Biden says Texas made 'big mistake' by lifting mask mandate, suggests 'Neanderthal thinking'
PATRICK SVITEK
"President Joe Biden says Texas made "big mistake" by lifting mask mandate, suggests "Neanderthal thinking"" was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Texas made a "big mistake" by removing its statewide mask mandate and suggested the decision reflected "Neanderthal thinking."
The comments by the Democratic president came a day after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott announced he was not only ending the mask requirement but also allowing businesses to reopen at full capacity. A small fraction of Texans have been fully vaccinated, and while coronavirus numbers have been generally declining in the state, they remain substantial.
"Texas — I think it's a big mistake," Biden said at the White House. "We are on the cusp of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease because the way in which are are able to get vaccines in people's arms. The last thing — the last thing — we need is Neanderthal thinking in the meantime."
HOUSTON LEADERS RESPOND: Hidalgo, Turner lambast Abbott for lifting mask order
Biden's administration has urged states not to let up on restrictions as vaccinations pick up. Rochelle Walensky, Biden's director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reiterated that earlier Wednesday during a White House coronavirus briefing when asked about Abbott's announcement.
"I think we at the CDC have been very clear that now is not the time to release all restrictions," Walensky said.
Asked about the Texas news a short time later, White House press secretary Jen Psaki did not directly address Abbott's actions but said "the entire country has paid the price for political leaders who ignored the science when it comes to the pandemic."
Abbott's announcement came four days after he joined Biden for a tour of Houston that was partly about the state's vaccination efforts. In remarks at the end of the trip, Biden stressed it was "not the time to relax" practices to curb the spread of the virus.
"We have to keep washing our hands, staying socially distanced," Biden said. "And for God’s sake, wear your mask."
H-E-B RESPONDS: H-E-B won't mandate for masks for shoppers, but urges customers to wear them
But while federal leaders denounced Abbott's actions, Dr. John Hellerstedt, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, told a panel of state House members Wednesday afternoon that he and Abbott were on the same page about COVID-19 prevention recommendations. Hellerstedt said the governor did not lift restrictions in an attempt to diminish safety.
“I think the difference is, should you wear a mask? The answer is absolutely yes,” Hellerstedt told the House Public Health Committee. “Does the governor want folks to wear a mask and to take their own personal responsibility to do it? The answer I believe is yes.”
Hellerstedt was also asked whether Abbott consulted with him before Tuesday's action. The commissioner said that he spoke with the governor’s team beforehand, but the governor himself did not have a conversation with Hellerstedt ahead of the announcement.
Cassi Pollock contributed reporting.
Neanderthal Thinking
Neanderthal Thinking
No good can come from this boneheaded decision.
Your collective inability to acknowledge this obvious truth makes you all look like fools.
yrs,
rubato
Re: Neanderthal Thinking
"If you don't have a seat at the table, you're on the menu."
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Re: Neanderthal Thinking
That was my first thought.
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Re: Neanderthal Thinking
Obvious subtext is obvious:“I think the difference is, should you wear a mask? The answer is absolutely yes,” Hellerstedt told the House Public Health Committee. “Does the governor want folks to wear a mask and to take their own personal responsibility to do it? The answer I believe is yes.”
"But, hell, if you don't wanna, nobody's gonna make you. Also, did I mention it's time for Spring Break?"
South Padre Island and Galveston Island are gonna fight over which one is the world's largest petri dish.
GAH!
Re: Neanderthal Thinking
You're still free to continue to hide under your bed, bathe in Clorox every day, and wear a worthless diaper on your face. Stop demand everyone else participate in your panic-porn cosplay.
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Re: Neanderthal Thinking
It is not a worthless diaper. The mask offers some level of protection (not 100%) to you and others around you. Flu rates have dropped by something like 90% or more, depending on what you read. That's due to the precautions which most of us are taking. If COVID-19 is also down by 90% - which seems reasonable, some number in that neighborhood - then US cases to date might be much much more than the 30 million so far (it's not linear so I can't do the maths in my head) and deaths, already half a million, would be staggering.
No-one is hiding under the bed. No-one is telling you to bathe in Chlorox. I'm curious - do you wear a helmet on your bike? Do you run your bike with the headlamp on during the day? I equate mask usage with a seatbelt or a helmet: it's not going to prevent all accidents but it certainly improves your chances of survival, costs next to nothing and even if you don't care about yourself, it lessens the likelihood that some poor guy is going to have to scrape you off the pavement and have to tell your loved ones that sorry, he didn't make it.
Edited to clarify and to remove a couple of typos.
No-one is hiding under the bed. No-one is telling you to bathe in Chlorox. I'm curious - do you wear a helmet on your bike? Do you run your bike with the headlamp on during the day? I equate mask usage with a seatbelt or a helmet: it's not going to prevent all accidents but it certainly improves your chances of survival, costs next to nothing and even if you don't care about yourself, it lessens the likelihood that some poor guy is going to have to scrape you off the pavement and have to tell your loved ones that sorry, he didn't make it.
Edited to clarify and to remove a couple of typos.
Last edited by ex-khobar Andy on Sat Mar 06, 2021 12:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Neanderthal Thinking
Jarl--And while you're at it, by all means avoid shots of that magic juice in your arms. It's just more of that fake science that there are ways to prevent disease and its transmission.
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Re: Neanderthal Thinking
People who are wrong are just as sure they're right as people who are right. The only difference is, they're wrong.
— God @The Tweet of God
— God @The Tweet of God
Re: Neanderthal Thinking
Too many people are confused by all the political squabbling. The idea of being respectful to others by complying with face mask and distancing requirements doesn't make a person a panicking liberal who lays down and submits to a dictatorial government. Wearing a mask in public around people these days only means you're acting appropriately during a killer pandemic.
