Posted on 01/30/2020 2:49:16 AM PST by Kaslin
I have always lived my life around a simple principle, “Don’t eat weird stuff.” And see? I was right. The Coronavirus ripping through the Wuhan region of Red China – and that has now spread here – may well have crossed over to our species because some people in China eat bats. Yeah, on purpose. How the hell did they ever get the idea that dining on Dracula birds was a good plan?
It doesn’t matter – what does is our response, and right now the Administration is behind the power curve. With attention fixed on the circle of self-abuse that is the impeachment, it’s difficult to get a grip on this extremely dangerous situation. But the White House must do so, and fast.
I am not qualified to talk in detail about the proper strategies and tactics of responding to the virus’s spread into our country – I did nuclear, chemical, and biological stuff in the Army, but this is outside my skill set. Luckily, we have scientists who know how. What I do know is a little bit about communicating and leading, and a lot about disaster response, including commanding in the midst of civil crises. And the Administration risks dropping the ball.
This could be Trump’s Katrina, as Hugh Hewitt, who was way ahead of everyone else in the media on this potential nightmare, has pointed out. Understand this, and you probably don’t know because our media is garbage and most media people know nothing, but the federal disaster response to Katrina was amazing. Huge numbers of personnel and vast quantities of supplies poured into the stricken area in an incredibly short time. The incompetence came from – shocker – the Democrat leadership locally, but the media hung it around George W. Bush’s gentlemanly neck. And because he was too gentlemanly to cry “Bull Schiff!,” most everyone thinks what was a logistical miracle was a clusterfark.
The media is aching, yearning, begging for the chance to do the same thing to Trump.
And the stage is being set to do that. China is going nuts. The numbers of cases coming into the U.S. are growing. People are confused. The stock market is pitching and heaving. And the impeachment circus is going to end with the Democrats’ humiliation soon, meaning suddenly the media will soon need a new shiny object to chase.
Coronavirus is that shiny object. The media will not be honest or accurate or fair. It will lie, cheat, and give voice to leftist leakers with agendas. That’s why Trump needs to go around the media, straight to us.
Trump needs to go on the air, to the American people, and lay out the situation. Then Team Trump needs to step up the game by arm-twisting the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) into talking to us, at length, in detail. Get those science nerds in their lab coats out there, in front of the camera, every day, bombarding us with info. Talk our ears off.
The current lack of information is an invitation for the void to be filled with nonsense and lies designed to undermine the presidency – sadly, the media cares nothing about the infection risk and everything about its weird obsession with undoing the 2016 election. There is already a plan – the CDC is on this – but that plan has not been communicated to the people. The people are worried – they’ll be very, very worried when the media pumps up the threat.
If the president assures the citizenry that he understands this is a priority and that he is vectoring in America’s best scientists to respond, that not only foils the cheesy partisan political attack that is coming. It helps the actual defeat of this potential epidemic. Instead of inspiring panic, the presentation of the Administration as having this crisis well in hand will serve to calm fears as well as tell people what to do.
Do you know what you should do? I’m not sure I do. And the information has been so sketchy that right now most of us don’t know the Coronavirus from the Dos Equis virus, the most interesting flu in the world.
Pummel the people with information. Make those eggheads do briefings every day. Get a soothing one who can communicate to be the face of the CDC. And Hugh Hewitt has another good point – no one is telling us how the disease got here, what flights, what airports. Get that out there. People want to know if a carrier was in their mall or school or whatever. And explain why the hell you can still gobble a bat, jump on a plane, and fly to America? Why haven’t we limited or banned flights? Are we screening passengers? How? We need to know.
Trust us with the information and we will trust the Administration.
This is not just a public health crisis – it’s a political fight too. Sorry, but that’s the truth, and Trump is under no obligation to allow himself to be lied about as W. was. Luckily, though, Trump is a master communicator – plus, he’ll fight back.
And stop eating bats, people.
Is the author aware of the fact that actual vampire bats live only in Latin America and no where else? That they weren't even known to the western world until the settlement of the New World? That until Bram Stoker wrote that blasted book bats weren't associated with supernatural vampires at all?
They don't have magical powers, they don't "suck blood," and the rabies virus is NOT a defense mechanism they manufacture in some gland somewhere.
Bats are like rednecks . . . everybody hates them, but no one can tell you why!
All true - I was (still am) on the MS Gulf Coast during Katrina and as LA was looting and shooting at relief helicopters, we were rolling up our sleeves and cleaning things up enough to facilitate rebuilding...
PS: They had FEMA reps doing classes (coaching) on how to get some “free” money by claiming hard-to-prove/disprove situations.
I already knew that and know how to avoid it. But I will never refuse a friendly tone.
Look back and learn that thermal screeners for SARS and related viruses including coronavirus are very effective and have been tested rigorously against coronavirus.
Next, research how the US and others in the world have stationed thermal screening technology at all airports and border points where Chinese travelers and others pass.
It is not necessary to shut down the world in order to stop the spread of the virus into the US. There are only 5 reported cases in the US and there has been a quick response of screening technology to nix any new cases coming into the US.
As for Russia, they do accept Chinese passengers in airports that have been screened.
Don’t believe the fake headlines. They are designed to whip you into a frenzy. Looks like they may have succeeded.
Many of those infected with THIS virus NEVER run a fever.
