Quarantining

I'm probably not going to be defending Mike Huckabee too often on this blog. I disagree with him on most social and economic issues. He raised taxes repeatedly in Arkansas, he has denigrated the rich in such a way as to show himself to be a redistributionist, and I don't care much for his views on many social issues, particularly homosexuality. However, I must defend is statement mad 15 years ago that those with HIV probably should have been isolated. We will ignore for the moment his attempt to defend the position by saying he didn't mean quarantining. He did, no matter what he says, and that is exactly what he should have meant. Had there been an active campaign worldwide to quarantine those infected with HIV once we learned what was causing AIDS, it likely would have been stopped. At the very least, it wouldn't have spread like it has. And then one of my wife's close friends wouldn't have it. Quarantining is probably not even physically possible now, so that approach is off the table. Huckabee too acknowledges this. Fortunately it seems that drugs are being developed that are working better and better. But when we are faced with a deadly, communicable disease, we have to do away with political correctness fin order to protect people. This is an issue where I am decidedly not libertarian. I'm sorry, but you do not have the right to go around and put people in danger of dying from a deadly infectious disease. It may not be your fault that you have it, but the fact is that you have it, that it is communicable, and that people will die if they get it. Along the same lines, I also do not think you have the right to prevent the eradication of a disease by refusing to allow your children to get vaccinated. We are talking here about preventing the deaths of thousands if not millions from disease. You do not get to make the kinds of decisions that will knowingly result in the deaths of people. We won't allow you to do it with a gun or a bomb -- why should we let you do it with a virus or bacteria?