Despite Stocks Cratering Donnie Bonespurs Continues To Try To Gaslight Reality- Putting Us All At Risk

"It's MY news turn! That virus is takin' away my blame the Dems an' fake news act! BWAHAHAA!"

"Whereas his supporters can be lied to and gaslighted, a virus cannot. A virus is going to do what a virus does. Viruses are not thinking and aware. Technically, they’re not even living things. They are like an army of androids, multiplying as they attack and infect living things. So none of the tricks that Trump has learned and deployed will work against this virus. Only science, honesty, prudence and genuine concern for public safety will work now."  Charles Blow, NY Times, 'You Can't Gaslight A Virus'

"This virus can't be bluffed or bullied and will soon become Mr. Trump's greatest adversary."     Walter Russell Mead, The Wall Street Journal, , 'Trump and the Pandemic', today, p. A15

"At a moment  citizens are turning to the government for facts and assurance,  Trump has been immersing himself  in grievances and feuds with Democrats and other perceived enemies."-  The Washington Post, today,  'Trump Struggles For Calm As Virus Spreads'

"This crisis has unhelmed and unmasked him. He’s incapable of leading. When it comes to Trump, truth, decency and self-possession have been in quarantine from the start.".  Jennifer Senior, NY Times, 'Trump Is Unfit For This Crisis, Period'. 

You just had to love it if you are a Trump hater: The Washington Post story Sunday of how the blustering 73 year -old brat baby occupying the White House was pitching fits because the coronavirus was knocking him off the news cycle.  "How dare that virus get more attention than me!"   Yeah, but see, sonny, you regard the media as fake news anyway so why the bawling?

Before that the clueless imbecile and dyspeptic buffoon had immortalized himself by way of a number of incidents embodying how chaotic his responses have been:

-  When visiting the CDC on Friday spent 45 minutes hurling epithets including that Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington- was a "snake"

-  Then quickly asking if his town hall on FOX News "got good ratings"

- Then bragging how every doctor at the CDC proclaimed how Doturd "knew so much"

- To which his answer was "Maybe I have a natural ability"

Uh yeah, to pull bullshit out of your ass and then toss it out for public consumption - even when you have to know it's shit

But the most crucial aspect is the number of testing kits, the current shortage of which is leaving us in the dark,  essentially "driving blind" as one health expert quoted on CBS put it yesterday morning.   Given the lack of such kits and appropriate testing, especially of vulnerable populations - like the uninsured- there is little doubt this snafu is allowing the virus to spread.

To fix ideas, even de facto virus "czar" Mike Pence has admitted it "could be a matter of weeks"  before test kits are widely available. In the interim the COVID-19 virus could spread not just to thousands but tens of thousands,  Already we know no less than five Reepo lawmakers  - who came into contact with a known carrier of the coronavirus.  Included in the contacts are Matt Gaetz of Florida and Doug Collins of Georgia who announced yesterday that they had begun two weeks of self-imposed isolation.  

Gaetz himself flew with Trump on Air Force One from Orlando to Washington on Monday and was informed en route that he had come into contact with a virus carrier at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland last month.  Meanwhile, Trump has falsely claimed the virus is “contained” in the United States and accused the media and Democrats of exaggerating the threat it poses, in an effort to make him a one turner.  The execrable maggot seems not to grasp he's doing that to himself.

As for his co-maggots at FAUX News (like Laura Ingraham) who claim this is all a "Left virus plot against the President" - they had better hope Dotard (given his age) doesn't come down with this and end up on a ventilator.   Then they will see just how much of a hoax or "fake news" COVID-19 really is.   See e.g.

• CPAC attendees insist COVID-19 is no big deal; freak out when it turns out they were exposed  

Apart from the clownish actions at CPAC and the downplaying tactics of Trump and his FOX tools, the most critical issue remains how they've screwed the pooch with the test kits.  Thanks to the Trumpies blowing it with the test kits (not having a Plan B ready in case the CDC flubbed it - as they did with an early version of the test) not every one who wants or needs a test can get it, That, btw, includes nurses and other health care workers on the front lines.  And more than one of these medical workers has made it known our hospitals are nowhere near ready to handle a mass influx of infected people - subsequently found to be positive for COVID-19.

In the midst of this is the orange fungal growth with a red MAGA cap, who believes he is the one who ought to be at the top of the news cycle, and only in a positive fashion  - because he's doing everything "perfectly".  Yeah, right, perfectly wrong. Including lying his fat orange ass off by claiming something everyone with an IQ over room temperature knows is flagrantly false, i.e.:

"Anyone who wants a test can get a test.. Anybody right now and yesterday, anybody that needs a test, they're there.  And the tests are beautiful."

Can anyone believe this maggot-ridden asswipe?   I mean, just after this spooge fest we heard governor after governor and doctor after doctor  state this was categorically untrue given all states are in dire need of test kits and testing.  This was echoed by Dr. Walter Mills - president of the California Academy of Family Physicians who   told The San Jose Mercury News:  “We have no local testing available,” 

And then Trump has the absolute temerity to squawk about the "Fake news and democrats" trying to bring him down, while his  FOX News acolytes acts as accessories after the fact. Now, I wouldn't believe this gaslighting POS pretender  if he called an emergency press conference tonight and said the COVID-19 vaccine will be ready in May.   The fact now is thanks to the Trump cabal's fumble on the test kits, there are nowhere near enough available for those who need them.  And without the test kits and strategic testing we can't know how widespread the virus is, or even its fatality rate.

But this so -called leader doesn't even recognize that you can't simply spout falsehoods about a critical test because you wish it were true, or you are trying to throw the media off its game.  Which is actually its duty to alert the American people - including Trump's zombie horde- of where we stand in confronting COVID-19.

What is Trump's game and why is he really so furious at the virus for making it impossible for him to control the news stream?  It is because he's being exposed as the shameless con man he is for trying to manage perceptions.   The dope came right out and spouted this regarding the cruise ship off San Francisco last week, where 21 had tested positive for the virus:

"I like the numbers being where they are.  I don't need to have the numbers double because of one ship.  But if they do take em off then the 240 will probably be a much higher number and the 11 too."

