PARR Newsletter ARGU Volume 8 Number 6 Spring 2005

AMERICAN RIGHTS GUARDIAN UPDATE
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VOLUME 8 NUMBER 6 SPRING 2005 Bald Eagle

The Only Printed Voice of Opposition to Federal Government Indian Policy in Wisconsin.
Published by Protect Americans' Rights Resources to maintain an informed membership.

      "Indians had waited much too long to seek relief in the courts." PARR feels that this US Supreme Court position, as stated in the recent Sherrill (NY) v. Oneida Opinion, would have applied to the Voigt case here in Wisconsin as well if; Wisconsin's then Attorney General Jim Doyle had appealed Voigt. Thank you!!! Navajo Jim Doyle you did your job, as a flunkey of the tribes, well. PARR still remembers Doyle's slogan when he was campaigning for the position of Wisconsin Attorney General. It went something like this: Because of my extensive association with and knowledge of the Indians I'm the person to solve your problems with the Indians, and as your Attorney General I will do just that. Like lambs being lead to the slaughter we the naive, trusting, people of Wisconsin bought this line.
      As far as PARR is concerned when Doyle refused to appeal Voigt, he violated the oath he took to represent all the people of the State of Wisconsin equally. PARR's position that Mr. Doyle (is a ringer) was given more credence by his actions after he became Governor. The scandalous attempted giveaway of an unbelievable lifetime Indian gambling monopoly for several wheelbarrows of campaign money, while the rest of the populace [99+%] of Wisconsin weren't even in the equation, tells us where his allegiance is. If he's on the up and up why did he wait till late on Friday evening May 1st to veto the voter ID bill? PARR feels that this was done so the uproar could calm down over the weekend.
     Folks! Do you remember Senate bill S 578? Well! It's BACK! Back more ugly and dangerous than the original bill. Now S 578 has a new counterpart S 477. Read "Senate Bill S 578 is Back."

Supreme Court Refuses Indian Claims       PARR realizes that the situation mentioned in this article did not take place here in Wisconsin. However, this is such a big win for the taxpayers we feel that it warrants the position of lead article in this issue.
      On March 29 2005, something new and refreshing happened. The Oneida Indian Tribe lost a court battle on this date. One that arguably began when most of New York State was a vast wilderness and prevailed into the era of highways, shopping centers and gambling casinos on reservations.
      The Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1, overturning rulings by two lower courts and said that the Indian tribe cannot expand its tax exempt property holdings by buying up land that has been outside its control for decades, even centuries. The ruling was a correction of the inequities that the liberal courts have been handing the taxpayers of this country for decades.
      This was a defeat for "the Oneidas, who long ago relinquished governmental reins and cannot regain them through open market purchases from current title holders," Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in a decision joined by all her colleagues except Justice John Paul Stevens. It caused the City of Sherrill, N.Y. to heave a sigh of relief. Citing the "long standing, distinctly non-Indian character" of the region, even the Justices said the Indians had waited much too long to seek relief in the courts.
      "Today, we decline to project redress for the tribe into the present and future, thereby disrupting the governance of central New York's counties and towns," the majority wrote. "Generations have passed during which non-Indians have owned and developed the area that once composed the tribe's historic reservations." To uphold the Indians' position, the court said, would ignore "the impracticability of returning to Indian control land that generations earlier passed into numerous private hands." In the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua, the court noted, the United States acknowledged the Oneidas' 300,000 acre reservation and the Indians' right to free use and enjoyment of that great tract. But as the years went by, New York State, often with the complicity of the federal government, pushed the Indians farther and farther west so that white settlers might own land to the east.
      "By 1920," the court noted, "the New York Oneidas retained only 32 acres in the state." The following was taken from a New York Times article by David Stout: "Strictly speaking, the case decided today was not about unspoiled lands and broken promises. Rather, the immediate issues were more mundane, involving taxes that the City of Sherrill (population, 3,000 or so) has been trying to collect from the Indians for a convenience store and gasoline station. "The Oneidas bought the land for the store and station in 1997. In fact, for much of the past two decades the tribe has been buying up land in Oneida and Madison Countries, using revenue from its Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona. "But the Oneidas resisted paying taxes, arguing that only the federal government could revoke ownership and tax exemption on tribal lands. Sherrill officials said that assertion was absurd, that it was wrong for one business to choose not to pay taxes while other ones had to pay.
      "A federal district court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in Manhattan, sided with the tribe. But only Justice Stevens did so today, noting that in recent years the Indians had 'fully respected the interests of innocent land owners' in buying the land on the open market, and that only Congress should have the power to revoke a tribe's tax immunity. Justice Stevens said his colleagues were exaggerating the threat of chaos if the Indians' arguments were upheld.

