Re: Ideas for Actions for week of 6/25
 

[ QUOTE ]
Engineer, you are my hero!

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks! I appreciate the compliment as well as your support for our actions.

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 6/25
 

In case anyone uses this as a template, here are two typos I corrected before sending the letter, but not in time to edit.

[ QUOTE ]
My letter to the USTR:

June 29, 2007

The Honorable Susan Schwab
United States Trade Representative
600 17th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20508

Dear Ambassador Schwab:

I am writing ...Antigua’s demand for $3.4 billion ...(aside from the continuation of an unpopular prohibition).

I urge you ... Keeping our commitments ...After all, we made a commitment, and our word should be our bond.



[/ QUOTE ]

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for weeks of 7/2 & 7/9
 

Federal Reserve Reply

Dear *********:

Thank you for your thoughtful correspondence to Chairman Bernanke and for your suggestions concerning the Unlawful
Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.

The Chairman receives a great number of letters daily. As a public figure with many daily responsibilities, he is
unable to reply to those letters personally. However, he appreciates receiving observations and advice that bear on
the Federal Reserve's responsibilities, particularly from people who have concerns about how the economy is
functioning.

As you know, the Federal Reserve and the Department of the Treasury are working actively on a proposed rule to be
published in the Federal Register. As with any regulatory rulemaking, input from the public is very important. The
agencies are considering a wide range of methods for preventing transactions related to unlawful Internet gambling in order to determine the methods that best address this goal. As the act requires, the Federal Reserve plans to consult with the Department of Justice to obtain their views on the proposed rule.

The agencies will carefully consider all comments submitted in response to the proposed rule in crafting the final
rule.

Again, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.

Sincerely,

JPD
Board Staff


IF YOU NEED TO REPLY TO THIS EMAIL, YOU MUST DO SO FROM OUR PUBLIC WEB SITE AT:
http://www.federalreserve.gov .

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for weeks of 7/2 & 7/9
 

Conservative site Townhall.com has an article about politicians without testicles (yes, for real), at http://www.townhall.com/columnists/PhilH...p;comments=true, so it seemed a good opportunity for me to post about Sen. Kyl [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] . Free free to add on.

------------------------------------

Sen. Kyl has none!

Sen. Jon Kyl has been so overly concerned about figuring out how to apply his big government social consevative principles to the "horror" of law-abiding Americans choosing to play poker online in the privacy of their own homes that he completely neglected the problems with our borders. So, he decided to treat law-abiding American Internet poker players like criminals while making illegal immigrants legal! Way to prioritize Johnny!!

Everyone: Care about freedom and limited government? I do. Show your support by taking two minutes to sign the petition at www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/306149419 . This petition will be delivered to every congressman and every senator this month.

Thanks.

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for weeks of 7/2 & 7/9
 

Just took a minute to look at townhall, nice place, nice comment.

Going to explore it some, I think we can make some hay there as well.

Also, looking at setting up a online poker players group to give us a unique spot to ADD to the presence we have, any name suggestions?

I'm not a super great webmaster, but built in tecnology helps, lol.

Been playing around with some back office stuff on one of the sites below, should be easy to build.
A few I have built recently:

www.tylerlestermotorsports.com
www.bandbauction.com
www.dickgraffauction.com
www.westongoldrobbery.com

note: I built them, I am not in charge of keeping these up to date in all cases!

obg

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for weeks of 7/2 & 7/9
 

July 8, 2007

Senator John McCain
United States Senate
241 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator McCain:

I am writing regarding your recent slip in the presidential polls. I think perhaps some of this has come from a change in perception over what the Straight Talk Express stands for. If you were to refocus your campaign by acting as a spokesman for individual freedoms and limited government, I believe you could win back significant support. I hope you will – real conservatives desperately need a champion.

As a limited government conservative in the tradition of Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater, I and many like me are disappointed by the takeover of our party by big government social “conservative” CINOs (conservatives in name only) who seek federal legislation outlawing everything to which they are personally opposed while spending like drunken sailors on everything else. The Republican Party used to believe in limited government and in individual rights. However, the big spending, big government social conservatives won’t ever go back to that, now that they’ve tasted the sweet, tantalizing flavor of government power. It appears that it is up to the rest of the Republican Party to reclaim the limited government mantle that is rightfully ours.

