NEW ORLEANS — The gooey oil washing into the maze of marshes along the U.S. Gulf Coast could prove impossible to remove, leaving a toxic stew lethal to fish and wildlife, government officials and independent scientists said.

Officials are considering some drastic and risky solutions: They could set the wetlands on fire or flood areas in hopes of floating out the oil.

They warn an aggressive cleanup could ruin the marshes and do more harm than good. The only viable option for many impacted areas is to do nothing and let nature break down the spill.

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More than 50 miles (80 kilometers) of Louisiana’s delicate shoreline already have been soiled by the massive slick unleashed after the Deepwater Horizon rig burned and sank last month. Officials fear oil eventually could invade wetlands and beaches from Texas to Florida. Louisiana is expected to be hit hardest.

RELATED: Scientists: Size Of Oil Spill Vastly Underestimated

On Saturday, a major pelican rookery was awash in oil off Louisiana’s coast. Hundreds of birds nest on the island, and an Associated Press photographer saw some birds and their eggs stained with the ooze. Nests were perched in mangroves directly above patches of crude.

Plaquemines Parish workers put booms around the island, but puddles of oil were inside the barrier.

“Oil in the marshes is the worst-case scenario,” said Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the head of the federal effort to contain and clean up the spill.

Also Saturday, BP told federal regulators it plans to continue using a contentious chemical dispersant, despite orders from the Environmental Protection Agency to look for less toxic alternatives. BP said in a letter to the EPA that Corexit 9500 “remains the best option for subsea application.”

The EPA didn’t immediately comment on BP’s decision.

RELATED: Oil Spill Criticism Now Directed At Obama Administration

Oil that has rolled into shoreline wetlands coats the stalks and leaves of plants such as roseau cane — the fabric that holds together an ecosystem that is essential to the region’s fishing industry and a much-needed buffer against Gulf hurricanes. Soon, oil will smother those plants and choke off their supply of air and nutrients.

In some eddies and protected inlets, the ochre-colored crude has pooled beneath the water’s surface, forming clumps several inches deep.

With the seafloor leak still gushing at least hundreds of thousands of gallons (liters) a day, the damage is only getting worse. Millions of gallons (liters) already have leaked so far.

Coast Guard officials said the spill’s impact now stretches across a 150-mile (240-kilometer) swath, from Dauphin Island, Alabama to Grand Isle, Louisiana.

Over time, experts say weather and natural microbes will break down most of the oil. However, the crude will surely poison plants and wildlife in the months — even years — it will take for the syrupy muck to dissipate.

Back in 1989, crews fighting the Exxon Valdez tanker spill — which unleashed almost 11 million gallons (over 41 million liters) of oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound — used pressure hoses and rakes to clean the shores. The Gulf Coast is just too fragile for that: those tactics could blast apart the peat-like soils that hold the marshes together.

Hundreds of miles (kilometers) of bayous and man-made canals crisscross the coast’s exterior, offering numerous entry points for the crude. Access is difficult and time-intensive, even in the best of circumstances.

“Just the compaction of humanity bringing equipment in, walking on them, will kill them,” said David White, a wetlands ecologist from Loyola University in New Orleans.

Marshes offer a vital line of defense against Gulf storms, blunting their fury before they hit populated areas. Louisiana and the federal government have spent hundreds of millions of dollars rebuilding barriers that were wiped out by hurricanes, notably Katrina in 2005.

They also act as nursery grounds for shrimp, crabs, oysters — the backbone of the region’s fishing industry. Hundreds of thousands of migratory birds nest in the wetlands’ inner reaches, a complex network of bayous, bays and man-made canals.

To keep oil from pushing deep into Louisiana’s marshes, Gov. Bobby Jindal and officials from several coastal parishes want permission to erect a $350 million network of sand berms linking the state’s barrier islands and headlands.

That plan is awaiting approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

After surveying oil-stricken areas Saturday, Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser said the berms were the marshes’ last hope.

“It’s getting in between all the cane and it’s working through from one bayou to the next,” he said.

Smaller spills have been occurring in the marshes for decades. In the past, cleanup crews would sometimes slice out oiled vegetation and take it to a landfill, said Andy Nyman with Louisiana State University.

But with the plants gone, water from the gulf would roll in and wash away the roots, turning wetlands to open water.

Adm. Allen said that where conditions are right, crews could set fire to oil-coated plants.

Nyman and other experts, though, warn it’s tricky. If the marsh is too wet, the oil won’t burn. Too dry, the roots burn and the marsh can be ruined.

BP PLC — which leased the sunken rig and is responsible for the cleanup — said Saturday that cleanup crews have started more direct cleanup methods along Pass a Loutre in Plaquemines Parish. Shallow water skimmers were attempting to remove the oil from the top of the marsh.

