From our betters at the Associated Press:

Rand Paul Contradicts Experts, Says Ebola Is ‘Incredibly’ Contagious CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky told a group of college students Wednesday the deadly virus Ebola can spread from a person who has the disease to someone standing three feet away and said the White House should be honest about that. His comments directly conflict with statements from world health authorities who have dealt with Ebola outbreaks since 1976.

Stupid fearmonger. Where did he get the ridiculous idea that anyone considers it “exposure” to be standing three feet away? Those who read all the way to the ninth paragraph get a hint:

Still, Paul’s team pointed to the CDC’s website that says being within three feet of an infected patient for a prolonged period of time without the proper gear is a “low-risk exposure” for Ebola.

So: the characterization by the AP is this: Rand Paul — not the CDC, mind you, but Rand Paul — is making the claim that standing three feet away can constitute exposure. This “contradicts experts” and his comments “directly conflict with statements from world health authorities.” And apparently the best he can do to defend himself is to lamely claim that he is somehow basing this on something on the CDC site.

Well . . . is he?

Journalists? Journolists? Bueller? Bueller?

Oh, never mind the journalists. I’ll answer this one: yeah, he is accurately citing the CDC. Here is the page. Grab your screenshots before they scrub it. I have saved it as a .pdf here in case they memory-hole it.

A low risk exposure includes any of the following Household contact with an EVD [Ebola Virus Disease] patient Other close contact with EVD patients in health care facilities or community settings. Close contact is defined as: a. being within approximately 3 feet (1 meter) of an EVD patient or within the patient’s room or care area for a prolonged period of time (e.g., health care personnel, household members) while not wearing recommended personal protective equipment (i.e., standard, droplet, and contact precautions; see Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations) b. having direct brief contact (e.g., shaking hands) with an EVD patient while not wearing recommended personal protective equipment. Brief interactions, such as walking by a person or moving through a hospital, do not constitute close contact

So Rand Paul has accurately repeated what the CDC says: namely, the CDC defines “exposure” (albeit “low-risk”) to include being within “three feet” of an Ebola patient for a “prolonged period of time” — whatever that means. I assume it could include riding on an airplane — or, perhaps, the bus?

Oh hey — remember this?

“First, Ebola is not spread through the air like the flu,” Obama said in the video released by the White House Thursday. “You cannot get it through casual contact like sitting next to someone on a bus. You cannot get it from another person until they start showing symptoms of the disease, like fever.”

It’s almost as if . . . the White House is not telling us the same story that the CDC is telling us.

Which is exactly what Rand Paul was saying.

Look, folks: as Shepard Smith has told us, if things get bad, we need to relax and start listening to our leaders. And if your leaders appear to be saying completely contradictory things? Then get your ears checked, citizen.

UPDATE: Thanks to Senator Rand Paul for the links on Facebook and Twitter. If you like what you see here, please bookmark the main page.