

At that point, he’s a U.S. citizen coming back into the U.S. and there’s nothing for the border agents to detain him for. He wasn’t wanted or subject to arrest, at least not yet.

[JustaCowgirl]

Something isn't right here

If this is a random coincidence, it has to be one of those on the order of about a billion to 1.

[Cecily]

Remember the aerial views of the Ryder trucks carrying Florida ballots during the 2000 election recount? A banner day for filler “news.”

[Raycpa]

[DanielLongo]

Maybe he really didn't like his son-in-law. What's not to like about a bum who puts 80 other people at risk to save his own skin?

he flew home for treatment, fearing he wouldn't survive if he didn't reach the U.S., he said

never mind about the people going to Europe. Just as long as he gets to the U.S. for treatment. He will soon find out what it means to be in the witness chair. They're going to take him for all he's worth and then some. Especially if European authorities wish to press charges.

[July 4th]

But, even I would know not to get on an airplane if I was diagnosed with TB and I am not exactly House, M.D.

Well, if a doctor told me that I had any strain of TB, I wouldn't be going anywhere. That would be enough to get me to chill out at home for a while.

As to the panic, it's pretty much just that. It's actually pretty hard to transmit TB - basically, that's why it's not more prevalent than it currently is. Even for the people sitting next to him it's pretty difficult unless they were directly coughed on, and somehow got that mist into their system. For the passenger who had the same seat as the TB guy on the next flight, even that person would be at almost no risk. (Unlike other diseases that are more likely spread by surface contact, including lice.)

[pepperdog]

What really ticks me off is the circus surrounding his quarantine. Used to be all communicable diseases were quarantined for the good of the general public. Somehow, in the Sick Sixties, it was decided to let mentally and physically sick people circulate throughout the population to the detriment of everyone. Then AIDS came along and now it’s almost a crime to even think of quarantining anyone. How stupid we’ve become.

[DanielLongo]

Why evade authorities in Italy? At that point, after he received the call from the CDC, there was a moral question. He flew to Prague and then to Montreal knowingly and secretly exposing others to what he knew at the time is a life threatening illness. But he does it to save his own skin at the expense of women and children. The guy is a creep of the worst order and a coward.

[AmericanMade1776]

GovernmentShrinker wrote: For crying out loud, his new wife doesn’t even test positive!

He isn't even sick.