And the Stupids Have It - But the Fat Lady is Silent

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.

Ahhh yes….the “public hearing” or what I have come to call, the “not public, only Tribe, Union, Casino Developer, Special Interest hearing“…oh, with a few anti-gambling professionals mixed in to make it look like a fair and due process - yeeeahhh -

Many of us casino gambling opponents sat for hours and hours listening to special interest groups, unions, casino developers and so called “casino workers” blather on about how super duper special and wonderful casinos were….we had to listen to Senator Pacheco's endless diatribes about the best way to have slots at the racetracks and gambling casinos….hey Gladys - BTW…I thought my head was going to explode that day listening to Senator Pacheco ask casino developers how to best write a gambling bill for our State…ya know…to make their job of building them easier. It almost did explode when the Aquinna had the nerve to sit in front of our Senate and blatently LIE about LIT and their “right” to build a tribal casino on Martha’s Vinyard under IGRA....if they didn’t get a license for Fall River, that is. Un-freakin-believable….Then to finally get to speak and be told…no warned…not to go over the allotted 3 minutes…jeesh…."public hearing", my ass. Shame on the Senate for even calling it that.

That public hearing was nothing but a pro-casino gambling resort par-tay where gambling opponents were obviously not welcome. Even Senator Tucker, in all her knowledge and wisdom as to why casino gambling is not going to help our State, was blatantly ignored…Thank You Senator Tucker for trying…your testimony was right on and it is obvious you did spend the time to learn about the industry….thank you for trying…it means more to us “nanny’s” than you could ever know. You are a true leader, one who at least gets the facts before deciding on something that will change the lives of all Massachusetts citizens forever.

Oh - Then to hear the ramblings of Senator Rosenberg who obviously has no knowledge of Indian Gaming or casino gambling in general, make stupid and crass statements to push his obviously personal agenda….

“This is a real issue, and we’re trying to find a solution,’’ Rosenberg said. “All I can say is, first things first: Get the bill signed into law and set up a regulatory agency. It will be 18 to 19 months before licenses get issued, and during that period of time we need to find a resolution to this.’’

You can read the article and bask in the stupidity and irresponsibility of dear Senator Rosenberg here.

Absolutely amazing how irresponsible most of the members of this Senate have acted on this issue. How about actually figuring out all those pesky details that will help protect the State from further expansion in the gambling area BEFORE you vote on and approve a Gambling Bill. That seems like the smart path, but nooooooo….who needs to look over the abyss and make an assessment when you can just leap and deal with what you jump into once you get there - heck, you got a good 18 to 19 months of free fall to think about it before you hit the prverbial fan. Oh…and Senator Rosenberg, with all due respect, Sir....as a concerned and well informed citizen, I would like to know...what exactly is your Plan B if you can’t figure it out? Please feel free to send your response to carverchick@gmail.com or post your Plan B here in the comments sections....I am sure my readers would also like to know.

My God….how in the world anyone, especially our YES Senators were able to celebrate the Fourth of July with a clear conscience after this fiasco is beyond me…failure of our Government to actually…uummmm….govern...is a betrayal to every single citizen in this State. Special Interests win….Massachusetts Citizens….big fat LOSERS…well at least those Yessies are keeping up with the premise of casino gambling…the house always wins.

So here is the tally of the vote taken on Thursday in the Senate to have 3 casino gambling resorts in the Commonwealth….The final vote was 25-15 in favor.

A "yes" vote was in favor of licensing the casinos; a "no" vote was opposed to casinos.

