Closing time.

Sunday, March 15th, 2020

What a surreal evening. Maybe it’s because we watched two episodes of Season 3 of Babylon Berlin followed by, uh, some of the CNN audience-free two-older-white-guy Democratic Debate.

And across the country (and the world), more places where people gather or events where people gather are being closed down because if you mingle with even a few dozen people, it becomes a lot more likely you transmit the COVID-19 virus and, whether you yourself become symptomatic, you carry and transmit the virus to others.

There are a reassuringly growing number of people on the US political right (Newt Gingrich, for pete’s sake! Ted Cruz!) who are saying this is serious and we have to take comprehensive, quick measures. The governor of Ohio, a Republican, ordered bar, restaurant, and school closures. Illinois too. Pennsylvania.

Then there are lunatics who look at sensible actions like this as a threat to their ‘merican freedoms…like Fox News commentator and former Milwaukee county sheriff David Clarke, who tweeted this at dinnertime:

“GO INTO THE STREETS FOLKS. Visit bars, restaurants, shopping malls, CHURCHES and demand that your schools re-open. NOW! If government doesn’t stop this foolishness…STAY IN THE STREETS. END GOVERNEMNT CONTROL OVER OUR LIVES. IF NOT NOW, WHEN? THIS IS AN EXPLOITATION OF A CRISIS.”

Insane, insane, insane. Dangerous. Insane.