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A Very, Very Sad Day in Minnesota, Part II

By July 23, 2020July 25th, 2020Commentary

Now today, we got the long awaited, and completely unnecessary mask-wearing mandate.  I have beat the point to death that there is no real, trustworthy evidence that wearing masks will prevent coronavirus transmission in the community.  Most spread occurs where people live (which is why lockdowns are so stupid) and masks aren’t going to do a thing about that.  Minnesota has a very low rate of cases, a rapidly declining rate of hospitalizations and deaths, and doesn’t meet the definition of being in an epidemic any more.  There is no emergency.  

The studies cited in the press conference are worthless.  The Health Affairs study has been derided, in part because the authors failed to disclose anything about their actual calculations, and in part because a mask mandate doesn’t tell you what the actual mask use is, so that you have a real measurement to compare cases to, and the analysis completely ignored confounding trends.  I critiqued the Goldman study as well.  These are literally made up crap studies.  They don’t even get treated as research for the serious met-reviews that respected agencies do.  Same kind of modeling garbage that we have had enough experience with in Minnesota.  Look at the country survey I posted on and the complete lack of correlation between mask wearing and case trends (coming soon, the same thing is true in regard to deaths).  Look at California, the mask mandate, in place for a month, is irrelevant, cases are up by 162% on a daily  basis.

I could go through all the nonsense and lies that were spouted, but you probably figured those out on your own.  Here are a few observations.  The level of detail in this order is the kind of petty bureaucratic tyranny that no American should be subject to.  The idea that it is okay to dictate behavior to Americans at this level of detail is absurd.  These people are oblivious jackasses.

The spiteful part of me hopes that cases rise in Minnesota over the next few weeks, just to show what the data and science really demonstrate, which is that masks are not going to make a meaningful difference in transmission, but I don’t want to see anyone get sick.  The Dictator acts as though masks are some magic bullet.  That is very dangerous, they aren’t.  And if he thinks they are that magic bullet, then why isn’t he opening things up?  He must not believe his own bullsh*t, because he still has businesses shut or limited, he has people terrorized and avoiding health care and he gave no indication that he was going to lighten up.

My reaction will be to shop less, not more, and I am sure the same will occur with other people.  For Minnesotans who live near a border, it is a short trip and our neighboring states trust their citizens to make their own judgements about safety and risk, unlike the Dictator, who clearly doesn’t trust us.  If you are upset about the mandate, be sure the Dictator and legislators hear from you.  And let businesses know that you won’t patronize them if they support a mandate.

The mask mandate is just one more terrible decision that the Dictator has made during the course of this epidemic.

1.  He did nothing to protect long-term care residents, despite early notice that this would be the most vulnerable group.

2.  He endorsed a model and the projections made by that model, a model that is a joke nationally.  He justified all his early decisions by that model and now he pretends like it doesn’t exist.

3.  He shut down Minnesota’s economy and threw hundreds of thousands of people out of work, most of whom still don’t have a job.  He killed thousands of Minnesota businesses, for good.  He claims to be balanced, but his own office has admitted that no analysis of economic harm was done in connection with the shutdown orders.  These shutdowns greatly and disproportionately affected minorities and low-income people.  People’s lives will be diminished for a decade because of his decisions.

4.  He terrorized the population with constant scare tactics.  He is directly responsible for deaths from failure to seek needed health care, from suicides, from drug overdoses, from alcoholism.  That blood is on his hands, and he never once has taken any of that into consideration when issuing his undemocratic and unconstitutional executive orders.  Children will die from abuse, from not getting vaccinations, and from missing health care, so I don’t want to hear one more word from him about how concerned he is about children.   As far as I can tell, he hates them.  You can only judge people by their actions and his have been devastating to children.

5.  He has refused to take any perspectives into account other than those from people who agree with him.  His constant citing of science and the data is a laughable lie.  He doesn’t give a damn about science or data, only what he thinks makes him look good and heightens his political position.

This guy is a walking disaster for the state and eventually people are going to figure that out and I hope when that day comes that he is held fully to account for all the harm he has caused Minnesotans.

 

 

Join the discussion 12 Comments

  • trixie55 says:

    I am in total agreement with what you said. It is a very sad day. I am confused though because there is a Minnesota Criminal Statute 609.735 that says it is a misdemeanor to where a mask in a public place. So which is it? Does Dictator Walz’s mandate trump the statute?

