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Looks like having poker lobbyists setting poker tables at both presidential conventions this year was effective. A new bill is successfully moving its way through Congress that would effectively re-legalize online poker, reversing a law passed two years ago that made it illegal for financial institutions to accept payment for online gambling (all in the name of national security, of course).
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Good for Copyright Owners
Great news. If it goes through then maybe the US can get rid of that ridiculous WTO judgment that gives Antigua the right to infringe $20 million in US copyrights a year. Yay for creative types.
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Yay. The lobbyists are actually doing something right for once.
Damn the government for restricting a voluntary activity that harms no one.(unless one gamble too much but that's your own fault)
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Re: Good for Copyright Owners
maybe the US can get rid of that ridiculous WTO judgment that gives Antigua the right to infringe $20 million in US copyrights a year. Yay for creative types.
The judgment wasn't any more ridiculous than the US basically retroactively changing the terms of a treaty.
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Who Cares . . .
Have you seen the market recently, who the hell has money to gamble with anymore?
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Re: Who Cares . . .
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Adults and their money
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He meant the economy.
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Re: Adults and there money
"Well then shouldn't this bill also allow credit card companies to process payments for prostitutes and marijuana?"
Absolutely.
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Re: Adults and their money
Right on! As long as no one is getting hurt more than they want, the government should stay the f@#k out of the way.
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Re: Re: Adults and there money
They allow payments for marriage and cigerets and they're much worse than prostitutes and marijuana.
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Re: Adults and their money
that's the point of the bill. payment systems shouldn't be the ones policing the activities of citizens. i personally don't want my bank or CC provider to have to be the cop here. banks are having a hard enough time right now.
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A step in the right direction.
This is a step, but a small step. Why restrict gambling at all? The bill should allow for all types of online gambling. Why can't I bet on a football game, if I want to? Why horse and dog racing, but not human races? I should be able to place a wager on outcomes of TV game shows, golf tournaments, jai-lai, elections or the weather if I want to.
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Vote on this bill
Is it just me, or do people automatically vote against a bill without paying much attention.
This is the 2nd TechDirt article I've seen recently that was for a bill, where the majority of the comments were also for the bill, but the vote survey was against it.
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Re: Vote on this bill
Is it just me, or do people automatically vote against a bill without paying much attention.
Heh. I was just noticing the same thing... Who knows...
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Re: Vote on this bill
The kneejerk reaction doesn't really surprise me, given that so much legislation over the past few years has been so completely anti-consumer, anti-freedom, anti-citizen. If you don't feel like wading through the legalese, voting "No" seems like a safe bet.
Just the same, though, if you don't have an informed opinion, maybe voting ain't your bag?
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Re: Vote on this bill
This is the 2nd TechDirt article I've seen recently that was for a bill, where the majority of the comments were also for the bill, but the vote survey was against it.
Don't take this the wrong way but the oversimplified "for/against" mentality is one of the more dangerous aspects of politics. It's what leads to pithy sound bites rather than substantive statements.
For example, you can be against online gambling restrictions and still not be for this bill because you disagree with the exceptions. If you vote yes for what you consider to be a fatal compromise, then you basically give up on your chance to get the bill you really want passed.
Maybe there's already a way to do this, but I would like the ability to not only look up how my representatives vote, but their reasons. How hard would it be to allow for a (short) optional Reason field when voting? (I know. I know. Harder than you'd think.)
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On Line Gambling
Oh great. . .another avenue for our money to go offshore and turn around and cry foul. Who is sponsoring the bill? We as a country are doomed.
Bill
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Really Frank?
Where does a socalist like Barney Frank get off saying that adults can spend their money as they wish while he wants to tax the shit out of us?
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Re: On Line Gambling
Or you could see it as an attempt to ON-SHORE a multi-billion dollar industry, instead of driving it offshore and underground.
Just saying the major online poker providers started out as US companies, and moved to "friendlier" climes to circumvent the laws only after they were forced to.
Again, I'm struck by a realization (that I'm sure NO ONE has EVER had before): "Prohibition creates crime!"
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You can play this but not that
Just let people do what they want with their money, bodies, property, and everything else they own. Let them wager on the amount of preciptation in the upcoming season if they so choose. Unnecessary rules and regulations are unnecessary.
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Re: Who Cares . . .
Ummm... Doesn't it occur to you that the reason NO ONE has any money...is because there is no economy?
And WHY do you suppose that is?
STUPID SHIT such as banning gambling. Especially online. What you don't seem to know is that a good deal of that money actually goes into our now-shitty economy.
You're putting the cart before the horse.
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Re: Adults and their money
Ummm... NO.
Because those are COMPLETELY SEPARATE ISSUES.
Idiot. Don't be so ignorantly opposed to something that DOESN'T HURT YOU in ANY way; but you can actually BENEFIT from when money is flowing back into our economy.
You WREAK of conservatism.
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Re: Re: Re: Adults and there money
Umm... Last I checked...
...people GENERALLY try to AVOID marrying people who have venereal diseases. HOW is a prostitute any better than marrying someone you [should be able to] trust?
Wow. Plenty of stupid people out lately...
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anyone know when this damn bill would take affect if passed?
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Bill Moves Forward To Re-Legalize Online Poker
I'm all for it as lone as gambling winnings are taxed just like the lotto and casino winning. Land of the free but you can't play online poker??? Talk about big government.
The states rip citizens off every day with their lotto and scratchoffs but we can't play online poker?
Where is the justice? Power to the people...
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Re: Adults and their money
Absolutely. Even though It seems you were just after some sort of clever quip, you hit on an important topic. People have every right to do what they want, as long as it does not harm themselves. Certainly playing poker online fits within this category.
If prostitutes wish to sell their body for money, that is their business. Who are you to judge.
And by the way, tobacco deaths this year were over 440,000. Marijuana deaths were 0, just as they were for each of the previous 5000 years.
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Talking
"If prostitutes wish to sell their body for money, that is their business. Who are you to judge"
Yes , evan prostitutes (not all) may be good woman :) ..and she "sell" only body , but this is questionable at all.
Tabacco vs Marijuana is not questionable , Tabacco kill me and all people who smoking that ... :)
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I dont know how they could say no to legalizing online poker. Legalizing online poker could potentially generate up to $52 billion dollars for the U.S economy in the next 10 years. Not to mention our freedom
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