The Netherlands has grown into a consultant for the world regarding the management of water.

December 3, 2015

Henk Ovink (Twitter)

Ministers Schultz van Haegen (click here) (Infrastructure and the Environment), Ploumen (Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation) and Kamp (Economic Affairs) have appointed Henk Ovink (47) as the first Special Envoy for International Water Affairs for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In his capacity as thematic ambassador, the Special Envoy for International Water Affairs reinforces Dutch ambitions in the water domain; he contributes to boosting the international market position of Dutch know-how and expertise.

Mr Ovink is honoured to be the first incumbent of this new position. “Worldwide, water is a connecting issue. With its integrated approach to water shortages, water safety, water quality, logistics and transport, the Netherlands make the difference across the globe. We are leaders in the field, which is welcome, but that also obliges us to continue to invest and innovate, in the Netherlands and abroad. Our Dutch know-how and expertise are unique. I see plenty of opportunities to utilise this knowledge even better at the international level.”...

He is also a Harvard Grad. (click here)

Henk W.J. Ovink is senior advisor to U.S. Secretary for Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan in his role as Chair of the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force. Ovink is responsible for the long term planning strategy, the regional design competition 'REBUILD BY DESIGN' and the connected planning conference. He works on the Task Force’s legacy process, the regional resilience science center, regional infrastructure coordination and on the overall Task Force Strategy. Before joining the Task Force, Ovink was both Director General Spatial Planning and Water affairs and Director National Spatial Planning for the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment in the Netherlands. Ovink is member of the advisory boards of the The Berlage Institute, the UK School of Design, Delft University of Technology Faculty of Architecture and the Master City Developer Rotterdam. He was curator of the 5th International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam ‘Making City’ and curator of the ANCB Berlin debate series ‘Design&Politics: the next phase’. He lectures and publishes on the change of government, governance and planning as well as on the specific relationship between design and politics.

This is the Netherlands Royal Family. The beautiful woman in the picture is mother to three very pretty daughters. Her name is Queen Maxima. And, of course, the gentleman is King Willem-Alexander.

She has many state duties with and without her husband. 

Her life has not been all sunshine either personally or in her roll of a Queen.

27 September 2018
By Martha Cliff 

Queen Maxima attended the National Loneliness Conference in Enschede (click here)

She is one of Europe's tallest royals and Queen Maxima added extra height to her stature in the form of a statement hat on Thursday.

The Queen of the Netherlands stepped out in an enormous piece of millinery as she arrived in Enschede for the National Loneliness Congress this morning.

The oversize straw hat will be familiar to Maxima fans as the Queen has worn it on several occasions in the past and owns it in several colours.

The mother-of-three paired her bold headgear with a more muted ensemble for her engagement today....

She steps forward when tragedy strikes the country and children are lost.

September 20, 2018
By Janene Pieters

Queen Maxima (click here) expressed her and the King's support for the families of the four children killed in a collision between a train and an electric cargo bike in Oss on Thursday morning. "We have no words for this", she said to journalists during her visit to Drachten.

"Today I am in Friesland to see very happy children who are making music, but our thoughts really go to all the families who have lost their children today in the terrible accident", a visibly emotional Maxima said. She was in Drachten for the signing of a cooperation agreement for music education in Friesland, NOS reports.

The accident happened when a childminder was taking five children from childcare center Okido to primary school De Koranaer. They were on a railway crossing on Braakstraat when they were hit by a train. Four children died at the scene. They were between the ages of 4 and 11 years old, according to RTL. The childminder and another child are in critical condition in hospital...

And when moving forward as Queen in the face of grief for her sister seems difficult.

July 3, 2018
By Maura Hohman

For the first time in almost 40 years, (click here) the King and Queen of Netherlands will make an official state visit to the U.K. in October after accepting an invitation from Queen Elizabeth.

This will be the first official state visit to Buckingham Palace by King Willem-Alexander, 51, and Queen Maxima, 47. Willem’s parents, Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus, were the last royal Dutch couple to visit the U.K. on an official visit in 1982....

National Anthem: Netherlands - Wilhelmus

Netherlands National Anthem - Contemporary Dutch

The flag of the Netherlands evolved from the original "Prince’s Flag." The initial orange, white and blue design was created in the wake of the Prince of Orange’s martial success in 1572. However, the Dutch flag was adapted to the current tricolour version when it was realised that this would be more easily visible at sea.

