• Los Angeles County Reinstates Indoor Mask Mandate

If there's one mantra I'm sick of hearing (because it's been sooooo overused and misused over the last year and a half) it's "follow the science".

Link to July 15th, 2021, NBC story about LA County reinstating an indoor mask mandate

First we saw Dr. Fauci downplay the need for masks on 60 Minutes in March of 2020, to then see him do an about face and suggest double or even triple masks. 

I was told that is what science looks like

New information/new data comes in and then science adjusts to the evolving sets of facts. I'm good with that. I understand that. Information was rapidly unfolding in real time; it's a marathon not a sprint, etc.

Then the killing of George Floyd happened and all of a sudden, mask mandates were less important than they were the week before. 

For some reason, if people were gathering to "peacefully protest" that incident of "social injustice" it was ok to dismiss the health concerns that had been said to be so deadly that we had no other choice than to shut down the entire globe... yet can easily be waived in favor of weeks and weeks of shoulder to shoulder protests, which preceded late night rioting in countless American cities.

One of the worst descriptions of events since Baghdad Bob claimed that American soldiers weren't in the country, but they were right for everyone to see.  link to video 

That's when the average Joe stopped listening to the claims of "follow the science"... whether you think that's a good idea or not, that is where the wheels came of the tracks. You cannot speak out of both sides of your mouth at the same time and honestly expect to maintain credibility.

I'm not going to rehash all the ugliness of the last year and half, I'm sure that none of you have forgotten any of it. 

Who could forget this classic photo either, where the elite proved that they didn't fear Covid. When a governor, our governor, is so deaf to reality that he is killing businesses on the one hand with his arbitrary restrictions, then breaking his own rules on the other (dining indoors without masks or social distancing which was a big no-no at that time), he should be recalled if he doesn't have the decency to step down on his own accord. Oh wait, he is facing a recall election and this was the tipping point that made it happen.

This blog is about the reinstatement of an indoor mask mandate in LA County, and wondering how long it'll take for it to hit Riverside County.

Being a realist, and a small L libertarian, I can't imagine bothering with another mask mandate for multiple reasons.

First, the virus didn't pan out to be as lethal as originally feared... look at the numbers, it's not Ebola or even the redheaded stepchild of Ebola (and I'm not apologizing to redheads, or stepchildren 😂). 

Don't be dissing gingers!

The entire point wasn't to eliminate the virus, it was to ((everyone all together now)) FLATTEN THE CURVE.

That meant, we knew that the virus was going to kill a lot of people, but we didn't want our healthcare systems to be overrun. Great job peeps, mission accomplished.

Then came the dreaded mission creep that some predicted from the outset (I wasn't one of them). All of a sudden it was now a matter of defeating the virus, instead of flattening the curve. 

Second, the vaccine has been available for a very long time, and there isn't a single person in the USA, that would like to get it, that hasn't gotten it, excluding the procrastinators out there, but they're years behind on many things in their lives... it's their choice. 

I don't care what your "vaccine hesitancy" is rooted in, it's your body, your choice, and if you end up contracting the more contagious Delta variety, it's on you. Same goes for if through your stubbornness you give it to a weaker member of your family. There are no guarantees in life. You'll be dealing with that fallout, not the rest of us.

Third, unless you absolutely cannot read the tea leaves, there will be incredible push back from day one of any more mask mandates based on Covid 19. 

Which, I think that attitude will linger on for a very long time and if (when) the next pandemic rolls around, and it's actually lethal like Ebola and Radioactive Fallout swirled into one, there will still be many hearkening back to the roller coaster of 2020, and take the stance of the townspeople in the fable of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. 

Do modern parents read to their kids anymore?

The thing that no one should do is cause grief for a business owner that has a mask policy.

Just like it's your body and your choice, it's their business and their choice. If a business has a mask policy that you don't like, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. Save your petty bovine excreta (aka bull fo'shizzle) for your buddies online.

Recycling one of Wildomar Rap's earliest images.

Also, even if you're having difficulty in controlling your inner Karen, wanting to wag your finger at those that make different choices than you, pipe down if you see someone wearing a mask. You have no idea why they're wearing a mask, and even if was to ward off the boogieman, what difference is it to you? 

I can't believe such people actually exist, but there are reports of Karens everywhere. And no, I'm not apologizing to Karens out there either. 😂

I don't envision that this will be coming back to city council like it did in March of 2020 when the science was still being learned... but if it did, I wouldn't be in favor of any city level mandates of any kind with the facts as we know them in mid July of 2021.

With Governor Newsom in a real fight for his career, as he faces a recall in about two months, I don't see him doing any statewide mandates... which is pretty hilarious if you think about it. But maybe I'll be proved wrong and he won't be guided by the politics of self preservation.

Now, now, be nice Joseph.

If the infection rates continue to rise, and he chooses to do nothing until after the recall election, there should be no doubt left as to what is actually important to him or his party: MAINTAINING POWER, and nothing else. (But to be fair, the same is true about the red team too, and that's why partisan politics stink wherever they are prevalent). 

The current 7-day moving average is 89.6% lower than the peak observed on January 10, 2021 (251,880) and is 129.3% higher than the lowest value observed on June 20, 2021 (11,472). (LINK)

This is where you need to use you critical thinking skills. You can see where the actual number of current cases is, but if you listen to the news they only speak in percentage increases. Saying that something has risen, for example, by 129.3% is a lot more sexy than giving actual numbers that aren't impressive when weighed against the enormous size of our population.

I'm curious as to your opinion whether you think reinstating a mask mandate is a good idea or not... and I'm not really discussing the "science" angle of it. 

I'm talking about human nature and that we all know it will fail miserably if tried again. Even if you think a new mask mandate is a good idea, do you think it's worth the losing battle to push on people again, assuming the numbers creep back up to previous levels?

Lastly, Two other California counties, Sacramento and Yolo, reintroduced indoor mask recommendations this week. I do see a huge difference between mandates that will fail, and recommendations that will also fail, but at least wouldn't be a bitter pill from the word go.

I still wouldn't bother with such things, maybe it's that I'm too old fashioned and think that personal responsibility should be the baseline here. Then again, last month I got an email from a government lackey that wanted me to warn the residents of Wildomar that Summer is hot, and standing in the direct sunlight at 2:00 in the afternoon can be dangerous.

Ok, that wasn't the precise wording, but it was definitely the message. The state thinks that you're so dumb, that you don't even know to come inside on a hot day without them reminding you first... no matter how they gussy up the language, it's insulting to any adult with a functioning cortex. 

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Ever since Google's new algorithms Wildomar Rap doesn't worry about keeping the tally down... they did it for me. 

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