In 2004, Michael Crichton wrote a book called State of Fear. This fictional book had a larger-than-life message: The media want to keep us in a perpetual State of Fear. The obvious reason for this is to sell books, magazines, newspapers and television advertising. The publishing world catch-phrase that stands behind this philosophy is “If it bleeds, it leads.” In other words, fear is good for the media business.

But fear is not necessarily good for society. Truth is much better. In the interest of truth and to tamp down unwarranted fears, here are some facts about the little-known disease known as monkeypox.

Denise Roland, writing in The Wall Street Journal, gives us a good summary of monkeypox. Public-health officials say monkeypox poses little threat to the general public. Unfortunately, after the Covid pandemic experience of the last two and a half years, public health officials have lost a lot of their credibility. Nevertheless, they actually might be right this time.

The monkeypox outbreak, which was first detected in the U.K., has now led to more thn 7,000 confirmed or suspected cases across at least 40 countries including the U.S., Canada, Spain, Portugal and Australia, according to nonprofit data platform Global.health. Until recently, monkeypox was rarely found outside certain parts of West and Central Africa. In the U.S., 560 cases have been confirmed in 33 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged countries to take measures to slow the spread of monkeypox, but doesn’t believe at this point it constitutes a global health emergency. You may be thinking this sounds a lot like their advice concerning the Covid pandemic, which initially downplayed the significance of the virus – and you would be correct! The WHO lost much of their credibility, too, during the Covid pandemic. This highlights the importance of having faith in our public health organizations.

What is monkeypox?

Monkeypox, like Covid-19, is a viral disease. It typically circulates mostly among rodents in part of West and Central Africa. It was first discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in research monkeys, thereby giving its name. The first human case was recorded in 1970 in a 9-year-old boy in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since then, most cases have been reported from rural areas of rainforest regions of the Congo Basin, although the illness has been detected in several countries in West and Central Africa, such as Nigeria.

What are monkeypox symptoms?

Early symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen glands, chills and exhaustion. The incubation period is six to 13 days but can be longer, according to the WHO. So far, this sounds much like a case of Covid or influenza. The distinguishing characteristic is a chicken-pox-like rash that usually appears, beginning on the face then spreading to other parts of the body. Eventually the rash forms scabs and then these fall off.

In the current outbreak, doctors have described some cases in which the rash appears before a fever and others in which the rash remains concentrated in the genital area. Some patients have only developed a rash without other symptoms, according to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.

How contagious is monkeypox?

Monkeypox is not highly contagious. Most cases in Africa came from contact with an infected animal. People are thought to be contagious only when they have the rash. It spreads from person to person through close contact, such as touching clothing, bedding or towels, the skin, or through coughs or sneezes of a person infected. Dr. Walensky says the virus can be transmitted by sexual contact but it remains unknown if it spreads through semen or vaginal fluids. It is unknown at this time if asymptomatic people with the virus can spread the disease.

Close physical contact is the main mode of transmission, but some research suggests the virus can spread short distances via respiratory droplets. It is unknown if it can spread by tinier airborne particles known as aerosols. There is currently no evidence monkeypox is spreading in the absence of close interactions with infected people. U.S. health officials have found that the monkeypox cases are concentrated in specific communities. At least 16 of the cases were people who identify as gay, bisexual or men who have sex with men, according to the CDC, though monkeypox is not currently considered a sexually transmitted disease.

How deadly is monkeypox?

Most patents recover within a few weeks, but the disease can be fatal. The West African monkeypox that is driving the current outbreak is considered a less severe type. While research suggests a fatality rate of 1%, this is far lower than the more severe Central African type, which has a fatality rate of about 10%. However, these numbers are likely much higher in Africa, where healthcare facilities are rudimentary, than in more civilized countries with better healthcare available. So far, no deaths have been reported from nonendemic countries. (outside Africa)

Is monkeypox treatable?

Most cases are treated by relieving patients’ symptoms, skin care, pain relief, and treatment of secondary bacterial infections. In severe cases, an antiviral medication that is aimed at smallpox can be used, called tecovirimat. Another smallpox treatment, called vaccinia immune globulin, can be used if needed. The U.S. keeps doses of both in a national stockpile because of the potential for smallpox outbreak as a biological weapon.

