Texas becomes biggest US state to lift COVID-19 mask mandate

Discussion in 'Current Events' started by signalmankenneth, Mar 2, 2021.

  1. AKS

    AKS Banned

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    I never implied anything else. While your at it you can wear a parachute next time you take a commercial flight.
     
  2. Darthcervantes

    Darthcervantes Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I know that was meant to be joke but I would seriously pay extra for that option.
     
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  3. drluggit

    drluggit Well-Known Member

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    What lie is being told to Texans here? Where does mr Abbot's order restrict folks? Just a question, but you do realize that a mask doesn't protect you from others, right??? Have you been vaccinated? Are you suffering from the flu? We don't need your answers, but your continued refusal to accept the science is obvious.
     
  4. Aleksander Ulyanov

    Aleksander Ulyanov Well-Known Member

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    Commercial jets travel at heights well over 30,000 feet and speeds exceeding 400mph. Parachute or not you would not survive either one of those conditions for more than a few seconds
     
    Last edited: Mar 3, 2021
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  5. LoneStarGal

    LoneStarGal Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Giving people freedom to determine their own risk and behave accordingly is not a lie. Locking healthy working people out of their businesses, jobs and preventing the education of our young while the world's billionaires and mega-corporations doubled their net worth is deceit of the worst kind; a crime against humanity.
     
  6. LoneStarGal

    LoneStarGal Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Gov. Abbott didn't say "Don't wear a mask," and allowing businesses to expand to 100% occupancy does not mean that all business owners will stop spacing tables further apart than normal or setting their own occupancy limits according to what the owner/manager sees fit for their needs and safety.

    People sure did roll over to give up freedom for a little security. That security was always an illusion. The freedom, or loss of freedom, is real.

    Texas is on a good track for vaccinations, hospitalizations of down since we've learned how to treat the virus without killing the patient with the cure, and the higher density cities will have a fairly high level of herd immunity after a full year of exposure.

    Border towns will continue to have more exposure and more cases as migrants no loner have to "wait in Mexico" to come into the country. The bus stations in border towns are filling up with asylum seekers again due to relaxed migration rules so people are going all over the country where they know a friend or relative.

    upload_2021-3-3_10-16-12.png
     
  7. LoneStarGal

    LoneStarGal Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Did you previously cough into your elbow, or at least cover a cough with your hand, and now find that you don't do either of those because your face is already covered? I have found myself doing that, and have seen many others do the same.

    Good old common sense procedures work to slow the spread of viruses and other respiratory disease. Cough/sneeze in your elbow, wash your hands, keep your distance from anyone with obvious symptoms of illness, and for goodness sake, stay home if you are sick.

    The elderly and frail will always be more susceptible to dying from respiratory illnesses than everyone else in the population. We do need to protect those people as much as possible while the young and healthy go to work, earn a living, put food on the table....and pay taxes to support the frail and elderly.

    These restrictions, after the first "15-days to flatten the curve" where we needed to get little more observation of what was happening, have only been a test to see how compliant the populations of the world would be to global authoritarianism.
     
    Last edited: Mar 3, 2021
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  8. signalmankenneth

    signalmankenneth Well-Known Member

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  9. LoneStarGal

    LoneStarGal Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    When was the last time someone blew a big snot wad on your face? When was the last time you blew a big snot wad on someone else's face?

    Blowing snot wads in peoples' faces never was really "a thing" was it?

    Social distance from "sneezy" people and covering our mouths was a thing....just not covering them with thin porous masks.
     
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  10. Darthcervantes

    Darthcervantes Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    A Llama did this to me at a petting zoo once. FACT!
     
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  11. LoneStarGal

    LoneStarGal Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    You are correct. Not all businesses in Texas will be following the orders of the government. They can choose to do what they wish. That is the point of freedom. People get to demand the government to do things in order for politicians to stay in office. The government should never get to order healthy people to stay home from their jobs, families, and friends.
     
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  12. LoneStarGal

    LoneStarGal Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Ooohhh! ....and Covid was transmitted by animal-to-human contact. LOL [sarc]

    A few weeks into the global virus panic rhetoric, one of my cats came up and sneezed in my face. That did kind of creep me out a bit at the time, since I had read a story about cats getting Covid. :p
     
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  13. ChiCowboy

    ChiCowboy Well-Known Member

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    People are dying from covid, so I'm not so cavalier about the numbers, but yes, we will see the results.

    The heavy hand presumes localities cannot impose stricter regulations than the state. I don't know whether that is true, but if it is, I would disagree.
     
