Judge rejects Ebola quarantine for US nurse Kaci Hickox

[hawker9000]

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Wait - a non-infectious person isn't being quarantined? What is this world coming to.

A non-infectious person who could become infectious any moment. Never mind, putting her in quarantine to protect the public makes way too much common sense.

Might as well put all 350 millions non-infectitious Americans under quarantine who could become infectious at any moment, just as a precaution to eliminate any risk.

Oh, gee. I must be the only one of those 350 million who's never traveled to West Africa and never treated anyone with Ebola there or anywhere else. Everyone else has? Wow. Impressive. I had no idea.

[bushwacker]

After the judge made his ruling, the nurse was so happy she tried to plant a wet, soft, full tongue kiss on the judge to express her happiness ... this caused the judge to scream like a little girl and flee the courtroom.

[lust]

Stop posting like THIS, because it's ANNOYING and you look STUPID.

[chuckd]

Stop posting like THIS, because it's ANNOYING and you look STUPID.

Who died and left you in charge?

[JDGRUEN]

The Stupid Remarks I see on this thread are those posted by the Ebola Deniers... those who want to flippantly shrug off the threat of Ebola in areas of lives, sickness, costs and security. It is just no big deal, Hundreds of Ebola Aid Workers have been stricken with Ebola and at least 240 have died... WHO statistics. And obama wants to bring all those hundreds of Ebola stricken aid workers to the USA.

All because some small number of people survived Ebola due to modern American medical science - plus the fact that the returning American aid workers and the Dallas nurses were younger able bodied healthy people, and that they were diagnosed very early on due to monitoring ... wonderful news -- What do you have now 6 - 8 Westerners / Americans saved from dying from Ebola .... at about 6 million USD or so total cost. Not to mention the $500,000 spent trying to save Mr. Duncan the original Ebola patient and the near bankrupting of Dallas Presbyterian Hospital.

Then add in money for Mr. Duncan's cleanup ... hazmat - tracing and monitoring of exposed people, tracing and monitoring of hundreds due to the Dallas Nurse flying to Ohio, and due to Dr. Spencer running around NY - in self isolation. Which all this has got to at least run up to another million dollars in an array of expenses.

So for the flippant Ebola deniers all this is fine ... but lets say that - open borders, no stoppage of visa issuance, no real quarantine of returning aid workers gets us another 100 Ebola patients over a coming year and thousands of people possibly exposed requiring more contact tracing and hazmat cleanup --- lets see ... How about a 1/2 million a piece - plus extras...

$50,000,000 would build a very nice Western Grade - First Class Hospital in the West African Area or outfit a large hospital ship to the same standards. And all Aid Workers would have a top grade Medical Center to go to. Plus as many locals as possible treated at the Hospital after triage at the existing Ebola treatment centers.

Add to that a moratorium of issuing Visas to residents of the West African Ebola Stricken Nations - to keep Ebola out of America.

At that point America could be out of the Ebola business on American soil...

Americans have a right to demand and expect Not to have to even be Exposed to Ebola... as it is totally unnecessary.

Ebola Aid Workers refusing to be isolated in quarantine will cause nothing but chaos in America for months to come.

Edited November 4, 2014 by JDGRUEN

[uptheos]

No comment from the Ebola czar on this.......

........actually no comment on anything yet, as far as I know

[attrayant]

No comment from the Ebola czar on this.......

And what exactly is the "this" that he should be commenting on?

It was a stupid appointment anyway. Done only to appease fear mongers. He should have appointed Vivek Murthy as a symbolic middle finger to the US Senate.

[uptheos]

No comment from the Ebola czar on this.......

And what exactly is the "this" that he should be commenting on?

It was a stupid appointment anyway. Done only to appease fear mongers. He should have appointed Vivek Murthy as a symbolic middle finger to the US Senate.

In a very long list of..........

Shouldn't everything be coordinated through the czar?

What exactly is his function if not to get involved in Ebola quarantine issues?

What does this 'Ebola czar' actually do?

