A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

So after a long and wonderful day feasting with friends and family, I cleaned the kitchen, packed up the leftovers for later and snuggled up on the couch with my son to watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. The cool thing was, there was a bonus cartoon after called This is America, Charlie Brown - a Charlie Brown cartoon I had never seen? Awesome....

It's not surprising that I had never seen it because it was aired originally as an eight part mini-series in 1988 and I was much too busy doing teenager things to care about a Charlie Brown cartoon. Funny how now, 20 years later I was more than happy to watch it and just relax. Here is the other funny thing....as we were watching the Charles Shultz version of the pilgrims landing and subsequent salvation due to the kindness of the local Indian Tribe....I felt myself being vindicated. Here I and my fellow blogger have been berated on the local cesspool topix as a racist, a liar and an Indian hater. Wow.....all because Gladys Kravitz blogged about the true history of the pilgrims landing and how it was not the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe that welcomed them.....and I commented on her blog about some of the not so nice past actions we have read about over the past year regarding Mashpee Tribal leaders and members. How horrible of Gladys to debunk the Mashpee Tribe's claim to fame as being the tribe that met the pilgrims and how absolutely scandalous of me to remind everyone of the only times we hear anything about the Tribe....heck, it's not like they have come to any public forums and talked to the the community about their casino-resort plans....but I digress.

So I am watching this new to me Charlie Brown cartoon and guess what??? According to Mr. Shultz in 1988, it was not the Mashpee Tribe who met the pilgrims. Huh.....go figure....but hey, it is just a cartoon, right?

Could Charles Shultz have gotten it wrong too?






Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope your day was full of good times, close family and good friends. I am truely thankful for all of you who continue to fight for our quality of life, get the real stories out there, and never ever give in to our adversaries.

Here is a little update for my dear flying monkey friends who seem to think I take history lessons from cartoons. Well, at least I don't take history lessons from the Mashpee Wampanoag website....by the way, it would seem that Charlie Brown is smarter than a flying monkey....go figure.

It was an ordinary day when a cry suddenly went out among the settlement of “Indian!” Everyone became on guard. The figure of a lone Indian came walking towards them. What could this Indian want? They were all shocked when the Indian began speaking to them in English! How had this Indian from this wild land come to know English? He introduced himself as Samoset and told them his story: Samoset was a chief of the Algonquins of Maine. He had been exploring these parts for the Council of New England, having begged a ride with a Captain Thomas Derman, an English sea captain. Samoset had learned English over the years from the various sea captains who had ported in Maine, and he had a love for travel.

It was Samoset who told the Pilgrims of the Patuxet tribe who had lived on the very place the Pilgrims had settled but had been wiped out by a mysterious illness four years before. It was they who had cleared the land. No other tribe would live on this ground because of how the Patuxets had been wiped out. Their nearest neighbors were the Wampanoags, fifty miles west. The Pilgrims then wondered who it was that had attacked them upon their landing on the shore. Samoset told them it was the Nausets. They hated the white man because of the trickery of an English sea captain named Thomas Hunt. Hunt had deceived several Patuxets into coming aboard his ship. He then took them to Spain to be sold into slavery.

Samoset left the Pilgrims but returned a week later with yet another English-speaking Indian. This Indian’s name was Tisquantum, or Squanto, as he is better known. Squanto had quite a story to tell the Pilgrims: He had been taken captive, along with four other Indians, by Captain George Weymouth. They were taken to England and taught English so they could be questioned as to the best places to settle in the New World. Squanto spent nine long years in England until he met a Captain John Smith of Jamestown,VA. Captain Smith returned Squanto to his village on his 1614 voyage. The former mentioned Thomas Hunt was sailing with Smith on a separate vessel. Smith had ordered Hunt to stay behind while Smith attended to some business elsewhere. But, alas, Thomas Hunt had something else up his sleeve! No sooner had Squanto returned home than he was captured again! Squanto, along with 19 other Patuxets were of those who were lured aboard Hunt’s ship under the pretense of trading beaver pelts only to be captured again! So once again Squanto was taken to Spain and sold into slavery. How discouraging it must have been for Squanto. But God’s providence was at work. Some local friars bought (rescued) a few of the Indians, including Squanto. They introduced them to the Christian faith. Squanto later left the monastery, found a way to England, and attached himself to a wealthy merchant there. He lived there until he departed with a Captain Dermer in 1619. It was on this trip that he first met Samoset, who was traveling with Dermer. They were both dropped off at Plymouth just six months before the Pilgrims would be arriving. But it was then that Squanto learned of the tragic end of his tribe. Squanto, having no one, attached himself to the neighboring Wampanoag tribe. However, once he found the Pilgrims, he had found a new home and family. He stayed with the Pilgrims and as Bradford wrote, “was a special instrument sent of God for their good, beyond their expectation.” (1) It was Squanto who taught the Pilgrims many things about living in the wilderness, such as planting corn with fish for fertilizer, hunting, and many other life-saving skills. http://www.americandestiny.com/settlement.htm

Oh, and if this website causes the flying monkeys to start throwing poo again, I can certainly provide many other links to this time in history that also reference Samoset and Tisquantum as helping the pilgrims, such as this one and this one. Then again, according to monkey philosophy, every historian who writes about the first meeting with the pilgrims must be wrong and a lying, racist, indian hater because it had to be the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe that met the pilgrims....they said so.

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

The Real McCoy

On Monday, there was an article in the Enterprise reporting that a draft environmental report was released regarding the land in Middleboro, land the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is attempting to place into trust for the specific purpose of building a casino – I mean bingo hall. This report has been recently released a short 8 months after the scoping hearing held in Middleboro in March. The article states:

The questions that will have to be answered by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe concerning its proposed casino have been outlined in a newly released draft environmental report.

The 1,306-page report, prepared according to the National Environmental Policy Act for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, contains written and verbal comments submitted in response to the proposed land-taking by the Mashpee.

The interesting thing here is that suddenly, a scoping report that outlines and categorizes the comments submitted from the March hearing has, according to some casino advocates, morphed into the Tribe’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement. According to some, this is the actual Draft EIS, which it is not. This report is just that….a scoping report and not the draft EIS we are all patiently waiting for. If this was the actual draft EIS, it would have been posted in the Federal Register (which it is not), and the public would be given a 45 day comment period and another public hearing to address the content of the draft EIS itself.

I can’t say I really blame the pro casino side for thinking this, especially after reading the article in the Enterprise and reading the summary of the article on Indianz.com. Jeesh, just by reading what the Indianz website posted, I can see why some may actually believe this is the Real McCoy. Unfortunately but not surprisingly, both the Enterprise and Indianz.com got it wrong. The funny thing is, we have had this report in our hands for over a month now and have had the opportunity to read it…..and get a good laugh, at that. Seems the Enterprise is not on top of its game regarding Middleboro casino news ‘cause if they were, they would have been a bit less misleading on what the report really is AND they would have reported on it weeks ago. Again, I can’t blame the newspaper itself or the author of the article….they just repeat what they are told and it would seem to this Chick that they are getting their information from people who want to continue the myth of inevitability…….sigh……..