I ask you to stand strong for limited government and individual rights. A great place to start is with Internet poker, as this issue in particular demonstrates the divide between real limited government conservatives and the big government CINO infiltrators. The CINO thought process is as follows: “I don’t like Internet poker, therefore I want federal legislation to ban it for everyone”. That’s not conservative by any definition of the term. The conservative mindset (of someone who does not play Internet poker) is: “I don’t play Internet poker, so I won’t play…problem solved, and it required no federal restrictions on the liberties of others”. This is especially true given that the June 8 House Financial Services Committee hearing on Internet gaming conclusively proved that Internet gaming can be effectively regulated for underage gambling, compulsive gambling, fairness, tax collection, and other issues. I urge you to publicly support the right of Americans to choose to play poker online.

Thank you for your consideration. I wish you the best of luck with your run.

Sincerely,

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for weeks of 7/2 & 7/9
 

Also, we have hearing on Frank's bill Thursday(according to majorwager, haven't verified independently yet). A call earlier in the week, and a followup after would not be amiss.
I don't think anything posted snail mail will get there.

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for weeks of 7/2 & 7/9
 

that Bill, HR 2895 - Fair Housing has nothing at all to do with nor at this time is it linked to Poker though some reports (Igamingnews) stated it did.

Still something we could supoport as a way of spending the tax dollars they would get from poker though....

obg


[ QUOTE ]
Also, we have hearing on Frank's bill Thursday(according to majorwager, haven't verified independently yet). A call earlier in the week, and a followup after would not be amiss.
I don't think anything posted snail mail will get there.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ideas for Actions for week of 7/16
 

Well, we're making progress. IGREA just picked up two more cosponsors, Rep. Anthony Weiner [NY-D] and Rep. Bennie Thompson [MS-D], bringing us up to 28 cosponsors plus Rep. Frank. The UIGEA regs didn't get published on schedule, despite their push to get them out by the 10th. This is either great news (banks complaining) or neutral (administration trying to get them toughened...good for us in that they're weak now and that stakeholders like it that way, bad for obvious reasons), but we'll still likely wish to respond the same way....writing to Bernanke, Paulson, Gonzales, and Steven D. Laughton (the regs' focal point).

So, it seems we have opportunities. What do you all want to do this week?

Re: Ideas for Actions for week of 7/16
 

My goal for this week and next is to get a story on The Drudge Report. We need to be working what we can on the Republican side of the populace, and that is where the younger, net savvy conservatives go for news. Stories there are read, talked about, and blogged on more than anywhere else online.

Re: Ideas for Actions for week of 7/16
 

[ QUOTE ]

So, it seems we have opportunities. What do you all want to do this week?

[/ QUOTE ]

Military Coup?

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for weeks of 7/2 & 7/9
 

Very good letter Engineer. A big Ditto!

Re: Ideas for Actions for week of 7/16
 

[ QUOTE ]
So, it seems we have opportunities. What do you all want to do this week?

[/ QUOTE ]

If that petition is getting delivered to all Congressmen, then maybe we make it a goal to get this link posted in other places (Digg, appropriate Yahoo! forums, liberterian sites, etc.).

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/306149419

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/16
 

Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/16

<font color="brown"><u>Summary of actions:</u>
1. Contact Steven D. Laughton (the UIGEA Treasury Dept. focal point), Treas. Sec. Paulson, and Atty. Gen Gonzales, and Steven D. Laughton to advocate for minimum UIGEA regs.
2. Post the link to the "Repeal UIGEA" online petition at www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/306149419 wherever you can (blogs, libertarian sites, Wikipedia, etc.), as it will be hand-delivered to each senator and representative later this month.
3. Write to Congress
4. Write to newspapers and post to blogs</font>

--------------------------------------------------------

Based on our group discussions, let's do the following:

1. Contact Steven D. Laughton (the UIGEA Treasury Dept. focal point) via email or snail mail with our concerns over the impact of UIGEA. Info on Mr. Laughton is available at www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eoViewRule?ruleID=275050. Continue to contact Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Treasury Secretary Paulson, and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, of course. The regs were supposed to be out by now...the fact they they are not is probably good for us. I think a big push here on our part could really pay off.

Let's ask them not to exceed the specific mandates of UIGEA when drafting legislation. Let's ask them to exclude all ACH transactions (too burdensome for banks to filter). Also, remind them that online poker is not illegal under any federal law. We should ask them to require unambiguous state laws, so banks aren't in the position of trying to interpret state laws that may or may not apply to Internet gaming. Finally, there should be no "site blacklists".

