PPA Chairman Alfonse D'Amato - Well played sir!

Saw this posted by the @theengineer2008 on Twitter. Well played sir! Does he play poker...another reason if you haven't already done so, go be a member of the Poker Players Alliance.

A Vision of Hope

Today, we celebrate a tradition in our nation unlike any other in the world. Today, we transition from one president to the next.

The 12th Amendment to the United States Constitution has set January 20th as the date on which one president ends their administration and next begins. The President-elect is sworn in at noon by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court using the Oath of Office from Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution and reads,

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States

Every president since George Washington has had to state these words to the public with these words as their bond.

I like to point out these words to everyone for it demonstrates one of our Founding Father's most important ideals. This nation is bound together by one thing, the rule of law, as stated by the Constitution. No where does it say the president shall consider the Constitution or make sure to do their darnedest to circumvent the Constitution. There job is is preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. Period. The Constitution.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one." This is a quote spoken by the fictional character Spock in the movie, "Star Trek II: the Wrath of Kahn." Yeah, I know, this is all serious and there I go quoting a sci-fi movie, but this quote has resonated with me since I first saw the movie. People believe we live in a democracy and in some ways we do. The majority opinion is used to determine many aspects of our society, but technically, we live in Constitutional Republic. This means our elected officials must represent the wishes of the people under the rules of law as defined by the Constitution.

President Obama is inheriting a nation in trouble. Our economy is struggling. Our stature throughout the world has never been worse. Let's face it, George W. Bush is leaving the nation far worse then when he got it. Many things about this departing administration has left me wondering how the nation could have ever chosen this man to lead us, but today, we must move forward.

President Obama campaigned as the candidate of hope. As a father, I hope for a world for my children that is better then the world I grew up in. Barrack Obama is our newest president. He deserves our respect, he's got a big job ahead of him.

The picture I chose at the top of the page is one of the few photographs I have ever taken that I would consider a concept photo. I staged this. I liked the symbolism of my daughter standing at the spot where Martin Luther King, Jr, gave his famous speech. It's at the top of the stairs at the Lincoln Memorial. My daughter stood their reading the words of a man with a vision of a nation united. I share that vision.

I didn't vote for President Obama but that doesn't mean I don't want him to succeed. In fact, I believe the opposite. I so much want him to succeed.

The magic of this nation is that every 4 years, we get a chance for a fresh start and a new beginning.

Welcome to Washington Mr. Obama. We have a lot of hard work to do. Today, it's your party, tomorrow we start fresh.

The Deed Is Done

I voted. Did you?

Overblocking and the UIGEA and my frustration with humans

Short-Stacked Shamus challenges the brains of all who read his posts. More than once now, he's sent my brain into a logic loop trying to solve an enigma.

In a recent post entitled "Overblocking and the UIGEA", he discusses his frustration and analysis of the Annie Duke's premise that UIGEA will cause "Overblocking." Banks will block transactions that are probably legal, but since there is a hint of grey, they will block in anyways just to be sure.

The entire movement to ban online poker just pushes me to the limits of what this libertarian can stomach.

I've written about this subject in the passed and on other blogs, but what is with governments desire to protect me from myself? And why do the people allow this to happen? I personally find the idea that the government should protect me from me is ludicrous. So why do we continue to allow the government more and more control of our lives?

I personally think its because people don't care. Most people pay so little attention to their government that don't even know what's happening. Fat, dumb and stupid. Just the way they need us. The only time people notice is when the government gets too close to something they are paying attention to, their wallets.

My daughters school is doing a pretty good job of teaching her about government, but the problem is...she's 8. My sister-in-law recently graduated from High School. In there, they learn almost nothing of government and what they do learn, is taught so quickly that it is forgotten within minutes. It seems we as a people work harder to make sure kids learn about Creation than we do to teach them about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

For me, I've taken matters into my own hands. I've called my congressmen more than once. I've sent them emails and I also spend time talking to my kids about democracy, freedom and government. I take my kids to the polls with me when I vote so they can see how it works. Most of my neighbors stay home. Its sad.

