As Ebola Spreads, U.S. Still Without a Surgeon General, per GOP/NRA Obstruction.

[nashville_brook]

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/the-nra-making-the-ebola-crisis-worse


How the NRA is making the Ebola crisis worse


Every day brings more details about the first case of the Ebola virus to be diagnosed in the U.S. And while experts say there is essentially no risk of a significant outbreak here in the states, much of the public remains worried. A poll by Harvard found that 39% of U.S. adults are concerned about a large outbreak here, and more than a quarter fear someone in their immediate family could get sick with Ebola.

If only there was someone around who could educate the American public about the actual level of risk. Someone who was trusted as a public health expert and whose job it was to help us understand what we really need to worry about and what precautions we should take.

Actually, that is one of the primary responsibilities of the United States surgeon general. There’s just one problem: Thanks to Senate dysfunction and NRA opposition, we don’t have a surgeon general right now. In fact, we haven’t had a surgeon general for more than a year now — even though the president nominated the eminently qualified Dr. Vivek Murthy back in November 2013.
The lack of a surgeon general is now becoming more than just one more abstract example of government gridlock.

(snip)

So thanks to NRA power and Senate cowardice, we are left with no surgeon general during a time when, we not only have Ebola arriving on our shores, but are also dealing with the mysterious Enterovirus, which is infecting and contributing to the deaths of children in the U.S.

“We need all hands on deck, and a surgeon general to echo and amplify the messages coming from the CDC, and to provide evidence-based advocacy to shape our response,” said Dr. Paul Farmer, chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

In other words, now would be a great time to have someone in the role of top doctor.

[Vinca]

1. Wow - I had totally forgotten about that.

The fools should come back to Washington and take a vote on someone.

[nashville_brook]

5. me too! just saw this and was amazed no one has been talking about it.

[Politicub]

26. Me three

We're in for a world of hurt should dems sit on their hands come November.

[nashville_brook]

75. this would be a sparkling opportunity to differentiate during fall campaigns.

[MineralMan]

2. The office is not vacant. There is an acting Surgeon General. See the link below:

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/about/biographies/biosg.html

[nashville_brook]

6. per the article:

At the moment, Tom Frieden, the head of the Center for Disease Control, has been filling in for part of the surgeon general’s role, but he has his own vital work to attend to as both head of the CDC and the U.S. Ambassador to the World Health Organization.

[MineralMan]

8. There is an acting Surgeon General, as I said.

There is someone who is qualified in charge of that office already.

[nashville_brook]

9. wow -- you don't think we could use a REAL surgeon general, one who's not

involved in the day-to-day with CDC and WHO at this moment? you don't think the Republicans should get back to DC and do the work they should have already done?

or, do you stand with the NRA on this one?

[MineralMan]

10. When did I say that? Yes, of course we need a permanent

appointment to that office and Congress needs to get off the stick and confirm one. The acting Surgeon General was formerly the Deputy Surgeon General, though, and so is probably qualified for the job.

The Surgeon General, though, doesn't deal with emergent health problems like Ebola. That's the CDC's job.

[nashville_brook]

16. right, the SG works with the public…on issues of PR to mitigate panic, rumors and bad info

which is a huge issue right now.

i'd much rather someone high placed with his CV stay involved on the infectious disease side -- but we need someone filling the Surgeon General position to get out in front of the messaging.

[Dustlawyer]

30. Yes, there is a difference b/w calling a press conference as The Surgeon General of The United

of America, instead of the guy who is just filling in.

[amandabeech]

34. The Acting Surgeon General, Rear Admiral Lushniak,

appears to have outstanding credentials.

I don't care if he's acting or not, if he can do the job, let him.

[nashville_brook]

64. yeah well, he's not doing the job.

and it's time we got a REAL surgeon general ferchrissakes.

[Skidmore]

11. When are the people going to demand that the Congress do its freaking job

instead of blaming every fricking thing under the sun on the President? It is Congresses job to legislate and to approve appointments, not to be on perpetual vacation.

[nashville_brook]

13. seriously -- this isn't an Obama thing.

