[Genuine Realist]

I don't think the motivation is as conspiratorial as you implied, but it does suggest some gross incompetence and lack of preparation, leading to a poor execution.

Does anybody else think it's much more "me me me" lizard brain than conspiracy? It seems like he doesn't plan, or process, or even digest information. He just reacts, at about the level of a poorly-raised second grader.

I remember an episode of Twilight Zone in which a toddler's childish anger killed people. Horrific. And yes, all the adults were really, really nice to the kid.

"It's A Good Life."

I'm very slow to use themes of incompetence and bungling. In my experience, the easiest problems to solve are someone else's. What's for sure is that the CDC was caught flatfooted by a phenomenon well beyond anything it had prepared for. Pearl Harbor analogies are appropriate.

[Genuine Realist]

I don't think the motivation is as conspiratorial as you implied, but it does suggest some gross incompetence and lack of preparation, leading to a poor execution.

Does anybody else think it's much more "me me me" lizard brain than conspiracy? It seems like he doesn't plan, or process, or even digest information. He just reacts, at about the level of a poorly-raised second grader.

I remember an episode of Twilight Zone in which a toddler's childish anger killed people. Horrific. And yes, all the adults were really, really nice to the kid.

"It's A Good Life."

I'm very slow to use themes of incompetence and bungling. In my experience, the easiest problems to solve are someone else's. What's for sure is that the CDC was caught flatfooted by a phenomenon well beyond anything it had prepared for. Pearl Harbor analogies are appropriate.