Contact info:

Steven D. Laughton
Office of the Assistant General Counsel (Banking and Finance)
Room 2027B,1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.
Washington,DC 20220
Phone:202 622-8413
Email: steven.laughton@do.treas.gov

The Honorable Alberto Gonzales
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
AskDOJ@usdoj.gov

The Honorable Henry Paulson
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220

The Honorable Ben S. Bernanke
Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Washington, D. C. 20551
http://www.federalreserve.gov/feedback.cfm

Others:

Pres. Bush: comments@whitehouse.gov
Your senators: www.senate.gov
Your representative: www.house.gov
Republican National Committee: Chairman@gop.com
Democratic National Committee: www.democrats.org/contact.html
Speaker Nancy Pelosi: AmericanVoices@mail.house.gov
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: http://reid.senate.gov/contact/email_form.cfm


2. Post the link to the "Repeal UIGEA" online petition at www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/306149419 wherever you can (blogs, libertarian sites, Wikipedia, etc.). The site is reputable, and the signatures will be hand-delivered to Capitol Hill by representatives of Casino Gambling Web in July (see http://www.prnewsnow.com/P.......20D.C.). Be sure to check the box to hide your name if you don't want it displayed on the website. Also be sure to deselect the boxes that offer to send regular updates if you don't want them. Focus on the Family is STILL warning their members about this march, so it must be a good thing. See www.citizenlink.org/FOSI/gambling/cog/A000004244.cfm.

3. Continue to contact your senators and representative. <u>Let’s call and send snail mail at least once every four to six weeks</u>. Let’s email at least once per week or biweekly. Some of these may be carbon copies of letters to others (like the USTR, Frank, etc).

We have many issues, so we can focus on one item for each letter while rotating. It does not matter to our movement which items you choose; any communication against attempts to ban online gambling at the federal level work in our favor. After all, if IGREA fails due to lack of public support, it’s not like the media will report that people disagreed with giving power to the FinCEN or to issues relating to shutting out foreign operators. They’ll report, “Frank’s Attempt to End Online Gambling Ban (as if there is such a thing, but the media don’t care) Fails to Draw Public Support”. Our opponents will say, "see, Americans are happy we’re 'protecting the public'". If Wexler’s bill fails, the media won’t report that some felt it legitimized UIGEA. They’ll report that Americans didn’t even wish to legalize poker. This year, we’re all about generating support for our general position, which is that online gaming should not be prohibited. Let’s focus there. So, here are some issues we can rotate:

- Antigua’s WTO case
- IGREA
- Wexler’s bill: H.R. 2610, the Skill Game Protection Act
- Praise for the 6/8 hearing. www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/ht060807.shtml; webcast archived at http://financialserv.edgeboss.net/wm...ring060807.wvx
- Shelley Berkley's study bill

4. Now that we have bills progressing, we should try to work on advocating for the legislation. Let's write to newspapers, magazines, post to blogs, etc. Since we proved our position in the 6/8 House hearing, let's post the link to the hearing webcast wherever we can.

Letters to the editor, Washington Post: letters@washpost.com
Letters to the editor, New York Times: letters@nytimes.com

Thanks everyone!

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/16
 

Steven D. Laughton
Office of the Assistant General Counsel (Banking and Finance)
Room 2027B, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.
Washington, DC 20220

Dear Mr. Laughton:

I understand that some who wish to prohibit law-abiding Americans from choosing to play online poker in the privacy of their own homes have been lobbying the Treasury Department for UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006) regulations that would, in essence, create an Internet gaming prohibition. This concerns me greatly as a freedom-loving American, as Congress did not ban any gaming with UIGEA. It seems anti-poker interest groups would have the Treasury Department disregard this fact and would use the Federal Reserve System’s banking regulations as a back door means of creating the prohibition they were unable to win legislatively, while burdening our financial institutions with enforcement duties.

As you know, UIGEA does not make Internet gaming illegal. Rather, it merely provides a means for enforcement of federal and state Internet gaming laws that were already in effect when UIGEA passed. However, very few types of online gambling are illegal under federal law. Specifically, federal law covers only some sport betting. As for state laws, very few states have outlawed Internet gaming. Regarding other states, prohibitionists are trying to use ambiguous, arcane gambling laws to claim that some types of Internet gaming MIGHT be illegal in their states. To keep from placing an unfair burden on our banks, I ask that the upcoming UIGEA regulations address areas only where laws are unambiguous in their application to the Internet and to specific forms of gambling. After all, if states actually wished to ban Internet gaming, they would have done so in an unambiguous fashion, especially if they wished to have the federal government take the unprecedented step of enforcing it.

Additionally, I ask that the regulations exclude the highly automated ACH system, as the addition of manual verification steps to ACH would be overly burdensome.

Thanks for your consideration.