[attrayant]

There's nothing to coordinate. Nothing is happening that requires coordination. There is nothing for him to report. That's why I said it was a stupid, politically-motivated nomination. The whole epidemic might end up being cancelled due to a lack of actual germs.

[ClutchClark]

I can not believe all the ignorant memes sages found here and other sites. These remarks show how many uneducated people own computers.

Science is being ignored while fear is being spread!

Thank God for this Maine nurse!

Was that the same "science" that the Dallas hospital was using when two of it's nurses contracted Ebola while wearing the protocol Bio-Hazard PPE?

BTW, has the hospital determined how the "two" nurses became infected? At first they blamed the one nurse for failing to follow protocol even though they had no proof of any infraction. After the second nurse tested positive they looked clueless.

Seems they are still clueless and that "science" you are now worshipping like some kind of god seems to be flawed.

[bikerlou47]

Turn off Fox News ! Try doing some reading!

[attrayant]

It's a little early to be drinking already.

Was that the same "science" that the Dallas hospital was using when two of it's [sic] nurses contracted Ebola while wearing the protocol Bio-Hazard PPE?

What the hell are you going on about? Are you saying they shouldn't have been wearing PPE? That science is a fraud and they should have used energy crystals and faith healing?

The tools are only as good as the professional who uses them. If you don't peel-off those suits exactly right, you can become infected. I believe the nurses union was faulting the nurse's training for that, and the hospital was in turn pointing the finger at the CDC for not providing the training.

[JDGRUEN]

I can not believe all the ignorant memes sages found here and other sites. These remarks show how many uneducated people own computers.

Science is being ignored while fear is being spread!

Thank God for this Maine nurse!

Was that the same "science" that the Dallas hospital was using when two of it's nurses contracted Ebola while wearing the protocol Bio-Hazard PPE?

BTW, has the hospital determined how the "two" nurses became infected? At first they blamed the one nurse for failing to follow protocol even though they had no proof of any infraction. After the second nurse tested positive they looked clueless.

Seems they are still clueless and that "science" you are now worshipping like some kind of god seems to be flawed.

The Judge failed biology ... Quarantine is for those with symptoms --- only those people Judge? What about preventative quarantine of the seemingly well but exposed ... as has been a public heath standard for oh 80 - 90 years... Hmmmm --- not much science in the judge's decision. How about maybe that phone call from the Ebola Czar ... maybe that is what he does?

[ClutchClark]

It's a little early to be drinking already.

Was that the same "science" that the Dallas hospital was using when two of it's [sic] nurses contracted Ebola while wearing the protocol Bio-Hazard PPE?

What the hell are you going on about? Are you saying they shouldn't have been wearing PPE? That science is a fraud and they should have used energy crystals and faith healing?

The tools are only as good as the professional who uses them. If you don't peel-off those suits exactly right, you can become infected. I believe the nurses union was faulting the nurse's training for that, and the hospital was in turn pointing the finger at the CDC for not providing the training.

Please provide the report that indicates the results of the investigation. I cannot locate it.

Without that conclusive report you are only guessing. No room for guesswork with science.

Thanks

Edited November 4, 2014 by ClutchClark

[attrayant]

A biology degree is not a requirement to be a judge. That's why we have expert agencies and organizations to advise us on protocol and best course of action. The US Legal system uses expert witnesses to provide factual information that judges and juries need to make their legal decisions.

Quarantine is [only] for those with symptoms

If judges were required to be expertly qualified in every case they heard, we'd have no judges at all. Judges are supposed to rule on the wording of laws and decide if authorities are applying them correctly. They shouldn't be injecting their personal opinions, beliefs or anything else into the decision. This judge ruled that, since the defendant is not contagious, the quarantine laws in Maine do not allow her to be held against her will.

If the citizens of Maine have a problem with that, then their legislatures need to change the wording of the law so that it permits non-infectious people to be held against their will.

[ClutchClark]

Double Post

Edited November 4, 2014 by ClutchClark

[ClutchClark]

It's a little early to be drinking already.

