We are an angry culture

[kalm]

Someone obviously fucked up and Snyder is taking the blame but I'm almost feeling sorry for him.

Calling the water crisis in Flint a “disaster,” Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder took responsibility for not following up on complaints on the poisoned water and admitted it was his “Katrina” — shorthand for a complete political failure — reports the National Journal....

Snyder has been under fire for his leadership during the crisis, with both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders slamming him at the conclusion of Sunday night’s Democratic debate. Prior to the debate, Sanders had already called upon Snyder to resign, saying “There are no excuses.”

Criticism of the Michigan governor reached a crescendo that evening when Snyder tweeted on his Twitter account — under the Twitter handle: “@onetoughnerd” — “Political statements and finger pointing from political candidates only distract from solving the Flint water crisis.”

Commenters responded to the tweet, telling the governor he should not only resign but that he should be in prison.

Mocking his @onetoughnerd Twitter name, actor Mark Ruffalo tweeted: “He’s going to get a lot tougher if he ends up in prison.”

Other were not so nice. A sampling below:

Matt Christman @cushbomb
@onetoughnerd You should be forced to butt-chug a gallon of that water on national television.
8:25 PM - 17 Jan 2016
5 5 Retweets 19 19 likes

well,MassiveDumps4u, @Phylan
@onetoughnerd get indicted fuckbag
8:15 PM - 17 Jan 2016
29 29 Retweets 156 156 likes

Steve M. @nomoremister
I hope you die in prison. @onetoughnerd
8:16 PM - 17 Jan 2016
1 1 Retweet 4 4 likes

[CAA Flagship]

The EPA screwed up again.

[clenz]

You should see the tweets Blair Walsh got sent after he missed that FG...

[AshevilleApp]

The EPA screwed up again.

By not providing enough oversight on the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality?

[GannonFan]

Yes, at the core, that's really a factor in many of our problems as a country. But then again, that's really a first world problem we have, considering how good we really have it relatively speaking.

[Baldy]

Ummm.....it's Flint, Michigan.

[houndawg]

Ummm.....it's Flint, Michigan.

You're probably too young to remember how back in the day the manufacturing jobs were in Flint and the water in Mexico wasn't fit to drink.

[CAA Flagship]

Ummm.....it's Flint, Michigan.

You're probably too young to remember how back in the day the manufacturing jobs were in Flint and the water in Mexico wasn't fit to drink.

[YoUDeeMan]

Ummm.....it's Flint, Michigan.

You're probably too young to remember how back in the day the manufacturing jobs were in Flint and the water in Mexico wasn't fit to drink.

It has been quite a while since the last time, but houndpuppy just pulled something funny out of his ass.

[JohnStOnge]

You know, I heard that "Katrina" thing earlier. That's ridiculous. I've said it many times and I'll say it again: NOBODY could have handled the Katrina aftermath in a way that would've been satisfactory in today's media culture. It was unprecedented. It was overwhelming. There was no WAY anybody was going to be able to handle everything in a way that didn't leave stuff "undone" that the media could pounce on. There were 90,000 square miles of impact area. Communications were wiped out. Tens of thousands of people were in immediate imminent danger. Hard decisions had to be made in terms of priorities in terms of which people in distress and danger had to be saved. And it all happened in a few hours as a Hurricane that was projected to hit the Florida panhandle suddenly changed course and whacked the Louisiana/Mississippi border instead. This is totally different.

[CID1990]

I wonder why the wonder twins Sanders and Clinton aren't also calling for the resignation of the Flint mayor or the head of the EPA for withholding the info from the public?

BTW - no answer required - just a rhetorical question

[houndawg]

You're probably too young to remember how back in the day the manufacturing jobs were in Flint and the water in Mexico wasn't fit to drink.

It has been quite a while since the last time, but houndpuppy just pulled something funny out of his ass.

Pay attention, son. I won't always be here to help you through life.

[Baldy]

You're probably too young to remember how back in the day the manufacturing jobs were in Flint and the water in Mexico wasn't fit to drink.

It has been quite a while since the last time, but houndpuppy just pulled something funny out of his ass.

Once every 11,800 posts...

[Ivytalk]

In Detroit, people "eat lead." In Flint, they drink it. Who cares?

[AshevilleApp]

In Detroit, people "eat lead." In Flint, they drink it. Who cares?

People in Flint?

[Grizalltheway]

In Detroit, people "eat lead." In Flint, they drink it. Who cares?

People in Flint?

I bet Jesus cares about them, too.

[Baldy]

People in Flint?

I bet Jesus cares about them, too.

Maybe he'll come walk on their lead water.

[ASUG8]

The governor is taking blame and releasing his emails effective immediately, yet the donk mayors who served under him are in hiding or blaming the state. And now it has an alleged racial component because Flint is poor and primarily black.

So much for Donks taking personal responsibility.

