I just sent this letter to Kyl(long)

[AZplaya]

A letter I just sent to Kyl through his website. He said on his site that he reads and responds to every web form he receives, so I'll be interested to see how he responds to this.


Senator Kyl,

I have long been a supporter of yourself and the Republican party. However, your relentless support of the online poker ban has made me seriously question your priorities and decision making. I have several concerns with your spearheading of this bill and reasoning behind it.

First off, I find it interesting that proponents of this bill, yourself included, continue to insist that online casinos play a large role in terrorist activity's, money laundering, and are associated with the mafia. I have yet to read or hear of any evidence which supports these claims. I am inclined to think that the supporters of this bill are using buzzwords such as "terrorist" and "mafia" to stir up additional fear in the average American in order to justify the passing of your bill. I would be very interested to hear how you came to the conclusion that online poker = terrorist support.

Also, I disagree with your contention that online gaming is more prone to cause problem gambling. If a person has a gambling addiction, banning online gaming will not fix it. People with gambling problems will always find a way to gamble. In fact, I suspect many problem gamblers here in Phoenix, if prevented from playing online, will just head to one of the many Indian casino's that surround the Valley. Interestingly enough, most online gaming sites have poker tables where one can buy into the game for $2 and play for pennies at a time. There is no casino in Arizona that offers a poker game for $2. In fact, the minimum buy in at most casinos is $200. So how exactly will banning online gambling help a problem gambler. By forcing them to go to a casino, were the stakes are higher, the players are generally better, and house takes a larger portion of money from each player?

I also find it interesting that proponents of this bill keep telling the story about the college student robbing a bank to pay for his online debt. That is a sad story, but it is one example a kid with lots of problems. I have a good friend who's mother lives in a small town in South Dakota, and she just became very ill. He moved in with her to care for her. He was unable to find a job because the economy is very poor in that town. So he learned to play poker online. He now supports himself and his ailing mother with the $ he makes at poker. For every 1 story of someone robbing a bank, there are thousands of stories like the one above, or of people paying off student loans, paying for additional schooling, or buying their first home, that are not being told.

Finally, I would like to point out the financial opportunities that are being missed out on by banning online gaming. If we were able to have a poker site housed here in Arizona, we could regulate and tax it. As you know, online gaming is a multi billion dollar industry, and is continuing to grow. Imagine what Arizona could do with additional tax revenue. Perhaps we could put it towards education, seeing as our teachers have some of the lowest average salaries in the nation. Maybe we could use it on law enforcement, seeing as Phoenix, once again, led the nation in car thefts. Or, better yet, maybe we could use extra money to beef up our border security. You seem so concerned about the terrorist threat a website housed thousands of miles away poses. What about the hundreds(if not thousands) of illegal immigrants that are walking into Arizona every week?

Mr Kyl, our country faces many challenging issues right now. Global warming, border security, the war on terror, the list goes on. It is very disappointing that your top priority of the summer is to prevent responsible, tax paying citizens from enjoying a great hobby from the comfort of their homes. Rest assured that my vote will go to your opponent in the upcoming election.

Sincerely,
XXXX

[mattnxtc]

would love to see his reply

[Lawman007]

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would love to see his reply

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He won't reply.

[mattnxtc]

we can always dream cant we?

[sweetjazz]

[ QUOTE ]
I would be very interested to hear how you came to the conclusion that online poker = terrorist support.


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...how you came to equate online poker with terrorist support.

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He now supports himself and his ailing mother with the $ he makes at poker. For every 1 story of someone robbing a bank...

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... with the money he makes at poker. For every story of...

Your letter is otherwise very well-written, which is why I suggest these changes. The original shorthand make your letter look much more childish than it really is.

Unfortunately, I suspect that this letter will not change his mind, but it is definitely worth sending, as it articulates the argument very nicely.

BTW, I didn't know Phoenix led the nation in car thefts. My previous hometown of Providence, RI often made a similar claim. (Providence is too small to lead the country in total number of car thefts, but I thought we had the highest per capita rate. But if Phoenix has outdone Providence in this regard, my hat is off to you guys!)

