Mexicans: Disease-Ridden or a lot of Hype?

Written by Doug Bower


From time to time, I take time away from my book writing duties and my regular column writing to addressrepparttar concerns and comments from readers.

I get it all. I get some thoughtful, linearly constructed arguments and then I getrepparttar 142493 circularly argued ones that make my head spin just trying to figure out where they are coming from and what exactly they are trying to say.

But I like them all (readers are who keep me syndicated in more than 21 publications), I try to learn from most, and take some time, on occasion, to try to answer them. Trying to answer them usually ends with my doing what good writers do—check, recheck, and then double checkrepparttar 142494 sourcesrepparttar 142495 readers claim prove their points. I do investigative reporting!

So here goes, ready or not, hold on, and let's see what we have to discuss today.

Reader Comment One: "… and more terrifying arerepparttar 142496 thousands of cases of TB and hepatitis they (migrant Mexican workers) spread into Los Angeles."

I contactedrepparttar 142497 Center for Disease Control and spoke with Jessica Frickey, Health Communications Specialist. Ms. Frickey said this:

"I am attaching CDC’s most recent fact sheet on 2004 TB surveillance data. You will see that while TB was at an all time low in 2004, progress to eliminaterepparttar 142498 disease may be slowing.

As far as your specific question about illegal immigrants causing a rise in TB, CDC’s data shows that foreign-born individuals – whether illegal immigrants or legal immigrants – accounted for more than half of TB cases reported in 2004. Overall, racial and ethnic minorities also face higher rates of disease than white Americans, with both Hispanics and Blacks at a rate that is 8 times higher than whites and Asians 20 times higher than whites.

Despite these numbers, CDC does not have data to show that foreign-born individuals have caused an increase in TB in recent years."

What I find so interesting is that this reader's comment,

"…the thousands of cases of TB and hepatitis they (migrant Mexican workers) spread into Los Angeles.",

was spouted with absolutely NO stats to supportrepparttar 142499 supposition. His figure, "thousands of cases", whenrepparttar 142500 REALITY is that inrepparttar 142501 year 2004 was at an all time low. I wonder just where this reader got his facts. And do not missrepparttar 142502 fact of what Ms. Frickey pointed out:

I LOVE Howard Dean

Written by J.J. Jackson


While Howard Dean is out there talking about how much “hate” he has for Republicans and about how evil, dishonest and nasty we are I am here to stand up and say something very important. I LOVE you Mr. Dean! I mean that fromrepparttar bottom of my dark, conservative, white, Christian heart. I really do love you man.

And I love you more and more every day because you are out there showing everyone what you andrepparttar 142459 base ofrepparttar 142460 Democratic Party believes. I love how you are out there each and every day spewing vitriol and hate to cheering crowds of party supporters. I love how you are out there telling everyone that I and my “Republican” friends have never made an honest living in their lives while I work at my regular job 10 or 11 hours a day and still findrepparttar 142461 time to run my own business to help provide a higher standard of living for my family. I love how you talk about how bigoted I am simply because I don’t look first atrepparttar 142462 color of one’s skin when judging their qualifications but ratherrepparttar 142463 content of their character. I love how you are running around from Kool-Aid party to Kool-Aid party talking about how I am evil and uncaring because I don’t think that it is government’s right to take money fromrepparttar 142464 paychecks ofrepparttar 142465 American workers to give to other people who did not earn it.

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