Andrew Speaker is an Adam Henry
In typical personal injury lawyer fashion, Andrew Harley Speaker is an Adam Henry.
The 31-year-old Atlanta lawyer recently decided to go on his honeymoon and ended up exposing countless numbers of people to an extremely dangerous and drug-resistant form of Tuberculosis. Speaker had been told not to fly for fear that he might spread the TB to other passengers by coughing or sneezing, which spreads the airborne infectious disease. In fact, Speaker posed such an extreme risk that he was being added to a "no-fly" list, but he fled Europe (by airplane of course) to return to the U.S.
Speaker said in a newspaper interview that he knew he had TB when he flew from Atlanta to Europe in mid-May for his wedding and honeymoon, but that he did not find out until he was already in Rome that it was an extensively drug-resistant strain considered especially dangerous.
Despite warnings from federal health officials not to board another long flight, he flew home for treatment, fearing he wouldn't survive if he didn't reach the U.S., he said. He said he tried to sneak home by way of Canada instead of flying directly into the U.S.
Naturally, when he arrived at the U.S., border agents ignored a warning (to detain, don protective gear when questioning and immediately notify CDC - any of which would have been a hint to me, but what do I know?) on Speaker's passport and allowed him to enter the country. He has since been placed in quarantine.
Hmmm, by his own admission, he knew how serious the disease was but ignored orders not to fly. He then flew to Canada and snuck into the U.S. from there. It makes you wonder what kind of human being Mr. Speaker is, doesn't it?
Well, aside from his complete disregard for his fellow human beings, he attended the U.S. Naval Academy, graduated from the University of Georgia and entered private law practice with his father, none of which, apparently, taught him common sense or respect for others. Incredibly, his father-in-law is Robert C. Cooksey, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention microbiologist who specializes in, among other things, TB.
Hopefully, federal charges will be forthcoming.
How he was so easily able to enter the U.S. is equally disturbing. I guess Michael Chertoff was too busy promoting the new immigration bill to actually do his job and stop this kind of thing, but, as Hot Air points out, he's pretty much worthless, anyway. But how many more people with TB walk right into this country each and every day?
Hopefully, this will be a major wake-up call to DoHS, CDC, ICE and the Border Patrol.
They - and first-responders nationwide - need much more training on how to handle these types of situations, so that if people like Mr. Speaker are determined to spread disease, we can be ready for it.
Hopefully, Mr. Speaker will fully recover. And, with any luck, he didn't expose anyone else with his nonchalant desire to enjoy his honeymoon.
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Also posting:
- Michelle Malkin: The TB carrier named
- Blogs of War ยป CBS News: Andrew Harley Speaker Identified as Extreme TB Carrier
Note: photo courtesy of AP/The Speaker Law Firm, PC
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