"Het Wilhelmus"

(The William)

Wilhelmus van Nassouwe
ben ik, van Duitsen bloed,
den vaderland getrouwe
blijf ik tot in den dood.
Een Prinse van Oranje
ben ik, vrij onverveerd,
den Koning van Hispanje
heb ik altijd geëerd.

William of Nassau, scion
Of a Dutch and ancient line,
I dedicate undying
Faith to this land of mine.
A prince I am, undaunted,
Of Orange, ever free,
To the king of Spain I've granted
A lifelong loyalty.

In Godes vrees te leven
heb ik altijd betracht,
daarom ben ik verdreven,
om land, om luid gebracht.
Maar God zal mij regeren
als een goed instrument,
dat ik zal wederkeren
in mijnen regiment.

I 've ever tried to live in
The fear of God's command
And therefore I've been driven,
From people, home, and land,
But God, I trust, will rate me
His willing instrument
And one day reinstate me
Into my government.

Lijdt u, mijn onderzaten
die oprecht zijt van aard,
God zal u niet verlaten,
al zijt gij nu bezwaard.
Die vroom begeert te leven,
bidt God nacht ende dag,
dat Hij mij kracht zal geven,
dat ik u helpen mag.

Let no despair betray you,
My subjects true and good.
The Lord will surely stay you
Though now you are pursued.
He who would live devoutly
Must pray God day and night
To throw His power about me
As champion of your right.

Lijf en goed al te samen
heb ik u niet verschoond,
mijn broeders hoog van namen
hebben 't u ook vertoond:
Graaf Adolf is gebleven
in Friesland in de slag,
zijn ziel in 't eeuwig leven
verwacht de jongste dag.

Life and my all for others
I sacrificed, for you!
And my illustrious brothers
Proved their devotion too.
Count Adolf, more's the pity,
Fell in the Frisian fray,
And in the eternal city
Awaits the judgement day.

Edel en hooggeboren,
van keizerlijke stam,
een vorst des rijks verkoren,
als een vroom christenman,
voor Godes woord geprezen,
heb ik, vrij onversaagd,
als een held zonder vreze
mijn edel bloed gewaagd.

I, nobly born, descended
From an imperial stock.
An empire's prince, defended
(Braving the battle's shock
Heroically and fearless
As pious Christian ought)
With my life's blood the peerless
Gospel of God our Lord.

Mijn schild ende betrouwen
zijt Gij, o God mijn Heer,
op U zo wil ik bouwen,
verlaat mij nimmermeer.
Dat ik doch vroom mag blijven,
uw dienaar t'aller stond,
de tirannie verdrijven
die mij mijn hart doorwondt.

A shield and my reliance,
O God, Thou ever wert.
I'll trust unto Thy guidance.
O leave me not ungirt.
That I may stay a pious
Servant of Thine for aye
And drive the plagues that try us
And tyranny away.

Van al die mij bezwaren
en mijn vervolgers zijn,
mijn God, wil doch bewaren
de trouwe dienaar dijn,
dat zij mij niet verrassen
in hunne boze moed,
hun handen niet en wassen
in mijn onschuldig bloed.

My God, I pray thee, save me
From all who do pursue
And threaten to enslave me,
Thy trusted servant true.
O Father, do not sanction
Their wicked, foul design,
Don't let them wash their hands in
This guiltless blood of mine.

Als David moeste vluchten
voor Sauel den tiran,
zo heb ik moeten zuchten
als menig edelman.
Maar God heeft hem verheven,
verlost uit alder nood,
een koninkrijk gegeven
in Israël zeer groot.

O David, thou soughtest shelter
From King Saul's tyranny.
Even so I fled this welter
And many a lord with me.
But God the Lord did save me
From exile and its hell
And, in His mercy, gave him
A realm in Israel.

Na 't zuur zal ik ontvangen
van God mijn Heer het zoet,
daarnaar zo doet verlangen
mijn vorstelijk gemoed:
dat is, dat ik mag sterven
met ere in dat veld,
een eeuwig rijk verwerven
als een getrouwe held.

Fear not 't will rain sans ceasing
The clouds are bound to part.
I bide that sight so pleasing
Unto my princely heart,
Which is that I with honor
Encounter death in war,
And meet in heaven my Donor,
His faithful warrior.

