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

Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden

  • More Ebola Follies, Courtesy of the Clueless DC Clown Krewe and Others

    Here ya go. Try not to blow a gasket at the utter stupidity.

    • An idiot judge in Maine ruled against allowing the State of Maine to quarantine that Narcissistic Ditz and Special Little Snowflake of a nurse who recently returned from treating Ebola patients in West Africa.

    • At the same time, it’s been reported that Ditzy’s roommate in Africa appears to have contracted Ebola.

    • While in another example of Ditzy being Ditzy, that Narcissist Ditz and Special Little Snowflake nurse in Maine has now stated that she believes Ebola quarantines to be an “abundance of politics”.  (sigh)  You know, you’d think a nurse would know at least a little something about protecting the public from deadly and incurable diseases for which no vaccine exists.  Oh, wait – I forgot.  She’s “special”, so those measures simply don’t apply to her.  Her convenience is more important than protecting the public.

    • As I previously wrote here at TAH: a few days ago, CDC admitted that droplets from a sneeze could spread Ebola.  However, not long afterwards they abruptly did an about-face and replaced that admission on their web site with a “don’t worry, be happy” version downplaying that fact – apparently in order to hide politically inconvenient truth from the general public.

    (Don’t believe me? Look here for their original admission from 29 October – which has now vanished from their site. Look here for the watered-down version that replaced it, dated 1 November. The original version appears to have vanished from the CDC website sometime on or after 31 October, probably on 1 November  – but not before a copy was archived for posterity on 31 October. [smile]

    And please, libidiots: spare me those transparently bogus “The document was revised to make it more accurate” claims.  IMO that claim’s very obviously bullsh!t, and anyone with even two working brain cells can see it’s bullsh!t. It was revised because the original version was obviously written by someone who actually cares more about protecting the public than playing politics – and thus contradicted the Administration’s desired “fairy tale with a happy ending” story now found in the new version.)

    • However, at the same time WHO is recommending sneeze protection as appropriate for those around Ebola sufferers. You know, WHO has been directly managing the efforts to contain Ebola in West Africa for a while. Maybe they know a thing or two about how Ebola really spreads.  And they don’t seem interested in hiding the truth for political reasons, either.

    • Of course the WHO isn’t exactly the poster child for accuracy and transparency concerning the West African Ebola Outbreak, either. Last Friday (31 October), it revised the outbreak fatality and total case figures from Guinea substantially downward – due ostensibly to removal of “suspected cases” from the totals.  Total casualty figures for the outbreak are now set at 4,951 dead and 13,567 total cases to date – which are estimated to be only 40% of the true total.  Now, while WHO doesn’t have any real reason to exclude suspected cases, the government of Guinea – who reports the totals – certainly might have an agenda here (make it appear as if things are under control, and thus ease travel and trade restrictions). Given that, plus the known massive degree of under-reporting of Ebola cases to date during this outbreak, pardon me if I take that “removal of suspected cases” rationale for lowering the numbers with a HUGE grain of salt.  Figuratively speaking, of course.

    • FEMA also is currently conducting a pandemic exercise in NYC and northern NJ. Kinda makes one wonder, eh? Especially after that little incident with our “loose cannon” and self-appointed demigod doctor in NYC who apparently thought he was Superman – and found out the hard way he wasn’t.

    • CDC has reportedly announced its intent to procure PPE – and other items, including body bags – for use during the current Ebola outbreak. And the Pentagon is funding preclinical trials of Ebola vaccine produced by Protectus Biosciences.  These last two were noted on Infowars.com here and here, of course with the typical Infowars breathless, conspiracy-oriented spin. But even blind squirrels occasionally find a walnut. (I’ve chosen to link here to the actual source announcements first.  Look at the latter two links if you want to see Infowars’ conspiracy-theory-laden take on them.)

    • Remember those airport screenings the Administration said would protect us from importing Ebola without imposing a ban on travel to the US from the outbreak area? Studies of past similar efforts show exactly what many experts predicted before we even began the program:  they’re essentially worthless, “for show only” exercises when it comes to actually identifying people with latent infectious diseases having similar symptoms.  But “that’s our      story      policy and we’re sticking to it.”