[Skidmore]

19. No, it isn't.

We have a government barely limping along because of this bunch of corrupt Republican/Teabagger legislators who have been actively breaking it for years now. It just makes me so angry.

[nashville_brook]

25. then you don't even want to look at twitter #ebola

this is why the surgeon general thing resonated with me.

the mountain of bullshit that being peddled out there RE ebola and enterovirus is vile racism. "shut the borders down b/c people from other (brown) countries carry diseases." it's revolting.

[Crash2Parties]

31. Sorry, that's not what they've been trained to do.

1. Identify a strong authority figure.
2. Do what it says, say what it says.
3. Power, by association.

[Skidmore]

32. No, they've been trained to

try to live like the people on reality teevee because Kardashians and fake Housewives or actors and their families are truly aspirational. You cannot think when you are busy shopping.

[Fred Sanders]

40. Far too many "liberals" at DU have a real soft spot for the NRA, enemy of liberalism everywhere.

[uponit7771]

46. +1

[calimary]

60. +1 more

[nashville_brook]

67. +1 again

[Orsino]

56. And the whores in the Senate are doing their best not to confirm a real one...

...while of course ensuring that the acting SG can't do a damned thing, either. Corporate power must not be eclipsed by even the appearance of governmental authority.

[MineralMan]

57. That's correct, which is why we need to:

GOTV 2014 and Beyond!

There is no other solution.

[Sopkoviak]

61. GOTV for whom? Who is holding up the SG confirmation?

the 55-seat Democratic caucus can confirm nominees with no Republican buy-in.

The chickenshit majority could confirm Vivek Murthy tomorrow.

But being in the majority has complicated life for the Democrats.

They can no longer expect a Republican filibuster to kill a “controversial” nomination.

They have to kill the nominations themselves.

Bunch of fucking cowards.

[nashville_brook]

66. have to agree here -- Reid seems to be protected his Blue Dogs

and that's just irresponsible under these circumstances.

[hlthe2b]

3. re: If only there was someone ... could educate the American public about the actual level of risk"

While I think it would help to have someone in the Surgeon General role, I can assure you they too, (unless they had come from a very strong public health virological epidemiological background) would be deferring to the Directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden ) and National Institutes of Health Allergy & Infectious Disease (NIH-NAID Director, Dr. Anthony Fauci).

This is where the expertise lies.

Dr. Frieden is the person in charge of the public health efforts at the Federal level, but what most don't recognize is that neither CDC (nor at the global level, the World Health Organization, WHO) can take all control from the local, state, (and in the case of WHO, the country level). Everything is cooperative. It isn't like in law enforcement, where the Feds can more or less completely take over decisional authority from the locals. That's why you'll see the "hosting" locals and state authorities being given deferential treatment frequently. That does NOT mean that they are "running the show" behind the sidelines, but rather they are given public deference. THose with the expertise know they can't function without cooperation, so even if you have a very stupid governor running off at the mouth or locals running to every microphone, they have to address this kind of thing behind the scenes. Not specific to Ebola, but every major disease outbreak in which CDC (and WHO) become involved.

[NYC_SKP]

4. We suck if we can't take care of business between surgeons general.

Let's face it-- obstructionism is a way of life, this isn't new.

If the CDC and other bodies can't function at 100% without a nominal surgeon general, then they probably can't function with one.

[pipoman]

15. I thought similar. ...actually i thought,

'ffs, how pathetic, we need someone who can dumb down health information? What do we have the media for?'


edit...silly me, we need the media to strike fear in those who can't understand all that medical mumbo-jumbo and we need a surgeon general to unscare the cowering masses...

[KittyWampus]

18. Not having a SG is part of the whole shutting down government agenda the Republicans push

What part of the simple fact don't you grasp?

You see "NRA" and feel the need to defend the indefensible? Is that it?

[nashville_brook]

71. [phone]

[Bluenorthwest]

52. The last time we faced a new viral threat, the Surgeon General was the person who finally forced

the bigoted, ignorant hand of Ronald Wilson Reagan to take a bit of action, to swallow his stupidity and hate and speak out loud about the greatest health crisis of our time. By the time Koop motivated Reagan to initiate some action we had more than 20,000 American dead, 50,000 more infected.
C Everette Koop was the last Republican I ever saw do anything of value for this country and the world. Had he not been in office, who knows how much worse things would have gotten....
Last year in Africa, 1.2 million deaths from AIDS in Africa.

