Ebola In America: Day 6 

Thomas Duncan, the Liberian man in Dallas infected with Ebola, is reportedly fighting for his life. It was reported yesterday that he has suffered kidney failure and is on a ventilator. 

Progress was made in finding a company to decontaminate the apartment where Duncan was staying. But LifeNews.com reports that the company handling material from the apartment also disposes of the remains of dead babies from abortion facilities. What a claim to fame for that business -- doing the jobs no one else wants. 

Meanwhile, CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden continues to assure the country that Washington has everything under control. Dr. Frieden is briefing President Obama today on the efforts to combat Ebola. But despite these public assurances that all is well and that our nation's hospitals are well prepared, one nurses union is publicly disagreeing.

National Nurses United surveyed nearly 700 nurses at 250 hospitals in 30 states. Here were some of the key findings: 
 

• 80% say their hospital has not communicated to them any policy regarding potential admission of patients infected by Ebola.
• One-third say their hospital has insufficient supplies of eye protection (face shields or side shields with goggles) and fluid resistant/impermeable gowns.
• Nearly 40 percent say their hospital does not have plans to equip isolation rooms with plastic covered mattresses and pillows and discard all linens after use.
• Less than 10% said they were aware that their hospital does have such a plan in place. 

  RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of National Nurses United, said, "Now, everyone should recognize that Texas is not an island either, and as we've heard from nurses across the U.S., hospitals here are not ready to confront this deadly disease." 

  The Obama Administration made "reforming" America's healthcare a top priority with Obamacare. The result was higher costs, the loss of your doctor and a failure to improve our readiness to fight a major epidemic. Some reform. 

  No Confidence In Big Government 

  A new Associated Press poll finds that Americans are increasingly skeptical of big government's ability to protect them from a variety of threats and concerns. 

  Only 19% of Americans were "extremely or very confident" that the government could "effectively minimize the threat" from terrorism. Considering that the government won't stop tens of thousands of children from walking across our border, I am surprised that even 19% still have any confidence. 

  Only 8% of Americans were "extremely or very" confident in the government's ability to protect us from climate change. Sixty-three percent were not confident. Yet the Obama Administration and its left-wing allies have made radical environmental policies a centerpiece of their agenda. 

  What irony! As big government expands, the people's faith in big government diminishes. 

  It's not surprising that there is such little confidence. We are increasingly being misled by government bureaucrats from the top down. For example, Obama told us that ISIS was the "JV," or junior varsity team, and that Ebola coming to America was an "unlikely event." 

  In her most recent column, former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan comments on the growing distrust of government and suggests that official arrogance is a big part of the problem. Noonan writes: 

  "Everything sounds like propaganda. That will happen when government becomes too huge, too present and all-encompassing. Everything almost every level of government says now has the terrible, insincere, lying sound of The Official Line, which no one on the inside, or outside, believes. . . . 

  "We are locked in some loop where the public figure knows what he must pronounce to achieve his agenda, and the public knows what he must pronounce to achieve his agenda, and we all accept what is being said while at the same time everyone sees right through it. The public figure literally says, 'Prepare my talking points,' and the public says, 'He's just reading talking points.' It leaves everyone feeling compromised. Public officials gripe they can't break through the cynicism. They cause the cynicism. . . .

  "A nation can't continue to be vibrant and healthy when the government controls more and more, and yet no one trusts a thing the government says. It's hard to keep going that way."

  Here's another example of why there is such a low degree of confidence in government. Dallas has the largest concentration of Liberian nationals anywhere in the country. Did it occur to anyone at the CDC that Dallas would be a likely "ground zero," so extra efforts needed to be made to ensure that hospitals there were prepared? Yet the Dallas hospital sent the Ebola patient home with antibiotics. 

  One of the chief reasons for the disconnect between the government and the people is that our politically correct politicians increasingly ignore common sense. When news of the first case of Ebola broke, many Americans instinctively asked, "Why don't we impose travel restrictions?" 

  A new Rasmussen poll finds that 58% of Americans support a temporary ban on flights from countries with confirmed cases of Ebola. Only 24% of Americans oppose the idea.  Yet White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said today, "A travel ban is not something that we're currently considering."  

  Netanyahu Leads Again 

  Many of you applauded my observation last week that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had assumed the mantle of leader of the free world. During a CNN interview Sunday, Netanyahu made it clear why he is the leader best able to defend Western Civilization from the left's critiques. 

  Asked if he was saying that he would never negotiate with Hamas, Netanyahu replied: 

  "I negotiate with an enemy who wants to stop being my enemy. That's how you make peace. An enemy who wants to destroy you, who remains committed to your obliteration, is not someone you can negotiate with. You don't negotiate with Al-Qaeda. You don't negotiate with this latter-day Caliph, with Baghdadi, because these people want to destroy you. As long as Hamas remains committed to our destruction, what's there to negotiate?"

  Speaking of jobs nobody is willing to do: Israel may be doing one we ought to do. There are reports today of an explosion at an Iranian nuclear site. The blast was so intense that it reportedly shattered windows nine miles away. No one knows who did it, but it could be evidence that Israel is working to prevent a second Holocaust by preventing Iran from possessing nuclear weapons. 

  Are You Registered? 

  We're less than a month away from Election Day. Voter registration deadlines are approaching fast. In several states, the deadline is TODAY. Please find one friend, family member, co-worker who is not registered to vote and get them registered!