The Distinct Sound Of A Panic Button Being Smashed

Remember, there's no concerted effort to panic people using cheap and stupid Ebola scare tactics in the media, thus causing low turnout for the November elections in order to favor Republicans.  Why would anyone believe that's the case?

There could be as many as two dozen people in the U.S. infected with Ebola by the end of the month, according to researchers tracking the virus with a computer model. 

The actual number probably will be far smaller and limited to a couple of airline passengers who enter the country already infected without showing symptoms, and the health workers who care for them, said Alessandro Vespignani, a Northeastern University professor who runs computer simulations of infectious disease outbreaks. The two newly infected nurses in Dallas don’t change the numbers because they were identified quickly and it’s unlikely they infected other people, he said. 

The projections only run through October because it’s too difficult to model what will occur if the pace of the outbreak changes in West Africa, where more than 8,900 people have been infected and 4,500 have died, he said. If the outbreak isn’t contained, the numbers may rise significantly. 

Yeah, nothing like a using a sensational headline like

U.S. Ebola Cases May Exceed Two Dozen by November, Researchers Say

And then spending the rest of the article to walk it back.  Good job, Bloomberg News!

“We have a worst-case scenario, and you don’t even want to know,” Vespignani said. “We could have widespread epidemics in other countries, maybe the Far East. That would be like a bad science fiction movie.” 

The worst case would occur if Ebola acquires pandemic status and is no longer contained in West Africa, he said. It would be a catastrophic event, one Vespignani said he is confident won’t happen. 

“Let’s be rational for the next couple of months,” he said. “We aren’t going to have an invasion of cases. After November, we need to reassess the situation and see what is the progress of containment in West Africa.”

There's a worst-case, but it's not here in the US.  Africa needs help, which is coming in the form of US personnel and supplies.  But who cares?  EBOLA EBOLA EBOLA STAY HOME DON'T GO OUTSIDE.  Hell, we're pissing ourselves over 3 cases.

"And especially don't go vote" is the underlying implication.  Scary crowds of people there.  Maybe somebody's infected, you don't know.  If you wanted to wreck November turnout and then holiday shopping, this is the way to do it.

Right?