Free Republic

U.S. standards for protecting healthcare workers from Ebola are weaker than those widely used in West Africa, according to the leader of a group treating victims of the virus in Liberia. “We’re not comfortable with [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)] procedures,” Ken Isaacs, the vice president of Samaritan's Purse, told The Hill. When Samaritan's Purse health workers treat patients in Liberia, they wear two pairs of gloves and spray themselves with disinfectant twice before leaving the isolation ward. They have a three-foot “no touch” policy and hold safety meetings every day. In U.S. hospitals — such as Texas...

Obama's man on Ebola is former Biden staff chief 1 hour ago • BY JIM KUHNHENN(0) Comments WASHINGTON (AP) — He's tackled the financial crisis, served two vice presidents and been portrayed by Kevin Spacey in an HBO film, but Ron Klain's newest job as the U.S. point person on Ebola may be his toughest challenge to date. A longtime Democratic operative, Klain was tasked Friday by President Barack Obama with running the government's response to the Ebola crisis. Klain has been a trusted adviser at the Obama White House, and served as Vice President Joe Biden's chief of staff...

As the U.S. military rushes to combat Ebola in West Africa, soldiers are receiving on-the-fly instructions on how to protect themselves against the deadly virus. American military operations to fight Ebola in Africa are unfolding quickly—forcing the military to come up with some procedures and protocols on the fly. Soldiers preparing for deployment to West Africa are given just four hours of Ebola-related training before leaving to combat the epidemic. And the first 500 soldiers to arrive have been holing up in Liberian hotels and government facilities while the military builds longer-term infrastructure on the ground. For soldiers at Fort...

WASHINGTON –The president is dispatching a top aide to Dallas to coordinate Ebola response. Adrian Saenz, a seasoned political operative from Texas who has worked in Congress and, for the last 13 months, at the White House will serve as the administration’s Dallas-based liaison. “Saenz will be on the ground in Dallas and in close coordination with senior White House officials involved in the Ebola response, including Ron Klain, the Ebola Response Coordinator,” a White House aide said. The deployment helps to “fulfill the president’s pledge that state and local authorities are able to call upon any and all necessary...

Americans are inundated with media coverage and politicians warning them of dire threats: Ebola, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the war on Christmas. The truth, though, is that the most-hyped threats are often not actually that threatening to Americans, while larger dangers go mostly ignored. That should tell you something about how our political system and media can distort threats, leading Americans to overreact to minor dangers while ignoring the big, challenging, divisive problems - like climate change - that we should actually be worried about. Obsessing about possible threats is something of a beloved national pastime...

The Film Array can screen for Ebola with 90percent accuracy It is being using by US military doctors in West Africa Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital had one of the $39,000 devices but could not use it to diagnose diseases The military has given the Utah-based developer of the machine a $240million grant to perfect deadly virus detection The Dallas hospital that sent home Thomas Eric Duncan the first time he showed up at the emergency room has a machine that could have detected Ebola in less than an hour - but doctors were barred from using it because of federal...

The phrase “October Surprise” has a long history in American politics. It refers to that event, policy, or government statement that changes everything in advance of the famous “first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.” That was the Founders’ quaint way of describing Election Day. One famous example of an October Surprise was the announcement on October 26, 1972 by National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger that “we believe that peace is at hand” in the long, drawn out negotiations to end American involvement in the Vietnam War. President Nixon was headed to a landslide victory that year against the...