There will be a day when elected representatives of our government are held just as accountable for their actions of negligence and of duty to us all as any one of us regular folk are. That day may be arriving as a call for the arrest of Governor Rick Snyder is now justifiably growing louder. I stand behind this outcry.
Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan knew about the lead contaminated water pipes of Flint Michigan long before the free and liberal media of the United States jumped on the issue. He deserves to meet the law for his criminal negligence.
I stand with a great patriot of democracy and a great liberal of our time, Michael Moore and tens of thousands of parents in requesting he be arrested for criminal negligence - as any citizen would be, as you and I would be. As any one of us would be arrested and then jailed for our negligence that resulted in great and irreparable harm to anyone. In this case, it harms more than 100,000 people.
I have been upset about this issue since in early December of 2015, the stalwart advocate of people, Rachel Maddow, chose to run a story on her national cable network MSNBC exposing the story of the poisoning of an entire municipality of Flint, in the state of Michigan, United States. It was April of 2014 when the residents of this underserved, largely minority populace first sought actions for their complaints of apparently tainted drinking water. A chemist from Virginia Technical College took it upon himself to drive to Flint and test the residents water. That hero's name is Mark Edwards. He will fix it. He deserved our thanks for his self-motivated response in insisting on going to Flint and testing the water when few in that State Government would take action.
As a child of the 1960’s who was living in multiple homes of inexpensive build, I was very likely exposed to lead. It was in the paint of the walls in almost every home I lived in. It was in the soldered joints of all copper water pipe. It was mixed in as a solvent in many chemicals, and liquid medicinal drugs, given to me and millions of kids. It is likely I would have been a different, smarter, person had I not lived when I did. In 1982, I became a plumber’s apprentice and for 3 years the solder I was using was mostly composed of lead. For hours every day, while soldering copper water pipes, I would hold a roll of lead solder in one hand while manipulating and holding copper water pipes to be soldered with my other hand. The only and most efficient way for me to unspool the solder was to bite the lead with my teeth and them unspool the lead to have more solder to work with. I was being contaminated for low wages as a young adult. Like those kids of Flint, Michigan I was innocently naive of the danger. For these reasons, I was especially distraught over this issue when I first heard about on Rachel’s show in early December of last year.
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In 1978, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development had the money to advertise the dangers of lead paint in housing that was built prior to 1978, when our government through the actions of liberals, decided to warn us all. I like many other children probably put some in my mouth on more than one occasion. As infants, we reach for substances and we taste them. It is what happened to millions of us. Below is the television public awareness advertisement that allowed million of citizens the information to know how to prevent lead poisoning in the walls of our homes:
1978 (asshole) Governor Rick Snyder!
Ignorance of the LAW is not an excuse.
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The children of Flint, Michigan, who before their drinking water was knowingly contaminated by lead, had almost all the opportunities to be all that they could be before their brains were poisoned by a known contaminant that we learned more than 5 decades ago caused irreversible brain damage. I want us all to take care of them. I want this catastrophe remembered for a long time. I want justice for all those kids who will be at a biological disadvantage for all their lives because a government representative was seeking to save money.
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From Michael Moore’s website designated to further the cause of justice for those poisoned:
“Maybe you don't understand the science behind this. Lead, in water -- now, bear with me, this involves a science lesson and you belong to the anti-science party, the one that believes there's not a climate problem and that Adam and Eve rode on dinosaurs 6,000 years ago. Lead is toxic to the human body. There's no way to fully eliminate it once it's in your system, and children are the most damaged by it.
By taking away the city's clean drinking water in order to "cut costs," and then switching the city's water supply to Flint River water, you have allowed massively unsafe levels of pollutants and lead into the water that travels into everyone's home. Every Flint resident is trapped by this environmental nightmare which you, Governor, have created.”
“I am calling upon my fellow Michiganders -- and seekers of justice everywhere -- to petition U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, asking her to arrest you for corruption and assault (i.e., the physical assault you committed against the children of Flint when you knowingly poisoned them).”
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Michael Moore’s website calling for Governor Snyder’s arrest for violation of the civil liberties of thousands of people:
World Health Organization on lead:
- Lead is a cumulative toxicant that affects multiple body systems and is particularly harmful to young children.
- Childhood lead exposure is estimated to contribute to about 600 000 new cases of children developing intellectual disabilities every year.
- Lead exposure is estimated to account for 143 000 deaths per year with the highest burden in developing regions.
- About one half of the burden of disease from lead occurs in the WHO South-East Asia Region, with about one-fifth each in the WHO Western Pacific and Eastern Mediterranean Regions.
- Lead in the body is distributed to the brain, liver, kidney and bones. It is stored in the teeth and bones, where it accumulates over time. Human exposure is usually assessed through the measurement of lead in blood.
- There is no known level of lead exposure that is considered safe.
- Lead poisoning is entirely preventable.
Sources and routes of exposure
People can become exposed to lead through occupational and environmental sources. This mainly results from:
- inhalation of lead particles generated by burning materials containing lead, e.g. during smelting, informal recycling, stripping leaded paint and using leaded gasoline; and
- ingestion of lead-contaminated dust, water (from leaded pipes), food (from lead-glazed or lead-soldered containers).
How to file a complaint on behalf of the citizens of Flint with the United States Justice Department:
Washington Post: The heroic professor who helped uncover the Flint lead water crisis has been asked to fix it:
All Rights Reserved: End All Suffering, James G. Mason, January, 2016. http://JamesGMason.com http://EndAllSuffering.Org
#LeadPoisoning #Lead #FLintMichigan #GovRickSnyder #EPA #USDOJ #POTUS #MichaelMoore #RachelMaddow #EndAllSuffering #StopAllSuffering #JamesGMason #Opinion
