No Lottery Yet...

 

The blog's title pretty much sums up the story. If you're wondering, there is still a possibility this session.

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Remember our question/comment about the cause of Kay Ivey's unnaturally wrinkled face? We got only a few answers, but this was the best:

Cigarettes, Bourbon, and like Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, visits from the ghosts of people she wronged over the years.

Our third factor would have been the sun, but we like this one much better...

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This is Missy. She's the State's first dog, so she isn't up for adoption, but if you see Kristi Noem coming, warn her:

New State Lottery? It Won't Benefit Education!

Last fall, Johnny Mack Morrow ran on a platform that included a lottery vote. It received some criticism due to his initial scheme allotting only 50% of the proceeds to education. So now, we don't have Rep. Morrow in our state legislature, but we do have a lottery plan that is half way to passage. Guess what?!!!

The plan that the Alabama Senate passed this week doesn't allot ANY funds for education. Yes, you heard that right. What it does do is help the Poarch Creek Indian Tribe of Alabama (about 4,000 individuals) rake in more money than they've ever dreamt of. 

We're doubting that the current lottery bill will pass the house, but if it does, we predict that Gov. Ivey will sign it into law. So Alabamians can then play Lotto, but our school children won't benefit from it.

What will the lottery benefit? First, funds from the lottery will have to repay money stolen, er, borrowed, from the state Trust Fund. That works for most of us. Then the money begins to be split 50/50 between the General Fund and the Trust Fund. That's until the funding reaches a certain point when it's again meted out in differing percentages. The bottom line is that NONE of these percentages includes the Education Budget.

Sure, education might get a pittance here or there if that department is really in a bind. Pundits say the majority of the lottery proceeds will go to prisons and other non-education state endeavors.

Is this what you want? Let's hope not. If it is, then don't complain when Junior can't read.

Meanwhile at the Frog Pond Marriage Mart

Dimwits v. Rethugs (Or After All, None of Us is Human)

Many, many voters, and non-voters, are confused about how government works. We recently published a blog about some of these issues, but one area we didn't touch was the federal v. state government issue. While our state lawmakers may have some input on how federal funding given the state is meted out, they have NO input on federal laws. Hint: Federal law always trumps state law.

That's basically why the term Republican and Democrat mean so little at the state level. You have conservatives and liberals in both parties. You also have complete idiots in both parties. And crooks? Certainly you have some extremely dishonest pols in both parties.

We're encouraging all voters to look at the candidates individually. The Republican Party hasn't proved any different than the Democratic in our state. Neither has been a savior to our people. Choose the person - not the party.

A few of our readers failed to grasp that we are indeed endorsing Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow for State Senate District 6. Is he perfect? No. Is he a better person than Sen. Larry Stutts? Definitely!

Rep. Morrow has served the people of his district well for many, many years. His door is always open to constituents, and he sincerely wants to make Northwest Alabama a better place...not line his pockets.

We're predicting a close race. We encourage all our readers to look at both candidates and vote for the better individual - Johnny Mack Morrow!

We also had some readers ask "What's wrong with the lottery?" No, we don't consider it a tax on the poor. It is money that is not honorably obtained. Only money acquired by work or gift is honorable. Before any of you can claim that lottery winnings are a gift, just how many do you think purchase lottery tickets while muttering under their breath "I hope some poor person with ten kids wins the grand prize?" 

We're pretty sure the answer to that question is zero. So, no, lottery winnings are not a gift from the lottery commission. They are a prize that one receives after paying to play. In other words, gambling.

Is the lottery coming to Alabama? Sadly, we feel that it is. If it is, we should have a plan for the state's share in order to prevent the unscrupulous from steering it to their political hobby horses and away from education. Rep. Morrow has such a plan. Let's give him a chance to implement it.