George Orwell may be gone, but his prophetic vision lives on, in our continued quest to name things in ways that will obscure their real intent. You know, if you want to let union advocates intimidate workers by forcing them to “vote” for or against a union in front of them, instead of the privacy of a voting booth, you call it The Employee Free Choice Act. If you favor abortion, you call it “choice.” If you favor gay marriage, you call it “civil rights.” And the most recent example comes from a coalition of mayors, town leaders, labor unions and the owners of Suffolk Downs, who have joined to put pressure on lawmakers to support Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposal to establish three resort casinos in Massachusetts. Read about it here.
This is all about expanding gambling to provide more money for government so it can grow even bigger, even faster than it already is. So what do you think they’ve named their coaltion? Is it The Massachusetts Coalition to Expand Gambling? The Massachusetts Casino Coalition? No. Surprise, surprise – “gambling,” “casino” or even “gaming” are nowhere to be found. It’s called the Massachusetts Coalition for Jobs and Growth.
Just another small example of honesty and transparency in government.