Senate Bill S 578 is back!!!       Elaine Willman advises PARR that NOW is the time to start making any phone, email or personal contacts you possibly can with Senators in Congress. PARR feels that you should contact every Senator about this new measure S. 477 that is a do over of S. 578, with many new features. S. 477 is sponsored by Senator Byron Dorgan (ND), and currently has two cosponsors: Akaka (HI) and Inouye (HI) no surprises here.
      It was submitted to the Senate on March 1, 2005, read twice and is currently referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (See list of Committee members below)
      1.It is Disingenuous and Intentionally Obscure. Sec. 2 (5) of the bill states that there are 25 tribes that have lands on our borders, giving the impression that this bill only applies to 25 tribes. It applies to ALL federally recognized tribes except those in Alaska.
      2.It uses the mysterious little "Insert tribes" phrase into not just ALL major sections the Homeland Security Act of 2002, but also into:
         * The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.
         * Cyber Security Act of 2002.
         * Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct             Terrorism (PATRIOT ACT) of 2001.
         * Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978.
      3. It WILL provide tribal governments with full criminal, civil and adjudication authority over ALL persons within the boundaries of reservations.
      4. It WILL provide a process wherein requests from individual Indian tribes will get shuffled through to further clutter the Homeland Security systems, likely without the knowledge of states and local governments.
      5. It WILL provide tribal governments with access to personal and confidential information about all persons within reservation boundaries.
      6. It WILL start the process where tribes, perhaps some of questionable loyalty to the U.S., may interact surreptitiously with foreign governments.
      7. It WILL position corrupt tribal governments to barter information where profitable.
      8. It WILL siphon funds needed by states to be redirected, directly to tribes, reducing needed fiscal resources to States.
      9. WE haven't located any requirement for at least a minimal Loyalty Oath. These are just "Openers." This bill needs to be watched constantly for every single action, and across the country we need to raise the VOLUME of our severe objection to such unnecessary and, I think, intentional dismantling of a currently cohesive Homeland Security Act process. MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS: 340 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg. Washington, D.C. 20510 Republican Staff: 202-224-4751 Fax: 202-224-9603 Democratic Staff: 202-224-2627 Fax: 202-228-4469 Susan Collins, Chair (ME) Joseph Lieberman, Ranking Member (CT), Ted Stevens (AK) Norm Coleman (MN) Tom Coburn (OK), Carl Levin (MI) Lincoln D. Chaffee (RI) Robert F. Bennett (UT) Pete V. Domenici (NM) John W. Warner (VA) Daniel K. Akaka (HI) Thomas R. Carper (DE) Mark Dayton (MN) Frank Lautenberg (NJ) Mark Pryor (AZ) There are others I'm working on the list, but this is an early headsup, suggesting that any one with any influence with ANY senator... please get in touch with them immediately.
      This bill is an example of evasive writing in a Senate bill that no one reads, which may slip through. We just cannot take this chance; even if we're assured it's going nowhere. I hope that it IS going nowhere but we must make certain that this bill meets the meets the same demise as S. 578.

