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Media’s Huge Failure: Swine Flu Hysteria

Posted by GayPatriot at 2:42 pm - May 2, 2009.
Filed under: Media Bias,Pig Flu

I’m quite sick and tired of the unbelievable hysteria being fed by the media and encouraged by the Obama Administration and the World Health Organization.

First of all, here are two facts that you have NOT heard from the saturated coverage of the pig flu.

  1. Face masks DO NOT stop the spread of the virus.  Face masks can only help prevent the spread of bacteria-related illnesses — not viruses.
  2. 36,000 Americans die EVERY YEAR from flu/flu-related illnesses.  Only 16 people WORLDWIDE (all in Mexico) have died from the pig flu.  For crying out loud!

This obsession the media has with scaring everyone to death, then moving onto something else… well, it is pathetic and irresponsible.

Stop the madness.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

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12 Comments

  1. What in the world would you have the media cover? After all the 100 days orgasim is over. I mean what else is there for them to talk about? (sarc)

    Comment by Gene on Pennsylvania — May 2, 2009 @ 3:40 pm - May 2, 2009

  2. 1. Certain mask do prevent the spread of the virus. Virus particles travel on the droplets of mucosa that we sneeze out. So when we breath it in, it can disseminate and cause infection. The mask prevents the droplet from getting into the lungs, thus preventing the virus from getting in the lungs. Its not 100% effective but can help.

    2. Flu is the flu is the flu. That false. Some flu’s are more pathogenic and have increased virulence than others. That’s why the US government stockpiled 50 million doses of Tamiflu because of the very likely risk that the avain flu (H5N1) would cross the species barrier. The reason we have such few deaths is that this strain is susceptible to Tamiflu and Relenza. However, orthomyxoviruses (group A) are prone to mutation and its possible that we might get Tamiflu resistant strain. Its already resistant to amantadine. So even though 16 people died, it still something we should be worried about.

    Comment by Chris, MD, PhD — May 2, 2009 @ 4:01 pm - May 2, 2009

  3. If you think the purpose of the MSM is to inform people, you are mistaken.

    The MSM are essentially commodity brokers, and their commodity is information. When demand for information is high, they get higher ratings, and they can command higher prices for their information as reflected in ad rates.

    The media have a financial incentive to put people into a state of panic. That’s when their information is most valuable.

    And since the media’s other job is to act as the PR wing of the Democrat party, they can’t work people into a lather — or even a responsible degree of concern — about the deficits, the economy, or the threat of terror, all of which make the Obamacrats look bad. So, when something like a flu outbreak comes along, they have to go Panic City on it.

    Comment by V the K — May 2, 2009 @ 4:07 pm - May 2, 2009

  4. And FOX News wasn’t bleating about the hysteria as well? Sure the media is going to hype it. Cause it makes you WATCH IT.

    FOX News yesterday had GOP Rep. Burgess (R-TX) on to advocate a complete shutdown of the Mexican border over the H1N1 Virus. Is he being over the top?

    I heard the 36,000 figure repeatedly on CNNI (CNN International). They have, certainly, done their part to hype this up though.

    Now, the Obama Administration, when faced with a real and potential health crisis, didn’t shut commerce down, and argued against panic. Certainly Biden made a gaffe (he does that sometimes).

    I treated this like I treat Hurricane Warnings. For every time that you REALLY need to take precautions, you will take precautions five or six times when it wasn’t necessary. But you should always initially take precautions because until you get more info, you just don’t know if you really need to.

    This time, we didn’t run around infecting people with Guillan – Barre like in the 70′s thank God.

    Until you have more evidence, I wouldn’t treat this as some Democratic plot to help Obama. Its not like the other news (Virginia Foxx, Arlen Specter) has been really good for the GOP in the meantime.

    Comment by Tom in Lazybrook — May 2, 2009 @ 4:24 pm - May 2, 2009

  5. There’s also the Ego factor. Every network journalist thinks of himself as big and important, so they have to inflate the bigness and importance of the stories they cover to match their egos.

    Comment by V the K — May 2, 2009 @ 5:03 pm - May 2, 2009

  6. C’mon, Chris (#2) — You are hailing the use of Tamiflu as the reason only 16 people in MEXICO have died?

    I find it hard to believe that enough Tamiflu was rushed there in time to prevent these deaths that never happened (your theory).

    And, could you please cite your source on the effective use of 3M painting masks against VIRUSES?

    I have seen clinical studies, done on hospital patients, that there is NO benefit of masks in stopping the spread of viruses. Bacteria, ‘nother story.

    Comment by Bruce (GayPatriot) — May 2, 2009 @ 5:11 pm - May 2, 2009

  7. If I remember correctly, last years flu virus was pretty damn drug resistant. I got the flu shot in November 2007 and got the flu in February 2008. My doc told me that 2008′s flu was very drug resistant. So how is this pig flu different? B/C you can only use Tamiflu within the first 48 hours anyway.

    Comment by BC — May 2, 2009 @ 8:20 pm - May 2, 2009

  8. Yup, damn Obama administration and the MSM causing a panic:

    4/24 and 4/27

    http://www.talkradionetwork.com/savagearchive

    http://michellemalkin.com/2009/04/25/hey-maybe-well-finally-get-serious-about-borders-now/

    Lou Dobbs, Jay Severin, Fox News all voices of the liberal left eh?

    Sorry GP, it’s YOUR idols, YOUR loudmouths, YOUR allies spreading lies and panic about swine flue and trying to use this for political gain.

    Comment by a different Dave — May 2, 2009 @ 8:50 pm - May 2, 2009

  9. The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

    - H. L. Mencken

    I wouldn’t say all of them are imaginary – but many of them are.

    Comment by SoCalRobert — May 2, 2009 @ 9:23 pm - May 2, 2009

  10. Don’t you all remember the 8,000-10,000 dead in New Orleans after Katrina?
    Official death toll listed at 964.
    http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/10/04/in_louisiana_katrinas_final_toll_put_at_964/

    Comment by Gene on Pennsylvania — May 2, 2009 @ 11:41 pm - May 2, 2009

  11. Actually, the reason they changed the name of the virus from “swine flu” was because they didn’t want to embarrass Napolitano by putting her picture next to the description.

    Same thing with Hillary Clinton.

    Regards,
    Peter H.

    Comment by Peter Hughes — May 4, 2009 @ 12:26 pm - May 4, 2009

  12. What makes me angry is when people talk about all the precautions they are taking, simple things like washing hands, staying home when sick, etc. All these things they SHOULD do every flu season but don’t, and as a result we have 30k+ deaths a year as they spread their diseases around.
    Yet every flu season I take those same precautions and the same panicking people laugh at me for getting up to go wash my hands before eating.

    Comment by plutosdad — May 5, 2009 @ 9:30 am - May 5, 2009

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