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Well, if THIS isn’t all kinds of stupid and wrong at the same time, then I don’t know what IS. I guess these people, specifically Supervisors Don Wagner and Shawn Steel’s Wife Michelle, exist in their own little far-right bubble, either isolated from or indifferent to any adult advice.
Well now look what they’ve gone and done, if not blasting out a hasty, illiterate press release supporting a lawbreaking restaurant against their own Health Care Agency’s meek attempts to enforce the law – and once again acting apparently without the approval of the rest of the Board of Supervisors:
STATEMENT OF SUPERVISORS MICHELLE STEEL AND DON WAGNER
SUPPORTING NOMADS CANTINA [sic]
“Over the weekend, media reports stated that Orange County’s Health Care Agency contacted the owner of Nomads Cantina [sic] in San Clement [sic] regarding the restaurant’s efforts at reopening. HCA threatened the owner with permit suspension, in complete contradiction to the Board of Supervisors’ Guidelines passed unanimously last week. We have worked with HCA leadership about this unfortunate unilateral department action. [did Michelle write that last sentence? ‘We’ve worked with them about it’?]
“We understand that HCA will be promptly rescinding all threats and will take no enforcement action against Nomads [sic] as long as it continues to comply with Orange County’s Guidelines. Further enforcement action pursuant to state or local orders will be up to the appropriate state or local law enforcement officials.”
(By the way it is “Nomad’s Canteen” and the town is “San Clemente.”)
Where to start? A little background, if you missed the recent news: a fun-loving San Clemente establishment called Nomad’s Canteen got a lot of attention over the weekend for opening up in defiance of state orders. According to the Register:
“Dozens of diners sat at tables on the sunny deck or inside around the beach-themed bar, toasting margaritas and enjoying poke bowls. People stood a foot or two from each other, waiting for tables to open up. And almost no one, from the staff to the customers, wore masks.”
The Canteen’s owner Jeff Gourley spoke of how badly the shutdown orders were affecting his business, and meanwhile his place has become a cause célèbre to the “rebellious types” who resent the Governor’s stay-at-home orders.
Well, the idea of civil disobedience as I understand it, is you defy a law you believe to be unjust, and you accept the consequences, and maybe if you’re successful that law gets changed. And sure enough, agents of the county HCA (Health Care Agency), DOING THEIR JOB, threatened Gourley with loss of his license if he continued this behavior.
Spoilsport Health Nazi, slapped down.
So NOW the two Trumpiest and most childlike of our five County Supervisors have jumped in to bash their own health agency, claiming Nomad’s is “complying with OC’s guidelines” which they passed (and we lampooned) last week. Couple of problems there…
1. These are guidelines for businesses to follow WHEN BUSINESSES ARE RE-OPENED; businesses were not CLOSED by the County; they were closed by the STATE; and the County has NOT VOTED to re-open businesses, even if they COULD. As even crazy Don and Michelle admit in last week’s release, these “recommendations follow the Orange County Health Care Agency and do not supersede any conflicting or more restrictive orders issued by local governments, the State of California, or the Federal Government.”
2. Guidelines? It’s impossible NOT to “comply” with the guidelines the Supervisors released last week, as they are only GUIDELINES. Every suggestion was couched in words like “should.” Gourley didn’t need to make the customers and staff keep six feet distance, because the guidelines only said that they SHOULD. So he didn’t, and he was still in compliance with “guidelines.” He didn’t need to make his staff and customers wear face coverings, because the guidelines only said that they SHOULD. So they didn’t, but still complied with “guidelines.”
I could … no, let’s make it YOU. You could cover yourself in COVID blood and walk down PCH embracing strangers, you could french-kiss them even, and you would still be in compliance with OCBoS guidelines. Or maybe I need to show you this again so you understand:
And why is it these two Rogue Supervisors again, releasing such crazy shit on their own? What do Do, Bartlett, and Chaffee think about Steel and Wagner slapping down the Health Care Agency for doing their job, and for behaving as though the Board had voted to re-open OC businesses, which they never did? Should be a colorful meeting tomorrow morning!
