#1
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Please analyze my response to a supporter of the bill.
The College Republicans president here sent me an e-mail today telling me he was "pissed off" that I was so mad at the Republican party over this bill. He included this blurb from a conservative newspaper, saying that it should "please" me:
"Congress passed a law last month attached to the port-security bill making it illegal for banks and credit-card companies to process payments to online-gambling sites. This follows a trend of widespread calls from legislators and private citizens for either tighter regulation of the industry or the outright banning of online gaming. It’s no surprise that gambling on the Internet would draw Washington’s attention. In 2005, Americans spent $6 billion gambling on line, accounting for half the industry’s global revenue. However, do we really have the resources necessary to focus on this issue? We’ve been told that our investigative resources in the financial arena are already spread thin tracking terrorist money around the globe to prevent the financing of further terrorist attacks. Gambling can be a destructive force in people’s lives, affecting their financial stability and their family. But that’s nothing compared to a terrorist group gaining the funds it needs to purchase and deliver a nuclear weapon to America’s shores. " I responded with a large, long response. I typed this up quickly, as it is an informal e-mail, and have not proofread it. Please excuse any syntax or diction errors. I'm an English major (as well as an Economics major) so I am almost ashamed to post a piece I typed so haphazardly, but I wanted your opinions: Alcohol, pornography and pre-marital sex are also destructive to people's lives. Do they need to be banned? Maybe Mr. Goodlatte should return the 16,000 dollars he received from the horse racing industry if he is so upset over the morality of the issue. Oh? Maybe that's why he carved out exceptions for horseracing in the bill? (sources: http://www.fund4horses.org/info.php?id=770 and http://www.opensecrets.org/races/con...amp;special=N) The morality issue is gone out the window as soon as you realize: a) there were special exceptions for state lotteries and horseracing b) there is no push to outlaw gambling anywhere else c) nearly all of the senators pushing this bill routinely accept large donations from gambling institutions Also the terrorists "use internet gambling" to bring money into the country is by far one of the weakest points for the bill. This has NEVER been proven in ANY ONE CASE. Terrorists also use banks and cash to shuttle money through. They also use international wires, international bank transactions and stock sales. Should all those things be banned as well? Maybe if the government legalized and regulated internet gambling, we wouldn't have to worry about the terrorists doing that. Our congressmen, however, are far too busy taking money from the horseracing industry and brick and mortar gambling industry to do such a horrible moral thing. Just the other week Manhattan bank admitted to being involved in such a case. Embezzlement takes place nearly all of the time when one foreign investor claims he is exchanging cash for "goods and services." These exchanges go largely unchecked. This happens ALL THE TIME in our banking system. Do banks need to be outlawed? Also, even high up Republican aids are admitting this bill is unenforceable. It is completely unenforceable. The banking industry has been against this bill from the start (all of this will be sourced at the bottom). One theory is that this will make it EASIER for terrorists to launder money. The big players, like PartyPoker, PokerStars, etc would routinely ban player if they dumped chips to each other on a table. One time I received a player to player transfer for 125 dollars (only ONE HUNDRED and TWENTY FIVE dollars, that is IT!) and cashed it out. MY account was frozen and I had to provide my DL in a fax, my SS # and a good reason why I did that before my funds were released. With this new bill, the big hitters have pulled out of the market. The seedier sites, who could care less about money laundering, are now gobbling up the market share. Thanks to Republicans, it is now EASIER for terrorist to launder money. Thankfully for all of us, there are no documented reports of that ever happening in the first place. Also, some Republicans say we need to do this to save the children. What is to stop a child from opening his parent's medicine cabinet or alcohol cabinet? Good parenting. But obviously that is not good enough. Why are dangerous medicines and alcohol not banned? Just the other week, Foley, (one of our esteemed Republicans), used instant messenger in order to send provocative messages to a young boy. Predators use e-mail and instant messenger every week to lure children into confrontations, where they are raped, molested and/or killed. These kids can access instant messaging from their PARENT'S COMPUTERS WITH JUST ONE CLICK! They can even be conned into giving up credit card information and bank information. Obviously instant messaging and e-mail need to be banned. Think of the children. Before I hit you with my long list of articles, let me make something very clear. This internet gambling deal is the straw that broke the camel's back. Is it a heavy straw? Sure, but it alone would not be enough to force me away from the Republican Party. I have long been fed up with horrible Republican spending. Many right wing pundits and true conservatives have. They promise smaller government in their campaigns, but as soon as they get in office, all government does is grow, grow, grow. Their fiscal policies are some of the worst this country has EVER seen. The new Republican push of masking legislation with morality issues is a joke. This Frist gambling thing has so many ulterior motives behind it (as listed above) it is not even funny. Ronal Reagan is rolling over in his grave right now, watching the way this Republican Party is acting. Why do you think they are suffering SO MUCH in the public opinion? Here is how I view the parties right now: Republicans: Very big government. Democrats: Even bigger government. Are the Democrats worse than Republicans? Absolutely. Could a major Republican loss in this election help my cause? Hell yes. Many grassroots conservatives, like me, are fed up with the way this party is going. A huge loss in this election could help them realize it and move the party back to where it belongs. The last thing this has done is decrease my student activism. It's much the contrary. I have not felt this charged up about a political issue in my entire life. I plan on