Niets doet mij meer erbarmen
in mijne wederspoed
dan dat men ziet verarmen
des Konings landen goed.
Dat u de Spanjaards krenken,
o edel Neerland zoet,
als ik daaraan gedenke,
mijn edel hart dat bloedt.

Nothing so moves my pity
As seeing through these lands,
Field, village, town and city
Pillaged by roving hands.
O that the Spaniards rape thee,
My Netherlands so sweet,
The thought of that does grip me
Causing my heart to bleed.

Als een prins opgezeten
met mijner heireskracht,
van de tiran vermeten
heb ik de slag verwacht,
die, bij Maastricht begraven,
bevreesden mijn geweld;
mijn ruiters zag men draven
zeer moedig door dat veld.

A stride on steed of mettle
I've waited with my host
The tyrant's call to battle,
Who durst not do his boast.
For, near Maastricht ensconced,
He feared the force I wield.
My horsemen saw one bounce it
Bravely across the field.

Zo het de wil des Heren
op die tijd was geweest,
had ik geern willen keren
van u dit zwaar tempeest.
Maar de Heer van hierboven,
die alle ding regeert,
die men altijd moet loven,
Hij heeft het niet begeerd.

Surely, if God had willed it,
When that fierce tempest blew,
My power would have stilled it,
Or turned its blast from you
But He who dwells in heaven,
Whence all our blessings flow,
For which aye praise be given,
Did not desire it so.

Zeer christlijk was gedreven
mijn prinselijk gemoed,
standvastig is gebleven
mijn hart in tegenspoed.
De Heer heb ik gebeden
uit mijnes harten grond,
dat Hij mijn zaak wil redden,
mijn onschuld maken kond.

Steadfast my heart remaineth
In my adversity
My princely courage straineth
All nerves to live and be.
I've prayed the Lord my Master
With fervid heart and tense
To save me from disaster
And prove my innocence.

Oorlof, mijn arme schapen
die zijt in grote nood,
uw herder zal niet slapen,
al zijt gij nu verstrooid.
Tot God wilt u begeven,
zijn heilzaam woord neemt aan,
als vrome christen leven,—
't zal hier haast zijn gedaan.

Alas! my flock. To sever
Is hard on us. Farewell.
Your Shepherd wakes, wherever
Dispersed you may dwell,
Pray God that He may ease you.
His Gospel be your cure.
Walk in the steps of Jesu
This life will not endure.

Voor God wil ik belijden
en zijne grote macht,
dat ik tot gene tijden
de Koning heb veracht,
dan dat ik God de Here,
de hoogste Majesteit,
heb moeten obediëren
in de gerechtigheid.

Unto the Lord His power
I do confession make
That ne'er at any hour
Ill of the King I spake.
But unto God, the greatest
Of Majesties I owe
Obedience first and latest,
For Justice wills it so.

Classic case of recidivism.

Recidivism is a classic problem with women that have been abused. 
Ms. Conway is a classic case of an abused woman in recidivism. She is unable to unburden herself with the assault and may still be involved with the person that attacked her. She may feel she is dependent on this person for one reason or another and cannot move against the attacker. That doesn't mean it is her husband either.

Then there is the strong social culture in the USA that oppresses women from speaking out or moving against their attacker or abuser. Often women are no longer given the chance to have a voice because they are no longer alive. Sometimes, but, rarely a murder investigation will result in fact finding and trials, but, then there is also Emmett Till. That is the danger of a society that oppresses women and punishes them financially or allows their abusers/attackers to walk free or are handed a light sentence.

I have a great deal of sympathy for Ms. Conway, I imagine the world of politics is especially chancy, worrisome and edgy. I hope she will eventually come to terms with her attack and resolve any issues that still exist because of it. Perhaps a therapist through her government mental health program would help.

When a woman states to another woman she needs to take responsibility for her behavior that compromised her, that is called "Victimizing the Victim." I am assuming Ms. Conway is referring to drinking in the report by Dr. Ford. That is not the reason for the attack. She was compromised and instead of being a gentleman, Mr. Kavanaugh decided he could fulfill his male ego with an onlooker and cheerleader in Mr. Judge. There is no doubt Dr. Ford was a victim and had no intention of engaging in intercourse.

