I've told you that a Red Lion woman out for a Sunday drive was cited by Pennsylvania State Police for violating Governor Tom Wolf's shelter-in-place order. This was for her own good. We should not even go out for groceries or medicine, our top public health official has recommended. That's for our own good, too. If you don't wash your hands every five minutes, you could die a horrible death. We're all supposed to be shaking in our homes. With a can of disinfectant spray in one hand, a roll of toilet paper in the other, and underwear wrapped around our faces, we wait for the Coroner to come by in his wagon, chanting, "Bring out your dead!" It is in precisely this climate that our sage state officials decided to declare yesterday the first day of trout fishing season. The state fish and boat comm'n rang the bell at 8 am after consulting with - guess who? - Governor Tom Wolf and Health Secretary Rachel Levine.
Opening day was supposed to be April 18.
This surprise decision was made over the weekend,
supposedly at a meeting I am unable to locate. Ostensibly, the reason for springing it on everyone was to keep away the large crowds that usually accompany first day. So instead, a large number of people in the know were out there, pulling in the palominos and rainbows. In fact, I saw a bunch of them along Bushkill Creek in Palmer Tp near Penn Pump Park both on Saturday and Monday as well. They were cheating, but must have been given a green light by someone.
So if you planned on filling your creel on April 18, you should go for a leisurely drive instead.
Governor Wolf and the connected few figured out a way to screw the rest of us again.
All of a sudden, the politicians, with the help of the State Police, are having a wet dream in their quest to control everything we do. Damn the Constitution. They all "know" what is best for everyone. If we allow ourselves to go down this slippery slope, we may lose many of our guaranteed Constitutional rights forever. What did Jim Clyburn say? Now is the time to get our progressive agenda enacted (sic).
ReplyDeleteAnother tinfoil hat conspiracy post about the virus. Yes the conspiracies are real.
ReplyDeleteShould anyone want to read the entire explanation for the early opening instead of the opinion of an angry blogger and the tinfoil hat conspiracy theory.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/PaFishandBoat/posts/3664769796926976?__tn__=K-R
It doesn't matter they are in a world pf their own. This is about selfish,"me only" people. They are what is wrong with the world.
ReplyDeleteThe PA Fish & Boat Commission and the PA Game Commission are two totally separate independent organizations. Pennsylvania doesn't have one fish and game commission. So don't try to smear both agencies, one which has absolutely nothing to do with fish or fishing, with your broad brush of conspiracy theories and misinformation, BO.
ReplyDeleteThe girl from Red Lion should have been carrying tackle. Our state has handled this horrifically. Wolf is an elitist ass. Levine is a man who is way over his head. We were utterly unprepared. Our leadership has been dysfunctional and stupid.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know , but I’m pretty much leaning towards sometime after the 22 April to be the break point here. I would expect new cases to appear in uptick again 8 days after Easter dinner if people don’t stay away from each other . Northampton County is a hot zone . This county is overlapped by N.J.and N.Y. We don’t have the luxury, we are at risk .We don’t enjoy a Sullivan County type freestyle yet.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to go camp out in front of the liquor store for the secret midnight re-opening. Maybe that'll make up for all the crowds when they announced they were closing.
ReplyDeleteLiqueur stores will soon reopen, but it will be pay by credit card and pick it up at the door.
ReplyDeleteThere are a couple key, stateline liquor "distribution points," for those with a little motivation. Wiley entrepreneurs deployed quickly. Ask around. NY and NJ booze can be had at several discreet meeting places for reasonable prices, although expect to pay a small premium. There would be more outcry if people weren't able to get liquor. That's not the case in these parts with relatively easy access to out of state booze. PA's police state has been a windfall for many.
ReplyDeleteWolf ordered all flags at state buildings lowered to mourn the death of Pennsylvanians' civil rights. Poignant.
ReplyDelete"The PA Fish & Boat Commission and the PA Game Commission are two totally separate independent organizations. Pennsylvania doesn't have one fish and game commission. So don't try to smear both agencies, one which has absolutely nothing to do with fish or fishing, with your broad brush of conspiracy theories and misinformation, BO."
ReplyDeleteI corrected my description of this comm'n, thank you. I also provided readers with their reason for suddenly changing opening day so that only a chosen few knew. This decison was made over the weekend and I am still unable to determine whether it occurred at a meeting that complied with the Sunshine Act. Obviously, you must be one of the chosen few to justify this preference for your pals. You are also posting at 3:53 am, a time when most of the trolls are out.
You're obviously wrong. Haven't fished in decades. Just get annoyed with your increasing misinformation and maligning of government agencies. I punch into work on the front lines at 4am. Honest work. Foreign concept to you, I suppose.
DeleteThe opening of "trout season" on Pennsylvania at this time was 100% wrong. To turn hundreds of thousands of fishermen loose on our streams while ordering the rest of your citizens to stay home is a mind boggling screw-up. What the hell is wrong with our leadership in Harrisburg. You can't justify such a decision.
ReplyDeleteYou have rolled out the Sunshine Act alert on every level of PA government for years. Please help us understand how governmental meetings now being held on “Zoom”, “Go-to-meeting”, “WebEx”, etc. - most, if not all, of which require an invitational link and several of which cap the number of participants - possibly comply? Did all the emergency declarations suspend the Sunshine Act?
ReplyDeleteNot being a conspiracy theorist, but.... could this be a test run for a real black death type of plague? Make no mistake about it, every government in the world is observing, collecting data, studying and modeling how people react to the effects of a pandemic.
ReplyDelete8:13, Nobody punches in at 4 am. You talk about "misinformation" when my post is accurate. The Comm'n suddenly changed opening day, and made sure that very few people knew about it. This opening day occurred at a time when there is a shelter-in-place order. It occurred at a time when a York woman was cited for going for a drive. That violates Wolf's order but fishing does not? What bothers you is that you don't like it that I point out the hypocrisy of our state officials.
