[Doug64]

Doug really does not see why this statement of his is simply idiotic. He just literally said that the judgment of one of the world's foremost experts on infectious diseases, aided by a staff of doctors and epidemiologists is "no more than anyone else's". That is simply a profoundly stupid thing to say. It is nonsensical. IT will appeal to Trump's less intelligent followers.

Right, because an expert's judgment still matters even if there is no data or evidence on which to make that judgment. What make an expert an expert is their ability to gather and analyze the data and evidence. in the absence of data and evidence, their expertise is useless. But I suppose blind acceptance is more your thing.

[Pants-of-dog]

@Pants-of-dog, I think Fauci meant exactly what he said--when asked about the evidence backing his recommendation that the vaccinated not travel, he said, "When you don’t have the data and you don’t have the actual evidence, then you’ve got to make a judgment call." So he didn't have the data or actual evidence, so he made a judgment call. But without evidence or data, his opinion matters no more than anyone else's.

No.

You are again making assumptions about the limits of Dr. Fauci’s knowledge, Your assumptions seem to be based on a lack of knowledge about science.

Dr. Fauci is (correctly) pointing out that there is no data or evidence concerning Covid transmission on planes among vaccinated people.

Therefore, any decisions or recommendations need to be based on other pieces of information if we want the decisions and recommendations to be based in science.

You are assuming there is no other information. I am thinking that Dr. Fauci can draw upon similar studies looking at flu, make logical deductions based on whet he knows about infection after vaccination in general, and he could have consulted with others about things like air filtration on planes.

So, it seems that you are assuming no scientific basis, and then criticising him for this assumption on your part.

First, I don't see why "Wuhan virus" is any more of an ethnic identifier than "Lyme disease." Certainly the MSM(D) had no problem using that label (along with "China virus") until the CCP complained and they realized they had another stick they could beat President Trump with. Second, are you referring to the killing spree by the sex addicted nutcase trying to eliminate the supposed source of his temptation? The one apprehended on the way to Florida, apparently intending to similarly attack a porn industry down there? I don't see how that has anything to do with racism. What does seem racist to me is the assumption that it was a racist hate crime without bothering to wait for the facts.

There seems to be a clear link between the claim that this virus originated in China and violent attacks against Asians. And there is the added factor that the right wing media has been targeting China extensively about this.

If someone is aware of these facts and still continues to call it the Wuhan virus, there is arguably a conscious support of the racist impact of doing so.

[Politics_Observer]

@Doug64

First, I don't see why "Wuhan virus" is any more of an ethnic identifier than "Lyme disease." Certainly the MSM(D) had no problem using that label (along with "China virus") until the CCP complained and they realized they had another stick they could beat President Trump with. Second, are you referring to the killing spree by the sex addicted nutcase trying to eliminate the supposed source of his temptation? The one apprehended on the way to Florida, apparently intending to similarly attack a porn industry down there? I don't see how that has anything to do with racism. What does seem racist to me is the assumption that it was a racist hate crime without bothering to wait for the facts.

Tell you what Doug, go to the victim's families of those who just got shot and killed in Atlanta and tell that to them. I doubt you have the balls to do it, but if you do, let me know how it went.

[QatzelOk]

Like it or not, ecovillagers will be forced to defend themselves from conquest and plunder or face enslavement or extermination. To avoid the fate of slaves, medieval serfs, or Native American tribes, ecovillagers and their allies will have to develop strategies to repel tribalist violence. Those who believe that today’s ecovillage experiments are “thriving models of a future world” ignore tribalism’s emerging danger at their peril. Because, if things fall apart as they expect in the not too distant future, there will be no government around to protect them.

While we're all careful to protect our eco-villages, the Tribalists are thinking up ways of killing everyone else.

Something to ponder when considering the "common sense" of COVID news sources.

Your assumptions seem to be based on a lack of knowledge about science.

Dr. Fauci is (correctly) pointing out that ....

You swear by that famous genius scientist Fauci because... he's a government official who is connected to a bunch of very rich people. And the "Dr." before his name makes him look like a super-doctor, even though he's never studied medicine.

The "science" that is pulling your strings is the science of P.R.. And as a third-generation mass media viewer, that's the only "science" that you have ever truly understood or internalized.

[Drlee]

You swear by that famous genius scientist Fauci because... he's a government official who is connected to a bunch of very rich people. And the "Dr." before his name makes him look like a super-doctor, even though he's never studied medicine.

