"Ron Be Gone" -- Sounds like a pest control service for unwanted bugs. Hoping to deny DeSantis re-election — and end his presidential hopes — Democrats launch operation ‘Ron Be Gone’ https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/p...0210315-cgtkz4od2nejxd47taeotqdqgq-story.html
We can thank DeSantis for this... The head of the CDC says the US could face a COVID-19 surge after more than 1.3 million Americans traveled around spring break https://www.businessinsider.com/cdc...-covid-surge-flights-cases-coronavirus-2021-3 The head of the CDC warned of a COVID-19 surge over spring break. The US had more air travelers Friday than on any other day in the past year. "All in the context of still 50,000 cases per day," Dr. Rochelle Walensky said. (More at above url)
"DeSantis for the win" -- if he is going to take credit for the "booming" then he should take responsibility for revealing Florida's actual COVID data. A year into the pandemic, Florida is booming and Republican Gov. DeSantis is taking credit https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/17/politics/ron-desantis-covid-florida/index.html After a year of criticism by health experts, mockery from comedians and blistering critiques from political rivals, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is standing unabashedly tall among the nation's governors on the front lines of the coronavirus fight. "Everyone told me I was wrong," DeSantis, a Republican, said in a fundraising appeal on Tuesday, drawing attention to his defiance against the pandemic. "I faced continued pressure from radical Democrats and the liberal media, but I refused to back down. It's clear: Florida got it right." As many parts of the country embark on an uneasy march toward normalcy, Florida is not only back in business -- it's been in business for the better part of the past year. DeSantis' gamble to take a laissez faire approach appears to be paying off -- at least politically, at least for now, as other governors capturing attention in the opening phase of the pandemic now face steeper challenges. Despite far fewer rules and restrictions, Florida lands nearly in the middle of all states on a variety of coronavirus metrics. The state has had about 3% more Covid-19 cases per capita than the US overall, but about 8% fewer deaths per capita. More than 32,000 Floridians have died of Covid-19, and the state's per capita death rate ranks 24th in the nation. "Those lockdowns have not worked. They've done great damage to our country," DeSantis said Tuesday at a news conference in Tallahassee. "We can never let something like this happen again. Florida took a different path. We've had more success as a result." DeSantis -- who, at 42, is the nation's youngest governor -- is standing out among his peers and seizing upon what he and his supporters believe is a vindication for their policies. Lockdowns and school openings are suddenly a new measure for voters to hold governors and other elected officials accountable, a sign that the politics of the pandemic could open an uncertain chapter for many holding public office. He will be among the governors putting his record to the test when he runs for re-election next year. "We still have millions of kids across this country who are denied access to in-person education," DeSantis said at the news conference. "We still have businesses closed in many parts of this country. We have millions and millions of lives destroyed." 'It would not be booming if it was shut down' With spring on the horizon, DeSantis suddenly appears to be in a position of strength compared to some of his fellow governors, including many of whom took far more restrictive approaches to the fight against coronavirus that caused a trickle-down effect on the economy. He is not facing a potential recall like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, under investigation like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo or being second-guessed for lifting a statewide mask mandate like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. DeSantis refused to implement a mask mandate in the first place, making him an outlier a year ago. At the time, he was hewing closely to President Donald Trump's playbook, which he argued at the time was good for business. The unemployment rate in Florida is 4.8 %, according to the latest figures from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, compared to 6.8% in Texas, 8.8% in New York and 9% in California. "If you look at what's happening in South Florida right now, I mean this place is booming. It would not be booming if it was shut down," DeSantis said last month as a crush of tourists began arriving. "Los Angeles isn't booming. New York City's not booming. It's booming here because you can live like a human being." Florida has recorded about 9,204 cases per 100,000 people and about 150 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University. Across the country overall, there have been about 8,969 cases per 100,000 people and 163 deaths per 100,000 people. Despite far more stringent restrictions, California only ranks one spot better than Florida in both measures. Its death rate is about 5% lower than Florida's, which means about 1,500 lives could have been saved in Florida if the state's death rate matched that of