# Is That TB Guy The Biggest Asshole Ever, Or What? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 31, 2007, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240 "2007-05-31T20:49:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Capatalist\_Lion\_Tamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71c47a/32.png) [@Capatalist\_Lion\_Tamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capatalist_Lion_Tamer)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2007, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240/221 "2007-06-01T22:58:23Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Douchebag is the first person to be quarantined in the US in 40 years, and I have a strong feeling that the _only_ reason he’s been quarantined is because he’s got the habit of running all over the place. Additionally, many of the people who were exposed to this bozo are **outside of the US** , and given the US-centric nature of the news, it doesn’t surprise me a bit that we haven’t heard a thing about what’s going on with those folks. Hell, we probably haven’t even found all of them as of yet. [/QUOTE] I’ve heard a thing about what’s going on with those folks. I think what happens to those passengers will determine whether or not this story remains front page material. I don’t think the media’s tendencies will prevent it from being a story, that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2007, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240/222 "2007-06-01T23:03:17Z")
[QUOTE=Monty] Well, it might be admissible in court against you. Isn’t recording conversations without the other party’s consent illegal in many jurisdictions? [/QUOTE] That was my understanding. I think it also has to meet certain criteria for audibility and authenticity. IANAL but ISTM that that last item might be hard to prove. On preview: Thanks for the link Squink, that was informative. My own research brought up [this](http://expertpages.com/news/sound_recordings_evidence.htm): > [@](#): > > - The recording device must have been capable of taking the conversation now offered in evidence > - The operator of the device must be competent to operate the device > - The recording must be authentic and correct > - Changes, additions or deletions have not been made in the recording > - The recording must have been preserved in a manner that is shown to the court > - The speakers must be identified > - The conversation elicited was made voluntarily and in good faith, without any kind of inducement. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2007, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240/223 "2007-06-01T23:19:09Z")
[QUOTE=miss elizabeth] Well, then, feel free to **GET THE FUCK OUT!** [/QUOTE] Biter. Quit bitin’ mah style, sugar. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2007, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240/224 "2007-06-01T23:30:08Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Yes, but if you broke the law to obtain that evidence (unlike say, a police officer failing to follow proper proceedure), I’d be surprised if you _didn’t_, at the very least, get to have a meeting with the local authorities. [/QUOTE] Maybe. But it doesn’t change the fact that it’s legal to record conversations where I am and the recordings are admissible in court. ---
**Author:** ![meara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@meara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meara)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2007, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240/225 "2007-06-01T23:32:09Z")
I agree that it was stupid for him to go ahead with his travel, but somehow I can’t summon any outrage – I just feel sorry for the guy. He made a few stupid decisions and then found himself stuck in foreign country faced with the prospect of quarantine among strangers (followed by likely death). I’m sure he felt desperate to get back home to family and known medical options. People do dumb things sometimes. They act especially dumb when they’re scared. I feel bad for him and hope that he makes it through and that he didn’t pass it on to anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2007, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240/226 "2007-06-01T23:50:39Z")
> [@Capitalist Lion Tamer](#): > > 1. He thought he would die if he stayed in Italy. > 2. The advice that is given is more of a precautionary measure (not saying it is, but he may have thought so), and that he felt as though he could return home without infecting anyone. Add to that his wife’s failure to contract the disease despite spending months with him & he probably thought the risk of infecting someone in a few hours was close to zero. Some one else ( **EddyTeddyFreddy**?) already pointed out the inherent contradiction in this. If he thinks he’s dying, then he should know that he is clearly too sick to fly and expose others. If he feels that he can return home without infecting anyone, then clearly he didn’t believe he was dropping dead anytime soon. So which is it? “OMG, I’m dying and I have to get back to the US _today_,” or “I feel fine and didn’t think I presented a risk to others”? The fact is, he hardly gave the CDC a chance to work with him to get him home. He basically just said, “Well, are YOU going to pay to fly me back from my honeymoon??” And when they say, “Um, well, we don’t really have a way to do that,” he just took off, leaving no contact information, IMO knowing that he would not be able to fly. But, he claims, I didn’t think I was infectious! But you knew you were on the no-fly list, asshole, so you clearly knew the fucking CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL thought you were infectious – to substitute your layman’s judgment for their professional judgment is arrogance. And he claims that _Wah, I couldn’t afford to fly myself home privately!_ Bullshit – A personal injury lawyer, the son of a prominent attorney who is a partner in a major Atlanta law firm. Well then, cool your heels in Italy until the CDC can make appropriate arrangements or YOU with your extensive resources can make appropriate arrangements. He didn’t need to flee and leave THAT DAY. But the fact is that he knew there was at least a possibility that he had XDR-TB BEFORE HE LEFT THE STATES. If he honestly thought that in the eventuality that _was_ his diagnosis, that he was “dying” and had to get to Denver _immediately_ because that was his “only chance,” then he would have been camped in the parking lot at the Denver Hospital, waiting to check in once the diagnosis is made, not strolling on a beach on Santorini. I don’t think the guy is Satan Incarnate and I never said he was. But he is thoughtless and completely selfish. His actions were dangerous and IMO completely inexcusable. I understand he feels bad now – he should. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2007, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240/227 "2007-06-01T23:56:27Z")
