Hey Flint, It Is Safe to Wash

Lead in bath water will not soak into your skin fast or at high levels.

Unfiltered warm tap water is OK for showers & baths.

Just don't let kids drink the bath water when they play in the tub.

If you want to get your water tested, please call the City of Flint Water Plant at 810-787-6537. If you have questions about Flint water and your health, please call MDHHS at 1-800-648-6942.

michigan.gov

Reassuring, hmm? 

That situation is so effed up...I can't believe it's happening. Much like watching the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This is 3rd world country stuff! 

Why is this a partisan issue?
If it is, why is the GOP to blame? 

Because in order to save money, a Republican changed the water supply. That's why it's being blamed on them. 

Because in order to save money, a Republican changed the water supply. That's why it's being blamed on them.?


And then covered the problem up, and ignored high test results. 

This is 3rd world country stuff!?

I can't even imagine how a governor who poisons his constituents still sits in his office. Snyder and every one of those people who allowed this to happen should be in jail. 

Yes smarty! 

What a second, I just looked this up the mayor and city council that made the changes were all Democrats...


google Darnell Early and Dayne Walling..
They are fighting it out on who made the decision 

Earley said he had no reason at the time to second-guess what appeared to have been a consensus decision.

"The decision to separate from (the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department) and go with the Karegnondi Water Authority, including the decision to pump Flint River water in the interim, were both a part of a long-term plan that was approved by Flint's mayor, and confirmed by a City Council vote of 7-1 in March of 2013 ? a full seven months before I began my term as emergency manager," Earley's email says. 

I blame everyone who knew anything about this...I don't care which party you do or don't belong to.

You asked why the GOP, and I told you. 

Dayne Walling preceded Darnell as Flint's emergency mayor. They are life long Democrats....

The city is a Democratic stronghold. Democrats were selected to be their emergency mayors?

I do NOT see this as a partisan issue, just surprised that if it was - the GOP would get all the blame....

Things aren't going to change until we start thinking and stop acting tribal.. 

Dorthy - you were factually wrong.

Because in order to save money, a Republican changed the water supply. That's why it's being blamed on them.

Democrats changed the supply. A whole host of politicians messed up the recovery (including Republicans)

If you don't know something, find out... 

I'm not factually wrong and you need to learn to spell. 

an alternative explanation is I need to learn how to type. My grandmother was named Dorothy...

How is it factually accurate to say a Republican made the decision to switch the water source to the Flint River? 

I didn't realize the local mayor had rank over the state governor.

Explain how that works...using facts, please. 

How is it factually accurate to say a Republican made the decision to switch the water source to the Flint River??

My understanding is that city council voted to switch back to the Detroit system in March, but the Emergency Manager appointed by the governor nixed it. Conveniently, Governor Snyder had already passed a law making it okey dokey for an EM to override local policies.

All the agencies involved report to the governor. Snyder and the state Department of Environmental Quality are responsible. "I'm sorry" from the governor is meaningless. 

I wonder what governor lead poison's stance is on abortion 

I didn't realize the local mayor had rank over the state governor.

Under your logic, President Obama is responsible since he is above the governor of the state of Michigan.

The city of Flint made the decision to switch their supply in March of 2013. The approvals for this STOPPED at the city council and mayor. Governors do not sign off on the day to day operations of cities. Presidents don't sign off on the day to day operations of states.

The state and local government made mistakes. The city decided to switch to the Flint river AND to not treat the caustic water. These decisions were the causal factors for the disaster.

Not my fault says city mayor 

He shall henceforth be known as

governor lead poison 

No problem with that, he shares the blame for not fixing the mayor's and city council's decision....

Once he became aware, he had an obligation to resolve the issue and he failed. 

Governors do not sign off on the day to day operations of cities

city council's decision

The democratically elected city council voted to switch back to the Detroit water system. That vote was flat out ignored.

That's pretty strong evidence that the governor, through his EM lackey, had his hand in the day to day operations of the city. 

Once he became aware, he had an obligation to resolve the issue and he failed

Correct. And now he needs to pay the piper.


Six months before Michigan's governor declared a state of emergency over high lead levels in the water in Flint, his top aide wrote in an email that worried residents were "basically getting blown off by us."

