Goat With Your Heart (August 2022 Scapegoat Blame Thread)

@Walterbird There hasn’t been any room in the fridge after @shahnm stuffed his batteries in it.

And the avocado goat was ripe a few years ago.

So you’re probably smelling bird poop.

@mike808 @Walterbird

after @shahnm stuffed his batteries in it

You make it sound like that’s a bad thing…

@Walterbird actually if I recall there was a LOOONG streak of exceptional goats who set up scavenger hunts and puzzles and games and contests. And posting everyday. Too much too live up to

If you want to avoid mediocre bot we might have to downgrade to. “Here are some cute animals”, “have some memes”, “damn that sucks” every few days.

How is anyone going to live up to that level of excellence? I do not have that kind of time/focus.

Maybe we need a half dead goat

@hchavers

Better you than me!

@MarkDaSpark hmm then there was September…

@hchavers Well you want a cheaper ride now that you are goat? Here you go…

@Kidsandliz

@Kidsandliz
@MarkDaSpark You seem to like flirting with danger!

@MarkDaSpark I didn’t build the system, but I’d guess it’s likely because they don’t want you to have the coupon option still available after automatically getting that 10% discount.

@ExtraMedium @MarkDaSpark
EM is correct. It’s so you can’t stack the 10% with another discount code. It’s getting to be like figuring out Kohl’s discounts …

@ExtraMedium @mike808

I can see that … There’s quite a few sites that only allow 1 coupon code to be used.

But then again, it’s been a long time since I did any coding. Just seems like an “If-Then-Else” type situation.

Could just be that the powers that be were too cheap to pay for the time to code it in (or figured if people didn’t use the code …)

@ExtraMedium @MarkDaSpark @mike808

There was the great sears coupon stacking/points rolling of ~2012-2013 when that was a thing. You had to play with what could stack. And what could points roll. Cause you got custom coupons plus general coupons. Some would some wouldn’t.

At one point points stacked and were credited immediately and you could just keep ordering the same black rubber hose. For basically free by paying with points. Sears did not have their shit together and no I did not do that but I did roll coupons/points

@steeltoesenator I’ll goat^H^H^H^Hvote for that!

@hammi99
The first rule of Goat Emeritus Club is not to poop on the next goat.
Have a big cup of fresh boba tea…

@hammi99 @mike808 Euw.

@Kyeh @mike808 Wow.

@hammi99 Declining LACK? That means an increase in goat interest. Grammar gotcha. Penalty :Chug a bubble tea!

@OldCatLady
You tell 'em!

@tinamarie1974 UGH! Hang tough - that’s outrageous.

@tinamarie1974 Has a couple of those and none were covered by insurance and was told that upfront. But since the dentist told you it would cost you $ 200 he should have honored that. First one I paid close to $ 600 for and the second one (a different dentist) he charged me as if insurance would have covered it since I handled his account for the CPA firm for which I worked. For that one paid a little over $ 300.

@Felton10 that is my whole hang up. I have the summary of service they provided. No where does it say estimate, or pending insurance approval, etc.

The billing dept told me they clearly entered my discount structure into the system incorrectly. From my POV this is their issue and I feel strongly it is their responsibility to make it right. I really hope they do the right thing, because at this point, I am either paying what they quoted or they get zero and I am going elsewhere.

And I am aware I will pay similar elsewhere. It is the principle of the issue having been a patient there for over 20 years.

@Felton10 @tinamarie1974
No view on your situation, but I will share my dentist always makes sure that I know that their “quote” is an estimate and based on insurance co-pays and such. It’s stamped on the printout they give me.

This is because they have no idea what your deductible is until your claim is filed. However, the estimate always assumes you haven’t met your deductible, and as a result, will always be higher than when the co-pay kicks in.

I’m not covering for the dentist, just explaining that they may or may not have accounted for information they don’t have or control.

That doesn’t help you, and I’m sorry to hear how the mixup has affected you.

@Felton10 @mike808 and that makes complete sense. If that were the case I would feel completely different about the situation. But thanks for your feedback

I have read and reread the summary document making sure I didnt miss anything. I also asked if I needed to check w the insurance company, when they gave me the cost summary. I’ve never had anything beyond fillings and the odd root canal so I wanted to be sure. I was told, nope we have all the info in the computer and know what you will be charged/insurance will cover.

Im just really frustrated with the entire situation given their complete confidance in what was provided and then their lack of responsibility when they made a mistake. I mean they admitted they made the mistake, they just dont want to be responsible for it.

@Felton10 @mike808 @tinamarie1974
@Felton10 @mike808 @tinamarie1974 i have nothing productive to add other than my full support for you but it just got me to wondering if your dentist is just a frustrated proctologist and is trying to practice in his preferred field.

OK, time to put the phone down and go nighty night

Oh, and this…

@Felton10 @mike808 @ybmuG

@Felton10 @mike808 @ybmuG @kyeh. Called the Dentist office back and got a different lady. She was NOT friendly.

