Day: March 19, 2020

The corrupt and the decrepit

benfell

It’s the second time this has happened since I got to Pittsburgh. I’ve been going to dealers to get my car serviced because I haven’t found an independent hybrid mechanic. And my tire guy keeps warning me that dealers are under pressure to raise revenue from their service departments because they’re having trouble moving their inventories of cars.

The first time I had a problem was with Ken Ganley Toyota. They flagged my tires as needing service soon. It wasn’t true. I expect to put those particular tires back on (I have snow tires on now, even as the birds are starting to build their nests) when I do the rotation at the end of April.

Now, Spitzer Toyota flagged my rear brakes as needing immediate attention. It’s not true. According to my tire guy, the front brakes have 50 percent left and the rear brakes have over 50 percent. And yes, that is apparently sufficient to pass the state-required inspection.

I just checked my records. It’s been a little over 40,000 miles since the rear brakes were last done. The mechanic who performed the state-required inspection when I arrived, and who clearly did not expect to become my regular mechanic, warned me this was coming, so it wasn’t a surprise.

But because this is a hybrid, regenerative brakes take a lot of the load. I’ve put a little over 110,000 miles on the car and haven’t done the front brakes yet.

Some things I can get checked. Like the tires and the brakes. But a lot of stuff I can’t. If for example, a mechanic tells me the car is due for a tune-up that I had done yesterday, I just have to take their word for it. I really don’t know otherwise until the engine starts misfiring or I get a check engine light, neither of which I want to happen with passengers in the car.

The starter battery, which had been flagged as needing service soon on the previous service but not the one yesterday, is another example. When that battery fails, the car goes into “limp home” mode, which caps your speed at a ridiculously low speed, on the order of five miles per hour. And it can fail without warning—this happened to me once before. This is something else I don’t want to happen with passengers in the car.

I have to be able to trust my mechanic on a lot of stuff. So far in Pittsburgh, that’s been a real problem. But I looked again today for an independent hybrid mechanic. To the limited extent one can trust online reviews, I might have found somebody. And my mother found someone else who seems even more highly rated and a little closer.

Pittsburgh

There is a new blog post entitled, “The abandoned.”

I’m starting to see the first flowers of spring. I think I like having four seasons. Well, three of them anyway (summer is ridiculous).

Pennsylvania

If—a very big if—I understand correctly, Uber and Lyft drivers are not directly affected by the governor’s shutdown order affecting “nonessential” businesses that should already be in effect.[1] That said, there will be even fewer places for people to go than there already are.

From a few days ago:

This is an unprecedented time in our community. Our region has always been at its best when we work together, and this challenge is no exception. We need everyone to step up and play a part in slowing the spread of COVID-19 in our region. We understand that this may cause hardship for some, and frustration for others, but it’s imperative that we work together to do what’s best for our community.[2]

The hardship is disproportionately borne by the poor who, as yet, have no assurance of any compensation, let alone full compensation. I’m really not feeling this “community spirit” that I guess I’m supposed to feel when, yet again, I’m left to negotiate the financially impossible by myself.

Kara Seymour, “All ‘Non-Life-Sustaining’ Businesses In PA Must Close By 8 PM,” Patch, March 19, 2020, https://patch.com/pennsylvania/baldwin-whitehall/s/h20cy/all-non-life-sustaining-businesses-in-pa-must-close-by-8-pm

  1. [1]Kara Seymour, “All ‘Non-Life-Sustaining’ Businesses In PA Must Close By 8 PM,” Patch, March 19, 2020, https://patch.com/pennsylvania/baldwin-whitehall/s/h20cy/all-non-life-sustaining-businesses-in-pa-must-close-by-8-pm↩
  2. [2]Rich Fitzgerald, quoted in WTAE, “Allegheny County officials call on all nonessential businesses to close,” March 16, 2020, https://www.wtae.com/article/allegheny-county-calls-on-all-non-essential-businesses-to-close/31648999↩

