Power of the press
 

Everyone should consider emailing one or more news outlets. The only org. in this country that is more powerful than our Government is the press. I sent an email to Bill O'Reilly asking him to consider this issue for his tv show. For those of you who dont know who Bill is, he is the self proclaimed, and rightfully so, "The most powerful man in news".

I am not the most eliquent of writers, my grammar sucks as well, but here is what I wrote Mr. O'Reilly;

Bill,

I am deeply troubled by the U.S. Government's repeated attempts to strip the average American citizen of his or her individual freedoms. The Internet Gaming law that was passed by congress on Friday was just the latest in series of laws that chips away at the foundation that this country was built upon. The really sad part in all of this, in my opinion, is that Sen. Frist and the majority of the others in Congress do not truly care about the morality of gambling, they are simply playing politics; playing politics with my freedom as an American citizen.

My personal view is that this law was attached to the Port Security bill to make sure that it passed first and foremost, but more importantly I feel that it was passed so that members of Congress, and specifically the Republican majority, could diffuse and distance themselves from the Jack Abramoff scandal. If this isn't a clear cut case of politics outweighing individual freedom I don't know what is. If congress was truly concerned about gambling in the U.S., then why did they attack only internet Gaming/Poker and not Casino gaming, off-track/internet betting on horse racing and sports, and state lotteries. Of this group, the state lotteries have to be the greater moral issue in the U.S., not poker which is game of skill not luck.

It has been estimated that as many as 30 million Americans play poker for recreation and income, both on the Internet and in games at home and in casinos. The leading advocacy groups had been lobbying congress for the past year or more to regulate and tax internet gaming, as opposed to criminalizing it. There was also a push to make allowances for poker in the law that was passed, and even an effort to have Congress form a committee to best decide how to confront the issue. Neither effort was successful as you well know. The effect of this new law will certainly have a negative impact on the industry, but more importantly it could make criminals out of millions of American citizens who wish to keep playing poker.

I would like to ask you to look into this and possibly consider this as talking point for your show. With that in mind, here are a few links to information that I used while writing this email

http://www.pokerplayersalliance.org/
http://www.nrog.org/

As a side note, the U.S. court system has ruled in the past that being a poker player is a legitimate occupation and a game of skill not luck. Here is a link to that story.

http://www.cardplayer.com/magazine/article/14882

There a number of large internet forums dedicated to the poker community, a couple of those are;

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/ubbthreads.php
http://www.pocketfives.com/

Thank you for time and your consideration of this issue,

James S.




Here is his email address if you wish to help me get this on the air;

[email protected]

If we want to be honest about it, the court system and public opinion are probably the only way this will ever be overturned. I am doing my part. Do the rest of you folks have another email or two left in you?

Re: Power of the press
 

O'Reilly is a preachy moralist who likes to spout off on topics he knows little about.

If he does a Factor segment on this subject he most likely will attack the poker lobby.

(and I'm not a moonbat)

Re: Power of the press
 

You make a great point on getting the media involved. The easy places seem to be:

- Daily Show
- Colbert Report
- Opie and Anthony
- Howard Stern

Then we can maybe move to the more "serious" shows.

Re: Power of the press
 

Im just trying to do my part. If you wish to sit back and hope that someone else comes to your rescue, then that is the one freedom you still have left. I hope you get to keep it!

Re: Power of the press
 

O'Reilly has never given me any reason to think he would be against the stripping of our liberties. If he puts it on, expect him to thank Frist for making it harder to have America turn into a nation of degenerates by wasting their money on gambling. I'd be VERY surprised if he agrees with you.

Re: Power of the press
 

I got no problem with getting the media involved. But just O'Reilly is the wrong person.

