I live in Dallas, Texas and the state is experiencing record numbers of people Testing positive with COVID-19, along with the number of people in the hospital With the virus. Houston hospitalS are at capacity because of COVID-19 patients. Dallas hospital occupancy levels are in better shape but there is no telling how much worse things are going to get.
There are several reasons thIs is happening. Texas started ending Shelter In Place on May 1st, one of the first states in the country to do so. Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and other large cities didn’t want to start relaxing the quarantine measures until numbers leveled out and started to decline. However, Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican who like Trump is more concerned with stopping the economic downturn than saving the lives of people living in Texas. In fact, Lieutenant Governor stated back in March that seniors like him were willing to die in order to get the economy moving. The cities wanted to keep Shelter In Place for their residents but the state wouldn’t let them do so. None of this went over well with seniors and exemplifies why Trump is losing support from seniors around the country. Let’s hope they vote for Biden in November.
Another reason for Texas becoming an epicenter is that many people are not wearing masks, They are not staying 6 feet apart and are not staying home as they should. Many seniors are being cautious but lots of people 45 and younger are not. Many buy into the propaganda they get from FOX news, other right-wing media as well as Trump’s tweets.
Because of our skyrocketing numbers Governor Abbott has forced bars to Close again and restaurants to go from a maximum of 75% occupancy back to 50%. If people here in Texas don’t take this pandemic more seriously and act accordingly he will be forced to take more drastic actions. Of course, had Abbott not kissed Trump’s ass to begin with and not opened the state too early and too quickly we wouldn’t be in this mess.
I am frustrated that so many people refuse to wear masks. I blame Trump and other leaders who aren’t wearing masks. There is no way to get through to the people who consider COVID-19 to be a hoax. They are unwilling to listen to reason. They don’t trust science. We shall see what happens going forward. Right now the states of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey are requiring people coming to their states from Texas and other states with skyrocketing numbers to quarantine them selves for 14 days once they arrive.
Down in Houston it’s very much like Dallas although I don’t know that they are stressing hospital space as much since we have the Houston medical center. I quit my job at the last restaurant I was at and moved to a different restaurant where I can bartend and have more distance between myself and the guests. However the new restaurant is in Galveston so there’s a ton of tourists. Not a lot of mask wearing going on either. I wear them everywhere. Work, gas station, grocery...everywhere. From my observations the people not wearing masks tend to be white and middle aged, or just young. I’m not sure why young people seem to think they can’t get it or spread it. A couple of the bars I go to just rebranded as restaurants to stay open. Not sure how that works because we have a 51-50 rule here. Meaning to be a restaurant 51% of your sales must come from food. You’re a bar if 51% of your sales come from alcohol. I wish I could stay home but bills won’t pay themselves and unemployment doesn’t last forever. Especially if they ask you to come back and your employer reports to the state if you refuse. Stay safe everyone.
We’re having a lovely misty and overcast day in Seattle.
The CHOP occupation is breaking down but a few people remain. Our COVID-19 cases are rising but statewide we have had 32,000 positive cases, even lower than the entire county of Maricopa in AZ.
Planning on reading Jill Wine Banks new book today which has been sitting on a table for three months. Hope all is well with you in NYC.
I live in SW Florida. Maybe 5% - 10% of the people I see are masking or taking any precautions, and those are the locals. The tourists couldn't care less about much of anything other than partying.
They REALLY need to make masks mandatory out in public, inside a public space. Outdoors, less of an issue.
The vast majority of the infections on this coast were brought over from the east coast, as the west opened up their beaches earlier. The 305s flooded the west coast, bringing the virus with them, and they didn't practice any safe practices at all. It was literally horrifying to see them in stores. 3 generations of family, just not caring at all.
It's gotten really, REALLY bad. And masking looks like the only way to cut down on infections. So pass rules to make them mandatory indoors.
Here in IL we entered phase 4 yesterday. Today restaurants are packed and for some reason everyone decided to all have garage sales. Fucking idiots. I want to jump off a cliff.