California. Still, comparing one state to another is complicated and often counterproductive, said Jason Salemi, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of South Florida College of Public Health who maintains his own Covid dashboard. For example, he said, the humidity of Florida and the density of New York City offer entirely different scenarios for fighting coronavirus. "What I'd love to ask about Florida is, if we had done things differently in Florida, what would it have looked like?" Salemi told CNN. "If you use those metrics of where Florida is relative to a lot of other states, we're looking middle of the pack. So no, it hasn't been a disaster in that we're leading in mortality per capita in cases per capita." He added: "It's not always about doing well relative to your peers. It's how can we prevent as much morbidity and mortality from the virus while keeping an eye on what's happening with our economy." He said Florida has also benefitted from local ordinances requiring masks and restricting the sizes of gatherings. DeSantis has prohibited cities and counties from fining people for refusing to wear masks and is stirring outrage among local officials by pushing to strip their authority to put such rules in place at all. Throughout the pandemic, it's that defiant and often combative DeSantis who has increasingly become the darling of Republicans. He declines most interview requests, including from CNN, even as he frequently appears on Fox News and other propaganda platforms. He has been locked in one fight after another with the state's media over transparency on Covid statistics and other issues. Yet his policies have boosted his standing inside his party, all but certainly closing the door to any Republican challenges. Potential Democratic contenders are already circling. Rep. Charlie Crist -- who served as Republican governor of the state from 2007 to 2011 and switched parties in 2012 -- is among the Democrats thinking about challenging DeSantis for re-election next year. He said he intended to make up his mind before summer. Asked how he thought Florida had withstood the pandemic, Crist said: "It's a mixed bag, to be candid." "We have a light at the end of the tunnel feeling and that really is a godsend," Crist told CNN in an interview in his office here. "On the other hand, there's about 33,000 of my fellow Floridians that are dead now. And that's incredibly sad, tragic and beyond unfortunate. So how are we doing? Well, we're slugging through it like the rest of the country is and just doing the best we can." Crist and other Florida Democrats are calling for a US Justice Department investigation into whether DeSantis gave preference to donors after invitation-only vaccines clinics were set up in at least two upscale communities. The exclusive Covid-19 clinics allowed about 6,000 people to jump ahead of tens of thousands of seniors on waitlists in Manatee and Charlotte counties, where the drives happened. "Was there preference given to certain Caucasian wealthy, Republican communities?" Crist said. "Because it certainly looks like it." A spokeswoman for the governor has dismissed the accusation, saying: "The insinuation that politics play into vaccine distribution in Florida is baseless and ridiculous." 'I think he took a gamble and it worked out' Here in Florida, where beaches along the Atlantic Ocean and on Gulf of Mexico are crowded this week in ways not seen for more than a year, the complete story of the pandemic has yet to be written, as President Joe Biden inherits the challenge and has accelerated vaccines here and across the country. Yet health experts and local officials worry that a parade of spring break vacationers could contribute to a spike in Covid-19 cases. Tom Golden, who owns a restaurant and bar along the busy stretch of Central Avenue in downtown St. Petersburg, said he didn't have much of an opinion on DeSantis a year ago. But with his business not only surviving, but thriving, he offers a measure of credit to the governor. "When he went into office, I wasn't sure what to expect," Golden said in an interview just before lunch on a sunny morning this week. "But he didn't do anything to hurt me as a business owner or me as a Floridian. So fine with me." After businesses were allowed to open after being shuttered for several weeks late last spring, Golden said he recalls having mixed feelings about the balancing act of keeping the economy alive and protecting the public's health. "Well, of course, as a business owner I supported it, but as a human being, I kept thinking that it's a horrible position to be in," Golden said. "It's a hard one to measure. I think he made a good decision." Conversations with more than a dozen Floridians offered a wide assessment of views about DeSantis' handling of the coronavirus crisis. Several people suggested they were not initially supportive him, but in hindsight found themselves approving of his decision to reopen the economy and schools. A woman strolling down the St. Petersburg Pier spoke about her grandchildren in California, who have attended school virtually for the last year. She said she believes the Florida approach was better, given the temperate weather and ability to be outside. She declined to be identified by name, but praised DeSantis' decisions that have allowed