I've heard ideas about marching on Washington, but honestly, we dont really have the ability to get enough people excited to travel to Washington for it to matter.
So here is what we do:
We get 50 people together from the 50 different states. I can cover Ohio or Florida. We'll need volunteers for the other 49.
We need a very public website that allows posting (I recommend Craigslist - it is ranked 30th on alexa)
Anyways, once we have our 50 people together, if this thing goes to the senate, we send the following letter to each of our senators:
Dear Sir:
I write to you in strong opposition to bill ____.
I write to you with the following reasons for opposition:
1. This bill is completely unenforceable. It may or may not be possible to block internet gambling. Unfortunately, the idea that banks can prevent internet wagering is ridiculous. A very rudimentary look at internet gambling will reveal that when someone decides to send money to an internet casino, pokerroom, or sportsbook, they generally do not send it to youbethere.com . Instead they wire it or send it to an individual such as Carlos Francesco in another country. The internet casinos, sportsbooks, and pokerrooms can change the recipient names endlessly.
The idea that banks can prevent transactions to these companies does not make sense for the above reason. Additionally, asking banks to attempt to do this is both time consuming and financially strapping. Banks already are assigned the burden of trying to pick up terrorists, money launderers, illicit drug and contraband dealers, etc. I would much prefer they spend their time and money on these endeavors that protect my safety than on the endeavor of making sure someone does not play poker. I am concerned that if banks are to weed out all gambling funds, banking will come to a halt and cost our economy billions of dollars.
2. Major investment groups such as Fidelity, Merrill Lynch, etc own millions of dollars in internet gambling stocks. If US citizens are banned from playing online these stocks will likely crash. US citizens will once again lose billions of dollars. As these stocks crash, mutual funds, investment companies, and other stocks will potentially fall significantly.
3. I am very concerned about crime. As a member of a large family, I care that my family and friends are safe. This bill could alternatively be labelled the Bookie Complete Employment Act or the Funding Organized Crime Act.
Forty million Americans gamble online. They gamble online because they enjoy it. Just as prohibition failed miserably, if the government was able to really block online gambling, a huge percent of these 40 million people would still want to gamble and would find ways. The most likely place they would turn would be the local bookie. Many local bookies are run by organized crime rings.
As it is now, one has to post up a balance to gamble online. Then one can win or lose that money. If someone gambles with a bookie, it is usually on credit and if that person does not pay or runs out of money, he often gets attacked or killed. I prefer that my government rid my neighborhood of bullets. I do not like to see laws that benefit those who intimidate and use force. The passing of this bill will strengthen and fund organized crime.
4. This bill does not actually block online gambling. It blocks portions of online gambling. If the United States has decided that gambling is bad, the United States should block all forms of online gambling. It is not fair to offer exemptions for lotteries and horse races. If the United States believes any gambling is moralisticly acceptable, all forms of gambling should be acceptable.
I repeatedly hear the argument that people who bet sports or play at a casino online can lose their house. This is true. That being said, it is far more likely to lose your house playing the lottery online or betting horses.
For every $105 bet on football, a gambler gets $100 back.
For every $100 bet on blackjack, a gambler gets about $99 back.
For every $100 bet on horses a gambler is lucky to get $80 back.
For every $100 bet on lotteries, a gambler is lucky to get $60 back.
As you can see it is far easier to lose your house betting horses or the lottery than online sports or at a casino.
Additionally, right now, every American owes $28,000 towards our debt. Every American loses about $20/year to online gambling. This is a far cry from losing your house.
5. It has been stated that this bill will try to keep people under 18 from gambling online. It does not do this. There are no provisions in online horse racing to prevent people under 18 from gambling. In fact the horse racing people have been said to target kids.
The easiest way to prevent underage gambling online is to allow gambling sites to process credit cards. 10 years ago, when gambling sites processed credit cards, they almost always asked for ID. They did not want to deal with credit card fraud. After it became difficult to use credit cards to gamble online and this was replaced by Western Union and bank wires, online sites stopped checking ID as they had no need to do so.
