Casino Opposition “Selfish”
Charlotte Burns’ and other anti-casino writers’ tirades are an attack on the voice of the people of Springfield, who voted in favor of a casino in their city. These writers are not residents of Springfield. While I am also not a resident of Springfield, I believe that the people of Springfield had the right to vote on the casino, and they voted in favor of having one in their city.
Springfield is their city, and I feel that any attempt to repeal the casino law is an affront to their voices, which have been heard. They want a casino, and I can understand why. The city’s South End was devastated by a tornado, and MGM is giving the city a chance to rebuild. People in that area with whom I have spoken, including businesspeople, favor having the casino there.
I am tired of these people who want to repeal the casino law, which provides for the communities with proposed casinos to vote in favor or against. I understand the rights of the people of Palmer to vote against the Mohegan Sun proposal there. Ms. Burns, you had that right to vote No on the casino in your community, but that does not give you the right to strip other communities of their rights to vote in a casino or not.
Voters in the state, I ask you to please vote No on the repeal of the casino law so that the people of Springfield and their voices are not unjustly quashed. It is wrong to take away Springfield’s opportunity for economic development that the people there want.
Ms. Burns, please give this up and put your energy into more worthwhile causes. I have seen your letters in support of environmental issues, and those are good fights to fight. Taking away the voices of people who have already spoken is a terrible use of your time, and you should be ashamed of yourself for violating the wishes of another community besides your own. It is rather selfish of you to be screeching about a casino that is not in your community. We already have gambling in this state, with the Lottery, and it does not cause problems for most people.
I would appreciate seeing letters from the people who live in Springfield so their voices can be heard, along with mine standing up for them. This anti-casino effort and attitude has gone too far! That undemocratic, after-the fact-ballot question should not have passed judicial muster. It steals from those who have spoken and want a casino in their city.
Cut Foreign Aid, Not Our Military
The Department of Defense sent out separation notices to 1,200 Army captains, including 48 deployed to Afghanistan. They received eight to nine months of notice so they could prepare for civilian life. What good is the notice for the captains deployed to Iraq for the next eight or nine months? How will this affect their performance in a war zone?
The next group to get the ax will be majors, and I can only assume this will continue up the line to officers who have not served the 20 years needed to retire and receive their retirement benefits. The separations are part of the force reductions necessitated by the sequestration defense cuts. The projected savings in defense spending across all branches of the service will be $3.5 billion over five years.
Our foreign aid is $37 billion annually. If we cut it by 2 percent, or $0.74 billion per year, we will save $3.7 billion over five years and not have to cut our military forces. Surely, with some rational thinking, we can squeeze 2 percent out of the foreign aid budget without jeopardizing our interests overseas, which will allow us to maintain our current force levels and enhance our national security.
