YOU CAN"T MAKE THIS STUFF UP!!!!!

After yesterday's "day of rage" at the State House, primarily acted out by the sentimental one, House Speaker (Speakah?) Robert DeLeo (D-Selfish Beeotch), I have to laugh out loud at a few things that transpired over the course of the last 24 hours:

* It appears I have lost a bet to a new found and very informed and informative friend. I don't mind though, not one bit. It's worth it to think that the powers that be here in Loser Town are sitting back nervously, realizing the great gamble, well, came up SNAKE EYES (00)! "Yez throws dem dice an' yez comes up snake bit!" said the character actor in the Grade B movie from yesteryear. Only this wasn't about some penny ante bet....it was about the City's honest, real job future. Not a smart thing to gamble with. And now it appears that our "profiles in courage" are trying to hedge their bets by throwing in with  some bad actor named Richard Baccari from Little Rhody who has already been the subject of  TV10 I-Team and FBI investigations for charges of bribery of government officials way down yonder in Mafiasville. As I'm sure all three of our most lovable loser's, Flanagan, Fiola and Torres, will be bellying up to the bar and will be overheard saying in unison, "Make mine Baccari and coke, please!"

In reality, the passion play over casino gambling and slots in this state is far from over. The next few days will be "VERRRYYYYY INTERESSSSTTTINNGGGG" as Arte Johnson used to say on LAUGH IN. This is one bet I hope I lose! The spectacle of Flanagan, et al,  failing THIS egregiously, potentially, as they have ever done since day 1 in office will be worth the price of admission, and ADMONITION. The only thing is the citizens of Fall River will be the one who directly suffer. For that, I will feel truly sorry. But hey, "yez gets what yez votes for!"

* You just have to sit back and smile at the unfettered arrogance of DeLeo! This is a guy who only became motivated to pass this bill once it became obvious the state needed additional revenues. (What, we weren't just as broke LAST year?) Also, with a downturn in disposable income available for gaming across the board for horse racing, his friends at Suffolk Downs, in his district, went hat in hand and begged for him to do something about it. The fact that his father had worked at Suffolk Downs for eons and that he had grown up around the track and it's movers and shakers was well detailed in a Boston Globe article earlier this year right after he introduced this  gaming bill.  He waxed on with overwhelming sentimentality about his desire to save, not just the jobs there, but  a way of life.

 I know for fact that there are extensive ties to organized crime at every horse racing venue of all types in the United States. Every law enforcement entity in the United States knows this as well. Just ask any bet ticket window salesperson who has tried to skim a few bucks or scam the system. It's not the local police that comes calling to pay a visit and get "payback".

This bully puts a bill together that called for 2 casinos and 4 slot parlors, one for each race track venue in Massachusetts. Quell surprise! Then details of a plan to turn Suffolk Downs into a one stop gaming paradise were unveiled, a true "racino", with a casino the main attraction, making it possible to create a new vice capital of this state right in his own back yard. Again, quell surprise! Yes, Speakah DeLeo is concerned with 15,000 jobs statewide. HA! He's concerned about his very own district first. Is there anyone out there reading this who doubts otherwise?

When the Senate designed a gaming bill with 3 casino's, to be awarded in 3 geographic gaming "districts"  and 1 slot venue it was reflective of  the Governor's feeling that ANY slot parlors would greatly harm the casinos ability to employ greater numbers of people and deliver to the state more revenue from license fees and taxes due to lessened competition for the casino sites. The fact that The Governor relented and stated prior to this weekend that he would sign legislation that contained 1 slot parlor was to insure competition, but in reality,  was  a giveaway to DeLeo to buy his compliance and force passage of the final bill through his tightly controlled House of Representatives. It was a payoff in legal terms to get policy the Senate and the Governor were willing to both back and sign into law with everyone holding their noses fully expecting DeLeo's sainted Suffolk Downs to eventually be awarded the lone slot parlor, all loud official protests to the contrary. It's the sort of dirty dog dealing that sickens good and right thinking residents of Massachusetts.

So when the final bill contained 2 slot parlors, the Governor, true to his word, refused to agree to a fait acompli, and said he would either veto the bill or offer and amendment with differing language and number of slot parlors allowed. He is at least being true his word, and feels he has compromised sufficiently. The word "compromise" is key to what happened next.

With his lap dog loyalists firmly behind him for support, DeLeo gave a remarkable performance in front of the cameras late last night displaying the friendly composure we have come to expect from this most reasonable of compromising political leaders in Massachusetts. Enjoy:

http://www.statehousenews.com/Video/10-07-31deleo/index.htm


You might enjoy the following broadcast reviewing the entire messy affair to this point!




* This entire process is NOT over yet. The Governor this morning essentially retaliated for the House Speakah's grandstanding attack last night and has thrown down the gauntlet by saying he is sending back an amendment to the Gaming Bill that calls for NO slot parlors, period. If he decides to veto the current version of the Gaming Bill, Senate President Murray stated she doubts she has the votes to override the Governor's veto. Also, it would require the state legislature to come back into session to override any veto, which is doubtful becase vacation time is here and many reps and senators have paid for their time on Cape Cod or the Vineyard and their spouses will rip them new ones if vacations are disturbed. Also, it's an election year, and the boys and girls of the legislature want to hit the ground running fresh and revitalized for the campaign trail!

And I thought the new season of MAD MEN would be fun...WOW!

Gambling, Indian Tribes, maybe jobs, maybe not jobs, science of the future versus vice, the arrival of a shadowy untrustworthy money man being investigated by the FBI for bribing government officials, but involved heavily with our very own nasty sausage factory, FROED , and the ever present photo-ops by Fall River's own version of the THREE STOOGES, the future law firm of Flanagan, Fiola and Torres (or was that Dewey, Cheatem and Howe?). As I love to say about Fall River and it's politics ,

YOU CAN"T MAKE THIS STUFF UP!!!!!