Know your Enemies - Pro UIGEA letter

Charade You Are

Charade You Are

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The anti-gaming forces are getting together. http://www.catholicadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/SpeakerBoehner_WireAct_17May2012.pdf

Part of their letter to Boehner:

"Congress still has an opportunity to act to reassert its authority and re-establish its intent to prevent the proliferation of online gambling in the U.S. By reinstating the more than 50-year old interpretation of the Wire Act and actually strengthening UIGEA, you can protect our children and families from the erosion of safeguards Congress has previously established."

By Rich Muny of the PPA

With the groups that pushed for UIGEA seeking a federal ban on online poker and other online gaming (their letter to Congress is HERE), we ALL need to stand up and tell our lawmakers that we want them to support poker. Our opponents are pressing Congress for action, so our elected representatives need our letters in front of them:

  1. Let's send the prewritten, fully editable PPA member letter to Congress and the White House HERE and to state lawmakers HERE (or click the buttons below). This takes less than 60 seconds! It's very important that our elected representatives know we demand our right to play, so let's all send this out now:




  2. Let's send Sen. Reid, Sen. McConnell, Sen. Kyl, Rep. Boehner, and Rep. Cantor prefilled, editable tweets: HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.
  3. Let's send a prefilled tweet promoting today's action plan HERE, and let's share today's action on our own Facebook walls HERE.
 
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hawtshawt420

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I know this sounds super pessimistic but is anyone else getting jaded toward PPA stuff. I follow on twitter and facebook and their updates are always "we're making progress but still need to do more" I get the not out of the woods pov but I've never heard any of this "progress" theyve actually done. All I've seen is them getting email links and saying to email them. No actual progress updates (proposed laws, supporters in congress, state congresses, nothing) I believe that they are flooding the inboxes of the elected officials (at least their employees) but is there anything specific that has actually been done or in the process of being done? It's just always the same message that seems to say "No really guys we're trying"

let it be known that I don't search for updates multiple times a day constantly or read a lot of what they put out once it gets that "we're getting so close but we basically haven't accomplished anything" tone.
 
Charade You Are

Charade You Are

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They do much more than that. Their top legislative priority is establishing federal regulation of Internet poker. They also work at the state level to establish sensible laws for poker (online and offline). They lobby congress, provide input to congress to help shape poker legislation, testify before Congress, provide players with news and updates as well as the daily action plan.

Trying to get anything through our politicized do-nothing congress is a gargantuan task. I know I don't have the stomach for it. Meeting with those morons and treating them with the respect they don't deserve can't be fun.

This month they are touring the country to meet with poker players. http://theppa.org/newsletters/2012/...l-meeting-tour-kicks-off-this-month-05162012/

The Poker Players Alliance joined nearly twenty Members of Congress at a House Republican policy retreat in Florida..... http://pokerati.com/2012/05/congressional-policy-retreat-in-florida-poker-derby-days-in-ky/

Rich started a PokerAdvocacy facebook page http://www.facebook.com/PokerAdvocacy

Patrick Fleming of the PPA testifying before Congressional Indian Affairs Committee:

Their activism made PC World http://www.pcworld.com/printable/article/id,248702/printable.html

Various attempts to get poker legislation passed http://pokerfuse.com/news/law-and-regulation/ppa-looks-add-online-poker-cybersecurity-bill/

They testify before congressional subcommittees http://www.pokernews.com/news/2011/...e-damato-witness-subcommittee-poker-11265.htm

You could also follow this series of articles: http://pokerfuse.com/features/in-depth/poker-players-alliance-pokers-voice-capitol-hill/
 
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hawtshawt420

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being cynical again but that whole post is "we try to tell them but nothing actually gets done" and it passes the blame to congress. What states have you actually talked to? What laws have you actually helped propose? Any laws in the making? Anything tangible? I know the process is slowmoving but it's been over a year since black friday. It may be congress just ignoring the PPA, that'd be the PPA's fault for talking to the wrong people over and over. I didn't read the articles because there's no way that I missed a half dozen positive articles that are actually positive. I just tire of all these "updates" that just say "we still have work to do" do something tangible, even if it fails. but don't try to spin failures as positive because you asked some assistant for an email address.
 
