President Obama declares emergency in Flint

Source article

President Barack Obama on Saturday declared a federal emergency in Flint, freeing up to $5 million in federal aid to immediately assist with the public health crisis, but he denied Gov. Rick Snyder's request for a disaster declaration.

I'm surprised no one's either resigned or gone to jail over this yet. On top of that another story that shocked me;
Don't make Flint residents pay for tainted water

Oh yes, they're still getting billed in Flint.

a reply to: links234

State data confirms higher blood-lead levels in Flint kids.

I wonder how many other water supplies across the country are poisoned.

Fluoride need not apply...

a reply to: gladtobehere

Same here. We're right around the corner, too.

I feel for those families.

a reply to: links234

Oh yes, they're still getting billed in Flint.

The toxins are still free.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: links234

Oh yes, they're still getting billed in Flint.

The toxins are still free.

I'm pretty sure their taxes paid for it Not quite free.

Politics to the extreme...

The folks in Flint paying for their water supply have been poisoned by moves on the political level...

How about the Federal gov't come in with an emergency plan to both, provide clean water to the citizens, and prosecutors to jail those for allowing this to happen....

Jail a few, save the innocent....

holding my breath..

a reply to: JacKatMtn
I doubt if there will be jail time. There should be but I doubt it. There was a bad chemical spill here in West Virginia last year and all they got was a slap on the wrist.

originally posted by: NoCorruptionAllowed

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: links234

Oh yes, they're still getting billed in Flint.

The toxins are still free.

I'm pretty sure their taxes paid for it

Not quite free.

Like to see the Mass Spectrometer chart of whats in that water. The "officials" have this information hidden somewhere.

a reply to: Skid Mark

I hope the folks in Flint get a better deal considering that this wasn't a spill, but a local authority allowing substandard water to be supplying the folks in the community...

I read where some are saying that some of their supply pipes are still LEAD PIPE...

I don't know WTH these elected in Michigan think they can get away with, but it's becoming obvious that they have and do so with zero regard for the folks who elected them...

That needs to change quickly... with a hammer if need be...

OMG this is the 21st century, in the Greatest nation on earth.. and folks are being poisoned because their elected care more about their wallet and connections...

I may be wrong, but our laws should in no way protect those who would do such a thing...

(insert multitude of non T&C compliant words here)

a reply to: JacKatMtn
I heard that about the lead pipes, too. Detroit had a big problem with it. I wonder who got rich off this.

a reply to: Skid Mark

I dont' know, but I read in earlier reports on the story of Flint where some (media) were claiming that the high lead levels were due to pipes, not the water source...

Looking at that scenario, why would any position hold weight? in 2015...

It's crazy to me, and I feel for the folks dealing with it...

I hope that the emergency money that the POTUS is spent fixing the lead pipe or source issue, and not pissed away shipping in bottled water from better sources... if you know what I am saying... those folks deserve better than what they have, and it's not their fault... hell... they have been paying for it monthly....

originally posted by: JacKatMtn

Looking at that scenario, why would any position hold weight? in 2015...

If I was going to hazard a guess I would say that they been broke since the fall of the auto industry in the 70s with nothing to put towards their infrastructural for the past 40 years.

a reply to: links234

Late game lay ups for the Prez and Dem Party. Only at the end do we see initiative and action. Same for the RPubs. Late game heroics. Don't be fooled by yesterday's newspaper or tomorrow's headline. They smell of sweet perfume.

Iranian hostage crisis? Nope. The fix was in before navigational errors lead to a possible trade. Publication of victories, in the last 2-3 weeks, that's America's attention span. No one remembers the failures prior to the Hail Mary. Go Rodgers!, we know you lost, but WOW!!! You see?

Building momentum. Riding weeks on end. Elections happen in a matter of weeks, not years. Obama is 8 years soon in, the election will be won in 2 weeks or less.

originally posted by: JacKatMtn
a reply to: Skid Mark

I hope the folks in Flint get a better deal considering that this wasn't a spill, but a local authority allowing substandard water to be supplying the folks in the community...

