Monday, October 11, 2010

America moves on from spill; Gulf coast feels abandoned

America moves on from spill; Gulf coast feels abandoned

'People don't really care about the people who were affected'

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Image: Chris Sherrill
Michelle Rolls-Thomas  /  AP
Chris Sherrill, owner of Staycations Beach Weddings, in the kitchen of Champs Place as he prepares for an event in Gulf Shores, Ala. Sherrill and other business owners along the Alabama Gulf Coast feel forgotten since the oil well has been capped and attention has been moved elsewhere.
By JAY REEVES
The Associated Press
updated 10/10/2010 9:05:10 AM ET 2010-10-10T13:05:10


About 800 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, Dave Edmonds is struggling to remind people about the BP oil spill.
There aren't many magazine covers with photos of oil-drenched birds now that BP has capped its massive gusher at the bottom of the sea. People aren't looking online for information about the historic spill like they were a few weeks ago.
So Edmonds, who lives on the Delaware coast, has started a nonprofit organization to keep the disaster on people's minds with a website and social networking campaign.


"Awareness has dropped. People don't really care about the people who were affected. They don't care about the fish life," said Edmonds, founder of Taking Back the Gulf.
For Gulf residents fighting for economic survival, a nation's short attention span is deeply unsettling, especially with oil still washing ashore. Yet it's unclear whether Americans are turning their attention elsewhere, or whether it's just the media that have.
Either way, people like Chef Chris Sherrill feel abandoned.
"It's amazing how quickly the American public forgot that this was one of the worst manmade disasters in U.S. history," he said. His wedding catering and event business in Gulf Shores, Ala., is teetering because few brides are still coming to the beach for weddings.
The slight isn't necessarily intentional. Walking with his girlfriend in a park in Des Moines, Iowa, Michael Gauthier said he wonders about the oil's lingering impact on the environment, and he fears for Gulf residents.
"It's not in your face every day so you forget about it. Who doesn't have bills to pay and work to go to? Who has time to think about what's going on in Louisiana?" said Gauthier, 26.
'Hello, there's plenty of oil'
What's going on is the continued arrival of oil washing ashore, although in lesser amounts than during the summer. Dire predictions of environmental Armageddon have yet to materialize, but there's also no consensus on how badly the ecosystem has suffered.
At first, no one could agree on how much oil was spilling into the Gulf; now there's disagreement over how much remains. A commission this week faulted Barack Obama's administration for multiple missteps, including an effort to block scientists from telling the public how bad the spill could be early on.
"If someone could say it will affect this, our shrimp are going to be poisoned for 10 years, people would think this is a bigger deal maybe," said Scott Peterson, 37, also of Des Moines.
Peterson's sentiment was echoed by Kathy Yoder, whose family works a farm in Washington, Maine. She said people may be dismissing the spill because the impacts don't seem as devastating as first predicted.
"What irritates me is people act like it's all gone because it's not floating on top of the water," she said. "I'm like, 'Hello, there's plenty of oil under the surface.'"


