Fight for Online Gaming!! -- Weekly action thread

[TheEngineer]

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Is UIGEA = HR 4411?

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HR 4411 was even worse than UIGEA, and it passed the House 317-93. It became UIGEA after being weakened a bit and added the Safe Ports Act.

[TheEngineer]

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IGREA gains one more cosponsor (36 total):

Rep Scott, Robert C. "Bobby" [D-VA] - 9/7/2007

Rep. Scott moves from A- to A. He voted against HR 4411.

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Awesome, it has stood at 35 forever it seems.

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Yes, legislation stopped during last month's recess. Hopefully there more new supporters in the pipeline, waiting to sign on.

[TheEngineer]

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Ok, does this look good? Im not exactly sure what each individual act and bill is, so hopefully i didn't confuse them in this letter.

Dear Congresswoman ***,
I'm writing to request .....

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It looks good. I'm glad you wrote.

Everyone,

To reiterate, our goal isn't to change politicians' minds via our persuasive skills. I mention it because it's important to keep their motivations in mind, so we can optimally work to get what we want.

Basically, these guys don't personally read many of our letters; their aides do. Politicians are more interested in numbers and types of letters, phone calls, and emails. Generally, hand-written letters are best, followed by typed but hand-signed letters, followed by phone calls, followed by emails. Personal communications are better than organizational mass-printed post cards (of course one million pre-printed post cards are way more effective than one hundred handwritten letters).

Politicians want to address the concerns of their constituents (and especially of the groups they see as their core supporters), mainly because their #1 goal is always to get reelected. So, I think our goal isn't to convince politicians that Internet poker should not be restricted. Rather, our goal is to convince them that a good number of their constituents believe Internet poker should not be restricted.

We failed to do this a few years ago. As a result, politicians thought opposing us was a great way to gain the support of social conservatives, with no down side. That's why an Internet gaming ban made the 2004 Republican Party platform...we were the bone the party threw to Focus on the Family. All of this caused us to lose badly among Republicans last year. Our letter writing seems to have shown politicians that we're not free targets (KY Gov. Fletcher didn't get the memo, but we'll deliver it in November [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] ).

So, the bottom line is that we should write and call....often. We should make sure Congress knows we care and that we vote. And, we should all write now, this week, to support any push Frank plans to make with IGREA.

[suppasonic]

Ok,

So what we need to do is get every 2+2er to run for their local Congress race next time their congressman goes up for reelection.

[TheEngineer]

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Ok,

So what we need to do is get every 2+2er to run for their local Congress race next time their congressman goes up for reelection.

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Maybe not all of us, but if an F-rated guy is running unopposed, it wouldn't hurt.

[TheEngineer]

I have a new action thread coming out tomorrow. Please post suggestions here. Thanks.

[TheEngineer]

Letter to Duncan Hunter

To: margaret@gohunter08.com
Subject: Hunter's Internet Gaming Stance

Dear Rep. Hunter,

I am a lifelong small government conservative Republican who happens to enjoy a game of Internet poker on occasion. I just read your stance on Internet gaming from your website and I must say you don't sound like a limited government conservative at all. Rather, it seems you're for limited government until you find something you want. Then, the sky's the limit!!

First of all, I feel your position is foolishness. Drugs are very addictive. Gaming, on the other hand, is at most addictive to 1% of people, and technology can be used to keep those 1% offline via various exclusion and detection programs. Unfortunately, this won't happen under your big government prohibition plan (which involves snooping in peoples' bank accounts and Internet usage histories).

The money laundering charge is equally ludicrous. This is easily controlled, and it was proven at the June 8 House Financial Services Committee meeting on the subject. Check out http://financialserv.edgeboss.net/wm...ring060807.wvx and http://www.house.gov/apps/list/heari...ht060807.shtml . Your position is nothing but a red herring. It seems you simply don't like Internet poker, so you think it should be banned for everyone. Sorry, but that's not my definition of a small government conservative.

As you can't trust me to make my own decisions, I cannot trust you to represent me. As such, unless you change your mind, I will not vote for you or support your campaign in any way.

Sincerely,

TheEngineer

[TheEngineer]

Letter to Duncan Hunter

To: margaret@gohunter08.com
Subject: Hunter's Internet Gaming Stance

Dear Rep. Hunter,

I posted my objections to your stand supporting a federal prohibition on Internet poker on Townhall.com. A poster asked why I objected. I thought I'd share my reply to her with you. Can you post a reply on your website, given that you're so passionate about this prohibition? Thanks.

