A Quick Comment About Republicans/Dems, "Whose" fault IG Ban is...

[Vagos]

I just wanted to quickly comment on this whole thing where a lot of people are basically slamming the Republicans and leaving the Democrats free of guilt. The argument might be "Well to vote against it would be political suicide". While I agree with this statement, doesn't this worry you for the future? What other bills will they(repubs or dems) pass simply so they can stay in office. On the other side of the coin, if the Democrats piggybacked a "10% increase in 6 figure income tax bracket to rebuild Social Security" section onto a bill and the Republicans passed it simply because they were under political pressure, wouldn't all the Republicans have not only Dems but also their own party to blame?

It should be clear as day that it's government in general to blame for this. If the Democrats protect our civil liberties, EXCEPT when they're under political pressure and don't wanna get slammed in TV ads, then they really aren't protecting them at all.

Cliffnotes: Both parties suck. Don't vote.

[adios]

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I just wanted to quickly comment on this whole thing where a lot of people are basically slamming the Republicans and leaving the Democrats free of guilt. The argument might be "Well to vote against it would be political suicide". While I agree with this statement, doesn't this worry you for the future? What other bills will they(repubs or dems) pass simply so they can stay in office. On the other side of the coin, if the Democrats piggybacked a "10% increase in 6 figure income tax bracket to rebuild Social Security" section onto a bill and the Republicans passed it simply because they were under political pressure, wouldn't all the Republicans have not only Dems but also their own party to blame?

It should be clear as day that it's government in general to blame for this. If the Democrats protect our civil liberties, EXCEPT when they're under political pressure and don't wanna get slammed in TV ads, then they really aren't protecting them at all.

Cliffnotes: Both parties suck. Don't vote.

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IMO you've basically got it right about the Dems sharing responsibility and not deserving of pass on it. Anyway I've got an alternative to not voting, simply never vote for an incumbent. Not saying I'm advocating this but I think it's a better alternative than not voting. Also not saying it's the best alternative either.

Edit: I do think though that there's a fairly decent chance that we'll see a policy of "benign neglect" on this FWIW. Laws that aren't enforced are passed all the time. Not sure how zealously the administration will pursue this (probably zealously) and I'm not sure what role Congress will play in developing the regulations. This will take a long time to play out if it is pursued zealously IMO.

[Vagos]

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Edit: I do think though that there's a fairly decent chance that we'll see a policy of "benign neglect" on this FWIW. Laws that aren't enforced are passed all the time. Not sure how zealously the administration will pursue this (probably zealously) and I'm not sure what role Congress will play in developing the regulations. This will take a long time to play out if it is pursued zealously IMO.


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Well the latest news is even worse. Check out legislation forum, it's getting badddd.

[adios]

I've checked it out. The sites reaction is orthogonal to what the government will do.

Edit: After reading Nelson Rose's analysis I think the chance of "benign neglect" is event greater now than I thought. Here's something from Rose's commentary that I stated in a post more or less:

The great unknown is how far into the Internet commerce stream federal regulators are willing to go. The Act requires institutions like the Bank of America and Neteller to i.d. and block transactions to unlawful gambling sites, whatever they are. But, while the Bank of America will comply, Neteller might not, because it is not subject to U.S. regulations. Will federal regulators then prohibit U.S. banks from sending funds to Neteller? And would they then prohibit U.S. banks from sending funds to an overseas bank, which forwards the money to Neteller?



How likely is it that the DOJ will try to restrict commerce between foreign banks and U.S. banks? All the banks in the U.S. could block Neteller transactions but foreign banks are unlikely to do so IMO. There seems to be an easy way around this. Use a foreign bank, a U.S. bank and Neteller. NateTheGreat indicated the problem poker sites like Party are having with it and that is the threat of extradition.

[CaptainFreedom]

So wait, let me get this straight. It is equally the democrats fault because the leader of the Republicans inserted anti-gambling legislation into a port security bill to get the support of his base for his presidential run?? Is that it in a nutshell?

Do you value Internet Poker over the security of our ports from Islamic terrorists? If a terrorist attack happened at our ports or if radioactive material got through our ports because they don't have the money to get the technology to detect it would you feel the same?

Do you feel like a bit of a hypocrite because the guy you will vote for President in the next election just gave you a big F OFF? Is that worse than Democrats voting to protect our ports?

Some of these "Independents" have severe battered wife syndrome. If you can't see who authored this and is responsible for this you don't deserve to play poker.

