California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Order yesterday declaring a state emergency in regards to the Wuhan virus COVID-19. While most of us listened to the announcement of the curtailment of public gatherings and asking for social distancing, the devil is in the details.
On page 3, item number 8:
8. The California Health and Human Services Agency and the Office of Emergency Services shall identify, and shall otherwise be prepared to make available – including through the execution of any necessary contracts or other agreements and, if necessary, through the exercise of the State’s power to commandeer property – hotels and other places of temporary residence, medical facilities, and other facilities that are suitable for use as places of temporary residence or medical facilities as necessary for quarantining, isolating, or treating individuals who test positive for COVID-19 or who have had a high-risk exposure and are thought to be in the incubation period.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t believe that the state of California would run, say, the UCLA Medical Center better than UCLA. In fact, there is no reason to believe even smaller, private medical facilities are incapable running their businesses rather than some Sacramento bureaucrat.
Can you imagine that a hotel or motel that would refuse to cooperate with the state during this or any other emergency?
Indeed, let’s look at how the emergency of the Swine Flu, H1N1, of 2009 was handled in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Executive Order
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the California Health and Human Services Agency and all departments and offices within that agency, as well as the California Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the Highway Patrol, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Department of General Services, and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation enter into such contracts as they deem appropriate to provide services, material, personnel and equipment for the purpose of responding to the H1N1 Influenza pandemic; including, but not limited to, distributing vaccine, administering and monitoring vaccinations, and supplementing the extraordinary preventive measures implemented by local jurisdictions if needed.
Gov. Schwarzenegger also suspended competitive bidding requirements so agreements and contracts could be entered into quickly for services and materials. If you look through that EO, outside of the usual recommendations of hygiene practices, what is absent is calls for quarantines, or commandeering of hotels and medical facilities. Even his earlier proclamation of a state of emergency does no more than clear away the red tape so contracts could be easily procured.
After 11 years, have we really forgotten the devastation of H1N1 and how it was handled? I certainly don’t remember Democrats rushing to take political advantage of the crisis to threaten the property rights of citizens.
And, boy howdy, Governor Hairgel, ain’t the only one using Wuhan virus as a convenient excuse.
The Mayor of Champaign, Illinois just signed a sweeping executive order giving her the ability to ban the sale of firearms and ammunition because of…Wuhan coronavirus? There are no cases of the virus in town or the surrounding areas. https://t.co/CLOHveHWxU
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) March 13, 2020
An Illinois mayor has given herself the power to shutdown all retail sales, including firearms, as she deems “necessary”. She also has power to shut down all utilities and restrict travel.
Never let a crisis go to waste! Indulge your inner totalitarian! Woohoo Wuhan!
Sometimes, though, it can lead to some unintentional black humor.
Last week, I said something like this would happen. I was called a fascist by activists in Seattle. pic.twitter.com/EpooMgg7js
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) March 13, 2020
Well, that was an awesome plan. Give a politician the power to purchase a motel with public funds, then don’t actually pay attention to the sick people there so they can wander out and commit a few crimes before coming back to their taxpayer-provided digs.
Meanwhile, the same media that has gleefully stampeded you all into panic mode making these power grabs possible to pass under your nose, is busy rewriting the history of Wuhan coronavirus as you watch.
There is every reason to applaud Americans coming together to voluntarily take the measures necessary to combat this temporary health emergency. There are even reasons to support narrow, targeted government action to address specific behaviors that present an imminent danger.
However, this is way beyond the pale and it’s past time to push back on the cynical use of this emergency by authoritarian Democrats to set a precedent in taking away your Constitutional rights.
UPDATE: Welcome Instapundit readers!
featured image original artwork by VG Darleen Click
Scott says: I commented earlier on the risks of this sort of thing on Amanda’s post. This is obviously a more appropriate spot, as you’ve detailed a number of the scary things being pushed by wanna be tyrants.
The gist of my earlier post is that as scary as the virus might be, that’s nothing compared to the almost overnight takeover of peoples lives by these little dictators, and how so many people in this country are going along with all of it like willing sheep. This is the true threat to whats left of our Republic.
ChipsterNGA says: Commandeer my ass you slimy slick
mac says: This entire panic is completely unnecessary. Period. End of story. The whole thing is driven not by scientists or infectious disease specialists, it’s being driven by the fear of liability lawsuits. It’s just another damned boondoggle which will be used by unscrupulous politicians to infringe even further on our rights. That worthless scum Rahm Emanuel showed the ‘Rats playbook with his comments about never letting a crisis go to waste as an opportunity to expand governmental control.
It’s just ridiculous that Americans are letting themselves be chivvied and driven like this. Most sheep would have more self-regards.
George Turner says: A few days ago I suggested quarantining those who’ve been exposed in cabins state parks, which the state already owns, and which would present a vastly smaller chance of transmission than a hotel. It’s also much easier to limit access, and if someone becomes seriously ill the ambulance crews aren’t wheeling infectious people down hallways and elevators and through busy lobbies.
Perhaps more importantly, most people would prefer a free two-week vacation in a state park to being stuffed into a Red Roof Inn with a bunch of sick people.
njc says: Guess they’re afraid that people will shoot looters? Poor looters, nobody looks out for them!
CaptDMO says: Shall we chat about Ms. Pelosi, and the important aspects of abortion funding in Coronavirus response legislation?
Ann in L.A. says: Um, the State of California actually *does* run UCLA, cause it’s, you know, a state university. Employees there get their checks from the state. When people rant about how many state employees make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, they are often including the doctors at the state’s university medical centers.
I have a friend with their kid in the high school run by UCLA. She’s *not allowed* to give the teachers a holiday gift, because of state regulations on donating to government employees.
Uma Thurmond's Feet says: Meanwhile, Scott Adams in “LoserThink” tells us that the “slippery slope” is a logical fallacy and does not exist.
Tonestaple says: What happened in Kent, a suburb of Seattle, was not a matter of anyone who might read this blog allowing it, and the people who allow it, by voting overwhelmingly Democrat will never read this blog. The fact is, King County is under one-party rule so you have to expect this sort of vicious idiocy. Further, it’s a safe bet that the county executive doesn’t give a tinker’s dam about anyone with the Wuhan virus. It’s a safe bet that, once the virus has gone, at least for the summer, the buildings King County has bought will be turned into government-funded heroin dens, regardless of the wishes of the decent people in the cities in question. One-party government never gives a damn about what happens to its subjects.
[…] Gavin Newsom To “Commandeer Property” cuz Wuhan California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Order yesterday declaring a state emergency in regards to the Wuhan virus COVID-19. While most of us listened to the announcement of the curtailment of public gatherings and asking for social distancing, the devil is in the details. […]
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