TheEngineer

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I know this sounds super pessimistic but is anyone else getting jaded toward PPA stuff. I follow on twitter and facebook and their updates are always "we're making progress but still need to do more" I get the not out of the woods pov but I've never heard any of this "progress" theyve actually done. All I've seen is them getting email links and saying to email them. No actual progress updates (proposed laws, supporters in congress, state congresses, nothing) I believe that they are flooding the inboxes of the elected officials (at least their employees) but is there anything specific that has actually been done or in the process of being done? It's just always the same message that seems to say "No really guys we're trying"

let it be known that I don't search for updates multiple times a day constantly or read a lot of what they put out once it gets that "we're getting so close but we basically haven't accomplished anything" tone.

Hi hawtshawt420,

That's a fair question and I am happy to address it with my first post here on Cardschat. :)

First off, PPA isn't a "they"...it's our shared fight for our rights. We have had a number of successes.

PPA has had success in:
  • Creating an organization in DC where none formerly existed. We saw the result of that in Congress a few months ago, when Attorney General Eric Holder was grilled by a few congressmen about Black Friday at a hearing on an unrelated matter. We see it every day, in fact, as only anti-poker legislation was introduced to Congress from 1995-2006, while only pro-poker legislation has been introduced since.
  • Raising the public image and perception of poker as an honorable game, not a degenerate vice.
  • Defensively fighting federal legislative action that sought to harm further the interests of poker players.
  • Defending against the implementation of Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) regulations, successfully delaying for six months implementation of those regulations.
  • Giving a voice to poker players in states where poker activity has attracted law enforcement or other negative notice.
  • Jumpstarting state action. PPA’s actions at the federal level have woken up some states that are now concerned that Congress will authorize online poker before these states can.
  • Meeting with the DoJ to share with them our belief that the Wire Act ought not be interpreted as including poker. This included presentation of a white paper outlining our position.
Consider where we poker players started. UIGEA passed the House in 2006 by a vote of 317-93 and it was a free standing bill at that time (it was HR 4411). Politicians openly and proudly opposed us, and they only do that when they think there is ZERO downside to doing so.

For a reminder of the dark days before we poker players organized for the fight back, please take a look at the UIGEA House Testimony from July 11, 2006 and observe how lawmakers were tripping over one another to condemn online poker (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/57...006-a-1048432/).

Anti-online poker folks built a loose coalition against us prior to UIGEA’s passage. The GOP even put a plank in its platform advocating a ban on online gaming. Additionally, when UIGEA passed, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) promised to introduce new legislation to finish what UIGEA started.

With this starting point, it was not reasonable to think poker players could turn this around overnight. PPA certainly never promised to. Rather, PPA started a process by which we could build support for our position. Initiating this fight, even as underdogs, was the maximum EV option of the choices available to us.

So, what has happened since? Well, Congress had certainly heard from America’s poker players. We are on offense in Congress, which is our best defense. Again, no bills have been proposed against us since 2006, after years of anti-poker bills.

PPA organized letter-writing and phone call campaigns while lobbying federal agencies and Congress. PPA also set up and organized testimony at Congressional hearings that went very well for us. Poker players wrote and called Congress by the hundreds of thousands. With these efforts, PPA stopped — and reversed — the momentum of the anti-poker forces. I believe we are fortunate to have someone as savvy on the Hill as Executive Director John Pappas at the helm, as navigating that arena is a skill all its own.

