Early House Report Card

[DeliciousBass]

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If this guy co-sponsors than he can use his ray-gun to get it pushed through faster.

[TheEngineer]

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My letter to my rep:

Dear Representative Sestak,

As a transplanted ....DeliciousBass

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Very nice!

[MinRaise]

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Deborah Pryce (R-OH). OSU, plus regular Ohio voters, make her seat vulnerable.

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Just moved to her district and finally got around to e-mailing her. Will post response in separate thread when (if?) I receive it.

Dear Ms. Pryce

I recently moved to your district from Gahanna (Pat Tiberi's district). I was curious to hear your opinion on an issue that is important to me. Last year, Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act thanks to questionable tactics by some of your colleagues in the Senate. This law is a disturbing infringement on our civil liberties. I have enjoyed playing poker in my leisure time since college, and I find it disconcerting that the federal government feels the need to tell me I can't enjoy this activity in my spare time.

I also noticed that you voted for H.R. 4411 prior to the UIGEA being attached to the Safe Ports act. I was hoping to clarify if your position has changed on this issue, specifically with regards to IGREA proposed by Congressman Frank.

This issue is perhaps merely a symptom of the overall change in the Republican party. Gone are the days of Libertarianism. Instead, the Republican party seems concerned with "saving us from ourselves". I do consider you a moderate from your positions I have seen in the Dispatch, and I hope you consider this issue carefully. I, along with many Ohio State students who enjoy poker, will be paying attention to this issue next November.

[TheEngineer]

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I plan on writing a letter to her once I get the time. .....

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Yes, we have a lot of support in NY. She may come on board with enough letters. Since you asked for a suggestion, I'd really just urge you to not wait to write the perfect letter. After all, the goal isn't to change her mind through the persuasive power of the pen. Rather, it's to share with her your feelings as a voter. In other words, you're not trying to convince her to support poker........

Here's the PPA form letter, from http://activate.pokerplayersalliance.org/ . You can cut and paste it, or you can email it right from the site in about 45 seconds (I'd probably send the email right from the site, then format it in Word, print it out and send it as snail mail...you can also print the letter out right from the site, then sign and mail it)...

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[oldbookguy]

This is both sad and funny.

Received a third reply yesterday from Capito.

She serves on the House Financial Services Committee and I quote from the letter; "Currently the house of Representatives is not considering any lefislation that addresses the position taken by U.S. trade Representative, susan Schwab, vis a vis gambling".

I wrote back today asking where has she been, perhaps if she attended the committee meetings she would know that her chairman HAS introduced legislation addressing this.

Also, Congressman Wexler from florida has introduce exemptions for games of skill 9though they already are exempt) but specifically naming poker as exempt as a Skill Game.

I sure hope no matter what happens for poker, we in WV get rid of her.

Following that, I sent the following letter to a local statewide newspaper where i have had a few letters published in the past.

The Billion Dollar Card game

A trade settlement in the works by the bush administration and supported by Rep. Capito is about to cost Americans & American companies BILLIONS of dollars.
In 1994 the Clinton administration signed a WTO Trade Agreement allowing among other things Internet poker in the U.S.
Now, the Right wing of the Bush administration, on moral grounds, passed a law prohibiting it.
To withdraw from this ‘Deal’ we must agree to trade sanctions in the billions against American Companies.
We were sued in court by the small island nation Antigua-Barbuda and lost and they want 3.4 BILLION in compensation PER YEAR, forever.
No big deal except we also signed this deal with 50 other countries some of which have joined the suit since we refuse to honor our agreements.
To quote U.S. trade lawyer Juan Millan; “Millan said Washington accepted that U.S. gambling laws were not in compliance with its WTO obligations. But he said Antigua's request for retaliation was unnecessary because the U.S. was negotiating compensation with all interested WTO members — despite having originally argued that it was exempt from sanctions or having to pay compensation.”
So, instead of staying out of American’s homes, the Bush administration is entering even more, costing Americans and American Companies unnecessary added expenses and potentially costing us more American jobs by placing additional trade burdens on citizens and companies.
Thanks congresswoman Capito for supporting this and thanks president Bush for placing the right wing moral values above the privacy rights of American Citizens.


obg

[TheEngineer]

Rep. Tim Ryan [D-OH] cosponsored Wexler's SGPA today! I'll move him from "B" to "A".

[TheEngineer]

When I created the "Report Card", there were three open House seats. One was filled today by Dr. Paul Broun’s of Georgia. Dr. Broun compares himself in some ways to another doctor in the House...our good friend Ron Paul.

Sounds somewhat promising, but not entirely. I found nothing on his stand on any gambling. I guess I'll rate him "?" until we learn more.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=21602 :

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Regardless of the election’s outcome, Georgia’s 10th CD -- and Congress -- would have gained another conservative Republican. With Paul Broun’s victory, the GOP has gained aself-described “strict constitutionalist” who is committed to “restor[ing] government according to the Constitution as our Founders intended.” Broun has said that he, like Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.), will “always carry a pocket Constitution” on his person while in Congress, and will “apply a four-way test to all legislation” (in essence, is each piece of legislation constitutional, moral, needed, and affordable?)

Broun is a proponent of private property rights, an opponent of illegal immigration, and a supporter of the Fair Tax, or national sales tax (as well as the abolition of the IRS.) He is a member of the National Rifle Association and president of the local affiliate, the Georgia Sport Shooting Association. Further, he is pro-religious freedom, and is very outspoken against “the ACLU and Activist Federal Judges,” who he says are “destroying America's heritage of religious freedom and religious expression.”

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[Wahoo73]

I have been in contact by e-mail on three occasions this year with my congressman, David Scott (D-GA). If I were to give him a grade based on his responses, it would be C-. He seems vaguely aware of all the current and pending legislation impacting on internet gaming, but has been just as vague in his positions on each of them.

[TheEngineer]

Thanks. That's the data that will help us differentiate congressmen willing to listen from [censored] like Bachus and Goodlatte.

[TheEngineer]

IGREA has three new cosponsors, for a total of 34!

Reps. Joe Baca [D-CA], voted against HR 4411 [now "A"]
Lynn C. Woolsey [D-CA], voted against HR 4411 [now "A"]
Neil Abercrombie [D-HI], voted against HR 4411 [now "A"]

Please note that all "A" and "B" congressmen have actually done something tangible for us (either voted against HR 4411 or cosponsored legislation).