Recent research also raises the question of whether the spill is being overlooked outside the Gulf region, or if information on recent developments is just harder to come by. A Pew Research Center study found that only 1 percent of news coverage was dedicated to the spill last month, down from 22 percent during the height of the crisis.
However, a separate Pew survey found that 34 percent of the people responding to a poll in mid-September said they were still very interested in the spill — making it the top news item that week in terms of public interest. Participants were presented with news topics and asked how much they were following them.
But even if people say they're interested when asked directly, information from Google suggests that they're not searching as much for information about the spill online.
Interest wanes The term "Gulf oil spill" was a hot search on Google for weeks, peaking in mid-May as a sense of doom built around the fate of coastal towns, marshes and beaches. Soon, photos were all over the media of oiled marshlands and crude washing in with the surf on beaches.
Conditions on some parts of the coast improved in July, and Google searches had decreased dramatically by late that month, when BP finally capped the well and oil stopped flowing into the deep-blue waters off the coast of Louisiana.
Even more Web users lost interest through August despite the occasional blip, and people now enter in the Gulf oil spill search terms about as often as they did in April before the horrendous rig explosion and unstopped gusher grabbed the coast by the throat. Far more common today are searches for information about the economy, actress Lindsay Lohan or the University of Alabama's top-ranked football team.
One place where interest remains high is Cordova, Alaska. The northern fishing community of 2,200 was devastated after the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound in 1989, and Gulf residents have visited to learn from survivors of the Alaska spill.
"I think like all things media-related, when you see it often enough, it's pushed to the back of your mind," said Rochelle van den Broek, executive director of Cordova District Fishermen United. "But here, it's in our minds a little bit more than other places because it's a subject so close to people."
In Louisiana, Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser became the face of the oil spill during the summer, meeting with Obama and conducting countless media interviews. The parish still sends out regular news releases with photos of fresh oil, almost begging someone to notice.
Nungesser said it's no accident that America has spill amnesia. He faults BP commercials for portraying the region as being healthier than it really is, for focusing more on successful aspects of the cleanup than the havoc the gusher created.
"What's frustrating to me is that they're obviously setting the stage for pulling out," Nungesser said.

BP has said it's in for the long haul, and Chef Sherrill said the company needs to be. He has creditors all over the country, and he regularly must explain to them that he can't pay his bills because the spill dried up business and there's simply no money.
"It should be a crime what is happening down here," Sherrill said.

32 comments:

  1. I live in North Mississippi and have a Master of Divinity degree and pastor a small church. I read at least an article a day on the spill, and I often mention it in sermons. You and we are being murdered by many means. I pray you will get out of there, but I doubt we can avoid the coming judgment. Just make sure you are right with God and follow His leadership is what I advise. Best wishes. Bro Ron.

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  2. My family will NEVER eat food from the Gulf or visit the affected area...EVER!

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  3. I think it's not so much they don't care, it's the feeling of being completely powerless. Americans are divided by race and many other things. Forget everybody acting in unison, so far it's futile. I do care about the gulf coast people, and very soon we are all going to be in the same boat. People need to prepare because there are ugly things coming, get at least 6 months of food stocks and water, this is for real. God bless you gulf coast people but we are all on our own now. Sad to say.

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  4. Ken Salazar is/was the main problem. He neglected his duty to administer "surprise blow out preventer" inspections. Rumor is that Ken will be unemployed after the holidays.

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  5. Suggessting the US Federal government selloff the entire Gulf coastline to China, to offset the $Trillions in borrowing done, to pay for the bloated bailout of Wall Street banks. Would you consider that vulgar?, or a practical measure.

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  6. Americans are led around with hooks in their noses by the banker/corporation controlled mass media. Isn't it rather obvious? They are completely brainwashed and controlled by the corrupt system. Just like the Ancient Romans were prior to their destruction........

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  7. If the people of the Gulf region are going to continue to support the politicians that are trying to limit the damages to BP then that is all they deserve to get. The French are willing to take to the streets over a change in their retirement, while the Gulf economy has been destroyed and the Gulf citizens are more concerned about whether their kid’s math teacher is gay. You can't help people that are unwilling to take basic steps to help themselves.

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  8. Americans can't care about something they're not being told about. If the major media outlets were instructed to focus on illnesses brought on by the oil, gases in the air, and Corexit, they'd doo all kinds of human interest stories and investigations. But it's not likely to happen, by design.

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  9. When I lived n Alaska the Exxon Oil Spill was major news , I had friends call me up from the lower 48 to see if I was OK because they thought the whole State was destroyed ! Alaska's Oil Spill pales to what the Gulf Oil Spill is and gets very little attention from the media , That is because Obama is in office and failed to address the problem as a true leader - They will shut down a major oil field like Alaska's ANWAR in a second but have no problem destroying the ocean . Our news media is to busy reporting important news items like Obama to appear on Daily Show ! Do as France take it to the streets .

