Texas Governor Pauses Reopening Plans Amid Spike in Coronavirus Cases

But they already reopened everything. What’s left to hold off?

Too little, WAY TOO LATE

I am actually surprised that the mayors/county judges have not issued shutdown orders this week. I have heard third hand that the local authorities are just as reluctant to do it.

At this point, if they want anyone left living in their goddamned state, they should all be ordered into their homes for the next 45 days. At least. And NO exceptions save for genuine essential services. And no, a bodega should not stay open to sell "essential" beer and cigarettes and "essential" lottery tickets.

Close all that shit down. Stop the spread of the virus.

But, hey. It's only Texas. It doesn't matter. Anyone with a brain got out long, long, ago.

“Pause” is useless. Basically Meaning “leave everything open”. Texas - esp Houston - needs to shut down now to stop a NYC-like wave in 2 weeks. It’s gonna require Abbott getting egg on his face - but I’m sure he will spin it to shift blame or feign ignorance. Republicans refuse to accept reality - science, human nature, nature of disease. Denial is huge.

[QUOTE]As North Texas watches COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations surge, one family is shouldering a health crisis that they never expected to face.

[QUOTE]That crisis, all began on May 30 when just a single relative, unknowingly infected with COVID-19, interacted with seven family members at a surprise birthday party.

[QUOTE]Those seven family members then contracted and spread the virus to 10 other relatives.

[QUOTE]Now, Ron Barbosa is keeping track of 18 people in his family who have tested positive for COVID-19.

[QUOTE] Three are now hospitalized, including two elderly family members and one woman battling breast cancer.

Last week I thought for sure Houston would shut down again. Now I don't think they'll do it, although they obviously should.

Abbott hopefully will get it and die, he is the biggest bastard there is . He had Troopers stationed at the interstates and roads to stop Louisiana citizens from crossing into Texas so they wouldn't spread the virus. Louisiana is holding steady now, we should stop Texans from entering Louisiana and infecting us since they really didn't shut down. They tried the same with their Ebola medical waste and tried to send it to LA. They told them keep your infected shit in Texas.

Yes! Biden may be able to win Texas this year after all. You know the people getting sick are all deplorables. Fingers crossed.

Fucking idiot... What good is any intervention now? He overrode a county judge's (a democrat) stay at home order (For Houston and surrounding) and started reopening shit at warp speed....and now he wants to pause? For what dumb ass? It's too late, idiot. This is what happens when a piece of shit republican governor listens to trump instead of common sense.

Another spineless, clueless moron who's too much of a pussy to challenge trump on anything, and now his whole state is paying for it. Time for Greg Abbott to be leaving, I would bet.

Abbott fucked this up as much as his hero Trump. Now Texas is in some deep shit. Fucking asshole.

They also had to ban elective surgeries to make room for the new Coronavirus patients.

At least with the shitty Medicaid program Texas offers, the almighty taxpayers won't incur any expense.

He’s in hot water. People are starting to demand he resign.

[QUOTE] Seven weeks after Gov. Greg Abbott began allowing businesses to reopen, Texas exceeded another one of his key metrics Wednesday when the seven-day average positivity rate passed 10%, a level that Abbott previously called a “warning flag.”

[QUOTE]The positivity rate is the ratio of positive cases to the number of tests conducted. The seven-day average has returned to 10.42%, a level the state hasn’t seen since mid-April, when Texas was under a stay-at-home order. In other words, for the past week, an average of about 1 out of 10 people tested for the coronavirus were positive.

[QUOTE]It’s the latest in a streak of rapidly increasing indicators that have worried public health experts and local officials in Texas.

[QUOTE]“The outlook is not good,” said Rebecca Fischer, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health. “We are in a super dire situation.”

[quote] He had Troopers stationed at the interstates and roads to stop Louisiana citizens from crossing into Texas so they wouldn't spread the virus.

There were troopers on the border, but entry was not restricted. There was a 14 day quarantine for people who entered from Louisiana. That's just like what New York has done to us-- and I am glad that they have done it.

That said, Abbot needs to go NOW. And he needs to take that sack of shit Dan Patrick with him.

[quote]He’s in hot water. People are starting to demand he resign.

And yet, they'll still crawl out of their death beds to vote for Trump in November. Without masks on, of course.

Gov. Greg "Rollo" Abbott, wonky-eyed AG Ken Paxton, and idiotic Dan Patrick should share a handicapable taxicab to hell.

In all of this, Abbott has taken zero accountability for his rapid reopening of Texas. He sped from Phase 1 (25% reopening) to Phase 2 (50% reopening) without giving nearly enough time to gauge the impact of Phase 1. He is Plump's little happy meal toy, spinning around the oval office while kissing Plump's fat ass.

And yet, a large portion of the blame rests in his lap. Maybe he just can't feel it.

I attended Ann Richards's inauguration parties many, many years ago, back when I still had some hope for this state. I am leaving Texas forever in two weeks...it can't happen soon enough.

It's already too late for them.

They're going to go the way of Wuhan and northern Italy.

All of those who are just now testing positive have already infected at least hundreds more.

Texas Children’s Hospital In Houston is accepting adult patients. That’s completely unheard of, I can’t imagine.

"Texas Governor Pauses Reopening Plans Amid Spike in Coronavirus Cases"

Oopsie-doodle!

[R3] I thought Abbott made it so that they couldn't order lockdowns after he decided to reopen?

Way to skid, HOT WHEELS!!!!

Texas and Florida are so screwed. On the other hand, they didn’t have to listen to their idiot Dump worshipping leaders and taken the initiative and worn masks on their own.

Oh well, now they’ll all be broke and sick. It’s going to be fun watching them trying to blame immigrants for this rather than their GOP leaders who fleeced the public coffers and left UI coffers empty.

[quote] I thought Abbott made it so that they couldn't order lockdowns after he decided to reopen?