Was that the same "science" that the Dallas hospital was using when two of it's [sic] nurses contracted Ebola while wearing the protocol Bio-Hazard PPE?

What the hell are you going on about? Are you saying they shouldn't have been wearing PPE? That science is a fraud and they should have used energy crystals and faith healing?

Wow. Do you have difficulty reading English? I never suggested any of the things you are accusing me of.

Seems like when you can't win the argument presented then you completely fabricate an argument you can.

[attrayant]

Please provide the report that indicates the results of the investigation. I cannot locate it.

Without that conclusive report you are only guessing.

The question was out of scope for this thread, and I don't care enough to research the answer. I was only going from what I remembered reading countless news reports, which I have no interest in re-reading now just to educate you. If you really want a factual answer, why not ask the question in the thread where that topic is being discussed? Here it is right here.

[hawker9000]

Please provide the report that indicates the results of the investigation. I cannot locate it.

Without that conclusive report you are only guessing.

The question was out of scope for this thread, and I don't care enough to research the answer. I was only going from what I remembered reading countless news reports, which I have no interest in re-reading now just to educate you. If you really want a factual answer, why not ask the question in the thread where that topic is being discussed? Here it is right here.

Lame.

[ClutchClark]

Please provide the report that indicates the results of the investigation. I cannot locate it.

Without that conclusive report you are only guessing.

The question was out of scope for this thread, and I don't care enough to research the answer. I was only going from what I remembered reading countless news reports, which I have no interest in re-reading now just to educate you. If you really want a factual answer, why not ask the question in the thread where that topic is being discussed? Here it is right here.

Making claims you cannot support really damages your credibility.

Meanwhile, the fact two nurses wearing proper PPE and one physician returned with Ebola from the Hot Zone indicates "science" has under-estimated the ability of the Ebola virus to spread.

[petercool]

TWO posts flaming another poster were removed

[JDGRUEN]

I can not believe all the ignorant memes sages found here and other sites. These remarks show how many uneducated people own computers.

Science is being ignored while fear is being spread!

Thank God for this Maine nurse!

Was that the same "science" that the Dallas hospital was using when two of it's nurses contracted Ebola while wearing the protocol Bio-Hazard PPE?

BTW, has the hospital determined how the "two" nurses became infected? At first they blamed the one nurse for failing to follow protocol even though they had no proof of any infraction. After the second nurse tested positive they looked clueless.

Seems they are still clueless and that "science" you are now worshipping like some kind of god seems to be flawed.

The Judge failed biology ... Quarantine is for those with symptoms --- only those people Judge? What about preventative quarantine of the seemingly well but exposed ... as has been a public heath standard for oh 80 - 90 years... Hmmmm --- not much science in the judge's decision. How about maybe that phone call from the Ebola Czar ... maybe that is what he does?

For those who like to edit my quotes... " Quarantine is for those with symptoms" ---- "only those people Judge"? . My statement and question were a bit rhetorical... in that the judge said in his ruling that the nurse was not showing symptoms so she did not need to be isolated/quarantined.. (paraphrased).

The judge is profoundly WRONG!

The judge does have to know enough biology, medicine, science in general to understand what is being presented by the arguing attorneys. Just the same as he would have had the case been about seat belts or airbags in an automobile safety issue. Jury members are required to become well enough acquainted with the technical nature of evidence in a trial - enough to absorb the information and grasp the basics of it at the very least. The judge was a one man jury in this case... and he was not grasping anything except to regurgitate. His sidebar statements were remarkably egotistical and off base.

As I have poster here at least 5 times ... with Ebola when an exposed person is later showing showing symptoms - if in fact they have the Ebola virus in their bodies at that time - then they are infectious... this is NOT the time to be discussing isolation and quarantine as a preventative measure. The patient would go to the hospital for Ebola and be isolated --- THAT is not preventative quarantine. Not as it has been the standard for about 90 years or so.

The nurse was exposed to Ebola - she has been seemingly healthy except for a brief period with a slight fever. Great. But so was Dr. Spencer who spent his voluntary self-confinement - solitarily jogging and solitarily on the subway, and solitarily bowling... then got sick - many symptoms and DAMNED LUCKY no one was in range at the totally unpredictable time that it appeared and he became infectious.

