Michigan

[tower912]

UP and Northern Lower allowed to open up for Memorial Day Weekend.   Restaurants and Bars at 50% capacity.   I predict abundant conflict, as the desire for tourist money bumps into fear of outsiders bringing in the COVID.

[🏀]

UP and Northern Lower allowed to open up for Memorial Day Weekend.   Restaurants and Bars at 50% capacity.   I predict abundant conflict, as the desire for tourist money bumps into fear of outsiders bringing in the COVID.

More conflict than the regular fudgie distaste? Ooo boy.

[Pakuni]

UP and Northern Lower allowed to open up for Memorial Day Weekend.   Restaurants and Bars at 50% capacity.   I predict abundant conflict, as the desire for tourist money bumps into fear of outsiders bringing in the COVID.

If you were a betting man, what are the odds that Michigan (western, to be exact) is largely "back to normal" in early August.
Someone's got a deposit on a lake home hanging in the balance.

[tower912]

You will enjoy your vacation.    Unless the weather sucks.   Or the lake levels continue to rise.

[MU82]

The week after Valentine's day, the chief of my department (who went to MU in 83-84 but flunked out after, as he puts it after a couple of drinks 'majoring in the Avalanche') looked at the data coming in and formed a task force.    He told the deputy and the others on the task force that this looks like it is going to be a problem and get your hand on all of the PPE you can.   And start making plans about what we can cancel and what staffing will look like based on % of our members who have the COVID.     Figure out what our policies are going to be.    Start working on where we will house our members in quarantine if they don't want to quarantine at home. 

  Third week in February. 
  Chief in a medium large midwest city.   
   Read the data.   

So they went to work.   One thing about firefighters, when given a task they know how to organize, plan, acquire resources, and measure and be accountable for  their outcomes.   

Policies changed the first week of March, before the shutdowns.    No more installing smoke detectors in people's house for them.   No more multi-company training.    Taking temperature each day when you get to work.    Plenty of PPE.   Never going outside without a mask while on duty.   No more tours of the stations.    No more neighborhood gatherings.    Wearing additional PPE on every medical call.    Embraced by our workforce.    Vacations cancelled.  Traveling for training cancelled.   Sick leave usage dropped through the floor.   City manager actually joining our morning skype meetings to commend us for how much our overtime budget has dropped over the last two months.    Cleaning and disinfecting all surfaces every day.     Actually put together crews to go talk to and work with the homeless about social distancing, masks, and attempting to pay more attention to hygiene.    Brainstormed with local agencies to find places to get the homeless tested and placed in isolation.    Tough to do because some just walk away when they are surrounded by 4 walls for too long.    And when the local health department tried to shut us out of both data and testing, the chief walked in and started pounding the table and we got good data and finally got department wide testing last week. 

We embraced it all.    And kept fighting fires, and taking care of sick people and running on COVID patients and cleaning up car wrecks and running all of the calls we always ran.   

So far, we have not had a single firefighter in my department test positive.    Whole department got tested last week, 200 negatives.     While our community has had a normal amount of infections and deaths, we have not had a single positive test.   

I don't believe that will continue indefinitely.   Eventually, the isolation is going to get to somebody who is going to go to a bar or a party and is going to get infected and bring it back to the station house.     Then we will start implementing the policies and protocols that are a complete pain in the arse, but necessary.   

But my point is this.   I know what leadership looks like.   I know what doing it right every bleeping time looks like and what it can accomplish.  I know what holding myself accountable, holding my peers accountable, and having them hold me accountable.   And I hold in contempt anybody trying to make excuses for lack of leadership or arguing against doing what they know in their hearts to be the right thing.      I am weary of those who are all about 'me' at the expense of 'we'. 

  Grow the F up.   This isn't over.   It isn't going to be for a while.    Wear your damn mask and wash your damn hands and think about the effect your laziness and narcissism can have on others.   

  And think about how the micro lessons of my department could have been macro lessons for society.     If the virus had been taken seriously from the beginning and there had been actual leadership and direction.

Somehow I missed this the day you posted it. That was amazing to read, tower.

Congratulations to everybody involved. This should be required reading for everybody with political power, though the guy at the top will need to have somebody read it to him.

[tower912]

Multiple dams breached up river from Midland.   Downtown under 9 feet of water by morning.     Because we needed more challenges.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Multiple dams breached up river from Midland.   Downtown under 9 feet of water by morning.     Because we needed more challenges.

