State should control gambling

Editor,

It is obvious that Governor Schweitzer has never been in too many love affairs besides the one with the Salish and Kootenai tribes. How fast he has gone from a hero to a zero with them. Maybe he now sees what fickle lovers they really are.

It is also amazing that gaming is such an all encompassing issue. The tribe says it isn't about money but that is the main reason they wouldn't negotiate. Because they can't have it all. It is always about money with the tribe and they never have enough.

The other thing they never have enough of is power. What power do they have? Really only what the U.S. government allows them to exert. The fact is the tribe is powerless without the consent of the U.S. government.

I appreciate Reuben Mathias' comment that really sums up what the tribe really wants. Total control. He said, "We're fighting for our rights to be a sovereign nation. That's what we are in Canada and the United States. We need to stand up and tell people who we are."

I take issue with this as the last time I looked, we are American citizens, My sovereign is the United States of America. No one has jurisdiction over me except the U.S. government which I pledged my allegiance to.

I suggest that Mr. Mathias and others re-evaluate who they really are. They are wards of the government. They have no sovereignty but are allowed to maintain their heritage and culture and exercise control in a regulated manner over their own people. We know that what the tribe really wants is all of us non-tribal members off their reservation.

That's why they want control of water, land, revenues, other government entities like the Bison Range which is owned by the people of these United States. As long as but 100 of us are alive we will never allow this to happen; but realize that at times our own government is against us too.

The tribe always tries to make it sound like they have the utmost concern for the people. If that was true, they would not even want gambling on the reservation. I agree with the Governor, it would be better if it wasn't even in the state. If the tribe was really concerned about families, they would also make this a dry reservation and ban all consumption, transportation, distribution and manufacture of all alcohol in its borders and arrest, fine and incarcerate anyone found to be intoxicated.

You would see a dramatic decrease in crime, domestic violence and poverty, as well as all alcohol related social issues. It has been done before — it works.

But again, I can hear the cry go up from the masses because of the loss of money again. So we see where people are on the list of priorities.

Jim Pettit

Ronan