[nashville_brook]

63. really good point!

i'd forgotten the role he played in getting things moving on our response to AIDS.

[MineralMan]

7. CDC Ebola Update Website Page

CDC Ebola Update Website Page - Lots and lots of resources and links to important information
http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/index.html

[pipoman]

12. If the NRA was responsible for everything attributed to it

The NRA would be more effective legislators than either party. No, they're given far more credit than they deserve for the sake of fulfilling some people's need for a boogeyman. ...and/or to make excuses for the purchased legislators they love to reelect. ..

[LanternWaste]

17. Except they were in fact, the catalyst for directly preventing the CDC from researching gun violence

Except the NRA was in fact, the primary catalyst for directly preventing the CDC from researching gun violence (the Dickey Amendment).

(insert distinction without a difference here)

[pipoman]

23. Every time you post I envision a mynah bird...

Every time you post I envision a mynah bird....

that said, the cdc publishes mountains of statistics on gun violence along with every other form of violence every year. And what does this have to do with appointing a surgeon general?

[LanternWaste]

24. It simply goes towards your allegation that the NRA is a bogey-man.

"And what does this have to do with appointing a surgeon general?"
It simply goes towards your allegation that the NRA is a mere bogey-man.

Every time I post you imagine things, huh? That's kind of... special/creepy.

[Fred Sanders]

39. Strawman fallacies are the NRA's main allies.

[Fred Sanders]

37. The NRA apologists on DU will parrot the NRA propaganda, they are as hopeless as on Fox.

[Fred Sanders]

51. You are correct, and much more could be said. For example the NRA is directly responsible for no

Surgeon General as enough Democratic Senators have been cowed by the gun and fun crowd to make it impossible...a Surgeon General, free from constraints of politics, could have sounded the alarm on Ebola months ago....so the NRA is to blame for the Ebola outbreak in America, I say. Sure as fuck did not help.

An acting anything is NEVER as effective.....for many reasons, think about it...do I have to do all the work for you?

[friendly_iconoclast]

79. "...(T)he NRA is to blame for the Ebola outbreak in America, I say."

NRA Derangement Syndrome, anyone?

P.S.- that statement has made DU's version of the Gun Control Advocacy Hall of Fame:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11729858

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11729858#post279

[Fred Sanders]

81. I actually see the connection, you do not, so be it.

[nashville_brook]

73. +1000000

[Orsino]

58. They ARE far more effective legislators than either party.

God damn it, if either party had their success rate at halting or passing legislation, they would be running on it this year.

But they don't, so they aren't.

[nashville_brook]

68. +1

[KeepItReal]

14. I'm sick of Harry Reid. A majority means nothing to him.

As if the GOP minority would give 2 sh!ts about "respecting the rights of the minority" if the tables were turned.

Reid needs to stop this GOP mayhem of filibustering and silent holds on President Obama's nominations to all of these positions.

[SoapBox]

28. And here I thought it was just me feeling like you!

[uponit7771]

47. That's the root of the problem IMHO, they (dems in DC) think the cons in congress give a damn

... about the country to the level the dems do...

They don't

they've shown this many many many times

[former9thward]

21. Reid is responsible for this.

He will not bring it to a vote. And NO, the filibuster has nothing to do with it. That rule was changed for Presidential nominees. There is no filibuster to blame.

[world wide wally]

36. Reid is totally incompetent

[nashville_brook]

43. i want to think it's incompetence, but i'm afraid he's been rewarded for

using the strategy and tactics that are keeping us from moving forward. in addition to bringing up these confirmation votes (and possibly embarrassing conservadems) he's also refusing to support progressive-ish Senate dem candidates that actually have a chance of winning if they'd just get a little help from DC.

the one that comes to mind is Weiland in South Dakota, but there's another one I ran across yesterday.


http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/219278-reid-daschle-feud-erupts

[Fred Sanders]

50. The NRA and a few Democratic Senators are to blame....that is a fact...Reid is a gem.

[former9thward]

54. No, it is not a fact. Bring it to a vote.

NO ONE is stopping that. Only Reid.

