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Tennessee Reopens!
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has announced a phased reopening of businesses in the state beginning next week with the “safer at home” order officially expiring on May 1. In other good news, yesterday Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs tweeted that the county (population 470,000) had only 28 active cases with 161 recoveries. Our concrete construction contractor company has been deemed “essential” so we have continued working through all this, but I know it will be a relief to a lot of people who have not been.
The main takeaways from this post are:
- Yes, I am kind of a big deal since I am officially essential.
- The Knox County mayor is Glenn Jacobs, but you may also know him as WWE wrestler Kane! (See Jacobs below pictured with Governor Lee.)
- Most important, a lot of the country may be ready to put this stuff behind us. Hallelujah.
Support for forced masking is like support for bumpstock bans. Totally worthless but it feels like an acceptable compromise for the sake of virtue signaling and “just doing something.” That is the worst sort of supposedly-benign government action.
Hmm, I wouldn’t think so. Unless I am missing Prager’s intent, the point of the article is that it doesn’t make sense to apply one set of standards coast-to-coast. I have heard Jonah Goldberg make the point many, many times in podcasts that there should be a lot more local control of various things, and less centralized decision making. I would think that Jonah would agree that we don’t need the same rules in rural Montana that we need in NYC. But maybe Prager and Goldberg have a feud going that I don’t know about.
What!? Let people decide for themselves? What are you some kind of revolutionary!?
Yep people with opinions like that should be let to die if they get sick!! Well, that’s what twitter says anyway .
I’ve heard that there are people who favor death to those who oppose their political agenda. I wonder if you’re encountering some of that type.
Trending right now is the phrase “covid deniers.” Where have we heard that one before?
I bet the streets will run red with blood. Just like when a state
passes concealed carrypermits open carryallows permit-less carry.Wishing actual physical harm to one’s political opponents is pretty sick and only a short jump from causing physical harm to those you disagree with.
There is no “co-mayor” that I am aware of. Jacobs is the County Mayor while City of Knoxville Mayor is someone named Indya Kincannon. I don’t really know much about her but Jacobs seems to be taking the lead on much of the public announcements concerning the virus. The county here runs the entire school system so it tends to swing a bigger stick at times.
My first reaction was “of course he is a democrat” but that probably isn’t fair. I am all for cities and towns making decisions on their own without the state government giving them mandates. What’s good for Greenback may not be good for Memphis right?
I don’t think I would classify what is happening as “encouraging more contact”. It is a soft open with people gradually getting back to their lives. The governor isn’t mandating businesses open, he is allowing it. Big difference.
In the specific case of Knox County for instance how few cases are the magic number? 15? 5? 0? They are already down to 24 active cases in a population of 470,000. When it gets to zero the argument still stands that reopening could cause additional cases…..so when is it ok? My personal opinion is we know enough about the risks to decide for ourselves. If the risk is too great in specific cases then guidance should be given on traits that need to be considered. The government doesn’t “open up” the state, it’s choice is when it is safe to allow people to make their own decision.
“Everything not forbidden is compulsory.“
Government overreach doesn’t become more acceptable as it gets more local. You just have a better means of fighting it…
True. But part of the city had a tornado sweep through it Easter night, I believe. Easing the restrictions and letting things get moving again might be pretty helpful at the moment.
In this Internet age in which communication moves at the speed of light, it is really important that towns, cities, counties, and states find ways to put out questions for a vote such as “Do you agree with the mandatory closure of XXX as a way of preventing the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 (covid-19) virus? Yes or no.” The question could be presented the way referendum questions are set up.
Civic engagement should be a bigger part of every politician’s priorities. Encourage people to get involved. Figure out how to engage people. And then do it.
If they were committed to increasing civic engagement, local politicians would form good habits in making their best case for their position on the issues. They would do a better job of finding expertise within their communities. The country would be enriched from the ground up.
Europe never understood us. When we joined the Allied effort in World War II, our strength surprised them. In their minds, they thought it was because our country was so big. So they formed the European Union to emulate and compete with the United States. Little did they know nor even suspect that the United States was strong because all of its little parts–the towns, the cities, the states, the individual people, and the families–were healthy and strong and smart. We really need to get away from the centralized EU type of control and get back to local control. It’s better for us, and it’s better for the whole world.
It’s not going to happen by itself. We need to invite and encourage our fellow citizens to speak up and join the local and state governments’ efforts. This sudden need we now have to establish working and temporary rules to get through this virus is a golden opportunity for all of us to crank up our state and local governments, to recruit people for state and local offices, fund our local political parties, establish local Ricochet-like websites for committees and larger organizations to converse respectfully, publicly, politely, and productively.
This could be an incredibly powerful moment for local government to grow and to shine as it used to and as it was meant to.
Oh sure, my general point though is the more local the government is the better their ability should be to fit their response to the community. As you point out the more local it is the more accountable it is as well which is useful.
Yeah my personal opinion is that they should ease restrictions there as well…..and I believe with the state mandate lifted it will be easier to make that happen. I have been in Chattanooga quite a bit recently and it is already not anything like a ghost town. Judging from what I have seen statewide, this is more or less the government following the lead of the populace, not the other way around.
This entire episode has definitely been a clear example of how state and local elections impact your daily lives more than federal elections. It literally has mattered more who your governor is than who the president is…….just ask someone from Michigan. However, I’m sure that will all be forgotten during the next election. haha
It’s more convenient when the guy you intend to hang from a lamppost lives in the same town.
Mr. Jacobs looks like such a friendly fellow.
This is the point I would like to make, without a robust testing regime in place you don’t know the real risk. Which is why getting one up and in place I think should be step one of the reopening plan. It will give everyone more confidence about the state of the outbreak in their local community and allow you to more quickly isolate new cases.
Sometimes you can’t wait for the ideal to happen. Sometimes you just have to work with what you have and hope for the best. This, I believe, is one of those times.
And even a robust testing regime is not going to give information that measures the risk as well as everyone will like. There will always be calls for more data.
So which one of the two guys pictured is the former WWE wrestler?
It is because my actual home is in Austin, TX that I will remain in Knoxville, TN for a long stretch. I just can’t stand the city council there. All citizens must wear masks unless homeless. Maybe that’s my “privilege” speaking, but I just find the whole city government ridiculous. No thank you. And thank goodness I have the ability to speak with my feet and go elsewhere.
No. They are not confused. They blame everything bad on the president. They trust the politicians they like.
For example, my best friend is a progressive. She tells me she trusts the city government of Austin much more than the state or federal government. She listens to what they tell her to do and dismisses anything I bring up from anyone else. I mean… on one level I agree with her sense of local accountability except the city government of Austin is insane.
People are not rational creatures.
I would be more cautious in Nashville than in Knoxville or Chattanooga.
Just out of curiosity, why?
Nashville has had more cases and has greater population density than Knoxville or Chattanooga.
That would explain it. Thanks!