Naked And Afraid: Detroit

I know from my survival shows on the cable TV that, humans can survive for 21 days without food but only three days without water. That ought to tell you how important water is to human life.

The city of Detroit has cut off the water supply of thousands of delinquent customers and intend to cut off thousands more. The United Nations has stepped in to call this a civil rights violation. That's the UNITED NATIONS people- the folks tell people like the formerly alive dictator Saddam Hussein that he better allow inspections of his alleged Weapons of Mass Distraction or GW Bush is going attack him.

The UN is telling an American city that they are violating human rights! Have they looked into our voting? Maybe we could have free elections here if they did?

It's still early in the day but, I bet the reichwingers are going to be pissed about UN involvement on American soil. Some of their wackier elements have been warning that UN troops will be coming for our guns- "any minute now"- for hundreds of thousands of minutes, now. I venture that they will hate this UN appraisal so much they will fucking love it!

But, forget about them. In a major American city that has already suffered enough, thousands of people are being denied the most necessary element of life, the compound that is water. Many of these people owe a few hundred dollars. It sucks not to pay your bills and people do lose cars, stereos and houses over these things but, water is a different story. It's interesting (but typical) that wealthy and corporate interests in Detroit are also behind in their water bills to the tunes of thousands of dollars but, here in America, who do we fuck with, the people with lawyers and money, or the people without? I think you know the answer.

The folks that own the Red Wings hockey stadium and the Lions football stadium. and other private enterprises, owe some $30 million collectively in water bills. They are not going to be cut off. Well, they have money and lawyers. Evidently they can pay but, they won't. That is often the criteria for shutting off someones water in most cities. "Before we slowly kill these people, lets find out if they are poor or just jerks." I'm no expert but I think most cities draw the line at cutting off water. And there are generally weather related rules about cutting off heat.

I think the Detroit water department is owed something like $118 million dollars. Maybe $100 million or so ago they could have been a bit more proactive about this. One approach might have been to include water in tax bills. Think of any apartment you may have had. The water bill was included in the rent. It's not perfect but, it beats dealing with millions of individual clients. I know poor people get behind on their taxes too.There is no perfect solution.

There is another option though. Invade Detroit. Bomb them. Bring US troops and then democracy to the Motor City. This is something Lindsey Graham and all the republican crackers want to do all over the world, all the time. They think American democracy will work in Iraq and the Middle east, bringing them into the 21st century. Well, it hasn't worked all that well in Detroit now, has it? Maybe that's why they don't try?