Basically told me that it doesnt matter if the cost sheet does not state estimate, pending insturance approval. Doesnt matter that they had my benefits entered wrong in their system or that I was assured the pricing was correct. Their stance is that I should have confirmed with insurance anyway and that they do not stand behind their price. It is always my responsibility to confirm

It took great restraint on my part, but I politely told her that if that was the case I was not interested in purchasing the night guard from their office. They were welcome to keep it or throw it away, but that I would not be coming in for my final fitting. Also, that she can adjust my account because I would not be paying for any portion of it.

Back to the drawing board…

@tinamarie1974 You can buy moldable mouthguards online at the A-z-n place - you dip 'em in hot water and mold it yourself - they are inexpensive and they work just as well as a dentist’s mouthguard, at less than $10. Kids use them for sports, too. Get the heavier weight ones, the lighter weight ones are more for making a custom mouth tray for whightening gels, etc.

@Kidsandliz

I am either paying what they quoted or they get zero and I am going elsewhere.

TWSS

@Kidsandliz yeah, not paying full price. I have a cousin who is a dental assistant. Worst case Ill call her about switching to her office. The dentist there is suppose to be great. If I pay him full price that is ok.

And if I am being honest I am a little skeptical about the lady I am seeing anyway. The old guy retired and she took over. Ive seen her a total of theee times and EVERY time I have at least one cavity that needs work. I brush, I floss, do I get cavities, yeah but historically not at that rate. I think she has done five (?) fillings since taking over.

@tinamarie1974 It sounds like something fishy is going on to support her money habit. If you can afford it do a side by side comparison. See what someone else you trust says and then go to her and see what she says. If they don’t match you know she engaged in malpractice, money grubbing or is just a shitty dentist.

I just had this experience: Dental assistant student over seen by a dentist who checked up after her - 2 cavities (where 2 teeth touched) and three areas not cleaned as well as they should have been (so that was fixed). Sliding scale dental place catering to the broke - no cavities. First place did bite wings, second place did round the head x-ray. Currently a dental chain is offering free both kinds of x-rays (of course they then have incentive to find income) that I am going to Friday to see what a third opinion says. Clearly something is amiss somewhere.

@Kidsandliz I hate to think it, but I know it happens. Like I said, my cousin works at a dental office locally and I can call her. I trust her and know she works for an ethical guy. Read: she has quit other offices for unethical behavior many times.

@Kidsandliz @tinamarie1974

Good luck to you both!

I took my son to a Pediatric Dentist my sister had taken her kids to see … he was always finding cavities every visit! My insurance was great, and I should have realized what he was doing.

---

My dentist was the son of my first dentist (did both kids and adults). Both were great, although I do have an issue with the dad before he retired … I complained to him about pain when I bit down on my right side back teeth (I was in my teens).

Just had an X-ray the previous visit, so he didn’t take one this time. He didn’t see anything, so you would think he’d get another one done. Nope! Not sure if there was dental insurance back then, so not sure if it was due to that or health reasons (limit radiation exposure).

So next visit rolls around, pain still there when biting down, so X-ray taken. (Drum Roll)

Somehow, instead of coming in at an angle, my wisdom tooth had come in directly beneath my back molar! So when I bit down, the wisdom tooth was grinding the molar’s root! There very little if the molar left, about 20%. (So long ago, I seem to think it was both wisdom teeth on the right, but not sure.)

He’d never seen anything like it before, still, he should have gotten the x-ray done the visit before!

So off to to the doctor who does extractions. Full anesthesia IIRC, because Mom said I came out crying.

Years and years later, now going to his son, needed the other 1 or 2 wisdom teeth extracted (Dad took me that time, no crying then, but different office). Even with x-rays, somehow he’d missed it going into my molar sideways.

TL:DR … I have a Wisdom Tooth instead of a molar on the right, and missing a molar on my upper left!

@Kyeh tis a worthy goal you have achieved

@carl669

@carl669 @Kyeh Yes definitely. There is also something to be said for not clicking anymore so you can save that for posterity so everyone can congratulate you over the years (grin). Or you could save your screen shot and frame it instead.

@carl669 @Kidsandliz Well, it’s not my signature number, so I’m not stopping, but there might be one someday!

@Kidsandliz any outlook on getting out of there? Or are you just going to hang on and force them to upgrade around you?

The things they can get away with to force tenants out…

@unksol It’s hud. It takes about 2 years around here to vote with your feet (I am on waiting lists outside of this town).

@Kidsandliz well that still sucks. I think I met more just. Leaving. I guess have some kittens(2 weeks ago) ? Sorry.

@unksol Kittens are always good. That was a litter of 7!!! That mama must have been glad to gibe birth. Of course then the fight over nipples and her supervision problem increases. That is a lot of butts to lick clean of poop and pee. Maybe that tastes like chicken?

@Kidsandliz well… What actually happened was because I thought I had them separated but didn’t the boys knocked up the girls which. Again epic fuck up.

Summer had 3… Or maybe 4. She lost all but 1. One was still born. I believe. Was dead right after I heard the first one crying. Next one kept trying to find a nipple and she sat for that… but it never worked. And she’d walk away after a while. That one was freezing when she did so I kept trying to put it in a heated bed with a heat pad so it could eat. but it wouldn’t take a bottle and every time I left the room she grabbed it and ran off up the cat tree or the back of the closet. So I left her alone. Lost that one too. One made it.

