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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to Issue Executive Order Laying Groundwork for Reopening State

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to Issue Executive Order Laying Groundwork for Reopening State

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for every state. But Texas may ultimately serve as a model for other states in similar situations on gradually reopening using a strategic approach.

https://youtu.be/hx5mBUqvkes

While governors in some parts of the country like North Carolina are considering the possibility of extending their stay at home orders beyond April, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is preparing to lay the groundwork for gradually reopening his state.

The governor announced via a press conference on Friday that an executive order would be coming later this week addressing the state’s plan to ease its way back into business:

While stressing that it’s not yet clear when the state’s COVID-19 cases will peak, Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday said he will issue an executive order next week focused on economic revitalization.

“Next week, I will be providing an executive order talking about what will be done in Texas about reopening businesses,” he said in a news conference at the Texas Capitol, adding that the order will be based on federal guidance on how best to stoke the economy while promoting safety.

“We can do both (and) expand and restore the livelihoods that Texans want to have by helping them return to work,” he said.

[…]

He offered no additional details about the order beyond saying that he will use guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and other state and federal health officials.

“We all want Texans to go back to work as quickly as possible,” he said. “But understand that we will do so in ways that protect lives and promote the livelihoods of fellow Texans.”

In an interview Gov. Abbott did with Houston’s KPRC Friday, he delivered a similar message.

Noting he had “remained in contact” with President Trump and Vice President Pence and their team over the last several weeks as they developed a national strategy for beginning the process of reopening, Abbott stated that “we must articulate the pathway of how we go about this process.”

“[And] in doing so,” he stressed, “making sure that people are going to be safe” so that the Wuhan Coronavirus doesn’t “reignite” at a later time by way of people “rushing the gates automatically” in an effort to get their lives back to normal.

Boasting that Texas was the number one state in the country for doing business, the governor also said that the only way they’d be able to begin the process is by everyone continuing to follow recommended safety guidelines in order to slow the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus, because the state was “still seeing [case] growth” in places like Harris County.

“Stay home,” Abbot advised.

When asked about what the timeline for Texas might look like, Abbott was vague on details, saying they would be coming soon. Abbott also told KPRC that he wanted to make sure Texas was “in the lead on opening the state up for business, but also that we remain in the lead by making sure we have strategies that will prevent the spread of the coronavirus.”

Watch the segment below:

Back on March 19th, Abbott issued an executive order that effectively shut down bars and restaurants, public schools, gyms, and the like. Local governments across Texas also put their own measures in place for dealing with the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak.

This week will mark the 4th week the state has been operating under that executive order and, like those in other states who have been under similar direction, people in Texas no doubt are eager to get back to work and return to some sense of normalcy so they can provide for themselves and their families, and go about their normal daily business.

While it’s clear Abbott is on board with doing that, his pledge to take a measured and balanced approach is smart. It shows he understands that getting back to normal is not something that can or should happen overnight, because you don’t want to risk the possibility the spread of the virus will rapidly accelerate. You also don’t want to put the lives of those most susceptible to catching the virus at risk by going too fast too soon.

At the same time, being out of work for weeks is already having emotional and psychological impacts on people across the country. The longer they’re told to stay at home, the more vulnerable those people become.

It remains to be seen what the structure will be for reopening Texas, as Abbott hasn’t and won’t give out the details on the executive order until later this week. But you can best bet the White House will be paying attention and that Trump will go full-court press on amplifying Abbott’s efforts because, like Abbott, Trump is keenly aware that the country cannot survive being in a holding pattern for a prolonged period of time.

To be sure, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for every state. But Texas may ultimately serve as a model for other states in similar situations on gradually reopening using a strategic approach.

— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —

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Comments

lucky them: the fascists here in Lost Angels #Failifornia just extended their power grab until 15May…

    Rick in reply to redc1c4. | April 12, 2020 at 3:24 pm

    I am glad for the people of Texas, but it is not luck. They voted intelligently, not like the idiots here in California.

      Arminius in reply to Rick. | April 13, 2020 at 6:58 pm

      This old-school Californio voted intelligently. Yes, there is such a thing as an old-school Californio. The kind who voted for Reagan all the while believing he was too liberal. Which is the position I find myself with Trump. It used to be a not uncommon position to hold, being a Reagan Republican in Kali. But then me and Kali parted ways so I pulled a Davy Crockett who lost an election and told his erstwhile constituents that they “may go to hell but I will go to Texas.”

