Here are the proposed amendments
And again, to paraphrase Ed Markey when he was a Rep: “The Speaker can tell you where to sit, he cannot tell you how to vote.” That is, unless our elected representatives LET the Speaker tell them how to vote.
Mind, I am not even going into the reality that this is fund raiser season and the Casino and Gambling Lobby has lots of money sloshing about.
I will be hoping to see courage and good judgment. I won’t be the only voter watching, either.
Please share widely!
Here’s hoping that DeLeo avoids the temptation to hand over slot licenses to the owners of Suffolk and Wonderland without an appropriate and transparent bidding process.
it will be an entirely fair and transparent process, open to all eligible businesses whose names begin with either “W” or “S” and end with “D” or “K.”
You are always good for a laugh. I’ll see you at the public hearings. What, no public hearing?
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p>That reminds me of a story about public hearings. While on the local school committee we annually had a statutory requirement to conduct a public hearing on the annual school budget. Year one we had the annual hearing and the SC engaged in dialog with the community relative to a budget that cut many positions. Frankly it was a rather unpleasant evening. Year two we decided to listen. Little dialog, just good old fashioned listening. It worked. The process was a bit more comfortable and residents appreciated the fact that they had a chance to speak their mind. Off line residents looking or specific answers knew they could call the Chair (me) or the administration. Ah so what’s the point? They call them hearings for a reason. Speaker DeLeo is doing himself and his fellow reps a major disservice by not having a public hearing. In the long run they will be better off for having let people have their say. Listening works.
Rep or Senator who votes for these giveaways out of office. This is clearly the Speaker using the current economic situation to deliver on prior promises to his supporters to bring slots to the tracks in his district. It is shameful how he hardly even acknowledges the conflict in which he finds himself. The jobs and locations are squarely within his district. He will ensure that the two tracks are provided with slots so they can be up and running and printing cash for his supporters. Meanwhile, we have a State that is moving to “balance” its books on the backs of people who choose to spend their money gambling. All too often the people who spend their money in these locations can ill afford to lose money. Yet, here we are, ready to place slots within easy reach.
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p>I have not been to either track in more than a decade, but when I was last at Wonderland it was not full of people who could afford to lose vast sums of money. Yet, it is these vast sums of money that we are seeking to “balance” or State budget.
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p>All I have to say is shame on the Legislature if they pass this bill and shame on us if we let it happen. This is not the way our state professes to believe in supporting the less able amongst us. Yet, we will allow ourselves to be sold out for visions of grandeur. The only issue is the grandeur is for the Speaker’s friends and not us.
Nice to see you’re all getting so exercised over Speaker DeLeo’s legislation, which will be approved in the House despite the know-nothing rantings emanating from these postings.
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p>When your idols — corrupt former Speaker Sal DiMasi and his faithful manservant, state Rep. Dan Bosley — imposed their personal dictates on the House and the economic development committee, respectively, you cheered their anti-Democratic heavy handedness.
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p>Now you’re complaining?
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p>Unlike soon-to-be-convicted Sal and Sheriff Bosley (don’t bet on it!), DeLeo has held hearings and taken a leadership role in authorizing a study to determine the pro’s and cons. That study follows other studies by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and the University of Massachusett Dartmouth.
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p>Corrupt Sal never initiated a study to determine the facts. You would assume these politically correct friends on BMG would want to know the facts, good or bad. But alas, the politically correct know what they know and don’t want to be confused by the facts.
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p>So, fellow BMG scribes, get used to majority rule in the Massachusetts State Legislature. It ain’t Corrupt Sal’s Legislature anymore!!!
Good to see you are posting in favor of Casinos, AGAIN. Your posts since you have joined have, as far as I can see, only been on posts related to casinos and always in favor of casinos. Never a word against casinos only against those that oppose casinos.
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p>That’s fine, but don’t expect others to take you as an impartial observer when all you do is proclaim that casinos are good for MA and its residents.
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p>I do not agree. I support your right to take the opposite side, but please feel free to let us all know if you are associated with a pro casino group, lobby or stand to benefit from the proposal’s passage.
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p>I have no financial stake either way. I just do not think that slots at the tracks in the way that they are proposed is best for the Commonwealth. No bid, no competition = rigged deal for DeLeo’s friends. My thoughts.
And did so when Sal was Speaker, and had fun run ins with Finneran too. You just sound like a paid shill for casinos to me.
…from the Mihos 2010 campaign. It’s going to people in the Middleboro area.
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p>I THINK Mihos is the only candidate who DOES oppose resort casinos.
I’ll bet we all know a few people that have allowed sports betting to destroy their lives.
We can tell the different between state-sponsored resort casinos and those opened under tribal rights of Native Americans. Anyone who opens a casino here is a worse businessman than the typical gambling operative.