    • Canada’s leaders have proved they’re not utterly naive PC fools. They’ve followed Australia’s lead and suspended entry to Canada for people who’d been in a nation with widespread Ebola outbreaks during the past 3 months. I guess Canadian leaders still realize that their first responsibility is to, you know, protect their own public first.  Maybe some folks in the current Administration should take notes. (Predictably, folks in Sierra Leone aren’t pleased, calling the decision “discriminatory”.  No, dipsticks – it’s called “erring on the side of caution”.  Everyone should be doing the same.)

    • Hell, even Emmental-Boi and Supreme Idiot ND:tBF and his moronic geriatric cronies in Norkland have the sense to know that you don’t take any chances whatsoever when it comes to Ebola. They’ve clamped down harder than Canada and Australia.

    • Spanish intel reportedly has intercepted Jihadist electronic talk about using Ebola as a weapon. Well, OK.  However, given what I’ve seen regarding the competence of the vast majority of those goat- and/or donkey-fornicating “geniuses” I don’t plan on losing any sleep over this.  Provided here FYI, since YMMV.

    • A major US nurses’ union apparently plans strikes to protest of the “lack of adequate protective gear” for nurses caring for Ebola patients. Well, that’s their stated reason. I suspect the real reason may be that the union in question is in the middle of acrimonious negotiations with Kaiser Permanente in California regarding a new contract, and that this stated rationale for striking is actually little more than a “timely justification of convenience” that the nurses’ union thinks will play well in the press.  But I could be wrong.

    • The aide group MSF says that the Sierra Leone Ebola outbreak is much worse than is being reported. Yeah?  OK, now tell us something we didn’t already know. Even if MSF has an obvious agenda and is a group of freaking idiots who clearly must have more money than they can use (they actually turned down a donation of funds worth roughly $2M from the Australian government a few weeks ago for political reasons), here they’re simply telling us something that anyone who’s been following this situation closely already knows all too well.

    And, lastly:

    • Models predict up to 130 US Ebola cases in US by end of year if current policies remain unchanged. That’s the high-end, worst-case estimate; the best case estimates say we should expect one or two more.  Reality will likely be somewhere between the two – but could theoretically be better or worse if we get really lucky or unlucky.  Since this strain of Ebola’s fatality rate seems to be around 70%, I guess that means the current Administration is OK with seeing 90 people or so in the US die a horrible, eminently preventable death for no other reason than order to show our “solidarity with the people of West Africa” (or some other such      old-style Marxist      manifestly idiotic      outdated Communist       naive but Politically Correct      One World Propaganda      starry-eyed, nebulous, feelgood sound-bite claptrap).

    Sheesh.  Looks to me like the late Robert A. Heinlein was a bit off in his estimated time-frame for the “Crazy Years”.  Obviously they’re still ongoing.

    A final parting thought for today.  A TAH reader asked me in a private email if I’d noticed what follows.  Yeah, I had; I though it was pretty damn obvious, so I haven’t mentioned it in any articles here to date. But maybe it’s not as obvious as I thought.

    It seems to me that the     clueless DC clown krewe      current Administration seems to be taking the position regarding the West African Ebola Outbreak that “it’s better to fight Ebola overseas so we don’t have to fight it here”.  Well, my leftist “brethren”, pray tell: why in the hell was fighting overseas rather than here in the US such a horrible idea when former President Bush adopted it as our strategy for fighting Islamic terrorism roughly a decade ago?

     . . .

    I guess that’s all for today.  Might want to check your trouser legs again, though.  The weather looks to be fairly clear here, so if your trousers are wet . . . .

     

    (Hat-tip to Drudge for bringing most of the above links to my attention.)

  • So . . . You Can’t Get Ebola from Someone On a Bus, Eh?

    NOTE: Article has been edited to reflect the apparent deliberate removal of the original version of the droplet spread factsheet from the CDC’s web site, as well as its replacement with a deliberately watered-down version downplaying the threat.

    Well, then why did the CDC publish this a few days ago?