From the sounds of Dr. Ford's description of the events of the day, Mr. Kavanaugh and she did not know each other well as they went to different schools while still living in the same town. It sounds like a perfect opportunity for sexual assault as she would run away and never be heard from again. IT WORKED, until recently.

The slut shaming of "Everyone must take responsibility for their own behavior," assumes Dr. Ford's path that day was to become a slut. From her reporting that was not the case. Slut Shaming is what she experienced that day when she was assaulted. The men laughed as if they were enjoying the moment. That was oppressive and confusing and left her alone in a place and in a way she had no experience with and at the same time was grateful for the "chance" of getting away and SAVING HER OWN LIFE. She stated she believed her life was in danger because Mr. Kavanaugh was so drunk he could not measure his strength against her and she thought for sure he would kill her by mistake.

I strongly suggest Ms. Conway deal with her own sexual assault before she speaks out about women that come forward and seek justice.

No, all men when drunk behave in the way Mr. Kavanaugh did. He has a real problem.

September 30, 2018
By Alex Horton

Kellyanne Conway (click here) cleared her throat for what she was about to say.

“I’m a victim of sexual assault,” President Trump’s adviser told CNN on Sunday....

...“I don’t expect Judge Kavanaugh or Jake Tapper or [Arizona Republican Senator] Jeff Flake or anybody to be held responsible for that,” she said, appearing to speak about her own experience. “You have to be responsible for your own conduct.”...

There can be no ambivalence when investigating sexual assault. The FBI needs to have a free rein to do as they need to do and obtain complete and concise information. The US Senate Judiciary Committee in stating the FBI will be limited to one more witness of Mr. Kavanaugh's sexual assault and victimization of girls; is creating a "Designer Report." I do believe that is illegal.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A DEEP STATE IN THE USA. HOWEVER, THOSE THAT BELIEVE DEEP STATES ARE A CONCERN SHOULD CONSIDER RUSSIA AS A POSSIBLE SUBJECT OF THEIR IDEAS.

September 29, 2018
By Shane Harris, Matt Zapotosky, Tom Hamburger and Seung Min Kim

...Late Saturday, (click here) the president said the FBI probe would be exhaustive, but the Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday afternoon said that the supplemental investigation would be limited to “current, credible allegations.” And a lawyer for one woman who has accused Kavanaugh of misconduct said his client had not been contacted.

In brief remarks to reporters before leaving for a rally in West Virginia, the president said the FBI is “all over talking to everybody. . . . They have free rein, they can do whatever they have to do, whatever it is that they do. They’ll be doing things we have never even thought of.”...

There are others that can and should come forward to understand the scope of Mr. Kavanaugh's activities as a younger version and today or at least as recent as 1998. The FBI has to be provided the opportunity of actually conducting an investigation and not in name only.

As in 2004, the grief for those lost is felt by all. Sympathies to any surviving relative or friend.

September 29, 2018
By Kate Lamb

At least 384 people (click here)
have died after a magnitude-7.5 earthquake rocked the Indonesian island of Sulawesi and triggered a tsunami.

Athonius Gunawan Agung, an air traffic controller who jumped off a tower roof as it was collapsing while waving out the last flight from Palu airport on Friday night, was one of the first casualties of the disaster.

The 21-year-old broke several bones, including an arm and a leg as he jumped off the tower. His employers sent a helicopter to ferry him to another city for treatment, but he died 20 minutes before it arrived....

What occurred with the buoys? Did they help? The number dead is far, far less than the Christmas Tsunami. Can it be made to perform better? 

In this Nov. 15, 2005 file photo, (click here) a buoy which is a part of a tsunami warning system developed by GITEWS (German-Indonesian Contribution for the Installation of a Tsunami Warning System) floats in on the sea as German R.V. Sonne is seen in the background during an installation simulation on Sunda straits off Java island, Indonesia. Indonesia's tsunami detection system, made up of seafloor sensors that communicate with transmitting buoys on the surface, has been rendered useless by vandals and lack of funding. Now Indonesian and U.S. scientists say they've developed a way to dispense with the expensive buoys and possibly add crucial extra minutes of warning for vulnerable coastal cities. (AP Photo/Fadlan Arman Syam, File)...

Many factors can be pointed to when assessing why there is an FBI investigation regarding Kavanaugh...

...but, the only reason Trump would consent to anything was because the Senate didn't have the votes.

