Article by Bill Frist

[MelchyBeau]

why do you lol augie?

[candyman718]

Why are we spending so much time in this thread discussing fairy tales?

[permafrost]

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Another immaculate conception... and I thought Jesus was the only one. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ] Except the Immaculate Conception refers to the birth of Mary, not the birth of Jesus.

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did I miss something or am I just suffering from lack of sleep?

[/ QUOTE ] OK, I see the distinction now.

[GimmeDaWatch]

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i thought the article was actually surprisingly well-written, for the most part. if he had written an identical article about a bill that did not include poker (and did include horse racing and online lotteries) i would mostly agree with it. i'm all for personal freedom, but as a country i don't think we need a lot of people dumping money overseas playing online roulette. flame away.

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Schwza, buddy, c'monnnnnnnnnnnnn. Yes, of course there are many problem gamblers and this can be a dangerous thing. It doesn't take an exceptionally well-spoken person to articulate this obvious fact. However a)the vast majority of people who gamble have no serious problems with it, and protecting people from themselves is pretty invasive and not very "small government". Casinos are also available in 1 form or another near most major cities, so there is an obvious contradiction here as well. b)Frist appears to assume in his article that most if not all states have laws against internet gambling, and that he is only "enforcing". This is clearly not the case, but unfortunately the courts will have to sort this out.
c)his motivations are either obnoxiously pious or political pandering or both.

And finally, I dont think I need to talk about the many differences between poker and other forms of gambling, which Im pretty certain Frist is utterly ignorant of, and which he does not acknowledge at all. There are many, many things which can potentially hurt people in this world, most of which are pointless, asinine, and intrusive to legislate against. Many of those things are also responsibly enjoyed by a majority of people. I do not think poker, or gambling in general, is any exception.

[You're No Daisy]

First of all, I have this to say to Mr. Frist:

<rant>Mr. Frist. What you just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent Op-Ed were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in the United States is now dumber for having read it.</rant>

"a great many Southern Baptists?" What a [censored]ing [censored]! He is so out of touch with reality. I'm not sure I can vote for another republican ever again. As a party, they need to stop legislating our lives. I'm not thrilled with the Liberal agenda either. Both parties have completely polarized our nation to the point where the majority who is middle of the road either don't know what to believe anymore, or just don't give a damn anymore because partisan politics have [censored] up this country royally! Sorry for all the profanity [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

But on a lighter note, big brother can't stop me from depositing money into PokerStars and playing on their site [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Adam

i hate this guy and hope he gets pozzed

[Peeker643]

Forgive me for not reading each reply before posting, but I find any defense of this man or this bill insulting.

This is less about the damaging effects of gambling than it is about cold, hard cash. Specifically, it's about the big internet casinos thumbing their noses at the US, believing they were unreachable and reaping huge financial rewards. It's about those same companies idly sitting by and not attempting to cut in the greediest politicians we elect in this country.
I truly believe this will resolve itself through regulation and taxation and you'll hear a lot less about the morality of it all and the effect it has on families. You'll hear instead about about where the tax dollars generated are being spent and and how some of that money is being spilled into responsible gaming prgrams.
Let's face it, there are hundreds of self-destructive "hobbies" people can engage in. If someone wants to drink themselves into oblivion and take their family with them they can legally do so. If someone wants to abuse prescription drugs and pull their family into that hell there are ways to do so.
Eliminating on-line gaming, while allowing horse-racing and lotteries to go untouched, does not help to eliminate the gambling negatives. It just narrows the options to engage in them. I stand by my earleir post that this is a bill about simple economics and was passed by some of the most hypocritical and corrupt people in the world.

[adios]

Haven't read all of the responses. Addressing the complaints about the hyopcrisy of allowing other forms of gambling like horse racing and the lottery. Basically I think one major problem is that the public, for the most part, doesn't have a clue about the concept of EV and the idea undertaking activities with uncertain outcomes where one is +EV. If the public did have a clue then there would be an outcry about the lottery and horse racing as well. Poker games would probably be a lot tougher as well though if the public was more sophisticated regarding gambling.

[candyman718]

Using EV is a little complicated. Especially since most poker players are long-term losers. Discussing it as a game of skill is simpler. But, it still won't work. I have won money 5 years in a row (not huge amounts, but enough to buy something nice every now and then) and my wife still thinks it's no different from any other form of gambling.

[OasisG]

I'd just like to say that I am a high stakes poker player who has been living off fish, making more than most doctors so don't think I am not against this bill.

That being said I do know one family that has been destroyed by poker. My friend lost all of his family's life savings to pokerroom. He lost 25k from his family's savings. He had to run away as a result.

But yes... If you are a real parent you would not let your children get away with doing stuff like that. How hard can it be to stop your own child from playing online poker?

After reading this I do think Frist is full of crap and I want to sock him in the face.