proverb: Putting the Cart before the Horse 
Yet once again, in the spirit of all that is casino related, Senator Rosenberg claims that, if a final bill is passed by the Legislature, it will include a regulatory structure to control Native American tribes seeking permission from the federal government for expanded gambling. So hey, don't worry about it.......
Wow...David Flynn using his own form of scare tactics to push through a casino/slot parlor bill -- pass this bill or everyone will vote Republican - EGADS!!! This chick tends to think that he should have said...pass this bill or the special interest groups will threaten not to vote for you....EGADS AGAIN!!
Call me a crazy chick, but sidelining important bills to play "rock, paper, scissors" over slots at the tracks and resort casinos is absolutely ridiculous...
- It is greed to do all the talking but not to want to listen at all. - Democritus
- Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong. ~Richard Armour
- Be the change you want to see in the world -
What a disheartening day Thursday was for the Commonwealth…and only three days before the celebration of our Country - it’s life, liberty and freedom…independence and sovereignty….a Country that is supposed to be governed by the people, for the people. Not so in Massachusetts it seems. This chick had a really hard time celebrating the Fourth of July this year after experiencing so called “due process” in our State Government. I didn’t blog my experience at the casino gambling “public hearing” in June because I was so freaking pissed off over it I felt it better to just let it be. Well, forget that….especially after the freak show of undue process demonstrated in our Senate over the past several weeks. Might I be so humble as to suggest to our Senators that the next time you hold a “public hearing” on an issue, let the freaking PUBLIC speak.
"The reason we need to pass this legislation is because,if we don't the Mashpee will beat us to the punch and force a casino on us just like CT." - Senator Rosenberg (picture courtesy of Gladys Kravitz blogspot)
Wow….did I wake up in 2007 this past month or what... and if I did…where the hell is my Delorean?! This is just one of many irresponsible and misinformed statements made by Senator Rosenberg regarding Land Into Trust issues surrounding the non-threat of Indian casinos in Massachusetts….and his excuse to pass an irresponsible Casino Gambling Bill in Massachusetts…but I’ll save the irresponsibility of the Senate and the Bill itself for another day…for now, let’s focus on our Senator Rosenberg who apparently is the “guru” on Indian Gaming….uhhhh...yeah….not so impressed with you so far Senator Rosenberg. You sound exactly like Governor Patrick when he was pushing his three casino bill - and we all know how misinformed he was about that, but I digress.
First of all Senator, may I suggest you pick up a copy of Without Reservation…it gives the complete story on exactly how an Indian casino was forced on Connecticut….twenty five years ago….. Now don’t get me wrong here because yes, there has been this “letter” floating around from Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Lary Echo Hawk stating that the Department of the Interior will continue to process eligible pending applications for gaming on Indian lands….blah, blah, blah…..yet not a big deal when you actually understand Federal Indian Policy and IGRA. What our dear Senator doesn’t seem to understand is that the BIA has no jurisdiction or authority to place land into trust...neither does the SOI at this point...in fact, the BIA is only responsible for determining if the applications submitted prior to the Carcieri decision are still eligible under the new rules. By no means is the letter or any other "memo" that is circulating saying that all applications are being processed by the BIA...nor does it say any decision on land in trust is being made by the BIA. In fact, the letters coming out of the BIA and SOI’s office regarding the processing of applications are deliberately ambiguous. Let us all keep in mind here that they do consistently say that applications will be processed if and only if they fully satisfy the requirements of the law. That’s a big IF Senator and one the Mashpee and the Aquinna don’t meet. Hey, I get it....the reason for these letters is understandable…frustration has been building with tribes who are awaiting decisions on applications - shortly after the Carcieri decision they were told to consult with their lawyers on the legality of their request. Nothing has moved forward since. The only thing that’s changed now is that the responsibility for determining eligibility for applicants has shifted from the tribes to the BIA and the BIA is only now evaluating the pending applications for applicable legal standards. After all….there were tribes that were recognized before 1934 and they may have applications awaiting a decision.
As it stands right now, the threat of an Indian casino isn’t real and I and many other well informed citizens can debate that until the cows come home. And if we can understand Federal Indian Policy, I find it extremely difficult and disheartening to believe that our State Senators could be so easily mislead with regards to the legalities of the Mashpee tribe’s proposed casino.
….here is Senator Rosenberg’s comment to a concerned and well informed citizen when this was explained to him….
With all due respect if you have not spoken directly with the BIA then you do not have all the information you need in order to understand the full scope. You are reading what you see accurately but you probably have not had the direct conversations with the BIA that I and others have had which provide the additional background.if you have I would appreciate information about those meetings. Neither you nor I were part of additional meetings with Secretary's office and the BIA and the heads of landless tribes in which he committed to resolve the issues both of landless tribes and those seeking additional land. All of the meetings we have had and all of the reports we have received from Washington add up to a commitment to resolve land in trust issues in a timely fashion.
That's it for now. Thanks for the dialogue.
With all due respect Senator, many of us have spoken directly to the BIA and unlike you….we didn’t just call them “cold”…we already knew our rights as citizens under Federal Indian Policy and knew the rights of this State as well - so those of us who have spoken with the BIA and Washington were not so naïve as to believe everything we were told. Oh, and by the way Senator, I personally have had the pleasure of speaking directly to the chairman of the NIGC -- that’s the National Indian Gaming Commission -- just in case you didn’t know that…which it seems to this chick like you don’t because you obviously believe that the Mashpee automatically have the right to build a casino just because they are a Federally Recognized Tribe - which they do not. From my real and direct face to face conversation with said Chairman, he made it clear that the NIGC would not approve casino gambling on land in Middleboro that was clearly set aside for a casino…that is called Reservation Shopping and it is a big no no.
