Lone Star Death Cult
By 
At least 8, 140 Texans contracted COVID-19 yesterday. Greg Abbott would like that number to be much higher:
Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday it’s time to “open Texas 100%” and end the statewide mask order, citing declining hospitalizations across the state as more people are vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Abbott will issue a new executive order, which will take effect next Wednesday and rescind most of his earlier orders, including restrictions on business occupancy and the July 2 statewide mask order.
“Texas is in a far better position now than when I issued my last executive order back in October,” Abbott said, referring to his order allowing bars to reopen under certain circumstances. Cases spiked after he eased business restrictions in the fall.
[…]
But health experts warn that the state and nation are still in a dangerous phase of the virus spread. Even as vaccinations increase, they’re still not widespread enough to make much of a difference against the spread of the virus.
There’s also a chance that some variants could be “somewhat resistant” to the vaccines, said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
On Monday, Walensky warned that states should not lift coronavirus restrictions as the new, more contagious variants spread across the country.
“Please hear me clearly: At this level of cases with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained,” Walensky said. “I am really worried about reports that more states are rolling back the exact public health measures we have recommended to protect people from Covid-19.”
The fact that three miraculous vaccines have been authorized for use makes this literally murderous policy choice worse, not better. If proper measures could be kept in place for just a couple more months, life really could get back to normal, without a whole bunch of avoidable death and illness in the interim. But being a Republican public official in 2021 generally requires acting with the mindset of a sociopathic, obscenely self-centered 11-year-old boy at all times.
See also Tate Reeves.