All ‘Non-Life-Sustaining’ Businesses In PA Must Close By 8 PM

benfell

Kara Seymour, “All ‘Non-Life-Sustaining’ Businesses In PA Must Close By 8 PM,” Pittsburgh Patch, March 19, 2020, https://patch.com/pennsylvania/baldwin-whitehall/s/h20cy/all-non-life-sustaining-businesses-in-pa-must-close-by-8-pm

KDKA-TV, “Coronavirus In Pennsylvania: Gov. Wolf’s Order To Close ‘Non-Life-Sustaining Businesses’ To Be Delayed,” March 20, 2020, https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/03/20/gov-wolfs-order-to-close-non-life-sustaining-businesses-to-be-delayed/

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, “Small businesses scramble to survive amid Pa.’s partial shutdown over coronavirus pandemic,” March 20, 2020, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/small-businesses-scramble-to-survive-amid-pa-s-partial-shutdown-over-coronavirus-pandemic/

Ben Schmitt, “Wolf’s shutdown could be more harmful than coronavirus, health expert says,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, March 20, 2020, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/pittsburgh-infectious-disease-expert-discusses-business-shutdown-order-effect-on-society/

Natasha Lindstrom, “Pennsylvania reports 103 new covid-19 cases, large clusters in Allegheny County,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, March 21, 2020, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/pennsylvania-reports-103-new-covid-19-cases-large-clusters-in-allegheny-county/

Cassie Miller, “‘We’re going the wrong way,’ Wolf says of state’s COVID-19 curve; Pa. sees fourth death in East Stroudsburg,” Pennsylvania Capital-Star, March 22, 2020, https://www.penncapital-star.com/covid-19/were-going-the-wrong-way-wolf-says-of-states-covid-19-curve/

WTAE, “Stay-at-home order to begin tonight for several Pa. counties, including Allegheny,” March 23, 2020, https://www.wtae.com/article/stay-at-home-order-to-begin-tonight-for-several-pa-counties-including-allegheny/31900786

Kara Seymour, “Stay-At-Home Order Expanded As Coronavirus Cases Top 1K In PA,” Pittsburgh Patch, March 25, 2020, https://patch.com/pennsylvania/baldwin-whitehall/s/h27o5/stay-at-home-order-expanded-as-coronavirus-cases-top-1k-in-pa

Paul Guggenheimer, “Butler County added to growing list of areas under Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home order,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, March 27, 2020, https://triblive.com/local/regional/butler-county-added-to-growing-list-of-areas-under-gov-tom-wolfs-stay-at-home-order/

Eric Heyl, “Allegheny County Coronavirus Cases Continue To Surge,” Pittsburgh Patch, March 27, 2020, https://patch.com/pennsylvania/baldwin-whitehall/s/h2aqu/allegheny-county-coronavirus-cases-continue-to-surge

Justin Heinze, “12 More Die In Pennsylvania From Coronavirus, 500 New Cases Found,” Pittsburgh Patch, March 28, 2020, https://patch.com/pennsylvania/baldwin-whitehall/s/h2bmx/12-more-die-in-pennsylvania-from-coronavirus-500-new-cases-found

Eric Heyl, “Allegheny County Coronavirus Cases: Another Large Increase,” Pittsburgh Patch, March 28, 2020, https://patch.com/pennsylvania/baldwin-whitehall/s/h2bkm/allegheny-county-coronavirus-cases-another-large-increase

Kara Seymour, “PA Coronavirus: Stay-At-Home Extended, Schools Shut Indefinitely,” Pittsburgh Patch, March 30, 2020, https://patch.com/pennsylvania/baldwin-whitehall/s/h2eya/pa-stay-at-home-extended-schools-closed-indefinitely

Megan Guza, “Gov. Wolf closes Pa. schools and businesses indefinitely, extends stay-at-home order,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, March 30, 2020, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/gov-wolf-closes-pa-schools-and-businesses-indefinitely-extends-stay-at-home-order/

Megan Guza, “Gov. Wolf orders all of Pennsylvania to stay at home,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, April 1, 2020, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/gov-wolf-orders-all-of-pennsylvania-to-stay-at-home/

