Protest BP Rally Saturday June 12 – 2 PM, Big Oil, Government, Your Voice, Accountability and you. EDITORIAL by Jamie Gilcig – Cornwall Ontario

Cornwall ON – There’s a lot of spin right now and it’s as choppy as the waves bringing that BP oil to American and possibly Canadian shores.

BP is spending a lot of money maneurvering search engines and media as they try and spin the story to minimize the impact on the company and its leaders.

LINK

BP is attempting to spin its story in a far more proactive and decidedly modern way. The company may be spending up to $10,000 a day to pay for “oil” search terms that redirect Google, Yahoo and Bing Web search users to the company’s official website, according to ABC News.

Meanwhile activists are taking to the net starting up boycotts, and making some very cool looking signs and slogans.   I haven’t seen this kind of energy and activity since the 70’s and that’s pretty exciting to an old fart like myself.

See I am emerging into politics, and by no means am I a conventional type person or politician.    I am not advocating any boycotts.  I’m not suggesting burning effigy’s in the streets either.

No, my dear readers I’m pointing my stubby finger at you.   Yes you.  If you’re reading this I’m going to first commend you on having the good taste to be reading The Cornwall Free News, but then I’m going to suggest that this is ALL YOUR FAULT.   It’s mine too as we are of course all YOU.

We either elect the people that make the regulations or deregulate.  We are the people that don’t vote and thus tacitly participate in this penny wise pound foolish crime against the oceans and in the end us.

Recently I awoke to a yellow tinged murky view from my window.  Forest fires burning hundreds of miles away impacted my little patch of land.   Well what’s happening in the Gulf is much bigger and much worse.

So we have BP trying to minimize the damage instead of focusing more on fixing the damage.   Everyone’s trying to cover their back sides in this mess.

Kevin Costner, the actor, said it best recently.

“We are all at fault here. It’s just too easy to blame BP. What we need to do now is come together.”

This Saturday, June 12th, there’s going to be a world wide protest against BP including an event here in Cornwall Ontario that I’ll be attending after the Farmer’s Market.

If you click on the poster you can go to the event’s facebook page.    When the local organizers phoned me and invited me to attend they said that they’re not expecting many people at the Canal at 2PM, about 15 maybe.   Personally I’d like to see more.

There are things we can all do in life whether it’s about BP’s oil spill; the envrionment, our health care system, over taxation, the legalization of Marijuana, our erosion of personal freedom, or any subject that you feel passionate about.

Apathy, if an election candidate, should never poll near the top.    The challenge that I’d like to make to any of you that have read this far in this editorial is to get off your rump and find an issue you believe in and get involved.

One person, one vote, can make a difference.

Jamie Gilcig – Editor – The Cornwall Free News

(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of the Cornwall Free News, their staff, or sponsors.)