[Jswee]

Governor Snyder waives FOIA exemption and releases emails related to Flint in 2014 & 2015.

275 pages of documents, makes for a lot of reading. I'm about half way through reading them, not much of note yet.

Snyder - Gov. Rick Snyder releases emails sent, received on Flint

[teachersoot]

Flint, Michigan is currently in the middle of a major water crisis, leaving the town unable to get safe, clean water from its taps, and both politicians and celebrities alike have begun to take notice. But Puff Daddy is taking notice on a potential racist aspect of the problem.
P. Diddy & Hillary Clinton Blasted for Racism in Flint, Michigan

[mjlo]

I hate it when tragedies get so politicized. It's terrible what's going on there but I can 100% promise you if Rick Snyder had a D at the end of his name, you wouldn't P Diddy or Hillary Clintons anywhere near this. If anyone is so blind to their views that they can't see this is being exploited for political gain, they either don't want to acknowledge it, or they are happy their side of the spectrum has a weapon to use.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by mjlo

I hate it when tragedies get so politicized. It's terrible what's going on there but I can 100% promise you if Rick Snyder had a D at the end of his name, you wouldn't P Diddy or Hillary Clintons anywhere near this. If anyone is so blind to their views that they can't see this is being exploited for political gain, they either don't want to acknowledge it, or they are happy their side of the spectrum has a weapon to use.

Of course it's being exploited for political gain. I usually roll my eyes when "celebrities" get involved in these things.

If we didn't have such an ingrained outdated two-party system, we (as a country) probably wouldn't be having so many fights on things like this. But that doesn't mean there isn't meat on those bones.

[magellan]

The Bridge comes out swinging, dissecting the Governor's timeline and statements made during the SOS.

Who approved switch to Flint River? State’s answers draw fouls

State officials are continuing to parrot the line that the majority of the mess should rest on the shoulders of the Flint City Council, and therefore none of the State's surplus should go to help Flint. Hmmmm..

[magellan]

This is a good read. How the national media is getting the story wrong (as I've noticed repeatedly). Because of the complicated nature of this crisis, you can't just do "drive-by" reporting on it.

Flint, Michigan's water crisis: what the national media got wrong - Vox

Here's the order signed by Flint's Emergency Manager back in 2011, suspending the power of Flint's local government (that they mention in the article):

edit: City of Flint's website section with executive orders seems to have crashed

http://flintweb2.cityofflint.com/Fin...Mgr/orders.asp

You might find them on this doc from 2013:

https://www.cityofflint.com/wp-conte...n%20062813.pdf

[KayAnn246]

All I can say is that I'm outraged and sadden that all of these kids and parents will have to suffer for a long time. Charlie LeDuff bought up some good points in his interview.

He asked the Governor why it is ok for him (Snyder) to approve 2 billion dollars in tax cuts to corporate companies across Michigan but provide Flint with a horrible line of water into the city to save only 2 million dollars. Snyder was made aware of other problems with the water system in Flint before the lead issue even came up.

The same Emergency Manager that was in charge during the water issues is now overseeing the Detroit Public School system.

I hope everyone in Michigan and across this country find a way to help in the meantime. It does no good to name call and argue over this forum if you are really outraged. There are many organization across Michigan taking donations now. Make a difference for these people.

Check out the interview below.

Governor Rick Snyder Answers Questions about the Flint Water Crisis | Mojo in the Morning | Channel 955

The headline from TIME magazine is
http://time.com/4188328/the-poisonin...&pcd=hp-magmod

[magellan]

Originally Posted by Singlelady10

All I can say is that I'm outraged and sadden that all of these kids and parents will have to suffer for a long time. Charlie LeDuff bought up some good points in his interview.

He asked the Governor why it is ok for him (Snyder) to approve 2 billion dollars in tax cuts to corporate companies across Michigan but provide Flint with a horrible line of water into the city to save only 2 million dollars. Snyder was made aware of other problems with the water system in Flint before the lead issue even came up.

The same Emergency Manager that was in charge during the water issues is now overseeing the Detroit Public School system.

I hope everyone in Michigan and across this country find a way to help in the meantime. It does no good to name call and argue over this forum if you are really outraged. There are many organization across Michigan taking donations now. Make a difference for these people.

Check out the interview below.

Governor Rick Snyder Answers Questions about the Flint Water Crisis | Mojo in the Morning | Channel 955

The headline from TIME magazine is
Flint, Michigan: Gov. Rick Snyder and a Poisoned City

People can simultaneously try to get to the bottom of the issue, and help those in need at the same time.

Thanks for the link.

[Jswee]

Originally Posted by magellan

The Bridge comes out swinging, dissecting the Governor's timeline and statements made during the SOS.

Who approved switch to Flint River? State’s answers draw fouls

State officials are continuing to parrot the line that the majority of the mess should rest on the shoulders of the Flint City Council, and therefore none of the State's surplus should go to help Flint. Hmmmm..

The Bridge is evidently unaware of who originally made the recommendation to use the Flint River as the interim source. That recommendation came from the Flint Director of Public Works along with the City of Flint Finance Department. The EM did not just make some kind of spur of the moment decision, he supported the recommendation made by the City of Flint, as did the State Treasurer, who approved the funding.

https://www.cityofflint.com/wp-conte...-1-16-2015.pdf

"As a result of extensive evaluation, discussions with the professional engineers, and consulting the state regulators, the Department of Public Works along with the Finance Department recommended utilizing the Flint River as a temporary water source while waiting for the KWA to come online. The plan to accomplish this was accompanied with a construction timeline, a needs analysis for resources, and an FY 14 spending plan to complete the project."

[KayAnn246]

Originally Posted by magellan

People can simultaneously try to get to the bottom of the issue, and help those in need at the same time.

Thanks for the link.

I never said they couldn't but some people believe that sitting around arguing behind a keyboard is a serve to the public in a time of need.

So just a reminder that more and better service comes out of community action instead of arguing and name calling behind a computer.