There is no taking back Rahm Emanuel’s love of emergencies, real or imagined, to push a political agenda or increase the power of the Executive Branch.
What we have here is a demonstration of a clear and present danger to the United States and a prime example why America needs – and should demand – honest politicians who put the America before their radical political agenda.
According to the Associated Press …
“Obama declares swine flu a national emergency
“President Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency and empowered his health secretary to suspend federal guidelines at hospitals and speed up how infected people might receive treatment in a disaster.”
“The declaration that Obama signed late Friday means Health and Human Services chief Kathleen Sebelius to bypass federal rules when opening alternative care sites, such as offsite hospital centers at schools or community centers, if needed.”
“Hospitals could modify patient rules — for example, requiring them to give less information during a hectic time — to quicken access to treatment, with government approval.”
“The declaration, which the White House announced Saturday, allows HHS in some cases to let hospitals relocate emergency rooms offsite to reduce flu-related burdens and to protect noninfected patients.”
Preemptive move – not in response to an actual emergency condition …
“Administration officials said the declaration was a pre-emptive move designed to make decisions easier when they need to be made. Officials said this was not in response to any single development on an outbreak that has lasted months and has killed more than 1,000 people in the United States.”
The first step on a very slippery slope?
“It was the second of two steps needed to give Sebelius extraordinary powers during a crisis.”
Normally, one would not object to our government officials preparing for a potential disaster, but to invoke emergency powers prior to the actual emergency seems not only presumptuous, but dangerous. It appears, at least to me, that a draft copy of an emergency order could be kept on file and invoked when needed. This order is not needed in order for the government to plan, research or test an emergency plan – so it appears that the declaration has a purely political motive.
Manufactured emergency?
“On April 26, the administration declared swine flu a public health emergency, allowing the shipment of roughly 12 million doses of flu-fighting medications from a federal stockpile to states in case they eventually needed them. At the time, there were 20 confirmed cases in the U.S. of people recovering easily. There was no vaccine against swine flu, but the CDC had taken the initial step necessary for producing one.”
While there is a significant cost to being prepared for a swine flu pandemic, might this money have been better spent in improving our national and regional medical response to seasonal flu events – especially since the CDC claims that it “was too late” in the manufacturing cycle to add the H1N1 strain to the current seasonal flu vaccine?
There is always a possibility that a given flu will mutate into a more virulent strain and cause widespread problems. But the government has been pushing pandemic preparations for years – especially in the financial community where government agencies such as the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) have issued guidelines for pandemic medical issues.
Another scary word: pandemic does not equal medical emergency …
In spite of its scary sound, a pandemic only means that the problem is widespread. There is nothing in the definition of “pandemic” which even hints at the severity of the situation or the virulence of the threat.
"As a nation, we have prepared at all levels of government, and as individuals and communities, taking unprecedented steps to counter the emerging pandemic," Obama wrote in the declaration.
“He said the pandemic keeps evolving, the rates of illness are rising rapidly in many areas and there's a potential ‘to overburden health care resources.’"
But the government is unwilling to really combat the situation in a rational manner. Of course, the best method for curtailing the effects of pandemics is isolation – and yet our government is coming late to screening passengers arriving from foreign ports for any symptomatic signs of disease. Not only is this a major issue for disease control, but it, once again, points to the porosity of our borders and the government’s reluctance to curtail any commercial activity which might upset the special interests. In this case the travel industry and then venues which depend on foreign visitors.
“Because of vaccine production delays, the government has backed off initial, optimistic estimates that as many as 120 million doses would be available by mid-October. As of Wednesday, only 11 million doses had been shipped to health departments, doctor's offices and other providers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said.”
And according to Secretary Sibelius, ten percent of the vaccines available to Americans – even before a substantial number of Americans are inoculated – will be shipped to foreign countries. While the humanitarian gesture is nice, it is totally ineffective except to generate a PR buzz. One, it denies Americans protection – senior citizens having been pushed to the back of the line in terms of vaccine inoculation priority. And two, it does little or nothing for the foreign country. In fact, it is almost a certainty that the vaccines will be siphoned off and sold on the black market or be used by the political elite, the military and their “special friends.” I would have imagined that the vaccine could be used to benefit the United States by demanding that all travelers be inoculated several weeks before they travel to America – as a condition of obtaining a visa, much in the same way that the world attempts to control other communicable diseases.
Why are the numbers never compared to the thousands of deaths, mostly in the extremely young, elderly and among compromised communities, caused by seasonal flu?
“Swine flu is more widespread now than it's ever been. Health authorities say almost 100 children have died from the flu, known as H1N1, and 46 states now have widespread flu activity.”
“Worldwide, more than 5,000 people have reportedly died from swine flu since it emerged this year and developed into a global epidemic, the World Health Organization said Friday. Since most countries have stopped counting individual swine flu cases, the figure is considered an underestimate.”
“ …the virus would have a long way to go to match the roughly 36,000 deaths that seasonal influenza causes in the United States each year.”
‘Since January, more than 13,000 people have died of complications from seasonal flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's weekly report on the causes of death in the nation.”
“No fewer than 800 flu-related deaths were reported in any week between January 1 and April 18, the most recent week for which figures were available.” <Source>
Unfortunately, I have a great deal of difficultly believing anything published by the World Health Organization. Primarily because they appear to have cooked their books in the past and issued inaccurate or misleading information with the goal of generating both media attention and additional funding for their cause. These are the same people who told medical authorities to use estimates, that specific and costly medical tests to confirm disease were not necessary – and to assume everything symptomatic should be added to the counts. Thus anyone who presented with a fever and the symptoms of malnutrition was added to the HIV/Aids numbers in areas of Africa. And they have suggested the same thing – just count up all flu cases and present the numbers.
Obamacare: a clear and present danger …
Because much of the actual guidelines, rules and regulations in Obamacare are left to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, a so-called health czar or those who will direct, as yet unformed, panels, commissions and boards, the power to implement political policy remains hidden from both Congress and the American people. These 1,500-page legislative drafts are a cover for ceding enormous powers to the Executive Branch of the government – without being subjected to the normal Constitutional checks and balances. Powers that can be used for either good or evil, depending on the integrity and ethics of the reigning Administration and Congress.
Since our government has proven to be run by liars and thieves, this type of power does not rest in the hands of honest brokers with a duty to American citizens, but in a hyper-partisan group of far-left radical activists who want to impose European-style socialism, collectivism and mutuality on America. Turning our exceptional country into just another member-state of the United Nations.
I am all for the reform of the healthcare, financial and educational institutions of America; but with honest brokers and the power residing in the states. To circumvent the Constitution and coercively blackmail states into compliance with inappropriate and unethical actions by withholding or controlling federal funds is unconscionable and un-American.
Thus I recommend that we toss all of the politicians out of office and elect our friends and neighbors. No more professional politicians and certainly no more lawyers. One need only look at today’s Congress and Administration to see what the confluence of politics, special interests and evil intent will possibly do to our beloved America.
-- steve
Reference links …
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