Covid spies

[gearhead]

Harris County Texas (Houston) Judge (County CEO, not a legal judge) Lina "El Commandante" Hidalgo is about to step over the legal line in my opinion. She is hiring 300 people to set up a program that if you test positive you will have an app put on your smart phone that Apple and Google will use to determine who you have been around. Amazingly a TV station interviewed folks "on the street" who said...yeah, good idea.
And you say?

[sourdough]

Harris County Texas (Houston) Judge (County CEO, not a legal judge) Lina "El Commandante" Hidalgo is about to step over the legal line in my opinion. She is hiring 300 people to set up a program that if you test positive you will have an app put on your smart phone that Apple and Google will use to determine who you have been around. Amazingly a TV station interviewed folks "on the street" who said...yeah, good idea.
And you say?


Harris county is "out there" as far as TX goes. I'm afeared they would have a difficult time putting anything in/on me or anything I owned. Yes, she is overstepping and I'm sure knows it but you can't hold someone like that back by suggestion - they are doing it for the "greater" good of those willing to accept it...….

[JRTJH]

Not only no, but HELL NO !!!!!


First, I don't own a smart phone and last I checked, it wasn't a requirement for citizenship... That said, unless "el commandante" is going to pay for the smart phone and all testing, she ain't getting my support. Even then, she ain't getting my support.....

I don't see how she can enforce such a "community order" and I can't imagine the governor and attorney general of Texas allowing such CRAP to happen in Texas.....

Thinking about it a bit more, they did the same CRAP by painting a scarlet letter on some women's foreheads and burning others at the stake because they "weren't clean (by our definition)"... I call BS on that "whatever she might call herself".....

[gearhead]

Watch the repeat of Tucker Carlson tonight..

[rhagfo]

Got news for you, they can track by your phone already! Working for a retailer in the IT department, application was presented that could track consumers through the store to see where they spent time. I was happy at the time that our legal department decided to pass on it.

[Canonman]

If a person tests positive their first responsibility would be to let anyone they know who they might have compromised. Being a responsible citizen is the basis for our civilization.
Watched a woman pick up a tomato in the store barehanded, give it a good squeeze and a sniff then put it back. I took a plastic bag, put my hand in it picked up the same tomato and told the produce guy it was contaminated, explained how I knew and watched him dispose of it. Some folks just aren't careful.
So if I get this right, someone tests positive. The govt. checks the gps in their phone against the gps data base of all phones for a 14 day period and is supposed to contact those hundreds of folks that match, to inform them they "might" have been exposed?? And, if they do this after the fact, after the positive test result, and still find this idiot wandering around infecting others then I'd recommend giving them a shovel and have em start digging.
In the end, I think you're pretty safe from Big Brother; researchers found that as of April 20, Texas has only tested 6,634 people per million, which is 0.66%

[gearhead]

I don't like it, at all.
They may be able to follow me now, but as far as I know there has been no consequences or actions about where I've been.
Another excuse for me to ditch the iPhone.
Yep Houston is "out there". Glad I moved out.

[chuckster57]

Go back and look what gruesome Newsome said on Face the nation. Ca can and does track people in real time via cell phone.

That’s been available technology for years, this whole Covid thing is about out of hand IMO.

[B-O-B'03]

Harris county is "out there" as far as TX goes. I'm afeared they would have a difficult time putting anything in/on me or anything I owned. Yes, she is overstepping and I'm sure knows it but you can't hold someone like that back by suggestion - they are doing it for the "greater" good of those willing to accept it...….

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin

Glad I still use my flip phone... go ahead and try to add any apps to that :lol:

-Brian

[Gary R.]

I too have a lowly flip phone that has no GPS embedded. Of course, texting is not much fun when you're in a hurry, but then--why text when you can call!

Cheers!

Gary

[JRTJH]

Got news for you, they can track by your phone already! Working for a retailer in the IT department, application was presented that could track consumers through the store to see where they spent time. I was happy at the time that our legal department decided to pass on it.

That can't track my phone... I DON'T CARRY ONE... My entire career was spent being "electronically connected 24/7. It started with a beeper that buzzed, you had to "call the service" for a message, that evolved to a beeper that gave a digital message (phone number to call), which evolved to a beeper with an audio 15 second message followed by a Phillips "bag phone" which evolved to a Nokia cell phone which became a Blackberry....