I read where some are saying that some of their supply pipes are still LEAD PIPE...

I don't know WTH these elected in Michigan think they can get away with, but it's becoming obvious that they have and do so with zero regard for the folks who elected them...

That needs to change quickly... with a hammer if need be...

OMG this is the 21st century, in the Greatest nation on earth.. and folks are being poisoned because their elected care more about their wallet and connections...

I may be wrong, but our laws should in no way protect those who would do such a thing...

(insert multitude of non T&C compliant words here)

Initially, when we became aware of this problem (about two weeks ago via ATS), were we not informed that the culprit in loosing the lead was not the pipe (lead pipe is everywhere), but rather the chemicals they used to sterilize the less than optimal test subject river water, which chemicals reduced the oxides inside the lead pipes?

Well, now the telescreen has the story and I can scarcely recognize it. They lied that the city skipped using chemicals which would have somehow prevented the lead oxides from being loosed from the pipes...never mentioning that it was chemicals used to purify the river filth which caused the lead oxides to reduce in the first place. It's TV, so I expect lies non-stop, of course. I Gave them a few seconds of my ears just to hear how they would lie down, for this one.

# 572

I Spent a good chunk of my day yesterday on the north end of Flint handing out water..some thoughts..

We had at least 4 giant "uhaul" type truck filled with cases of water in an empty parking lot on Pierson road, next store to enterprise car rental. One such truck filled with canned water from Oscar Blues brewery in Colorado (whoo!)
The handout was poorly planned. Advertised as a pickup point, but this got complicated..

There was a rep there from some organization called Bottles for Babies or something, and when she found is unloading the trucks and putting cases into the cars that were lined up around the lot she flipped a lid. These doors were to be remained closed until the right people with the right shirts were there to unload it and the right photographers (Times magazine) was there to see it.

Seems like it was more about photo ops than actually helping.

Also i heard volunteers remarking that they noticed a. people coming back through the lines to get a second dose of free water and b. that most of these cars in line were nicer cars than many of us volunteers were driving...
Now how relevant that is i dont know, but it is true...


Other notes, because of this it looks like Obammer will be coming to town...nothing like more Government Solutions to solve a Government caused problem.
Also i woke up today to find that Flint native Amir Hekmati has been released from Iranian Prison after 4 years.
Interesting timing..

Anywho as someone who is fortunate enough to have moved out of Flint and have the means to donate my time to help out thats what i saw. My Brother and his family just left Flint City, and my mom just retired from Flint Schools...sad to say but i'm glad that me and my Family are finally done with that City..

PS on a more conspiratorial note i have been noticing our humble little state of Michigan in the national news A LOT lately.. Michigan has been pretty quiet most of my life, they say the squeaky wheel gets the grease..and presidential visits...which i see neither as a good thing.

While i'm on the topic and thinking about it...

I'v seen A LOT of calls to Punish Governor Snyder over this...which i find funny. When Obama gets blamed for things people say "he's just one man and congress blocks him etc" and when people get fed poisonous water people say "Snyder did this, bring out the firing squads!" LOL...now i get that it happend on Snyders watch and he is the boss so he is responsible but jesssh...

Anywho if your interested in the history of Flints water you can look here...

en.m.wikipedia.org...

I friend of mine sums it up pretty nicely on his Facebook which i will repost...

"I'll precede all of this by stating my credentials; In this instance, I'm not just some keyboard commando or Facebook slacktivist with a political agenda, so those of you that are, step aside, and you might want to pack a lunch, homies, because you're about to get schooled... This problem goes beyond Governor Snyder alone.

I spent half a decade working for one of Flint's neighboring municipal water and sewer departments, and upon leaving, i held a Department of Environmental Quality S3 license for water distribution, meaning I was actually federally licensed to deal with this kinda thing. So, for those of you who don't know the scoop, or are only getting some of the information, here's the reason that Flint is in its current fix with its water system.

