May 22-25, 2020

Posted on by

Happy remembrance of Memorial Day Weekend everybody on this 4th of July, 2020! Simply check the infection rates and hospitalization rates for coronavirus to see what took place then and as a result is happening now.

As all the fireworks go off Friday night, July 3rd and Saturday night July 4th, let’s remember not just war veterans who have made the ultimate sacrifice for this country, but also every single one of those ordinary citizens who, over the past Memorial Day weekend defiantly ignored warnings of the seriousness and lethality of the COVID-19 pandemic since February 2020. They either lie in a hospital bed now, maybe in ICU barely clinging to life, or are already deceased from the deadly virus and are now six-feet under.

FOX4 News reported yesterday: Dallas County reports more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases, setting single-day record.

dfw-county-map

This is just one county out of five major populated counties encompassing the DFW Metroplex. Dallas County has bounced back and forth with Harris County (Houston) as the #1 most infected counties in all of Texas the last three months.

Lady Liberty fireworksOn this day of America’s Independence from Great Britain in 1776, let’s step back about 8-weeks to May 10th with A Salute Before the Storm and May 12th with Color-coded Alerts? followed by May 27th with It’s Over, We’re Free! and the images in that blog-post where Americans, especially Texans in my home state, arrogantly defied safety orders and the invisible, lethal virus just to get out on beaches among hundreds of thousands of other celebrating rebels for loads of self-pleasure. As a result, Texans today are on world wide news almost daily because of our stupidity and lack of any intelligent leadership both on the federal level and state level to heed warnings and strong advice by real epidemiological and virological experts, who almost cried publicly to say ‘do not reopen businesses so prematurely.’

TX COVID-19 Cases

TX COVID-19 Hospitilizations

With all the numbers spiking upward once again, what do the majority of Texans plan to do this July 4th holiday? Here’s an abbreviated list* of DFW municipalities and their plans for the weekend in the wake of Gov. Gregg Abbott’s latest About-face orders and admonishments to “Stay Home”:

FRIDAY, JULY 3RD

Allen, TX:

Spirit in the Sky Fireworks
9:30 p.m.
Best viewing area: Within one mile of the corner of W. Exchange Parkway and N. Watters Road
Encouraged to watch from your home or car.

Arlington, TX:

Independence Day Fireworks
9:30 p.m.
Globe Life Field (Parking open to public in Lot B, C, F, M and N)
Encouraged to remain at and around their vehicles, maintain social distancing, wear a mask when appropriate and bring their own food and drinks.

Rockwall, TX:

Concert by the Lake
7:30 p.m.
The city is asking people to consider wearing masks and to practice social distancing. But, that’s not a requirement for the concert or fireworks shows over the weekend. Fireworks shows will happen on both Friday and Saturday night in Rockwall, as well as a downtown Rockwall parade Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m.

SATURDAY, JULY 4TH

Frisco, TX:

Frisco Freedom Fest
9:30 p.m.
FC Dallas parking lots available to the public for viewing. Fireworks will also be streamed live on FriscoTexas.gov. All patrons are encouraged to stay in their vehicles.

Grapevine:

38th Annual July 4th Fireworks Extravaganza
9:30 p.m.
Lake Grapevine (Parking with a fee offered at Oak Grove Park, Rockledge Park and other locations)
No walk-in traffic allowed. Boat traffic only allowed at the Dove Loop Ramp and at the softball fields. Face masks required.

The Colony:

Liberty by the Lake Fireworks
9:30 p.m.
The vicinity of The Colony Five Star Complex, 4100 Blair Oaks
Encouraged to watch from “the safety and comfort of your car” or with social-distancing.

Trophy Club:

Fourth of July Fireworks Show
9:30 p.m.
Independence Park
Nearby parking map available here. Health department advised those who attend fireworks to stay in their vehicle or wear masks.

