I was waiting for this, but it sends chills up and down my spine.
…we could lose a century of progress and find ourselves dying in the millions from tuberculosis, just like our 19th-century ancestors.
I was exposed to TB as a child, and had to have lung x-rays every year until I went to college. It was active for a short time, and I have some lesions that show up on x-rays, but my body managed to fight it off before I even knew I was sick. Maybe I’ll be one of the lucky ones; I might have some immunity.
According to the original report, published Dec. 21 in Clinical Infectious Diseases, a hospital in Mumbai, India had identified 12 TB patients whose disease resisted all antibiotics. Nothing worked with them. All the patients appeared to have strains of TB known as multi-drug resistant (MDR-TB) and extremely drug resistant (XDR-TB).
Ever since the advent of sulfa drugs and penicillin, we have been locked in an arms race with bacteria. Antibiotics originally had wonderfully lethal effects on many infections. But in some cases a few bacteria had genetic resistance to a given drug, or the treatment wasn’t long or intense enough. Either way, the survivors learned to best such drugs. We came up with new drugs, and again they worked — until a few bacteria survived and multiplied.
What have we wrought? We now have a society of people whose immunity has not been tested, especially against a strain of superbugs. I remember when Handsome Son had a string of ear infections. We went from antibiotic to antibiotic, ending up with one that cost $3.10 per teaspoon. I swore that if he knocked it on the floor, he was going to lick it up from wherever it landed. Fortunately, he was a calm child, and we never had to test my determination in the matter. It was alarming that the regular antibiotics had already become so ineffective in such a short period of time. I was diligent in giving him all of his medications, never shorting the dosages.
Will we end up like the aliens in “War of the Worlds,” who were killed not by the humans they hunted, but by the smallest residents of the planet they wanted to dominate. What will be ironic is that we will have created our own demise.
So the prospect of untreatable TB is a disturbing one. WHO notes that in the Americas, only 2.1 persons per 100,000 die of TB. With a totally drug-resistant strain, that rate could easily exceed Africa’s current rate of 50 deaths per 100,000.
I have hopes that our collective intellect will find a way of protecting humanity from succumbing to ourselves.
Excuse me, but as a citizen, I have no such a frikkin duty. Wow!?!?!? 😯 . I guess it’s your right not to defend what you believe in but if that’s your choice then do not blame the poiticians for the decay of your society. I say that if you believe in something than it is a your duty to… Read more »
Your “new information” about Newt is that he ran an ad critical of Romney that bent the truth?
You haven’t been around this whole political thing much have you?
Tell me again how that’s going to work against Newt next November.
Then it’ll be your duty to point that out if andwhen that “assault” is unleashed Excuse me, but as a citizen, I have no such a frikkin duty. If anybody has a duty here, its the frikkin candidate has to not be so frikkin stupid as to forget to mention that he hads 3 frikkin million dollars in a Swiss… Read more »
#97;
Sweet. So “assault” would mean apply the jump. 🙂
OK, OK, you’re pushing too hard. Here’s my surprise about Newt: Romney changed his mind on abortion — not when it was politically advantageous, but when it mattered. As governor of liberal, pro-choice Massachusetts, he vetoed an embryonic stem cell bill and “worked closely” with Massachusetts Citizens for Life. The president of MCL recently issued a statement saying that, “since… Read more »
Hey, I’m good at a lot of things! Good night everyone.
Sarge #96;
LOL, Sarge, I did that intentionally. It was sarcasm.
I think you and I posted at the same time but mine was posted right before yours thus bumping you down one post. You’re good at heart though. 🙂
You took it, mharper. Hip hip, hurray!!!
Setup for someone… Where’s Tim?
Sure, why not? Doesn’t a strong central leader make sense? You elite informed voters just don’t have any common sense.
I’m not disputing any of that. Then it’ll be your duty to point that out if andwhen that “assault” is unleashed. Even if you’re sitting your vote out, you should at least defend us against stupid voters. First impressions are the lasting ones. You don’t want your candidate being discribed as “the one with three million dollars in a Swiss… Read more »
#92
I can answer that. The prefix root is “ad-” but when butted up to some other consonants, the 2nd “s” in the case of assault, the “d” melds with it. “Ad-” in Latin means to, towards, or with. Adhere, adjacent, advocate. Or apply, affirm, accept.
You should check with the media consultants before mentioning Romney in the same sentence that you’re making reference to taking assault rifles away from people.
See how big a minefield defending romney is becoming?
You mean do the same thing for the whole country that he did for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts?
Not terribly smart. 😉
Yes they are. If it’s all too easy to scare them from voting for Romney because Romney has money in a Swiss account and has invested in the Cayman Islands then that epitomizes stupidity. Instead they’ll vote for the president who’ll make the economy fair for them. That’s dumbing it down sufficiently for them. Oh well, then. If we know… Read more »
RANDOM THOUGHT from my cerebro maximus:
If “sault” is from Latin meaning jumping or something like that than would “assault” mean “without jumping”? Or is the prefix “as” instead of “a” and thus have a different meaning?