The other 5 are Whatcha’s, she didn’t lose any. but. They kind of share like cats do. I honestly don’t know what’s up with the pic they look huge but they are only 2 months/hold in your hand.

Def fully functional/going wild/climbing shit

@Kidsandliz @unksol
OMG - two litters?

@Kidsandliz @Kyeh thought I had explained my fuck up before? Not that you should be keeping up.

The boys are prolific… And going to the vet.

Because of work and life I thought I had isolated them when the girls were in heat. I was wrong.

Summers litter mostly died despite my best efforts. I don’t think she knew what to do. Or … Idk. Whatchas is fine. . regardless cat don’t care whose is whose so two mommas. 6 kittens they have it covered.

@Kidsandliz @unksol I knew there were kittens but didn’t realize there were two moms involved. Poor kitties who died, but at least the remaining ones seem healthy and happy. Good luck - it must be somewhat overwhelming. I wish you could get a vet who’d come to your house.

@Kyeh @unksol Yeah you had explained. I just forgot.

I guess you are in the demented toddler stage with those babies. Cute to watch for a limited period of time only - and especially not in the middle of the night when they get the zoomies then too. Hope you have a ladder or stool handy when they climb the curtains and then can’t get down.

@Kidsandliz @Kyeh
One of summers was stillborn. I think. It was dead and cold by the time I heard the next one.

That one was freezing and I put in a heated bed with a rice pack but it would not eat from a bottle. And when it tried to nurse from her could not latch. She took it to somewhere she felt safe… Repeatedly… So I decided to let her handle it… Then she had at least the living one. I didn’t realize cats could have them over a day not just all at once.

they are not that bad. In the master suite cause I live alone but I’ve slept in there a few times. One like to try and grab my foot now and then. Otherwise some bouncing around. I can’t sleep at night normally so I usually have some antihistamine and melatonin.

I can hear them going batshit above me while I’m at work under them. I have a camera I can check on them with.

Assholes can already jump baby gates.

@Kidsandliz one of them did get a claw stuck in the curtains but I was in there thankfully. I know they’re messing with it but thankfully not much. They have a preexisting can tree in there they all learned to use really quick

@Kidsandliz also 6’4 so I don’t need a ladder but thanks for the idea of one getting stuck up there… Better make sure my camera can cover that angle.

@unksol Baby kitties are so very cute and I love it when they want to cuddle and play but they can also get themselves into some dangerous situations and/or get under foot and get hurt. When one of mine was a baby she got stuck on a top shelf after going from the curtain to the shelf. As I said, the demented toddler stage.

I used the bathtub as a playpen when I had 3 that were small (but 3 mo apart). Toss in a ping pong ball, three kittens and they had a blast. And couldn’t get out on their own until bigger. The drawback was for months they associated the bathtub with playtime and would bring balls in there in the middle of the night. That makes a racket. Couldn’t close the door as that was where their dirt boxes were.

@Kidsandliz they are fully functional. I mean sprinting around the room. And capable of crying if they get in trouble. The only reason they aren’t loose is I don’t really want them in the basement. They could jump one side but not back. It they start doing that… Well…m I have to. And some balls need cut so we don’t have another. As cute as they are the world does not need more

@Kidsandliz just realized I’ve been calling Snickers summer this whole time… Summers been gone for a long time…

@Kidsandliz @unksol
I was thinking those were awfully big kittens. So cute! What do you do with all of them, do you have a easy time finding homes for them in your area?

@Kidsandliz @Lynnerizer they are a little over 2 months so not going anywhere till 3 months. I’ve never asked anyone to adopt a cat. I’ve just… Kept the lost/strays that made their way to me which other than KitKat were all girls. And he was fixed as a kitten. So haven’t gotten much past maybe putting a sign in the yard. Need to expand on that.

They are still hold in your hand small. The scale on that photo was weird. But they are absolute bonkers. My office is under the master bedroom and the chaos you hear…
Maybe better scale

@Kidsandliz @Lynnerizer I did decide to open up the main floor after this. There are kittens everywhere

@Kidsandliz @Lynnerizer @unksol
Wow. You must have perfected the shuffle-walk, to avoid stepping on anyone!

@Kidsandliz @Kyeh @Lynnerizer they went a little nuts than returned to home base. Really the adults were the ones banging on the door when something was cut off. The kittens are just now learning the whole “you better not shut a door”

@Kidsandliz @Kyeh @Lynnerizer OMG they’re so many moving and going meh. I might be going a little just

@Kidsandliz @Kyeh @unksol
How are those kittens doing, they’ve got to be getting big. Any new pics to share?

@tinamarie1974
If it was part of the scratch and dent woot sale They say they will take it back if you are not happy. In anyway.

https://forums.woot.com/t/ninja-foodi-9-in-1-digital-airfry-oven-s-d/1106248/6

As far as the dentist… If they have a billing department and you can get through to them they will likely know they will get more from you then attempting bill collection for pennies on the dollar and you’re obviously correct. But if your insurance wont pay at all… And yes if you didn’t have prior auth or went out of network… Insurance in the us is an overpriced mess of slimey lawyers.

