News notes from around the interweb:
- AirlineGeeks.com takes Avatar Airlines seriously but after 30 years of failing to start an airline and reputedly breaking laws along the way, isn’t Marx’s line from The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon what’s most apt here, and we’re well into the farce stage?
- Allegiant banks on quick rebound either because the virus is heterogeneous and doesn’t affect their routes as much, or because their customers are covidiots.
In the Midwest and Mid Atlantic, the Upper West, I got to tell you they don’t share the opinion that the evening news is putting out there.
- Cathay Pacific is actually mad at travel agents for not providing refunds to customers
- Rhode Island: Tourists can come, they can shop – as long as they don’t do it for recreation
Although Rhode Island has lifted its stay-at-home order, and restaurants and nonessential retailers are beginning to reopen, the state still limits visitors from out of state to those who are arriving to work, shop, or visit a doctor — not for recreation or leisure activities such as golf.
- Very on-brand from Alaska
- When David Marriott replaces his father Bill Marriott as Chairman of the hotel giant in 2022 presumably he’ll be the one who gets to hand out the chain’s exalted Cobalt status.
Gary I am surprised at your statement that if someone is not afraid to travel they are a covidiot
Isn’t everybody entitled to decide what risk they tolerate?
Didn’t you encourage people to book travel already?
I do not understand what caused that statement
@Doug… Of course, the irony is that Gary is the idiot in this situation. I’ve avoided pointing that out in numerous posts, but since the gloves are off, let’s have at it.
@James N
I happen to respect gary enormously, throughout the years his posts have been spot on, including the recent ones related to the virus, I was surprised though to read this one and that sentence
Hopefully a one time lapse…
Yes, they are covidiots. Keep it up Gary. To all you whiny people, its a blog and he gets to post what he wants. Get over yourself. Geesh, ok you conservative snowflakes.
@Gary – I’m curious – what makes for a Covidiot? There are some Boarding Area bloggers who espouse the same sentiments as those listed. I find the term distasteful while basically agreeing with your sentiment.
@Darin
You will be surprised to know that I am a registered democrat, (living in canada now) never voted republican, and very much anti trump, and yet I think people have the right to take what they think is a calculated risk and fly if they choose to
I was also pointing out that Gary encourages people to book travel and take calculated risks if they want, hence my surprise when he used the term on a scenariio which I think HE himself doesn’t think justifies it…
@Doug
the problem with your view that people should have the right to decide on what’s right for them is that your/their decision will affect other people. if you are infected and not taking the proper precautions then you can infect countless other people. You may not die but others could. If you were the only one affected by your choices then yes, by all means decide on your own fate. but it’s like the guy driving 100 mph on a city street, when he crashes, he’ll take out a bunch of innocent people. if he only died himself, then that would be a different story.
This pandemic is a problem for the general population. It’s a public health problem. It’s a social problem that must be dealt with by society as a whole. If people just think about themselves, then it doesn’t work and people will keep on dying.
@ben senise
Then by the same token, nobody should go to the grocery store unless they know they are not infected
Next week restaurants open here in vancouver, so should I not go because I MIGHT infect someone?
The point is that flying that not increases or decreases the odds so at some point we will all have to learn to live with it
@ben
No innocent people don’t die. Old people with pre-existing conditions die, so if I pass COVID to you and then you pass it to your 90 year old parent and they die, that is on you, not me.
Pretty simple, if the high risk people would quarantine and all the people complaining would stop visiting their parents and grand-parents then the high-risk people wouldn’t get the COVID.
The problem, is all the afraid snowflakes are still visiting the old people and passing the COVID to them.
Also, if old high risk people decide to be in public that is on them, no one else.
No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.
@your daddy
That concept will never fly with them
Just like here in canada stupid sheep canadians ducking the virus like it’s a sniper, and sing kumbaya together as boy scouts
People do not grasp the concept of calculated risks
It is very sad
It’s amazing how people who have “studied” this virus for almost 10 weeks can post with such certainty about how Covid-19 can be transmitted.
We’re all thankful to Fox News for all of the infectious-disease expertise.
Or the Canadian public apparently.