84 mharper42 says: January 26, 2012 at 10:21 pm #79 Sarge it really isn’t easy to change the first impression that the phrase “unreported multi-million dollar Swiss bank accounts” will put into the minds of voters. How about by pointing out that the account earned a whopping $1700 in 2010?? Big whoop. You can’t make any money on bank account… Read more »
Perhaps we need romney as president to make sure that stupid voters won’t be able to get their hands on assault rifles.
YIKES!!!
Congratulations appear to be in order for the Honorable Barney Frank. He going to make an honest man of his long time partner.
Mazeltov!
I’m no CBr but here goes:
youz gonna vote fer that there Romney guy?
No way. Ain’t he the onez that’s gots money in a swiss account?
Will he pay my damn rent? ( 😉 )
And “low information voters” are not stupid people. Yes they are. If it’s all too easy to scare them from voting for Romney because Romney has money in a Swiss account and has invested in the Cayman Islands then that epitomizes stupidity. Instead they’ll vote for the president who’ll make the economy fair for them. That’s dumbing it down sufficiently… Read more »
#77 Sarge
Easy: BOHICA
Although I am sure Robert M will beat that.
I suppose you could try to find a way to keep low information voters from voting next November in order to tailor the electorate into one that will accomodate your chosen candidate. Neh. That’s right-wing social engineering. We cannot possibly uphold that. At some point, folks are going to have to come to the realization that it really isn’t easy… Read more »
#79 Sarge it really isn’t easy to change the first impression that the phrase “unreported multi-million dollar Swiss bank accounts” will put into the minds of voters. How about by pointing out that the account earned a whopping $1700 in 2010?? Big whoop. You can’t make any money on bank account interest these days. #81 Why does a man who… Read more »
A little cliche.
And “low information voters” are not stupid people. They are just the overwhelming majority of voters who aren’t as plugged in to politics as we are.
Thanks. I stayed awake a whole one second thinking up that phrase.
I can hear the ads now:
“Why does a man who wants to be President keep millions of dollars in a Swiss bank account? Is it because the ones he had in the Cayman Islands were too full?”
Seriously, Darrren.’
Mentioning “Newt Gingrich” isn’t going to change that impression at all.
72 Darren says: January 26, 2012 at 9:38 pm You Romney supporters do realize that you’re going to have to defend him with words like “Cayman Island Investmants” and “million dollar Swiss Bank Accounts” swimming in the minds of low information voters, don’t you? And those low information voters will definitely like Newt standing up to that predator capitalist investor,… Read more »
Profound.
For tomorrow’s caption contest.
Sarge #73;
Man, that’s sad. I really liked the Epstein character.
In a lag-free segment of tonight’s debate I did hear Romney respondto Newt who said he and his team discovered “something shocking”, that Romney had investments in Freddie and Fanny. Romney pointed out that it was a third party investor and his investments were from bonds (I believe) and asked if Newt checked his own investments, which also includes Freddie… Read more »
GJT;
Good point. Squawk definitely rolls with it all.
Epstein has forged his last note from his mother.
You Romney supporters do realize that you’re going to have to defend him with words like “Cayman Island Investmants” and “million dollar Swiss Bank Accounts” swimming in the minds of low information voters, don’t you? And those low information voters will definitely like Newt standing up to that predator capitalist investor, Mitt Romney. I tell you, stupid people will be… Read more »
62 Sarge
Uh……..Oops?
GJT;
No worries, ther’ll be more.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm One of Mitt Romney’s most famous quotes comes from his 1994 race for Senate in Massachusetts. Whie debating Ted Kennedy, he openly stated that he did not want to return to “Reagan-Bush,” adding that he was an independent during that time. It’s also come out that he voted in the 1992 Democratic primary. Now, Pundit Press has found that… Read more »
Old truckers don’t flip-flop anymore, they kinda roll.
#40 – I hate to disagree with your assessment of the situation in Egypt, but it looks to me like it’s playing out exactly the way JE wants it to. Now if he can just get that bottleneck in the Straits stopped up and further slow the flow of oil, maybe he can get the price of gas high enough… Read more »
Republicans just don’t play the media game too well. Why didn’t someone ask why Warren Buffett only pays his secretary $20,000 a year, broadening the income gap in America? I know it’s not true, but the story then woulda become What is her salary anyway?, then it would come out she makes 250g, then we could ask why is Obama… Read more »
Thanks Darren, just couldn’t get myself up to watch tonight. Besides, reports go in in the morning…
Squawk; LONG LIVE THE JOBS A little late for that but his briliance lives on, that’s for sure. Congrats on your IPad. Eventually I’ll get one myself. Most likely an Android knock off. With all the insanity going on in politics I have settled on my choice for president: Newmittrick Sanromneytorum for President Mitt PaulGingron for VP. That means you’ll… Read more »
GJT;
In between the lag I gathered that Romney said nothing of negative of Newt and his relation with Reagan. Romney twice deferred to Newt to speak for himself on that matter.I thought that was very smart and I think Romney took your advice the other night.
Good job, Tim. 🙂
Dang.
I posted that a week ago.
Romney and Gingrich both gave great answers regarding Isreal and the Palestinian situation. Stand with Isreal. Period.
Wahoo! Just checked my email and AT&T is telling me my iPad’s 15 gazillion mb/month plan updates tomorrow (naughty iPad didn’t tell me that part), glad I went without and didn’t buy more today!