Trump is far too ruthless to "give in" to the American public. He likes being "The Storm" to provide the American people with any degree of comfort. The reason there was no vote on Friday is because the full Senate would not have the votes and Senator Flake is far to moral than to let such a nominee slip through because of Senate numbers and a 51 vote majority. 

Due to Senator Flake, the American democracy was safe for yet another day. There are people in office that simply love this country and he is one of them. There are citizens that love this country and are not willing to relinquish control to a populous president on the path of a hedonistic and greed experiment.

I sincerely believe Brett Kavanaugh is an experiment in extremist conservative politics. He was honed by "W" in the White House and probably making more money than he had seen before, met a woman he took as his wife there and was assigned his first judgeship within that time period. He was produced by "W" and he is an experiment.

In a speech by "W" to a large group of women, the question came up as to why nothing can be done about Roe v. Wade, especially considering Norma McCorvey, the Roe in Roe v. Wade, had come to the light and was declaring her actions in 1969 (age 21, an age of fertility) shameful and she was now in lock step with Pro-Life. That is easy to say in 2004.

In that speech, "W" said, "Perhaps someday it will come about." Those simple words meant, someday we will see a Supreme Court that will overturn that decision. He couldn't simply say, "Because Roe v. Wade is a Landmark Decision because women have a uterus and need choices. We are after all a democracy with many religious and non-religious beliefs. Roe. v. Wade falls into one of those areas where a woman has control over her own body. It is not the place of the government in this democracy to dictate pregnancies and babies considering we have plenty all the time.

It is my opinion, "W" set out to do exactly that and found a single man with political ambitions and promoted him into a position to make it to the Supreme Court and that ambition did not fail him. He found happiness and great potential in realizing many of the justices appointed to the Supreme Court were on the extremist fringe and affiliated with The Federalist Society.

No one will ever convince me Brett Kavanaugh is not a "Designer Judge." He is. He is not qualified for the judgeship he holds now, in my opinion, because, for one the Democrats with longevity within the Senate Judiciary Committee have been decrying him for nearly a decades as too crude a practitioner of the law to advance to higher appointments. Most Americans do understand that law is the basis of judicial decisions, but, in many cases the application of the law is more nuanced. Rarely are there laws that are so specifically written that they can be carried forward in the courts without interpretation. There is a reason why the courts interpret the law.

There is a danger within the USA's democracy and it is the election of judges and the appointees that can be purely political. I sincerely believe the founders of this country, albeit Rich, White Men, never expected a new country founded in freedom and liberty would ever be at a crossroads whereby it's political parties, either one or many, would be seeking to end the democracy they held dear as an answer being founded in the yearnings of people.

I don't think the "Declaration of Independence," the "USA Constitution and its Amendments," is a particular work of genius. I think it came out of men that understood how they felt about freedom and liberty and how oppression can work against them.

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness...

Got it? The colonies were up against a King (oppressor) that was bleeding them dry of every penny the kingdom could get it's greedy hands on. They had had it. Children were not educated with a free education. They had sons and daughters they had pinned hopes on as well. Their feelings about their lives were absolutely no different than ours are today. They wanted their freedom on their terms and they were AT ODDS WITH their conscience. 

Got it, now?

The founders of the United States of America's Constitution and First Ten Amendments were brave. They had to turn their backs on what they considered security and move in a way they would be successful. They were absolutely the first Americans, but, they are Americans no differently than we are. We did not mutate into something different over nearly two-hundred and forty-two complete years. We are their hopes and dreams and we started with their conscience and they never burdened us with an oppressor or a god. They used the word creator because they knew spirituality and they understood the need for prayer. The choice of the word creator was for a reason.

It is not up to us to determine the fate of any American. America is about opportunity. Today we value freedom, liberty and the conscience to decide the way forward. The choice of justices that limit that way forward because they were ambitious enough to sell their souls to The Federalist Society is not our issue. We need justices that recognize Americans and not a faux agenda the founders of this great country would disapprove of with all their beings.

I am sorry, but, Brett Kavanaugh carries an agenda with him he hides as "an originalist. He in no way, neither the other Federalist Society judges, are actually following in the foot steps of the founders of this great country when they limit a woman's RIGHT TO CHOOSE. They are wrong, he is wrong and on top of that he is a sex offender since the earliest of ages and he has demonstrated he does not have the temperament to be a judge. He is not the person we need in the American judiciary and he never will be. He chose to sell himself to a powerful political organization and it is his burden to shoulder, not ours.

