On Why I’m Angry at Tim Mahoney
Yet another embarrassing scandal has come out of the Sunshine State, and this one affects me because it affects greyhounds.
Remember when Florida congressman Mark Foley (R) resigned after being outted (!) for sending sexually explicit text messages to pages? Shortly thereafter there was an election, and the winner was Tim Mahoney (D), whom I voted for, and who has been ahead in the polls for November's election.
But apparently he doesn't want to keep his job because he's so narcissistic, or maybe just plain stupid, that he thought he could have an affair with a woman, give her a job, then fire her–over the phone (and that nasty conversation is now all over the television and the Internet)–and not get caught! What's going on in the minds of men who, in the third millennium, when we can save texts and phone calls and retrieve e-mails, leave trails of their bad behavior for all the world to see? What are they thinking?
I don't care that much about Tim Mahoney's bad personal decisions. But here's what I do care about: He was in the lead, and his opponent is Tom Rooney, whose family owns the Palm Beach Kennel Club (greyhound racing), which has lost several bids to expand gambling in Palm Beach County (read: expanding gambling is bad for dogs as that would seal their fate and racing would continue indefinitely). Tom Rooney actually listed the dog track as his address on his voter registration from 1998-2003. (The story isn't that simple, but it's true.)
The Rooneys also own the Pittsburgh Steelers, and their ownership of gambling interests violates the NFL's gambling policy. It appears that they are (finally) being forced to choose between the Steelers and their gambling interests. Oddly, dog racing and horse racing, which exist to gamble on, are not included in the NFL's anti-gambling rules. However, there are other types of gambling at the properties that are included, and the Rooneys must choose.
Some have said that the Rooneys have gotten preferential treatment. The rules are the rules, and the Rooneys should never have been allowed to do what they do.
Thus, some think that Dan Rooney [Tom Rooney's uncle] and the Steelers are getting special treatment from the league office, which by all appearances is giving Rooney every opportunity to solve this problem in a way that allows Rooney to still run the Steelers."
Here's why I'm angry at Tim Mahoney: Despite the reality that Palm Beach County residents, including North County-ers like yours truly, are against the expansion of gambling, and many are against forcing greyhounds to race, I fear that there will be moral outrage over Mahoney's behavior that will compromise (to say the least) his chances. Meanwhile, the same people who will be outraged are supposed to already be outraged over Rooney and what he stands for.
But now they're on equal footing: they both look bad. The question is: Who will Floridians penalize now? Whose ethics are more objectionable? If Tim Mahoney's priority was his family and his constituents, we probably wouldn't be asking this question and might be concentrating on the real issues.
Mahoney has called for a House ethics committee investigation, and House Speaker Pelosi called for an investigation, as well.
Stay tuned . . .
"expanding gambling is bad for dogs"
Wait, what?
I know Florida is exceptional on the greyhound issue – virtually all the greyhound racing tracks are in Florida.
I live in Las Vegas Nevada, where gaming is HUGE and we don't have a single greyhound racing track.
I can see how maybe, in this particular situation, at least for the short term expanding gaming might not be in dogs' best interests. But in the long run or in a different situation, the two issues are not at all related. (All the gamblers I know – and I know a few, my husband is a professional poker player and poker author – NONE gamble on animals.)
For example, is this website untrue?
http://www.greyhounds.org/gpl/contents/decline.html
Here's the deal with gambling and greyhound racing. The tracks get legislation passed for slots or video gaming that then props them up because they are, indeed dying (although in Florida they're dying far slower than everywhere else in the US). So they stay in business, long term:
"More than anything, dog track promoters lobby for the right to install slot machines and other electronic gambling devices at their racetracks. Proposals to legalize slot machines at dog tracks almost always tie dog racing to slot machines, requiring by law that dogs continue to race as a platform for expanded gambling. Even though this marriage of two unrelated forms of gambling makes little sense, it is politically convenient. Dog track promoters can then argue for the legalization of slot machines as a way to save commercial dog racing."
http://www.grey2kusa.org/racing/economics.html
Similar, but goes even further . . .