Preventative Quarantine would have kept Dr. Spencer out of range of everyone ... so no chasing after his potentially exposed friends and total strangers ... and no danger of him puking on someone in the bowling alley.

Preventative Quarantine is for WELL PEOPLE -- seemingly well people who have been exposed to Ebola in this discussion. It is recommended that the preventative quarantine for Ebola be 21 days - matching the average incubation time from exposure to full blown symptoms. It is done to ISOLATE at person and prevent surprise exposures.

Only an obstinate mind would find this explanation to be not applicable to the Nurse's situation and that of Dr. Spencer.

Willy-Nilly non isolation and no isolation -- the silly concept of Self-confinement - solitary... will cause America and Americans great problems with hundreds of Ebola Aid workers catching Ebola as they have and returning to or being sent to America (for non Americans) as obama wants to do.

Perhaps those who don't get it or just cannot grasp this straight forward concept... Find a good APP for text to speech conversion and play it over and over while you are in self-isolation.

Concern is not fear... examination of situations is not fear mongering, discussion of Ebola and rational methods to deal with it is not creating scare tactics, dealing with facts and REAL science - not obama Administration talking points is not creating rumors.

Those who want to be flippant about Ebola can certain go bathe in their ignorance - but I think rational clear headed thinking works best.

Edited November 4, 2014 by JDGRUEN

[attrayant]

What a bunch of crap you are spewing!

I wouldn't go so far as to call it crap. The poster sounds profoundly terrified and with little grounds for it. You can't really reason people out of such feelings so that's why there hasn't been much attempt to try. As I said in the climate change thread, you can't reason somebody out of a position that they didn't use reason to get into in the first place. I think that applies to the poster you're referring to.

For those who like to edit my quotes... " Quarantine is for those with symptoms" ---- "only those people Judge"? .

Not sure if that is aimed at me, but the only edit I did was to take the word "only", which you stuck into the judge's mouth and put it right back into yours where it came from. The brackets is an admission of editing for clarity while retaining the original meaning.

As for the rest of your post, well lets just say that I have an option of accepting what medical professionals say or accepting what some stranger on the internet says. You can probably guess how I'll decide (wrongly, I'm sure, in your opinion).

Edited November 4, 2014 by attrayant

[JDGRUEN]

What a bunch of crap you are spewing!

I wouldn't go so far as to call it crap. The poster sounds profoundly terrified and with little grounds for it. You can't really reason people out of such feelings so that's why there hasn't been much attempt to try. As I said in the climate change thread, you can't reason somebody out of a position that they didn't use reason to get into in the first place. I think that applies to the poster you're referring to.

For those who like to edit my quotes... " Quarantine is for those with symptoms" ---- "only those people Judge"? .

Not sure if that is aimed at me, but the only edit I did was to take the word "only", which you stuck into the judge's mouth and put it right back into yours where it came from. The brackets is an admission of editing for clarity while retaining the original meaning.

As for the rest of your post, well lets just say that I have an option of accepting what medical professionals say or accepting what some stranger on the internet says. You can probably guess how I'll decide (wrongly, I'm sure, in your opinion).

I have science, health/medical/epidemiological credentials and you don't ... I know what I am talking about and you don't... your posts make little sense except for a feeble attempts to turn tables around and you stumble over the table legs a lot... all the while you are trying to be erudite but have to go look it up on google to know what it means.

Preventative Quarantine is what I said it is and the judge does not have a clue - except the clue the Obola Czar gave to him on a phone call.

[attrayant]

Ah, now an "I'm smarter than you" post. That's really raising the level of discourse. I'm going to bow out before the pinching and eye-poking starts. Don't worry, I'll stay tuned for your next panic-filled newsletter on Fearbola 2014 - the epidemic that never was.