[mattnxtc]

i believe in the debate the other day it was brought up that the mafia is laundarying money though online sites... of course if you ask for any proof of this they will change the subject....man i used to be a republican but after this bs i am going to the libertarian party

[Lego05]

Very nice letter. I borrowed it and made some changes before sending it off to my senator Robert Menendez.

[PE101]

Nice job! Very nice!

Did you send something similar to McCain too?

[action44]

This is a very good letter. I hope you dont mind if I borrow most of the contents. This should be stickied and everyone should send some version of it to their senator. I wonder how many letters it would take to have these jackoffs get their head out of their ass.

[Mr.K]

The letter should be revised for grammar and style if it is going to be used on a broader scale. Good to see people exercising their right to interact with elected officials, though.

Also, since this has not been explained clearly elsewhere, please understand that there are probably two elements of the Senate you should be focusing on if you intention is to oppose the House-passed bill: members of the Senate Judiciary Committee (which has jurisdiction over such matters), and members likely to be aligned with Rep. Berkley.

If I were working this issue (and I am not), I'd be lobbying the first group to do two things: 1.) schedule hearings in the fall, and 2.) insist on revisions (of whatever nature) to the House bill. Point #1 encourages informed delay, giving groups opposing the bill an opportunity to get their message out behind the scenes and eventually in a public hearing. More importantly defers initial action on the bill until a point approaching the very end of this year's session in the Senate, thus reducing the chances for passage. Point #2 adds another hurdle for passage, as any amendment to the bill by the Senate would, if the bill is passed in an amended form, force the House to either vote a second time on the bill as amended, or go to conference with the Senate to resolve differences between the bills. Both courses of action involve time, precious little of which remains available in the closing months of 2006.

I would be lobbying the second group to lay down "holds" on the House-passed bill. Holds are an arcane tradition in the Senate not worth explaining here, but suffice to say, they amount to a silent filibuster of legislation. Holds vary in degree, but the strongest form require 60 votes for cloture to overcome. The Senate does not have time for one or more cloture votes on Internet gambling legislation this year, and thus one or two members committed to holds on the motion to proceed to the bill would likely be enough to kill it. Sen. Reid (D-NV) is the most likely candidate to put down a hold, if I had to guess, but others might be convinced as well.

Finally, a cautionary note on amendments and conferences. A hold might amount to de facto defeat of the House bill itself, but a hold would not prevent proponents of the bill from getting it passed via other means, such as an amendment to a different bill (e.g. a must-pass appropriations bill). Not much you can do about this option, and you'll certainly hear about it if Sen. Kyl or others decide to pursue it, but it is worth noting here nonetheless.

[dtbog]

I like your letter, except for the following piece:

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For every 1 story of someone robbing a bank, there are thousands of stories like the one above,

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This type of broad statement without any evidence is just as bad as the politicians' statements.

You, also, used one counterexample to generalize about online gambling... but you came to the opposite conclusion.

While I agree with you in very basic principle, this statement shows considerable naievete. Sure, only one person robbed a bank recently, but many people have been negatively affected by online gambling. To pretend this is not the case will not do you any good in an argument with Sen. Kyl.

Don't focus on "how good online poker is for the world'. Admittedly, gambling in any form comes with a variety of social problems... and that's why everyone wants to ban and regulate it. You're not going to convince any Senator that online gambling should be allowed because it helps people save their sick mothers... right?

Also, and this is very important: most people do not understand how professional poker works. Most people think that people who "win all the time" at poker are lying and deceiving themselves because "you can't beat the house".

Believe me, I know that this is not the case... but you cannot expect a Senator to realize without any explanation that poker is a beatable game by a skilled player. Many of them do not realize this.

[AZplaya]

All,
thank you for the compliments, much appreciated. This letter is not flawless and I did not post it for the purpose of having it be stickied for others to copy. If you would like to revise it and use it for your ownsenators, then feel free. As the english majors and perfectionist have already pointed out, there are a few mistakes. That said, I think a letter with some minor mistakes makes it look like someone sat down and took the time to write it from the heart, rather than downloading it from a website and pasting their name at the bottom. My purpose of posting this was to give some ideas for others to use in their own letters.