Posted on 10/28/2014 7:29:41 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The White House has declared a quiet war on the governors of New York and New Jersey for ignoring what administration officials snidely insist is their deference to “science” embodied in their opposition to quarantining health care workers who may have been exposed to Ebola.
The White House has heaped scorn on Govs. Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie for refusing to allow potentially symptomatic health care workers to travel on public transport, but has incurred some criticism for interning nearly a dozen American soldiers who served in West Africa in an isolation ward in Italy. Some suggest that this contradictory policy exposes the administration’s politically-motivated hypocrisy on the issue of isolating potential Ebola cases.
On Tuesday, White House Press Sec. Josh Earnest tried to make the administration’s case.
“And it simply will be easier to directly and actively monitor their health if their movements are restricted to certain locations,” he added. “We’re talking about thousands of military personnel that are traveling from bases all across the globe, and in order to monitor their health, it’s simply easier to do that if their movements are restricted and they’re all co-located.”
…
“It would be wrong to suggest that it would make the American people safer to apply this military policy in a civilian context,” he said. “The science would not back that up. In fact, implementing this military policy in a civilian context would only have the effect of hindering our Ebola response by dissuading civilian doctors and nurses from traveling to West Africa to stop the outbreak in its tracks.”
Earnest took an insulting turn, however, when he equated involuntary internment for America’s troops to mandatory haircuts for service personnel:
“There might be some members of the military who think that the haircut that is required may not be their best, but it’s a haircut that they get every couple of weeks because it is in the best interest of their unit and it maintains unit cohesion,” he said. “There are a wide range of sacrifices that our men and women in uniform make for the sake of efficiency and for the sake of uniformity and for the success of our military.”
When challenged by an AP reporter who suggested Earnest response was unsatisfactory and even a little insulting to the collective intelligence of all Americans, the press secretary backtracked:
“I’m not trying to suggest that it’s somehow unimportant. I think it is a useful illustration, though, that the kinds of sacrifices that our men and women make in uniform range from very simple, elemental things like a haircut to more serious things like a medical quarantine. But the fact of the matter is, those are the kinds of things that have an impact on their day-to-day personal convenience, but yet they make those sacrifices for the benefit of the broader military.”
Later on Tuesday, Barack Obama updated the public on the government’s efforts to halt the spread of this disease. He took only one question which was focused on the seeming inconsistencies in his administration’s policy of opposing quarantine for health care workers but embracing it for service men and women who serve in Ebola-affected regions.
“They are, first of all, not treating patients,” Obama said. “Second of all, they are not there voluntarily. It’s part of their mission that’s been assigned to them by their commanders and ultimately by me, their commander-in-chief.”
“They are already, by definition if they’re in the military, under more circumscribed conditions,” the president added.
The president added that health care workers who travel to Ebola-affected regions to help contain the situation are not as easily monitored as soldiers. “We don’t want to do anything that’s not based on science and best practices,” Obama concluded.
…Huh?
I’m not trying to be reflexively contrary, but how does it make any sense that soldiers whose movements and mission is “circumscribed” should be isolated and monitored, but voluntary health care workers, who cannot be tracked, should not be avoid being quarantined if they are suspected of displaying Ebola-like symptoms?
Moreover, if the aim is not to scare health care workers from voluntarily traveling to West Africa, what does he think an involuntary quarantine of American troops will do? Did I miss the conscription act that the president signed into law? Why wouldn’t think cavalier disregard for the interests of American troops serving at their own discretion overseas have a depressing effect on future enlistments?
The White House’s logic simply does not make any sense.
In the fight against this Ebola outbreak, the United States and the West in general are winning a number of victories. The spread of the infection appears to be slowing in West Africa, and health care workers who are treated at an early stage of Ebola infection in the United States have made remarkable recoveries.
The administration’s defensiveness on the issue of quarantine, and the partisan and inconsistent way in which it has attacked those who have embraced this precautionary measure, only saps the public of more faith in government officials to be able to contain the spread of this disease dispassionately and with a modicum of competence.
“Soldiers are icky”
Leaving America unprotected
This is what you get when you appoint Joe Biden’s assistant as “Ebola Czar.” Seems his only previous medical experience is making appointments for hair plugs.
Barry is politicizing disease and misery.
Obola is the undisputed master of Doublespeak. But, America seems to be catching on to his game. A poll today says 6 of 10 don’t trust government. And the Democrats, not Republicans are blamed for the overall mess by a 3 to 1 margin.
Why does 0bama need ebola in the US?
Distraction from Benghazi, IRS and other impeachable scandals, cover for deems prior to the election
further weakens the country
slap in the face to americans
sharing the pain with his homeboys in west africa after the wh conference
getting tired of listing motives
Active Duty ping.
Oh ******* well.
What you said.
This White House is offensive in every way
“Why does 0bama need ebola in the US?”
In previous years Western European countries were the greatest allies of the U.S. Barry single-handedly has decided that Western Europe is evil and that small African countries are the greatest allies of the U.S. He is just strenghening our alliance with Africa by extending Obamacare to their citizens.
“Leaving America unprotected”
You might be onto something. Thinking about all the military personnel assigned to the Ebola project, the other military personnel being canned, etc., more are being isolated, and out of circulation for several weeks as they are quarantined until it is known they are safe to mingle amongst their fellow humans again.
What might be in the plans we see our military being quarantined, oddly dispersed, sidetracked, and disposed of?
Under the category of WTF!?
guess that doctor from NY who got ebola has been forgotten.
Where was the common sense to make pRes_ _ent
of an UNDOCUMENTED Islamic terrorist
who hates Americans and American allies?
And to make a criminal the head of the DO”J”?
And let him stay there?
And to let terrorists blow up Bostonians after
they beheaded three, and after repeated warnings were
given ... BEFORE THEY SHOWED UP WITHOUT PASSPORTS?
Commonsense has been replaced by treason.
They can survive this barrage of lies AS LONG AS the US Ebola count is kept low. However if the number of US ebola cases jump then even the liberals, dems and low info voters won’t accept this if their life is at stake. Obama is gambling big time here. We shall see how it plays out. So far there are very few cases and Obama has been lucky.
are not CDC employees also government employees, contract or otherwise, and so also under ultimate command of the CIC?
Sultan doesn’t have any choice in the matter of quarantining the soldiers. The Army is q’ing them regardless of what he wants which is to bring ebola to the US without making it terribly obvious.
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