Sincerely,

TheEngineer

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/16
 

A note to Sen. Mitch McConnell of KY (I ghost-wrote it for a buddy of mine living there).

--------------------------------------

Senator Mitch McConnell
United States Senate
361-A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator McConnell:

I am a recreational poker player who is upset that nothing has been done in the Senate to introduce and advance HR 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act. Quite frankly, I find it ridiculous and shortsighted that Congress refuses to move this industry onshore, complete with regulation and taxation. Poker is, after all, an American institution. What I find truly absurd is the fact that it is still completely legal to place interstate wagers on horse races over the Internet. Surely the “problems” cited by the opponents of poker (a game of skill) exist in horse betting (which is mere chance). It seems quite hypocritical, at least to me, that one is expressly permitted while the other is not.

While I am a proud Kentuckian who values our commonwealth’s equine heritage, I also value my freedoms. Therefore, in the name of equitability, I ask you to either support HR 2046 or support the repeal of the Interstate Horse Racing Act of 1978. Many in Congress support eliminating this exemption for horse racing, including Rep. Shelly Berkley of Nevada, Rep. Julia Carson of Indiana, and Rep. Chris Shays of Connecticut. If my poker-playing friends at the 600,000 strong Poker Players Alliance and at the many poker web sites and blogs join in to insist that we should be treated at least as well as horses, I imagine we will be heard. At that point, various pro-family groups will likely join us to eliminate the horseracing loophole. After all, they are very consistent on this point, as you surely know.

My personal opinion is that we should choose to support both poker and our commonwealth’s equine industry. After all, we both know Internet gaming can be regulated for age verification and for prevention, compulsive behavior, and money laundering. This was proven conclusively at the June 8, 2007 House Financial Services committee hearings on the subject. I am glad you recognize that fact. After all, if you did not you would not have supported the horseracing exemption in last year’s Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

Many Americans wish to have the right to play poker online. Many more do not feel it is the government’s place to prohibit this. Some polls have shown over 75% opposition to UIGEA. I do feel there will be a continued backlash in 2008 to this, especially as our party continues to fracture along ideological lines.

I ask you to carefully consider the facts and to support HR 2046 and our equine industry. Let’s have a regulated, taxed, and legal Internet gaming industry. It’s not about supporting gaming; rather, it is about supporting the right of adults to make their own decisions.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/16
 

Perhaps we should at least look like we're going to target the equine industry for repeal of the IHRA. At least we can maybe use the anti-gambling legislators for something.

Quote from McConnell:

[ QUOTE ]
Although I do not support widespread gambling, I will examine very closely any gambling legislation to ensure that it does not harm Kentucky by hurting our horse industry. Because I represent the entire state of Kentucky, I do what I can to support its horse farms, horse workers, and the economic good of our state. It has been estimated that the equine industry supports 50,000 jobs in Kentucky and generates $3.5 billion for our state's economy each year.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, it seems he cares. Perhaps we should get his attention. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/16
 

Is there a vulnerable House Rep in his state?

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/16
 

[ QUOTE ]
Is there a vulnerable House Rep in his state?

[/ QUOTE ]

McConnell himself is now seen as vulnerable by the DNC (immigration + the war). They listed him with three other Republican senators for targeting via commercials.

As for the House, the whole northern KY, southern OH, eastern IN area is getting very competitive. Geoff Davis, Jean Schmidt, and Deborah Price come to mind. Check out Vulnerable House Internet Poker Opponents for more info. Also, Gov. Fletcher (R) will lose handily to a pro-gambling (running on pro-gambling) Democrat, which is expected to weaken McConnell further.

Just a little bit of noise could echo throughout the state. After all, horse owners are spooked even more readily than are their precious [censored] horses.

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/16
 

The Honorable Shelley Berkley
United States House of Representatives
405 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-4708

Dear Representative Berkley:

I am a recreational poker player who is as upset as you about last year’s Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Quite frankly, I find it ridiculous and shortsighted that Congress refuses to move this industry onshore, complete with regulation and taxation. Poker is, after all, an American institution. What I find truly absurd is the fact that it is still completely legal to place interstate wagers on horse races over the Internet. Surely the “problems” cited by the opponents of poker either exist in horse betting as well or do not exist in either sport. It seems quite hypocritical, at least to me, that one is expressly permitted while the other is not. The horseracing proponents did not even feel the horses required a study – the same one they refuse to give us.

It also seems hypocritical that games familiar to Nevadans are “sinful”, while gambling on horses is somehow considered “all-American”. I imagine this likely offends you and other Nevadans. I know it offends me.