The other interesting thing is that for some reason, casino advocates see this report as a blow to the anti-casino movement when in actuality, it has helped us tremendously. Heck, we already know and expect a draft EIS to be written…..duuuuh…..that is why we have spent the past 8 months going through and categorizing the marked comments from letters submitted to the BIA. The nice thing is this report has done the same thing so now we actually know what comments are being addressed and which ones are being dismissed.

The majority of the concerns will be addressed in a final report, but some of the issues have already been dismissed.

Yes, some very important concerns have been dismissed - like the concerns regarding the socioeconomic issues of violent crime or the fact that the mitigation money the Town will be receiving isn’t nearly enough to cover the costs of the negative impacts. Well at least from reading the scoping report, we know how the Tribe is going to try and address some issues while skirting around others. The Scoping Document was reviewed by members of the CFO environmental subcommittee when it was first received over a month ago. Let me break it down for you…..

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is pursuing a Dual Initial Reservation which we already know and have already addressed. As we know, the Tribe’s complete lack of historical ties to the land in Middleboro makes it ineligible as an initial reservation. However, seeking a dual initial reservation status is serious business because this has never been done before. It really is a precedent setting case and anything can happen. Yet again, the Tribe has no significant historical ties to the land so I cannot see how the Secretary of the Department of the Interior would ever place this land into trust.

The Tribe has stated that the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Act (MEPA) will not be followed because is illegal for them to do so. This means that no State Environmental laws will be considered in the EIS. The Tribe will only follow the National Environmental Policy Act which does not address environmental issues specific to our region. This is bad news for our area. If you consider only one MEPA law that won’t be followed – Massachusetts Water Management Act - you will understand why this will impact us – and how far reaching the impacts will be…..not to mention the host of other Massachusetts Environmental Laws that are designed to protect our air, water, open space, threatened species, and so on and how that will impact our lives and our livelihoods…..and the Tribe calls themselves the stewards of the land….

The Tribe has stated that it will not look at alternate sites for the casino because they are unable to prove historical significance to anywhere else, which is funny because they certainly can’t prove it in Middleboro either. In addition, they will not consider non-gaming revenue and will only settle for casino gambling. The interesting thing is, they don’t actually mention slot machines in the report, only video lottery terminals – probably because they know slot machines are illegal in this State and they can’t have them. Oh, and our Governor can’t be forced to negotiate with them and the tribe won’t negotiate anyway because there is no compact required for Class II gaming, otherwise known as bingo hall. Sigh….so much for all the promises about further mitigation being negotiated by our Governor.

The Tribe is claiming that the BIA has authority to take the land into trust because the Aquinnah Tribe has trust land. Ummmmm….okay…..the problem here is that the Aquinnah have a land claim settlement with the State of Massachusetts so that argument just doesn’t wash. Gosh, they must think we are dumb as stumps…..they continue down this path by mentioning the First Circuit Court of Appeals being a basis for taking the land into trust, but that’s misleading because that Court ruled that a 1983 land claim settlement, where the tribe agreed to abide by state and local zoning laws, trumped the federal sovereign doctrine of immunity. The land for the Aquinnah was not taken out of the state tax rolls, and the tribe must obey all of the local and state zoning laws with respect to use of that land. So the case doesn’t actually support the DOI’s ability to take land into trust, and it’s not exactly the “land into trust” scenario the BIA would have you believe.

The Mashpee tribe is also stating that Mashpee is not suitable for a casino because there is a strong anti-gaming sentiment.

Really?….how nice of them to consider the anti casino sentiment in Mashpee. Perhaps they could be so kind as to consider the anti casino sentiment that was clearly expressed by the citizens from Middleboro with the Article 3 vote. You know the one….the vote that said the residents did NOT want a casino in their town….

Also, here is some food for thought….we did have an opportunity to speak with the EPA officer in Boston who is overseeing the Tribe’s EIS. We were told that the Draft EIS (DEIS) should come out in the next couple of weeks, which we already know and anticipate. This would actually be a good thing for us because issuing it so quickly will only mean a poorly written draft EIS which should be easily defeated.

It would seem that apparently the Tribe is not looking at the broad effects of the project - meaning they are not addressing issues with roadways such as Rte 44. The reason for this is if they did look at altering these roadways they would be subject to MEPA , which they have clearly stated they will not follow. This translates to meaning the promised $200+ million in road improvements including the rotary elimination is not going to happen. This also means, at least to me, that they could care less about the broad effects a mega casino resort will have on our communities and we will need to address that when the real draft EIS is released and we are given our 45 day comment period including another public hearing.

So no…this scoping report that was written by a local environmental consulting company and reported on by the Enterprise is not the Real McCoy, but considering that the same environmental consulting company is also producing the draft EIS, we can look at this scoping report as an outline of the draft EIS. We can look at this report and easily identify issues we will have with the draft EIS and inform our towns and our residents of the issues. So far, it has been a huge help! The report will actually give all of us equal opportunity to prepare comments for the draft EIS and focus on the things that concern us the most – to be heard and to demand that the Tribe be held accountable for all our concerns and not allow them to be labeled “not applicable”.

Rest assured, when the Real McCoy is actually released….we will let you know. In the meantime, this scoping report has been a huge help in our efforts and we can actually start drafting comments based on the information contained in the scoping report. If you can, take the time to borrow the report from the Middleboro library – read it. If you are unable to do that then I urge you to check the CFO website for updates and information so when the time comes, we can all be prepared for another Call to Arms!

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

The Ties That Bind

When one thinks of the phrase “the ties that bind”, many different thoughts come to mind. In the course of our lifetimes, we all become bound by invisible chains that bind us to people, places and things. These ties can either help us or hurt us depending on the situation. For example, one could reasonably argue that the first lines in the Constitution are words, or rather, ties that bind the American people in a common cause "….. in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." To me, these words are about the ties that bind the American people, not twist the fundamental fabric of our Nation, yet I have been told again and again over the past year that I have no rights in regards to the Mashpee Wampanoag Land in Trust process. I have no say in what happens in my community and all I can think is….why? Having been witness to the so called process of Land in Trust as it has unfolded here in our small corner of the world, I wonder about those words written in the Constitution and I wonder about the written words of the Tribe itself…the words, or ties that bind them, and where those ties bind them.