    The first copy linked above was obtained two days ago – before it disappeared from CDC’s web site; you won’t find that document on their website today. Look here for the current watered-down “don’t worry, be happy” version from CDC – one that’s been “edited” to reflect the current      bogus, politically-based propaganda      Administration “party line”.

    Here’s what the pertinent section of the original document says (emphasis added):

     

    DROPLET SPREAD
    Droplet spread happens when droplets that are coughed or sneezed from a sick person splash the eyes, nose, or mouth of another person, or cause environmental contamination, like a soiled bathroom surface or handrails, from which another person can pick up the infectious material.
    A person might also get infected by touching a surface or object that has germs on it and then touching their eyes, mouth or nose.  Droplets generally travel shorter distances, less than about 6 feet from a source patient.
    Germs like plague, meningitis, and Ebola can be spread through large droplets.

     

    Now, that really makes you feel like the      DC clown krewe      current Administration is doing all it can to keep the US public safe from the possibility of an Ebola outbreak here, doesn’t it?  I mean, we’re just letting anyone who’s been to the “hot zone” run around and do what they please – and depending on them to let us know if/when they start “feeling sick”.  All we’re going to do monitor them is take their temperature a couple of times a day.

    No, that technically isn’t “airborne spread” – true airborne spread produces particles (wet or dry) containing virions that are smaller, small enough to stay suspended in the air for a protracted period of time. Those smaller particles are about 1 micron or less in diameter; droplets sprayed during a cough or sneeze are typically larger than that.

    But here’s the “kicker”: all it takes is one particle.  Since Ebola’s viral load necessary for infection seems to be around one, coming in contact with only droplet containing one Ebola virion means you could be in for a really bad few weeks – or the guest of honor at a funeral.

    It also means you’re  hardly perfectly safe standing near a coughing or sneezing person who’s symptomatic with Ebola.  Or sitting next to them (or in the seat in front of them) on a bus, for that matter.  Or handling a doorknob after they’ve sneezed into their hand.

    Further, sprayed droplets sometimes do travel farther than 6 feet. So I’m not really sure “on the other side of a 15-foot wide room” is safe if the individual is coughing or sneezing repeatedly and strongly, either.

    A few days ago, this info was readily available on the CDC’s 2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa page under either “What’s New” or with their other “Infographics” under the “West Africa Ebola Outbreak” icon.  I saw it, but I didn’t think much about it at the time; anyone who’s been following the situation should have already known that.

    But for some reason, the document is no longer prominently displayed on that page any more – though it’s still on the CDC site if you dig deep enough.  Follow the link and look for the item from October 31, 2014.

    No, I’m not the only one to notice this rather sudden change.  The New York Post noticed the original document a couple of days ago.   But today, it’s pretty well hidden – as the UK’s Daily Mail points out.  Indeed, per the Huffington Post the document seems to have become markedly harder to find the day after the NY Post ran its story about the CDC flier.

    Other previously-posted info on the CDC’s site about Ebola also seems to have re-written about that same time also.  The versions now posted appear to have been re-written to downplay the fact that Ebola can indeed be spread through droplet spray or via contaminated surfaces.

    You know, it seems to me almost like someone is intentionally misleading the public about the risks involved for political reasons. But this Administration would never do that, right? (Yes, that last sentence was sarcasm in the extreme.)

    Are you feeling like a mushroom yet?

    Yeah, you might want to check to see if your pants leg is wet – again.  And if it is . . . well, I don’t think that’s rain.

  • The new “Backdoor Draft”

    The new “Backdoor Draft”

    The New York Post writes that, with no fanfare from the media or from Democrats, or Republicans, for that matter, the President signed an Executive Order on October 16th which started a new “Stop/Loss” period.

    This news was not widely reported. But, for any veterans of the global war on terrorism reading this: No, this is not a joke.

    Yes, our military is still shrinking. Despite continued “non-combat” operations in Afghanistan, a renewed “advisory” mission against a “new” enemy in Iraq and even a mission to confront an infectious-disease crisis, the service chiefs are still obligated to continue downsizing the active force.

    Of course, both the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno have repeatedly testified on Capitol Hill that these cuts will leave the US military unable to respond should the need for another major operation arise.

