By Sherman Frederick/Battle Born Media

Here we go again. Gov. Steve Sisolak lifted mandatory mask wearing in Nevada saying he did so because, you know, he’s very much a scientific kind of guy.

Careful. Take care not to step on that Carson City horse apple.

Look, if we don’t start being honest with ourselves about what Nevada did during the pandemic, we’ll not have learned our lesson.

And that lesson is Democrats used Pandemic fear to their political advantage. And, now that the pandemic is just about over, leaders like Gov. Sisolak would like you to forget about it.

Remember at the start of 2020 when Gov. Sisolak and other Democratic state leaders did all they could to resist President Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic because, well, he was a Republican and the more they could make Americans feel the pinch of the pandemic, the better it was for Democrats. Now, Sisolak and these same science followers are doing all they can to steer away from President Joe Biden’s authoritarian handling of the pandemic because, well, he’s a bump on the log of a leader that’s going to get Democrats shellacked in the midterm elections.

So, pardon me if I don’t shout hallelujah over last week’s announcement that Gov. Sisolak had a Road to Damascus moment and now will turn away from the advice of President Biden and the CDC and lift the mask mandate immediately for all Nevadans.

The governor said the move was “based on science.” Yet, up until a week ago, Gov. Sisolak tied his COVID restrictions to guidance from the CDC. Now he’s going against CDC guidance, to lift his own mask mandate?

We know why. He’s read some internal poll that shows Nevadans don’t like the way he handled the pandemic and if he doesn’t pivot quickly he’ll get unelected next time around.

One of his opponents, Dean Heller, mocked the governor roundly.

“In announcing the end of the state-imposed mask mandate earlier this week,” Heller said, “Sisolak said ‘we’re in a good position…to give people back some freedom.’”

“Hey Steve,” Heller said, “freedom is God-given, not something that can be taken away, restricted, granted, given back, or bestowed by petty tyrants like you.”

Welcome to the 2022 Nevada governor’s race. It’s going to be about lockdowns, mask mandates and suspension of constitutional rights. That’s the science of it – the political science, that is.

FOLLOWING THE SCIENCE

The New York Times carried a piece last week headlined “Put Down That Burger” that I think has something important to say about balancing life with science. It began:

“The C.D.C. describes medium-rare hamburgers as “undercooked” and dangerous. The agency also directs Americans to avoid raw cookie dough and not to eat more than a teaspoon or so of salt every day. And the C.D.C. tells sexually active women of childbearing age not to drink alcohol unless they are on birth control.

“If you happen to be somebody who engages in any of these risky activities, I have some bad news for you this morning: You apparently do not believe in following the science.”

There’s something to that observation, don’t you think?

ONE MORE THING

— Hate it when I mean to buy seedless grapes and get home to find I bought Oreos.

— Statements of the middle aged: A. Huh? I wonder how I got this bruise. B. Software update? I don’t like updates. C. Who in the world is calling me at 9:30 p.m?

— Crabs don’t donate to charity because they are shellfish.

— The cat went to medical school to become a first aid kit.

Thanks for reading, everybody. Until next week, dear readers, avoid soreheads, laugh a little and always question authority.

Sherman Frederick is a Nevada Hall of Fame journalist and co-founder of Battle Born Media, a news organization dedicated to the preservation of community newspapers. You can reach him by email at shermfrederick@gmail.com.