"One of the biggest obstacles to ending greyhound racing is that the greyhound racing industry is aggressively lobbying to bring slot machines and/or video gambling into many tracks throughout the country. Although interest in dog racing has been in steady decline over the last 10 years, the addition of these machines will enable track owners to fill the tracks with presumably a different group people who are simply interested in casino style gambling. With this scenario, the greyhounds become a side show that people really don't care about but must exist in order for the tracks to stay open and house the extremely lucrative video gambling & slot machines.
You may wonder, why not just get rid of the dog racing and just let them have the slot machines? The most logical reasons for continuing to operate the live dog racing part of the business are (a) because the tracks are only licensed as pari-mutuel facilities and must have live dog racing, and (b) the presence of live dog racing makes the idea of video gambling and slot machines much more palatable for politicians and the state legislature which may be reluctant to support an outright casino, but think dog racing is harmless and fun. Basically these poor dogs are being bred and killed in droves for the sole reason of enabling track owners to further enrich themselves by entering into the lucrative business of slot machine and video gambling.
The most frightening thing is that if the tracks are allowed to introduce casino style gambling, and the state starts getting its cut of the profit, it will be nearly impossible to end dog racing in that state. It is much easier to encourage lawmakers to get rid of dog racing because it is cruel and inhumane AND it is failing economically. If this additional type of gambling is introduced, it will be very difficult to convince a state government desperately in need of revenue, to get rid of a lucrative, tax paying, gambling business."
http://www.greyhoundracingsucks.com/grs_noslots.htm
Thanks. You helped explain it for me.
This is why I hate politics.
Elaine,
You're far more educated about issues relating to animals than most Americans, and it doesn't seem like racing and gaming are/should be related, as you say. How is the average person supposed to relate them? But there's always a backstory. And it seems like that backstory often involves a securing a corporate interest.
You know that I've always said that capitalism isn't the problem, but people are. But this is one of those times (and there are many) I wonder whether our corporate socialism/faux capitalism can ever go in the right direction for sentient nonhumans.
This is so twisted… slave/prison dogs being used to prop-up a "nice-face" for the public and for politicians. How sick. And being that Florida has so very many tracks (as I only realized recently)- it seems that the state's financial interests might very well, (again) supercede the interests of these sentient dog-beings… It's awful news – I'm not so "walking proud" to be Floridian these days…
Greyhound racing is an exceedingly cruel and abusive industry, in which the dogs are often injured while racing, and are killed when they are no longer profitable and can't be adopted. Every year thousands of dogs are killed because they can no longer run fast enough. They daily face cruel treatment and neglect, often with sparse veterinary care. They are forced to perform all year, even on the hottest summer days. They are caged for up to 22 hours per day and fed the cheapest meat possible. Thousands are seriously injured while competing; these injuries include bone fractures, spinal cord injuries, seizures and death from cardiac arrest. Thousands of puppies are specially bred just to race. Dogs, which do not show ability while training, are killed. The lucky few, are adopted out. But there’s a down side to that too – every time a racing greyhound is rescued and adopted, some other companion animal in a pound or shelter is not. Using animals for entertainment is wrong. It is just plain cruel, inhumane and should be against the law. There are other outlets for gambling that don't exploit animals. How many more have to suffer and die before the laws will be changed and the animals set free?
Please take a moment to watch the following video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOQHUsuaBPU and then pass it on to as many caring people as you can (the song track is sung by Sarah McLachlan). Look at the horrific conditions these poor animals must endure for a lifetime – however short it may be and remember these images the next time someone says to you "what a wonderful sport greyhound racing is". And, if there is a greyhound track in your state, stand up, be heard and rally behind those who may be working to shut them down. For more information on dog racing go to http://www.grey2kusa.org/.