Sustainable Development: The Truth About Conservation Easements: How They Take Away Your Rights       Smooth salesmen and lawyers representing land trusts, environmental organizations and government agencies are swooping down upon America's beleaguered and highly regulated rural landowners. With a smile, some cash and a contract America's landowners are rapidly turning over citizen control of natural resources to powers controlled by the New World Order.
      Municipal, county, and state government agencies are contracting with private nonprofit organizations with one goal in mind to dole out conservation easements. For private landowners, red flags should go up immediately. Conservation easements completely change the way land is owned and managed. A recently announced alliance between a local government water authority and a land trust included a statement about how they planned to conserve land and protect water. Their alleged goal is to "help landowners create conservation easements on their property that will ensure the property is managed according to the owner's wishes far into the future." However, that isn't entirely true. Similar alliances are occurring in hundreds, maybe thousands of locations nationwide.
      Conservation easements take away part of or the entire bundle of property rights originally transferred when a landowner purchased real property. Those rights include the right to possess, use, modify, develop, lease, or sell your land. In a conservation easement, Landowners give up some, if not all, of those rights, leaving them powerless to control the use of their land but still obligated to pay taxes. In other words, the landowner becomes a subservient owner of his own land, which is now managed and controlled forever by a new partner.
      Property includes land, water and natural resources above and below the surface and they are what give meaning to the bundle of rights. Conservation easements give land trusts or government entities the authority to manage and control these rights and pay the landowner a reduced amount for his property without "taking" it. As a landowner, you are still physically living or working the land, but you have to abide by somebody else's rules. True, conservation easements are voluntary; but once these agencies set their sites on a specific piece of land, the landowner is left with few options, none of which can be classified as "voluntary." It's called green lining and it's happening everywhere. Landowners are notified that they are located inside a particular area someone else wishes to protect and their land will be regulated or maybe taken by eminent domain. The only option given the landowner is to take their "offer" and the only thing being offered is a conservation easement.
      Every year, hundreds of landowners are "forced" to sell their rights to a land trust or a land use, resource based government agency. Conservation easements are legally binding contracts that last forever they are "in perpetuity." The IRS must approve the offer before the landowner can get the tax incentives and abatements, but the outcome is always the same, a third party will take over control and management of the property. The effect of placing a conservation easement on a piece of property is to substantially lower its value by reducing or restricting its use. Landowners who need quick cash and a tax reduction find these plans attractive for a short term fix. The property, however, will never be the same. Taking such a step will bring a one time benefit, but the conservation easement attaches to your property forever. It cannot be changed, except by the government or federal court order, as affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Big Meadows Grazing Association v. United States. In that case, the Court said; "Specifically, Big Meadows relinquished all rights not expressly reserved in the easement, which "expressly reserved in Big Meadows only record title…," but it nowhere grants Big Meadows the power to veto a conservation plan of which it disapproves."
      Big Meadows gave up its bundle of rights and was left with virtually nothing but the bills. The government modified the amount of money Big Meadows would have to spend to implement the conservation plan and the Court said Big Meadows had to oblige. The holder can enforce a conservation easement, or a third party like a selfproclaimed environmental defense activist group, which doesn't think your land is being managed properly. Your land can be transferred at anytime to another land trust or government agency, which may then determine management practices and landowner's obligations.
      A conservation easement is also, in effect, a quasi data bank that others can use when searching for suitable habitat. That is, when habitat is destroyed for development of any kind, the law, requiring mitigation, demands that other land to be set aside as a replacement. Land in a conservation easement, even if it is 500 miles away, can be condemned and used to replace the property lost. Landowners who have taken a conservation easement have made their property ripe for the picking in such situations. Landowners who are offered conservation easements by agencies who claim they are "here to help you," must read the fine print. Because once the papers are signed, the landowner has lost his rights forever. In a way think about it! ---The property easement process really amounts to a virtual reversal, in principle, of Magna Carta wherein British landowners finally forced the King to acknowledge private ownership and control of land, beyond royal authority.--- What thus became the very foundation of capitalism and democracy.

Indian Gambling Challenged
(by Daniel Warren Upstate citizens) Daniel T. Warren has launched a challenge to the validity of the tribal state compact between the Seneca Nation of Indians and the State of New York before the National Indian Gaming Commission. The petition is available at http://www.upstate-citizens.org. The petition asserts that under the IGRA, gambling is prohibited on the land acquired, or planned to be acquired, for two of the three planned casinos, because it was acquired after October 17, 1988 and does not meet any of the exceptions to the general prohibition against gambling on Indian land. This action will affect the Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara County and the casino currently authorized for Erie County.

