Welcome to the commentary magazine Daily Podcast today is Tuesday April 21st 2020.

Happy birthday Gabby Abrams this is John Punor. It's the editor of commentary with me as always

senior editor A Greenwald hi Abe hi John associate editor no Rothman high Noah hi John and

Christine Rosen is off today participating in the slight reopening of the economy by having some

important stuff installed in her house that they are actually allowing her to install

in her house so we are we are sad to miss her but we are happy for the macro economic effect

of Christine's home improvement. I am feeling guilty today because I think I was like a a

harbinger of doom and death and despair yesterday and that was not my either intention or really

my mood and so I am mindful of the fact that maybe we should be looking at the bright side

if we if they're if we can and I will give you one example the one example I have of the bright

side and then of the question of why it's hard for people to look on the bright side is the news

that the state of Georgia is preparing to relax its restrictions in various areas based on

guidance given to governor Brian Kemp and how the case load has in fact not grown there and so

it is time to experiment with loosening the restrictions which seems to me to be a very good thing

not only for Georgia if it goes well but as a test for other places on what might happen

should restrictions be loosened and people not be like sort of overwhelmed by fear and terror that

they or others are going to get sick. Conversely it could be an experiment that shows that the

restriction loosening is a mistake and the restrictions then can be placed back on some of these

businesses that are being where there is some relenting of the of the pressure and yet I I note

that all over the place there has been an interesting kind of response to this one is the

what is he doing he's just a Republican who wants to kill people for business sake

and the other is a kind of egalitarian madness according to which it's not fair if Georgia opens up

...