Justice for the people of the Flint, Michigan poisoning.

I had to list this with Flint tonight. I applaud this effort by the State of Michigan to set former inmates free of their past. Every American is allowed a one time chance to expunge a criminal record. Ususally that right falls in around the age of 50 years. So, a former inmate will have only 12 years or so adding to their SSi balance. It is very victimizing.

There is only one other time in an American's life to eliminate any criminal convictions and that is as a minor. The record of a minor can be locked away forever to prevent impact on an American life.  That means there are 32 years an inmate has to accept poor paying jobs and a real chance at an American lifestyle and upward mobility.

These efforts to remove old chemical records is wonderful. It provides a chance for younger men or women to find good jobs even in the professions. There is no reason to prevent this one time opportunity. That may also mean ti can provide THE VOTE back to former inmates. If these efforts are controlled by a governor or otherwise, it has to be viewed as racist with the real fact that African Americans are incarcerated more often then Caucasians.

September 25, 2021
By Cheri Hardmon

Flint - There have been all kinds of challenges (click here) since Eequindre Stewart started his own home and business restoration company three years ago.

The biggest roadblock in taking his company to the next level is something Stewart did in 1996.

“I actually worked for a company that didn’t pay and they left their payroll office open and so I went and made checks out for me and the guys that worked with me,” Stewart said.

He was convicted of a felony check cashing fraud charge and served seven years in prison. That life altering decision is still with him 25 years later....

...He was hoping to change that Saturday and have his record wiped clean by attending one of the expungement fairs now taking place during Michigan Clean Slate Expungement Week. It’s an opportunity for Michiganders to remove old convictions from their public record and have a clean slate.

“That means our company will be able to grow. That means we will be able do more things as far as traveling and doing things in other states,” Stewart said....

This is amazing. It is probably the beginning of the end of the settlement. The idea a medical center is negligent in protecting their patients is an important finding. It should not be easily dismissed. The question is do the families of the dead suffer with their loss and to what degree can they tolerate legal processes to find justice. The settlement provides an income to people that cannot wait for justice. That is a good thing, but, if there is a large enough number of people opting out of the settlement, those that cannot financially tolerate it well may need to be identified and provided for in a legislative bill. 

Justice is about THE CORRECT WAY TO ADDRESS problems. It is not about a QUICK GET RICH SCHEME. These particular people suffering after the water crisis in Flint, Michigan should receive the best outcome considering this is such an egrigious event on the American landscape. I think taking these issues to court and allowing the legal system to play out will bring clarity and IMPORTANT findings and decisions by a jury of the peers of the people in Genesee County. The findings of any jury in any of these cases could be making not only a statement about the crime and the impact of the surviving relatives and effected adults and children in a community with a high minority population, but, how a society based in democracy handles such crimes to minority populations. 

The events that follow the poisoning of the people of Flint, Michigan is vital to the rest of the country to prevent such events from occurring again to people that are the most vulnerable in our society, the impoverished. Frequently, people that are unable to hire lawyers or pay court costs are negatively impacted. The proceedings here could change all that. HOWEVER, it is completely unfair to ask the people of Flint to withstand more suffering. Being a hero is not the idea of justice either. Finding justice is also timely so victims can recover. These are all very weighty decisions by the victims of Flint. But, the last thing I want for them, or this country should want for them, is to ask them to be martyrs to a legal process when relief to their suffering can occur now.

September 30, 2021

By Ron Fonger

Flint - McLaren Regional Medical (click here) wants more time before deciding whether to remain a part of the $641-million settlement of claims tied to the Flint water crisis.

In a filing in U.S. District Court on Tuesday, Sept. 28, the hospital asked Judge Judith Levy for a stay of 60 days to an Oct. 10 deadline in the proposed settlement as officials continue to consider their opt-out options.

McLaren paid half of its share of the settlement pool -- $10 million -- previously and says in its motion that the remaining $10-million payment is due Oct. 10.

Court officials have said the hospital has an escape clause in the settlement, giving it the right to withdraw from the agreement if any of the 31 persons who sued the hospital, alleging exposure to Legionella during the water crisis, opts to take their case to trial....

continued...

I heard that Senator Sinema has a standard to be a maverick like the late Senator John McCain. Senator McCain was a Republican that sometimes agreed with Democrats. He was a maverick within the Republican ideology. Is Sinema saying she is a maverick within the Democratic party? What exactly does that mean?