NO THANKS, I don't carry one of those damn things any longer, so anybody tracking me is going to have to wear sunglasses, a cap low over their forehead and pretend not to be following me....

[B-O-B'03]

... researchers found that as of April 20, Texas has only tested 6,634 people per million, which is 0.66%

Here is a link (https://txdshs.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/ed483ecd702b4298ab01e8b9cafc8b83) to the Texas DHS COVID page, it updates daily.

Lots of good data there. Today's count is 26,171 Cases Reported with a population of over 29 million.

22 new cases reported in my county, in the last 6 days.

-Brian

[sourdough]

If a person tests positive their first responsibility would be to let anyone they know who they might have compromised. Being a responsible citizen is the basis for our civilization.
Watched a woman pick up a tomato in the store barehanded, give it a good squeeze and a sniff then put it back. I took a plastic bag, put my hand in it picked up the same tomato and told the produce guy it was contaminated, explained how I knew and watched him dispose of it. Some folks just aren't careful.
So if I get this right, someone tests positive. The govt. checks the gps in their phone against the gps data base of all phones for a 14 day period and is supposed to contact those hundreds of folks that match, to inform them they "might" have been exposed?? And, if they do this after the fact, after the positive test result, and still find this idiot wandering around infecting others then I'd recommend giving them a shovel and have em start digging.
In the end, I think you're pretty safe from Big Brother; researchers found that as of April 20, Texas has only tested 6,634 people per million, which is 0.66%



I'm not sure what the gist is but whether you have the virus or not, or flu, or cancer, or lupus, or etc. etc. etc. the government has ZERO right to track you and then trace everyone you have contacted...NONE. If we buy off on that and think it's "good", heck, a chip under the skin should make one ecstatic.

If a person is positive their life should not end since by my last calculation about .0135% of the population has died from it as opposed to 2.4% contracting it. That was as of 4/23 CDC stats vs a population of 330M. Further, IF that miniscule number happens to cross you path you are hopefully in good shape with a good immune system and you'll get the sniffles....just like the flu, no more, no less. No one has given up their privacy, their lives, livelihood and future due to the flu. This referred to "pandemic" is doing that by the millions and millions to our citizens; and I'm worried about .0135%? I think not - just take reasonable precautions - certainly not tracking innocent citizens for whatever reasons they may want to come up with.

[gearhead]

^^Yes sir. X2.

[B-O-B'03]

I'm not sure what the gist is but whether you have the virus or not, or flu, or cancer, or lupus, or etc. etc. etc. the government has ZERO right to track you and then trace everyone you have contacted...NONE. If we buy off on that and think it's "good", heck, a chip under the skin should make one ecstatic.

If a person is positive their life should not end since by my last calculation about .0135% of the population has died from it as opposed to 2.4% contracting it. That was as of 4/23 CDC stats vs a population of 330M. Further, IF that miniscule number happens to cross you path you are hopefully in good shape with a good immune system and you'll get the sniffles....just like the flu, no more, no less. No one has given up their privacy, their lives, livelihood and future due to the flu. This referred to "pandemic" is doing that by the millions and millions to our citizens; and I'm worried about .0135%? I think not - just take reasonable precautions - certainly not tracking innocent citizens for whatever reasons they may want to come up with.

Well said!

[flybouy]

Just one thing about cell phones, they don't have to have GPS to "track" you. If the phone is on you can be pinpointed by triangulation of the cell towers that phone "pings" off of.

Here's the danger of fear and relinquishing of rights. After the 911 terror attacks laws were passed to "combat terrorism" (USA-PATRIOT ACT). The NSA built massive building on each coast filled with equipment to monitor and selectively record EVERY phone call in the country. What was the resultant effect of these 911 laws? An extreme over reach by Congress and the law enforcement community.
In 2013, a top-secret order issued by the court, which was later leaked to the media from documents culled by Edward Snowden, required a subsidiary of Verizon to provide a daily, on-going feed of all call detail records—including those for domestic calls—to the NSA.

FISA, enacted in 1978 has been misused by politically biased judges and congress. FISA warrants have been handed out like candy on halloween.

