WHY IS EBOLA THE THREAT THAT IT IS?

REPUBLICANS CUT HALF OF BUDGET FOR HEALTH EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

There has been no lack of conservatives freaking out on Bullshit Mountain [Fox News] to discuss the arrival of the deadly Ebola virus in America, and they have had a fair measure of success frightening a surprisingly large segment of their viewership.

MADDOW PART ONE




MADDOW PART TWO

Republicans and their conservative cabal have even combined their ISIL fear-mongering tactics with their immigration fear-mongering to distract Americans going into an important midterm election. Except for the medical researchers and infectious disease scientists from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and National Institute of Health (NIH), there has been precious little information from real medical professionals of any repute that could relieve the rising fear and anxiety among the population that knows little about the virus, or what precautions they need, if any, to protect themselves and their families.

Although experts claim there is little reason for panic of a devastating outbreak of the deadly virus in America, a recent Harvard poll revealed that 39% of American adults are worried about a large-scale outbreak and over 25% are mortified that an immediate family member will be stricken with the infectious virus and die. What America needs at times like this is a trusted public health expert and medical professional to educate the public about the risk of contracting Ebola and reassure them that there is little to worry about and what steps to take to stay safe and Ebola-free.

Last November 14th, the President nominated Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, an extremely qualified candidate to replace ‘acting’ Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin. It took three months, but the Senate finally got around to holding a confirmation hearing for Dr. Murthy’s appointment. However, the National Rifle Association exerted its very substantial legislative prerogative and blocked Murthy’s confirmation because he does not recognize that the NRA is “fourth and all-powerful branch of the federal government” and called for sane gun restrictions to prevent more Americans from dying unnecessarily from the gun violence epidemic. It is exactly what a real medical professional, and highly-qualified potential Surgeon General of the United States is supposed to do - help prevent a deadly epidemic from spreading to save American lives.


It is a sad state of affairs when Republicans and their puppet masters - the NRA, are able to wield such powerful influence that they will not vote to confirm Dr. Murthy. Ebola is not an epidemic in America and a trusted Surgeon General would ease the fear and anxiety among the growing number of Americans worried they or their families will contract and succumb to the virus. However, because the qualified Surgeon General candidate believes easing the proliferation of guns driving the real American epidemic killing over a hundred Americans daily and injuring even more, the National Rifle Association, Republicans, and a few gun-shy Democrats will not allow his confirmation.

With the blockage of Dr. Vivek H. Murthy - along with a republcian lead congress reducing federal dollars to PHEP [Public Health Emergency Preparedness Cooperative Agreement Funding] by half since 2006 [See above Gantt Chart] its no wonder why America is not prepared for a Ebola outbreak.

Naturally, like all things tea bagger, if Obama wasn't busy covering up Benghazi conspiracies by playing golf, we would be more prepared for Ebola.

Conservatives are our own worst enemy. This story is a prime example readers of why we should always - "remember to spay or neuter your Republicans".






NFTOS
Editor-In-Chief
Roger West

MORE GUNS, EQUAL MORE MURDERS, EQUALS MILLIONS IN HOSPITAL CARE

Following yesterday's blog; a story about the biggest study ever conducted about guns.

Emergency room and inpatient procedures related to firearm injuries cost $629 million in 2010 alone, according to a new study by the Urban Institute. Since a large majority of these injuries afflicted poor males from low-income regions, U.S. taxpayers subsidized over half the costs of the treatments through public insurance programs.

Victims of gun violence are almost exclusively men aged 15 years and older, with American males between the ages of 15 and 34 comprising 69 percent of firearm assault injuries. Women constituted just nine percent of gun injuries across all ages.

Researchers found that the average emergency room visit for a gun injury ran $1,126, while an inpatient visit cost $23,497 — $14,000 more than the average cost of all inpatient stays in 2010.

These injuries were also concentrated in low-income regions with high numbers of uninsured Americans and Medicaid beneficiaries. In fact, over half of all the injuries occurred in zip codes in the lowest income quartile, while just seven percent occurred in areas with the highest incomes. That means that many of these hospitalization costs had to be covered by taxpayers through public insurance and assistance to hospitals that serve large numbers of the uninsured:

Earlier research has also found gun violence to be a costly enterprise for the health care system and taxpayers. An extensive Center for American Progress (CAP) report on gun violence found that three types of violent crime involving guns — homicide, robbery, and aggravated assault — cost taxpayers $3.7 billion per year in higher medical costs, lost work productivity from injuries, and spending on police and the courts.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has concluded that nonfatal gun injuries and gun-related deaths ultimately cost the U.S. $5.6 billion in medical spending every year. That number goes up to $64.6 billion when accounting for lost productivity due to the injuries.

NFTOS

STAFF WRITER