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Abbott being Abbott


Mo Horn

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22 minutes ago, SquishMitten said:


Like Trump withholding aid from blue states? I think you know this, and I understand the sentiment, but it’s not the right thing to do. At least not right now while millions of Texans still want to get the vaccine. Shit, I’d say they should give us even more in the short term. If our local leaders are going to fuck us, the fed is our only hope

Not as all similar.  In one instance Trump is simply being an asshole for ONLY political purposes.

I am simply expanding on the existing policies.  We were rewarding good vaccinators with more vaccines were we not?  By giving them greater access to more doses depending on efficiency.  We are talking about specific STUPID choices made for ONLY political reasons that will cost lives in Texas and Mississippi.  Both of whom rank near the bottom in getting the vaccines they have in hand into the bodies of citizens at 45th and 44th in the state rankings.

Ultimately the primary reason Abbott did this was to move on from the ERCOT debacle.  No reason at all the federal government should not prioritize vaccinations for states that do smart things rather than really fucking stupid things.  It's a carrot and stick approach.  Governors have the Freedom to be as stupid as they want.  But if the citizenry KNOWS that this stupidity will directly determine the probability for vaccine access? I bet you get a lot less stupid politically based decision making by Republican Governors. Do smart things get the most help, do really, really stupid things and you don't get as much help.

Here is a good tracker that shows state by state percentage of population vaccinated. State by State % of population vaccinated

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10 hours ago, Bama Chick said:

Jesus.
 

other the the probably cynical truth that abbott is trying to blimp his way out the energy fiasco, was there anything resembling 'science' that said yeah, this is a good time to unleash the hounds?

Of course testing numbers of positive cases are lower as Texas is recovering from 'dress up like a 3rd world country week' and no one was out and about and getting tested was not even an option. 

- were hospitalizations down? 

I mean, i am a libtard but if something pointed to saying this is OK to do, then i would be fine with making a change to policy.  If it's to just unleash spring break and St. Paddy's day revenue generation for bars/restaurants and destinations, then that's another story.  

The thing is, there is little downside that is going to be attached or stick to abbott for this.  As much as we want people who gave no fucks about taking some personal responsibility during the pandemic to fuck around and find out, the odds are overwhelming that they won't.  Will transmission and death increase?  Yes.  Will it be so substantial an increase as to point a blood soaked finger squarely back to abbott in a way that hurts him politically?  Odds say probably not.  I am sure that by the time the mask order is canceled next week, abbott will have some stat that X% of olds are vaccinated and that 100-X% don't want it so we are good to go.   

 

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I don’t know if it’d be that disastrous. Who would be pissed off at Biden? Trumpers who will never vote for him anyway? All of my ire would be directed at Abbott if he didn’t backpedal real fast.

But in the long run, there’s going to be ample evidence of how this was a huge mistake. Numbers and deaths are going to shoot right back up again, and there will be no doubt as to why ... although we know certain folks will deny what is completely obvious to anyone that isn’t being intentionally obtuse. That is going to be a big problem for Abbott in the next cycle. He probably even knows that. This bullshit is entirely meant to be a distraction from the grid issue.

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4 hours ago, AnTiM said:

I am at the point of losing all hope for any improvement in the status of life in this country.  It appears that nearly every single person who gets elected to a state or national office , with an (R) by their name has to be a complete fucking jerk, if not when elected, then shortly thereafter.  Between Cruz and our idiot governor, there is no difference.

FIFY

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I agree that Biden shouldn’t withhold vaccines from TX even though the actions of the politicians here make us kind of deserve it.  I wonder if Biden can use the federal government to help with the allocation of vaccines in certain areas within TX.  Like don’t let TX send them out to rural areas where they rot.  Don’t send anymore to Amarillo or Lubbock but start sending a ton to Dallas/Austin/Houston/San Antonio/El Paso.  Get them to the places where you have 100s of thousands of people waiting for them right now.

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4 minutes ago, SquishMitten said:

I don’t know if it’d be that disastrous. Who would be pissed off at Biden? Trumpers who will never vote for him anyway? All of my ire would be directed at Abbott if he didn’t backpedal real fast.
 

The GQP is trying to make these things (like school re-openings) an issue for suburban voters and pinning them blame on Biden/the Democrats.

Don't underestimate the stupidity of the American people. 