    I also cannot believe how many people have just accepted this, it is frightening!!!

  • Chuck says:

    My repeated question… Is it harmful to wear a mask? No studies seem to exist proving they help stop the spread, and even Dr. Osterholm has said this many times. But, is wearing a mask harmful to the mask wearer?

  • Kipha Jennifer Pinto says:

    Touche Keven Roche. Thank you again. I am going to the website(s) of my state representatives and let them know how I feel – pretty much what you said. And to trixie55, exactly, it’s frightening how easily we all just absorb what mainstream media and this governor of ours tells us. No questions, just a shoulder shrug and an ‘okay’. My husband is this way – we can’t agree!

  • Karen says:

    Bravo on your words. You are so right but what really confuses me is how Minnesotans and Americans in general have fallen prey to the lies and demands of the government without even questioning it drinking kool-aid and taking showers like zombies. Our freedoms are being stripped away and people are grossly unaware. Unbelievable. Why don’t people rise up and fight for their rights? Why are people so afraid? Walz has done so much damage to this state and people who care do nothing or get silenced and the rest love being taken care of. I want to scream so I am with you 100% Kevin. My blood boils daily. Walz is a sheep being lead astray but unfortunately he’s following the wrong shepherd. I continue to write to my legislators but that’s a joke. They have their form letters about all the good they are doing, puffing up like blow fish, not caring about the people who elected them to serve them. They care about themselves and their and their party’s agenda. 😡 unbelievable!!!!!

  • Tom Butz says:

    Harmful to wear a mask? Well, how many are wearing a mask that actually helps? Realize the virtue signaling where the mask design doesn’t matter. The bacteria that builds up is another issue. Good information from the article. Specifics on studies would nail it rather than hunting through other writings. Thx much!!

  • mike timmer says:

    I commented to my wife before reading your shopping advice that we should plan to go over to Hudson from this day forward to buy what we need. I certainly plan to play my golf in Wisconsin though I’ll miss some fine courses here.

  • Kari says:

    I think it’s a wonderful day in Minnesota, because I no longer need to worry about that unmasked person in the supermarket who gets too close and then sneezes or coughs all over me and the produce I’m looking to buy.

    It doesn’t take scientific studies to logically see that when all people are wearing masks, the spread of infected droplets into the air will be greatly diminished. And all one needs to do, is to look around the world and see all of the other countries that started wearing masks and then saw steep declines in cases as a result. Duh.

    Governor Walz is doing his best to responsibly care for all citizens of Minnesota. It’s people like you who are making his job more difficult. The small inconvenience of wearing a mask is a big fat nothing in the greater scheme of prevention of the further spread of Covid.

    And if masks do nothing, then why do Doctors and surgeons wear them?

    Your “healthy skepticism” does just the opposite of promoting health, and you know it. You just enjoy getting attention and trying to find new dim-witted followers.

    I will wear my mask with pride, as I’ve been doing every day since the beginning of March.

  • SmarterThanYou says:

    To Kari. surgeons do not just wear masks to inhibit infections. They scrub and wear sterile gowns from head to toe.

    A virus can enter through the eyes (unless you had a punctal occlusion) and ears. Droplets are as small as one micron. A consumer mask will not stop them.

    You do have to worry about a sneeze in a super market infecting you. Stay home.

  • Ryan says:

    I have not heard lately about any lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of these clearly unconstitutional orders. I assume that is because there are none. If that’s true, I don’t understand it. There is no emergency and obviously a little piece of cloth over one’s mouth and nose wouldn’t do anything if there actually was one. The frightened adult children like Kari who believe everything the bureaucrats say are part of the reason Walz and his party keep getting elected. They have no capacity for abstract thought and refuse to believe real science, and that’s just the kind of people the DFL wants for its base.

  • Marty says:

    Kevin, very well written post. You are 100% correct. This guv and his unqualified team of unconfirmed hacks botched LTC decisions. Also correct in that this man has zero gut instinct, relying on poor models, political winds, and unsound cabinet advice.

    They blame the Feds. Yet there was a CDC study out in mid March, based on the first major LTC outbreak in Kirkland. It’s a concise report, with very clear action steps. Which were clearly ignored by the MDC. There is no denying that.

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