With the mounting tides of awfulness in the Gulf of Mexico, it’s interesting to note this week’s traffic in Abrahamic language:

“The city of Gulfport believes South Mississippi has been selected to be the sacrificial lamb,” Ryan LaFontaine, city spokesman said. “If they’re choosing us, then we have to protect what we want protected.”

To which a BP spokesman responds:

We have a limited amount of boom on hand, but we have more on the way. I’ve not heard anyone talk of a ‘sacrificial lamb.’ We’re just trying to collect the oil and keep it from sensitive areas. We’re also trying to reduce the amount of oil that gets to the shoreline and mitigate the damage.

Also notable has been the backlash following Texas governor Rick Perry’s assertion that the spill could be considered an “act of God.”

Find continuing Times-Picayune coverage of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster here.