Pennsylvania gadflies

Pennsylvania

On the outskirts of Duquesne, Pennsylvania, near the McKeesport-Duquesne Bridge, there is an old, somewhat dilapidated sign that seems to be a relic of something long gone. But it is of the sort where one can change the letters and when I first saw it, it seemed to be lambasting a local politician for failing to fix potholes and abandoned houses.

More recently, its message has been something like, “Quit Crying Wolf and Resign; Open Pennsylvania Now.” The reference is to Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf whose lockdown seems, so far, to have had some success in limiting the pandemic. But the sentiment is widely shared.^[1]

Meanwhile, six states are seeing a spike in COVID-19 cases. Pennsylvania is not one of them.^[2]

So now we see an attempt at impeachment from a representative, Daryl Metcalf, who also attempted to impeach Pittsburgh mayor Bill Peduto for gun control legislation. Metcalf seems like something of an authoritarian populist gadfly,^[3] but what worries me is that such gadflies and their sentiments seem so common here, and what’s more, that they face so little social restraint from more sensible neighbors (I assume the latter exist).

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/

Pandemic

Donald Trump plans on holding a rally in Oklahoma, which is one of six states seeing a spike in COVID-19 cases.^[4] Trump might not be much of a Christian, but he certainly seems devoted to the capitalist god.^[5]

The Times of Israel article is an interview that focuses on the pandemic in Israel but also includes more generally applicable information.^[6]

Lisa Shumaker and Brendan O’Brien, “Record spike in new coronavirus cases reported in six U.S. states as reopening accelerates,” Reuters, June 16, 2020, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-idUSKBN23N32O

Joel Achenbach, Karin Brulliard, and Ariana Eunjung Cha, “The ultimate covid-19 mystery: Why does it spare some and kill others?” Washington Post, June 17, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/the-ultimate-covid-19-mystery-why-does-it-spare-some-and-kill-others/2020/06/16/f6acc1a0-ab35-11ea-9063-e69bd6520940_story.html

David Horovitz, “‘Under-50s have little to fear, but even vaccine won’t save millions of elderly,’” Times of Israel, June 17, 2020, https://www.timesofisrael.com/under-50s-have-little-to-fear-but-even-vaccine-wont-save-millions-of-elderly/

1. ^[1]Associated Press, “Pennsylvania GOP seeks to dismantle Wolf’s shutdown,” TribLive, June 9, 2020, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/pennsylvania-gop-seeks-to-dismantle-wolfs-shutdown/; 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; Ryan Deto, “Photos: About 120 protest in Downtown Pittsburgh, calling for Pennsylvania to reopen during coronavirus pandemic,” Pittsburgh City Paper, April 20, 2020, https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/photos-about-120-protest-in-downtown-pittsburgh-calling-for-pennsylvania-to-reopen-during-coronavirus-pandemic/Content?oid=17167012; Megan Guza, “Gov. Wolf threatens action against Pennsylvania counties, businesses that ignore restrictions,” TribLive, May 11, 2020, https://triblive.com/local/regional/gov-wolf-threatens-action-against-pennsylvania-counties-businesses-that-ignore-restrictions/; Jamie Martines And Tom Davidson, “Protesters in Pittsburgh demand Gov. Wolf to reopen businesses amid coronavirus pandemic,” TribLive, April 20, 2020, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/protesters-gather-in-pittsburgh-demanding-gov-wolf-reopen-businesses-amid-coronavirus-pandemic/; 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; 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; 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↩
2. ^[2]Lisa Shumaker and Brendan O’Brien, “Record spike in new coronavirus cases reported in six U.S. states as reopening accelerates,” Reuters, June 16, 2020, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-idUSKBN23N32O↩
3. ^[3]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/↩
4. ^[4]Lisa Shumaker and Brendan O’Brien, “Record spike in new coronavirus cases reported in six U.S. states as reopening accelerates,” Reuters, June 16, 2020, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-idUSKBN23N32O↩
5. ^[5]David Benfell, “The capitalist death cult,” Not Housebroken, March 27, 2020, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/03/27/the-capitalist-death-cult/; David Benfell, “An impatient capitalist god demands human sacrifice. Now,” Not Housebroken, April 17, 2020, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/04/15/an-impatient-capitalist-god-demands-human-sacrifice-now/↩
6. ^[6]David Horovitz, “‘Under-50s have little to fear, but even vaccine won’t save millions of elderly,’” Times of Israel, June 17, 2020, https://www.timesofisrael.com/under-50s-have-little-to-fear-but-even-vaccine-wont-save-millions-of-elderly/↩