Drinking lead can damage people’s brains, but Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach opposes a plan to remove lead water pipes.

In their letter, the attorneys general wrote, “[The plan] sets an almost impossible timeline, will cost billions and will infringe on the rights of the States and their residents – all for benefits that may be entirely speculative.”

Kobach repeated this nearly verbatim in a March 7 post on X (formerly Twitter).

Buttigieg responded by writing, “The benefit of not being lead poisoned is not speculative. It is enormous. And because lead poisoning leads to irreversible cognitive harm, massive economic loss, and even higher crime rates, this work represents one of the best returns on public investment ever observed.”

    • madcaesar@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      First time?

      There was a republican senator who once brought a snowball into Congress to prove climate change is a hoax.

      There was once a republican congressman who claimed a woman’s body would self abort the fetus if it was a rape.

      I don’t remember their names, nor do I care to.

      • scoobford@lemmy.zip
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        8 months ago

        And another that was worried the island of Guam would tip over if overpopulated.

        And MTGs secret Jewish space lasers thing.

        Congresspeople have shockingly little oversight from their constituents.

      • cybersandwich@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        There was also a congressman that asked an admiral if he was worried that the island would tip over if they put a navy base on it.

        You know because that happens sometimes.

          • cybersandwich@lemmy.world
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            8 months ago

            I just googled it again. Apparently it was Democrat rep from Georgia. Hank Johnson.

            I’m glad we have these bastions of intellect and wisdom passing laws for the rest of us.

            • Burn_The_Right@lemmy.world
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              8 months ago

              Neoliberals are conservatives. Unfortunately, we don’t have a progressive party in the U.S. We have a conservative party and a more conservative party.

      • I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Don’t forget about Congressman Hank Johnson who was concerned about Marines being stationed in Guam because of his fear that “the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize.”

      • livus@kbin.social
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        8 months ago

        To be fair to those weirdos - I think only the second one made international news - at least those were adjacent to contentious issues.

        There’s normally nothing contentious about lead poisoning being a bad thing.

        It really feels like the West is on the brink of another Dark Age.

    • littleblue✨@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Kansas (and even worse Arkansas), Alabama, Missouri, et al, are real in this timeline. It’s not good.

      • dimeslime@lemmy.ca
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        8 months ago

        I think this (well, Community) gives people hope that there are better versions in different timelines. Dash those hopes, there is only one reality, this is where they are. No rolling dice out of this one.

        • littleblue✨@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          I will trust my shiny math rocks over the words of some alleged human online, thankyouverymuch. These polyhedral gems truly love me, and will always see me through. my precious

          • dimeslime@lemmy.ca
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            8 months ago

            Human? I’m just a lead induced hallucination. In reality you’ve been chewing on your gems, which coincidentally are made of lead, and talking to the wall.