Recently, I have come across a couple news items regarding actions from two other US governors that demonstrate two characteristics that are sorely missing from Kate Brown and her ego-driven, authoritarian responses to the COVID virus.

The first is explained in an editorial in the Arizona Republic regarding how Governor Doug Ducey has handled the crisis.

Give Gov. Doug Ducey credit. He set Arizona up for a post-COVID rebound

Gov. Doug Ducey rooted his State of the State address in a defense of his management of the COVID-19 outbreak.

This was appropriate on a number of scores. COVID-19 remains the most salient issue facing the state. With the vaccination rollout, Ducey’s management has positioned Arizona to rebound from it better than most states.

And finally, Ducey has struggled to get his approach communicated. Critics – those who think he has done too little and those who think he has done too much – have dominated the discussion. For those truly interested in understanding and evaluating Ducey’s management of the pandemic, the speech itself is worth a read.

This COVID wave is bad everywhere

The orienting reality is that there is a second wave of high transmissions occurring virtually everywhere in the country, irrespective of the differing mitigation strategies deployed.

The cross-jurisdictional comparisons are largely beside the point, employing data insufficient for that purpose. Infections per capita and percentage of positive tests are influenced not only by spread, but who chooses to be tested. These statistics would be usable for comparison purposes only if there was uniformity among the states in testing protocols and participation, which is far from the case.

The only way for there to be valid cross-jurisdictional comparisons would be through periodic random sampling, which is not being done.

So, the second wave of COVID-19 is bad in Arizona and severely stressing hospital resources. As it is virtually everywhere else in the country, including places that did what the not-enough critics complain that Ducey didn’t do, such as a statewide mask mandate and lockdowns.

Contrary to the not-enough critics, Ducey hasn’t done nothing. There are statewide masking and social distancing requirements in place for venues – such as bars, restaurants and gyms – that constitute greater transmission risks.

But, after his stay-at-home order was allowed to expire, he hasn’t imposed additional lockdowns.

Probably because he saw places like Oregon, and how not only are draconian lockdowns destructive, they, as the stats show, do nothing to slow down the spread of the virus.

That has undoubtedly resulted in some degree of greater transmission, hospitalizations and deaths. But the extent to which can’t be found in the hubristic computer models of academics. And, given the experience of other states that continued or reimposed lockdowns, arguably not to a significant degree.

"Hubris" is the perfect word to use here, because it was these horrific model predictions that were used to justify lockowns, even though they haven't been anywhere near accurate, whether they are from IHME (anyone remember the prediction of 2M deaths by now?) or Neil Ferguson (aks the "Master of Disaster" per his colleagues because his predictions are so far off.)

But the larger, and more important point, is that yes, there might have been a higher case count, but looking at other states, it doubtedly would not have been much higher than with lockdowns and economy killing restrictions.

Because of Ducey’s management of the pandemic, Arizona’s economy and government finances are in significantly better shape than most states. Those are not abstract or artificial benefits. Those are jobs retained or gained, and people whose access to government services has not been cut off or threatened.

For a policymaker in Ducey’s position, managing COVID-19 necessarily involved a balancing of risks and consequences. A good outcome was not among the options. Arizona achieved a better balance than most places and has broader immediate options for a post-vaccination world.

It's unfortunate that people such as Kate Brown and bureaucrats such as Pat Allen, Dean Sidelinger, and Colt Gill live by the maxim that any COVID infection, much less death, is horrific, and any destruction of the other ~95% of the population is well worth the sacrifice for everyone else.

The other governor showing compassion for kids and logic based on data is Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa. Recognizing the crucial importance of kids being in the classroom, she wrote on Twitter:

I believe in this State, because I believe in you! pic.twitter.com/rhwqusS3Dy

— Gov. Kim Reynolds (@IAGovernor) January 13, 2021

The request is explained more fully in an article in US News:

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Tuesday night that she will ask lawmakers to immediately send her a bill to sign into law that would require schools to offer parents the option of having their children in classrooms full time despite continuing high levels of coronavirus throughout Iowa.

“The vast majority of our schools found a way to safely and responsibly reopen, all day, Monday through Friday. It’s past time that every district makes that happen,” she said. ”As one parent told me: ‘Options are good. But if some parents get the option to go 100% online, why don’t my kids get the option to be 100% in the classroom?’

Reynolds also wants open enrollment available in all school districts, creation of public charter schools and creation of education savings accounts for students to move to another school if their school is failing. These are ideas bound to draw criticism from public school advocates who will claim such requirements would drain resources from public schools.

Meanwhile, Kate pussyfoots around, pandering to the teachers unions and other groups, making her unattaniable metrics "advisory", while leaving the local districts subject to the whims of the other alphabet bureaucracies, such as OHA Oregon School Board Association, Oregon Dept. of Education, etc.

When does it end? What is the end game for Kate? Nobody knows, but what we do know is that concern for all Oregonians isn't something contained in a heart covered by many layers of ice.