Why was the federal administration so quick to pronounce a moratorium on future offshore exploration and drilling after the BP oil spill but has done nothing to stop continuation of the deadzone in the Gulf of Mexico caused by fertilizer spills from midwest farms? The latter is killing our fisheries much more than the BP spill.
The fertilizer spills have been going on for years and the only action of the federal government has been to recommend that the farmers be more careful where their fertilizer flows. Can you imagine the uproar of people if the feds had only recommended to oil companies that they be more careful in the future?
It’s time to put a stop to contaminating our river that flows into the most productive commercial fishing area in the nation. Right now, the deadzone is as big as the state of New Jersey. When farmers fertilize their crops, many of them allow it to flow uncontrolled to areas from which it eventually gets into the river.
This eliminates oxygen to the fish along our coast. Certainly some controls need to be enforced by our federal government to prevent this from happening.
The moratorium is killing jobs directly along the Louisiana coast. The fertilizer is killing fish that creates jobs there also.
By requiring the containment of fertilizer on midwest farms, jobs will not be killed. In fact, it may require farmers to hire more people to control the flow of the fertilizer.
And they should.
Fidel fears nuclear war from us?
Former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro interrupted his disappearance from public life the other day when he made a brief speech on the danger of nuclear war lying ahead. He asked President Barack Obama not to let it happen.
He apparently feared that the U. S. and Israel may drop nuclear bombs on Iran and North Korea. Strange that he should feel that way when we have possessed such weapons for 65 years since the end of World War II and have never threatened their use.
We do think it is time, however, to open the doors to Cuba which we closed many years ago when the Iron Curtain existed and communists were intent on taking over the world. By restoring some sort of restrained friendship with Cuba now, we can at least have more effect on influencing that country to adopt more democratic habits.
And then, perhaps, the people there will not give Fidel such a long ovation as he received when he made those remarks about us.
Dixon gave us much to appreciate
Dave Dixon created the Who Dat nation. It was he who campaigned the most for a New Orleans Saints professional football team and the erection of the Superdome.
And look what happened. It has built up southeast Louisiana into a fabulous location for professional football extravaganzas that have led to other attractions. It has made our area a desired destination for people around the country and world.
As a result, the area has hosted nine Super Bowls with another to come in 2013. Tourism has flourished here as a result which has significantly aided the economy.
It was Dixon’s influence with Gov. John McKeithen that helped make New Orleans a major league city. The two of them saw to it that the city got the Saints and the Superdome.
Dave Dixon died this past week. He can appropriately be called the founder of the “Who Dat Nation.”
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