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Shall we make Ebola political? Sure, why the hell not?
Topic Started: Oct 2 2014, 01:57 PM (134 Views)
George K
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Finally
Snark filled as can be....

An editorial in the New York Times, urging preparation for a possible pandemic:

Quote:
 
When we think of the major threats to our national security, the first to come to mind are nuclear proliferation, rogue states and global terrorism. But another kind of threat lurks beyond our shores, one from nature, not humans -- ... pandemic.
...
We recommend that this administration work with Congress, public health officials, the pharmaceutical industry, foreign governments and international organizations to create a permanent framework for curtailing the spread of future infectious diseases.
...
But in an age when you can board planes in Bangkok or Hong Kong and arrive in Chicago, Indianapolis or New York in hours, we must face the reality that these exotic killer diseases are not isolated health problems half a world away, but direct and immediate threats to security and prosperity here at home.

Signed, Senator Dick Lugar, and Senator Barack Obama - 2005.

They were, of course, talking about the avian flu. A disease that did not, and can not, spread from human to human. Because science.

In the Senate, he said:
Quote:
 
We are continuing to witness the relentless spread of avian flu, carried slowly but predictably by wild, migratory birds from countries in Southeast Asia to Western China, to Mongolia, and then over the Ural Mountains into Russia and Ukraine. From there, avian flu has spread over the past week to Romania and Turkey, and we have just learned, possibly into Greece.
...

Mr. President, at this point, no one should be surprised. The experts have told us repeatedly that a flu pandemic is inevitable, although the timing is unpredictable. In other words, the question is not if, but when. This spread of avian flu is our warning signal, and we need to heed this call to action.

If we're lucky, we'll have at least a year, or perhaps several years, to prepare for a flu pandemic. But we might not be so lucky. And regardless of whether it is this particular strain of avian flu, H5N1, or another deadly strain, the time to act is long overdue if we want to prevent unprecedented human suffering, death, and economic devastation....


Although we have begun to step up to the plate in the Senate, it is unfortunate that none of the avian flu bills that have been introduced have passed into law. Frankly, there's been a lot of talk, but not enough action. And this isn't just true of the Congress.

One year after publishing the draft pandemic flu plan, the Administration has still not released the final HHS Pandemic Flu Preparedness Plan. Half of states haven't published plans either, and we know that many of these states will need substantial help.
...
The failure to prepare for emergencies can have devastating consequences. We learned that lesson the hard way after Hurricane Katrina. This nation must not be caught off-guard when faced with the prospect of an avian flu pandemic. The consequences are too high.

The flyways for migratory birds are well-established. We know that avian flu will likely hit the United States in a matter of time. With the regular flu season coming up shortly, conditions will be favorable for reassortment of the avian flu virus with the annual flu virus. Such reassortment could lead to a mutated virus that could be transmitted efficiently between humans, which is the last condition needed for pandemic flu.

The question is will we be ready when that happens? Let's make sure that answer is yes. I urge my colleagues in the Senate and the House to push this Administration to take the action needed to prevent a catastrophe that we have not seen during our lifetimes.

Sooo....McChimpy nonthinker proposed some rules:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/04/politics/04cnd-prexy.html?_r=0

Quote:
 
President Bush said today that he was working to prepare the United States for a possibly deadly outbreak of avian flu. He said he had weighed whether to quarantine parts of the country and also whether to employ the military for the difficult task of enforcing such a quarantine.

"I am concerned about what an avian flu outbreak could mean for the United States and the world," he said at a White House news conference.

The president emphasized that he was not predicting such an outbreak. "I'm just suggesting to you that we better be thinking about it," he told reporters, "and we are. And we're more than thinking about it, we're trying to put plans in place."

Since 2003, the avian flu has killed about 65 people in Southeast Asia who had been in contact with infected fowl. So far the virus has not mutated into a strain capable of transmission from one human to another.

If it does, scientists say that it could kill millions of people worldwide, reminiscent of the 1918-19 Spanish-flu pandemic, which claimed more lives than World War I. Because the virus is new, humans have little or no defense against it. It kills about half of those infected, and an outbreak could spread around the world in days.

Now watch this drive:
Quote:
 
More than 30 Democratic senators, including Mr. Obama, sent Mr. Bush a letter today asking him to release the administration's final plan for dealing with a pandemic influenza. The group expressed its "grave concern that the nation is dangerously unprepared."

Forward to April of 2010, the forward thinking, "preternaturally" smart President, scrapped the rules:
Quote:
 
The Obama administration has quietly scrapped plans to enact sweeping new federal quarantine regulations that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention touted four years ago as critical to protecting Americans from dangerous diseases spread by travelers.
The regulations, proposed in 2005 during the Bush administration amid fears of avian flu, would have given the federal government additional powers to detain sick airline passengers and those exposed to certain diseases. They also would have expanded requirements for airlines to report ill passengers to the CDC and mandated that airlines collect and maintain contact information for fliers in case they later needed to be traced as part of an investigation into an outbreak.

Airline and civil liberties groups, which had opposed the rules, praised their withdrawal.


So, how does that sit in the face of a potential outbreak of Ebola?

Hmmm?

Senator Obama took the outbreak of avian flu as a political tool to criticize the administration, which responded to the criticisms with a plan. President Obama scrapped the plan, and now...what, exactly, is his plan?
A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
Speaking of making it political, I'm a little surprised that no senior religious figures and/or Defenders of the Nations Morals have commented on the fact that God is clearly punishing Texas for implementing abortion reforms.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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Jolly
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Geaux Tigers!
Nah, the state of Texas is currently making plans to transfer the patient to Taxachusetts, where he'll have healthcare and an empathetic populance to take care of him.
The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.- George Soros
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
Jolly
Oct 3 2014, 03:50 AM
Nah, the state of Texas is currently making plans to transfer the patient to Taxachusetts, where he'll have healthcare and an empathetic populance to take care of him.
Just as long as they don't send Rick Perry with him. Even Old Testament God wouldn't wish that on us.

Indicentally, I have it on the very highest authority that The Almighty turned Mr. Perry into a pillar of salt 6 years ago, but nobody, including Mr. Perry, appeared to notice.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
I'm so glad you're back.
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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