Good Wednesday Morning, Fellow Seekers.

On Tuesday, as shelaid out new travel restrictions and masking requirementsto try to tame the raging fires of the COVID-19 pandemic, stateHealth Secretary Dr. Rachel Levineonce again appealed to Pennsylvanians better angels, asking them to come together in common cause to fight a virus thatsclaimed the lives of 9,355 of their fellow citizensand sickened more than 258,000 of them since March.

We all are blessed to have freedoms in this country, butfreedoms come with responsibilities,Levinesaid during an online news briefing. We all have a responsibility to work for the common good, and right now, thats following these guidelines.

Levinesremarks came the same day that theWhite House Coronavirus Task Forcepronounced the virus spreadin the United States aggressive [and]unrelenting,Levinetold journalists, addingthe public health expertswere seeingexpanding broad community spread across the country, reaching most counties, without evidence of improvement but rather further deteriorations.

And yet, you didnt have to look any further than the comments of theHealth Departments Facebook pageto see how some commonwealth residents were taking the news, and why it underlines a fundamental failure in the administrations containment strategy to date.

Its not a law to wear masks. Its a strong recommendation. Wear one if you want BUT do not force ppl to wear them. Ill continue being mask-free breathing fresh air, a commenter namedSamantha Hamburger, of Troy, Pa., in Bradford County, wrote.

Hers was among the more polite responses.

Take, for instance,Justin Mayer,of Levittown, Pa., who asked whether the agency had heard of thego f yourself app? Go to hell!as he responded to aseparate post by the agency asking Pennsylvanians to download its COVID-19 tracking application.

With the exception of the darkest days of the pandemic, when thePennsylvania State Policewere dispatched towarn and cite non-essential businesses defyingmandatory shutdown orders,LevineandGov. Tom Wolfhave repeatedly appealed to Pennsylvanians civic-mindedness to help fight the spread of COVID-19.

As unpleasant as it could be, the hard-line approach worked. It slowed the spread of the virus. And with COVID-19once more raging out of control in Pennsylvania and across the nation its time to say it out loud:Asking nicely has failed. It isnt working.WolfandLevineneed to bring the hammer down again. And soon.

During Tuesdays news conference,Levineclaimed she could order people into quarantine if the need arose. And while the state wasnt looking to take people to court,Levinenonetheless added that we have that authority, theCapital-Stars Stephen Carusoreported.

If thats true, then the only question worth asking is whatLevineandWolfare waiting for? Seven thousand cases a day? Is 10,000 deaths a nice, round number before they use the authority they claim to have?

Admittedly, a harder-line approach in Pennsylvania isnt without its issues, notably for the businesses that might be called upon to enforce them.Kevin Levy, an attorney for the mega-firmSaul, Ewing Arnstein & Lehr, who tracks the states COVID-19 policy, told theCapital-Star.

The original COVID restrictions were draconian by [Wolfs] own admission, but weve set new COVID records virtually day after day in November. Its probably not the best strategy for the government to fine or arrest folks for not wearing a mask or not socially distancing,Levysaid during a brief interview. But at the same time, its not clear that businesses have the resources to enforce the state requirements.Dr. Levinereminded us again [Tuesday] that she has the authority to issue those more aggressive restrictions. But we still havent seen any of that, and I dont think that anyone should leave [Tuesdays] press conference thinking that the Commonwealth is going to follow through on [the] new restrictions and enforce these new orders.

But asLevyalso noted, Pennsylvanians will be disinclined to cooperate if they know thatLevinesedicts dont have any real teeth to them.

Due respect toSecretary Levine, but if you issue an executive order, [and] tell folks that youre not going to enforce it and that youre going to hope people self-police themselves, you havent actually issued an executive order, youve issued a press release,Levywrote on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon.

And as one expert in human behavior points out, unless there are teeth attached to such orders, deeply seated psychological factors automatically make some people disinclined toward civic-mindedness.

People do everything they can to avoid feeling powerless, to [avoid] confronting the truth of death,Abigail Hoffsommer, a therapist and social worker from Ridley Park, Delaware County, told theCapital-Staron Tuesday. And if theyre given an out to believe they have a choice, they will go with the thing that will give them the feeling of more power and control over their mortality. So its easy to fall into these conspiracy theories, because its a comfort.

Add in the deep political polarization surrounding mask-wearing and the pandemic thats prevailed at the highest levels of government, and the pleas for voluntary compliance become that much harder,Hoffsommerargued.

I dont believe that a substantial difference will be made in peoples behavior, until they start seeing leaders on both sides of the spectrum leading by example, she said.

Shes right. Republicans on Capitol Hill committed a homicidal level of policy malpractice by not standing up to the White House. Legislative Republicans in Pennsylvania abetted that with their repeated efforts to stymieWolfsmitigation policies, and by failing to denounce the anti-mask crazies in their midst who peddled death dressed up as personal liberty.