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  10. The People of the Gulf Coast must make their voices be heard. Corporate media obviously isn't going to . The people must make a hell of a noise and inform the World of what is happening.

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  11. F. Ganstra AlouischousOctober 27, 2010 at 10:28 AM

    I have great faith in the power of Nature to rectify the many adverse transgressions that man has imposed on the planet, so it is just a matter of time before Nature completes the task of returning the Gulf to its original prestine condition. When one regards the enormous upheavals of the geologic process which has taken place through time, one can have no other thought. Monica L.

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  12. The Gulf has been destroyed. People that eat seafood from there will die....over time. BP has stopped the Gulf Stream from flowing toward Europe so, Winter is going to be especially cold and bitter. BP is totally responsible for the murder of all the innocent people that will "slowly" be killed by this poisoned oil. But, Corporations are never accountable for destruction. The main stream media, owned by Jewish Zionists, are not reporting because ALL the media is in collusion with BP.

    How do you lose 300,000,000 barrels of raw oil? Corexit is 100 time more toxic and it disappeared too?

    No jail time for the perpetrators, no punishment for any Government agencies, nothing!

    Another situation that will need to addressed after the Black REVOLT!

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  13. Paradise sold for a song.Don't worry Jesus will come in time.A little child shall lead them.The lion shall lie down with the lamb. You dim suckers.Why if there is a Jesus would he help such an inept defenseless rabble as yourselves.
    I'm sure its on top of his agenda to come here and divide loaves and fishes for the obedient disinherited sheeple.Humans who trust the crap at the top of the pyramid deserve nothing less than extinction.Elites are taught to be ruthless,thats why they are psychopaths.The rest are taught to turn the other cheek and take it.I noticed your' gods can't breathe without a bankers OK.You dumb saps,you were made to be victimized.The future wasn't meant for you anyway it seems,just make sure the psychopaths don't get it or this is just the beginning of the hells you buy and pay for.I hope the world starts over free of the upper and lower wastes of everything and everyones time.Grow up,you deserve to die.Do something about it.

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  14. Oil spills and gov't cover-up, yet another violation of our rights. Add it to the list of gov’t violations of our right:
    They violate the 1st Amendment by fencing-in demonstrators at G-20, banning books like “America Deceived II” and trying to take-over the internet.
    They violate the 2nd Amendment by confiscating guns.
    They violate the 4th and 5th Amendment by wireless wiretapping.
    They violate the entire Constitution by starting undeclared wars.
    Impeach Obama (and sweep out the Congress, except Ron Paul).
    [Link of Banned Book]:
    www.iuniverse.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-000190526

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  15. No Revolution without Evolution!

    Grow past the slime-balls oozing rhetoric in your state houses, stand above those who would have your kneel before them. If they have not produced results, produce their pink slip. DO NOT VOTE for the same people who are not voting for you!

    Do meet on the streets, lock arms, and say with One United Voice; This Land Is Ours, You WILL do as You are Told, you have NO RIGHT to remain silent about your crimes. Politicians are elected to represent the will of the people. If the current and previous officials are any marker of our country, then we have lost our will to be leaders, and instead are a corrupt, theiving group of murderers who are waiting for our neighbors to fall so that we can prosper.

    No Revolution without Evolution.

    C. Hall

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  16. Well just to be a little different, I think that perhaps the Gulf "disaster" went as planned. The same people who run the oil companies run everything else to, and to maximise the oil profits, they need to push the global warming/ climate change agenda. By allowing the debacle in the gulf to happen, and by sinking all the oil with Corexit, they've probably f***ed up the Gulf stream current. This will cause A Siberian Type winter in the UK and parts of Europe, which of course will be caused by climate change due to global warming. Bring on the carbon tax. Ian.