* – Source: https://www.nbcdfw.com/entertainment/the-scene/4th-of-july-events-across-north-texas-see-whats-cancelled-and-whats-not/2399073/

Stacy Fernández is one of Texas’ most prolific journalist on breaking Texas news having spent years first with NPR, The Dallas Morning News, and at News21 as a reporter, and she correctly writes in The Texas Tribune Thursday, July 3rd:

Health officials want people to choose Harper’s route, finding safe alternatives to yearly traditions. But with Texas’ recent history of temper tantrums by a small but vocal slice of the populace who don’t want to wear masks and insist bars and hair salons reopen, that seems unlikely.

“We have learned in the past these gatherings that took place during the Memorial Day holiday did lead to the spread of COVID-19,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a Friday interview with KSAT. “If people gather on 4th of July the same way they did in Memorial Day it is going to lead to a massive increase in the number of people testing positive, the number of people who will be hospitalized, and it could lead once again to an increase in the number of people who lose their lives.”

[…]

“It’s shocking to me that so many people aren’t taking this seriously. I’m curious to see how the fourth is going to be as far as what changes and numbers,” Harper said. If Texans socialize this weekend as they did over the Memorial Day weekend “it could be catastrophic,” said Phil Huang, a doctor and director of Dallas County Health and Human Services, in a press conference Thursday.

[…]

Abbott also amended his executive order and lowered outdoor event limits from 100 to 10 people. Outdoor gatherings, like those typically held for the Fourth of July, must be approved by local officials if they more than 10 people are expected. The few exceptions include religious services, outdoor sports and summer camps. Outdoor events of 10 or less do not need prior approval.

That same day, in response to Abbott’s order, Collin County Judge Chris Hill approved all gatherings of more than 10 people.

Added July 5, 2020 — The Dallas Morning News:  Despite Health Warnings and Governor’s Plea, Fourth of July Revelers Flock to Dallas-area Lakeshores.

2020 July 4th Partiers, Lake Lewisville, TX — Juan Figueroa/DMN Staff photographer
July 4th Partiers, Lake Lewisville, TX 2020 — Juan Figueroa/DMN Staff photographer

Since this past February and March—I really wish then I had been wrong—I have tried to politely explain to as many Texans as I could that if all of us do not go the full long distance, no matter how long it takes, with all known effective measures of stemming this lethal virus from spreading out of control, over-running our hospitals, those consequences are guaranteed to be worse. If we don’t do this together, then we are looking at September or October for flattening the curve (again) and at the earliest. An even more catastrophic impact will take place on all sectors of the economy lasting for many more months after. Since last December and January the true experts have been proven right at every surge and resurge of the coronavirus. We better listen and obey this time around.

Texans, instead of celebrating your own personal independence from tyranny, inequality, oppression of your civil rights, and obligations to those less fortunate than yourself, why not celebrate the HOPE of independence from this deadly virus taking your life, your child’s life or that of your immediate family members, or a dear cherished close friend. I say that’s worth celebrating, alone, or with one or two others who tested negative for COVID-19.

Added July 6, 2020:  FC Dallas out of MLS is Back Tournament amid coronavirus cases — this is the result of North Texans defying Governor’s orders for COVID-19 protection and determent for all North Texans’ safety, and the exact same thing can and will happen to their beloved Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers season-openers if they refuse to take the deadly virus serious!

————

Live Well — Stay Home — Love Much — Laugh Often — Learn Always

Creative Commons License
This work by Professor Taboo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.professortaboo.com/contact-me/.

43 thoughts on “May 22-25, 2020”

  1. for loads of self-pleasure

    Hmm, that sounds like a different form of recreation which would have been a lot safer.

    “Temper tantrums” is exactly right. These anti-mask nutcases are reacting to the pandemic in the spirit of a screaming toddler refusing to eat its vegetables. And of course every state has them, even if some states have more than others.

    It’s because of them that this pandemic will not be beaten until their betters, the scientists, develop a vaccine or treatment for the disease.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply ↓

  2. It’s very worrisome to live across a border where a vast amount of cross border trade is done (something like 2 billion a day) with a country in the throes of an epidemic. Most border states have implemented much stricter policies to try to combat the spread of the virus similar to those on the other side of the border. The worry, however, is from the more distant states where local conditions are ripe for widespread contamination and rising rates of both infection and fatality, which are then carried into the neighbouring states, which in turn threatens all the hard work done locally to minimize its spread and lower the contagion rate. In other words, the entire US is an increasing and not decreasing threat even in this first wave. Imagine if the situation were reversed and the attitude to infect Americans were to be so selfishly cavalier!
    Whereas many provinces have zero new cases and the curve is decreasing across Canada (even with local outbreaks especially in Ontario, the US’ largest trading partner), the exact opposite is happening south of the border… in the name of ‘liberty’ apparently.

