Idle Ramblings

The Day After

We've gotten our first good look today at the devastation left by quatrain. Around here, we were very fortunate. Little damage, less rain than most and we are part of the 20 percent of the state who has power tonight. We never lost it though many areas around us did.

The pictures coming from the coast are almost unreal. As I see pictures from billows, I look for familiar landmarks. At one point, a reporter was standing right across from the Beau ravage. It was unrecognizable. The photos from the air around the Presidents Casino and the Grand Casino, places where I have stayed many times in the past 10-12 years, showed a landscape that was unrecognizable. It's hard to imagine that this area will ever be rebuilt.

There have been reports today about visits and possible visits to the area by our fearless leaders. Gov. Cornpone visited this morning to survey the damage. There were reports today that Trent Lott has asked Dubya to visit the area to get first-hand look at the damage and to give the people of this state a "morale boost." Of course, what they really mean by "morale boost" is "photo opp." Anytime you have such a visit, it's rarely about gathering information or boosting morale, it's about attention. It's posturing. It's something that can be sent out on glossy 8x10s as a fund raising effort. If Dubya really wants to help Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, he can stay in Washington or go back to Crawford and finish his 8-week vacation. (Oh, wait. Cindy Sheehan is still there, isn't she. And the war justification tour didn't go so well last week. Better go be sympathetic to some poor hurricane victims.)

As a result of the loss of the 12 casinos on the coast, Mississippi is losing $500,000 per day in state tax revenue. That doesn't even count the revenue generated by all the other attractions and commerce on the coast. This is going to really hurt the state in the short term and the long run. What's sad is that less than a day after the storm, while bodies are still being dug out of the rubble, there are those criticizing plans to rebuild the casinos. I've even heard one person say that god bitch-slapped New Orleans and the coast because of, as they saw it, the Sodom and Gomorrah depravity of the area. Whatever. But I read earlier that those horrible, evil, sinful casinos are going to continue to pay all their employees their full salaries while they are closed. Can't think of a lot of other places that would do that.

posted by Joseph @ 8/30/2005 11:24:00 PM