The close relationship between monkeypox and smallpox means smallpox vaccination can be protective against monkeypox. Data from Africa suggest the smallpox vaccine is at least 85% effective at preventing monkeypox., according to the CDC. Therefore, if you have been previously vaccinated for smallpox, you have little to worry about. However, since routine smallpox vaccination hasn’t occurred in the U.S. since that disease was eradicated in 1972, many Americans are vulnerable. A newer smallpox vaccine, called Jynneos, is approved by the FDA for monkeypox. The CDC is now recommending vaccination for people with presumed exposure to the viral illness. This recommendation is especially for men who have sex with men who recently had multiple sex partners in a venue where monkeypox was known to be spreading. The vaccine has also been recommended for healthcare workers in close contact with people with monkeypox.

In summary, monkeypox is a viral illness that spreads mostly through close physical contact, especially among gay men with multiple partners, though it is not considered a sexually transmitted disease. It is rarely fatal in communities with good healthcare facilities. If you have previously been vaccinated for smallpox, you probably have immunity. If not, you don’t need to be vaccinated unless you are a high-risk individual in close contact with others who may be infected.

School choice continues to gain momentum. The evidence of this is everywhere. It may be the most influential issue that turns Democratic parents into Republican voters.

This effect was dramatically seen in the 2018 gubernatorial election in Florida. White Republican Governor Ron DeSantis was campaigning for his first term as governor against black Democratic former Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum. It was a close race that came down to a recount. Gillum finally conceded the race after a recount showed DeSantis was still ahead by about 30,000 votes. Here’s how I described it in a November, 2018 post:

“Ironically, DeSantis can thank black women for his victory. Yes, there is a solid argument that black women rejected the black candidate Gillum in favor of – their children. According to CNN exit polling of 3,108 voters, of the roughly 650,000 black women who voted in Florida, 18% or about 117,000 chose DeSantis. This exceeded their support for GOP U.S. Senate candidate Rick Scott (9%). In other words, they selected the Republican gubernatorial candidate but not the Republican senatorial candidate.

William Mattox, director of the Marshall Center for Educational Options at the James Madison Institute, writes in The Wall Street Journal that the reason is school choice. More than 100,000 low-income students in Florida participate in the Step Up For Students program, which grants tax-credit funded scholarships to attend private schools. Even more students are currently enrolled in the state’s 650 charter schools. Most Step Up students are minorities whose mothers are registered Democrats. Yet these “school choice moms” split their votes when it comes to protecting their ability to choose where their child goes to school.”

School choice is gaining momentum because parents of both political parties care about the education of their children. School choice is also gaining ground because of the teachers unions. At the height of the Covid pandemic, the teachers unions made it clear they were more concerned about the teachers than they were about the students. This was discussed, in a 2021 post:

“School Choice is gaining momentum. Ironically, the credit for this trend probably goes to the teachers unions. By their unwavering assault on public schools and refusal to return to the classrooms, the unions are driving students out of those schools. The Wall Street Journal editorial board says the Biden administration seems committed to indulging teachers unions that oppose charter and private schools. This is no surprise since First Lady, Jill Biden, is a member of the NEA, the nation’s largest teachers union. Even though newly appointed CDC Director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, recently said, “Vaccination of teachers is not a prerequisite for safe reopening of schools”, the Biden administration has not called for teachers unions to return to the classrooms.

School choice made a difference in the 2018 Florida gubernatorial race, it made a difference in the response to the Covid pandemic, and it continues to have a political impact. The latest evidence of this is the Virginia gubernatorial race of last year. Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated former Governor Terry McAuliffe in this trending-blue state, largely on the issues of educational curriculum and school choice. Parents made it clear they didn’t support the teaching of radical views like critical race theory (CRT) in their schools and they were concerned for the future education of their children. Youngkin campaigned on a platform that promised to rid the schools of CRT teaching and to expand school choice. Now he is delivering on those promises.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board says, “Parents haven’t let up in their push for greater school choice, and Virginia reflects the growing momentum. The state’s latest budget includes funding for new flexible public schools meant to meet the demand for alternatives.”

