"This just goes to prove that you are the leading asshole in the state."
Posted on 03/31/2020 12:44:04 PM PDT by The Schnoid from Sheboygan
AN OPEN LETTER TO VIRGINIA GOVERNOR RALPH NORTHAM =================================================
Dear Governor Northam,
So, now it's official: Your earlier "suggestion" is today an "order". In other words, there really never was a choice in the matter. It was either your way or the highway.
Well, I have some news for you. Virginians have never taken kindly to those who believe they ought, and have a right, to substitute their judgment for the judgment of free citizens. Virginians have a dislike of dictatorial mindsets, however well-meaning or apparently benevolent. Your notions are appropriate for other lands, where the peoples there are wards of the state, but they are neither appropriate nor appreciated here in the United States or in the Old Dominion, the cradle of liberty and whose flag proudly states "Sic Semper Tyrannis".
Virginian citizens are adults, quite capable of fending for themselves and making their own decisions as to what is appropriate and necessary for their own health and well-being. They do not need nor want a temporary office-holder issuing edicts that seek to proscribe their liberties, as you and your allies in the statehouse have sought to do with your gun control agenda and are now seeking to do with this "order".
If Virginians wish to gather together, in the privacy of their own homes --- for whatever reason and in whatever numbers --- they will do so and will decide what is appropriate therein. They do not plan to surrender their Fourth Amendment right to be secure in their homes, nor their First Amendment right of free assembly.
Virginians do not impose themselves on others. That's a wrong attitude, part of the southern manners and hospitality that have long been part of Virginia's culture. And Virginians have no desire to force others to share their company unwillingly. But, they will gather together if they want to do so, and they --- not you --- will decide for themselves the number that is appropriate within their individual and collective comfort zones. If you wish to send officials to their homes in order to enforce your edict, you may do so if you believe that is a good use of public resources. But, unless your officials have a warrant, Virginians might not answer when your officials knock. And, if your officials choose to wait outside in a form of stakeout, they may be in for a long wait.
If Virginians wish to go outdoors, they will do so. And if your officials stop and question them, they will simply respond that they are obtaining exercise, one of the exceptions in your edict. Virginians --- again, not you --- will also decide when they "need" to go to the stores to get food or supplies. If Virginians wish to patronize local food establishments (which are now only offering carry-out as a result of your over-reaction and impositions on private enterprise), they might do that on a daily basis, as well. If stopped and questioned by any of your officials, Virginians might simply reply that they are obtaining food for the night.
It's almost certain your edict will not pose any inconvenience on you personally. During this 3-month hiatus you have declared, you will likely gather with your friends and colleagues --- in numbers that exceed 10 people --- all behind closed doors and safely out of sight of the public eye, of course. Perhaps you might even engage in some of the same shoe polish and white hood antics in which you engaged in college. Who knows?
If you truly want to impose the equivalent of quarantine on the Commonwealth of Virginia, then do so by declaring martial law. But you won't do it because there are political consequences that you would rather avoid. Instead, you are attempting to obtain "martial law lite" with your edict.
Some will undoubtedly call this attitude "selfish" or "irresponsible", but that ignores the fact that Virginians are quite capable of making their own wise decisions and taking care of themselves without the assistance or resort to edicts such as you have issued Monday. Virginians can walk and chew gum at the same time, so to speak, guarding both their health and their liberty without sacrificing one at the expense of the other.
So know this: Virginians (some of them, at least ) still hold to the principles of liberty that earlier Virginians --- men like George Mason, Patrick Henry, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison --- once espoused. Benjamin Franklin, a colleague of these great Virginians, opined that "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Virginians didn't give up their essential liberty to the king's armies nearly two-and-a-half centuries ago. They do not plan to surrender them to the likes of lesser men such as you today.
Are you sure he can read?
Yeah baby
Sic semper tyrannus
“Virginians have a dislike of dictatorial mindsets...”
Well, some of them do but not enough at the last election. But then those aren’t true Virginians.
Looks like a good letter.
The first hint of pushback. If “orders” go on, we’ll see more.
I’ll ask my question again:
The common flu is spread the same way CV is. 61,000 died in the US last year from the common flu, 80,000 the year before.
Why did we not shut down for that?
Do the taxpayers of Virginia pay for the medical care of those who gather in numbers and then contract COVID-19?
Well said and I concur completely.
If you think or that’s life hasn’t changed you are just being naive. He has to actually deal with people who could potentially be infected all day. He is risking his life. Just like Trump is. I detest the man but I’m not going to knock him now. Not now.
Why would the tax payers pay for the medical care of the 80% of people who get this virus who need no medical attention?
There should be hell to pay at the end of all of this. And the payees should be democrats everywhere. Especially the control freaks like Northam.
I’m sure he’ll just use the letter as extra toilet paper.
If you really don’t know the answer and that question isn’t just rhetorical, then read my #11 on this thread.
Because to do nothing would see a death toll in the millions.
He is a medical doctor as well. He also acted in a fairly timely manner based on the number infections that existed when he first closed schools.
From what I can tell, the state has done a good job with contact tracing. The problem initially was the Virginia did not have enough test kits.
Unfortunately, Ralph will not read your letter. He does not GAS.
That would mean that 20% would need medical attention.
Will the taxpayers of Virginia pay for the medical care of that 20% who contract COVID-19?
"This just goes to prove that you are the leading asshole in the state."
This is nuts. All of these two/bit governors and mayors have been channeling their inner Stalin. Somebody stop them please!!
Is that what you heard on the news?
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