Last week we talked about the death of H. Scott Apley, Galveston city council representative and member of the Texas GOP executive committee from Covid-19.  Apley’s death was totally preventable, but the extreme far right activist was a loud voice against vaccines, science, and common decency.  He amplified lies about the virus and the vaccines on social media, and mocked those who wore masks and were relying on public health policy established using guidance from actual scientists.  He, his wife, and infant child all were infected.  He died 3 days after being admitted to a hospital in Galveston.

Apley’s foolishness was deadly.  Worse, his ignorance has very likely caused additional infections and possibly deaths.  The Republican party, led by the Orange Menace, has become mired in lies, reality bending, religiosity, and cruel public policy that has no reason to exist but for inflicting more cruelty.

Yesterday, the Washington Post used Apley as the perfect example of the chasm that has widened between normal people and the insanity of extreme rightwing politics.  It noted that even in the wake of his death, the Galveston County GOP was still posting bullshit about vaccines and didn’t even acknowledge how Apley died.  The madness has so engulfed the GOP that the party itself is a threat to public health and our system of government. It has truly morphed into the American version of the Taliban, and that’s not an exaggeration.

Yesterday this photo started floating around social media and it fits Abbott’s re-election campaign better than any I’ve seen so far…

A picture is worth 1,000 words.  Or, more appropriately, 54,819, today’s current count.

Returning to work brings a number of advantages. It usually involves hearing stories that always seem to surprise me. In the era of COVID, I get to hear stories that end up shocking us in the end. For today, those stories center on sick people that have been denied care because hospitals are full of Covidiots.

We know it’s happening, but these stories become more real when we hear them from someone we know. Of course, I realize I’m preaching to the choir here and preaching to the choir doesn’t exactly bring a lot of converts. Maybe it’s just a few tortured souls complaining together in the wilderness.

Since I’m not a lawyer or a doctor I know only a few things. First, I know that doctors have a duty to help everyone that comes their way. Secondly, the numbers of Covidiots being hospitalized has caused traditional patients to somehow get the shaft.

I’m not smart enough to figure out how we work around this problem. I know I would mandate the vaccine and masks, but we all know that this will never happen across the board. Obviously, some public entities are requiring it in some circumstances. My wife will not be allowed back on site at JSC unless she can prove she has been vaccinated. Unfortunately, private businesses and most other job sites are not doing the same.

So, we rely on the humanity of others. We rely on people to feel shame for their behavior or empathy for others that may need those hospital beds. Shame and empathy seem to be in short supply. Any kind of collective responsibility is seen as socialism and evil. So, about 40 percent of the population refuse to see how their inaction has impacted the rest of us.

The question before us is how we can ultimately deal with this problem. Certainly, some have offered suggestions that will make things better in a marginal way, but the problem is so widespread that these minor suggestions serve as a ripple in the sea.

So, that brings us to the two key questions of the day. First, in terms of hospitalization, is there any legal way to force those that actively chose not to safeguard themselves or the community to wait? Secondly, and more importantly, how do we get people to understand that they are responsible for not only themselves but to those around them as well? I’m open to suggestions.

Lunch breaks are short these days, but considering all of the COVIDs going around it seems like a good time for an update. As most of the regular readers know, I teach in one of the school districts that decided not to mandate masks. This is in spite of the fact that all of our schools are in Harris County.

I get it. You have the governor saying one thing and the county judge saying something different. As many of the social media memes say, you have all of the medical doctors and PhDs saying this and yet my buddy Earle (who made a D in Biology) is telling me something else. Who do I believe?

El Jefe and Juanita were all over the governor yesterday, so I’ll just say that this is what the English teachers call irony. I think it’s situational irony, but I’ve slept since we reviewed irony with my sophomores. I just know that it isn’t Alanis Morrissette irony.

At least our district has had the presence of mind to post signs in English and Spanish recommending the masks. Of course, some of our campus leaders are wearing masks and some aren’t. A majority of the students are wearing masks. So, maybe not all is lost.

Our campus is a unique place. We teach kids trades where they can become certified before they graduate. That includes vet tech and child guidance. We have three and four year old children roaming the halls and the occasional dog as well. While that makes for an interesting environment on most days, it is especially worrisome these days with COVID. Even if every student of the school were vaccinated, those preschoolers certainly aren’t.

I manage a group of about 20 students every year. A couple of them are home because someone in their family tested positive. Then I have a few more that might be home schooling because our district doesn’t offer a virtual option. Statisticians will tell you about the dangers of extrapolating from such a small sample, but our minds can’t help going there.

So, while the rest of the world struggles how to handle the news of our beloved governor getting the COVID, those of us here are bracing for the worst. The kids are packed in like sardines and we all know how that will turn out. If you pray to a supreme being we’d love a shout out. If you don’t then whatever positive thoughts you can muster are well appreciated.

It will come as no surprise that Greg Abbott is now infected with Covid-19 and no one knows how many people he spread the disease to before the announcement today.  Just last night he appeared at a Collin County GOP fundraiser where hundreds of attendees  were maskless and refused to social distance.  Who knows how many knuckle dragging anti-vaxxers were in the room.

Another standing room only event in Collin County tonight.

Thank y’all for the enthusiastic reception.

Let's keep this energy up and send a message that Texas values are NOT up for grabs in 2022. pic.twitter.com/wlPZyrHpx3

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) August 17, 2021

This won’t be a wake up call, though, since Abbott is desperate to be re-elected so he can prepare for the presidential race in 2024.  He doesn’t care if Texans live or die…it’s all about staying in power.  No matter who has to die for him to do it.

On top of everything else we call him, we can now call him #superspreadergreg

Breaking News —-

Just in: @GovAbbott tested positive today for COVID-19, his office announces. He’s fully vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/Sbu6z0w0in

— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) August 17, 2021

And that’s what happens when your Freedumb loving friends breathe on you.

And here’s Greg last night in the smack dab middle of no masks at all.