Last week, columnist Jay Ambrose did a fine job swatting down the swine flu hysteria. The Wall Street Journal's Bret Stephens chipped in with the swine-flu hysteria contest winner a couple days ago:Of course the winner of the contest is Mr. Biden, since he lacks even the excuse of a self-interested motive. But standing right behind the vice president is a legion of heavily credentialed panic proliferators. These are the people whose terrifying forecasts you last heard during the avian flu panic of 2005 (deaths to date: 257, according to the World Health Organization) and the SARS panic of 2002-2003 (774 deaths). By contrast, garden-variety flus typically kill upwards of 30,000 Americans a year. You might also have a vague memory of … [Read more...]