Again, I believe the fear mongering has lead us down this path. Whether it was burning witches in MA, "ferreting out communist" during the McCarthy era of 1950 -1954, or terrorist attacks of 9-11, fear can grip a people and result in irrational decisions. Fear convinced people to "give up those rights" and I have no doubt this pandemic fear will do the same. Fear of the "unknown" or "not understood" is the strongest fear, it's human nature. Those that let fear rule their emotions and actions will never conquer it.
JMHO

[Canonman]

I'm not sure what the gist is but whether you have the virus or not, or flu, or cancer, or lupus, or etc. etc. etc. the government has ZERO right to track you and then trace everyone you have contacted...NONE. If we buy off on that and think it's "good", heck, a chip under the skin should make one ecstatic.

If a person is positive their life should not end since by my last calculation about .0135% of the population has died from it as opposed to 2.4% contracting it. That was as of 4/23 CDC stats vs a population of 330M. Further, IF that miniscule number happens to cross you path you are hopefully in good shape with a good immune system and you'll get the sniffles....just like the flu, no more, no less. No one has given up their privacy, their lives, livelihood and future due to the flu. This referred to "pandemic" is doing that by the millions and millions to our citizens; and I'm worried about .0135%? I think not - just take reasonable precautions - certainly not tracking innocent citizens for whatever reasons they may want to come up with.

Let me clarify my earlier post. First, I cherish my right to privacy as much as anyone. I also am totally against government overreach out of fear or for any other reason. I was honestly asking a question about how this idea of using cell phone tracking data was supposed to work. It doesn’t make sense to me that TX is going to contact trace everyone that the data says “might” have been contacted by the infected person. Further, TX ranks at the bottom of states in the number of tests performed i.e. less than 1% of the population; so what are they planning to do if they do the contact tracing? I guess I don’t think they are really going to try and implement this since they probably couldn’t handle the information overload.
For the record, I am adamant that if you test positive for ANY contagious disease you should stay home! Life doesn't have to end, just Don’t go out and infect more people. We all have an obligation to take care of one another. Also, I’m not afraid of this virus for my own sake. My DW is one of those at risk people who would be in real trouble if she were to get infected. While we are cautious, we are not panicked. I go the grocery, hardware store etc. so she can stay home. Our golf courses are open and I still play weekly.
What’s changed is that I’m careful, a lot more careful. Personal distancing and hand washing all in the bounds of reasonableness is about all that’s changed for us. Our state parks are now open to camping and we have reservations for next week. So, life goes on. My position, be safe but not scared.

[thewhitehat]

Some ideas are just dumb.

https://weburbanist.com/2012/04/25/fantastic-failures-10-wacky-extinct-products-from-the-past/#

[thewhitehat]

Sorry for the edit

[gearhead]

This is educational reading but the 20 month old grandson wants to go see Quack Quack on the wall in the gun room. LOL. Then I have to "spin" him in my office chair. He is calling the deer head moo moo. Close enough!
They are who I am worried for.

[wiredgeorge]

Your Harris Co. judge is doing such a fine job doling out the Fed money from Harvey that he likely just had another brainstorm. I think it would be a better idea to have 666 tattoo'd a person's forearm rather than bother with some phone app in the event they don't carry a phone. Why in the name of heaven anyone would live in or near that city is beyond me.

[gearhead]

The judge is a she. Maybe 28 years old. Immigrated from Columbia as a teen, I think. Lived in Peru and Mexico City before immigrating. Graduated from Standford University. She was accepted for post grad at Harvard but decided to run for Harris County Judge instead. We had an excellent Judge, Ed Emmett, but he didn't quite fit the now required profile. "El Commandante" has no clue what she is doing.
Now the Houston mayor Sylvestor Turner has presided over one of the most incompetent and corrupt administrations ever. He hands out contracts to friends and political allies. What's it been, 3 years since Harvey? He has handed Federal money to less than 100 families to rebuild their homes. I guess it's in a bank somewhere, maybe Switzerland. But he gets no push back from local mainstream media. Media won't push against him for I suppose fear of retribution of his supporters.
Both of the above are the result of identity politics.
There are lots of fine hard working people in Houston but they are getting fewer and fewer.

[travelin texans]

With this BS & some of the other liberties that state/local governments have taken is encroaching heavily on our bill of rights, some bordering on highly illegal without the federal government declaring martial law.

[flybouy]

gearhead, sounds like "Huston we have a problem" was a prophetic statement.

