People Living In Tents For The Holidays? That's Ok - 3 Casinos Are Ready To Open On New Years Eve
Reported by Donna - December 14, 2005
Today on Studio B with Shepard Smith he aired two segments on the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. I didn't notice it until after the second one was aired, but some ironic facts came out.
In the first segment Smith announced that three casinos would be opening on New Years Eve in Biloxi, Mississippi. He said that one casino had spent 23 million dollars to get rebuilt and ready.
In the second segment he spoke with Don Powell, Federal Gulf Coast Recovery Director. It was during this segment that Smith brought something to my attention. He said that there were still people in Mississippi living in tents and they would be living in tents for Christmas. Of course Powell said that the good people at FEMA were working hard to get these people out of tents and into proper shelter.
Comment: I give credit to Smith for confronting Powell about people still living in tents in Mississippi, but not for letting him get away with a very politically driven answer. I would have brought up the fact that 3 casinos in Mississippi were a couple of weeks away from opening (one with 23 million dollars spent on rebuilding) and the fact that people are still living in tents. Do you know how cold it's been in the south these past couple of weeks? It's reached the 30's in Florida, so I know it's been cold in Mississippi.
I just always wonder where our priorities are when we can brag about gambling casinos opening up but we still have people living in tents in the freezing cold, and this is 4 months after the fact? But maybe that's just me.
