Time For Another Letter To Congress

[hblask 1]

Here is a letter I am sending my Congressional representatives. Feel free to copy it and send it to yours, too. It is time to stop the insanity. Doyle's Room is now shut down, left without a home. Are you sick enough of this to look up your congressional representatives and send this off?Here's a link to find your house representative's address.Here's my letter:-----------------------------------------------------------As I am sure you are aware, the federal government has, for the past six months or so, been engaging in strong-arm tactics to prevent citizens from placing wagers from the privacy of their home. This has included the harassment and arrest of non-US citizens whose only “crime” was to engage in open and honest transactions that are perfectly legal in their own place of residence. It has also included the passage of a law (passed in the middle of the night, without debate) to discourage voluntary consensual transactions by United State’s citizens. I am not sure what the political motivation is for this ongoing campaign, but it not moral, fair, or even sensible. It is time for the government to stop harassing innocent people.The online gambling industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. It consists of honest businessmen providing a service to hard-working people around the world. Online poker, in particular, has provided a cheap means of learning an entertaining game to millions of people. Yes, it is possible to lose money playing poker. But compare this to other forms of entertainment, such as attending a football game or a Broadway show. Those forms of entertainment guarantee your money will be lost. At least with online poker, a skillful player can actually expect to make money with their entertainment dollar. The idea that entertainment is legal if you are guaranteed to lose money, but not if there is some chance you will not lose money, is laughable at best.The online gambling industry has proven to be among the most honest and scrupulous of any industry in the world. It is run legally throughout the world with virtually no problems with corruption or cheating (the only problems are in areas where it is illegal). Curiously, nobody has lost any money, or even had their money delayed, until this latest attack by the federal government. Currently, American citizens are being deprived of the use of $55 million dollars of their own money (via Neteller) because of this ridiculous moral crusade. Furthermore, the United States' efforts will, in all likelihood, fail due to the fact that the World Trade Organization has already declared that the US is acting illegally in this matter.It is time to stop this insanity. Prohibition has never worked and never can work, in any area of private life. Therefore, I am requesting two specific actions:

1) I would like to hear that you or your staff will, in the short run, look into whatever political motivations are behind this current harassment campaign. 2) In the long run, I would like to see you and other members of Congress do what is morally and ethically correct, which is to allow adults to spend their entertainment dollars however they wish in the privacy of their homes.

The United States should legalize and regulate online gaming sites the same way other countries have. I hope you will take the lead in this issue.EDIT: Slight modifcations to last two paragraphs

[threeparrots 0]

Why don't you put your efforts towards something more important.... go look up the Federal Reserve bank and also try and find that income tax law that somehow never appears anywhere.

[hblask 1]

Why don't you put your efforts towards something more important.... go look up the Federal Reserve bank and also try and find that income tax law that somehow never appears anywhere.

Please don't hijack this important thread with retarded conspiracy theories.BTW, anyone here who belongs to other poker forums, if you like this letter, feel free to post it there. If every member of congress got about 100 of these over the next month (paper better than email, but either helps) we might start to make a difference.

[threeparrots 0]

Please don't hijack this important thread with retarded conspiracy theories.BTW, anyone here who belongs to other poker forums, if you like this letter, feel free to post it there. If every member of congress got about 100 of these over the next month (paper better than email, but either helps) we might start to make a difference.

The idea behind my post was that you will not make a difference. Sorry to be the guy who says it.

[hblask 1]

The idea behind my post was that you will not make a difference. Sorry to be the guy who says it.

If nobody writes, it is true, they will make no difference. Congress does respond to the demands of the voters, eventually. It may take several hundred of these letters. But since I wrote it and gave everyone an easy way to send it off, either by email or snail mail, if you love this game at all, you owe it to yourself and players everywhere to try to make a difference. It will take you about 3 minutes and cost about 39 cents. Is the game worth that much to you? I suspect it is to anyone reading this forum. Do it now!

[StrippersNBlow 0]

The idea behind my post was that you will not make a difference. Sorry to be the guy who says it.

If you've just given up in general why don't you just eat a bullet?

[terradawg 0]

nice work hblask. what you are doing is much better than the defeated attitude taken by the poster in response.

[checkymcfold 0]

i was in the process of drafting something similar, but yours is exactly what i was going to say anyway.henry=my hero.

[FourFlusher 0]

Good idea, I applaud your dedication to your game and your efforts to work inside the system. But, there are a few weaknesses in your letter. One glaring example is: "virtually no problems with corruption or cheating".Good idea, but you should review your statements one more time.

[rgold79 0]

If nobody writes, it is true, they will make no difference. Congress does respond to the demands of the voters, eventually. It may take several hundred of these letters. But since I wrote it and gave everyone an easy way to send it off, either by email or snail mail, if you love this game at all, you owe it to yourself and players everywhere to try to make a difference. It will take you about 3 minutes and cost about 39 cents. Is the game worth that much to you? I suspect it is to anyone reading this forum. Do it now!