Actually Fauci has a degree as Doctor of Medicine from Cornell University. Where do you get your shit? You been talking to Trump supporters?

[Politics_Observer]

@Drlee

They don't hand those Ph.Ds out, especially if they are a doctor practicing medicine. There is a good reason he has "Dr." by his name. He is more than earned that title (just so you don't misinterpret my post, I want to make clear that I know you know this Drlee). I mean, I think a university education is hard and tough at the undergraduate level much less than at the graduate or Ph.D candidate level. So I know those who have graduated medical school or earned a Ph.D has no question earned it.

[Doug64]

No.

You are again making assumptions about the limits of Dr. Fauci’s knowledge, Your assumptions seem to be based on a lack of knowledge about science.

Dr. Fauci is (correctly) pointing out that there is no data or evidence concerning Covid transmission on planes among vaccinated people.

Therefore, any decisions or recommendations need to be based on other pieces of information if we want the decisions and recommendations to be based in science.

You are assuming there is no other information. I am thinking that Dr. Fauci can draw upon similar studies looking at flu, make logical deductions based on whet he knows about infection after vaccination in general, and he could have consulted with others about things like air filtration on planes.

So, it seems that you are assuming no scientific basis, and then criticising him for this assumption on your part.

To once more quote Dr. Fauci: "When you don’t have the data and you don’t have the actual evidence, then you’ve got to make a judgment call." He has been given multiple opportunities to reference any evidence on which he based his insistence that those vaccinated continue wearing masks, and so far as I know to date has declined to do so. Scientists are like prophets--they are only such when acting as such. For prophets, that means actually giving the Word of God rather than their own opinion. For scientists, that means gathering and analyzing data, and reporting on what they have learned rather than giving their uninformed opinion. When "Dr." Fauci provides the data upon which he bases his recommendations, then I will be willing to take those recommendations seriously.

There seems to be a clear link between the claim that this virus originated in China and violent attacks against Asians. And there is the added factor that the right wing media has been targeting China extensively about this.

If someone is aware of these facts and still continues to call it the Wuhan virus, there is arguably a conscious support of the racist impact of doing so.

So you buy into giving validity to the most extreme version of the heckler's veto? You accept the logic of the Leftists that have been laying siege to Portland for months? The very fact that the MSM(D) sides with the CCP in its attempt to avoid responsibility for its mishandling of the Wuhan virus outbreak (including possibly creating the outbreak in the first place, by bringing the virus to a lab with a terrible safety record, if not creating it there) seems to me to be adequate reason to continue to use it.

@Doug64



Tell you what Doug, go to the victim's families of those who just got shot and killed in Atlanta and tell that to them. I doubt you have the balls to do it, but if you do, let me know how it went.

You mean the massage parlor employees murdered by a sex-addicted nutcase that was seeking to eliminate what he considered the source of his temptation? That had nothing to do with race at all, much less was inspired by the Asian origin of the Wuhan virus.

And for more on reopening the schools, in recognition of the months-old science recently reinforced the CDC revised its recommendations for schools, setting the social distancing to only three feet:

Updates as of March 19, 2021

• Revised physical distancing recommendations to reflect at least 3 feet between students in classrooms and provide clearer guidance when a greater distance (such as 6 feet) is recommended.
• Clarified that ventilation is a component of strategies to clean and maintain healthy facilities.
• Removed recommendation for physical barriers.
• Clarified the role of community transmission levels in decision-making.
• Added guidance on interventions when clusters occur.

Of course, part of that might be Florida's experience with the schools it reopened last August. USAToday reported the tail end of last September that even with the schools reopened cases among children ages 5-17 continued to decline, and that for those counties seeing an overall surge it was among college-age adults. And the Wall Street Journal reported just last week that "[i]n the last two weeks of February, the daily case rate per 100,000 people was 22 among students and 15 among school staff, compared with 27 in the community, according to the data. In earlier periods going back to October, the student and staff rates were almost always less than half the community rate."

And all this is something the Biden administration actually recognizes, even if they aren't actually willing to buck the teachers' unions over it:



And of course, there's the problem of why states with such different responses get similar results:

Virus tolls similar despite governors’ contrasting actions

Nearly a year after California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the nation’s first statewide shutdown because of the coronavirus, masks remain mandated, indoor dining and other activities are significantly limited, and Disneyland remains closed.

By contrast, Florida has no statewide restrictions. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has prohibited municipalities from fining people who refuse to wear masks. And Disney World has been open since July.

