Gov. Abbott Talks Bar Closures

Let me start by saying I love going to the bar for a beer, grab a bite to eat, catch the band, and play a game of pool with my wife (who beats me every time, but it's fun non-the-less.)

It's a great place to hang with friends and get some laughs. I really miss the ability to hit the bar after work and start the wind-down of the day. That said, I also agree with Gov. Abbott...mostly.

Gov. Abbott gave a press conference on Thursday during which he had this to say:

"They are structured for people to come together, close together without face masks in situations where people frequently become intoxicated, and when they become intoxicated, they lose the discipline they need to maintain the practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19."

Most of us hate that bars are closed, but Gov. Abbott is right. When we drink, we get less and less worried about consequences. Social distancing is out the door, wearing a mask (weather you're for it or not) is less likely, and keeping our hands clean? - forget it.

So when will we see bars back to full capacity? Gov. Abbott says when Texas gets, and maintains, it's positivity rate below 10%. The Texas Tribune reports that on the week ending August 11, Texas had a positivity rate of up to 25%.

So let's try something, it's something we've already done and had success doing it. Social Distance. Wear a mask. Clean your hands. We did all these things early on during the pandemic and it worked. Abbott opened Texas back up. The problem was we didn't keep doing those things and that's what put us back in the mess we're in now.

Strictly my opinion only, and I know what they say about opinions, they're like @$$holes, everybody's got one and they all stink. The bars staying closed stinks more. Mask up.