[E. Pluribus Unum]

The press is going insane over this non-story, which indicates that things are actually going quite well in these United States, despite everything they would have you believe.

[wideawake]

And the lawyer comes out.

Apologize vaguely for PR purposes, but be careful to admit no wrongdoing of any kind.

[Uncle George]

Its a good thing this selfish crud is a lawyer, he’s going to spend his life in court.

[Diogenesis]

The sign says ....

And why does SHE wear the mask. Lawyer privilege.

[albie]

From Boortz.com...

Now ... let’s address all of this hysteria over the TB Guy. It turns out that he’s an attorney. A personal injury attorney, no less. His name is Andrew Speaker.

Everyone seems to be in a lather over the idea that he endangered an entire plane load of people by coming back to the United States on a Czech airliner.

Methinks we’re approaching the point of hysteria here.

According to Speaker, all the time he has been diagnosed with TB he has been interacting with his family, his daughter and his finance, now wife. He had been told repeatedly that he did not present a threat to others. Did they tell him not to travel to Europe? Yes, they did. But Speaker has a tape of these people telling him not to travel to Europe not because he was a threat to others, but because they felt they had to warn him not to travel to cover their own rear ends.

I believe that the bottom line here is that this man felt that his best chance of recovery was to get to that TB hospital in Denver. He also believed that he did not present a contagious threat to others. Doctors had repeatedly told him that he was not contagious and not a treat. Then they tell him that he can’t come back home.

Put me in his place... same circumstances ... same promises that he wasn’t a threat .. and I’m going to do everything I can to get around the government bureaucracy and get to Denver. The American government would just not be worthy of my trust in this situation. The CDC says now that they were working hard to get him home. Somehow I’m having a hard time believing that.

We need to stop hammering this guy and try to figure out why our great Homeland Security system couldn’t keep him out of this country. He was on a no-fly list. His name was on a computer at every border crossing. Yet he got through. Let’s study that situation, and leave this guy alone to try to recover from his disease.

Oh ... and before we move on, we need to say this. Andy Speaker is a personal injury lawyer. Turn the situation around just a bit. Let someone who was on that airplane contact him for representation. How long before we would see the lawsuits fly!

Bottom line. The guy has a life-threatening disease. He wanted to get home. He was told that he wasn’t a threat to other people. He saw the impossible American government bureaucracy getting in his way. He did what he had to do to protect himself. You would do the same.

[dragonblustar]

The tuberculosis patient who sparked an uproar over his decision to fly against medical advice said he's "very sorry" for the pain he has caused.

It's time this punk takes his medication.

[Volunteer]

Nothing says "I'm sorry" quite like a huge settlement paid out to the people who sat on the plane near him.

You know someone is going to sue.

I like Boortz, but I don't agree with him on this one. If you are told not to travel and then you do it any way, it's wrong. This guy strikes me as a "me first, screw everyone else" type.... or at least his behavior seems that way to me.

[Logical me]

Should have known better with his education. Real jerk. http://i19.tinypic.com/677haw0.gif

[BananaHamock]

I can not get over how selfish this jerk was. He is saying that doctors suggested that he not fly in the first place. Doctors usually don't say that because they feel like it. And on top of it one would think that if you were contacted in Rome about your health that you would realize what a possible risk you would cause instead of being a jerk and possibly endangering hundreds of others. If this had been super contagious the people he contaminated would have contaminated hundreds of others by now. His apology is obviously PR, the guy could care less! For more on the subject you should read what Dr. Blaylock has to say about it.

[Not A Snowbird]

In the interest of accuracy, he didn’t fly back to the US. He flew back to Canada, then drove across the border where the inspector saw the flag and made an poor decision.

If the inspector hadn’t noticed the flag, or hadn’t properly queried him on primary, then I’d be really worried. Bottom line, one person on the border made the wrong call.

[Publius6961]

But Andrew Speaker said he didn't think he was contagious and no one ever said he would be putting people at risk.

In addition to being a megalomaniacal delusional idiot, this doofus is a ******* liar!

If what he says is true, why did he "sneak" back into the United States? He knew exactly why and his actions belie his words.

I hope he gets exactly what he deserves. Let's leave it at that.

[Solon]

According to MedicalNewsToday To evaluate drug susceptibility, the bacteria need to be cultivated and tested in a suitable laboratory. Such a final diagnosis for TB, and especially XDR-TB, may take 6-16 weeks.

Not knowing the strain of TB, I find it incredulous that any doctor would tell this idiot that he was of no threat to others.

It sounds more & more that this selfish POS just did not want to wait for the results. So, other people be damned, off to a European wedding & honeymoon he goes.

[caddie]

The CDC has been toothless with regard to quarantines ever since the AIDS epidemic.

Truth be told, there was a time when that could have been contained by closing sex clubs, bathhouses, etc., but the government did nothing because of PC.

Given the gay lifestyle, aerosolized TB is probably less contagious than is sexually transmitted HIV.

Reward for this fecklessness: permanent endemic or epidemic status of HIV in every nation in the world.

Nice work CDC and the d*c&w^^d C. Everett Koop the nitwit pol surgeon.