Frieden Must Resign
I believe that Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers of Disease Control, must step down. Under his direction, there have been repeated problems at the CDC. During the Dallas Ebola outbreak, CDC bureaucrats have seemed more concerned with getting an A for political correctness while getting a D- when it comes to applying years of knowledge about halting outbreaks of deadly diseases. Further developments today (see below) are the final straw.
Just like we haven't won a war waged by politically correct rules, we will not win the battle against Ebola if we continue to fight it by left-wing politically correct rules. Dr. Frieden must go -- now!
The CDC's Failure
A second nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital has tested positive for Ebola. Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings held a press conference this morning to address this latest development. Mayor Rawlings did his best to reassure the Dallas community, saying, "It may get worse before it gets better. But it will get better."
Unfortunately, the CDC's performance so far suggests it could get a lot worse.
As of this morning more than 120 people are being monitored for possible Ebola exposure -- including 76 hospital workers who had contact with Thomas Duncan. For obvious reasons, concern is greatest for those individuals, and the CDC let them down.
Despite their valiant efforts to save Mr. Duncan, it is clear that the workers at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital were not adequately trained to handle an Ebola case. Only four hospitals in America are truly prepared with specialized biocontainment units. But just consider this account of the conditions at the Dallas hospital where Mr. Duncan was treated:
"[The] Ebola patient was left in an open area of a Dallas emergency room for hours, and nurses treating him worked without proper protective gear and faced constantly changing protocols. . . .
"The nurses allege that [Duncan's] lab samples were allowed to travel through the hospital's pneumatic tubes, possibly risking contaminating of the specimen-delivery system. They also said that hazardous waste was allowed to pile up to the ceiling. . . . They also say nurses treating Duncan were also caring for other patients in the hospital . . ."
Yesterday Dr. Frieden admitted that the CDC "could've sent a more robust hospital infection control team and been more hands-on with the hospital from day one about exactly how this should be managed." He regretted not having done so, adding, "That might have prevented this infection."
Now it is being reported that the second Dallas nurse who has tested positive for Ebola flew to Cleveland on October 10th. She returned to Dallas on the 13th aboard Frontier Airlines flight 1143 and reported having a fever yesterday morning. As a result, the CDC is now trying to contact all 132 passengers on Flight 1143, which doubles the number of people potentially exposed to Ebola to more than 250.
Why would a nurse being monitored for Ebola be permitted to fly on a commercial airliner?
Dr. Frieden was asked that very question this afternoon, and he said she was told not to. But she did it anyway. Apparently it never occurred to the CDC that someone would not obey its directive. Frieden claimed that from this point on, it would not be permitted. But every step of the way, he has been behind the curve.
The Culture Wars Continue
I got a call yesterday from a reporter with National Public Radio asking if I thought the culture war was over. Of course it isn't. Even if the battle to redefine marriage is lost at the Supreme Court, the left won't let it end there either. The tyrants of tolerance are on a rampage against men and women of faith.
Christian businesses are being forced to participate in same-sex marriage ceremonies. Individuals are being punished at their places of employment for their religious beliefs. Now -- just as we warned -- left-wing government bureaucrats are threatening pastors.
A few months ago the Houston city council passed an "Equal Rights Ordinance" expanding legal protections for more than a dozen factors, including sexual orientation and gender identity. Critics of the ordinance were especially concerned that it would permit men -- based on their "gender identity" -- to use women's bathrooms.
A legal battle has erupted over efforts to put the ordinance on the ballot for a public vote. Unbelievably, Houston city attorneys have issued subpoenas to area pastors demanding all sermons related to homosexuality, gender identity or Houston's lesbian mayor, Annalise Parker.
Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom have gone to court to defend Houston's pastors. Blasting the city's "unprecedented" subpoena of sermons and pastoral communications, ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley said, "The city council and its attorneys are engaging in an inquisition designed to stifle any critique of its actions. Political and social commentary is not a crime; it is protected by the First Amendment."
The left will not stop at redefining marriage. It wants to label whole passages of scripture as "hate speech," making them off limits in tax exempt churches. It is threatening religious liberty and parental rights.
Please share this report with your pastor. Urge him to speak up -- while he still can. Share this message with all your like-minded friends and family members too.
Why Obama's War Is Failing
In spite of routine pronouncements on the nightly news that U.S. forces are "hammering" ISIS positions, there is growing concern that Obama's war effort is insufficient. Two months after the first bombs fell, we seem no closer to achieving the objective of "degrading and destroying" ISIS.
Here's something to keep in mind the next time you hear a reporter talk about U.S. airstrikes "pounding" the jihadists: During the U.S.-led campaign against Serbia in 1999, our forces averaged 138 strikes a day. Against ISIS the average is just seven strikes a day.
Bombing a few trucks here and there isn't going to stop radical Islam's bloodlust.