Steven A. Baddour, D-Methuen - Y
Frederick E. Berry, D-Peabody - Y
Stephen J. Buoniconti, D-West Springfield - Y
Gale D. Candaras, D-Wilbraham - Y
Harriette L. Chandler, D-Worcester - Y
Sal N. DiDomenico, D-Everett - Y
Kenneth J. Donnelly, D-Arlinton - Y
Jennifer L. Flanagan, D-Leominster - Y
John A. Hart, D-Boston - Y
Brian A. Joyce, D-Milton - Y
Thomas P. Kennedy, D-Brockton - Y
Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield - Y
Thomas M. McGee, D-Lynn - Y
Joan M. Menard, D-Fall River - Y
Michael O. Moore, D-Millbury - Y
Richard T. Moore, D-Uxbridge - Y
Michael W. Morrissey, D-Quincy - Y
Therese Murray, D-Plymouth - Y
Marc R. Pacheco, D-Taunton - Y
Steven C. Panagiotakos, D-Lowell - Y
Anthony Petruccelli, D-Boston - Y
Stanley C. Rosenberg, D-Amherst - Y
Karen E. Spilka, D-Ashland - Y
James E. Timilty, D-Walpole - Y
Steven A. Tolman, D-Boston - Y


And here are the underdogs...the heros in all this …the ones who actually have the forethought to say no to a rushed bill…one based on fear of not beating them to the punch. Thank you for voting no…this bill should never had been voted on this session to begin with.

Susan C. Tucker, D-Andover - N
Mark C. Montigny, D-New Bedford - N
Richard R. Tisei, R-Wakefield - N
Bruce E. Tarr, R-Gloucester - N
Richard J. Ross, R-Wrentham - N
Marian Walsh, D-West Roxbury - N
Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre - N
Robert L. Hedlund, R-Weymouth - N
Patricia D. Jehlen, D-Somerville - N
Robert D. O'Leary, D-Barnstable - N
Susan C. Fargo, D-Lincoln - N
Benjamin B. Downing, D-Pittsfied - N
James B. Eldridge, D-Acton - N
Cynthia Stone Creem, D-Newton - N
Sonia Chang-Diaz, D-Boston - N

As a good friend of mine said recently in an email…..Sad day for Massachusetts. If they'd only been as smart, as diligent and as ruthless for the truth and the wonderful colleagues I've met in the last 3 years, I can promise you, it would be a different day.

Attached to this email was what Senator Tucker had to say…..

Sen. Tucker said, Well, corks are popping all over Massachusetts in those lobbying offices tonight. The games will begin, and I will try very hard in this debate not to be personal. I appreciate the kind words from the lady from Newton. I want your vote more than your words. Martin Luther King said laws which uplift the human spirit are just. Laws that deprave the human spirit are unjust. I stand before you tonight in hopes and understanding that not everyone in this chamber understands this industry and this product as much as I understand this. I got into this issue years ago because it felt like a rip-off to me. I began to see where the money goes, where it comes from, who gets the money. The way the casino industry comes in state after state after state – they have a playbook. Tonight the Massachusetts Legislature joins others that have played right into that. I feel particularly sad for the senators that feel they’re somehow protected by the provisions in this bill. This will spin out of control. Once we give this OK, it’s all about the licenses, the best proposals. Who defines that? And the corruption that has gone on in state after state after state regarding the best proposals – it’s all about the profit. Once you vote for this, you’re out of the picture. It’s about earnings before interest taxes and depreciation. It’s not about the best proposal. It’s about who is going to make the most money, where. You think you’re protected because you’re not within 40 miles of a casino. I don’t even have to wait for the deals the change. You all, and I’ve said this before, have it in your head that we’re going to have one of these fancy resorts with golf courses and hotels and shopping. If it’s not going to be a resort, why put up $500 million? It’s not enough for a resort. The good senator from Amherst said we’ll have the strongest bill in the country. Promises are broken, deals change. There is no proper way to do this because if you do it the proper way, it’s the only industry I’ve heard of that if you do it the proper way, you won’t get the dough. If you don’t get the revenue, what are you doing this for? No one in all the hearing, no one in the industry, no one in this chamber ever stood up and said you’re wrong, senator. No one ever told me I was wrong. So apparently I’m right, because I am right, because I understand the product and the industry. There are a lot of happy lobbyists and a lot of happy clients tonight. I never thought they’d go down this road. That’s what they’re saying. It’s a very sorry excuse that we have to do this because of the Indian Gaming Rights Act. Only five land-in-trusts have been allowed by the bureau in the last 20 years. We have so much time to deal with that. We don’t know the impact. This is a roll call that’s going to stay with the members for a long, long time. When these proposals become a reality, your constituents and groups will come out of the woodwork. They will educate themselves about this product. I have to say to Kathleen Norbut – she’s got a group of warriors behind her who have learned about this. And when college presidents calling saying my students all go to the casinos, and when your constituents come to you and say ‘you have to help me, my husband gambled away all our money’ – I can guarantee you that will happen. It’s happened in every other state. I wish it were about jobs. For my friends in labor, it’s sad. Their members are going to get burned by this. I thank you for your attention. I want to say to the staff members and so many senators, I think all of us have had the opportunity at some point to work on an issue and get to know the hardworking, dedicated staffers. I’ve been particularly heartened by many of the good senators’ staff. Let the games begin.