[JDGRUEN]

Anyone who thinks that discussing the issues of the Ebola incursion into the USA and therefore is spreading panic or fear needs to read the news more closely ... Australia and Canada have shut off granting visas to enter their respective countries to residents of the West African Nations of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia... And in the U.K. British Airways has cut off flights to the same countries for the same reasons ... These countries have displayed a sober outlook on dealing with Ebola infested countries ... Too bad the government of the USA is drown in political correctness and cannot properly function when it come to Ebola.

'Never was' could be had if the government of the Unites States took corrective action to prevent future problems..

Edited November 4, 2014 by JDGRUEN

[RPCVguy]

My earlier post was intended to add humor while stating the situation as is being reported by the doctors responsible. YES, Ebola epidemic is real - in the countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. The countries of the USA, Spain and now Mali have cases, but no widespread transmission of the disease. The manner of transmitting Ebola is known and has been used to stop it in each of the 24 outbreaks prior to this one.
http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/distribution-map.html

"Between people, Ebola disease spreads only by direct contact with the blood or body fluids of a person who has developed symptoms of the disease. Body fluids that may contain Ebola viruses include saliva, mucus, vomit, feces, sweat, tears, breast milk, urine and semen.The WHO states that only people who are very sick are able to spread Ebola disease in saliva, and whole virus has not been reported to be transmitted through sweat. Most people spread the virus through blood, feces and vomit. Entry points for the virus include the nose, mouth, eyes, open wounds, cuts and abrasions. Ebola may be spread through large droplets; however, this is believed to occur only when a person is very sick. This can happen if a person is splashed with droplets. Contact with objects contaminated by the virus, particularly needles and syringes, may also transmit the infection. The virus is able to survive on objects for a few hours in a dried state and can survive for a few days within body fluids.
The Ebola virus may be able to persist for up to 7 weeks in the semen of survivors after they recovered, which could lead to infections via sexual intercourse. Ebola may also occur in the breast milk of women after recovery, and it is not known when it is safe to breastfeed again. Otherwise, people who have recovered are not infectious.
The potential for widespread infections in countries with medical systems capable of observing correct medical isolation procedures is considered low. Usually when someone has symptoms of the disease, they are unable to travel without assistance."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus_disease#Transmission

There are dangers in not battling this disease in a coordinated and international manner. Foremost IMO is the longer the virus is rampant the more chance it has to successfully mutate to a more contagious form. The issue is to stop the spread, which requires more health workers and logistical aid into those nations; it requires sound medical triage and use of best protocols... but not the hysteria and excess fear being stirred up.
If richer nations DON'T do the proper medical process then yes, we'll need to access that fear - but I'd prefer not to see the problem worsened needlessly.

Can Ebola be stopped in Africa? In those nations experiencing the epidemic? YES.

• Firestone in Africa has been able to do what no one else has done. Stop the virus. Their techniques and materials should be studied, and improved on: http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2014/10/06/354054915/firestone-did-what-governments-have-not-stopped-ebola-in-its-tracks
• Also note that Nigeria has been successful, declared free of its infection after 42 days elapsed without any additional cases.

Health care workers - by nature of the disease - are the most at risk for infection. Why? The problem to health care workers stem from close proximity midst the end stages of the disease, when the patients are most infectious and which include explosive diarrhea and projectile vomiting. (Far cry from the headache symptoms at the early stages of infection.) Those working at the front lines are aware of what to look for, and have the greatest reason to seek treatment early. The doctor in NYC detected symptoms, called the authorities, told them his travel and activity history, and waited in his room to be collected in a controlled manner. No one wants the disease, but anyone who has fought it in epidemic mode is not going to be careless about putting people at risk. Even that nurse who went to Maine, did so in a remote area for some R&R. She was being careful, but also protected her profession by taking a stand against unnecessary quarantine.
There is NO NEED FOR PREVENTIVE QUARANTINE if you know that a person is not infectious while free of symptoms. On this basis:

