No, really, I am a bad person. I shouldn’t even be thinking this way.
If any of you are in Idaho, and you feel sick with COVID-19, could you give Ammon Bundy a big hug for me? You could also give him a kiss if you felt like it, or hug all of the other people there, or cough in the damn punchbowl, too.
Ammon Bundy, leader of the Y’all Qaeda militia that took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2016 to preserve liberty and get lots of attention for fringe radical groups that want to overthrow the government, just wants you all to know that there is no “public health” in the US Constitution, just as there is no “public land,” either. That’s why last week Bundy held a “town hall” in a commercial building he owns in Emmett, Idaho, to announce that Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s stay-at-home order was unconstitutional and very bad. And because it’s Ammon Bundy, you know damn well he promised to get the ol’ Vanilla ISIS dildo militia together again and lead an armed resistance to defend anyone who wanted to defy the order, too. But that would only be if the government forced him to, by doing something he didn’t like.
Boise State Public Radio reports that the meeting in Emmett, about 30 miles northwest of Boise, was
like something from a pandemic safety nightmare. Dozens of people sit elbow to elbow, greeting each other with hugs, even posing for pictures with an arm around Bundy’s waist.
The small rally is also illegal, according to the emergency order issued by Idaho’s governor.
I only suggest it because obviously Bundy and pals wouldn’t be at all averse.
I feel guilty, though, because accelerating the spread of the pandemic is also going to do harm to innocent people in the region. So I guess you shouldn’t do it. Never mind.
I can’t even hope that one of the attendees was already infectious, because as much of that stand of weeds over there really deserves to be exterminated, you can’t control a wildfire by casting a blind eye on some of the sparks.
If I were infected, I would definitely want to shake hands with every Repugnican I meet
(This is all from memory, so apologies for any errors or garbling…)
Somewhere in New Jersey, there is(? was?) a police officer on 24h watch to keep an eejit locked-down.
Here in France, several people have been arrested for repeatedly flouting the lockdown. In one case, they were jailed for six(?) weeks — I’m uncomfortable with that because jails are a notorious place for infections to take hold and spread† (plus, French jails are apparently rather nasty) — and in another case, they were sentenced to something like 150 hours of community service.
I understand the police in both Italy and Spain are also arresting — or at least have the power to arrest — certain lockdown violators.
Some child raping emporiums in both the States and Brazil are insisting are remaining open and holding mass “sermons”. One, near Sacramento (California) sent a cease-and-desist legal threat to the local authorities after they insisted the cult close its child rape emporium during the lockdown.
In the States, teh indebted impeached hair furor says Shooty McShootface shops are and allowed to remain open during lockdowns.
On the other hand — returning to France — The wave of solidarity in coronavirus-hit France (video, English): “As France endures its third week of lockdown to fight the spread of COVID-19, solidarity is stepping up a gear. From home-made face masks and protective shields, to the distribution of meals to the most vulnerable, initiatives to help others are springing up throughout the country. […]”
† On the other hand, jailing a repeated lockdown offender is somewhat similar to poopyhead’s (self-admittedly) bad suggestion… Better, of course, to release the low-risk prisoners, either prematurely or with an monitoring ankle bracelet. (I believe such releases have been done in various locales, but cannot recall any specific details.)
They like to think they’re safe in (very rural) Emmett (which I have visited and worked around many, many times over the past thirty years), but they are terrified the current Idaho Covid-19 hotspot is located just some 100 miles away from them, just East over the mountains in Blaine county (think Sun Valley). They imagine they can shout it out, and guns will make it go away. Wait for the roadblocks.
PZ, on my screen your post ends
—is something missing?
Yes, fixed it now.
Folks living in rural areas had better hope their luck holds out and that idiots like Bundy don’t unleash this on them. Rural areas in the US are woefully prepared to handle this virus:
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/24/map-where-are-the-intensive-care-beds-in-california-the-u-s/
My plan is much simpler. All we need to do is get the press to issue statements like these:
“Scientists agree that jumping off tall bridges is bad for you.”
“The Washington Post warns everyone against drinking bleach.”
“AOC announced today that you shouldn’t plug in a toaster while you’re taking a bath.”
“According to Barack Hussein Obama, you should never fall asleep on railroad tracks.”
This will also do wonders for our chances in November.
the way the governments have pussy footed around these “people’ for fear of some kind of a political backlash is absolutely astounding.
the only thing I can say is the smell of hypocrisy surrounding all it is hard to miss.
uncle frogy
Well, here’s a heartening story from the UK.