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5 minutes ago, SquishMitten said:

I don’t know if it’d be that disastrous. Who would be pissed off at Biden? Trumpers who will never vote for him anyway? All of my ire would be directed at [b]Abbott if he didn’t backpedal real fast.[/b]

But in the long run, there’s going to be ample evidence of how this was a huge mistake. Numbers and deaths are going to shoot right back up again, and there will be no doubt as to why ... although we know certain folks will deny what is completely obvious to anyone that isn’t being intentionally obtuse. That is going to be a big problem for Abbott in the next cycle. He probably even knows that. This bullshit is entirely meant to be a distraction from the grid issue.

I think we all know that Abbott can’t backpedal out of anything.

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9 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

I don't think that's the play.  Because it's really too late for that.  The vaccine roll-out is going so quickly in the places that matter--i.e., New York and Los Angeles--that nobody is going to give a fuck that it continues to rage out of control in Tyler.

And that is where we are headed, by the way.  This is only going to exacerbate the difference and the estrangement between rural America and urban America.  In urban America in about six months, most everyone is going to be vaccinated.  People are going to be going out.  And for a lot of things--e.g., international flights, indoor concerts, quite possibly employment--you're going to need some documentation that you've had the vaccine.  And with a heavily vaccinated population, Covid won't really be a thing in the cities.

But out in the Cursed Earth, it will be endemic.  It'll just be a thing that lives and spreads among people who (1) refuse to get vaccinated and (2) refuse to take any measures to contain the spread.  So every year, as the thing mutates, it'll kill a certain percentage of rural Americans.  And the drug companies are going to have to develop a new booster every year that we'll have to take like we take the flu shot.  

That’s what I think.  We’re about to have a shitload of vaccines and a large chunk of people won’t take and we know that but who are they?  Aside from some hippie types, the vast majority will be rural types.  Covid will continue to churn in relatively small numbers but they’ll be in the sparsely populated areas.  

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10 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

But out in the Cursed Earth, it will be endemic.  It'll just be a thing that lives and spreads among people who (1) refuse to get vaccinated and (2) refuse to take any measures to contain the spread.  So every year, as the thing mutates, it'll kill a certain percentage of rural Americans.  And the drug companies are going to have to develop a new booster every year that we'll have to take like we take the flu shot.  

And we shall have no sympathy for those people.  I'm tired of trying to help stupid people when we can at least allocate those resources to the truly vulnerable.  The indignant will always find something to whine about because it satiates their deep down suspicion that they are stupid and that they are rotten.  

Anyway---was meaning to ping you about our friend running for school board but I couldn't find that thread you started last Autumn.  

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7 minutes ago, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

I agree that Biden shouldn’t withhold vaccines from TX even though the actions of the politicians here make us kind of deserve it.  I wonder if Biden can use the federal government to help with the allocation of vaccines in certain areas within TX.  Like don’t let TX send them out to rural areas where they rot.  Don’t send anymore to Amarillo or Lubbock but start sending a ton to Dallas/Austin/Houston/San Antonio/El Paso.  Get them to the places where you have 100s of thousands of people waiting for them right now.

I agree, somewhat. But it has become problematic that red states get to eat from the federal trough in both GOP and Dem administrations. While blue states are told to get fucked when there is a GOP administration. The just solution would be for future GOP admins to treat all states equally, but since that isn't going to happen, some "turnabout is fair play" needs to occur. You are going to keep electing the same types of people and we need to stop turning the other cheek. Texas will be taking in a massive amount of federal money in 2021 while electing people that don't offer aid to cities and states in distress in blue states.  Texas wanted to be separate. Be separate. Pay for your own shit including the vaccine. 

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1 hour ago, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

Love the line “All Texans know the safe practices”.  I bet this weekend bars and restaurants all over the state will have Texans packed like sardines in a can maskless breathing all over each other and spreading Covid.  The people are not smart.

100%. And it will be all non-mask wearers because the people that believe it helps are going to stay home. Motherfucker just added 6 months to my family from not spending money in bars, restaurants, theaters, you name it.  And whether it spreads during food prep or not, I felt better when the staff was all masked up.  Business will suffer if/when rates begin to rise.  He could have easily opened all business and kept mask mandate.  Ignorant af. 

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26 minutes ago, Js1 said:

It's already the move to make Biden the villain.