Despite their differing approaches, California and Florida have experienced almost identical outcomes in COVID-19 case rates.

How have two states that took such divergent tacks arrived at similar points?

“This is going to be an important question that we have to ask ourselves: What public health measures actually were the most impactful, and which ones had negligible effect or backfired by driving behavior underground?” said Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

Though research has found that mask mandates and limits on group activities such as indoor dining can help slow the spread of the coronavirus, states with greater government-imposed restrictions have not always fared better than those without them.

California and Florida both have a COVID-19 case rate of around 8,900 per 100,000 residents since the pandemic began, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And both rank in the middle among states for COVID-19 death rates — Florida was 27th as of Friday; California was 28th.

Connecticut and South Dakota are another example. Both rank among the 10 worst states for COVID-19 death rates. Yet Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, imposed numerous statewide restrictions over the past year after an early surge in deaths, while South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, issued no mandates as virus deaths soared in the fall.

While Lamont ordered quarantines for certain out-of-state visitors, Noem launched a $5 million tourism advertising campaign and welcomed people to a massive motorcycle rally, which some health experts said spread the coronavirus throughout the Midwest.

Both contend their approach is the best.

“Even in a pandemic, public health policy needs to take into account people’s economic and social well-being,” Noem said during a recent conservative convention.

Lamont recently announced that he is lifting capacity limits at retail stores, restaurants and other facilities, effective March 19. But bars that don’t serve food will remain closed and a mask mandate will continue.

“This is not Texas. This is not Mississippi. This is Connecticut,” Lamont said, referencing other states that recently lifted mask mandates.

“We’re finding what works is wearing the mask, social distancing and vaccinations,” he said.

As new COVID-19 cases decrease nationally, governors in more than half the states have taken actions during past two weeks to end or ease coronavirus restrictions, according to an Associated Press tally. Some capacity limits ended Friday in Maryland and Oklahoma. Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Wyoming are relaxing restrictions in the coming week.

In almost all cases, governors have lauded their approach to the pandemic, while critics have accused them of being too stringent or too lax.

California’s slow reopening is expected to gain steam in April. But Republicans in California are helping organize a recall effort against Newsom that has drawn nearly 2 million petition signatures from people frustrated over his long-lasting limits on businesses, church gatherings and people’s activities. He also faces intense pressure over public school closures and the glacial pace of getting them reopened.

Newson asserted that California has been a leader in combating the virus while delivering his State of the State address this past week from Dodger Stadium, where the empty seats roughly equaled the state’s 55,000 COVID-19 deaths.

“From the earliest days of this pandemic, California trusted in science and data, and we met the moment,” Newsom said.

He added: “We’re not going to change course just because of a few naysayers and doomsdayers.”

In his own State of the State address, DeSantis asserted that Florida was in better shape than others because its businesses and schools are open. Florida’s unemployment rate ranked below the national average, and significantly lower than California’s, at the start of this year.

“While so many other states kept locking people down over these many months, Florida lifted people up,” DeSantis said.

Determining which approach is best is more complicated than just looking at statewide policies and overall case rates.

Like Florida, Missouri had no statewide mask mandate, ended business restrictions last June and has a cumulative COVID-19 death rate similar to California’s. In the absence of statewide orders, many of the largest cities in Florida and Missouri imposed their own mask requirements and business restrictions. In Missouri, that meant about half the population was still subject to mask mandates.

Republican Gov. Mike Parson has touted “a balanced approach” to the pandemic that left many public health decisions up to local officials and allowed Missouri’s economy “to come back strong.” New COVID-19 cases and unemployment are both low, and consumer spending has returned to pre-pandemic levels, Parson said this past week.

State health director Randall Williams believes residents heeded Parson’s call to voluntarily mask up when Missouri’s coronavirus cases spiked last fall to some of the highest levels nationally.

Public health experts said individual choices could help explain the similar outcomes among some states with loose or strict orders from the governor.

Some people voluntarily were “being more vigilant in states where the guidelines are more relaxed,” said Thomas Tsai, an assistant professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Yet in states with more government mandates, “people generally in public were wearing masks and following the guidelines, but in private they were letting down their guard and less vigilant,” he said.

Imposing strict measures, like forbidding families from visiting grandparents and friends from gathering, is like taking an abstinence-only approach to combating drug use and sexually transmitted disease, said Adalja, of Johns Hopkins University.

