Arkansas Lottery Still Rolling Out More Gambling

Arkansas Lottery

This week the Arkansas Lottery announced it is rolling out a new instant lottery game: The Big Money Multiplier.

To put it simply, this is an oversize scratch-off ticket that sells for $10 instead of the typical $1 or $2. The odds of winning a prize — such as a $10 break-even prize — are roughly 1 in 3. The odds of winning the $250,000 jackpot are 1 in 440,000.

This is the same gimmick the Lottery has used since Day One: Roll out as much gambling as possible as quickly as possible in order to bolster ticket sales. In this case, the Lottery is selling scratch-off tickets that are more expensive than most and offer larger prizes, but the odds are long, and in the end the results will be the same: Arkansans will spend — and lose — millions of dollars buying lottery tickets. As we have written before, many people gamble out of desperation, and the Arkansas Lottery preys on those people with tickets like this one.

The Lottery’s director says he hopes this new ticket will help pay for college scholarships. The truth is the Arkansas Lottery allocates 18% – 19% of its revenue for scholarship funding. For perspective, the average state lottery allocates 30%.

The Arkansas Lottery doesn’t need a new scratch-off ticket to help send students to college. It simply needs to rework its budget.

Photo Credit: Mega Millions lottery tickets, by msspider66.

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American College of Physicians Opposes Assisted Suicide

Life, ,

Recently the American College of Physicians released a position statement opposing assisted suicide.

The statement reads in part,

As a proponent of patient-centered care, the American College of Physicians (ACP) is attentive to all voices, including those who speak of the desire to control when and how life will end. However, the ACP believes that the ethical arguments against legalizing physician-assisted suicide remain the most compelling. . . . [T]he ACP does not support legalization of physician-assisted suicide.

This is really good news. It highlights the fact that assisted suicide is not an ethical medical practice.

The demand for assisted suicide seems to be driven largely by concerns about autonomy in the face of death. Researchers in Canada — where assisted suicide is legal — found that people inquired about assisted-suicide not because of excruciating pain, but because they are dissatisfied with their lives in the wake of their illness.

A study conducted in Oregon in 1999 concluded, “the decision to request and use a prescription for lethal medications . . . was associated with views on autonomy and control, not with fear of intractable pain or concern about financial loss.”

Human life is sacred, and no sickness gives us an excuse to end someone’s life prematurely. We do not eliminate suffering by eliminating people who suffer, plain and simple.

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Standing Strong for Life at the State Fair

Abortion, , ,

The following announcement is from our friends at Arkansas Right to Life.

The 2017 AR State Fair begins October 13th and Arkansas Right to Life will be there!

For the last 40 years our annual Pro-Life exhibit in the Hall of Industry has educated thousands of Arkansas State Fairgoers with factual information about fetal development, abortion, and our efforts to protect unborn babies from abortion and other vulnerable human beings threatened with infanticide and euthanasia.

We are a family friendly exhibit!  The fetal models are a popular draw for all ages as they marvel at the phenomal development of the unborn child. Along with our carousel of literature and educational petition drive visitiors are attracted to our display for friendly conversationsthat help to deliver the compassionate and positive pro-life message that each and every life is a gift.

When you visit the fair, please stop by and say hello!  Consider signing up as a volunteer —new volunteers are welcome and always work with a veteran volunteer.  Work a 2 or 3 hour shift — then enjoy the midway, food, livestock, and crafts for some fun at the fair.

Arkansas Right to Life volunteers will staff our pro-life booth from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Oct 13-21 and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct 22.  The booth is located on the north side of the Hall of Industry across from the AR Game & Fish Commission’s large Aquarium Tank.

See you at the Fair!

Photo Credit: By Johnny Kao (Flickr) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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