Yes, let the games begin. I would like to give a special Thank You to Senator Susan Tucker for fighting so hard to preserve our State and protect it from the corruption that is the only inevitability in Casino gambling….I’d also like to the thank the good people of USSMA for fighting so diligently, for trying to educate an uninformed public and ignorant Government. I know your sacrifices, and I personally appreciate every single one of them. You are all the true heros in this fight.

We can all personally thank Senator Rosenberg and all the YES cronies for single handedly making it a real possibility to have Tribal Casinos here in Massachusetts….the non-threat of Tribal casinos has now come close to becoming a real and distinct possibility…Senator Rosenberg, you have managed to make your fear a real and potential reality and for what? To beat them to the punch?…With all due respect, you probably should have looked before you leapt, Senator.

With all due respect Sir, you are an ignoramous and an idiot. You have no right to sit in the seat you do...in my opinion, of course....Did you ever stop to think that we already had them beat...or is what happened in Middleboro, in the Supreme Court and all over the country not hold any weight for you? Did you even stop to think that you were being lied to...mislead and totally played by casino interests and the Tribes? Class III gambling was, and still is for now, illegal in this State. The Tribes couldn't have built anything but a bingo hall, which no investor in their right minds would touch because there is no big fat profits off of bingo...go ask Rhode Island...oh yeah, you don't do actual research, only push your agenda of beating a fantasy to the punch. Senator, leading by fear is cowardly, and you Sir, are a coward in this chick's eyes....with all due respect.

Luckily for the citizens of this State, there are actually well informed people and groups who know federal Indian policy and who might, just might be able to keep this State from having Tribal casinos…
Oh, and I hope that if these three gambling casino resorts do get built in Massachusetts, the Senate puts them in a Town whose Representative voted “YES”….that would only be fair now wouldn’t it. In fact Senator Rosenberg, I believe that Amherst would make a lovely host town for a Casino….much better than Palmer…oh, or perhaps Wilbraham, Senator Candaras….I grew up in Hampden and went to Minnechaug Regional High School in Wilbraham...an absolutely lovely area for a casino...and you seem to think the casino bill is a super idea, so why not? Or hey, what about Peabody or better yet Milton….then the Governor can go play the slots conveniently in his own back yard….yeah, Milton would be perfect for a casino.

But enough with my sarcasm...
we haven’t given up the fight and we won't give it up - ever, at least not where Tribal casinos are concerned - so thanks Yessie Senators for making our fight that much more difficult - we will do what you should have done to begin with - your job - protecting this State and the citizens who call it home.

.….as the saying goes…it ain’t over til the fat lady sings.....




- Courage! What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage! What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder? Courage! What makes the dawn come up like thunder? Courage! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What puts the "ape" in apricot? What have they got that I ain't got? Courage! You can say that again! - the cowardly lion

- be the change you want to see in the world -