Re: Power of the press
 

howard stern is always looking to rip our government a new [censored], not to mention he would probably love to rip on the hypocrisy of this bill

Re: Power of the press
 

try Keith Olbermann at MSNBC

Re: Power of the press
 

Pick your news outlet. It really doesn't matter. If one of them picks up the story then the rest will follow suit. Bill O'Reilly was just the first person that came to mind, mainly because up to this point I was a die hard republican that wouldn't be caught dead listening to the liberal bias that CNN calls fair reporting. Email Al-Jazeera for all I care.

The point is we need to fight back and the media is one of our best weapons.

Re: Power of the press
 

[ QUOTE ]
howard stern is always looking to rip our government a new [censored], not to mention he would probably love to rip on the hypocrisy of this bill

[/ QUOTE ]

and he plays online unfortunately he has no audience anymore!

Re: Power of the press
 

good letter...i dont think he'll care enough, and not sure what side he would fall on, but it was well reasoned, supplied good info.

Re: Power of the press
 

Bill O'Reilly would most certainly not be at all outraged by this legislation. He would be excesively concerned about kids and moral degenerates on the internet.
He would be more likely to tell those who are upset that they can't internet-gamble that they should stop whining about it and find something better to do with their time such as supporting their family or spending time with their kids.

This is the angle that O'Reilly generally tends towards. Although I admit I have not heard him speak specifically about internet-gambling.


Fox News proclaims they are the most powerful name in news.
I'm not sure that Bill O'Reilly says this about himself.

If he does say this then it most certainly is not true.

Re: Power of the press
 

Umm, I am sure O'Reilly would be anti-gambling to cater to his fanboy conservative base; and then proceed to sexually harass coworkers.

I was listening to NPR (prob the only 22 year old that does) today and a guy was on and he basically said this would just drive people to use "underground" banking sources and just make it harder for the U.S. to track money laundering. He said that the "moral" anti-gambling people may think they have a victory but in actuality the have created a much larger problem.

So I guess it is not just poker players who think this bill is BS!

Re: Power of the press
 

My apologies to the Poker Community. I single handedly ruined any chance of this law being overturned because I sent an email to Bill O'Reilly at Foxnews. Please forgive me! [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Re: Power of the press
 

[ QUOTE ]
My apologies to the Poker Community. I single handedly ruined any chance of this law being overturned because I sent an email to Bill O'Reilly at Foxnews. Please forgive me! [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

No, it is great you tried to do something...now send that email to other news hosts!

Re: Power of the press
 

Seriously. Right idea, wrong venue!

Re: Power of the press
 

lol 782 views 11 responses

call howard and npr tomorrow

Re: Power of the press
 

[ QUOTE ]
Seriously. Right idea, wrong venue!

[/ QUOTE ]

Re: Power of the press
 

Bill O'Reilly is a tool. But hey, if he can help out the cause, go for it. Good letter.

Re: Power of the press
 

Yeah man, you're moving in the right direction, for sure. Send it to a few ppl who ARE NOT rightwing nutjobs, and you might see some reaction! (I don't say this to be sarcastic or condescending- I think you're doing a great job. I just hate Bill O'Reilly and Fox in general, and feel fairly certain they will tout the Party line).

Re: Power of the press
 

[ QUOTE ]
liberal bias that CNN calls fair reporting


[/ QUOTE ]

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Yeah, they're REAL hard on the current administration.

Re: Power of the press
 

[ QUOTE ]
The only org. in this country that is more powerful than our Government is the press.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is really funny. Have you ever heard of GE?

Re: Power of the press
 

Maybe try Bill Mahr, I would think the pot smoking ex hippie would be on our side.

Re: Power of the press
 

No need to apologize it is a good idea, just wrong person to send the letter too.

Re: Power of the press
 

[ QUOTE ]
Umm, I am sure O'Reilly would be anti-gambling to cater to his fanboy conservative base; and then proceed to sexually harass coworkers.

I was listening to NPR (prob the only 22 year old that does) today and a guy was on and he basically said this would just drive people to use "underground" banking sources and just make it harder for the U.S. to track money laundering. He said that the "moral" anti-gambling people may think they have a victory but in actuality the have created a much larger problem.

