Red state, blue state, spread state, fugue state

The responses to the corona virus between red states and blues states seems a little…. uneven.  Tennessee has almost 2,000 cases and hasn’t even mandated school closings across the state.  Meanwhile, Pennsylvania has 3,400 cases and has closed everything in sight including The. Liquor. Stores. (So I’m not saying either state is an ideal place to be right now.) I mean c’mon Pennsylvania - are we sure we want to confine people in their houses without sports or liquor.  People will resort to blogging. 

Tennessee has decided that states’ rights are overrated and its really all about counties’ rights.  And I, for one, rest easy knowing the vast epidemiology resources and expertise the city manager in Carroll county has at her disposal in trying to prevent corona from overtaking the only doctor they have in town.

Here we are in day 21 of our quarantine (Rita & McC got a jump start on this quarantining thing), and I can still go to the coffee shop at the end of my street.  Well, I mean, thanks to Tennessee, I can largely GO anywhere.  But that doesn’t mean I can get back into the house afterwards. 

Rather than close anything, Tennessee lawmakers are thinking of just giving you a gun instead.  <= I think I’m kidding about that, but I also haven’t checked the news today.  But here ARE the things the state legislature was up to on their last day in session, which was after Pennsylvania organized the shutdown of their entire state.  You decide who spent their day more productively:

• A representative from Memphis wore a gas mask.  [I find it curious a civilian is more likely to have a gas mask than a hospital mask?] 
• At separate points on Thursday the lights briefly dimmed in the House of Representative and a piece of the ceiling fell on top of a member's desk. [we have a pandemic and the building is basically falling down on top you….when you see “smiting”, do you think you will recognize it?]
• Debated the budget line item for $1 million of testing chronic wasting disease among deer  [I’m trying to summon my pre-pandemic self and even in completely normal times I am not sure why we need the answer the question on why deers have chronic wasting disease (now watch – the cure to Corona probably lies in the waste of a sickly deer and I will earn a great big I told you so.)]  {There is a better joke out there about chronic wasting disease in deers, but it is JUST beyond my reach….}
• Voted to create 21 new specialty license plates that would allocate proceeds to certain organizations.   [Mmmm…..is the CDC one of them???]
• A House member was forced to put on a tie during a floor session [clearly the memo on the COVID dress code hasn’t arrived at the Capitol.  We are more likely to force people to put on pants in my workplace, but I am glad we are sticking to ties while we vote on deers’ chronic wasting disease.]

I think the moral of the story is that neither Tennessee nor PA is where you want to be right now.  As with all things I ask….what are the Canadians doing?