Reminds me of the time EPA Administrator Christine Whitman declared that Ground Zero was safe; that there was no danger from the toxic fumes still seeping into the neighborhood weeks after the attack. We know how that worked out. The feds eventually agreed to cover the health benefits of rescue workers. Wasn’t enough for many of them, however, as they died from their exposure. Whitman belatedly complained that Bush Administration officials forced her to prematurely declare the area safe. I wonder if we will eventually see a similar “confession” from EPA Midwest Regional Director Susan Hedman?
lakewashington the lesson is trust nobody but yourself.
politicians and bureaucrats are not the best source of trust worthy info.
So I saw the former mayor being interviewed and he had no answer as to why they granted GM better water after they complained but still thought it was safe for human consumption.
Here is an article about the key role that Virginia Tech engineers and researchers played in this, “Virginia Tech researchers fought for Flint in water crisis” from the Roanoke Times. http://www.roanoke.com/news/education/higher_education/virginia_tech/virginia-tech-researchers-fought-for-flint-in-water-crisis/article_56fb09da-9e6a-5e11-9085-b48893e2380d.html
Story about a town in Ohio
http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/25/us/sebring-lead-water-investigation/index.html
Note that the pediatrician is the daughter of Iraqi immigrants.
I’m just sayin’ B-)
The pediatrician, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, is one of those dangerous Muslims we should be afraid of.
Actually, I don’t know whether she is a Muslim. I looked for such info but couldn’t find it.
For what it’s worth, it seems to be pretty irrelevant around here. After 9/11, there were plenty of attacks on Christian Middle Easterners in Dearborn because too many people see brown skin and automatically assume Muslim.
But that’s a whole 'nother issue. 
I am very saddened to hear about Ohio. I hope they learn from the cluster**** that has been Flint.
I’d really like to see them find a way to move away from the zillions of individual bottles of water to some sort of longer term container filling stations.
Maybe some water trucks that are refilled regularly from a safe source. That’s what we have when we have had water repairs on our street. Tons of water bottles doesn’t sound like a great solution.
I’ve seen several posts on my Facebook asserting that Hanna-Atisha is a Muslim. But maybe I shouldn’t accept them at face value.
In addition to giving out bottled water, various groups are handing out water filters.
This happened last year in West Virginia, right? Unsafe, contaminated water + powerful corporations + poor people complaining and not getting hear - same idea.
There is an Absopure bottling facility is only about an hour from Flint. It doesn’t seem like it would be particularly difficult to get those large water jugs up there instead of the small bottled waters.
There is also another issue- Flint does not really have recycling. There are places where you can bring your bottles to in order to recycle them but many people families are going through a case of water a day. That is a TON of bottles and no one is sure where to put them.
The state of Michigan asked for state employees and their families to come volunteer in Flint over MLK weekend, and yet when my dad and I call to offer our plumbing services, we’ve been hit with roadblock after roadblock. There seems to be no central place to call.
Blech…
Rachel Maddow is doing a Flint Town Hall on MSNBC tonight at 9. It will also be streamed online.
I heard the mayor, a clinical psychologist, and Cher, on The View the other day. I can’t believe it took so long for this story to become public. Such a waste of human lives.
@cardinalfang, I believe Dr. Hanna Attisha is a Chaldean … that is an Iraqi Catholic. Lots of Chaldeans in our area.
I was very disappointed to receive an email from my alma mater, located in Flint, that seemed to intimate the problem is not as dire as the press is making it out to be. It is true that not all water is tainted, but the water that is tainted presents a dire problem for those who are affected. It smacked of “s**ks to be you, but hey, I’m okay” to me. I am glad the school is not affected, but please do not trivialize the problems members of your own community are facing.
I am so tired of the folks who use this as a political tool … Republicans did it, nah nah nah nah nah nah. I don’t give a rat’s rip which party did what. Shut up and just take care of it. If you are concerned enough to complain, all you non-Flint/non-Michigan political pundits, then figure out a way to help rather than to divide.
Thanks, kelsmom. I stand corrected. I should know better than to believe random Facebook memes!
It looks like state employees started getting bottled water due to water concerns… in JANUARY of last year.
OF LAST YEAR!!!