So, in the name of equitability will you consider introducing legislation to repeal the Interstate Horse Racing Act of 1978? After all, it seems the horses should be subject to the same laws the rest of us are. We should be on equal footing. I also think it would be very effective to put the opponents of Internet poker in the spotlight of having to vote for Internet horseracing, just as it was last year when you introduced this as an amendment to UIGEA.

You can be assured the millions of Internet gaming enthusiasts will be with you and will be grateful. After all, we think we should be treated at least as well as horses.

Thanks for your consideration.

Sincerely,

TheEngineer

----------------------------------------

The Honorable Julia Carson
U.S. House of Representatives
2455 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Representative Carson:

I am a recreational poker player who is as upset as you about last year’s Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Quite frankly, I find it ridiculous and shortsighted that Congress refuses to move this industry onshore, complete with regulation and taxation. Poker is, after all, an American institution. What I find truly absurd is the fact that it is still completely legal to place interstate wagers on horse races over the Internet. Surely the “problems” cited by the opponents of poker either exist in horse betting as well or do not exist in either sport. It seems quite hypocritical, at least to me, that one is expressly permitted while the other is not. The horseracing proponents did not even feel the horses a study – the same one they refuse to give us.

In the name of equitability will you consider introducing legislation to repeal the Interstate Horse Racing Act of 1978? After all, it seems the horses should be subject to the same laws the rest of us are. We should be on equal footing, as you said in the June 8 House Financial Services Committee hearing on the subject of Internet gaming. I also think it would be very effective to put the opponents of Internet poker in the spotlight of having to vote for Internet horseracing.

You can be assured the millions of Internet gaming enthusiasts will be with you and will be grateful. After all, we think we should be treated at least as well as horses.

Thanks for your consideration.

Sincerely,

TheEngineer

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/16
 

The Center for Regulatory Effectiveness sent a letter to several government officials concerning UIGEA regulatory burdens. It's at http://www.thecre.com/pdf/McInerney_Letter.pdf . The points brought up in the analysis may be good for us to use in our letters and in our comments on the proposed regulations (once they are released, starting the comment period.

Some points:

There is strong evidence that a substantial number of credit card issuers are small businesses.

Census Bureau data strongly suggests that a substantial number small companies are in engaged in financial transaction processing services.

Small, innovative American technology companies will be directly and/or indirectly impacted by the rule.

The rule will place significant direct and indirect burdens on a substantial number of small entities, potentially altering the competitive situation in financial transactions industries and leading to further consolidations in already highly concentrated industries.

The letter also contains a number of people to whom we may consider writing, including:

Ms. Roberta K. McInerney
Assistant General Counsel for Banking and Finance
Room 2304
Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.
Washington, DC 20220

The Honorable Robert J. Portman, Director, The Office of Management and Budget

The Honorable Thomas M. Sullivan, Chief Counsel for Advocacy, U.S. Small Business Administration

Mr. Scott G. Alvarez, General Counsel, The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Mr. Peter A. Bieger, Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Banking and Finance

Dennis W. Carlton, Ph.D., Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Economic Analysis

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/16
 

If anyone else was watching, the WSOP just ended, and Jerry is donating 10%(825k) to charities, and thanking God, rather sincerely for his victory. From all I can see, and read, he is a family guy, a refugee from Thailand made good in the US, and just won poker's biggest prize. Definitely a good face for poker to counter the frauds at FoF. Id love to see Yang stand up to someone like Bauchus on a panel in Congress witha life of real hardship and true faith, combined with respect for poker as a job and legitimate pastime. Im going to sleep now, but when I wake up Im going to start letters to the editor about him.

On the other hand, the commentary, especially Phil and Howard, disappointed me. Helmuth totally dissed online poker's contributions to the WSOP. No mention of politics, none. These guys were rich before this, but they are literally raking it in now. And if not for online poker, the WSOP would still be a small cult phenomenon. Literally almost popped a blood vessel listening to Phil before he left for the airport.

Ideas for Actions for week of 7/23
 

What do you all think we should do next week to advocate for our rights?

Re: Ideas for Actions for week of 7/23
 

I vote for expanding the current actions a bit by adding more recipients to the "UIGEA regs letters" item, plus writing to our governors and state reps. When the UIGEA regs are released and opened for comments, I'll recommend we make as many comments as possible.

Re: Ideas for Actions for week of 7/23
 

I think in our letters this week we need to make a list of the not so obvious 'legal' interstate wagering going on all over the U S, even if in some cases is a bit of a reach.