Streams of water could later be used in a bid to wash oil from between cane stalks.

In other cases, the company will rely on “bioremediation” — letting oil-eating microbes do the work.

“Nature has a way of helping the situation,” said BP spokesman John Curry.

But Nyman said the dispersants could slow the microbes from breaking down the oil.

White, the Loyola scientist, predicted at least short-term ruin for some of the wetlands he’s been studying for three decades. Under a worst-case scenario, he said the damage could exceed the 217 square miles (562 square kilometers) of wetlands lost during the 2005 hurricane season.

“When I say that my stomach turns,” he said.

From CNN:

Mecklenburg County, Virginia — On his southern Virginia farm on a recent warm Saturday, John Boyd Jr. needs a dose of rain before he can plant soybeans.

More than 200 miles away in Washington, Boyd has a bigger problem on his hands. President Obama has promised to help black farmers who have not received the $1.25 billion settlement owed to them after years of being denied government farm loans and support from federal programs because of the color of their skin.

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“This is not about us complaining, this is about the government not doing what they promised they were going to do time and time again,” Boyd said.

The 1997 case against the U.S. Agriculture Department, Pigford v. Glickman, was settled out of court 11 years ago but tens of thousands of farmers missed the filing deadline to submit claims.

As a senator, President Obama sponsored a measure in the 2008 Farm Bill that reopened the case, known as Pigford II.

In February, the Obama administration brokered a $1.25 billion settlement for Pigford II, but Congress missed a March 31 deadline to fund it. Another deadline, May 31, approaches.

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WASHINGTON — First lady Michelle Obama challenged George Washington University graduates at their commencement Sunday to “keep giving” through community service work and to “keep engaging” with the world.

Obama spoke to some 5,000 graduates and their families at the ceremony on the National Mall. She agreed to be their speaker after students, faculty and staff met her challenge to complete 100,000 hours of community service.

“I have one more request to make of you, one more challenge,” Obama said during her speech. “Keep going. Keep giving. Keep engaging.”

Graduates in black robes cheered as Obama spoke with the Capitol behind her. The university said that 163,000 hours had actually been worked. Obama noted many of the accomplishments: improving a Washington school, visiting with veterans, teaching English to refugees and shoveling snow during a record winter snow storm.

But she urged students to continue the work, both in the United States and abroad. She said serving would make “the world safer” and make the students “more competitive.”

“So many of today’s challenges are borderless — from the economy to terrorism, to climate change … more than any other generation yours is fully convinced that you’re uniquely equipped to solve those challenges,” said Obama, who spoke for about 30 minutes.

She expressed confidence in the graduates.

“You guys can’t be stopped. You don’t know the meaning of the word can’t. And every time someone’s tried to tell you that you’ve replied what? Oh yes, we can,” Obama said, a refrain President Obama used during his campaign.

Obama said that at her husband’s inauguration, “he pledged to seek a new era of American engagement, and he asked each of us to embrace anew our duties to ourselves, our nation and the world.”

“Now I’m not a president. I’m just a citizen. But as a citizen I’m asking you as graduates of this global institution to seize those responsibilities gladly,” she said. “I’m asking you to play your part.”

Graduates said the first lady’s words moved them and had motivated them during the year.

Gilbert Rein, 21, a graduate from Marlboro, New Jersey, said he had always done volunteer work with his fraternity, but the first lady’s challenge pushed them to do more.

“This year we went above and beyond,” he said.

Rein, who is going to law school, said he plans to do pro bono work to continue to give back.

Saturday’s speech was not the only commencement address the first lady has given this year. Earlier this month she spoke at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, a historically black college. Obama, who graduated from Princeton and Harvard Law School, will also speak next month at the graduation of Anacostia Senior High School in Washington, a public school she visited last year as part of her mentoring program for young women.

During the ceremony, George Washington University president Steven Knapp presented Obama with an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree. Pianist and composer Dave Brubeck and entrepreneur A. James Clark also received honorary degrees at the commencement.

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From NationalJournal.com:

If the economy produces jobs over the next eight months at the same pace as it did over the past four months, the nation will have created more jobs in 2010 alone than it did over the entire eight years of George W. Bush’s presidency.

That comparison comes with many footnotes and asterisks. But it shows how the economic debate between the parties could look very different over time — perhaps by November, more likely by 2012. More important, the comparison underscores the urgency of repairing an American job-creation machine that was sputtering long before the 2008 financial meltdown.

