We Cared for Two Months
We Cared for Two Months
Our loved ones aren't worth as much as an Applebee's margarita.
I read the most accurate description of the philosophy behind American conservatism last year in Luke O’Neil’s Hellworld which is a newsletter about exactly what it sounds like.
“There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.”
I thought of this example yesterday when, in an unprecedented move, the federal government dropped charges against General Michael Flynn, the first National Security Chief under President Business Deals who — whoopsie daisy! — turned out to be an unregistered agent of a tyrannical foreign government.
General Flynn admitted to crimes twice in open court. Those guilty pleas led to lesser charges already being dropped. So now Flynn skates one everything due to being in good standing with the protected class in a budding mafia state.
Attorney General William Barr, a noted theocratic bootlicker who acts as Trump’s personal attorney, laid bare Team Trump’s game plan shortly thereafter. They plan to absolve themselves by breaking any rule possible to maintain power:
Corruption in open daylight! Barr gladly does it. He knows worst case scenario a Joe Biden Administration won’t throw him in jail for betraying his country for a corrupt 19080s real estate mogul.
You realize this stuff and it’s like my God, Nixon is rolling over in Hell right now wondering why he couldn’t get a gang of lackeys half as tough as Trump’s. Could you imagine Trump resigning over Watergate? He would have thrown those guys into the “I hardly knew them” wormhole and the nation would have collectively moved on to the next controversy in 72 hours.
I’m exhausted even before turning my attention to Ohio, a state that surprisingly helped lead the way in the fight against coronavirus until yesterday when we said fuck that noise we’re going to Applebee’s for a 2 for $20.
OUR COMPASSION LASTED TWO WHOLE MONTHS
[🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 fire meme from Senator Meow]
Germany’s factories operated at an 80% capacity throughout the corona crisis. Sounds insane until you realize the Germans elected competent leaders who realized the false choice between health and the economy.
The Germans got the best results in Europe from bosses working with employee unions (imagine the horror) to enact safe working conditions along with widespread testing and contact tracing.
It makes sense that Ohio has exactly zero of those things on a level that would lead anyone to believe it’s sane to re-open the economy in two weeks.
Georgia re-opened their economy last week in a ploy to save business owners from paying unemployment insurance and forcing workers to choose between their health or a paycheck. I have a feeling this is what’s happening here since DeWine himself can’t point to one medical reason why he’s taking this course.
Workers have been excluded from every discussion pertaining to the re-opening of the economy. No story that I read yesterday featured any opinion from a worker. Plenty from the business owners, though.
From Mark Kovac, Bill Bush and Mark Ferenchik of dispatch.com:
On the one hand, Megan Dempsey would like to reopen Dempsey’s Food and Spirits on South High Street, a mainstay Irish pub and hangout for public officials Downtown that’s been closed because of the pandemic for nearly two months.
It would take a couple of weeks, and menu selections likely would have to be trimmed, but it could be done.
On the other hand, Dempsey remained concerned Thursday about COVID-19 and keeping her employees and customers safe and infection-free.
It’s a puzzle she and other business owners are trying to piece together as Gov. Mike DeWine and state health officials announced plans to allow diners to return to their favorite spots for sit-down meals and drinks and others for personal care services.
Great, we’ve given business owners a puzzle. I’m sure they’re thrilled.
Some of them will be responsible with how they re-open. Many others won’t. Without clear guidelines you have everybody winging it which is the antithesis of public policy.
The idea bars can open in a socially distant manner would be hilarious if the stakes weren’t so grim. I miss the Main Bar more than the owner himself and I wouldn’t mind a drink with a couple of friends out back. I won’t be hanging out there on a crowded Friday night because I’m not insane.
This is all you need to know about the safety of returning to business as normal in two weeks:
I don’t see my life changing much when we re-open other than risking my life for a haircut. It’s just depressing knowing others will take this as “Mission Accomplished!” and the bars and restaurants will be stacked until corona inevitably does what viruses are wont to do.
It’s going to make sitting at home that much harder for people when they log into social media and see their friends living their lives seemingly without consequence.
THE PRICE OF GIVING PUBLIC MONEY TO WEALTHY OUT-OF-STATE DEVELOPERS
One problem Columbus faces is Mayor Ginther and his City Council cronies robbing local school districts to entice out-of-state developers to erect another mixed-used monstrosity along High Street.
It’s hard to teach kids without proper funding, and the lack of support for Columbus Public Schools drives many young families to the suburbs. It’s a cycle that won’t be ending any time soon, unfortunately.
From Debbie Holmes of wosu.org:
The 450-page independent audit by Phi Delta Kappa International of Virginia looked at the district’s core courses.
