URGENT Update From NROG (Posted Friday at 3pm)

[Paxosmotic]

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Very nice letter, Paxo.

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Thank ya. A form letter is a nice gesture, but I think that writing a personal letter on how it affects you will have more luck.

[CardSharpCook]

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Dear Mr. Taylor:



Thank you for contacting me regarding Internet gambling. I appreciate the opportunity to respond to your views on this issue.



As you may know, on July 11, 2006, the House of Representatives passed H.R.4411, the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act. This bill would prohibit financial institutions from processing payments for online wagers. H.R.4411 would also amend the 1961 Wire Act, which outlawed gambling over telephone lines, to specifically include the Internet.



The Senate will now begin considering H.R.4411. Please know that I will keep your views in mind when this bill comes to the Senate floor.



Again, thank you for writing to me. Do not hesitate to contact me again about this or any other issue of concern to you.

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator


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[Zele]

Finally, a straight answer!

[calcbandit]

is this okay?

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Hello,

I am aware that Senator Bill Frist is attempting to ban online gambling by attaching the anti-gambling language to a department of defense bill.

As a Pennsylvania voter, I feel strongly that you fight Mr. Frist's efforts. Not only do I oppose banning internet gaming, I am disgusted by the manner in which Mr. Frist chose to attach this to a defense bill instead of debating the issue on it's own.

I enjoy playing online poker, which has been repeatedly ruled as a game of skill. A lot of my friends enjoy playing as well. Poker is a game of skill with rich American tradition. I grew up playing poker with my grandfather, and hope to play with my grandchildren one day.

I hate the fact that we are fighting this war on terror to 'protect our freedom's', but then the Senate decides that they have nothing better to do than limit my happiness by preventing me from playing a game that I enjoy.

Furthermore, I find the exceptions that Mr. Frist's bill carves out for online lotteries and horse racing disgusting. It's clear that these industries contribute heavily to Mr. Frist's campaign fund, thus the reason they are not being banned as well.

Mr. Specter, it is very important to me as your constituent that you oppose this bill. This is supposed to be the land of the free.

Thank you for your time,

Kevin *******

[BJK]

I called Senator Kent Conrad to find his office had closed early. I left a voice mail, but plan to call again tomorrow. I think they're open from 1:00 to 3:00 or something crazy.

I didn't call Senator Byron Dorgan. They know my voice, as I call often.

A note to the people who run saveonlinegambling.com :

North Dakota Senator Kent Conrad does not have an email address listed. The reason is because his website has a webform to contact by email. This little detour almost deterred me from sending my email to him. I think including the URL to the webform would help. It is:

http://conrad.senate.gov/webform.html

This is the form letter I sent:

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I heard news today that Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee is attempting to pass legislation to ban online gambling to a DoD bill that will likely hit the Senate floor early next week. This is appalling to me both as someone who dispises restrictions of personal freedoms as well as someone who supports our military.

The online gaming industry is one that needs regulations not restrictions. As a moderate and independent North Dakota resident, I've been very pleased in the past that our elected Democratic Senators have always elected to side with common sense instead of emotional outbursts. I've been unable to find any documentation stating what position you take in the issue of online gambling, but I can only hope that your level headed leadership continues with this bill in which I am taking a great interest.

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[BJK]

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is this okay?


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I think it's well written, but perhaps a bit too long. I figured that the letter I just posted was pushing the limits for length, and it's only five sentences.

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I grew up playing poker with my grandfather, and hope to play with my grandchildren one day.

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I love the above sentence. It has to stay.

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I hate the fact that we are fighting this war on terror to 'protect our freedom's', but then the Senate decides that they have nothing better to do than limit my happiness by preventing me from playing a game that I enjoy.

Furthermore, I find the exceptions that Mr. Frist's bill carves out for online lotteries and horse racing disgusting. It's clear that these industries contribute heavily to Mr. Frist's campaign fund, thus the reason they are not being banned as well.

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And this is the stuff I feel could be eliminated.

[Paxosmotic]

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Dear Mr. Taylor:



Thank you for contacting me regarding Internet gambling. I appreciate the opportunity to respond to your views on this issue.



As you may know, on July 11, 2006, the House of Representatives passed H.R.4411, the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act. This bill would prohibit financial institutions from processing payments for online wagers. H.R.4411 would also amend the 1961 Wire Act, which outlawed gambling over telephone lines, to specifically include the Internet.



The Senate will now begin considering H.R.4411. Please know that I will keep your views in mind when this bill comes to the Senate floor.



Again, thank you for writing to me. Do not hesitate to contact me again about this or any other issue of concern to you.

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator


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While I absolutely adore Barbara Boxer, and would be courting her religiously if I were 40 years older, that is hardly an answer. I want to see a senator give an opinion. I know that we're not going to get a "don't worry, this won't pass while I'm in the senate" reply, but I at least want to see a "I agree with your viewpoint and will seek to act strongly in opposition of this amendment" response. Senator Boxer's reply is basically "I'll keep you in mind."

[Burrito]

So, to summarize:

Frist is trying to attach a version of the Goodlatte bill that is modified in an unclear way to the DoD authorization bill. He tried once, apparently failed, we thought we were safe for a while. We were wrong, and hours later he is trying again. Whether or not he succeeds depends on if Werner/Leech say yes/no to the gambling rider being included in the DoD authorization bill.

Is that accurate? If so, what are the chances that Werner/Leech or anyone else can stop him?

[monkeyman]

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A note to the people who run saveonlinegambling.com :

North Dakota Senator Kent Conrad does not have an email address listed. The reason is because his website has a webform to contact by email. This little detour almost deterred me from sending my email to him. I think including the URL to the webform would help. It is:

http://conrad.senate.gov/webform.html



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[email protected] should be the email address. came from the source code.

[XraySpeX]

Why don't the poker company's put in some automated things on the poker networks so that EVERYONE that plays online knows about this and can call?

I mean, I play on party poker and they auto post things like "the 200k guaranteed is starting in 15 minutes." Why not do the same thing but say "Online gaming may become illegal, call your senators"?

This is obviously something the online poker sites don't want happening.

XraySpeX