Tune in to The Main Event this Saturday morning at 9:30 on AM590 with host Ed Hoffman as he discusses national, regional and local current events, as well as trends in the local real estate market. Ed delivers intelligent radio with unique, witty and irreverent flair.
Aren’t we tired of talking about Ebola yet? But because it’s in our lives now, we are forced to keep talking about it whether we want to or not. Ed’s analogy on the show this week: “If Ebola was the zombie apocalypse outside out front door, what would we do? We would close the front door.” Sadly, this logic is not embraced by our federal government, which continues to allow travel from Ebola-affected areas despite the growing number of cases that stemmed from a single patient, Thomas Duncan.
First, he infected nurses Nina Pham and Amber Vinson who treated him at the hospital in Dallas. Then, Amber Vinson flew to Cleveland to try on her wedding dress; she felt clammy, sick and knew she had been exposed. Yet the Centers for Disease Control, who she was responsible enough to call, told her she was safe to fly simply because her temperature wasn’t a high fever. Now, there are 750 people who were on the same plane that day; the airline has had to notify them that they were likely exposed to Ebola. Just Friday morning, the news broke that a Carnival Cruise ship had to quarantine a passenger who handled Duncan’s specimens in Dallas and was experiencing symptoms. So that’s three healthcare workers with Ebola, and hundreds of travelers exposed to them – all thanks to this single patient, Thomas Duncan, who was let into the United States after lying about his condition. In fact, as Judge Jeanine Pirro pointed out on her program last week, Duncan was granted a visa in a matter of hours. Furthermore, the disposal of Duncan’s medical waste was literally swept into the Dallas sewer system. Eyewitnesses have confirmed this.
Fortunately, we have some journalists willing to hold the CDC accountable for its idiocy. On her program Tuesday night, Megyn Kelly challenged CDC director Thomas Frieden’s simplistic responses (such as “Think Ebola,” “We live in an interconnected world,” and “We know how to control Ebola”) with facts and pressing questions. Frieden claimed that the CDC’s guidelines for healthcare workers are sufficient, despite the fact that they discourage workers from covering their heads or wearing layers. “Really?” she asked him. And Ed agrees, rhetorically asking the audience, “Doesn’t he make you feel better about things?” Fortunately, we now have a newly appointed “Ebola Czar” who is a former attorney and advisor to the likes of Joe Biden and Al Gore. He has no medical experience whatsoever.
Shifting gears to real estate and finance: Interest rates continue to be incredibly low, which is great for those looking to buy or refinance – but why? “Because the stock market is taking a dump,” Ed says. “In the last 30 days, the stock market has lost about 1,200 points. You just lost 15% of the value of your 401(k).” His advice to anyone who was affected by this occurrence? “Take your money out of stocks and put it into real estate.”
Catch Ed Hoffman, host of The Main Event, on air this Saturday at 9:30 a.m. with encore presentations at 9 p.m., and Sunday at 4 p.m. Follow him on Twitter @EdHoffman, and like him on Facebook by searching The Main Event AM590.