MON brief 3.16.20

Take a deep breath

Mar 16

Welcome to the morning brief. If this email was forwarded to you, be sure to sign up, so you don't miss a beat.

Now, on to today's stories.

COVID19 will grind life in Texas to a halt for at least the next 30 days. School closures, suspension of state capitol tours, and restaurants moving to carryout only should help slow the spread of the virus.

Find a silver lining. Turn it into your battle for the fewest fatalities. Don't let China win.

Governor Abbott has been waiving select regulations to curb COVID19's impact; trucking (allowing alcohol trucks to deliver food), doctors (fast-tracking licensing for out of state MDs), and driver licenses (extensions for recently or soon to expire IDs) to name a few.

These and other allowances must be scrutinized, and some suggestions (i.e., expanding balloting by mail) should be rejected because they are likely to lay the groundwork for permanent policy shifts.

Chris D. Paddie@chrispaddie

Appropriately, @GovAbbott has taken steps to waive or suspend certain rules & regulations during this emergency declaration. The silver lining is that the impact will be helpful in future #txlege discussions of whether or not we really need some of these regulations anyway.

Texas elected officials are holding meetings via phone calls that should be open to the public and the pandemic is so vile; it's giving cover for lawmakers (who should no longer be in office) like Reps. Dennis Bonnen and Poncho Nevarez to slither back into the public square.

SIX CONGRESSMEN from Texas voted against an $8 billion Democrat COVID19 stimulus bill. Trump tweeted approval of the measure before passage.

The bill was negotiated by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who suggested the Senate may pass a different version.

ANDREW GILLUM was caught in a hotel room with a gay-pornstar-male-prostitute overdosing on meth. Luckily, the only thing that died was Gillum's political career.