Court cases in Michigan including Flint are heating up.

Professor Hammer isn't afraid of the word racism and freely writes about it's influence in the Flint Water Crisis. Ultimately the country has to change. There is no reason for racism in the USA. These trials are important and while every defendant will plead not guilty and will state they have never been racist, those lies can't stand. 

February 19, 2021
By Peter J. Hammer

As the former governor of Michigan (click here) and eight other public officials are indicted for alleged crimes related to the Flint water contamination crisis, Wayne State Law Professor Peter J. Hammer writes that systems of spatial-structural racism underlie the event and must be addressed.

The trauma of the Flint water crisis, one of the greatest preventable humanitarian crises in American history, has never receded from the lives of the residents of Flint, Mich. The return of the crisis in the national news, however, gives us a time to reflect.

A $641 million federal civil class action settlement has been preliminarily approved, ostensibly the law’s best effort to make the victims “whole.” On a different legal front, nine former public officials, including former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R), have been indicted on 41 criminal charges.

How should America ultimately understand the legacy of the crisis? A foundational truth is that systems of spatial-structural racism lie at the roots of the Flint water crisis. I provided testimony to the Michigan Civil Rights Commission’s hearings on the role of race in the tragedy.

The commission’s report concluded: “Our review of Flint’s history clearly establishes that past racism played an important role in creating the conditions that allowed the water contamination crisis to occur…. Race, racialization, racism (particularly spatial), and de facto discrimination are the heart and soul of this crisis.” These problems remain unaddressed....

Understand the word complicit. Being involved with others in illegal activity or wrongdoing.

8 June 2020
By Joshua Virasami

To be neutral, (click here) to be passive in a situation,” the historian Howard Zinn tells us, “is to collaborate with whatever is going on.” If the history of black political struggle in the US – something Zinn, a white ex-soldier, actively participated in – teaches us one thing, it is that meaningful political change happens not just when black and brown people take a stand against racism, but when the wider society moves from being neutral to becoming actively anti-racist. 

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was one of the most formidable organisations in the fight for civil rights. It understood that change occurs when people are moved to action. Students in northern US universities, although sympathetic to the plight of black southerners, remained passive supporters, so the SNCC organised “freedom buses” for students to come and act as observers....

Complicit and racism are commodities that need to come forward in the Flint trials. There was absolutely no one in Lansing interested in the lives of the people of Flint. No one. There were cronies of Snyder that were far more important than the people of Flint. Snyder didn't shirk responsibility to the people of Flint, he actively circumvented their well-being. 

All along, (click here) Snyder ducked responsibility, later offering faux regret and ownership for the debacle that’s left thousands of residents sick, depressed, and hopeless. Meanwhile, he’s fought tooth and nail to cut water tax credits to Flint residents; fought a court order for the state to deliver water to people’s doorsteps, appropriate money to fix the tens of thousands of lead and galvanized pipes that need replacement (fortunately, he was forced to settle yesterday to pay for 18,000 new pipes) and, ultimately, to provide the proper medical care that Flint residents need — Medicare for life....

March 28, 2017

By Jordon Chariton

...According to Snyder, (click here) his Emergency Manager, and other state officials, this was all a cost-saving measure in the face of Detroit’s high water prices (Flint was Detroit’s largest customer). The powers-that-be said switching off of Detroit to the Flint River temporarily would save the city money until the privatized KWA Pipeline was ready.

Emails unearthed from April, 2013, show that’s nonsense. In the face of losing its biggest customer, Detroit Water offered Flint an immediate 48% discount, which over 30 years would be 20% cheaper than what Flint would pay to the KWA....

...If you don’t know, there’s active discussion on plans to frack, frack, and frack some more along the path of the KWA pipeline — which would require TONS OF water.

And in looking at some of Snyder’s top donors, a troubling pattern appears: They’re a bunch of MOTHER FRACKERS!

Between Snyder’s initial run for governor in 2010 and today, the head of MPI Research, William Parfet, donated $300,000 to Snyder’s campaigns. Until last year, he was on the Board of Directors for big-agro giant Monsanto (pesky sexual harassment lawsuit may have done him in).

Well, what do you know? Monsanto heavily deploys nitrogen fertilizer, which is primarily made up of natural gas. Hence, the more natural gas produced by fracking, the cheaper nitrogen fertilizer becomes for Monsanto (and the more it can use)....

