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FRONT PAGE COMMENTARY, BY Peter Ripley---
Many people in Washington, are fed up with Daddy Worbucks Jay Inlee, and the following letter from state Braun reflects Washington attitude against Governor Inslee's edicts, on social distancing and his stay at home rules.
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Sen. John Braun: An Open Letter to Governor Inslee
A commentary posted on the Washington State News wire post on May 11th 2020
Dear Governor,
Trust Washingtonians. Please.
Washingtonians are a generous, compassionate, well-intentioned people who care about the safety and well-being of those around them.
They have earned the right to be trusted to act in a way that is in the best interest of their families, neighbors, communities, and state. They care deeply about protecting the safety of themselves and those they love. They’ve never needed the government to tell them how to do so.
Businesses, particularly local small businesses, rely on word of mouth and reputation. It is in their own interest to ensure that customers and employees feel safe as possible. That’s just what businesses do, and anyone who’s ever run a business knows this.
While I have no doubt your intentions are in the right place, a system of government that dictates to 7.6 million Washingtonians what to do and how to do it – every waking moment of the day – will never work. What’s desperately needed is a government that informs people what the objective is and gives people discretion and room to navigate to accomplish that aim.
Tell Washingtonians the objective: control and limit the spread of COVID-19, so as to protect the lives of your fellow citizens. Continue to arm and inform them of best practices, such as wearing a mask, so as to protect others if you’re an asymptomatic carrier; engaging in social distancing, self-quarantining if you’re feeling ill, and utilizing good hygiene.
Do that, Governor, and then trust Washingtonians. Gone will be the illusory and emotionally cruel distinction between “essential” and “non-essential” businesses and workers. People will make their own choices about what is appropriate for them and their families. Some will choose to stay at home, rarely venturing out. Others will get back to doing what they love and serving those around them in a manner that protects their community. And our economy can begin to recover.
Not so long ago you told the Legislature how you “really believe in the state of Washington.” If you meant those words, then believe in our state now. Washingtonians will rise to the challenge.
While I would love to end my plea there, and that was my original intent, you said something during your May 8 press conference that is unbecoming of your office. It merits a response.
You characterized Republicans’ approach to this virus as “abject surrender.” Shame on you, Governor. We all want what is best for the citizens of this state. We are all operating in completely uncharted waters here. The fact that we legitimately have different perspectives on how to achieve that aim doesn’t make one “good” and the other “evil”.
Let me be clear: there is no Republican or Democrat plan to solve this virus. Science dictates how this virus gets solved, and every bit of science out there right now tells us it’s done in one of three ways: (1) individual immunity, when a person catches COVID19 and recovers; (2) community immunity, commonly known as “herd” immunity; or (3) vaccine immunity, when either a vaccine or treatment methods are developed that no longer makes this virus fatal.
That’s it. Those are the options. While we wait and work for any or all combinations of those options to become a reality, we of course continue to believe people should wear masks in public as a way to protect others, practice social distancing and avoid large congregate gatherings.
But we also believe the following:
Higher priority should be placed on those at highest risk, meaning elderly, fragile individuals in long-term care settings. Government’s response to-date has been nothing short of tragic – a fact hidden until recently because the state is failing to report certain data.
Issuing 22-point requirements on what a car-wash business must follow in order to be allowed to operate, including “Requirement #4: Arrange furniture in a manner that promotes social distancing” is beyond the pale and symptomatic of a government-knows-best mentality that is wholly detached from reality and historically replete with error.
Most importantly, we believe individual Washingtonians are the ones best
equipped to make decisions about their health, their communities, their
businesses, and those around them. Our job as their elected leaders is to support them in doing that.
Nothing but harm is caused by hyperbole and aspersions. We are all in this together, and we must be able to engage in an honest and forthright dialogue with each other. Let this crisis bring out the best in us, not the worst.
