Daily Wrap Up

Today's daily wrap-up discusses douchebaggery committed by TB patients, douchebaggery committed by some hospital staff, and the government sticking with the status quo and denying the fact that racial injustice is an important factor in our society.

You may remember a man by the name of Andrew Speaker, mainly because he was the first person to be put under a federal isolation order since 1963 due to his highly contagious form of tuberculosis (TB). As it turns out, Speaker isn't the only ass in the family. His father, a lawyer like his son, refused to help authorities stop Speaker from traveling with his TB and his father-in-law, a CDC researcher who has dealt with TB, did not try to stop his future son-in-law and even helped him. Speaker dodged authorities while somehow slipping past the Canadian border despite having a flagged passport (the border agent who let him through no longer works there). Good to see that the Hippocratic Oath is alive and well in the medical field.

Moving on to LA, where a woman died in a hospital waiting room after being refused service despite bleeding from the mouth and being in obvious pain for nearly an hour. Her boyfriend even called 911 and pleaded to have an ambulance sent over to take her to another hospital with competent employees. He was refused. A bystander called and requested an ambulance and was also refused by dispatchers. Then bystanders asked the po-po to help. "Help" in their definition, however, involved cuffing the woman for a parole violation. Stand up work, fellas.

And, finally, the federal government has decided that religious cases take precedent over the 400 year problem of racial inequality in this country. It has decided that the civil rights portion of the justice department should be taking away attention and resources from such minor things as hate crimes and police brutality and focus on the burning issues of kids handing out candy canes in school. Excellent example of prioritizing.

Photo - Andrew Speaker (www.msnbc.msn.com)