1. Deal / No Deal Text .99 Fees
2. Sprint / Nextel NASCAR win a Million (no entry fee, just normal text messaging fees apply to enter)
3. Obama's 'donation' lottery to have dinner with him.
4. any other examples we can find as a group.

Doing this we can try and Main Stream wagering in the U S and show it is very common and the UIGEA regulations will affect many businesses / activities other than poker, the 'unintended consequences of a poorly conceived law.

obg

FRC / FoF at It Again
 

OK, they have a video at Capitol Hill Broadcasting:
http://www.chbn.com/clip.aspx?key=124BDA9AA5668035

Right next to it is a GOOD Ron Paul Video.

I joined just so I could leave a comment and am making the follow-up call in the morning:
202-456-1111
Though NOT what FRC / FoF wants me to say of course.

I suggest you / we take a minute, join Capitol Hill and denounce this video!

obg

Re: Ideas for Actions for week of 7/23
 

[ QUOTE ]
What do you all think we should do next week to advocate for our rights?

[/ QUOTE ]

Throw all of their proverbial tea in the harbor!

Re: Ideas for Actions for week of 7/23
 

CNBC did a piece Monday on the WSOP and the drop in online qualifiers this year with Gambling911.
the video is here:
http://www.costiganmedia.com/cnbc-poker.html

CNBC nerver really got into any details other than a generic mention of the UIGEA.

We need to e-mail CNBC with comments and try and get a real story about the WTO case involving this.

Link to CNBC:
https://register.cnbc.com/email/EmailSupport.jsp

My letter to CNBC:
I found Darren Rovell’s piece on the WSOP interesting.
More of interest was the law passed by congress to block funds transfers for playing online poker and the effect it had on the WSOP and by implication on the American public as a whole.
Considering there has been little to no news concerning this I was, to say the least, surprised. Surprised especially in light of the recent arrest of Neteller executives and the settlement to return 94 Million Dollars of American Online players funds frozen by the DoJ / USAO in the Southern District Federal Court.
With the cooperation agreement signed by this company to defer prosecution and agreement to help the USAO office in further investigations, how far may this reach and what U.S. banks may be implicated and what affect will that have on the banking industry and stock valuations and the affect it has on limiting Americans freedom of association.

There has been no coverage of the WTO ruling and mounting BILLIONS of dollars in trade claims filed against the U.S. for passing the UIGEA by Antigua-Barbuda, Japan, Canada, Costa Rica, India and the entire European Communities along with Macao / China.

This most important piece of information related to the drop in online WSOP entrants is of utmost concern to all, especially U.S. companies doing business abroad.

Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/23
 

Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/23

<font color="brown"><u>Summary of actions:</u>
1. Write to Treasury and DOJ officials AT LEAST ONCE PER WEEK to request the minimum possible UIGEA regulations.
2. Write to your governor and to your state representatives.
3. Regularly write to Congress.
4. Write to newspapers and post to blogs.</font>

--------------------------------------------------------

Based on our group discussions, let's do the following:

1. Write to Treasury and DOJ officials AT LEAST ONCE PER WEEK to request the minimum possible UIGEA regulations. We should contact Steven D. Laughton (the UIGEA Treasury Dept. focal point), Roberta McInerney (Assistant General Counsel for Banking and Finance), Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Treasury Secretary Paulson, and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. The regs were supposed to be out by now...the fact they they are not is probably good for us. I think a big push here on our part could really pay off.

Let's ask them not to exceed the specific mandates of UIGEA when drafting legislation. Let's ask them to exclude all ACH transactions (too burdensome for banks to filter). Also, remind them that online poker is not illegal under any federal law. We should ask them to require unambiguous state laws, so banks aren't in the position of trying to interpret state laws that may or may not apply to Internet gaming. Finally, there should be no "site blacklists".

Contact info:

Steven D. Laughton
Office of the Assistant General Counsel (Banking and Finance)
Room 2027B,1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.
Washington,DC 20220
Phone: (202) 622-8413
Email: steven.laughton@do.treas.gov

Ms. Roberta K. McInerney
Assistant General Counsel for Banking and Finance
Room 2304
Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.
Washington, DC 20220

The Honorable Alberto Gonzales
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
AskDOJ@usdoj.gov

The Honorable Henry Paulson
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220

The Honorable Ben S. Bernanke
Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Washington, D. C. 20551
http://www.federalreserve.gov/feedback.cfm

Others:

Pres. Bush: comments@whitehouse.gov
Your senators: www.senate.gov
Your representative: www.house.gov
Republican National Committee: Chairman@gop.com
Democratic National Committee: www.democrats.org/contact.html
Speaker Nancy Pelosi: AmericanVoices@mail.house.gov
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: http://reid.senate.gov/contact/email_form.cfm

2. Contact your governor and state representative. Congress won't pass anything that forces states to legalize gambling, so we ought to get the ball rolling at that level.

