While in Flint, Don't drink their water

[Kevgoblue]

I'll tell you who is making money off of this — the private-sector bottled water industry.

This has all the earmarks of Disaster Capitalism.

One would think that Nestle would be obligated [[if not legally, then morally) to provide bottled water free of cost to Flint residents. If the numbers quoted are correct, then they fill over 1,700 bottles of water a minute from Lake Huron. Quite the business model. Exploit local resources without charge and sell for profit to a thirsty consumer base.
http://greenlifestyles.org/nestle-sp...r-great-lakes/

[Wesley Mouch]

This is a very odd point of view. There is really no doubt that the state screwed up here in multiple ways. I don't think Gov. Snyder was deliberately trying to poison the people of Flint, but incompetence has a price. His lack of a political future is a result of that, not a result of "threatening the great liberal project", whatever that might be.

Incompetence does have a price. Incompetence does not mean things turned out badly.

If you really want to think Snyder is the font of all evil in Michigan, you are entitled to your opinion. But it doesn't help correct the deep problems that plague Flint.

We're seeing a political attack on Snyder using the people of Flint as pawns. Nobody is offering too help Flint. Bottled water is a politically-motivated maneuver. Not much real help for Flint -- unless you really think a return to Democratic governance at the State level will solve the problem. The previous results haven't been good. New thinking is required. Hint: It probably won't come from those who launch partisan attacks.

[mwilbert]

Incompetence does have a price. Incompetence does not mean things turned out badly.

If you really want to think Snyder is the font of all evil in Michigan, you are entitled to your opinion. But it doesn't help correct the deep problems that plague Flint.

We're seeing a political attack on Snyder using the people of Flint as pawns. Nobody is offering too help Flint. Bottled water is a politically-motivated maneuver. Not much real help for Flint -- unless you really think a return to Democratic governance at the State level will solve the problem. The previous results haven't been good. New thinking is required. Hint: It probably won't come from those who launch partisan attacks.

You are seeing an entirely appropriate political attack on Snyder based upon the fact that his appointees screwed up badly, and I don't agree bottled water is a political manuever; it is a legitimate mitigation measure.

I don't think there is really much that can be done for Flint overall by Republicans or Democrats. I really wish there were, but the policy changes that would be required to turn Flint around is far beyond what I think is at all likely to be possible for Democrats or Republicans. Its future seems bleak to me. But I do think that Democrats would be less likely to poison the population.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

I never said Snyder made any money off the Flint water crisis he and his cronies are responsible for.

But as someone who's required by law to pay taxes imposed by the State of Michigan, more of my hard-earned money will have to come out of my pocket to pay for something that could have been easily prevented if he and his ilk didn't think they knew-it-all with trying to run a government like it's a business.

Nail on the head......

[Pam]

Now Michael Moore reinvents himself as an activist

He always was an activist. Remember the Michigan Voice newspaper?

[Scottathew]

This story is getting significant amounts of national attention. Could Governor Snyder's legacy be thousands of children with lead poisoning?

[Jimaz]

... with liberty and justice for all sale.

[Wesley Mouch]

You are seeing an entirely appropriate political attack on Snyder based upon the fact that his appointees screwed up badly...snip...

As far as I can tell, one of his appointees made a reasonable decision with catastrophic consequences. That's not screwing up. Like blaming the pilot of a plane that crashed during a storm.

Snyder nor his appointees installed the lead piping.

This is a disaster -- and its being exploited for political purposes.

[313WX]

As far as I can tell, one of his appointees made a reasonable decision...

Choosing not to treat the water that was being supplied [[whether there was intent to harm or not) was a reasonable decision?

[mwilbert]

As far as I can tell, one of his appointees made a reasonable decision with catastrophic consequences. That's not screwing up. Like blaming the pilot of a plane that crashed during a storm.

Snyder nor his appointees installed the lead piping.

This is a disaster -- and its being exploited for political purposes.

You can blame the pilot if he flew into an area where he knew there was a storm.

First, while the decision to switch water sources may have been reasonable [[I don't think so, but it is debatable) the decision not to treat the water to control corrosion was not. It isn't as if the lead in the pipes or the acidity of the Flint River were a surprise. This is not some kind of unpredictable disaster beyond human ken.