If the Late Senator McCain is an idol to the newly minted Senator, then she needs to realize then Senator Clinton and the Late Senator were great friends. They sponsored bills together like the Carbon Emissions Tax. Not that I think that is a great idea, but, it was an attempt to bring about some path forward to environmental stewardship.

West Virginia needs jobs. Don't ask me what Manchin is thinking.

His votes do not make sense to me and it has nothing to do with politics. West Virginia is not a wealthy state and is dependent on federal dollars for health care and food stamps. Job diversity does not exist in West Virginia. If a citizen isn't working for the coal companies or a trucking company then they are making low wages.

The graph to the left is from Zip Recruiter. (click here) As a US Senator that is nothing to brag about. He will probably be replaced by a Republican that won't be any better AFTER he is elected.

September 8, 2021
By Darrough Roche

Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) (click here) has suffered a decline in his approval rating among voters in his home state, according to the figures in the latest WV MetroNews West Virginia Poll.

Manchin now enjoys 42 percent approval in West Virginia, compared with 37 percent of respondents who disapprove. This is a notable change compared with results in the same poll in October, 2020.

The poll comes as Democrats in the House and Senate are pushing ahead with President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion infrastructure proposal, though Manchin has indicated he will not support that amount of spending....

Challenges to authority.

The thing that occurs to me when I read about challenges to a mask mandate is that the person involved in issuing that order is usually a governor and/or a president. 

Dr. Fauci could easily pledge to a court COVID-19 is a public health issue that has multiple dimensions of threat, including, the OPPORTUNITY for a Level Three virus to mutate creating a severe life threatening issue to human beings on planet Earth.

I sincerely believe public health mandates should be issued by the leadership of any health department, including HHS. The executive of the government can always back that public health mandate. But, in all sincereity I believe a mask mandate if issued by the leadership of the health department at any level, local, state or federal, is far more enforceable and less of a States Rights and/or Individual Liberty problem to the courts. 

It is difficult to argue with a health official if they have the credentials, knowledge and research to back them up. The executive, on the other hand, does not necessarily have the credentials. The executive has the ability to issue enforcement of that public health mandate which he or she is controlled by as well. A public health mandate would require the executive at any level of government to fall into line with the issuance of the emergency.

Public health issues on a federal level means the contagion can travel across state boundaries and controlling THE SPREAD is a matter of national necessity as well as individual and/or state necessity. An example is the bordering states problem. There are states that comply with CDC, FDA and NIH recommendations and then there are bordering states that do not require any protections from THE SPREAD. One state that is irreverent to the potential of a Level Three virus can cause enormous problems for everyone and that is what we are seeing.

I challenge any state in this country to violate the Clean Air Standards. The EPA can pass regulations that would classify the virus contagion as a threat to air quality. We know that Dr. Fauci uses indoor air standards differently than outdoor air standards. The US EPA has indoor and outdoor air standards. This contagion is no different than a deadly sized particle or a gas that causes disease over time.

The Clean Air Act is completely applicable in this instance as well as any standard the USA military may have in protecting the lives of Americans from biological or chemical warfare. I remind, that under the presidency of George W. Bush, there were enormous numbers of vaccine stored for the purpose of vaccinating the American people from a 1918 flu type epidemic. Therefore, there is precedent. 

I strongly believe if these principles were applied to the existing efforts, the mask mandates and vaccine mandates will hold as what is necessary for every American to OBEY in the case of ending this very dangerous virus and it's variants. Variants are real and adhere to existing science in understanding viruses. This is not a political game. This is survival and the courts have to see it that and enforce the standards handed down by public health authority.

Ask anyone in non-compliance with established science if they rather be in a jail where the virus has rampaged and see what they say.

Just as a side note, I remember when I was 5 years old. Yes, I remember. Imagine what the children today are going to remember. My father took me to the local elementary school gymnasisum to recieve sugar cubes containing polio vaccine. The polio vaccine could be taken orally.

If those days of WELCOME compliance to save the lives of children from an acquired nightmare that would alter their reality forever, is gone, then the methods of government has to change with the bizarre antics of making COVID-19 a political issue. COVID-19 is a non-discriminating virus that doesn't recognize political lines.