[gearhead]

Yes, they have major problems. Any self described moderate or conservative doesn't have a chance. I think there are 2 left on Harris County Commissioners Court.
Gone are the days of Police Chief Herman Short and Sheriff "Buster" Kern. Both were iron fisted law and order enforcers. Maybe a bit too much sometimes. The old saying was "you might beat the rap but you won't beat the ride". Some would say good riddance, but a happy medium makes sense to me.

[Fishsizzle]

Got news for you, they can track by your phone already! Working for a retailer in the IT department, application was presented that could track consumers through the store to see where they spent time. I was happy at the time that our legal department decided to pass on it.

It’s how those coupons kick out as you walk down the isles. Match that “member rewards” number to your purchases and your phone number.

Many have zero idea how insidious the big data miners (google, Facebook, etc) know about us and what we do

[JRTJH]

The "saga" of Michigan's "guvnah" and her rulings is becoming epic. A state judge ruled late yesterday that some parts of her shutdown orders did violate personal freedoms, but (and here's the BS part), in light of the public emergency, protecting the public health is within her authority... So, this "state judge" pretty much said, "Yes, she violated the constitutional freedoms guaranteed to citizens, but it's OK because she had a "purpose".... It'll be interesting to see where this one goes in the appeals process...

The legislature must vote today to either extend the "guvnah's emergency declaration" or let it die. She has reached the legal limit in length of her declarative authority, and it's up to the legislature to enact further emergency powers. The guvnah is of one political party and the legislature is of the other.. This will get "interesting".....

As for "cell phone tracking of people's movement" in Michigan, there's no "discussion of doing that".. So, either they already are tracking us (and don't want to talk about it) or ?????

[wiredgeorge]

gearhead, sounds like "Huston we have a problem" was a prophetic statement.

Seems to me that when I lived in Riverdale MD there was a mayor in DC named Marion Barry. Seems all big cities are becoming a blight in this country. All the big cities in Texas are pretty much in the same boat as Houston but I will say Houston traffic is HORRIBLE, the vibe is HORRIBLE and the Houston Rockets are HORRIBLE (well that is only because the Spurs suck these days; one good thing about the pandemic is they pulled the plug on further humiliation).

[gearhead]

Yep they are about all in the same shape. Promise voters some goodies and get elected.
Houston traffic has always been bad. As soon as the new concrete has dried it needs to be expanded. I would attribute that to TXDOT near sightedness and the always growing population of Houston. I'm a 1st generation Houstonian. Both sides of my family were from Louisiana. Dad said many times "people don't come to Houston for the weather or the scenery, they come for 1 thing, a J O B."
I've driven in the Houston traffic all my life. Knowing several different ways to get somewhere helps. Using common sense helps too. Expecting to get somewhere fast on I-10 outbound from downtown at 5pm ain't gonna happen. It's almost as bad as the I-35 corridor north of San Antonio.

[notanlines]

Don't we all just love local politics! Many years ago the city of Chicago laid claim to a Pulitzer Prize winning writer by the name of Mike Royko. Maybe one or two of you may remember him. He knew and wrote about Chicago like nobody else. The reason for his massive success is when you were reading his columns you were transported right back to your own home town. He was a Cubs fan and had no time for the Sox. He despised Rupert Murdock and refused to work for him. All this brings us to how we all feel about our local sports and politics. When I read about y'all's problems with the politicians it's just like home, only different names. Can we trade the Grizzly's to any on you?

[flybouy]

Seems to me that when I lived in Riverdale MD there was a mayor in DC named Marion Barry. Seems all big cities are becoming a blight in this country. All the big cities in Texas are pretty much in the same boat as Houston but I will say Houston traffic is HORRIBLE, the vibe is HORRIBLE and the Houston Rockets are HORRIBLE (well that is only because the Spurs suck these days; one good thing about the pandemic is they pulled the plug on further humiliation).

George, Mayor Barry was a choir boy compared to the Baltimore City Mayors for well, every since I can remember. The current Mayor is in office because he replaced a mayor that is going to prison for selling children's books in a scam. I think the last 4 mayors, 2 chiefs of police, and several city council members have felony records. One former mayor did a plea deal and avoided a felony rap so she is now running for mayor again!

4 of the current mayoral candidates are being investigated for election and or tax issues with their campaign finances.The awarding of contracts is rife with nepotism. The city comptroller hands out contracts to her relatives, has a several hundred thousand dollar salary and shows up in her office about 1 day a week (this was pre pandemic).

