universal answer: the military can do that!

I'm disturbed by our dear President's desire to mobilize the military in case of an outbreak of the bird flu in the U.S. Beyond the fact that it does feel like he's asking for the power to call for martial law, beyond the reality that the military is stretched far beyond its resources both in people and money, and beyond the scariness of having a gun-loving bully in the most powerful political position on the planet, using the military to enforce a quarantine simply would not work. The truth of the flu is that a quarantine is ineffective because you're infectious to others before you realize you're sick. Basic epidemiology tells us that the focus should not be on quarantine or isolation, but should be on putting resources into developing a vaccine and in manufacturing more antivirals. Right now, my friends, the U.S. possesses enough to protect less than 1% of the population for the duration of a flu season. Just which 1% do you think will be chosen? I know you may have already done this, but perhaps it's time to encourage everyone to write to congress and stop just being outraged on the sidelines...