Killer Kate washes her hands

There's an interesting story behind the Oregonian Paywall of Pity about the latest odd behavior by Oregon's governor, Kate Brown. She's determined to leave mask mandates up to the state's individual counties now, as Covid cases spike sharply and intensive care unit populations surge close to an all-time high. 

Yesterday there were 135 Covid patients in ICUs statewide. The worst it's ever been is 143, last December.

Two weeks ago, that number was 41.

I guess Brown's thinking is, "Screw it. You had the chance to get vaccinated. If you didn't, you get what's coming to you." But that's a heck of a thing to be saying to children and others who can't get vaccinated.

And of course, local officials who want to do the right thing are even more susceptible than state officials are to threats from the death cult now in control of the Republican Party.

So more people will needlessly die. Last spring it was Grandma, now it's going to be Dad and maybe even Junior. I don't understand. I thought the Guv had declared victory over Covid.

In a week or two, the question will be how in heck can we be sending all those unvaccinated kids back to school. One can only hope that Killer Kate wakes up between now and then. But I wouldn't bet on it.