    Well, speaking as a good neighbour, it’s not very ‘liberating’ for us to have to continue to make specific concessions and local protections to enable trade to occur and then constantly have to try to stamp out new infections imported from the US. The cost is high – especially for local populations who have to curtail their own activities in response – and tracing attempts stop at the border.

    This is yet another reason why well over 90% of Canadians (yes, many Canadians – I would imagine about 10% – religiously watch Faux News and believe the apologetic partisan bullshit) think the current US administration is about the worst one we’ve ever had to face (and we’ve had to go to war against some of them, which says something), an administration that seems particularly able to bring out the very worst aspects from the general population and still remain a viable one to get reelected for another 4 hellish years.

    The common question here is how can Americans as a whole be this stupid?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

      • Older families in Canada (3+ generations) almost always have close ties to American branches of the same family. So we know Americans and, like you say, understand the governments they elect do not represent them or their intelligence and world class compassion. But what continues to amaze us is the extent of accommodationism and enabling that goes so that the idiotic and partisan deplorables who think greed and selfishness are virtues can continue to maintain and exercise and even increase their very real power. THAT is what I’m referring to as a level of unparalleled stupidity of the whole.

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply ↓

        • It’s a problem. Part of it is anxiety about confronting the stupid minority, which is easily-enraged and heavily-armed. Part of it is fashionable relativism and overzealous insistence on human equality which assigns the bleatings of a shambling moron with an ABAMA IS A SOSHILIST MUZLIM FROM KEENYA sign the same worth as the views of a trained epidemiologist. This was an issue long before covid-19 came along. Now that the consequences of indulging such stupidity include amplifying an epidemic which threatens everyone (including adjacent countries), maybe we’ll be forced to confront these attitudes. I’m not very optimistic, though.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply ↓

        • Tildeb, I hate to be a bearer of (expected) bad news from Texas and DFW, but if you can read the article above I just added from The Dallas Morning News, July 5th, 2020, it is just one more example of Texas’ “unparalleled stupidity” with skyrocketing CV-19 infections. You and your fellow Canadians might want to begin considering with everyone else around the globe to just NUKE the state of Texas for the safety and betterment of all humanity! 🤦‍♂️😔 From the article:

          The larger picnic pavilions were roped off with caution tape, and every other picnic table was occupied around midday. Smoke rose from dozens of grill fires. Tejano music and the excited shouts of young children echoed across the picnic area. Jet skis sped past on the lake. A barefoot couple passed a football in the grass.

          Not a single face-mask was in sight, despite a city Facebook post saying that everyone entering the [Grand Prairie Park at Joe Pool Lake] park must have one.

          Yeah, I simply cannot fathom in the least this level of sheer incompetence, disrespect for others, and arrogant defiance to factual virology, epidemiology, and proven foresight of the consequences of behaving this way! Can they even imagine what impact they will (or are) causing in the upcoming 2-weeks for our hospitals followed by ALL the ripple-effects upon the local economy, specifically probably/possibly THEIR OWN JOBS!!!??? 🤯😠🤬

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply ↓

    • You make many excellent points Tildeb! I’m in total agreement. On behalf of the U.S., if it matters at all, I do sincerely apologize for our idiocy in handling this deadly pandemic. So sorry. 😔

      Stupid? Infidel above is right, it is that powerful 1/3rd of the populous that greatly infects (pun intended or not!) our Voter turnout during key, critical elections. Then, there is always new forms of voter registration oppression prior to elections and these two aforementioned problems adds up to HORRIBLE historical voter turnout rates with a government NOT representative of all Americans. On top of this travesty, the last 2-3 decades one specific political ideology with their elephant mascot has gradually placed many key members into all our state’s 3-Branch systems… which further solidifies their ideology in key parts of U.S. government, on all levels.