Was wondering about.  The Weather Channel App gave me a notification this morning about it

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Multiple dams breached up river from Midland.   Downtown under 9 feet of water by morning.     Because we needed more challenges.

What a horrible disaster.  Have a co-worker 30 miles or so down river south of Saginaw.  She's worried about the dams further down the line giving way too.

[tower912]

Quarantining in place no longer an option for 10k.   Empty schools being used for emergency shelters.   A helluva conundrum.   And how much PPE does the National Guard have.  FWIW, we have sent members of our dive and search & rescue teams over with a spare boat.

    Ironically may keep crowds down in Northern lower Michigan and the UP.

[Jockey]

Quarantining in place no longer an option for 10k.   Empty schools being used for emergency shelters.   A helluva conundrum.   And how much PPE does the National Guard have.  FWIW, we have sent members of our dive and search & rescue teams over with a spare boat.

    Ironically may keep crowds down in Northern lower Michigan and the UP.

Sadly, the Criminal-in-Chief is threatening to take away all funding for Michigan at a time when it is needed most.

[tower912]

Unrelated.   Based on wrong information and an incompetent understanding of both the law and what the Michigan AG is doing.    Tweeting out of his buttocks.   Also known as Wednesday.   

He needs Michigan.   Withholding funding after historic flooding is not politically prudent.  So, when he visits in 24 hours, he will come promising aid.    Also known as Thursday.

[jesmu84]

Unrelated.   Based on wrong information and an incompetent understanding of both the law and what the Michigan AG is doing.    Tweeting out of his buttocks.   Also known as Wednesday.   

He needs Michigan.   Withholding funding after historic flooding is not politically prudent.  So, when he visits in 24 hours, he will come promising aid.    Also known as Thursday.

Trump is threatening to harm citizens of Michigan because their elected officials are making it easier to vote.

https://twitter.com/jonfavs/status/1263110502898524161?s=19

[pbiflyer]

Quarantining in place no longer an option for 10k.   Empty schools being used for emergency shelters.   A helluva conundrum.   And how much PPE does the National Guard have.  FWIW, we have sent members of our dive and search & rescue teams over with a spare boat.

    Ironically may keep crowds down in Northern lower Michigan and the UP.

This will likely happen somewhere in the Southeast this summer, likely Florida, as they are predicting an above average hurricane season.

[pbiflyer]

The week after Valentine's day, the chief of my department (who went to MU in 83-84 but flunked out after, as he puts it after a couple of drinks 'majoring in the Avalanche') looked at the data coming in and formed a task force.    He told the deputy and the others on the task force that this looks like it is going to be a problem and get your hand on all of the PPE you can.   And start making plans about what we can cancel and what staffing will look like based on % of our members who have the COVID.     Figure out what our policies are going to be.    Start working on where we will house our members in quarantine if they don't want to quarantine at home. 

  Third week in February. 
  Chief in a medium large midwest city.   
   Read the data.   

So they went to work.   One thing about firefighters, when given a task they know how to organize, plan, acquire resources, and measure and be accountable for  their outcomes.   

Policies changed the first week of March, before the shutdowns.    No more installing smoke detectors in people's house for them.   No more multi-company training.    Taking temperature each day when you get to work.    Plenty of PPE.   Never going outside without a mask while on duty.   No more tours of the stations.    No more neighborhood gatherings.    Wearing additional PPE on every medical call.    Embraced by our workforce.    Vacations cancelled.  Traveling for training cancelled.   Sick leave usage dropped through the floor.   City manager actually joining our morning skype meetings to commend us for how much our overtime budget has dropped over the last two months.    Cleaning and disinfecting all surfaces every day.     Actually put together crews to go talk to and work with the homeless about social distancing, masks, and attempting to pay more attention to hygiene.    Brainstormed with local agencies to find places to get the homeless tested and placed in isolation.    Tough to do because some just walk away when they are surrounded by 4 walls for too long.    And when the local health department tried to shut us out of both data and testing, the chief walked in and started pounding the table and we got good data and finally got department wide testing last week. 

We embraced it all.    And kept fighting fires, and taking care of sick people and running on COVID patients and cleaning up car wrecks and running all of the calls we always ran.   

So far, we have not had a single firefighter in my department test positive.    Whole department got tested last week, 200 negatives.     While our community has had a normal amount of infections and deaths, we have not had a single positive test.   

I don't believe that will continue indefinitely.   Eventually, the isolation is going to get to somebody who is going to go to a bar or a party and is going to get infected and bring it back to the station house.     Then we will start implementing the policies and protocols that are a complete pain in the arse, but necessary.   

