Essential services

Many governors and mayors, including my own governor, have shut down all but "essential businesses" during the Corona virus crisis. While states, cities and counties are free to make their own determination of what is deemed essential, the Department of Homeland Security has released its own determination which can be found here.

My county has issued these rather loose guidelines for what is deemed essential, including:

• Grocery stores, farmers markets, food banks, convenience stores
• Restaurants for take-out, delivery or drive-through
• Pharmacies
• Banks
• Laundromats/laundry
• Hardware/home improvement stores

What has not been deemed essential? :

• Dine-in restaurants
• Bars and nightclubs.
• Gyms and fitness centers
• Hair and nail salons
• Entertainment venues
• Public events and gatherings

Now that has not deterred the gym on the corner from being open, I've noticed a bunch of cars there every day. Maybe they are practicing the utmost caution in social distancing? Who knows? And there are quite a few other shops in my little burg that obviously don't feel that the rules apply to them. Need a car radio installed? Little streak of anarchy in Fallbrook. No one tells us what to do, apparently.

It looks like it is a nationwide problem. You know how you become an essential business? I guess you declare yourself one, read this article at today's Huff Post. You think that California Closets provides critical essential services? Well, it appears they do. Ditto JoAnn Fabrics, Guitar Center, Dillards, GameStop, Carvana and Michael's Arts and Crafts Store. If mom doesn't get her silk flowers the country will surely fall apart. People are not obeying the directive or not the spirit of the order in any case. Modern day carpetbaggers.

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And I am sure we are all getting bombarded with the same type of opportunistic email messages, from people that pretend to know and care about you but really just want to sell you something:

Covis 19 virus alert - We at Johnson's Widgets have the greatest concern for you and your family's health during this time of national pandemic. So please know that if you order a gross of said useless thigamjigs now, for only $9.99, we will make sure that they are shipped to your door with the utmost of care for your hygiene and personal safety. But you must buy now. Because we care.

The Covid virus is obviously just an entreaty for a sales pitch for some enterprising merchants. Getting a lot of daily messages about art offerings from big art concerns like Heather James. And lots of creditors assuring me that I can still pay my bills online. Last thing anyone wants to do right now is buy expensive art or redo their closets. Or pay bills. People need to back off. You can start churning again in a couple weeks, after we have killed off all the old people.

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BigDave told me about this interesting link, the Kinsa thermometer health fever map. Smart thermometers are getting their results mapped nationally. While not exclusively showing Covid 19, this gives you a very good idea where illness cluster problems are appearing, New Your, New Jersey, Michigan, Florida, New Mexico, Louisiana and Colorado are all trending.

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I was there on 10/31/91, when Ken Kesey uttered these prophetic words that always bear remembering and repeating.

Don't forget that in any given situation, there will always be more stupid people around than smart ones.