So I find myself still arguing about the Mashpee Wampanoag’s claims to significant historical ties to land in a Town that I don’t even live in. I am speaking out because our Constitution gives me that right even if the land in trust process doesn't. But why even bother, right? I mean, they were here first so who am I to say they don’t have significant historical ties to Middleboro? All I can say to that is, I am an American citizen who happens to believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all…and I just so happen to be someone who has read the Tribe’s Final Determination..you know, the evidence they used to gain Federal Recognition, and are now using in their mad dash attempt to build a casino on land they have no right calling an “initial reservation”. The enhancements in the Section 20 regulations clearly and distinctly define the requirements for significant historical ties to land being sought as an initial reservation. In reading the Federal Register to learn about the new regulations I quickly realized that they are written so clearly that even your average citizen – John Q. Public – can understand and follow what the Federal Government is requiring for proof of significant historical ties to land.

When talking about “significant historical ties”, aren’t we really talking about a cultural landscape? I am talking about a landscape created by humans in the natural world, one that reveals fundamental ties between people and the land – ties based on the basic human need to grow food, give form to settlements, to provide recreation and even suitable places to bury our dead….our cultural landscape that we call home. In the case of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, claiming the land in Middleboro as their own is more than just saying “I was here first”…it is about demonstrating that the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal ancestors lived on the land in Middleboro, had a burial ground on the land in Middleboro or hunted the land in Middleboro to feed their tribal members. This is about significant historical ties to the land, which according to their own Final Determination that was submitted as part of the application, there are none. There is no documented evidence that the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has significant historical ties to the land in Middleboro. But there is evidence that it belonged to another Tribe…..but that is not why I am writing this. I am writing this because I want to clarify why we say the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe does not have significant historical ties to the land in Middleboro…why they are not bound to Middleboro, but to Mashpee.

If we could, let us take a moment and examine the Tribe’s trust application through the eyes of the Secretary of the Interior and look for evidence of the Tribe’s significant history to the land in Middleboro. In order to do this, we need to look at the Tribe’s Final Determination, which as I stated, was included in the trust application. But first, let’s clarify the significance of the Final Determination to the Tribe itself.

In order to receive Federal acknowledgement as an Indian tribe, the following seven (mandatory) criteria had to be applicable and demonstrated in the Tribes Final Determination:

1. The tribe has been identified as an American Indian entity on a substantially continual basis since 1900.

2. A predominant portion of the tribe comprises a distinct community and has existed as a community from historical times until the present.

3. The tribe has maintained political influence or authority over its members as an autonomous entity from historical times to the present

4. The tribe must provide a copy of the group’s present governing document including its membership criteria. In the absence of a written document, the tribe must provide a statement describing in full its membership criteria and current governing procedures.

5. The tribe’s membership must consist of individuals who descend from a historical Indian tribe or from historical Indian tribes which combined and functioned as a single autonomous political entity.

6. None of the tribe’s members can be part of any other federally acknowledged Indian tribe.

7. The tribe nor its members cannot be the subject of a congressional legislation that has expressly terminated or forbidden the federal relationship.

The first requirement regarding their existence as a tribe since 1900 is accomplished mostly through newspaper or magazine articles that mention the tribe. The next four requirements are important because of what they show in the way of the Tribe’s history and geography. The last two items on this list requires no action from the Tribe as it’s the Federal Governments’ job to check these out.

When the Federal Government acknowledged the Mashpee tribe, they provided a summary of the evidence they had considered. Because there are so many details in the summary itself, I have abbreviated the comments so as to focus only on the geographical references and how these references pertain to the Tribe’s significant historical ties to Middleboro….or more accurately, how they don’t……

Distinct Community

“….since first contact to the present day they comprised a distinct community from non-members in and around the Town of Mashpee.”

“….almost all of the Mashpee lived in a defined geographical area, the Town of Mashpee.”

“….defined geographical area comprised almost exclusively of their members, while those who lived elsewhere usually did so on a temporary basis….”

“….those few who lived elsewhere were very close by in adjacent communities….”

“….few Mashpee who lived outside of the town, often in adjacent towns or other areas of Cape Cod, maintained contact with those in town as evidenced through a high rate of return migration.”

“….concentrated residential patterns indicating that a significant part of the group still lived in an exclusive settlement in the Town of Mashpee.”

“….residency patterns were good evidence of community.”

“….significant number of members living within or very near the group’s traditional location in the center of the Town of Mashpee.”

Political Influence

“….political control of the Town of Mashpee….”

“….evidence of the Mashpee’s residential patterns….was also sufficient to demonstrate political influence.”

“….gave the Mashpee greater self-government by establishing an “Indian District” in Mashpee, Massachusetts.”

“….as part of an Indian District….the Mashpee gained complete control of political, legal, and economic affairs in the town...”

“….Mashpee adapted the principal elements of the town governmental system….”

Criteria for Membership

“….'near Mashpee' means having a residence within 20 miles of Mashpee.”

Descended from a Historical Tribe

“….historical Indian tribe was the Wampanoag Indians residing at Mashpee, Barnstable County…”

“….88 percent of the petitioner’s members descended from the historical Mashpee tribe…”

“….petitioner submitted evidence that 97 percent of its members descended from the historical tribe…”

(Note: this number increased when new records were produced after the preliminary report was compiled).

I have two personal favorites from this list:

The first being the Tribe requiring their members to live near Mashpee….within 20 miles of Mashpee to be exact. Middleboro is definitely within 20 miles of Mashpee, right? Ummmmm….weelll…. it is if you fold the map like one of those back pages from a Mad Magazine. Remember those? First there is the original picture but you could fold the page and it would become another (usually more comical) picture. Yeah, it’s just like that. A quick fold here….and viola!

Or, perhaps they meant 20 miles as the crow flies….or a flying monkey…

I also love that the Tribe’s current members must be descendants of a historical tribe and in this case, the Federal Government defines historical tribe as ‘the Wampanoag Indians residing at Mashpee, Barnstable County”. Yet the Tribe is trying to claim significant historical ties to Middleboro. Really….I couldn’t make up stuff this amusing!

Here are some more fun facts from the Final Determination:

The number of times Mashpee is mentioned: 265
(this number does not include the footnotes or page headings)

The number of time Middleboro is mentioned: 0
(this number does include the footnotes or page headings)

So if I was reading this from the Secretary of the Interior’s point of view, I would have to conclude based on the Tribe’s own Final Determination, the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribe has significant historical ties to Mashpee….not to Middleboro. In fact, Middleboro is so insignificant, it wasn’t even mentioned at all in the Final Determination – yet the Tribe wants to claim significant historical ties after the fact so they can build a casino that happens to have a resort attached to it. Well, all I can say here is that the ties that bind have bound this Tribe not to Middleboro at all -- but to Mashpee alone. Claiming significant historical ties to the land in Middleboro at this point is nothing short of a hysterical attempt to try and hold onto the casino pipedream.

