I The Behrend Beacon Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the ?me exercise theteot Diabridging The freedorn of speech, or of the press; or the I right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances, - The Fitst Ariimemdment to the U.S.Constitution The Behrend Beacon by the students of Penn State Belli-end HG lIRI \ I) beacon News Editor Ashley Bressler Assistant News Editors Assistant Humor Editor Lenny Smith Jerry Pohl Student Life Editors Joshua Lane Scott Muska Penn State Erie, The Behrend College First Floor, The J. Elmer Reed Union Building Station Road, Erie, PA 16563 Contact the Beacon at: Telephone: (814) 898-6488 Fax: (814) 898-6019 Are Erie residents ready The biggest positive is the swelling of tax and other licensing revenues for both the local municipal governments and the state. Hopefully, some of this money will be used to partially control some of the problems that come with casinos and casino-related business, which are varied and many. The state government and the gaming industry have done an effective job of down playing the downside to operating a casino. It's in their best interest to do so, for they stand to make the most profit off its operation. However, the impact that casino gam ing has had on other cities is readily apparent. Casinos make vast amounts of money by accepting it from every day people, hoping and sometimes desperate to "make it big" despite having better odds of getting struck by lightning. Joint research from Purdue and Georgetown Universities has shown that personal bankruptcies skyrocket for residents who live within 50 miles of a casino as residents effectively hand their hard earned dollars over directly to the multi-billion dollar industry and receive nothing in return. Every so often some- By Patrick Webster managing editor The new Presque Isle Downs casino opened on Wednesday to much fanfare as thousands of people flocked to try their luck on commercial gaming machines while the opening chords of "Viva Las Vegas" played in the back ground. The Erie Times-News even devoted three full pages in the first sec tion of the Thursday newspaper, lauding the quality of entertainment and con struction of the casino. Presque Isle Downs will no doubt change the Erie area permanently, but at this point there is no telling whether the overall change in the long term will be positive or neg- Subniissio The Beeves welcomes readers and commentary pieces can be throaty to the Saigon office, Joe tenon shotdd tie limited to 351 ed 10 700 WOrtht. The illotn „coact! Christopher LaFuria, Editor in Chief Patrick Webster, Managing Editor Lindsay Snyder, Advertising Manager Kim Young, Adviser Sports Editors Danielle Brown Kara Struski Opinion Editor Janet Niedenberger Humor Editor Ben Raymond Head Copy Editor Rachael Conway Copy Editors Chris Brown Janet Niedenberger Jessica Samol Photography Editor Mike Sharkey Any spokesman for the gaming industry or our state and local govern ments will be more than happy to tell you the benefits of having that sparkling new casino in town, loudly and repeatedly. You don't need to listen to them, though; the benefits are imme diately apparent. Local businesses in the area will see an increase in traffic as locals and tourists spend more time in the vicinity. More than six hundred jobs were added with the construction and operation of the casino, which helps offset the recent closings and layoffs in some of Erie's larger employers. Gambling also has something of an intrinsic tourism and entertainment value. • . I d- 1 RINI ON This week Vice President Dick Cheney visited Pakistan and Afghanistan last week in an attempt to bolster support for the war effort against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in the region. While staying at the Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan, a suicide bomber staged an attack a mile away, killing 23 people, and the Secret Service ushered Cheney to safety. Hopefully it served as a wake-up call to the Vice President; if he and President Bush had not focused on the Iraq war at the expense of the 'real' war on terror in Pakistan and Afghanistan, then suicide bombers and a spring offensive wouldn't be an issue there anymore. However, the more important story coming out of this trip provides real insight to the thinking, or lack thereof, of the Bush administration. The story I'm Letter to the Editor Dear Editor, If Liz can write about her random thoughts during class, I figured I could write a random rebuttal to an article from last week's Beacon. I know many of you think NASCAR is a boring redneck sport, so I'll get that out of the way first. In last week's paper, Danielle Brown writes, "sever al Toyota cars were accused of having a foreign substance in their engines that was supposed to help enhance their performance." This is simply not true. Not only was Michael Waltrip's #55 Toyota the only Toyota found with the illegal oxygenating substance, but was the only Toyota that failed pre-race inspection. Following Brown's paragraph that "several Toyota cars had a foreign substance," she continues on to state that, "NASCAR suspended the crew chiefs for Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Scott Riggs and Elliot Sadler," implying that these drivers drive for By Chris Brown copy editor talking about is the briefing to the press corps after Cheney's meeting with the President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf. The Bush administration refuses to dis cuss what was said in the meeting but many in the news media speculate that in usual Cheney fashion, Musharraf was subjected to a very stern warning by the Vice-President; after the meeting, the Pakistan government issued a statement rebuking the visit saying, "Pakistan does not accept dictation from any side or any