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International Union of Gaming Employees
1067 Griffith Avenue
Las Vegas, Nevada 89104
(702) 474-9766 • Fax: (702) 474-9767
August 12, 2001
Letters to the Editor
P.O. Box 70
Las Vegas, NV 89125
To the Editor:
Jane Ann Morrison’s report (RJ 8/11) about Bill O’Donnell bowing out of the senate race tells a much deeper story than one senator not running for reelection.
Look below the surface, fellow Nevadans, and you will see three arrogant tyrants,
Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins and their cohort, Lobby-Master Harvey Whittemore making our decisions for us.
Certainly, the central premise of our American system --- and its very foundation ---rests on the concept that individual citizens or small organizations could present their ideas to their lawmakers and get fair and equal treatment, regardless of their wealth. But here in Nevada, bills put forward without the prerequisite cash that insures the backing of the power structure, i.e. Raggio, Perkins and Whittemore, will never see the light of day.
Their tool is money, mostly casino money, and their method is to throw the silver hook into the mouths of our eager legislators, who, after years of overbearing subjugation are disheartened and uninspired, and lack the will to go nose-to-nose with the likes of Raggio, Perkins and Whittemore.
This distortion of the people’s political voice is a dangerous and costly outrage that must be addressed. It injures not only the casino workers, but also all of Nevada’s citizens.
Every citizen, and that includes members of the media too, should look at the power being wielded in their name, and then stand up and shout, “I’m not going to take it anymore!”
In the past Nevadans have always prided themselves on their independence and courage under fire. They would
say, “We take ‘cr _ p’ from no one!”
Yeah, right!
Jack M. Lipsman, Vice President
International Union of Gaming Employees
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