Sowell explains why racism is rampant in Obama's America

Racism was supposed to end with Obama.  He was supposed to create a better environment for African Americans.  Instead, racism has gotten worse.  Those who champion for equality are angrier than they've ever been.  

Race riots that were rampant during the 1960s have returned.  There have now been 5 Race Riots in Obama's Post Racial America.  If we add the Baltimore riots to this count, there have now been 6 race riots in Obama's Post Racial America.  

Obama blames Inequality facing minority men behind the unrest in Baltimore and Ferguson.  He also blames slavery and Jim crow.  During an interview with David Letterman, he said: 

If you have slavery, Jim Crow, discrimination that built up over time, even if our society has made extraordinary strides -- and I'm a testament to that, and my children are -- (applause) But it's built up over time.

Thomas Sowell, The Inconvenient Truth About Ghetto Communities' Social Breakdown, said Obama is all wrong.  He said:

Totally ignored was the fact that a black policeman in Alabama fatally shot an unarmed white teenager, and was cleared of any charges, at about the same time that a white policeman was cleared of charges in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.

 He added:

When the recorded fatal shooting of a fleeing man in South Carolina brought instant condemnation by whites and blacks alike, and by the most conservative as well as the most liberal commentators, that moment of mutual understanding was very fleeting, as if mutual understanding were something to be avoided, as a threat to a vision of “us against them” that was more popular.

That vision is nowhere more clearly expressed than in attempts to automatically depict whatever social problems exist in ghetto communities as being caused by the sins or negligence of whites, whether racism in general or a “legacy of slavery” in particular. Like most emotionally powerful visions, it is seldom, if ever, subjected to the test of evidence.

The “legacy of slavery” argument is not just an excuse for inexcusable behavior in the ghettos. In a larger sense, it is an evasion of responsibility for the disastrous consequences of the prevailing social vision of our times, and the political policies based on that vision, over the past half century.

Anyone who is serious about evidence need only compare black communities as they evolved in the first 100 years after slavery with black communities as they evolved in the first 50 years after the explosive growth of the welfare state, beginning in the 1960s. 

You would be hard-pressed to find as many ghetto riots prior to the 1960s as we have seen just in the past year, much less in the 50 years since a wave of such riots swept across the country in 1965.

We are told that such riots are a result of black poverty and white racism. But in fact — for those who still have some respect for facts — black poverty was far worse, and white racism was far worse, prior to 1960. But violent crime within black ghettos was far less.

Murder rates among black males were going down — repeat, down — during the much-lamented 1950s, while it went up after the much celebrated 1960s, reaching levels more than double what they had been before. Most black children were raised in two-parent families prior to the 1960s. But today the great majority of black children are raised in one-parent families.

Such trends are not unique to blacks, nor even to the United States. The welfare state has led to remarkably similar trends among the white underclass in England over the same period. Just read Life at the Bottom, by Theodore Dalrymple, a British physician who worked in a hospital in a white slum neighborhood.

You cannot take any people, of any color, and exempt them from the requirements of civilization — including work, behavioral standards, personal responsibility, and all the other basic things that the clever intelligentsia disdain — without ruinous consequences to them and to society at large.

Non-judgmental subsidies of counterproductive lifestyles are treating people as if they were livestock, to be fed and tended by others in a welfare state — and yet expecting them to develop as human beings have developed when facing the challenges of life themselves.

Thomas Sowell is an American economist, social theorist, political philosopher, and author. Oh, and if you're keeping track, he's also among the most successful African Americans in the U.S.

Ebola virus disease now in U.S.

Ebola is perhaps the deadliest disease in the world.  There is no cure, so if you get it there's a 90% chance you will die.  The disease Ebola haemorrhagic fever, or what is now called Ebola virus disease, was first discovered in 1976, and the disease has never made it into the United States, until recently.

It first appears as flu-like symptoms, and then it starts to cause internal bleeding. So, basically, those who get it bleed out, and this ultimately results in organ failure, followed by death.  The only treatment is supportive, and basically involves hydrating patients.

The virus is very infectious, as even one virus can spread the disease.  However, it's not very contagious.  Patients suffering from it bleed out, so anyone exposed to the person may easily come in contact with bodily fluids. Yet it's not contagious because most people don't tough the bodily fluids of other people.

The disease originally only appeared in 1976 in Nzara, Sudan, Yambuka, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The disease takes its name from the Ebola River which is situated near the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Presently there is an outbreak in Guinae and Liberia.  Overall, the disease is thought to have killed over 800 people in Africa.

The disease is transmitted from one host to another through bodily fluids, which generally seep from the infected person.  It initially presents as flu-like symptoms here, or Malaria-like symptoms in Africa, although, and, quite often, these are brushed off as minor symptoms treated by home remedies.  Yet as the disease progresses, internal bleeding begins to occur, which ultimately leads to weakness, high fever, intestinal problems, and eventual death.

The disease originally affected wild animals in the tropical rain forests of Central and West Africa, and was transmitted to primitive people living in small villages living near these rain forests.  It is suspected that the original host was fruit bats of the pteropododidae family.