the orchestra to resume playing here and the economy to thrive. Molly Minton, who works as a laboratory supervisor, said she recalls being dispirited as she drove home from work and saw crowded bars and restaurants. Looking back, she said, she is glad many small businesses were able to stay open and believes Florida was simply lucky in many respects. "I think he took a gamble and it worked out," Minton said of the governor. In a sprawling state of more than 21 million people, where some estimates say about 1,000 new residents arrive every day, many people said they had no opinion of DeSantis at all and didn't know much about him. He was born in Jacksonville and raised on the Gulf Coast just north of here in Dunedin, and he had a love for baseball that sent his team to the Little League World Series. Later, he played outfield while studying at Yale. He graduated from Harvard Law School and worked as a Naval prosecutor, including a stint in Iraq as a Navy JAG lawyer advising a SEAL team. In 2012, he won a seat in Congress and was elected governor in 2018 two months after he turned 40. He was largely unknown during the primary campaign until he won the endorsement of Trump, who became aware of him through frequent appearances on Fox News. Now, DeSantis is seen by many grassroots conservatives as a potential 2024 presidential candidate. That path depends on his gubernatorial reelection next year. His long-range future, of course, also depends on the outcome of the rest of the pandemic. Yet it's clear he hopes to make that his new calling card, which he telegraphed in a fundraising appeal for Republican governors that he sent to supporters on Tuesday. "Right now," DeSantis wrote, "my state of Florida is one of the only states that said no to oppressive lockdowns and has become an oasis of freedom for Americans."
"A woman strolling down the St. Petersburg Pier spoke about her grandchildren in California, who have attended school virtually for the last year. She said she believes the Florida approach was better, given the temperate weather and ability to be outside. She declined to be identified by name, but praised DeSantis' decisions that have allowed the orchestra to resume playing here and the economy to thrive." Someday Newsom will pay for the damage he has done to so many, in so many ways. Destroying lives without any data to support his stupidity. No wonder the left denigrates Sweden and Florida and Texas and all the other non shutdown places. They are afraid people will realize that the damage they did could have been easily avoided... because it was.
@gwb-trading Serious question, if you step back and look at Florida’s Covid response, why do you hate desantis? I don’t like him because I am a never trumper, but from my view of the world he handled Covid pretty well. Florida had some advantages compared to the northeast (like warm weather that kept people outdoors). my Parents and all their old friends are vaccinated. The economy remains open and statistically Florida is in the middle for Covid (though I know he’s manipulated the numbers).
My issues with DeSantis have previously been documented in this thread. Let's once again provide a summary... A governor can enact policy related to COVID in their states related to restrictions and mandates. The people can support or not support the public health initiatives of the governor. However it is NOT acceptable for a government administration to hide, manipulate and be less than transparent with public health data in the midst of a global pandemic in order to drive a political agenda of an elected executive official. The very foundation of public trust in government is built on that our government entities are being transparent and truthful with health data. Erosion of this trust causes significant issues. At minimum the population should be fully and properly informed about the situation. If the governor's administration is being transparent with the data and decides to pursue a policy of complete re-opening after balancing the various risks of public health versus economy, etc.--- well that is their business (until it starts impacting the health of others outside their state). At least the people are forewarned in this situation if the public health data shows significant COVID issues.
Picking out your targets because they are not sharing the data? How about demanding all states provide us with useful data in a useful and complete format? Where does Covid spread? Any spread outdoors? Under what circumstances? Any proven spread from asymptomatic people? What percent? What percent of the high risk catching Covid are getting it in the home from family members. (I know when the data was shared with doctors in the beginning a high percentage of deaths to the high risk was traced back to transmission in the homes. (I would like to know if the contact tracing still shows this or it has changed) What percent of teachers have caught covid and died from elementary students? High School Students, College students. Did they have risk factors? Same question for the students themselves... percent of the low risk ones who have symptoms... who have been admitted to ICU how have died... vs the high risk. so much more. Studies about people wearing masks indoors vs outdoors. So much data is not shared... everywhere.