So if you were reading the Final Determination through the eyes of the Secretary of the Interior and trying to make a decision that will affect an entire region and making that decision in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity….and ensure fairness to both the Tribe and the surrounding community, I must ask dear reader…… do you see any significant hysterical…..eeerrr….historical ties that bind the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to Middleboro?

“Bound by hundreds of ties of desire and enslaved by lust and anger; they strive to obtain wealth by unlawful means for the fulfillment of desires.” - Bhagavad Gita

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

Wag the Dog

Why does a dog wag its tail? Because a dog is smarter than its tail. If the tail was smarter, the tail would wag the dog!

Do you remember the movie “Wag the Dog”? This is the one where Robert DeNiro stars as a Washington spinmaster who needs a war to distract public's attention from a sex scandal involving the President. In the movie, De Niro plays a presidential spin doctor, who is hired to do what he does best: con the American public on behalf of his clients, in this case, the American Government. All in all, it was a pretty funny movie based on the the old “tail wagging the dog” joke that to me is not so much a joke, but more of a metaphor or philosophical observation about how politics and propaganda influence the public into thinking how things should be – or are. In this case, the dog is the people and the tail is the government.

In our case, it is the Tribe or the Town of Middleboro BoS or even our own Governor telling us how things should be – or are….

Kind of like “there is an Indian Casino coming to Middleboro and there is nothing you can do about it….it is inevitable….”

Kind of like “casinos are economic engines that will bring jobs and stimulate the local economy, and heck…we need these jobs and we need the money from casino revenue or else we are doomed.”

Kind of like “the communities surrounding Middleboro had better put together their impacts – put together their numbers and give them to the Governor…”

The only joke here is that we are constantly being told by casino supporters that this isn’t a casino we are talking about, merely a resort which happens to have a casino. This entire thought process - no, this entire LIT process has really cranked up public opposition to the Land in Trust process and the support for an entire region to defend its quality of life – not be told a casino is inevitable, so take some money and live with it.

I recently spoke at the Regional Task Force Meeting held in Taunton in regards to where the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe was in the process of gaining Land in Trust in Middleboro as an initial reservation – land as an initial reservation wanted by the Tribe solely to build a mega-casino resort. I mainly spoke to the recently released regulations enhancing section 20 of IGRA and why these changes make the land in Middleboro ineligible for an initial reservation. It is important to understand that the new regulations do not change IGRA. IGRA prohibits gaming on Indian lands acquired after 1988, with a few exceptions. The new regulations were put into place to define and clarify these exceptions. As such, the regulations are a positive improvement towards maintaining a fair and well-regulated industry.

Here is a breakdown of my update on the changes to IGRA and how they relate to the Mashpee Wampanoag’s application for Land in Trust in Middleboro.

I told the RTF that CFO had confirmed with the Office of Indian Gaming that the regulations of section 20 went into effect on August 25, 2008.

There were significant clarifications to the initial reservation exceptions that make initial reservations eligible for gaming.

Under the new regulations, the Mashpee Tribe must demonstrate the land is located within an area where the Tribe has significant historical and modern ties to the land. Modern connections requirements are met when a Tribe can demonstrate the land is near where a significant number of tribal members reside. Well, according to their own application, the Mashpee Tribe has 1531 members – of the 1531 members, 838 live within 10 miles of Mashpee, 88 live in Plymouth County and 70 live in Bristol County.

The land to be placed into trust as an initial reservation must be within a 25 mile radius of the tribal headquarters or other government facility that has existed at that location for at least two years at the time of the application. The land in Middleboro is 39 miles away from their headquarters in Mashpee.

The Tribe must demonstrate other factors that establish the tribe’s current connection to the land.

According to the exception rule, the Tribe needs to meet at least one of the other requirements in order for the land to be eligible as an initial reservation and used for gambling. Well, as far as having modern connections demonstrated by having a significant number of tribal members residing near that land…I gave you the numbers they provided in their application, you do the math. They must also show significant historical ties to the land – I love that the comment from the government in the Federal Register says, “…it can’t be any ties to the land, it must be significant”.

So what is considered significant historical ties? The new regulations define this for us: The tribe must provide evidence to show that, at one time, they had lived on that site, or that they had a burial ground on that site, or even that they had hunted the land as a means to feed the tribe.

One could argue this point, but the Tribe’s other application, the one where they provided evidence to gain federal recognition, very clearly states, in all seven required criteria for historical ties, that their history is in Mashpee...no mention of Middleboro. It actually says that the Tribe has proved its presence since first contact to present day in Mashpee. In another section, the Tribe states that historically, a majority of their members lived in Mashpee, and some occasionally moved into communities adjacent to Mashpee or other areas of Cape Cod, but always with a high rate of return migration to Mashpee.

That is not evidence of significant historical ties to Middleboro. Unless adjacent means within 50 miles or so….which the last time I checked, it didn’t.

To the second point, as I said, the land in Middleboro is 39 miles away from their headquarters in Mashpee and even provided a map in their application that counted out the miles. Also, did you notice the wording “…or other governmental facility that has existed at that location for at least two years at the time of the application….” If I am reading this requirement correctly, the land is not within 25 miles of the Tribe’s headquarters and there certainly is no tribal government facility on the land in Middleboro.

To the third, and seemingly most vague requirement of “other factors” to determine the tribe’s current connection to the land, we need to know what else the modern requirement connection entails. Well, according to the lengthy explanation provided in the Federal Register, aside from the significant number of tribal members living near the land in question, the modern connection requirement is meant to provide an element of notice to the surrounding community -- the FR’s words, not mine. So the bottom line is if the Tribe has modern connections to the land, the surrounding community has notice of the tribal presence (again…the FR’s words, not mine). Yes, I can see them meeting this requirement in Mashpee…..but not in Middleboro – well, at least not until they announced that they had some foreign casino investors agree to build a casino on their behalf and had their buddy Herb Strathers back them financially and purchase land for them in Middleboro to be placed in trust to build a casino. Yeah – they certainly got their “community awareness” then….yet the community wasn’t even allowed to speak, at least not speak negatively about the casino and the host Town BOS is legally required to support the Tribe in their efforts, thanks to good old section 22B in the agreement between Tribe and Town. The only thing the Middleboro residents knew last year was that It’s coming so sign an agreement to get mitigation money – or get no money and a casino…..

Then I hear on a local radio show that I had apparently avoided talking about the grandfather clause in the new section 20 regulations and that the Tribe’s application is grandfathered in and the RTF would be better off getting their impacts and cost figures together and give them to the Governor so he can negotiate for these Towns with the Tribe. The conversation went on to say that the Towns will not get a seat at the table and their only hope was to tell the Governor how much money they needed.

Resistance is futile…..