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  17. At least Arizona had the balls to tell the Fedcoats to pissoff. The Gulf States, which are only beginning to see the wreck this is going to cause to their entire state population, ecology and economy, have done nothing but let a bunch of corporate thugs push them around with a fraudulent government's backing.
    The people of every state still keep voting in the Federal party lacky's though. That's how the bankers have kept control over the pyramid. When a republic is run by the same fraud artists org as the Federal fraud is, rest assured that the governors and state houses are going to bend over every time.
    The impunity is amazing from these lawyers and bankers. Why would anyone every hand over their security and freedom to these frauds? They know full well you have to agree to every single thing or they can't get away with it. All of their laws and all of their taxes are 100% voluntary. Oh sure, they'll make examples of a sorry sap here and there to keep the rest of the sheep in the pen, but if you don't repeat to yourself and everyone else the simple fact that you volunteer and agree on a regular basis to your very demise, then I guess freedom was always just a pipe dream to begin with. With that attitude, that certain rich lying frauds have complete say over your life, liberty and happiness, your best bet would be start up a gulf coast swimming club, as your life isn't worth spit.
    There is no constitution or Bill of Rights to save you. The social contract has been violated like a back alley whore because the people have allowed it to happen. We're all so busy racking up debt to enhance our poser position as rich people wannabes that we've let psychopaths turn the entire land and sea into a tar pit and cesspool. And still, people are screaming from the rooftops "wait till November, then we'll have change!" What a complete joke and farce, and what a scam you are aiding in against yourself.
    Let's not forget the money supply, which is defacto and backed by nothing so it is valueless now and always was and in reality does not exist.
    Let's not forget the zillion laws they have in place making everyone a 'criminal', when in fact you never signed off on those laws, you aren't allowed to understand the language of the laws, and you are not allowed to defend yourself against those laws, making them fraudulent and worthless and in fact do not exist.
    Let's not forget the phony suits and black robes and uniforms, who without their costumes and 'licenses' to do whatever the hell they want are really just as FOS as the rest of us, yet because we're all so incapable of protecting and securing our selves and our freedom we need sociopathic strangers to do it for us. The authority of any of these deceivers is defacto and without your hand in it are false and in fact do not exist.
    Let's not forget the berth to scrap corporate indenture we all bow to and the filthy lying deceiving frauds at the top of them, shuffling our lives around for an ever lesser share while they rake in the products of our lifetime of labor because they are just plain better than us all.
    Let's not forget the men in vestments who have claimed the middle management of God the Creator, claiming they alone can forgive our sins, they alone can bless us, they alone can stand before ancient instruments of torture and death and judge our sins with the wave of a hand and the feeding of juice and cookie. It is they alone that have set barrier and buffer between you and God, and tricked you into bribing with the cursed occult money your entry into their fairy tail afterlife.
    The only thing real in all of this is you. All of these orgs are set up to put the few above the rest in every way and are fraudulent, and evil, and in fact are on their way to the scrap heap of history.
    The men of strength in Mind, Heart and Soul will survive long after the degraded usurpers of Freedom and Love and Truth. SO IT IS WRITTEN...

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  18. Very well written chewybees! Damn Right!

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  19. People haven't forgotten. They're just too damn busy trying to survive, pay their taxes and eat. It would be much easier if so much of our money wasn't stolen for stupid shit like hmmmm paying to support people that live in flood zones......

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  20. Hello everyone....The test results are in from our frequency experiment in the Gulf of Mexico. Learning and operating within the Laws of Nature...so much more fulfilling than dealing with corrupt judges....I miss all of you, it has been a very, very long trip.....See the story below....Nancy


    *BREAKING HISTORICAL NEWS!!*
    JOHN HUTCHISON's FREQUENCY EXPERIMENT IN THE GULF OF MEXICO ~
    LAB RESULTS IN!

    Chemist Bob Naman Pres. of ACT Labs, has provided us the attached report from the control sample taken at Perdido Bay last week - test results completed today after the 'treated' sample provided...

    GULF TEST #1 RESULTS
    CONTROL SAMPLE = 10/18 OIL & GREASE = 7ppm
    TREATED SAMPLE = 10/22 OIL & GREASE = < ZERO ppm!

