In fact, my post was anti-harping. I'm fed fucking up with the world-is-coming-to-an-end response by the RW and the MSM. And now we're beginning to see it here. Close the airports. Stop the flights. Test everyone, everywhere. Quarantine everyone, everywhere.

It is wall to wall 24/7 blast in your face panic while telling everyone not to.

It is insane!

I heard one of the talking heads say that we need to be certain to keep the children from being afraid while the reporter was standing in front of a closed school.

--the panic reaction to this Ebola incident indicates a LOT about the fragility of our country's collective mental health.

What number of people need to be infected in order for it to be acceptable to panic?

and live alone in the house on their California citrus farm. My two siblings still live in the same small town. On the other hand, I live halfway across the country in Minnesota. I talk to my parents every day at the same time. I call them and they know I'll be calling at that time. If they're not going to be home, they tell me the day before.

If they don't answer, I call again at 15 minute intervals. After an hour, I call my brother or sister and tell them that they're not picking up their phone. One of them goes to their house to check on them.

We don't panic. We just follow a set routine to make sure someone is checking on them every day. We've not been able to convince them to move to someplace where there are people around, so we've set up this plan to make sure. Both parents also have alert buttons that are GPS capable. That's because my father, bless his stubborn heart, still goes out into the orchard on his tractor.

I don't like panic. I like knowing what's going on.

You are absolutely spot on. (I love saying spot on.)

You and your siblings have evaluated the situation and have (oh my!) a plan. And when Step 2 has to be initiated - no response from parents - you don't throw the plan away and run around like crazy people. You put the plan into action. Of course, you have the tremendous advantage that you and your siblings have agreed on the plan and you don't have 310 million other people weigh in on a minute-by-minute basis, nor do you have the local media outlets exacerbating the situation with dramatic, end-of-the-world graphics.

You know, whenever I see problems such as the ebola response or the Affordable Care Act or, well, whatever, I can't help but wonder what would happen if we transplanted the current social and political dynamic to the early 1960s when President Kennedy set the goal of putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade.

On a global scale, though, planning is pretty much impossible. With this Ebola thing, I'm not surprised that the response has been spotty and confused so far. Until that patient showed up at the hospital in Texas, there wasn't really any Ebola in this country. A couple of patients had been treated in specialized hospital units, but that was about it.

Now, we're aware of the risks, since something has actually happened. Very quickly, now, there will be a plan in place that should keep this under control. But, expecting a plan before there was an actual incident is unrealistic, really. We're not very good at planning for events that may not even occur. We never have been. We respond to things that actually happen.

The bottom line: Individually, were at almost zero risk from Ebola. There's no need for panic. There is, however, a need for planning, since it's clear that Ebola cases can turn up anywhere. People are working on that planning. Very shortly, there will be a plan in place and the Ebola thing will fade away in the US. Africa is another matter altogether.

are doing a wonderful job. I do not need this button or at least I do not think I do but what I found out is that it really helps my daughters feel better about my safety.