What's the Most Pressing National Public Health Emergency Right Now--AND one that is Affecting Escambia County Disproportionately?

What is the most pressing national health "emergency?"  a non-fatal skin disease that has a vaccine and can be prevented---or dangerous fentanyl from China being added to illegal drugs throughout America (and right here in Escambia County) which will, along with other opioids, actually and ultimately kill more than 100,000 Americans this year?  How come we are being told the former is the crisis--while the latter is all but ignored?

No, I normally do not delve into national topics here on this blog unless there is some compelling local connection to Escambia County.  

And there is.

Some master-hypnotist media types and national-level bureaucrats/politicians (left-leaning, primarily) want you to forget all about the epidemic of opioid drug overdoses with fentanyl in America killing more than 100,000 yearly--- and instead---- want us all to focus on a primarily nonfatal disease that afflicts less than a 10th of the number of actual overdose deaths we will see in America this year.  They want you to believe MonkeyPox--a disease that is primarily spread among one sex and one very small segment of the population---and for which there is already treatments and a vaccine---is what EVERYONE must be terrified about right now.

But wait just a minute.  

We in Escambia County have pockets of areas and populations where there is a massive, unrestrained drug problem.  Massive.  We have a correspondingly massive increase in deaths and a huge number of citizens overdosing daily on opioids, primarily fentanyl.  And it is costing taxpayers millions of dollars dealing with it-- as our County EMS attends to nearly 6 overdoses daily in our county. (this figure does not include the overdoses that are dumped at emergency rooms nor does it count our sheriff's responses to overdoses)

By contrast--we have had ZERO Monkeypox cases as of the morning of this blogpost reported in our area as reported by the local media.  Nada.  Zilch.  Zero. (one suspected case occurred in Santa Rosa County two weeks back)  (UPDATE-8-23-22--I received a call from William Reynolds yesterday, publisher of NORTHESCAMBIA.COM, on an unrelated topic and he did let me know his outlet and channel 3 also both reported that our area has one (1) presumptive case of MonkeyPox.)  1 case of that, and 6 overdoses daily our EMS units are racing to.......

So why do some politicians and bureaucrats seek so desperately to get average citizens' eyes off the real ball with respect to the massive quanitites of Chinese fentanyl packs coming over the porous border with Mexico flooding America's states and cities?  Illegal crossings are hitting all-time highs and  many who cross are body-packing this dangerous China-manufactured drug like sherpas?  

Look at the "number of deaths" increases, directly in proportion to the surge in illegal border crossings over the last 3 years, and tell me THAT is not the pressing national health crisis upon which we should all be focusing?

Nope--it has to be MonkeyPox now.  Only MonkeyPox.  

Look, I feel for anyone who gets that awful disease.  It looks horrible from the pictures I have seen--horrible, awful, painful and unsightly.

But we know how to stop it, It is known which behaviors spread it and what the risk factors are, and there is treatment and a vaccine.

So instead of having David Muir lecture us and pontificate at us nightly --complete with a serious face--

How Ideologically Driven Social Engineering Usurps Local Control and Damages Public Schools Part III.....

Like some sort of a cholesterol-lowering Lipitor commercial, social justice engineers want lower numbers of suspensions of certain students for certain behaviors.   So, in order to achieve these lower numbers some states have actually “legislated” away some behavior categories that have previously resulted (rightfully so, IMHO) in student removal from classes.  

Willful defiance was legislated away as a discipline offense in California, and the effects have been devastating to classrooms and teachers in some districts, particularly in Los Angeles.  Teachers are reporting the change has had a devastatingly negative effect on classroom atmospheres.

(For a truly interesting insight, read the real teacher's facebook and article comments on the bottom of this ridiculous piece in the Huffington Post-- and this interesting piece in the LA Times---some of these comments had me laughing so hard I blew coffee through my right nostril!)

Educrats and other water-carriers and useful idiots say to the affected teachers “Talk to the Hand!” as they dance and take victory laps over how doggone effective these policies have become!

Of course these ideologues, most of whom are out of touch and have never stepped foot into a real inner-city classroom, think this policy is just dandy. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the bureaucrats are at it again, this time looking for higher numbers.  Specifically, they are looking for higher graduating numbers overall, percentage wise, for public school students overall and certain students specifically.  

Problem is, in order to meet this lofty goal, the rigor is being eviscerated, and the bar is being lowered in order to get these “higher numbers.”  The evidence of this is all around us:

Astronomically high numbers of  students in NYC cannot  pass the English/Math (or both) parts of their state exams--yet 90 % of these same students are receiving passing grades from their schools in these very subjects.

In Nevada, 58% of the entering college freshmen that are coming from the public school system require remedial coursework.  This, in turn, is leading to higher incidences of college dropouts.

The evidence is all around, hiding in plain sight.  It is not just New York, Nevada, and California. I see High School Juniors and Seniors who get in trouble in school and attempt to write out statements 

How Ideologically Driven Social Engineering Usurps Local Control and Damages Public Schools Part I.....

In central Illinois, a new state law that dictates the if and when of school discipline is being widely panned by professional educators.  The administrators that were interviewed for this article are concerned that the law is taking away discretion at the local level, which will tie the hands of teachers and principals to the detriment of schools in general.  from the Bloomington-Normal Illinois  Pantograph:

"Some Central Illinois educators think a new state law about school discipline needs a time-out.The law, which goes into effect Sept. 15 for the following school year, requires schools to end zero-tolerance policies, limit out-of-school suspensions, address bullying and create a parent-teacher advisory board on school discipline. But educators think those decisions are best left at the local level to find a way to properly discipline students while keeping them in class and in school...The law also states that students can only be sent to alternative schools as a last resort."

One of the comments to the article summed up the potential problems this infringement on local control will create, and how it will damage the schools....from "Freemarketcapitalist's" comment to the article:

"I've seen this coming down the pike for the last four years, and unfortunately it has arrived. This is part of the [President Barack] Obama policy of discouraging teachers from disciplining [certain] students because it is his belief that they are disproportionately disciplined. Forget that the misbehavior warrants the discipline. That doesn't matter. Basically this ties the hands of the teachers even more. They are being Intimidated to NOT discipline [certain] kids, because [President Barack] Obama thinks they are unfairly targeted, even though they aren't. So this takes the power out of the teachers hands and puts it in the students hands. "I dare you to discipline me. I dare you." Do you see how badly this is going to turn out? The behaving kids have to sit there watching while the misbehaving kid challenges the teacher. Then if the teacher dares to discipline the kid the teacher may face disciplinary action from the administration because of these new policies. This will create utter chaos. If I were a teacher, I'd quit before I would put up with anymore. I seriously don't know how they do it now. (By the way, this mirrors the way [President Barack] Obama is going after law enforcement.)"