Ummm…..huh?! Didn’t the Town of Middleboro do just that 18 months ago to the tune of 7 million dollars, an amount which is looking smaller and smaller even to casino proponents as time goes by and no casino is built. So small in fact, that the Town feels the need to also ensure they get more money from the State because 7 Million just isn’t going to cut it where mitigation and infrastructure and local public safety support are concerned. Yet, the same individual who helped push the Middleboro agreement through is now telling the surrounding communities to come up with a number and hope they get it. It is a situation of the tail wagging the dog, but it is better to be prepared than to get nothing or not enough.

My goodness, how we have come full circle and yes, all I can see is that pesky tail desperately trying to wag the dog casino style. Eighteen months ago the town of Middleboro was told to take the money because it was coming anyway…now we have someone who sits on the Middleboro BoS telling the other Towns the exact same thing. We even had the Tribe attempting to convince our Governor that he had better start negotiations because no matter what ultimately happens with the negotiations, please know that it is the tribe’s intent to operate America’s most successful casino resort in Middleboro.

I could say the tribe meant to say bingo hall resort because the Governor can’t be forced into a compact, but there is no need. The application does not meet the requirements for an initial reservation, and the land itself does not qualify for gaming under IGRA….and the application is not grandfathered.

I did have the opportunity discuss the grandfathering position with Adam Bond recently on his radio show. For the record, he was a gracious host and I truly appreciate that. I also appreciate his willingness to discuss his position that the application is grandfathered and allowing me to discuss my position that it is not. Under the grandfathering section of the regulation there are certain situations where an application will be processed under the old regulations.

According to section 292.26 Subpart D – Effect of the Regulations – the new regulations apply to all requests except they do not alter final agency decisions made before the date of enactment of the new regulations and….the new regulations apply to final agency action taken after the effective date except that they shall not apply to applicable agency actions when, before the effective date the Department (Department of Interior) or the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) issued a written opinion regarding the applicability of the land to be used for gaming and provides that the Department or the NIGC retains full discretion to qualify, withdraw or modify such opinions.

Here is how the Grandfather section is explained:

Section 292.26 was added in order to address these issues. During the course of implementing IGRA section 20, the Department and the NIGC have issued a number of legal opinions to address the ambiguities left by Congress and provide legal advice for agency decision makers, or in some cases, for the interested parties facing an unresolved legal issue. These legal opinions typically have been issued by the Department's Office of the Solicitor or the NIGC's Office of General Counsel. In some cases, the Department or the NIGC subsequently relied on the legal opinion to take some final agency action. In those cases, section 292.26(a) makes clear that these regulations will have no retroactive effect to alter any final agency decision made prior to the effective date of these regulations. In other cases, however, the Department or the NIGC may have issued a legal opinion without any subsequent final agency action. It is expected that in those cases, the tribe and perhaps other parties may have relied on the legal opinion to make investments into the subject property or taken some other actions that were based on their understanding that the land was eligible for gaming. Therefore, section 292.26(b) states that these regulations also shall not apply to applicable agency actions taken after the effective date of these regulations when the Department or the NIGC has issued a written opinion regarding the applicability of 25 U.S.C. 2719 before the effective date of these regulations. In this way, the Federal Government may be able to follow through with its prior legal opinions and take final agency actions consistent with those opinions, even if these regulations now have created a conflict. However, these regulations will not affect the Department's or the NIGC's ability to qualify, modify or withdraw its prior legal opinions. In addition, these regulations do not alter the fact that the legal opinions are advisory in nature and thus do not legally bind the persons vested with the authority to make final agency decisions.

Here is how a Tribe would go about getting a legal written opinion in order to meet the exceptions in IGRA, and please keep in mind that the Mashpee Tribe has no newly acquired lands….

Section 292.3 How does a tribe seek an opinion on whether its newly acquired lands meet, or will meet, one of the exceptions in this subpart?

(a) If the newly acquired lands are already in trust and the request does not concern whether a specific area of land is a ``reservation,'' the tribe may submit a request for an opinion to either the National Indian Gaming Commission or the Office of Indian Gaming.

(b) If the tribe seeks to game on newly acquired lands that require a land-into-trust application or the request concerns whether a specific area of land is a ``reservation,'' the tribe must submit a request for an opinion to the Office of Indian Gaming.

The land in Middleboro falls under paragraph (b).

Let’s look at this for a minute. Tribes are able to submit a request for an Indian lands opinion to either the NIGC or to the Office of Indian Gaming (OIG). A tribe should only submit a request to the NIGC when newly acquired lands are already in trust and, for example, there is a pending gaming ordinance or management contract before the NIGC and should submit a request to the OIG if the request concerns reservation boundaries or reservation status. In the case of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, the NIGC could not have written an opinion on the Middleboro land because the land is not in trust, and neither did the OIG or it would have been listed, which was so kindly pointed out by Gladys Kravitz recently.

Even so, if there was an opinion written about the Mashpee Wampanoag’s application, it needs to be stressed that an opinion provided in response to a request is not a final agency action under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). According to APA, final agency actions only occur when agency official’s act on a determination pursuant to powers granted them by Congress. Therefore, any communications by the opining Agency are informal pronouncements. But again, there is no record of an opinion listed with the BIA or with the State of Massachusetts.

Now, before these new regulations went into effect, there were six hearings held to discuss the proposed changes to IGRA. Because of the six hearings by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and what they had learned about the abuses of IGRA, the new regulations were meant to apply to all of the active applications, most of which had been on hold since the regulations were first withdrawn from the Federal Register. Because the old regulations were so ineffective at preventing “reservation shopping”, which was heavily frowned on by the government, the Committee wanted to be sure that no more abuses of this process would continue. It was for that reason, most of the pending applications at that time are now being processed under the new regulations.

The only applications that were allowed to be grandfathered in were the ones that had land opinions written by NIGC (because IGRA only allows gaming on Indian Lands, no matter when they were taken into trust). These opinions were for gaming on land that was already in trust (state or federal) or within a Tribe’s reservation boundaries. This was allowed because some Tribes already had governorship over land in which the NIGC had written an opinion and the BIA thought it would be fair to process these applications under the previous regulations due to the assumption that the tribe may already have made an investment, or had taken steps towards building a casino. But even then, the new regulations still do say that an opinion by NIGC could be withdrawn, or modified.

This is why the Mashpee Tribe’s application will be processed under the new regulations and are not grandfathered in….they do not have land already in trust and they do not have an opinion written for the land they want Herb Strathers to give to the Federal Government on their behalf to be taken into trust. The Mashpee Tribe has asked for two pieces of land, both as Initial Reservations. Unfortunately for them, requirements that were difficult to start with now just got all that much harder under the new regulations.

So try and explain all that in five minutes or less at an RTF meeting – or on a radio show for that matter….