He probably did. I am so disgusted I haven't been following it closely.

R9 Just wanted to say fuck you. You are a disease as much as Covid.

Y'all! Baby Jesus will provide y'all.

I hope he provides better than Baby President.

What is intelligent design telling them to do?

Today, Trump took away funding for 7 testing centers, to try to close them and reduce the number of positive tests.

What we need right now is a rich someone willing to donate enough money to keep these testing centers open, as it is essential to know the number of actual positive cases in fighting our own pandemic here in Texas.

Our numbers for the last 3 days have each been over 5,000. Is there a Texas country music star who can chip in a few bucks to keep this testing going? Each day Houston gets closer to leading the country in all-time number of deaths from COVID-19.

R19, are you a Lesbian?

r31 Your facts are wrong. Houston/Harris County (353) is no where near the all-time death toll of New York City (21,856), Chicago/Cook County (4,500) and Los Angeles County (3,205)

The impending use of the last ICU bed in many places throughout Texas is being ignored. It was the thing that made it clear in NYC that if you got it, you possibly wouldn’t even be accepted at a hospital. For some reason, that alarm isn’t being sounded in Texas - even though there are areas that are ALREADY AT capacity.

The cases are climbing dramatically - which means hospitalizations will skyrocket in another week or two - which means deaths will soar in 2-3 weeks. Cuomo was SO good at explaining it and providing logic. Abbott is just covering his ass - and trying not to be “out-conservatived” by the array of rabid right wing members of the state government. The jig will be up in another week or so when the pics of flooded and overwhelmed hospitals come out. Right now, it’s just pics of endless waits for tests - for which there had been abundant capacity a week or two ago.

R34, your post leads me to think of healthcare workers, their increased risk, and their own casualties. The overwork will be hell.

They may surpass NY due to their governor being a moron.

Dump is cutting off funding for test sites...so he slowing testing

If Greg Abbott can't stand up to shake your hand, how can you expect him to stand up for anything?

R38 I told my friend the other day that that branch only did half the fucking job.

The Texas Tribune just published Texas state figures for new cases: 5,996. That’s 5 days in a row over 5,000 and 14 days of record levels. Government officials from both parties are asking Trump to delay cutting off funding for testing sites at the end of June.

The incompetence of the Texas government really is astonishing. I live in Austin and literally as recent as one week before SXSW, the annual music and film festival which attracts 400k+ visitors from around the world, Austin “health officials” were coming out and saying there was nothing to worry about and that the festival would proceed as scheduled.

In March. When we knew of human-to-human transmission through droplet and aerosol. We knew how deadly it was. It took a Herculean effort of scientists and epidemiologists literally begging the Mayor of Austin to cancel the event before he finally relented.

There is still a large contingent of Texans who aren’t taking this seriously. I had two dude bros laugh in my face because I wear a gas mask in public. Of course they weren’t wearing any facial coverings.

We’re screwed.

R32. No. Gay guy. Do I write lesbianny?

This cripple bitch never handled this right.

Texas is a hell hole

R42, a lesbian friend of mine writes like you type.

She also went to several Ann Richards events and even performed at one of her Inauguration parties.

Fuck TexASS.

Oh it will be the same damn thing: people will test poz, some get sick, most wont. They'll spread it to the old and infirm and most will die.

This is the pattern. It's not going away, you can only slow it.

I hope the Democrats in Texas are safe.

R47 - it's not the old and infirm that should die. I'm rooting for white, middle-aged, obese Trumpsters.

Personally, I'm very pleased by these developments. It is exactly what the experets said would happen.

We Dems who believe in science have been laughed at and mocked the past 2 months. This is just desserts for those assholes.

I really want to see high death counts - because I think only then will they start to crack the Republican bubble they live in. I honestly think this is the chance to stop the bs from the past 30 years.

This “pause” on reopening is ludicrous. The only thing potentially “paused” is allowing businesses to go back to 100% capacity. All businesses are already allowed to be open. And there is no real enforcement of capacity “rules” (although admittedly the alcoholic beverage commission has temporarily suspended the liquor license of about FIVE whole bars in the entire fucking state).

You would think someone would take the hint that a number of restaurants here in Houston are voluntarily closing back up due to employees testing positive.

ABbot is a trump tardy toady.

I manage a grocery store in Houston and I'm not surprised that it's skyrocketing here. Until this week when the county judge ordered it mandatory to enter businesses, guess who refused to wear masks.. old asshole white men. Almost 100%. Fine, put people at risk, but some had the audacity to shame us for wearing them at work. It's no wonder. They need to institute a stay at home order. I think they probably will before July 4th weekend.

Even Club Houston reopened.

[quote]The only thing potentially “paused” is allowing businesses to go back to 100% capacity. All businesses are already allowed to be open.

That's all they've done in my city as well, and the Health Dept. has started hiding their news items and only updating two or three times a week. They have Q&A sessions on Facebook where all they do is say "wear a mask and wash your hands" and refuse to answer anything else. They even lied last week and said the university, which was bringing in student athletes earlier this month, wasn't a hotspot, but yesterday finally admitted it was.

They used to tell us if there were infected employees at grocery stores but they don't do that anymore. Now there are rumors and everyone's panicking, all because the local authorities are too scared to stand up to greedy business owners.

Will Texans even obey a stay at home order at this point?

Texans are aggressively stupid. I am in a rural suburb of DFW and it’s as though it’s not happening. Most of the time, I am the only person in a mask at the gas station or the grocery store. I will say that, surprisingly, people are leaving me alone and are keeping their distance. I am looking forward to seeing how this shakes out. People are all fired up to not pay for health insurance or have their rights suppressed until they or their loved ones are in the hospital.

Summer in Texas is hot.

It was one thing to have bodies piled up in trucks all over NYC in March. But Texas in July? Oh, my! Yes, that's going to be a great big smelly, runny, bug-infested problem in every community in Texas.