And one more tidbit. In Baltimore City, this quote is direct from the city website on the ethics board.

"Board Membership
As reconstituted, the Ethics Board comprises 5 members, to be appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council. Each member must be “of known personal integrity” and possess “recognized knowledge and interest in government and civics”; none may be a lobbyist, a government official or employee (other than of a college, university, or the like), or a candidate for elected public office.

Of the 5 members:

1 member is nominated by the President of the City Council,
1 member is nominated by the City Comptroller, and
3 members, at least 2 of whom must be lawyers, are named by the Mayor.
The members serve staggered, 5-terms. The Board’s"

And now you know the rest of the story. (RIP Paul Harvey).

[+Ruff Rider]

There is no way I would tell the government where I have been or who i talked to. If I got sick i would call my friends directly to let them know. Other than that who do you know at the store? This is all a crap shoot at best. They have succeeded to scare the crap out of everyone. If you shake hands with someone you will die kind of crap. I saw a post about a tomato from someone here but just because they were a glove doesn't mean the glove isn't dirty. All this stuff is nuts. Do you have any idea how many germs you come in contact with every day. There is no way you can avoid them. You take them home on your clothes shoes even your hair has germs. You cant disinfect the world. Only way to be truly safe is stay home lock the door tape all the windows and doors so nothing from the outside can get in. That still wouldn't keep anyone safe. Life is a crap shoot. The odds may be in your favor most days but the more you venture out the odds against you increase. A tree could fall on you, get hit by lighting, or get sucked up by a tornado. its the same for this virus. What are your chances if getting it. I know no one with this in my hood or family that has this. There are 350 MILLION people in the United States and only one million have the virus. What are the odds you get this. Next to zero. Mostly nursing home have the highest number of cases. Just the other day 75 veterans died in a nursing home. No one is watching those people. That just ****** me off to the ents degree. I'm 67 and I don't even get a flu shot. we have allowed our constitutional rights to be trampled upon in the name of safety but enough is enough. Lets open this crap up and get back to being Americans. it's the price of freedom. I am willing to take one for the team if need be.
Vet Nam Vet 72/75

[dutchmensport]

I've been screaming for years and years now that "the powers to be" can track everything you do by your phone, the GPS in your car or truck (Onstar), your laptop computer, everything you watch on your smart-television that has internet capability, and what food you eat if you have a smart-refrigerator. Shoot, even the iRobot vacuum sweeper in my house is Internet capable as my wife kicks it off on her phone when we aren't even home. And let's not forget Alexa, that talking device some people have in their homes that is recording every conversation you have in the privacy of your own bedroom!

The nay-sayers (on another forum) criticized me for my conspiracy mind set, and now here we are, "the powers to be" have finally openly admitted they've been using this technology for years and years.

So, if you go anywhere, simply leave your phone at home. However, if your automobile has any type of GPS service in it, you can still be tracked. But at least it stops in the parking lot and not necessarily who you are standing behind at the grocery store line.

But hey! Who wants to leave their addiction at home on the bedside, plugged in charging. Probably no one. So, if you carry your phone with you, this is what you are going to get. This is nothing new, you've been tracked on your phone since the first second it was activated. Not only that, every keystroke, every phone call, ever internet site, ever reminder note, and every location that phone has been, since the moment it was activated.

And there really is some truth to what the conspiracy theorists are saying! This proves it, 12 years later!

Is anyone finally listening, or still just calling the conspiracy theorists a bunch of nuts.

[socoinc1984]

Well said rough rider

[Dave W]

Thjen there is NY State where Gov. Cuomo "borrowed" respirators from Upstate health care facilities then made sure they didn't need them by having infected health care people go to work in said facilities. That scandal should show up in the national news soon. Then there are the infected homeless sleeping on NY City's public transportation trains and busses due to Mayor DeBlasio (ipreviously AKA Warren Wilhelm). At least our Upstate county is still conservative and pretty well run.