Hi. We took a road trip to Utah from our home in California. Many people not wearing masks which is very different from our area. We are wearing them everywhere. In the super market it said masks must be worn and many people were not nor were they being asked to. Totally different experience for us and makes me super uneasy. But the weather , scenery and being out in nature hiking and biking are glorious! Hope you are staying safe and as always thank for keeping us so informed.
Hot and humid down here in the Maryland suburbs between Baltimore and DC. Just had a thunderstorm to cool things off.
Have any of you experienced a COVID dream? I've been experiencing them frequently, and the one last night was a doozy ... woke up feeling disoriented and anxious. Those and just the way things are more generally has made it difficult to concentrate and/or otherwise be productive.
Hi Michael, we know in November there will undoubtedly be voter suppression. Can you please provide to democratic voters information on who they can reach out to while at the polling locations in the event they are turned away from voting? Any assistance to voters will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your show, I love it!
I just ran into someone, a woman in her late 30's in Ohio who thinks Trump is doing a fantastic job. I said that I didn't think 120,000 deaths was a fantastic job and her reply was "The deaths were 40% from nursing homes. They were old and had health issues anyway." I said that was sad that she felt that way about human life. Clearly she was an uneducated white woman. A TRUMPSTER if ever I had seen one.
Lost on in the sauce of last week and all its news breakers was the announcement Trump's Justice Department - an oxymoron if ever there was one - had filed suit in federal court seeking complete overturn of the Affordable Care Act, which is what any compassionate leader does while they "preside" over 125k deaths to date.
As a state insurance regulator, I have a slightly different way of looking of how this man - quite possibly the largest super spreader of the disease in the country as seen with his "only pussies wear masks" travelling medicine show last week - and the impact of his devastating inadequacies on both our health, insurance, and the economy.
First, as many may already be aware, if the ADA is repealed, there is the potential carriers could reintroduce medical underwriting into health insurance. In plain English, they could restore the preexisting condition exclusions which are unlawful under ObamaCare (Aside; I've never believed carriers will necessarily be apt to do this given two consecutive years of rate stabilization, a belief that's only grown as COVID drives a surge in ADA enrollment). If the Preexisting Condition exclusion returns, the logic correctly follows, your carrier could deny you coverage in whole or in part because of a prior positive COVID test. We all understand where this narrative goes and, in Republican Heaven, all kinds of people not like them get tossed off health care. Again, not what I see, but absolutely within contemplation and utterly terrifying if played out in full.
ON THE OTHER HAND, here's where I see danger lurking around every corner. My fear has to do with workers compensation claims relating to essential service providers (and, in turn, all of us) who contract COVID? Picture this: If you're a health care professional or first responder and you contract the virus, we all KNOW you caught it doing your job. We know it, but can we PROVE it? Early workers comp claims testing this proposition have already been litigated and the results are not promising for worker-plaintiffs. Worker's Comp carriers not only know plaintiffs face a high burden of proof to perfect these claims, they also understand that disabilities attributable to COVID may last for months and beyond meaning, in the parlance of the industry, these are claims with very long tails. It's fear of these long tail payouts which will spur vigorous defense against efforts to collect on them.
Insurance is a weird thing. We all talk about it but we really don't UNDERSTAND it. I specialize in Property and Casualty insurance which, take my word for it, means I'm looking at all kinds of developments on the leading edge of society. We're going to learn sooner rather than later just how pervasive the impact of this virus will be. What's going to happen when you want to hail an Uber? Who's covering who and for what? What if you're a corporate officer or director and infections among your workers spike after you (prematurely?) reopened for business? Will your Directors & Officers policy indemnify you? Hundreds of these types of issues will emerge well into the future.
As a public servant/insurance regulator, I can't ever close off anything like you've just read without adding this. Wherever you live, Red, Purple, or Blue, your state has an Insurance Department staffed with motivated professionals who want to help you if you run into insurance issues. On matters ranging from premiums to claims and everything else in between, they can bring complaints against your company that requires that company to justify and document any adverse decision you may have received. If you're in the right, they can get you relief. You'll find them on your state government website.