We shouldn’t freak-out about the virus, but neither should we do idiotic things, based on foolish and inaccurate information / politics.
If you can’t handle being an American and putting on a stupid mask for a few more weeks to protect and serve your fellow Americans… maybe you should go somewhere else.
One more thing: not every covidiot is a conservative!
Most conservatives are reasonable and intelligent people. Most conservatives don’t break into tears about being asked to wear a mask for a few weeks.
Just like the “birthers” of 12 years ago, covidiots are a small minority fringe who generally don’t vote in elections. Just like the Birthers, ignore them and they will soon go away and morph into the next Facebook fad.
@ ben senise
People making the decisions for their own lives based on their personal risk tolerance and their risk factors does not affect others. People can choose to stay home away from these people. If you are not comfortable on an airplane, in a hair salon, in a supermarket or in a lotto store, you can decide not to go.
A lot of people across this country don’t believe the hype and propaganda shown in the media because they don’t live in New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut, Detroit or New Orleans. They don’t live in vertical cities or in areas conducive to Coronavirus spread. They don’t have the risk factors for moderate to severe symptoms of it. They are able to take precautions and still live their lives. Instead of the government infringing on fundamental freedoms like association, many people feel they should be able to make the choice of what’s best for themselves and their families and not big government bureaucrats, cops, politicians and judges. Not everyone is living in a nursing home or suffers from diabetes. Not everyone lives near NYC where the mayor and governor failed to shut down the subway system, neglected nursing homes and failed to contain the spread while screaming for 40,000 ventilators they didn’t need or asking for a USNS or Field Hospitals like the Javitz center they hardly used.
@Jackson Hanton,
+1 – Couldn’t have said it better myself.
@Jackson Hanton,
+1 – Couldn’t have said it better myself.
@Gary – I believe “Jackson Hanton” is the same person posting as “Jackson Aimson”, “Jackson Wayerson”, etc., exact same writing style, exact same commentary. Just an FYI as you tend to call this out when it occurs.
Since we’re all discussing it, here’s my take:
The initial lockdowns were brutal, all-encompassing, and a drastic swing of the pendulum to one side. All indications are that they worked (hospitals are not overwhelmed). What is happening now is that pendulum is swinging waayyyyy too far to the other side, and suddenly the virus is “just the flu”, “a hoax”, etc. We can’t ever just exist in the middle :-\
I agree with opening back up retail, restaurants, etc. but am not in denial that there is a real virus out there that is dangerous to a significant portion of the population. If I didn’t think people were just going to go back out in public with no mask, coughing in the open, not washing their hands after they use the bathroom, I would be more confident. But honestly until I hear more intelligent opinions calling for caution while also opening back up, I’m going to side ever so slightly more with the “lockdown” argument.
Gary, the covidiot statement is just pathetic. Who the hell do you think you are? You write a points blog.
@Doug
that’s one of the problems we have today; everything is taken to an extreme. i never said nobody should go to the store. We can go but just be sensible. We cannot eliminate transmission but we can do the best to reduce it. THAT’S the key; reduction through a few modifications of behavior for the sake of others.
And if you think Canadians are “stupid sheep” then why don’t you live in a place where people are more like-minded? dunno, maybe texas would suit you better.
@Your daddy
first off, old people aren’t innocent? we shouldn’t take care of them and we should let them die because they are old? second thing; there are quite a few non-old people dying as well.
For proof that modified behavior influences infection and death rates, compare the statistics of Sweden and Switzerland, both countries of around 8 million. I have friends and family in both countries and i personally know 7 people that were infected. Switzerland had quite a drastic lockdown and now all of their important statistics are on the decline; new infections, deaths, etc. On the other hand we have Sweden where there has been no lockdown. schools are open, bars are open, people are congregating. Their rates are still climbing. More people are dying.
This is proof that making a few changes can change the overall outcome of a global health issue. Once again, it’s not about “you.” it’s about society as a whole. And again, it’s not about panicking and being scared to do anything. That’s an extreme. But gathering in a bar is not a good idea either. That’s another extreme. The solution is middle of the road. Make a bit of an effort to reduce transmission. That’s all. We can reduce infection rates and that will reduce fatalities. Nobody said we can eliminate all risk.