The "Religious Right" Republican presidential candidate Gary Bauer was not beloved by liberals in the coastal states. Indeed, despite his hatred for Bauer, Seattle-based internet columnist Dan Savage met Bauer in Iowa during the 2000 presidential election to solicit his autograph. Why? Savage, having licked his pen beforehand, was trying to infect Bauer with the flu.

[Though Bauer himself avoided infection, Savage (who also licked coffee cups and doorknobs) may have infected several Republican campaign officials, who considering pressing assault charges after becoming ill.]

[In October, 2002, the Baylor All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth cancelled its free annual drive-through flu shot program. Why? Because in 2001, the program had caused major traffic jams and fistfights (caused by people cutting in line).]