source." Of course the Bush administration denied this, but the way they denied these accusations highlights their relationship with the press and how it operates in a cloud of secrecy. When trying to discred it these claims, Cheney agreed to speak to the press, but only under the condition that he be quoted as a 'senior Bush Administration Official.' His plan might have worked, but while commenting to the press, he referred to himself in the first person. While speaking as the 'sen ior official,' Cheney said, "I've seen some press reporting that says Cheney went in to beat up on them, to threaten them, but that's not the way I work." In a press briefing today, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow refused to admit that the quote could be attributed to Cheney even after many news media reported the slip up by Cheney. This is just one more instance in which the Bush Administration tried to sway Toyota. Actually, Kenseth drives a Chevrolet and the others drive Dodges. The article then quotes Brian Kundrod, who states "NASCAR is an American sport, and American cars should be the only ones allowed to drive." Dodge, a branch of Germany's Daimler-Chrysler, is cur rently no more American than Toyota. And ironically, the Toyota Camry is the only car featured in NASCAR that is made in America. The Ford Fusion is made in Mexico, the Chevy Monte Carlo and Dodge Charger in Canada, and the Toyota Camry in Georgetown, Kentucky, right here in the good ole US of A. Toyota has already been accepted and embraced in the Craftsman Truck Series, especially after dominating last year's season. I am confident that the Nextel Cup will follow suit and will come to accept that Toyota is here to stay. -Patrick Krott English for this one will come out with a big win, but this is necessary...if no one won, peo ple would stop coming. Therefore, wins are highly publicized and odds are nowhere to be seen. The Times-News even helped, printing stories of people winning up to $lO,OOO on the opening day, the better to lure more lemmings into the water. The net effect of this dd push an already inomically border- Le-depressed region 'n further down tile Harrisburg and massive corpora- Ins reap the benefits. :ime is always an ;ue when the conse- nces of casino busi- is are discussed. e huge amounts of ►ney changing hands the creation of a nsient population unfamiliar with their surroundings creates opportunities for enterprising criminals to take advantage of, from your basic muggings for cash to more elaborate schemes to leech money from locals and tourists in other ways. The results vary from city to city, largely depending on how a city uses the increased revenue associated with the operating casino. Cities that imme diately reinvest their windfall funds in in politics public opinion by intentionally leaking information or speaking anonymously (see pre-Iraq invasion intelligence). The reason he had to speak under a pseudo nym is obvious. When a Vice-President goes on the record time and again telling the public we are winning in Iraq, some thing has to give and in this case it was his credibility. No one can give any legit imacy to him anymore and that forces him to pretend to be someone else when speaking to the press. If the people were skeptical of information coming from unnamed sources in the Bush administra tion, no one is going to believe them now. This week the Bush administration announced that the United States would attend a mid-east conference that includes Iran and Syria. Topic of discus sion: what to do about Iraq. This is the highest level talks between the United States, Syria, and Iran in more than two years. This seems to be a change in the Administration's refusal to negotiate with the two countries, but officials in the Bush Administration refuse to admit this. They maintain that they are not softening their stance because the US would only be `observing' the talks. Why can't Bush just admit he made mistakes in Iraq? History would be much kinder to him if he could show that he has learned from his mistakes instead of trying to convince the public this has been his plan all along. Need an extra-cur ricular for your resume? Bored, and have nothing better to do? Like to corn fit into any of the above, then should you definitely write an opinion article! Whether it's a letter to the editor, of regular old opinion article, your submis sions are always welcome! Just send them to • , 'On2l9@psu.edu, casino? police and public safety measures have largely avoided the stigma of increased crime, ensuring the continuing increas es in tax and business revenue as the public perceives the casino to be "safe." Most other cities instead see drastic increases in related crime rates. Some residents living within a mile or so of Presque Isle Downs have already noticed some negative results: their water, sewage and power bills are going through the roof as they are being charged for infrastructure improve ments to increase the volume of service for these utilities that they didn't need or ask for. Traffic in the area is also rapidly worsening. If you've ever been to Las Vegas or Niagara Falls, you also know that casi nos can be wholly depressing places to visit. Once you get past the glitter and bright lights, it can be discomforting to walk in and see that little old lady with bleary red eyes clutching her cup full of quarters as she feeds her life savings into a slot machine twenty-five cents at a time. Like every other city that opts to open a casino, the final verdict as to whether it was a good idea or a bad idea will take years to decide. Even then, it's only a matter of whether the local posi tive benefits outweigh the negatives, and that's up to you to decide. Friday, March 2, 2007
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers