Geronimo was a well-known and legendary Apache warrior whose skills to walk quietly without leaving footsteps behind allowed him to successfully evade thousands of US and Mexican soldiers. Very much like the way Osama Bin Laden has avoided capture for the past ten years.

For the Native Americans, however, there is a very huge and important difference between the two: Geronimo was their hero who saved his people; Bin Laden is a terrorist who has killed thousands.

That is why for the Native Americans, the White House’s use of “Geronimo” as a code name for their plan to bring down Osama was insulting and a slap in their faces. It has angered a lot of tribal leaders and caused a huge commotion in social networking sites. Moreover, the tribal leader of Geronimo’s tribe demanded for a letter of apology from US President Barack Obama.

On the other hand, many Native Americans are not surprised with the linkage created between Bin Laden and Geronimo; they were insulted, yes, but not surprised. They also said that the code name is just an additional to their long and ugly history with the federal government.

Leon Curly, a Navajo, said that they have been oppressed for such a long time that it does not matter anymore. Curly added that the government does what they want whenever it pleases them and he expects the name calling to last for a very long time.

Jeff Houser, chairman of Geronimo’s tribe, said in his letter addressed to the US President that they understand that the use of Geronimo as a code name for their operations to bring down Bin Laden was done without malice, but the effect was just the same. He further discussed that it pains them for Geronimo, or any other Native American Figure, to be associated with a mass murderer such as Osama.

There are a couple of steps that can be taken to address this issue and it is expected to be discussed on the US Senate Indian Affairs Committee meeting.

There were more than 21,000 people affected with whooping cough last year, most of which were teens and children in the United States.

The total number of cases is the highest yet since 2005 and is among the worst years beyond half a century, U.S. health officials informed on Wednesday.

The health officials are truly baffled by the abrupt rise in cases, since whooping cough vaccines are very effective in children, and costs of vaccinating kids are reasonable.

Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease. It can also be lethal in rare cases, particularly with infants too young to be given the proper vaccination. The disease begins like a cold, but it can progress to severe coughing, which can last for several weeks.

Last year, the hardest-hit state appears to be California. Health officials in the state reported more than 8,300 cases, which includes 10 cases of infant deaths.

At least 26 deaths were reported nationwide, the CDC said at a vaccine advisory committee meeting on Wednesday. However, it is still a preliminary case count and it might end up being higher.

Health officials think that contagious teenagers are a dangerous threat to susceptible infants. Around 95 percent of children already have a minimum of three shots against the disease. However, the whooping cough vaccine for adults and adolescents was not approved until 2005. Thus, they have lower vaccination rates.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices suggest all adults who are around infants to get a whooping cough vaccine. The committee also voted on Wednesday to slightly modify the guidelines on vaccination to ascertain that all health care workers, including nurses, would get the vaccine against the disease.