[ElliotR]

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So wait, let me get this straight. It is equally the democrats fault because the leader of the Republicans inserted anti-gambling legislation into a port security bill to get the support of his base for his presidential run?? Is that it in a nutshell?

Do you value Internet Poker over the security of our ports from Islamic terrorists? If a terrorist attack happened at our ports or if radioactive material got through our ports because they don't have the money to get the technology to detect it would you feel the same?

Do you feel like a bit of a hypocrite because the guy you will vote for President in the next election just gave you a big F OFF? Is that worse than Democrats voting to protect our ports?

Some of these "Independents" have severe battered wife syndrome. If you can't see who authored this and is responsible for this you don't deserve to play poker.

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This is a very promising start to this account's posting career.

[Vagos]

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So wait, let me get this straight. It is equally the democrats fault because the leader of the Republicans inserted anti-gambling legislation into a port security bill to get the support of his base for his presidential run??

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Yea, this online gambling ban is gonna be the issue that rounds up the masses for his Presidential run. The Christian Right doesn't care about gay marriage or abortion anymore, THEY WANT TO STOP THE GAMBLERS. You hit the nail on the head.

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Do you value Internet Poker over the security of our ports from Islamic terrorists? If a terrorist attack happened at our ports or if radioactive material got through our ports because they don't have the money to get the technology to detect it would you feel the same?

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There is no way to protect our ports without banning online poker? Why didn't the Republicans just add sections to the bill declaring abortion and gay marriage illegal? If the Democrats hand was forced...

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Do you feel like a bit of a hypocrite because the guy you will vote for President in the next election just gave you a big F OFF? Is that worse than Democrats voting to protect our ports?

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I don't even get what you're saying in this...I'm not voting next election.

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Some of these "Independents" have severe battered wife syndrome. If you can't see who authored this and is responsible for this you don't deserve to play poker.

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I can see very clearly, sir. Republicans and Democrats passed this bill. The Republicans are douchebags for putting it on the bill and the Democrats are cowards for not standing up to it. Republicans=Douchebags, Democrats=Cowards. What else is newww??

[CaptainFreedom]

"Yea, this online gambling ban is gonna be the issue that rounds up the masses for his Presidential run. The Christian Right doesn't care about gay marriage or abortion anymore, THEY WANT TO STOP THE GAMBLERS. You hit the nail on the head. "

Anyone who wants to be President won't try to attach legislation banning abortion to a Port Security bill. That is political suicide. This is an "easy" way to show his potential base that he is "one of them" without doing anything principled like say "attaching legislation banning abortion on a Port Secuirty bill. He just wants their vote.




"There is no way to protect our ports without banning online poker? Why didn't the Republicans just add sections to the bill declaring abortion and gay marriage illegal? If the Democrats hand was forced... "

You basically said the same thing twice. Once again the political reality is that poker players are an "easy" target for scoring morality points when drumming up support for a presidential run. It's showing them he has "street cred"

]

"I don't even get what you're saying in this...I'm not voting next election."

You are either part of the solution, part of the problem or part of the landscape. If you aren't voting why am I even bothering to reply to you.



"I can see very clearly, sir. Republicans and Democrats passed this bill. The Republicans are douchebags for putting it on the bill and the Democrats are cowards for not standing up to it. Republicans=Douchebags, Democrats=Cowards. What else is newww?? "

What is new is your livelyhood has been threatened and you are picking your ability to make money over Port Security. There was no need to attach this to the Port Security bill. The republican leader did so anyways.

[Vagos]

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Anyone who wants to be President won't try to attach legislation banning abortion to a Port Security bill. That is political suicide. This is an "easy" way to show his potential base that he is "one of them" without doing anything principled like say "attaching legislation banning abortion on a Port Secuirty bill. He just wants their vote.

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Honestly, how many bible thumpers that don't gamble online do you think are even AWARE of this piggybacked legislation? The religious right has so much more on their plate. If you think they are opening up their newspapers and celebrating Frist for cracking down on the gamblers, you're delusional.


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You are either part of the solution, part of the problem or part of the landscape. If you aren't voting why am I even bothering to reply to you.

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Does problem or solution mean Republican or Democrat(in your eyes?) Please clarify. If I don't like either party, what incentive do I have to vote?

[CaptainFreedom]

I can no longer reply to you because I believe it would be pointless.