Confirming once and for all this two-legged cockroach is unfit to lead, hell even to scrub a toilet.  He I so wrapped up in his solipsistic world of ego and entitlement he can't even see the markets are giving him a total thumbs down as president.  With the 2,000 point dive yesterday it's clear they also aren't buying any of his codswallop.  Why would they, given he's shown he's not serious about dealing with the COVID-19 but rather trying to bullshit the populace on Main Street and the traders on Wall Street using daft promises and happy talk?

Meanwhile, Trump's Reeptardo minions are desperately trying to save his orange carcass by trotting out BS that won't make a dime's worth of difference, like "targeted tax cuts" - compliments of  senile Chuck Grassley.  Oh, and "payroll tax cuts" - which is the last thing we need given they will only hasten the insolvency of Social Security.  For reference, the average increase in weekly wages from such a cut is about $15:00, or chump change.  Simply not worth the blow to Social Security, so the House Dems ought to fight it tooth and nail.

Worse, none of these efforts will relieve the enormously leveraged markets, i.e. based on investors' using debt to purchase shares - say $1 of personal money for every $9 debt - to get a $10 share.  This is a house of cards ready to collapse. Thus, even if the markets buy into Trump's bloviations  and "fixes" it will do nada to relieve the debt pressures ready to explode.  And if anyone doesn't think the COVID-19 virus can't be the great unraveler they need to read the WSJ article 'Network Effects Multiply A Viral Outbreak'  (March 6, p. A 17).

What is actually needed, as any rational (even non-finance ) person can see are supply side (fiscal) aids such as: indefinite paid leave for all working families,  increased unemployment insurance for anyone laid off in the current economic doldrums - and as shutdowns continue,  free testing for COVID-19 for those lacking insurance, and free access to healthcare facilities for all those showing symptoms.   One also can argue for an increase in medical capacity in the event infections out pace the ability of existing hospitals to absorb them. These should all be proverbial 'no brainers'.

Stay tuned.  Thanks to Trump's incompetence we are not out of this by a long shot. If you do the (exponential ) math, as Chris Hayes showed last night, we could be looking at 1 million U.S. cases by early May, and 8 million by mid- June.

See also:

Coronavirus | Donald Trump

Here Are 13 Claims Trump Has Made about Coronavirus That Have Already Gone down in Flames

And:

Coronavirus | Donald Trump

Here Are 7 Ridiculous and Disturbing Moments from Trump’s Visit to the CDC

And:

 As the coronavirus burns, Trump scores a perfect Nero

And:

Trump returns from golf weekend to attack Democrats and media for 'inflaming' coronavirus worries

And:

Disaster preparedness expert on WH coronavirus response: 'Absolute gross amateur-hour incompetence'

And:

• Trump steaks, Trump Airlines, Trump University, Trump America: Failing to plan is planning to fail
  

Yes, Another Deadly Flu Season Is On Its Way - And Why The Last Was An Atrocity

The news that nearly 80,000 died of the flu last year ought to have citizens enraged. The further news (AARP Bulletin) that 12,163  citizens aged 65 and over died from the virus ought to have people even more enraged. Why? Because too little is being done to develop adequate flu vaccines to the task. While too many beat the drum of the rising DOW, too few are outraged by the pathetic condition of our infrastructure and the capacity to develop a more effective flu vaccine.

Yeah, I've heard over and over from the pundits and medical cognoscenti how the flu "mutates too fast year to year" to develop a good vaccine with more than 50 percent effectiveness. To which I say, 'Bullshit!'    Here's a first clue:  In late February, according to the AARP Bulletin, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) announced a major initiative to develop a new, more effective flu vaccine.

Such a so-called "universal flu vaccine" would protect people against all strains of flu instead of just a few and would be needed only once every few years instead of every year. But why has it taken so long to get to this point? Well, because we'd rather waste more money on tax cuts - cutting the government's revenue while increasing deficits - and going on military spending binges, than spending on flu vaccine research,

Weeks before the NIAID announcement, Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) called federal spending on new flu vaccines "simply not enough" and proposed $1 billion over five years for research.  Now, THAT is a serious proposal, not merely posturing.   But see, the (GOP-dominated) congress we have would much rather posture.  In March, for example,  this congress allocated a bare pittance - only $100 million for flu vaccine research -   for 2018-19.  This is a contemptuous joke.  For comparison, the U.S. pisses way $3 billion a month for the unwinnable "war" in Afghanistan.   If just one third of that wasted money had been applied toward Sen. Markey's proposal we'd have damned well had the universal flu vaccine by now.  (And please note, in the year before congress had allocated only $64 m according to the Bulletin, so I guess some would say that's an improvement.)

In its best years, the flu vaccine is 60 percent effective, meaning people who actually get a flu shot are 60 percent less likely to contract the disease than those who don't get the shot.  But lately that success level has been nowhere to be found. For example, as the Bulletin notes (p..33):

"The CDC projected in February that the 2017-18 vaccine was about 36 percent effective, meaning the people who got the shot were 36 percent less likely to get the flu."

But, as reported last night (NBC News), the actual effectiveness was even less, roughly 25 percent. 

The Bulletin goes on:

"The CDC has not assessed the 2018-19 vaccine, but a study by Rice University predicts that the flu vaccine will have the same reduced efficacy as the vaccines used in the previous two years."

For those 65 and older, the problem of the lower effectiveness is worse because their immune systems are inherently weaker owing to age. This makes seniors even less responsive to vaccines.  (For example, in 2012-13 the vaccine was only 11 percent effective for seniors while it was 49 percent effective for the overall population.)

On the positive side, there is now a high dose vaccine (Fluzone High-Dose)  available for those 65 and older. But the travesty here is many clinics and medical outlets have been slow to offer it because it is new and unfamiliar. According to Kathy Lofy, the state health officer in Washington, quoted in the AARP piece  (p. 35):

"We had been hearing after the high dose vaccine came out that a lot of clinics weren't even buying it. Some clinics were just deciding to stick with the standard low dose vaccine."

