THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021
Feckless governor does it again: On Tuesday night, South Dakota governor Kristi Noem appeared on The Ingraham Angle, right there on the Fox News Channel.
Noem has good performance skills—and she seems to take after Trump:
NOEM (2/2/21): We knew the science told us we couldn’t stop the virus. We could slow it down and protect people who might be vulnerable and make sure we had enough hospital capacity to take care of those who would need it, but that we were going to do it together and allow people to be flexible, to take care of their families and still put food on the table.
So, you know, that was a unique approach that for our people really worked well. We did have tragedies, and we did have losses, but we also got through it better than virtually every other state.
According to the thoughtful governor, her "unique approach" to the virus has "really worked well." Sure, her state has had a few losses! But they've managed to "get through it better than virtually every other state!"
Donald J. Trump could hardly have said it better! When it comes to total Covid deaths to date, here are the five most-afflicted states, according to the Financial Times data:
Total Covid deaths to date, per 100,000 population
New Jersey: 244.2
Massachusetts: 213.4
Rhode Island: 207.5
Mississippi: 206.9
South Dakota: 201.4
After adjusting for population, only four other states have suffered more deaths to date than South Dakota. Three of the four are in the Northeast, where the virus arrived first and hit hard.
(Other data sets show the state of New York exceeding South Dakota in this measure. The FT data do not.)
The virus arrived in South Dakota much later than in many other states. Beyond that, South Dakota would seem to have several demographic advantages in the fight to keep death counts low.
Despite these facts, Governor Noem's feckless behavior helped her state attain one of the nation's highest death counts. By way of contrast, here are the numbers for six other well-known states:
Total Covid deaths to date, per 100,000 population
Texas: 128.6
Florida: 127.9
California: 105.8
Colorado: 98.4
Ohio: 97.8
Virginia: 77.0
None of those numbers are "good;" each of those numbers speaks to a horrible global event. But South Dakota's number is remarkably bad—until the governor goes on TV and starts with the Trumpification.
Misstatements like hers should be front-page news. A nation can't function this way.
Ingraham helped Noem play this game. As we've all begun to notice of late, a nation can't function like this.
The U.S. as a whole: The number for the U.S. as a whole? According to the FT data, 133.7.
Tucked away in the upper Midwest, with its population widely dispersed, South Dakota managed to lap the field, thanks to the "unique approach" of its feckless governor.
"After adjusting for population, only four other states have suffered more deaths to date than South Dakota."
ReplyDeleteFive. You missed New York, dear Bob: 228. The second place.
And the top 4 of them (don't know about Mississippi) completely destroyed their economies, dear Bob. While South Dakota did not, apparently.
And that was the whole point of the governor. Did you miss the point because your head ain't straight, dear Bob, or are you being goebbelsian here, like your dembot media? Just wondering.
Outside fuel, S. Dakota has an economy?
DeleteShe is an attractive self assured woman whose persona markedly outstrips her gravitas as a governor who presides over a mostly empty parcel of land. That said, she will be a front runner in 2024.
Delete"hree of the four are in the Northeast, where the virus arrived first and hit hard."
ReplyDeleteThe virus did hit hard in the Northeast, especially the New York area, but it arrived first in terms of both cases and deaths in the Northwest and in California (around San Francisco).
If Somerby is going to chide Noem, he should get his own facts straight. Different areas of the country have been "hardest hit" at different points in time.
It is both foolish and ghoulish to engage in these ridiculous arguments about how to quantify and who is best or worst with respect to the deaths and suffering. That Somerby cannot see this is his loss, but it weakens his moral stance to play this game with Noem (and others who he has attacked in the press).
The first case was in Seattle Washington, a person who had travelled to Wuhan recently. The first case of someone with covid who hadn't been to China was in Oregon. The first death was first thought to be a man in Kirkland Washington, but later confirmed to be someone in Santa Clara California (with no travel history or contact with an infected person) on Feb 6.
DeleteNote that none of these places is in the Northeast or any of the states on Somerby's list.
We are given no context for her remark. It could be that she was referring to the economic health or mental health of South Dakota, when she says: "we also got through it better than virtually every other state". When she says "we got through it," she is obviously NOT talking about those who died, since they didn't get through it at all. For all we know (and Somerby tells us) she may be referring to keeping the schools open and the restaurants in business.
ReplyDelete"Misstatements like hers should be front-page news. A nation can't function this way."
ReplyDeletePerhaps the national press is more focused on combatting bigger myths, such as that Q is going to swear in Donald Trump for another term on March 4.
Noem made the misstatements but it is the press to blame? That makes no sense.
Delete“Former President Donald Trump parted ways with the Screen Actors Guild in a bombastic letter Thursday as he was facing disciplinary measures with the union,” Politico reports.
ReplyDelete“The union’s board voted in January to refer Trump to the union’s disciplinary committee, citing his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection that left at least six people dead and ‘a reckless campaign of misinformation aimed at discrediting and ultimately threatening the safety of journalists, many of whom are SAG-AFTRA members.'”
Somerby is also a performer, but perhaps not a SAG-AFTRA member due to his low profile lately. However, he is engaged in continual attacks on journalists, especially those appearing on cable news shows (Rachel Maddow, Anderson Cooper, Don Lemon most recently). By attacking the media, Somerby and Trump both undermine access to information to counter dangerous conservative conspiracy theories, myths and memes. Somerby pretends to be concerned about truth, but if he were, he would support the only media countering misinformation, the people he attacks daily in support of conservative goals.
It must be bitter to Somerby that his lack of stature in the entertainment world is now protecting him from the retribution he deserves, the kind Trump is receiving.
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