      And Tildeb, one great way to counter and combat this slow, Good Ole Boy, elephant-mascot takeover is for 85% or more of our citizens receiving and obtaining high-quality educations! IOW, at minimum good quality Bachelor degrees! That would at least aid in the cognitive tools and skill-sets to decipher the B.S. propaganda and rhetoric deceptions that Party excretes. Naturally, this path would take decades just like the Repubs took getting us to this point in our nation’s EFFED UP governing now. 😒

      Like

      Reply ↓

      • Education is high on the list, no doubt. But MANY simply cannot afford to pursue the higher learning you suggest. IMO, what would be more advantageous is more focus on governmental studies in high school … so students would have a “working knowledge” of how things operate. As it is, I think most people just “read the headlines” and have no clue about the “small print.”

        I sympathize that you must deal with the idiocy of your state. At least Oregon has a governor who takes the pandemic seriously. I wonder … could her gender play a role???

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply ↓

        • Yes, you are indeed correct Nan—under-grad and post-grad educations from reputable institutions are sadly enormously expensive. Your idea of a highly focused 1-yr, maybe 16-month political science/government studies would be a viable alternative! 😉

          I wonder … could her gender play a role???

          Hahaha! 😆 You are spot-on there Nan! Bear with me a quick minute while I share a personal story about Women’s fantastic qualities for leadership!

          Recently I have started dating on a more serious level a woman of extraordinary maturity, will-power in impeccable discipline—so much better than my Hedonistic self! 😈—very rarely drinks alcohol, never any drugs her entire life, exceptional intelligence, especially in mathematics of which I suck bowling-balls big time, of incomparable patience and kindness, the highest standards of etiquette given, and to top off just THAT short list of sublime qualities Nan, she is a fabulous chef (gourmet sometimes) of mostly healthy foods every single day! And she of course has a gorgeous slender figure and beautiful complexion, etc, to match! 💗

          Now, here’s the part you’ll really like. I have often spoken with her about how much I loathe our current POTUS and many other GOP politicians. I’ve said to her on a number of occasions that she’d make an OUTSTANDING leader! I’ve also told her many times exactly what I would love to say/ask our President in-person about his personal anatomy matching-up with the size of his… (bleep and bleep)…

          Well, you get the picture there. 😉 Nan, she is from Hangzhou, China, near Shanghai, and this incredible woman’s name is Qin… and I think I will marry her one day soon. 💕 Suddenly I feel like doing MY PART in helping and renewing our relationship with China!!! 🤭

          P.S. I am also currently learning Mandarin Chinese too. I’m dead serious Nan. Nǐ hǎo! 🙂

          Like

          Reply ↓

          • Good for you, PT! Very happy to read about your developing love life. She sounds like a fine “catch.” 🥰

            I find it rather interesting that many men are drawn to oriental women … and have occasionally wondered what the attraction is. I have some ideas/thoughts on the subject, but haven’t ever discussed the topic with anyone. In any case, it sounds like you’ve “done good.” Keep us posted on your progressing marital plans.

            Like

            Reply ↓

            • I’d be curious to see what those ideas/thoughts are, if you ever choose to post about the topic. I once had a relationship with a woman from Taiwan, but I don’t have a “thing for” Asians as such. It was about her, and she just happened to be Asian.

              It is interesting how such alignments play out. I’ve seen considerable anecdotal evidence that many Japanese women are physically attracted to white men (despite the notorious Japanese racial superiority complex), but are hesitant to act on the attraction due to anxiety about cultural differences. Conversely, women from the Middle East are generally not attracted to Western men because they’re usually clean-shaven. If you grow up in a culture where almost all men have beards, that shapes your sense of what a man is supposed to look like.

              There’s a stereotype that some guys like Asian women because they expect them to be more submissive, but experience does not reflect that. It evidently is not the case with the Professor.