[DirkGently]

22. KNR!

[lark]

27. Repugs, the party of death.

They don't want healthcare for anyone but the 1% and don't want anyone to actually promote health care. They just want the NRA $$ for themselves and don't give a shit how many children kill themselves or friends or family by playing with loaded guns. They refuse to have the studies done because the results would show that guns rarely protect people in their homes. It would totally take away many of the NRA lies, so of course, congress can't have that. Who cares how many die of Ebola? Bet that they are going to start using this against Obama too and of course will never take responsibility for the mayhem they themselves created.

[BlindTiresias]

33. of course not

Why should they? It is a winning strategy.

[nashville_brook]

42. mentioned this upthread, but twitter is polluted with conservamorons

blaming obama for ebola. and it's as racist as you would imagine b/c it's all "close the borders" b/c people from non-anglo countries "carry diseases."

[blkmusclmachine]

29. "A poll by Harvard found that 39% of U.S. adults are concerned about a large outbreak here."

So, Americans are more worried about ISIS than Ebola???

[Spitfire of ATJ]

38. They're probably more concerned about the zombies than ISIS.

[nashville_brook]

41. literally seeing *ebola zombies* stories

http://allafrica.com/stories/201409240829.html

this is an early one, but f'n NBC ran a story today. seems people crash and appear dead, and then revive when moved.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

44. Figures....

[Marrah_G]

62. I think this is not all that rare in places without alot of medical professionals

I wonder who it was that pronounced these people dead. I remember reading about people here in America in the 17th/18th century that would wake up at their funeral/wake or burial because they had appeared dead but weren't.

[nashville_brook]

69. good point. there might also be something about this virus

that creates a period of super-low life signs in the late stages, as this has been reported a number of times.

[Marrah_G]

76. Agree!

I know its not the same thing, but when my elderly cat was dying, at one point I actually thought he had passed. I called my kids to tell them and prepared him to be buried.... then at the last minute I saw him breathe. He lasted a whole day longer, but unconscious. It was a roller coaster couple of days.

[bigwillq]

45. I am more personally concerned about Ebola than ISIS

The chances of getting Ebola are very, very low for me, I believe. But I also believe Ebola is more of a threat, personally, than ISIS is.

[nashville_brook]

74. and even if it doesn't literally touch anyone we know,

it's affect on our life here in the US has the potential to be far more destructive.

(as does poverty, crappy wages and lack of sick time -- but that's the subject for another post)

[world wide wally]

35. So, i guess they will really push to repeal Obamacare now!

[nashville_brook]

70. actually this is a great time to pressure remaining red states to expand medicaid NOW

[SleeplessinSoCal]

48. The Surgeon General is the person who could have sounded the alarm months ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surgeon_General

[1dogleft]

49. I don't know which statement

is more ludicrous. That it won't spread or having an SG would make a difference. What the hell does the NRA have to do with anything

[nashville_brook]

72. read the article -- the Surgeon General's job is to help citizens on a large scale

to understand complex health issues.

and the NRA has objected to the nominee for the position so the GOP put a hold on it.


read, my friend. it will answer all your questions.

[world wide wally]

78. The SG had the nerve to say that guns can harm people's health when they are on the wrong end of one

[1dogleft]

80. 8 years of school

must have taught him that

[nashville_brook]

53. morning kicked

[Octafish]

55. It would be a great time to have someone in the role of top doc.

Thanks to the Turtle, we don't though.

Great post, nashville_Brooksan!

[aikoaiko]

59. It's too bad he supported something as stupid as the Assault Weapons Ban.

Last edited Sat Oct 4, 2014, 12:49 PM - Edit history (1)

If you have political ambitions you shouldn't say stupid things.

[nashville_brook]

65. you forgot the sarcasm thingy, b/c for the top doc to oppose assault weapons

seems pretty damn sane to me.

[aikoaiko]

77. Did you know that the AR15 used at Sandy Hook was Assault Weapon Ban compliant ?

That's how useless and stupid such bans are.