[Chizzang]

I have been enjoying how the poisoning of citizens has been viewed more as a
"public relations issue" than a "public health" issue

Only with politicians do we get this kind of response to criminal behavior

[kalm]

The governor is taking blame and releasing his emails effective immediately, yet the donk mayors who served under him are in hiding or blaming the state. And now it has an alleged racial component because Flint is poor and primarily black.

So much for Donks taking personal responsibility.

Ultimately, doesn't there have to be some public works directors and engineers on the hook for this?

[Grizalltheway]

I have been enjoying how the poisoning of citizens has been viewed more as a
"public relations issue" than a "public health" issue

Only with politicians do we get this kind of response to criminal behavior

Only socialist dictatorships care about "public health". Go back to Russia you filthy red.

[kalm]

I have been enjoying how the poisoning of citizens has been viewed more as a
"public relations issue" than a "public health" issue

Only with politicians do we get this kind of response to criminal behavior

Only socialist dictatorships care about "public health". Go back to Russia you filthy red.

I'm sure this wouldn't happen if we privatized the water supply.

[Chizzang]

I have been enjoying how the poisoning of citizens has been viewed more as a
"public relations issue" than a "public health" issue

Only with politicians do we get this kind of response to criminal behavior

Only socialist dictatorships care about "public health". Go back to Russia you filthy red.

There are presently over 20 cases now filed against the State of Michigan and Flint
The lawyers are going to rip this thing to shreds

Michigan will be completely bankrupt after this...

[AshevilleApp]

The governor is taking blame and releasing his emails effective immediately, yet the donk mayors who served under him are in hiding or blaming the state. And now it has an alleged racial component because Flint is poor and primarily black.

So much for Donks taking personal responsibility.

I'm glad he is.

He is a Republican and had appointed the Emergency Manager who approved the deal. And yes, the Flint City Council ( Democrats) , under the Emergency Manager (appointed by the State), did approve the cost cutting measure to tap the Flint River in order stop buying water from Detroit.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality then approved the change without recommending any water softening additives that would stop the corroding of the outdated lead transmission pipes. People immediately noticed that the water tasted bad/different, and began complaining. Nobody acted until the evidence became overwhelming that kids were having elevated levels of lead in their blood.

Since then the State Treasurer at the time this all came down, and the head of MDEQ have resigned. The Governor is rightly apologizing about the way it was handled. I also think he has done a pretty good job overall after getting elected to a tough position. And those calling for resignation or prosecution are far off base.

Now, I realize that we all don't share the same advantages. But I think that you should be able to turn your tap on in this country and have a reasonable assurance that the water won't harm you. If I was one of those parents, especially after being told that it was okay, I'd be pissed off too.

[GannonFan]

The governor is taking blame and releasing his emails effective immediately, yet the donk mayors who served under him are in hiding or blaming the state. And now it has an alleged racial component because Flint is poor and primarily black.

So much for Donks taking personal responsibility.

I'm glad he is.

He is a Republican and had appointed the Emergency Manager who approved the deal. And yes, the Flint City Council ( Democrats) , under the Emergency Manager (appointed by the State), did approve the cost cutting measure to tap the Flint River in order stop buying water from Detroit.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality then approved the change without recommending any water softening additives that would stop the corroding of the outdated lead transmission pipes. People immediately noticed that the water tasted bad/different, and began complaining. Nobody acted until the evidence became overwhelming that kids were having elevated levels of lead in their blood.

Since then the State Treasurer at the time this all came down, and the head of MDEQ have resigned. The Governor is rightly apologizing about the way it was handled. I also think he has done a pretty good job overall after getting elected to a tough position. And those calling for resignation or prosecution are far off base.

Now, I realize that we all don't share the same advantages. But I think that you should be able to turn your tap on in this country and have a reasonable assurance that the water won't harm you. If I was one of those parents, especially after being told that it was okay, I'd be pissed off too.

Just to add to that, while the City Council and the Emergency Manager made the decision to switch water supplies, they had hoped to stay with the Detroit public water until the pipeline to the Great Lake was completed in two years. Detroit got pissed that they were leaving (and then not helping to pay for the upkeep of their water supply) and told them to take a hike and find another water supply in the meantime. That forced them to move to the Flint River, which had always been the backup plan. Then, the MDEQ and the EPA got in a pissing match over the wording in the statute and what needed to be done. Heck, the EPA even knew back in early June of 2015 that there were dangerous levels of lead in the water but the most they did was circulate an internal memo about it.

Just a cluster all the way around. There was plenty of regulations and oversight in place to prevent this from happening, but the people doing the oversight and enforcing the regulations just flat out blew it. At a minimum, the folks involved in the MDEQ and those that knew of it at the EPA but didn't do anything about it should see a court. Possibly the Emergency Manager too depending on what he knew and when.