As far as anyone tracking me with my seldom on or even carried TracFone LG flipper - good luck with that:lol:

[gearhead]

We've been pretty much pinned to the house since this started. Our daughter and SIL are working from home. Our son is "on call only" but his wife is working. So when the daughter and SIL both have a video conference at the same time we watch their 2 year old. When the son gets called in to work we watch their 2 kids. All the kids are less than 4 years old, 2 still in diapers. Dang there's a reason old folks aren't supposed to have babies.
So today Betty said she is about to go nuts if she doesn't get out of the house. Checked with the kids and all seemed quiet as far as work issues. OK baby, where do you want to go? Anywhere, she don't care. So how about checking fishing holes? Sure! So we drove an hour to Sabine Lake and checked on 2 different boat ramps for future use. Then across to Louisiana to look around Hackberry some. Then up to Sulphur and did the McD's drive through. Back to Texas and Mauriceville to see if the tree farm was still there. Yep. Got home at 3pm...at least 6 hours on the road. It felt good to be on the road!! Threw steaks on the grill and a couple fingers of 80 proof x2. Life is good.
I think I can get a haircut next week!!
High cotton indeed. LOL

[tjkarch60]

Only 300 people to be on the tracking team?!
Supreme Glorious Leader Jay Inslee from WA state is setting up a 1,500 person tracking team. Half (750) of which will be National Guard troops!
He gets his marching orders from Bill Gates. Who wants to reduce world population and give everybody a tracking chip.
This is not a pandemic, this is a trial run.

[gearhead]

Only 300 people to be on the tracking team?!
Supreme Glorious Leader Jay Inslee from WA state is setting up a 1,500 person tracking team. Half (750) of which will be National Guard troops!
He gets his marching orders from Bill Gates. Who wants to reduce world population and give everybody a tracking chip.
This is not a pandemic, this is a trial run.

I'm thinking the same.

[sourdough]

Only 300 people to be on the tracking team?!
Supreme Glorious Leader Jay Inslee from WA state is setting up a 1,500 person tracking team. Half (750) of which will be National Guard troops!
He gets his marching orders from Bill Gates. Who wants to reduce world population and give everybody a tracking chip.
This is not a pandemic, this is a trial run.



I appreciate everyone's feeling about the situation that we face and governmental actions that have been taken whether warranted or not. I am 100% sure that the way I, or anyone else, feels about what is going on is viewed differently by someone else. Many have been affected in a very negative way by how this is being handled and many others have family affected in a very bad way, myself included. Many feel this is nothing more than the flu and some think it's the end of the world. Stats tell that story.

All that said I think we need to try to keep the focus of the thread on the Covid issue and how it relates to us as RVers - and I assure you it is a factor as far as our travel plans go. Some comments are getting further and further into the political arena without any content having a useful purpose for RVing. With a topic like Covid 19 for a thread there will undoubtedly be comments and observations that will have some political context. I think we should try to keep those to a minimum and when the comments happen, not let the thread take on a life of it's own burrowing down that political rabbit hole.

[hankpage]

So today Betty said she is about to go nuts if she doesn't get out of the house. Checked with the kids and all seemed quiet as far as work issues. OK baby, where do you want to go? Anywhere, she don't care. So how about checking fishing holes? Sure! So we drove an hour to Sabine Lake and checked on 2 different boat ramps for future use. Then across to Louisiana to look around Hackberry some. Then up to Sulphur and did the McD's drive through. Back to Texas and Mauriceville to see if the tree farm was still there. Yep. Got home at 3pm...at least 6 hours on the road. It felt good to be on the road!! Threw steaks on the grill and a couple fingers of 80 proof x2. Life is good.
I think I can get a haircut next week!!
High cotton indeed. LOL

Brent, Glad to hear that you and the DW got a chance to take a break and go out and get some fresh air. ( Literally )
We all can't wait for things to return to normal,but until then quick escapes like yours will help us maintain our sanity. :thumbsup:
Stay well, be safe, Hank

[+Ruff Rider]

I appreciate everyone's feeling about the situation that we face and governmental actions that have been taken whether warranted or not. I am 100% sure that the way I, or anyone else, feels about what is going on is viewed differently by someone else. Many have been affected in a very negative way by how this is being handled and many others have family affected in a very bad way, myself included. Many feel this is nothing more than the flu and some think it's the end of the world. Stats tell that story.

