(by Ron Thibodeaux)

Who among us here in Louisiana was not rendered heartsick by the sight this week of brown pelicans — our state symbol — coated in oil, unable to fly more than a few feet? Who among us could not empathize with the shrimpers of St. Bernard Parish, anger and frustration boiling over as their livelihoods hung in the balance?

As if the actual damage isn’t bad enough, we also have had to endure condescending reactions from BP’s chief executive officer, who declared, “Almost nothing has escaped,” and another BP executive, who was widely quoted this week with this contemptible assessment of the spill’s impact on our fisheries: “Louisiana isn’t the only place that has shrimp.” Read more here…