If they have a billing department you might get somewhere saying her is the bill. I will pay. Else nothing

@unksol it was a woot refurbished item! As long as the new rack fits I am ok. It should arrive tomorrow, so fingers crossed!!

As far as the dental office, sadly I was talking to the billing dept. The lady today was plain mean and honestly I was being polite. I am going to call back Monday when the usual lady is there just to make sure she credits my account accordingly. Not getting stuck with any charges.

Also called my cousin. She said that the cost I was given was much higher than what her office charges and that she didn’t understand the three month turn around. Said the whole process should have taken 2 to 3 weeks. She is going to set up an appt w her dentist so hopefully it goes better at her office.

@tinamarie1974 she is probably right. However if they already have it fitted, right there, you have liked your dentist so far, and they don’t want to eat the total cost. They should honor it if you play some hardball.

Even if they were wrong on the quote they lose less money giving it to you than throwing it away.

But I would seriously question letting someone near my teeth I pissed off and dentist can’t write off their mistakes like large medical practices so… Eh?

@unksol well I tried that approach. I was willing to pay what was discussed and agreed upon, but not more. Certainly not 400% more! When I spoke to the lady in billing today she was obstinate, the office was not willing to honor the price and she would rather throw away the appliance than sell it to me at the agreed price. So, I told her that was fine, she could keep it and do with it whatever she wished. I REALLY wanted to tell her where to put it, but I held back. No point in dragging myself to her level

As far as the dentist I had already decided to go to a different one. Like I said before the number of fillings I have needed since my last guy retired and the new lady took over is crazy. Three cleanings and I think 5 fillings. Never have I ever had that kind of issue w my teeth. Also, did I mention the higenist mentioned to me that the new dentist uses her husbands company for the night guards. So I find it interesting that I was told the cost was “X” then it jumped 400%. Thinking she has quite the racket going.

And this particular practice is huge, not your typical one dentist shop. Moving on, I’ll have an appt made w the new guy (cousins office) on Monday.

@tinamarie1974 oh I would definitely be jumping ship than. I was thinking family dentist something something.

The woot return is only 30 days per what thuderthighs poster so if you don’t get it in time…

@unksol no family dentist is a whole different situation.

Thanks for the heads up on the return policy. See what happens tomorrow

@tinamarie1974 @unksol Think if you threaten (or acually do it) to report them to the state authority that licenses dentists for unethical billing practices, that will get their attention. Had this issue with some orthodics made by a foot doctor once and he never responded to my concerns until I wrote a complaint to the state and then he told me he would go to arbitration if I would withdraw my complain. Basically told him to go fuck himself as I wanted my complaint on the record so anyone who checked him out to see what a POS he was.

@Felton10 @unksol that is a great idea. Ill check that out Monday

Hey how is Mrs Felton doing?

@unksol got the new grate in the mail and it fits!!! The one theybsent was about 1.5" wider than the correct one. Go figure.

@Kidsandliz
Good for you! You’ve been dealing with that crap forever, thank goodness you’ve got help now! There’s going to come a day when you’re able to have a good landlord and be stress free of all the BS. You deserve to just be enjoying your children! Sunshine, peace, prayers, hugs and love for you all!

@Felton10 Geeeez … how did it go, though?
Is she doing okay?

@Felton10 You know our time never counts. Ever. They’d rather us wait two hours then them 2 minutes. Although my oncologist once did something amazing. He had cancelled my visit two times in a row pushing it out 6 weeks due to having to go out of town as an invited speaker. I made a mild comment and he decided to come in the morning he was leaving and saw me despite that wasn’t the usual day he saw people and went to the airport from the clinic. Amazing. Hope your wife is doing OK.

@Felton10 File a review with your insurance network and there are doctor reviews/ratings sites.

Doesn’t seem like they have a “patient first” attitude in their practice.

I bet if we got discounts on billing for our waiting time to compensate us for our time we are unavailable for anything else and exclusively available for them, we wouldn’t have such a fucked up entitled “professional” class. Same for lawyers.

@mike808 This wasn’t my first experience with this joker who has no regard to how long his patients wait or how much he inconveniences them. For one of my wife’s procedures they call us two hours before we were scheduled to be there and asked if we could come in earlier. Since we live approx 45 min away from the hospital not that much time was going to be saved, but it meant we had to drop everything and leave right then.

Another time my wife wanted to come in to see him and they called and said one of his procedures had been cancelled and we could come in then to see him. When we got there we were told he was still at the hospital but was expected shortly. We finally saw him 2 1/2 hours after we arrived at his office.

And my wife wants to know why I am so pissed at this guy?

@Felton10 Perhaps there is another doctor in-network that deserves your business (and insurance payments). Vote with your dollars and your feet.

@Felton10 @mike808

I bet if we got discounts on billing for our waiting time to compensate us for our time we are unavailable for anything else and exclusively available for them, we wouldn’t have such a fucked up entitled “professional” class. Same for lawyers.

Amen. I have never agreed with you more.

I’d also put scheduled house visits (such as cable installations, utility moves, or appliance repairs) on that list. They give you a four-hour “window” to be there for, then they are late for that.