First, the numbers: From February 2001, Bush’s first full month in office, through January 2009, his last, total U.S. nonfarm employment grew from 132.5 million to 133.5 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s an increase, obviously, of just 1 million. From January through April of this year, the economy created 573,000 jobs. Over a full year, that projects to 1.72 million jobs. Job-creation numbers are notoriously volatile, so the actual result could run above or below that estimate. But Obama administration economists are increasingly optimistic that job growth this year will exceed expectations. Few of them will be surprised if more jobs are created in 2010 than over Bush’s two terms.

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Now the principal footnote: To compare job growth in 2010 with Bush’s record ignores the nearly 4 million jobs lost in Obama’s first year, during the freefall that began in Bush’s final months. That’s like ignoring a meteor strike. Over time, voters are likely to judge Obama by his degree of success in eliminating that deficit and reducing unemployment. Still, if the economy this year produces more than 1 million jobs — or, conceivably, more than 2 million — that will give Democrats more ammunition to argue that their agenda has started to turn the tide.

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RELATED:

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U.S. Added 290K Jobs, Highest Number In 4 Years

From HuffingtonPost.com:

The White House is sending a comprehensive legislative proposal to Capital Hill that is designed to help abate the economic, climate and even nutritional impact of the massive oil spill in the Gulf Coast.

On Wednesday, administration officials unveiled a bill that will provide funding for further safety inspections at oil rigs, granted unemployment assistance for those hurt or displaced by the spill, gave money for environmental studies related to the oil damage in the Gulf and even expanded nutritional assistance to those affected.

The flashiest element of the legislation, however, and the one that sparked the most questions, included a provision to raise the liability of oil companies responsible for catastrophic spills. In a fact sheet sent to reporters, the administration called for a raise in “the statutory expenditure limitation for the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund from $1 billion to $1.5 billion.” This, in short, would provide more money to handle the immediate coasts of coping with a spill disaster.

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RELATED:

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ROUND-UP: Oil Spill May Have Disastrous Effects On Local Tourism Industry

Jon Stewart from The Daily Show had some fun with our very own Roland Martin this week. We all know Roland’s a fashion trendsetter but who knew his ascot could be so amusing?

Enjoy the levity!

WATCH:

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VIDEO: Roland Has Some Advice For President Obama

Roland Moderates “Measuring The Movement” Discussion At National Action Network Conference

Catch this week’s FULL episode Sunday at 5pm & 11pm on TV One!

Submit your video questions and comments HERE!

PHOENIX — The Rev. Al Sharpton, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and Hispanic leaders will lead a Wednesday evening march to the Arizona State Capitol in a protest against the state’s new law targeting illegal immigration.

Organizers plan a gathering at a church near downtown Phoenix and then a three-mile candlelight procession to the Capitol. Participants will then join a vigil at the Capitol in protest of the new law.

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The law’s provisions include a requirement that state and local law enforcement officers question people about their immigration status if there’s reason to suspect they’re in the country illegally. It also makes it a state crime to be in the United States illegally.

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Roland Martin says President Obama’s push to get Black and Latino votes is a little too late. But he has good advice on HOW to get those crucial votes.

WATCH here:

Catch this week’s FULL episode Sunday at 5pm & 11pm on TV One!

Submit your video questions and comments HERE!

From My Fox DC:

WASHINGTON – A young college student claims she was shot by a man because she refused to give him her phone number.

The young woman, whose identity has been protected, told police she was leaving a party in southeast Washington early Sunday when a man asked for her number.

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“He told my cousin he was going to shoot at us if I didn’t give him my number and then he started shooting,” she told authorities.

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VIA THE HUFFINGTON POST:

It really is true. Barack Obama can staff himself better on nearly all fronts than those who staff him — even comedians.

Barack Obama so outdid Jay Leno, more by accident than by design (I think), at the White House Correspondents Dinner that next year the WHCA should just let Obama do the President’s remarks and the follow-up humor. And yes, I know Leno was not “staffing” Obama, but still. . .

Morgan Freeman, one of the few actors at the White House Correspondents Dinner who expressed interest in political blogs and think tanks, told me that he thought that it was a mistake for Jay Leno to follow President Obama.

Leno just didn’t hit his groove during his routine — but President Obama said preemptively that night that everyone knew what happened to those who followed Leno’s time slot — and well, he wasn’t gonna take any chances.

Obama, whose material was put together by Jon Favreau, Ben Rhodes and Jon Lovett, was hilarious. As I watched him perform, I remembered the self-conflident line on Obama that Ryan Lizza captured in a piece when the President remarked that he could do better than any of the people working for him in their jobs. As captured by Lizza, Obama said:

I think that I’m a better speechwriter than my speechwriters. I know more about policies on any particular issue than my policy directors. And I’ll tell you right now that I’m gonna think I’m a better political director than my political director.

It’s totally clear now that President Obama can and should be his own White House Correspondents Dinner comedian.

Read more here