Step 1: Re-open everything under a Dem president

Step 2: cases go up, hospitalizations go up, deaths go up

Step 3: pin them all on Biden and drag him down for 2022 

 

This is just another step in trying to hurt the country's attempts to beat COVID, along with voting against COVID relief and bitching about re-opening schools and vaccines that the fucking relief bill covers, and blaming Democrats. 

This is exactly what's going on.  It's a coordinated effort by Republican governors to win back the House and Senate in 2022, with the added benefit of (probably) boosting their state economies.  I can hear it now: "Our local economies have made great strides under my leadership, but can y'all imagine how much better we'd be doing if Liberal President Biden hadn't held up the vaccine rollouts?"

And it works, as long as you're a soulless bastard who doesn't care about Americans dying.

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50 minutes ago, GTX Horn said:

When is the primary for the GOP nomination for Governor? This seems like nothing more than a political move to shore up support from his base and distract from the grid disaster.

that's exactly what this is.  it's a tail-wag false-flag out the gazoo.

if wheels could wield the Texas National Guard to declare war on Nunavut he would do it.

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37 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

It's not even trending down right now.  It's trending UP and Abbott still pulls this shit.

image.png.1e31a87400e74fbcd0ae7d7b4e2e514f.png

Yea, but it's only as high as it was at the peak the last time he opened up the state. He knows what he's doing. He kept the Gestapo out of Bastropo. He's a good man and not a radical socialist like the alternative. 

spacer.png

I'm actually not sure which character he is in the above GIF.

Here's the whole scene from Kiss of Death. Widmark as Udo is the most worthwhile thing about the movie, but it's brilliant psychosis. My jaw dropped when I watched this on a late movie as a teenager. That laugh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_0xAbFAIbM

 

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45 minutes ago, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

I agree that Biden shouldn’t withhold vaccines from TX even though the actions of the politicians here make us kind of deserve it.  I wonder if Biden can use the federal government to help with the allocation of vaccines in certain areas within TX.  Like don’t let TX send them out to rural areas where they rot.  Don’t send anymore to Amarillo or Lubbock but start sending a ton to Dallas/Austin/Houston/San Antonio/El Paso.  Get them to the places where you have 100s of thousands of people waiting for them right now.

When y'alls grid went out, Biden sent help pretty much immediately.  No fan of his, but he does the right things when he has to

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100%. And it will be all non-mask wearers because the people that believe it helps are going to stay home. Motherfucker just added 6 months to my family from not spending money in bars, restaurants, theaters, you name it.  And whether it spreads during food prep or not, I felt better when the staff was all masked up.  Business will suffer if/when rates begin to rise.  He could have easily opened all business and kept mask mandate.  Ignorant af. 

Yup. Several places I once frequented are already out of the rotation because they were lax about mask requirements.
To me this means:
)1 They don’t really care about their employees
)2 They don’t really care about their customers


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1 hour ago, Ghost of LL said:

I don't think that's the play.  Because it's really too late for that.  The vaccine roll-out is going so quickly in the places that matter--i.e., New York and Los Angeles--that nobody is going to give a fuck that it continues to rage out of control in Tyler.

And that is where we are headed, by the way.  This is only going to exacerbate the difference and the estrangement between rural America and urban America.  In urban America in about six months, most everyone is going to be vaccinated.  People are going to be going out.  And for a lot of things--e.g., international flights, indoor concerts, quite possibly employment--you're going to need some documentation that you've had the vaccine.  And with a heavily vaccinated population, Covid won't really be a thing in the cities.

But out in the Cursed Earth, it will be endemic.  It'll just be a thing that lives and spreads among people who (1) refuse to get vaccinated and (2) refuse to take any measures to contain the spread.  So every year, as the thing mutates, it'll kill a certain percentage of rural Americans.  And the drug companies are going to have to develop a new booster every year that we'll have to take like we take the flu shot.  

I hope this is right.  But what about the variants?  It's not like there's a wall between rural and urban America.  What happens when the antimaskers start spreading the variants?  This may ruin 2021 and 2022 for all of us.

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2 minutes ago, lemonlime said:

I hope this is right.  But what about the variants?  It's not like there's a wall between rural and urban America.  What happens when the antimaskers start spreading the variants?  This may ruin 2021 and 2022 for all of us.

Do the rurals venture into the city that much?

