Oregon’s potential off-reservation casino

“Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed a contract Wednesday allowing the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs to build what would be Oregon's first off-reservation casino in Cascade Locks.

The contract signed by Kulongoski and Tribal Chairman Ron Suppah is the first of its kind, with the tribes agreeing to [eventually] give the state as much as 17 percent of their gross gambling profits to a nonprofit that, in turn, would donate the money for state programs… most of it for tuition aid for college students. Tribal officials estimate that after 10 years, the casino will have contributed $270 million to state programs.”
-The O

Although it would be nice that the casino would eventually give as much as 17 percent of their gambling profits to state programs, it is not a morally correct way of giving money to the government.

This is the only kind of addictive thing in our state that is actually being encouraged, and that will give our state money. Let’s take smoking and drinking for examples. We tax cigarettes not only to discourage people from smoking because it kills them, but to raise funding for our government. Also, we tax alcohol (although not very much) to defer the purchase of alcoholic beverages, because they are harmful to people, and to society. And the government also benefits from this. But gambling is different.

Gambling is an addiction too, yet we are rushing to make it available to even more people? I am not saying that nobody should gamble, but should one of the main reasons to open a casino be to get state funding? That is what it looks like to me, and I do not agree with it. If it is really about state funding, then there are more effective ways to get it. Sadly, this is only one of my main concerns about casinos in off-reservation land.

United States: Political Island

We are living in a nation based upon a reality TV show. Of course I am speaking of survivor. It starts with all of the potential and current supporters of US affairs. But instead of any physical or emotional abuse that would pressure a normal person to get kicked off of the island, Bush is the factor. With every choice he makes he further separates the United States from the rest of the world. Who is going to be the last supporter? It seems like Bush is rushing to find out!

There are many examples of the ways Bush is trying to eliminate our current and potential supporters. The most recent would be going to war based on no reliable information. Now you may say that happened a long time ago, and there are more recent things… What about the failure of intelligence report they just put out?

The latest intelligence-failure report looks like it may isolate any potential allies of the United States even further. Not only did many countries flat out object the war, but now many potential allies will have to think about the fact that we went to war based on information that was “dead wrong.” The Chicago Sun-Times says :

''Obviously the report creates severe doubt about the administration's ability to implement a policy of preemption,'' said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute, a Virginia-based think tank.

"The past failures of our intelligence system have already alienated key allies. Now these findings seem to signal that we can't rely on available intelligence to make such decisions in the future," Thompson said.

These are all things that we (Bush) could have controlled, especially the “war” part.

But wait; there are many other things to be done to separate the weak from the strong. Like the placement of Paul Wolfowitz as President of the World Bank. Wolfowitz is a key architect of the Iraq war whose hard-line foreign policy stance as deputy defense secretary has stirred criticism. I just cannot see that as a good choice.

"As well as lacking any relevant experience, he is a deeply divisive figure who is unlikely to move the bank toward a more pro-poor agenda," said Patrick Watt, policy officer at British charity Action Aid.

Dave Timms, spokesman for London-based World Development Network, called it a "terrifying appointment" that highlighted a lack of democracy in major lending institutions.

Wait Wait, there are more challenges! For this next one I take you to THE UNITED NATIONS! Bush’s nomination for Bolton as our United Nation ambassador will be another test against the intelligence of other nations, and there ability to cope with our insanity. New Zealand’s Brad Weiner says:

Bolton, a founding member of the neo-con Project for The New American Century (PNAC), is a mad-dog unilateralist who wants the world to bow to U.S. demands now that America is the only remaining superpower. Bolton has said: "If I were doing the Security Council today, I'd have one permanent member [the United States] because that's the real reflection of the distribution of power in the world." Treaties and international laws are irrelevant, he believes, since they are attempts to constrict the justified use of American power around the globe.

Unfortunatly, there are more things. Lets do ‘em quick. We are creating a bigger wall around Mexico with the minutemen project, showing mexicans how we really feel about them. Let’s not forget about canada. In December Bush went to canada and suggested that Canadians who opposed the U.S. invasion don't think Iraq is ready for democracy. He shrugged off polls showing that Canadians increasingly feel alienated from the United States. That looks really good for the United States, Huh Bush.