Good luck, y'all! Cold hard reality is coming yer way!

But I thought DL said that the Summer heat kills the Coronavirus!

DL experts said so!

Funny thing about that. The DL experts all uniformly forgot about India when making that statement.

If only there were clues. If only someone had warned them about the dangers of Corona!

[quote]As North Texas watches COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations surge, one family is shouldering a health crisis that they never expected to face.

[quote]That crisis, all began on May 30 when just a single relative, unknowingly infected with COVID-19, interacted with seven family members at a surprise birthday party.

[quote]Those seven family members then contracted and spread the virus to 10 other relatives.

Finally, working as intended.

[quote] This is just desserts for those assholes.

Oh, dear!

So BLM can protest but nobody can reopen. Fuck Texas.

This morning he ordered closure of all bars and reduced restaurant capacity from 75% back to 50%. The biggest problem here, though, is that people no longer see the urgency of slowing it down. Back in March and April when the initial shutdown occurred, people seemed to be taking it seriously. Many were wearing masks and gloves when they ventured out. Now hardly anyone wears a mask and gloves are almost never seen. I'm afraid it's going to have to get really bad before people start taking it seriously again. But it will be too late by then.

You get what you vote for.

Sad for the sane dems and nurses/doctors/hospital workers in TX! The good ol Deplorables? Not so much

If anyone gave me shit about wearing the mask I would say I tested positive, am asymptomatic and I am protecting you, you stupid fuck.

Here is a link from state health Dept: scroll down to Harris County and check out how much the daily hospitalizations have increased.

R63 Where do you live?

Well, Abbott ordered bars to close at noon today, so he likes drinkers?

R45: I'll take that as a compliment! The inauguration stuff for Ann Richards was over-the-top amazing. There were scores of LGBTQ folks drinking, dancing, and living it up with decent, accepting straight people.

That's why is makes today's situation with Abbott so heartbreaking.

What is going to kill Black Friday? COVID-19 or BLM?

Houston is closed again! They just sent out an emergency alert.

Here is the link.

Reopened too soon and too stupidly.

Texas will still have money when NYS and California go bankrupt. It's why they risked it.

Why the fuck is a judge issuing an "advisory?" Advisories should come from bureaucrats. ORDERS come from judges. Why is this judge muddying everything by issuing a bullshit advisory???? That does nothing to increase respect for the judiciary.

r75: a county “judge” in Texas is not a judge. The county judge is the chief executive officer of the county government. According to Abbot, his executive orders overrule any contradictory local government orders. Therefore, the county can’t issue an order that conflicts with Abbot. The county judge can only issue an advisory order.

He probably doesn't want to risk a legal challenge to his order, which would almost certainly result and be upheld. "Advisory" sounds official to poor and working class people, which is who this is aimed at.

Well, we all predicted this would happen to the deplorable-riddled states.

R79 They say what happened in NYC but were still too dumb to implement and follow proper shutdown mandates. Sorry not sorry i guess?

R75 the price of oil is going to crater again

I'm sure you have your fingers crossed.

The flordia governor DeSantis has already blamed Latinos for the surge. Specifically migrant workers.

What's making it worse in Texas is that the Saharan Dust Cloud finally reached us today. I've been choking and my car was covered in the dust. Hopefully, it will keep inside some of the deplorables who refuse to wear masks.

I hope the deplorables who don't want to wear masks get covid.

[quote]This is just desserts for those assholes.

[quote]Oh, dear!

r61 - he probably meant a nice dump cake with flat cola or something...

A fact DL doesn't seem to want to admit is that the people not socially distancing or masking are deplorables AND minorities. BLM protestors in Dallas mostly didn't wear masks. A lot of our current racial issues revolve around the coronavirus regulations.

R84, has the mask helped with the dust cloud? Maybe that's a way to get people to wear them.

[quote] he probably meant a nice dump cake with flat cola or something...

That right there is FAAAANCY!

Only white people are required to wear a mask in Oregon.

r88 The dust just arrived this afternoon. We can only hope it gives the deplorables a non-political reason to wear a mask.

Sorry, R68. I just got back online for the first time since this morning. To answer your question, I'm in Fort Worth.

R68, I grew up in Ft. Worth. Loved it growing up, and I still go back to visit relatives. Love the Mexican food, but the traffic is ridiculous. I don’t think I could live there anymore.

Oops, I meant R92.

Did you ever get to see the glamorous Miss Ruta Lee at Casa Manana, r93?

Abbott is a god-damned stupid mutherfucker. With egg on his face.

more like blood on his hands

That too, R97.

R95, I believe I did. It would have been 1988 or so. It might have been “Mame”, or maybe “Hello, Dolly”.

It's downright pathetic how Abbott tries to shift the blame to "the youngs." They may have walked through the door, but it was Abbott who opened it. Stupid shill wants all the credit for the supposed uptick in Texas business community while accepting exactly zero of the blame for the public health consequences. I hope his wheels rust.

Sean Hannity on May 20: "Florida got it right, Texas got it right ... the mob and the media, by the way, you own Governor DeSantis a huge apology."

Reuters headline yesterday: "Texas and Florida reverse reopening plans."

That Hannity is always ahead of the curve, huh? He's brilliant.

How long do you think it takes Abbott to wear out a pair of shoes?

Not sure...but his shoes last waaay longer than his underpants.

Abbott is killing people. He has blood on his hands.

We just have to accept the fact that people have died and a few more will die. We can't just put our lives on hold indefinitely and stop living.

Can that person be Abbott?

The thing is... there are people who are social distance. There are people who are doing both: social distancing and masks. These people are trying to protect themselves and stop the virus from spreading. Why, so we can reopen?

The ones who are dong jack shit and LYING are causing the problem. If you are bitching and complaining about not being able to lower the spread and reopen, you have to go after these people. THE PROBLEMS.