[QUOTE=brazil84] It’s not illegal in my jurisdiction. Anyway, I am not aware of any general rule that makes illegally obtained evidence inadmissible in civil proceedings. [/QUOTE] But it may be illegal in the state the person is calling from. Look for Linda Tripp phone taping. Illegal as in “you could be prosecuted.” ---
**Author:** ![Capatalist\_Lion\_Tamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71c47a/32.png) [@Capatalist\_Lion\_Tamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capatalist_Lion_Tamer)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2007, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240/228 "2007-06-02T00:12:08Z")
[QUOTE=Jodi] Some one else ( **EddyTeddyFreddy**?) already pointed out the inherent contradiction in this. If he thinks he’s dying, then he should know that he is clearly too sick to fly and expose others. If he feels that he can return home without infecting anyone, then clearly he didn’t believe he was dropping dead anytime soon. So which is it? “OMG, I’m dying and I have to get back to the US _today_,” or “I feel fine and didn’t think I presented a risk to others”? [/QUOTE] The degree to which someone is contagious is not necessarily equal to the seriousness of their illness. Besides, I have never maintained that he needed to get to Denver immediately, only that he felt as though he needed to get _out_ of Italy before his window of opportunity closed. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2007, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240/229 "2007-06-02T00:14:12Z")
[QUOTE=Dangerosa] But it may be illegal in the state the person is calling from. Look for Linda Tripp phone taping. Illegal as in “you could be prosecuted.” [/QUOTE] Show me a case where somebody got prosecuted for taping a call to their bank, credit card company, or whatever, and I’ll start worrying. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2007, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240/230 "2007-06-02T00:18:53Z")
[QUOTE=brazil84] Show me a case where somebody got prosecuted for taping a call to their bank, credit card company, or whatever, and I’ll start worrying. [/QUOTE] Careful. Word is Citibank and Chase have secret prisons that make Gitmo look like Sandals. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2007, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240/231 "2007-06-02T00:19:52Z")
[QUOTE=brazil84] Show me a case where somebody got prosecuted for taping a call to their bank, credit card company, or whatever, and I’ll start worrying. [/QUOTE] The reading I have done suggests that you may if you are making an interstate call to a two-party state and the other party has not consented. I wonder what the laws and penalties are for international calls. Anyways, I regret derailing this thread and apologize. brazil84, good luck with your life in your tinfoil haberdashery/audio tape archive. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2007, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240/232 "2007-06-02T00:25:06Z")
[QUOTE=Queen Bruin] Anyways, I regret derailing this thread and apologize. brazil84, good luck with your life in your tinfoil haberdashery/audio tape archive. [/QUOTE] Sheesh, how about just admitting you were wrong about tapes being inadmissible in court. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2007, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240/233 "2007-06-02T00:32:11Z")
[QUOTE=brazil84] Sheesh, how about just admitting you were wrong about tapes being inadmissible in court. [/QUOTE] I was wrong and was misled based on how things are handled in my own jurisdiction. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2007, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240/234 "2007-06-02T00:54:56Z")
If he did not know of the problem, then why did he fly to Canada and then drive into the USA? ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2007, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240/235 "2007-06-02T01:03:45Z")
[QUOTE=Muffin] If he did not know of the problem, then why did he fly to Canada and then drive into the USA? [/QUOTE] Go back and read my post #203. He knew IMHO. His own words pretty much admit that. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2007, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240/236 "2007-06-02T01:18:26Z")
[QUOTE=brazil84] It’s not illegal in my jurisdiction. Anyway, I am not aware of any general rule that makes illegally obtained evidence inadmissible in civil proceedings. [/QUOTE] Well, my reading of [Lane v. Allstate](http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=nv&vol=114nvadvopno125&invol=2) seems to imply otherwise. A man taped his conversations with Allstate employees in Nevada. The Nevada Supreme Court decided that the recordings were illegal and were to therefore be excluded from any civil suit, to the extent of forbidding any mention that the conversations even took place. It did overrule a lower court that had dismissed the case with prejudice. The NSC ruled that, since it was not obvious that the plantiff knowingly broke the law, the lawsuit should be allowed to continue. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2007, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240/237 "2007-06-02T01:32:12Z")
Note that Georgia, where both TB guy and the CDC reside (present circumstances aside) is a one-party taping state. As long as one party to the conversations knows the taping is occurring, it’s legal. [Cite](http://www.pimall.com/nais/n.tel.tape.law.html). ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2007, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240/238 "2007-06-02T01:34:42Z")
[QUOTE=Punoqllads] Well, my reading of [Lane v. Allstate](http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=nv&vol=114nvadvopno125&invol=2) seems to imply otherwise. A man taped his conversations with Allstate employees in Nevada. The Nevada Supreme Court decided that the recordings were illegal and were to therefore be excluded from any civil suit, to the extent of forbidding any mention that the conversations even took place. It did overrule a lower court that had dismissed the case with prejudice. The NSC ruled that, since it was not obvious that the plantiff knowingly broke the law, the lawsuit should be allowed to continue. [/QUOTE] Apparently Nevada has a special statute that allows for suppression of unlawfully intercepted communciations. NRS 179.505 Again, I am unaware of any general rule that makes illegally obtained evidence inadmissible in civil proceedings. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2007, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240/239 "2007-06-02T01:51:13Z")
Well, talk of this airplane trip is officially on the road to being completely off the rails. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2007, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240/240 "2007-06-02T01:53:14Z")
> [@](#): > > How rough would the sex have to be for it to involve broken skin? Isn’t that the avenue of infection mentioned earlier? Shit, a light tussle would get you in the door infection-wise. TB is not a sexually transmitted disease. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-tb-guy-the-biggest-asshole-ever-or-what/406240.md?page=13)