I am quite confident the American people, during this particular judicial hearing, were making phone calls and writing letters demanding "Due Process" for judicial nominees which would include a reopened FBI investigation of new facts that came to light. It is that process we trust and it is that process we wait to conclude. It should provide facts and interviews of people along the way. Hopefully, that will create enough insight to move forward and reclaim the decency of the Supreme Court. I just don't see Kavanaugh as an Associate Juror. These women are not lying and there is no Deep State that is going to taint the FBI report.

There is something that really bothered me as well about the interview of 
Dr. Ford by the prosecutor. She referred to "A Cognitive Interview." The prosecutor (whom I know nothing about and is not an elected official to the Senate) said it as if it was something magic. It isn't and it doesn't need a formal setting or a professional name to carry it out.

The interviewer tries to mentally reinstate the environmental and personal context of the crime for the witnesses, perhaps by asking them about their general activities and feelings on the day.  This could include sights, sounds, feelings and emotions, the weather etc.

Dr. Ford told the events previous to attending the party. That was already done.

Witnesses are asked to report the incident from different perspective, describing what they think other witnesses (or even the criminals themselves) might have seen.

Dr. Ford did that when she stated she wasn't surprised the other people "downstairs" weren't aware of the sexual assault.

Recounting the incident in a different narrative order.  Geiselman & Fisher proposed that due to the recency effect, people tend to recall more recent events more clearly than others. Witnesses should be encouraged to work backwards from the end to the beginning.

I don't recall the exact format of running her memory in reverse, but, 
Dr. Ford was tormented by her reality. She wasn't making it up and then there is the polygraph.

Witnesses are asked to report every detail, even if they think that detail is trivial. In this way, apparently unimportant detail might act as a trigger for key information about the event.

There were no other witnesses to her sexual assault. The men that were in the room would be indicting themselves if they did so.

A Cognitive Interview can assist in the reality that occurred at the time of the trauma, but, it can still occur without a formal name or setting. The prosecutor was attempting to justify her pay that day.

September 29, 2018

More than 20 million people watched (click here) Thursday's gripping testimony by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and the woman who accused him of a sexual assault that allegedly occurred in the 1980s, Christine Blasey Ford, on six television networks.

Meanwhile, the political standoff continued, with broadcasters interrupting regular programming for Friday's last-minute twist: an agreement engineered by Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake for the FBI to conduct a one-week investigation of the charges.

Ford told the Senate Judiciary Committee that she's 100 percent certain that Kavanaugh groped her drunkenly and tried to take off her clothes at a high school party. Kavanaugh, in impassioned testimony, said he's 100 percent certain that it didn't happen.

It's likely that more than the 20.4 million people reported by Nielsen on Friday watched it. The company was counting average viewership on CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. Figures weren't immediately available for other networks that showed it, including PBS, C-SPAN and the Fox Business Network. And Nielsen usually has some trouble measuring people who watch in offices.

To put that in perspective, that's an audience size similar to that for a playoff football game or the Academy Awards....

Someone decided to change the results of the children tested. The corruption and lying never went unchecked and the children and their parents did not know they needed follow up care. The records were changed and for that reason the children were never treated.

September 28, 2018
By Ron Fonger

Flint -- Just months after the federal government (click here) recognized a health emergency because of Flint's water in 2016, the Genesee County Health Department was drowning in what came next.

The county couldn't keep up with followup care for hundreds of city kids identified with lead poisoning during the Flint water crisis - more than 200 at the start of the new year, according to state and county records requested by MLive-The Flint Journal through the Freedom of Information Act.

When the state Department of Health and Human Services assessed the county's performance in providing after-care to children with blood lead levels above 5 micrograms per deciliter, it found 85 percent - 173 of 204 children -- had not been connected to the program set up to make them better.

The county's own statistics show that by mid-March, 73 percent of children referred for after-care were not active in case management.

But by May 2016, the county's contract to handle the work had been terminated because of low levels of engagement and a reluctance to take federal resources offered to improve its performance, MDHHS spokeswoman Geralyn Lasher said....

The depth of corruption never ends. These are human beings and no one ever took responsibility for the children's exposure to lead. No one. They rather bury the information that told of the children's serious poisoning and attempted to make it disappear. If there was no reporting the program connected to the testing was cancelled to end useless spending when others could use it.

