Oil spill tourism? Obama urges Americans to 'come down here and visit'

[adnelson60087]

Source: USA TODAY

Emerging from a meeting with Govs. Bobby Jindal, R-La., and Haley Barbour, R-Miss., President Obama delivered a plug for regional tourism, important to the economies of states all along the Gulf coast.

"There's still a lot of opportunity for visitors to come down here. There are a lot of beaches that have not been affected and will not be affected," Obama said. "If people want to help, the best way to help is to come down here and visit."

snip snip

Your blogger has received a firsthand account on beach conditions from a very special source: her own brother.

He's staying down the beach from Alabama's Fort Morgan, where the president will stop today. Here's Tim Kiely's report.

It's spectacularly beautiful... water is awesome, until you get up to the shoreline... little quarter sized balls of brown stuff that looks and feels like Play-Dough... then you pick one up, and it dissolves into vile goo all over your hands...

I washed my hands for about 10 minutes... using rough dishwasher crystals... and finally got the film of oil off.

Read more: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2010/06/oil-spill-tourism-obama-urges-americans-to-come-down-here-and-visit/1

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Why do I have visions of Bush telling people to go visit Disneyland after 9/11?

[vi5]

1. Yes! We need to go shopping!

That will do the trick.

[msongs]

13. that was W's advice to the 9/11 event, "go shopping" lol nt

[stray cat]

2. If you really give a damn put your money where your mouth is and go help

the people you pretend to care about -even if its just to keep them in business. If you don't really care and just want to bitch stay home.

[Grinchie]

14. Will you pay my Health Care and Cleaning bills?

I thought so..

I'm not going to risk anything for people that basaically allowed this to happen in their own back yard, whether they were made aware of it or not.

The logic behind your post is so ludicrous, that I'm sure lot's of people may actually think the risk is worthwhile, simply due to ignorance.

After all, Obama told them so ! Hah hah hah hah

This is a disaster of such magnitude that people are contnt to hide their heads in the sand, so to speak, and refuse to do the homework or ask REAL questions about the Health effects from this catasrophe.

Nothing like Corporate spin to urge people to the scene of a poisonous mess so a few Carnies can extract a few shekels out of them.

[rzemanfl]

3. I had the same vision you did. It would have been better for him

to say, "stay the hell away, BP is going to cover their losses."

[Jennicut]

4. You don't have to visit the beach. You can come and volunteer while paying money at hotels/motels

and eating in restaurants. Don't order seafood if you are worried. Order a salad or something. BP killed the tourist season and seasons for these people. I see nothing wrong with helping a little. Two good things at once. New Orleans is a good place to start.

[NYC_SKP]

5. What a Cheap Shot Headline by USA Today. Those Americans are hurting down there.

And a 40% drop in business can easily drive them into bankruptcy.

Shame on USA Today and any other media outlet that tries to turn President Obama's remarks into some gaff or tool for criticism.

Shame.

:patriot:

[jody]

6. Now Obama is a comedian. I'm an Alabamian and spend much time on the Emerald Coast. Sadly I cannot

now recommend it to anyone who wishes to enjoy the once world famous white-quartz beaches or warm, emerald waters.

:cry: so very :cry:

[NC_Nurse]

7. We're still going. We'll volunteer if the beach is oily. It's worth helping them and

doing our part to clean up if needed.

[bc3000]

10. You are risking your health. The entire area should be evacuated.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[doc03]

9. I am not a beach person anyway I figure there will be some

deals this fall I may just do it.

[bc3000]

11. Bring your respirator!

Or maybe they will throw those in as part of the deal.

[doc03]

12. I worked in a steel mill for 40 years it will be like the

old times in the mill.

[Name removed]

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[Child_Of_Isis]

15. Was Obama's children playing in the water?

If so, I'd probably take his word for it.

[MineralMan]

22. Was they? Was they playing in the water?

No, they wasn't. They were at home.

[ProSense]

17. "There are a lot of beaches that have not been affected and will not be affected"

That sound just like come on down and swim in oil to some people?

One of the first things the states demanded and got was $25 million each from BP to promote tourism.

Why on earth shouldn't the President encourage people to pump money into a depressed economy in areas that aren't affected?

[pitohui]

18. well it's just tellin' like it is, there are lots of beaches etc to visit

i'm tired of the whole hysteria, there are people who have cxl'd trips to new orleans, which is just plain asshattery and being shitheaded hysterical, new orleans is still on lake pontchartrain and the mississippi river NOT the beach...

i'm completely disgusted by people who have cxl'd, say, poker trips to new orleans or biloxi, trips that don't even involve "beach" because of hysteria

NO you can't smell oil here

YES there is still plenty to do

do you want us to have nothing? there are more volunteers to clean birds than hazmat suits on the planet

if you want to help come down and have some fun, it's a win-win for everybody

we don't need volunteers, we need BP to PAY blue collar people so they can have jobs and we need tourists so tourism people can have jobs

nobody's asking for a hand out other than bobby jindal who wants a billion dollars to move sand around...

[MineralMan]

20. There are lots of panicky people who haven't a clue about where

the oil is, how much there is, or even where the Gulf of Mexico is, for that matter. Some are posting panicky stuff here and listening to other people posting panicky stuff elsewhere.

This BP disaster is bad enough, as it is. It doesn't need to be expanded to areas that aren't affected. As you say, there's no oil in NOLA. But people are cancelling anyhow. They don't know where NOLA is. They just fly in there on a jet, drink until they're stupid, and spend lots of money. They've heard of Louisiana, though, and that's where the spill is, so NOLA must be soaked in crude, as far as they know.

Most people, if given an outline map of the USA with no writing on it, couldn't find Louisiana on the map. They have no idea.

Some of these folks, however, are perfectly willing to display their ignorance online. It's a puzzle to me why they do that. Then, if you point out their errors, they call you names.

I just don't know. I'm going to talk to my wife about maybe spending a weekend in NOLA soon. After all, we live at the other end of the Mississippi, so it'd feel just like home. Well...maybe not really, but I have a craving for some etouffe and some jambolaya and a bucket of crawdads.

And I promise not to drink myself silly and puke on the street. :rofl:

[Name removed]

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[MineralMan]

21. Post Removed. Comment edited out.

Thanks!

[Hugabear]

24. Spoken like the mayor from "Jaws"

Come on down and visit, nothing to see here!

[tom_paine]

25. Breathe the benzene! Paddle in the toxic goo!

Sounds like a GREAT vacation idea!