But even if that decision had been reasonable, there followed a series of attempts to first deny and then minimize the problem which greatly delayed any actual response to deal with it, including false assurances to the population that the water was safe, and attempts to discredit the people who had brought the problem to public attention. The exact role of the governor in this hasn't been determined, but it appears that many people believe he has some responsibility for his appointees and for the government he has executive control over. I agree with those people.

Holding government accountable for stuff like this is a big part of what politics is for, and it seems to me that complaining that people are making political hay out of this massive screw-up is absurd. Of course they are, and they should be.

[Hypestyles]

treating this with the moral gravity of a parking lot fender-bender, "I goofed, let's move on", is inappropriate.

[gumby]

treating this with the moral gravity of a parking lot fender-bender, "I goofed, let's move on", is inappropriate.

Exactly, Me and my neighbors were poisoned for months and it was all hushed and covered up and this Snyder butt boy, Wesley Mouch, is like oops lets just move on. Was it just a simple mistake to alter documents? I notice you never bring that into your rhetoric Wesley Mouch. We were told to "relax" by this administration because we dared to question "dear leader's" appointees. Anyone who defends these people is a complete POS.

[Not In MI]

If Gov Snyder deserves to be fired for the f'd up water situation in Flint since he is the Gov and it was his environmental folk, then based on the same logic Obama deserves to be fired from what his environmental folks, the EPA, did to that river in Colorado.

[Wesley Mouch]

If Gov Snyder deserves to be fired for the f'd up water situation in Flint since he is the Gov and it was his environmental folk, then based on the same logic Obama deserves to be fired from what his environmental folks, the EPA, did to that river in Colorado.

You've correctly pointed out that this isn't about accountability -- this is a cheap political attack that does nothing to help Flint.

[Gistok]

You've correctly pointed out that this isn't about accountability -- this is a cheap political attack that does nothing to help Flint.

Actually the damage is irreversible... so a lot of helping Flint is already too late.

For those of us who have no political dog in this fight... the attempted discrediting of folks who were warning about what was going on last summer, by Snyder minions... is worse than reprehensible. Any empathy for Snyder's current dillema is long gone....

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

Is the governor still refusing to answer the all important question of "what did you know and when did you know it?"

[Dumpling]

Someone at work [[not me, I had to go check this out) noticed that
A NAIL [[not a file, lug nut, tin can, or chunk of pipe...) was used by
the University group for their demo...a nail, a horseshoer...a nail,
a horseshoer....

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Is the governor still refusing to answer the all important question of "what did you know and when did you know it?"

Of course he is. Let's see what he has to say tonight when he addresses the state. I wonder is he going to release those e-mails on his own volition, or be forced into it??

[Cincinnati_Kid]

As far as I can tell, one of his appointees made a reasonable decision with catastrophic consequences. That's not screwing up. Like blaming the pilot of a plane that crashed during a storm.

Snyder nor his appointees installed the lead piping.

This is a disaster -- and its being exploited for political purposes.

Is this guy serious??

[Don K]

Don't forget being a "taker".

You're right, I did forget LOL!

[313WX]

Is this guy serious??

Don't feed the trolls.

[313WX]

Of course he is. Let's see what he has to say tonight when he addresses the state. I wonder is he going to release those e-mails on his own volition, or be forced into it??

He knows he's going to be facing criminal charges soon [[not a question of "if," but when), so he will probably go out Kwame Kilpatrick style.

Too bad, like Kwame, he's going to drag all of us down with him,

[MSUguy]

You've correctly pointed out that this isn't about accountability -- this is a cheap political attack that does nothing to help Flint.

Bullshit. Snyder and Co covered up the lead test results for months. This is nothing like Colorado and you know it.

[gumby]

Bullshit. Snyder and Co covered up the lead test results for months. This is nothing like Colorado and you know it.

Wesley Mouch will never comment on this fact. He is a political shill himself.

[Don K]

You know, it's really not that hard or that expensive to add a little lime to the water to increase the pH and make it, y'know, non-corrosive. It's done all the time here in the Eastern U.S., where I understand surface water tends to be acidic. You just have to ask the experts. But, oops, I forgot, conservative ideology asserts that so-called "experts" are unnecessary. They're just trying to feather their nests by flaunting their expertise. An ordinary Joe using common sense is as good as any expert.

And yes, I would assert that a bad result, after failing to take usual and ordinary care, is a reason for holding someone accountable. Funny how conservatives are all about accountability when it comes to the little people but never when it comes to the big boys.