I have been curious about how the citizens of New Orleans are assessing the BP oil spill and its aftermath. I remembered Ann Olivier once saying that she lived there, so I asked her what was going on. Her reply:Yes, I'm a native New Orleanian, still here in spite of all.The only impact on my immediate neighborhood so far is that there are no oysters for sale. If the unavailability of seafood continues for long it could impact tourism badly. People come here mainly to eat.The Churches, including New Orleans Catholic Charities, are very active on the coast, and the word from them is that people are suffering both physical and mental problems, due in large part to the stress of all the uncertainty, both short-term and long-term. The ecologists don't know how long it will take for the coast to heal, and they don't know when drilling will start again. South Louisianians have always been sensitive to ecological threats (we're big on both hunting and fishing), and we're also aware that the edges of the state are being washed away rapidly -- two football fields per hour these days, or so I just read. And, of course, we never know when another great hurricane will hit. So the politicians have to deal with a great deal of anger, anxiety and depression.But the Tea Partiers haven't seemed to notice. I don't think Sarah Palin has visited. Of course, Republicans and Tea Partiers are in a bind over the situation -- they're anti-government but scream bloody murder when big government doesn't solve their problems.Bobby Jindal seems to have lived in a rage since the spill happened. But who can blame him? The local leaders, Republican and Democrat, all complain that (as with Katrina) they can't get things done because Washington takes so damn long to make decisions, and some of their decisions are bad. The angriest local seems to be Billy Nungesser (the big fat one). When I was young and there were only about 6 Republicans in the whole state (ah, those were the days) his father was the head of the LA Republican Party. I don't doubt he'll be involved in stirring up the troops next election.I must say that even some of our Republicans have responded somewhat to our ecological problems (the locals are very big on hunting and fishing), and for years the State has been working seriously on restoring the marshlands. That's another reason the spill really hurts. All those efforts for naught. However, as the world knows, there's also the oil industry jobs to consider. I even feel a bit sorry for Bobby Jindal -- he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't clamp down on big oil. Well, maybe he'll learn just how absolutely ruthless capitalists can be, and that should be a plus. His anger should improve his image with the Tea Partiers, if he cares.New Orleans has a new mayor, Mitch Landrieu. He seems capable. What I really like about him is he's an optimist in spite of all and seems to have a good bit of imagination. But Orleans parish hasn't been directly hit by the spill, so he's not one of the big players.With all of those sub-contractors and BP suing each other over who is responsible for what, a lot of lawyers will make mountains of money, but that might not impact local lawyers, though I'd imagine the federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will be largely where the legal action takes place, plus the local Justice Dept. officials will probably be involved. We have an able Republican federal attorney -- Jim Letten, I think his name is. Obama even asked him to stay! So maybe some justice will be done. But I don't really know whether the spill (40 miles from shore) is in State or in federal waters. I don't know where the boundary is. LA has long claimed our boundaries go out 200 miles (Spanish law?), but I don't know if that has ever been settled legally. It could make a difference where the suits are triedI'm not sure BP would get a thoroughly fair hearing in our local courts :-)Glad to get news of the critters around your house, even if the last one was a bear. The only threatening thing around here is a fake alligator. Somebody carved it out of a big log and put it in the bayou near here, but it looks real. Seems we really do need nature, even if it threatens :-)Ann O.