At the state level, the PPA twice stopped Massachusetts from criminalizing playing of online poker. PPA also fought the Kentucky governor’s efforts to seize online poker domain names, holding that back for years. That effort included recruiting the ACLU and EFF to aid the fight, including a joint press conference to condemn the governor’s attack on the game. PPA worked with state and national media very effectively to communicate the players’ position in the Kentucky fight. We also led the effort against a MN effort to mandate ISP-blocking of online poker sites.

PPA got very involved in elections as well. Players helped push UIGEA sponsor Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA) from office – a fact he readily admits (http://www.stltoday.com/sports/artic...f57565a51.html). PPA also contributed greatly to anti-poker CO Senate candidate Ken Buck’s loss to Michael Bennet.

On the media front, coverage of poker issues was often negative prior to passage of UIGEA. Thanks to the efforts of PPA, we now get our opinion mentioned in almost every mainstream article on the topic.

In fact, the DoJ's recent statement on its opinion on the scope of the Wire Act applying to sports betting only came about largely from PPA meeting with DoJ and presenting them with a white paper detailing why poker ought not be considered to fall under the Wire Act and the poker community doing its part to let lawmakers know that poker enjoys strong public support.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of inertia in DC. Some politicians still think the anti-gaming types enjoy the support they did twenty years ago. We are chipping away at this every single day.

PPA continues to keep pressure on Capitol Hill. Conservative Republican Rep. Joe Barton of Texas is sponsoring HR 2366, the Online Poker Act. This bipartisanship will help the bill’s prospects greatly, as we saw in the four hearings already held on the bill.

Hope that helps.
 
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hawtshawt420

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am I wrong that 9 of 10 updates are the PPA saying how much they've done but you actually read it and it's clear that nothing has been accomplished. I'm tired of being told they are getting close to something and nothing happens. Yes, I was serious as to what laws they've actually proposed or influenced, realistically.

Sat down and read your articles and feel even more vindicated in my stance. The PPA is saying they are doing things and not actually making an progress whatsoever.
Their activism made PC World http://www.pcworld.com/printable/art...printable.html

Various attempts to get poker legislation passed http://pokerfuse.com/news/law-and-re...security-bill/

They testify before congressional subcommittees http://www.pokernews.com/news/2011/1...oker-11265.htm

You could also follow this series of articles: http://pokerfuse.com/features/in-dep...-capitol-hill/

1. Only said "PPA is the most involved with anything poker related" and "I guess it's effective"

2. Talks about a completely different bill. It draws a possible connection to poker players but the bill that is specifically stated doesn't have anything about poker on it. Just that IF that passes then MAYBE just MAYBE we could fit poker into that. There's glass half full and glass half empty but looking at that article as positive for the poker community is a longshot and is looking at a half full glass and saying you can drink for days.

3. A report on the debate from OCTOBER. this is the most relevant article you posted. I listened to the proposals. It was just a bunch of people saying how they should handle it. None of which really offered a decent argument, that's why it still hasn't even effected the thoughts of anything 7 months later.

4. This is just silly. This has nothing to do with poker legislation. it's an interview to get funding and members. It shows that the organization wants online poker available and that you should help.


thanks for the reading that fit exactly into my "We're doing so much but we can't tell you anything tangible or specific about any accomplishments because there hasn't been any" stance.

Do you have any reading on anything tangible or anything real to help me lean back towards being inspired by the PPA? if these are your best articles then I have even less faith than before.
 
Matt Vaughan

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Or instead of criticizing an organization that is trying to promote your interests, you could do something yourself. But that'd probably be too much work, right?
 
TheEngineer

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Thanks Scourrge!

Another interesting thing is that the letter requesting a ban is not even being treated as a serious request. Why is that? Six years ago they were strong enough to get a 3-1 vote in the House and a plank in the GOP platform. Seems we poker players are all doing something by getting ourselves organized and standing up for ourselves.
 
TheEngineer

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I'm tired of being told they are getting close to something and nothing happens.