In conclusion, I ask you to permit Washingtonians the opportunity to be rational decision makers. They won’t disappoint you, Governor. They will rise to the challenge and help ensure this virus does not get the better of us as a state.
The people of Washington have been trusting you. It’s time for you to trust them.
Sincerely,
John Braun
Senator Murray Introduces New Legislation to Help Renters During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Press release issued 5/ 13/ 20(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, joined by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), announced new legislation to assist renters during the on-going COVID-19 crisis. The bill, the Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act of 2020, would establish a program to provide $100 billion in emergency rental assistance to help families and individuals pay their rent and remain housed during and after the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Congressman Denny Heck (D-WA, 10th) and Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA, 43rd) introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives, and provisions from the bill are included in House Democrats’ recently released coronavirus aid package, the HEROES Act.
“Families in Washington state and across the country are struggling to keep a roof over their heads during this pandemic, and as Congress begins negotiating the next round of federal relief funding, I’m going to keep fighting to make sure it includes vital rental assistance to help protect public health and keep our families and communities safe and healthy,” Senator Murray said.
Specifically, the bill would authorize $100 billion for an Emergency Rental Assistance program to help families and individuals pay their rent and utility bills and remain housed during and after the COVID-19 crisis. Additionally, the program would provide funds to communities, states, and tribes through an existing federal temporary rental assistance program to facilitate the rapid distribution of funds through an already-available administrative and reporting system.
Stabilizing renters and the rental market through this crisis will help the economy recover from the economic aftershocks of the current emergency, and Senator Murray has consistently fought to secure vital housing assistance for Washington state families during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, And Economic Security (CARES) Act, Senator Murray successfully fought to include $7 billion in total assistance for affordable housing and homelessness assistance programs, including more than $50 million for Washington state through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and $6.25 million for Washington state Tenant-Based Rental Assistance. This past March, Senator Murray also pushed Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson to provide Public Housing Authorities with the resources and information that they need to safely and effectively do their jobs during this pandemic.
WORLD NEWS HEADLINES:
From the UN News Center.
UN leads call to protect most vulnerable from mental health crisis during and after COVID-19.
Decades of neglect and underinvestment in addressing people’s mental health needs have been exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN said on Thursday, in a call for ambitious commitments from countries in the way they treat psychological illness, amid a potential global spike in suicides and drug abuse.
Coronavirus ‘grim reality’: World economy to shrink by 3.2 per cent, new UN report projects.
Against the backdrop of the raging COVID-19 pandemic, the world economy in 2020 is projected to shrink by 3.2 per cent, racking up some $8.5 trillion in overall losses – wiping out nearly four years of output gains, according to a mid-year economic analysis by the United Nations.
Take ‘all appropriate public health measures’ to protect detainees from coronavirus, UN urges.
UN agency chiefs on Wednesday highlighted the heightened vulnerability to COVID-19 of detainees, and others in confinement, urging Governments to take “all appropriate public health measures” to keep them safe from the deadly disease.
South Sudan: Coronavirus cases confirmed inside UN civilian protection site.
The South Sudanese Government has confirmed that two cases of COVID-19 have been identified inside a Protection of Civilians (PoC) site in the capital, Juba, although the world’s youngest nation has been relatively unscathed by the pandemic, with 74 cases recorded so far.
COVID-19 could help turn the tide on ocean health in Asia-Pacific.
The COVID-19 pandemic could help turn the tide on the well-being of oceans in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a UN report published on Wednesday.
Hong Kong urged to drop prosecutions of leading activists, not to silence peaceful protest.
Independent UN human rights experts urged Hong Kong authorities on Wednesday to immediately drop the criminal prosecution of 15 pro-democracy activists who participated in peaceful protests across the Special Administrative Region of China last year.
COVID-19 pandemic ‘quickly becoming a child rights crisis': Daily death rate could spike by 6,000 for under-fives
COMMENTARY
Will Inslee kick the can down the road again to fully reopen the State? ( page 7)
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