Now keep in mind, my greatest concern with the leaders of this country is that our political system is currently designed and built for the maintanance of parties. It used to be the parties were there to support politicians. This is no longer the case. The politicians serve the parties...but that's a whole other post, but this fact is keenly important to this conversation.

Each party derives its finances from donations from people that care. These people tend to be the people that pay attention to government and how it can server them, but no one should be suprised, these people are looking out for the issues that matter most to them, not the country.

During the Regan administration, we started seeing the rise of the fringe groups. The religous right rose and showed how much money it could raise for a candidate. This bought them power and influence. The Democrats have been overwhelmed by their fringe groups now as well. So this country derives most of its political will from both the far left and the far right. Not only do these people bring money to game, they also bring votes. The middle, while more numerous, provides neither money or votes.

So Shamus, I share your pessimism. I really don't see this problem lasting forever. Outside of dissolving the WTO, I see no way for the US to avoid this little fiasco costing them billions of dollars. The pressure is building to get rid of this law, but I think you are right, its gonna get worse before it gets better.

Presidents, politics and poker

4 days ago, PokerListings.com ran an article by Sarah Polson entitled "Presidential hobbies include poker". She briefly chronicles the history of Presidents that play poker.

Most of the stories in this article have been described with great detail in many other places, but for some reason, this article really got me thinking.

The current push to get rid of poker and in particular online poker, mainly the UIGEA, centers around the religious right doing something shady. They slipped this into the Port Security Act which was necessary and well supported.

This sleazy act of political shenanigans, isn't why I'm here today. That's been written about ad nauseum. What I'm wondering is, why no one stood up and complained? Poker bloggers, we complained, and some of us (I can only prove I did...was hoping some of you did too), called their congressman. But if all of these important people played this much poker, why didn't they step up to the plate and say no? (And yes, I realize most of these Presidents are dead...it's the politically powerful ALIVE people I'm thinking about)

I don't fully understand what happened to the political process here in the US. Both parties appear to be run by the lunatics within. The religious right and Neo-Conservatives have taken over the Republicans, and the Democrats are controlled by some website and PAC's that haven't been near the center...ever.

Why is poker a right or left issue? Isn't it really all about liberty? Sen. Bill Frist needed this bill to make the anti-gambling Christians like him enough to vote for him. Why do people that enjoy poker and gambling not fight harder to restore it?

I have a theory, and I don't know if it's really all that true, but do gamblers and in particular, poker players, like being outlaws? Do we like to buck conformity?

Short-Stacked Shamus recently blogged about "The Double Life of the Poker Player." Could this have something to do with our malaise? While the Presidents have had many a poker player in the group, most didn't actively lobby for protection of our Great American Past Time. Is it that fact that it's forbidden draw some to the game?

The tide looks to be changing. Poker seems to be getting some better reception in Washington, and I'm encouraged by some of the progress made by the Poker Players Alliance. But Absolute Poker has done their very best to make this whole thing look to be just another sham way to swindle people out of their money. The remaining websites need to step up and prove that they take the game and the trust seriously.

I'd like to see the industry regulated. Controls and inspections introduced. Find ways to ensure the trust of the poker playing public. Personally, I'd don't find this game shameful or really enjoy the idea that it's forbidden. I love the competition and the challenge of matching wits with another person. Chris over at Ante up! needs to be assured that these games are legit.

I'm not really sure where I'm going with this, or if it really makes sense. I am by no means a legal authority, a poker authority, a political authority or even a statistician (just check out my results!), but what I do know, is unless more people make a fuss about poker, eventually, the morons in the religious right, or the "whose looking out for the children" campaign will get their way and we won't be able to ever enjoy the feeling of flopping a monster and getting everyone all in again.