Questions arise on sovereignty for casinos

Editorial by the Santa Fe NewMexican.com - The recent piece by Tim Korte of The Associated Press, entitled "New Mexico casino lawsuit calls tribal sovereignty into question," may be news to New Mexicans but it is old news for many of us who follow the issue of sovereignty as it applies to business contracts as conducted by the tribes with non-Indians. The reason we don't hear much about the connection with this lawsuit and the possibility of other lawsuits regarding sovereignty is because our local journalists can't connect the dots; what occurs in our local tribal casinos is also happening nationwide. In the New Mexico case, attorney Sam Bregman has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case where a client, retired Albuquerque city worker Gary Hoffman, sued Sandia Resort and Casino over what the tribe characterized as a malfunctioning slot machine that displayed a $1.6 million "jackpot." In New Mexico, both the state District Court and the New Mexico Court of Appeals said that the tribes' sovereign immunity kept them from being sued. Bregman may not be as crazy as some think and he may not be the only attorney suing tribes, including tribal casinos that have not only not paid up on "malfunctioning" machines but also on potentially much larger issues — like how are non-Indian investors going to get their money back if tribal casinos go belly up? According to a November, 2009 copyrighted article in The Financial Times by Nicole Bullock, tribes have financed "casinos projects with debt including more than $5 billion in high-yield bonds, according to Barclay's Capital." Of particular interest is one of the world's largest casinos, owned by the Connecticut Mashantucket Pequot tribe, which is reportedly $2 billion in debt to its lenders and "has stopped making its annual $100,000 per capita payment to tribal members." A July 16, 2010 article by New England journalist Scott Van Voorhis says "the downturn is taking its toll on the Indian gaming industry as aggressive lenders push for payment on billions in debt as cash-starved federal tax men ramp up the pressure, as industry observers say." According to Van Voorhis, the Internal Revenue Service has launched a "wide-ranging probe to crack down on alleged tax evasion in 'Indian Country,' one that appears to be focused heavily on certain tribal casino operators, businesses and governments." Locally, our own Buffalo Thunder appears to be in arrears an approximate $33 million on its $245 million bond payment as last reported in The New Mexican May 19, 2010. Since then things may have changed as there is very little news reported on this issue. However, the question remains, how will non-Indian investors get their money back on their investments on the "casino" bonds if tribes can't meet the payments or, worse, go bankrupt and use the "sovereignty" card as their defense? Read more

Questions arise on sovereignty for casinos

Why entrepreneurs offer more to society when they create wealth than when they give it away

From Wizbang.com - by Kim Priestap - The Wall Street Journal yesterday published an editorial by Kimberly Dennis in which she made a point that isn't stressed enough today. She said essentially that giving to charity is a worthwhile and noble endeavor for wealthy entrepreneurs, but those entrepreneurs actually make a more significant and positive impact on society through their businesses because they create products that improve people's lives and provide jobs that allow people to earn their living. Ms. Dennis was talking specifically about Bill Gates' and Warren Buffett's Giving Pledge where 40 of America's wealthiest entrepreneurs pledged to give away the majority of their wealth to charity: Read more

Why entrepreneurs offer more to society when they create wealth than when they give it away

China Rising

From Frontpagemag.com - On August 16, the annual report to Congress on the Chinese military was released by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). There had been speculation that the White House wanted to hold the April Nuclear Security Summit and the May U.S.-China Security and Economic Dialogue before the report became public. President Barack Obama hoped to make diplomatic progress with Beijing before attention was drawn to China’s military buildup. The talks proved futile. And since May, there have been a series of competing naval maneuvers near the Korean peninsula and in the South China Sea, which have highlighted the growing tensions between Beijing’s ambitions and the security interests of the United States and others along the Pacific Rim. China has a small but growing force of mobile ICBMs capable of hitting targets in most of the United States. Under the umbrella of this deterrent force, China is deploying a large number of short and medium range missiles that could devastate its neighbors with a mix of nuclear and conventional warheads. By the end of last year, over 1,000 short range ballistic missiles were deployed within range of Taiwan. And though the Taipei government has attempted to improve relations with the mainland through expanded trade and more open travel, Beijing has continued its military buildup aimed at coercing the island democracy to surrender to the Chinese dictatorship. Read more

China Rising

Rush gets $11M+ for loud condo

From the New York Post - Right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh made good on his vow to "get out of New York totally," reportedly closing on a $11.75 million sale of his 10-room Upper East Side condo -- and splitting so fast, he left all his gilded, gaudy furnishings behind. The liberal-bashing Limbaugh has long railed against New York's high taxes. His Web site published the transcript of one bombastic broadcast under the title "El Rushbo to New York: Drop Dead." Limbaugh announced last year on his radio show that he'd decided to sell his condo at 1049 Fifth Ave., with its four fireplaces and terraces overlooking Central Park, to "get out of New York totally." He even offered to let the buyer keep all the stuff inside. Read more

Rush gets $11M+ for loud condo

Crosses cross the line

From Freedom Politics.com - SALT LAKE CITY — The 14 crosses erected along Utah roads to commemorate fallen state Highway Patrol troopers convey a state preference for Christianity and are a violation of the U.S. Constitution, a federal appeals court said Wednesday. The ruling reverses a 2007 decision by a federal district judge that said the crosses communicate a secular message about deaths and were not a public endorsement of religion. It's the latest in a recent rash of mixed-bag rulings on the public use of crosses. A three-judge panel from Denver's 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in its 38-page ruling that a "reasonable observer" would conclude that the state and the Utah Highway Patrol were endorsing Christianity with the cross memorials. Read more

