Neal Boortz renames swine flu, "fajita flu"

The swine flu virus has infected the immigration debate, with talk show comments like "fajita flu" and "illegal aliens are the carriers" drawing vehement protests from Hispanic advocates.

The volatile immigration issue had cooled off on talk shows and in the blogosphere as the presidential election and economic crisis unfolded. Now, some are using the spread of the virus to renew arguments that immigration from Mexico is a threat to America.

There have been no reports of swine flu leading to incidents of discrimination or profiling of Hispanics. But some Hispanics say racist anti-immigration rhetoric fueled the recent rise in hate crimes against Latinos, and they want to prevent another surge.

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/050309/nat_435815780.shtml

[posted by: Alejandro Jimenez]

Atlanta Judge Rules Dialysis Unit Can Be Closed

ATLANTA — Uninsured dialysis patients who could be cut off from their life-sustaining care lost a court challenge on Friday when a judge ruled that Grady Memorial Hospital could close its outpatient dialysis clinic. But the hospital gave the patients a temporary reprieve.

Ruling largely on technical grounds, a state court judge dissolved the restraining order that prevented last weekend’s scheduled closing of the clinic at Grady, the Atlanta region’s safety net hospital. The hospital, which is deeply in debt, quickly announced it would close the clinic within a week. It agreed, however, to pay for up to three months of dialysis at private clinics for the 51 patients who will be dislocated.

Grady will continue to assist the indigent patients, many of them illegal immigrants, in seeking care in their home countries or in other states where they may qualify for emergency Medicaid coverage.
full text here

update on the piece: here.
[posted by Maria Rohani]