South Dakota Public Broadcasting must be doing one of those hidden wildlife nature shows, because it appears they’ve found a unicorn in our midst:
Weck says he’s aware of many Republicans who don’t like the direction the GOP party is going.
“We felt it was necessary to have a presence and to make a statement and say, ‘Look, Joe Biden seems to be a reasonable guy. He’s got decades of experience in government. He’s stable. He’s forthright and he’s clear.”
SDPB actually found a South Dakotan who thinks Joe Biden is “stable” and “clear?” That’s a rarity. And somehow I think the results at the ballot box will show that.
True, he has decades of experience in govt, and just what has he actually accomplished? He just blames Trump who has been there only 3 years.
Stable and clear? Evidently the only time he heard Biden speak when he was reading a teleprompter. He has to realize that Biden would be a figurehead (for a short time before being retired to a home) and the far left would be free to change and destroy our nation.
Someone should seriously get a picture. Finding a South Dakota Republican who supports Biden is like stumbling across a unicorn or bigfoot.
I know at least 2 Republicans in my family that voted for Trump last time and will be voting Biden this time. That being said, I still think Trump receives more than 70% of SD vote.
I also have a few Republican family members who are voting for Biden. There are more of them than you think.
In 2016, Trump won South Dakota with 62% of the vote, compared to 32% for Clinton and 6% for the Libertarian. I don’t think he does better than that this year. He’ll still safely win South Dakota, but my prediction is he’ll end up in the high 50s.
“John Weck” registered to vote in 2018. Didn’t vote in 2020 primary. No record of SD voter registration prior to Sept 2018.
Leaving Illinois good move….otherwise pointless…Trump wins easily in SD
That must cost an enormous amount of money to move operatives into red states trying to overcome the Trump 2020 movement. They need to be careful though because as Yogi Berra said if they don’t know where they are going they could end up someplace else.
I know several Republicans voting for Biden. I did not hear them say this when it came to Hillary in 2016.
If our Covid numbers spike like they have in Texas, Georgia, Florida and Arizona… then what will happen? I saw large groups of people mingling indoors and out without masks this week in Sioux Falls. Much more than in the recent past. Based on what I saw, our numbers could soon be headed much higher. I hope I am wrong.
Like those other states’ governors, Kristi may have been bragging about South Dakota’s achievements a bit too early. It seems like we are doing nothing now to slow the spread. If she can’t require masks, why can’t she at least encourage their use?
“Slowing the spread” has nothing to do with preventing the virus. It has to do with making it so there are beds available for the people who have it. “Slowing the spread” only “flattens the curve” meaning they are not trying to prevent the disease, only spreads out the time that the virus attacks people.
Slowing the spread may prevent the virus from killing many people. It certainly will if better treatments or a vaccine become available.
States that do not require masks are doing neither. Slowing or preventing the virus. Many are experiencing enormous spikes. Their hospitals are overburdened. Given the lack of preventative measures in South Dakota recently, we are almost certain to follow.
The SDPB writer and/or editor also needs to correct the typos in the rather short article.
Masks. When I checked two days ago, states that have required mask usage for a month or more averaged about 3% positive tests. States that do not have a mask requirement averaged about 9% positive results. (As a percentage of total tests.)
So Biden will be better than Trump? Biden is senile and completely willing to lie, cheat, steal, and pander to get elected. Biden has no love for the country, and neither do his die hard supporters.
President Trump brought the economy back and was working on a lot of things, but he got precious little support from even the members of his own party.
Republicans who say Biden is a reasonable alternative to Trump are loony.
They are the 1%…
Wow, I saw “senile and completely willing to lie, cheat, steal, and pander to get elected” and thought you were talking about Trump. It’s he who brags about “acing” a cognitive test (who asked?), pays women to keep quiet after he has his way with them, recently had the SCOTUS rule 9-0 against his ridiculous claim that he’s above the law, has so little regard for the safety of our kids and school employees he wants to force them back to class, and now has his toadies circulating opposition research-style talking points against the administration’s top infectious disease guy.
Quite a guy you’ve got there.
Michael Wyland.
Good catch.
I’m afraid journalism as we know it is dead.
We’ve already reached the point of no return.
What you see and read is what you get.
Sorry.
Elk,
We are not certainly to follow. Whether or not you’ve said it, on May 4th the “smart” people called for more restrictive mitigation restrictions or:
1) Deaths would significantly climb. With those measures, they predicted deaths would be 257 on June 15th. We had 75 deaths on June 15. Through July 12th, total deaths are 109 and our rate of daily deaths has declined since June 15.
2) We’d over-run our hospitals. Even with those measures, they predicted we’d have 1,300 in the hospital in mid-June. Our peak # in the hospital is 106 on May 26th. Since the predicted peak of hospitalizations on June15 when we had 93 in the hospital, the # in the hospital has been declining and is now 63.