Progressive Judges Operating Illegally
(By Victor Bellomy)        The question has been asked. "What article of the constitution grants power to the judiciary to overrule the Congress and the President"?   Answer none.
      Since there is no machinery in the constitution that gives the judiciary this power, it was left up to congress to set the rules and functions of the courts. Can you see where any politician would surrender their powers over to the judiciary? Again the answer is no. These activist judges have taken it upon themselves to shred the constitution and bend it to fit their own will and personal intents of what they want the constitution to say. Since their opinions have the force of law, they are rewriting that constitution by their past and present decisions.
      The answer to this question is that the federal judiciary has taken such power for and upon itself, with no legal authority to do so. Nowhere in the constitution is the federal judiciary expressly given that authority to interject itself into every facet of federal and state legal operations. Their greed for power overrides their authority and good judgment.
      Read your constitution and find out for yourself.

Issue Item "It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived."
---Gen. George S. Patton.

The High Stakes of Gambling
(Taken Verbatim from the Saint Anthony Messenger by Judi M Bailey)        This is such a graphic explanation of what can happen when the unsuspecting steps into the gambling quicksand. I just had to share this with you, because this article takes the glitter and respectability from gambling, and exposes it for what it is: EVIL! ---Editor
      "One night I was going to take my life," says Pastor John Eades. "I was filled with self loathing, in the midst of a terrible depression and angry at myself, the casino and the world. I constantly felt foolish and stupid. "I reached for the gun; it wasn't in the glove compartment where it always was. Here my wife had taken it to sell, in order to pay the electric bill." Planning to kill himself didn't stop his gambling, though, nor did his wife's suicide attempt some time later. "The first time I played slot machines I loved it. In three months, I was a fullblown addict. Within four years I had lost everything." John describes going as long as 36 hours without eating or taking medication while gambling. And there was that awful shame. "I even urinated on myself while sitting at the slot machines."
      Spiritual awakening... John moved to Tennessee to "get away from it." But the wreckage to John and his family continued. "My daughter was very, very depressed," he says. "She had hid in the woods to take her life by overdose. We were all looking for her; in fact, we had a search party out. That night it was supposed to get below freezing. But, instead, when the temperature reached 36 degrees, it started to warm up.
      "There were a lot of miracles that night. The biggest, of course, was that we found her in time. We also found dead coyotes next to her. The wonders of this evening were not just something that I experienced. Twenty to 30 people had a spiritual transformation as well: the search party family members, everyone helping." This extended to John's recovery miracle as well. "God loved me so much that he broke me," he says. As a result, John began working toward abstinence through Gamblers Anonymous and his church. He was moved to write down his story that later appeared as the book Gambling Addiction: The Problem, the Pain and the Path to Recovery. John became a minister and began helping gamblers. Now with eight years of abstinence, Pastor Eades writes and speaks on the subject of gambling addiction and has been on panels with other national experts.
      Playing Becomes Easier... A recovering gambler in her late 60s, Victoria (not her real name) had a spiritual awakening when she was pressured to go to Gamblers Anonymous by her husband. "At my first meeting I was the only woman. I couldn't tell you how I felt; all I know is that I cried the whole time. I cried through the second meeting, too. I just felt bad." Victoria's betting activities took place in bingo halls. "I would see other women buying these pull-tabs," she says. "At first I'd think, 'They're so foolish buying those tickets,' and then I became one of those foolish women! Once you win your first $100, it becomes easier and easier to play. "It's a sickness. I knew it was even before I went for help. It had to be. It eventually escalates. You play a little more, then a little more." Victoria went to Gamblers Anonymous when her husband discovered the extent of her gambling. Even though it has been six years since she yanked her last pull-tab and even though it has been six years of attempting to make up for harms done, Victoria still has a lump in her throat when she talks about how much she hurt her family. "He was furious," she explains about her husband's reactions. "He felt degraded. He blamed himself in a way. His response was, 'What have I not given you?' "We have a nice place and I have everything I want," Victoria says. "It's just a sickness. He didn't understand that yet."
      Harmless Fun or Russian Roulette?... It is easy to see that John and Victoria have gambling problems, but how is that different from fun, harmless gambling?
      According to Dr. Valerie Lorenz, founder and clinical director of the Compulsive Gambling Center in Baltimore, Maryland, it's all about control. "The fun gambler has control and has no trouble stopping," she says. "They go out for enjoyment, social gambling, and pleasure. Their wagering does not interfere with normal life functions. Compulsive gamblers have no control over their gambling. They do not bet for fun but to escape an intolerable reality." Addicted gamblers have lived with incredible emotional pain for years. Most come from troubled homes. "Easily 80 percent of our gamblers come from alcoholic or addicted homes where their parents were poor role models. Therefore, the child never learns control. "People have no idea how torturous this is," says Dr. Lorenz. "Most people think that gamblers are selfish and don't care about anyone else."
      The Causes of Addiction... People become enticed to gamble for numerous reasons. Gaming grows more visible and more available each day: Roadside billboards show flashy harness racing, television ads announce "World Series of Poker" tournaments and Internet gambling sites grow faster than backyard weeds. However, no one wants to develop a problem.
      More Americans go to casinos than to all sporting events combined, according to Norman G. Kruedelbach, Ph.D., of the Gambling Treatment Program at the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. Since the pace of legalized gambling has grown so fast, it's difficult to keep up with the numbers. Gamblers Anonymous estimates that there are at least 10 million problem gamblers nationwide. Is it availability that has amplified the problem? Pastor Eades believes that addiction is a function of body chemistry.
       Dr. Lorenz points more to environmental stresses. "It's quite a complicated matter," says Lori Rugle, Ph.D., coordinator of the Brecksville Gambling Treatment Program near Cleveland, Ohio. "There are multiple factors." She recognizes four:
      1.Biological vulnerability. "Genetic and neuroimaging research has indicated that there is a vulnerability, maybe not specific for gambling, but for addictions."
      2.Learned vulnerability. "As the result of neglect and/or abuse, growing up in addicted, gambling or otherwise dysfunctional families, people learn to trust the unpredictable and not to trust the predictable. Neither do they learn to soothe their own emotions."