writing articles for whoever will take them and I have other goals I'd wish to reach too. I will gladly write for the Madison Review, but much of my writing will be heavy criticism of the Republican Party, specifically on an economic front. (Their spending pisses me off far more than their legislative morality does) I hope my tone does not come across as harsh, but this is something I feel very passionate about. It is a misunderstood topic in today's society and I feel the need to "defeat the spin." All you need to do is look up gambling industry contributions to Republican senators and this bill is dead in morality's eyes, not to mention the carve-out for lotteries and horseracing. Look up any information on why banks can't enforce it and it's dead in practicality. I encouarge you to respond on specific points and do some research of your own. I would be interested to see if you could find any proven cases of terrorists using online gambling, as my research, along with the research of my peers, has failed to find this. Even if that was true, the inability to enforce this bill does not help that case. To my sources: Here are a collection of articles detailing how: a) this bill is unenforceable b) how this bill will hurt Americans c) the abuse of power of Republicans New anti-gambling law won't stop online bettors: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/...p;lid=tab6pos3 AP/DowJones on Gambling legislation: Banks say regs aren't that strict: http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/...a/15666187.htm Online Gambling Still in the Cards? Loopholes in the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act may render it ineffective in preventing online betting: http://www.businessweek.com/technolo...002_295924.htm So much for morality? Expert: Internet ban a boon to gambling industry: http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/st...100410086.html Republican Abuse of Power: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/10/5/94018/8719 |
#2
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Re: Please analyze my response to a supporter of the bill.
hear hear!
Pretty much summed up everything i as a life long republican feels right now. |
#3
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Re: Please analyze my response to a supporter of the bill.
I like it. As a small government liberal I would change this.
<quote> Here is how I view the parties right now: Republicans: Very big government. Democrats: Even bigger government. Are the Democrats worse than Republicans? Absolutely.</quote> to this Democrats: Big Government Republicans: Very Big Government. At least on the federal level... I see tax and spend Democrats and Spend and spend and spend and tax-break Republicans... Even if you disagree with this, it may add emphasis to the Conservative reader of the loss of fiscal conservatism and responsibility in the GOP. But, aside frome that, nicely done. |
#4
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Re: Please analyze my response to a supporter of the bill.
Looks really good, but is kind of long. Another good point(even though this would make it even longer) is the WTO rulings against the US and how these laws are going even further to disreguard their rulings.
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#5
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Re: Please analyze my response to a supporter of the bill.
"aides" not "aids"
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#6
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Re: Please analyze my response to a supporter of the bill.
[ QUOTE ]
The College Republicans president here sent me an e-mail today telling me he was "pissed off" that I was so mad at the Republican party over this bill. [/ QUOTE ] Is there some sort of background that I missed? Why would he send you this email? |
#7
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Re: Please analyze my response to a supporter of the bill.
I agree with what you're saying in the letter, but what are you trying to accomplish? If you’re trying to convince him, your tone is way too confrontational. You're basically trying to take his head off. There's no way he knows as much about this stuff as you. You could probably convince him the party was wrong on this issue if you calmly explain the facts. A letter like this is likely to harden his position however because he'll fell like he's under attack and find some reason in his own mind to dismiss your arguments.
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#8
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Re: Please analyze my response to a supporter of the bill.
Ya, looks good, Im hardly in the mood right now to take [censored] from anybody either. You also might want to mention the numerous distinctions between poker and other forms of
"gambling", including but not limited to the fact that it is a hugely popular legitimate game that people actually have a chance to, gasp, win at. |
#9
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Re: Please analyze my response to a supporter of the bill.
[ QUOTE ]
I agree with what you're saying in the letter, but what are you trying to accomplish? If you’re trying to convince him, your tone is way too confrontational. You're basically trying to take his head off. There's no way he knows as much about this stuff as you. You could probably convince him the party was wrong on this issue if you calmly explain the facts. A letter like this is likely to harden his position however because he'll fell like he's under attack and find some reason in his own mind to dismiss your arguments. [/ QUOTE ] I agree with this assessment. As the president of your university's club, he probably has the ears of many. But the substance of this email is great and I don't think you should hesitate to send this information to any outlets that will hear it. |
#10
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Re: Please analyze my response to a supporter of the bill.
[ QUOTE ]
Also the terrorists "use internet gambling" to bring money into the country is by far one of the weakest points for the bill. This has NEVER been proven in ANY ONE CASE. [/ QUOTE ] Has there even been evidence presented to this end? To steal from Penn Jillette: "We haven't seen any real proof! F*ck, we haven't seen any FAKE proof!" [ QUOTE ] Our congressmen, however, are far too busy taking money from the horseracing industry and brick and mortar gambling industry to do such a horrible moral thing. [/ QUOTE ] Should that be "immoral"? I saw some other typos but nothing that couldn't be caught by a spell-checker. Give 'em hell. |
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