A note to the governor

Sent today, 22 May 2020

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I have been supportive of you to this point in the virus situation, and have done my part consistent with your guidelines. I did not question your judgment in getting us to this point. Now, however, the situation has changed dramatically, and you need to change with it.

You have seen your primary job as "solving" the virus issue. Keeping the economy moving and vital has been a distant second priority. The balance has now shifted decisively in favor of economic restoration, which at minimum entails broad freedom of movement and freedom of association.

We now know that the virus "experts" were massively wrong -- by orders of magnitude -- and our understanding of the threat has vastly improved over time. Over time, you have also "moved the goalposts" from "flattening the curve" (long since achieved) to some nebulous goal of total population immunity, or something. This vagueness suggests that you will seek the internment of citizens until the day the Wuhan virus vanishes from the earth, something that will never happen.

It has never made sense to quarantine everyone, particularly in light of the dire economic and social consequences and costs of doing so. Quarantine applies properly only to infected individuals, and not to the entire population. Wholesale restrictions on civil and economic behavior are unsupportable holdovers from a time of grossly overestimated impact. Those restrictions created a humanitarian and economic catastrophe with inestimable costs for Connecticut. The restrictions are no longer justified. Further delay in lifting them is no longer acceptable.

I would like to think that you respect the judgment and good will of our citizens, but your saying (in a daily briefing) that non-conformance will be met with "a friendly reminder from the state police" is beyond insulting. You apparently share NJ Gov. Murphy's view that "the Bill of Rights is above [your] pay grade." You have given us a first-hand view of the police state. It is profoundly disturbing, and will long be remembered.

Further, Gov. Cuomo correctly noted that "people will die no matter what we do." Significantly to your benefit, the deaths that are occurring inevitably as a result of your decisions and executive orders are effectively hidden, concealed, and therefore not directly attributable to the virus, nor to your actions. But they are nevertheless entirely real, something many of us are noticing. With each passing hour your authority becomes more tenuous -- morally and socially as well as legally.

Your reopening program is now far too slow and far too narrow. You must take immediate steps to accelerate reopening. Indoor dining is a good start, along with churches, barbers and salons, gyms and "gatherings of more than 5 people." These restrictions must be eliminated immediately. You also need to streamline the bloated and ineffective reopening commission into a very few individuals who are fully committed to rapid reopening. Or, better, eliminate it altogether.

One more thing. Stop taking advice from celebrity "experts," like Zeke Emanuel, a purported "bioethicist" who said in April that for "18 months or more" we must accept "all that economic pain" because "we have no choice." Emanuel just doesn't get it. We need advisors who instead understand how to get back to normal -- who have solutions rather than hand-wringing.

Reopen this state, Ned. Further delay is malfeasance.