Send a copy to each of your senators, too. Kudos for backing up your opinions with actual actions.

[mattb5 0]

doyles room is shut down to americans now?

[checkymcfold 0]

Good idea, I applaud your dedication to your game and your efforts to work inside the system. But, there are a few weaknesses in your letter. One glaring example is: "virtually no problems with corruption or cheating".Good idea, but you should review your statements one more time.

actually, there are virtually none. i've only encountered what i thought was collusion once, and it was remedied quickly by the poker site involved.besides, if we want something to get done, we can't be using rhetoric that comes off like "well, a lot of people cheat and stuff, but keep it legal and easy anyway."

[chrozzo 19]

Nice letter, the congressmen and Senators of PA have heard from me today.

[FourFlusher 0]

I'm not here to argue with you, like I said, I applaud your effort...I'm just pointing out what I think is a flaw that gives them something to hold on to.Online poker is rife with collusion, this very board has a thread about once a week about it. The nature of playing online begs for collusion, it's too easy. That said, every thing online is or has been corrupted by cheaters and charletons.Knowing that, we accept the risk and love to play in spite of it.All I'm suggesting is that you play that part down a little, and, I would play up the Neteller situation. They took money that had nothing to do with online gambling. Dr. Pauly was hired to write about the Aussie Millions, and got paid through Neteller. They seized that money, too. There was a lot of money on Neteller that wasn't poker money.

[erac22 0]

Whoever said that writing letters is useless, you're probably right, but it's worth a shot. The real way to fight this to keep gambling online. Don't let these "laws" deter you. Launder, make offshore bank accounts, f.uck the US. keep sending your money offshore.erac

[hblask 1]

doyles room is shut down to americans now?

From Gambling-911:Tribeca pulls out of the US earlier than expected

[hblask 1]

I'm not here to argue with you, like I said, I applaud your effort...I'm just pointing out what I think is a flaw that gives them something to hold on to.Online poker is rife with collusion, this very board has a thread about once a week about it. The nature of playing online begs for collusion, it's too easy. That said, every thing online is or has been corrupted by cheaters and charletons.Knowing that, we accept the risk and love to play in spite of it.All I'm suggesting is that you play that part down a little, and, I would play up the Neteller situation. They took money that had nothing to do with online gambling. Dr. Pauly was hired to write about the Aussie Millions, and got paid through Neteller. They seized that money, too. There was a lot of money on Neteller that wasn't poker money.

I am all in favor of tweaking this letter, for two reasons:1) We want it to deliver the message as powerfully as possible, and2) My understanding is that if every letter your legislator gets is identical they get less attention, because then it just looks like one person with good organization skills.So definitely personalize the letter however you want.The online cheating thing: I am sure there are much better ways to make the point that the gov't has cost US citizens more than all cheating and fraud online put together. If you find a good way, post it here so that people can use it if they like it better.

[nutzbuster 7]

Here is a letter I am sending my Congressional representatives. Feel free to copy it and send it to yours, too. It is time to stop the insanity. Doyle's Room is now shut down, left without a home. Are you sick enough of this to look up your congressional representatives and send this off?Here's a link to find your house representative's address.Here's my letter:-----------------------------------------------------------As I am sure you are aware, the federal government has, for the past six months or so, been engaging in strong-arm tactics to prevent citizens from placing wagers from the privacy of their home. This has included the harassment and arrest of non-US citizens whose only “crime” was to engage in open and honest transactions that are perfectly legal in their own place of residence. It has also included the passage of a law (passed in the middle of the night, without debate) to discourage voluntary consensual transactions by United State’s citizens. I am not sure what the political motivation is for this ongoing campaign, but it not moral, fair, or even sensible. It is time for the government to stop harassing innocent people.The online gambling industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. It consists of honest businessmen providing a service to hard-working people around the world. Online poker, in particular, has provided a cheap means of learning an entertaining game to millions of people. Yes, it is possible to lose money playing poker. But compare this to other forms of entertainment, such as attending a football game or a Broadway show. Those forms of entertainment guarantee your money will be lost. At least with online poker, a skillful player can actually expect to make money with their entertainment dollar. The idea that entertainment is legal if you are guaranteed to lose money, but not if there is some chance you will not lose money, is laughable at best.The online gambling industry has proven to be among the most honest and scrupulous of any industry in the world. It is run legally throughout the world with virtually no problems with corruption or cheating (the only problems are in areas where it is illegal). Curiously, nobody has lost any money, or even had their money delayed, until this latest attack by the federal government. Currently, American citizens are being deprived of the use of $55 million dollars of their own money (via Neteller) because of this ridiculous moral crusade. Furthermore, the United States' efforts will, in all likelihood, fail due to the fact that the World Trade Organization has already declared that the US is acting illegally in this matter.It is time to stop this insanity. Prohibition has never worked and never can work, in any area of private life. Therefore, I am requesting two specific actions:

1) I would like to hear that you or your staff will, in the short run, look into whatever political motivations are behind this current harassment campaign. 2) In the long run, I would like to see you and other members of Congress do what is morally and ethically correct, which is to allow adults to spend their entertainment dollars however they wish in the privacy of their homes.

