NASCAR Fever! Catch It!
Unless you are a staffer for the US House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee. Those folks were advised to get immunized against a number of diseases before traveling to NASCAR events in Talladega, Alabama, and Concord, North Carolina. The list of shots recommended included hepatitis, diphtheria, tetanus and influenza. The House member who represents Concord, Republican Representative Robin Hayes, got a bit miffed at the suggestion that NASCAR fans might have "cooties", as the Washington Times put it. The Democrat who chairs the committee, Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, fired back at that. This is how political dust-ups develop.
Gentlemen, start your engines . . .
"I am beginning to get offended," said Republican Rep. Robin Hayes. "We thought it was silly that you needed to get a vaccination to come to Concord to go to the NASCAR races. This is the greatest sport on Earth today and you sure don't need a shot to come down here."
Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi said he never meant to offend or scare anyone about health risks at the races. The measure was advised to provide congressional staff with the same disease protection first responders get, especially as they head out on a series of fact-finding missions around the country.
"It's not about whether the people have shots. … Our staffs as they go forward will be going into sterile areas, they will be working in public health facilities, they will be talking to many holding facilities where criminals are being held….
"The NASCAR event is just one date, but after that they will be doing a number of things," said Thompson, adding that the World Series and Super Bowl are two other mass gatherings that are going to be researched for readiness.
During the trip to North Carolina, staffers were to visit a medical facility with patients at the Lowe's Motor Speedway. They were also set to inspect an empty mobile hospital. After the House physician told Republican staffers that shots were not necessary to go to North Carolina, they didn't get them. Democratic staffers reportedly did.
Now we here at Blue Crab Boulevard realize that patriotic, troop supporting NASCAR fans might seem foreign to Democratic staffers, so we thought we'd help them with a quick pointer - since they already have their shots. Corn dogs are not fierce animals used in hunting. They are actually a somewhat edible food product served on a stick.
We hope that helps clear up one of life's little mysteries for committee staffers.
UPDATE: Others: BitsBlog: "As a friend of mine said upon reading this article; Imagine with me a white congressman saying something like “well if any of my staffers are going to the NAACP you rally you’d better be sure to get your shots before you go…”
Conservative Belle: Interjections! With a blast from the past video.
Newsbusters: "It will be interesting to see if NBC anchor Brian Williams, who's regularly touted as a NASCAR fan, gets around to this story."
Democracy Arsenal: "There are no shortage of broken programs and systems at DHS, and frankly, it’s ridiculous for any Congressional Committee to be investigating local and state responders for ANYTHING until they’ve gotten the federal systems shaped up."
By feeblemind, Saturday, 13 October , 2007 @ 11:42 am
A revealing glimpse of what they really think of the rabble.
By mockinbird, Saturday, 13 October , 2007 @ 5:04 pm
Excuse me, young nubile committee staffer, I’m gonna need to check yew for ticks.