Culberson County is in west Texas. The Commissioners Court runs the county. From its Facebook page:

[quote]In an effort to slow down and possible eliminate Covid-19 from our community, Commissioners Court of Culberson County unanimously adopted County Judge’s Order #4. As elected officials we must always make decisions for the betterment of our community instead of the selected few that we tend to talk to on a regular basis. With the President and Governor Abbott making a huge mistake in opening up too quick, Texans and their elected officials now have to reevaluate our next steps on how to proceed. This issue should never have been Political. This should have been a science and a medical issue. What is a FACT is when travel restriction were relaxed, the spread of Covid-19 inundated the suburbs and then eventually the rural communities such as Alpine (Brewster Co.,) Marfa (Presidio Co.), Ft Davis (Jeff Davis Co.), Sierra Blanca (Hudspeth Co.) and now Van Horn. Prior to the change in travel restrictions, none of the Cities/Counties mentioned had Covid-19 cases. The Order that was passed puts the responsibility on Businesses. Businesses must provide their employees with the necessary protective gear like masks, gloves and also mandate social distancing. The employees are your responsibility and must be protected from all travelers and other individuals that might be infected. We as individuals must take this pandemic serious by following the protocols as set forth by the CDC like…...continue to wash your hands, use hand sanitizer, wear a mask, adhere to social distancing guidelines, etc. Individual’s over 60 years of age, children under 10 years old and individuals with pre-existing conditions of any age, make up over 75 percent of our community. For all elected officials and citizens of this community we must all take personal responsibility and consideration of others in controlling the spread! Stay safe, healthy and God Bless Us All!

Some good points listed above, especially in regards to it being a political issue.

Fort Davis is a pretty, but desolate area. I’ve been there a few times, visiting the Davis Mountains and Big Bend area.

R107, don't come here and straight up lie.

"...a few more will die."

You have a really fucked up idea of the word "few" and you have no morals, no honesty, no ethics and no integrity.

Fort Davis is wealthy white retirees from Austin and country Mexicans. Marfa, the hipster tourism capital, is close-by.

"We just have to accept the fact that people have died and a few more will die. We can't just put our lives on hold indefinitely and stop living."

And if there is a merciful God, R107 will be in one of those in a coffin. Humanity just can't put its life on hold indefinitely waiting for R107 to kick the bucket.

They want to kill Americans. They are fucking psychos and/or traitors. They are an ENEMY of the American people. Vote Republicans OUT of OFFICE.

Is it any wonder the worst pandemic in100 years would have to happen when the worst, most incompetent, most scientifically disdainful President is in office? The majority of deaths and cases would have been prevented if in February the government mandated face coverings in all public spaces. That’s all that had to happen.

No doubt Millennials going to bars certainly is a major contributor to the recent uptick in cases. I live in Austin and the Friday Abbott reopened bars, bars were packed. No masks in sight. From the videos I saw in reddit, it looked like any other regular night on 6th or Rainey. But Abbott chose to follow Trump and now reports from Houston are that people in their 20s and 30s are being hospitalized at very high rates, likely because the virus has mutated into a more serious strain.

I hope we vote this crippled incompetent douchebag out of office.

For the last time, you cannot use face mask while you are eating in a restaurant. No, they are not wearing face masks. They are sitting close together and talking, while is how to spread this VIRUS. (this is the social distancing piece).

YOU LIE, ABBOT! You are killing AMERICANS. Hitler sends his love from hell. Where you will being rotting in eventually.

Same with bars. Nobody’s sitting there drinking with a face mask. He let them open and they’ve probably been spreading the virus for weeks.

There have been mass gatherings with huge crowds of people gathering out in publlic in Texas for weeks now. Why didn't Abbot stop them?

For the last time, YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS. You can't clutch your pearls and hiss about small groups of people eating while sat 6 ft. away from each other, and ignore this:

"We're too scared of looking racist to enforce any, even basic, pandemic restrictions on black people so we'll ruin as many people's businesses (black people own some of these businesses) as we can pretending they were selfish people even though they were taking many precautions to prevent spreading the virus."

You are not more likely to catch the virus at a restaurant than in a large crowd of people standing shoulder-to-shoulder and chanting.

Begone, racist piss ants at R119 and R120.

And if you're going to post a pic, at least post a pic that supports your cause, dumbasses. That gathering is outside and many of the people have on masks.

Not true, simple-minded R119. The world is complex. Too complex for you to understand. There are often countervailing factors, facts in conflict with one another. It can't all be boiled down to either/or.

A social upheaval is occurring in the country on the matter of racial justice and equality. At the very same time, there is also a viral pandemic. They are both compelling events with power and energy of their own. Choosing one to favor and the other to exclude is not possible.

If you just enlarge THE PHOTO THAT YOU LINKED, you can see that most of those BLM protestors are wearing masks. If one peruses the reporting on right wing assemblies throughout the south, whether political or recreational, not many masks can be seen. And no, that is not Fake News.

BLM and Covid-19 are both happening and both must be accommodated. The mask wearers are showing you how it can be done. You can save yourself with a mask. You cannot save yourself with stupidity.

R122 Many of those people do not have masks, and they are right up in each other's faces, so it does not help them to be outside. You aren't doing yourself any favors refusing to acknowledge reality.

r119 and r120: "I won't wear a mask because I like to eat human shit and the mask gets in the way!"

R123 You think this is complex because you need it to be. BLM is hurting the left on so many ways, one of which is making you all look like hypocrites who are only pretending to believe in the pandemic.

Everyone whose livelihood is at risk because of these restrictions is giving you the side eye when you support the protests. Why is it only safe to gather on crowds when it's politically useful to one side? The virus doesn't care who you are.

R125 You're a fucking fool and you can't handle the adult world.