      3.Social situation... Dr. Rugle pointed to the increase of gambling availability, growing stress in the environment including unemployment and the lack of a social support system.
      4.Spiritual realm… "The vulnerability to gamble may also come from an overly rigid religious background, 'hellfire and brimstone' thinking, from blaming and shaming, or from the opposite antisocial, what's-in-it-for-me'?
      High Stakes... Built into this disorder is the inability of gamblers to recognize how their behavior is hurting them and their family. Friends feel confused and hurt as their pal lives a more hidden, vague existence. Employers suffer from bettors leaving work early, gambling at work or missing days. But nowhere is the pain deeper than in the gambler's immediate family. The compulsive gambler is like a runaway boat tearing through the harbor of home, leaving the family tossed about in its wake. The children often become moody and confused as the bettor rides from despair to elation. They feel lost and betrayed, as they have to fend for themselves: The bettor has gone to gamble and the other parent is experiencing bewilderment, panic, anguish and rage.
      There are huge costs to the family: financial losses in addition to profound wounds of the heart and soul. For example, 11 percent of wives of gamblers attempt suicide and 25 percent of children of compulsive gamblers have behavior and/or adjustment problems. Many go on to become addicted to gambling.
      "The greatest part of the family's pain is focused around the deception and the lie," Dr. Rugle says. "I frequently hear them say, 'You lied to me!' 'How could you?' And 'How could I have been so stupid, so gullible?' "It's almost an emotional rape," Dr. Rugle says. "Families feel a 'you-took-this-from-me' pain. It's much more painful than just the money used." Before family recovery, there was a high incidence of suicide in these families, for both spouses and children. "It's sad to hear a six year old say, 'I don't want to live anymore," says Dr. Lorenz. Because of the great amount of pain in the family, younger members often feel neglected and, as a result, unloved. There is a greater occurrence of depression, anxiety and cynicism as the child learns not to trust promises made by the parent who gambles. Deeper and Deeper.
      As time goes on, the gambler is no longer betting just in order to win, but instead to recover growing losses. Gamblers refer to this as "chasing," the frantic pursuit of lost money, and in order to recoup, they take bigger and bigger chances leading to more and more losses. "At least while he's gambling," says Dr. Lorenz, "he has a place to escape these growing worries. Gamblers describe it as 'getting lost in the zone.' Then when the fog lifts they start to see how much money they lost.
      "This leads to guilt, which triggers the urge to get back to the zone. When they stop, the guilt, inadequacy and remorse return so they're tempted to revisit the zone. It's a cycle of torture." The compulsion has already sent a deep wedge between the gambler and God. Now the addiction drives the gambler to do things he or she never would have considered before. These could include theft, embezzlement, prostitution, drug trafficking and other activities.Despair and depression increase, leading to confusion and panic that instigate poorly calculated bets, causing even more losses. Some individuals never regain anything close to life before betting. Spouses leave. Children refuse contact.
      The gambler swings from being angry and abusive to being a hopeless hermit. Eventually, the gambler even stops betting. Not only does the gambler not have the money to wager, but also there is little physical or mental energy to do so. Some wind up in mental institutions, jails or living on the Street. One out of every five players attempts suicide. Many gamblers, however, reach recovery.
      Know When to Fold 'Em... Individuals reach recovery in a variety of ways: a spouse threatening divorce, a suicide attempt by a family member, being fired from work or running out of money. Gamblers obtain help through counseling, self help groups such as Gamblers Anonymous and their church. Victoria says she thanks God every day that she doesn't have to gamble. She has always believed in God and gone to Mass, but now she also utilizes her religion and an active prayer life in her recovery. She also attends Gamblers Anonymous meetings. "I have to go to my meetings," she says. "Meetings make it." You hear other people and their problems and listen to how others solve things. You learn you're not alone. We tell our 'clean dates' when we quit gambling. This gives new people the hope that, 'If they can do it, I can do it.' "There are also telephone lists; there's always someone to call if you feel you want to gamble.
      There's a true sense of unconditional love for each other. It's not uncommon to see members hugging, giving their phone numbers to each other, talking after the meeting to help to share their own experiences or answer questions." After a period of time, Victoria says that it's important to get active. After having used a hot line in her area, she began to volunteer to answer it. "It's good to know that you can help others out." Exgamblers learn that it is important to keep in mind the painful consequences of their own activities. "We usually tell newcomers to attend as many meetings as possible," Victoria says. "We then say, 'If you want to quit gambling, that's our problem. If you don't want to quit gambling, that's your problem. Give us 90 days. If you don't feel better, we'll regretfully refund your misery."
      "The longer I'm in this field," Dr. Rugle says, "the more I realize the importance of the spiritual in recovery. Gamblers are so disconnected. This is a real hard piece for them, connecting thoughts to their feelings, connecting to others. It's all a spiritual process. By the time they get help, they are halfdead. They feel they don't fit in; they're not a part of anything. You have to awaken the spirit." She states that gamblers need to acknowledge what they did wrong, make amends to those they wronged and begin the integration of new and old values into their life.
      "Part of the awakening is also looking at what is positive in life." Many see that positive in God and in their families. For restoration to occur, each member needs to express feelings. Psychologist Roger Barrett, Ph.D., of Canton, Ohio, says that negative feelings are like a cork that needs to be popped in order to begin letting out the good feelings. In time, anger becomes forgiveness; despair leads to declaration. John Eades began his recovery in Gamblers Anonymous but, for him, the answers were in his church. "You learn about God in church," he says. In fact, his recovery and the message he brings to others are based on the story of the Prodigal Son: coming home again. "Gamblers have to come to themselves and say, 'I will arise and come home.
      It can't get any worse than this." Pastor Eades tells gamblers to go to Bible study groups and services. On their own, gamblers are helpless. If they surrender their addictions to God, gamblers can, and do, recover. To contact Gamblers Anonymous, call (213) 386-8789 or write to P.O. Box 17173, Los Angeles, CA 90017. To find the center nearest you, log on to: http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/ Ludi M. Bailey, L.P.C.C., is a licensed counselor and has a master's degree in education. She is a member of NAADAC (National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors) and has extensive experience in working with gamblers and their families. Currently, she lives in Canton, Ohio.
PARR Ed Note: PARR's most sincere thanks to St. Anthony Messenger for allowing PARR to reprint this report.

