Update: Prop 100 passed! Racino lobbyists, promoters, and adoption groups begging their followers to vote no and to write their legislators endorsing racinos — you lose!

Arizona is in turmoil and according to one savvy female legislator, “the laughing stock of the nation” because of SB 1070, the racial profiling bill/anti illegal immigrant bill.

This reminds me of when 49 states supported Martin Luther King Day as a U.S. holiday but Arizona did not. That was a different kind of discrimination.

Arizona has a governor who graduated from a junior college and is calling the shots. But, hey, at least she’s not a wrestler (Minnesota) or body building movie star (Calif.). A certification in radiological technologist has got to be worth something on the career path to governor, right?

Then there’s the U.S. Rep. from Arizona who is telling the world to boycott the state and the boycotts are happening. The tourism bureau is not happy about that.

Arizona has approximately 95,000 state employees and they are all being urged to support proposition 100 – the temporary 1 cent tax increase. Teachers and college students and social service agencies are all urging we support the temporary 1 cent tax increase, proposition 100.

Finally, I agree with something that the Arizona Department of Racing is advocating – they are urging their employees and the people and entities they regulate to vote a resounding YES on proposition 100. At the recent April ADOR meeting, the department of racing director said his department and employees were in jeopardy if proposition 100 didn’t pass.

Apparently one greyhound rescue group in Phoenix didn’t get that memo because for months, they have been advocating for people to contact their legislators and vote in favor of the racino issue which by the way sunk like the Titanic in this legislature.

In their April 2010 newsletter sent to their email list, they say:

The countdown is now centered on the May 19th (it’s May 18) Sales Tax initiative and I would encourage you to vote “NO”. Under other circumstances I might support a sales tax increase because I feel the state needs multiple income streams but the defeat will make our alternative look even better. Either way, immediately following the election, a new bill proposing “racinos” will be presented and support for it grows each day.
What can we do – as stated, vote NO. Secondly, continue to write your legislators (see info on the website) to express your support of the racino concept. Remember they will be offering 45% revenue to the state – far more than the Indian casinos ever have to allow.

I wonder how many adopters reading this newsletter are teachers, educators, have students facing cuts, work for the state and social service agencies or receive social services, work for fire or police departments, have friends who are now elderly, hungry, and homeless?

I wonder how many supporters and people who donate money to this Phoenix adoption group are teachers or married to teachers and educators, are the parents of students facing cuts, work for the state and social service agencies, or public safety or their spouses and other family members do, or know families who are currently elderly, hungry, or homeless?

There is a couple problems with this adoption group’s thinking:

1)A bill that is introduced soon thereafter could not even become law until after the next legislative session because the current legislative session is closed.

2)The Mormons, the Christians, the family values people, the Native Americans, the dog and horse advocates and their outraged friends/family, and the liberals don’t want no stinkin’ racinos.

3)It’s just plain selfish.

4)As for the 45 percent, what makes them think people from the tony Foothills and Oro Valley or the retired senior citizens in Green Valley are going to rush to Tucson Greyhound Park to play slots? Tucson Greyhound Park is already surrounded by slick Indian gaming casinos. Why would people want to go to dumpy racetracks? When TGP had a fire last year, there were more employees than bettors on the premises.

What’s 45 percent of nothing?

Nothing!

Sounds like bad odds to me.

And most importantly, according to recent news articles, the wildly popular sport of soccer will soon be inhabiting the dying sport of greyhound racing’s venue known as Phoenix Greyhound Park.

Score!

No dogs die in soccer.

“Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, then suddenly you are doing the impossible” Saint Francis of Assisi – Let’s apply this to ending greyhound racing in Arizona.

Tags: Arizona - Show Me the Money, Greyhound Racing // 3 Comments »