    Even before getting handed the Ebola mission, Odierno warned of the high risk the nation faces.

    The text of the Executive Order, according to the White House website;

    Executive Order: Ordering the Selected Reserve and Certain Individual Ready Reserve Members of the Armed Forces to Active Duty

    EXECUTIVE ORDER

    – – – – – – –

    ORDERING THE SELECTED RESERVE AND CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL READY RESERVE MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES TO ACTIVE DUTY

    By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including sections 121 and 12304 of title 10, United States Code, I hereby determine that it is necessary to augment the active Armed Forces of the United States for the effective conduct of Operation United Assistance, which is providing support to civilian-led humanitarian assistance and consequence management support related to the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa. In furtherance of this operation, under the stated authority, I hereby authorize the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, under their respective jurisdictions, to order to active duty any units, and any individual members not assigned to a unit organized to serve as a unit of the Selected Reserve, or any member in the Individual Ready Reserve mobilization category and designated as essential under regulations prescribed by the Secretary concerned, and to terminate the service of those units and members ordered to active duty.

    This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

    BARACK OBAMA

    THE WHITE HOUSE,
    October 16, 2014.

    The EO 13680, was published in the Federal Register on October 23, 2014.

    Hollywood made movies about it when President Bush instituted Stop/Loss during the War Against Terror – the media and the leftists (I’m being redundant, I guess) called it a “Backdoor Draft”, but I don’t see that happening this time around.

  • CDC Moves the Ebola “Goalposts”

    Remember the original CDC guidance regarding Ebola? You know, no need to worry unless an exposed individual became symptomatic – and no recommended restrictions on their movement unless the person had a fever of 100.4F or higher? Those policies allowed the second US nurse who acquired Ebola in Dallas to travel halfway across the country while incubating (and, potentially, while in the early stages of being symptomatic).

    Well, apparently even the CDC can recognize being whacked in the face by reality.  They’ve now changed their tune much closer to what common sense says it should have been all along.  The CDC now recommends that anyone who is at “high risk” for Ebola exposure should “stay home” for 21 days.

    However, don’t start singing the “Hallelujah Chorus” just yet.  Under the new CDC guidelines, “stay home” doesn’t really mean “stay at home 24/7”.   Such individuals would indeed be allowed to leave their homes – to “jog in a public park”, for example – but would also be told to avoid “congregate gatherings” like sports events.

    Yeah, that last bit makes just no freaking sense at all.  Last time I checked public parks can get pretty damn crowded, especially in big cities.  People jogging in a crowded park sometimes bump into other people – while sweating profusely.  They also often drink from public water fountains while jogging or after they finish.  Sometimes they clear their throat and spit, too.

    I just can’t see how crowds at public parks differ substantially from other “congregate gatherings” like sports events.  Those at high risk should be told to stay home – period.

    Frankly, IMO the CDC simply hasn’t gone far enough here.  “Stay home” should be unconditional.

    And they’re IMO missing the boat in another way, too.  Depending on voluntary, unenforced quarantines . . . is problematic.  We’ve already seen multiple examples of people who knew they fell into the CDC’s “high risk” or “some risk” categories thumbing their nose at common sense (probably due to the “It can’t happen to me” mindset) and put others at risk by going out in public within 21 days of exposure.

    Depending on voluntary self-quarantine will work just as well as the following.  Put a cookie jar on a low table.  Tell your mischievous 5 year old to keep their hands off, since they’ll be having dinner in a hour.  Then leave them alone and unsupervised in the same room with that cookie jar for that hour.

    In other words:  without enforcement, home self-quarantine is just not going to work worth a damn.  People are people; everyone thinks, “It can’t happen to me” – until it does.  And all it will take is one idiot guessing wrong to cause a serious problem.

    The CDC has also moved the goalposts on how it defines Ebola exposure risk categories – and IMO, this time they’re moving them in the right direction.  Previously, spending an extended amount of time in close proximity to an Ebola sufferer without protective equipment was considered “low risk exposure”.  Now, it’s categorized as “some risk” – a new, higher-risk category. Spending a brief period of time in close proximity to an Ebola sufferer was previously not categorized as any type of exposure. Now it’s categorized as a “low-risk” exposure.