You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. Pure, unadulterated quid pro quo. Never one day did Rick Snyder rise to the much needed advocate for the people. Never once. It was all too easy to look the other way and demonize the lazy people of Flint, Michigan that never pay their bills. At no point in time did Snyder live up to this oath of office when it came to Flint.

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of this state, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of .......... according to the best of my ability. No other oath, affirmation, or any religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust.

Does anyone actually believe the duties of the Governor's office are different for GM and Flint when it comes to a safe water supply? No. Actually, protecting life was suppose to take precedent over protecting engines for a car company. 

Never one day did Rick Snyder put the people first when it comes to a majority-black community in Flint. 

Never one day.

If this level of corruption is not part of the criminal proceedings then what is going to change the dynamics of racism yet alone respect for all life?

February 18, 2021

Lansing, Mich. — Attorneys for former Gov. Rick Snyder (click here) and eight others facing charges in the Flint water crisis are seeking to speed the production of evidence after a judge said he needs at least four months to inspect grand jury records. The lawyers said Thursday that the delay will hurt the defendants, who “are left to languish under the specter of reputation-destroying criminal charges with virtually no avenue to challenge or assess the allegations.” Genesee County Chief Circuit Judge Duncan Beagle has issued an order governing how he will review and release grand jury testimony and set a status hearing for June 14.

It is a joint plea. All the defendants are working together to end the charges. They are not all equally charged. How is it a judge is expected by all the defendants charged are demanding the very same Grand Jury records? There is a lot wrong here.

February 18, 2021

Flint, Mich. - According to a motion filed today, (click here) all nine defendants charged in connection with the Flint Water Crisis have filed a motion to ask for grand jury testimony and exhibits related to the case produce immediately....

Change in the subject. The case about the Whitmer kidnapping is taking a rather odd path. The federal request for records needs to go forward.

February 17, 2021

By Robert Snell

A Grand Rapids federal judge (click here) Tuesday refused to let prosecutors share secret grand jury testimony with state prosecutors who are trying to convict eight men on terrorism charges related to the alleged plot to kidnap and harm Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker said federal prosecutors failed to justify the need to share the privileged testimony central to a case that has shed light on violent extremism in Michigan.

Is this for real? A judge is blocking evidence to convict terrorists. The new Attorney General nominee, Merrick Garland needs to be seated so these cases can move along with consistency. 

The testimony prosecutors wanted to share was not specified in court records. But the request last month coincided with the surprise cooperation of Hartland Township resident Ty Garbin, 25, who pleaded guilty to kidnapping conspiracy and agreed to help prosecutors — and testify in front of grand juries....

The Harper’s Article

Harper’s Magazine prints dialogue and information that most other media does not. I question the wisdom of placing such a controversial short article in print because of the precarious nature of Mr. and Mrs. Navalny. I don’t believe it is going well for them. 

There are several ways of looking at the article and the one point of view that may be legitimate is if the couple, who are loved by people in Russia, are to survive the Putin regime this might shake things up a bit.

I can’t believe Harpers did this on a whim. I am sure they put thought into it before it was published in hard copy and not just cyber which can be tampered with by foreign agents. Print, once published, is permanent.

The way I see it, is that The West was successful in removing him after he was poisoned and returned his health. It is vital Western Democracies stand with Alexei and his wife. This short article keeps them in front of us. We nursed him back to health so he could resume his love for change in Putin’s Russia.

It is a humorous article that dummy’s down Russian authority and their prehistoric methods of silencing political opposition. So, besides keeping the couple in front of us, it also allows us to laugh at the futile nature of Russian authority in their clumsy fear of their own government.

We, as a global community, didn’t save him from

death before only to have it served up through a Russian court. Tampering with Alexei and his wife has no place in this world. They have a voice and while different than that of Putin’s autocratic government it is still a real voice from real people that have a right to live and carry out debate. 

Alexei Navalny did nothing wrong. He took a political stance different than the usual tone in Russia. He killed no one. He never picked up guns against the Russian government. Putin likes to think he is the greatest strong man in the world, but, yet he cannot survive mere words in the Russian language different than his.

Alexei Navalny and his wife are alive and they need to be heard for a long time. 

