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Since when is Texas a pejorative? By itself it would be a world top-15 economy, and its pandemic performance was not an outlier or exceptional. If anything it,

Since when is Texas a pejorative? By itself it would be a world top-15 economy, and its pandemic performance was not an outlier or exceptional. If anything it, along with Florida, demonstrated that extremely strict lockdowns don't correlate to better outcomes. Nothing like Alberta.

cvwright 5y ago
I think it's more that they both have cowboys. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary_Stampede https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary_Stampede
michaelt 5y ago
Who said Texas was a pejorative?
- neither_color 5y ago
  The derisive comparison to Alberta implies that Alberta is making a terrible mistake that somehow Texas made.
  - spideymans 5y ago
    Both Alberta and Texas are very conservative, have a lot of anti-vaxxers, produce oil, and are home to cowboys. That’s the extent of the analogy.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
nawgz 5y ago
Don't you think that both of these very red states are likely to have fudged the data the most out of anyone? I have seen that the numbers aren't so much worse than other places but I struggle to believe the data coming from these places. Additionally, pandemic aside, it should be clear that their policies are rooted entirely in oligarchy and have no concern for the population or its health (short- or long-term), their racism and misogyny are reaching to very regressive places (abortion bill), and their lack of regulation regularly leads to comical failures of infrastructure.
- merpnderp 5y ago
  So your political prejudices are causing you to grasp at conspiracy theories? This is umpossible on the internet!
  - nawgz 5y ago
    Actually, it's not really my political leanings that are causing this, it's my observation of a complete Republican disregard for any COVID measures whatsoever that is leading me to this next thought. Anti-mask, anti-vax, anti-social-distancing policies are generally Republican. Accordingly, with their complete disregard for the virus / vaccine and what I view as facts about it, I find it to be a small leap to imagine their data reporting around COVID would be similarly lackadaisical / more motivated by politic than fact. Hopefully you understand I am not American so some ad hominems aren't so effective here.
    - merpnderp 5y ago
      Okay Mr. Facts, show me the breakdown of vaccine rates by different groups. And then tell me about how all those groups lean Republican. Because in my state it is groups who overwhelmingly vote democrat who make up the vast majority of unvaccinated. But I have a feeling that bashing Republicans for not getting vaccinated is a lot like publicly pronouncing your hatred of pineapple pizza. Just something the cool kids do. And when you say complete disregard for the virus/vaccine, show me some facts that back it up. Like "complete disregard" means no republicans got vaccinated? None of them said vaccines work and to please get vaccinated? Like share some of these facts that you base this on and show me it isn't your political bias.
      - nawgz 5y ago
        > show me the breakdown of vaccine rates by different groups Well, here's the first google result of such a search: https://www.kff.org/policy-watch/the-red-blue-divide-in-covid-19-vaccination-rates-is-growing/ https://www.kff.org/policy-watch/the-red-blue-divide-in-covi... > in my state Who cares about "your state" which is clearly just anecdata? This is a national trend where Republicans shun mask mandates and vaccines. That article above provides more links for the vaccine related claims > when you say complete disregard for the virus/vaccine, show me some facts that back it up How's this for size - Florida (you know, a famously Republican state with a Republican governor) is threatening to withhold EDUCATION FUNDING from school districts that have mask mandates: https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2021/07/30/desantis-seeks-to-block-school-mask-mandates-in-florida-amid-covid-surge-1389293 https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2021/07/30/des... I could go on, but you are being very emotionally charged and disregarding a lot of very obvious rhetoric to try and make a blatantly false point.
majormajor 5y ago
The numbers I've seen are that death rate per capita has been lowering California than Florida so far, so while I think investigation should be done about about "were the outcomes so much better to justify whatever additional cost[0]" I haven't seen anything suggesting that public health measures haven't had any effect. We should, of course, also wait until things have actually settled down and we don't keep having more periodic surges... [0] how costly, exactly, things have been is another question that needs more investigation, especially for all types of interventions. E.g. if, after 2022, nowhere in the US institutes another Covid mask mandate or lockdown, all the folks hysterical about how "Covid is just an excuse for democrats to take your freedoms away and never give it back" should rethink a few things.
- nradov 5y ago
  Florida also has a lot more residents in the vulnerable 65+ age group. So all else being equal we would expect Florida to have a much higher death rate.
  - dcolkitt 5y ago
    On the flip side, Florida has year round warm weather and sunshine. Not only does that sanitize viral particles, but it makes it easier to move socialization outdoors.
    - refurb 5y ago
      Yeah, no. India has proven that theory false.
      - triceratops 5y ago
        India's per-capita deaths are lower than Floria. And sunlight sanitizing the air might be bunk, but being able to socialize more outdoors is very much not. India's population density is nowhere close to Florida's.
nyokodo 5y ago
> Since when is Texas a pejorative? Alberta is Canada's biggest oil producing region similar to Texas. I do not think it was meant as a pejorative.
munificent 5y ago
The death rate in Florida is 180/100k [1]. That's pretty close to the national average. If the entire US had gone like Florida, then instead of 613k deaths, we'd have 590k. So, yes, Florida was better than average despite not having a severe lockdown. But Florida also has fairly separated populations: a lot of old people very likely to get vaccinated, and a lot of young people very likely to survive. For comparison, Oregon had a pretty hard lockdown. Its death rate is 68/100k. If the entire US had that same death rate, 390,000 Americans would still be alive today. If you look at the data, it is clear that lockdown is not the only thing affecting death rate. But it also seems pretty obvious that social distancing did have a significant impact on the number of people who died. There are thousands of Americans that are dead today because people wanted to go to a party, or a restaurant, or a wedding. [1]: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1109011/coronavirus-covid19-death-rates-us-by-state/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1109011/coronavirus-covi...
- edmundsauto 5y ago
  Didn't Florida just set an all-time 1 day record for new case counts last week? These numbers might shift significantly in the next month or two.
  - bpodgursky 5y ago
    Deaths in the US (like in the UK) are barely moving unlike during the other waves b/c of elderly vaccination rates. I really doubt this will budge the aggregate fatality rates much at all.
    - edmundsauto 5y ago
      I agree if your denominator is infected to death rate. If you’re talking relative to state population, then 5k extra deaths moves the needle. But, whatever. 5000 people dead - it’s just a number, right? Thank goodness we are all coping with the pandemic with statistics.
- refurb 5y ago
  Is anyone adjusting for demographics? I’d assume FL has way more older folks than Oregon. It’s like a preschool not locking down, having zero deaths then patting themselves on the back for it.
brnt 5y ago
Mildly amusing that your sole defense is the size of the economy.
techrat 5y ago
> Since when is Texas a pejorative? 'Pray for rain' type politicians and Taliban style government. (Rick Perry, the Bushes, Paxton and Abbott) Cronyism run rampant. Some of the most corrupt corporations. The electrical grid collapse, Refinery explosions, West Fertilizer Company explosion, Result of letting corporations 'regulate themselves' Cowboyism/Ignorance as a virtue. One the most polluted states. The only reason Texas can be in the world top 15 economy is due to population and landmass size, along with its dependency on oil. But given Texas is second in state population behind California and California is #5 in the world, I'd argue it's not doing as well as it could be. Oh, and the weather in Texas is less preferable to having a weasel clamp down on your balls.
0xTJ 5y ago
In a lot of ways, from politics to oil, Alberta has a lot in common with Texas.
brewdad 5y ago
> Since when is Texas a pejorative? The Norwegians use the word texas to mean crazy. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34622478 https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34622478