@Felton10 @mike808 @phendrick I had always thought sending a bill for $75/hour would be fair. Also the same billing for all the time I spend on the phone trying to straighten out bills of any kind when the mistake/problem is at their end.

@Felton10 @Kidsandliz @mike808 @phendrick
After going to this one Dr’s office that’s always keeping everyone waiting I decided that 45 minutes of sitting in ANYONE’S waiting room is the absolute max and then I simply reschedule. (sometimes I’m out in 30 min depending on my pain)
I also ask if they’re on schedule when I check in.

How’s Mrs Felton doing, did everything go well?

@Kyeh We got a tiny bit of rain yesterday evening. Not a measureable amount, but it was rain!

@Kyeh
I think everyone must be loving the little bit of rain! With this heat we’ve been having it’s been a real chore for my mom to go out and water every day, sometimes twice!

@lisaviolet Hmm that explains something else paypal did last night. I sold something. She paid me by paypal family and friends and she had to choose to pay the fee herself. I am thinking FEE???

@Kidsandliz

I just found this:

https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/1/23191214/paypal-friends-and-family-payments-business-accounts

@lisaviolet She had a personal account. Too weird. Maybe they are ending that as well?

@Kidsandliz That would suck.

@lisaviolet USBank has had bill pay for a long time. If the business or whomever you are paying (even individuals) isn’t in their system, you enter the payee info (name, your account # with them (make one up if you pay a person), address, and a phone number.

USBank then prints and physically mails them the check if they can’t send it electronically. I don’t need stamps, envelopes, etc. and it costs me nothing. It may be due to my paycheck being Direct Deposit that they waive the $7 monthly fee. And all the kids are using Zelle, which USBank uses, for person-to-person instant payments.

I pay all my bills this way. No automatic drafts from anyone, they’re all scheduled payments from me.

@macromeh
I’m wondering WHY nobody wanted to call you back, seems like everyone wants to work these days or I should say NEEDS to work these days! People aren’t answering phone calls, they don’t know where you live when you’re calling.
Anyway… Glad you found someone and you’re happy with the results! A cedar deck sounds fantastic, GO FOR IT!!

@Lynnerizer There is lots of new construction going on in this area. My guess is that contractors would rather get a gig in a multi-house new development than commute out to the sticks to work on a single tear off/replace job. But I don’t know.
I’ve already got the cedar deck - it needs some repair and refinishing. I’ve done it myself a couple times over the years, but I am older and less enthusiastic these days.

@Felton10 he clearly has good taste!!

@tinamarie1974 why shouldn’t he-he is our son.

@hammi99 Yeah, another ghost goat.
@ExtraMedium, I think it would be perfect if Mediocrebot revived his annoying reaction to the word blame - he did it back in 2019, jumping in with crazy stuff and saying “@chienfou is definitely to blame” and stuff like that, with giphys of Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber. I think AWOL goats need to be harassed that way (chienfou definitely didn’t because he was a GREAT goat.)

@Kidsandliz Awwww - I had an orange cat with swirl patterns just like that.

@Kidsandliz @Kyeh
Well at least now you know where he went!

@chienfou @Kidsandliz
If you mean my cat, I wish that were true.
If you mean our current goat - I pictured him more like this:

@Kidsandliz @Kyeh
Cat

@chienfou @Kidsandliz Oh - cat is long gone to cat heaven.

@mike808 OMG !

@Kyeh @mike808
I must’ve said OMG at least 5 times and I don’t even have balls!! OMG can you imagine, THAT could have been DEATH if nobody was there to help!

@Kidsandliz That stinks! Guess they’ve got to many tenants to just supply you with bottled water, huh? Have you heard from anyone with updates on the entire situation? Have you ever considered relocating to another state, would HUD work with you on that?

@Lynnerizer They called the city and the city won’t deliver like last time. End of story. I found one church willing to help but not enough for everyone and someone else has done the same between the two of us maybe enough to go around. Irony is some of the churches have programs to help (their potential converts in) third world countries but not to help those of us in our third world city that abuts theirs.

@Felton10 Could be the carrier trying to cover up damage that happened on their watch. Probably works most of the time.

Contact customer service to work something out.

@mike808 I have re the damaged one. Going to wait a few more days to see if the one in transit finally gets to my daughter.

And it came back again not good. So two more days minimum of boil water. The mayor wants to use a different tester company so it “comes back good”. Sigh. Yeah is he going to bribe them with some of the millions that went missing after the water meter scandal to ignore samples that fail?

@Kidsandliz
WHAT…?
/giphy WOW

@Kidsandliz
/giphy hiding money

@Lynnerizer And now in week 5 of boil water with flooding of the Pearl River peaking on Monday. It floods down the hill several blocks from me but I am up high enough that I won’t get wet… Of course realistically we have at least 2 more months of boil water before there is any chance of drinking it. And I ran into an unannounced July 2022 too much lead and copper in the water announcement too. I just hope it doesn’t get turned off any longer than necessary. Welcome to our very own USA 3rd world country.