Dallas:

"BLM is hurting the left on so many ways, one of which is making you all look like hypocrites who are only pretending to believe in the pandemic."

Says who? You? Who the fuck are you to be making such a grandiose pronouncement?

Take a deep breath, you're not the savant you think you are. An idiot, yes, but no savant.

Idiots is right. BLM is marching EVERYWHERE, but it’s only the areas that opened early that we’re seeing the spikes. So shut up, if you don’t have anything accurate to say.

R129 I'm a Texan who leaves my house.

I peeked in at all the elderqueens and their sycophantic hausfraus on this thread and thought you all needed a massive reality check.

R130 has trouble with reality and logic.

Social gatherings should be avoided. LA spiking now, three weeks after the George Floyd protests started, is not some kind of crazy coincidence.

"I'm a Texan."

Well there's your problem right there, in a nutshell. In three words you've just admitted you are a giant asshole of epic proportions.

[quote] [R129] I'm a Texan who leaves my house.

You are a disgrace to real Texans.

R133 It's not a flaw, it's a plus. Especially on a thread about coronavirus in Texas, since I live here and you apparently don't.

Feel free to huff off to wherever the place you live is being talked about, if it is at all.

R134 I'm at least 5th gen so hush. I'm also a "real Texan."

And now...the dulcet tones of Miss Nancy Walker...

Wow! How did blocking one person dispose of so many replies? Boggles the mind...

What a crowd of toxic shut-ins. Block the truth out when you can't dispute it any more, girls.

"because that matters to somebody."

Sure as hell ain't us. Scram, Natasha.

[quote] I'm at least 5th gen so hush. I'm also a "real Texan."

Perhaps but you are also without a doubt white trash.

R141 What are you, Mexican from the suburbs? You are very race-focused! I bet I wouldn't be impressed with you.

[quote] What are you, Mexican from the suburbs?

I am white and a Texan and I hate white trash.

[quote] I bet I wouldn't be impressed with you.

I would be embarassed if you were.

[quote] R119: For the last time, YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS. You can't clutch your pearls and hiss about small groups of people eating while sat 6 ft. away from each other, and ignore this:

I’m willing to bet that this won’t be “for the last time”. That said, you can have it both ways. Groups of people eating and drinking at a public restaurant are lounging. You do not need to lounge. It is not a hardship to ask you to make your own damn sandwich and eat in your backyard.

In contrast to that, a public protest of systemic injustice is something completely different. We, in the US, have a long history of its people risking their lives, fortune, and sacred honor to secure liberty and freedom from tyranny. While I do not think the Administration is using the pandemic as cover to destroy democracy, it is only because it hasn’t occurred to them how to do so - yet.

In a perfect world, we would tell protesters to wait a few years to complain, until after a vaccine is found, in exchange for a pause in police brutality and murder. But we don’t live in a perfect world.

You don't get to pretend that the pandemic is over just to join a protest. You are spreading the virus. Keep your ass at home or stop bitching about the second wave.

There is no second wave, R145. It's still the first wave because of Trump and Republican governors rushed reopening in the name of the almighty dollar.

If you have corona virus and you go to a restaurant, you spread it to people there.

Then if you go to a protest, a karen klan meeting or family reunion, you spread it to the people there.

Then, all those newly infected people, infect others where ever they go. If you are not staying home and social distancing, you are spreading it.

The George Floyd protests no doubt contributed to the spread in certain cities. Was a low IQ, violent career criminal who contributed nothing to society really worth a soar in cases and now deaths? Before you jump down my throat, I am black.

Democrats encouraged people to gather in mass, destroy, loot and cause havoc just because one bad cop killed a thug with a long rap sheet who contributed nothing to society, because it fit perfectly the “black victim, white oppressor” narrative that the Left is so invested in, to pander to black people. No protests for the 7,000 black victims or black on black crime last year. On the other hand, it was Democrats who were most aggressive at implementing early lockdowns. As a poster above stated, you can’t have it both ways.

Dr Fauci said if we don’t get control of this soon, we could see 100,000 deaths A DAY!

Sure, it’ll be “just a few more deaths, let’s open up everything, and forget about having any self control at all.” No problem.

The irony of this is that all the Trumpers that keep insisting on spreading disease at every opportunity, in public and at home with their families, by exposing them to all the virus they bring home, are cheerfully exterminating the Trump movement all by themselves. It’s like watching lemmings gleefully following each other off the cliff.

In a year, a lot of these mask-hating Trumpers will be dead. Mother Nature is cleaning house.

The sad thing is people that are trapped in the house with these people, who are scared but are mocked and ridiculed when they beg their parents and spouses to wear a mask and quit going to crowded venues.

One thirteen year old on Reddit said his family insists on going on vacation to a bunch of crowded venues and dragging him along. He doesn’t want to go. And they refuse to let him stay at home or with relatives.

Many others have immune system problems and their families insist in showing up at the doorstep, although they take no precautions and they could kill their own relative. Why do people hate their own families so much they’re trying as hard as they can to kill them?

[quote]Dr Fauci said if we don’t get control of this soon, we could see 100,000 deaths A DAY!

No, he said 100,000 cases a day.

[quote] Democrats encouraged people to gather in mass,

Churches were closed though.

[quote]Dr Fauci said if we don’t get control of this soon, we could see 100,000 deaths A DAY!

You poor, pathetic person.

R151, we can never close enough churches!

R143 Thinks he's a cut above because he shops at Central Market (and sometimes Albertson's.) Only the finest Dublin Dr. Pepper for his Christmas Punch.

Standing in a big crowd and spreading a virus is not acceptable.

[quote] Before you jump down my throat, I am black.

Sure, Jan. And you're a lifelong liberal who voted for Hillary in 2016.

[quote] R129 I'm a Texan who leaves my house.

Based on that info, the world is better off without you in it. Or, without Texas in general.

