The Boston Herald’s Casey Ross reports that pro-casino legislators are trying to steer Gov. Deval Patrick’s three-casino proposal away from the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, whose House chairman, Rep. Dan Bosley, D-North Adams, opposes casinos.
Ross writes that casino supporters wonder if Bosley can be “objective,” and he quotes Rep. John Quinn, D-New Bedford:
If we want a fair and open hearing, I’m not sure [Bosley’s] committee is the one that can provide it. I have tremendous respect for the chairman, but this is an issue that impacts the entire commonwealth, and we ought to treat it appropriately.
It seems not to have occurred to Quinn — or maybe it has — that the reason Bosley is such a staunch opponent of casinos is that he’s studied the issue more closely and for a longer time than anyone else in the Legislature.
Bosley understands that casino gambling is bad news, and he’s got the data to back it up. That doesn’t make him non-objective; it makes him right.
And no, I’m not objective, either.
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actually, bosley’s still got a hair across his ass for being dissed and embarrassed by patrick for the eco development position. try to find a patrick proposal that has met bosley’s approval since january. bosley’s out to burn him.god, world series, undefeated pats and a true beacon hill sh*t fight. sports in boston doesn’t get anybetter than this.
It would seem to me that pro-casino supporters would be anxious to present the mountains of evidence to support their opinion and convince the uninformed rabble (myself included) of their great wisdom. In fairness, the initial economic blips and tax money to fund flawed public policy are quickly overshadowed by the long term costs. Ignored in the presentation of soundbyte illogic, such as $$$ lost to CT and RI, are the current fiscal disasters of states with longterm gambling revenues. NJ comes quickly to mind. Regrettably, discussion of casino gambling has distracted from more pressing issues, i.e. the creation of sustainable economic structure, an honest discussion about tax policy and a legislature refusing to make tough and unpopular decisions. Municipal health care costs and pension reform come quickly to mind.
Since when do we want “objective” legislators?It’s gotten hard enough trying to detect policy positions before voting for them; if they all pretend to be neutral on issues this would make the voters’ task impossible.They are supposed to take stands pro or con and live or die by that choice come election day – in theory.
With oil close to $90/barrel and the impact of global warming becoming more conspicuous, it would seem that we have more immediate and dire issues to address without the distraction of casino gambling.At what point should we realign out priorities more accurately? I found the following more significant than the casino nonsense: Norwell, Massachusetts [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] BioEnergy International, LLC, a science and technology leader in the development of biorefineries that produce biofuels and specialty chemicals from renewable resources, announced the launch of a research center in Woburn, Massachusetts. http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50348Can we move past the casino fantasy and begin to discuss something substantive?