    Under the new guidelines, the CDC recommends local health authorities should make the call on whether or not to restrict movement of “some risk” exposure individuals.  The     whiny ditz and special little snowflake     recently returned nurse who was quarantined in New Jersey, then allowed to return to Maine falls into the “some risk” category under the new guidelines.

    Perhaps the Maine public health officials will show some backbone and continue to follow the New Jersey lead.  Unfortunately, until there’s an outbreak there I’m not holding my breath.

    Finally, in semi-related good news:  the kid hospitalized in NYC as a possible Ebola case had a negative initial test for the virus.  He’s still in isolation pending future follow-up testing.  If that future testing shows he’s not infected, he’ll be given the green light to go home.

  • The New Cold War in Moscow

    Remember back during the good old days, the Bush years, the media and the Democrats accused him of longing for the old Cold War with the Soviets when he planned to put a missile defense system in the New Europe? Well, I do. But, according to the US Embassy folks, the Cold War is back without any help from Mr Bush, according to ABC News;

    The number of incidents targeting American diplomats in Moscow has increased in recent years to levels not seen since the Cold War, officials said. Taken together, they paint an escalating pattern of intimidation and harassment that is believed to be led by Russia’s Federal Security Services (FSB), a successor to the Soviet KGB.

    The trend has alarmed officials back in Washington, who have complained about the treatment to Russian officials at the highest levels, including President Vladimir Putin.

    Officials said the level of harassment increased sharply this year as U.S.-Russia relations plunged to their lowest level in decades amid the Ukraine crisis.

    Maybe this administration can negotiate away the freedoms of the people of eastern Europe and volunteer our troops to build a wall of some sort, dividing Europe into zones of influence or something. That would put an end to all of this, maybe they could meet somewhere with Putin, Yalta perhaps, to decide how to divide up Europe.

  • Politico asks if Obama crowd is “Team of Bumblers”

    Politico asks if Obama crowd is “Team of Bumblers”

    Michael Hirsch at Politico asks if the Obama Administration is a “Team of Bumblers?” Specifically, Hirsch is wondering if Susan Rice and Chuck Hagel are having trouble communicating between the White House and the Pentagon in the opening days of the White House’s response to the ISIS crisis. His examination of the administration is too narrow. It’s not that just this group of Democrats is a bunch of bumblers, the whole ideology is bumbling.

    The Democrats are too shortsighted and too idealistic to be responsible for a whole country. They think that by saying “No more war”, the whole concept of war will end worldwide. They think that by extending unemployment benefits, somehow that will cure unemployment. Yes, there’s a surge in employment this year – but that’s because unemployment benefits ran out and people have to go to work.

    They think that they can treat the military like shit and recruitment and retention will remain constant, but now two years into it, they realize that it won’t. They think that by pulling all of the US troops from Iraq, there’d be no more war there. And here we are sending thousands of US troops back because al Qaeda and ISIS disagreed with their original contention.

    This administration decided that the focus of the Pentagon should be on the Pacific Rim, again, al Qaeda and ISIS disagreed that should be the focus – so now we have troops returning to Iraq and a new front has opened in Africa.

    They decided that withdrawing troops from Afghanistan would end the war there, too, but this year has been the most violent in that country for Afghanis than any prior year.

    Jimmy Carter decided that all war had ended, too. He screwed the shit out of the troops and then, in 1979, when Iran made hostages of the Embassy staff in Tehran and the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, Carter had to reinstate draft registration after his Republican predecessor, Nixon had done away with the draft and after Carter had given amnesty to the previous war’s draft dodgers and the military was dangerously understaffed.

    Democrats, for some reason, can’t see past the next election – that’s what the complete withdrawal from Iraq was all about, the 2012 presidential election. I remember in 1980, after screwing the troops’ pay for three years, Jimmy Carter gave us a 30% pay raise a month before the election hoping to reestablish his national security creds, but he was about three years, and one Desert One, too late.

