Welcome To Michigan. People Are Dying, Dams Are Collapsing. Who's Really In Charge?

[Skidooski]

So many more debacles could be added to this list

Quote

“More than anything, this pandemic has fully, finally torn back the curtain on the idea that so many of the folks in charge know what they’re doing.”

Those aren't my words. They belong to former President Barack Obama, who said them last week in a virtual commencement address for historically black colleges.

Obama went on: “A lot of them aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”

A lot of people took his words to be a shovel to the head of President Trump and his handling of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak.

But I thought he was talking about Michigan. And you can't blame me. It seems like we're in a virtual banana republic here in the Great Lakes State, where dams are collapsing, bodies are piling up, all aided and abetted by a political class that is driven more by self-interest than interest in the rest of us.

Poor Midland County. Underwater and failed by the state. For 20 years, federal regulators fought the private owner of the dam to make repairs, since it posed a looming danger to the public. Getting no action, the feds stripped the company's permit to generate hydroelectricity in 2018 as a punishment.

Oversight then went to the state. And the state did nothing, worried more about freshwater mussels in the man-made lake behind the dam rather than people downstream of it. One heavy rain and now we have catastrophe.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

There's plenty of bipartisan blame to go around on this one. By my count, the dam debacle spans four gubernatorial administrations in Michigan, two Republican and two Democrat. Now, here we sit, hat in hand, waiting for a federal government to fix our negligence. A federal government, it should be pointed out, that has no money.

As the dam fiasco was unfolding, Gov. Whitmer quietly released her nursing home "re-do" after business hours. Her original emergency order allowed nursing homes to take in Covid-19 patients. There's big money in it for nursing homes. Five grand a patient.

Predictably, the results have been devastating. Nursing home deaths in the metro region, alone, account for nearly 1/3 of all Covid deaths statewide, and the state has yet to collect the true data.

Confirmation, please

Whitmer's new order requires facilities to take in Covid-19 patients only if there is a dedicated wing for those virus carriers. But what's that entail? And who's checking? The dam inspectors?

Why trust the state or the nursing homes at all? According to a national study, Michigan ranked second-worst in the country for elder abuse in nursing homes. Furthermore, why is one of the worst-ranked nursing homes in America allowed to be a state-sanctioned Covid care facility in Michigan at all?

Does anybody in Lansing know what they're doing?

Mike Duggan, the mayor of Detroit, likes to tell national news outlets about his fantastic response to the pandemic. He bases his success on the fact he was among the first in America to obtain 15-minute testing kits.

As terrific as that sounds, Detroit still has suffered one of the highest Covid death rates of any U.S. city. Now it comes to light that those quick tests may be inaccurate nearly 50 percent of the time, according to one study, which would make them 100 percent useless. No better than a coin toss.

Hizzoner's response? Don't believe it. But that's what Trump said.

Pestilencce incubator with guards

The Wayne County Jail has been exposed as a incubator of pestilence. Last month, its top doctor died of the virus, and week later, the sheriff still had no clue.

Did he panic? Hardly. The sheriff simply continued to release inmates, untested, back into society. No politician or bureaucrat protested. Like the Midland dam, the Wayne County jail has never passed a safety inspection – in this case for health, even though it has been under court supervision for nearly four decades.

Does anybody know what they're doing?

Conrad Mallet Jr. (Deadline Detroit photo)

DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital has proved to be little better. The now famous photographs of bodies stacked up in a sleep-study room, sleeping for eternity, removed any doubt about the lack of staff and equipment there. So what happened to the former chief administrative officer of the hospital?

He's lands a new job as the deputy mayor of Detroit! His mandate? To lead the city's Covid response.

Seriously.

Well, why not? Conrad Mallett Jr. has the experience. He served as chairman of Duggan's first campaign for mayor.