  14. LoneStarGal

    LoneStarGal Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    County judges have the authority to impose restrictions on capacity limits and mask mandates. They are not allowed to reduce capacity below 50%. Nor are they allowed to arrest anyone for not wearing a mask.
     
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  15. glitch

    glitch Well-Known Member

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    Yeah I believe that cartoon was probably penned by someone who did not appreciate the governor's previous stance. He has now lifted that heavy hand.

    People are also dying from the government imposing strict restrictions on people as suicide, lack of disease prevention, alcohol and drug abuse and domestic abuse shoot up. Does the science demonstrate that the California approach has been more effective than the Florida approach? We should follow the science and not our emotions. If 50% of the elderly are now vaccinated with millions more vaccinated every day it is time to start returning to normal life.
     
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  16. ChiCowboy

    ChiCowboy Well-Known Member

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    That's one possibility. My point is what's stipulated in the law. I'd look it up but it's a minor point. If cities and counties can legally impose stricter regulations, then I'm all for it. Some state law precludes this, so we're not sure which hand is heavier.

    The science is to err on the side of caution. We know what works. What Texas is doing is risky.

    I'm not going to argue the failed response of the last administration. Biden is correct. We're the United States of America. We should be leading. There is no excuse for mishandling the response to the pandemic.
     
  17. LoneStarGal

    LoneStarGal Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yes, the real deal is the opposite of the cartoon. Constituents were being very harsh on Abbott for "too many restrictions". People who weren't raised in Texas can hardly understand how fiercely independent native Texans are.

    I worry most about the children. When kids start having mental issues while they are young, they may never mature properly or "grow out of it". They definitely don't "get over it" if they commit suicide. :(

    We need to protect the elderly from the virus. We need to protect everyone else from mental health declines which come from social isolation and loss of income.


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  18. LoneStarGal

    LoneStarGal Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    There is nothing scientific about putting all our focus on one infectious virus while ignoring every other risk to physical and mental health.

    Trump was correct that states should open their economies and schools as quickly as possible. Thank goodness he very quickly got us treatments and vaccines through Warp Speed and left Biden on the down-hill side of the mountain. I don't even care if Biden takes credit for all of the Trump administration's work. That's politics. But, Biden will severely mishandle the rest of the "crisis" if he continues to put teachers' unions ahead of the education of our children and continues to place the interests of monopolistic corporations ahead while punishing the small and medium business owners and their employees.
     
    Last edited: Mar 3, 2021
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  19. glitch

    glitch Well-Known Member

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    Is it cautious to destroy businesses, destroy the education of our children, put people's lives in danger in so many other ways. The "cautious" approach is also very dangerous. The real danger from Covid is to older people with respiratory issues. These are the ones that need to be isolated and vaccinated. Texas appears to be doing a good job of doing this. Sometimes the supposed cure is much more dangerous than the potential symptom being treated. Let's follow the science and not treat all age and health groups the same because they are very different.
     
    Last edited: Mar 3, 2021
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  20. AKS

    AKS Banned

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    Haven't we already seen good results from Florida (the state with the highest elderly population)? If they can safely open then we all can.
     
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  21. AKS

    AKS Banned

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    No, but the smart ones will. If I had a choice between two businesses one with mask order and one without, I'd take maskless every day of the week. Of course I'm relatively young, in relatively good health, and have already had the virus. If I were an 80 year old heart patient I'd likely make a different decision.
     
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  22. James California

    James California Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    :wierdface: Ah yes ... Dr. Flip-Flop. :confuse:ยด
     
  23. ChiCowboy

    ChiCowboy Well-Known Member

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    I'm not aware of Florida removing restrictions.

    If hotspots occur, business will shut down again. It's risky.
     
  24. Egoboy

    Egoboy Well-Known Member Donor

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    The lie is that everything is OK to be 100% open with only 7% of the state vaccinated... You guys are good with giving them, but struggle to recognize them (I guess that's related in some way)

    I believe a mask protects me from others (and vice versa) more than not having a mask does....

    I'm not eligible for vaccination in my state yet, but I just this AM got an EMAIL to sign up for that coming day... Next on my to do list today..
     
  25. AKS

    AKS Banned

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    Sure, and and a hydrostatically sealed bubble would also protect you more than not living in one. That's lazy logic. The real question is, does the risk warrant wearing one? Given that masks never provided much protection in the first place coupled with the fact that people are getting vaccinated and recovering from infection in large numbers - I think it doesn't. If your an 80 YO heart patient you might want to wait it out a bit longer.
     
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