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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 2016)
Page 2 The Skanner February 17, 2016 Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Opinion Bernie Foster Founder/Publisher The Water Crisis in Flint is a Man-made Disaster Bobbie Dore Foster Executive Editor S Jerry Foster Advertising Manager Christen McCurdy News Editor Patricia Irvin Graphic Designer Arashi Young Reporter Monica J. Foster Seattle Office Coordinator Susan Fried Photographer 2015 MERIT AWARDS WINNER The Skanner has received 20 NNPA awards since 1998 The Skanner Newspaper, es- tablished in October 1975, is a weekly publication, published every Wednesday by IMM Publi- cations Inc. 415 N. Killingsworth St. P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 Telephone (503) 285-5555 Fax: (503) 285-2900 info@theskanner.com www.TheSkanner.com The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Association and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. ©2016 The Skanner. All rights re served. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission prohibited. Local News Pacific NW News World News Opinions Jobs, Bids Entertainment Community Calendar RSS feeds BE A PART OF THE CONVERSATION #SkNews omething is definite- ly rotten in the state of Michigan — and it’s not just the lead-poisoned water coming from the cor- roded pipes undergirding Flint’s public water system. The rottenness goes to the very core of an attitude of managerial expediency un- fettered by moral leadership. Contrary to widespread be- lief, Flint Michigan’s water woes are not the result of de- cades’ long neglect of critical infrastructure investments — although that is certainly a contributing factor. The blame for Flint’s water prob- lems lay squarely with a lega- cy policy choices dating back decades. The fact that towns like Flint, Mich., are currently fac- ing critical fiscal crises is the result of successive genera- tions of corrupt and incompe- tent local elected leadership. But the immediate cause of the water crisis in particular stems from current Michi- gan Governor’s attempt to rectify fiscal mismanage- ment through authoritarian, anti-democratic governance policies. Under Snyder’s dubious management-oriented phi- losophy, principle-centered leadership often takes a back- seat to expedient tactics. In Flint this policy regime has tragically backfired. The Armstrong Williams NNPA Columnist absence of moral discern- ment has caused a crisis from which the citizens of Flint as well as Michigan taxpayers are unlikely to escape any time soon. Let’s be clear. The situa- tion in Flint was not an act of nature, or an accident, or a “ and thinning hair — alerted political leaders that blood lead concentrations in chil- dren were 2 to 3 times normal levels, Snyder called her find- ings inconclusive, and vigor- ously denied that the elevated lead levels were caused by the city’s drinking water. When an EPA memo de- scribing dangerously high levels of lead in Flint’s drink- ing water was leaked to the media, the Snyder adminis- tration lambasted the memo’s author as a ‘rogue employee.’ The level of official miscon- duct here is beyond ludicrous. The Flint catastrophe could likely have been prevented by treating the water for a mere $100 per day mistake. It is a man-made en- vironmental disaster. It was entirely foreseeable and en- tirely preventable. When Marc Edwards — a Virginia Tech professor, MacArthur Genius grant-re- cipient, and world-renowned expert on water quality — declared the brown sludge coming from faucets in Flint to be toxic waste, the Snyder administration dismissed him as a quack. When local pediatrician Dr. Mona Han- nah-Attisha — alarmed that children were showing up at her practice with skin rashes In fact, if it weren’t staring us right in the face, we would have difficulty conceiving of such ribald villainy on the part of our elected officials. It is unavoidably apparent that the Snyder administra- tion’s policies have had profli- gate social and financial costs. The Flint catastrophe could likely have been prevented by treating the water for a mere $100 per day (a small price to pay for precaution), but some estimates now place the long term cost of remediation at $1.5 billion or more, as pipes corroded by river water con- tinue to leach lead into the Flint water supply. In the full light of day, Snyder’s policies seem to be motivated more by a desire to usurp the political power of the electorate, than by a genuine desire to help economically depressed lo- calities manage their financ- es. The toxic ideology that gov- ernments should be run like businesses needs to be chal- lenged vigorously and soon, because the policy regime that led to the crisis in Mich- igan is far from an isolated case. Governors in Wiscon- sin, Kansas, Maine and Flori- da are implementing similar neo-liberal policies in efforts to enforce fiscal discipline on localities within their states. In the case of Flint, Mich., the villains are easy to spot. They are the politicians who caused the fiscal crisis in the first place, and the politicians who caused a humanitarian crisis in a badly-conceived attempt to alleviate the fiscal challenge. The major lesson here is that suspending the democratic process in the interests of managerial ex- pediency usually turns out badly. The fanciful notion that a strong dictator is more effective at governing than a ‘weak’ democratic process is a theory that was considered and discarded at the founding of our nation. Americans Must Stand Up to Disrespect of the Presidency R ecently, retired Lt. Col Ralph Peters and Stacey Dash, both contributors on Fox News shows, bla- tantly disrespected President Obama on different news shows on national television using vulgar language. Bill Slieve, senior vice presi- dent of programming for both networks, announced, “Ear- lier today, Fox contributors Lt. Col. Ralph Peters and Sta- cey Dash made comments on different programs that were completely inappropriate and unacceptable for our air.” The damage has been done, and for me, it wasn’t enough that the contributors were suspended for two weeks. They should have been fired permanently. First, it was bumper stick- ers, then road signs and memorabilia disrespecting President Obama. Now it’s lawmakers, news commen- tators, and even candidates seeking the Republican nom- ination for president being discourteous to my president, your president and our pres- ident on national television and radio. America, when will we stand up to those who disre- spect Barack Obama, the first African American President of the United States? Freedom Louis C. Ward NNPA Guest Columnist of speech is a constitutional right in America, but defa- mation of character and dis- respect is not. We must speak out against impertinence to the United States presidency. “ Most anticipated a new day with a better life for African Americans in the most pow- erful country in the world. A new time for all people of America to come together to make America, not only the most powerful country in the world, but the greatest coun- try in the world, where people will be able to live in harmony and, hopefully, achieve pros- perity on economic and social levels. As soon as Barack Obama When the presidency is disre- spected at home, it sows seeds for foreign countries to disrespect our president as well When the presidency is disrespected at home, it sows seeds for foreign countries to disrespect our president as well. Look at what China and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel said to and about our president. When he was first elected in 2008 on the platform for “Change in America,” televi- sion screens across the nation showed people, represent- ing different ethnic groups, crying because an African American had been elected President. won the election, a group of individuals huddled together and vowed to thwart his agen- da for change in America. Let’s not be naïve, America, you know exactly who I am talking about. Many of those individuals are in office today. In 2009, when President Obama was addressing Con- gress, Republican Congress- man Joe Wilson shouted: “You lie!” This kind of behavior is reprehensible. I don’t ever recall anyone calling the President of the United States a liar while he addressed Congress. Why does it happen now, and why to President Obama? Can it be because he’s an African America? My take on it is yes. At the end of the day, Amer- ica, you may not like the man, but you have to respect the Office of the President of the United States. It deserves our respect, our loyalty and our support. We must stand up America and demand that it receives as much. What actions can I tru- ly expect from writing this column? My prerogative as a writer is to raise the con- sciousness. Prayerfully, many will step up and hold anyone account- able who chooses to disrespect the United States presidency. If one person stands up, and agrees to say something or do something about the disre- spect of our president, I have made a difference. We must not accept the disrespect against our presi- dent any longer. Stand up, say something and do something about it, now! Stand up America! Demand respect for Presi- dent Barack Obama, and the Office of the President of the United States of America.
