http://www.buffalonews.com/102/story/49199.html

It appears, in the endless quest for additional revenue, the state government of new yawk will find a way to get around this, treaties be damned.....

New York State's attitude regarding this whole situation reveals a great deal. It's all about the money.

One would think that the PC crowd would be defending these supposedly marginalized people, but they're not. New York's complete disrespect for the 1790 agreement should give you a clue what they'd like to do with the U.S. Constitution; tear it up into little pieces, solely based on age.

Think about it. We all know that Native Americans and their culture were conveniently swept out of the way for our Nation to be built. Considering the small number on Native Americans left, it seems but a pittance to give them tax-free protection. When one also considers the fact that these people have found the means to turn themselves into a powerful Capitalist force via Casinos, tobacco and other human luxuries, one would think that there would be a movement to ensure that the rest of us just get the Hell out of the way.

These people are, in fact, pulling themselves up by their bootstraps. They're making a place for themselves in the world, and emerging as an economically powerful force. That trend could continue.

So, what does Big Government do? It says "Nah, screw all of that, let's get some tax money".

So, put this in perspective, when Leftists say that they want a "disadvantaged group" to gain equal footing, they will do everything in their power to prevent such a reality from happening when such a group takes the path of least resistance to gaining that equal footing. That path of least resistance is Free Market Capitalism, which is supposed to be and ogre denying them such opportunities.

The Left loves Ne'er-do-wells and it is disgusted by success, even when it presents itself in groups The Left used to stand up for.

Eliot Spitzer, Democrat Governor of New York, is a multi-millionaire. He's the former Attorney General and he was celebrated for his effective legal pursuits against big business. He's a "limousine liberal" and Capitlalism won't happen under his watch, even if it means that a historically downtrodden group of people lose a guarantee given to them by the U.S. Government. Success is to be punished, unless the success is something he approves of because, in case you haven't watched TV in ten years, Leftists are elitists who are smarter than the rest of us.

If it seems that I'm taking a position that advocates special treatment for minority groups, I promise you that I'm not. However, I'm always a bit encouraged when I see a group of people who aren't subject to governmental oppresion doing well.

Too bad it doesn't occur to states to roll back taxes on cigarettes. People would stop spending their money on tax free smokes.

Gee the states might make more money!

What a concept.

Bravo Winston-nailed the entire arguement correctly!
Spitzer (and any other AG's-AGs to Gov, which is a lot of them) knew it was NOT about the smoke, it is about The Smoker=$$ and control.
Here in WI the tribes have been able to really start to make a difference in their own lives-unfortunately, they had to make the deal with the devil (AG to Gov Doyle)...who knows how much they will have to knuckle under to him.
Everytime these AG's and Gov's have a country wide meeting I cringe and their "next logical process to demean the American" and whose pocket they will pick next...

State and local governments are about to kill the goose that lays their golden eggs. Continued escalation of taxes on tobacco will produce a new century farmer. Tobacco is a weed and will grow about anywhere in the country.

Our local press, today, is talking about the revenue generated by legal gambling in the state and the need to reduce illegal forms of it. Gambling is a relatively recent revenue source to the state but has already funded a doubling of legislative salaries and a host of oversized and poorly performing schools.

Can gambling replace the revenue of tobacco or do they want both and more?

Can we afford the "nanny state"?

The States love gambling. They adore it. No entity in this world has done more to encourage gambling than state governments. They've adopted it, view it as a harmless vice, and use government funds to advertise and advocate it to death.

While in college, I managed a convenience store. Everyday, I watched people who were living on disability payments, workers comp payments, or even hard working people come in and play, everday, 50 dollars on the lottery. $350 a week on the lottery.

Gambling is a powerful form of mixed reinforcement. You get a negative mixed with positive, and the more money you put into it simply expands the mixed reinforcement because you get a greater mix of wins and losses, thus increasing the mixed reinforcement. I won't bore you here with the details of Pavlovian reinforcement or Psychological Behaviorism. If anything is addictive, gambling is.

Please don't take this to mean that I am anti-gambling. Rather, Government has no business selling it to The People. At the very least, they shouldn't be so promiscuous in their absolute encouragement of it. (A series of TV commercials featuring "Then Bare Naked Ladies'" song "If I had A Million Dollars" was incredibly successful). Gambling should solely be a venture of private enterprise, like casinos.