But my point is this.   I know what leadership looks like.   I know what doing it right every bleeping time looks like and what it can accomplish.  I know what holding myself accountable, holding my peers accountable, and having them hold me accountable.   And I hold in contempt anybody trying to make excuses for lack of leadership or arguing against doing what they know in their hearts to be the right thing.      I am weary of those who are all about 'me' at the expense of 'we'. 

  Grow the F up.   This isn't over.   It isn't going to be for a while.    Wear your damn mask and wash your damn hands and think about the effect your laziness and narcissism can have on others.   

  And think about how the micro lessons of my department could have been macro lessons for society.     If the virus had been taken seriously from the beginning and there had been actual leadership and direction.

Character revealed indeed. Excellent post.

[MU82]

Trump is threatening to harm citizens of Michigan because their elected officials are making it easier to vote.

https://twitter.com/jonfavs/status/1263110502898524161?s=19

Hey, it's just exactly what Obama did when New Jersey needed aid after Hurricane Sandy.

Only kidding.

Chris Christie was so grateful that the president actually did his job and handled the situation with compassion and empathy, that Christie hugged him ... a hug that all but ended Christie's political career.

[tower912]

Hey, it's just exactly what Obama did when New Jersey needed aid after Hurricane Sandy.

Only kidding.

Chris Christie was so grateful that the president actually did his job and handled the situation with compassion and empathy, that Christie hugged him ... a hug that all but ended Christie's political career.

Wasn't that when Cruz, after taking hurricane relief for Texas, tried to stop hurricane relief for NJ?

[MU82]

Wasn't that when Cruz, after taking hurricane relief for Texas, tried to stop hurricane relief for NJ?

Yep. And Christie called him out on it, came right out and called him a liar.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/08/31/fact-check-ted-cruz-wrong-hurricane-sandy-relief/619809001/

Trump isn't often right, but he was right about "Lyin' Ted." Of course, that was the pot calling the kettle orange, but it was still true.

[4everwarriors]

Y'all are unhinged. Yuck it up now, cry in yo beer later, hey?

[reinko]

Y'all are unhinged. Yuck it up now, cry in yo beer later, hey?

So did POTUS threaten the state of Michigan by withholding govt aid, for doing some that is legal, that also Republican led admins did in states like Georgia, Iowa, Nebraska, and West Virginia?  That also, RNC Chair, Ronna Romney, errr McDaniel also say she has no problem with.

I dare you to answer.

[MU82]

So did POTUS threaten the state of Michigan by withholding govt aid, for doing some that is legal, that also Republican led admins did in states like Georgia, Iowa, Nebraska, and West Virginia?  That also, RNC Chair, Ronna Romney, errr McDaniel also say she has no problem with.

I dare you to answer.

Hell, he threatened them for doing something that HE did in the last primary!

But yeah ... it's everybody else who is unhinged.

[tower912]

POTUS spoke to Big Gretch today.   May detour up to Midland during his state visit.   Offered help from FEMA and other federal aid.    Like I said, he needs Michigan.   It would be political suicide to withhold federal assistance.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

Northern Michigan story. Had a house rented for the week after Memorial day to go fishing, an annual event.  We go again end of June.  Renter called me on Monday saying he had been to his rental over the weekend and told his neighbor that we would be his first renters of the year and arriving on the 31st.  Said his neighbor got in his face and berated him for 30 minutes about social irresponsibity and that Trump was going to kill us all. He was calling to apologize and tell me he was pulling the rental until things cooled down.  I told him i was sorry as he has a gorgeous place on the water with ample parking for trucks n rigs n sleeps 14 and that i assume he could use the income. He apologized profusely.  I found something in minutes on VRBO. Trip still a go.

[tower912]

There is going to be that push-pull dynamic in lots of places for a while.   Mackinac Island announced that it isn't opening this weekend.  A small town just north of here is having a 'freedom festival' and most of the businesses are opening up ahead of the lifting of the shelter in place order. 

Polls are showing most people are afraid of hotels and airplanes.   It is going to be a slow go even when everything is officially opened up.

[MU82]

POTUS spoke to Big Gretch today.   May detour up to Midland during his state visit.   Offered help from FEMA and other federal aid.    Like I said, he needs Michigan.   It would be political suicide to withhold federal assistance.

Yep. And every poll taken there, including one just out this week, shows that Whitmer is significantly more popular than Trump.

[wadesworld]

Good news is Trump was Michigan’s Man of the Year a number of times so he’s got it locked up.