      A year later he was killed at the Alamo.

      I see my life travelling along a similar trajectory. I didn’t retreat to Texas. I forted up.

rabid wombat | April 12, 2020 at 2:12 pm

Abbott is one of the good guys….

Very courageous of Gov. Abbott to be the first one to step forward and act to re-open the economy, knowing that if it causes a large second wave he’ll be savaged by the media and the Democrats unmercifully. If it works, he’s doing the country a national service by showing other states how to re-open. If it doesn’t work, they’ll go to school on what he did and didn’t do, to try to improve it, and that will be a different national service.

Every politician from Trump on down is walking on eggshells because they know that the POS media will scream bloody murder at the first death from the virus after the lockdown is lifted. The fact is a second wave is probably coming at some point. All we have done is delay the inevitable. Good to see Abbott is willing to take the heat. Hopefully other pols will follow suit.

    Slow pony. Pretty much what Evan said. 🙂

    notamemberofanyorganizedpolicital in reply to Mojo56. | April 12, 2020 at 3:32 pm

    Remember that’s the Communist Chinese owned media MSM.

      What does “The Chinese own the media” mean? How do you know that?

      If it’s true, you statement, teach me why it’s true?

      Americans can’t think for themselves? The Chinese own American’s brains, no, their minds?

      Which American’s, all Americans? Do the Chinese own your mind?

      Do they? Own you? You’re so smart you know that you’re not owned and others are, owned by the Chinese propaganda? How do you decide, am I owned, give me a formula, a test, so I can rate myself.

      XiJr

        thetaqjr in reply to thetaqjr. | April 12, 2020 at 6:12 pm

        XiJr, a WPOC, demurring

        Barry in reply to thetaqjr. | April 12, 2020 at 6:54 pm

        What’s the pay rate for a Chinese troll?

        25c per day, hour? Do you get paid by the intelligible word? Zero then?

        GitOffMahLawn in reply to thetaqjr. | April 13, 2020 at 8:51 am

        Classic… a fully owned PRC muppet asks somebody “Do the Chinese own your mind?”.

        So you’re still slinging your barely comprehensible PRC goon talk on these boards. Don’t you have anything better to do, Xi jr? Don’t you have some uigurs to beat, or a few wuhan flu infected citizens to burn alive?

        Off you go, or it’s no rice in the bowl for you!

        GitOffMahLawn in reply to thetaqjr. | April 13, 2020 at 9:17 am

        “How do you decide, am I owned, give me a formula, a test, so I can rate myself.”

        Oh dear oh dear. Xi xi xi, you sad sad person.

        Not surprising really, 2nd children in china like yourself often suffer from abandonment issues, feelings of helplessness, and obviously in your case diminished mental capacity.

        Given your dire situation, I’ll help you out with your questions:

        Yes, you are owned by the PRC. You are a mediocre, near sub-literate dunce that appears on this blog to annoy decent people with your metronomically pig ignorant hoots, grunts and squeaks. The stupidity found in your posts is exceeded only by the sheer banality found in the painfully obvious, laughably weak propaganda your leash holders force you to write.

        Here’s a simple formula, that even you might understand:

        Xijr x (Stupidity + [IdioticPRCAgitProp])/wuhanFlu – (squareRoot of Wuhan wet market) = Annoying lobotomized troll

        The test: Wake up, look in your PRC owned mirror. Do you see an ugly, bat eating, half witted goonlet?

        If answer is yes, stop posting here immediately and go kill yourself.

        If answer is no, you’re obviously lying so stop posting here and go kill yourself.

        Rate yourself- no need, we’ve already rated you here. You have been rated:

        USDA Prime Suck.

        Last week, you were only USDA Choice Suck. But your efforts at totally sucking over the past few days has brought down your score to USDA Prime Suck.

        Congratulations, you suck.

        Now go collect your daily yuan, pinhead.

          thetaqjr in reply to GitOffMahLawn. | April 13, 2020 at 7:56 pm

          I’m beginning to think you don’t have a lawn I’d care to violate.

          Your obedient troll, trolling here, asks you trollees for some evidence supporting the assertion that “the Communist Chinese owned media MSM.” My “Chinkmaster” pays your obedient troll, me, Xi, $10,000/trolleee/letter.

          I am happy to see your equation note the impossibility of making wet markets irrational. They are completely rational. (I love batmeat.) /= makes no sense either.