The United States should legalize and regulate online gaming sites the same way other countries have. I hope you will take the lead in this issue.EDIT: Slight modifcations to last two paragraphs

[Scanner313 0]

The idea behind my post was that you will not make a difference. Sorry to be the guy who says it.

Yeah, you're right. I mean, after all, it's not like WE THE PEOPLE are the government of the United States or anything. It's not like WE THE PEOPLE have the power to hire and fire the asswipes who are supposed to represent us. So why should we even make a stink about this, right? I mean, lets all just keep our mouths closed, bend over, and let our leaders stick anything they want in our collective asses. At least we won't be wasting our time.You know, it's jackasses like you who don't deserve the freedoms (however limited) that our government provides us. Because you have no idea why writing a letter like this to your elected representative makes a difference. If enough people get behind an issue then the government has to address it. But sitting silently is a sure fire way to get nothing changed. If every poker player in the country wrote a single letter to their Congressman then you better believe that they will sit up and take notice.I, for one, am sick of the way our government treats us all like a bunch of retarded children who are incapable of living our lives without the government protecting us from ourselves. And it's not just online poker, it's so many other things. Our government tries to control social behavior by legislation, and they have no Constitutional right to do so.

[Scanner313 0]

The online cheating thing: I am sure there are much better ways to make the point that the gov't has cost US citizens more than all cheating and fraud online put together. If you find a good way, post it here so that people can use it if they like it better.

The best argument to prove that these sites are not cheating anyone (at least in regard to poker, not online casino gambling) is that they make money by keeping the games fair. They have no reason to alter the cards since the only money they see is the rake, not winnings. And if they ever got caught cheating the system they would immediately lose every customer they serve.It's that simple.

[FourFlusher 0]

OP is correct...the bastids are on our payroll, they work for us. Just like any other employee they need to be made aware of company policy, lol.I have said many times in many forums, the entire Congress needs to be dragged down the stairs by their hair, thrown in a pile and set on fire. I guarantee the 111th Congress will be more aware of the relationship between employee and employer.That's a joke, sort of.

[erac22 0]

There was recently a study done asking college age to i think 29 year olds if they had ever made an online wager of any sort. As would be expected, a very large percentage of them said yes, yet somewhere around 50% who claimed to play regularly believed the sites were rigged in some way and not completely random, yet they still played. The reason we have stupid laws, and stupid legislators, is because we have stupid americans comprising the voting base. My post doesn't really have a point, nor is it on subject. Just sayin... I guess what I mean is, if Americans want to trust their money to rigged gambling sites, who is the govt to say they're not allowed to be retarded. It was similarly retarded decisions by similar americans that got them elected in the first place.ok, this post is just stupid, sorry, and i realize that it isn't rigged.

[SBriand 4]

I guarantee the 111th Congress will be more aware of the relationship between employee and employer.

You do realize that the 109th Congress is the one who passed this law. Not the 110th right? Your post makes me think you believe the current Congress has something to do with this.

[Scanner313 0]

Whoever said that writing letters is useless, you're probably right, but it's worth a shot. The real way to fight this to keep gambling online. Don't let these "laws" deter you. Launder, make offshore bank accounts, f.uck the US. keep sending your money offshore.

Just curious, but how is this the way to fight back? Just continuing with an activity that the government is trying to make illegal does not help to change the system. Eventually when they are done crcking down on the providers, they'll come after you. Sure, maybe it'll be a slap on the wrist, a small fine, whatever, but they'll find a way to continue to layer on the restrictions. And then where are you? Sneaking around trying to find ways to "launder" your money, and find "off shore bank accounts" because you can't play poker in what is supposedly the most free country in the world.I don't think so.

[hblask 1]

There was recently a study done asking college age to i think 29 year olds if they had ever made an online wager of any sort. As would be expected, a very large percentage of them said yes, yet somewhere around 50% who claimed to play regularly believed the sites were rigged in some way and not completely random, yet they still played. The reason we have stupid laws, and stupid legislators, is because we have stupid americans comprising the voting base. My post doesn't really have a point, nor is it on subject. Just sayin... I guess what I mean is, if Americans want to trust their money to rigged gambling sites, who is the govt to say they're not allowed to be retarded. It was similarly retarded decisions by similar americans that got them elected in the first place.ok, this post is just stupid, sorry, and i realize that it isn't rigged.

I thought of including a similar point in my letter but I didn't want it to get too rambling. But yea, slot machines are obviously rigged, yet they are legal. Heck, going out to dinner is rigged: $100 for $25 worth of food. It's our money. Americans need to start learning how to demand control over it. Start now with this letter! One step at a time....