Good hygiene, staying away from strangers in confined spaces, staying home if sick, and taking extraordinary care around the vulnerable will trump masks every time. Plus, masks can give a false sense of security and protection and care.
BTW, show me the jurisdiction which has required masks for 30 days. There is none. If you are going to make stuff up, you really shouldn’t make it so easy to expose you are lying.
Of course the initial estimates based somewhat on foreign initial estimates are poor. We all know that.
But, I don’t “make stuff up”. That would be our President. You seem to still be relying on the guy who said it would all “go away”. “Be gone with the summer heat”. How about those “predictions”, Troy? He is the only person in all of this to be exactly wrong.
I rely on Trump’s experts but not him. As for the masks, a CNN report titled: These are the States Requiring People to Wear Masks When Out in Public. (July 13)
But I am sure that Donald Trump knows better. We can wait for another Dr. Donald tweet for our medical advice.
Go ahead, Troy. I am certain you are great at math. Compare Republican lead states to Democrat ones. Mask states to non-mask states. Tell us how each compares. And the trend lines.
And always remember…. Donald is the one who “makes stuff up”.
That should read Republican “led” states or “Republican-led” states. Something like that.
First, those weren’t “foreign” estimates as they were made on May 4th. Those estimates had thousands dying in SD and 5,000+ people in the hospital. Do you really know so little? And we should listen to you?
Second, how many of those states have required them for 30 days? 10 days? You said “When I checked two days ago, states that have required mask usage for a month or more averaged about 3% positive tests. States that do not have a mask requirement averaged about 9% positive results. (As a percentage of total tests.)” So what did you “check since absolutely none required usage for a month so what you said is absolutely false. A lie.
Do you really want to compare Red State Covid outcomes against Blue State Covid outcomes? Only the dumbest person would propose a comparison so easy to assess and make one look totally foolish.
But, OK: There are twelve states with a Death per million count above the national mean of 417.
Highest: Dem. run New Jersey at 1,760.
Top 5 is rounded out by all Blue States which are 2x-4x times the national mean.
The only three states run by Republicans are Louisana (#6), Maryland (#8) and Mississippi (#12).
Yes, there are spikes in Texas, Arizona, and Florida.
Arizona is currently 75% of the national mean and 15% to 25% of the big four Democrat run states (NJ, NY, CT & MA).
Florida is 50% the national mean. If they doubled their current daily deaths, in a month they still don’t get to the national mean.
Texas is 30% the national mean.
BTW, if 350 people died tomorrow in SD, we still wouldn’t be at the nation’s mean deaths per million.
You just look stupid making stuff up. It explains why you won’t give your name.
What does my name have to do with it? Argue your point or concede that you can’t. Don’t try to intimidate me.
Admit math is hard for you. Those are facts
Thx for the facts Troy. Something the media and Dems could learn from.
I think Troy made his point.
Still, masks are an important part of slowing the spread of a virus. Doctors, nurses, dentists, and other workers in health fields have shown that for ages. To insinuate anything different is disingenuous or ignorant.
You have totally mischaracterized my comments. As you know, deaths and hospitalizations are lagging indicators. Everyone knows the death rate at the beginning was horrific and we don’t know yet how these current spikes will turn out. You are trying to rely on those death rates to obscure the catastrophic results being produced by Republican governors since then.
They opened recklessly and we are seeing the numbers skyrocket. True or not, Troy?
I asked you to compare positive test results and the trends so we can look at how these states are doing. They are as I said.
“They are as I said.” As reliable as when you checked about masks.
Yes, they are having a surge of cases and they are responding with enhanced mitigation, especially concentrated at protecting the vulnerable (unlike NY and NJ which failed to protect the vulnerable). But, not all cases are the same. 20 cases in a nursing home will have more deaths than 2,000 cases of random people under the age of 25.
Since you are an expert, what is the profile of the cases in the last week in those states? Profile is the best factor for projecting hospitalizations and deaths.
Again, yes, we’ll see. And, the results will be just like before: The Chicken Little’s will be wrong. Blue states will still be the leaders. Texas, Arizona and Florida will stay below the national average.
Masks.
Again. What are you talking about? I gave you the article that lists the states that required masks and when. I compared states that had requirements in place for a month or longer with states that had no mask requirements. States that ignore masks and other guidelines are a mess. Over double the positive cases.
Wrong again, Troy. I am not an “expert”.
And neither are you.
These are what the “experts” have said or are saying:
1) “Given the lack of preventative measures in South Dakota recently, we are almost certain to follow.”
2) “They (I assume you mean TX, AZ, & FL) opened recklessly”
3) Making stuff up like requiring masks for 30 days have significantly lower positive results.
I think you sound just like the “experts.” And I’m calling bulldung.