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56 minutes ago, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

I agree that Biden shouldn’t withhold vaccines from TX even though the actions of the politicians here make us kind of deserve it.  I wonder if Biden can use the federal government to help with the allocation of vaccines in certain areas within TX.  Like don’t let TX send them out to rural areas where they rot.  Don’t send anymore to Amarillo or Lubbock but start sending a ton to Dallas/Austin/Houston/San Antonio/El Paso.  Get them to the places where you have 100s of thousands of people waiting for them right now.

The feds are doing that now with setting up FEMA vaccination hubs in Houston and (I think) Dallas.  They need to expand it to Austin and San Antonio.

Problem is that Abbott is using that as an excuse to shift even more vaccine out of those cities.

52 minutes ago, Js1 said:

The GQP is trying to make these things (like school re-openings) an issue for suburban voters and pinning them blame on Biden/the Democrats.

Don't underestimate the stupidity of the American people. 

It's not just stupidity.  We could survive stupidity.  We have for nearly 250 years.

It's the cruelty.  And the selfishness.  Selfishness that borders on solipsism.  The truth is that most Americans only care about their fellow citizens insofar as they want to make sure others are worse off than they are.

It's like canceling student loan debt.  It's good public policy.  It will feed billions of dollars into the economy.  And nobody really disagrees with that.  But a bunch of people are like "fuck them--I had to pay for my school."  What does that have to do with anything?  How does it affect you that someone else gets something?  It doesn't--you're just being cruel for the purpose of keeping others down.

It's ridiculous.  It's an absolute cancer in the body politic.  And it's not going away.

47 minutes ago, Lobo said:

And we shall have no sympathy for those people.  I'm tired of trying to help stupid people when we can at least allocate those resources to the truly vulnerable.  The indignant will always find something to whine about because it satiates their deep down suspicion that they are stupid and that they are rotten.  

Anyway---was meaning to ping you about our friend running for school board but I couldn't find that thread you started last Autumn.  

Yeah--I don't even know who she's running against.  But I need to donate to her opponent and get a campaign sign.

And perhaps a fundraiser for her opponent, which only those of us who are vaccinated can attend.

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3 minutes ago, lemonlime said:

I hope this is right.  But what about the variants?  It's not like there's a wall between rural and urban America.  What happens when the antimaskers start spreading the variants?  This may ruin 2021 and 2022 for all of us.

I think the point is that there are always going to be variants, irrespective of the rurals.  They're going to come from Africa and China and Brazil, and there's nothing we can do about that.  For that reason, we're just going to have to get a booster every year just like we get the flu shot now.

Of course, the rurals didn't get the vaccine.  So they won't get the booster.  So they'll continue to die.  And their businesses and economies will continue to suffer as a result.  But fuck 'em.  They bought their tickets.  They knew what they were getting into.  I say, let 'em crash.

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2 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Do the rurals venture into the city that much?

Probably not.  But if they start spreading variants that the vaccine doesn't offer full protection against, eventually it'll get to the city.  Their vaccinated kids who live in Austin or NYC will visit them, contract a variant, take it back to the city.

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Not as all similar.  In one instance Trump is simply being an asshole for ONLY political purposes.
I am simply expanding on the existing policies.  We were rewarding good vaccinators with more vaccines were we not?  By giving them greater access to more doses depending on efficiency.  We are talking about specific STUPID choices made for ONLY political reasons that will cost lives in Texas and Mississippi.  Both of whom rank near the bottom in getting the vaccines they have in hand into the bodies of citizens at 45th and 44th in the state rankings.
Ultimately the primary reason Abbott did this was to move on from the ERCOT debacle.  No reason at all the federal government should not prioritize vaccinations for states that do smart things rather than really fucking stupid things.  It's a carrot and stick approach.  Governors have the Freedom to be as stupid as they want.  But if the citizenry KNOWS that this stupidity will directly determine the probability for vaccine access? I bet you get a lot less stupid politically based decision making by Republican Governors. Do smart things get the most help, do really, really stupid things and you don't get as much help.
Here is a good tracker that shows state by state percentage of population vaccinated. State by State % of population vaccinated

If anything he should direct MORE vaccines here since we will need them to counteract the stupidity of rescinding mask mandate and all capacity limits.
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37 minutes ago, RomaVicta said:

Yea, but it's only as high as it was at the peak the last time he opened up the state.

If you're referring to late April 2020, no.  Roughly 30 Texans were dying each day, and we're about 8X that number now.