In short, the expression “the tail wagging the dog” refers to any case where something of greater significance to one group of people (such as greed and money) is driven by something less significant to another group of people (such as not wanting a casino built in their community). The fact that the Mashpee Wampanoag’s application is weak at best and the notion of a casino actually being built in Middleboro is nothing short of a pipe dream, casino advocates still continue to try and wag that dog. Tell everyone it is coming…. tell every surrounding town they had better throw mitigation figures at the Governor now before it is too late….tell the Governor and the entire state that they are going to build America’s most successful casino resort….wag wag wag..

Say what they will, or assume what they will and present it as truth, they cannot change the fact that around here, the tail is not smarter than the dog….and the dog ain’t listening anyway.

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

The Elephant has left the Building

Mere hours after I posted “When Elephants Speak”, the Enterprise posted yet another casino related article that in my eyes, really showed the Tribe’s and investors true colors. They have made it perfectly clear how much they care about the host community of Middleboro by excluding them in the negotiations and their actions left me thinking “this is proof positive they don’t care at all about any of us”.

The Tribe had planned on hand delivering a letter to Governor Deval Patrick this morning, formally asking to begin compact negotiation talks….it seems they forgot to mention one tiny little request that has not sat well with some….

The tribe’s seven-page formal letter to the governor, scheduled to be hand-delivered today, makes no provision for a representative of Middleboro to be at the bargaining table.

Middleboro Chairman to the BOS, and avid casino proponent, Adam Bond, had a few things to say this morning on his blog about the exclusion of Middleboro in the letter. I read his blog and I could have sworn that Hell had frozen over because I found myself not only agreeing with him, but actually outraged for him , his Town and for all the good (and not so good) folks who have supported this Tribe’s plan from day one. No….I don’t agree that the casino is a good thing, nor do I agree with his and others infallible support of this project, but I most certainly do agree that the Tribe had an agreement with the Town and they had better damned well stick to it! I mean, how dare they attempt to ignore provisions in the IGA and exclude Middleboro? Makes one wonder how many other provisions in that agreement they may attempt to ignore in the future if that land is ever actually placed in trust.

He calls on the tribe to “repair the wound” caused by the lack of an invitation to the bargaining table and wrote: “If it doesn’t, is there any reason to continue to support an illusory partnership?”

Yes…why support an illusory partnership? I guess when you have been sucked into the illusion long enough, you actually start to believe it is real. I hope this is a wake up call for all the pro casino people out there. I am not saying its time to stop supporting the casino, I am merely saying that it is time to hold the Tribe accountable for all the promises, written or said, public or private that were made. Hold them accountable and don’t let them continue to bamboozle you too.

And the saga continues. This is Middleboro, you know….

I just finished reading the latest installment of the Casino Chronicles in the Enterprise and in the course of minutes my outrage had morphed into….you got it….jaw dropping amazement. It has been a matter of hours since the first article came out and it is now being reported that the Tribe had every intention of including Middleboro in the letter and it is so unfortunate that the letter they gave the press was a draft….yes…..a draft letter and they hadn’t yet finished the final letter – the one that will include Middleboro – the one that wasn’t delivered today, and it is unclear when the revised letter will be delivered to the Governor.

The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe says a letter floated yesterday requesting official compact negotiations with the state about a proposed casino was just a draft, and tribal leaders are now revising it to include a representative of the town of Middleboro at the bargaining table.

Hmmmm…..I see a pattern here. Poor Mr. Hendricks, his legs must be exhausted from all that back- peddling he has done today. Funny thing about this “draft” letter…..it was signed by Mr. Hendricks in the presence of the media. Now why in the world would he sign a draft letter and give it to the media?

Anyone?.....anyone?.....

On a brighter note, it seems that our Governor has seen the light and is now clearly not ready to pull the rope for the Tribe. Be sure to watch the video...

He said the tribe needs to get a hold of the land first before formal negotiations can really take place. "We want to be constructive, we need to be responsible. We don't want to be hasty," he said.

The governor said any talks right now would be hypothetical. "I respect the tribe, and I respect their interests, but until the land and trust is sorted out, there's not a whole lot that's meaningful about those conversations."

Finally!! Our Governor seems to be working in our best interests. Thank you Governor Patrick…..haste makes waste!

If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters. ~Alan Simpson

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him. ~James D. Miles

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

When Elephants Speak

Here we go again…the Enterprise is reporting that the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe will begin talks with the State on the proposed casino. This recent article comes on the heels of a similar article from Monday, which Bellicose Bumpkin blogged about. What bothers me about these news articles is that in reading them, one could begin to think that we have some sort of short and long term memory malfunction...that we cannot remember the issues surrounding the Tribe's application or all the events that have happened over the past year. Luckily, us anti casino bloggers are blessed with memories like elephants....we never forget.

Sometimes I feel like I am on this not so merry-go-round of “the casino is coming…the casino is coming….time to make a deal”. Haven’t we already covered this ground? First of all….the Tribe can talk to the State or Governor Patrick all it wants but that doesn’t change one simple fact – they cannot enter into an agreement with the State when there is no land in trust to negotiate about. It will be denied by the Secretary.

Second of all, as we have learned, the State does not have to negotiate anything with the Tribe – land in trust or not. Once again, the Tribe can talk all they want…heck, they can even write up a Tribal-State compact but that does not mean Massachusetts has to play. Class III gambling is illegal in this State and according to section 2710 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA)….

Class III gaming activities shall be lawful on Indian lands only if such activities are….located in a State that permits such gaming for any purpose by any person, organization, or entity, and…conducted in conformance with a Tribal-State compact.

So let’s break this down. The State of Massachusetts does not allow Class III gaming so technically, it does not need to allow class III gaming for the Tribe if they ever manage to get the land in Middleboro placed in trust. Oh sure, our State allows non-profit organizations to conduct “bazaars” to raise money for specific purposes and has strict regulations specific to these types of events. For example, in order to have gaming events such as raffles, casino or Las Vegas nights, or poker tournaments, they may only be conducted by a non-profit organization (whether or not incorporated) that has been organized and actively functioning in Massachusetts for at least two years and is one of the following:

Veterans’ organization chartered by Congress;
Church or religious organization;
Fraternal or fraternal benefit society, such as an Elks Club or union:
Educational or charitable organization;

Civic or service club; or
Other club or organization operated exclusively for nonprofit purposes.

These groups are qualified nonprofit organization and represent limited exceptions to the general law prohibiting gambling (I love that this State calls it what it is...gambling) in the Commonwealth.

- mass.gov-

So yes, this State does allow certain groups, organizations or entities to conduct class III gambling under strict regulations so I am sure the Tribe will try and force the Commonwealth’s hand with their inevitability scare tactics and say that since these non-profits can have certain class III games, then they can too….oh yeah, they already did that.

