Legalectric

FULL DISCLOSURE: I’m no fan of NY’s Gov. Cuomo.

Yesterday’s Cuomo press conference was superb, the “reopening” discussion is one that everyone needs to use as the diving board to considering “reopening.” I’m very concerned about this as I watch Minnesota’s Gov. Walz start allowing “reopening,” and even more so as I see tRump ordering that meatpacking houses open up. GAAACK! What could go wrong!?!

Even the White House criteria, its guidelines for opening up, recommend that the peak be reached and that there be 14 days of decreasing new cases. What the hell are they thinking, opening now? Reopening means that spread will increase.

Listen to this, the reopening discussion starts at 11:33, through 17:44, followed by important points about the need for federal government to WORK on bipartisan legislation:

Cuomo Press Conference – May 6, 2020

Why did estimates increase so dramatically?

Here’s the primary source for those COVID projections, first the narrative, and then the charts:

IHME COVID-19 Resources (the narrative)

COVID-19 Projections (graphs)

We are making decisions about how many will live and how many will die:

It’s a big win for Michigan’s Gov. Whitmer and her state of emergency Executive Orders. Over and over we’ve been hearing cries of “Stay Home is a violation of my constitutional rights,” “I need a haircut,” “Open golf courses” and other nonsense. On April 23, 2020, yahoos sued about that, looking for an injunction and an end to the Governor’s declaration of a state of emergency status which shut down much of the state, and last week, the decision came out DOH! No violation of constitutional rights.

This gets directly to the parts that stick in my craw, the “I need a haircut” crowd, who think that their needs are a higher priority than protection of the community. It’s all about balancing rights with the public interest:

Binding authority from the United States Supreme Court and the Michigan Supreme Court compels this Court to conclude that plaintiffs do not have a substantial likelihood of success on the merits. This is not because the rights asserted by plaintiffs are not fundamental—being forced (with some important exceptions) by the state to remain in one’s home, in turn causing many residents to be unable to work, visit elderly relatives, and to generally move about the state. But those liberty interests are, and always have been, subject to society’s interests—society being our fellow residents. They—our fellow residents—have an interest to remain unharmed by a highly communicable and deadly virus, and since the state entered the Union in 1837, it has had the broad power to act for the public health of the entire state when faced with a public crisis.

Public safety prevails. Take a few minutes, read the decision.

I’ve had too many really uncomfortable conversations trying to elicit reasons people I know support tRump, something to understand, something to explain… The responses are not coherent, but in each one, I’ve felt what I’ve interpreted as a sense of entitlement and that they’re not getting theirs, and strong unacknowledged racism and fear and hatred of immigrants (with no knowledge of how our immigration and refugee system works in this country). I’ve also been reading, reading, reading, trying to make some sense of it.

Recently, I saw an article about a study with some thoughts, and many questions posed to groups of tRump supporters, concluding with some specific beliefs held by tRump supporters and rationales for their support. This feels like it identifies the factors precisely:

From the study, the short version bottom line:

We see here that five attitudes distinguish enthusiastic Trump voters from others. Four of the eight attitudes that distinguish Trump from non-Trump voters also distinguish strong from mild Trump voters: pessimism about the economy, support for domineering leaders, Christian fundamentalism, and anti-immigrant sentiment. And the difference makes a difference: the higher the score, the greater the chance of a pro-Trump vote. But it is also striking that conservative identification and negativity toward women do not differentiate strong from mild Trump voters.
It is also striking to note that ordinary racial resentment does not appear to divide enthusiastic from milder Trump supporters. Rather, a new anti-minority scale, which we constructed from items about perceived discrimination against whites, emerges as a pivotal dividing line. Strong Trump partisans are significantly more likely than others to allege anti-white discrimination. This reflects a heightened and, in tone, embittered complaint about what they see as line-cutting. The defiant wish for a domineering and impolitic leader, which is strongest among Trump’s most fervent supporters, coalesces here with the wish for a reversal of what his base perceives as an inverted moral and racial order.

Do take a few minutes to read this. Watching these tRump supported “demonstrations” against Governors’ STAY HOME Orders has many dumbfounded, scratching heads. This study setting out the fundamental beliefs of the strongest tRump supporters will help make sense of it.

And remember this photo, Jason Lewis, inviting COVID spread. He’s running for Senate this time, having been trounced in the 2016 Minnesota 2CD elected, handed his ass on a plate, by our now Representative Angie Craig.

They’re starting construction, too early, not following procedures, and yes, starting to move ground around, and, well, not doing a great job of it. That’s a matter for another day.

Association of Freeborn County Landowners has filed its Motion for Reconsideration, and Xcel Energy has filed their response:

Someday soon the Public Utilities Commission will give Notice and have a meeting about this… if not, in 60 days, our Reconsideration will be deemed denied, and it’s off to the Appellate Court once again!

“Free marketers,” duck and cover. And utilities, contractors, get ready… Just in, for Public Inspection, will be released Monday:

The gist of it is that utility infrastructure and equipment should not be coming in from other countries, particularly “adversaries.” Threat? What threat?

From the E.O., p. 2-3:

I further find that the unrestricted acquisition or use in the United States of
bulk-power system electric equipment designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of foreign adversaries augments the ability of foreign adversaries to create and exploit vulnerabilities in bulk-power system electric equipment, with potentially catastrophic effects. I therefore determine that the unrestricted foreign supply of bulk-power system electric equipment constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States, which has its source in whole or in substantial part outside the United States. This threat exists both in the case of individual acquisitions and when acquisitions are considered as a class. Although maintaining an open investment climate in bulk-power system electric equipment, and in the United States economy more generally, is important for the overall growth and prosperity of the United States, such openness must be balanced with the need to protect our Nation against a critical national security threat. To address this threat, additional steps are required to protect the security, integrity, and reliability of bulk-power system electric equipment used in the United States. In light of these findings, I hereby declare a national emergency with respect to the threat to the United States bulk-power system.

WHAT?!?!