@Kidsandliz @Lynnerizer Reading that July announcement last night, I noticed that it admits they’ve been on notice of noncompliance since 2015, and after one plant got a mod to address the issue (but not the other one), they have been sitting on their thumbs since 2017, doing nothing to fix it. I wonder who gets water from the plant they fixed…

@Lynnerizer @werehatrack Who gets that water? That would not be me. Mine comes from the Curtis plant and it is so far down the toilet some are talking about replacing it - although where they want to put it is a problem. Some Einstein thinks downstream from the waste water treatment plant is a good idea. Yeah right. Like the waste water plant doesn’t ever break down too? It is just as old as the treatment plants and has had the same long term neglect.

This notice was not announced to the public and certainly neither was the fact that there is too much lead and copper in the water for years. Because, of course, why would we possibly make sure people knew about that? I, and my cats, have been drinking that back when you allegedly could drink the water that is.

@Kidsandliz I was wondering if the flooding has reached you there … can you possibly just leave for a while?!?

@Kyeh Actually the river crested a tiny bit lower than they thought it would (like maybe a quarter of an inch) and while there was flooding fortunately fewer homes had water in them than they predicted. It will take 5-7 days for the water to go down according to the TV. There is flood water down the hill from me (a couple of blocks) but I am up a hill so safe from that.

I have nowhere to go locally that gets me away from this mess so out of luck with staying elsewhere. I am going to go to a friend’s house who is in a different county thus not this water system (she and her husband don’t have a spare bedroom or I’d ask to stay there, am asking if I can take a shower there) and fill up two 6.5 gallon water containers at her house to haul back home.

And most interestingly, on TV today the governor says they have no idea why the water plant is off line which implies no one showed up for work today (they are dancing around that) or they could ask them - another time no one showed up for work there was an electrical fire which shut the water plant down - provides 5/7th of the city’s water and this water is mixed with the smaller plant’s water so not separate system, not enough water pressure in the small plant alone so the city’s water tanks can’t fill.

Since the water plant has no spare parts at all, is already using the back up pumps and haven’t fixed the actual regular pumps, I think they are optimistic (aka lying) that they can get the plant back up and running “in a couple of days”. They also didn’t even start planning for this mess until Friday afternoon. There wasn’t a standing emergency plan in place in case one was needed in a water system where we had to boil water for 2 mo last year and had a 3rd mo with no water at all??? Seriously? Once they get it up and running again then it will take “a couple” (not defined) of days to fill the water tanks (I think last time it was nearly 4 days) before we’d have water again. Of course it still won’t be drinkable.

The mayor wanted to use a different water testing company “so the water would pass” (umm planning to bribe them?). Nope this time they did use a different one right before everything crashed today and it still failed. Mayor didn’t admit that, the governor did. Of course once it is back on it will likely run yellow for a few days and so can’t even be tested for a while. At least we will be able to flush the toilets. Of course what they are not saying that all this is predicated on not needing any spare parts they can’t get since there are literally none at the water plant. Sound like good advanced planning to me. /s

But then again this is a third world country with corrupt politicians at the local and state level. Dumb ass mayor refused federal and state money to deal with this mess earlier. Must have had a way they had to account for it that couldn’t be scammed and so refused it. The 43 million water meter settlement money vanished without a trace last year. You know that took many hands to happen. And our governor is some how connected to the 4.7M of TANF money that was “vanished” by people who ran that program on the state level.

And instead of the lie it will all be fixed by October the governor said it would take 3 or 4 months at a minimum… Any guesses on how long we will be boiling water and having to buy it? And how often we will have no water at all? I need to fucking move. I am on some waiting lists along with a zillion others who are sick of water issues, pot holes, and other issues. The waiting lists in this city are short. In the others they are 10x or more longer. Gee I wonder why. Sigh.

@Kidsandliz @Kyeh
Climate change doesn’t give a fuck if the Governor or the Mayor and their death cult followers believe in it or not.

I guess Mississippi is in the “find out” part.
Color me red with surprise.

@Kidsandliz @Kyeh Has anyone tipped NPR about this yet? It sounds like it’s right up their alley.

@Kyeh @werehatrack It has made national news (NY Times, Washington Post, Forbes, etc. and CBS - probably more, mayor was on CBS - boy that was a mistake as he is at fault here and as an innocence story to beat the band). I sent info to a number of national outlets starting prior to no water at all, updating what I sent as things happened. Who knows if anything I said had anything to do with it or not. Who cares. With national scrutiny maybe they won’t continue to shove it under the table.

@Kyeh @mike808 Climate change has nothing to do with this mess. Failure to maintain the system, failure to expend money on it, failure to fix things, failure to order spare parts, failure to give a shit. The governor has an entire gasoline sized tanker full of water hooked up to the governor’s mansion so he isn’t suffering. They mayor says the water is drinkable and it is only the testing that is a problem (of course he isn’t) and keeps lying about when the mess will be fixed.

@Kidsandliz
The Pearl River flooding most certainly is climate change related. And denial of that reality is the cause of the utter lack of any preparation or mitigation of that known risk of significant harm and impact to the people of Mississippi.