The reason offered? The vaccine was new and there wasn't enough data about it. Never mind, Janice and I go the high dose last year and we plan to get it again this year - in fact tomorrow.  (We had wanted to get the flu vaccine last week on a doctor's visit, but were informed the only option there was the standard vaccine.)

After getting the H3 N2 flu in 2014, neither wifey or I have any intention (IF we can help it) of being laid that low again.   There is every chance too that the H3N2 could emerge again this year and in even more virulent form.  The best advice for people? Get that flu shot irrespective of the vaccine's efficacy.  Some protection is better than none at all.

See also:

Brane Space: This H3 N2 Flu Season Could Be The Worst For U.S. …

Seriously? CDC Workers Forbidden To Use the Word "Fetus"?

As I've noted in previous posts, savvy citizens must be mindful of how language has been altered to achieve the manipulation of minds, not just "elimination of bias.".  Language debasement and alteration for the purpose of brainwashing, propagandizing or plain disinformation can assume either passive or active forms.

The passive form would entail subtly replacing more apt (but blunt) normal terms with euphemisms that don't convey the same impact. Many of these were outed in the excellent book, 'Collateral Language'.  Examples include:

"Enhanced interrogation" for torture

"Death tax" for estate tax.

"Passing" for death.

There is the more recent  use of "scandal" to replace conspiracy. Thus, we are now supposed to accept "the Watergate scandal" as opposed to Watergate conspiracy, and the "Iran-Contra scandal" as opposed to Iran-Contra conspiracy. The intention of the sanitizers is clearly to expunge the concept of political conspiracy from public consciousness.

Passive language intervention can also take the form of a "guide" distributed to entice people to change, often in a communal setting or university.  For example, back in 2015 comedian Bill Maher  cited a "bias free language guide" issued by the University of New Hampshire - ostensibly to entice students to take more care in their use of language - and strive for 'neutrality'.

Some of the examples Maher exposed:

Senior citizens to be replaced by "people of advanced age".

Poverty-stricken to be replaced by "experiencing poverty"

Obese,  replaced by "people of size"

Rich, to be replaced by "person of material wealth"

Foreigner is replaced by  "international person"

Tomboy is replaced by "gender non-conforming"

And so on. While one can object to this wishy washy tendency to speak and write indirectly, the more onerous form of language control - which is inevitably thought control- is active intervention, Generally, this assumes the form of dictates issued for words one is forbidden to use under pain of some kind of punishment. As two former Wehrmacht soldiers informed me in May, 1985, these language prohibitions were issued by the Minister of Propaganda and  violation carried sanctions ranging from boycott of business, loss of employment or minor violence (beatings) to being sent to one of the camps designated for uncooperative German citizens, (E.g Dachau).

Nazi language suppression was massive and didn't involve merely a few forbidden words. Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, took control of all forms of communication in 3rd Reich Germany: newspapers, magazines, books, public meetings, and rallies, art, music, movies, and radio. Viewpoints in any way threatening to Nazi beliefs or to the regime were censored or eliminated from all media.  For example, as Dieter - one of the Wehrmacht soldiers told me - a news editor who wrote in an editorial: "Jews are basically decent people" could end up in Dachau.

The objective of all such tactics has been clear since the era of PR originator Edward Bernays, who wrote:. 'Crystallizing Public Opinion'. As the title implies, the basic goal was to drumbeat the maximum number of 'the masses' into a homogeneous and consistent consent by limiting the extent of their language, and hence their thought. . But do it without their awareness. Careful use of language was the means to do this, including subtly altering the usual meaning of words.

Five years later came Bernays' definitive work 'Propaganda' - embodying those principles  which were later adopted wholesale by Josef Goebbels and Leni Reifenstahl. It was in this book that the master betrayed his intents - if ever there was any doubt before:

"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government, which is the true ruling power of our country."

This is why the dedicated citizen (not merely "consumer")  must always be aware of language use, given how it molds thought and perceptions.  Not surprisingly the modern use of language alteration has also seeped in, again to try to bend minds toward acceptance. Now the latest assault on language - which is also an assault on scientific thought - is the order received by he Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to avoid the use of all "forbidden words".  These words include: "fetus", "transgender", "vulnerable",  "entitlement", "diversity", "evidence based", and "science based".

Evidently, the list was revealed on Thursday in a 90 minute briefing with senior CDC officials who oversee the budget.

In some instances, the analysts were given alternative phrases. Instead of “science-based” or ­“evidence-based,” the suggested  extended phrase became:

 “CDC bases its recommendations on science in consideration with community standards and wishes,” 

What's the idea? Well, as the above phrase discloses,  science would take a back seat to the sensibilities of the particular community. 

Thus,  if the CDC were to discover a Zika outbreak near Phenix City, Alabama and it was known the "community standards" were solidly anti-abortion, the CDC would not be able to suggest abortion of the "fetus" even if scans showed microcephaly.  If CDC detected an STD outbreak in another part of the Bible Belt, take your pick, there would be limits on what they could recommend in terms of prevention, e.g. no mention of "condoms".  Where, what part of the Trumpie "empire", are these directives coming from? Well, from the Department of Health and Human Services.  In the words of one HHS spokesman, Matt Lloyd, his agency "will continue to use the best scientific evidence available to improve the health of all Americans".  Adding: "HHS also strongly encourages the use of outcome and evidence data in program evaluations and  budget decisions."   Translation: "It is up to us to decide if you really need another $300 million a year to fight Zika, or really need  to use condoms to fight STDs."

Indeed, if the italicized comment above is so, one is forced to scratch his head at the fact the HHS removed all information about LGBT Americans from its website. Instead, the HHS' Administration for Children and Families   archived a page   that gives alternative services available for LGBT people and their families.

Let's note here that the question of how to address such issues as sexual orientation, gender identity and abortion rights — all of which received significant visibility under the Obama administration — has surfaced repeatedly in federal agencies since Donnie Dotard took office. Several key departments — including HHS, as well as Justice, Education, and Housing and Urban Development — have deliberately mutated some federal policies and how they collect government information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.

