Put away your differences for a moment.
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Dutch Uncle
Sworn to support and defend the Constitution
Sweet kayak. Do you go camping a lot?
No, but I am going to start when it's legal....
I would love to do a few longer hikes up in Desolation wilderness but stay over only one night & see how I like it..... (about 20 miles a day + 2-3,000ft elevation)
Sleeping in a tent on granite in a swarm of mosquitoes may not be to my liking... I am in w/ a group to do Whitney again in August & we will be staying over one night, which should make it easier..
Since I have a career that is considered essential to society this isn't an option. If it was, I'd be doing more of my hobby, fixing cars, which is also considered an essential service...
cawacko
Well-known member
You didn't used to go out to eat? I miss that. Saves money though.
I guess if someone lives off the grid it's possible nothings changed. But I know for me I can't go to the office, all restaurants, gyms, barber shops etc. are shut down. The activities I took my daughter too have been shut down. Sporting events I went to have stopped. I can't play golf anymore since every course in the state is closed.
Now half of what I hear people talk about is Tiger King so we started watching it last night.
Dude, stop complaining & do something essential like buy guns, or pot, many good local beers are made in this country still, help out.......
What's essential amid an epidemic? In France, pastry and wine. In the U.S., golf and guns
The coronavirus pandemic is defining for the globe what is “essential” and what things people really can’t do without even though they might not need them for survival.
Attempting to slow the spread of the virus, authorities in many places are determining what shops and services can remain open. They are also restricting citizens from leaving their homes. Stay-at-home orders or guidance are affecting more than one-fifth of the world’s population.
This has left many contemplating an existential question: What, really, is essential?
There is general global agreement: Health care workers, law enforcement, utility workers, food production and communications are generally exempt from lockdowns.
But some lists of exempted activities reflect a national identity, or the efforts of lobbyists.
In some U.S. states, golf, guns and marijuana have been ruled essential, raising eyebrows and — in the case of guns — a good deal of ire.
In many places, booze is also on the list of essentials. Britain at first kept liquor stores off its list of businesses allowed to remain open, but after reports of supermarkets running out of beer, wine and spirits, the government quickly added them.
“Recent events clearly demonstrate that the process of designating ‘essential services’ is as much about culture as any legal-political reality about what is necessary to keep society functioning,” said Christopher McKnight Nichols, associate professor of history at Oregon State University.
Countries including India and U.S. states are listing the information technology sector as essential. The world’s dependence on the internet has become even more apparent as countless people confined to their homes communicate, stream movies and play games online to stave off cabin fever.
Several states where marijuana is legal, such as California and Washington, deemed pot shops and workers in the market’s supply chain essential. For some, the emphasis is on medicinal uses, not enabling cooped-up people to get stoned.
“Cannabis is a safe and effective treatment that millions of Americans rely on to maintain productive daily lives while suffering from diseases and ailments,” Erik Altieri, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said in an email. “It is the very definition of essential that these individuals can still access their medicine at this time.”
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont added gun shops to his list of essential businesses, generating shock and dismay among families of gun violence victims. His spokesman Max Reiss said Lamont is trying not to overly disrupt commerce or interfere with legal rights.
Newtown Action Alliance, a group formed after a gunman killed 26 people in 2012 at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, urged Lamont to reconsider, noting a recent surge in gun and ammunition purchases. The group predicted an “increased number of deaths due to unintentional shootings, homicides and suicides.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a legal opinion Friday saying emergency orders in his state can’t restrict gun sales.
“If you have a breakdown in society, well then our first line to defend ourselves is ourselves, so I think having a weapon … is very important for your personal safety,” Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told a radio interviewer.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday quietly allowed gun shops to reopen, but only by appointment during limited hours if customers and employees comply with social distancing and other protective measures.
There is a lot of variation across the United States because a national stay-at-home order has not been issued, said Benjamin Clark, associate professor of planning, public policy and management at the University of Oregon.
“We end up with places making up the rules that are culturally or geographically specific,” Clark said. “This is why we see so much variation, and potential risk.”
In Europe, the current epicenter of the pandemic, Italy has the most stringent rules, with only essential businesses such as food shops and pharmacies remaining open. The manufacturing sector was ordered shut down on Thursday, though factories that make needed products like medical supplies will continue to operate after making conditions safer for employees.
Britain, which was initially reluctant to shut down business, has issued orders to close nonessential operations. Restaurants and eateries must be shut, but Britons can still get fish and chips and other meals, as long as they are carry-out.
In France, shops specializing in pastry, wine and cheese have been declared essential businesses.
In a nod to Israel’s vibrant religious life, people can gather for outdoor prayers — with a maximum of 10 worshipers standing 2 meters (2 yards) apart. Demonstrations — also allowed — have occurred outside parliament and the Supreme Court, with participants maintaining social distance.
“In times of uncertainty, institutions and practices that are central to the cultural identities can become really important touchstones — material markers of certainty, comfort, and mechanisms to persist,” said Aimee Huff, marketing professor at Oregon State University, specializing in consumer culture.