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My initial post:

Read his website issues page, at http://www.gohunter08.com/inner.asp?z=4. He's just another big government CINO. It seems he has a federal spending program for everything he likes, and federal prohibition for everything he doesn't (i.e., just a Democrat, but with different issues).

Here's a gem:

"I also believe Internet gambling has become a problem as serious as traditional casino gambling. Law enforcement agencies have indicated that this activity serves as a vehicle for money laundering activities that can be exploited by terrorists and organized crime. It is for this reason that I cosponsored H.R. 4777 (Goodlatte-VA) which will amend federal law and bring the current prohibition against wireline interstate gambling up to date with the Internet and other new technologies. At the same time, the bill will provide additional tools to law enforcement to combat illegal gambling."

LOL! Last time I checked, this was properly legislated at the state level. And, his "issues" have all been conclusively proven to be red herrings. He wants to ban Internet poker simply because HE doesn't like it.

Sorry Duncan....no presidency for you.

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My reply to the poster's inquiry:

No problem with an explanation of my position. Thanks for asking.

I do have many issues with Hunter's position. First of all, gaming is traditionally a state-level issue. States that wish for Internet gaming to be illegal should pass legislation that does just that. To date, only seven to twelve (depending on interpretation of laws passed and on type of gaming) have passed such legislation. Of these, only Washington and Louisiana have laws with any teeth. If these states feel so strongly about this issue that they need federal aid in enforcement, I feel they should pass unambiguous laws against Internet gaming. Until then, the feds should stay out of it.

Next, this is an issue of freedom. What business is it of the federal government what I do in my own home? We’ve never had a federal government so powerful that they felt they had a need to monitor my poker playing behavior in my own home.

And, enforcement is a difficult issue. Under UIGEA (last year’s bill), banks and Internet service providers will be deputized by the feds to monitor Americans for compliance with the law (once the governing regulations are issued). And, the DoJ will censor the Internet to prevent Americans from visiting these sites (like China and Iran do). Also, the DoJ won’t have to prove that these sites offer illegal gaming…they’ll be allowed to block whatever they interpret to be illegal (games of skill like poker being a good example here). Is this the America in which we wish to live?

Finally, the U.S. has already agreed to allow Internet gaming in our agreements with the WTO. They recently found America to be out of compliance, and have fined us billions in trade concessions (these will take effect soon…appeals are over, only the penalty phase remains). So, this issue will cost America even more jobs, plus billions in trade. The sad thing here is that we could have avoided this outcome with a total ban on Internet gaming (if it’s so “wrong”, why not ban all of it, if one is voting on principle). However, as usual, special interests were able to protect interstate horse racing, lotteries, and fantasy football. So, our most successful companies will soon be paying what I call the “Mitch McConnell Horse Racing Subsidy” and the “NFL Fantasy Football Tax”.

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Sincerely,

TheEngineer

[Tuff_Fish]

I am in Hunter's district. He is so hopeless.

I wrote him some time back, got a canned reply about the damage gambling does to the family.

He is not running for congress again, his son, Duncan Jr is. Duncan Jr is currently serving in Afganistan. His wife is standing in for him until he gets back in Dec.

We can probably safely assume he will have the same viewpoint.

And this district is so gerrymandered, he will not have meaningful competition.

Tuff

[TheEngineer]

Fight for Online Poker!! Weeks of 9/24 & 10/1

<font color="brown">1. It’s time for an IGREA and SGPA push. This year’s Congressional session will end soon, so let’s ALL get some letters out to Congress this week and next (including House and Senate leaders)!

2. Write to Congress (separate letters from the ones above) and to five U.S. companies to explain the upcoming WTO trade concessions. Let them know they’re expected to finance online horse racing and fantasy football.

3. Continue to write to the NFL and their sponsors to complain about the NFL’s advocacy of a ban for all Internet gaming (which goes beyond sports betting and beyond even UIGEA). Ask the NFL to negotiate a pro-poker deal with Rep. Frank.

4. Regularly write to newspapers and post to blogs. A few posts here and there can start to put us in the national zeitgeist. </font>

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1. Let’s get some letters to Congress…NOW!! This Congressional session will wrap up soon, so let’s make a push for IGREA and/or SPGA (depending on your preference). We could find our way onto some popular legislation that requires funding via paygo. So, please write to your congressman, both of your senators, Senator Reid (Senate Majority Leader), Sen. McConnell (Senate Minority Leader), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Speaker of the House), Rep. Steny Hoyer (A- rated House Majority Leader), and Rep. John Boehner (F rated House Republican Leader). Please include Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan (Sen. McConnell’s longtime supporter and fundraiser). Tell Duncan to not expect your vote if he adds any Internet gaming prohibition language to the 2008 party platform.

