European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 17, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Friday january 17, 1992 the stars and stripes a Page 13 commentary Christopher Connel wounded Bush still has Gulf War in Reserve a year ago George Bush basked in Public acclaim a Warrior president who crushed a reviled foe. But it s been downhill for Bush Ever since As the Economy stumbled the Rosy glow from the Gulf War faded and Saddam Hussein lived on. Unbowed and unrepentant in Baghdad. The recession started before Iraq s tanks rolled into Kuwait in August 1990, and it tarried Long after Saddam a ragtag army straggled Back to Baghdad. Bush who flew combat missions in the Pacific during world War ii while still a teen Ager and saw friends die in Battle did not take lightly his decision to turn operation desert shield into desert storm. But after marshalling a global coalition and winning a showdown vote in Congress Bush unleashed a ferocious Aerial bombardment on Iraq. Bush watched the television reports on the evening of Jan. 16 already Jan. 17 in Europe and the Middle East As the War against Baghdad began right on i amen has it War amp Apin schedule. Bush told a hushed nation that Quot the world could wait no longer Quot for economic sanctions to persuade Saddam to leave Kuwait. A this is a historic moment. Quot the president said. A the Opportunity to forge for ourselves and for future generations a new world order a world where the Rule of Law not the Law of the Jungle governs the conduct of six weeks later on feb. 27, Bush was addressing the nation again this time in Victory. Quot Kuwait is liberated. This War is now behind and on March 6. Bush delivered a triumphal address to Congress cheered by All for what House speaker Thomas Foley called Quot the Brilliant Bush had another goal in mind that evening. A we must bring that same sense of self discipline that same sense of urgency to the Way we meet challenges Here at he said. It was not to be. Bush and Congress spent much of 1991 squabbling Over civil rights unemployment benefits and a Messy supreme court nomination. When Bush vetoed in september a $5.8 billion Bill to give jobless workers up to 20 extra weeks of Cheeks he and his economic advisers were convinced that the recession was Over. Instead the fall brought a Crescendo of bad economic news including massive layoffs by some of America s top companies and a dramatic plunge in consumer Confidence. Bush faced with polls that showed two thirds of the Public believes he was spending too much time on foreign affairs belatedly turned his attention to Domestic issues even As the soviet Union entered its death throes and ancient adversaries in the Middle East came to the peace table. He postponed a diplomatic journey through Asia then turned it into a Job Hunt with . Auto executives in Tow. His approval rating which approached an incredible 90 percent in polls last March plunged under 50 percent by december and democrats sensed an Opportunity to capture the White House for Only the second time in a Quarter Century. But Republican strategists and political scientists say it is premature to conclude the War will not help Bush win re election. Quot the War enhanced the president s reputation As a decisive Leader and the memories of that War can be revived in the presidential Campaign Quot said Thomas e. Mann director of governmental studies for the Brookings institution. If the Economy starts growing Quot you can be certain that the presidents military achievements will move front and Center in the Campaign Quot Mann said. Mitch Daniels a former Reagan White House political aide said a it will not be hard to evoke the memory of All that a sure people vote their pocketbooks but in selecting a president Mastery of what has turned out to be a scary and surprising world is going to count Quot Daniels said. Bush in a year end speech said the liberation of Kuwait lifted America s spirits and set the tone for 1991 All around the world Quot Freedom and democracy on the a a lot of things Arentt going the Way id like to see them in this country a a Bush said. But he said that he was a absolutely confident that this country a going to turn around Quot and that a you the american people want me to continue to Lead to have America be the Leader around the c Tho associated Pross Fri my a stuff id or Fri Vij oulds it my Hudah a amp it William Saf restates indians Don t belong in gambling the Washington redskins Are winning. The american indians Are losing. While bleeding hearts fret that the word a a redskins May be taken As an ethnic slur a far More serious assault on the character and traditions of our aboriginal americans is being ignored. With the Active cooperation of Many greedy tribal leaders and their fast Buck White lawyers tribes Are being victimized and corrupted by promoters of organized gambling. It began in seeming innocence a decade ago with Bingo games on the reservations. Then half the states in the ., under the delusion that Good ends could be achieved by bad Means legalized gambling. Its called a a gaming or a off track betting or Quot Casino promotion of tourism never use a dirty word like because Indian reservations retain a form of sovereignty that limits control by state governments shrewd gambling operators saw a Way to get around local restrictions and steal a March on the local casinos. The supreme court held in 1987 that states that permitted gambling could not deny us triumphs glories and spoils to Indian reservations. That opened the floodgates to those who wanted to exploit the special status of indians. Today gambling Dens fronted by indians Are already a billion Dollar a year business and mushrooming. The wilderness is illuminated by Neon. Tribes reaching out for More suckers Are litigating with state officials about whether one armed bandits Are illegal Slot machines or merely a technological aids Quot to Bingo players. The corruption of the original american ethnic group is taking place under the cover of a Public relations Campaign to show How gambling is Good for impoverished indians. Profits go to the tribes so goes the Story which then build schools and hospitals and lift the unemployed families off welfare. Baloney Malarkey oomph the few facilities gambling built Are Potemkin villages. Casino gambling will help the average Indian As much As the new York state lottery has provided great new facilities for the average schoolchild. The great Benefit of gambling profits to the Public has always been a Sham. It has proven itself to be the most regressive and shameful tax on any states books. New Jersey and Nevada those paragons of state virtue have led the Way. With the notable exception of Abc news investigative Media have shied away from this National scandal. Many have been intimidated by immediate charges of racism by Indian a a leaders who Benefit most from the deals like those being set up across the country by grand casinos inc., a company whose Over the counter Stock is being promoted by non indians. What a perversion of affirmative action is this the proper answer to the massacre of innocent indians at wounded knee in fact the corruption of gambling is ripping Many tribes apart. The Mohawk fighting along the .-Canadia Border last year was based largely on control of gambling Money. The introduction of Slot machines All but ensures further mob penetration and moral degradation. Big time gambling is an organized vice deserving of no government promotion or identification with a single ethnic group. All lotteries Pic Eon games manipulating our something Tor nothing lust. 1 throw away any junk mail with a picture of de Mcmahon on it is there no Indian tribal Leader courageous enough to come Forward to Tell Indian children they come from the Stock of sitting Bull and crazy horse and that their role models need not be George raft and Meyer Lansky Are there no genuine friends of a poverty stricken group willing to put aside Tut cutting about mis perceived slurs Long enough to Call attention to the real crisis facing the Indian nations today better a proud and upright a a redskins than a corrupted and exploited a native the answer is not to deny any group its right to take advantage of a loophole to attract suckers of All races. The answer is to get state governments out of the gambling business. Public promotion of betting is wrong. It corrupts people and politicians. It should never be the goal of Public policy. If we do not we will surely change the name of the football team to Honor the next generation of aboriginal americans. Well Call them the Washington croupiers. It 111 to now of ii Rob
