high quality inexpensive poker chips only at 5 Star Deal.
Get a free iPod of your choice.
Play free poker at CheckRayz - free entry, cash prizes and money-added buyin poker tournaments. Sign up now!
Need a new Poker Room? List of Poker Rooms who welcome all customers as of 10/19/2006 10am EDT
Blogger? Join the Blogger Poker Tour today! From the Blogosphere to the Aussie Millions... BPT - only at Poker.com!. This week's event hosted by The House of Poker Blues!
I’ve pretty much ran silent here at the Poker Pub this week. There are several reasons for doing so, I’m sure. I’ve been suspending my opinion on the elections until the smoke clears. My personal life, for starters, is always full of fireworks somehow - no worries, all is well. I snuck away to play live poker this week. I’ve been negotiating with Bugsy’s Club on a poker deal for us… And perhaps I was also just simply taking a breather from posting. All these things combined probably point to the reason why I’ve not really written much in the lines of substantial posts this week.
I have been blog hopping throughout this past week, though. I highly recommend blog hopping. It’s great to read the thoughts, ideas, and stories from others who share your interest. I have my list of “regular blogs” I visit (you can find them on the Poker Pub Blogroll). Feel free to borrow my list, or draw from your own.
The point of telling you this is not to “pimp” any other bloggage, though that is an added bonus, right? No, instead, I’d like to talk about the state of online poker and how it relates to this past election - and throw in some of the thoughts of other Bloggers that I read along the way.
For starters, up until a month or two ago, I thought I was a Republican. I believed that I philosophically aligned with the Republican Party more so than others, considering I (primarily) believe in a strong national defense (funding the military). I believe in less taxes. I believe that while some forms of welfare programs (welfare is a term meaning transfer of wealth or monies from one group or class to another), I do not believe in it so far as to be nearly socialist in nature. I believe those who “work” harder and/or smarter should be allowed to keep most of what they make, and it should give them an edge against others… not that we’re competing here.
In contrast, I’ve always believed that “those other people” (the Democrats) enjoyed transferring wealth from one class to another, were incredibly weak when it came to national defense, defense spending, and/or foreign issues in which involve our military and/or taking a stand. Thus, I believed them to be pansies and socialist. And still, after these elections, I do not believe that any less.
I do, however, believe that I am finding myself lined up with the Republican Party a whole lot less than I once suspected I did. With the introduction of UIGEA, a mostly Republican-supported bill, I’ve become sick to my stomach, as now we have the small matter of the Government telling me how I can and cannot run my business and my personal life. Big brother is alive and well.
It seems to me that we have a case of one group ruling with an iron fist, allowing you to make money, but severely restricting where and how you can spend it. The other party, in my opinion, just wishes to pass my money out to everyone under the sun. (once again, all just my opinion here)…
Historically, I think this country has corrected problems in ever so dramatic over-reactions. Take the tailhook scandal (PBS on tailhook, Wikipedia on tailhook) for example… Our country, and the military specifically were too lenient on matters of sexual harassment. To make things “right” we became so damn tough on them that it almost became a felony to even make eye contact with a member of the opposite sex during normal, routine conversation. It may have been "right" to deal with and take a firm stance on sexual harrassment issues, but there's a difference, IMO, between getting proper laws in place, and going way overboard to make up for past leniency.
In this country, we tend to correct the wrongs of one extreme by swinging to the far opposite extreme. In reality, correcting the wrongs of the far right is not corrected by moving as far left as possible, but instead moving to the center of the bell curve.
The opposite of extreme right is not extreme left, nor is extreme left’s opposite extreme right. It is, instead dead center… Alcanthang cautions us:
"We've merely replaced politicians...
...with politicians. Just as easily corrupted as the mouth breathers now searching for prime consulting jobs.
This isn't the last step in the process, only the first. It needs to be made clear to the new bunch that if/when they fuck up, they are next on the chopping block. I already have the letters ready to go out to my congressmen stating that very fact.
We wanted a change, we got a change, now we must hold them accountable.”
That being said… I highly suggest EVERYONE, democrat, republican, or otherwise, get signed up to get a report of how their congressmen and senators vote. I challenge everyone to do exactly what Al suggests… Let’s all hold our elected officials accountable and show them that we mean business… We’re watching them, we have a vote, and we know how to use it.
My intention was to discuss online poker and some politics, though it seems I've discussed politics with some online poker... Things do not always go as planned...
Mike
Related Posts
Prohibition is alive and well
Hypocrites
US in violation of WTO ruling