At the CDC, the meeting about the banned terms was led by one Alison Kelly, a career civil servant and a senior leader in the agency’s Office of Financial Services.  This according to the CDC analyst, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to the WaPo,  because the person was not authorized to speak publicly. Kelly herself did not say why the words are being banned, according to the analyst, and told the group that she was merely relaying the information. The sentiment is that other parts of HHS are also operating under the same guidelines regarding the use of these banned words, the analyst said.

At the CDC, several offices have responsibility for work that uses some or all of of these terms. The National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention is working on ways to prevent HIV among transgender people and reduce health disparities. The CDC’s work on birth defects caused by the Zika virus includes research on the developing fetus.

The ban is supposedly related to the budget and supporting materials, but in reality is a blatant effort by the anti-science, anti-intellectual knuckle draggers to control the CDC agenda.  Given Dotard's budget for 2019 is expected to be released in early February, we can expect severe cuts to the CDC - among others.. The budget blueprint is generally shaped to reflect an administration’s priorities, and Dotard's gang - as seen with arsonist Pruitt at the EPA, is definitely not there to advance science.

What is most interesting has been the reaction of CDC employees in the meeting, all expressing degrees of incredulity.  These dedicated researchers,  epidemiologists and other workers simply could not believe they were being  hijacked by a 21st century version of Big Brother and his Newspeak from Orwell's "1984" novel.

“Incredulous,” one analyst said. “It was very much, ‘Are you serious? Are you kidding?’ ”  No one could recall anytime in recent history where actual banned words were enunciated.  According to the same CDC analyst:  "In my experience, we’ve never had any pushback from an ideological standpoint,”

Well, son, with Dotard and his dolts in power you can expect many more. And, if we ever do oust these hare-brained assholes, it will likely be years -  nay, decades- before we get the country out of the decline they've instigated.

See also:
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/david-swanson/76759/linguistic-devolution-and-ye-ol-resistance

CDC Trying To Get Male Teens Circumcised? Are They For Real?

Tools and procedure for infant circumcision. On one Penn & Teller 'BULLSHIT' episode the full procedure was shown with the infant given no anesthetic and screaming uncontrollably afterward. 

Seems the CDC has now stepped into the circumcision controversy advising teens to get the procedure done if the barbaric act wasn't perpetrated on them as an infant. On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines regarding the safety and benefits of circumcision. Wisely, the CDC didn’t actually instruct parents to get their sons snipped - after all, it's a personal decision that could be influenced by culture and religious beliefs. But,  the report makes it clear that it is a very good idea to do so, and urges teenage boys to elect to have the surgery if they have not already.  According to one CDC blowhard,  Jonathan Mermin:

"Male circumcision has been associated with a 50 to 60 percent reduction of H.I.V. transmission, as well as a reduction in sexually transmitted infections such as herpes, bacterial vaginosis and the human papilloma virus (H.P.V.), which causes penile and cervical cancer,” 


But hold strain. First, people that deludedly believe it's not barbaric need to see the Penn & Teller SHOWTIME ('Bullshit') episode ('Circumcision') in which an infant is shown strapped in restraints and then his foreskin sliced off by a Gomco clamp as he screams hysterically. Penn asks: "And you really think that kid doesn't feel pain?" (Implying that only an idiot wouldn't.)

But unsatisfied that sufficient American infants have been butchered for no good reason, the Medical-Industrial -Health complex now wants to take it to another level and get teens to agree to do it - oh yes, for the sake of hygiene, health and preventing STDs, of course.

Look, speaking as one who's never been 'cut' (my parents,  when they inquired from our then family physician Dr. Behnke, were told no anesthetic was given because "he won't feel a thing" - backed away) I dispute the procedure is the least bit useful or valid. But again, let's back up a tad.

If a mature, uncircumcised person is worried about "cleanliness" well - DOH! That's why soap and water were invented! If you're worried about STDs or HIV infection,  well hey, that's why condoms were invented. If you're worried about the HPV (human papilloma virus) that's why they now have HPV vaccines - including for teen males. But for some CDC numb skull to urge teens to go get it done on their own borders on medical malpractice.

First, as barbaric as this antiquated butchery is on infants, it's vastly worse on a grown kid or teen. Consideration first has to be given to the fact that the operation is now  much more involved and thus longer, often requiring general anaesthesia. That means you're chances of croaking are already 3 to 5 times greater, including from many kinds of adverse reactions. 

Then there is the risk of complications (generally seen in up to 5% of operations)  and approximately 10 times higher for circumcision in older boys and adults as compared to infants. The top risk is that of infection, and in a worst case scenario we are talking about flesh -eating bacteria - because of the use of unsterilized implements - and in extreme cases having to lop off part or all of the penis to prevent the necrotizing bacterial spread.

Depending on the extent and degree of infection, the young adult may also face a future of prostatis and urinary problems. If the penis is badly infected and urination proves problematic he may need to be catheterized with a Foley catheter - possibly for weeks. (And having had that for only a few hours during prostate cancer treatment - believe me it's no fun.)

In addition to the above serious issues, healing is a lot slower - since stitches or adhesives are needed, and the person will probably be laid up 4 -6 weeks. And btw, those are 4- 6 weeks during which you absolutely will not be able to wank off! Do not even think of it.

Oh, and we won't even get into the costs which can easily run over $1,000 and there's no assurance that even Obamacare will foot the bill.

Some misguided women often try to pressure their mates to get it done because "it looks more beautiful after". Which is arrant bull pockey.  How can "it look more beautiful"  if nature's own organ has been lopped off? Does a woman look more beautiful after a clitorodectomy? I think not!. These are the mouthings of poppets brainwashed by the Medical -Industrial complex and its surgical instrument manufacturers. If these bozos had their way every manjack would be getting some kind of surgery at least twice per year. It's a "growth" sector!

If the CDC wants to be useful, instead of advising teens and others to get circumcised  it should work harder to develop more effective flu vaccines. The news this morning - that the current flu vaccines are only 50% effective - is not designed to inspire much confidence. (The excuse is 'the virus mutated', well doh, we know that happens - so why not do better advance research to have foreseen that and tweak the vaccine?) Oh, and let's not forget all the CDC foul ups during the Ebola scare-- and leaving deadly viruses like smallpox and anthrax in cardboard boxes in various locations.