Some will comply. But other “people are going to do those activities, anyway,” he said.

[Doug64]

And for the latest numbers. One change on the vaccinations, I've changed the ranking to reflect the percentage of vaccinations received per hundred thousand that have been administered, rather than to overall total. I figured that's a better reflection of the states' performance:



For schools reopening, we have four state that are essentially 100%: Iowa, Montana, Wyoming, and Florida (I consider Florida's 99.9% to be close enough). There are another eight states that are over 90%: West Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, Nebraska, North Dakota, Texas, South Carolina, and Utah. All of the states are over 10%, but there are three states still below 20%--California, Oregon, and Maryland--and another three below 30%--New Mexico, Hawaii, and Washington.

[Drlee]

To once more quote Dr. Fauci: "When you don’t have the data and you don’t have the actual evidence, then you’ve got to make a judgment call." He has been given multiple opportunities to reference any evidence on which he based his insistence that those vaccinated continue wearing masks, and so far as I know to date has declined to do so.

Doug has absolutely no clue what doctors and researchers do. This statement of his is preposterous.

[Pants-of-dog]

To once more quote Dr. Fauci: "When you don’t have the data and you don’t have the actual evidence, then you’ve got to make a judgment call." He has been given multiple opportunities to reference any evidence on which he based his insistence that those vaccinated continue wearing masks, and so far as I know to date has declined to do so. Scientists are like prophets--they are only such when acting as such. For prophets, that means actually giving the Word of God rather than their own opinion. For scientists, that means gathering and analyzing data, and reporting on what they have learned rather than giving their uninformed opinion. When "Dr." Fauci provides the data upon which he bases his recommendations, then I will be willing to take those recommendations seriously.

Again, you are making a crisis out of nothing.

At best, this is a criticism of his wording and not actual policy.

So you buy into giving validity to the most extreme version of the heckler's veto? You accept the logic of the Leftists that have been laying siege to Portland for months? The very fact that the MSM(D) sides with the CCP in its attempt to avoid responsibility for its mishandling of the Wuhan virus outbreak (including possibly creating the outbreak in the first place, by bringing the virus to a lab with a terrible safety record, if not creating it there) seems to me to be adequate reason to continue to use it.

If you want to knowingly defend the use of a phrase that has resulted in racist attacks against people and was popularised by your former President, who was known for using racism in his speech, and you want to use racist conspiracy theories to do so, feel free.

Just understand that some people might think this name and its effects are racist.

Finally, you never showed us the science showing that kids are safe to go to school.

[Doug64]

@Drlee, so you are saying that doctors/scientists don't perform experiments and studies, compare and contrast the results of those experiments and studies, and report the results as a basis for further experiments and studies? And, these days if they work for governments, make recommendations for government policies based on those results?

@Pants-of-dog, one, please provide proof--not just speculation--that the "Wuhan virus" label has motivated a serious increase in racist attacks. Not that is a two-part question, whether any increase is serious and then whether any such increase can be attributed to the "Wuhan virus" label. And sure, some people might consider the name to be racist, there are people that consider pretty much everything to be racist somehow or other. I'm not going to be guided by the opinions of racialists.

And I offered proof that kids are as safe or safer at schools than they are at their homes, you've chosen to ignore it. If you want to review that proof, check my previous posts.

So, considering which governors got it right, Florida's DeSantis is taking a victory lap for his state's performance during the pandemic with much restrictions on the economy. I suspect Governor Newsom wishes he'd done the same.

Meanwhile at a GOP press conference Ted Cruz takes the rational approach to mask wearing:

Ted Cruz: (00:04)
Yeah, when I’m talking to the TV camera I’m not going to wear a mask, and all of us have been immunized.

Speaker 2: (00:07)
It’d make us feel better.

Ted Cruz: (00:10)
You’re welcome to step away if you like. The whole point of a vaccine. CDC guidance is what we’re following.

And finally, we have a former director of the CDC who told CNN he believes the Wuhan virus likely came from a lab.

Former CDC director says COVID-19 likely came from lab: 'I'm allowed to have opinions now'

Dr. Robert Redfield, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, left CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta stunned on Friday after saying COVID-19 likely escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China.

The interview marked the first time he has shared his personal thoughts on the origins of the deadly virus, which John Hopkins University data attributes to more than 2.7 million global deaths.

“That’s my own view,” he told the CNN host. “It’s only an opinion. I’m allowed to have opinions now.”