No one promised this would be easy. To the contrary, we've always said this would be hard. If you're looking for something easy, this isn't for you.

OTOH, if you're looking to stand up for yourself and not let other take your rights, feel free to join the effort via the Poker Daily Action Plan and PPA Take Action (here).
 
Demonomania

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^Awesome first 3 posts! That was quite inspiring.
 
TheEngineer

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Thanks Demono!
 
TheEngineer

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Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!
 
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hawtshawt420

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Or instead of criticizing an organization that is trying to promote your interests, you could do something yourself. But that'd probably be too much work, right?

I'm more criticizing the way they tell us how close they are to getting stuff done and can't tell us what they're doing. They can saw what they want to do but nothing actual tangible has been done but they've been right there as to getting something accomplished. If you're close then get something done. If you're not then don't tell me you are but rather tell me what you're planning to do to get close. Not being critical of what they want to do but how I feel I'm just being lied to almost daily.

I'm not saying it should be easy. I understand it should be hard but again, don't say you're close if you're not, which you've obviously haven't been in the past. Saying "we've always said it was going to be a long hard fight" basically tells me "If we make no progress, we told you we wouldn't and if we do then weeee we did it!"

I really don't want to feel this way. I want to support the PPA and get online poker back to a fully legal state. But all these non-existent "updates" are just a joke. Maybe instead of lying to people about how you're right on brink of accomplishing something how about getting to a place where you might accomplish something realistically and then tell us.
 
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hawtshawt420

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PS. welcome to CC. Sorry we had to start off on such opposing sides of the issue that made you sign up. It's just how I feel.
 
Charade You Are

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It's pretty frustrating for all of us. But killing the messenger doesn't help.

There should be millions of us posting, tweeting, calling and sending emails and letters, THEN we might get quicker action.

The PPA must feel at times they are rowing uphill without a paddle. I know I get discouraged and take breaks from it. But Rich is posting at multiple forums every day, day in and day out, and making it as easy as possible...and STILL most poker players do nothing.
 
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Considering the catholic's that have advocated and participated in bingo games in the church basements for about 50 years I find the the letter to Boehner just a tad hypocritical. I guess they're afraid it will take away from them. I grew up a Catholic and have seen little old lady's addicted to these bingo games.
 
Charade You Are

Charade You Are

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Considering the catholic's that have advocated and participated in bingo games in the church basements for about 50 years I find the the letter to Boehner just a tad hypocritical. I guess they're afraid it will take away from them. I grew up a Catholic and have seen little old lady's addicted to these bingo games.


Me too. I don't see them protesting outside the corner stores that sell lottery tickets either.


The most amazing signature was:

Colin Hanna
Let Freedom Ring

Do these people even engage their brains for a few seconds a day? Or do they just regurgitate the pap they are indoctrinated with?
 
TheEngineer

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I'm more criticizing the way they tell us how close they are to getting stuff done and can't tell us what they're doing. They can saw what they want to do but nothing actual tangible has been done but they've been right there as to getting something accomplished. If you're close then get something done. If you're not then don't tell me you are but rather tell me what you're planning to do to get close. Not being critical of what they want to do but how I feel I'm just being lied to almost daily.

I'm not saying it should be easy. I understand it should be hard but again, don't say you're close if you're not, which you've obviously haven't been in the past. Saying "we've always said it was going to be a long hard fight" basically tells me "If we make no progress, we told you we wouldn't and if we do then weeee we did it!"

I really don't want to feel this way. I want to support the PPA and get online poker back to a fully legal state. But all these non-existent "updates" are just a joke. Maybe instead of lying to people about how you're right on brink of accomplishing something how about getting to a place where you might accomplish something realistically and then tell us.

I don't bias my updates with false optimism to generate false optimism, nor do I downplay expectations to guard against letdowns. I simply share the data so we can all make our decisions.

We have been close at times, but a 50% chance of success is also a 50% chance of not succeeding.
 
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