I previously opined that barring a series of catastrophic bureaucratic snafus, the United States had very low risk of a major Ebola epidemic. Being the eternal optimist that I am; I’m only putting on enough gear to reach MOPP-Level 2 as I head for the Cube Farm.* I’m still fairly certain that we will endure fewer than 1,000 Ebola fatalities this Winter. I’m just less confident now because we are seeing a governmental response to this situation that brings a certain YouTube of Mark Sanchez to mind.

We start with the sad, yet illuminating case of Patient #2 – Amber Joy Vinson. The DFW affiliate of CBS tells us the following.

The CDC has announced that the second healthcare worker diagnosed with Ebola — now identified as Amber Joy Vinson of Dallas — traveled by air Oct. 13, with a low-grade fever, a day before she showed up at the hospital reporting symptoms.

It gets worse. The CDC knew Nurse Vincent was flying after treating Patient 0, and approved of her getting on the plane.

“This nurse, Nurse Vinson, did in fact call the CDC several times before taking that flight and said she has a temperature, a fever of 99.5, and the person at the CDC looked at a chart and because her temperature wasn’t 100.4 or higher she didn’t officially fall into the category of high risk,” said Dr. LaPook on the CBS Evening News.

They looked at a temperature. She wasn’t in the High-Risk Category. If forty or fifty people that flew on that plane show up in hospitals in various American cities, you can’t legally blame the CDC. They read their chart. They washed their hands. What happens next is not their problem. It’s not like they broke protocol.

We get further news of our government’s negligent disregard for the lives of American citizens with respect to the current Ebola outbreak. We learn from a letter that Congressman [mc_name name=”Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA)” chamber=”house” mcid=”R000487″ ] has sent to Secretary of State John F. Kerry.

Given the critical need to contain this disease at its source, I was surprised that the Department of State has not already exercised its authority to suspend consular services, which is standard procedure in countries experiencing a major security disruption. This would be a prudent measure to mitigate the risk of Ebola exposure and contain its spread – a bedrock principal of health crisis management.

So it’s further on down in the letter where we learn what a fire-breathing !RACIST! that sicko Edward Royce truly is. He has the temerity to suggest the following.

To that end, I would strongly encourage the Department of State to immediately institute a temporary suspension of consular services – particularly the issuance of visas – for non-U.S. nationals in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone..

It gets even worse. Speaker of the House, John “Evil Incarnate” Boehner** says the following horribly insensitive things.

A temporary ban on travel to the United States from countries afflicted with the virus is something that the president should absolutely consider along with any other appropriate actions as doubts about the security of our air travel systems grow.

You all need to be made to understand that we are a nation of immigrants. We are only true to our founding principles if we leave our borders undefended and let our citizens die from Ebola. To do otherwise would be shameful and bigoted. Great Americans like Torre Nesbett tell us how immoral crimethink like that truly is. So of course, Federal Officials oppose such a horrible thing. The appearance of !RACISM!, they believe, is far more lethal to political approval ratings than you dying from Ebola.

Top government health officials said Sunday that they are opposed to placing a ban on travelers from Ebola-infected countries, warning that shutting down borders could impede efforts by aid workers to stop the spread of the deadly virus.

Wow! This protective mask sure gets hot. However, I’m relieved to know that our highest ranking bureaucrats are listening to experts on this one. I mean when Barack Obama is even willing to cancel a fundraiser I know my government cares.

*-I joke. Ebola has not been detected in the Decatur-Huntsville Operational Theatre – Yet.
**-Save us Senator Lindsay-Wan. Make all the bigots shut up.