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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Medford approves recreational pot tax RVTD says its future is riding on the election Emergency services SOU students protest university's free-speech zone Medford rethinks overseas staff trip to Georgia Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency services Talent man and Texas fugitive arrested on drug charges in Lane County Officials warn of frauds touting fake Ebola cures Emergency services Hitchhiker arrested after allegedly trying to stab Central Point man who gave her a ride Politics and Elections RVTD says its future is riding on the election Stricker steps down from Talent council Commissioner's race: Talbert wants to diversify economy Commissioner's race: Roberts seeks accountability in government Ward 4 Q&A: George Schroeder Education SOU students protest university's free-speech zone Boys & Girls Clubs bursting at the seams Phoenix High School restores homecoming parade EP school district launches new app Striving to make the grade Environment Fear of orphaned cubs nixes new spring bear hunt Josephine County ballot measure would ban commercial and government pesticide use Low water exposes Emigrant Lake's past Wagner Creek work would restore streambank Deer-killing disease won't taint meat for hunters State news Nation - World Obituaries James Waldo Littlefield Francis Bagley Cecile (DeLozier) Death Notices Marc Lee Sprang Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Sports Latest Stories No. 20 Utah sinks Beavers in two OTs Challengers rally to claim Southern Cascade crown Senior Erin Riley has been key to South Medford's success Pirates tops in Skyline with win Ishikawa's homer sends Giants to World Series Varsity 541 College Sports No. 20 Utah sinks Beavers in two OTs Third-ranked Concordia fights off SOU, 3-1 Part II: This time, No. 4 SOU visits No. 3 Carroll Gutches invited to wrestle in All-Star Classic Young Ducks impress early Pro Sports Ishikawa's homer sends Giants to World Series Patriots survive scare from Jets, 27-25 In NBA, 3's are most definitely wild Cink, Laird share lead in Las Vegas Royals’ Guthrie apologizes for post-game T-shirt Community Sports LOCAL EVENTS LOCAL RESULTS Business Latest Stories Hundreds look for work at Harry & David hiring fair Frontier Airlines to end Eugene-Denver service Umpqua Holdings more than doubles net earnings Business Resource Fair has answers Erickson's Navy contract extended Real Estate News Lithia buys Clovis dealership Rental vacancies increase Jackson County real estate sales, prices continue rebound Pallet Wine Co. expands in downtown Medford Medford's Pixel Productions moves to new quarters People In Business Transportation Frontier Airlines to end Eugene-Denver service Business Resource Fair has answers Erickson's Navy contract extended Lithia buys Clovis dealership Agriculture Hundreds look for work at Harry & David hiring fair Umpqua Holdings more than doubles net earnings Harry & David will hold hiring fair Thursday Ranchers offer livestock exchange 1-800-Flowers CEO: Labor shortage an issue for Harry & David Opinion Latest Letters to the editor Our view: With respect, our support goes to Bates Isolation won't work for U.S. or the world Matthew T. Mangino: Asset forfeitures bolster local crime fighting efforts Granlund cartoon: Crist vs Scott fan debate Editorials Our view: With respect, our support goes to Bates Our View: Bearnson, Stine, Lane for Medford council Our View: No clear favorite for county commissioner, position 1 Our View: It's time to legalize marijuana Another View: Congress must act on firefighting budget Letters to the Editor Letters to the editor Letters to the Editor, Oct. 16 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 15 Election Letters, Oct. 14 Election Letters, Oct. 13 Guest Opinions Infill is the answer to growth issues Guest Opinion: Who’s really to blame for 2014 wildfires? Mt. Ashland is responding to community concerns Siskiyou Plus Spring Bear Hunt: What lies beneath? Guest Opinion: Who's to blame for 2014 wildfires? Lifestyle Latest stories Religion Briefs Looking Up: As the worlds turn Fishing Report: Friday, Oct. 17 App Finder: Best dieting apps New trails could garner scenic designation Food Community blog: Eggs make for economical, unconventional curry Mobile meals perfect for autumn forays Community blog: Green beans go global from gleaning garden Kitchen Call: Pumpkin is nothing without the spice Community blog: Battered, fried bhaji bring street food to the table Home and Garden Dear Monty: Is your real estate agent a secret agent? The best way to store your books A list to help you get ready for winter How to create a fashionable painted floor cloth Dear Monty: 7 prepping tips for home showings Health Health Watch: Skip the energy drink and reenergize naturally Officials warn of frauds touting fake Ebola cures Community blog: Will Altruism Be The Next Healthcare Breakthrough? Community blog: He said he hoped to die at age 75? He said that! Community blog: Listen Like You Mean it! Hiking Biking Faith Religion Briefs Religion Briefs Religion Briefs Religion briefs First Church of Nazarene plans cleanup Milestones and Achievements Southern Oregon Pride parade celebrates gay marriage ruling New Arrivals Still stifling laughter 40 years after 'Young Frankenstein' New Arrivals Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Yu's Yummy Yan's offers great take-out A cappella fellas sing for schools Tutunov Piano Series begins at SOU Theater's haunted house not for faint of heart Third Fridays in downtown Medford Theater Camelot presents 'The Lion in Winter' 'Carnage' is short, smart, darkly funny Randall Theatre presents 'Blithe Spirit' A tribute to a great lyricist 'Mrs. Mannerly' is a matter of manners Music A cappella fellas sing for schools The Farr Side: Bryan Adams releases album of influential hits Tutunov Piano Series begins at SOU Benefit for Nita Day at The Wild Goose Cafe in Ashland Call for musicians Community Events Theater's haunted house not for faint of heart Third Fridays in downtown Medford Works in progress Southern Oregon Pride Festival celebrates diversity Greater Medford Multicultural Fair Dining Yu's Yummy Yan's offers great take-out Agave offers tasty tacos Asian cuisine for all seasons at Misoya Bistro Spoons 'Get Giddy' at Porters Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW Elk season starts damp but not snowy ... Free forage seed available ... Medford approves recreational pot tax ... Elk season starts