My last example is a public opinion poll in Australia. The International Herald Tribune reports:

U.S. foreign policy poses as big a threat to world peace as Islamic fundamentalism, while the rise of China is the last on a list of potential threats, according to a survey released Monday [March 28] of public opinion in Australia, one of Washington's closest allies in the Asia-Pacific.
The war in Iraq appears to be one of the strongest points of disagreement Australians have with U.S. policy…
…57 percent of Australians rated U.S. policy as a threat equal to Islamic fundamentalism.

I am going to stop at Australia for now, but do not be fooled, there are many more examples of what we are doing to alienate ourselves. I wonder which country will “win” by staying our allie for the longest.

Ford - worst fuel economy ranking 5 years running.

The fuel economy of the 1903 Model T ford was 25 mpg. The average American Ford for the Year 2003 guzzles 18.8mpg, down from 22.1 in 1998.

Ford Motor Company is America's oil addict. According the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the average fuel efficiency of Ford cars and trucks today is 18.8 mpg, dead last among the top six automakers for the fifth consecutive year. From subcompacts to SUVs, Ford's current fleet of cars and trucks gets fewer miles per gallon on average than its Model-T did 80 years ago. Ford's widely touted 'eco-friendly' Rouge River plant features a water-preserving green roof, yet manufactures 280,000 gas-guzzling F-150s a year, generating up to 100 tons of atmospheric carbon apiece over each truck's lifetime. Marketed as "the first American hybrid," Ford's so-called ‘no compromise' Escape represents less than one half of one percent of its fleet and will have virtually no impact on its last place fuel efficiency ranking. In 2000, Ford promised to improve the fuel efficiency of its fleet of SUVs 25 percent by 2005. In 2003, the company announced its intention to break that promise.

Pure Energy Systems

I know this is kind of old news, but I never realized how inefficient Ford was. Other people have been aware of this for a long time, but not enough other people. To learn more about Ford, go to Jumpstart Ford

Now we are going to war with Mexico

The recent minuteman project in Arizona is doing a little bit more than just sparking controversy. The Mexican army is being stationed at the Mexico-Arizona Border. El Universal Online reports:

"Friday, Miguel Escobar Valdez, Mexican Consul in Douglas, Arizona, said the Mexican military was bracing for possible violence on the border.

"The Mexican army is on alert," Escobar said. "Also, law enforcement will be vigilant because the situation is very volatile. This is because, I have to say it, there are violent and radical elements on both sides of the border.""

This is out of control. Most of these people are trying to escape their harsh living situations by coming to the United States. If there is anyone in the world that we should be close with, it should be Mexico (Canada is far too good for us). We need to help out our neighbors, not hurt them. If they do not cross in Arizona, they will cross somewhere else. It is inevitable, we can not keep the united states all white for ever you bigots.

Wow, bigots, well not everyone that does this is a bigot. Take Henry Esparza:

I have never shot anyone and would never shoot one of my people," Esparza said. "I am the grandson of Chihuahuan immigrants and I consider myself Mexican. But I cannot accept that criminals and terrorists are coming into my country. I think that Al Qaeda could take advantage of the border to infiltrate the country."

WHAT ABOUT CANADA? WHAT IS THE DIFRENCE? This poor man has been led to believe that he needs to stop his own people from crossing into the United States to stop terrorism. WHAT ABOUT CANADA! I do not understand why there is no North Dakota Minutemen action going on at the Canadian border. Oh wait, yes I do, there is no propaganda that talks about the threats of terrorist coming down from Canada. Well just wait my friends. The United States is not done distancing itself from the rest of the world, Canada, YOU ARE NEXT!

Tom Potter's fight for oversight

Tom Potter is trying to take a stand against the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). What a pinko commie. He thinks "Civilians in a free society should have oversight over the police who serve them." I think he is asking for a little much. He wants to know what the people under him are being ordered to do by the government. He is stepping way out of line. He has asked for “Portland's top civilian leaders [to] have the same security clearances as the police officers who serve on federal task forces.” He not only wants himself to know what the JTTF is doing in Portland, but also for the Chief of Police and the city’s attorney. Talk about untrusting. He doesn’t want the JTTF to do anything illegal like investigate a person or group based on religion or political affiliation, and he thinks having an “attorney” will enable him see if someone is breaking the law. Why can’t he just trust his government? Next time we get a new mayor, I want him to be a little more patriotic and believing in his country. It is not like our government ever messed up before.

To read what this out of control socialist has to say read his opinion piece in the Oregonian.