It's thought to have been transmitted to humans by these primitive people handling animals infected with it, such as fruit bats, porcupines, monkeys, and forest antelope.  Then it spreads quickly from one sick person to another, as loved ones yearn to help animals, or their fellow men and women, struck with illness.

This is what occurred recently, as 2 American missionaries in Liberia to help out the needy became infected with the virus.  These infected missionaries have made this issue political in the United States, as many have called for Americans to go there with supplies to help, some have insisted we bring them here for treatment, and others think we should just let them alone.  All arguments are reasonably respectable and understandable, considering the deadliness of this disease, and the ease to which it may spread.

To give you an idea of how easy this disease spreads, doctors taking care of them wear protective gear.  Yet despite this gear, it did not stop one of the doctors from becoming infected. Perhaps the doctor made a mistake somewhere along the line. Perhaps he did not zip up a zipper or he had a hole in his suit.  Perhaps he took off his gloves while handling the patient.  Regardless, it shows how possible it is, how easy it is, for this disease to spread.

President Obama, or at least members of his administration, made the decision to go get these two sick missionaries and bring them here. They were transported via an aircraft specially designed to handle such situations, and are now patients at Emory Hospital in Atlanta.

Whatever the motives, political or other (some say the Ebola victims were given a secret remedy), are beyond the concerns of this blog. However, it is our concern to consider the potential consequences of having Ebola in the U.S.

What this action means is that American healthcare professionals will come into contact with these two infected missionaries.

Some say, despite wearing protective gear, if one of them makes even the slightest mistake, the disease will sneak into one of them, and the disease will make its way to Atlanta.  It will fly with a host to New York, drive with another to California, and take the train to Denver.  An epidemic of Ebola virus disease may occur, secretly invading unsuspecting hosts.

Of course the virus could just as easily cross the border by means of one of the people illegally crossing our unprotected border.  People who come to America legally are screened for infectious diseases, but those who come in illegally are not screened. So the risk was present even without these two known infected missionaries being moved to Atlanta.

If the infected come to your hospital you will not be able to deny them treatment. In this way, every physician, nurse, respiratory therapist, x-ray technician, laboratory tech, and nurses aide is at risk for unknowingly coming into contact with the virus, therefore unknowingly assisting the virus in its quest to stay alive.

Considering the severity of this disease, every voice should be heard on this subject, including the words of Donald Trump, who Tweeted: "The U.S. cannot allow Ebola affected people back.  People that go to far away places to help out are great but must suffer the consequences."

He also Tweeted: “Stop the EBOLA patients from entering the U.S. Treat them, at the highest level, over there. THE UNITED STATES HAS ENOUGH PROBLEMS!”

Some people, including actor Whoopie Goldberg and former republican campaign aide, Nicolle Wallace, on ABCs the view, mocked such concerns.  In fact, Wallace said:

Think about who else goes to faraway places, Whoopi. We send our soldiers to faraway places. I think that we should put them in one of Donald Trump's hotels in New Jersey. I don't think they're doing very well. And I think one of his hotels would be a great place.

Such mockery is not helpful, and only discouraged people from speaking out their concerns.

While many Americans are fearful of a potential epidemic that might be caused as a result of Ebola in an Atlanta hospital, The Washington Post reports that some infectious disease experts say that is highly unlikely as the disease is spread by direct contact with blood, urine or feces of the patient, and not by airborne pathogens.  They say diseases like the bird flu is far more contagious, as it can easily be contacted from anyone who coughs or sneezes.

While it's possible, you are highly unlikely to catch the Ebola virus by a hand shake, or by simply being in contact with someone with the disease.  You could be on a plane or train with someone who has the Ebola virus and not be contaminated.

The experts say that the disease is easily spread in Africa because the people there directly handle infected victims, particularly animals both dead and alive, and are readily exposed to bodily fluids.  They also have extreme burial procedures where they bury their own family members and friends.  We do not do those things here, or are highly unlikely to.

Yet if you are a healthcare giver, on the other hand, you may be exposed.  So there lies the concern for us. This may be a good time to review universal precautions, and remind healthcare givers to wear gloves and gowns when the risk of exposure to secretions is eminent.

However, this may not even be necessary, as most hospitals, most healthcare staff, already do this.  Pretty much, the risk of this disease spreading in the U.S. like it did in Africa is highly unlikely, mainly because the preventative measures in place in this country are far better than those in Africa.  So even healthcare givers are highly unlikely to become infected with Ebola.

However, the Ebola virus would never come to the United States on it's own, and it's here now.  The fear is real, as patient who recently returned from a trip to West Africa was admitted to a New York hospital was tested for the Ebola virus, and the CDC admits six people in the U.S. have been tested for Ebola.

People who note their concern over the virus coming here and risking an epidemic should not be made fun of.  This is a serious issue that should entice a serious debate in the arena of ideas.  Because, as CBS News report, the Ebola outbreak may be more serious than thought.