R157 The world can't turn without me, I am so essential. You're welcome!

Bitch, R156 I am black. But admittedly much lighter skinned than Mr. Floyd. There are lots of black people who think BLM is completely, patently ridiculous. I know it bursts your ignorant point of view that all black people play perpetual victim and blame “whitey” for our problems but it isn’t true. Everything I said about Mr. Floyd however is true and I won’t stand behind the knee jerk, unproven narrative that Mr. Floyd, who was high, using counterfeit money, and possibly resisting arrest, was killed by a racist anti-black cop. Is that a possibility? Sure. But we haven’t yet seen the evidence.

[quote]Or, without Texas in general

Listen bitch. Beto is reason enough for "Texas" to exist.

Houston Chronicle: Texas had its biggest one-day increase in new hospitalizations from COVID yet. State is reporting 6,533 lab-confirmed hospitalizations - an increase of 620 from yesterday. That is more than double the hospitalizations from 10 days ago and is up 323% since Memorial Day.

R148 - Clarence Thomas’ slightly younger light skinned brother

R159, for a "black man" you sure use a lot of talking points that racist white Republicans use. I guess you think the only way cops can deal with someone who is resisting arrest is to kneel on their neck for 9 minutes, even if they're telling you they can't breathe. I think the knee jerk reaction is to trash Floyd while pretending the cop who kneeled on him was a saint

It's a proven tactic of racists to attack black people for having a "low IQ" and act as if racist cops are all super geniuses. I guess you think Chauvin spends all his spare time reading Proust.

You can shit on Floyd for not contributing anything to society but I don't see how you're contributing anything, either. I can't think of anything worse than a Candace Owens wannabe

While rewatching Contagion (Amazon Prime) just now, I came to the scene in which Kate Winslet is explaining the potential for spreading the disease to the Minnesota public health bureaucrats. A women bureaucrat is whining that this will be the biggest shopping weekend of the year (Thanksgiving) and she doesn't want to get people panicked over nothing. Sound familiar?

[quote]I'm at least 5th gen so hush. I'm also a "real Texan."

Well, if we're touting or bona fides, I'm 7th generation. My great-great-great-great-grandfather arrived in Texas prior to the Texas Revolution in 1836.

And I think you're racist trash.

I’m not pretending Chauvin is a saint. He’s clearly reprehensible, and he will spend a very long time in jail for what was clearly murder.

I’m disagreeing with the immediate reaction from the media that Chauvin’s actions MUST have been based on deep seated racism, and that conclusion cannot be made based on the limited evidence we have. For instance, Chauvin and Floyd knew each other because they worked at the same nightclub. There were rumors that that nightclub engaged in human trafficking and money laundering, hence why Floyd had fake money.

Calling Floyd a low IQ thug isn’t nice but it is true. If I seem pissed off it’s because black guys like Floyd, the lowest of the low, who assault women and deal drugs, and can’t put a sentence together without saying the word “nigga” multiple times have become the de facto representation of what it means to be a black male in America.

Spewing right-wing talking points is pretty "low IQ"

If a Muslim killed him, you'd have no problem saying the murder was about terrorism without knowing anything about the murderer....but I guess we're only allowed to make assumptions about brown people, not white ones

If I were a black person I'd have less of a problem with George Floyd representing me than a Candace Owens clone who trashes other black people and gives a free pass to white racists

I’m not giving Chauvin a free pass. I’m saying we need to get more information on the Floyd-Chauvin relationship before we jump to the easy, unsubstantiated conclusion that Floyd’s murder was a result of Chauvin’s white supremacist views and anti-black racism. Is that not rational? Especially considering the fact they knew each other?

The races of the murderer and murder victim are irrelevant to me. No matter which combination I would seek out facts before making a conclusion on motive. And let’s not pretend, R167, that if the cop who killed Floyd was black, or if the cop was black or victim were white, that any of this faux outrage would have ever happened. Because it wouldn’t have.

There is no credible data that cops kill black men disproportionately. None. But there is a ton of data that blacks kill other black people at rates higher than any other race. But of course that doesn’t fit the narrative of black oppression at the hands of racist White people, does it?

Candace Owens, like myself, are hated because we refuse to drink the “I’m a victim” Kool-Aid that so many blacks fall victim to. We think for ourselves, don’t go looking for racism in every situation, and make our own conclusions. For many that’s apparently threatening.

Defending Candace Owens makes you look even dumber. Candace Owens DOES play the victim, but instead of claiming she's victimized for being black she's claims she's victimized for being conservative. By the way, she hates gays, too.

Why did Texans voted for Abbot and not beto? I just do not get Abbott? Also, Abbott is a sociopath who wants all Texans dead too. What is the deal on this clusterfuck?

Beto was running for the senate not for governor, r170. The Democratic gubernatorial candidate was Lupe Valdez, former Dallas County sheriff.

COVID-19 surges in Galveston County as island braces for impact of 4th of July crowds

Galveston County has passed the 3,000 case threshold, but 1,000 of those cases happened last week. What's most concerning is a positivity rate of 14.9 percent.

more at link

Stay at home order in 10....9....

Adios, Texas! Yer all gonna die!!!

Remember the Alamo y'all

[quote]A women bureaucrat

Oh, dear!

Beyoncé has the money to pay for TX Covid19 testing and she's from Houston. The Dallas Cowboys, Astros, and other sports teams should pony up, too.

My one-week countdown to leaving Texas forever begins today! Buh-bye, Governor Rollo. And wonky-eyed attorney general Ken Paxton.

Bravo, R178! Good luck to you!!!

Do you guys think Abbott will reclose the state?

Abbott couldn’t close an umbrella.

Last week there were a couple of republican podcasters caught mocking Abbott being in a wheelchair. Apparently, the Empower Texans podcast is one where they edit the episode before uploading. Well this episode was accidentally uploaded before being edited and on it you here the hosts laughing at Abbott being in a wheelchair.

