Dear friend,

Last week Gov. Haley Barbour told the Jackson Free Press that the oil spill was a “very, very thin layer” and that it could be nothing to worry about. Similar words were spoken by Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant to hundreds of business people gathered in Madison. The same talking points have been parroted by the talking heads on FoxNews.

Their message is all the same: Nothing to see here. It’s all OK.

Well, it’s far from OK. For those on the coast, it is quite clear that there is a disaster of monumental proportions brewing. But farther away, it’s easy to be disconnected from the sobering reality of the oil spill.

That’s why I’m writing you. I want you to visit the Boston Globe and take a look at 40 photos they have posted.

Here’s the link to their site:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/disaster_unfolds_slowly_in_the.html

Be warned. When you visit, you’ll see some disturbing sites. Read the captions, and you’ll start to grasp the dire situations our coast faces. Here’s a few examples of what you’ll see:

Water covered with thick swashes of oil
Dolphins swimming under oily water
Workers desperately trying to save marshes and wetlands from the oil spill
Blobs of oil floating off the coastline
Unemployed commercial fishermen waiting in line for charitable assistance
The oil spill approaching the mouth of the Mississippi River

My question is this: How can Gov. Barbour, Lt. Gov. Bryant and anyone with knowledge of this spill disperse the idea that this spill is not that big of a deal, that the spill is very, very thin and that everything could be just fine.

Granted, we don’t need fear-mongering. What we need is the truth: This is a disaster. The consequences are not yet know. The recovery period could be years.

What we don’t need is Barbour, Bryant and others trying to soften the reality for their friends in the oil business so they can protect future offshore drilling rights. This is not about the future of offshore drilling. That conversation will take place later.

Right now, we should be concerned about our Gulf Coast and how we can prevent future disasters. We should be concerned about those who have lost loved ones or lost jobs. And we should be prayerful for those who are working in less-than-ideal situations — and doing so for long hours — to protect against further damage.

Sincerely,

Sam R. Hall, Executive Director