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   XPost: alt.global-warming, alt.rush-limbaugh, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   From: xeton2001@yahoo.com   
      
   He says windmills caused the entire Texas electrical system to crash and   
   burn and that as the 48th ranked state for vaccination, Texas is now COVID   
   free and that anyone wearing a mask or taking precautions must be a   
   devious Trump / Abbott hating leftist.   
      
      
   Why wear masks when everybody carries a gun?   If your gun can't protect   
   you, you aren't worth saving.   
      
      
   It's right there in the Constitution and the Book of Mormon.   
      
      
      
   Greg Abbott’s move to fully reopen Texas bucks science but mollifies GOP   
   base of ignorant unwashed Messiah Trump worshippers   
      
      
   By Gromer Jeffers Jr.   
      
      
      
   Gov. Greg Abbott is gambling that reopening Texas at full capacity and   
   scrapping his mask mandate will not reverse the gains that have been made   
   fighting the coronavirus pandemic.   
      
   And whatever the result, his decision will be viewed by many as an attempt   
   to shore up his Republican base, where some leaders have criticized him   
   for ordering mask mandates and being too slow to fully reopen the state.   
      
      
   The move comes as Abbott and other Republican leaders are trying to   
   rebound from the state’s disastrous response to February’s brutal winter   
   event that left millions without power and water.   
   Texas Governor Greg Abbott delivers a speech at a Lubbock restaurant,   
   Tuesday, March 2, 2021. Coming up on the one-year anniversary of the   
   COVID-19 pandemic, Abbott announced reopening the State of Texas to all   
   businesses. He also wants to end the statewide mask mandate.   
      
   The governor’s decision puts him at loggerheads with scientists including   
   Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention   
   director who on Monday warned states not to ease up on the restrictions   
   that have helped changed the trajectory of the virus. The numbers of   
   cases, deaths and hospitalizations are all on the decline. And it comes as   
   the nation has three vaccines that are slowly being put in the arms of   
   Americans.   
      
      
   There’s still work to be done.   
      
   Last week, Texas averaged over 200 reported deaths per day. And though   
   there’s hope because of the vaccines, less than 7% percent of Texans had   
   been fully vaccinated as of last weekend.   
      
   “With these new statistics, I am really worried about reports that more   
   states are rolling back the exact public health measures we have   
   recommended to protect people from COVID-19,” Walensky said of the   
   national numbers in a press briefing. “I understand the temptation to do   
   this — 70,000 cases a day seems good compared to where we were just a few   
   months ago — but we cannot be resigned to 70,000 cases a day, 2,000 daily   
   deaths.”   
      
   But Abbott is dealing with more than coronavirus case numbers. In a state   
   that prides itself as a potent economic engine, the virus has hit   
   businesses hard because of closures and capacity limits. In Abbott,   
   business leaders have a sympathetic ear, though critics say his decision   
   could have been put off a few months, when more Texans receive the   
   vaccines and the virus continues to decline.   
      
   In Texas, health officials aren’t a dominant force in the GOP primary.   
   Abbott is up for reelection in 2022, and he doesn’t want a challenger from   
   his right blasting him for waiting too long to fully reopen Texas.   
      
   Before Tuesday’s announcement, Texas Republican Party Chairman Allen West   
   and others pushed Abbott to be more aggressive with fully reopening,   
   pointing to states like Florida and South Dakota as examples.   
      
   Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem have become   
   darlings of the GOP, a party still influenced by former President Donald   
   Trump. While DeSantis and Noem’s political stock has risen over the past   
   year, Abbott, who could have presidential ambitions in 2024, has been   
   stuck in place.   
      
   If Texas doesn’t see another spike in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and   
   deaths, Abbott will improve his local and national standing with   
   Republicans, given that Texas is such a large and dynamic state. He wants   
   to be in the 2024 presidential conversation.   
      
   Unfortunately, the wearing of masks has become a political issue, with   
   some libertarians and Republicans loyal to Trump balking at such mandates.   
      
   By repealing his mask-wearing order, critics say Abbott may put essential   
   workers and other Texans at risk. If masks aren’t required in a bustling   
   grocery store, social distancing or a vaccination may be the only   
   protection available.   
      
   Abbott is taking a chance by not listening to scientists like Walensky.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)