“Harper’s Magazine,” March 2021

Pages 17 - 19

[Prank Call]

PUTIN ON YOUR PANTS 

From a December 2020 telephone conversation between Konstantin Borisovich Kudryautsev, an FSB agent, and Alexei Navalny, a Russian opposition leader when Kudryautsev attempted to assassinate on an airplane in August by applying a nerve agent to his underwear. On the call, Navalny impersonated a senior security official. The transcript was published by an open source investigations site “Bellingcat.”

Konstantin Borisovich Kudryautsev: “Hello?”

Alexei Navalny: Konstantin Borisovich!

Kudryautsev: Yes, yes!

Navalny: This is Ustinov Maxim Setgeevich. I apologize for the early hour, but I urgent require ten minutes of your time.

Kudryautsev: All right.

Navalny: I am doing a report which will be discussed by the Security Council at the highest levels. I need a single paragraph from every unit member. Why was the Navalny operation in Tomsk a complete failure?

Kudryautsev: I have been wondering that myself.

Navalny: I am interested in your opinion.

Kudryautsev: Well, in my profession - you know this yourself - there is a lot of nuances.

Navalny: What?

Kudryautsev: If he had been in the air for longer, and they did not land in such an abrupt way, possibly, things would have not gone the way it did. Meaning, if the medics did not aid him, if there was no ambulance at the airport, and so on.

Navalny: Perhaps the dosage was not correctly estimated?

Kudryautsev: Well, I can’t say that.

Navalny: Let us then turn to the specific technique. How was the substance administered? Do you think an appropriate method was selected?

Kudryautsev: This should be communicated through a secure channel.

Navalny: Do you understand who will read this report? On this level there is no place for operative channels. People are not concerned with details - I must explain briefly how things transpired, and want to do it correctly.

Kudryautsev: How what transpired?

Navalny: How the substance was administered.

Kudryautsev: Well, the fact is the location was perhaps - how can I say it - the place they put it, there might have been a possibility of detection, subsequently.

Navalny: Which garment posed the highest risk factor? 

Kudryautsev: A risk factor in what sense?

Navalny: Where the concentration was the highest.

Kudryautsev: Well, the underpants.

Navalny: Do you mean the inside or the outsider side? I have an entire questionnaire about this. I require your knowledge.

Kudryautsev: Well, we were processing the inner side.

Navalny: Imagine some underpants in front of you, which part did you process?

Kudryautsev: Where the crotch is.

Navalny: The crotch?

Kudryautsev: Well, the codpiece, as they call it.

Navalny: Wait, this is important. Who gave you the order to process the codpiece?

Kudryautsev: We figured this out on our own.

Navalny: I am writing it down, okay. The gray colored underwear do you remember?

Kudryautsev: Blue.

Navalny: And they were whole, I mean theoretically we could give them back? They were undamaged and everything is okay with them?

Kudryautsev: Yes, all is clear.

Navalny: Visually, nothing would be discovered? There were no spots, nothing?

Kudryautsev: No, no. Everything is fine, they are in good condition, clean.

Navalny: Do you want to add something you think may be of importance to my report?

Kudryautsev: Oh no, I think this was probably enough. Even too much.

Navalny: If I need more details, I may call you again in a couple of hours. So, please stay close to your phone, all right?

Kudryautsev: Yes, I am always available, day or night. I have this habit, I bring my phone everywhere - even to the toilet.

Navalny: I understand, I understand.

Kudryautsev: May I ask you: There is no problem, discussing this over an unsecured line?

Navalny: This is an extraordinary situation.

This reminds me of the phone call between David Koch and Scott Walker, who was actually Ian Murphy. The truth had its way.

The Shadow Docket

A rare occurrence in the past was when the Supreme Court would render a decision without a signature to the decision, nor a hearing before the Justices or an Appeals Court hearing. It seems to me these cases were plucked out of the lower courts as if the Supreme Court didn’t trust the appeal’s court with its decision. For as often as this occurred in recent years it has the appearance of political power rather than judicial review.

It seems there is bipartisan opinion in the US House that can bring about a unified response to curtail this Supreme Court’s power play. I hope the Shadow Docket receives full sunlight with the House Judiciary agreeing on the particulars of this bill.

It doesn’t sound like democracy to me. I am not sure what it sounds like, but, it has all the appearance of corruption.