Funny story from The Associated Press, if you still care to put faith in politicians:

Minister says Ohio governor betrayed church leaders

By JULIE CARR SMYTH

AP Statehouse Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A church leader says Gov. Ted Strickland betrayed fellow Methodists and went back on a campaign promise not to expand gambling when he lent his support to a new lottery game.

The Reverend John Edgar, chairman of the United Methodist Anti-Gambling Task Force, said Thursday that Strickland promised to oppose more gambling in Ohio.

Edgar said the Keno game Strickland is backing as a way to raise state revenue and fill an expected budget hole is a betrayal of that promise.

Strickland, an ordained Methodist minister, said through his spokesman that he does not consider his support for Keno, a video game resembling bingo, as a violation of his pledge.

How long are we going to keep our heads down here?

“Down here” meaning buried in the sand.

A couple of headlines on Associated Press stories from last week to demonstrate what I mean:

• “Senate speeds ahead with bill to quash gambling machines.”

• “Ohioans head to West Virginia as table games debut at tracks.” (more…)

So Allen County Sheriff Dan Beck is back to illegal immigration.

Did something take the sheriff’s mind off the societal ills of gambling he was campaigning against not so long ago? Has the subject become a bit too uncomfortable now that we know Lima City Councilman Ray Magnus pulled in almost $1.5 million in gambling in just a year? Not so long ago, Beck was “protecting” the community by keeping out gambling. Turns out, there’s already a lot of it here. (more…)

Those who opposed a casino coming to Lima on religious grounds found the unlikeliest of allies in Lima City Councilman Ray Magnus.

It’s really no surprise that Magnus opposed a casino, at least now that someone has looked into the amount of gambling his bar does. What is surprising: The people who implied hell awaits those who gamble signed on with a man responsible for more than $1.45 million worth of gambling in only 12 months. (more…)

The impact casinos have had in Detroit, while welcome news there, will be more of the obvious to proponents of bringing a casino to Lima. The numbers should be educational for those who worked to stop the development — and frightening to those who opposed it from public office. (more…)

So people outside Lima should get to vote on whether the city moves forward in trying to attract an Indian casino.

If you believe that, your beef is not with the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma nor is it with the city. The closest you’re going to come are the Allen County commissioners: Sam Bassitt, Dan Reiff and Greg Sneary. Their inaction is why county residents don’t have any say on casino-related issues. (more…)