6. The World Trade Organization has already founded in favor of Antigua and demanded the U.S. not block internet gambling. I feel the WTO is a very important part of society and very useful for negotiating with other countries. I believe our country should follow its rules just as we request others.
7. Most importantly - more imporant than all the other reasons listed above. I am a strong believer in living in a FREE country.
I believe all adults should be allowed to pursue things they enjoy as long as they do not directly harm others. It is none of my business what you do at night and I do not believe it is any of your business what I do at night. We need laws to block things that harm others - such as murder, rape, etc but we do not need laws that hinder individuals' rights and enjoyment in the United States as long as others are not being directly harmed.
Further, I believe regulating the internet is a huge mistake. The United States is founded on innovation. The internet is a huge innovation that has changed the world. Free flow of information is necessary for new creations. If the internet had been regulated 10 years ago, it is likely that wonderful sites such as Ebay, Prosper, Paypal, etc would have never been developed. All of these sites have changed how we all live our lives. I firmly believe the United States does no want to censor the internet like countries such as China.
Finally, if the U.S. does want to censor the internet, I believe there are far more pressing issues than poker and casinos. I would like to see the government spend tax dollars shutting down sites catering to child pornography, trafficking of women, blowing up U.S. buildings, distributing unsafe drugs, etc. I believe U.S. dollars would be much better spent on these issues than on gambling.
I am hopeful that you will vote against bill _____________
I feel so strongly about individual freedom, that I am part of a coalition of 50 people from all 50 states. If this bill is indeed voted upon, we plan to publicize all senators who believe it is ok to limit individual freedom. We have decided that if this bill should be voted on, we will post daily in all 50 states at Craigslist (30th most popular site on the internet) a list of all senators who believe it is ok to take away the rights of U.S. citizens and explain that the list posted feels it is ok to stop adult U.S. citizens from seeking entertainment they enjoy. We will do this from the day this bill sees a vote until the next senate elections.
(ABOVE PARAGRAPH IN BOLD)
I thank you for considering this letter.
Sincerely,
Maybe they care, maybe they dont....
So here is what we do:
We get 50 people together from the 50 different states. I can cover Ohio or Florida. We'll need volunteers for the other 49.
We need a very public website that allows posting (I recommend Craigslist - it is ranked 30th on alexa)
Anyways, once we have our 50 people together, if this thing goes to the senate, we send the following letter to each of our senators:
Dear Sir:
I write to you in strong opposition to bill ____.
I write to you with the following reasons for opposition:
1. This bill is completely unenforceable. It may or may not be possible to block internet gambling. Unfortunately, the idea that banks can prevent internet wagering is ridiculous. A very rudimentary look at internet gambling will reveal that when someone decides to send money to an internet casino, pokerroom, or sportsbook, they generally do not send it to youbethere.com . Instead they wire it or send it to an individual such as Carlos Francesco in another country. The internet casinos, sportsbooks, and pokerrooms can change the recipient names endlessly.
The idea that banks can prevent transactions to these companies does not make sense for the above reason. Additionally, asking banks to attempt to do this is both time consuming and financially strapping. Banks already are assigned the burden of trying to pick up terrorists, money launderers, illicit drug and contraband dealers, etc. I would much prefer they spend their time and money on these endeavors that protect my safety than on the endeavor of making sure someone does not play poker. I am concerned that if banks are to weed out all gambling funds, banking will come to a halt and cost our economy billions of dollars.
2. Major investment groups such as Fidelity, Merrill Lynch, etc own millions of dollars in internet gambling stocks. If US citizens are banned from playing online these stocks will likely crash. US citizens will once again lose billions of dollars. As these stocks crash, mutual funds, investment companies, and other stocks will potentially fall significantly.
3. I am very concerned about crime. As a member of a large family, I care that my family and friends are safe. This bill could alternatively be labelled the Bookie Complete Employment Act or the Funding Organized Crime Act.