Bottom line here: Circumcision is an antiquated RELIGIOUS practice (by Jews and Muslims) that has no place in the modern world of rational, secular society. It is only advised under the rarest of conditions and certainly not as a general Rx for STDs, HPV, cancer or any other red herring reason.

The Essential Kit Every Air Traveler Needs To Have --- NOW

After two nurses as Texas Health Presbyterian  Hospital in Big D have now been infected with Ebola - as tests show- and nurses from that hospital have reportedly  told a National Nurses Union no protocols were place, the protective wear was "generic" and further,  the patient (Thomas Eric Duncan) was left in a public access area for hours - it is time for people  (at least airline passengers) to take their safety into their own hands. It is clear to this observer that your standard hospitals aren't ready, and worse we can't even be sure of airline flights now, as the most recent RN infected-  Amber Joy Vinson - was actually told she could get on a plane to Cleveland by the CDC, despite having attended to Duncan) and having a fever of 99.5F. (As MSNBC's Chris Hayes' observed last night, he's having a harder and harder time defending the CDC to his friends, as well as opponents, given their spate of lapses.)

Ok, the fever was below the threshold (100.4 F) the CDC had set, BUT the RN had cared for him. As CDC Honcho Thomas Frieden noted, under no circumstances should she have been flying any commercial airline flights. The immediate return flight to Dallas - when she actually had manifest symptoms - put 132 fellow passengers at risk - not to mention the hundred on the five additional flights made from Cleveland to Ft. Lauderdale, Atlanta, etc. before finally being "deep cleaned" by CDC standards back in Cleveland.

So what's an airline passenger to do? Take a clean up kit along when you board a plane, that's what! We have found that since we have been doing this regularly this year (on 3 flights en route to Barbados and 3 back to COS, then 3 flights en route to Switzerland and 3 back) we have not become ill - for the first time in years.

What is this kit? It includes a box of vinyl (non-latex) gloves - like surgical gloves, and a box of Chlorox wipes. As we find our way to our seats the first thing done is to don gloves, then remove the wipes and wipe down all seat surfaces, arm rests, tray tables (especially)  the whole works. Yes, some people will look at you as if you're a hypochondriac - or maybe from Mars - but I warrant not so much now after we know Ebola traveled with Ms. Vinson to Cleveland and back.  Now, I will bet they're thinking: "Hmmmm....why didn't we think of this sooner!" (Especially now that Frieden has admitted the virus can survive on surfaces - even when the spittle or barf has dried - for up to 7 hours, oh and they have now upped the fatality rate to 70% from 50%)

By the way, we leave all the magazines and the safety instruction plastic cards in the seat pockets alone, They are now known to contain the highest percentage of virus (and one drop of Ebola blood had 10 billion virus particles compared to 1 million for HIV) and are difficult to clean. If you want magazines, bring your own  - and look at the attendant when she delivers the safety spiel - forget about the card. (In any case, any experienced air traveler should already know where the exits are, etc. and how to handle an oxygen mask, use the seat bottom for life preserver, etc.)

The deal here is to make to use the same cleaning protocol on each leg, and if a guy in the next aisle howls with laughter and mocks the extraordinary precautions, just chirp: "Well, at least we won't get Ebola!"   

All this is now what we must do because it's evident our Neolib gov't has no plans at all to halt flights fro the hot zone. We keep being told that doing that "this will not stop the spread of the disease"  - but I feel it's more a case that "doing it will cause the stock market to crash" as we almost saw yesterday (400+ point drop during the day - from airline stocks diving)

And, clearly, the greatest fear of Neoliberals is not 50 people a day getting Ebola in the U.S. but the DOW crashing by 500 pts, because of bans on unnecessary air travel from the region.

Oh, there are also memes circulating, as I beheld in today's Denver Post, that "human rights" may clash with health security if travel bans are mandated. Excuse me? Traveling cross-continent  or trans-Atlantic by plane is NOT a right. It is a privilege. Having clean water and decent health care should be rights, but not traveling wherever the hell you want - because you think you need a vacation or whatever.

It's no wonder we're in somewhat of a mess when people can't distinguish true rights from privileges. But that has been the tenor the past 25 or 30 years as Neoliberalism has eviscerated the memetic landscape - so why be surprised?

All those who plan air travel anytime soon, especially for the holidays, would be well-advised to take along the wipe kit suggested. And, btw, it's good not just for Ebola but for the new Enterovirus-68 and the flu too!

The Harsh Truth: Too Many U.S. Hospitals Unprepared to Deal With Ebola

Most U.S. Hospitals lack positive pressure suits, or don't know how best to use them especially in disposing of fluid waste.

Contrary to the PR piffle we’ve been fed the past two weeks, it now is clear U.S. hospitals have not been prepared to deal with the emergence of Ebola in the U.S. In fact, had it not been for the incident in Dallas with Thomas Eric Duncan, we’d likely never have learned how pathetically unprepared our hospitals are. All this after the brainiacs at the CDC have been assuring us that ‘oh yes, we are prepared to meet any challenge’.

Let me make it clear that I’ve always detested PR, or public relations. I believe it cripples a country and makes it believe it’s pursuing truth and objective reality when in fact it is encouraging rampant delusion. But the lack of reality and appreciation of it is exactly what can bring a nation down because it obscures the search for real solutions to its problems. The primary fear then is not so much ISIS, or even Ebola, but the uniform incapacity to accept and deal with reality! After all, it was author Chris Hedges in his ‘Empire of Illusion’ who observed that a nation that does not deal with reality will end up in the dustbin of history for all intents.

Let’s take the case of the codswallop we’ve been fed by the CDC about U.S. hospital preparedness for an Ebola outbreak. First, I never bought into this bunkum. Probably because I 've been well aware how far behind the curve most American hospitals and medical centers are,  especially in terms of medical mistakes – basic ones! Look no further than the recent death of Joan Rivers, which as Dr. Mehmet Oz reported on one of his recent shows (Sept. 19th), was due to carelessness and lack of accountability during a basic outpatient procedure called an endoscopy.

