Private disaster

EDITOR: With 5,000 barrels of oil a day spilling into the Gulf of Mexico and Gov. Bobby Jindal declaring a state of emergency in Louisiana, it's time for Sarah Palin to hop on a private plane and get her road show down there to stump for more drilling.

Anti-government tea partiers should join her to shout down proposed Defense Department efforts to stanch the disaster. Maybe they'll cheer on chief driller, British Petroleum, which has admitted it has no contingency plan to cope with the horrible mess it has made.

Once again, U.S. public resources (aka "the government" or "we the people") will bail out the private sector's willful ignorance and greed run amok.

Meanwhile, may the 11 oil workers rest in peace with the 29 coal miners, emblematic victims of a dinosaur, carbon energy economy that threatens us all.

EDWARD FRY

Petaluma