Category: “Your Tax Dollars At Work”

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.

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.

Well, we now have another case of Ebola in America. And this time, our      DC clown krewe’s      Nero-esque imperial regime      illustrious current Administration’s policies – or lack thereof – are IMO directly to blame.

The case turned up in an an American doctor, identified as Craig Spencer, who returned from Guinea in West Africa about a week ago. He’d been working there with the NGO Médecins Sans Frontières, AKA Doctors Without Borders.

The individual reportedly began “feeling sluggish” on Tuesday. However, he nonetheless continued meeting with friends and was “out and about” until he developed more obvious symptoms on Wednesday of this week. He then began “self-quarantine” on Wednesday. Yesterday he went to the hospital with a high fever and nausea.  Preliminary testing last night indicates it is indeed Ebola.

Where is this new Ebola case, you ask? NYC. Yeah – THAT NYC. It’s only the largest metro area in the USA.

So, being a doctor, he was erring on the side of public safety, self-isolating since his return, to protect the public – just in case he was incubating the disease,  right? Um, well . . . here’s an account from local health officials concerning the guy’s activities this week:

City officials say Spencer acknowledged riding multiple subway lines and taking a cab to a Brooklyn bowling alley called “The Gutter” in the past week before he started showing symptoms. He also visited the High Line park and went on a three-mile jog.

The city’s health commissioner, Mary Bassett, said Spencer’s fiancé and two friends had been quarantined. The city has also been in contact with an Uber driver who drove Spencer, but said the two did not have direct contact.

According to a rough timeline provided by city officials, the doctor’s symptoms developed Wednesday, prompting him to isolate himself in his apartment.

Hmm. “Feeling sluggish” on Tuesday, but his “symptoms developed Wednesday”? That ain’t quite adding up, folks.

This new US Ebola outbreak is brought to courtesy of those clueless fools who put feeling good, political correctness, and not offending people ahead of protecting the public and their nation. At the risk of restating the truly obvious: had the current Administration taken the blindingly-obvious, common-sense measure of placing this man in mandatory 21-day isolation prior to or on returning from the USA from the Ebola outbreak area we wouldn’t be sweating another domestic Ebola outbreak today. But apparently we can’t do that; that might inconvenience someone or hurt their feelings.

Gee thanks, Mr. President. Are you “getting it” yet?

Hang on to your hats, folks – and if you’re so inclined, maybe pray. Because this ride could very easily turn bumpy as hell now.

It seems the POTUS wants us all to remember that. He reminded us of that again just this past Saturday.

Well, then, pray tell: why – at that recent Pentagon Ebola scare, which apparently thankfully turned out to be a false alarm – did authorities hunt down the bus after it departed? And why did they temporarily detain and quarantine the tour bus and its passengers? I mean, that all happened the day before the POTUS gave us the reminder.

Sheesh. Do I even need to check Accuweather to see if my leg is wet because it’s raining? Nah, I didn’t think so.

A few more news stories explaining why we should all certainly take the “don’t worry – we got this”      PC propaganda      idiocy      fairy tales      bullsh!t       pronouncements of the CDC and current Administration officials concerning Ebola at face value.

• Texas Presbyterian had a machine that could have diagnosed Ebola in as little as an hour. FDA guidelines wouldn’t let them use it.
• Another Dallas healthcare worker is “self-quarantining”.  On a cruise ship in the Caribbean. Seriously.
• Shockingly, Syracuse University is actually erring on the side of caution and public safety. Even if they may be overreacting – good for them.
• NYC 9/11 dispatchers have a new “banned word” on the radio – “Ebola”.
• Pat Buchannan – who’s often rather “out there” – is actually making sense.
• That “21-day” incubation period for Ebola?  Well, there’s now a study suggesting it might sometimes be longer.
• Public confidence in the CDC? It’s taken a major hit.
• Dallas healthcare workers who were possibly exposed required to stay home.
  • This now includes Dallas’ top epidemiologist.
• Remember the nurse who flew earlier this week with a low-grade fever?  She may have had symptoms earlier than first reported – like 3 or 4 days earlier.
• We now have an Ebola “czar”. He’s a partisan political operative with no public health or medical background.
  • Who was also involved in the Solyndra debacle.
• US troops deploying to “fight” Ebola in West Africa are indeed receiving training about the virus.  All of four hours’ worth.
• And in Africa, as of mid-September (latest date for which complete data exists) the outbreak was still growing exponentially in all 3 affected countries.

And, in a story that’s certainly guaranteed to make you feel “really happy and safe”:

• Want a reason to panic? Here are six.

I wouldn’t recommend anyone panic, but the last linked article is IMO a fair discussion of the “worst case” possibilities. It’s worth reading, even considering the source.  Because if the tools and fools calling the shots in DC don’t wake up and start taking effective measures – and a few things go wrong – the country could indeed end up in seriously deep sh!t.

Are you listening yet, Mr. President? You might want to – this has the potential to interrupt your weekly round(s) of golf!

Sheesh.