Why didn't Flint treat its water? An answer, at last

...But testimony at a legislative hearing this week from the city's utilities chief may help explain: When Flint began to pump drinking water from the Flint River, the city's water treatment plant wasn't capable of adding corrosion control treatment, not without equipment upgrades the broke city couldn't afford...
http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/2016/03/30/flint-water-crisis/82421546/

What Donald Trump and Ted Cruz Have in Common

Both are pushing tax plans that would demolish the federal government...
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/03/trump-cruz-campaign-tax-policy

"The Muslim Problem" (commentary)

*** Explicit Language ***
https://youtu.be/g2k24aJITgo

America's 'Lead Wars' Go Beyond Flint, Mich.: 'It's Now Really Everywhere'

Flint, Mich., isn't the only American city with a lead problem. Though the health crisis in Flint has highlighted the use of lead in water pipes, author David Rosner tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross that lead, which is a neurotoxin, can be found throughout the U.S. on walls, in soil and in the air.

"The problem with lead is that it's now really everywhere, and we've created a terribly toxic environment in all sorts of ways," he says.

Lead is particularly dangerous to young children. In their book, Lead Wars, Rosner and co-author Gerald Markowitz describe the ways in which even small exposures can interfere with a child's brain development and cause lasting learning challenges.

"It causes IQ loss. It causes behavioral problems. It causes attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity, dyslexia," Markowitz says.

Rosner adds that even a small amount of lead can have a lasting effect on a child's health. "As early as the 1910s and 1920s, [doctors] were documenting children who had absorbed lead on their fingers as dust and had put their hands in their mouth and actually began going into convulsions," he says. "It's not like you need a lot of it."
Interview:

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/03/03/469039064/americas-lead-wars-go-beyond-flint-mich-its-now-really-everywhere

Before Flint, Lead-Contaminated Water Plagued Schools Across U.S.

"We don't use the water from the building for cooking, not at all," say cafeteria worker LaShawn Thompson, shaking her head.
http://www.npr.org/2016/03/16/470512927/before-flint-lead-contaminated-water-plagued-schools-across-u-s

As Romney Warns Trump Will Lead U.S. into Abyss, Challengers Vow to Back Trump If He's GOP Nominee

In an extraordinary day for the Republican Party, the GOP’s past two presidential nominees, Mitt Romney and John McCain, denounced Donald Trump, saying the current Republican front-runner is a danger to the nation and the party. "Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud," Romney said. "His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University." Hours after Mitt Romney spoke, Donald Trump came under more criticism at a debate in Detroit, but all three of his remaining challengers vowed to support him if he wins the nomination...
Interview:
https://youtu.be/UdsqbIlUJnA

Has Republican Austerity Destroyed Your City?

Republicans are obsessed with cutting budgets, but only the budgets that don’t deal with tax cuts, subsidies to profitable industries, and military spending. But on basic necessities, Republicans have no problem slashing those funds down to nothing. These cuts have left cities and states all over this country in dire straights.
https://youtu.be/kmqkEF-RwP4

"We Must & Can Aim High": Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich on Endorsing Bernie Sanders

We speak with Robert Reich, the former labor secretary under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997, about his decision to formally endorse Senator Bernie Sanders for president on the Democratic ticket. "What worries me about other candidates, particularly Hillary Clinton, is that the message seems to be we cannot aim high, or we must not be ambitious, we must not try to be bold, because we can’t get there. That, to me, is exactly the wrong message," Reich says. "In terms of mobilizing Americans and organizing and getting the kind of response we need from Americans to push Congress, to change Congress, to get a government that is responsible for us, the message should be we must and can aim high. We can do it. And we’ve done it before in this country." This comes as four top economists and former advisers for Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have issued an open letter to Senator Sanders criticizing his economic platform. Reich is the author of many books, mostly recently, "Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few."
Interview:
Part 1:
https://youtu.be/ZjYdmILv4fs

Part 2:
https://youtu.be/_byv_6MlmgM

Robert Reich: Dear GOP Establishment, Brace for a Painful Reckoning With the Reality You Created | Alternet

Republican politicians in particular have descended into the muck of bigotry, hatefulness and lies...
http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/robert-reich-dear-gop-establishment-brace-reckoning-reality-you-created

Got a quarter of a trillion dollars? Or a half?

Modernizing U.S. nuclear warheads and cleaning up the wastes will cost more than $520 billion, audit agency says...
http://www.publicintegrity.org/node/19359

What was done to stop the Porter Ranch leak?

After 16 weeks, a California utility was finally able to temporarily stop the flow of a methane gas leak in Porter Ranch...
https://youtu.be/vegX7xQLsyU

America’s Water Infrastructure Is In Absolutely Terrible Shape

The problem isn't limited to Flint and the fix is a complicated and politicized mess...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/us-water-safety_us_56bcf122e4b0b40245c5d388

Real Time with Bill Maher: Erin Brockovich – February 5, 2016 (HBO)

Consumer advocate Erin Brockovich joins Bill Maher to discuss how greed and corruption created a toxic water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and across the nation.
https://youtu.be/qI7p_cFtZ4w

Ukrainian cyberattack on power supply a 'wake-up call' for US

With consensus growing that hackers caused a widespread power outage in Ukraine last month, many security experts worry whether the US grid could withstand such an attack...
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Passcode/2016/0113/Experts-Ukrainian-cyberattack-on-power-supply-a-wake-up-call-for-US

15 ways America is less than great

"...even though America is the greatest nation on earth, we are still a country with many problems, although several of these might not be part of Mr. Trump's campaign program..."
http://www.businessinsider.com/america-is-not-great-charts-2015-11

Why Congress, at last, is acting on roads, schools - CSMonitor.com

Both houses overwhelmingly passed the first long-term highway bill in a decade. Next week, a long-disputed education bill is expected to clear Congress, as well.
http://m.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2015/1204/Why-Congress-at-last-is-acting-on-roads-schools

The Dumbest Way to Fund America's Infrastructure

As Mark Twain observed, “Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself …”
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-12-02/the-dumbest-way-to-fund-america-s-infrastructure

Hillary Clinton’s Plan To Create More Than 3 Million Jobs Through Infrastructure (ThinkProgress)

“Investing in infrastructure makes our economy more productive and competitive across the board,” she said when previewing the plan in Boston on Sunday. “It cuts costs for families and businesses. It spurs more private investment. It boosts wages up and down the supply chain and throughout the economy.”
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/11/30/3726434/clinton-infrastructure/

Is Michigan on the road to ruin?

Not-so-hidden agenda...
http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/editorials/2015/11/07/road-plan-shortcomings/75209152/

RAISE THE FEDERAL GAS TAX TO FUND INFRASTRUCTURE (Intelligence Squared Debates)

The Highway Trust Fund provides funding for road, bridge, and mass transit projects across the country – and it’s running out of money. Its revenue source, the federal gas tax, at 18.4 cents a gallon, has not been raised in over two decades. Congress has been kicking this can down the road for years. There are many arguments for a leaner fund, among them, the idea that scaling back the program would force government to prioritize projects and eliminate waste. But proponents of the tax say that it still plays a vital role in supporting infrastructure, and that perpetual shortfalls have led to construction delays and uncertainty. Should Congress raise the federal gas tax?
Interview:
http://intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/past-debates/item/1404-raise-the-federal-gas-tax-to-fund-infrastructure