Earlier today, I posted news that the people of Flint, Michigan, lost access to safe drinking water because its “emergency manager,” appointed by Governor Rick Snyder, cut the budget for clean water. Consequently many young children suffered lead poisoning. The state said it made a mistake.
But it it was worse than a mistake. State officials were informed and dismissed the complaints. They lied and tried to cover their tracks.
Arthur Delaney of Huffington Post writes:
“Michigan state officials insisted that the water supply in Flint was safe even though they knew an unusual number of children had suffered lead poisoning, according to a scientist who helped blow the whistle on Flint’s water crisis.”
“Through a public records request, Marc Edwards, a civil engineering professor at Virginia Tech, uncovered a July 2015 memo warning of elevated lead levels in Flint kids’ blood.
“An internal report from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services warned that lead poisoning rates “were higher than usual for children under age 16 living in the City of Flint during the months of July, August and September, 2014.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Reblogged this on Politicians Are Poody Heads and commented:
They “made a mistake”?
A mistake? This is criminal.
Rachel Maddow did an outstanding report on this last week on her show. It made me sick to my stomach, frankly, to consider how the Governor and his people have brought about this tragic set of circumstances. What I can’t fathom is why it hasn’t hit the national news! If a couple of Islamic terrorists had poisoned the water of an entire American city, we would be offering it 24-hour coverage of all the victims, wouldn’t we? I don’t understand why this hasn’t gotten more attention. It is nothing short of criminal, it seems to me…yet I am doubtful that the Governor or any of his cronies will ever be held to account as they should be.
One MD saw the trend. Maddow interviewed her
Criminal actions like this deserve investigation and prosecution – this is terrible!
Why hasn’t the emergency Manager been arrested for violating public safety??
And what is the current job description for former Flint emergency manager Darnell Earley? He is governor-appointed Emergency Manger of Detroit Public Schools. One would think that even Rick Snyder would feel compelled to remove Earley from his position in Detroit after learning of the Flint water scandal, but one would be wrong… Earley has continued to wreak havoc on Detroit Public Schools, serving Detroit’s students the educational equivalent of contaminated water. I was surprised that Rachel Maddow didn’t include this information in her otherwise excellent piece on Flint.
There is always a rat stealing the cheese, just follow the money!
Michigan has a county drain commissioner that is also CEO of KWA. Yeah, the same KWA involved with the Flint river use. This is the same guy that was a FBI informant in a bribery case.
Does Michigan have any conflict of interest rules?
Tragically this happens all the time and they wonder why people distrust so many of our politicians. As Tim says, follow the money – and those trying to hold onto power.
i almost didn’t post.What caI sayto those poor families? My sympathy and prayers go with you.I am outraged of such callous Disctimination against the poor I’ve ever seen. Maybe the emergency manager was thinking longterm: if enough people get lead poisonig they might die or need to be institutionalized. That wouldr result in a big savings on Welfare etc. Then they could plow it under and some investors could build housing for rich people? I was being sarcadtic but stranger things have happened. The officials involved should be indicted for attempted murder and assault. We all know that won’t happen. Civil law suits? They already decided the lawsuits were cheaper than doing right thing. By the way, have the kids affected been tested to see if they need additional school support. If so, were they given the cheapest thing rather than the appropriate thing? Were the parents funded for dealing with kids who ih effect have traumatic brain damage from the lead. Probably not. See, I had nothing to say that wouldn’t make people feel helplessly outaged or offering something to the parents that in effect does nothing.
XSorry I’m so Happy Holidays. cynical. I’m 63 years old and have seen a lot
Don’t be sorry. Once the perspective of ‘age’ was called ‘wisdom’. The glass through which we see becomes a bit more clear. (just ask Dianne!)
I would say that had these people been put on the Nuremberg stage, they might not have fared all that well. Consider the ethnic composition of Flint. Now, consider Grosse Pointe. Why Flint and not Grosse Pointe?
But, these politicians do the bidding of their rich masters. The politicians need to pay a severe price, but those masters need to pay to an even greater extent.
This is such a despicable situation. I cried when I heard how cruel Governor Snyder really is. I can’t understand why there are no petitions to investigate and have him charged if appropriate and let the Governor stand trial. I taught special education students who were affected by the lead paint used in the projects in which they lived in and saw the terrible results. They had many health and learning problems.