So, Which Is It?

An unintended consequence of the 2020 electoral cycle is that it's put full responsibility for handling the COVID crisis in the hands of Democrats. This is another parallel I see with 1976, where Democrats took over in the face of worsening inflatoin and a fuel crisis and were incapable of handling them, which led to a Reagan landslide in 1980.

This morning's headline is that Chicago Mayor Lightfoot is "seeking to reopen Chicago’s bars and restaurants for indoor service as soon as possible". The public rationale is that alllowing indoor drinking and dining will provide a "safer outlet" for people who will otherwise, apparently, make their hookups elsewhere. I assume that's what's meant by "cut down on underground parties where attendees do not social distance or wear masks".

I suspect the real reason is that the city can't tax underground parties. I think Gov Cuomo was slightly more ingenuous when he said, “we are looking at months of shutdowns and the economic, mental and spiritual hardships they bring. We need to act now." I think it's starting to sink in that even with a Democrat congress and executive in Washington, there's no way any federal bailout can remedy the tax deficit the blue states and cities have brought on themselves.

In a move that hasn't been generally reported, Pennsylvania allowed a three=wek ban on all indoor dining to expire on January 4. This in itself is unusual, since California has simply renewed an equivalent three-week ban on even outdoor dining, with no relaxation in sight.

However, restrictions on alcohol in Pennsylvania (served only with meals, none after 11 PM, all visible drinks removed after midnight) continue. As seems to be the case with COVID curfews, this appears to be intended in practice to discourage fornication -- you'd better have your hookups arranged before 11, and you've gotta buy them dinner.

Well, as long as we get the tax money, we can still do something about the fornication as well, huh?

The problem for Mayor Lightfoot specirically is that she's up against "scientific" targets Pritzger has imposed on the state, and neither Chicago nor Cook County is anywhere near them. The targets -- under 6% testing positivity rate, for instance -- have been as a practical matter unattainable. Similar tasrgets in California have all but the most rural parts of the state locked down.

The difficulty is that all such targets are simply decrees, never passed by a legislature and never negotiated through any political process. Normally, lobbying groups for restaurants, food service unions, and others would have a chance to balance their interests against public health. This isn't happening here.

In effect, those who petition for redress must approach the emperor, or at best gain the ear of the emperor's mother, or possibly Cardinal Schmidlap. Clearly this is what's beginning to happen here, but it's all now intramural, with Trump out of the picture and Fauci ascendant. I would imagine someone is going to have to come to Fauci with an offer he can't refuse, and maybe then he'll let Cuomo reopen "safely". I assue "safely" means in a way that responsibly limits above all the opportunities for fornication among the plebs.

Good luck. I don't think this is going to work.