Sounds like the Governor and his cops are going to have to enforce the law down in San Clemente, because we lack any adult leadership here. See you on the other side.
Wagner must be jerking around the bubblehead Steel.
But the real question (that of course the dimwitted Supervisors and their illiterate staff left out) is under what authority the HCA can close a restaurant. Normally, it’s for run of the mill sanitation issues – like cockroaches and rats.
Surely they could extend that authority to cover the spread of an infectious disease.
What lame, selective grandstanding. But you just wait. There will be district prerogative
blow back. San Clement(sic) is in the 5th District!
I always assumed that Michelle did what Shawn told her to do.
Is he too busy with something else?
In any case anything she does right now is something she thinks will get her elected to Congress.
Have you heard her? You can’t understand her. Shawn pulls her strings
What a lame article and what dose any of this have to do with Trump or the left or right agendas. Get over it – media is making this into a much bigger deal than needed. Nomads did nothing wrong. Why not report some real news.
It might be a little subtle for you, I’m sorry it dose not make sense.
I’m glad you asked!
1. Trump is praising the protesters for violating his own administration’s guidelines.
2. Trump wants the economy opened ASAP — no matter what the cost in human lives — so that he can raise his odds of re-election.
3. Conservative politicians who would generally know better are afraid to defy Trump giving his zombification of his supporters.
4. Nomads did do something wrong — by violating the orders (with force of law) set up to constrain the spread of the virus.
5. If you think that one single person or entity breaking a law in a way that endangers lives is no big deal, I’d like to know your views on child molestation.
Absolutely fuckin’ RIDICULOUS. At what point will it be considered a crime (as it should be) to deliberately put someone’s health and even life at risk with the excuse of fighting for “freedom”? It’s like saying that being free gives me the right to knowingly put someone in a high health risk environment because I need money.
And it’s not like it’s just the idiots that choose to deliberately put themselves and their families at risk of getting COVID-19 that would suffer the consequences if their health takes a dive. They would also be taking up more medical resources. Such as ventilators and putting more of a burdon on Dr.’s and nurses who are putting their lives on the line to try and SAVE LIVES. Not to drink a fuckin’ beer and “hang out”, like these right wing conspiracy nut jobs, who are gooddamn breed of their own!
Does a county health agency have the authority to enforce state guidelines?
Good question.
My guess is yes. This was clearly just posturing on the part of Steel and Wagner.
Exactly – playing to the Newport and HB rowdies. I don’t think the more elite set is going to fall for the Cheap Trick.
Andrew Do asked one of the health officials that this morning, and she got really nervous. “I’m sorry, that’s a loaded question. Can I refer you to my supervisor Dr Quick?” And Quick beat and beat around the bush, but the answer was obviously yes. The HCA seems terrified of Steel and Wagner, but I don’t really know why, after today it’s easy to see they don’t have a third zealot to make a majority.
They’re all that way. Every single one.
Welcome new readers John & Ken, and thanks for the shout-out in today’s interview with Wagner!
And still calling the place “Cantina,” I hear.
Jackasses.
*The rhetorical answer is of course: “Where were Wagner and Steel when John Moorlach wanted to identify A,B.C,D and F Health Inspections of all Restaurants in Orange County?
No matter ….this is just the typical Grandstanding approach to crowd control. As our old Sargent used to say in the Army: “Fall out and fall in around me! Today is Thursday…which means that tomorrow is Friday…..and we all know what that means? We will have an inspection on Friday….Fall our and fall in around me!” Of course, Shaky Jake was a war hardened veteran of Vietnam and had three APC shot out from under him! So, we might forgive Shaky Jake……Wagner and Michelle…..maybe not so much! We are happy to see outside dining however!