Henry Payne for February 10, 2016

Wow. Just wow.

Payne’s towering intellect on full display.

I guess Payne actually believes the ‘handling of the Flint water crisis’ was perfectly okay. Nothing immoral about it at all.

What an uninformed, kneejerk, foolish, pointless cartoon. If you can’t find real reasons to oppose her, you’re not very bright, Henry.

There might have been some questionable U.S. arms supplying to allies in Libya, but I doubt that is what Payne is referring to.

9 investigations and NOTHING but they keep repeating it. Well they wasted Trillions on the 2 stupid wars, what is a few million more on stupid investigations.

Still pushing the Benghazi lie after millions of dollars and years of “investigations” came up with nothing. Some people just can’t accept reality.

This didn’t rise up to Payne’s usual standards!

Worse than Ramirez!

Are you trying to say that what happened in Flint is ok because it was done by Republicans?Are you trying to equate Benghazi – which Clinton was investigated for and not found guilty – to Flint – which no one is responsible for and no one will even be accused?Do you think she is trying to cover up something she didn’t do from 3 years ago now? This is pretty lazy – why didn’t you add a lie about Planned Parenthood and Sander’s supporters as long as you are doing crazy make-em-ups?

Flint is one of those economically hard-hit Midwestern cities, left in a constant state of crisis or quandary. From a distance, those fights can seem philosophically engaging: the stuff of good dinner party conversation and debate for people in the know, who also happen to live elsewhere. But on the ground in Flint, this has required sad and even terrible choices, all types of cutbacks and then a state declaration that none of this was enough.

Snyder used a state law to appoint an emergency manager, a process that began in 2011. And along with the emergency manager came a board to whom the manager could appeal to override decisions made by Flint’s non-partisan, elected city council. In short, Flint has spent years under emergency manager control, a person whose primary charge appears to have been cutting costs.

That same emergency manager, Darnell Earley, has denied that he is responsible for the current crisis. He says the Flint City Council voted to make use of the cheaper water supply from the river as part of a larger plan to join that new regional water system. He says he privately objected to using Flint River water, but local reporters did not find a mention of switching the city’s water supply to the Flint River in the related council resolution.

And when The Fix spoke briefly with Flint Ward 2 Councilwoman Jacqueline Poplar Wednesday, she could not have been more emphatic. The city council never voted to approve the shift in the city’s water supply. Never, she said. And with that Poplar advised The Fix Earley is now the emergency manager of Detroit Public Schools and wished us goodnight.

Whoever is responsible, this was the reasoning for the water-source change: It seemed Flint could save $8.5 million over the course of the next few years if did two things. It would join a new regional water system under construction. That system’s 2016 fees were expected to come in at about $3.5 million less than those Flint would have paid for water from Detroit. In the interim, the city would turn to the local Flint River for a short-term water supply. That was supposed to save another $5 million.

Now, it’s important to note here that when the switch decision was made, abandoned refrigerators and auto parts were not at all hard to find in and around the Flint River’s banks. It had a reputation for being polluted. Still, the somebody with the the authority to make the decision moved right ahead. And when the water from the Flint River started flowing into Flint homes, it carried with it components so corrosive they are suspected to have leached metals from the water system’s pipes.

This, folks, is democracy co-opted by corporate concerns and functions — attention to cost savings before any and all things. It also has to be said that whatever dollars were saved with the switch are probably gone now.

The state of Michigan has already pledged $12 million to deal with Flint’s water crisis and $1 million just to help supply the town with bottled water and lead filters for homes. Flint itself had to commit $2 million to the work of reconnecting to a safer water source out of Detroit. Distribution of information and bottled water are essential, but not free. And somewhere, in some back room, lawyers for the city, state and probably some Flint residents have to be talking over the entire situation while logging billable hours.

Then, there is the almost immeasurable human toll.

Lead is toxic to the brain, particularly for young developing minds. People who have been exposed to unsafe levels of lead have serious difficulty controlling impulses, retaining information and learning in school or holding thought-intensive jobs. Lead can cause miscarriages, stillbirths and premature arrivals. It can damage the ability of the body to take in the nutrients needed for cell development and the growth of strong teeth and bones. The damage lead does to the body — specifically the brain — is irreversible. And we are talking about a community where 8 percent of the population — nearly 8,000 kids — are under age 5.

That’s a combination that will create all manner of private and public expenditures, too. It can, and probably already has, altered the course of lives.:The Washington Post..Dennis, cannot find anything that backs up your claims, not even right wing sources.

So… you think that they “deserved” it?

According to reports, there was TS/SCI Special Access Program info there. That doesn’t just randomly get “deemed classified” at a later date.

Henry, I thought your thing was cars, not dead horses!

Hey Payne go back to telling us how good coal is for us doh!!!