          Of course, your reversing advance into humour marks you as a man longing to make himself important by sounding literary when stringing words together doesn’t advance any argument.

          Sadly, still, the question to you: what is the basis, the firm basis, advancing the idea that the Chinese own the media?

          thetaqjr in reply to GitOffMahLawn. | April 13, 2020 at 9:06 pm

          I don’t know how to DM, but can we?

          I feel an affection for you like you feel an affectation for yourself.

          I know you like Chinese?

          Order out? We can order out. Memphis ok? I’ll pay.

          Well, Chinkmaster pays, he backs me with the wirk of millions of Chink slave slave markets, Im flush bigly,

          I’m sorry, I cain’t remember your name.

          please text me.

    Edward in reply to Mojo56. | April 14, 2020 at 9:38 am

    Unfortunately he followed that announcement with an extension of whatever alleged shutdown he and every pissant county and city minor brownshirt wannabe previously declared.

    I don’t see much personal obeisance to these orders, though businesses obviously don’t have any choice (and damn I need a haircut). The County doubled the number of confirmed cases last Friday to 24 from the 12 of the previous Monday. Yesterday the county count increased again – to 29. I guess the “curve”, which the CDC et al are treating as some sort of golden idol, is over the hump in the county.

I am in Dallas County Texas. The county has a shelter in place order except for essential businesses. My business happens to be an “essential business” so I can and I am basically completely ignoring the order – Most businesses are going through the motions of complying but at best 50% compliance – at least given the appearance of complying. I allow employees to work from home, but one-half still come into office daily.

Collin county immediately to the north has a shelter in place order, but excluded “essential businesses” with the definition of “all businesses being essential” though restaurants are limited to carryout.

might possibly be better to let the virus spread through the population quickly to develop immunity.

2smartforlibs | April 12, 2020 at 3:06 pm

Funny how decentralized government can work better for the people.

I’m in NC with a corrupt POS democrat governor. And I have a corrupt POS democrat governor because the incumbent republican was too damn stupid to call the I77 toll road fiasco what it was and declare he was against it. But no, he had to embrace it against the will of the people that use the I77 corridor north of Charlotte while the corrupt commie POS democrat governor said he was against it (even though he did nothing). And McCrory (R, dumbass) lost the I77 corridor vote and the NC election.

So now we reap the consequences of a dumbass republican losing a race he had in the bag. It takes special stupidity to do that, a specialty of the R party.

    thetaqjr in reply to Barry. | April 12, 2020 at 5:22 pm

    The I-77 corridor? Man, y’all ain’t got much to rail about.

    Besides the governorship, what did you lose? Habeas corpus rights? Free speech? What of substance? Did they confiscate your BB gun? Did the governor force upon you an involuntary, aborting C-section? Can you still write junk to your congressman, to write junk here?

    What did your governor take away from you that wasn’t his right to take? Sue his ass. You’re not a Chinese plant, are you? Are you?

    You shop at Handy Hugo’s, don’t you? When’s the last time you shot somebody stealing your “rights”?

    You have the right to shut up. Exercise it. You make up Rule of Law as you go to Handy?

      Barry in reply to thetaqjr. | April 12, 2020 at 6:57 pm

      Hey commie chinaman, you’re a slave. Just a slave.

      Your mother and father were slaves as were your grandparents.

      No freedom DNA in sight. You’ll always be a slave and your one child? – he’ll be a slave too.

      I agree. When someone tries to, or succeeds in, stealing your rights, like Gov. Coonman, they should be shot. On sight. By any patriot with a gun.

        thetaqjr in reply to ray. | April 13, 2020 at 8:25 pm

        Dear Ray,

        Ben Franklin and his boys engaged a great deal of thought in writing the Declaration of Independence.

        One of their central discussions intended to focus in their minds the critical distinction between a usurpation and tyranny.

        Roger Pilon, I think, wrote usurpation <<<<< tyranny. Without the Fathers ability to prove "to the world" (France?) many and consistent usurpations, George had not subjected the Colonies to tyranny, and, absent proof of a tyranny, a consistent string of usurpations, there was no basis for rebellion, revolution, or any other justification for Chinese Jews and bicyclists to sever their ties to George's Empire.

        Tyranny is a big word. It was for the Fathers. It should not be misused now. We ought to make the fine distinctions, because, over time, errors magnify to consume the "exponentially expanding" population.

