A Declaration Delivered, and Ways to Get Involved

This week, on a cold and snowy winter afternoon, many of you and other brave citizens of Philadelphia gathered in the shadow of Independence Hall to declare our independence from casinos.

• "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that our government should serve the needs of the people," we said.
• "The workings of any government claiming to be democratic must be transparent to all," we proclaimed.
• "We declare ourselves opposed to casinos being built anywhere in our city," we pledged, "and demand that our representatives in government do the same."

Thank you for helping make this event such a success!

Newspapers reported that we had about a hundred participants at our peak. As you probably know, this new campaign seeks to find at least one politician to publicly adopt the position that casinos do not belong in Philadelphia.

Any elected official who stands with the people on this issue would be "an instant hero," founder Jethro Heiko said yesterday. We do wonder whether any elected official will actually claim to be pro-casino, given that state-sponsored gambling represents taxation by exploitation targeted at the poor and middle class.

We're already seeing coverage of the declaration of independence from casinos in local media, and politicians are feeling the pressure. Gov. Rendell, when asked about a recent Philadelphia Inquirer editorial that called for the legislature to start over on Act 71, barked, "Get a life." You know you are making progress when the governor insults the editorial board of the largest daily paper in the state.

Please join us at our next campaign strategy meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 6:00 pm at Liberty Resources, 714 Market Street. Want to get a head start? Sign up to volunteer for the campaign!

As you can imagine, pulling off this kind of event took financial as well as human resources. Help us continue to hold the line against casinos in Philadelphia: Make a donation today.