I know that’s a lot of letters; however, you can economize by writing one base letter, then customizing it for each politician. Let’s send each of them an email and a hardcopy letter, plus make a phone call.

Let’s include the 2007 KY gubernatorial election in this letter, as this race has shown that a strongly pro-gaming candidate can crush an incumbent running on an anti-gaming platform in a red state – without anyone on the anti-gaming side even fighting back. It doesn’t get any better than that!

Also, please consider referencing the Politicians For and Against Online Poker article, at https://pokerplayersalliance.org/new...le.php?DID=237, in the letter. Consider stating that you’ll vote based on the letter and inform them that you hope his or her rating improves by Election Day. This will help the congressmen see tangible evidence of our work, and it will show the senators what to expect. For many representatives, Googling “[their name] gambling” returns this article at #1, so that may be worth mentioning. Once done, please let me know if you receive a response, so I can update the report accordingly. I hope we can get rid of most of the question marks.

Contact Info:

Your senators: www.senate.gov
Your representative: www.house.gov

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
528 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-3542
http://reid.senate.gov/contact/email_form.cfm

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
United States Senate
361-A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-2541
http://mcconnell.senate.gov/contact_form.cfm

Michael Duncan (from Kentucky)
Chairman, Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
310 First Street, SE
Washington, D.C. 20003
email: Chairman@gop.com

Rep. Nancy Pelosi
Office of the Speaker
H-232, US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-0100
http://speaker.house.gov/contact/
email: AmericanVoices@mail.house.gov

Rep. Steny Hoyer
House Majority Leader
H-107 Capitol Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-3130

Rep. John Boehner
Office of the Republican Leader
H-204 The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4000
Fax: (202) 225-5117

Steve Beshear / Daniel Mongiardo (KY challenger)
PO BOX 4227
Frankfort, KY 40604
Email: info@stevebeshear.com
Tel: 502-607-8600
Fax: 502-607-8611

Governor Ernie Fletcher (R-KY)
700 Capital Avenue
Suite 100
Frankfort, KY 40601
Tel: (502) 564-2611
http://governor.ky.gov/contact.htm

Pres. Bush: comments@whitehouse.gov

Democratic National Committee: http://www.democrats.org/contact.html

2. Let’s write separate letters to Congress about the WTO issue (all the same folks you wrote to above). I know it’s a bit of work, but that’s what it takes. We’ll get a break in December. Also, if you’ve not yet done so, please write to at least five U.S. companies and let them know they're expected to give up BILLIONS OF DOLLARS in trade concessions to permit the U.S. to allow Internet horse racing and online fantasy football while restricting or banning other Internet gaming.[/b] The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal published articles on the upcoming WTO Internet gaming restriction concessions, including ongoing settlement negotiations between the U.S. Trade Representative and the EU. These articles are at www.nytimes.com/2007/08/23/business/worldbusiness/23gamble.html?ref=business and at http://online.wsj.com/public/article...870406171.html.

3. Let’s continue write to the NFL and their sponsors to complain about the NFL’s advocacy of a ban for all Internet gaming (beyond sports betting, and beyond even UIGEA) and to ask them to negotiate a pro-poker position with Rep. Frank. Their letter to Congress is at http://www.citizenlink.org/pdfs/fosi...ess7-30-07.pdf. It seems they’ve partnered with Focus on the Family to work to take OUR rights from us, rather than figuring out how to develop internal policies and procedures to deal with sports betting. After all, they have the financial resources to control their own integrity. It’s time they enter the 21st century, rather than trying to take the nation back to the prohibition mentality of the early 20th century.

Some contacts:

Commissioner Roger Goodell
National Football League
280 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Email: goodellr@nfl.com

Gene Upshaw
Executive Director
NFL Players Association
1133 20th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036

Mr. August A. Busch IV
President and Chief Executive Officer
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc.
One Busch Place
St. Louis, MO 63118

PepsiCo, Inc.
700 Anderson Hill Road
Purchase, NY 10577
(914) 253-2000

Mr. G. Richard Wagoner Jr.
Chairman of the Board of Directors
General Motors Corporation
300 Renaissance Center
Detroit, Michigan 48265

4. Let's continue to write to newspapers, magazines, post to blogs, etc.

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

Thanks everyone! [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]