Charles Pierce reports on a RICO suit filed against Michigan governor Rick Snyder. The suit takes Snyder at his word that he is “running Michigan like a business” and accuses him of racketeering in Flint. In particular, the suit says, he committed fraud by charging the people for the contaminated water they were receiving, representing it as safe to drink.
Ted Cruz, who criticized Donald Trump by saying he has “New York values,” is so not welcome in New York.
Bernie Sanders has been invited to speak at the Vatican. “The April 15th event, which will be hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, is scheduled to cover a number of the Democratic presidential hopeful’s signature campaign issues, including income inequality and the environment.”
Note that the New York primary is April 19. He is scheduled to debate Hillary Clinton on April 14 — he’ll have to get on the red eye right after, I bet. There’s a big rally in Washington Square April 13. He’s a busy guy.
Speaking of which, there’s a Sanders rally near me today, and I plan to take a bus there and try to get in. I’ll let you know if anything fun happens.
On top of putting him in jail for a decade or so, while there, he should be forced to use Flint’s water for everything.
It can’t damage his brain anymore than it’s already damaged!
Maha
Tell Bernie’s staff when you get that you’re a liberal blogger who supports him, and see if they’ll let you at least meet with him and shake hands.
Alas, I wasn’t able to make it to the rally. I tried. I thought I could take a #44B bus that goes (according to the web) from very near where I live to about a block from the rally. So I go to the #44B bus stop, and the #44B buses don’t stop. After the third one whizzed by I went to another bus stop down the street where a whole lot of people were waiting, and the buses weren’t stopping there, either. They didn’t look full; they just didn’t stop. I finally gave up and walked home, as I didn’t have time by then to find an alternative route and I didn’t want to pay for a cab.
I yearn to live in a world where Ted Cruz is unwelcome pretty much everywhere.
I LOVE the idea of politicians being potentially held legally accountable for their crimes; such suits are way too infrequently brought. They tell us to hold politicians accountable by means of the ballot box, but, all too often, legislators maintain safe seats forever, with impunity, because they come from districts where the average IQ is a lower number than the average number of nonfunctional pick up trucks on a typical property. That said, Snyder holds a statewide office — I believe in his 2nd term (!?)– which only underscores the need for legal remedies when the electoral process comes up short.
Maha,
So, who in your area took the “m” out of mass transit?
Call them, and bitch!
Bernie would.
maha,
What part of Brooklyn do you live in?
I lived in Park Slope for 3 years in the mid-80’s, and LOOOOOOOOOVED it!!!
Yes, Park Slope is great, but gentrified. I suspect it was a little scruffier in the mid-80s. I’m living in an as yet ungentrified section of East Flatbush. They should rename it Outer Park Slope. Hey, it’s still really close to Prospect Park.
I would feel a tiny bit bad for anyone swept up in a RICO suit that didn’t have much power to affect the situation or protect the residents… but even on the assumption a few people too weak to CYA might be conked on the head, and then thrown under the bus, I think something like this needs to happen – people need to know that something REALLY bad could go down if you’re involved in something like this, so they find some way to get the word out.
Yeah,
I probably helped in starting that gentrification back in 1983.
What a GREAT neighborhood that was when I moved there!