ReplyDelete"You have rolled out the Sunshine Act alert on every level of PA government for years. Please help us understand how governmental meetings now being held on “Zoom”,"
ReplyDeleteA zoom meeting would comply so long as the invitational link is included in the advertised notice and is posted. People would be able to participate. You can "raise your hand" virtually and be recognized. Cannot speak to the other platforms, but Zoom could work.
Thank you BOH for your Internet meeting explanation at 8:58AM. Stay safe and be well.
ReplyDeleteThere were only 2 non-Bethlehem Twp officials on the Zoom meeting Monday night. More evidence that people simply don't give a shit about local governments. No questions were asked and the meeting lasted 12 minutes!
ReplyDeleteTo complicate matters, we now know ZOOM has serious security flaws and is/was EASY to hack into and be a part of any meeting. The School System City of New York stopped using Zoom.
ReplyDeleteSome ‘conspiracy theories’ are being proven every day. To me, there are NO conspiracy theories, just a need for more trustworthy data.
The message this sends is quite clear. Shelter in place doesn't apply to anyone with a fishing license and tackle. I just bought a license and dug out my old man's Ugly Stick. I haven't fished in years. But $22.90 buys a relatively cheap get-out-of-jail pass. Sorry coppers. I'm fishing and you can GTF out of my business.
ReplyDeleteJust wait, in a week Wolf is going to forbid fishing because "fishers weren't behaving and keeping their distance." He's going to keep it open just long enough to get their money from the licenses.
ReplyDeletezoom works if the toll free number is correct
ReplyDeleteWell, in an effort to keep us all "safe" McClure has chimed in by closing county parks because some people don't follow proper social distancing. In our suburbs people are allowed to walk on their neighborhood trails but the poorer people often living in dense neighborhoods are not allowed to drive and park in these areas. So people in densely populated areas practice proper social distancing when walking on sidewalks? Oops, don't give these dictators any ideas. I imagine when widespread testing for immunity occurs, those that test negative will be forced to stay home and "be safe." Germany probably has some leftover tags that were used for Jewish and other non welcome folks. We can use them. Be very careful of those that talk about "the greater good."
ReplyDeleteBernie
ReplyDeleteThis is so funny. It's the "old" Bernie that we loved.
I guess wolf goes fishing but does not play golf, also trump owns golf courses.
ReplyDeleteWho the hell is in control in Harrisburg? Is it the Gish Commission or is it the Governor? Did the Governor really approve of this debacle? Please say it isn't so. I can't believe our governor would approve of this action. The Fish commission answers to the legislature. Did the legislature approve of this untimely fishing opener?
ReplyDeleteAgain, it IS people living in compacted living conditions, and POOR, who are being squeezed the most. They have NO back yards, they MUST use public transportation, They must walk to their small, neighborhoods groceries, sometimes called bodegas. Small grocery stores in New York’s are being broken into and robbed in RECORD numbers.
ReplyDeleteThe lady from Red Lion could have lost her job that day and was worried about how to pay the bills, how to buy food for her family. For many of us driving helps us gather our thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI, for one, am grateful that the governor has taken measures to prevent the spread of the virus. If there had been proper testing, it might have been done differently. Wolf is giving us the benefit of the doubt.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I'm fed up and bored with this pandemic and the overzealous "leaders" who are supposedly protecting us from ourselves. We can't enjoy county parks because we aren't responsible enough to keep our distance, we can't drive for leisure because sneezing in our own cars may infect someone in another car. I'm all for being proactive (heck, I washed my hands before it became a fad), but the fact that elected officials are using a pandemic to trounce on the rights of citizens is wrong. Wait, lets all go fishing -- but stay six feet away from the trout.
ReplyDelete"Wolf is giving us the benefit of the doubt."
ReplyDeleteWhat's more troubling in this spineless, pathetic sentence: its overall theme, or the use of "giving?" Waiting around for daddy governor Wolf to "give" you what's good for you is terribly sad.
With apologies to Generalissimo Francisco Franco...
ReplyDeleteThe PLCB e-commerce site is still dead.
Prediction: When Trump announces he believes it is time to BEGIN opening things up, he will stress it is still important to protect certain segments of the population and to focus our attention to regions hit the hardest. Again, he will rightfully leave the choices up to each Governor.
ReplyDeleteThe Pennsylvania Governor will be flat-footed, look around to see what a dew other Governors are doing, and then push the old “If it only saved one life, it was worth it.” He will then grudgingly relax a few restrictions by individual COUNTY, relieving himself of full responsibility Yet still provide someone else to blame.
THAT’s politics!
Hey! Lots of us punch in at 4 AM!some even earlier! .... me, 4:30 AM and then by 5:15 I was at the my first stop delivering over 2100 lbs of beef to A-town Fairgrounds
ReplyDeleteNo you can't go for a "leisurely drive"on April 18. You should know better.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I am real happy to be alive and so far, well. Hundred of people a day are dying in NY and NJ, very near by. All this talk of "reopening" the state is dangerous. We are doing relatively well because we are taking precautions. All this bitching about the governor goes in one ear and out the other for me. Be happy for what you have - and for what you don't as well.
Bernie, maybe Wolfe has seen the light and is comming over to the right because he knew he was wrong all along. See most game experts buy there licenses for fishing and hunting as soon as they go on sale, this is not mentioning boat and trailer fees. FISH ON MY FREINDS it's a permanent vacation on the govment. Just don't come up on this mountain cause the dogs love meat more than kibble?
ReplyDeleteSuch a group of crybabies!
ReplyDelete