The Sad Demise of HR 5767

It is not wisdom but authority that makes a law. - Thomas Hobbes

My Fellow Americans,

Once again, some of our duly elected officials and their holier than thou attitudes have kicked online poker players square in the junk. Yes, I am talking about people like Representative Bachus (you guessed it, a Republican from Alabama) and most members of the House Financial Services Committee. They don’t seem to think that a person such as myself (and I suspect many of you) that can manage to complete a college degree, obtain a reasonably good paying job, pay my mortgage and other obligations each month, rear my children, and be a responsible member of society is capable of making my own decision about whether or not to play poker online. I can play at home games everyday, all day, gambling it up and drinking beer, but I am not supposed to boot up my computer, log on, and play poker online.
Now, before anyone pounces on me and says, the UIGEA doesn’t prevent one from playing online poker, it is supposed to prevent certain types of money transfers and such. Let me say, you are not entirely wrong but the design and intent of the UIGEA was always to discourage, disrupt, interfere with, and eventually prevent Americans from playing online poker. There are other types of gambling that occur on the internet but they represent a mere fraction of the amount of money in online poker. Senator Frist got what he deserved when he was not re-elected. Why do people like Rep. Bachus continue to get elected? Are there no online poker players in Alabama that can get involved and vote to replace Rep. Bachus with a more reasonable person?
I am out there putting my vote where my mouth is. I am proud to say I voted in favor of the re-election of the co-sponsor of HR 5767, the honorable Dr. Ron Paul. I thought the Republican Party was in favor of smaller government and less government interference with business. Evidently, I was wrong. These days, I am not sure what they stand for anymore.
The UIGEA transformed the community of online poker in a terrible way and I am neither going to forget nor forgive those responsible. Anyway, rather than ranting on incessantly, let me refer you to a couple of other opinions about the unfortunate demise of HR 5767, Shamus' is here and Melted Felt's (the Onion of Poker News) is here.