              Liked by 1 person

            • I doubt I would ever write a post on the topic. No great assumptions or conclusions. And definitely no judgments!! Just some thoughts that have passed through now and again … like so many other things in life that we sometimes wonder about.

              Liked by 2 people

            • There’s a stereotype that some guys like Asian women because they expect them to be more submissive, but experience does not reflect that. It evidently is not the case with the Professor.

              You are correct there Infidel. And it is perhaps important to note too that she (Qin) knows EVERYTHING about my Alternative Lifestyles, including the SSC BDSM. No, if truth be known how this wonderful woman has captured my attention and heart it was in a bit of a cheesy, cheeky way that just so happened to be a most PROFOUND epiphany for me personally. If I may Infidel, if you’re interested of course 😉 …this is what I told some close friends 2-3 weeks ago:

              It has been a most INCREDIBLE day today. I heard words in exact order that I thought I would NEVER hear myself, only when I watched one of my top 3 all-time favorite movies. Those words?

              “I am with you. I go where you go.”

              If any of you, my closest friends, know of my life, my relationship with my Dad and his deep affection and admiration for the Native American Indian culture, and family/community unwavering, undying dedication to marriage, to family, to community, TO TRIBE… then you will get it.

              You will understand without any confusion how WORDS like this move me, inspire me, and propel me to do great things, to excel and be GREAT in everything I do because I have the unflinching support of loved ones! Those who unequivocally believe in who I am… and that I am WORTH dying for, going to the ends of the Earth for… to just be with me, means more than life to me. They hunger to share with me the best of times and the worst of times. It doesn’t matter—they just want to be by my side ALWAYS, and be with me thru the good and the bad. Seriously, is there anything better a man could ask for?

              One of my Top 3 All-time favorite films is “Dancing with Wolves.” And one of my most profoundly moving scenes at the end of the movie is when Dances with Wolves (John Dunbar) knows he must leave the Lakota Indian’s winter camp. The U.S. Army and Calvary will find them if they stay. Therefore, knowing how much the Lakota family means to Stands with A Fist and that he must leave them, he asks her:

              “You have nothing to say?”

              Stands with A Fist: “What can I tell you?”

              Dances with Wolves: “What’s ever on your mind.”

              Stands with A Fist: “You’ve made the decision. My place is with you. *I go where you go.*”

              OMG, I must repeat her words: “You’ve made the decision. My place is with you. I go where you go.”

              Since 1990 when I first fell in love with this epic movie, I thought those words and commitment by Stands with A Fist, her unflinching devotion to John Dunbar were stuff of make-believe fairy-tales. They just don’t exist in most all marriages. But yesterday I heard them from my new best friend (from China) who has NEVER seen the movie!

              Never in my most wildest dreams did I EVER think I would ever hear (naturally, unsolicited) those words with my own ears verbatim from a woman SO unwavering in her DEDICATION to me, and believing in me!!! I am on the top of the world because of this UNBELIEVABLE woman from a foreign culture… China. She has been in love with me for over 8-yrs and thinks I hung the Moon.

              I will not and NEVER let her down! This is what I have deserved for over 40-years!!! Finally she is here in my life.

              I can’t really describe it too differently than that Infidel. I just know this: I am SO freakin’ lucky with her, because of her!!! ❤️

              Liked by 2 people

            • Ah-ha! I think you’ve just defined it for me, PT … dedication. Not submissiveness. Not obedience. Dedication to the one they love.

              Liked by 2 people

            • Yes indeed Nan! After some of the unfaithful wishy-washy relationships I’ve experienced and thru two divorces (via infidelity)… yes, I have always thought pure, TRUE loyalty and dedication were a fairy-tale.

              It is nice to be proven wrong sometimes. 😉

              Liked by 2 people

            • And to be more forthright with you Nan, I have had clinical therapy for my personal problems with Abandonment. I have never handled it well at all—even got myself arrested in 1990 for a meltdown cuz of it—until I learned psychological techniques to manage it. Yes, one of those methods have been the Open-Swinger Lifestyle and its brutally open, proactive communication. But there are other techniques I had to learn too so it doesn’t destroy my personal life and family. 🙂

              Liked by 2 people

            • Thank you Nan. We’ve been friends and pen-pals for about eight years now. In 2012 I never thought we’d get a chance to meet in-person so I was very happy to maintain a long-distance friendship writing back and forth—there was never any video-chatting either (visual contact).

