Grandmother’s Water Shutoff Prompts State Legislation in WI

81 year old Audrey Parker of Baraboo WI has had her water cut off for refusing a class 2B carcinogen- welcome to 2013 America

Audrey Parker, an 81 year old grandmother who has refused to have a  ‘smart’ water meter installed because of the privacy implications and the heart palpitations she experiences from the meters’ wireless pulses, last week had her water disconnected by the City of Baraboo, WI, in retribution for her “disobedience.”

The city has also cut off water service to her friends Darcy and Jim Sheriff, who have joined Audrey in refusing the meters.  The two families have been using gallons of store bought water to flush their toilets, in a surreal scene of developing world desperation created solely by local authorities, who are pushing the meters despite growing evidence of harm.   The authoritarian response to smart meter refusal in the midwest echoes the arrests of two mothers by the city of Naperville, IL, about 200 miles south of Baraboo, in January.

By the way did we mention that we are not kidding about this story– this is actually happening right now in America? Pinch yourself people, and then do something about it.

Our allies at Stop Smart Meters! Wisconsin are doing just that. They have been working to bring attention to the plight of these families.   Now state elected officials in Wisconsin are starting to take note.  Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt of the Wisconsin state legislature plans to introduce a bill to guarantee customer choice when it comes to metering technology (a so-called ‘opt out’ bill).  Wisconsin residents should put pressure on their legislators to strengthen the bill, making the opt out free and protecting the rights of residents, businesses and entire communities to say no to the meters.  Why not go further and demand that lawmakers ban the devices altogether?  Do your job, government.

Jim Sheriff carries water to flush his toilet after the City of Baraboo, Wisconsin cut off water service for refusal of a smart meter.

The utter lawlessness of cutting off water to someone should not be taken lightly.   Water is a service one cannot live without, unlike electricity which has only been widely available in the west for less than 100 years.   In fact, the introduction of electric service- rather than the unquestioned “improvement in the standard of living” as it is promoted- has been linked with significant increases in cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.   Nevertheless most of us have built our lives around it and we have grown dependent on it.  Its interruption is an inconvenience to most, and a threat to the lives of some who depend on electrical powered medical equipment and air conditioning in hot climates.

Cutting power is a terrible abuse, but restricting water supply- particularly to elderly people-crosses a line.  That is a threat to life and always has been.  If people fail to rally to the side of those who have been denied this basic right, we can only expect the same treatment and and an escalation of the human rights violations that seem to be an intrinsic part of the “smart grid” nowadays.

When ordinary people are deprived of their water supply simply for telling the truth about the medical consequences of wireless proliferation, and standing their ground to protect the safety of their home, we’ve got serious problems in our society.

Why not tell the Baraboo Water Dept. what you think of their behavior?