First dalliance, my (stoner) friend Ian sent me a link to The Sith Sense,
some crossover marketing scheme between epi III y (B)K (??! on that combo, btw) where you play
20 questions with Darth Vader. And this screenshot he took:
It took Vader 29 tries to guess that IT WAS A JOINT my stoner friend
was thinking about. (actually, he said it was marijuana he was thinking
about, and this was as far as the guessing game would take him. when he
chose "sometimes" as the answer to the joint question, darth stopped
asking him questions.) hehehehe... easily amused.
Exactly. That's exactly my sentiment lately for the online poker
debacle surrounding us. It's a farking debacle and I'll cry if I want
to for using the word, but that's my thesis for today...
This country should have the best equipment instead of fighting cockaroaches. Lost in translation
fo sho, but that's what I'm driving at with all this drivel. It's
screwing us over, not even just "us" as people who play online poker, but us
as a nation. For reals, and in many more ways than one.
So assume for the moment that the last post is right, that Americans as
a whole approve of the game of poker (as in... doesn't violate their
moral longitudes, liveyletlive, off of their collective radars, etx.)
Also that states see gambling as a positive revenue builder (NoDak's
online poker bill that died on the vine in its senate; the fact that 5
states already rely on in-state gambling revenue for over 10% of their
net, and 5 other states are fast approaching that 10% mark). And some
states are further pushing the envelope on lottery sales (allowing them
via in-state internet purchases) and telephonic/internet betting for
instate residents.
So this backdrop of not only popcult but states approval of gambling,
eh? (jaja, i know im ignoring utah's call against the wto to not allow
gambling within their state and kyl's yetagain attempt to "fix" the
wire act by specifically including internet gambling as a prohibited
activity... but, berkeley isnt utah and i live on the internet, so ill
just skip over those and let you figure out my bias :) )
You'd think a moneymaker like online poker would be a boon to
states. Crap, California's dicking around with teacher salaries and
nurses' pay, and there's nothing the *nator is going to do to help
either of the two groups who may possibly be doing the hardest work for
the least recognition and the most impact on individuals in the entire
state (and disproportionately affect poorer people in the process).
Lotto my ass, too-- the UK in passing its recent Gambling Bill is going
to raise over 2 billion pounds (xe sez, 3,648,311,086.43 USD) and I can't win a bigspin ticket to save my life.
RIGGED, i tell ya.
Anyway.
Dalliance numero dos, as I've decided its not long enuf yet ;)
Have I mentioned I halted production on clappy?
:( I think it was just about the time when I blogged that "I don't need
to follow no stinking pattern for clappy anymore"-- when I hauled her
to a coffeeshop and guessed when to yo for about, 3 cafe au laits and a
few pages in ss2... You know the rest-- so I've got to rip back (far)
and just.... argh, I *hate* ripping back, because (shh) I don't know
how to pick up work. My sts are always weird twisted/holey when I try
to pick up dropped sts, and I can't imagine trying to pick up a whole
row.
I finally broke down & bought stitch & bitch nation, after it
was on perpetual hold too long from my knitting pal... and am now
working on the drop stitch vest in patons grace-- in red.
So where were we, non-knitterly folk?
Oh yeah. Assume its true that, as mad as the brits are for gambling,
the US dominates as far as numbers of players of online poker. (It's
changing, but still true as of now). And, whereas the UK is scrambling
to pick up this steady revenue stream from readywillingable poker
rooms, the US refuses to acknowledge its citizenry's (general and
specific) acceptance of gambling (online). State lines are the b!tch we
serve for that issue...
So, not only is the US shooing out US dollars from its borders (with a 55 BILLION DOLLAR TRADE DEFICIT on our backs)
and into the pockets of friendly foreign operators on sunnier shores
than the bay area has had lately-- it actively pursues those who are
within its jurisdiction with the long (hirsute) arm of the DOJ (who equates online gambling with child pornography,
btw!) with cease and desist tactics against those who aid and abet
(read: carry advertising for) online gambling establishments.
Now, nothing new, right? Feds say online gambling is illegal, ergo-- it
is. No matter the vox of the nation's citizenry, the states crying out
for much needed, NEW revenue sources, and the WTO ruling against the US
in its application of anti-online gambling laws... And? (insert: fratboy stare)...
Which bothers me for one of three reasons. One's esoteric, my romantic
heart-- I hate the failure of nations. Specifically the failure of this
country (or its shortcomings), cos no matter being a bluedipped liberal
in hempwoolen clothing, I am proud of this land
I call my own. (edited out cheesy speech here, but you get the
picture.) I just feel at the visceral level that government has the
responsibility to listen to its citizenry and not to moralistic
pulpitmunchers. I think its a failure in general to pursue against a
"moralistic" battle such as online poker, when non political morality
dictates that Darfur
should come first. (I know Darfur is an extreme example, but insert any
place in the world that we should be exercising our muscle and aren't,
and then look to the US arguing to the WTO that online gambling really
chaps our hides.)
Friday, May 27, 2005
