Senator Harri Anne Smith, 29th District (Dale, Geneva, Houston ) is for the people, so she is for the right to vote, yeh or neh.  Go Harri Anne!

Well, I’m not shocked, nor am I angry.  I’m really sad.  Sad to be represented by “some” (not all) of the most judgmental and hypocritical State Representatives of our generation.  This is an excerpt from the “Birmingham News” and my comments in Bold.

The state Senate on Wednesday rejected the “Sweet Home Alabama” plan that would have let voters decide whether to allow electronic bingo at 10 casinos statewide.   “I’m not against the people voting. I’m against them having to vote on something that’s horrible,” French said. “If it were a good bill, I could vote to let them vote.”

Did you understand what was being said here?  He thinks he has the right to play God with what we should have the right to vote for?  Or did he say, he feels this bill is morally not a good thing and therefore, we should not be tempted with a moral issue to vote on?  Who is he to determine that for us?  He is suppose to be working for the people and giving us choices that are a major concern to and of the people of Alabama.

I still want to know why they allowed these establishments to obtain business licenses to operate and employ thousands and then snatch their jobs away without any regard as to their well being.  Shouldn’t they have shut them down before allowing them to spend millions of dollars?  Country Crossing’s Attorneys investigated the laws regarding this issue before deciding to go forward with a land acquisition to build their facility.  But now the State has shut down the business and unemployed all these people who thought they had a future, and the state will not give Country Crossing and Houston County, Alabama a court date to prove their findings for starting this Resort/Bingo Privillion.

Back to comments reported by some of our State Senators according to the Birmingham News:

Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, said he would be surprised if gambling proponents didn’t try to switch some votes and try again to get Bedford’s bill passed. “There are a lot of very powerful interests pushing that train,” he said.

Obviously not as powerful as the majority vote by the State of Alabama Legislature. Their opinions are obviously more powerful than the majority of opinions of the PEOPLE of this State.

The Legislative Fiscal Office estimated taxes on electronic bingo under Bedford’s bill would raise about $215 million a year for state and local governments. “We need the hundreds of millions of dollars that bingo would bring to this state,” said Barron.  Waggoner said restricting competition probably would indirectly help the Indian-run casinos, but that wasn’t the motive of opponents of Bedford’s bill. “Alabama has nothing to do with the Indian casinos. That’s a federal issue,” he said.

I wonder if any other State in this Country allows the Indians to do what they please, when they please, while telling the White Man he can’t do the same thing.

The saga still continues as hopes of a change of heart comes soon to help the thousand or so people who are out of work. The reopening of Country Crossing is more beneficial to  the people of this area than not.  Please let the people vote to decide what is best for themselves.  If you don’t like the casino’s don’t go.  But let the revenues help the people who need a chance to make a living and please, please pray the County of Houston’s representatives use the taxable revenue on education and recreation, charities for the poor and the elderly and more infrastructure to create more jobs.  THAT’S WHAT THIS AREA IS IN NEED OF, NOT THE OPINION OF THE GOVERNOR AND SOME OF IT’S REPRESENTATIVE’S.

Written by: Jan Renae

Anyone else have an opinion?  Write me at janrenae@dothanalabamamall.com and I’ll post it on this website!