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1/1 This one goes out to @PatJGarrett the spokesperson for @IAGovernor because this is how the current administration in Iowa works. They only respond when pushed out into the glowing light of Twitter.
2/2 I live in NYC currently. I am from the great state of Iowa - home of Tom Harkin, Gov. Robert "Iowa Will Take All The Refugees" Ray, and HRH Cloris Leachman (a fellow Czech) - from a farm in the middle of Grundy County in Iowa's #IA04
3/3 NYC was one of the earliest epicenters of the pandemic. A decision was made to shut down the city overnight. What does that mean and how does it differ from "lockdown"? Here's lockdown in one of my favorite places on earth #Cambodia https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-30/cambodians-desperate-for-food-as-harsh-lockdown/100103378
4/4 This? This didn't happen here in NYC. We weren't "locked" down from anything. Trains ran, markets were open, kids were hanging out with their parents at the park, and none of us went to work - except people like me who work from their couch offices on the reg.
5/5 For a couple of weeks there was an adjustment - don't get me wrong it was weird, quiet. People were acting out of an abundance of caution. But none of us were caned in the streets for going to the supermarket.
6/6 Once it was clear literally every state was on it's own plans were put in place, certain businesses could of course re-open at varying levels of operation. Work from home really got going and we moved about the world.
7/7 And oh, by the way, there wasn't even a mask mandate yet. There was pretty quickly because Cuomo (the scum bag that he is) at least knew he could tap into NY'er sense of community, pulling together for the common good (see 9/11)
8/8 Meanwhile in Iowa my mom couldn't wrap her head around what was so urgent about COVID19? My mom is not an idiot, but what Kim, Pat were saying about COVID19 did not comport with the reality of what she heard from me, saw on the nightly news. You know why?
9/9 Because Iowa's Governor along Joni Ernst, Grassley (to a degree), Steve King (remember that guy) and a chorus of willful ignorance, incompetence, misuse of funds, etc., in Iowa were toeing the Trump line of lie, lie, lie. With an assist by TV stations ahem KCCI
10/10 My god what a failure of moral leadership. The staggering toll on Iowans peddled away as - literally - welp, you gotta die from something, and parroting Trump, Rush, Sean & Tucker: It's a cold! It's going to magically disappear!
11/11 And then when counties and municipalities started trying to implement actual shutdown (close to that lockdown thing but not really) measures - including - wait for it mask mandates - Governor Reynolds yanked the holy grail of the GOP - Local Control.
12/12 No I am sorry [COUNTY] you cannot mandate or implement [mitigation policy to actually save the lives of your neighbors] here - I think this is actually a quote from Pat? JK!
13/13 If you are still reading this (Pat?) I would like to add that Iowa is now a hotbed racist policies shooting their way through the #ialegis like the first sweet corn of the season through our descending colons
14/14 they have legalized discrimination via vouchers - a sort of red-lining that impacts disability communities, BIPOC communities, poor folks living in the sticks
15/15 do you want a gun? No prob! No permit necessary just slide that sweet squirrel shooter into your elastic waistbands my friends! Broadband? Nope! Oh they can talk about BB however it isn't going to reach those who most need it (see above list of the other thans)
16/16 There's the all lives splatter bill, a "back the blue" bill that doesn't back anything but does impose more criminal penalties that will result in more POC being thrown into Iowa's already overcrowded prisons
17/17 they would love to create an "abortion dashboard" to keep track of the ladies abortions you know on a government website because shame. However if they handled it like they did the COVID dashboard - well - it will simply never happen. Or they'll just lie about it.
18/18 I mean there is so much more but you know I need a snack. But I will leave you with a few articles. Just to let us all know that there is an opportunity here to name it and change it.
Anything by @LauraRBelin really
