Obama's Katrina: Picture of the Day, Sonja Daniel Gasmask-Sunbathing in Gulf Shores, Alabama

by the Left Coast Rebel

I came across a 'news' report at ABC that supposedly shows a bikini-clad woman in Gulf Shores, Alabama donning a gas mask. ABC claims that she is 'making a statement' about the 'whiff of oil that some say they have smelled near the water.' The 'news' reporter also notes the 'confusion' between the swimming bans in Alabama and Louisiana and subsequent lack thereof in Mississippi and Florida. Regardless, here's one of the viral pictures of the bikini-gas mask Alabama woman:

Here's another at ABC:

I'm totally skeptical of this woman:

Sonja Daniel is a Birmingham resident who travels to the beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama every summer to enjoy the sun and water. Sonja told ABC News today, she was at the Gulf Shores public beach yesterday when the fumes from the oil washing ashore were "so horrible" she became sickened by them. Sonja, like many in this area, was back to the beach today -- this time Sonja brought a gas mask with her - her way of enjoying the beach of Gulf Shores without breathing in what she calls "toxic air" from BP

Does anyone in this area of Alabama know if this woman is being a headline grabber? Or are there actually fumes that would warrant such? Being a blogger, I found this via AL.com on the woman:

Sonja Daniel, who has a house on the Fort Morgan Peninsula, wears a mask as she sunbathes watching workers clean-up oil along a beach in the Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge on June 6, 2010.

Brent Baker at NewsBusters beat me just a bit on this meme as well, I found this as I was nearly done with this post:

ABC News found a picture they couldn’t resist showcasing, no matter how much it exaggerates the dangers from the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. To say nothing of how this is just the kind of fear-mongering media coverage which infuriates businesses along the coast trying to allay tourist fears.

Both Good Morning America and World News on Sunday showed and zoomed in on this photo. World News anchor Dan Harris treated donning a gas mask as a reasonable thing to do:

On the beaches along the gulf, it has come to this this weekend. Check out this picture from Gulf Shores, Alabama. Sonya Daniel, of Birmingham, Alabama, sun-bathing in a gas mask.

Figures. Why do I already know the answers to the questions I asked above?