All that said I think we need to try to keep the focus of the thread on the Covid issue and how it relates to us as RVers - and I assure you it is a factor as far as our travel plans go. Some comments are getting further and further into the political arena without any content having a useful purpose for RVing. With a topic like Covid 19 for a thread there will undoubtedly be comments and observations that will have some political context. I think we should try to keep those to a minimum and when the comments happen, not let the thread take on a life of it's own burrowing down that political rabbit hole.
At this point this is becoming more political every day. Not as many going to the hospital. Although the more people are getting tested the number of those infected can only go up but still hospitalization is down. Not as many people are dyeing from this which is a good thing. But when they close a beach just because people were going there now thats political. it's hard not to call it what it is. In the begi9ning we as Americans did what needed to be done but not it's hurting the country. Seems like mayors and governors don't seem to care. They have police going around watching people sitting on a blanket not wearing a mask. This is becoming a police country with this going on. I get your point that you dont want politics on the site but if we don't let people know what is happening on the ground in there state we will never know what is happening. You can't even cross state lines without getting stopped. Trust me the cops are watching every freeway and highway. If they catch you you may get a ticket and told to go home or, they will take you into custody and quarantine you for 2 weeks. It's getting bad. Summer is canceled! no 4th of July, no car shows I bet they even limit the numbers of campers allowed at campgrounds they put homeless in hotels and gave them free booze and drugs. I wouldn't ever stay in a hotel again anywhere. How political out there is it? this isn't over for a long time.
Sorry for the rant. I'm a veteran ans this just makes me mad as ****

[sourdough]

At this point this is becoming more political every day. Not as many going to the hospital. Although the more people are getting tested the number of those infected can only go up but still hospitalization is down. Not as many people are dyeing from this which is a good thing. But when they close a beach just because people were going there now thats political. it's hard not to call it what it is. In the begi9ning we as Americans did what needed to be done but not it's hurting the country. Seems like mayors and governors don't seem to care. They have police going around watching people sitting on a blanket not wearing a mask. This is becoming a police country with this going on. I get your point that you dont want politics on the site but if we don't let people know what is happening on the ground in there state we will never know what is happening. You can't even cross state lines without getting stopped. Trust me the cops are watching every freeway and highway. If they catch you you may get a ticket and told to go home or, they will take you into custody and quarantine you for 2 weeks. It's getting bad. Summer is canceled! no 4th of July, no car shows I bet they even limit the numbers of campers allowed at campgrounds they put homeless in hotels and gave them free booze and drugs. I wouldn't ever stay in a hotel again anywhere. How political out there is it? this isn't over for a long time.
Sorry for the rant. I'm a veteran ans this just makes me mad as ****


Arthur, I appreciate your frustration and feel the same way. Referencing the highlighted statement above, I believe it is beneficial for folks to know what they will encounter when traveling from first hand experiences, local knowledge etc. It can be invaluable for those traveling as I've just went through and posted a new thread about that trip. Some things are happening in local municipalities, counties and states that are mind boggling to some of us.

With the above thoughts in mind, and my previous post you quoted, I think it is beneficial if not mandatory that we share local information and happenings for the benefit of all members but trying to put the blame on some political direction/person isn't going to get us anywhere. The one thing we all have in common is our love of RV travel. I can assure you we don't all share the same political "leanings" or beliefs. Until the last few years individuals could talk about politics, Republicans and Democrats etc. and listen to each other; sometimes even learn from each other (heaven forbid!!)! Those days appear to be gone and some look for the slightest reason to get angry and go on a tear. I don't think any of us want that nor for the forum to devolve into some sort of venting platform for the unhappy.

We all know what we think and believe about the current situation. On a daily basis it IS becoming more a political issue than emergency. In my experiences over the last several years it will be an effort in futility to try to convert anyone with different views via an RV forum without turning it into a mess.

[flybouy]

Danny has stated this well. There is a place for everything but clearly this is not the place for politics. There are many outlets to express political viewpoints and the voting booth is the ultimate and most appropriate place.

Informing the community with the openings, closings, restrictions has great value to everyone but political commenting will only serve to get an "attaboy" from some and alienation from others. It's a slippery slope when the clamoring to "place blame" get's rolling and the forum can start spiraling into a dark place.

Let's keep this on topic and beneficial to all.

[gearhead]

Brent, Glad to hear that you and the DW got a chance to take a break and go out and get some fresh air. ( Literally )
We all can't wait for things to return to normal,but until then quick escapes like yours will help us maintain our sanity. :thumbsup:
Stay well, be safe, Hank

Thank you sir. It is good to get out.
Best wishes to you and yours staying safe in this.