@Kidsandliz @werehatrack Well, CNN is covering it extensively right now: https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/30/us/jackson-mississippi-water-crisis-effects/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/30/politics/jackson-mississippi-water-system-what-matters/index.html

@mike808 The pearl river has nothing to do with our current water crisis. The water plant was not underwater or even close to that. Only the mayor is trying to blame the pearl river for him not getting the pumps fixed, for him not using the free federal money that was sent back unused because he refused it towards fixing the mess… Yes the rain that caused the flooding is likely climate change related but this is UNrelated to the water issues that Jackson has due to neglect, failure to maintain anything…

@Kidsandliz @mike808 From the articles I’ve been reading, it sounds like there’s more than enough blame to go around, starting with the state and that turd of a governor you’re stuck with. Before being elected a couple of years ago, he was lieutenant governor for 8 years & didn’t do a thing about a problem that’s been decades in the making. (Which the mayor readily acknowledges, it seems he just blames the river flooding for being the last straw.) In an article from one of your local papers, they say the federal funds were allocated to the state & that the city is one of MANY projects in line for money that the state hasn’t even earmarked yet. I’m sure there’s a lot of material for some in-depth investigative reporting, oversight hearings, etc. In any case, what a clusterfuck! It was hard to believe your ongoing situation could get worse, but the so-called leaders in those parts sure managed to exceed the long-standing tradition of incompetence & inaction.

https://www.clarionledger.com/in-depth/news/2022/01/30/jackson-mississippi-federal-funding-resolve-water-crisis-sewage-pearl-river/9228052002/

@Kidsandliz @mike808 And this article explains a little about the extra pressure that the flooding put on the already-inadequate system & a lot more about the history behind its current condition. I really hope you guys get past this “no water” emergency soon & that they actually start doing something about the long-term issues now that there’s some national attention on the situation! Yeesh.

https://www.vox.com/2022/8/31/23329604/jackson-mississippi-water-crisis

@ircon96 @mike808 That newspaper article is only partly correct. The Mayor is trying to blame the flood, conveniently ignoring that with the last flood in 2020 or maybe it was 2021 which was far worse - Pearl River was higher and for longer and more homes flooded the water did NOT go out AND we could still drink it. It ignores the money he has refused over and over (that would include Obama money to fix this, Pandemic money that could be used to fix this - that money was sent back, didn’t use the water meter settlement money to fix the water meter stuff - no one knows what happened that money - I think $47 million is missing (the rest of the $72 million went to out of state attorneys), the things he did not do… like get the “regular” pumps fixed when they broke, not order spare parts, not put in a system for when no one shows up for work anyone knows the plant has no employees present on site (one time that happened there was an electrical fire and we had no water for a bit over a week), that he had NO contingency plan for what to do if what did happen happened even knowing that the water system was collapsing. THAT contingency planning started, for the first time, last Friday afternoon by the governor (who is also an idiot)… and it goes on and on and on.

The mayor wanted to use a different testing company so the water would pass (his words as he has insisted all along the water is safe to drink even when some people have yellow brownish water). He did that and it failed just before the water shut off. The mayor is a jackass who is trading on who is daddy is and has much bigger political ambitions than being mayor of a 3rd world town.

He is fighting the awarding of the contract of trash pickup to Richards and they have been doing it since April with no pay (that is in court) and is at odds with the city counsel over that. 991 often doesn’t pick up and when it does often no one comes… and then there are the roads, fire hydrants that gush into the street for months and literally sometimes years. There is a lot of corruption in this city. Our murder rate is per capita the highest in the country (a huge percentage point more than the next one below us), catch criminals and it is mostly catch and release… And for weeks he has been saying “just a few more days” until we can drink the water.

And the list goes on and on and on. Sure it is an aging infrastructure but when you spend nothing to maintain it and actively ignore it, don’t order spare parts, don’t have back up plans, don’t fix what breaks and just use the back up equipment so now there is no backup equipment this goes well beyond aging infrastructure…

On the upside I finally managed to get a group to deliver water here yesterday and someone else knew someone who knew someone who knew the sister of the mayor and they are going to deliver water on a regular basis (first delivery of that was today, the water I found was yesterday - of course one might ask why the residents are the ones doing most - but not all - of the calling to get us water. Corporate thought bringing down 5 cases of water when they came yesterday was “helping”. Umm in a building with 128 apts of which are 13 doubles and is nearly full. SMH.

@ircon96 @mike808 Here is some counter point to the flood myth and as I said above had that been true we would have lost water during the last Pearl River flood that was deeper and lasted longer, not to mention the water treatment plant was not underwater.

https://www.northsidesun.com/local-content-columns-opinion/mayor-lumumba-needs-resign?fbclid=IwAR1VKdQ7ztzF_GwgNzw_MfEd9af4eckIg45CZvt9ORI3fmNjlgi4HDeQKW4#sthash.mMAoInmx.8E9TDHxt.dpbs

And our system was flagged again for failure a month before the flood.

https://mississippitoday.org/2022/08/31/jackson-water-crisis-epa-report/

@ircon96 @mike808 Here is another one that just came out that talks about a ton of things the city is doing wrong that has contributed to the problems. Basically incompetent city leadership for ages.

https://www.wlbt.com/2022/09/02/jacksons-water-plant-operators-say-theyre-not-being-paid-overtime-epa-report-shows/

@Kidsandliz I am not contradicting your points. But I don’t think this is entirely a failure of city government. The city government has been set up to fail since the 1960s.