Unlike other governors, DeSantis is hiding and manipulating COVID data as well as providing complete misinformation to drive his political agenda. Let's take a look at just a few of the examples -- and this is not even an all inclusive list: Refusing to release Florida COVID data for review by university medical researchers. Florida is the only state not providing researchers with data. Creating a special non-scientific formula for Florida for the positive COVID test rate that always makes the level look lower than it is. The proper scientific formula to use as outlined by the CDC is the John Hopkins Refusing to provide information on COVID variants in Florida. The information we have about COVID variants in Florida come from testing companies which submitted the data to the Feds. Florida has the highest number and rate of COVID variants -- which are spreading quickly to other states. For example all 37 of the initial COVID variant cases in North Carolina involved people who came from Florida. The Sun Sentinel reported this week that 10 days before the Nov. 3 election, Florida’s coronavirus death count dropped significantly, presenting a more favorable picture as people headed to the polls. It happened after DeSantis ordered an additional review of every COVID death certificate. Like President Trump, his mentor, he suggests that the death toll has been made to appear worse than it is. He says the number includes a COVID-infected motorcyclist who died in a crash, for example. But the medical examiner who reviewed that case told our reporters the governor is wrong, that the motorcyclist was never included in the tally. To be included, federal guidelines require COVID-19 to be the cause of death or a “significant” contributing factor. The death count has since returned to pre-election levels. DeSantis refuses to say who is performing the recount, but in early November, Ohio sports blogger and anti-masker Kyle Lamb, who writes for a site that claims Florida has over-counted COVID-19 deaths, said he was hired to analyze Florida cases. The governor’s office also gave Jennifer Cabrera, a conservative blogger, exclusive access to COVID-19 death certificates for an article that claims Florida’s death count is exaggerated. Entire series of time where the governor's administration hid and manipulated COVID data. The only state in the U.S. where the governor has demanded schools systems don't release COVID data DeSantis has hidden and belittled recent warnings from the White House Coronavirus Task Force, which says Florida must do more to slow the pandemic’s second surge, such as wearing masks and closing indoor spaces at bars and restaurants. He released some reports last week, but only after this newspaper and the Orlando Sentinel filed suit. DeSantis has hosted public discussions with contrarian doctors who oppose lockdowns and mask-wearing, and embrace the idea of “herd immunity,” which means letting the coronavirus spread rapidly among less vulnerable people, while isolating the most vulnerable. If DeSantis has done anything to isolate the most vulnerable in support of this strategy, he’s kept that hidden, too. Requiring county health departments to get DeSantis' approval before providing COVID information. Only information agreeing with his agenda would be approved. The governor's administration demanding COVID data be removed from the state portal which went against his rosy commentary and firing the state's GIS scientist when she did not want to comply. This started a trend of continually removing more data from the state COVID portal to the point where it became useless. The Florida Department of Health’s county-level spokespeople were ordered in September to stop issuing public statements about COVID-19 until after the Nov. 3 election. The DeSantis administration refused to reveal details about the first suspected cases in Florida, then denied the virus was spreading from person to person — despite mounting evidence that it was. State officials withheld information about infections in schools, prisons, hospitals and nursing homes, relenting only under pressure or legal action from family members, advocacy groups and journalists. The DeSantis administration brushed aside scientists and doctors who advocated conventional approaches to fighting the virus, preferring scientists on the fringes who backed the governor’s positions. The governor’s spokesman regularly takes to Twitter to spread misinformation about the disease, including the false claim that COVID was less deadly than the flu. The governor highlighted statistics that would paint the rosiest picture possible and attempted to cast doubt on the validity of Florida’s rising death toll. Florida is the only state without a documented vaccination plan required by the federal government. DeSantis says the state does not need a vaccination plan. Of course, the vaccination rollout in Florida has been pure chaos. Of course, DeSantis placed COVID positive patients in nursing homes (his so-called "isolation centers") owned by large political donors so they could earn large sums for each patient paid with your tax dollars -- the exact same thing he complained about Cuomo doing in New York. This program had to be stopped in October after COVID overwhelmed all the facilities leading to a large number of deaths. So much for "protect the vulnerable". Not to be forgotten is DeSantis providing special pop-up vaccination events in the communities of his wealthy GOP donors. Some of who did not even qualify to receive the vaccination at the time.