3. Continue to contact your senators and representative. <u>Let’s call and send snail mail at least once every four to six weeks</u>. Let’s email at least once per week or biweekly. Some of these may be carbon copies of letters to others (like the USTR, Frank, FoF, etc).

We have many issues, so we can focus on one item for each letter while rotating. It does not matter to our movement which items you choose; any communication against attempts to ban online gambling at the federal level work in our favor. After all, if IGREA fails due to lack of public support, it’s not like the media will report that people disagreed with giving power to the FinCEN or to issues relating to shutting out foreign operators. They’ll report, “Frank’s Attempt to End Online Gambling Ban (as if there is such a thing, but the media don’t care) Fails to Draw Public Support”. Our opponents will say, "see, Americans are happy we’re 'protecting the public'". If Wexler’s bill fails, the media won’t report that some felt it legitimized UIGEA. They’ll report that Americans didn’t even wish to legalize poker. This year, we’re all about generating support for our general position, which is that online gaming should not be prohibited. Let’s focus there. So, here are some issues we can rotate:

- Antigua’s WTO case
- IGREA
- Hypocrisy of existing legal online gaming (games of skill, horseracing, etc)
- Wexler’s bill: H.R. 2610, the Skill Game Protection Act
- Praise for the 6/8 hearing. www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/ht060807.shtml; webcast archived at http://financialserv.edgeboss.net/wm...ring060807.wvx
- Shelley Berkley's study bill

4. Now that we have bills progressing, we should try to work on advocating for the legislation. Let's write to newspapers, magazines, post to blogs, etc. Since we proved our position in the 6/8 House hearing, let's post the link to the hearing webcast wherever we can.

Letters to the editor, Washington Post: letters@washpost.com
Letters to the editor, New York Times: letters@nytimes.com

Thanks everyone!

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/23
 

July 22, 2007

The Honorable Barack Obama
United States Senate
713 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Obama:

I would like to congratulate you on your performance to date in your presidential run. I wish you well in the race. As you know, a lot of your support comes from young, Internet-savvy Americans. While we are a diverse group, we do share one common interest; we want individual freedom and liberty. One important area for many of us is Internet poker.

As you are likely aware, HR 2046, The Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007, provides for safe, secure, regulated online poker. The bill provides for stringent licensing to ensure that poker operators are legitimate. Via a regulatory framework, the bill addresses underage gambling as well as compulsive gambling. The bill also provides a provision by which states can choose to opt-out, thus preserving the rights of the states in this important area. Sports leagues can also opt-out, thereby allowing the leagues the ability to prohibit all Internet gambling on that sport anywhere in the U.S. What is your position on HR 2046 and on allowing Americans to choose to play Internet poker?

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

TheEngineer

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/23
 

I'd like to suggest a sticky or thread consisting of the better letters written so we have a framework to work with (or copy outright for the truly lazy.)

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 4/16
 

I got that same form letter reply you did. The boob republicans must have had it drawn up.

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/23
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'd like to suggest a sticky or thread consisting of the better letters written so we have a framework to work with (or copy outright for the truly lazy.)

[/ QUOTE ]

Sounds like a good idea. Go for it.

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/23
 

Also, please remember that PPA has the automailer at http://activate.pokerplayersalliance.org/ . It's no substitute for a real snail mail paper letter, but it's good between letters or to send your rep a reminder.

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/23
 

My this week letter to Congresswoman Capito, (R., WV).

Congresswoman Capito,

I am following up on our recent exchange of letters and the follow-up phone call from your office concerning the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) that was passed by the 109th congress.

I am again asking for your support of H.R. 2046 Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007 introduced by Congressman Barney Frank and H.R. 2610 introduced by congressman Robert Wexler To amend subchapter IV of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, and section 1084 of title 18 of such Code to clarify the applicability of such provisions to games of skill, and establish certain requirements with respect to such games, and for other purposes.

In the letter and phone conversation from your office it is apparent you were led to believe the UIGEA banned ALL forms of Internet Wagering.

Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on one position) this is far from the case.

In the recent annual ‘Report To Congress’ from the Federal Reserve Board who is charged with drafting the UIGEA regulations I quote from page 147:

The act generally defines “unlawful Internet gambling” as transmitting a bet by any means that involves the use, at least in part, of the Internet and where such bet or wager is unlawful under any applicable federal or state law in the state or tribal lands in which the bet or wager is initiated, received, or otherwise made.