Stay safe and sane and do whatever you can to make sure, come the morning of Nov. 3, the Great Orange Menace starts to recede in our collective rear view mirror, having suffered the most well-deserved YOU'RE FIRED in American history.
I'm in Kleberg Co., Texas, a county with about 31,000 population, approximately 42 miles south of Corpus Christi. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we inched up to 20 cases of COVID-19. In the last two days, that has more than doubled, up to 42 cases. I am fortunate to be retired, so I only go out to pick up groceries curbside or drive-thru. Still, I have had to put off doctor appointments, as most of my doctors are in Corpus Christi. I do recognize that I am more fortunate than most in that I still have my income.
I did not vote for Trump (actually, I did not vote: my vote goes to California and it would not have mattered, so I felt safe to sit that one out).
I gave Trump the benefit of the doubt, despite all I heard. I was able to overlook everything and give him the time (as an ex-pat, there is little I could have done, anyway).
In Norway, I go to work, we go to restaurants, everyone is careful. Life is returning.
(And health care is free.)
For me the turning point is that, now, when I hear "America the Beautiful" I start crying for a country that has been damaged by a person who wanted to seek re-election. My mom lives in NYC and she is almost 90. I will likely never see her again, nor my brothers or sister: soon enough Norway will put Americans on a two week quarantine to come here, and I will not risk going there.
We will not come back to the US to live.
(And our children's college education is also free.)
My sister was telling me of an outbreak that occured at a student bar in East Lansing,MI. Even though a sign was saying "Please wear a mask" almost none of the students were wearing masks or even social distancing. This doesn't have to do as much with political affiliation as it has to do with these folks acting young & stupid. I hope none of them are going to medical or veterinarian school at Michigan State Univ.
I live in Dallas, Texas and the state is experiencing record numbers of people Testing positive with COVID-19, along with the number of people in the hospital With the virus. Houston hospitalS are at capacity because of COVID-19 patients. Dallas hospital occupancy levels are in better shape but there is no telling how much worse things are going to get.
There are several reasons thIs is happening. Texas started ending Shelter In Place on May 1st, one of the first states in the country to do so. Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and other large cities didn’t want to start relaxing the quarantine measures until numbers leveled out and started to decline. However, Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican who like Trump is more concerned with stopping the economic downturn than saving the lives of people living in Texas. In fact, Lieutenant Governor stated back in March that seniors like him were willing to die in order to get the economy moving. The cities wanted to keep Shelter In Place for their residents but the state wouldn’t let them do so. None of this went over well with seniors and exemplifies why Trump is losing support from seniors around the country. Let’s hope they vote for Biden in November.
Another reason for Texas becoming an epicenter is that many people are not wearing masks, They are not staying 6 feet apart and are not staying home as they should. Many seniors are being cautious but lots of people 45 and younger are not. Many buy into the propaganda they get from FOX news, other right-wing media as well as Trump’s tweets.
Because of our skyrocketing numbers Governor Abbott has forced bars to Close again and restaurants to go from a maximum of 75% occupancy back to 50%. If people here in Texas don’t take this pandemic more seriously and act accordingly he will be forced to take more drastic actions. Of course, had Abbott not kissed Trump’s ass to begin with and not opened the state too early and too quickly we wouldn’t be in this mess.
I am frustrated that so many people refuse to wear masks. I blame Trump and other leaders who aren’t wearing masks. There is no way to get through to the people who consider COVID-19 to be a hoax. They are unwilling to listen to reason. They don’t trust science. We shall see what happens going forward. Right now the states of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey are requiring people coming to their states from Texas and other states with skyrocketing numbers to quarantine them selves for 14 days once they arrive.