This is going to get worse (as in more selfish) before it gets any better. As more people get vaccinated some of those people will start refusing to wear masks when and where they should (kinda like the whole state of Texas) and claim immunity from being respectful and safe around others. That will cause some others who aren't vaccinated to selfishly tear off their own masks (or continue to not wear one) and there will be even more fights over not being served, allowed entry to businesses etc.
People suck.
Re: Neanderthal Thinking
That's the problem with public health concerns, it involves the public and a willingness to make sacrifices (here, very small sacrifices) for the good of all. The only saving grace is that most people are not jerks (at least major ones) and will do what they have to; they may grumble, but generally they will do it.
Re: Neanderthal Thinking
That sure reminds me of something BSG would've posted.People suck.
BTW: I've not seen here in a while, I hope she is OK.
Your collective inability to acknowledge this obvious truth makes you all look like fools.
yrs,
rubato
Re: Neanderthal Thinking
As far as I know H-E-B has no grocery stores outside of Texas.
Like I told my daughter who married a Texican and moved there two years ago: Texas, it's like a whole other (3rd world) country.
A friend of Doc's, one of only two B-29 bombers still flying.
Re: Neanderthal Thinking
Yes...because it's all "covid" now.ex-khobar Andy wrote: ↑Fri Mar 05, 2021 10:18 pmIt is not a worthless diaper. The mask offers some level of protection (not 100%) to you and others around you. Flu rates have dropped by something like 90% or more, depending on what you read.
Yes, because there is actual EVIDENCE it helps.That's due to the precautions which most of us are taking. If COVID-19 is also down by 90% - which seems reasonable, some number in that neighborhood - then US cases to date might be much much more than the 30 million so far (it's not linear so I can't do the maths in my head) and deaths, already half a million, would be staggering.
No-one is hiding under the bed. No-one is telling you to bathe in Chlorox. I'm curious - do you wear a helmet on your bike?
Yes, not that I have any real choice. (Lights come on with the ignition key.)Do you run your bike with the headlamp on during the day?
It's more like wearing a beak mask filled with lavender and peppermint to protect the wearer from the plague.I equate mask usage with a seatbelt or a helmet: it's not going to prevent all accidents but it certainly improves your chances of survival, costs next to nothing and even if you don't care about yourself, it lessens the likelihood that some poor guy is going to have to scrape you off the pavement and have to tell your loved ones that sorry, he didn't make it.
Note that this (full chemical warfare gear) also does NOT protect the wearer from viruses:
Re: Neanderthal Thinking
I have no plan to get the covid vaccine. No interest in being a test subject for an experimental treatment.
Re: Neanderthal Thinking
You'd e better off to follow the science the to give into emotion and fear, but that's the choice you have to make.
Re: Neanderthal Thinking
I have no interest in being a guinea pig for an experimental vaccine, to avoid getting a chest cold.
Re: Neanderthal Thinking
And how many died from that "chest cold"? And in how many countries? But I guess that's just fake news. And since it's international, it must be the illuminati pulling the strings, right?
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Re: Neanderthal Thinking
Jarlaxle wrote: ↑Sat Mar 06, 2021 6:14 amYes...because it's all "covid" now. I'm sure there is some overlap - people with both - or medical errors - 'flu is wrongly misdiagnosed or vice versa - but teling them apart is fairly simple and I'm sure they get it right most of the time.ex-khobar Andy wrote: ↑Fri Mar 05, 2021 10:18 pmIt is not a worthless diaper. The mask offers some level of protection (not 100%) to you and others around you. Flu rates have dropped by something like 90% or more, depending on what you read.
Yes, because there is actual EVIDENCE it helps. Just like there is actual EVIDENCE that precautions and the vaccine help. The vaccine (Pfizer and Moderna) has been shown in controlled trials to be 95% effective. It's difficult to run controlled trials with face masks but superspreader events like some Trump rallies and the Sturgis motorcycle event have been shown to contribute more than their fair share of cases. The incidence of 'flu is almost an equivalent experiment because we have decades of experience working out what this year's variant will be and predicting how many deaths to expect. In this sense 'flu acts as a surrogate for the coronavirus and allows us to estimate what effect the prevention precautions - mask, staying home, standing in line outside Trader Joe's - have had.That's due to the precautions which most of us are taking. If COVID-19 is also down by 90% - which seems reasonable, some number in that neighborhood - then US cases to date might be much much more than the 30 million so far (it's not linear so I can't do the maths in my head) and deaths, already half a million, would be staggering.
No-one is hiding under the bed. No-one is telling you to bathe in Chlorox. I'm curious - do you wear a helmet on your bike?
Yes, not that I have any real choice. (Lights come on with the ignition key.) I didn't know that. I still see bikes with no lights - I assume they predate the automated light or maybe the owner has found a way to bypass it.Do you run your bike with the headlamp on during the day?
It's more like wearing a beak mask filled with lavender and peppermint to protect the wearer from the plague.I equate mask usage with a seatbelt or a helmet: it's not going to prevent all accidents but it certainly improves your chances of survival, costs next to nothing and even if you don't care about yourself, it lessens the likelihood that some poor guy is going to have to scrape you off the pavement and have to tell your loved ones that sorry, he didn't make it.
Note that this (full chemical warfare gear) also does NOT protect the wearer from viruses:
I don't know why that should be. Obviously chemical warfare gear is designed to protect the wearer from chemicals and not from viruses, which are different animals. But the full body protection and breathing through a filter, even one not designed for viruses, should provide some level of protection. I can't tell from the pic if they are just wearing respirators or full SCBA. Do you have a reference for your assertion that this gear "does NOT protect the wearer from viruses"? If you are just saying that it is not 100%, then yes, I'll agree, nothing is 100%.
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