More Gall Than Flint

You need to see that "Flintstones" episode in which the Flintstones and the Rubbles get invited to an upper-class reception to get the punning title, but in the case of Michigan governor Rick Snyder and the poisoning of the 102,000 residents of the city Flint, the meaning should be understood . . .

As we all know, Flint has been using water from the over-polluted Flint River for drinking and bathing  ever since an "emergency manager" came from Lansing to take over governance of the city to, ostensibly, straighten out its finances and streamline its bureaucracy and then (great laughter at this) return control of the city to the residents in the style of Cincinnatus.  It's actually a way for a Republican state government to take control of a Democratic, non-white-majority town and force reactionary, Tea Party values down their throats.

Snyder has also forced lead down Flint residents' throats.  The water has caused brain damage in untold numbers of children and may yet cause other illnesses in the rest of the city's residents.  The whole idea of getting water from the dirty river flowing through town instead of from clean Lake Huron, where Flint had gotten its water from before the emergency management team took over in 2014, was to save money.  That may be why the emergency manager's office spurned using an additive that would have sealed the lead into the water pipes and prevented it from getting into the water supply.  How much money did that move save? Nine thousand dollars.  Now Michigan taxpayers will have to pay $1.5 billion - that's "billion," with a b - to fix the problem.

Conveniently, this news somehow didn't get out until Snyder won a second term, defeating a Democrat we will never hear from again (I could tell you his name, but that's not important).  But I have good news. Snyder is term-limited and can't run again in 2018.  Here's more good news - though Snyder isn't scheduled to leave office for three more years, Michiganders (yes, that's the proper demonym) might not have to wait that long to get rid of him.  Liberal activist and Flint native and resident Michael Moore has launched a drive to not only get Snyder to resign but to have him arrested.  For murder, I presume. 

Down the drain, Rick.