Matt Drudge is estimated to be worth $90 million. Why? Because he is the greatest headline writer in history.
He knows what interests readers. He has millions of readers.
Here is what interests readers this morning.
This indicates the public’s fascination with Ebola. It is not panic yet, but great curiosity.[amazon asin=0974925381&template=*lrc ad (right)]
This creates a problem for the federal government. The FedGov has no plans to deal with Ebola. It has no theory to guide a plan. We get multiple stories. The disease is not spread by airborne means, but if someone sneezes, it may be transmitted. Excuse me?
Authorities in Spain just killed and cremated the dog of a dead nurse. Dogs carry it? The authorities in Spain were taking no chances.
They just don’t know. This is an accurate message. But they must go through the motions of pretending that they know.
The public is beginning to figure this out: government bureaucrats who are in charge don’t know what they are doing.[amazon asin=0990463109&template=*lrc ad (right)]
This is true in most fields, most of the time. These stories get no coverage. We are not reminded of the degree of incompetence of our tenured, faceless rulers. But this story is getting coverage. The emperor has no clothes, and his wardrobe planners are as naked as he is.
This is the little man behind the curtain. He has just killed and cremated Toto.
An Ebola pandemic will create a “distrust in government” pandemic. It did during the Black Death of 1348-50. The public lost confidence in its rulers, both civil and ecclesiastical. Historians date the birth of the Renaissance with the decade of the 1350’s. The medieval social order never recovered.
We do not get many opportunities to see government officials frantically running around, offering reassuring soundbites, while the headlines undermine them. It is happening in West Africa. It is happening in Spain. It is happening here.