Virginia Governor Youngkin cited “record investments in education” while signing the two-year budget last month. The centerpiece is $100 million to pen new “lab schools.” These are publicly funded K-12 schools founded by public universities, rather than school districts. That puts them outside the state’s collective-bargaining agreement, meaning each lab school’s administrators control hiring and pay. Virginia Republicans hope that lab schools will replicate the success of charter, which face an unusual barrier in the state. The Virginia constitution requires each new charter to gain sign-off from the local school board, most of which are politically aligned with the unions. The fast-growing state had a mere seven charter schools in 2021, serving about 1,300 students out of more than 1.2 million.

WSJ says, “Laying the foundation for non-union schools is in keeping with Mr. Youngkin’s campaign promise to grant more options and control to parents. Debates over Covid restrictions and critical race theory helped push education to the forefront of last year’s gubernatorial election, with dissatisfied parents driving an unexpected GOP vote surge.” 

Education is color-blind. Education is politically neutral. Parents of all colors and all political affiliations want their children to get a good education because they understand that education is the key to a successful future for their children. The party that understands the importance of education will continue to prosper in the future.

President Joe Biden calls the recent rulings of the Supreme Court outrageous. Celebrities are vowing to leave the country. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling for “packing the court” to add justices that favor the Democratic Party’s political agenda. What did the Supreme Court do that is so outrageous? Restore democracy!

It has been the strategy of the left to use the courts, or the government bureaucracy, to approve their political agenda when they can’t muster the votes they need in Congress. The party that is constantly accusing Republicans of destroying democracy has been doing exactly that for decades.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board sets the record straight. They say, “This isn’t a partisan Court looking for preferred policy outcomes. It’s a Court that hews to the tenets of originalism, with different shades of emphasis by different Justices. The Court’s jurisprudence is focused more than anything else on who under the Constitution gets to decide policy, not what that policy should be.”

“This is the main reason Democrats and the press corps are furious about the Court’s decisions. For decades they have counted on a majority of Justices to deliver or bless the policy results they want: on abortion, voting rights, healthcare, racial preferences, climate and economic regulation. You name it, the Court found ways to deliver it with balancing tests, trimester analysis, and the discovery of unenumerated rights between the lines of the Constitution’s text.”

For these same decades conservatives have argued that the role of the Court should be to support rights that are actually in the Constitution, but otherwise to enforce the separation of powers so each branch of government stays in its lane as defined by the Founding Fathers. That is called democracy.

As a conservative, pro-life Republican, I wish that the Court had ruled abortion is illegal, because I know that life begins at conception and all abortions end a life that is holy and sacred to God. But the Court didn’t do that. They merely said the issue must be decided by the states, not the federal government. When the states get done deciding this issue, about half will outlaw abortion and the other half will make it legal, perhaps even easier to obtain than before the Court’s decision against Roe v. Wade. Sadly, I believe we will still have roughly the same number of abortions – they’ll just be done in different places. But that’s called democracy.

The Court’s decisions do not all add up to conservative victories. In its administrative law cases, the Court isn’t dictating outcomes. It is reasserting its role as a traffic cop among the three branches of government. On immigration law, two conservatives joined the liberals to side with the White House – the “Remain in Mexico” law has been overturned. But on climate, six Justices found that the Biden Administration had exceeded the authority that Congress provided in legislation. If they want to regulate climate change, they will have to get Congress to pass laws to that effect.

The Court is also taking a more active approach to protecting the rights that the Constitution does mention – like the First and Second Amendments. On gun rights, the Justices put new substance into the individual right to bear arms recognized by the 2008 Heller decision. Politicians can still regulate guns, but they must do so more carefully so individuals can defend themselves outside their homes.

On religious liberty, the Court cleaned up decades of confusing instructions to lower courts on the separation of church and state. The Justices supported the free exercise of religion by supporting private prayer in a public place and barring discrimination against religious schools.  This doesn’t mean states must aid private schools. But if they do, they can’t deny that aid to religious schools.

The WSJ editors sum it up well: “This is a Court for the Constitution, and that means the right and left will have to win their policy victories the old-fashioned way – democratically.”