This is a procedure I also had some four years ago. It entails introducing an endoscope down the patient’s throat to examine it for any evidence of lesions or cancerous growths. In my case none were found but in Rivers’ case a small tumor was observed on the vocal cords.  At that point Rivers’ own physician – a non-specialist who had no business even being there -  proceeded to take a biopsy and created a critical situation..

As Oz noted, the problem with this was twofold: 1) Rivers signed NO consent form to allow a biopsy to be done at the same time, and 2) when a biopsy is performed on the vocal cords a breathing tube  must have already been inserted into the airway before the procedure because – if not- the excision will cause the cords to swell up and block the throat – preventing air from getting in. This is exactly what happened with Rivers but few people are aware of it.  Thus, the idiot dr. that performed this on the fly, and despite no consent form,  caused Rivers’ passageway to be blocked and an inability to breathe. She went into a coma even as they tried desperate measures to revive her but it was already too late.

It is geniuses like this on whom we are supposed to rely in the case of an Ebola outbreak  - when the most direct and serious solution would be to prevent all non-essential passengers from traveling to the U.S. from the Ebola-affected regions. But oh no, our Neoliberal government, the State Dept. and CDC doesn’t want to send any negative signals out regarding free trade and free travel!  Denver Post Op-Ed columnist Michael S. Woodson wrote yesterday (Perspective, p. 1D, 'U.S. Has Left Itself Open to Ebola Outbreak'):

 

"A plethora of journalists and the government have emphasized the fact that Ebola is not as contagious as flu viruses to mute justifiable outrage at their policy for leaving such a wide preventable loophole."

 

What loophole?  Allowing non-essential passenger travel from the West African Ebola outbreak zone  to the U.S. "inviting the uncontrolled exposure of Americans to the Ebola virus." As he also emphasized, Ebola has already been classified by the CDC "as a Class A, bio-terrorism agent". Some have even speculated that ISIS might use Ebola infected pawns to spread the virus - but as Woodson notes:

 

"A natural versus weaponized Ebola is a distinction without much difference".

 

In other words,  we ought to treat all those leaving  the hot zone for whatever reason (including 'holiday')  as possible carriers of the virus.  That means shutting down all non-essential air traffic from the West African hot zone - lest we make the U.S. another hot zone. In Woodson's words:

"All non-essential, untraced passenger travel from the Ebola outbreak zone should be banned. All essential relief travel must be screened, and livable, isolated  staging areas set up by the CDC and Department of Homeland Security to observe U.S. entrants until after the incubation period for the Ebola virus has passed."

Clearly, Woodson - like me - doesn't trust the medical infrastructure to do the job to keep us safe. And why the hell should we?

As reported in Saturday’s Denver Post (p.1A, p. 8A) after the Duncan Dallas episode, a CDC official affirmed that “many hospitals remain confused about how they are supposed to react when a suspected patient shows up.”

Seriously?  I thought they all had it covered given the info has been circulating, according to the CDC, since June. I thought from what the assorted CDC honchos have been yapping about on the morning and evening news we were all safe since every hospital in the land knew exactly how to screen for the disease and had the wherewithal – including isolation wards – ready. Turns out it was all bull shit.

The Post piece went on (p. 8A):

“The agency sent additional guidance to health care facilities this week, as it has numerous times in recent months, on everything from training personnel to spotting the symptoms of Ebola to using protective gear.”

The article goes on to state that Emory University Hospital (which treated the two American medical volunteers)  has already provided advice to dozens of hospitals, “many of which are struggling with a lack of awareness about safety protocols and fear among workers who feel ill –prepared.”

Oh really? Well, then imagine what the public must feel as all the truth comes out in bits and pieces that our illustrious medical- industrial establishment wasn’t really prepared after all. We are continually told there is no reason to panic and we must not panic, and yet these people have given us no reason not to. They have literally played the fool!

The Post confirmed that the usual PR is still afoot as it noted:

“At the White House on Friday, federal officials sought to reassure the public that the nation’s health care system was well equipped to treat the virus and stop it from spreading.”

 

But pardon me if I don’t buy it. The Dallas case shows this is a PR myth, promoted for expedience so the gov’t can continue to cover its hide while it allows unlimited plane traffic from the affected areas – to appease the airline industry and Neoliberal market capitalists. 

You think these capitalist money grubbers really care about you or your family's welfare? Think again!  They are all about business and profits and that is ALL they care about! They don't want to kill the golden goose never mind that goose may be a Trojan horse for Ebola. Woodson also cites (p. 6D) a White House Fact Sheet that admits more concern for disrupting West African trade than for U.S. health security. He quotes it reading as follows:

 

"The State Department also has encouraged airlines operating in the region to maintain or reinstate service while ensuring appropriate precautions.  CDC is assisting with exit screening and communications efforts in West Africa to prevent sick passengers from boarding planes. It has also issued interim guidance about Ebola virus infection for airline flight crews, cleaning personnel and cargo personnel."

 

In other words, go all out to keep those planes flying - take all conceivable precautions -  but halting them isn't on the table.  Woodson goes on NOTE:

 

"The White House and State Department  argue that flight bans hurt international efforts  to combat the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. However, they fail to distinguish between controlled, essential travel for relief and stability operations versus non-essential travel to the United States."

 

He has a point.

 

Further, the admission by numerous hospitals that they aren’t prepared and they’ve had to pick the brains of those at Emory (and now likely Texas Presbyterian too) isn’t designed to instill confidence.  That the feds can remotely make the specious claim the “nation’s health care system is well equipped” to deal with Ebola is ludicrous and they must think we’re stupid or not paying attention. Maybe they believe we’re more entranced by “Survivor” or “Amazing Race” among other diversions, like shopping for the latest tech gizmo.

According to Craig deAtley, administrator of the D.C. Emergency Healthcare Coalition, the Dallas case is now prompting health care institutions across the nation to look at their individual abilities to respond.