Madasyn Lee, “Pennsylvania issues safety guidelines for essential businesses,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, April 5, 2020, https://triblive.com/local/regional/pennsylvania-issues-safety-guidelines-for-essential-businesses/

Kara Seymour, “Gov. Wolf Lays Out 3-Stage Plan To Fight Coronavirus,” Pittsburgh Patch, April 14, 2020, https://patch.com/pennsylvania/baldwin-whitehall/s/h2z32/gov-wolf-lays-out-3-stage-plan-to-fight-coronavirus

Natasha Lindstrom, “Gov. Wolf: No specific date for ending covid-19 shutdown, getting ‘back to life as we once knew it,’” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, April 16, 2020, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/gov-wolf-no-specific-date-for-ending-covid-19-shutdown-getting-back-to-life-as-we-once-knew-it/

Kara Seymour, “Gov. Wolf Unveils 3-Phased, Color-Coded Reopening Plan By Region,” Pittsburgh Patch, April 23, 2020, https://patch.com/pennsylvania/baldwin-whitehall/s/h3av0/gov-wolf-unveils-3-phased-color-coded-reopening-plan-by-region

Charles Thompson, “Two central Pa. counties say they plan to reopen ahead of Gov. Wolf’s schedule,” Harrisburg Patriot-News, May 8, 2020, https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/05/dauphin-lebanon-county-officials-declare-themselves-ready-to-reopen-say-they-will-break-from-gov-wolfs-plan.html

Jana Benscoter, “Dauphin, York DAs, say they won’t take immediate action against businesses that reopen in defiance of state order,” Harrisburg Patriot-News, May 9, 2020, https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/05/dauphin-york-das-say-they-wont-take-action-against-businesses-that-reopen-in-red-phase-counties.html

Charles Thompson, “A growing number of Pa. counties test Gov. Tom Wolf’s emergency powers, saying they’ll decide if it’s time to reopen,” Harrisburg Patriot-News, May 9, 2020, https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/05/a-growing-number-of-pa-counties-test-gov-tom-wolfs-emergency-powers-saying-theyll-decide-if-its-time-to-reopen.html

Megan Guza, “Gov. Wolf threatens action against Pennsylvania counties, businesses that ignore restrictions,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, May 11, 2020, https://triblive.com/local/regional/gov-wolf-threatens-action-against-pennsylvania-counties-businesses-that-ignore-restrictions/

Megan Guza, “Beaver County among 12 more moving to Pennsylvania’s yellow phase,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, May 15, 2020, https://triblive.com/local/regional/beaver-county-among-12-more-moving-to-pennsylvanias-yellow-phase/

Megan Guza, “Pa. Department of Health report sheds light on coronavirus impact in long-term care facilities,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, May 19, 2020, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/pa-department-of-health-report-sheds-light-on-coronavirus-impact-in-long-term-care-facilities/

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, “Gov. Wolf Adds Eight Counties to Yellow and 17 to Green on May 29, Remainder to Yellow on June 5,” May 22, 2020, https://www.governor.pa.gov/newsroom/gov-wolf-adds-eight-counties-to-yellow-and-17-to-green-on-may-29-remainder-to-yellow-on-june-5/

Natasha Lindstrom, “What moving into ‘green’ zone does, does not mean under Gov. Wolf’s reopening plan,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, May 22, 2020, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/what-moving-into-green-zone-does-does-not-mean-under-gov-wolfs-reopening-plan/

Jamie Martines, “Gov. Wolf to move Allegheny, Westmoreland, other counties to green phase,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, May 29, 2020, https://triblive.com/local/regional/gov-wolf-to-move-allegheny-westmoreland-other-counties-to-green-phase/

WPXI, “16 more Pa. counties going green next Friday, Gov. Wolf says,” May 29, 2020, https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/9-local-counties-move-into-green-phase-next-week/SVG7FMAIZ5AX3CXJMNXJBQR234/

Associated Press, “Pennsylvania GOP seeks to dismantle Wolf’s shutdown,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 9, 2020, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/pennsylvania-gop-seeks-to-dismantle-wolfs-shutdown/

