On Friday the World Bank declared that the fight against Ebola is being “lost”. The POTUS appointed an Ebola “czar” with no medical or public health background. And the chief executive for the semi-Communist left-leaning, “Progressive”, multinational, corporate-style NGO and “anti-poverty aid agency” called Oxfam claimed that Ebola “could become the definitive humanitarian disaster of our generation” – while calling for more government resources to be devoted to the crisis, of course.

Nothing unexpected in any of that, really. On the contrary: all was very predictable.

So, what did our illustrious POTUS do yesterday? Yeah, you guessed it: he went golfing with some guy from ESPN.

I wish I could say that’s unexpected or not predicted. But with this POTUS? Um, no – not unexpected, and also very predictable.

I seem to remember at least one other major historical figure famously was accused of engaging in his preferred recreational activities during a major crisis. Even though the accusation may well be false – historical accounts differ on that point – history didn’t treat him all that well. The phrase “fiddle while Rome burns” is today synonymous with both “disconnected, uncaring leadership” and “dereliction of duty”.

Sound like anyone we know?

We all know about the West Africa Ebola outbreak that’s ravaging Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.  There’s also a smaller outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; that outbreak appears to be contained now, and is unrelated to and over 1000 miles away from the West Africa outbreak.

And yet, we’re not seeing massive spread of Ebola to other countries in Africa.  Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, and Guinea-Bisseau – all nations in the immediate vicinity of the West African Ebola outbreak – have no cases.  And the two nations that did initially record secondary spread, Senegal and Nigeria, have each contained their outbreaks and will be declared Ebola-free by WHO NLT Monday barring any new cases appearing there.

How did Senegal, a nation next to Guinea, end up with fewer Ebola cases than the US?  And how did the rest of Africa avoid the spread of Ebola from the West African outbreak so far?

Well, IMO here’s your answer – in “Powerpoint hell” bullet-point style:

 

• TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS

• BORDER CLOSURES

• LUCK

 

You see, in much of Africa they actually understand how deadly this Ebola crap can be.  So they treat it accordingly – like the deadly threat it is.  Governments there don’t worry about offending some group of “special little snowflakes” because they’re being “mean”.  They do what’s required to protect themselves.

And even then, they know they’ve been damn lucky so far.

What they don’t do is treat an Ebola outbreak like a pawn in a political game,  some humanitarian feelgood exercise, or something minor like the common cold.  Because Ebola freaking isn’t any of those.  It’s an incurable, relatively easily transmitted disease for which no vaccine exists that generally kills 50+% of those it infects.

The AP has a good story discussing how African nations next door to the outbreak (and elsewhere on the continent) have remained Ebola-free – or beaten it after it was introduced by travelers. It’s excellent reading.

You need to sit down and read that article, Mr. President.  And then you need to take it to heart – and direct the implementation of similar measures here in the US immediately.  Otherwise, well . . . .

 

Ya know, I’m getting kinda fed up with that     damnfool      spin doctor      propagandist      talking head     political hack      fine individual we have occupying the slot for CDC Director, Tom Frieden.  Yesterday, this      POTUS sycophant      tool      weasel      person implied, in a public statement to the press, that the second US healthcare worker to contract Ebola – Amber Wilson – had knowingly endangered the public.  His exact words during a conference call with the press were as follows:

“She should not have traveled on a commercial airline. The CDC guidance in this setting outlines the need for what is called controlled movement. That can include a charter plane, that can include a car, but it does not include public transport.”

In other words, he’s apparently trying to shift blame to Ms. Wilson for any issues that arise from her travel – and preemptively shift blame away from his agency.  Bluntly:  he’s blaming the victim and throwing her “under the bus” in an attempt to protect his and his agency’s reputations.

This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention.  Frieden did much the same with the first US Ebola victim, Nina Pham, blaming her exposure to the disease on some kind of “breach of protocol”.  That allegation was later shown to be, shall we say, highly questionable when information on just how poorly equipped and advised the nurses caring for Thomas Duncan were during the first few days of his hospitalization was made public.

In hindsight, all of what Friden says above might be technically true – but hindsight is always 20/20. And as the late Paul Harvey might have said, there is indeed a “rest of the story”.  That “rest of the story” paints a far different picture.

It turns out that Wilson – after discovering she had a temperature, but one lower than the level deemed the threshold for concern (100.4F) – in fact contacted CDC prior to flying. She advised them of the fact that she had a temperature, and that it was 99.5F.  Presumably she asked for guidance.

The CDC personnel she spoke with did not tell her not to fly. So she went ahead and flew home.

Hmm. So, in other words . . . CDC knew (1) Wilson was at high risk for Ebola exposure, (2) had developed a low-grade fever, and was (3) planning to fly that day.  But CDC personnel did not tell her to stay put.

Yeah, that really freaking makes sense.

Sounds to me as if the CDC Director is either dissembling here or he’s clueless as to what’s going on in his agency.  Or maybe both. Either way, his credibility – whatever was left of it after the Dallas debacle – has taken yet another major hit.

Oh, and the CDC has now notified Frontier Airlines that Ms. Wilson might have been symptomatic while flying home after all. Now ain’t that just “peachy-keen”?

Sheesh. It’s well past time for this tool to resign as CDC Director.  After the past few weeks, IMO his professional credibility is absolutely shot.  At this point I wouldn’t trust him to give me advice on how to treat constipation, much less direct the US national medical emergency response to a deadly disease.

Are you listening yet, Mr. President?

 

Both CNN and Fox News are reporting that a second heathcare worker at Dallas Presbyterian Hospital has contracted Ebola.  The individual was also among those who provided care to Thomas Duncan, the Liberian citizen who imported Ebola to this nation.

Other troubling allegations have been made by nurses at the hospital.  The  nurses claim that adequate protective gear was not available for the first 3 days of Duncan’s hospitalization.  They also say that training in how to care for Ebola patients was not mandatory, nor was clear guidance as to proper care protocols for Ebola sufferers provided.

The nurses’ claims were made public by National Nurses United – a nurses union – that does not represent the nurses at Dallas Presbyterian.  National Nurses United claims is not releasing the names of those individuals who are making these allegations, but do claim to have vetted their claims. They also allege that nurses at Dallas Presbyterian have been warned that speaking to the media would result in loss of employment.

Per the Fox News article, “CDC officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment” when asked about the nurses union’s allegations.  I can’t say that I’m surprised.  The CDC Director, Dr. Thomas Friedman, has rather famously and publicly claimed that any US hospital can properly treat Ebola cases.

Well, Dr. Friedman:  this incident rather strongly argues differently.   IMO it also calls into question just how well your agency is managing US preparedness for an Ebola outbreak in this country.  Indeed, at least some medical professionals are now of the opinion you should be replaced as CDC Director due to mismanagement of that effort.

Yeah, I’m guessing that wetness we feel on our legs about now isn’t rain.  Looks to me like we’re being fed a line of BS – yet again – by the      DC clown krewe in charge      current Administration’s senior officials.  Only this time, people are in real danger of dying because of the BS.

Moreover:  we still haven’t instituted mandatory quarantines for those arriving in the US from the Ebola outbreak area.  We also haven’t banned nonessential travel by US citizens and legal residents to the outbreak area.  And we apparently don’t intend to do so.

Hello?  Do you comprehend the reality – and the gravity – of the situation yet, Mr. President?  Dr. Friedman?