              She moved to the U.S. in 2014(?) Overland Park, KS and we lost touch for a bit, but she relocated me via Facebook back then when I was still on FB. We stayed in touch ever since. Last month she came for a first-time visit face-to-face and we had a MAGNIFICENT 7-days/nights together! In fact, so magnificent that she’s returning again July 11th and staying until July 25th or 26th! 😍

              Yes, like Infidel above, I’ve never had that typical “fascination” for Oriental women despite how much I do admire their culture, particularly the family dynamics. But Qin is not the ordinary Chinese woman—she is incredibly independent, strong-minded, and does NOT allow any man to boss her around insensitively, let alone like a chauvinist pig. 😄

              If I even hint of that repulsive behavior Nan, she’ll gladly rearrange my jaw and/or testicles with her gōngfu-wǔshù (martial art) and while near incapacitated on the floor after, she’ll then stand over me and sweetly ask “Would you like to reconsider your attitude?” Her flexibility and extreme limberness blows my mind! What makes her even more Wonder Woman-like is just how bubbly happy she is 23-hours per day. Amazing! Simply amazing I tell ya. 😉

              Liked by 2 people

            • You are right Infidel. She speaks it however, because it is the common form of Chinese taught in the U.K. and the U.S. It’s what most electronic translators use as well.

              At the moment I can’t remember what dialect(?) of Chinese she speaks. She told me before awhile back, but I can’t remember. I can ask her again. Lol 😉

              Like

            • She just answered me Infidel. She says…

              “I can speak Mandarin and Hangzhou, of my regional languages. All cities and states are different [dialects?] in China.”

              She asked me if you are Chinese. 😄

              Like

            • Heh…..Not Chinese, just interested in linguistics. “Chinese” is really a group of eight closely-related languages, and they are languages, not just dialects. Word order is different in some cases, much of the vocabulary is different, not just pronounced differently. Mandarin (putonghua) is by far the most widespread and is the official language in both China and Taiwan, and is the basis of standard written Chinese, both in characters and pinyin. The language of the Yangtze delta including Shanghai, Hangzhou, and the next couple hundred miles southward, is called Wu by Western linguists, but I don’t know what its own speakers call it. Each of the eight languages has numerous local dialects, of course. The Mandarin of Nanjing or Chengdu is not identical to the Mandarin of Beijing.

              My Chinese lady friend spoke Mandarin (her family was from northern China). She and I sometimes watched Hong Kong movies which were in Cantonese, and she couldn’t understand a word — had to follow them from the English subtitles, same as I did. They’re about as different as French and Spanish.

              On your posting above, I can only congratulate you — it sounds like things are off to the right kind of start. Love can only exist when one relates to the other person as an individual, not just as an example of a race or type.

              Liked by 1 person

            • Ah, many thanks for that Infidel. As I mentioned, she is stoically patient and kind in that regard, of an individual’s unique story/personality and honoring it. We’ve both agreed that we do not want to change the other into the person WE think is perfect for ourselves. Only if she or I genuinely want/choose to change ourselves. She said if that is made out of love, dedication, purpose… then the unity is natural. It is much stronger and much more enduring. 😍

              Liked by 1 person

  6. Pingback: Mike's Blog Round Up For Sunday #newsoz.org #news - News Oz

  7. Great post Prof. We are all in for a rough ride. They are only now really understanding that there are long term consequences for many covid survivors.

    I think we all knew the morons were abundant, but I think none of us knew how powerful they could be in a pandemic. It’s getting beyond scary out there. I’m fortunate to live in a backwoods backwards ass local, but we are far from safe here.

    I was intrigued at the turn in the comments about your personal life! I wish you and Qin much luck and a prosperous future.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

  9. Pingback: Delusional Incompetence | The Professor's Convatorium

  10. Pingback: Here We Go Again | The Professor's Convatorium

Go Ahead, Start the Discussion!