Dizzying dance

Mallett's predecessor, James E. Craig, also moonlights as the chief of police. When Mallett's appointment was announced last week, Craig was quick to tweet out that he is still the deputy mayor of “public safety.” Essentially, such an arrangement makes the chief of police the deputy mayor of himself.

They don't even do that in Cuba.

Crime has dropped worldwide due to the coronavirus lock down. Not here. Murder and shootings on the streets of Detroit have surged 30 percent, despite Whitmer's clampdown on barber shops and block parties.

There's the matter of the unemployment website that still doesn't function for thousands. Millions who are unemployed. A balky power grid. And crumbling roads.

Obama was right. Leadership doesn't know what it's doing. And in Michigan, it doesn't seem to give a dam.

https://www.deadlinedetroit.com/articles/25320/leduff_welcome_to_michigan_people_are_dying_dams_are_collapsing_who_s_really_in_charge?fbclid=IwAR0KQRs_cl3ErVJkYnle4iiopka24prRUVQglI3fLxt9Z4mcoMWP6uSFa8w

Edited May 23, 2020 by Skidooski

[Woodtick]

The entire country thinks your governor is a idiot.

[Skidooski]

3 minutes ago, Woodtick said:

The entire country thinks your governor is a idiot.

She used to just talk non stop on how she would fix the roads....over and over that's all she talked about. I thought she was a little annoying then, now well........

[Jimmy Snacks]

17 minutes ago, Skidooski said:

She used to just talk non stop on how she would fix the roads....over and over that's all she talked about. I thought she was a little annoying then, now well........

Yah...the roads still suck balls for sure.

Edited May 23, 2020 by Jimmy Snacks

[Skidooski]

Just now, Jimmy Snacks said:

Can't really blame her for those dams.

Nope, long standing neglect like many other things in this state that just get ignored or pushed under the rug. 

[Jimmy Snacks]

3 minutes ago, Skidooski said:

Nope, long standing neglect like many other things in this state that just get ignored or pushed under the rug. 

I edited my post but I was reading the other day about the whole issue with those dams and what a fucking parade of incompetence and finger pointing. It will be Interesting to,see how this all plays out as it's unraveled....guessing nobody will be held accountable and taxpayers will foot the bill....again.

Edited May 23, 2020 by Jimmy Snacks

[Woodtick]

Pulled this off a bud who lives in Mi. Who knows if it is true,but funny as fuck if it is.

[Jimmy Snacks]

2 minutes ago, Woodtick said:

Pulled this off a bud who lives in Mi. Who knows if it is true,but funny as fuck if it is.

I saw that posted next door...I really hope it’s legit. 🤣

[motonoggin]

That dam will never be rebuilt and that's a good thing. 

[Edmo]

46 minutes ago, Woodtick said:

The entire country thinks your governor is a idiot.

All we want to do is flatten the curve...that appears to be a lie. Now the concern is the second wave, and we can’t do anything without a vaccine. This is beginning to really piss me off.

[Skidooski]

19 minutes ago, Jimmy Snacks said:

I edited my post but I was reading the other day about the whole issue with those dams and what a fucking parade of incompetence and finger pointing. It will be Interesting to,see how this all plays out as it's unraveled....guessing nobody will be held accountable and taxpayers will foot the bill....again.

Yeah sure sounds like a cluster fuck of finger pointing on who would foot the bill to make them safe. Now they have to deal with a much higher price tag. Hell, as it was happening, there were people here with pitchforks out against the land owner on the lake

[Skidooski]

6 minutes ago, motonoggin said:

That dam will never be rebuilt and that's a good thing. 

Those dams and many other are in neglect like most things in our state

[Woodtick]

3 minutes ago, Edmo said:

All we want to do is flatten the curve...that appears to be a lie. Now the concern is the second wave, and we can’t do anything without a vaccine. This is beginning to really piss me off.

She is nuts.

[Skidooski]

We've got more important things to do here in Michigan like let Kwame out of jail because of Covid

[Jimmy Snacks]

1 minute ago, Skidooski said:

We've got more important things to do here in Michigan like let Kwame out of jail because of Covid

Fuck  that guy.