“Facilities might not realize, for example, how much practical planning goes into training and staffing personnel, configuring isolation rooms, and determining what to do with dirty bedsheets and other waste”,  according to deAtley.

Well the fact that “dozens” of hospitals have had to call up Emory for guidance shows there’s  no “might not” about it – they really don’t know what to do! Ok, let me rephrase that: they didn’t know what to do before they called, and there may be hundreds more that haven’t found out yet. (Maybe they will phone in for guidance after another infected Liberian arrives - say in Tampa - and this time with full blown symptoms. And btw, the case yesterday of a sick Liberian arriving at Newark Airport  - but found not to have Ebola - ought to be another shot over our bow to take action!)

Oh and here’s the real butt kicker (ibid.):

“CDC officials acknowledged that widespread hospital awareness didn’t kick in until the Dallas case.”

Right, so we have had to wait until a possible full scale outbreak before our great medical establishment and health care system had all its ducks in a row. Criminy!  And  we're supposed to believe it's now "kicked in"? I doubt it.

More comforting words from Abigail Tumpey, a CDC spokeswoman:

“We let our guard down a little bit”

Yuh think?

Keep watching as this saga unfolds, and mind whether action is finally taken to halt all non-essential flights from the hot zone if an outbreak begins in Big D!  If nothing happens, you will know the Neoliberal state places its own welfare over yours!
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10/7  Footnote: Supporting my contentions, on CBS this morning is the news of a Sept. 24 Nurse's protest in Las Vegas, with the RNs marching to show their fear that their hospitals are not ready for Ebola. Also, of more than 1500 nurses that responded to an online survey nearly 80 percent said that their "hospital has not communicated to them any policy regarding admission of patients infected by Ebola."   Another Nurse from San Francisco interviewed by John Blackman affirmed her hospital had none of the positive pressure suits she herself had seen on TV.

Then a clip of CDC Honcho Thomas Friedan was shown claiming he wanted health workers to be "scared". He wants them to have a healthy respect for the consequences of any lapse". Fine, Maestro, but then make sure the hospitals are all provided with the wherewithal needed, and until then stop the PR.

"We Have It Under Control!" - BUT Ebola Patient's Contacts Now Reach 100

Researcher working with Ebola using a BSL-4 positive pressure suit

Murphy's Laws:

1)  "If anything can go wrong it will"

2)  "If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong"

3) "If anything just cannot go wrong, it will anyway."

4) "If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which something can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way, unprepared for, will promptly develop"

5)  "If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something."

6) "Mother nature is a bitch". (Addendum: "And not an obedient one at that")

Nora O'Donnell, on CBS Early Show, for once got all her 'ducks in a row' on an issue and forthright asked Dr. John La Pook: "We know they're casting a wide net but should we be concerned about this uneven response ( in Dallas)?" She was referring to the contact net now extending from Ebola  patient zero (Thomas Eric Duncan)  to 100 from the original eighteen - more than a five fold increase. The goodly doc responded:

"I think we should be concerned because there's been a huge difference between the theory and the practice.  We were told we had a robust health care system and that is true. We're not Africa. That is true. When somebody comes here they should be identified quickly, put into isolation and quarantined so things should be controlled. That didn't happen here.

The person came in. Guy said he was from Liberia. Info put into electronic records which had problems. Say, how about walking down the hall and saying 'Hey, we have a guy here from Africa who says he has symptoms.' So we need to have redundancy of systems."

Yet we didn't even see such "redundancy" when the U.S. was seeing 98,000 deaths each year (now down to 75,000) from medical errors, including failure to take proper precautions before handling surgery patients - leading to a mass of infections including MRSA and c. diff.  SO the blabber about having a "robust health care system" is just that - and only valid if we compare our system to what's on offer in Africa or China. The Europeans, meanwhile, are light years ahead of us in redundant practices.

So yeah, the difference is between theory and practice - which at times can amount to a gulf in our system. As with this recent case of the hospital dropping the ball the first time Duncan appeared with marginal symptoms, but sending him  home with antibiotics to make more contacts for three extra days.  So the truth is that what we've been fed about the system "working" is patent balderdash, designed more to prevent panic than actually deal with this emerging problem.

The fact there was a breakdown, and a significant one for a disease that's fatal 50-60 percent of the time is worth noting. Also, that United Airlines has taken to now trying to notify all its 250 passengers who've been on two planes with Duncan to watch for symptoms. Why? What are these PR soft soap liars not telling us?  Also,  how can they justify their continued bollocks of "having it all under control" when we've already seen a major breakdown that allowed the Ebola infected patient back onto the Dallas streets?

Worse than that, it now appears Duncan lied on his health declaration before leaving Liberia  - regarding not having any contact with an Ebola patient. As was shown last night, when Dr. Richard Besser on ABC News retraced all his steps, including carrying the vomiting woman into the JFK Hospital-Care Center, he sure as hell knew he had contact with Ebola (it wasn't 'morning sickness') and he outright lied about it. Again, showing that we now need draconian travel measures in place little different from screening terrorists and putting them on 'no fly/' lists.

Let's also note that  the threshold for "symptoms" is not a fixed target. They don't necessarily mean observable diarrhea and vomiting or bleeding profusely. In fact, not so observable nausea may well be the first symptom and before the person vomits once,  his or her perspiration may already carry the virus - as even La Pook admitted. Thus, a mere handshake with another person who has a small cut could spread the virus. Why do you think those research workers shown are wearing positive pressure suits?

The soft soaping of this really knows no bounds and is deplorable. It's as if these PR- obsessed schmucks simply don't know how to level with the people. (But then given our society is mostly based on PR this is understandable) Then there was Libertarian John Stossel the other night arguing that no - under no circumstances -  should we even think of 'no fly' lists for Africans traveling from the affected nations. Stossel actually said: "Do we stop people coming in from countries with Mad Cow disease? Or do we stop people traveling when the flu is spreading and that kills 3 million a year."