damp but not snowy ... Free forage seed available ... Medford approves recreational pot tax ... Jim Brock: U.S. Ebola cases could have been prevented By Jim Brock More Content Now MailTribune.com By Jim Brock More Content Now Posted Oct. 16, 2014 @ 6:55 am By Jim Brock More Content Now Posted Oct. 16, 2014 @ 6:55 am » Social News Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Tuesday that he and his wife Dr. Priscilla Chan have donated $25 million to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the fight against Ebola. Good for you, Mark (We’re on a first-name basis because we are Facebook friends). Donations from Zuckerberg, along with a $50 million donation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a $9 million donation from Paul Allen of Microsoft, show us that the American spirit is alive and well. If there’s one thing “The Gipper” and I agree on, it’s the idea that private donations trump massive government spending in a capitalist society. Unfortunately, that idea only works in a perfect world, and we don’t live in that world. Over the past few months, I have seen the usual suspects on the right blame the American doctors in Africa, vilifying them as if they were less than heroic. In August, Donald Trump, one of the right’s many characters with foot-in-mouth disease, tweeted, “The U.S. cannot allow EBOLA infected people back. People that go to far away places to help out are great-but must suffer the consequences!” Maybe it’s time for Trump to give to the cause with his wallet instead of his mouth. Meanwhile, the Ebola crisis worsens. We now have confirmation that a second health care worker in Dallas has tested positive for the virus. Also an employee at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital – where Liberian national Eric Duncan died last week – the new patient was “isolated within ‘90 minutes’ of her temperature being taken,” according to an Oct. 15 NBC report. The new patient reported symptoms on Oct. 14 – one day after she returned from a trip to Cleveland. So, we now have at least two patients who contracted Ebola in the U.S., both in Texas. Is the right ready to call this another “Obama scandal”? Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal in his recent Politico column “The Facts About Ebola Funding” is certainly setting the stage for it. “In recent years, the CDC has received significant amounts of funding. Unfortunately, however, many of those funds have been diverted away from programs that can fight infectious diseases, and toward programs far afield from the CDC’s original purpose. “Over the past five years, the CDC has received just under $3 billion in transfers from the fund. Yet only 6 percent – $180 million – of that $3 billion went toward building epidemiology and laboratory capacity. Especially given the agency’s postwar roots as the Communicable Disease Center, one would think that ‘detecting and responding to infectious diseases and other public health threats’ warrants a larger funding commitment.” The Huffington Post recently reported that Dr. Francis Collins, the head of the National Institutes of Health, blames budget cuts for the lack of progress. “NIH has been working on Ebola vaccines since 2001. It’s not like we suddenly woke up and thought, ‘Oh my gosh, we should have something ready here.’ “Frankly, if we had not gone through our 10-year slide in research support, we probably would have had a vaccine in time for this that would’ve gone through clinical trials and would have been ready.” This could go on and on, and believe me, it will. But if I were a Republican who believes in small government and pragmatic market solutions – especially in the area of health care – I would dig a bit deeper than the NIH, the CDC, Congress and even the White House. I would ask where the pharmaceutical companies have been, and what they were doing to earn more than $700 billion in profits in more than 10 years. “Over the past decade, the 11 largest global drug companies reaped about $711 billion in profits, according to a new analysis from the Health Care for America Now (HCAN) advocacy group,” according to an April 2013 report from ThinkProgress. “In 2012 alone, the drug companies’ annual profits totaled nearly $84 billion. The organization’s analysis credits much of these profits to the federal policy that prevents Medicare from negotiating directly with drug companies – which allows Big Pharma to price gouge the government program’s prescription drug benefit, known as Medicare Part D.” The World Health Organization reported this week that the death toll from the Ebola virus outbreak has risen to 4,447, warning that there could be up to 10,000 new cases a week within two months if efforts were not stepped up, the BBC reported on Oct. 15. There are no approved vaccines or treatments for Ebola. Most of us know that, but one particular segment from an Oct. 8 CNBC report was a bit unnerving. “The size of this epidemic – significantly greater than any others since the first Ebola outbreak in Zaire in 1976 – and the infection of at least two people outside of Africa for the first time, has underscored for many the need to finally develop approved vaccines and treatment… Fears that Ebola could spread significantly outside of Africa has led international and U.S. health officials to authorize speeding up the process for testing a set of potential vaccines and treatments.” Sure, we have seen experimental drug treatments work here in America, but it should bother all of us that it took the virus infecting those “outside of Africa” for the right people to get serious about Ebola. I can’t help but wonder if we would have a vaccine or a successful treatment for Ebola had it shown up in a European country or a nation we couldn’t just ignore. Now that it is a threat here in the U.S., we can no longer ignore it. It is frightening to know that this disease has the potential to do damage here in America, but it’s highly unlikely that it will come to that. The American health care system will find a way to solve the Ebola crisis. It’s too bad our American values weren’t strong enough to kill two birds with one stone – save lives in Africa and protect our shores long before it came to this. But who cares about a few thousand dead Africans when you can have billions of dead presidents in your coffers? Ponder that! By Jim Brock More Content Now MailTribune.com By Jim Brock More Content Now Posted Oct. 16, 2014 @ 6:55 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. 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