In what's looking like an executive CYA move (and outside pressure), Michigan Governor Rick Snyder released a flurry of emails this week relating to the Flint, Mich. water crisis, essentially throwing his staff under the bus for the disastrous, heinous debacle that has gotten worldwide attention and even calls for his arrest.
~ The Root
That's because he and a bunch of other people should be arrested. The e-mails are so redacted as to be unreadable.But what is made clear is that the people's complaints were dismissed. There are other articles which suggest the white entitled politicians made fun of the mostly black residents that complained.
But the thing that gets me is this. There shouldn't have been any need for complaints.
http://www.theroot.com/articles/news/2016/01/emails_reveal_republicans_dismissed_desperate_flint_residents.html
THE STORY BELOW SAYS THE GOVERNOR KNEW WATER WAS TAINTED A YEAR AGO
AND MANY SAY IT WAS BEFORE THAT....as it is common knowledge that the Flint River was an "industrial waste dump"
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/1/6/1466585/-Flint-is-a-disaster-zone-And-Michigan-and-federal-officials-made-it-that-way
This is likely to be the worst case of environmental racism you'll see in your life time.
You'll never convince me Snyder, Walling, and the rest of republican gang would have changed to the Flint River as a source of drinking water had that water been going to rich white homes.
Never.
It was common knowledge in the area that the Flint River was a toxic waste dump for decades. If you had walked up to me on the street a decade ago and asked me if I'd drink river water near Detroit, Flint and the car industry, I'd have told you you were crazy. And I've never lived anywhere near Michigan.
You'll never convince me these jackals would have changed to the Flint River as a source of drinking water had that water been going to rich white homes. Never.
When local residents heard of the plan to change the water source from Lake Huron (which they had to pay Detroit for) to the Flint River, they thought it was a joke.
"A generation of Flint children have been permanently damaged. As whistle-blower Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha sadly observed, “in five years, these kids are going to have problems with special education. They’re going to have cognition problems. Seven to 10 years, they’re going to have behavioral problems.”
http://www.occupydemocrats.com/obama-to-gov-snyder-water-poisoning-is-no-natural-disaster-you-knew-about-it-a-year-ago/
FLINT WATER CRISIS TIMELINE
Here are a few highlights
April 25 2014: This is the day the switch from Lake Huron to polluted Flint River is announced.
Aug. 15 2014: E. Coli bacteria is found in the water. Residents are advised to boil the water. A second advisory for the same reason is issued a few weeks later.
Oct. 13 2014: General Motors plant in Flint refuses to use Flint water because this new water source is rusting their car parts. The city gets different water for a different water line especially for GM...but not for the people still drinking the water
Jan. 13 2015: Protesters rally outside City Hall to demand a return to Detroit's supply and lower bills. Hundreds turn out at a forum, some complaining of rashes on children. Detroit offered to let Flint switch back, but the city's emergency manager says it would cost too much.
June 24 2105: "EPA water expert Miguel del Toral sends internal memo to his bosses flagging Flint's failure to use [EPA required] chemicals to control corrosion [that cost $100 a day], which can cause lead to leach from pipes into drinking water. The warning was not made public until the ACLU leaked a copy of the memo weeks later."
Sept. 24, 2015: "Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician at Hurley Children's Hospital, says a comparison a blood samples she undertook shows a jump in lead poisoning in Flint's children. State officials told the Detroit Free Press their own samples don't show the same increase."
~NBC NEWS
READ MOREhttp://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/bad-decisions-broken-promises-timeline-flint-water-crisis-n499641
* * * * *
Independent water tests show lead problems far worse than Flint claims (Original Story from September of 2015)
How are they going to fix these pipes? What kind of biofilm can fix this mess. It's too late. And I've read, in passing, that it's illegal for residents to sell their homes. And I can kinda see that. How can you sell your home with a known lead problem.
Actually, the state should be forced to buy the homes at 2006 prices (Prices prior to the economic downturn) or prices prior to the water change over, whichever is more.
If I was President Obama, I wouldn't send Flint one sent more unless it was to have them act as a sort of bank to pay residents for their homes. I'm make them pay their own staff etc. Every cent above the 80 million Obama's already given Michigan, I'd have put in a fund to buy the homes or give apartment dwellers a 6 month(?) stake (6 month's worth of rent) somewhere else.
I wouldn't give Michigan another dime to control and spend on their own.
http://www.metrotimes.com/Blogs/archives/2015/09/01/independent-water-tests-show-lead-problems-far-worse-than-flint-claims
* * * * *
Former Emergency Manager, Darnell Earley, says that the Flint River has been a back up source of water for decades
(Original Story Published October 2015)
"It is critically important that the record be set straight about the decision-making and approval processes that led to Flint joining the Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA) with the use of Flint River water as the interim water supply. The fact is, the river has served and been used as the back-up supply for decades, and this was the rationale given to me by staff and Mayor Walling, who also serves as chairperson of the KWA board. Contrary to reports in the media and rhetoric being espoused by individuals, the decision was made at the local level, by local civic leaders". http://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/2015/10/26/opinion-flint-water-disaster/74657458/
So you tell me: Why isn't somebody headed to prison over this?
UPDATE 1/28/16: HERE'S A PETITION TO SEND SNYDER TO JAILhttp://petitions.moveon.org/sign/hold-gov-synder-accountable?source=s.fb&r_by=13786321
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