Not to beat a dead swine, but TX Governor Rick Perry in this press release here has called on the CDC to "provide 37,430 courses of antiviral medications from the Strategic National Stockpile to Texas to prevent the spread of swine flu." Could this be the same Governor Rick Perry who at a recent tea party event reported here suggested that Texas could secede and leave the Union.
Not that they have ever demonstrated any inclination toward introspection, but Republicans who have been encouraging this extreme talk of "taxation without representation". "socialism" and "secession" may wish to use this moment to reflect on why we have a federal union in the first place. It is organized to respond to threats like this swine flu virus outbreak by mobilizing the resources of a great number of people to find solutions to problems that may be beyond scope of any one state. Some Republican Texans may hate the US federal union when it is time to pay taxes or accept financial stimulus funding with the requisite federal restrictions, yet they don't object when the feds mobilize disaster relief after a hurricane, or refrain from calling for a CDC response in the face of a swine flu outbreak. Federalism is not a one-way street. You don't just get stuff from the federal government, you have to be a contributor also. So the next time short-sighted politicians from any part of our nation start talking about secession, it would be good to remind them of the CDC, FEMA, and the host of other federal agencies that contribute to their well being, not just for their state, but for all the states.