They have DIED of this having NEVER run a fever.
SARS is infective about a day before symptoms appear.
THIS is infective at LEAST FIVE days BEFORE symptoms appear. SOME patients NEVER show symptoms.
The cases in Germany went like this:
Woman (chinese) in shanghai visited by her parents, from wuhan, in mid january.
Jan 21 she flies to Germany for a class/training there.
Infects 3 of her german coworkers. She’s completely asymptomatic the whole time.
She flies home to Shanghai and doesn’t develop symptoms until she’s been back in China for several days.
This is NOT SARS.
Thermal screening is USELESS with this thing.
One more thing.
There have been documented cases of Chinese ‘tricking’ the thermal scanning by using tylenol, as a fever reducer.
Why are you so insistent on putting out half-baked quotes that are not true?
For example, the screening tech involves a swab of the nasal passages and a quick check of the swab for enzymes associated with corona virus. Other tech involves thermal imaging and still more tech confirms the actual virus.
These quick screen tests are performed on everyone whether symptoms are presented or not.
Conronavirus is indeed a part of the SARS family of viruses.
I can tell you are an emotional mind, definitely not a scientist.
You think those people won't be quarantined further? The AFB is only the inlet to the process.
We don’t HAVE a swab test for THIS coronavirus yet. This isn’t the flu or strep. Or the SARS from the early 2000’s.
Scientists know there is NO swab test for this thing right now. Much less mass produced already and distributed to airports. The swabs themselves would be biohazards and the workers doing the test would need to suit up to do the tests.
All we have is a blood test.
That needs a BL3 lab (minimum) to even happen, because this is SO contagious.
We’re only testing, via thermal imaging, at 25 airports. How many airports do we have now?
Do you see any airport workers, in this country, in full clean suit garb doing swab tests (or anything other than holding up the thermal temp handheld). BTW, this is transmitted via touch. So those thermal handheld thermometers that are touching everyone’s forehead? Likely spreading it too.
Thermal imagining is USELESS for this.
BTW, this is transmitted via touch. So those thermal handheld thermometers that are touching everyone’s forehead? Likely spreading it too.
—
Good point
> “We don’t HAVE a swab test for THIS coronavirus yet.”
Wrong.
Screen tech doesn’t confirm, it detects possible cases.
Lab tests confirm.
If there is a positive detection from the screen tech, that person is detained.
Not all that fail a screen are infected with coronavirus.
The lab test sorts them out.
If a traveler has the coronavirus, the screen tech will cause them to be detained. A lab test will confirm the type pf virus. There is a legit criticism of slow lab confirmations as those detained who are without coronavirus are inconvenienced.
Thermal imaging does not touch the traveler. It is a thermal scanner. It is only one detector. It is useful to detect thermal aberrations. If an infected person is asymptomatic, other screen tech will flag them.
Yes, swab testing is now in effect in China, India, Russia and in the US and is being deployed worldwide.
The President is getting good information and is taking appropriate measures of response.
It is not necessary to shut down the world in response to this virus.
But hysteria if food for unethical and unprincipled journalists and commentators. it gives them the drama they need to generate headlines. They blow it out of proportion. And it is apparent you have fallen prey to their designs.
This is a bat shit crazy statement.
Provide a pic of an airport worker, in clean suit garb, doing swab tests for THIS virus.
Pic taken this week.
At airports in THIS country.
I’ve looked, maybe your sources are better.
Gimme a company name that makes swabs for THIS.
I stopped reading right there. Trump is no "gentlemanly George W. Bush"
What a nonsense article.
> “Provide a pic of an airport worker, ...”
Bossy again?
I’ve already reviewed the white papers on the screening tech and the reports that the tech is now deploying to airports worldwide.
It’s your burden to defend your assertion that the screen tech the President ordered deployed is ineffective.
Defend your thesis!
The swabs themselves have to be sent to the CDC. This isn’t a quickie test like the flu or strep.
We’ll see.
But your assertion that we have ‘quickie’ swabs (like with flu or strep) deployed to airports is a false one.
Read the CDC link I provided.
Any swabbing done at the airport is shipped to the CDC for testing.
Do you think we’re doing this for every single chinese national and then parking them overnight in the airport while we wait for results?
As of yesterday, NO swabbing.
Temp test only.
> “Any swabbing done at the airport is shipped to the CDC for testing.”
Now you admit there is swabbing taking place?
Yes, it’s taking place and the swabs are screened locally but not confirmed locally.
Screens that come back positive do not specify coronavirus until confirmed by a lab test. All coronavirus infections are detected by the screen but more than just coronavirus is detected. There are positive tests that are confirmed to have other SARS related viruses but not the coronavirus. Travelers having positives for other viruses but not the coronavirus are presently inconvenienced by the long waiting times of the lab confirmations.
So there are legitimate criticisms of the current process but not enough to shut the world down over.
“Now you admit there is swabbing taking place?”
No.
As of yesterday there was NO swabbing being done at the airport.
Anyone singled out at the airport for ‘symptoms’ or ‘suspicion’ is sent to a hospital for evaluation.
Any swabbing is done at the local hospital.
Read the article I posted.
It’s like you don’t know anyone who’s been through an airport from Asia over the past week.
You think they’re swabbing every nostril from China. Not even close.
Only suspicions chinese nostrils are swabbed. At the local hospital.
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