Down in Houston it’s very much like Dallas although I don’t know that they are stressing hospital space as much since we have the Houston medical center. I quit my job at the last restaurant I was at and moved to a different restaurant where I can bartend and have more distance between myself and the guests. However the new restaurant is in Galveston so there’s a ton of tourists. Not a lot of mask wearing going on either. I wear them everywhere. Work, gas station, grocery...everywhere. From my observations the people not wearing masks tend to be white and middle aged, or just young. I’m not sure why young people seem to think they can’t get it or spread it. A couple of the bars I go to just rebranded as restaurants to stay open. Not sure how that works because we have a 51-50 rule here. Meaning to be a restaurant 51% of your sales must come from food. You’re a bar if 51% of your sales come from alcohol. I wish I could stay home but bills won’t pay themselves and unemployment doesn’t last forever. Especially if they ask you to come back and your employer reports to the state if you refuse. Stay safe everyone.
We’re having a lovely misty and overcast day in Seattle.
The CHOP occupation is breaking down but a few people remain. Our COVID-19 cases are rising but statewide we have had 32,000 positive cases, even lower than the entire county of Maricopa in AZ.
Planning on reading Jill Wine Banks new book today which has been sitting on a table for three months. Hope all is well with you in NYC.
I live in SW Florida. Maybe 5% - 10% of the people I see are masking or taking any precautions, and those are the locals. The tourists couldn't care less about much of anything other than partying.
They REALLY need to make masks mandatory out in public, inside a public space. Outdoors, less of an issue.
The vast majority of the infections on this coast were brought over from the east coast, as the west opened up their beaches earlier. The 305s flooded the west coast, bringing the virus with them, and they didn't practice any safe practices at all. It was literally horrifying to see them in stores. 3 generations of family, just not caring at all.
It's gotten really, REALLY bad. And masking looks like the only way to cut down on infections. So pass rules to make them mandatory indoors.
Here in IL we entered phase 4 yesterday. Today restaurants are packed and for some reason everyone decided to all have garage sales. Fucking idiots. I want to jump off a cliff.
Hi. We took a road trip to Utah from our home in California. Many people not wearing masks which is very different from our area. We are wearing them everywhere. In the super market it said masks must be worn and many people were not nor were they being asked to. Totally different experience for us and makes me super uneasy. But the weather , scenery and being out in nature hiking and biking are glorious! Hope you are staying safe and as always thank for keeping us so informed.
Hey Mike --
Hot and humid down here in the Maryland suburbs between Baltimore and DC. Just had a thunderstorm to cool things off.
Have any of you experienced a COVID dream? I've been experiencing them frequently, and the one last night was a doozy ... woke up feeling disoriented and anxious. Those and just the way things are more generally has made it difficult to concentrate and/or otherwise be productive.
Here's a cartoon ... from someone with a "noir sens de l’humour". https://images.dailykos.com/images/822834/story_image/magasoreus.png?1592930624
Thanks for explaining about yesterday. I was having a Groundhog Day moment. 😊 Hello from South Jersey👋🏾
Hi Michael, we know in November there will undoubtedly be voter suppression. Can you please provide to democratic voters information on who they can reach out to while at the polling locations in the event they are turned away from voting? Any assistance to voters will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your show, I love it!
I just ran into someone, a woman in her late 30's in Ohio who thinks Trump is doing a fantastic job. I said that I didn't think 120,000 deaths was a fantastic job and her reply was "The deaths were 40% from nursing homes. They were old and had health issues anyway." I said that was sad that she felt that way about human life. Clearly she was an uneducated white woman. A TRUMPSTER if ever I had seen one.
Lost on in the sauce of last week and all its news breakers was the announcement Trump's Justice Department - an oxymoron if ever there was one - had filed suit in federal court seeking complete overturn of the Affordable Care Act, which is what any compassionate leader does while they "preside" over 125k deaths to date.
As a state insurance regulator, I have a slightly different way of looking of how this man - quite possibly the largest super spreader of the disease in the country as seen with his "only pussies wear masks" travelling medicine show last week - and the impact of his devastating inadequacies on both our health, insurance, and the economy.