Lawrence Gostin, a Georgetown University professor who heads the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, told the Wall Street Journal this is the first time he can recall the government imposing a quarantine on a class of people — doctors exposed to Ebola — rather than on a case-by-case basis depending on symptoms. “That pushes the envelope more than I’ve seen it in my lifetime,” he said. “We are basically depriving individuals of liberty for 21 days just because they have traveled from a particular part of the world. That seems to me wrong legally and ethically and is against science.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/10/30/why-kaci-hickox-may-lose-a-legal-battle-against-ebola-quarantine/

Image from FORBES
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dandiamond/2014/10/15/ebola-has-already-killed-more-than-200-doctors-nurses-and-other-healthcare-workers/

Of the deaths among healthcare workers, 16 were from Doctors Without Borders. That is higher than anyone wants, but low considering what they are accomplishing. (Most of the healthcare worker deaths are among the local nationals - who face exposure at work, then later in their homes and communities.)

So the dilemma is how to get the most healthcare workers into and back out of the infected areas, for the longest amount of time? There already are no direct flights from those countries. The borders of those nations are already very porous... since boundaries were drawn in colonial days - without regard for natural or tribal distinctions. People travel all too freely between countries. If you want to force a panicked evacuation and possible spread, attempt to take away the option of leaving. Worse, people arriving will have incentives to lie as to their prior travels, making monitoring for the incubation period far less likely. And, you make it less likely that doctors and nurses will choose to go help, since these policies cut 3 weeks off their effective time to help while they take time off from their normal work. No easy answer unless the public is willing to subsidize the lost earnings of those doctors and nurses when they return into quarantine. Short of that, Africa will see the epidemic grow, and the risks of worse mutations increase

"We have to be careful though because if we go too far in making people alarmed and we`re increasing the amount of screening and the amount of quarantine, there is a downside to this which is it could discourage people from wanting to go and volunteer at the most important thing we can do which is to treat the Ebola as its source in West Africa." Dr. Irwin Redlener, of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, TRMS 10/24/14
http://on.msnbc.com/1nFyKWt

Point of Correction
Several earlier comments insisted that the nurses treating the first case in Dallas were following best known protocol. NOT THE CASE.
The nurses were not issued the needed protective gear. Pictures will help verify that the protocols were not being met in that first case in Texas.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/1.621093 Other stories (CNN, USA Today) confirm:

"A Liberian Ebola patient was left in an open area of a Dallas emergency room for hours, and the nurses treating him worked for days without proper protective gear and faced constantly changing protocols, according to a statement released late Tuesday by the largest U.S. nurses' union. Nurses were forced to use medical tape to secure openings in their flimsy garments, worried that their necks and heads were exposed as they cared for a patient with explosive diarrhea and projectile vomiting, said Deborah Burger of National Nurses United."

[JDGRUEN]

@RPCVguy ...

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/773510-judge-rejects-ebola-quarantine-for-us-nurse-kaci-hickox/page-3#entry8628850

In your long dissertation on Ebola you failed to show any understanding that the Ebola Disease should have never made its way to to America in the first place. Months ago ample warning was given by WHO statistics that demonstrated the extreme growth and rate of growth of Ebola in the afflicted West African Countries and in turn should have caused the American government to stop issuance of visa to residents of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia... but the bureaucrats and elected officials in charge didn't bat an eye.

The American people should have never been exposed to Ebola - and it was possible - and it is possible now to rid the country of Ebola and stop future exposure on American soil. Canada, Australia have stopped issuance of visas and British Airways has stopped flights to those countries. Since the current Administration of the United States refuses to protect Americans many of us hope that new change over of the control of the entire legislative branch of the American government by the opposition party will cause a different voice to be heard. Stop visa issuance for a beginning.

The other factor - returning Ebola Medical Aid workers. They should be recognized for their valiant efforts and even rewarded in other ways. But letting them return to American soil and not go through a fully confined 21 day quarantine is foolhardiness to the extreme. Dr. Spencer showed what happens when confinement is voluntary and costly to taxpayers in cleaning up his mess. The arrogance of the nurse in Maine is appalling.

