President Obama’s declaration of a national emergency regarding swine (H1N1) flu reminds me of the Saturday Night Live fake ad for robot insurance. Obama’s declaration was described by the AP as having “the goal … to remove bureaucratic roadblocks and make it easier for sick people to seek treatment and medical providers to provide it immediately.” This raises the question, why were there bureaucratic roadblocks in the first place?
Similarly, in the SNL fake ad for robot insurance, Sam Waterston is the spokesman for Old Glory Insurance Company. Their policy offers to protect anyone over the age of 50, regardless of previous health condition, against robot attacks. One elderly woman in the ad wonders: “I don’t know why the scientists make them.”
I guess we have bureaucratic roadblocks to medical care for the same reason scientists make robots that attack old people and eat their medicine for fuel — so that someone can protect us against these problems.
The good news, according to Mickey Kaus, is that the spread of the swine flu might not be as bad as media outlets are reporting.
Posted by Jay P. Greene 
Jay P. Greene's Blog 