When it comes to the major issues of the day, you can trust the Bitemaster to have opinions. Here are his observations about the Ebola virus:
- The Republicans will continue to say stupid things
- There ARE no protocols
- Nurses routinely ignore protocols anyway
- The CDC is a bunch of scientists and are not skilled at responding to emergencies
- Where the hell has the Public Health Service and Surgeon General been?
- Prohibiting people from affected countries from coming here – at least for a while – is a good idea
- An Ebola “czar” is a stupid idea – it just multiplies the bureaucrats
The CDC, the Public Health Service, and the Surgeon General are all part of the Department of Health and Human Services. Ron Klain, Obama’s new “Ebola response coordinator” (Ebola czar), reports to Homeland Security Adviser Lisa Monaco and National Security Advisor Susan Rice. Both are part of the Executive Office of the President. In other words, the President has cut out Sylvia Mathews Burwell, his Secretary of Health and Human Services. Presumably, the Prez has no confidence in Burwell’s ability to get the job done and has put in apparatchik Klain as his new “take charge” guy. I think it would have been better to shake up HHS, rather than add another layer of bureaucracy.