1/18/2011 - January 2011 SLI Newsletter
January 2011
Dear Friends and Supporters,
Last year was major. Gambling had been our bane for a number of years. That seems to have come to an end. The legal/political effort reached a crescendo in 2010. We defeated every legislative bill, we won every debate, and most major gambler players were indicted. All that remains is for them to plead or be found guilty.
Jarrod Massey, a lobbyist who was carrying out the orders of his clients, recently pled guilty. Remember, lobbyists do not work for themselves, they work for clients. They are just the messengers. Mr. Massey was the first person with whom we dealt when persons wanted to set up an entertainment center in Southeast Alabama. He worked to get a law passed for Coffee County that would permit a planned complex, which included the sale of alcohol in an otherwise dry county. There was never any mention of gambling. The only issue was satisfying us that there would not be alcohol sales anywhere but at the facility club and restaurant. However, that complex is what moved to Houston County and became known as the casino, Country Crossings. He has been involved from the beginning. We expect he will give valuable testimony for the government resulting in convictions or guilty pleas from the gambling bosses.
We are hopeful for the New Year with recent elections being another series of victories for the people of Alabama. The new legislators gave significant proof during the special session on ethics that things would be different. We are planning to provide them with legal help on a number of bills, including pro-life bills and the foreign law bill we reported last month. Rather than opposing destructive legislation, we will support positive proposals.
We sacrifice for what we do. We are glad to do it. Your support does not pay salaries, fees and bonuses. It pays the expenses so we can do what we do. We are lawyers providing free legal services to individuals, churches, social interest groups, and others. If you have issues within our stated purposes, then you qualify for help. Please call us if you have a problem or refer anyone you know who may have a problem.
Giving for nonprofit organizations continues to be down. Last year we were not an exception – we too were down. We thank those who helped us. We ask you to begin the year with a generous contribution. Much work lies ahead of us. Remember, your contribution is deductible to you and not taxable to us. Thank you for your prayers and support in the New Year.
Yours very truly,
A. Eric Johnston
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