Nick Matoney, “‘We can’t do this for another 90 days’: Pa. General Assembly votes to end COVID-19 emergency declaration,” WTAE, June 10, 2020, https://www.wtae.com/article/we-cant-do-this-for-another-90-days-pa-general-assembly-votes-to-end-covid-19-emergency-declaration/32821325

John L. Micek, “W. Pa. Rep. Metcalfe files impeachment articles to ‘remove dictator Wolf’ over pandemic response,” Pennsylvania Capital-Star, June 16, 2020, https://www.penncapital-star.com/blog/w-pa-rep-metcalfe-files-impeachment-articles-to-remove-dictator-wolf-over-pandemic-response/

KDKA-TV, “Gov. Tom Wolf: CDC Says Pa. Is 1 Of 3 States Where Coronavirus Cases Have Declined For More Than 42 Days,” June 17, 2020, https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/06/17/gov-tom-wolf-pennsylvania-coronavirus-cases-decline/

Elizabeth Hardison and Stephen Caruso, “Pa. Supreme Court throws out GOP challenge to Wolf’s COVID-19 emergency order,” Pennsylvania Capital-Star, July 1, 2020, https://www.penncapital-star.com/covid-19/pa-supreme-court-throws-out-gop-challenge-to-wolfs-covid-19-emergency-order/

Associated Press, “Pennsylvania Republicans Mount New Challenge To Gov. Tom Wolf’s Pandemic Power,” KDKA-TV, July 14, 2020, https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/07/14/republicans-mount-new-challenge-to-governors-pandemic-power/

KDKA-TV, “Gov. Tom Wolf Follows Through On Threat, Yanks Coronavirus Funding From County That Defied Shutdown Order,” July 16, 2020, https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/07/16/tom-wolf-follows-through-on-threat-yanks-coronavirus-funding-from-county/

Megan Guza, “Gov. Wolf, GOP critic spar over social media post parroting health secretary’s LGBQT comments,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, July 30, 2020, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/gov-wolf-gop-critic-spar-over-social-media-post-parroting-health-secretarys-lgbqt-comments/

Stephen Caruso, “Pa. Lawmaker: It’s not government’s responsibility to ‘try to keep us safe,’” Pennsylvania Capital-Star, August 12, 2020, https://www.penncapital-star.com/covid-19/pa-lawmaker-its-not-governments-responsibility-to-try-to-keep-us-safe/

Paula Reed Ward, “Federal judge rules Gov. Wolf’s shutdown orders were unconstitutional,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, September 14, 2020, https://triblive.com/local/regional/federal-judge-rules-gov-wolfs-shutdown-orders-were-unconstitutional/

Jamie Martines and Paula Reed Ward, “Why the ruling against Wolf’s covid-19 restrictions faces long odds on appeal, explained,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, September 17, 2020, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/why-the-ruling-against-wolfs-covid-19-restrictions-faces-long-odds-on-appeal-explained/

Meghan Schiller, “Pitt Researcher: Wolf Administration’s Pandemic Restrictions Saved ‘Many, Many Thousands Of Lives,’” KDKA-TV, September 17, 2020, https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/09/17/pittsburgh-researcher-gov-tom-wolf-pandemic-restrictions-saved-lives/

Paula Reed Ward, “Appeals court allows Gov. Tom Wolf, state to restore covid crowd restrictions,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, October 1, 2020, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/appeals-court-allows-pennsylvania-to-restrict-crowd-size/

Greg Stohr, “Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Pennsylvania Shutdown Order,” Bloomberg, October 5, 2020, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-05/supreme-court-rejects-challenge-to-pennsylvania-shutdown-order

Samson X. Horne, “Pennsylvania reports 2nd-highest covid-19 case count,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, October 17, 2020, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/pennsylvania-reports-second-highest-covid-19-case-count/

Megan Guza, “Covid resurgence is here, Pa. officials say after 14 days of new cases topping 1,000,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, October 19, 2020, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/covid-resurgence-is-here-state-officials-say-after-14-days-of-new-cases-topping-1000/