In China, authorities closed most businesses and public facilities beginning in late January but kept open hospitals, supermarkets and pharmacies. Truck drivers delivering food, disinfectant and medical supplies to locked-down cities were hailed as heroes. Now, the ruling Communist Party is relaxing restrictions to revive the economy after declaring victory over the outbreak.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing conditions, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
In the United States, lobbyists have been trying to influence what gets on lists of essential services, so their clients’ businesses can remain open.
“They were absolutely earning their pay” in Connecticut, said Reiss, the governor’s spokesman. He noted lobbyists for manufacturers and the golf course industry were particularly active.
Despite their efforts, golf wasn’t deemed essential in Connecticut. But Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey included golf courses on his list. Officials in Phoenix encouraged the city’s 1.7 million residents to “get outside, get exercise and practice responsible social distancing” in golf courses, parks and trails.
Mayors of five other Arizona cities pushed back, telling Ducey that including golf courses and payday lenders was taking the definition of essential too far.
In California, construction executives and others lobbied state officials to get construction exempted from the stay-at-home mandate, the Sacramento Bee reported. State health officials responded by including all construction as essential.
If construction in America’s most populous state stalls — as it it did during the Great Recession — it would be difficult to restart, said Erika Bjork of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, which advocated for the industry.
“We need to keep this engine humming, so when we come out of this we have housing,” Bjork said.
Like Britain, some U.S. states allowed liquor stores to remain open, including New Mexico, which routinely ranks first in alcohol-related deaths per capita.
State health officials were concerned that shutting them down would result in people with alcoholism seeking emergency medical attention, taking resources away from the coronavirus, said Tripp Stelnicki, a spokesman for New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
In New Hampshire, Gov. Chris Sununu said flower shops are among the essentials.
Asked why, spokesman Ben Vihstadt said they provide essential services for funeral homes.
ThatOwlWoman
Leftist Vermin
Nice.
Life is pretty much the same for us. We're retired and live on 10 acres in the middle of the north woods of the Upper Peninsula. I'm also a student at NMU. Miss my classes and profs and the other "kids." Having classes online isn't quite the same. Mr. Owl is learning a new computer language. We video chat with the kids and g-kids weekly.
anonymoose
Classical Liberal
One of my good friends who mushed in the Iditarod retired there (UP) and I'm sure that's why she retired there. She loves her dogs and mushing. Are the mosquitoes as bad there as here during the summer? I've heard they are. Still not above freezing for the high here. Long , cold winter . Lingering more than usual and colder than usual. At least a foot of snow in our backyard still.
ThatOwlWoman
Leftist Vermin
Oh that's cool... I wonder if she's involved with the UP 200 annual sled race?
Yeah, the skeeters are as bad as yours, plus they come with a couple flavors of biting gnats, and biting black flies. I can't even go out to work in the garden in June - July w/o bug dope and in June, a face net too.
We're slowly moderating and heading towards spring here. Still have a couple feet of snow in a lot of areas, but the driveway is gradually showing itself again.
anonymoose
Classical Liberal
Wow, that sounds like here. I heard it's beautiful there but geez, now that I'm retired I can't wait to get out of here and away from the bugs in summer and snow and darkness in winter. It's looking like it will probably be Skagit Valley, WA.
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ThatOwlWoman
Leftist Vermin
There are no bugs there? lol
anonymoose
Classical Liberal
I won't know until we live there. No way it can be as bad as here. But we've been in the area enuf times where I've never really noticed them.
Dutch Uncle
Sworn to support and defend the Constitution
Camping, hiking and kayaking aren't legal in your state? It's "exercise".
Just tell everyone, including any state people, to keep 6 feet away.
I was born less than fifty miles from there, & bugs=not to bad in August...
Spring is pretty bad, but having watched many nature shows, seeing caribou running to go stand on a patch of snow for relief, it aint that bad......
Camping, hiking and kayaking aren't legal in your state? It's "exercise".
Just tell everyone, including any state people, to keep 6 feet away.
They have closed many parks & travel is restricted to essentials like the store...
I hear that hiking & snow shoeing is ok but getting out of town(sneaking out) may not be easy.......lol some locals are hardcore, others not so much..
If I go, later in the week I'll be heading up to about 7,000ft & there won't be many, if any ppl there..
Dutch Uncle
Sworn to support and defend the Constitution
Not a problem in Texas. Shutting down national parks and such is a different matter.
anonymoose
Classical Liberal
August isn't too bad here. Skeeters have pretty much died off giving way to the little black flies which are annoying but not as bad as the skeeters.I was born less than fifty miles from there, & bugs=not to bad in August...
Spring here = 31* for the high today with at least a foot of snow on the ground. Still too cold for bugs. But with no wind and an abundance of sunshine folks are out and about in t-shirts and shorts. That electromagnetic radiation without wind helps a lot.
Would've been a great day for spring skiing were it not for the virus.
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PostmodernProphet
fully immersed in faith..
Michigan's governor announced today that yes, self employed people may file for unemployment.......so I put in my claim online this afternoon.....I understand that Billy and Owl Woman will be paying for what I receive in their state income taxes for the next fifteen years......thank you, my children.....