Posted on 10/17/2014 8:13:25 AM PDT by McGruff
"I don't have a philosophical objection necessarily to a travel ban, if that is the thing that is going to keep the American people safe," President Obama said on Thursday.
Obama said the experts have advised him that it's more effective to let West Africans into the U.S. than it would be to keep them out.
"The problem is that in all the discussions I've had thus far with experts in the field, experts in infectious disease, is that a travel ban is less effective than the measures that we are currently instituting, that involve screening passengers who are coming from West Africa."
Obama said it's important to continue screening West Africans before they get on planes and then after they arrive in the U.S. to see if they're showing signs of disease. Sick people should get medical evaluations, he said. And people who are not sick should list their contact information.
"If we institute a travel ban instead of the protocols that we put in place now, history shows that there is a likelihood of increased avoidance. People do not readily disclose their information. They may engage in something called broken travel, essentially breaking up their trip, so they can hide the fact that they have been to one of these countries where the disease is in place. And as a result, we may end up getting less information about who has the disease. They're less likely to get treated properly, screened properly, quarantined properly. And as a consequence we could end up having more cases rather than less."
Obama said if his medical experts come back to him and recommend additional precautions, "I assure you, we will do it, but it is important in these circumstances for us to look at the history of how these infectious diseases are best dealt with. And it is currently the judgment of all those, involved that a flat-out travel ban is not the best way to go. But we will continue to monitor this. I'm asking these questions.
"If in fact it turns out I'm getting different answers, then I will share them with the American people. We will not hesitate to do what's necessary in order to maximize the chances that we avoid an outbreak here in the United States..."
Obama said he understands that "people are worried" about Ebola. "But what I want to emphasize once again is that right now, we got one individual who came in with the disease. We have two nurses who have been diagnosed with the disease as a consequence of in some fashion being exposed during treatment. And what remains true is that this is not an airborne disease. It has not easy to catch. You can only catch it through being in contact with the bodily fluids of an individual who not only has the disease, but also is showing symptoms of the disease.
"And so it's important, I think, for all of us to keep perspective in terms of how we handle this. We are taking this very seriously at the highest levels, starting with me."
Obama said it's especially important for health care workers to "have more confidence" as flu season arrives, and people with fever come into hospitals across the country. "There may be false alarms and concerns," Obama said.
"And so we're going to spend a lot of time working with our public health workers to make sure that they feel safe and adequately protected. But I want to assure the American people, we're taking this seriously. But this is something that is really hard to catch. And if we do what we need to do, and we stay focused, then this is going to be something that is contained here."
Dozens of U.S. lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats, have urged President Obama to block travelers from West Africa from entering the United States.
Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.) said Thursday that he is "putting my foot down" and will introduce a bill restricting all commercial flights from traveling to and from Ebola-affected countries until the virus is contained and no longer a threat.
"This legislation is a more serious approach to preventing Ebola from further infiltrating our homeland," Ross said in a statement on his website.
"Airport security screening is a complete smoke and mirror approach to the virus and Americans aren’t buying it. I urge my colleagues to sign onto this legislation and hope Speaker Boehner will quickly call Congress back into session to debate my legislation.”
Are these the same "experts" from the local mental institution that say they best way to prevent fire is to throw matches into gasoline?
Bammy certainly knows “ineffective”.
I am so sick of this jerk.
Just like we’ll keep illegal aliens out by opening the border?
“Obama said the experts have advised him that it’s more effective to let West Africans into the U.S. than it would be to keep them out.”
1. that makes ABSOLUTLEY no sense.
2. What “experts”? I need names.
John Holdren depopulation effort part one.
Considering human nature (which "progressives" seldom do), what rational person might not be tempted to deny exposure, as did the patient who first brought the disease to America?
So much for the Administration's "measures."
We should follow the lead of the more “advanced” African countries that understand that with a disease like this all you can is quarantine.
Rush nailed it the other day. What Obama is admitting is that these people will sneak across the border. Ha ha ha. There should be hearings to expose clearly WHY Obama does not want a travel ban.
Does he even have a brain and/or common sense????
The thing about Ebama is he will tell you with a straight face the sky is green and he won’t give a damn. He does this all the time. That’s exactly what he is doing here.....again. He says this crap with a straight face because he knows there are morons out there who will buy into it and the press will defend him. I mean let’s think about what he is saying here on a literal level: “The best way to prevent Ebola from getting into the USA is to allow Ebola into the USA.” That’s exactly what he is saying here.
probably the same experts which said homosexuality, cross dressing and changing ones sex is normal and not a mental illness.
The man and his side kicks are insane, not only do we let them here , but now we send Americans over there to the disease.
They’re probably thinking the Africans would then just fly into Mexico City and walk to the US.
Obama has took far too many drugs when he was younger, he;s insane
What is socialism if not equally shared gubmint created misery?
What dimension, or what planet, or what parallel world, are these “experts” from?
In no known practice of statecraft is the unrestricted entry of questionable individuals into your home country a valid or accepted practice.
But then, for the Current Occupant, the territory once known as “the United States of America” is not his home country, and certainly not the one to which he swears allegiance.
This “reverse colonialism”, in which the dominant culture is being drowned and overwhelmed by problematic immigrants, might be the basis of a new nation, or several new nations, but it bears little resemblance to that set of ideals and jurisprudence that once constituted the entity that was known as “the United States of America”.
We, as an indigenous population, are faced with a dilemma - Do we try to reform all these new immigrants into persons worthy of being called “Americans”, or do we withdraw from the current borders, and set up a smaller perimeter somewhere within the former boundaries, turning to practice of the culture and historical perspective we once had?
The reduced geographic area has the potential for developing ENFORCABLE boundaries, as a barrier to entry of those whose presence is of no discernible benefit to the large number already here. Carriers of disease, grudges, and incompatible ideologies would not be granted entry.
His experts are longtime obama ass lickers. Make no mistake; all of this comes directly from barack and valerie.
Obama added: "We have to HAVE a pandemic to cure the pandemic."
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