Governor pulls out of computer database, says more gambling likely

Governor Tom Vilsack has pulled Iowa out of a multi-state computerized database designed to investigate terror plots. Vilsack says many are concerns government would use the data to target people, and a number of states in addition to Iowa are withdrawing from the project. Vilsack was also worried about having all sorts of private information stored in the computers of a Florida-based company.Vilsack says there’s always the danger the company could misuse the information or hackers might break through. The idea advanced by the Justice Department was to create a way to quickly search and compare records about terror suspects.On another issue, the governor has a prediction about the gambling bill under consideration at the statehouse. Last month the Iowa House voted to allow table games at the race tracks, but shut the door on any new casinos. A Senate subcommittee yesterday endorsed the same bill, but a move’s afoot in the Senate to rip that moratorium on new licenses out of the bill. Governor Tom Vilsack says several senators sympathize with the five counties where gambling referendums have passed.Vilsack says if he were “a betting man” he’d bet that “we’re going to have an additional license or two.”