        L'il Xi

    GitOffMahLawn in reply to Barry. | April 13, 2020 at 8:59 am

    “I’m in NC with a corrupt POS democrat governor.”

    I suffer the same malady, just replace “NC” with “MI”.

    Here in Michigan, the shiny faced fascist Gretchen Jenner has made it illegal to purchase seeds, mulch, or housepaint.

    These items have been deemed “non-essential”.

    Yeah…

I live just north of San Antonio and our county has 5 deaths from the virus out of 140,000+ population. And we’re locked down as tight as can be, except “essential” businesses.

    MajorWood in reply to ike2490. | April 13, 2020 at 1:26 pm

    Oregon needs to reopen. We are at 1/100,000 and if you factor out cases where it acted as a little push to existing pre-morbid conditions, it is closer to 1/1,000,000.

    Of course, mental illness is still in the 1 in 10 region. My favorite behavior is mask shaming. Apparently, anyone who isn’t taking as extensive precautions as the most mentally ill person is a “bad person” deserving of a strong glare!

    thetaqjr in reply to ike2490. | April 13, 2020 at 11:11 pm

    No you dont , you live in West Lousiana, you chink-ass sob, trying to clAim credit for what the overseas chinese did for you.

Any bets where the lawfare will come from to stay his executive order?

notamemberofanyorganizedpolicital | April 12, 2020 at 3:38 pm

Maybe we need a Passover Easter insurrection?

Off topic, As usual, per XiJr …

I need some help finding a law professor’s essay, an essay, as Xi recall, attempts to explain how the law heads at Yale were able to replace Harvard’s more “algebraic”, strict rules for interpreting our US Constitution, with their own notion that pablum is strict in law, and “the law” law, therefore, is mushy enough to render all Applications of it just fine, those applications absent logical foundations, historical foundations, or reverence of human nature.

Who is able and willing to help Li’l XiJr identify the essay I seek?

    thetaqjr in reply to thetaqjr. | April 12, 2020 at 4:50 pm

    The I-77 corridor? Man, y’all ain’t got much to rail about.

    Besides the governorship, what did you lose? Habeas corpus rights? Free speech? What of substance? Did they confiscate your BB gun? Did the governor force upon you an involuntary, aborting C-section? Can you still write junk to your congressman, to write junk here?

    What did your governor take away from you that wasn’t his right to take? Sue his ass. You’re not a Chinese plant, are you? Are you?

    You shop at Handy Hugo’s, don’t you? When’s the last time you shot somebody stealing your “rights”?

    You have the right to shut up. Exercise it. You make up Rule of Law as you go to Handy?

    thetaqjr in reply to thetaqjr. | April 12, 2020 at 10:17 pm

    Four folks downvoted a question?

    XiSh.

Joey Williams | April 12, 2020 at 4:58 pm

Abbott has been a complete idiot about things from Day One. He didn’t want to issue a shelter-in-place order, minimized the threat from the virus, and failed to exhibit any kind of leadership.

It’s too soon to back off on taking precautions – you don’t send the fire department away when the flames die down, you send them away when the flames are OUT. Many counties and cities have their own lockdowns in place (most run through April 30th) and aren’t about to lift them, despite the Governor. I’m in Richardson in Dallas county, and I’m protected by people with a lot more sense then the idjits in Austin.

And I’m a conservative republican – but I have no truck with politicians who demonstrate that they are exemplars of the Peter Principle.

    “And I’m a conservative republican…”

    LOL, voted for Bush did you.

    You confuse fire with virus. The virus will never “go out” you idiot. We manage the virus’s as best we can. Cold, flu, still here, still causing death. More deaths than the china virus.

    I have an idea though, you stay in your place and don’t come out until all the virus’s are wiped out.

      thetaqjr in reply to Barry. | April 12, 2020 at 5:38 pm

      “Go blow yourself, chinaman”, and “The virus will never “go out” you idiot”, are classic you, Barry, namesake of yo Obama daddy.

      I asked for a reference to the Harvard vs. Yale battles of the way we laymen ought to think about law.

      You are a scholar, fo’ sho’, blow yourself and you idiot, reflecting upon you and Handy Hugo’s. I know I’m proud.