This would have continued until today if the country didn't become aware of the poisonings. DID YOU GET THAT? If there was no exposure to this poisoning the children would never be tested again and no treatment would be available and the problem would still not be known.

THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LIVES OF CHILDREN DIDN'T CARE IF THEY DIED OF LEAD POISONING! THEY DIDN'T CARE IF ANYONE DIED OF LEAD POISONING. THE INCIDENTS OF LEGIONNAIRES DISEASE WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN CONNECTED TO THE LEAD POISONING.

DO YOU KNOW HOW CLOSE IT CAME TO NEVER DETECTING THE SILENT KILLER THAT THE MICHIGAN GOVERNOR TURNED LOOSE ON THE PEOPLE OF FLINT?

September 27, 2018
By Ron Fonger

Flint -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (click here) official who detailed problems with Flint's corrosive water in 2015 says the city was in violation of the Lead and Copper Rule even before lead levels began to rise.

Miguel Del Toral, a regional groundwater regulations manager for EPA, said Flint should have been required to treat water from the Flint River the moment it was put into use as the city's water source.

Del Toral made the comment Thursday, Sept. 27, after nearly of full day of challenges from attorneys for four current and former officials at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality in Genesee District Court.

The four -- Stephen Busch, Michael Prysby, Patrick Cook, and Liane Shekter-Smith -- are charged with criminal wrongdoing in their jobs in relation to the Flint water crisis....

The Flint River was very polluted. Not a little bit polluted, but, very polluted. One of the things that has to be realized with such a waterway is SEEPAGE of the river into surrounding land and surrounding GROUNDWATER sources. 

The Flint River was in complete violation of any poisons within the river and no one did anything about it. The Flint River was allowed to be polluted without intervention to remove the sediment and clean the water by ending the sources of pollution. Along any river in the USA, UNTIL TRUMP, there were standards in place the state the degree of pollution allowed in water anywhere in the USA. The Flint River was in chronic violation and a danger to people, nature and anything living, including other plants.

When the Flint River started to flow into the pipes of Flint, it was a poison being allowed into the potable water of Flint. There was no excuse for what happened, except, the fact Snyder treated Flint as a city without rights even to clean drinking water because of DEBT!

What is going to happen to the USA as it runs up it's national debt, will Trump pull the plug on human health, too?

This is a good effort, however, I am concerned for it's success.

Those running for office in North Carolina might want to connect with the office of the NCSBE to be sure their constituents are receiving the information. I sincerely believe there are people scattered throughout the region with such devastating flooding. I am not sure these materials will ever reach them.

NCSBE (North Carolina State Borad of Elections and Ethics Enforcement - click here) preps packages for 46 Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program application sites in ENC.

Packages include FAQs about voting by displaced residents, voter registration apps and absentee ballot request forms in English and Spanish. 

#HurricaneFlorence #ncpol

US Senate Judiciary must vote to reject Mr. Kavanaugh as a viable nominee to any judgeship. The evidence is overwhelmingly.

By multiple accusers the same serious scenario was evident with Mr. Kavanaugh. The politics over such appointees must end. The country overwhelmingly rejects Mr. Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court.

In reaction to Dr. Ford’s testimony women reached out for help. She has empowered women in the USA to act on their own behalf.

RAINN was founded in 1963 and it is having record high call volumes of 147 percent above normal. The testimony by Dr. Ford is very serious and the US Senate Judiciary Committee should take it very seriously. Kavanaugh has no defense for the allegations and the committee has to account for their decision. Senator Graham’s rage yesterday was as much a faux front as the committee’s hostile decision of a prosecutorial interviewer. Mr. Kavanaugh is not a good prospect for the US Supreme Court and that has been the case for most of his career in pursuing these placements. He is and has been a political choice, as his temperament revealed yesterday. 

Judicial temperament is paramount to any judicial appointee. Yesterday Mr. Kavanaugh demonstrated  he is incapable of the type of restraint necessary for any judgeship and Senator Graham’s demeanor was deplorable. The Republican Party has lost it’s moral moorings to the point where government process has turned into an opportunity for a political show and not the practice of law. They should be fully ashamed of themselves. Mr. Kavanaugh’s nomination was never taken seriously so much as a temporary political stepping stone. The US Constitution itself has turned into a political play for a desperate party that has lost it’s purpose.