Gosh, perhaps the State should ban class III gambling all together for everyone so the Tribe can’t try and force us to give up our sovereignty….oh, but then all the other groups who use these events to raise money for charities would lose out. Some also might say that the right thing to do would be for the Tribe to not ask for class III gambling at all as not to potentially ruin it for all those non-profit organizations who hold these events to raise money for good causes…..but then again, I highly doubt the State would go to such extremes to try and make a point. Nope, all the State has to do in this case is follow Texas' lead and not negotiate a compact.

The important thing to remember here is that even if our Governor goes ahead with these “talks”, slot machines are not legal in this State so there will be no slots for the Tribe even if they do manage to get the land placed into trust and are able to negotiate a compact and have it approved by the Legislature…and we all know its about the slots.

The fact of the matter is, the Tribe must have an approved Tribal-State compact in order to conduct any class III gaming and as we have learned from Texas, we have sovereign rights as a State that the Tribe cannot take away from us. I would hope they understand and honor the sanctity of our sovereignty just as much as they expect us to honor the sanctity of their sovereign nation status. For the record, I do not believe that I, nor anyone else, is required to support this casino project to honor the sanctity of the Tribe’s sovereign rights. Call me what you will, but the Tribe’s sovereignty, though long awaited and well deserved, does not guarantee them the right to build a casino that will rival Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun, which brings me to my next “bone of contention” with this LIT process.

The above mentioned Enterprise article quotes Tribal Leader Sean Hendricks as saying

“No matter what ultimately happens with the negotiations, please know that it is the tribe's intent to operate America's most successful casino resort in Middleboro," Hendricks wrote in his request to open negotiations. He said the tribe plans to "build something that's equivalent to Fox Woods or Mohegan Sun."

Really? But…but…just five short months ago, this Tribe presented a casino plan for the land in Middleboro to the BIA and to us, John Q. Public, at a Federal hearing specifically designed to identify real environmental impacts - a plan that did not look anything like a Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun. I am talking about the same casino plans that were submitted to the BIA and posted in the Federal Register… you know…the plans that the Environmental Impact Statement will be addressing. I seem to remember these plans did not reflect a facility that’s equivalent to Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun….not even close. So….those plans were what?.....nothing? a farce? ….maybe a lie or misrepresentation meant to mislead the public as to the real plans the Tribe and investors have for the land?....maybe they were hoping to make the whole environmental impact statement easier to deal with, or hope the BIA would say an EIS wasn’t needed, that it would issue a FONSI (findings of no significant impacts) or maybe they were hoping to just do an environmental assessment? How can anyone address real impacts from their “casino plans” when what they really want to do once the land is in trust is to build a monstrosity to rival Foxwoods on 500 acres of land – forested wetlands, no less.

How in the world can anyone, including our Governor, think that the Tribe or the investors are being open and honest with them about anything? Jeez….they have already bamboozeled the BIA with their so-called plans…now they want to bamboozle our State too. Here is another jaw dropper of a statement:

Hendricks said he will lobby for Middleboro to get a larger piece of the state's share of the casino profits, and said he's not forgetting about the surround towns. "We want what's best for the whole region."

Again…..really? Aside from the fact that Middleboro has already made their bed with the investors and don’t deserve to take any more, especially from the State’s share, I highly doubt Mr. Hendricks really wants what is best for the whole region. In fact, I seem to remember a certain local radio show where he made his cameo appearance and said he the Tribe would not deal directly with surrounding Towns ….they would need to go to the State with their issues, not the Tribe. So my question is, if the Tribe won’t even talk directly with the surrounding Towns, how in the world can he say they will negotiate for these Towns?

I seem to remember sitting in a hot stuffy auditorium a little over a year ago at my Town's Community Forum on the proposed Middleboro casino, a forum that the Tribe was invited to attend....which they didn't. My Town's BoS held a forum for it's residents to discuss their concerns over a proposed casino.....the BoS and our Town Planner was hoping that someone from the Tribe would attend so they could talk to us about our concerns...maybe even alleviate some of them.....but they didn't come. They didn't care about our concerns over potential impacts then and I am certain they don't care even now, and if they do, they have a funny way of showing it. So again I ask, how in the world can Sean Hendricks say he will negotiate for my Town when he doesn't even know what the specific impacts to my Town will be....or those impacts specific to Lakeville, Plympton, Halifax, Plymouth, Kingston, Bridgewater, and all the other towns in our region.

My personal take on all of this is that the Tribe will say and do anything it needs to get this land placed in trust so they can build their pipe dream. In order to improve their chances, they not only scared the hell out of residents of a small quiet southern New England town to get them to approve an Intergovernmental Agreement between the Tribe and town, but they were also less than honest with the BIA and the public about the scope of their project at the hearing in March, and are now saying whatever they need to say to get our State willing to negotiate with them.

Since we are like elephants who never forget, let us not forget a few other very important facts here . First of all….as other States have shown, Massachusetts is not required to negotiate with the Tribe and without a compact the best they could hope for is a glorified bingo hall. Secondly….. the new section 20 regulations are now in effect and the land in Middleboro does not qualify as an initial reservation. As it stands, their application does not show past and current significant ties to the land in Middleboro and will most likely be denied. And last, but certainly not least, the Amicus Brief will be heard by the Supreme Court in November and the outcome could very well make their application null and void. Requesting that our Commonwealth begin negotiations is quite premature at this point and our Governor is better off telling them that this State will not even entertain the idea of compact negotiations over land that is not only not owned by the Tribe, but will not make negotiations about land that is not in trust. There is no point in negotiating something that does not exist.

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

Topix of Conversation

Why We fight

Recently, our extremely talented and educational blogger Gladys Kravitz answered her own question to us as to why we fight. She wanted to know what motivates us to fight a casino in our community. Here was my response:

What keeps me fighting is the wrongness of this entire situation. The more I learn, the more I want to fight. I got into this because I am worried about the future of our community and the irrepairable damage to our quality of life a casino would bring.

I do it for my family...
I do it for my friends...
I do it for my neighbors....
I do it for my community....

and I do it for me because I know in my heart, not fighting, not standing up for my own rights, for all of our rights, and not demanding a fair and honest process is even more wrong than the casino itself.

NO CASINO!

here is another answer to that question:

Why do I keep fighting? Because it's wrong. It's wrong to be blindsided by a land sale whether or not you've been involved in the politics of the town or not. Our elected officials should have had the forethought to warn us all, knowing the potential impact a sale like this could have to a town and community(...and I'm not talking about some small advertisement in the Middleboro gazette)I fight because will live in a country where things like this should not happen. The process is done so coyly that unless you've lived through it, noone would believe you.I fight because it's important to have a voice and speak out....this is America after all, although that past year has made me wonder how this could happen here.

and another....