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30 minutes ago, TexPx said:


Yup. Several places I once frequented are already out of the rotation because they were lax about mask requirements.
To me this means:
)1 They don’t really care about their employees
)2 They don’t really care about their customers

Pretty much this. Back in the rookie virus days, I'd get mad at people. That's like getting mad at a rock. Then I just realized if a business says "Fuck You, RD," my most efficient move was just to say "Fuck you back," and spend the money someplace that showed more consideration.

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24 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

If you're referring to late April 2020, no.  Roughly 30 Texans were dying each day, and we're about 8X that number now.

The post did not seek to be scientifically sound, but thanks for quantifying my attempt at absurdity. It's worse than I thought.

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56 minutes ago, FondrenRoad said:

I agree, somewhat. But it has become problematic that red states get to eat from the federal trough in both GOP and Dem administrations. While blue states are told to get fucked when there is a GOP administration. The just solution would be for future GOP admins to treat all states equally, but since that isn't going to happen, some "turnabout is fair play" needs to occur. You are going to keep electing the same types of people and we need to stop turning the other cheek. Texas will be taking in a massive amount of federal money in 2021 while electing people that don't offer aid to cities and states in distress in blue states.  Texas wanted to be separate. Be separate. Pay for your own shit including the vaccine. 

The problems with that are 1) Dems should ALWAYS be the party that believes in governing justly, and tries to follow that belief and 2) liberals in red state big cities dump tons of money into Dem campaigns. The latter point is the important one, really. Obama didn't make campaign stops in Houston because of principle, he came here for the money. Everyone expects something for their contributions. Red state liberals expect favorable policies will include themselves, while Trumplicans only expect liberal tears, which is why a GOP presidents can punish blue states. Getting the shaft is still getting what they want.

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I don't think that's the play.  Because it's really too late for that.  The vaccine roll-out is going so quickly in the places that matter--i.e., New York and Los Angeles--that nobody is going to give a fuck that it continues to rage out of control in Tyler.
And that is where we are headed, by the way.  This is only going to exacerbate the difference and the estrangement between rural America and urban America.  In urban America in about six months, most everyone is going to be vaccinated.  People are going to be going out.  And for a lot of things--e.g., international flights, indoor concerts, quite possibly employment--you're going to need some documentation that you've had the vaccine.  And with a heavily vaccinated population, Covid won't really be a thing in the cities.
But out in the Cursed Earth, it will be endemic.  It'll just be a thing that lives and spreads among people who (1) refuse to get vaccinated and (2) refuse to take any measures to contain the spread.  So every year, as the thing mutates, it'll kill a certain percentage of rural Americans.  And the drug companies are going to have to develop a new booster every year that we'll have to take like we take the flu shot.  

This thought has absolutely crossed my mind. We may never reach overreach herd immunity as a nation but it’s hard not to see 80+ percent of urban residents getting vaccinated when it’s all said and done. America will continue its side into third world status with annual localized covid outbreaks, and you dare not venture out into a rural area in the winter without vaccination.
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and the Brazil variante enters the chat.

We will keep doing what we are doing: stay at home unless its an essential need, when we go out, wear a mask, wash our hands, and socially distance the fuck out of anyone else that comes near.

this order will kill more Texans, force more businesses out of businesses for good, and generally delay for months the full actual recovery and opening of Texas.

As soon as I am vaccinated, I will resume normal life but with a mask out of respect for my neighbors and fellow Texans. But that respect expires at the end of June. If you have chosen not to get vaccinated by that point, then whatever happens to you is on you.*

 

*all of the above is subject to Covid variants such as the Brazil one that looks to be a real motherfucker.

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I bought texascovidvariant.com yesterday and am going to sell it to the Nate Paul/Ken Paxton consortium later this Spring for $250k.

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2 hours ago, Hagbard Celine said:

what is the best time of day to snag a CVS slot?

I was able to book ours around 1 last night. Looked like some of the rural stores opened up slots around then. Stephenville went from booked up to available appointments on the 8th-10th. 

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What most irks me is that I was really looking forward to booking a mask-free tour of the Governor's Mansion on March 10th. Looks like I'll have to wait some more...

Quote

 

Tour Information
Guided tours of the Governor’s Mansion have been temporarily suspended. In addition to being a historical site, the Governor’s Mansion is also the residence of the First Family of Texas and it is not possible to safely provide tours while also adhering the CDC’s health standards.

The Governor’s Mansion will reopen to the public for guided tours in the future, however tours may be modified.

 

 

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