Forty million Americans gamble online. They gamble online because they enjoy it. Just as prohibition failed miserably, if the government was able to really block online gambling, a huge percent of these 40 million people would still want to gamble and would find ways. The most likely place they would turn would be the local bookie. Many local bookies are run by organized crime rings.
As it is now, one has to post up a balance to gamble online. Then one can win or lose that money. If someone gambles with a bookie, it is usually on credit and if that person does not pay or runs out of money, he often gets attacked or killed. I prefer that my government rid my neighborhood of bullets. I do not like to see laws that benefit those who intimidate and use force. The passing of this bill will strengthen and fund organized crime.
4. This bill does not actually block online gambling. It blocks portions of online gambling. If the United States has decided that gambling is bad, the United States should block all forms of online gambling. It is not fair to offer exemptions for lotteries and horse races. If the United States believes any gambling is moralisticly acceptable, all forms of gambling should be acceptable.
I repeatedly hear the argument that people who bet sports or play at a casino online can lose their house. This is true. That being said, it is far more likely to lose your house playing the lottery online or betting horses.
For every $105 bet on football, a gambler gets $100 back.
For every $100 bet on blackjack, a gambler gets about $99 back.
For every $100 bet on horses a gambler is lucky to get $80 back.
For every $100 bet on lotteries, a gambler is lucky to get $60 back.
As you can see it is far easier to lose your house betting horses or the lottery than online sports or at a casino.
Additionally, right now, every American owes $28,000 towards our debt. Every American loses about $20/year to online gambling. This is a far cry from losing your house.
5. It has been stated that this bill will try to keep people under 18 from gambling online. It does not do this. There are no provisions in online horse racing to prevent people under 18 from gambling. In fact the horse racing people have been said to target kids.
The easiest way to prevent underage gambling online is to allow gambling sites to process credit cards. 10 years ago, when gambling sites processed credit cards, they almost always asked for ID. They did not want to deal with credit card fraud. After it became difficult to use credit cards to gamble online and this was replaced by Western Union and bank wires, online sites stopped checking ID as they had no need to do so.
6. The World Trade Organization has already founded in favor of Antigua and demanded the U.S. not block internet gambling. I feel the WTO is a very important part of society and very useful for negotiating with other countries. I believe our country should follow its rules just as we request others.
7. Most importantly - more imporant than all the other reasons listed above. I am a strong believer in living in a FREE country.
I believe all adults should be allowed to pursue things they enjoy as long as they do not directly harm others. It is none of my business what you do at night and I do not believe it is any of your business what I do at night. We need laws to block things that harm others - such as murder, rape, etc but we do not need laws that hinder individuals' rights and enjoyment in the United States as long as others are not being directly harmed.
Further, I believe regulating the internet is a huge mistake. The United States is founded on innovation. The internet is a huge innovation that has changed the world. Free flow of information is necessary for new creations. If the internet had been regulated 10 years ago, it is likely that wonderful sites such as Ebay, Prosper, Paypal, etc would have never been developed. All of these sites have changed how we all live our lives. I firmly believe the United States does no want to censor the internet like countries such as China.
Finally, if the U.S. does want to censor the internet, I believe there are far more pressing issues than poker and casinos. I would like to see the government spend tax dollars shutting down sites catering to child pornography, trafficking of women, blowing up U.S. buildings, distributing unsafe drugs, etc. I believe U.S. dollars would be much better spent on these issues than on gambling.
I am hopeful that you will vote against bill _____________
I feel so strongly about individual freedom, that I am part of a coalition of 50 people from all 50 states. If this bill is indeed voted upon, we plan to publicize all senators who believe it is ok to limit individual freedom. We have decided that if this bill should be voted on, we will post daily in all 50 states at Craigslist (30th most popular site on the internet) a list of all senators who believe it is ok to take away the rights of U.S. citizens and explain that the list posted feels it is ok to stop adult U.S. citizens from seeking entertainment they enjoy. We will do this from the day this bill sees a vote until the next senate elections.
(ABOVE PARAGRAPH IN BOLD)
I thank you for considering this letter.
Sincerely,
Maybe they care, maybe they dont....
