So what the hell were they SUPPOSED to do? Send him back to Canada?

More sloppy writing from the Associated Press:

A globe-trotting Atlanta lawyer with a dangerous strain of tuberculosis was allowed back into the United States by a border inspector who disregarded a computer warning to stop him and don protective gear, officials said Thursday.

If I remember my J101 correctly, you're supposed to put items in the lead sentence in descending order of importance.  It appears the guy is an American citizen.  So the problem is not that he was "allowed back into the United States," but that the "border inspector... disregarded a computer warning to stop [hold? arrest?] him" when he re-entered the country.  Sloppy writing is a symptom of sloppy thinking. Better (but not great):

"A border inspector disregarded a computer warning and failed to hold for authorities an Atlanta lawyer infected with a dangerous strain of tuberculosis when the lawyer reentered the country."

I'm not a professional.  Professionals should do better.
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Linked by a number of people over the last couple of days, most recently by Insty, at which point something snapped.

Posted by: Old Grouch in The Press at 05:21:14 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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