I wonder if there are any penal institutions in the US that have anything like National Prison Radio (obviously no way it could be “national” here, but is there even one state with it? I very much doubt that) or a humanist/atheist pastoral care service in jails?
As of 11:27 this morning, only 10 of 159 counties in Georgia have no confirmed cases, but there have been only ~28,000 tests run in the entire state and there are still 278 cases listed as ‘unknown’ county…
Note to RNJs: “rural does not mean safe”.
If the Karmavirus comes to Ammon Bundy, someone just needs to make sure that he gets all the shots needed so he can’t spread the virus further.
Not sure that it’s the “full” set, but it’s a good start:
.22, .32, 9mm, .38, .40, .45
@9, to the best of my knowledge and I do know a fair number of men and women who are ex-convicts, the only thing in prisons is largely mandatory, “optional” religious services. Rather a lot like our military has.
I am not ashamed.
I would lick his face.
of course that’s all hypothetical™
there is no possibility of my ever encountering him
If there were any sort of national prison radio network, you can bet that prisoners would be forced to pay to listen to it.
chigau@14, The mildly deranged penguin has — well, claims to have — developed a remote-controlled trebuchet. She is offering you a free launch to Bundy’s (and/or other RNJ loonies’s) locations. She says she hasn’t quite got the high-precision aiming perfected, and so cannot guarantee a landing on the specified loonie, but reckons a few metres off in all dimensions will be adequate. (Roofs, however, may be a problem.) Parachutes are not recommended, albeit an asbestos hazmat suit is (duck- and bullet-proof suggested).
Apparently, the trebuchet is capable of launching itself (or she’ll use another one), which will allow her to use the trebuchet whilst maintaining social distancing. That is, one should be incoming shortly. Have a fire extinguisher ready, and — safety tip — after extinguishing any fires, waiting for it to cool down, and climbing aboard, do not use the seat belt.
Not quite like the UK’s National Prison Radio (different in a rather important way), yet related, there is the San Francisco-based Prison Radio:
So whilst not a service broadcasting to prisoners (or indeed a broadcaster at all), they produce content about prisons & prisoners.
There is also San Quentin Radio (KALW): “[…] produces original content from and about the people who live in San Quentin State Prison.”
In my admittedly very quick search, I also found this abstract, The Future of Prison Radio: Does Inmate-produced Radio Have a Place in the American Prison System? (PDF).
OT suggestion, I know. Just thinking of “The Plague” by Camu, which if I were making a list of reading for this time, would be a topper. Also “Robinson Crusoe” (the book, not the movie). And regarding the ultimate last human being “Red Dwarf”– all seasons and counting (Lister has a cat, so you know that all will be well).
Things are going to get rough in Idaho. They’re foretasted to run out of hospital beds by next week. We’ll see how well these “Militia” types handle a real crisis as opposed to the fictional ones that involve a black president.
Elseblog, some people whose taste I trust have highly recommended Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year. It’s available from gutenberg.org but I am still shying away from reading it.
@20 Egad I haven’t read that since I was in Jr. High.
I worked for the Fish and Wildlife Service when all that went down. It may make me an awful person, too, but I find that to be an excellent suggestion.
@22 Fins Fur and Feather is what people called them back in the 80s. My mom was working for them for years. She’s with DEQ now. Not for much longer. Retiring with full benefits soon.
I’m from John Day myself so the Burns standoff was a bit personal for me. I shed ZERO tears for Finnicom. Ammon Bundy is someone I will be unable to not sock in the face if I ever meet the man. Pardon the double negative.
Bundy is also a perfect example of a man who rails against the government while taking advantage of government assistance, too.
@9, I misread Lord Dubs as Lou Dobbs and was for a moment pleased that he had moved out of the US.
@23
I sympathize. I’ve always felt that the Bundys et. al. were handled way too gently and that the reporting was too accepting of their point of view.
Also, I volunteer to lick the eyeballs of Trump, Boris Johnson and Bolsonaro.
@2 There are clips on facache of the police in India beating people with big sticks if they find they on the streets .
Or that might just be another day there .
@27 If you have any spit left after that ,could you fit in katie hopkins and nigel farage ?
@28
Yes! With entusiasm.
Meanwhile, in England:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/apr/06/coronavirus-live-news-boris-johnson-admitted-to-hospital-as-trump-again-touts-hydroxychloroquine