As we can read, the act does not make any wagering illegal; it only makes funding existing unlawful wagering illegal.

To bolster this, I quote from a recent Sen. Jon Kyl press release:

The bill did not, as some have alleged, make online gambling illegal. Online gambling is already illegal under existing federal and state laws. The UIGEA simply provides the legal mechanisms necessary for authorities to enforce those laws.

Though Sen. Kyl erroneously states online gambling is already illegal, the point is well made; it only effects what is illegal already.

Recent court ruling in the 5th circuit have ruled that existing Federal Law (1961 Wire Act) does not cover Casino Games, only sports betting.

Additionally, state laws in only 11 states specifically ban Internet Wagering of any kind, leaving 39 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S Territories with no specific legislation addressing wagering other than Sports Betting. The Department of Justice is left to rely on state laws that ban games of chance for enforcement of the UIGEA but many states (WV included) use the predominate test to determine skill versus chance.

The latter is extremely important since the UIGEA specifically targets ‘Games of Chance’ not games relying predominantly on an individuals skill. Currently these skill games are available online via such sites as AOL, MSN and YAHOO! Games marketed right next to games children can play.

It is for this reason I again ask you to support congressman Frank’s Internet Gambling Regulation Act and congressman Robert Wexler’s skill Gaming Act.

These two pieces of legislation will correct the shortfalls of the UIGEA.
By supporting Frank’s bill regulating ALL Internet wagering this provide a safe and secure environment for everyone (children included).
By supporting Wexler’s Skill Gaming’ Act the Federal Codes can be brought into conformity with Federal Court Rulings.

Thank You In Advance,
XXXXXXX

obg

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/23
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'd like to suggest a sticky or thread consisting of the better letters written so we have a framework to work with (or copy outright for the truly lazy.)

[/ QUOTE ]

Sounds like a good idea. Go for it.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm too lazy! J/K. Actually I don't mind going through and compiling a bunch of other letters but I don't know if I'm violating some forum rule or ethics by doing so without asking. Asking everyone one by one for permission to copy their letters could get annoying.

Plus, I'd only want to do it if I could get it stickied otherwise the thread will drop into the muck in a week.

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/23
 

[ QUOTE ]

I'm too lazy! J/K. Actually I don't mind going through and compiling a bunch of other letters but I don't know if I'm violating some forum rule or ethics by doing so without asking. Asking everyone one by one for permission to copy their letters could get annoying.

Plus, I'd only want to do it if I could get it stickied otherwise the thread will drop into the muck in a week.

[/ QUOTE ]

If they posted their letters on here then they have basically opened it to being repeated.

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/23
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'm too lazy! J/K. Actually I don't mind going through and compiling a bunch of other letters but I don't know if I'm violating some forum rule or ethics by doing so without asking. Asking everyone one by one for permission to copy their letters could get annoying.

Plus, I'd only want to do it if I could get it stickied otherwise the thread will drop into the muck in a week.

[/ QUOTE ]

If a mod started a sticky, we could all post our own letters to it.

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/23
 

July 25, 2007

The Honorable Barack Obama
United States Senate
713 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Obama:

I am writing regarding my pleasant conversation with your Senate office today. I was informed that you may release a statement regarding your stand on pending Internet poker legislation “within the next couple of days”. This is encouraging to many of us in the poker community, as the attempts to ban this all-American game of skill have been serious affronts to our freedom and liberty.

As you know, a lot of your support comes from young, Internet-savvy Americans. I think if you were to publicly support our right to play poker on the Internet, you would significantly increase your support among this important group. I believe you would also significantly increase your support among the millions of Americans who believe the federal government has no business telling Americans what to do inside their own homes.

Politicians across America are lining up in support of the right to choose to play Internet poker. In fact, as of right now almost 50% of Democratic congressmen, and 61% of Congressional Black Caucus House members, have either voted against HR 4411 (the bill that because the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act when it was rammed through the Senate as part of the SAFE Ports Act), cosponsored HR 2046 (Rep. Frank’s Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007), or cosponsored HR 2140 (Rep. Berkley’s Internet Gambling Study Act), and more join the side of freedom every day. It seems the party and its members want freedom. It also seems Americans regardless of party affiliation want freedom.

I encourage you to take a stand against the Internet poker prohibitionists and for liberty. America will thank you!

Sincerely,

TheEngineer

Re: Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Plan for week of 7/23
 

WOW Engineer, that is a very informative post!

May I use some of that on my Obama blog, WVPokerMan?

obg