First, as many may already be aware, if the ADA is repealed, there is the potential carriers could reintroduce medical underwriting into health insurance. In plain English, they could restore the preexisting condition exclusions which are unlawful under ObamaCare (Aside; I've never believed carriers will necessarily be apt to do this given two consecutive years of rate stabilization, a belief that's only grown as COVID drives a surge in ADA enrollment). If the Preexisting Condition exclusion returns, the logic correctly follows, your carrier could deny you coverage in whole or in part because of a prior positive COVID test. We all understand where this narrative goes and, in Republican Heaven, all kinds of people not like them get tossed off health care. Again, not what I see, but absolutely within contemplation and utterly terrifying if played out in full.
ON THE OTHER HAND, here's where I see danger lurking around every corner. My fear has to do with workers compensation claims relating to essential service providers (and, in turn, all of us) who contract COVID? Picture this: If you're a health care professional or first responder and you contract the virus, we all KNOW you caught it doing your job. We know it, but can we PROVE it? Early workers comp claims testing this proposition have already been litigated and the results are not promising for worker-plaintiffs. Worker's Comp carriers not only know plaintiffs face a high burden of proof to perfect these claims, they also understand that disabilities attributable to COVID may last for months and beyond meaning, in the parlance of the industry, these are claims with very long tails. It's fear of these long tail payouts which will spur vigorous defense against efforts to collect on them.
Insurance is a weird thing. We all talk about it but we really don't UNDERSTAND it. I specialize in Property and Casualty insurance which, take my word for it, means I'm looking at all kinds of developments on the leading edge of society. We're going to learn sooner rather than later just how pervasive the impact of this virus will be. What's going to happen when you want to hail an Uber? Who's covering who and for what? What if you're a corporate officer or director and infections among your workers spike after you (prematurely?) reopened for business? Will your Directors & Officers policy indemnify you? Hundreds of these types of issues will emerge well into the future.
As a public servant/insurance regulator, I can't ever close off anything like you've just read without adding this. Wherever you live, Red, Purple, or Blue, your state has an Insurance Department staffed with motivated professionals who want to help you if you run into insurance issues. On matters ranging from premiums to claims and everything else in between, they can bring complaints against your company that requires that company to justify and document any adverse decision you may have received. If you're in the right, they can get you relief. You'll find them on your state government website.
Stay safe and sane and do whatever you can to make sure, come the morning of Nov. 3, the Great Orange Menace starts to recede in our collective rear view mirror, having suffered the most well-deserved YOU'RE FIRED in American history.
I'm in Kleberg Co., Texas, a county with about 31,000 population, approximately 42 miles south of Corpus Christi. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we inched up to 20 cases of COVID-19. In the last two days, that has more than doubled, up to 42 cases. I am fortunate to be retired, so I only go out to pick up groceries curbside or drive-thru. Still, I have had to put off doctor appointments, as most of my doctors are in Corpus Christi. I do recognize that I am more fortunate than most in that I still have my income.
I am an American now living in Norway.
I did not vote for Trump (actually, I did not vote: my vote goes to California and it would not have mattered, so I felt safe to sit that one out).
I gave Trump the benefit of the doubt, despite all I heard. I was able to overlook everything and give him the time (as an ex-pat, there is little I could have done, anyway).
In Norway, I go to work, we go to restaurants, everyone is careful. Life is returning.
(And health care is free.)
For me the turning point is that, now, when I hear "America the Beautiful" I start crying for a country that has been damaged by a person who wanted to seek re-election. My mom lives in NYC and she is almost 90. I will likely never see her again, nor my brothers or sister: soon enough Norway will put Americans on a two week quarantine to come here, and I will not risk going there.
We will not come back to the US to live.
(And our children's college education is also free.)
And now that I am crying again, I will stop.
Today Newsom is toggling back further. I think he’s great but he just reopened way too early.
Restaurant dining rooms, wineries, card rooms to close for at least three weeks in 19 California counties.
My sister was telling me of an outbreak that occured at a student bar in East Lansing,MI. Even though a sign was saying "Please wear a mask" almost none of the students were wearing masks or even social distancing. This doesn't have to do as much with political affiliation as it has to do with these folks acting young & stupid. I hope none of them are going to medical or veterinarian school at Michigan State Univ.