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Milford Voters Reject Casino, by a 2-1 Margin

Milford voters have rejected a resort casino application by a 2-1 margin, with 6,381 opposed and 3,480 in favor.
Read the story by  Mary MacDonald (Editor), Milford-MA Patch.
http://milford-ma.patch.com/groups/elections/p/milford-voters-reject-casino-by-a-21-margin

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With this, "Joe Ponte's PRO-CASINO Points" concludes.

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If this blog is kept on the Web by PATCH.COM, I hope it serves anyone looking for pieces to aid in their research on the subject of Casinos, specially positive pieces.

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I am not an expert on anything and I'm quite happy with that. I am, for that reason, far from being an expert in political campaigns. But, I believe that the results of these elections MAY HAVE served to partially prove my theory that once misinformation takes root, it is extremely hard for real information (facts) to replace it.
The mirror opposite is also true.

If we expand that theory to apply to learning in general, once the average human mind learns something  it is quite difficult to change it, specially when time is short. My observations showed me that the more educated a person is, the easier this person is to "teach" or the easier it is to plant a new idea into their minds. It doesn't matter if that person obtained their education by formal venues (school) or informal venues (life).

So, in a political campaign, THE LESSON LEARNED HERE IS to make sure you are the first one to plant the ideas into the minds of people. If you are the other side, be sure to counteract misinformation with correct information, as soon as possible, immediately, if possible. Otherwise, it will be quite certain that your campaign is Dead On Arrival.

P.S.
Another factor that is worth exploring is the influence that adult children have on their parents that may, in many ways, be similar to the influence that parents have on young children.

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Joe Ponte, the character itself, had, earlier this month, said Goodbye: "November 10, 2013 at 07:49 PM - "With this, I, the character known as JOE PONTE, conclude my participation in this process. This has been a great learning experience to me. Thank you very much to all who have participated and who have taught me much! I will not miss anyone, but I will definitely have a very nice place for each one of you, characters or "real people," in my memory. History will tell what happened to the Milford-Foxwoods project. I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST."
(http://milford-ma.patch.com/groups/joe-pontes-pro-casino-points/p/casino-pros-and-positives-links-and-information)
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THE END

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For more interesting and informative posts like this one, visit:http://milford-ma.patch.com/blogs/joe-pontes-pro-casino-points 
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********* Addendum **********
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Tony Harpedian made a long comment on November 20, 2013. I found it so interesting that I decided to add it to the post, so it is better formatted and becomes easier to read for the enjoyment of all.
ENJOY!

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Tony Harpedian November 20, 2013 at 11:36 PM
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NOT SO FAST, Joe Ponte!
I have comments to make! 
Your points are pretty good, indeed! Not bad for someone who calls himself a "non-expert!"Listen, It is very true what you said. But let me give you my own TONY HARPEDIAN'S MARKETING 101. This way, if Good Ol' Tony's words resonate with young aspiring Campaign Managers, they may benefit from this. The following applies for any type of campaign where your goal is simply to conquer. You can use it in a political campaign or in an advertising campaign.

1. THE MASSES ARE MAD! If they were not mad, they would not be called the masses. So, only feed the masses madness and insanity. If you try to feed the masses anything better than madness and insanity, you will be sent into cold oblivion, even before you took your first step. (Individuals are mad also, but that is a topic for another post.)

2. In any campaign where there is an adversary, NICE GUYS FINISH LAST! Poor Foxwoods, came into the fight with open arms, with the best of intentions, insisting on making peace with an adversary whose only goal was its total annihilation. Foxwoods lost its way in "niceland," did not throw a single punch and was smashed flat by a ruthless shamelessly dishonest opponent - every single word they said was a lie. "Clean" campaigns never won anything, least of all an election. It won't even earn you any respect and you'll be seen as weak and unworthy. YES, THE MASSES ARE MAD! Even the most skilled of politicians, when they say they are running a "clean" campaign, know better to heavily rely on a vey dirty campaign. Some do it with more class, others with almost no class at all. Regardless, either one is better than a "clean" campaign.

3. No, Joe, there is no need to consider your campaign D.O.A., if the adversary had a head start or even if the adversary is established beyond the possibility of change. If you follow the correct rules of a competition campaign, you need only follow the first rule of your observations. Forget to try to change anyone's minds! PLANT A NEW IDEA IN THE MINDS OF YOUR SUBJECTS! Yes, the more educated, the more sophisticated they are, the easier a game they are! Run an even dirtier campaign! You can be lethal and still have all the class you want to have. It is an art. Be sure to find and keep good campaign managers who are skilled in that art.

4. Is a repeat of "3." Do not attempt to change anyone's mind. PLANT A NEW IDEA in their minds, their children's minds, their parents' minds, their friends' minds, their enemies' minds, their neighbors' minds, their newspapers' minds, their tv shows' minds, in everyone's and everything's minds!

5. PEOPLE RESPOND AND MORE READILY ACCEPT NEGATIVE REMARKS AN OPINIONS then they do positives. Look around. Look in the mirror. You know what I'm talking about. USE THIS! 

6. THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS. Get all the information you can get from the demographics, its past history and, more importantly, its CURRENT HISTORY, the current trends, the current make up of the community, the current and recent issues, the current social problems, the current prevailing mindset. Let me give you an example: Milford has been plagued by illegal immigration that resulted in the gruesome killing of one of its beloved young men by a drunk illegal immigrant. Milford's legal resident population is made of over 80% "Caucasian". You want to deny "politically-incorrect" feelings as much as you want, but you would be a fool not to be sensible to that in your campaign. So, what happens when you come back from work, after a long arduous day, having to fight traffic back home and you, an "educated" person who had developed politically-incorrect feelings, spot, at a busy intersection, one or more people who are not of the same descent as you holding signs in favor of a project, while another group, with people who look a little more like you, holding signs against the project? Who would you vote for? I know that this is a very sensitive subject, but, as a campaign manager, you would be a fool to ignore it or to play it down. That was only a small example. Keep your eyes open to the smallest thing, get your own self out of the way and put yourself in the shoes of those you want to conquer, who, usually is not your adversary, but the subjects who have the power to give you what you want: The Voters or the Customers.

CONCLUSION: My conclusion is not for the six points above. It is for the anti-casino campaign. I think that the anti-casino group is as shocked as anyone else that they won and even more shocked by he margin of victory. I believe that my six points here can very well explain how that group was, accidentally, able to win this campaign. They relied on their instincts and trusted their ideas that the people of Milford, in good part, thought like they did.