My company's corporate office is in Kingwood, just outside of Houston. We receive 2x weekly updates on the status of the offices. Interestingly enough, the updates went down from daily to 2x weekly since they opened.

We've had at least 2 people test positive for COVID-19 since people have returned to the office! The last email said employees have been asking if the offices will be closed. The response is always that "returning to the office is voluntary and employees who have concerns can continue to work remotely."

Thank god, I work in NJ. We've been told not to go the office to work. A co-worker's home AC broke down and she went to the office to work (it was a weekday). She was pretty much read the riot act for doing so. We're taking liability seriously.

I don't live in Texas but I can't see anything getting better without a state shutdown. Otherwise, people will continue to get sick or die.

R182: I think people make fun of Abbott and his wheelchair mostly because he sued for (and got) millions of dollars after being hit by a tree while running (and thus rendered a paraplegic), and then became a champion of reforms to civil lawsuit awards that would prohibit, or severely limit, his recovery were he to sue today. That's how he rolls! That, and Abbott totally goes out of his way to hide the wheelchair during press conferences, appearances, etc. Plus, the hatred for Abbott is so intense that people will make fun of him for just about anything...come to think about it, they say the same thing about Abbott's idol and ass-kiss-object, President Plump!

texas is a hell hole

R186 it really isn’t and its turning bluer by the day.

Wake me when it does

Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick told Laura Ingraham last night that he doesn't need Anthony Fauci's advice.

“Fauci said today he’s concerned about states like Texas that ‘skipped over’ certain things. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

“We haven’t skipped over anything. The only thing I’m skipping over is listening to him.”

Patrick also said Fauci has “been wrong every time on every issue,” but did not elaborate on specifics.

God damn. That Patrick clown surely has "Adolph Hitler in the Bunker on 4/20/1945" derangement syndrome, no?

[quote][quote]“Don’t get it twisted,” a @ HarrisHealth administrator dismisses @ TXMedCenter’s ‘capacity is fine’ notion. She is scrambling to find beds for #COVID19 patients, sending some to Conroe & Galveston. - Miya Shay

Is abbot up for reelection in November 2020? I don't think so.

Texans have to focus on the state legislature, in any case. VOTE for the Dems in all your local state/city elections in November 2020.

Why did Texans give this putin asslicker moron TRAITORS, all this power? You have to do something.

Vote out Republicans (Putin loyalists)!

Vote for Democrats in all state and city elections!

Abbot is not up for reelection this year. In Texas, we vote for governor in the non-presidential even years. So the next governor's race will be in 2022.

R182 He deserves to get mocked for being in a wheelchair, considering how his state treats black people in wheelchairs.

It seems Abbott must have a very little dick because he's not showing anything in these little shorts.

A little dick could go a long way to explaining his belligerent approach to everything.

Abbott has just issued a statewide mask mandate.

If only he'd done it a month ago.

Abbott can be easily defeated in 2022 if Texas Democrats can muster a decent candidate. In 2018, they picked a former Dallas County sheriff, an openly lesbian Latina. She is a good woman but poor campaigner, and had no chance of doing well in the state's rural and suburban "soccer mom" areas. Abbott easily was re-elected by 13 percentage points.

Her weakness partly contributed to Democrat Beto O'Rourke's narrow loss (less than 2 points) in the US Senate race to Ted Cruz. Let's just say she didn't help bring in the votes.

Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was re-elected by only 5 points after beating back a strong Democratic challenger. He's vulnerable, too.

r197, Beto was never going to win. Trying to blame a lesbian for the fact that Texas is full of far right idiots is kind of shitty

R195 yup looks like nothing but small balls and a baby dick

Beto should run for Governor. I think he could win.

Not with his posture on guns, R200. He’d get slaughtered.

Now the county judge from Harris County, Houston, wants to re-close everything!!

Ha!

Schools ain’t happening in August, either. Already my boss says her kid isn’t going back. She’ll continue video learning.

The death surge has arrived.

we loathe this governor, cant wait to throw his evil ass out

I wish the gubernatorial election were this year so we'd have a chance to vote him out.

Well, roll him out anyway.

Coronavirus In Greater Houston: Gov. Abbott Bans Elective Surgeries In More Than 100 Texas Counties

As we approach 18 weeks of COVID-19 in the greater Houston area, the region has seen a spike in cases that continues to grow.

story at link

And now the deaths (over 100 today)

California +135

Florida +119

New Jersey +106

Texas +102

[quote]They’re out of space in the Corpus Christi morgue. Out of nurses in the RGV. Cases, hospitalizations & deaths are out of control in El Paso, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Houston. But we’re not out of options to turn this around: Issue stay at home order & allow vote by mail. - Beto O'Rourke

Beto is right. If I’m governor, I lock everything down right now. These fucking guys are insane.

He is an asshole who only cares bout re election...hideous gargoyle!

I’m hoping Beto gets some sort of position in the Biden Admin. If not then he can run for governor in 2 years.

[quote]Texas voter registration surges to 16.4 million, despite the pandemic

The “Rolling Asshole” just said today that he might have to shut down the state again if people don’t wear masks,

That’s the new Republican approach: blame others (in this case the public) for their pusillanimous plans not working.

Governor Hot Wheels!

At least Abbott is admitting shit is hitting the fan, finally. However, DeSantis is still in genocidal denial.

DeSantis is at least accepting remdisivir from NY.

WTF is NY sending him anything!!!! Let his loverboy Trump send him meds. Esp. Since he continues to cause the unnecessary need for remdisivir with his stubborn stupidity!

I agree in principle, r219, but we’re the bigger person, so to speak. Plus, it’s the humanitarian thing to do.

Besides, maybe it’ll teach some people a slight lesson about the Democratic states.

[quote] maybe it’ll teach some people a slight lesson about the Democratic states.