So I guess it is not just poker players who think this bill is BS!

[/ QUOTE ]

Also 22, also listen to NPR.

Re: Power of the press
 

For those that would just like to voice their opinion on the subject, go to usatoday.com, scroll down the right hand side til you see the article re: Party and the gambling bust, and then you can leave a comment....usually when i read these, there are "a few" comments on the subject, but this one already has way more comments than usual...let's flood it, I did, and even the "everyday guys" that dont sound like they play online think it's rediculous, so ....rally!!!!

Re: Power of the press
 

email sent.

Re: Power of the press
 

I could see a piece being run on "Lou Dobbs Tonight" (CNN). The show regularly points out instances of government hypocrisy. The bill was briefly (and I mean *briefly*) mentioned on the show today but perhaps with enough messages they might develop a story on it. show contact form

Re: Power of the press
 

There are always letters to the editor of your local newspaper. You even have a shot of getting your letter printed.

Re: Power of the press
 

Sent an email to Bill Maher and will be writing my local newspaper(s) tommorrow. Cmon people the media has power and some media loves to throw around how corrupt / stupid our government is they might eat this stuff up. Worth a shot!

Re: Power of the press
 

[ QUOTE ]
Bill O'Reilly would most certainly not be at all outraged by this legislation. He would be excesively concerned about kids and moral degenerates on the internet.
He would be more likely to tell those who are upset that they can't internet-gamble that they should stop whining about it and find something better to do with their time such as supporting their family or spending time with their kids.

This is the angle that O'Reilly generally tends towards. Although I admit I have not heard him speak specifically about internet-gambling.


Fox News proclaims they are the most powerful name in news.
I'm not sure that Bill O'Reilly says this about himself.

If he does say this then it most certainly is not true.

[/ QUOTE ]

Of course you realize that this is logically equivalent to "if it most certainly is true then he doesn't say it."

Just sayin...

Re: Power of the press
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The only org. in this country that is more powerful than our Government is the press.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is really funny. Have you ever heard of Lockheed Martin/Halliburton?

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fyp

Re: Power of the press
 

[ QUOTE ]
"If he does say this then it most certainly is not true."

Of course you realize that this is logically equivalent to "if it most certainly is true then he doesn't say it."

[/ QUOTE ]

BZZZT!

Re: Power of the press
 

[ QUOTE ]
For those that would just like to voice their opinion on the subject, go to usatoday.com, scroll down the right hand side til you see the article re: Party and the gambling bust, and then you can leave a comment....usually when i read these, there are "a few" comments on the subject, but this one already has way more comments than usual...let's flood it, I did, and even the "everyday guys" that dont sound like they play online think it's rediculous, so ....rally!!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not seeing this article.

Re: Power of the press
 

What about Limbaugh? I've always loathed him, being a sort of moderate liberal myself, but it seems to me that anyone that considers themselves a true conservative would be appalled by this legislation.

Obviously being a conservative and being a republican are no longer even tangentially related. Conservatives need to realize that the Religious Right has usurped their party, which used to stand for LESS government. Now Bill Frist and his cronies want to shut off our computers and come tuck us in every night...

Post deleted by Mat Sklansky
 

Re: Power of the press
 

good idea bad person

i'm working on this too. trying to come up with ideas.

Re: Power of the press
 

This is a great idea. If everyone who read this forum sent an email we would get a lot of publicity.

Re: Power of the press
 

Even the few places I have seen this mentioned, there seems to be little push. I found a forum discussion on msnbc.com and it had a whopping 4 posts.

http://boards.msn.com/MSNBCboards/th...hreadID=100109

Re: Power of the press
 

You guys don't get it. A TRUE conservative would be totally against this legislation. Limbaugh would probably shock you by being against this. Read this great article in Newsmax for a true conservative view on this.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/arti...248.shtml?s=us

Don't confuse extreme right wing religious wackos wth us true conservatives.