cvwright 5y ago

I think it's more that they both have cowboys. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary_Stampede https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary_Stampede

michaelt 5y ago

Who said Texas was a pejorative?

neither_color 5y ago
The derisive comparison to Alberta implies that Alberta is making a terrible mistake that somehow Texas made.
- spideymans 5y ago
  Both Alberta and Texas are very conservative, have a lot of anti-vaxxers, produce oil, and are home to cowboys. That’s the extent of the analogy.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

nawgz 5y ago

Don't you think that both of these very red states are likely to have fudged the data the most out of anyone? I have seen that the numbers aren't so much worse than other places but I struggle to believe the data coming from these places. Additionally, pandemic aside, it should be clear that their policies are rooted entirely in oligarchy and have no concern for the population or its health (short- or long-term), their racism and misogyny are reaching to very regressive places (abortion bill), and their lack of regulation regularly leads to comical failures of infrastructure.

merpnderp 5y ago
So your political prejudices are causing you to grasp at conspiracy theories? This is umpossible on the internet!
- nawgz 5y ago
  Actually, it's not really my political leanings that are causing this, it's my observation of a complete Republican disregard for any COVID measures whatsoever that is leading me to this next thought. Anti-mask, anti-vax, anti-social-distancing policies are generally Republican. Accordingly, with their complete disregard for the virus / vaccine and what I view as facts about it, I find it to be a small leap to imagine their data reporting around COVID would be similarly lackadaisical / more motivated by politic than fact. Hopefully you understand I am not American so some ad hominems aren't so effective here.
  - merpnderp 5y ago
    Okay Mr. Facts, show me the breakdown of vaccine rates by different groups. And then tell me about how all those groups lean Republican. Because in my state it is groups who overwhelmingly vote democrat who make up the vast majority of unvaccinated. But I have a feeling that bashing Republicans for not getting vaccinated is a lot like publicly pronouncing your hatred of pineapple pizza. Just something the cool kids do. And when you say complete disregard for the virus/vaccine, show me some facts that back it up. Like "complete disregard" means no republicans got vaccinated? None of them said vaccines work and to please get vaccinated? Like share some of these facts that you base this on and show me it isn't your political bias.
    - nawgz 5y ago
      > show me the breakdown of vaccine rates by different groups Well, here's the first google result of such a search: https://www.kff.org/policy-watch/the-red-blue-divide-in-covid-19-vaccination-rates-is-growing/ https://www.kff.org/policy-watch/the-red-blue-divide-in-covi... > in my state Who cares about "your state" which is clearly just anecdata? This is a national trend where Republicans shun mask mandates and vaccines. That article above provides more links for the vaccine related claims > when you say complete disregard for the virus/vaccine, show me some facts that back it up How's this for size - Florida (you know, a famously Republican state with a Republican governor) is threatening to withhold EDUCATION FUNDING from school districts that have mask mandates: https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2021/07/30/desantis-seeks-to-block-school-mask-mandates-in-florida-amid-covid-surge-1389293 https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2021/07/30/des... I could go on, but you are being very emotionally charged and disregarding a lot of very obvious rhetoric to try and make a blatantly false point.