@mike808 No it hasn’t been set up to fail. It has had many incompetent people in positions of power who do nothing or next to nothing, including our current mayor. Yes the situation is worse than it could be simply because no one has done much of anything in the past or currently but this is due to failure of leadership.

@Kidsandliz @mike808 I see your point about the less-than-effective leadership, but the two aren’t mutually exclusive, and actually, to get into a situation this bad, you almost need the perfect storm of lack of leadership & lack of funding. But then again, with the state’s priorities, such as fraudulently throwing welfare funds at retired athletes & such, it’s not much of a stretch to think of where the funding could have gone, aside from the suspicions you’ve already mentioned. Like i said before, what a clusterfuck.

@ircon96 @Kidsandliz
It’s not solely the Mayor’s incompetence. There’s 150+ years of systemic and insitutional racism at work here, people say.

In Mississippi? Racism?
Shocked, I am to hear of this!

But the roots of this crisis run much deeper, and are inextricably tied to white disinvestment from a majority-Black city. Jackson’s water system — which serves a population that is more than 80 percent Black — has been burdened with problems for many years, largely because white flight drained the city of resources. The state’s Republican legislature has also failed to provide the majority-Democrat city with adequate funding for repairs.

[ … ]

Ongoing tensions between the city and state have only made infrastructure upgrades more challenging. While spreading out the cost of repairs to the state would help cover the expenses, many white people in the suburbs aren’t compelled to help and many Jackson residents fear ceding control of such a vital service, Mississippi Today’s Anna Wolfe reported last year.

“It’s twofold,” Wolfe wrote. “Systemic racism is an unmistakable underlying cause for Jackson’s stripped resources, and while it may be clouded by a mutual distrust today, racism continues to prevent future investment.”

[ … ]

But ultimately, fixing the city’s water system will require addressing deep inequalities that have long starved the city of essential resources, further strengthening racial divides. It’s these inequalities that make cities like Jackson so vulnerable, which is especially worrisome considering that climate change may make floods in Mississippi and other communities of color more common.

Source:

How Jackson, Mississippi, ran out of water
A crisis that’s left thousands of residents with no running water was decades in the making.

@ircon96 @mike808 Yeah whatever. Obviously you live here and know first hand. Take a look at the mayor’s budget and what he didn’t allocate money to. This would be city money. Then you have about $43M a year that isn’t coming in from the non-working meter/billing system. Many people haven’t gotten bills in 3 years. That money would help. That has nothing to do with race. It has everything to do with fucking incompetence.

Take a look at the money allocated, that they (city) actually HAD, and didn’t spend (I am not the one who make the red circles, I’d circle a few more having to do with city infrastructure, water distribution system, and contingency water/sewer). That is the mayor. God only knows where that money went. THAT IS FUCKING INCOMPETENCE and has FUCKING NOTHING to do with the governor, race or any other stupidity except incompetence and failure to do one’s job with respect to even trying to fix the infrastructure/water issues.

@ircon96 @mike808
Said:

Take a look at the mayor’s budget and what he didn’t allocate money to.

And meant to say:

Take a look at the mayor’s approved budget and what he allocated money to and DIDN’T spend.

Oh yeah - all that police over time is failure to hire and train police. It would have cost a hell of a lot less had he raised their pay and then hired more.

And there were things water/sewer related they had spent some of the budgeted money - notice though that with the 48" water transmission they only spent about half… others were closer and a huge chunk they did not spend ONE PENNY. Whose fault is that? Black governor/black city council didn’t spend money THEY budgeted and had on hand on the water system in a primarily black town. Oh yeah racism. Nope. And this has happened year after year after year. Sure the governor was an giant jackass (who needs to lose the next election) and sent back a bunch of millions of dollars, but there is plenty blame to go around with respect to inaction, failure to do their job…

@ircon96 @Kidsandliz
Nobody said it was an either/or cause. Nobody said the factors you point out were exclusive of all other factors or the other way around

Every problem doesn’t have to have a single cause or a single solution.

And nobody is saying we need to fix racism first before we fix corruption in Jackson government. Or even that we need to fix government corruption (local and state) before we fix the fucking water.

I really hope things do turn around fast. That it is this hard is exactly why “systemic” and “institutional” are the words being used.

After fixing the water, November is the next chance for Mississippians to stop voting people into government that repeatedly act against their constituents’ interests.

@ircon96 @mike808 Also the mayor had on his desk in 2020 a report that stated that the water system would fail and all the reasons why. He didn’t give that report to the city council. He didn’t make plans. He buried it and it only was just made public now and not by him.

As this is an “off year” for elections around here not many people up for re-election in this cycle. A number of us who live here agree there needs to be a clean slate at all levels however when the main culprits are up for re-election since that is in several years who knows what will happen.

I am on hud waiting lists to get out. Where I live is convenient. Crime ridden but convenient. Have been on lists for a while on one but just joined the others. Lists outside of Jackson are now 5 and 6 times as long - likely 4 to 5 years.