    See the explosive summary in the report attached! Indeed this could be deemed a miracle,
    but from the hard work and efforts and love of Mother Earth and her living beings from scientist John Hutchison and his partner Nancy Lazaryan, it has been possible.
    The Gulf residents may finally have HOPE for turning their Gulf back and restore it to a healthy body as it once was.

    I have had the pleasure of working with both of them since early July while they were in their Canadian Lab. They came on the radio with me with Dr Robin Falkov that month as I spoke of my Gulf work and shared their intentions and now we are finally at the amazing results. I am more than honored to bring you this exclusive report.

    Below is the background of what this really means and what was involved, from Nancy Lazaryan. These two people are truly a GIFT to us on the planet and please share this information far and wide.
    Radio shows I expect will be forthcoming.

    Thanks for all of those who sent their OWN loving healing intentions and prayers down to the Gulf when they were doing this. THEY ARE NOT DONE!! We have many more tests to do and need all hands on deck to continue to send the Gulf our intentions to help continue the healing and repair! We are just getting started here! So please keep them coming!

    Exclusive report from Nancy Lazaryan.

    John Hutchison, scientist from Vancouver, BC and Nancy Lazaryan from Minnesota sought to help those affected in the Gulf of Mexico by the oil spill disaster.

    Hutchison is world famous for his work with frequencies. Lazaryan can be described as intuitive. Samples of polluted Gulf water where sent to Hutchison's lab in Vancouver. Hutchison and Lazaryan worked together to identify certain ancient harmonics that have been used for healing. These frequencies were applied both with audio and radio waves to the polluted water samples.

    Finding success in these limited experiments, Hutchison and Lazaryan packed up the necessary lab equipment into a borrowed trailer, and with a borrowed farm truck, left Canada to come to the Gulf.

    The chemical analysis from the first "open air frequencies" experiment in Perdido Bay have shown the Gulf water can be restored to health.

    Restored without the use of dispersants, chemicals or burning.
    Restored by use of Solfeggio tones, also known as Gregorian chants, and a harmonic "stream of sound".

    The inspiration for these harmonics comes from the Essenes, a sect of Israel that Jesus was a member. The Essenes "inner circle" taught of the "stream of sound", the harmonics of the Creator.

    Hutchison and Lazaryan endeavored to bring the "stream of sound" to the damaged waters of the Gulf. One of the tones used by Hutchison, 528 hz, is the frequency of the planet Jupiter. You can see Jupiter in the night sky, if you look for the bright light directly to the right of the moon. 528 hz is known by the ancients to be the "healing frequency" and to repair DNA.

    Hutchison and Lazaryan are NOT asking for ANY money for the work that they are doing. This is a gift.

    "We declare PEACE," says Lazaryan, "the war upon the Gulf is over."

    http://www.4shared.com/document/NjRk3A4N/LAB_RESULTS.html

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  21. TV Truther--Lindsay Lohan is more important.....October 27, 2010 at 3:00 PM

    I am one who doesn't keep up to date on the Gulf Spill thing because I'm a hardcore TV-Truther. Many millions of us exist in the USA, in fact--the majority of Americans are TV Truthers. To become a TV-Truther, you must 1: Believe what you see in the media or believe that your favorite cable news is truthful. 2. Be a Conspiracy Theorist. I'm a proud 9-11 Government Versioner. That means I will always believe in what the media and corporate Politics states about 9-11 or whatever current Conspiracy being purported to help the 2% who own 90% of the wealth. 3. Vote GOP or Dem and never a third party. 4. Spend at least 4 hours in front of the TV 5. Empty the mind and let the TV take control. 6...I cannot continue, need some TV to tell me what to wear and eat.

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  22. People should not obey the dictates of BP, armed goons backing them and the government if they are not for the People. If BP thugs, coast guard thugs or the like tell you no on anything, they should be disarmed and put under Citizen's arrest. Criminal warlords should not be obeyed since that will lead to millions of deaths which is exactly what they want.