Bill Would Give Tribes Authority Over Fish & Game
(By Kurt Krueger Vilas County News Review Editor)        A U.S. Senate bill that would greatly expand tribal management rights over off-reservation resources used by Native Americans is raising concerns among conservationists and state agencies. Officials believe the current draft of S. 2301 threatens to eliminate the primary authority of states to manage fish and wildlife resources in "ceded territories" where tribes have retained gathering rights, such as the northern one third of Wisconsin. Introduced by Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and approved by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, the bill didn't make it to the Senate floor in 2004, but is expected to be reintroduced in the next Congressional session.
      The Native American Fish and Wildlife Resources Management Act would require the Secretary of the Interior to establish tribal management programs for both reservation and off-reservation resources traditionally used by the tribe.
      The programs (plans) would be governed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the tribal government. Of concern to conservationists and state officials, however, is the bill's potential to change long standing jurisdictional relationships among the federal government, states and Indian tribes, which could lead to years of controversy and litigation. Paul Lenzini, an attorney with the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, said the bill contains inaccurate and expansive statements of the federal trust responsibility to Indian tribes. Lenzini said the bill would establish a preference for Indians on off-reservation areas where a right to hunt exists by directing the secretary to manage for the "maximum benefit of Native American people."
PARR Ed Note: Parr's most sincere thanks to Kurt Krueger for allowing us to reprint this article.