"I'm frustrated by the water issue in Flint," Dennis Muchmore, then chief of staff to Gov. Rick Snyder, wrote in the email to a top health department staffer obtained by NBC News.

"I really don't think people are getting the benefit of the doubt. Now they are concerned and rightfully so about the lead level studies they are receiving," Muchmore said.

"These folks are scared and worried about the health impacts and they are basically getting blown off by us (as a state we're just not sympathizing with their plight)." 

Why is this a partisan issue?If it is, why is the GOP to blame?



What. It's not a partisan issue. It's a morality issue.

I couldn't care less what political party those responsible for this debacle are from. Whoever allowed this to happen and then tried to cover it up should be held accountable. 

It's not a partisan issue. It's a morality issue.

I stirred the pot with the title of this thread and by mentioning that the GOP governor passed a law allowing him to decide that local votes don't count if he doesn't want them to. I apologize to anyone who doesn't want the truth out there. 

I am all for facts...

How did the governor pass a law?
A republican state legislature passed the law.


In this case, the governor appointed a Democrat.

The Democrat made the decision. The Democratic mayor did not bypass the locally elected officials. Instead he took the decision to the Democratic city council. They passed the decision 7-1.

While the republicans did not share in the decision making, they are culpable in the botched response.

All these are facts as well.

Perhaps we can become less tribal... 

The Democratic mayor did not bypass the locally elected officials.

I did not say that.

The Emergency Manager was the one who ignored the vote by locally elected officials, when they wanted to go back to Detroit water. Unfortunately, in the interim, the EM had sold the pipe, since it wasn't being used.

(No one has any problem with a political appointee overruling the vote of the democratically elected representatives of a community??)

The EM also authorized the original contract to use Flint River water.

The EM and Dept. of Environmental Quality both report solely to the governor. If the Dept. of EQ does not understand that river water is different than lake water, as far as how it will leach lead from aging pipeline infrastructure, they are unqualified for the job. And when they found out about the switch to Flint River, their job would be to make sure the water was treated first. But they did nothing.

NOW they are doing something, but their incompetence had to come out in the news first.

Also, the director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has resigned. 

The Michigan GOP leadership reminds me of Blue Bell. 

This would be terrorism if ISIS did it but an idiot saved a buck and it's policy. 

Someone is in hot-water. Get it? 

an idiot saved a buck

and probably ensured that a city's children will have problems for the rest of their lives. Lead is an extremely serious and well known neurotoxin. 

Studies link childhood lead exposure to violent crime 

The backpeddling is astonishing once it became obvious it was a Democrat who is to blame here. 

The backpeddling is astonishing once it became obvious it was a Democrat who is to blame here.

Don't be astonished. And get your facts straight. One person is culpable here: the governor, a Republican, who, along with so many others of his party, subscribing to the principle that money is the most important consideration in political decisions, appointed a "manager" to do his bidding, against the wishes of the city council of Flint. The governor only consideration was money, and the manager was doing what the governor told him to do: save money. They never once considered the people or the environmental hazards of using Flint River water. In fact they were telling people to calm down AFTER presented with evidence of problems. It was only after the Doctor daughter of Iraqi-immigrants (so ironic for someone of Iraqi heritage being the one advocating for American children), among others, including the governor's own chief of staff, started yelling, and talking to the press, that the Republican Governor backpedaled: "I'm going to fix this! I'm sorry!" Unfortunately, the damage is done.

The democratic city council did not vote to switch to Flint River water; they voted to switch to the new system being built in the county that would not be ready until late 2016.

The other incompetants were the Dept. of Environmental Quality, who failed to do anything, but it would have cost $100/day to treat the water. Apparently that was too expensive also. Better to let poison run in neighborhoods and save money. 

Back peddle. 

Flint is NOT a Republican scandal 

By blaming the governor Because he's over the city is like blaming Obama because he's over the states 

Then stop blaming Obama for everything 

That's rich coming from the "Blame Bush" crowd. 

Show me where I've blamed Obama for state issues. I blame Obama for his eo and ea.
Everything else Dallas on congress
Unlike liberals I understand how politics work.. When you blame bush when the congress was led by democrats that created the mess.