Rhode Island Police to Hunt Down New Yorkers Seeking Refuge

That is Bloomberg’s headline, not my characterization, but I added the bolding.

Lead paragraph: “Rhode Island police began stopping cars with New York plates Friday. On Saturday, the National Guard will help them conduct house-to-house searches to find people who traveled from New York and demand 14 days of self-quarantine.”  [my emphasis].

1.  I am so old that I can remember when electing women to office would result in a kinder, gentler country.   Good times, good times.
2.  The work-around is easy.  If stopped in your car, or being held face down on the floor at gunpoint, tell them you are an illegal immigrant.  You will be released and maybe even get a voucher for 1 free year at a RI college.
3.  Old CW: we are in this together.  RI CW: we hate you and fear you.

I hope the RI TV stations include coverage of the house-to-house searches, including knocking on door, search perimeters, and control points.

Showing his inner tyrant.  Topic in the link: https://dailyvoice.com/new-jersey/mahwah/news/covid-19-campgaw-darlington-ramapo-reservation-closed/785674/

Naturally he refused responsibility: ‘Tedesco said he was forced into the executive order “in a further effort to slow the spread of the pandemic.”‘

Wimpy passive voice found here in executive order: “Despite instructions from federal, state, and local officials to make every attempt to stay at home and avoid crowds, some Bergen County parks have noted that people continue to visit parks in large numbers, gather in parking lots, bathrooms, and popular spots despite guidelines to maintain a social distance from other people. ” [my emphases].

1.  “Make every attempt”: well, maybe people did, or a lot of them did.  Making an attempt is making an attempt.
2.  “Some . . .  parks have noted”: tell me more about these apparent self-reporting, non-human reporting systems.

 

The closed parks are

a. Ramapo Valley County Reservation Ramapo Valley Road (Route 202), Mahwah.

b. Campgaw Mountain Reservation, 200 Campgaw Rd, Mahwah.

c. Darlington County Park, 600 Darlington Avenue, Mahwah.

Gov. Murphy of NJ is unhappy.

Gov. Phil Murphy said he’s “really damned unhappy” to hear stories he’s hearing about New Jersey residents not abiding by his stay-at-home order to combat the coronavirus outbreak and warned Sunday to expected a law enforcement crackdown.

“There’s too many people not paying attention to this. We’ve about had it. We’re not happy,” Murphy said during a conference call to update the state on the latest cases.

What stories?  How many people?  How can he tell how many people are out for permitted tasks (like grocery shopping) and how many are out for non-essential reasons?  How does the governor decide there are ‘too many’?  No NJ.com questions or queries.  If the governor says it, it much be true.

Natch.

As it stands now, the competitive market is producing inflationary pressures on supplies, driving up the price of masks, for instance, from 85 cents apiece to $7. Cuomo said the federal government is the only authority that can bring order to what has developed into a chaotic marketplace.

No chaos, only supply and demand.  Note later quote from the governor.

“It will be hard, but it will be OK”, he said. “There’s not going to be chaos. There’s not going to be anarchy.” [my emphasis]

My opinion remains unchanged: Governor Cuomo is not nearly as smart as he thinks he is.

Garwood Mayor Sara Todisco had the bright idea to limit grocery shoppers to alternate days based on last name (A through M on even-numbered days, N through Z on odd-numbered days).  This would worsen panic buying.   Shoppers would not delay shopping until the next eligible day, but would move shopping forward in time.  More stocking at home (can’t get groceries for next day) leads to emptier shelves.

 

Fortunately NJ Attorney General Gurbir Grewal intervened and Mayor Todisco’s dumb idea is on hold.  Perhaps AG Grewal’s concern was unauthorized declarations, not panics,  but stopping the alternate-day plan is a good thing.  Congrats to AG Grewal.

Mr. Tedesco is executive for Bergen County, NJ.

His executive order, now delayed until March 21, orders closures of  malls, shopping centers, offices, construction and business activity    pending limited exceptions. Also, “No groups of more than four people, other than family members, shall assemble at any time within  [Bergen county] until further notice.” (found here ).  My emphasis.

How do we know it is panic?  “If you want to put money over somebody’s life, then shame on you”, he says.  That is fallacy of the limited choice.  Also “Citing his ‘moral authority’ to take the executive action” (found here)   is a wonderful example of junior tyranny.

NY, NJ, and CT agree on joint, common closure requirement.  Article here

Not all neighboring states included.

“Our primary goal right now is to slow the spread of this virus so that the wave of new infections doesn’t crash our healthcare system, and everyone agrees social distancing is the best way to do that,” Cuomo said. “This is not a war that can be won alone, which is why New York is partnering with our neighboring states to implement a uniform standard that not only keeps our people safe but also prevents ‘state shopping’ where residents of one state travel to another and vice versa.

“I have called on the federal government to implement nationwide protocols but in their absence we are taking this on ourselves.”

 

Good luck with that. 

Not mandatory but “The governor cautioned the state could make the new guidelines legally binding with the stroke of a pen.” Would this be enforced with members of his administration?  CA legislature?  CA courts?  Hollywood moguls?  I very much doubt it.

Paul Feiner, naturally.  Long lines at grocery stores?  My reactions in bold.

 

“I believe that New York State officials need to address the problem,” said Feiner, who has twice run for Congress. “If a supermarket is packed with hundreds of people (and shoppers are within six feet of each other), they can spread the virus. [True]

“In the United Kingdom, some supermarkets, facing the same problem, have started to ration food because panic buying left shelves empty.

“There is no need to buy more than needed. A sneeze and cough in an overpacked supermarket is just as bad as a sneeze in a school, Broadway show or train.

“Supermarkets need to let people know that there is no need to hoard groceries and essentials. They won’t run out of food.”

So the instinctive response is to ration, rationing as a good thing.  Who determines how much is ‘needed’?  What kind of bureaucracy?  Which has to be hired and trained?  And properly fed so that they can exercise their supervisory powers.

If rationing were to start, then the panic buying would be exponentially worse as the initial date of rationing started.

Why is there such mass buying?  Direct recommendation of the CDC.  In case of self-quarantine they recommend having sufficient food, meds and water for 14 days.  You likely will want to have enough for everyone in your household in case everyone is quarantined.  So thousands of families, content to restock once a week or so, are now recommended to stock of for 2 weeks.  Maybe more!  There is no end in sight.  It is rational to consider stocking up for more than 2 weeks.

Evading responsibility for his decision  “”It’s not a decision that I’m making,” Cuomo said. “I’m accepting the recommendation of Dr. Zucker. In a situation like this, whether you’re president, mayor, governor, let the experts decide and let the science decide the situation.” [my emphasis]

 

https://www.lohud.com/story/news/2020/03/10/coronavirus-cuomo-orders-new-rochelle-containment-area/5011068002/