1) is my opinion
2) is obvious
3) is your insult of my honest observation
States which have required masks on May 1 and since
New Jersey: 1,760 deaths per million (Highest in the nation)
New York: 1,668 deaths per million (2nd)
Connecticut: 1,226 Deaths per million (3rd)
Illinois: 583 deaths per million (8th)
Maryland 550 deaths per million (9th)
Pennsylvania: 544 deaths per million (10th)
Delaware: 531 deaths per million (11th)
Maine: 85 deaths per million (42nd)
Hawaii: 16 deaths per million (50th)
By the way, the states which round out the top 12 in deaths per million (Mass. on May 6, Rhode Island on May 8, Louisiana on July 13, and Michigan on June 18) all mandated mask usage
This leaves me with two “observations” or your honest “observation:”
1) If you think leading the nation in deaths is an indication of the efficacy of masks when the earliest mask mandates lead the nation in deaths, you are homicidal.
2) Your observations aren’t very grounded in reality
Troy writes: “States which have required masks on May 1 and since”
What? What? There are states that required masks for over a month?
Let’s also recall that Troy wrote this a bit ago: “show me the jurisdiction which has required masks for 30 days. There is none. If you are going to make stuff up, you really shouldn’t make it so EASY to expose you are lying”.
Easy peasy.
Troy gives published data and more data, examples and more examples to support his arguments. From ‘elk’ I see nothing but ramblings and statements that he doesn’t back up with facts or historical data about COVID 19.
Oh sure. We are given more and more data arguing a point I am not discussing. As you already know, I was talking about the results of opening states too quickly. Troy wants to obscure that with talk of the catastrophic death count in the early days of the outbreak. Apples and oranges.
But since you want to go there, lets talk about that a second. What would the earlier mortality have been in those areas if they had listened to Donald Trump when he suggests that we can avoid mask use, ignore social distancing, attend crowded events and decrease testing? You know… the stable genius method of fighting a pandemic. I am sure you have some “data” that could prove predictive.
Elk,
This is a marathon until/if we get a vaccine and, if it is normal, a vaccine which is reliable is likely not going to be available for a year. Yes we might have treatment before a year and yes we may have a alpha or beta experimental trial vaccine this fall but efficacy will be unknown. The best long-term strategy is unknown as the race isn’t yet over.
Three realities:
1). Lockdowns have negative consequences regarding mental health (suicide, depression, addiction) and physical health (hunger especially with children and spouse and child abuse). These countervailing consequences aren’t being factored when lockdowns are proposed.
2). A permanent lockdown or even slowdown is not feasible or sustainable until we have a vaccine. Thus, overtime we must manage infections toward those who will not go to the hospital and away from those who will. Doing so, gives either full or partial herd immunity allowing greater cushion for the vulnerable to be in society.
3). We don’t know if lockdowns longer than two weeks to stall spread are long-term effective:
A). Do they lead to surges upon reopening that overwhelm the systems as what we are seeing now? Might it have been better to use surge mitigation during surge spread?
B). The fact the states which had the strongest coercive mitigation actions are also the ones with the worst deaths does not indicate effectiveness when less coercive states have significantly less deaths and with their reopening are not on a trend to catch up with those states.
C). We do not yet know the magnitude of the long term public health consequences of these sustained lockdowns which may exceed the short term consequences of Covid.
You may end up being right on which strategy is best but so far actual evidence and measurable outcomes indicate otherwise. Add that bad first half actual performance to everyone of your predictions, projections and models being grossly wrong, I consider it wholly irrational to consider the “experts” credible.
Troy: “projections and models being grossly wrong, I consider it wholly irrational to consider the “experts” credible”.
Yet somehow Donald “it’s going to disappear” Trump is credible. I see.
And actually, I am all for opening up the economy. Just not in a way that is indefensibly stupid. No masks? Crowds? Less testing?
Lunacy.
I think we shut down the economy in a way that is indefensibly stupid and was lunacy. We shut down places without any evidence of spread. Now that they have spread, they have economically, socially, and mentally exhausted their ability to comply and be disciplined.
Plus, we pretend somehow lockdowns are “absolute” when the reality is essential businesses and employees are working and they represent half the workforce. They are a delusion.
I also think the focus on the least important mitigation item (masks) is lunacy. If we wash our hands, practice good hygiene, stay home if we are sick, protect and accommodate the vulnerable, and maintain physical distance among strangers, we will do more than what masks can do (experts agree this is the least efficacious). Emphasize the important is pretty simple.
Regarding testing, we are now testing over 700,000 people a day and only in small pockets where it a is supply chain issue where people who want/need to be tested aren’t being tested. Our actual “capacity” is over 1,000,000 tests a day but logistics to match up tests with people isn’t perfect. 70% is pretty good capacity utilization by any objective measure.