Governor Cooper Expected to Announce Phase 3 Decision as Lawmakers Send Reopen Bills to His Desk

RALEIGH – The return to Pandemic Panic is in full swing, helped along by ‘record’ reported cases as targeted testing progresses. North Carolina hospitalizations attributed to COVID-19 are climbing too, hitting a high mark early this week before coming down slightly.

NC Health Secretary Mandy Cohen stated earlier this week that the (largely arbitrary) metrics used to mark progress stamping out the virus are all moving in the wrong direction. That would seem to lower expectations that Governor Roy Cooper will announce a transition to Phase Three of his painfully slow and misguided reopening plan, unless you qualify for the ‘Woke Mob’ loophole in which case you can do whatever your want.

Moving to the next phase of freedom is has to be Cooper’s decision, and his alone, considering the fact that he’s vetoed every bill the state legislature has passed to ease restrictions. There are more sitting on his desk, which he will likely veto, because signing them would be a relinquishment of his unilateral authority to dictate citizens lives in the name of collective hysteria.

From ABC11:

“The North Carolina General Assembly on Tuesday approved yet another Republican attempt to let more businesses reopen despite Cooper’s COVID-19 restrictions on commerce. Lawmakers also sent the Democratic governor a measure that would prevent his executive order limiting outdoor gatherings from blocking July 4 parades or fireworks.

Cooper already has vetoed two bills pushed by the GOP-controlled legislature designed to overturn his executive orders that have kept bars and gyms shuttered since March.

Another bill already on Cooper’s desk, which he has yet to act upon, would reopen skating rinks and bowling alleys. There’s little to indicate he’ll act differently with the latest measures.

The House scheduled a veto override for Wednesday on the latest vetoed bill that would benefit bar and health club owners, many of whom say they are heading toward permanent closure or financial calamity without it. Cooper has said the vetoed bills would have eroded his authority and that of local governments to manage a public health emergency, making it harder to close businesses anew should virus case spike.

Amusement and water parks, wedding reception venues and fairs and carnivals are the latest entities targeted for reopening at partial capacity in a measure getting final legislative approval Tuesday. The bill, which received Senate approval last week, also allows restaurants inside stadiums to serve some patrons. […]”

Contrast Cooper’s utter abandonment of law and order to invite a woke mob to destroy public property with impunity because it serves your political interests, with the very likely possibility that he will veto a bill reaffirming our right to freely celebrate Independence Day in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

It’s patently absurd. We trust a lot of North Carolinians agree, and will be celebrating accordingly on the Fourth of July.

Yet, there’s no denying the Second Wave of Pandemic Panic is upon us. The governors of New York and New Jersey, and other northeastern states, once the nation’s epicenter, are now requiring two-week quarantines for people coming from current hotspots.

The fear mongering is approaching optimal levels around states that have reopened and are now seeing some spikes in cases. Some states are definitely spiking, but it is easy to lose sight of the fact that original case for shutdown. The primary narrative that convinced governors to voluntarily destroy their economies and abuse the rights of citizens, was that not doing so would crush the healthcare system, with the dead lining the hallways and sidewalks outside hospitals.

None of it ever happened as scarily predicted by the doomsayers, but that doesn’t matter. The goal quickly morphed into using government mandates to prevent the virus from spreading — an impossible task — and any spread of the virus used to further justify extending or expanding lockdown policies.

Now that cases are popping up it seems doubtful that Cooper will relent and move to Phase Three. However, there’s always a chance he is only vetoing every freedom-restoration bill so that it may be he can feel like the benevolent dictator when he does move to the next phase.

The Cooper press conference is scheduled for 3:00 PM