[StBernard] The Gulf Coast

[Westley Annis]

Editors Note: The following is a piece of pure BULL from the Anointed One
who doesn't care one bit about the people of Louisiana.

-----Original Message-----
From: Barack Obama [mailto:info at barackobama.com] 
Sent: Saturday, June 05, 2010 7:50 PM
Subject: The Gulf Coast

Yesterday, I visited Caminada Bay in Grand Isle, Louisiana -- one of the
first places to feel the devastation wrought by the oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico. While I was here, at Camerdelle's Live Bait shop, I met with a group
of local residents and small business owners.

Folks like Floyd Lasseigne, a fourth-generation oyster fisherman. This is
the time of year when he ordinarily earns a lot of his income. But his
oyster bed has likely been destroyed by the spill.

Terry Vegas had a similar story. He quit the 8th grade to become a shrimper
with his grandfather. Ever since, he's earned his living during shrimping
season -- working long, grueling days so that he could earn enough money to
support himself year-round. But today, the waters where he has worked are
closed. And every day, as the spill worsens, he loses hope that he will be
able to return to the life he built.

Here, this spill has not just damaged livelihoods. It has upended whole
communities. And the fury people feel is not just about the money they have
lost. It is about the wrenching recognition that this time their lives may
never be the same.

These people work hard. They meet their responsibilities. But now because of
a manmade catastrophe -- one that is not their fault and beyond their
control -- their lives have been thrown into turmoil. It is brutally unfair.
And what I told these men and women is that I will stand with the people of
the Gulf Coast until they are again made whole.

That is why, from the beginning, we have worked to deploy every tool at our
disposal to respond to this crisis. Today, there are more than 20,000 people
working around the clock to contain and clean up this spill. I have
authorized 17,500 National Guard troops to participate in the response. More
than 1,900 vessels are aiding in the containment and cleanup effort. We have
convened hundreds of top scientists and engineers from around the world.
This is the largest response to an environmental disaster of this kind in
the history of our country.

We have also ordered BP to pay economic injury claims, and this week, the
federal government sent BP a preliminary bill for $69 million to pay back
American taxpayers for some of the costs of the response so far. In
addition, after an emergency safety review, we are putting in place
aggressive new operating standards for offshore drilling. And I have
appointed a bipartisan commission to look into the causes of this spill. If
laws are inadequate, they will be changed. If oversight was lacking, it will
be strengthened. And if laws were broken, those responsible will be brought
to justice.

These are hard times in Louisiana and across the Gulf Coast, an area that
has already seen more than its fair share of troubles. The people of this
region have met this terrible catastrophe with seemingly boundless strength
and character in defense of their way of life. What we owe them is a
commitment by our nation to match the resilience they have shown. That is
our mission. And it is one we will fulfill.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

	




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