majormajor 5y ago

The numbers I've seen are that death rate per capita has been lowering California than Florida so far, so while I think investigation should be done about about "were the outcomes so much better to justify whatever additional cost[0]" I haven't seen anything suggesting that public health measures haven't had any effect. We should, of course, also wait until things have actually settled down and we don't keep having more periodic surges... [0] how costly, exactly, things have been is another question that needs more investigation, especially for all types of interventions. E.g. if, after 2022, nowhere in the US institutes another Covid mask mandate or lockdown, all the folks hysterical about how "Covid is just an excuse for democrats to take your freedoms away and never give it back" should rethink a few things.

nradov 5y ago
Florida also has a lot more residents in the vulnerable 65+ age group. So all else being equal we would expect Florida to have a much higher death rate.
- dcolkitt 5y ago
  On the flip side, Florida has year round warm weather and sunshine. Not only does that sanitize viral particles, but it makes it easier to move socialization outdoors.
  - refurb 5y ago
    Yeah, no. India has proven that theory false.
    - triceratops 5y ago
      India's per-capita deaths are lower than Floria. And sunlight sanitizing the air might be bunk, but being able to socialize more outdoors is very much not. India's population density is nowhere close to Florida's.

nyokodo 5y ago

> Since when is Texas a pejorative? Alberta is Canada's biggest oil producing region similar to Texas. I do not think it was meant as a pejorative.

munificent 5y ago

The death rate in Florida is 180/100k [1]. That's pretty close to the national average. If the entire US had gone like Florida, then instead of 613k deaths, we'd have 590k. So, yes, Florida was better than average despite not having a severe lockdown. But Florida also has fairly separated populations: a lot of old people very likely to get vaccinated, and a lot of young people very likely to survive. For comparison, Oregon had a pretty hard lockdown. Its death rate is 68/100k. If the entire US had that same death rate, 390,000 Americans would still be alive today. If you look at the data, it is clear that lockdown is not the only thing affecting death rate. But it also seems pretty obvious that social distancing did have a significant impact on the number of people who died. There are thousands of Americans that are dead today because people wanted to go to a party, or a restaurant, or a wedding. [1]: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1109011/coronavirus-covid19-death-rates-us-by-state/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1109011/coronavirus-covi...

edmundsauto 5y ago
Didn't Florida just set an all-time 1 day record for new case counts last week? These numbers might shift significantly in the next month or two.
- bpodgursky 5y ago
  Deaths in the US (like in the UK) are barely moving unlike during the other waves b/c of elderly vaccination rates. I really doubt this will budge the aggregate fatality rates much at all.
  - edmundsauto 5y ago
    I agree if your denominator is infected to death rate. If you’re talking relative to state population, then 5k extra deaths moves the needle. But, whatever. 5000 people dead - it’s just a number, right? Thank goodness we are all coping with the pandemic with statistics.
refurb 5y ago
Is anyone adjusting for demographics? I’d assume FL has way more older folks than Oregon. It’s like a preschool not locking down, having zero deaths then patting themselves on the back for it.

brnt 5y ago

Mildly amusing that your sole defense is the size of the economy.

techrat 5y ago

> Since when is Texas a pejorative? 'Pray for rain' type politicians and Taliban style government. (Rick Perry, the Bushes, Paxton and Abbott) Cronyism run rampant. Some of the most corrupt corporations. The electrical grid collapse, Refinery explosions, West Fertilizer Company explosion, Result of letting corporations 'regulate themselves' Cowboyism/Ignorance as a virtue. One the most polluted states. The only reason Texas can be in the world top 15 economy is due to population and landmass size, along with its dependency on oil. But given Texas is second in state population behind California and California is #5 in the world, I'd argue it's not doing as well as it could be. Oh, and the weather in Texas is less preferable to having a weasel clamp down on your balls.

0xTJ 5y ago

In a lot of ways, from politics to oil, Alberta has a lot in common with Texas.

brewdad 5y ago

> Since when is Texas a pejorative? The Norwegians use the word texas to mean crazy. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34622478 https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34622478