For me the verdict is in, folks, that every last politician in Congress should be wearing thigh high red boots and walking towards sailors. But I apologize for the comparison to streetwalkers because those people are honest about what they do for a living. NOT our politicians though, and if you need any more proof that they’re all greedy, self-serving wharf rats, (again, apologies to wharf rats) then read on:
For nearly a week, the media and political worlds have been wondering who paid $140 million to purchase Nevada’s largest daily newspaper, The Las Vegas Review-Journal. The primary buyer had taken great pains to remain anonymous, but it was finally revealed to be Sheldon Adelson. For those who don’t know who this man is, he makes billions running Las Vegas Sands, America’s largest casino company, and he uses that money to buy influence in Congress, mostly within the Republican Party. In fact he has pledged one billion dollars to back the presidential run behind whichever Republican candidate wins the nomination. That’s right — one billion, I said, to whichever candidate, I said.
However, he has managed to get Dianne Feinstein to back him on a bill to stop Americans from legally gambling online, because he says, “It’s better for your college kid who is going to use Dad’s credit card to play online poker.”
Three things about this:
1) Feinstein is a Democrat. Oh, boy, is she ever, but she’s with Adelson on this. Any connection to them, apart from the fact that Adelson is Israeli and Feinstein supports Israel, as many of us might? Nope- not that I can find. But is this common cause a good enough reason for Feinstein to help push this bill on an altogether different matter, through Congress? She claims she’s backing this bill because of the dad’s credit card thing that Adelson is so concerned about. I know because I wrote to her about it and that was the canned answer, a form letter that I received back. Hey, thanks so much, Senator Dianne Feinstein, for babysitting for our college kids for us, while preventing the rest of us full grown adults from having what every other western country allows its citizenry—online freedom.
2) Adelson is about as ‘liar, liar, pants on fire’ about his motives as one can get. He owns the Venetian casino, among others. Self serving much? What’s your guess that he thinks that the fewer options available for online gambling, the more billions he can add to his billions? No way to online gamble means that we’ll all have to drive or fly to Vegas from wherever we live and work to gamble if we so desire. And if we can’t afford to do that, there goes your online poker game you play with your buddies every Friday night. You can’t do it, because Dianne and Sheldon say it’s bad for your kids. This is restraint of trade at work. This is free enterprise shackled, the very thing that makes many Republicans scream “GAH- Socialism! Socialism!” But Sheldon has greased the big fat ass of Congress on both the left and right sides and got it completely covered with oily sleaze.
3) Still skeptical ? Well then, the vid might be more convincing. It exposes hookers working his casino and an underage, undercover reporter gambling and also buying alcohol there. So, where’s the oversight in his own casino that Adelson claims is so vitally important for our young people?
[FULL Disclosure: First of all, the vid was a bit of a set up, as you’ll see, so it’s not as organically demonstrative as we might like. Nonetheless, it tells its story affectively, in my opinion. And also, I am not neutral on this issue, as my spouse plays online poker. I know many people who do, and they do so conservatively and for the sheer camaraderie and enjoyment of it. I realize that for many, gambling is a bad thing. Some religious folk are against it, some people go into deep debt as a result of it, and so on. But do we really want government controlling what we do and don’t with our own money and time? And do we want them controlling us NOT because of any benevolent, altruistic “daddy wants to watch over you” motivation, but because some fat cat billionaire is paying them to make the laws that he wants, to benefit solely him and his specific bought politicians?]
This is why I get frustrated when people I respect talk about “my political party,” be it the Dems or the GOP, with the reverence and selective blindness they talk about a favorite sports team who can do no wrong. ALL parties, ALL politicans, are pulling the wool over our eyes, and the sooner we shake up Congress, get rid of lobbyists, the sooner we will all be better off. Okay, I’m off my soapbox for the day.
(Video exposing Adelson’s Game by Tim James : https://vimeo.com/136438672)
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