Gulf Spill Telethon?

Last night on the news I saw families in Louisiana receiving food boxes from Feed the Children. That really hit home. Normally, when I think of relief agencies I picture them outside our shores, in places like Haiti or Thailand or Indonesia. But the sight of those boxes brought home a cold reality to me. The destruction along the Gulf Coast is going to be more devastating than the earthquake in Haiti or the tsunami in the Indian Ocean.
Both of those were natural disasters and man comes back from natural disasters. We morn and bury our dead, rebuild our towns and get on with our lives.
But in the Gulf rebuilding may never be possible. If the oil continues unabated the Gulf wetlands will be destroyed forever. There will be no more shrimp, crabs, fish or birds. A way of life will be over for thousands of people. And that's only one side of it. The illnesses and destruction that the oil contamination is causing cannot be measured. How many people will be ill for the rest of their lives due to the oil and all it brings with it?
This Gulf oil spill is the worst man made disaster this country has ever faced. Valdez was bad and its effects are still felt along the coastline of Alaska, but the Gulf Spill is so much worse it cannot be measured at this time.
Which leads me to a question one of my coworkers asked this morning - where is the relief telethon for the Gulf Coast?
After Katerina the TV networks and celebrities came out for New Orleans. After the earthquake in Haiti "We are the World" got a second life. But what about this man made disaster on the Gulf Coast that may never end? What are the networks and celebrities doing to draw attention to the plight of those Americans in danger of losing so much and never recovering?
I learned today that CNN and Larry King sponsored a telethon Monday night. Not knowing anything about it, I did not watch. Why didn't the other networks at least share the word, even if they didn't want to broadcast it?
BP does not believe the relief wells will be on line until August. What will happen during the month of July? How many tropical storms and hurricanes can hit the Gulf and knock BP totally off schedule?
The Gulf Spill is worse than any natural disaster we have seen in our life times, and it is time for we the people to force the government to take a strong line, insist that BP put out thousands of skimmer boats, get the governors of the states involved the money they need to save their wetlands and beaches.
Thus far the Federal Government has been slow to act and has actually hindered the plans of many of the local governments. We need to get the Obama Administration and the gang on the Hill involved NOW!!
As you know from my two previous postings I have been writing to the folks in DC. One voice isn't enough, all of us need to get involved.
If we don't get the government to act forcibly with this man made disaster, God knows what will happen with the next. (And mark my words, there will be a next.)
Write and be heard.
Its Common Sense!!