Senator…with all due respect…having Land in Trust does not a casino make….especially if said land is in a State that does not allow Class III gambling to begin with…so before you make silly and ignorant statements like “we have to beat them to the punch” and before you wave your hand and dismiss an informed and well educated voting, taxpaying citizen…you might want to actually try and listen to someone other than the Tribe(s) and the BIA.
With all due respect, Senator Rosenberg…do you even know who that educated voting taxpayer who sent you all this information is? Do you even realize that the person who you have been so dismissive to was responsible for bringing one of the best Indian law councilors together with the Carcieri Lawyer? Do you know that this person was the one who recognized that Rhode Island’s argument in the Carcieri argument wouldn’t win as it was so this person brought in a more experienced lawyer from Arizona to help with that case? Do you know that this person’s research on Indian case law is so extensive that it has been used by a New York lawyer who then successfully argued an Indian law case before a Federal judge? Do you know that this person knows more about Indian law than any lawyer on the east coast because of what happened in Salamanca, New York…or that what happened in that town was so disturbing that the atrocities of Federal Indian Policy was dedicated to this person in a book…a book written by two Indians, I might add?…did you know any of that Senator Rosenberg?….did you know any of that before you responded to the information given to you with such a pompous and “holier than thou” attitude? Did you? Because I really, really want to know.
How about instead of being ignorant and patronizing, perhaps you might want to try a lot more listening and a lot less talking about things that are so obviously esoteric to you….heck, God did give you two ears and one mouth for a reason - its about time you realized that reason - here is a hint for you....do a lot less talking and twice as much listening, you might actually learn something….and while your at it, you might want to try some light reading…may I suggest the Kickapoo case in Texas - this is where it was determined that a State is not required to enter into a compact with a Tribe seeking class III gaming if class III gaming is illegal in that State….you can read about it here and then perhaps correct yourself in your statements regarding tribal / state compacts….or perhaps you could brush up on the Hawaii and other decisions that made it perfectly clear that the Federal Government cannot exercise power over a sovereign State and that casinos are not inevitable…in simple terms, Sir….the Federal Government cannot take land from a Sovereign State and place it in Trust, thus removing it from State tax rolls and exempting it from State regulations unless that State says they can…oh, and hey, how about that little factoid that the Federal Government can only set aside excess Federally owned land to be placed into trust…oh yeah…none of that here in the good ‘ol Commonwealth.
….lets save us all some time here Senator Rosenberg, since you obviously have not done your homework, but instead made a few “phone calls” and several misleading statements during the expanded gambling hearings..…. perhaps you could just go back and read all my blogs and the blogs of Gladys Kravitz (you’ll like her…she’s witty, yet thoughtful and funny all at the same time- and her husband Abner is fantastic!)….and while your reading, wherever you see the word “Middleboro” replace it with “Fall River” because the facts are still the same regardless of where the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe wants to put a casino…. You can pretend you're Letterman - take the Middleboro out of the threat and replace it with Fall River. You might actually learn something.
- be the change you want to see in the world -
Hope Springs Eternal
I went to this conference and listened to the stories of people from all over the country who are struggling to survive under repressions from land in trust issues, fee to trust issues, Indian casino issues, basic civil rights issues…..Native Americans, ordinary people like you and me, town and state government officials all trying to protect their rights. I listened to the mess created by flawed Indian Policy and the many, many stories I heard over the course of two days put me through a range of emotions….outrage and anger, sadness, horror, and yes even elation for the small wins. Hearing these stories has given back to me something I thought I had lost over the past year….my overall motivation to stop the apathy and help affect change in government. I have found people who welcomed me with open arms, who listened to and sympathized with my own personal plight and who have given me hope in the future of our great Nation.
I got into this fight because the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe wanted to take land into trust as an initial reservation and build a casino resort to the likes of Foxwoods three miles from my home. I was called a NIMBY by casino supporters and when I first started in this I was….but I educated myself and learned that I shouldn’t blame the Mashpee Tribe itself for my lack of rights in this issue, but to blame the unaccountability of Tribal Government and my own Federal Government and especially the flawed Indian Policy that only helps Tribal Governments rule as tyrants while leaving the rest of us to pick up the pieces…I also learned that I am a NIMBY...a NIMBY who was fortunate enough to realize that my backyard extends far beyond an acre in Carver Massachusetts….one that extends to every corner of this great Nation. I can thank the good people who make up organizations like CERA and CERF for giving me hope that we can affect change for the good of all who call this great Nation home and for opening my eyes to truth behind Indian Policy and how this policy actually is the Ultimate Betrayal to all of us.
CERF and CERA’S Mission Statement
Federal Indian Policy is unaccountable, destructive, racist and unconstitutional. It is therefore CERA’s mission to ensure the equal protection of the law as guaranteed to all citizens by the Constitution of the United States of America.
For more information please visit www.citizensalliance.org
Any appeasement of tyranny is treason to this republic and to the democratic ideal - William Allen White
Oppression is but another name for irresponsible power - Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
“Be the Change you to see in the World”
