Governor Half-Whit Tightens The Screws

Not content with merely extending the "Stay Home, Stay Safe" Order for thirty days as the legislature allowed, our governor has decided to make it more restrictive with a far more expansive executive order. Whether she did this vindictively after being refused her demand to extend it 70 days is an exercise best left to the reader to decide.

I do like how her declaration starts off with some carefully choosen wording:

There is currently no approved vaccine or antiviral treatment for this disease.

Whatever you do don't mention the hydroxychloroquine treatment that seems to be effective against the coronavirus, it might bring up some recent faux pas on her part .

While the order still allows one

To engage in outdoor physical activity, consistent with remaining at least six feet from people from outside the individual’s household. Outdoor physical activity includes walking, hiking, running, cycling, kayaking, canoeing, or other similar physical activity, as well as any comparable activity for those with limited mobility.

it still does not allow golf, thus keeping about thousands unemployed in the golf industry and ridiculously still prohibiting those who like golf from wandering and walking about large areas of empty land chasing their ball while easily remaining six feet from another golfer. Again, I don't like golf, and don't play golf, so I'm not affected by this ban. But, this high-handed ban on those who do like to play it for outdoor recreation activity is just plain wrong, unfairly classist (the ol' it's rich people play golf trope) and counter to all evidence that it can be done safely and in conformance with CDC guidelines and is a good psychological outlet for people being cooped up. Let the golfers golf already.

Not a new restriction, but continuing to double-down on a stupid one she made up without any evidence as to any efficacy.

Nice to see her specifically add canoeing and kayaking after the Michigan State Police tried to outright ban boating.

Now on to the new and unhappy restrictions.

She also added a ban prohibiting movement between two residences a person may own in the state starting tomorrow. Likely this is to stop people from leaving hot spots like Detroit and Oakland county and heading up north where if infected they might overwhelm the medical system up there, but of course it doesn't say that and applies to the whole state. Now, this may indeed be a reasonable restriction as we don't want that spread around and to rural areas with hospitals that are not as well equipped. This would suck however if your in such a rural area now and want to head back to your main home with better medical facilities etc. How they might actually enforce this one is unclear, but I can guess.

But wait - there's a really cool exception: You can leave your residence in this state so long as you move to another residence you have in another state! Take that corona case off our hands, Buckeyes!

But wait, there's more and new and even more stupid restrictions.

After all, as the weather gets nicer people might want to spend their time at home to paint their decks, maybe some do-it-yourself home improvement projects, or perhaps plant a garden. Indeed people may need to start planting victory gardens to grow some food given how the economy is shut down hard.

Nope, you can't buy that stuff:

Close areas of the store—by cordoning them off, placing signs in aisles, posting prominent signs, removing goods from shelves, or other appropriate means—that are dedicated to the following classes of goods:
(A) Carpet or flooring.
(B) Furniture.
(C) Garden centers and plant nurseries.
(D) Paint.

Seriously this is just vindictive, stupid, and without any scientific basis in an attempt to get everyone to needlessly suffer so we can all have this "We're all in this together" feeling she wants.

People are now stuck at home, psychological ailments like depression and substance abuse are measurably increasing, and this half-whit wants to stop them from gardening and painting their houses while they have time and are twiddling their thumbs in isolation?

This is needlessly destructive both psychologically to people and destructive to businesses and the people who work for and own these businesses who depend on this kind of economic activity at this time of year.

Then she decides to trod all over the First Amendment and its limited yet significant protections of commercial speech:

By April 13, 2020, [stores are to] refrain from the advertising or promotion of goods that are not groceries, medical supplies, or items that are necessary to maintain the safety, sanitation, and basic operation of residences.

Well, at least she isn't banning the sale of items she deems non-essential, at least not yet.

That she did not use this opportunity to allow for landscape services, golf, and many other activities that can be conducted safely in line with distancing guidelines to reopen speaks volumes about her priorities.