        Barry in reply to thetaqjr. | April 12, 2020 at 7:02 pm

        Classic Chinese slave behavior. Be sure and show your supervisor how you told off those Americans. He’s as stupid as you.

    redc1c4 in reply to Joey Williams. | April 12, 2020 at 8:36 pm

    your “concern” is noted…

    All you’re saying is that you’re too stupid to take precautions without somebody in the government telling you what to do.

    texannie in reply to Joey Williams. | April 13, 2020 at 9:37 am

    First of all, you are Not a conservative Republican! Second this virus like most will hang around for a couple of years. You plant to lock yourself up until it’s gone? Go for it!

buckeyeminuteman | April 12, 2020 at 5:24 pm

Abbott 2024!

I fear we will not recognize our country once we ‘re-open’ after the economic devastation wrought by scientifically illiterate politicians. Prepare for a famine.

    thetaqjr in reply to rdmdawg. | April 12, 2020 at 10:31 pm

    Talk to us, if you will, about scientific literacy. Are you scientifically literate? What did you do to become that way? Which of the members of Congress are so literate, and how do you know? Please, define the method you use to identify the scientifically literate.

    Mine’s a faithful question. Everybody should know what you know, know how to pick the scientifically literate from a set of 535 folks each if whom you must know really well.

    Maybe you even know which of the identical group is legally literate? Literate in the literature of the three outstanding books of the three outstanding Western religions?

    God, please, I’m here to learn from wisemen like you must be.

      Barry in reply to thetaqjr. | April 12, 2020 at 11:04 pm

      Just a note about the *paid to comment* chinaman,

      every post gets an immediate upvote. Usually just one.

      IOW’s, the chinaman votes his post up immediately.

      LOL, does your commie supervisor know this?

        thetaqjr in reply to Barry. | April 13, 2020 at 11:24 pm

        Talk, you, blast you, you aren’t talking, blast, some irregular Chinese talk, talk, blast regular Chinese talk, your infestation of the Chines IQ.

        Love white girls with low IQs

texansamurai | April 13, 2020 at 8:28 am

am a fifth-generation texan–have always believed that here under the lone star live a great many people that decide for themselves how this life is going to be–not particularly concerned with the rest of the country(or the world, for that matter) and once we decide, we’re going to act for ourselves

regardless of his politics, am glad abbot has decided to act–we have never been destined to live like sheep

go ahead governor–right or wrong, we are with you

fortune favors the brave

Two GOOD reasons for the United States to be MORE like Texas; it’s far more brave, productive, and generous, and the friggin’ democrats WOULD HATE IT. HAHAHAHAHAHA.

It appears Abbott takes to heart the old saw, “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.” Would that more politicians had this attitude.
.

Dear Barry,

It seems like you need a job. I offer you one now on my sweet potato farm where I employ hundreds of Ancient Aliens and their families who wirk hard to make meXi and MrChink rich.

Don’t you know how stupid our exchange is? Troll on troll monitored by folks who own trained brains> Dont you know when yu make unstantiatable comments? I cant spell, but you know.

Quit making categorical statements you cant prove.

It’s the law. Or should be. Jacob’s Law? Jacob’s Ladder? Jacob’s Ladder of the Law?

I came here to learn.

Dear Ray,
Ben Franklin and his boys engaged one another in a great deal of thought to write the Declaration of Independence in a particular way, with particular language. When is the last time you devoted two months to write two hundred words
Recall, a central discussion forced them to distinguish a usurpation from tyranny.
Roger Pilon, I think, wrote usurpation <<<<< tyranny. Without the Fathers’ persuasive abilities to prove "to the world" (France?) many and consistent usurpations, George had subjected the Colonies to tyranny, and, absent proof of a tyranny, a consistent string of usurpations, there was no basis for rebellion, revolution, or any other justification for Chinese Jews and bicyclists to sever their ties to George's Empire.
Tyranny is a big word. At least it was a big word for the Fathers. It should not be misused now. We ought to make the fine distinctions, because, over time, errors magnify to consume the "exponentially expanding" population.
L'il Xi

    thetaqjr in reply to thetaqjr. | April 13, 2020 at 10:32 pm

    Gosh, Xi! Usurpation is consent, Tyranny is rape-like destruction, we’re not being raped, we’re not destroyed, we’re undone believing stupid grilling .

Joey Williams | April 14, 2020 at 2:57 am

Barry should seek employment as bridgekeeper on the road used by the billy goats gruff…

He swoops in with criticism, but fails to provide any reason or logic for his attacks – just assumes that ad hominem comments and unsubstantiated factoids will triumph.