Stephen Caruso, “Pa. House falls two votes shy of overturning Wolf restaurant occupancy veto,” Pennsylvania Capital-Star, October 20, 2020, https://www.penncapital-star.com/covid-19/pa-house-falls-two-votes-shy-of-overturning-wolf-restaurant-occupancy-veto/

Joe Napsha, “Irwin Council: Masks are optional at future meetings,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, February 10, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/irwin-council-masks-are-optional-at-future-meetings/

Stephen Caruso and Marley Parish, “In a pandemic rebuke, Pa. voters move to limit Wolf’s emergency powers; approve referenda questions on racial justice and fire depts,” Pennsylvania Capital-Star, May 19, 2021, https://www.penncapital-star.com/covid-19/in-a-pandemic-rebuke-pa-voters-move-to-limit-wolfs-emergency-powers-approve-referenda-questions-on-racial-justice-and-volunteer-fire-depts/

Frank Carnevale and Julia Felton, “More than 50% of Pennsylvania adults fully vaccinated for covid,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, May 20, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/more-than-50-of-pennsylvania-adult-residents-fully-vaccinated/

Chris Pastrick, “Pennsylvania inches near Gov. Wolf’s 70% vaccination target for lifting mask mandate,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, May 24, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/pennsylvania-inches-near-gov-wolfs-70-vaccination-target-for-lifting-mask-mandate/

The neoliberal speed bump

benfell

Recession

I don’t recall Barack Obama ever even in the slightest way apologizing for this “painful legacy:”

Yet the need to rescue large parts of the economy is running into the painful legacy of the 2008 bailout, which was criticized for putting banks and other companies that helped cause the financial crisis before struggling homeowners and workers ravaged by the Great Recession. The $700 billion bank bailout elicited a voter backlash, which means any aid this time is likely to have large strings attached. Those could include limits on executive compensation, prohibitions on stock buybacks and, most prominent, measures to force bailed out companies to keep workers on their payrolls.[1]

Neoliberals are as self-righteous as any evangelical Protestant. While just about everyone else is emphasizing a need for speed over “getting it right,”[2]

“Nancy Pelosi is officially to the right of Tom Cotton on economic support for American families,” HuffPost reporter Zach Carter tweeted on Sunday. “This is a total failure of Democratic Party leadership.”[3]

Now, rather than apologize for painfully prolonging the “Great Recession,” neoliberals are delaying a badly needed bailout.

Eoin Higgins, “Refusal by Pelosi to Consider Universal Cash Payments in Response to Coronavirus Pandemic ‘Maddening,’ Say Progressives,” Common Dreams, March 18, 2020, https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/03/18/refusal-pelosi-consider-universal-cash-payments-response-coronavirus-pandemic

Jim Tankersley and Ben Casselman, “Washington Weighs Big Bailouts to Help U.S. Economy Survive Coronavirus,” New York Times, March 18, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/business/bailout-economy-coronavirus.html

  1. [1]Jim Tankersley and Ben Casselman, “Washington Weighs Big Bailouts to Help U.S. Economy Survive Coronavirus,” New York Times, March 18, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/business/bailout-economy-coronavirus.html↩
  2. [2]Eoin Higgins, “Refusal by Pelosi to Consider Universal Cash Payments in Response to Coronavirus Pandemic ‘Maddening,’ Say Progressives,” Common Dreams, March 18, 2020, https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/03/18/refusal-pelosi-consider-universal-cash-payments-response-coronavirus-pandemic; Jim Tankersley and Ben Casselman, “Washington Weighs Big Bailouts to Help U.S. Economy Survive Coronavirus,” New York Times, March 18, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/business/bailout-economy-coronavirus.html↩
  3. [3]Eoin Higgins, “Refusal by Pelosi to Consider Universal Cash Payments in Response to Coronavirus Pandemic ‘Maddening,’ Say Progressives,” Common Dreams, March 18, 2020, https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/03/18/refusal-pelosi-consider-universal-cash-payments-response-coronavirus-pandemic↩