FINDING FISCAL SALVATION IN SIN RELIANCE ON GAMBLING REVENUE INCREASING.Byline: KIMIT MUSTON Local View I often wonder what kind of a country we would be if the Mayflower Mayflower, ship Mayflower, ship that in 1620 brought the Pilgrims from England to New England. She set out from Southampton in company with the Speedwell, had never made it to Plymouth Rock Plymouth Rock site of Pilgrim landing in Massachusetts (1620). [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 395–396] See : America , but instead had sunk and taken our Puritan forefathers forefathers npl → antepasados mpl forefathers npl → ancêtres mpl forefathers npl → Vorfahren to the heaven they sought with such grim determination. I suspect we would have been better off without their unrelenting obsession with sin and punishment. These people were the original fun police. The rest of the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. was basically settled by people either escaping or avoiding Puritan Massachusetts. The Puritans saw the devil lurking under every bed. Literally. They hanged people as witches. They jailed those who had sex outside of marriage or didn't show up for church on Sunday morning Sunday Morning may refer to:
They believed the wealthy were wealthy because God wanted them wealthy, and the poor must therefore be guilty of some sin and deserving punishment. Clearly gambling was a sin because you were trying to get rich, which would disrupt and draw into question God's divine social order. The Puritans strongly disapproved of any such questioning. In 1676, after the Wampanoag leader Metacomet questioned the idea that God favored the Puritans, they removed his head as a warning to all future questioners. Think about having ice cream for breakfast tomorrow morning. Hear that little voice that instantly screams, ``No!'' That's the Puritan tradition in you. It is from the Puritans we get the idea that sin is so sinful it must either be illegal or at least heavily regulated. That's why we call levies on tobacco and alcohol ``sin taxes.'' Unfortunately for our Puritan traditions, the state of California is currently impoverished, and sin, it seems, is the civic leader's last hope for solvency. So, in exchange for a cut of the profits, state authorities have agreed to the construction of a 600,000-square-foot house of sin in San Pablo San Pablo (săn păb`lō), city (1990 pop. 25,158), Contra Costa co., W Calif., on San Pablo Bay, a suburb of Oakland; inc. 1948. One of the oldest Spanish settlements in the region, the city is a commercial and medical center with light . Under one roof you will find 5,000 slot machines, along with card tables, six restaurants and bars. It's a Puritans' nightmare. If they had known this was coming, they wouldn't have invited the Indians to dinner. You see, the new casino is being built by the Pomo Pomo, Native Americans of N California, belonging to the Hokan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Pomo were the most southerly Native Americans on the California coast not brought under the mission influence of the Indians. In California, only Indians are allowed to profit directly from slot machines. There is some justice in this arrangement, which is why I think they should call the new casino Metacomet's Revenge. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation (IPA): [ˈaɐ̯nɔlt ˈaloɪ̯s ˈʃvaɐ̯ʦənˌʔɛɡɐ] is reportedly close to a similar deal with two other Indian tribes in San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. county. Hooka hey. It's a good day to pull the handle. At last California will have everything that Nevada has been selling in California for the last 50 years. The insanity of using state funds to patrol and improve highways to help the citizens of California cross the state border, before they start sinning, will end. And our cities will become heavens on earth without raising taxes. It's so simple. And all you need is a friendly Indian to run the casino for you. Behind the Orange Curtain The Orange Curtain is a term used to describe the border between Orange County and Los Angeles County in California. It is a sometimes derogatory, sometimes light-hearted term, depending on context. , Garden Grove city officials have been talking to the Mesa Grande band of Mission Indians about building a casino just south of the Happiest Place on Earth. Walt Disney must be spinning in his Frigidaire. In a few years you'll be able to drop the kids off at Disneyland before 10, hit the casino by 11 and lose their college funds by noon. All in the name of good government. I'm not sure that all of this is all that good an idea. I don't think it's the sin that bothers me. I play the slots, and I enjoy an afternoon at Santa Anita. But it seems to me that the rising popularity of gambling in America is a tacit recognition that hard work just doesn't reward the way it once did. The economic gap between the top 20 percent of wealthy Americans and the middle 40 percent has become a chasm. To afford health insurance, college for your children and a retirement for yourself now requires that you win in a lottery. The Puritans, of course, saw the world in a much simpler way. Looking at the current situation, they would say that God obviously intends the middle class to be squeezed out of existence because its people are so sinful. After all, they gamble, don't they? CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Customers play poker and blackjack blackjack, one of the world's most widely played gambling card games; also known as twenty-one or vingt-et-un. Despite contesting claims between the French and Italians, its origins are unknown. at a casino in San Pablo, Calif. Associated Press |
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