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  23. FOLLOW THE MONEY HONEYS FOLLOW THE TAX DOLLARS WE PAY.WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU EXPECT.

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  24. They must LIGHT A FIRE IN THE GULF so big GOD'S WILL HEAR THEM!!!

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  25. It's much worse than oil and corexit if this
    http://worldvisionportal.org/wvpforum/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=1031
    article is correct. They're playing creator in the gulf, they've (BP) created a synthetic bio-remediation bacteria and have no idea what it will do.

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  26. Time for all of America to just laydown and die.
    Even Oprah and Larry know it's time to go.
    America spends billions in divorce courts and spends the same on sexual content and endless fantasies, which is why Bill Clinton and Paris Hilton are loved by the American public so much. You kill and torture, and satanists such as Condi Rice appear on nutbar soul strip bars like the 700 club and claims she is in fact a born again christian. Dear God, you people are runaway, over the cliff nuts.

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  27. I don't think it is that people don't care, it is people trying to survive in an economy that has taken a major nose dive since Sept 2008. The gulf oil disaster should not have happened at all. I feel so sad for all those who have been affected by this most terrible tragedy. God bless each and every one that has been afflicted.

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  28. Thanks for supportive comments. Ive lived on the coadt in AL all my life. What is being done to Americans on the Gulf is the same as on the borders, in the slums, in the pointless wars, thru FNMA, thru toxins in our drinking water, thru green legislation, thru healthcare rationing... Ok I'll stop. Americans have fought for countless others overseas...but we are now alone to fight for ourselves... Strike the first blow by voting incumbents out at every turn... God bless u and yours.

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  29. TV Truther--Lindsay Lohan is more important.....October 28, 2010 at 8:50 PM

    Just wait until the elections....everything will be better, especially when the SuperBowl comes in winter--gosh I love those commercials. Gulf Residents are feeling sorry for themselves like the Valdez people in Washington or Oregon, if you got Cable tv, it's fine, the days when somebody actually did something about bad Government all are gone because we have so many fun things to do.

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  30. America needs to understand that this government /corporatocracy is responsible for the creation of the current mess we find ourselves in financially, ecologically, and in almost every other way.
    There are still some sincere public servants out there: Nader, Kucinich, Paul. But the overwhelming majority in both parties have proven by their actions that they're only interested in serving corporate interests at the expense of the wellbeing of the American public.

    Politicians/government is not going to save you. You have to come together as a community and bring change about in that way. Through your connections with friends, family, acquaintances, and so on. If you truly want things to get better, you must come together with COMMON goals and help yourselves. You must help each other.

    My heart goes out to the people living in the Gulf. I think it speaks to the attitude of our government that they've only tried to suppress negative information (the truth!), while lying to the public about there being 'improvements' or about the environment getting any better.

    Gulf residents: if you want help, you're going to have to help yourselves. Help each other. That is the only way. That is the only option you have. You will either sink or swim; the only way you will stay afloat is if you come together as a real community. All of you have families, children, who will suffer even greater repurcussions should you decided to remain divided amongst yourselves.

    The people of the Gulf need to come together as ONE people if they want to see justice for themselves and their loved ones.

    My thoughts and prayers are with you...

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  31. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eeYt1gOHtiQ/TMfDjlsVpMI/AAAAAAAAAIk/5R7JHNU-fUk/s1600/v78+Paybacks+a+bitch.jpg

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  32. Folks the Gulf is bouncing back, the Corexit is not more toxic than the oil.

    I would suggest that many of you, need to stop reading blogs with NO FACTS and go see what hundreds of scientists, that are peer reviewed are saying.

    Those of you that say you will never eat gulf seafood or visit it, are NOW the problem, not the spill.

    I would suggest that you look to what happened after the Ixtoc blowout of '79, over 1.5 million gals of Corexit was used on that spill.

    WHERE is the damage from that?

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