Sioux Falls city councilman Curt Soehl doesn’t like masks, but as coronavirus surges in South Dakota, he’s willing to mandate them in Sioux Falls:
“It does not restrict businesses, it does not restrict occupancy,” Soehl said. “And I encourage people to go about their business, to go Christmas shopping, to go out and go to a sporting event. But wear a mask. We have struggled in this community for months and months and months with asking people, with begging people, with even trying to shame them.”
…“You know what, Dan, I don’t want to bring this,” Soehl said. “I hate wearing masks just as much as anybody else does. But I think it’s for the public good, and it’s certainly good for our economy right now. Keep these businesses in float so they can make some profit for the end of the year, otherwise, there’s so many people that are not going to shop because they are scared to go in a business that’s not wearing masks” [Dan Santella, “Sioux Falls City Councilor Bringing Forward Mask Proposal,” KELO-TV, 2020.10.26].
It would be more sensible for all of us to stay home for a while, skip the sporting events, and do our Christmas shopping online. But if we want any semblance of normal economic activity in the holiday season, we need to reject the Trump/Noem surrender to coronavirus and get this pandemic under control. Don’t be a surrender monkey: wear a mask… and if you’re in government, pass rules requiring all of your people to do so.
Related Pandemic Response: Rapid City mayor Steve Allender is requiring anyone entering City Hall or other city buildings to wear a mask. If you don’t have a mask, Rapid City will give you one.
So, generally, in SD it is OK to let grandpa or uncle Joe or sister Cindy get sick or die UNLESS it interferes with “shopping”? Sounds about right from what I’ve seen.
We have turned the corner so man times on this virus , were right back where we started.A quote.
I believe it is time for South Dakota people to take things into their own hands. Practice wearing a mask at all times in any public situation. The simple task of keeping yourself and others “safe” is now up to the each one of us. With no guidance from the political leaders we as citizens need to do it ourselves.
Grandma is right: our leaders don’t want to make any hard decisions or set a good example for us. The only way to beat the pandemic is for each of us to take action. Kristi will try to take credit for our initiative, but that shouldn’t stop us from doing the right thing that she won’t.
Then come 2022, we need to elect leaders who will lead by example and by vigorous, informed policy.
My gwaaad, how difficult it is to put on a damn mask, you would think that it would be the equivalent of a colonoscopy with no anesthetic. Put on the mask and shut the hell up already.
I’ve been testing out this idea on people I talk with: Operation Save Thanksgiving.
For two weeks — say, 11/11 to 11/25 — we all do everything we possibly can to smother the spread of the virus. If we can possibly work from home, we work from home. No meetings then. No parties, no concerts. No sporting events (not a whole lot happening then, anyway). Stock up on groceries before this, and for what you can’t buy ahead, order groceries and pick them up. Schools could do remote learning for a week and a half, and then start the Thanksgiving holiday early. If they can’t, then everyone in the school wears a mask. And for whatever you need to do that takes you within breathing distance of other people, you wear a mask.
It’s just two weeks! We could survive darn near anything for two weeks!
It would be post-election, so here’s hoping we wouldn’t have to make a political thing of it. We could all do it in solidarity.
And at the end of it, all those who had subscribed to this idea could (relatively) safely spend time with their families and give thanks for their blessings.
… The challenge would be getting a critical mass of people to subscribe to it to make a difference. But it seems to me it would be worth a try.
Councilman Soehl damn well better do more than what he suggests…
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/10/27/21534480/north-dakota-south-dakota-covid-coronavirus-pandemic-third-wave
Covid Kristie is allowing Dakotans to die in vain because she, like drumpf, is an incompetent tool and a doofus. The Vox numbers alone should be damning enough for voters to demand change.
Heidi, that’s an excellent idea, giving people a specific, family-based, and immediate goal around which to rally. Tweet it, Like it, send that message to everyone you can by every channel.
Good link, Mike, especially with that graph showing that the coronavirus outbreak in the Dakotas is five times worse than the mild increase across the rest of the nation. We got lucky in the spring and then got lazy, leaving ourselves extra vulnerable to exactly what we see happening right now—and what we see happening right now is most certainly not a sign of effective governing or God’s favor or anything else that might come blurping out of Kristi’s mouth in her next Fox or Trump rally appearance.
989 positive cases.
Majority of prison population infected.
Pathetic failure by SD GOP. Lt Gov pictured maskless conversing next to/among ranchers at the local hub.
The councilman appeals to economics. Grandma appeals to individuals. Heidi appeals to family.
Go with all three. Anything is better than the Noem/SDGOP Coronasaster.
Heidi, several SDans follow me on FB. If you put a message about your Thanksgiving plan on and tag me, I’ll share it. PM me if you’d like.
At our current rate – 5,000 new cases every six days:
8 days from 25,000 to 30,000 cases in SD (October 7-October 15)
6 days from 30,000 to 35,000 cases in SD (October 15-October 21)
6 days from 35,000 to 40,000 cases in SD (October 21-October 27)
– if we don’t do something drastic (like a two week shut down), our Christmas present will be 100,000 cases and a collapsed health care system. Seriously.
It’s not like I want her to get sick, but if Noem got the coronavirus I think it would shake her back to reality, but then maybe I’m expecting too much from her.