ARE SOME HEALTH WORKERS RETURNING FROM EBOLA COUNTRIES WHINERS?

Kaci Hickox

There is nothing more giving than to subject yourself to a virus in a foreign country with few medical facilities to care for it. Kaci Hickox, a nurse who worked with Doctors Without Borders to treat Ebola patients in Sierra Leone did this very thing. Then she came home and was horrified by the fact that she would be quarantined for a few days to insure the safety of those around her in New Jersey. She keeps pushing it and, yes, whining over the issue and how she was done wrong. Apparently she tested negative to the virus twice but that was not sufficient for New Jersey's Gov. Chris Christie to release her, until yesterday. If the two negatives meant she was okay, and does anyone really know this, she shouldn't have been detained.

But even so, this woman is a health care professional and should understand the fact that the country is going through a bizarre situation where health care officials are trying to prevent a life threatening epidemic, some of which ostensibly don't know what they are doing. Overkill like this could at least hold back public panic. I would hope this minor inconvenience would not discourage others from helping in the fight overseas and in the future these brave people will approach their return in a more mature way. 

NRA HAS CREATED AN "UNCIVILIZED" USA

Three people have died in the Marysville, Washington gun massacre, four are injured, some critical. The gun has been traced to the father of the shooter, Jaylen Fryberg. It was a high capacity weapon. Just another normal day in the good old USA that places the rights of gun owners over the life of these kids being murdered. Eric Liu on CNN says this "should not be," and "cannot be" if we are to be a civilized nation. The un-civilizing of America by the National Rifle Assn. has brought this country to its knees backed by a cowardly U.S. Congress too greedy to stop it. Pretty soon the number of families of the dead school children will rise to an amount that will eventually march on Washington and hold those responsible accountable.

DARK MONEY SPENDING IS BULLYING?

You thought bullying was only for kids in school that took advantage of those who either couldn't or didn't defend themselves. Not, says Dan Merica, in the CNN article, "Clinton decries outside spending in pricey N.C. Senate race." The Presidential hopeful said, "Elections come down often to who has got more money, who is pedaling more fear and who turns out." Well, both sides do it, but Republicans are perfectionists at pedaling fear. And the GOP always seems to get their people out to vote. My wife and I are lifetime progressives and have never missed an election. Another comment, "We teach our kids not to bully and that is all they [dark ads] are doing." Some think the mid-terms could be a tossup.

EXPLAIN THE TEA PARTY? IMPOSSIBLE? BUT...

Americans Against the Tea Party is one of my most favorite sites due to its obvious purpose. They have come through again with an article by Rika Christensen, "The Best Explanation of the Tea Party EVER," with some classic findings and comments. Here's one: "Today’s Tea Party is so far right that they could be considered the lunatic fringe of the GOP." I thought that was a given. Christensen reminds us these freaks want to get rid of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. If they should ever succeed at this, hopefully, these conservative fanatics will be the first on the street looking for a warm place to sleep.

DES MOINES' OWN JONI ERNST CHALLENGED

Another Tea Party loser

Des Moines' major newspaper, the Des Moines Register, endorsed Bruce Braley to fill Tom Harkin's Senate seat over Tea Party extremist, Joni Ernst. You remember this fruitcake, raving over the ages old Agenda 21 Conspiracy and most recently deciding to take up arms against the government. Having lived in Des Moines, I know this paper as excellent journalism, one you can depend on for the facts, unlike Fox News. Hopefully most of the population of Des Moines hasn't yet succumbed to this Tea Party trash and will elect Braley to the Senate.

MORE TEA PARTY STUPIDITY

Teapublican Texas State Senator, Charles Perry from Lubbock, Texas, drew a bizarre correlation that American Christians are treated the same as Jews in Nazi Germany. Where in the world do these people come up with these deviant ideas and who are the idiots that elect them? It almost seems today that the right to vote should be reserved only for those who can prove that they have all their marbles. It is obvious to me that this would eliminate a majority of the Tea Party.

EBOLA AND ANIMALS

One animal was put to death in Spain because the dog was the pet of an Ebola patient. Completely unnecessary. This kind of desperation illustrates the level of unpreparedness in the world over how to deal with the virus. Fortunately in Dallas, infected nurse Nina Pham's dog, Bentley, was placed in quarantine. Dr. William Schaffner, chair of preventative medicine at Vanderbilt University, says we do not have to worry about most animals catching Ebola. I talked to our veterinarian this morning and she said maybe, just maybe, the monkey family might but not dogs and cats. However, if a person with the Ebola virus sneezed on the fur of a dog and he walked right over to another person who rubbed his fur, they could possibly pick up the virus on their hand.