Other countries, such as the United Kingdom, have struggled with similar challenges. That country recently went back into lockdown. That came on top of measures, instituted in September, intended to mitigate the spread of the virus. They includedclosing pubs at 10 p.m. and the forcible closing of businesses deemed not COVID-secure,Andrew Lee, a public health expert at theUniversity of Sheffield, wrote in a recent op-Edexamining the carrot-and-stick approachtaken byPrime Minister Boris Johnsonsgovernment.

Some may argue that the economic costs of control measures are excessive, but on the flip side, while it may be possible to revive an economy, it is not possible to resurrect the dead,Leewrote. There is no evidence that the lethality of this virus is waning. While the population may be increasingly fed up with disease control requirements,the virus has not changed.

The same circumstances prevail in the United States, where despite cheering news of vaccines and new therapies, hospitalizations are rising, and the country has seenan average of more than 900 deaths a daysince the pandemic began.

Its becoming pretty clear that Pennsylvanians better angels arent delivering,Levysaid.

WolfandLevinehave one job: Delivering. Its past time that enforcement comes with actual teeth. If Republicans had a conscience, theyd join them.

Enough. Enough death. There will be far too many empty tables this holiday season. Enough.

Our Stuff.Pennsylvanias outgoingVictim Advocate Jennifer Storm, has accusedSenate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson,ofpublicly defaming and derailing her careerafter she staked out positions that put her at odds with his office,Elizabeth Hardisonreports. The Senate voted Monday, along party lines, against reappointingStormto a second, six-year term.Scarnatihas denied the accusations.

Stephen Carusohas the full story on the stateHealth Departmentsnew COVID-19 travel and mask guidelines. Caruso also has what you need to know about a state Supreme Court ruling siding with Philly elections officials over theTrump campaignon a ballot-counting dispute.

Black-owned businesses in Philadelphia say theKenney administrationsnew COVID-19 mitigation ordersare going to be disastrous, our partners at thePhiladelphia Tribunereport.

On our Commentary Page this morning, former Pennsylvania journalistBenjamin PontzsaysGov. Tom Wolfcould learn a thing or two from the youngTom Wolfsdoctoral dissertationon dealing with the Legislature during the pandemic. Opinion regularBruce Ledewitzwaxes rhapsodic about those dayswhen America had workable governing majoritiesand hopes for their return. And counties need way less partisanshipand way more partnership to fix election issues,Lisa Schaefer, of thePa. County Commissioners Association, writes.

Elsewhere.A very rustyRudy Giulianimade his first appearance in federal court in decades on Tuesday.It didnt go well.The Inquirerhas the details.An Allegheny County judgehas resigned the day before he was set to go on trialfor misconduct charges before the statesJudicial Conduct Board,thePost-Gazettereports.PennLivelooks at one central Pennsylvania nursing home thats doing all the right things,but still is getting hit by COVID-19.The Morning Callruns the numbers on the record-shattering voter turnout in Pennsylvania.Luzerne Countycharted 223 new cases of COVID-19on Tuesday, theCitizens-Voicereports.

Heres your #Pittsburgh Instagram of the Day:

Some 750K votes later, Philadelphas ballot countis officially over, WHYY-FMreports.A GoErieopinion contributor argues (correctly) thatbaseless conspiracy theories undermine our politics.WPSU-FMtalks to the states largest health system,UPMC,about its preparations for COVID-19and the recent increase in hospitalizations.The Washington County Courthousehas re-imposed its pandemic restrictionsas cases increase, theObserver-Reporterreports.Philadelphia schoolsSuperintendent William Hitesname is being floatedas a potential education secretaryin the incomingBiden administration, PoliticsPA reports. Immigration advocatesmade electoral gains last week,but also are facing pushback,Stateline.orgreports.A top U.S. cyber-security official debunked election fraud lies.Naturally,the spoiled child in the White House fired him. NYMags Intelligencerhas the story.

What Goes On.The state House and Senate each come in at 11 a.m. this morning.As ever, heres a look at the days committee action. First up, the House:Call of the Chair:House Appropriations Committee; House State Government CommitteeIn the Senate;Off the Floor:Senate Appropriations Committee

You Say its Your Birthday Dept.Best wishes go out this morning to longtimeFriend Othe Blog,Brett Marcy, of Mechanicsburg, Pa. Congratulations, sir, and enjoy the day.

Heavy Rotation.An amazing document of the American indiepop underground of the early 1980s, the newly released compilationStrum and Thrum, is a joy to listen to from end to end.Among the bands, MississippisThe Windbreakers(named for the jacket, not the other thing youre thinking) were one of the best. Im also privileged to call them good friends. Heres their classicAll That Stuff.

Wednesdays Gratuitous Soccer Link.Apple TVssoccer comedy Ted Lasso is a big hit. But itsnot doing the American game, which is steadily gaining respect, any favors,The Guardians Graham Ruthvenargues.

And now youre up to date.

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Pa.'s 'Better Angels' COVID strategy is a failure. It's time to bring the hammer down | Wednesday Morning Coffee - Pennsylvania Capital-Star