Column: Arizona man seeks Oprah's help in shutting down the BIA

Thursday, August 26, 2010  

"Harold Lee, a former Maricopa County Justice of the Peace who has been at the center of several off-the-reservation poker rooms that have opened across Arizona the past few years, was one of three people indicted this week on various gambling charges.

Lee and his 2008-formed International Card and Game Players Association — of which he might be the only official member, no one really knows — has made it his mission to legalize poker throughout Arizona. Hoping to separate the game from other forms of gambling, and thus allow it to be played all over the state without criminal prosecution, Lee has gone about this in many different ways.

This includes, but is not limited to, soliciting donations online to get legal representation to try and change state statutes regarding gambling, as well as to try and "abolish" the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a federal agency that he believes has forced Native American tribes to comply with the U.S. government instead of create their own laws.

This is where Oprah comes in.

According to Lee's web site, www.icgpa.org, on Aug. 20 he sent an email to Oprah asking for her "help" to close the BIA. This email, which refers to the BIA as a "goiter on Uncle Sam's neck," claims this government agency is forcing tens of thousands of American citizens to live in poverty and be segregated on Indian reservations.

And just how, mind you, does Lee hope to get Oprah on his side? Well, of course, by pandering to her helpfulness.

"Oprah, it is very obvious that you do not shun responsibility for bringing into the light those forces that challenge our fundamental mores and values. Especially those organizations that promote racial and ethnic inequality.""

Get the Story:
Brian J. Pedersen: Is Oprah the key to legalizing poker in all of Arizona? (The Arizona Daily Star 8/26)

Also Today:
Ex-JP faces gambling charges (The Arizona Daily Star 8/26)