In 1963, Flint began planning, and construction, on the Karegnondi water pipeline, but ulterior motives reared their ugly heads (political corruption, big surprise), and the program was cancelled in favor of purchasing water supplied from Detroit under a thirty year contract. As time would pass, Flint felt the strains of General Motors closing up plants and outsourcing work, and it trickled down. When the work left, so did the residents. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to comprehend that fewer people living in a community also yields fewer people paying to support that community and its infrastructure. In this case, a vast and sprawling network of aging water-mains were left with no one to pay for the maintenance beyond the necessary quick repairs.

I saw this first hand on countless water main breaks where, upon exposing the pipes, we would find them to be so brittle and deteriorated from corrosive water and electrolysis stemming from the once common practice of grounding ones home electrical system to the water lines, that we were literally able to punch bare fingers through the iron mains, many of which had been installed nearly a century ago.

The unfortunate consequence of obtaining water from Detroit was, with no competition, Detroit essentially had Flint at their mercy in regards to water rates, and they took advantage of the situation.

Eventually, after listening to the pleas of residents who were growing tired of the rate hikes that were ultimately being passed on to them, Flint would begin to look for a more cost effective solution to its water woes.

In 2013, the Flint City Council voted 7-1 to renew the Karegnondi Pipeline which would supply the area directly from Lake Huron, and bypass Detroit completely.

Taking exception to such a plan, Detroit ultimately decided to cut Flint off altogether, necessitating a plan of action to supply the residents of Flint in the interim while the Karegnondi Pipeline was nearing completion. The Flint River, which had been deemed an acceptable backup source of water in an emergency situation, was selected to fill the void. This decision would, unknowingly, prove to be a disaster.

The water of the Flint River was eventually discovered to have been more corrosive than that supplied from other sources. The corrosive nature would lead to the stripping away of decades of tuburculation build-up within the mains, and would ultimately expose lead in the pipes, poisoning the residents.

While it's questionable as to who knew what, and when, it's irrelevant. Placing blame does nothing. What I do know is that there is no simple solution, and as far as I can imagine, the only effective corrective action would be the implementation of an entirely new infrastructure to replace the currently failed one. Unfortunately, this would cost millions, if not billions, and I wouldn't be even slightly surprised if completion took upwards of a decade."



I guess what i'm getting at is it is a serious problem with many screw ups by many people along the way. Being here at basically ground zero all i hear is "Synder this Snyder that, Cher says to shoot Synder so it must be a good idea!" and obviously the repubs going opposite to defend Synder...

Like everything else, nobody seems to want a real solution, just a +1 for their party/ideology....

One day Flint will probably end up like "Escape From New York"....pity.

I escaped Flint many years ago and by then I would not have gone anywhere near Pierson Rd within the city limits.

originally posted by: Xtrozero

originally posted by: JacKatMtn

Looking at that scenario, why would any position hold weight? in 2015...

If I was going to hazard a guess I would say that they been broke since the fall of the auto industry in the 70s with nothing to put towards their infrastructural for the past 40 years.

if I recall...

Wikipedia calls the demise of Flint MI, an example of the 'de-industrialization' process


there were some vain attempts to beautify the desolate, empty auto fabrication buildings and to re-purpose buildings into metro-sexual apartments for young professionals & college aged people...

Yea last time i was on Peirson road was somehwere in 2000....highschool freshman year catching up oncredit at Mott Adult High School at the bryant center on Pierson...only white student and only one under 18....LOL

Flint has a few hidden gems including a new brewery, but once you get off Saginaw it back to the same ol' Grime.

a reply to: mikell

I was there till about the mid 80's and it was a fun town, Then more urban renewal came through and pretty much killed off the downtown. It wasn't safe and the party places moved on. Went to Mott and GMI and worked at Chevy in the hole for a few years. The water issue is all greed on Detroit's part and people figure Detroit has something to do with the water issue now. The new water line will be done this spring and all they will need to do is get the homeowners to put in new water lines. The problem is really the houses have lead pipes and they lawyers are seeing $$$$ from a city that has none.




a reply to: SteamyJeans