Give Me A Fucking Break

Score one point for the fear-mongers (and no -- this is not from The Onion):

An elementary school teacher in Maine has been placed on leave for 21 days, the incubation period of Ebola, after she visited Dallas to attend an educational conference. The teacher did not come into contact with anybody who had tested positive for the virus, but did stay at a hotel “exactly 9.5 miles away from Texas Health Presbyterian,” where Ebola patients have been treated.

It is, however, good to know that some folks are not being fooled by the fear-mongering politicians from both parties. Peter Pattakos, an attorney from Cleveland, found out that he spent 20 minutes Saturday in an Akron bridal shop where Ebola patient Amber Joy Vinson had been on that same day. Lots of folks are freaking out about Vinson's visit to this shop, but not Mr. Pattakos (h/t Chris):

"I didn't exchange any bodily fluids with anyone, so I'm not worried about it," he said. "I'm much more likely to be mistakenly killed by a police officer in this country than to be killed by Ebola, even if you were in the same bridal shop."

Thankfully, most Americans are on the same page as Mr. Pattakos. According to a recent NBC News Survey:

54% expressed at least a fair amount of confidence in the federal government to prevent a major Ebola outbreak on domestic soil. Similarly, most respondents expressed confidence in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (76%), the National Institutes of Health (64%), the World Health Organization (64%), and their state’s health department (62%).

I think most Americans understand that the real battleground is located in West Africa, where Ebola is spreading at a pretty good clip.