I continually remain in the fight for the quality of life for my children. My family has lived here longer than the Mashpee were a real "tribe". A polyglot of "praying indians" gathered in one place does not automatically make any one group a "tribe". I'm not in it for power, popularity or political agenda. I'm in it because it is the right thing to do, win or lose.

and another...

What keeps me fighting? I believe good will overcome evil, but "the good" have to group together & fight long & hard. All of you anti-casino people,cfo.org,all you bloggers, are the good & you all have been fighting this evil, long & hard, so I thank all of you & may the god of your choice BLESS YOU for all you've done in the past yr.

WE WILL WIN, THERE WILL BE NO CASINO IN MIDDLEBORO!!!!!!!!!!

and another...

I fight the casino knowing that it is the symptom of a bigger problem, and that communities all over the country are faced with the very same "done deal" scenario, complete with local elected leaders who have failed to successfully manage a budget and need an easy answer to thier fiscal problems.I fight the casino because the M'boro BOS didn't.I fight the casino because through research I have learned that an apathetic public has saddled me with an inept government, and maybe our battle will help change some of that. I fight this casino because I was one of those people who wasn't paying attention, and I was forced to fight if I wanted to have a say in what I wanted for my community.And I continue to fight because I am paying attention now, and after the casino issue is done, my job as a citizen isn't.As a greatful citizen, I would like to tip my hat to everyone in this fight:-CFO (past and present officers/members); good people who dedicated themselves wholeheartedly to what they believed in.-Bloggers like Bellicose Bumpkin, Gladys Kravits and Carver Chick. Keeping the public informed would have been impossible without you.-And last but not least, I wish to thank everyone who said we had no choice. It forced me to do my own research, and through it, I learned how to effectively oppose you.Keep well & keep fighting, Gladys!

and another....

I fight to educate and share the research with those who; don't have the motivation, the need, the compassion for their neighbors, feel that geography will keep them safe, are hoodwinked by their leaders, mis-informed by the media and feel-good politics. Expanded gambling is not the answer. We should look to build our future on our strengths, and not our weaknesses.

and another...

I was lied to.My property was vandalized.My town and my way of life is threatened.I will never forget.We cannot let this happen.

Now if you consider how this all came about...then I would hope you can begin to understand why we fight. My point here is that people who are against a casino in Middleboro are against it for real and valid reasons. Whether it is because we don't like how this was shoved down our throats and told it is inevitable

resistance is futile...

or how it will destroy our quality of life in our hometowns, or because the process is flawed and the Tribe has no right to call that land an initial reservation, we fight because we know that everything about this nightmare had been wrong from day one. Yet we are constantly told that a casino in Middleboro will bring jobs and money, and how a casino on sovereign land will jumpstart our economy because it is a super special and magical economic engine.... and let's face it, the Mashpee Tribe deserves the land regardless of how the surrounding communities feel or what the law says because the pilgrims were nothing but a bunch of murdering thieves....and if we don't bend over and take it, well....

resistance is futile...

then we are nothing but a bunch of racist, indian hating, evil, lying, ignorant people. We are nazis and dictators...we are scum...and you know what.....it doesn't matter what they say because we know who we are, we know the law and we know our rights.

So we fight.


How anti-casino people fight

Casinofacts.org

Casino Free Mass

How "evil" anti-casino bloggers fight

The Blogfathers


How (some) pro-casino people fight

XXX (cfo member) and XXX (CFO Director) scum sucking toads.

Mommy, why do all the kids at school call you a liar?
Mommy, why is daddy never here when uncle Adam is?
Mommy, why do we have chicken every night?
Mommy. why are you always on the computer?Mommy, when is the man with the marshmellows going to visit you again?

being descended from those dregs of society england sent over on those first boats to plymouth ain't exactly something to brag about. have you read their bios and histories? omg, what a bunch of losers. no wonder the Brits jumped at a chance to dump them here. wicked losas! lmao!

and the pure-i-tans were exactly pure. francis eaton, 1st plymouth carpenter, had a mistress to keep him warm. haha! too funny! lice infested, disease ridden bunch of fornicators...why is everybody so proud to trace their roots back to the mayflower?

This entire area was founded by theives and murderers.

which part of the CFO chicken tastes best? Wing, legs or breast? Time for a pig roast? Anyone know where I can get three little piggies?

Are CFO dumb or just stupid?You people keep saying that this is about a casino. You are nothing but indian haters. You would hate it if they decided to build a dry cleaners or a mall or anything on the land they will own through a legal purchase. It isn't about a casino it is about your hate of them. Well you know what. Why doesn't everyone just go back to where their ancestors are from and who ever remains gets the land.

Call the police. Call DSS. She has kids too.

Casino Factless has done one piece of research and nothing else. Over and over and over again they have been proven wrong.Casino Factless are bigots and racists. They say it will bring crime. Middleboro's got it. They say it will bring prositution. Middleboro's got it. They say it will bring bad elements to town. Mary Tufts won't leave Middleboro alone. Call someone other than the guy from North Stonington who fights against the recognition of Native Americans. If you do call him, ask him what happened to housing prices in his community since Foxwoods opened up as compared to the region. Ask him why he is against Native Americans providing for themselves. Ask him if he blongs or supports CERA (look them up and see what you find).

Well, if they are going to let CFO use the lawn, why not host the KKK's next fund raiser? These secretive harassment groups seem to have quite a bit in common.

and my personal favorite...

If RY is really serious his oranization will get rid of MT's Mini-me CC and the pathetic "1623." Then they may be able to sit at the table with a shread of dignity.

Hey...if I am going to be called a mini version of Gladys Kravitz, then my work has been done. My goodness...I can't think of a better compliment than that. I mean, here we have an extremely talented blogger who has personally witnessed the atrocities of a defunct BoS for the past year, found the courage to actually talk about it and have the "spit in your eye" attitude to call out bad town government and stand up for what is right .... and yet somehow continues to stand up for what she believes in lieu of luid photo contests, threats, harrassment and downright nastiness from a group of people who call themselves "kind and caring citizens" -- and I am being called her mini-me. I am being compared to a woman who has more integrity in her little finger than an entire flock of flying monkeys combined and all I have to say to that is...

THANK YOU!

I am honored. I cannot think of another woman who I know (besides my most excellent mom) that I would like to be considered the same calibur as.....Gladys, you are an inspiration to us all and we love you for it. You ROCK!




And for all the flying monkeys posting on topix, please do us all a favor and just zip it. The gossip, harrassment, paranoid insinuations, cyberbullying and juvenile posts are not helping to heal the damage that has already been done to this community by a casino that isn't even here.

And because I just love this video.... (thank you Gladys - number one on youtube. ya!)

Never give in.. never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force.. never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.
- Winston Churchill -

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