The poor promise of gambling profits

Advocates of video slots at tracks not only have to contend with the fact that their proposal is unconstitutional but with the fact that their claims that millions of dollars would be produced for the state and the horse industry simply don't comport with the real world.

Here is Celeste Hadrick at Newsday on the fall in gambling revenues:

"Just as people cut back their spending during the current recession, gamblers have cut back on the dollars they bet.

... New York's drop in horse-race wagering mirrors a general decline in gambling overall throughout the country.

... Atlantic City's 11 casinos reported a 19.4 percent decrease in gambling revenue in March alone, the largest year-over-year decline in the resort's 31- year gambling history, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported last month.

Even in glitzy Las Vegas, revenue is off 20 percent because of the global recession, news services reported last week."

Read the rest here.

"Tolerance" replaces civic history class in Jefferson County

A Courier-Journal article today announced that 9th graders in Jefferson County schools will be required to learn "tolerance" in the place of regular history and civics curriculum. While on its face the coverage of the holocaust in the course is important, questions remain about who gets to define what "tolerance" is for the students.

"The course -- Exploring Civics: Facing History and Ourselves -- is a new offering this year for freshmen in Jefferson County Public Schools that has teachers and students raving about the hands-on lessons and discussions about tolerance, social justice and civic participation."

Jefferson County Superintendent Sheldon Berman brought the course from Massachusetts where he was first introduced to in in the 70s. "Students learned a great deal, but I saw them grow morally, socially and in the complexity of their thinking," Berman said.

Local activists including the NAACP applauded the move.

Students will begin to see their school as an ethical community where issues of prejudice, tolerance and justice are vitally important," Berman said. "It will make kids much more responsible students."

Haven't liberals in the education field always denounced "making" kids responsible and imposing "morality" as a foundation for expunging all references to prayer and religion in our schools?

FDA handing out "Morning After Pill" like candy

In response to a Federal ruling yesterday, the FDA has announced that they will adjust policy and allow Plan B, "The Morning After" pill to not only be distributed without a prescription, but now allow 17 year olds to purchase it over the counter.

Now let's see here: The "Morning After "pill is an extremely high dosage of the birth control pill. The regular dosage of the birth control pill requires a prescription from a physician who has examined the patient and is monitoring her risks. But now, this much higher dose can be purchased by a freckled-face teen like chewing gum 4 full years before she can buy a wine cooler.

And the Obama administration says it is putting science ahead of politics. Really?

Craigslist KILLER's motive-casino gambling debt?

ABC News is reporting that muder suspect Philip Markoff, dubbed the "Craigslist Killer," gambled all night at the Foxwoods Casino two days after allegedly murdering a young woman. Markoff allegedy bound, gagged, and robbed one woman and brutally murdered another. Police are investigating a possible third incident.

"A police source close to the investigation told ABC News this week that police believe Markoff's motive in the alleged crimes was to pay off gambling debts."

And Kentucky policy makers don't understand why honest citizens don't want expanded gambling and the type of people it attracts in their communities?

Read the "Craiglist Killer" story here.

U of L spends money lobbying for gay agenda AND raises tuition again

The C-J reported today that U of L just announced that they intend to raise tuition next year by the maximum allowed by the state - 5%. This annual increase comes on the heels of 9% increases every year for the past several years and leaves parents wondering what costs so much.

In a case of terrible timing by the university's newspaper, The Louisville Cardinal printed a story this week highlighting the well-paid executive director of U of L's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) services, Brian Buford, and his political lobbying efforts against SB68 that would prohibit gay, bisexual, and trasgender couples from fostering and adopting children in the state's care.

Would most taxpayers, parents who pay exhorbitant tuition, and donors to the university appreciate their money being spent on LGBTQ political action?

This pattern is nothing new for U of L President James Ramsey, who has defended spending money on domestic partner benefits, $1 million of Bucks for Brains money on Drag-Queen Studies, and university funds on the LGBTQ center and its paid director. He is quoted in the C-J saying, "We know that this will create hardship for some of our students."

But this hardship is apparently not moving him to rein in spending on political activism that most taxpayers don't agree with.

Kentucky Lottery celebrates 20-year history of addicting citizens

The Courier-Journal ran stories this week celebrating the Lottery's 20th anniversary. These promotional announcements from the Lottery Commission are just poory veiled attempts at boosting predatory gambling's image in the quest to bring slot machine barns to Kentucky.

What caught my attention in the article and should arrest the attention of policy makers and citizens alike was the poster child for the Lottery that the paper interviewed:

"Charles Conley had stopped at the store on the way to his construction job. He said he has been playing the lottery 'since day one.' He said he usually spends $20 to $25 in the morning on lottery tickets and the same amount in the evening.

"I usually break even," Conley said, adding that he wishes he didn't spend so much money on tickets. "I'm trying to cut back, but I keep playing because of the possibility of winning thousands of dollars."

$50 a day, 5 days a week = $13,000 annually
$13,000 annually for 20 years = $260,000

The sad part is that this Kentucky construction worker is trying to "cut back" but is convinced by the Lottery Board's ad campaign that he can win thousands.

When legislators convene a Special Session this summer, they must consider whether expanding the Lottery Board's power to addict citizens to slot machines and bankrupt them in a recession is public policy that they can be proud of.

David Edmunds on "Hot Button" editorial

The NBC affiliate in Louisville (Wave 3) featured David Edmunds discussing this week's Ultrasound opportunity in the General Assembly on their "Hot Button" editorial, which aired March 23 & 24.