    Now we have a Pentagon which focuses on “climate change”, sexual preferences of the troops, opening up the combat arms specialties to people who clearly can’t make the standard, and planning for war in a part of the world that really isn’t an immediate threat. They raided retired vets $770 million Tricare surplus while raising their healthcare costs.

    They are hurriedly trying to assemble a missile defense for eastern Europe after collapsing to Russian pressure just a few years ago.

    They gave an entire continent the impression that they would welcome an influx of illegal immigrants if they’d just get here – causing another humanitarian crisis. They’re currently telling the American people how it’s difficult to catch the Ebola virus, while cases are popping up all over the country.

    But, hey, they got their chance to prove how corrupted is their worldview and how inept they are at national security issues. Bumbling? I don’t think that term is strong enough.

  • Chuck Hagel’s big idea

    Chuck Hagel’s big idea

    Wayne sends us a link to Defense News in which they report that Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, had a big idea the other day – he could save the Army if they started a program for coastal defenses.

    In a speech to a military and industry audience that mostly shied away from program specifics, the secretary suggested the Army should try and “broaden its role by leveraging its current suite of long-range precision-guided missiles, rockets, artillery and air defense systems.”

    Hagel said these capabilities “would provide multiple benefits, such as hardening the defenses of US installations; enabling greater mobility of Navy Aegis destroyers and other joint force assets; and helping ensure the free flow of commerce.”

    He also insisted that “this concept is worthy of consideration going forward” and that “such a mission is not as foreign to the Army as it might seem — after the War of 1812, the Army was tasked with America’s coastal defense for over 100 years.”

    That makes complete sense since we’ve been invaded by sea so many times in our history. The Iranians almost sailed a warship to our shores recently, and who knows how soon ISIS will sail it’s Navy in our direction and cut off our commerce. And then there’s the Taliban which has made great strides in it’s swimming donkey bombs program recently.

    I guess they’ll be reopening Fort Monroe and it’s Coast Artillery School that the Army foolishly closed in 1946.

    With the Middle East in flames and the troubles in Africa, it only makes sense that we return to a 19th century strategy. Maybe they should dig a trench-works along the entire East Coast and put infantrymen with fixed bayonets every 5 meters or so.

    I know that this administration wants the wars to end in the Middle East and Africa, but why are they acting like the wars have already ended?

  • Administration Considers Quarantining Healthcare Workers Returning from Ebola Outbreak Area

    Well, it looks as if the      DC clown krewe     clueless fools and mendacious tools running the show     current Administration may finally be buying a clue, albeit a partial one.  It seems that they are now considering quarantining healthcare workers returning from the area of the West Africa outbreak area on return to the US.

    But of course, they’re only considering doing that if it can be done without “impeding whatsoever our ability to combat the epidemic in West Africa.”  Apparently they are under the bizarre impression that measures protecting the US from accidental importation of Ebola might somehow prevent our providing support to the effort to counter the West African Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

    Well, I”ll have to give them credit for finally buying a clue, even if only a partial one.  We should have been doing this for at least the past 3 months.

    Of course, we should also have been quarantining anyone else coming to the US from or after having spent time in that area, too.  But this would at least be a step in the right direction.

    But it bothers me that the current Administration still doesn’t really seem to “get it”.  Anyone with the common sense to pour p!ss out of a boot can see that there is absolutely no connection whatsoever between taking measures to protect the US homeland from accidental importation of the Ebola virus and providing US assistance to West Africa.  Claiming some connection between the two is at best stupid, illogical, and naive – and is at worst a deliberate falsehood.  And yet, the Administration seems to persist in making that connection.

    Why?  I dunno.  But, sadly, with this Administration I have to admit I can believe either being clueless or being deliberately mendacious is the reason.

    In any case, all I can say is – it’s about freaking time.  Now, with all due respect:  how about you get up off your immobile azz and actually direct some truly common-sense and effective actions here, Mr. President?  Order a quarantine of all returning healthcare workers who’ve spent time in West Africa – effective immediately.  And while you’re at it, extend that order to make that same quarantine apply to anyone else who’s coming to the US after spending time in the West African Ebola outbreak area, too.

    Yeah, right.  I’m not holding my breath.