Just as with all gambling, where the House always wins….. I have no doubt that the Speaker of our House will win the votes he needs to bring slots to Massachusetts, just as the former Speaker was able to win the votes he needed to keep slots out of our state. Nonetheless, even with the cards stacked against me, I maintain my strong opposition to bringing to Massachusetts a business whose profits rely on the creation and exploitation of a devastating illness – gambling addiction. As a Representative from Newton, I have laid out my views in a recent op.ed. piece for the Newton TAB, which I will share with BMG.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/new…
Please share widely!
Ruth,
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p>I just read your op-ed and I think it’s very good, and yet I think it falls far short of what is needed at this very moment.
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p>You have laid out well why you think it’s a bad idea for your colleagues to introduce casinos and slots to Massachusetts.
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p>But I think you need to lay out how flawed this whole process is, and how the public’s voices are being kept out of the “decision-making.” Your party, the so-called Democratic Party, is staging yet another anti-democratic floor vote without public hearings and public scrutiny, and it’s not enough to say that you’re simply voting against this bill.
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p>All of your colleagues who simply vote “no” against this bill and call it a day are tacitly supporting the corrupt, business-as-usual Beacon Hill hubris. This is such an important issue, with such long-term negative impacts on the Commonwealth, and the environment, that it’s a travesty to be ramming this through without a broader public debate.
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p>It’s time to stand up for democracy itself, because it seems to be fading away faster and faster. I’d love to see you write up how bad this process is for Massachusetts, and stand up for public hearings on this new bill. It’s not just about addiction… it’s about the horrible economic model and the long-term economic and environmental consequences as well.
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p>Thanks!
http://gopetition.com/online/3…
For speaking out and for taking the stand you have.
“The Speaker can tell me where to sit, he cannot tell me how to vote.”
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p>What is needed for Democracy to flourish is courage and independence on the part of elected representatives and senators.
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p>What is needed for autocracy and corruption is the “go along to get ahead” attitude.
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p>Again, thank you Ruth Balser for being a woman of courage and honor.
Gladys, your new blog I Know What You Did Last Session is simply ingenious!!
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p>Your assumptions about how this is likely to play out are dead-on. This might be the first pre-emptive accountability strike this state has ever seen! There’s still time to stop this bill dead in its tracks. My organization has helped stop some disastrous and unpopular bills which otherwise seemed destined to rule the day. They are counting on people’s silence. They are counting on our feeling disempowered, unable to creatively organize a powerful opposition to business as usual.
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p>But there seems to be something percolating out there.
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p>The boycott petition is up to 323 signatures, the cost-benefit analysis petition is up to 390. Compiling the signers’ comments on the first one would make for a great public wall of shame.
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p>There have been some great calls for people to speak up now, like this one and this one.
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p>Let’s get the phones at the State House ringing next week with angry voters, and make your preemptive accountability strike a success!!
If you are interested in the question of gambling in Mass, WGBH is doing a series all week called The Last Resort, and Basic Black is doing a show on casinos’ impact on communities of color Thursday night at 7:30pm on channel 2 and live streaming on basicblack.org. You can join a live, simultaneous chat on the subject as well. Hope to see you there!