[sweetjazz]

OP, I'm also of the libertarian bent, although leaning more liberal than conservative. And I am disappointed with what is going in this country in terms of public policy, including of course poker. Both parties are just machines to propogate the careers of politicians who little deserve the power they are given.

I had actually tentatively planned to spend the next several years with my primary job playing online poker, in order to build up some savings while the poker boom lasted. It is not much of an exagerration to say that the government may have cost me $1 million in poker income.

But that said, what can you do? You can try to get more active in politics, whether it is on the local, state, or federal level. That could involve anything from volunteering for a campaign of someone you believe in (if you can find such an individual -- not easy these days, I know) to trying to educate others about the ideas behind libertarianism and how Enlightenment principles (which probably would go under the label of classical liberalism, but has a lot of libertarian ideas) led to our Constitution.

Even if there is not something you can do about online poker, there are other more prominent issues which you can advocate and try to persuade others about. Having my liberty to play poker online away made me more sensitive to the other injustices that people endure, from gay couples who cannot share health benefits simply because their sexual orientation is disapproved of by others to the removal of the writ of habeus corpus on the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, some of whom are only guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and being turned in by someone out to make a quick American buck. Maybe these issues are important to you or maybe there are others that you think need more attention. Overall, the American public is very ignorant of what its government is doing and is all too willing to sacrifice the future for short-term benefits. A lot of people wouldn't feel that way if they were better educated in civics, and for better or worse, that duty has been neglected by the government itself and the media that covers it. So either the citizens will wake up and get active, or America will continue to see its great ideals slowly deteriote.