This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Author: Hondo

  • Another Ebola Update

    Another few “good news” stories regarding the current Ebola outbreak.

    As they might say in Marburg:   Nun sind wir wirklich aufgeschmissen.

  • Yeah, This Is Gonna Work Just Freakin’ Great

    We all know now just how effective airport screening in West Africa for Ebola exposure really is.  We have an example in Dallas of just how well that works.

    Well, the US is going to “fix” that problem.  The      DC Clown Krewe running things      Administration has announced that the US will now screen passengers arriving from Guinea, Sierra Leone, and    Nigeria   Liberia at US airports.

    They’ll do this at 5 US airports, to be precise – JFK, Dulles, Newark, O’Hare, and Atlanta.  Because everyone knows people coming into the country from West Africa can’t possibly enter the US through other airports!

    They’ll be using DHS personnel to take the individual’s temperatures with “non-contact thermometers”.   Because of course, it’s impossible for someone arriving in the US to take a rather large dose of aspirin or ibuprofen to reduce a mild fever while on or before their flight.

    The DHS personnel will also ask those arriving from West Africa questions, which everyone arriving will answer 100% truthfully.  After all, no one trying to enter the US ever lies to Customs!

    They’ll also be on the lookout for “symptoms of illness”.  That will work perfectly too, as no on can possibly hide mild discomfort, fatigue, muscle pain, or a queasy stomach from someone watching them.

    And if anyone shows indicators, they’ll be referred to “the appropriate public health authority”.  Those who don’t show any indications of illness will be given information on “self monitoring” and asked to provide contact information.   Which of course everyone arriving will to truthfully and with 100% accuracy.

    Yeah, this is gonna work beautifully.  We’re saved!  Hallelujah!  All praise to “teh Won”!

     

    Sheesh.  These idiots couldn’t figure out how to wank their crank with an instruction manual and a demonstration.

  • Is Anyone Really Surprised?

    Remember the 2012 Secret Service prostitution incident in Columbia?  You know, that incident where of Secret Service personnel were later fired (or otherwise disciplined) for cavorting with prostitutes or related bad behavior?

    Remember that the White House at the time flatly and repeatedly denied any White House involvement?

    Do I really need to spell it out?  Turns out that senior White House aides were indeed apparently aware of the matter early on. And there are indications that a volunteer (but politically well-connected) member of the White House advance party may have indeed been involved.

    The Secret Service informed the White House Counsel at the time, Katherine Ruemmler, and other Presidential aides of what had happened.  Informed, as in provided them firsthand accounts and information from hotel records concerning what had happened and who appeared to be involved. She and other White House staff “conducted an internal review that did not identify any inappropriate behavior on the part of the White House advance team”.

    Interesting.  Then why did the DHS IG investigators working the case apparently come to a different conclusion?  And why did the lead DHS IG investigator assigned to investigate the incident, David Nieland, say he was directed by more senior DHS IG officials to delay the report of his investigation until after the 2012 Presidential election?  Ya know, for some reason I just don’t think that delay was ordered to ensure a more comprehensive, better investigation.

    Oh, and Nieland also says that he was directed

    “to withhold and alter certain information in the report of investigation because it was potentially embarrassing to the administration.”

    Curiously enough, it appears that the IG investigators believed that there was indeed possible involvement by at least one White House aide – but when they raised questions concerning this, they were put on administrative leave in apparent retaliation for doing so.  It’s also curious that the DHS Acting Inspector General, Charles K. Edwards, later “resigned amid allegations of misconduct stemming in part from the dispute”.

    The Washington Post has a damn good and longish article on this cover-up today.  It’s definitely worth reading to see the details.

    For some reason reading that article makes me think of a puddle of dirty Water by the Gate.  But maybe that’s just me.

    Bottom line:  it sure looks like this      DC Clown Krewe       Administration has been p!ssing on our leg and telling us it’s raining – yet again.   So what else is new?

  • Damn, I Can Hardly Believe It!

    Former President Carter: U.S. “Slow” In Preparing For Ebola

    He said that yesterday.  So that means that Jimmy the Clueless has been correct on a substantive issue twice!

    There’s your proof that a stopped clock really is right twice a day . . . .

  • Oh, This Is Rich . . . .

    Jimmy Carter: President Obama blew it on ISIL

    Carter should certainly recognize “blowing it” when he sees it.  After all, he fornicated Fido “by the numbers and repeatedly” in Iran between Jan 1977 and Dec 1980.

    Oh, well.  I guess even a stopped clock is right twice daily.

     

     

     

  • Pentagon: some troops deployed to Africa “will have to handle infected blood samples”

    Remember that       Administration feelgood exercise     military deployment to Africa to combat the Ebola outbreak? The one where the Administration first insisted that no troops would treat Ebola patients – even though uniformed USPHS Commissioned Corps personnel, who may be militarized by Presidential order, and who are also by law uniformed service personnel who qualify for VA benefits, PX/commissary privileges, and TRICARE, will be staffing one of the hospitals being built by US forces?

    Well, other than that part about PHS Commissioned Corps, I guess that’s technically true. But as is often the case with this      DC clown krewe     Administration, it’s not the full story.  Here, that initial statement was misleading as hell – IMO by design.

    It turns out that a number of uniformed military personnel deployed to West Africa will in fact be handling blood samples taken from Ebola patients in mobile testing labs.  A Pentagon spokesman, RADM John Kirby, has acknowledged that the risk involved is high, “if not more risk” than direct contact with Ebola patients.

    DoD has already set up 3 such mobile testing labs in West Africa. Four more have been requested.

    Of course, GEN David Rodriguez, US AFRICOM Commander, recently stated that containing the spread of Ebola “is a national security priority for President Obama”.  Presumably, that’s why we’re deploying forces to his AO.

    That statement is . . . interesting.

    I say that, because we currently haven’t imposed any quarantine requirements for people entering this country who’ve been in the area of the outbreak within Ebola’s known incubation period – and who may be asymptomatic carriers for up to 21 days after exposure. And we still haven’t imposed a ban on nonessential travel to the area by US citizens and legal residents.

    What’s it going to take for us to do that – someone bringing the virus here before they show symptoms? Oh, wait: that’s already happened in Dallas. I guess it will take substantially more than that to convince us to take this sh!t seriously.

    So pardon me for not exactly taking that “national security priority” statement at face value. If containing Ebola were truly a “priority”, we’d be imposing substantially stricter entry controls on travelers from the outbreak region than we do today.

  • An Ebola Outbreak Update

    A few links to news stories about the West Africa Ebola outbreak, courtesy of Drudge and other sources:

    And, finally:

    The last linked article also has a collection of other more recent news concerning the outbreak.  Most if not all of those links are not included above.

    IMO, Texas Governor Rick Perry has it right. We need to impose a mandatory quarantine on all persons entering the country who have been in Africa any time during the 21 days prior to entry into the US. And we need to ban nonessential travel to the nations of West Africa where the outbreak is still raging uncontained immediately.

  • Talk About Bad Timing

    Headline from the cover of the issue of Dallas Weekly magazine released on 25 September:

     “Taste of Africa Comes to Dallas”

    Seriously.

    Yeah, the timing on that one . . . kinda sucks.  They obviously didn’t have a working crystal ball.