Gov. Doyle's Slanted Fund Raising a Pathetic Joke        The following excerpts came from several newspapers and wire services. There's no doubt, that Doyle spent the two years as Governor fund raising and vetoing everything that did not benefit donators to his campaign. His fundraising, on our tax dollars, netted him $3.29 million. Overall, the Democracy Campaign's summary of Doyle's two year fund raising practices showed, for example: the political action committee of the telecommunications giant SBC gave Doyle more than $23,000 as it angled for a new state contract a five year, $116 million deal it eventually won.
      In addition, family members of Kenosha area business executive Dennis Troha, who is asking state and federal officials for permission to turn the Dairyland Greyhound Park track into a tribal casino, donated $24,500 to the Governor's campaign. Following are some of Doyle's Dismal failures: The Forest County Potawatomi tribe may withhold the $40.5 million it agreed to pay the state this year because legal challenges have put a planned $240 million expansion of its Milwaukee casino on indefinite hold, a tribal leader said Monday. The tribe pledged that sum in each of the first two years of its 2003 gambling compact negotiated with Gov. Jim Doyle. The tribe, which operates the state's most lucrative casino in Milwaukee's Menomonee Valley, forked over the sum last year. But the tribe's anticipated revenue growth hasn't happened, calling into question whether the $40.5 million due to the state by June 30 will be paid, said Jeff Crawford, the Potawatomi tribe's attorney general. "We need to justify making a premium payment for a benefit we are not receiving now," Crawford said in a meeting with Journal Sentinel editors and reporters. The 2003 gambling deal between the tribe and the state was set to run forever. But the perpetual term was struck down by a state Supreme Court ruling, and negotiations to come up with a definite compact duration have not been completed. The court ruling and a second pending Supreme Court decision on gambling not only put a crimp in the tribe's expansion plan, they have also meant revenue hasn't grown as fast as it might have with a bigger, glitzier casino, Crawford said.
      "It's very excruciating trying to operate a business in this environment," he said. The tribe's Milwaukee casino took in about $260 million last year. The Ho-Chunk also have refused to pay, if the Potawatomi refused to pay. It would be the second tribe to withhold payments because of the court ruling. The Ho-Chunk Tribe has refused to pay a scheduled $30 million payment that was due last year.
PARR Ed Note:This joke is escalating constantly. Our dear Governor is now making commercials for Time Warner TV Cable Company.