Ok, you dumb shit, first Mad Cow is an "elected"  disease - meaning one gets it by eating beef  - which is infected.   If you decline to eat beef, you won't be. As for flu, the yearly mortality is more like 1 million and that's unusual. Typically it's less. Also the fatality rate for typical flu and even past pandemics is extremely low relative to Ebola. For example, Hong Kong flu which I got in 1968 had a fatality rate of 0,1 %.  Even the horrific Spanish Flu was at barely 2.5 %. Ebola is at 50-60 percent so there is no comparison. In addition, we DO have flu vaccines, we have zilch for Ebola other than one exotic treatment used twice in Atlanta.

True,  it's only "spread by contact",  but  you can drive a metaphorical Mack truck through that escape clause. As another M.D. ( Dr. David Agus,) noted this morning on CBS:

"The disease only spreads when you're symptomatic, but what about an hour before you're  symptomatic?  What about a day before you're symptomatic? The truth is, we just don't know."

It  is precisely within this gray zone of variability that the greatest danger lurks and errors are most probable. And anyone who dismisses that danger is an idiot. Agus, reinforcing this, also pointed out that while the average incubation period is 8-10 days for Ebola it can be as few as two days and as long as 21 days - which is why armed guards are now at the entrance of Duncan's apt. preventing four close family members from leaving.

Now, if we only had the gumption and wherewithal to stop those in the affected nations from heading for the U.S. (Especially if they are prepared to lie about their Ebola contacts). And if you believe this is carrying things too far, I want you to think again about what's going on with this ONE patient in Dallas. This one guy has now created a 'web'  of  100 contacts to keep health specialists working overtime,   and each of their contacts may have to be investigated if another case emerges. The total cost already is estimated at between $1 million and $10 million. Imagine then if four more infected Liberians turn up in Nashville, Milwaukee, Tampa and Tucson. Imagine all that and the increased levels of quarantine and protection needed.

La Pook said this morning:

"Yeah, we're seeing a lot of panic out there. People are saying 'why should we believe the CDC they're always lying to us."

But that misses the point. It's not the lies as much as the blunders - such as having smallpox, Avian flu, Anthrax and other nasties hanging around in cardboard boxes at facilities. THAT is what many of us are concerned about, so that the CDC's past errors have really only forced us to question whether the 'experts' are getting it right now.

Read each of Murphy's laws again, then think about them. Carefully! Especially the last, recognizing that already in Africa , Ebola is manifesting 'Mother Nature's' fury at its most extreme and is spinning out of control - exceeding all medical efforts to contain it. Then ask if it is truly a good idea, irrespective of any notions of promoting "free trade" and "free travel" not to be imposing serious travel restrictions NOW here in the USA   -as other nations are doing.

This isn't being xenophobic, it's being rational - especially given the critical medical breakdown that's already happened in Dallas and the dishonesty of Duncan in completing his health forms before departing Monrovia.

Apart from all this, WHY aren't more Americans  outraged at these inexcusable  lapses in our health system? See, for example:

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/ted-rall/58739/ebola-is-here-in-america-why-arent-we-angry

Ebola Arrives in Dallas: Why The U.S. Needs To Get Serious About It

The news that a patient at a Dallas hospital tested positive for Ebola ought to alarm people enough, but the further news that he'd been carrying the disease around with him for 7 days before becoming symptomatic enough to show up at a hospital ought to scare people even more. And also, that most of this time he spent with his family members (he'd apparently just arrived in Dallas from Liberia and had shown no signs or symptoms on the plane - or so we've been told.).

The CDC said the patient had come to Texas "to visit family" and they confirmed Ebola after tests had already been conducted by a state lab.

Dr. Richard Besser, ABC Medical Consultant, asked last night about the incident said:  "It is very concerning".

Well, it ought to be!

Here's the thing: If lawmakers and Texas governor Rick Perry are so occupied with ISIS terrorists crossing the Mexican border why aren't they similarly exercised about the bio-terror of Ebola entering into the country aboard planes from Liberia? Or entering from ANY of the affected nations: Guinea, Sierra Leone as well as Liberia?  One would have thought that by now, with the cases in those nations increasing geometrically,  all flights originating from the Ebola -affected nations would have been halted - as other countries have done.  But no, it's business as usual in the US of A..

This isn't good enough! And I don't buy the soft soaping and PR that we have  "a great infrastructure to deal with an outbreak" as spouted by Zachary Thompson (Director of Dallas County Health and Human Services), and quoted in an AP report. 

The fact is, as reported on last night's ABC News segment,  when the patient (now identified as Thomas Eric Duncan)  first showed up at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, an RN completely blew it by not passing on the critical info that the man had come from West Africa. Because of this breakdown the hospital wasn't able to properly diagnose Duncan, so they released him back onto Dallas' streets.  It wasn't until Duncan's  2nd try three days later that Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital finally got it right and admitted to the isolation ward. But no one knows how many people came into contact with this U.S. "patient zero"  in the hiatus between hospital stops.

Gen. Anthony Zinni, appearing on the Bill Maher Real Time show, was blunt in giving his assessment of the comparative dangers of ISIS and Ebola. He properly and correctly noted that the latter is a real "existential threat" but not ISIS - which is a regional threat. This is similar to how I already put it in terms of comparing ISIS to global warming. Again, the latter is the existential threat, not ISIS. ISIS is Halloween scary with their black masks, beheadings of journalists and screeching radical Islamic piffle - but not at the level of Ebola or climate change.

What should be done then? The U.S. forthwith needs to take off the kid gloves and treat all entrants from the Ebola -affected nations as possible bio-threats and potential  bearers of Ebola. This means shutting off ALL flights from the three affected nations until such time the outbreak is brought under control. Not to do so is, to me, little different from allowing ISIS -infected American radicals back into the country to wreak havoc. It is, in other words, common sense.

The fact that one Dallas hospital completely missed this patient's disease, and last week another doctor returning from Liberia expressed concern at arriving in Miami and not being screened, shows we are living in a fool's paradise and the luck may soon run out.

The appearance of the Ebola positive patient in Big D is a shot over our bow. It is now time to get serious and throw the hammer down, No more incoming flights from those nations until the outbreak subsides. We cannot put our trust and faith in the medical infrastructure alone!