It found that teachers used outside resources to instruct students because the district lacked written curriculum documents for grades K-12, which auditors said led to inconsistencies in classwork.
A survey of 49 schools found that only 47% of them had enough computers for their students.
In a classroom visit, auditors found that only 19% of teachers actively used technology, while 22% of students did.
I would be much more proud to live in a city that took care of its public school children rather than stuffing as many breweries and trade conferences into the downtown area to impress visitors from the East Coast who expected Columbus to be a land of cow pastures and 56K dial-up internet.
I’m obviously in the minority of that belief considering how many Democratic voters are perfectly content with the status quo and the feckless politicians that keep the robbery wheel turning. These politicians will either be cashing consulting checks or in a higher office by the time the bill comes due for short-changing a generation of local children.
WHAT CAN CLOSING A STREET DO FOR YOU?
Ohio wouldn’t drive me as insane as it does if I never read about anything going on outside of Ohio.
I’m helplessly addicted to the news, and the coronavirus pandemic hasn’t done much to ail my diseases. Not only is our reactionary state government failing us, so are the unimaginative Democratic leaders in our urban centers.
From Douglas Trattner of clevescene.com:
In cities across America and abroad, local governments are scrambling to assist struggling restaurants that are being devastated by the Coronavirus pandemic. One of the seemingly easiest solutions being advanced is the conversion of public roads, sidewalks and parks to dining and entertainment spaces. Also part of these solutions is the relaxation of zoning and permitting requirements that prohibit restaurants and bars from extending dining and drinking service beyond the four walls and, if they have one, patio.
In Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, the local municipality is turning entire streets and public parks over to restaurants to comply with social distancing guidelines while throwing independent businesses a lifeline. In Tampa, Mayor Jane Castor closed streets to cars and opened them up to restaurant seating. In Brookhaven, Georgia, Mayor John Ernst signed an executive order to permit restaurants to erect tents in parking lots for seating. In Spartanburg, South Carolina, stretches of Main Street have been handed over to restaurants for outdoor seating.
Here in Cleveland, not so much – at least not yet.
We should be using this time to re-imagine our cities without so much space dedicated to personal cars. Our incompetent response to a pandemic doesn’t fill me with faith that we’ll be prepared to tackle climate change.
KILLER CAUGHT FOR CRIME COMMITTED THREE DECADES AGO
Here’s one asshole I won’t be worrying about when he’s stuffed into a prison for the rest of his life.
From the Associated Press via beaconjournal.com:
CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — Bail has been set at $1 million for a man charged in the murder of a teenager whose body was found near an outdoor music venue in Ohio more than three decades ago.
James E. Zastawnik, 67, of Cleveland, was arraigned Thursday in Stow Municipal Court and did not enter a plea to his felony murder charge. It’s not known if he’s retained an attorney.
The hearing came a day after he was charged in the December 1987 death of 17-year-old Barbara Blatnik.
Police were called to an area near Blossom Music Center five days before Christmas after Blatnik’s nude body was found. She had last been seen when a friend dropped her off at about midnight in Garfield Heights the night before. Authorities said the teenager had been raped and strangled.
Police said the charges were “based on new evidence that was provided through advancements in DNA technology.”
I can almost guarantee you they found this guy because his third-cousin twice-removed sold his DNA to one of those private companies who turned their database over to police to catch cold case rapists like this clown.
Bad news for any criminal in my bloodlines: I sold my DNA to Ancestory.com like an idiot a couple years back. It said I’m 98% British. (I’m not.)
WOMAN NOT FLYING TO MEET JOHNNY DEPP AFTER ALL
I don’t have any love in my heart for scammers. Yet somehow I have a special disdain for the criminals that commit love scams. They prey on human vulnerability and loneliness and take advantage of people who are desperate to feel loved for once in their life.
From limaohio.com:
MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio — A woman reported that she had been catfished online.
She sent $573 to a person believed to be the assistant to actor Johnny Depp. She said she had contacted the official Johnny Depp Instagram account and had been in contact with who she believed was Depp himself and his assistant.
She said she fell in love with him and sent explicit photos of herself. She provided her personal information and was sent a picture of a completed passport so that she could fly to France to meet with Depp.
She was asked for the money because she was told Depp’s funds were frozen and the money would be used to send a private jet for her. A greater amount of money had been requested, but she sent all she had available.
Sounds like convincing elderly women you work for Johnny Depp is a lucrative gig if you aren’t worried about instant eternal damnation.
THOSE WMDs. The placekicker with the far-right tattoo… America’s wealth inequality, visualized… How we got to Sesame Street… Millions of baby boomers are getting caught in the country’s broken retirement system… The eternal sunshine of Harry Styles.