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The network noted that Wuhan is a “widely known center for viral studies in China, including the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which has experimented — extensively — with bat coronaviruses.”

“It is a remarkable conversation I feel like we’re having here,” Dr. Gupta said.

“That’s not implying any intentionality [on China‘s part], you know?” Dr. Redfield responded. “It’s my opinion, all right? But I am a virologist. I have spent my life in virology. I do not believe this somehow came from a bat to a human and, at that moment in time, the virus that came to the human became one of the most infectious viruses that we know in humanity for human-to-human transmission.”

Dr. Redfield noted that it’s “not unusual for respiratory pathogens” to infect lab workers.

In addition, he noted that viruses in nature tend to need much more time to “become more and more efficient” when they first infect humans.

“I just don’t think this makes biological sense,” he said of COVID-19’s efficiency. “Let’s just say I have coronavirus that I’m working on. Most of us in a lab are trying to grow a virus. We’re trying to help make it grow better and better and better and better and better and better so we can do experiments and figure out about it. That’s the way I put it together.”

The World Health Organization recently downplayed the possibility that COVID-19 leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology or any other labs in China.

Similarly, tech giants banned users who shared Dr. Redfield‘s views in 2020 by lumping such commentary in with unfounded conspiracy theories.

[Doug64]

And the usual weekly stats.

[Pants-of-dog]

@Pants-of-dog, one, please provide proof--not just speculation--that the "Wuhan virus" label has motivated a serious increase in racist attacks. Not that is a two-part question, whether any increase is serious and then whether any such increase can be attributed to the "Wuhan virus" label. And sure, some people might consider the name to be racist, there are people that consider pretty much everything to be racist somehow or other. I'm not going to be guided by the opinions of racialists.

No, thanks.

If you wish to appear as knowingly supportive of racism, feel free. The opinions of others about you are not relevant.

And I offered proof that kids are as safe or safer at schools than they are at their homes, you've chosen to ignore it. If you want to review that proof, check my previous posts.

I do not believe that I asked for that. I asked for evidence that kids are less likely to infect others.

[late]

And finally, we have a former director of the CDC who told CNN he believes the Wuhan virus likely came from a lab.

Redfield is a horse's ass.

[QatzelOk]

Many posters here are defending Fauci's (and others) medical qualifications - as if this is enough to guarantee that he is not lying for moneyed sponsors.

Remember that it is always "retired military professionals" (with all their qualifications, like Wesley Clark) that were used by the Arms Industry to "lie their way into new, lucrative wars?" Fool me once?

Why wouldn't Big Pharma use the same approach here? Same system, same rules. Fool me again and again?

"In the run-up to the war in Iraq, the failure of mainstream news organizations to raise legitimate questions..."

With Covid, you and I are the Iraqis that "need saving." And our media hasn't changed since that time - same ownership structure and commercial dependence.

[Drlee]

@Drlee, so you are saying that doctors/scientists don't perform experiments and studies, compare and contrast the results of those experiments and studies, and report the results as a basis for further experiments and studies? And, these days if they work for governments, make recommendations for government policies based on those results?

Why would you post this? It is inane. Read my posts or have an adult read them for you. Better yet. Take a science 101 class you can learn how "science" works. Interesting though. First you fault Fauci for making recommendations and now you are saying it is normal?

Perhaps you just want to post your partisan bullshit because you are paid to do it. Is that the case?

[Doug64]

Redfield is a horse's ass.

That was informative.

No, thanks.

If you wish to appear as knowingly supportive of racism, feel free. The opinions of others about you are not relevant.

When I found out that racists were trying to adopt the Betsy Ross flag as their own and some on the Left were letting them do it, I bought a cap with that flag on it and have been wearing it ever since. You do not combat racism by letting the racists—or the racialists—set the terms of the debate. There is nothing racist about naming a disease after a location, those that insist there is are simply wrong, and I refuse to allow their mistaken beliefs to alter my behavior.

I do not believe that I asked for that. I asked for evidence that kids are less likely to infect others.

That was included in the mix. Feel free to reacquaint yourself with the facts, assuming you ever bothered to check them in the first place.

Why would you post this? It is inane. Read my posts or have an adult read them for you. Better yet. Take a science 101 class you can learn how "science" works.

So if science doesn’t work through observation and experimentation, followed by evaluation and more observation and experimentation, feel free to explain to us how it really works.

Interesting though. First you fault Fauci for making recommendations and now you are saying it is normal?