Who Should Pay for Wolf Damage
(By Bob Manzke) The Natural Resources Board has approved rules that formalize longstanding policy that pays farmers and others who lose livestock and other property from Wisconsin's wild wolf population. The Department of Natural Resources has been paying landowners who are harmed by the state's growing wolf population since 1985. The state's wolf population has jumped from 25 wolves in 1980 to 373 wolves during the 2003-'04 winter survey. Today, there are 108 packs of wolves in parts of 29 counties.
However, as the wolf population has risen, so have wolf damage payments. Wolf damage payments ranged from $200 to $12,000 annually between 1985 and 1998. Payments have averaged $43,800 annually between 1999 and 2004. All told, the DNR has made 164 payments totaling $341,845 since 1985, the DNR said. The biggest problems involving wolf depredation occur on farms, where wolves are known to prey most frequently on calves. Bear hunters also have received payments when wolves attacked their dogs. Two key changes made Wednesday removed a $250 deductible on each claim and removed a $15,000 maximum limit on claims.
PARR Ed Note: Please note: The following is this writer's opinion only, and not necessarily PARR's opinion. I feel that those who paid extra for the save the wolves Automobile license plates should be assessed to help pay for the damage the wolves do. .

MASSIVE FRAUD IN MILWAUKEE
(by Wisconsin Assembly Speaker John Gard)        The most surprising thing about the Federal probe of the November 2004 election in Milwaukee was not that they found evidence of fraud. No, that was a given. What was truly surprising was that the investigation showed the problem was so bad; they are having a hard time getting their arms around what exactly happened. Investigators clearly had their hands full in this investigation. The report says: "Simply put: it is hard to prove bank embezzlement if the bank cannot tell how much money was there in the first place." Not only was there massive fraud, but also the system in place was so disorganized it either encouraged fraud or attempted to hide it. Opponents of election reform can no longer stick their heads in the sand. Federal investigators have found widespread fraud, double voting, phantom voting and illegal votes from convicted felons. You name it, they found it. The probe also revealed that the number of votes counted in Milwaukee exceeds the number of people recorded as voting by more than 4,500. An early study by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel had that number as high as 7,000. Whatever number they put on it, it's disturbing. The investigation also found more than 100 instances of outright fraud. Including:
      1. People with the same name and date of birth recorded as voting more than once.
      2. Persons who live outside Milwaukee and used nonexistent City addresses to register and vote in the City.
      3. Persons who registered and voted with identities and addresses that cannot in any way be linked to a real person.
      4. Persons listed as voting under a name and identity of a person known to be deceased.
      5. Persons whose identities were used to vote, but who in subsequent interviews told task force investigators that they did not, in fact, vote in the City of Milwaukee.
PARR Ed Note: That's why Governor Doyle repeatedly vetoed the photo ID bill. Without the people buried in the cemeteries voting, four or five times for him, he never would have been elected.

We Get Letters PARR's mail recently contained a 13 page temper tantrum of verbal abuse, embellished by a few facts in a generous mix of half-truths and false allegations, which we found almost incoherently ridiculous and without merit for sharing with our readers. We appreciate criticism and might consider printing that which reflects the writer's common sense and intelligent criticism rather than the cramps in his/her belly. Greg Graunke...Chairman PARR.

Spearing Notes
(by Bob Manzke) Well folks here it is another spring, and once again shortly after the Ides of March, Barbara Crabb's flying squad is attacking the fish population in the ceded territory. It appears that this cleansing of walleye initiative is working. Every year it appears to this writer that the hook and line bag limits are shrinking. This year (7) seven lakes have a (1) one fish limit. (143) one hundred forty three lakes have a (2) two fish limit. (108) one hundred eight lakes have a (3) three fish limit. Once again, this year Jim Doyle's DNR kept the tribal declarations and amount slaughtered fish a secret. If this spearing is so ecology friendly, [in tune with mother earth], why is it necessary to go to such great lengths to hide it?

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