My Hawkeyes: Used

While watching this week's Gossip Girl, I noted that Prairie Meadows "Racetrack and Casino" is using a little snippit of a guy wearing an Iowa Hawkeyes t-shirt in their ad.

First: I hate gambling. It's a tax on STUPID people. Case in point: I used to have a neighbor who admitted to me that he has lost over $28,000 at Prairie Meadows over the years. Sure, he won some, too, but he's nearly 60 years old and has NO retirement savings. He has to work until he dies.

I just got back from Las Vegas where I can proudly claim that for 4 days, despite having to walk through casino to get anywhere, I didn't spend one penny on gambling. It's for idiots, the odds are against you, we're STILL in a recession and unemployment is STILL over 10% no matter what the news wants to report about 3rd Quarter gains. Now, if you like to play poker with friends, that's one thing, but gambling against a "house" is totally another. Second: I hate horse racing. Get the facts here. It's cruel, and something this website doesn't point out is that the successful racehorses are bred once retired. Over and over and over. Then, their young are taken from them and given to another mare to nurse. That other mare's milk has to come from somewhere--she had her own "inferior" foal that was either taken away and shot, or left to starve. All so that the racing baby could nurse. Cruel. AND I haven't even started on how the racing industry exploits illegal immigrants!

Second: I graduated from Iowa. I have a lot of fond memories from my time there. Just like any big school, sometimes you get rotten apples on the sports teams, like nutjob/rapist Pierre Pierce, but for the most part Iowa has teams full of hardworking, honest student athletes. I want to see my University get all the money it can, especially if it can wring it out of the hands of those who prey on the gambling oafs. So, I'll be calling the licensing office today and pointing this out to them. Hopefully they already know about Prairie Meadows' little Iowa tie-in and are getting money for the tiger-hawk cameo.

Iowa: you're welcome. Prairie Meadows: cram it with walnuts.