There's a wonderful old 1963 episode of the classic original "The Outer Limits" series called "The Sixth Finger."

It stars David McCallum as a man who is artificially and rapidly evolved into the human of the far future, both in terms of physical appearance and vastly enhanced intellect.

At one critical juncture, as he surveys the pitiful confusion of the ordinary humans who want to destroy him for being different, he proclaims, "Your ignorance makes me ill and angry."

But you don't have to be a super-intellect to feel both ill and angry at the spectacle of the current Ebola witch-hunt, being largely orchestrated by so-called radio and television "journalists" and lowlife politicians, with masses of ordinary folks being whipped into a frenzy of hate and prejudice as a predictable (and we may reasonably assume, intentional) result.

The worst offenders are the usual sycophant suspects. Moronic right-wing talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh, the FOX News clowns, and the rest of the theocratic, anti-science, anti-health care, racist boosters of the rich and haters of the poor. You can tune them in anytime, ranting that Ebola is all a plot by Obama, that we should ban anyone who has been in Africa, and that we're about to be destroyed by an Ebola mutated into an airborne horror.

Sad to say, CNN -- once a great news organization -- now spinning out of control into the pit of mediocrity under the reigns of Jeff Zucker, has been a particular offender, going wall to wall for ratings with breathless, panicked Ebola stories, only sidetracking into other items if they're bloody enough or feature globe-trotting chefs or the new retread of "Dirty Jobs." In fact, one of the few sane recent commentaries I've seen on cable news lately about Ebola actually was on FOX News -- proving once again the old adage about a stopped clock not being incorrect quite all of the time.

And the Internet is now playing a major role as well. Blogs and other social media are being used to spread completely false rumors about Ebola outbreaks and deaths in the U.S., or attempting to capitalize on fake Ebola cures. Facebook and Twitter are being used today to vilify a doctor back from treating Ebola patients who has now tested positive for the disease.

Naturally, these purposeful attempts at panicking the populace are having nightmarish, sickly effects. One of those effects is to terrify health care workers, who know all too well what the sorts of demands now coming from talk show hosts, politicians, and panicked citizens would mean in terms of making a horrible situation in Africa even worse.

Attempts to ban persons who have traveled or transited from Africa would decimate relief efforts, as would country-specific travel bans in general. Demanding that every symptom-free health care worker who has been trying to help Ebola patients be quarantined upon return is not only unnecessary but would vastly undermine the willingness of health care workers to volunteer for such efforts in the first place. Meanwhile, where Ebola really is endemic -- in Africa -- it would continue to spread in the horrendous living conditions and primitive health care environment there -- putting ever more people in Africa at genuine risk.

Now, get this through your thick skulls, you idiot Ebola panickers and profiteers ...

The only people who get Ebola are ones who are in direct, close contact with persons in the throws of major Ebola symptoms -- like vomiting, horrible coughing, and other symptoms you wouldn't want to be anywhere near even if all they represented was a case of the flu.

It is not an epidemic here. It is not going to be an epidemic here.

And speaking of the flu -- now that's something you should be worried about! Thousands die every year from the flu here in the U.S., many for lack of simple vaccinations (thank the anti-vaccine nutcases for contributing to that). Unlike Ebola, the flu is airborne and easily spread.

Oh yes -- and ironically, the same GOP fanatics so desperate to repeal the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") that has provided millions with insurance and preventative care against diseases such as the flu, are the same hateful creatures who are out there now seemingly demanding draconian restrictions against anyone who even utters the word "Ebola" in public.

And just to be clear, this isn't just a GOP-orchestrated witch-hunt -- though they're the masters of the method. There are also Democratic politicians who are playing the Ebola scare card for all it's worth.

Given the toxic political landscape, it's six of one and half a dozen of another (and I don't mean "Outer Limits" fingers in this case) when it comes to reigning in our politicians on this. Ebola is their natural element for exploitation. You might as well try keep a bear away from a beehive dripping with honey.

But there is one thing I believe we can do. As I noted earlier, social media is being widely abused to spread Ebola panic and prejudice. When you see this occur, I urge you to call out the perpetrators publicly for what they are. Don't sit silently and let them get away with their hateful garbage.

Yes, this means having a thick enough skin to deal with the inevitable trolls, but this is a situation where we're talking about real lives being ruined not only by Ebola itself, but by purposefully orchestrated false stories and resulting panic, often using the Web as its carrier.

Thankfully, the Internet is still one place where we individually and collectively still have some real control.

Take care.

--Lauren--
I am a consultant to Google -- I speak only for myself, not for them.