Doubt it.

I doubt it too, but Cuomo promised to help any other state that needs help, regardless of party.

His line is “it’s not red, it’s not blue, it’s red, white AND blue.”

I love that, somehow, Governor Rollo has managed to piss off everyone! He is too lax and too restrictive at the same time. And where is his sage lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick during this hullabaloo? Out sacrificing his pathetic life for the sake of "economic recovery"?

I just heard on last night’s news that the Arizona governor hasn’t addressed the public in over a week!

r223 Dan Patrick slammed the Houston mayor for canceling this week's Texas GOP convention, which would've brought 6,000 deplorables to breathe on each other in the convention center. The thing is Patrick wasn't planning to attend and was going to give his speech via video as were the other GOP state leaders -- Abbott, the wonky-eyed AG, etc. It was too risky for them to attend but not for the party regulars.

[quote] It was too risky for them to attend but not for the party regulars.

And the attendees will never recognize the hypocrisy in that.

SMH.

Goodbye, Texas!

Harris County ( Houston) continues to have a positivity rate of 25%. Yet our local school district is going balls to the wall for opening while offering virtual learning but strongly encouraging every student to attend in person.

Well in Florida DeSantis insists all hospitals usually run at 95% ICU capacity.

He’s like Frank Drebbin.

Shouldn’t child molesting make you ineligible to run for President? It’s disturbing that Biden is running

R230 Our current prez was actually accused of raping a 13 yr old.

R230 (the last time I'll see any post from you, ever): There is absolutely nothing any candidate for president, from any party, at any time, can do or say (IN ALL CAPS OR OTHERWISE!!!!!!) to rival the sum total of all the sexist, homophobic, stupid, inane, self-aggrandizing, fake, false, untrue, uninformed, outrageous, narcissistic, bigoted, ruinous, felonious, ill-conceived, public-endangering, selfish, ill-considered, rash, ill-timed, insensitive, inappropriate, treasonous statements and actions by President Plump aka Waddles during what will surely prove to be his only term holding this office. So enough.

R229, that's not fair to Lt. Drebbin!

He's way smarter than desatan.

Texans, consider donating to Team Blue Texas 2020 to support Democrats running for the state legislature.

I just gave to MJ Hegar

Haven’t given to anybody in a long time, actually.

texans want his and all the fukin repugs voted OUT

Texans are pissed at him that they won’t be getting any football this fall, what a dumbass!

[quote]Haven’t given to anybody in a long time, actually

Neither have I, what with this whole quarantine thing.

*sigh*

Consider donating to Beto O'Rourke's Powered By People. They're doing the tough, thankless legwork of reaching out to and registering new voters in TX, and trying to make sure that enough voters turn out to overcome the likely poll-rigging fuckery that will go down in TX.

I heard through a contact who has a friend in Gov Abbott’s office saying he is closing down the state for one month. Announcement supposedly today. I’m having doubts but we’ll see.

Biden's campaign ad for Texas:

Nothing yet. I even had it verified today from another person but no announcement yet. Hmmmm

R242, is your "source" the same "source" who, several years ago, swore up and down that then Governor Rick Perry was involved in a gay relationship and it was about the be made public?

If so, get a new god damned source, one with a shred of credibility.

R243 nope.

Trump got to Abbott? I’m sure of it.

Texas hospitals are running out of drugs, beds, ventilators and even staff. Epidemiologists say the state’s hospitals may be in for a longer, harder ride than places like New York, where hospitals were stretched to capacity in the spring.

Many hospitals are no longer accepting transfer patients in order to maintain space for a surge that’s expected to come. In some parts of Texas, the surge is already here.

One patient in Anahuac was flown by helicopter to a hospital 120 miles away.

Ambulances are waiting up to 10 hours to deliver patients to packed Hidalgo County ERs.

Midland and Odessa hospitals have turned away patients from West Texas facilities.

The governor is such a dumb right wing shit. hope he can be sent packing soon asap.

love beto, awesome guy, got rooked when he ran last time....hoping his future is bright

R247, you mean send him rolling... I’d love to be the one who pushes his disabled ass into the Colorado River.

I live in Austin and things are out of control here. Hospitals are increasingly becoming over crowded and morgues are too. A number of hospitals already have on hand refrigerated trucks to deal with the surge, and it’s not as bad here as Dallas or Houston. Based on my own anecdotal opinion, the state of Texas could be as bad, if not worse than the New York outbreak, adjusted for population. There are so many obtuse morons in this state who STILL insist this is a hoax. There are also many obese people in Texas.

R247

[quote]Consider donating to Beto O'Rourke's Powered By People

I worship Beto and everything he does is for the benefit of all. I have donated to his cause.

Disgusting slime

Eighty-five infants who are under the age of 1 have tested positive for the coronavirus in Nueces County, Texas.

The county, which includes Corpus Christi, has become emblematic of the recent surge of coronavirus cases in the state. When the pandemic first started ravaging the state, Nueces County stayed relatively healthy while the Amarillo region suffered.

Now, however, the beachfront location has one of the fastest-growing outbreaks in the state, adding well over 2,000 new cases for each of the past two weeks.

Hidalgo County orders quarantine for those who have tested positive for Covid 19. This is a border county, heavily Mexican-American.

Mexico is frantically trying to finish Trump's wall. They don't want our infected asses crossing over for any reason.

Dr. Hotez: 'Every day we're breaking new records in the Texas metro areas in terms of numbers of deaths'

. . .

"We're not seeing that vertical rise," Hotez said. "It's sort of plateaued, but it's plateaued at a very high level."

. . .

"Even though it's stabilized, if it stabilizes when the thing is going 100 miles per hour, that's small comfort, it's not adequate," Hotez said.

rest of story at link

I'm enjoying watching the Texas death stats.

If only someone had warned Texas!!!

--the fucking world