Americans have a right to not even be exposed to the Ebola virus -- because it can be done. Any projections of future occurrence of Ebola cases in America will show whether large or small the cost will be staggering. Millions of dollars will be wasted that could be put to better use to control Ebola.

The cost of dealing with Ebola in America so far has run into the millions of dollars even with the few numbers of natural infections and other patients treated. With a cooperative effort including countries of the EU and U.K and other Western Countries and who ever else will join in a 21st. Century Ebola Center could be built in the West African Region with a wing of the hospital reserved for treatment of international medical aid workers. Or a giant new hospital ship with the same capacity could be built.

The Aid Workers deserve it and we should supply it. And America needs to be rid of a problem on American soil that should have never arrived.

There are those in America who believe that Americans should not be isolated from events and conditions in the rest of the world and I believe that this attitude is what is driving this insane policy of the current American Government. A campaign will be undertaken to get the new U.S. Senate and the enhanced House of Representatives to force a more sane but humanitarian Ebola policy on the current recalcitrant Administration.

Preliminary election results show that there has been a Republican landslide in gaining full control of the U.S. Senate and more. Plus increasing numbers in the House to even greater control. This insane Ebola policy of the obama Administration will stop.

[RPCVguy]

Some of your ideas are laudable, and would indeed help - if the Republican zealots in the USA would ever allow anything other than sending the military off to the Middle East. I did like

"... returning Ebola Medical Aid workers. They should be recognized for their valiant efforts and even rewarded in other ways."
and also "The cost of dealing with Ebola in America so far has run into the millions of dollars even with the few numbers of natural infections and other patients treated. With a cooperative effort including countries of the EU and U.K and other Western Countries and who ever else will join in a 21st. Century Ebola Center could be built in the West African Region with a wing of the hospital reserved for treatment of international medical aid workers. Or a giant new hospital ship with the same capacity could be built."

Having served in the Peace Corps in West Africa, I can attest to the need, but also see the rest of the world as eying Africa for its resources - with a far lower effort towards helping its people.
Since the 113th Congress left early on vacation and looks to set a new record of being the worst "Do Nothing Congress" breaking last session's record, or the Congress of the 30's that first earned the name "Do Nothing Congress" - what you are proposing could not have been enacted, and likely still will not be enacted. Can you not see the inability to have doctors and nurses get to and from the battle front for the disease - short of actually setting up regularly scheduled access to military flights to regularly do the shuttling. No, I don't expect the Ebola battle will be well fought where it needs to be, so yes, the epidemic will grow. When countries imposing visa restrictions later show up with cases, it'll demonstrate (to those open to reason) the fact that a currently global society can not prevent isolated events of transmission of disease.

I see the election as a demonstration of the marketing power of cash in a post Supreme Court "Citizens United" set of rules. Instead of "One person one vote", the USA is approaching "one dollar, one vote". Such is the susceptibility of too many people to media buys to manipulate opinion. The 2014 election was won by the corporate interests - who want to perpetuate their cash cow businesses, despite the consequences for accelerating climate, polluted aquifer, GMO, and similar bad consequences. Toss that up to American's failing at the responsibility of citizenry. They will too late learn what they've just endorsed. (Oh and in the future it'll be harder to get passed the pablum supplied by the corporate media. ... up ahead => the loss of Net Neutrality, another Trade Deal TPP being NAFTA on Steroids, yet more wars, ... with time to further eviscerate the voting access.) A very sad day, that people will rue - too late.

Usually I post about climate, but the effects of CO2 becoming carbonic acid in the oceans, lowering the pH so as to make it tougher for plankton and other shellfish are another aspect of what lies ahead and why I'm extremely distraught at the US election results. Kyoto accords had goals never met. Will anything better be possible in the key 2015 International options with a USA saddled with a corporate bought, climate change denying congress?



If you have not looked at the trees, it would be worthwhile to consider this photo essay by a biologist
There Goes The Neighborhood = (http://witsendnj.blogspot.com/2014/07/there-goes-neighborhood.html)

[JDGRUEN]

After the Republican Landslide today -- sanity may come to many policies - including the insane obama Administration policies on handling Ebola...