[Edmo]

1 minute ago, Skidooski said:

We've got more important things to do here in Michigan like let Kwame out of jail because of Covid

I’m a pretty forgiving person, and believe in second chances. But Kwame needs to stay locked up for a while. He still to this day insists he did nothing wrong. And that’s just fucked up.

[Skidooski]

1 minute ago, Edmo said:

I’m a pretty forgiving person, and believe in second chances. But Kwame needs to stay locked up for a while. He still to this day insists he did nothing wrong. And that’s just fucked up.

Stay home, stay safe unless you're in prison then we let you out to stay safe 

Quote

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan reacted to the news on Friday.

“I think he’s one of the most extraordinarily talented people I’ve ever met. I think he has a lot to contribute and if, in fact, the reports are true. I’ll be doing everything I can to help him get a fresh start,” Duggan said.

https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/2020/05/22/mayor-mike-duggan-other-detroiters-react-to-news-of-possible-kwame-kilpatrick-release/

[Edmo]

“I think he’s one of the most extraordinarily talented people I’ve ever met. I think he has a lot to contribute and if, in fact, the reports are true. 

 

All that and he’s crooked as fuck. Cocaine fueled parties at the boogying mansion. Dead hookers. Enriching himself and all around him with kickbacks and scams. Yeah, Kwame is a real gem.  

[motonoggin]

51 minutes ago, Skidooski said:

Those dams and many other are in neglect like most things in our state

Yup. The edenville dam was owned by some douchebag boomer Randian. This is what happens when you let capitalists control the commons.

How many other structures like this are privately owned and being neglected?

[Zambroski]

13 minutes ago, motonoggin said:

Yup. The edenville dam was owned by some douchebag boomer Randian. This is what happens when you let capitalists control the commons.

How many other structures like this are privately owned and being neglected?

It’s like the government should maybe come up with a healthy inspection process for these types of infrastructures.  Right?

 

[Jimmy Snacks]

2 minutes ago, Zambroski said:

It’s like the government should maybe come up with a healthy inspection process for these types of infrastructures.  Right?

 

It was Inspected.

[Zambroski]

2 minutes ago, Jimmy Snacks said:

It was Inspected.

And what was done about fixing the needed repairs?  Just pull the owners permit?  Fixed!

[Skidooski]

1 hour ago, motonoggin said:

Yup. The edenville dam was owned by some douchebag boomer Randian. This is what happens when you let capitalists control the commons.

How many other structures like this are privately owned and being neglected?

Boyce Power owns a few dams I believe and two of which failed. But, like Jim already mentioned, there's a lot of finger pointing going on. Have to see how this all plays out.

I've been reading up a bit about the dam on the lake I live on and it's all down to an agreement written back in the 1920's between the County, Township, a milling company and an electrical company. The milling company originally put it in and it was private back then. They controlled the level of the lake themselves depending on how much water they needed. The mill is long gone but the dispute over ownership isn't

 

Edited May 23, 2020 by Skidooski

[BOHICA]

It wasn’t generating power for a few years.  That dam served no purpose.  only reason that dam was holding back water was for the sole purpose of 1100 give or take property owners that had access to that lake and used all means necessary to make sure they had water for their Private boat docks recreation.
 

[Skidooski]

17 minutes ago, BOHICA said:

It wasn’t generating power for a few years.  That dam served no purpose.  only reason that dam was holding back water was for the sole purpose of 1100 give or take property owners that had access to that lake and used all means necessary to make sure they had water for their Private boat docks recreation.
 

 

Quote

In its 2018 order revoking Boyce Hydro's license, the commission said its primary concern about the dam was its inability to handle "the probable maximum flood" — the type of event that could be expected from "the most severe combination of critical meteorologic and hydrologic conditions that is reasonably possible" in the area.

I guess we found that most sever combination