While I’ve already stated multiplied times that I would prefer if our government scientists limited themselves to reporting the results of their investigations and what those results might mean and left making decisions about what to do with those results to those we elected to do so, I can’t say I’m surprised by either some scientists’ lust for power (for whatever reason) or politicians’ desire to duck responsibility for decisions when it might hurt their careers.

That said, what I’m faulting Fauci for this time isn’t for making recommendations, but for doing so in the absence of facts or evidence—as he clearly admitted doing.

[Pants-of-dog]

That was informative.

When I found out that racists were trying to adopt the Betsy Ross flag as their own and some on the Left were letting them do it, I bought a cap with that flag on it and have been wearing it ever since. You do not combat racism by letting the racists—or the racialists—set the terms of the debate. There is nothing racist about naming a disease after a location, those that insist there is are simply wrong, and I refuse to allow their mistaken beliefs to alter my behavior.

This is an interesting justification for appearing to support racism.

Also, you are contradicting yourself. You claim that these debates do not alter your behaviour, yet you give an example of altering your behaviour by wearing a symbol associated with racism.

None of this is relevant to the topic, though.

That was included in the mix. Feel free to reacquaint yourself with the facts, assuming you ever bothered to check them in the first place.

Your implied insult is noted. Please quote the text that specifically deals with the likelihood of children infecting others such as their teachers. Thanks.

So if science doesn’t work through observation and experimentation, followed by evaluation and more observation and experimentation, feel free to explain to us how it really works.

While I’ve already stated multiplied times that I would prefer if our government scientists limited themselves to reporting the results of their investigations and what those results might mean and left making decisions about what to do with those results to those we elected to do so, I can’t say I’m surprised by either some scientists’ lust for power (for whatever reason) or politicians’ desire to duck responsibility for decisions when it might hurt their careers.

That said, what I’m faulting Fauci for this time isn’t for making recommendations, but for doing so in the absence of facts or evidence—as he clearly admitted doing.

Again, this complete absence of facts and evidence exists only in the assumptions you brought to your interpretation of his words.

[Doug64]

Remember how the Left jumped all over Governor Abbott's announcement that he was lifting the pandemic restrictions? Here's how Texas has been doing:




Looks to me like both cases and deaths have kept right on dropping.

Please quote the text that specifically deals with the likelihood of children infecting others such as their teachers. Thanks.

Nope, I'm not going to waste my time scrolling through weeks of posts looking for it. If you want to find the research, look for it yourself.

Again, this complete absence of facts and evidence exists only in the assumptions you brought to your interpretation of his words.

To again quote Fauci, "They want to get science, they want to get data, and then when you don't have the data and you don't have the actual evidence, then you've got to make a judgment call."

[Drlee]

And Doug64 has stepped on his dick again.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The number of COVID-19 cases is climbing again in Texas. Data from Johns Hopkins University on Tuesday showed the two-week rolling average of new cases in the state has increased by 500.3 per day, or 10.1%. The state health department on Tuesday reported a little over 4,800 new confirmed or probable cases, bringing the state’s pandemic total to almost 2.7 million, an estimated 128,614 of which are now active. Texas hospitals had 4,702 COVID-19 cases on Monday, the most recent day available, 373 more than on Sunday. The 167 new COVID-19-related fatalities reported Tuesday bring the state’s pandemic death toll to 44,650.

In other good news, hospitalizations of increasingly younger people continue to climb. The happily open Arizona (R) is seeing a dramatic rise. Most red states are rising and some blue ones.

But again. This is not, no matter how much Doug wants to make it so, a political issue that can be voted away unless you vote to enact more controls. People are dying in huge numbers and these numbers are on the rise. Meanwhile republicans are trying everything in their power to kill more people. Texas is a great example. So let's consider what Doug did not say in his attempt to justify the murder in Texas:

In the last 7 days, the death toll in Texas was the second highest in the nation. What about that Doug? Did you forget that?

In the last 7 days only bright red Missouri had a higher death count while bright blue and more populous California had no deaths and less than 1/3 of the cases than Texas did. What about that Doug?

Texas with its wide open spaces has the third highest death toll from Covid in the US. What about that Doug?

And you come here and try to hold Texas up as an example? Are you perhaps feeling a little stupid right about now? You are looking that way. But you don't care as long as your leader Trump is not embarrassed. If you are going to troll I recommend you get someone with at least the intelligence of a muskrat to check your work.