Crosses cross the line

Looks Like Obama Is Considering Cuts in Social Security Benefits

From the Huffington Post - by Saul Friedman - I have not yet celebrated the Diamond Jubilee -- the 75th anniversary -- last week of the adoption of Social Security. That's because I suspect President Obama may consider agreeing to a cut in benefits for future retirees, by raising the retirement age, which would be disastrous for them and for his presidency. Once he was against it, but now, as you'll see, we cannot be sure. In his White House proclamation, Obama recalled that in the midst of the Great Depression, 'the Social Security Act brought hope to some of our most vulnerable citizens, giving elderly Americans income security and bringing us closer to President Roosevelt's vision of a nation free from want or fear."He added, "My administration is committed to strengthening...and protecting Social Security as a reliable income source for seniors, workers who develop disabilities and dependents...Let us ensure we continue to preserve this program's original purpose in the 21st century." He didn't say how, but presidential proclamations are usually empty of substance. And as the Associated Press pointed out in reporting on the president's speech, "most Republicans, in fact, are wary of touching that idea because Social Security is virtually sacrosanct to voters, particularly seniors." Indeed, the most prominent Republican favoring privatization of Social Security and Medicare, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, has gotten little support from his Republican colleagues.What was missing from Obama's address was a single proposal to solve Social Security's long term shortfall, which the program's trustees estimate will come in 2037, when the program's $2.6 trillion trust fund, which is held in treasury bonds, may run out. According to the trustees, a one percent raise each in the payroll taxes split between employee and employer enacted now, would end the problem. Even now, the trust fund is continuing to grow with interest payments of more than $100 billion a year. Read more

Looks Like Obama Is Considering Cuts in Social Security Benefits

Washington Times Editorial: The first presumed Muslim president

Editorial from the Washington Times - Hard on the heels of the Ground Zero Mosque controversy, significant numbers of Americans think President Obama is a Muslim. The uncomfortable fact for the White House is the more the American people get to know Mr. Obama, the more they think he is a follower of Islam. Rumors of Mr. Obama's purported Muslim identity spread in January of 2007 and were tied to Hillary Rodham Clinton operatives, who denied responsibility. The Obama camp responded that "Barack Obama is not and has never been a Muslim. Obama never prayed in a mosque. He has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim and is a committed Christian... But in a February 2008 interview with the New York Times, Mr. Obama said the Adhan, the Muslim call to prayer, is "one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset." He then recited it, "with a first-class [Arabic] accent." The opening of the Adhan contains the Shahada, the Muslim profession of faith, proclaiming, "There is no god but God and Muhammad is the prophet of God." Stating this before two Muslims is the traditional requirement for joining the Islamic faith. Adding fuel to the fire is Mr. Obama's family heritage: born of a Muslim father and raised by a Muslim stepfather. Under Shariah law, having a Muslim father makes one a Muslim, though this custom has no legal standing in the United States. In a September 2008 interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, Mr. Obama said, "John McCain has not discussed my Muslim faith," a comment which Mr. Obama's partisans say was taken out of context. Suspicions were raised by Obama presidential policies, such as taking a harder line on Israel, ordering that radical Islamic terrorists be referred to only as "violent extremists" and engaging in an unprecedented and obsequious outreach to Muslim countries. Mr. Obama's bowing to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, in April 2009, didn't help matters much. These and other reasons are why perceptions that Mr. Obama is Muslim keep growing. Read more

Washington Times Editorial: The first presumed Muslim president

Why Do Feminists Attack Sarah and Not Sharia?

By Columnist Doug Giles - Given Islam’s enslavement of women and the Sharia erection of the Cordoba Initiative’s chief con man, Abdul Rauf, you’d think N.O.W. and their ilk would now be raising more Cain about this Ground Zero Mosque than they are about Sarah Palin. Nope, the fems’ fixation remains on Palin. Palin is the threat. Palin is the She Devil. Palin is the one who gets the nasty jabs—and not Islam and the potential spread of Sharia from sea to shining sea. Read more

Why Do Feminists Attack Sarah and Not Sharia?

Energy vote costly for Teague

From the Politico.com - ARTESIA, N.M. – Rep. Harry Teague made an expensive decision last June when he supported Democratic leaders on climate change. The former oil man bucked his energy-producing home district to support Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s cap-and-trade legislation — a yes vote that cost him millions of dollars in lost business at his family’s company, which services the local oil and gas industry. And it’s a vote that ultimately could end up costing the House freshman his job. Teague stands out more than most Democrats when it comes to the climate change debate. Thanks to his conservative-minded and energy industry-driven constituency, he instantly landed atop the list of potential GOP pickup opportunities. Some local oil industry officials even targeted Teague’s company, which he’d built up from scratch into a multimillion-dollar business, marking him one of the richest members in Congress. “Immediately, everybody quit using his businesses,” said Lance Wilbanks, the CEO of Wilbanks Trucking in Artesia, who said he thought it was “sleazy” that Teague’s company changed its name after the climate vote in attempt to hedge some of its losses. Teague insisted that business has been slow around the region and wouldn’t say how much money he has lost at his company because of the climate vote. Teague’s public disclosure forms show his personal wealth fell from $40 million to $5 million during his first year in Congress. It’s a staggering loss, one that has some in New Mexico wondering about its effect on the freshman.Read more

Energy vote costly for Teague